Flexible Wheel Cover Overlay With Snap-On Clasp Pairs
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing automobile wheel cover overlays often experience separation and breakage due to the failure of clips, integral legs, snap tabs, and adhesives, leading to a need for a more secure and durable solution.
Innovation Solution
A wheel cover overlay featuring a flexible material with a peripheral boundary, surround, spokes, and clasp mechanism pairs that allow for secure attachment to the wheel using a snap-on mechanism, capable of forming a curvature and applying forces within specific ranges to ensure a stable connection.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If clips, integral legs, snap tabs, protruding strips, and/or adhesives are used to attach the wheel cover overlay, then the wheel cover can be secured to the wheel, but these attachment mechanisms are prone to failure and lead to separation and breakage
Solution Approach 1:
The wheel cover overlay is made from a flexible material that can bend and conform to the wheel surface, eliminating rigid attachment mechanisms like clips and snap tabs. The flexibility allows the overlay to maintain secure attachment through friction and conformability rather than through fragile mechanical fasteners, thereby reducing breakage while maintaining reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the physical parameters of the attachment system by transitioning from rigid mechanical fasteners to a flexible material with specific force application characteristics. The flexible material applies distributed forces across the wheel surface, changing the attachment mechanism from point-based mechanical fastening to area-based frictional attachment, improving both reliability and resistance to breakage.
2Ease of operation
If a flexible material is used to allow the wheel cover overlay to form curvature and bend, then the overlay can be installed on the wheel, but the material must withstand forces between 20 N and 500 N applied in the same direction
Solution Approach 1:
The wheel cover overlay utilizes a flexible material that can be bent and shaped during installation to conform to the wheel's curvature. This flexibility enables easy installation while the material's inherent strength properties allow it to withstand the specified force range (20-500 N) applied during and after installation, maintaining both ease of operation and force resistance.
Solution Approach 2:
The flexible material allows the overlay to dynamically adapt to the wheel's shape during installation, forming the necessary curvature through bending. The material's dynamic flexibility during installation transitions to static strength when installed, enabling it to withstand the specified force range while maintaining ease of installation through its ability to deform and conform.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution reduces or eliminates breakage during installation and operation by providing a secure, flexible attachment that covers the entire wheel surface, minimizing separation issues and enhancing durability.
Implementation Method 1
The wheel cover overlay is made of a flexible material and is capable of forming a first degree of curvature or first angle with at least one of two opposing sides of the wheel cover overlay arcing or bending away from a central horizontal axis of the wheel cover overlay upon application of two forces applied in the same direction about two points of the peripheral boundary along the central horizontal axis
Data Source
AI summary
A snap-on wheel cover overlay made of a flexible material includes a peripheral boundary defining an inner surface and an outer surface, a surround extending from the peripheral boundary, a plurality of spokes and a plurality of openings, and a plurality of clasp mechanism pairs. Each opening of the plurality of openings passes from the outer surface through the inner surface and is located between each successive spoke of the plurality of spokes. The plurality of clasp mechanism pairs extends from the inner surface with a first clasp mechanism located on a first edge of one spoke and a second clasp mechanism located on a second edge of a succeeding spoke. The wheel cover overlay is capable of forming a first degree of curvature greater than 2.0° for a 10 cm first arc length of a first arc of a circle having a center point on a line extending from a central vertical axis of the wheel cover overlay and arcing away from a central horizontal axis of the wheel cover overlay.