Front paint mask for a wheel

Abstract

A wheel mask (100, Fig. 1) comprising at least one spoke masking portion 104 having a wheel facing surface (308, Fig. 3) which is configured to compliment a spoke portion of one of a plurality of spok

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present disclosure relates to a front paint mask for a wheel. Aspects of the invention relate to a wheel mask, a wheel painting system and a method. BACKGROUND It is known to provide masks when painting wheels, such as vehicle wheels. Such masks can be difficult to apply to and remove from the wheel, may not provide a sufficient barrier, allowing some liquid to pass through. The masks may not be reuseable and need to be replaced after a small number of uses. It is an aim of the present invention to address one or more of the disadvantages associated with the prior art. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Aspects and embodiments of the invention provide a front paint mask for a wheel. Aspects of the invention relate to a wheel mask, a wheel painting system and a method as claimed in the appended claims According to an aspect of the present invention there is provided wheel mask comprising: at least one spoke masking portion comprising a wheel facing surface with a profile configured to compliment a spoke portion of one of a plurality of spokes of a wheel such that when arranged on the wheel the wheel facing surface abuts the spoke portion to form a barrier. Providing a mask with a wheel facing surface with a profile configured to compliment a spoke portion of one of a plurality of spokes ensures that a barrier is formed by placing the mask in position on the wheel. Additionally, it will be apparent to a user that the mask is properly located because the mask will slot into position due to the complimentary surfaces. According to an aspect of the present invention there is provided a wheel mask comprising: at least one spoke masking portion comprising a wheel facing surface with a profile configured to compliment a spoke portion of one of a plurality of spokes of a wheel such that when arranged on the wheel the wheel facing surface abuts the spoke portion to form a spray resistant barrier. Providing a mask with a wheel facing surface with a profile configured to compliment a spoke portion of one of a plurality of spokes ensures that a spray resistant barrier is formed by placing the mask in position on the wheel. Additionally, it will be apparent to a user that the mask is properly located because the mask will slot into position due to the complimentary surfaces. In an embodiment, the invention comprises a rim masking portion configured to cover a rim of the wheel, wherein the rim masking portion has at least one projection / lip which extends radially outwards such that the rim masking portion forms at least one handle. Providing a rim masking portion with a projection provides an easily handleable surface which is located away from the spoke, ensuring that the mask can be removed easily and without requiring the operative to place their hands near the painted surface. In an embodiment, the projection extends around the circumference of the rim masking portion. Providing the projection around the entire circumference ensures that the mask can be handled regardless of orientation. In an embodiment, the wheel mask comprises at least one opening suitable for allowing sprayed paint through the mask. Providing an opening through which paint can be sprayed allows for different painted wheel designs. In an embodiment, the wheel mask comprises a plurality of spoke masking portions each separated by at least one opening for allowing sprayed paint through the mask. Providing an opening between the spokes through which paint can be sprayed allows for different painted wheel designs. In an embodiment, the wheel mask comprises at least one locating feature to locate the wheel mask relative to the wheel. Providing a locating feature in combination the surface with a profile configured to match the spoke ensures that the mask is orientated correctly when applied to the wheel. In an embodiment, the wheel mask comprises at least one guide configured to be inserted into a bolt hole of a wheel to locate the wheel mask relative to the wheel. Providing a guide in combination the surface with a profile configured to match the spoke ensures that the mask is orientated correctly when applied to the wheel. In an embodiment, the wheel mask comprises at least three guides, each configured to be inserted into respective bolt holes of the wheel. Providing at least three guides which fit within respective bolt holes ensures that the mask is orientated correctly when applied to the wheel. In an embodiment, the guide comprises or is formed of a material having a first hardness, and wherein the wheel facing surface comprises or is formed of a material having a second hardness, the first hardness being less than the second hardness. Providing guides which are less hard than the wheel facing surface reduces the risk of the hard surfaces of the wheel and the wheel facing surface coming into contact prematurely and causing scuffing. In an embodiment, the wheel mask comprises a hub portion configured to mask the hub of the wheel wherein said at least one spoke masking portion extends between the hub portion and the rim masking portion. Providing a hub masking portion reduces the risk of paint getting on the hub of the wheel during a spoke painting operation. In an embodiment, the hub portion comprises a handle. Providing a handle on the hub increases the manoeuvrability of the wheel mask ensuring it can be placed on and removed from the wheel easily. In an embodiment, the wheel mask comprises or is formed of metal. Forming the wheel of a durable material ensures that the wheel can be reused and will survive the drying / curing process without warping for example when being dried in an oven after paint is applied. In an embodiment, the wheel mask comprises or is formed of aluminium. Forming the wheel of a durable material such as aluminium ensures that the wheel can be reused and that the wheel mask is light enough to be handled. According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a wheel painting system comprising: a wheel comprising at least one spoke, and a wheel mask as described above. In an embodiment the wheel comprises a hub with bolt holes, spokes and an undercut on an interior surface of the wheel. Providing a mask with a wheel facing surface with a profile configured to compliment the spoke portion of one of a plurality of spokes on a wheel ensures that a spray resistant barrier is formed by placing the mask in position on the wheel. Additionally, it will be apparent to a user that the mask is properly located because the mask will slot into position due to the complimentary surfaces. According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of painting a wheel comprising: covering at least a portion ofthe wheel with the wheel mask described above such that the wheel facing surface abuts the spoke portion ofthe wheel to form a spray resistant barrier and; applying a paint to the wheel. Placing the mask on the wheel prior to painting the wheel reduces the risk of paint landing on regions which were not intended to be painted. According to another aspect of the invention there is provided a method comprising attaching a rear paint mask to a wheel by urging the paint mask into an engaged configuration from a disengaged configuration and locating the mask such that the paint mask is biased against a surface of the wheel to retain the mask on the wheel and such that a portion of an interior surface of the wheel is covered by the mask; and subsequently applying / spraying a paint to the wheel. Advantageously, the paint mask can be applied to a vehicle wheel during spray painting of the hub, spokes and rim to prevent aerosolised paint from flowing through the interspoke gap and unintentionally being applied to an internal surface of the wheel. Additionally, the band is biased against the internal surface to ensure that it does not become dislodged inadvertently during use without any requirement to use a fixing mechanism to apply the mask to the wheel. The shape of the band ensures that paint flowing into the interior portion of the wheel is encouraged away from the wheel. In an embodiment the method comprises a wheel which comprises an internal surface, a plurality of spokes and an interspoke gap, the method comprising: attaching a front mask comprising at least one spoke masking portion comprising a wheel facing surface with a profile configured to compliment a spoke portion of one of a plurality of spokes of a wheel such that when arranged on the wheel the wheel facing surface abuts the spoke portion to form a spray resistant barrier; applying a paint to at least one second portion of at least one spoke. Providing a mask with a wheel facing surface with a profile configured to compliment a spoke portion of one of a plurality of spokes ensures that a spray resistant barrier is formed by placing the mask in position on the wheel. Additionally, it will be apparent to a user that the mask is properly located because the mask will slot into position due to the complimentary surfaces. Within the scope of this application it is expressly intended that the various aspects, embodiments, examples and alternatives set out in the preceding paragraphs, in the claims and / or in the following description and drawings, and in particular the individual features thereof, may be taken independently or in any combination. That is, all embodiments and / or features of any embodiment can be combined in anyway and / or combination, unless such features are incompatible. The applicant reserves the right to change any originally filed claim or file any new claim accordingly, including the right to amend any originally filed claim to depend from and / or incorporate any feature of any other claim although not originally claimed in that manner. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS One or more embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: FIG. 1 shows a front view of a paint mask in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 illustrates a wheel painting system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 illustrates a cross section of a wheel painting system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 illustrates a flowchart of a method in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION It will be appreciated that various changes and modifications can be made to the present invention without departing from the scope of the present application. With reference to FIG. 1 there is shown a front view of a wheel mask 100 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The wheel mask 100 includes a rim masking portion 102 which is configured to mask the rim portion of a wheel and also extend radially away from the rim such that it forms a handleable surface when arranged on a wheel such that the wheel mask 100 can easily be placed on and lifted off the wheel. The wheel mask 100 in the example embodiment shown has three spoke masking portions 104. The number and shape of spoke masking portions 104 can vary in accordance with the design of the wheel to be painted. For example, there may be embodiments in which there are any number of spokes, for example up to ten spokes. In some examples the spoke masking portions 104 cover only some of the total number of spokes. In some examples some or all of the spoke masking portions 104 cover only a portion of the respective spokes. The wheel mask 100 further includes a hub masking portion 106, with the spoke masking portions 104 extending radially outward from the hub masking portion 106 to the rim masking portion 102. The hub masking portion 106 masks the hub of the wheel from paint. The hub masking portion 106 includes alignment features which are attached to the opposing side of the wheel mask 100 with aligner bolts 108 or other attachment means to attach the alignment features to the wheel. The alignment features may be guides in the form of nubs which are configured to enterthe bolt holes of the wheel. The alignment features are arranged such that in use the spoke masking portions 104 align with the spokes on the wheel when the alignment features are located in the bolt holes of the wheel. The hub masking portion 106 may further include a handle 110 which protrudes from the hub masking portion 106 to provide further means of moving the wheel mask 100 onto and away from the wheel. The rim masking portion 102, spoke masking portions 104 and hub masking portion 106 may be formed of a unitary piece. The unitary piece may consist of metal. The metal may be aluminium such that the wheel mask 100 is light and reusable. The wheel mask 100 may be reusable in that it can remain on the wheel during a paint drying or curing process such as being heated to temperatures in excess of 200°C and washed without deforming in a way which diminishes the spray resistant barrier provided by the spoke masking portions 104. With reference to FIG. 2 there is shown a top view of a wheel painting system 200 which includes the wheel mask 100 of FIG. 1 and a wheel comprising spokes 202. Some of the spokes are covered by the spoke masking portion 104 of the wheel mask 100 and others are not covered. In this way, paint can be applied to different sections of the wheel, with certain sections being covered and other sections uncovered. The spokes 202 may include spoke gaps 204 through which paint may flow during painting. To mitigate paint landing on an interior portion of the wheel a further rear paint mask may be applied. The rim of the wheel is covered by the rim masking portion 102 such that it is not shown in this figure. The rim masking portion 102 is configured such that there is at least one projection which has a larger diameter than the wheel rim, allowing the wheel mask 100 to be handled easily. In the example shown the projection extends around the circumference of the rim masking portion 102. At least one guide, and in the example shown, three guides are provided. The guides attach to the wheel facing surface of the hub portion such that when the wheel mask 100 is located on the wheel, the guides enter respective bolt holes in the wheel. The guides may be attached via aligner bolts 108 which attach from the opposing side of the wheel mask 100. The guides may be formed of a material with a hardness which is lower that the hardness of the other components of the wheel and the mask. For example, the other components of the wheel and the mask may be formed of a metal or metal alloy, whereas the guides may be formed of a plastic material. The use of a lower hardness material reduces the risk of causing scuffing on the wheel when the wheel mask 100 is being removed or located thereon. With reference to FIG. 3 there is shown a cross section of a spoke masking portion 302 located on a spoke 304. Arrow 306 shows the direction of travel of paint sprayed from a paint sprayer which is blocked by the spoke masking portion 302. A wheel facing surface 308 of the spoke masking portion 302 is configured to match at least a portion of the surface of the spoke 304 such that a spray resistant barrier is formed between the two components. The wheel facing surface 308 may be formed by die casting the wheel mask with a die which matches the spoke surface. To improve the barrier, the wheel facing surface 308 may further, optionally, be machined to match the spoke surface. With reference to FIG. 4 there is shown a block diagram representing a method of painting a wheel comprising several method steps. At method step 402 a portion of the wheel is covered with the wheel mask described herein such that the wheel facing surface abuts the spoke portion of the wheel to form a spray resistant barrier. At method step 404 a paint is applied to the wheel.

Claims

1. A wheel mask comprising:at least one spoke masking portion comprising a wheel facing surface with a profile configured to compliment a spoke portion of one of a plurality of spokes of a wheel such that when arranged on the wheel the wheel facing surface abuts the spoke portion to form a spray resistant barrier.

2. The wheel mask of claim 1 further comprising a rim masking portion configured to cover a rim of the wheel, wherein the rim masking portion has at least one projection which extends radially outwards such that the rim masking portion forms at least one handle.

3. The wheel mask of claim 2 wherein the projection extends around the circumference of the rim masking portion.

4. The wheel mask of any preceding claim further comprising at least one opening.

5. The wheel mask of any preceding claim further comprising a plurality of spoke masking portions each separated by at least one opening.

6. The wheel mask of any preceding claim further comprising at least one guide configured to be inserted into a bolt hole of a wheel to locate the wheel mask relative to the wheel.

7. The wheel mask of claim 6 comprising at least three guides, each configured to be inserted into respective bolt holes of the wheel.

8. The wheel mask of claim 6 or claim 7 wherein the guide comprises or is formed of a material having a first hardness, and wherein the wheel facing surface comprises or is formed of a material having a second hardness, the first hardness being less than the second hardness.

9. The wheel mask of any preceding claim comprising a hub portion configured to mask the hub of the wheel wherein said at least one spoke masking portion extends between the hub portion and the rim masking portion.

10. The wheel mask of claim 9 wherein the hub portion comprises a handle.

11. The wheel mask of any preceding claim wherein the wheel mask comprises or is formed of metal.

12. The wheel mask of any preceding claim wherein the wheel mask comprises or is formed ofaluminium.

13. A wheel painting system comprising:a wheel comprising at least one spoke, anda wheel mask according to any preceding claim.

14. A method of painting a wheel comprising:covering at least a portion of the wheel with the wheel mask of any of claims 1 to 12 such that the 5 wheel facing surface abuts the spoke portion of the wheel to form a spray resistant barrier and;applying a paint to the wheel.

15. A vehicle comprising awheel painted according to the method of claim 14.10

Images