Composite Wheel Hub Form-Fit Connection for Higher Torque Transfer
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vehicle wheel arrangements, particularly those with fiber-reinforced composite hubs, face challenges in torque transmission due to limited strength and risk of damage from dowel pin connections, which are complex, expensive, and unsuitable for composite materials.
Innovation Solution
A vehicle wheel arrangement featuring a form-fit connection between the wheel hub and carrier element using surface profiles that vary circumferentially, providing a large-area tangential form-fit connection with lower surface loading, allowing higher torque transmission and reduced material stress, and incorporating features like undulating or stepped profiles and interference fits for enhanced security and reliability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If dowel pin connections are used to connect carrier to wheel hub, then torque transmission is achieved, but the connection becomes complex and expensive with limited torque capacity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the complex dowel pin connection system entirely and replaces it with a simplified integrated hub design where the carrier is directly formed as part of the wheel hub structure, eliminating multiple connecting parts, drilled holes, and holding parts while maintaining torque transmission capability
Solution Approach 2:
The carrier and wheel hub are merged into a single integrated structure, eliminating the need for separate connecting components. The carrier is directly formed as part of the wheel hub, creating a unified component that transmits torque without requiring additional fasteners or joining mechanisms
2Reliability
If multiple drilled holes and holding parts are used for carrier connection, then secure attachment is achieved, but manufacturing cost and production complexity increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and eliminates the need for drilled holes, holding parts, and multiple connecting components by redesigning the hub as an integrated structure where the carrier is formed directly into the wheel hub, significantly simplifying manufacturing processes
Solution Approach 2:
The integrated hub design serves multiple functions simultaneously: it provides structural support, torque transmission, and carrier attachment all through a single component structure, eliminating the need for separate specialized fastening components
3Strength
If dowel pins are used for carrier connection, then torque transmission is possible, but the available structural space is limited preventing larger or more numerous dowel pins
Solution Approach 1:
By merging the carrier into the wheel hub structure, the patent creates a unified component that utilizes the entire available structural space of the hub, rather than being limited to small discrete areas where dowel pins could be inserted
Data Source
AI summary
A vehicle wheel arrangement includes a wheel with a wheel hub and a carrier element for mounting the wheel on a vehicle part and/or for arrangement of a power-transmitting unit. In a joined state of the vehicle wheel arrangement a joining portion of the wheel hub corresponds with a joining portion of the carrier element. In the joined state of the vehicle wheel arrangement, the wheel hub and the carrier element are connected to one another in form-fitting fashion at least in a circumferential direction of a wheel hub axis. The wheel hub includes, in a region of the joining portion, one or more fiber plies with fibers arranged unidirectionally in the circumferential direction of the wheel hub axis. Furthermore, a method can be used to produce a vehicle wheel arrangement having a wheel hub made of fiber-reinforced composite and a carrier element.