Peripheral better positioned decorative cover for sheet metal wheel

Description

[0001] The present invention claims priority from French application 2209740 filed on September 26, 2022.

[0002] The present invention relates to a wheel cover for a sheet metal wheel, it also relates to a sheet metal wheel comprising such a wheel cover and a vehicle comprising such a sheet metal wheel equipped with such a wheel cover.

[0003] The present invention relates more particularly to such a hubcap for a sheet metal wheel of the type comprising a rim which has in its center a disc, said disc having a series of openings on the edge of the rim, said hubcap being adapted to be positioned at the level of one of said openings and comprising a retaining part which has a first part adapted to bear against an edge of said opening and a second part adapted to bear against an edge of said rim and comprising a covering part adapted to be fixed on the retaining part while covering it at least partially.

[0004] Document FR-A1-3116232 discloses such a hubcap for a sheet metal wheel of the type comprising a rim which has in its centre a disc, the disc having a series of openings on the edge of the rim where hubcaps are positioned at the level of a part of the openings, the hubcaps having a first retaining part which is adapted to bear against an edge of the corresponding opening and against the rim.

[0005] Such openings in sheet metal wheels are not made with great precision, causing their positioning to vary slightly from one opening to another.

[0006] Such a hubcap, due to its retention along the edge of the opening of the sheet metal rim, is dependent on the positioning of each opening, meaning that each sheet metal wheel can have hubcaps that do not all have the same peripheral alignment, creating positioning misalignments that pose an aesthetic problem and can also cause vibration problems.

[0007] The device according to the invention makes it possible to remedy these drawbacks.

[0008] According to the invention, it comprises a wheel cover for a sheet metal wheel of the type comprising a rim which has a center disc, said disc having a series of openings on the edge of the rim, said wheel cover being adapted to be positioned at the level of one of said openings and comprising a retaining part which has a first part adapted to bear against an edge of said opening and a second part adapted to bear against an edge of said rim and comprising a covering part adapted to be fixed on the retaining part while at least partially covering it, the retaining part comprising a support which extends from the second part of the retaining part, the support comprising a reference bearing surface against which a reference bearing surface of the covering part bears when the covering part is fixed on the retaining part.

[0009] Such support surfaces ensure proper peripheral positioning of the trim part relative to the rim of the sheet metal wheel.

[0010] According to a first feature of the invention, the covering part includes first clipping means adapted to be fixed on the support of the retaining part.

[0011] According to a second feature of the invention, the retaining part includes an intermediate part which connects the first part to the second part of said retaining part.

[0012] According to a third feature of the invention, the support extends inside the intermediate part, from the second part towards the first part of said retaining part.

[0013] According to a fourth feature of the invention, the support has a T-shaped form which includes a distal edge with the second part of the retaining part which forms the bearing surface of the support, two opposite edges adjacent to said distal edge, forming supports for the first clipping means of the covering part.

[0014] According to a fifth feature of the invention, the first part of the retaining part includes a support for second means of clipping the covering part.

[0015] According to a sixth feature of the invention, the first clipping means of the covering part comprise two first clipping tabs positioned so as to be clipped on either side of the T-shaped support of the second part of the retaining part, the second clipping means of the covering part comprising a third clipping tab which is positioned so as to be clipped against the first part of the retaining part.

[0016] According to a seventh feature of the invention, the third clipping tab of the covering part is positioned in alignment with the bearing surface of said covering part.

[0017] The present invention also relates to a sheet metal wheel which includes such a hubcap.

[0018] It also applies to a vehicle that has at least one such steel wheel.

[0019] The attached drawings illustrate the invention: [ Fig. 1 ] represents a sheet metal wheel comprising a rim with a central disc and at least one hubcap according to the invention which at least partially covers an opening formed in the disc. Fig. 2 [ ] represents a view during the assembly of one of the wheel trims according to the invention, where a retaining part of the wheel trim and a trim cover part, adapted to be fixed onto the retaining part while at least partially covering it, are particularly visible. Fig. 3 ] represents a second view during the assembly of one of the hubcaps according to the invention.

[0020] There figure 1 represents a sheet metal wheel 1 which has a rim 11 with a disc 12 in its center.

[0021] The rim 11 has a first groove 13 which is formed by a curved outer free edge and a second groove 14 which is positioned at the edge of the rim 11 with the disc 12.

[0022] The veil 12 has a series of openings 15 which are formed at the edge of the veil 12 and the rim 11, with hubcaps 2 positioned at part of these openings 15, partially masking them.

[0023] In the example shown, only one of two openings 15 is masked by a trim ring 2, but depending on the proximity of the openings 15 and the size of the trim rings 2, there may be more or fewer trim rings 2.

[0024] As most particularly visible on the figures 2 And 3 The hubcap 2 has two parts: a retaining part 3 which includes a first part 31 adapted to bear against an edge of the opening 15 and a second part 32 adapted to bear against an edge of said rim 11, positioned in the first groove 13 and in the second groove 14, at the edge of said opening 15, and a covering part 4 adapted to be fixed on the retaining part 3 while covering it at least partially.

[0025] The retaining part 3 includes an intermediate part 33 which rigidly connects the first part 31 and the second part 32 of said retaining part 3.

[0026] The intermediate part 33 of the retaining part 3 is adapted to deform elastically when the first part 31 of the retaining part 3 is mounted in the opening 15 of the wheel 1.

[0027] The first part 31 of the retaining part 3 has an arc-shaped circular form 311 in which a groove 312 is formed which is adapted to receive a part of the edge of the openings 15.

[0028] The first part 31 of the retaining part 3 has along the arc-shaped part 311 three guide ramps which allow a part of the edge of the opening 15 to be guided into the groove 312 of the arc-shaped part 311 when the retaining part 3 of the hubcap 2 is assembled onto the wheel 1.

[0029] The first part 31 of the support part 3 is connected at its center to the intermediate part 33 of the support part 3 and includes at this central location a first guide ramp 313.

[0030] Along the first part 31 in the arc of a circle 311 of the support part 3 are positioned symmetrically, on either side of the first guide ramp 313, two second guide ramps 314, the three guide ramps being in the same circular alignment.

[0031] The two second guide ramps 314 each have a first slope which starts at the free ends of the arc-shaped part 311 and gradually rises along the arc-shaped part 311 up to the height of the first guide ramp 313.

[0032] The two second guide ramps 314 each have a second slope which starts along the outer edge of the arc-shaped 311 of the first part 31 of the retaining part 3 and gradually rises to the inner edge, the second slope being identical to the slope of the first guide ramp 313.

[0033] The retaining part 3 includes a support 5 which extends from the second part 32 of the retaining part 3, with a T-shape, into the space left free in the intermediate part 33.

[0034] The covering part 4 has two first clipping tabs 41 adapted to be fixed to the support 5 of the retaining part 3 and a third clipping tab 42 adapted to be fixed to the first part 31 of the retaining part 3.

[0035] The support 5 includes a reference bearing surface 51 against which a reference bearing surface 43 of the cladding part 4 rests, once the cladding part 4 is fixed on the retaining part 3.

[0036] The third clipping tab 42, by virtue of its positioning in alignment with the bearing surface 43 of the covering part 4, creates a bearing force against the first part 31 of the retaining part 3, allowing the bearing surface 43 of the covering part 4 to be pressed against the bearing surface 51 of the support 5.

[0037] Such a position of the bearing surface 43 of the cladding part 4 against the bearing surface 51 of the support 5, makes it possible to guarantee a good positioning of the cladding part 4 with respect to the rim 11 of the sheet metal wheel 1.

[0038] Thus, if the positioning of the first part 31 of the retaining part 3 is random due to its dependence on the positioning of the openings 15 of the rim 12 of the sheet metal wheel 1 (the openings 15 of the rim 12 being able to vary slightly from one sheet metal wheel 1 to another) the positioning of the rim 11 is precise and allows for good peripheral alignment of the hubcaps 2 on the sheet metal rim 1.

[0039] The flexibility of the third clipping tab 42 of the cladding part 4 and the flexibility of the intermediate part 33 of the retaining part 3 makes it possible to compensate for this variation in the positioning of the openings 15 of the veil 12 of the sheet metal wheel 1.

[0040] The bearing surface 51 of the support 5 is positioned along the distal edge of the support 5 relative to the second part 32 of the retaining part 3, the two adjacent edges 52 on either side of the distal edge 51, allow the first two clipping tabs 41 of the covering part 4 to be clipped.

[0041] The first two clipping tabs 41 of the trim part 4, once clipped, can slide along the support 5, with a sliding direction that is perpendicular to the bearing surface 51 of this support 5, to adapt without opposing the correct peripheral positioning of the trim 2 relative to the rim 11 of the sheet metal wheel 1.

Claims

1. Trim (2) for a sheet metal wheel (1) of the type comprising a rim (11) which comprises in its compound a web (12), said web (12) comprising a series of openings (15) at the edge of the rim (11), said trim (2) being adapted to be positioned at the level of one of said openings (15) and comprising a retaining part (3) which comprises a first part (31) adapted to bear against an edge of said opening (15) and a second part (32) adapted to bear against an edge of said rim (11) and comprising a trim part (4) adapted to be fixed to the retaining part (3) while at least partially covering it, wherein the retaining part (3) comprises a support (5) which extends) (32) of the holding part (3), the support (5) comprising a reference bearing surface (51) against which bears a reference bearing surface (43) of the trim part (4) when the trim part (4) is fixed to the holding part (3).

2. Trim (2) according to claim 1, characterised in that the trim part (4) comprises first clipping means (41) adapted to be fixed to the support (5) of the holding part (3).

3. Trim (2) according to claim 2, characterised in that the holding part (3) comprises an intermediate part (33) which connects the first part (31) to the second part (32) of said holding part (3).

4. Trim (2) according to claim 3, characterised in that the support (5) extends inside the intermediate part (33), from the second part (32) towards the first part (31) of said holding part (3).

5. Trim (2) according to any one of claims 2 to 4, characterised in that the support (5) has a T-shape which comprises a distal edge (51) with the second part (32) of the holding part (3) which forms the bearing surface of the support (5), two opposite edges (52) adjacent to said distal edge (51), forming supports for the first clipping means (41) of the trim part (4).

6. Trim (2) according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterised in that the first part (31) of the holding part (3) comprises a support for second means for clipping the trim part (4).

7. Trimming device (2) according to claim 6 taken in the dependence of claim 5, characterised in that the first clipping means of the trim part (4) comprise two first clipping lugs (41) positioned so as to be clipped on either side of the T-shape of the support (5) of the second part (32) of the holding part (3), the second clipping means of the trim part (4) comprising a third clipping lug (42) which is positioned so as to be clipped against the first part (31) of the holding part (3).

8. Trim (2) according to claim 7, characterised in that the third clipping tab (42) of the trim part (4) is positioned in alignment with the bearing surface (43) of said trim part (4).

9. Wheel (1) comprising a trim (2) according to any one of the previous claims.

10. Vehicle comprising a wheel (1) according to the previous claim.