Assembled Spoke Wheel Hub Abutment Design
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current wheel designs for motor vehicles, particularly those made of fiber-reinforced plastic, face limitations in design freedom due to manufacturing constraints, leading to issues with strength, weight, and power transmission between different materials, and existing solutions either damage fiber reinforcement or result in increased weight.
Innovation Solution
A wheel construction featuring spokes that are form-fittingly attached to the rim and supported by hub parts in the hub area, with planar abutting surfaces and pins that transmit forces, allowing for axial and radial force distribution, and made from fiber-reinforced materials or metal alloys, enabling design flexibility and strength while avoiding material damage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If spokes are formed by loops of reinforcing material that are abutted in the space between hub and rim, then design freedom is improved, but the wheel center cannot be manufactured in conjunction with the production of the entire wheel and sufficient variations in wheel star design are not possible
Solution Approach 1:
The wheel is divided into separate components (hub, rim, and spoke elements) that can be manufactured independently and then assembled. The spoke elements are pre-formed as discrete components with flat contact surfaces for abutting, allowing the hub to be manufactured separately from the rim while maintaining design flexibility and enabling various wheel star configurations.
2Adaptability or versatility
If openings between spokes are milled out from fiber-reinforced solid material, then design freedom is improved, but the fiber reinforcement is damaged leading to loss of strength
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of milling openings in solid material, the wheel is segmented into separate spoke elements that are positioned and abutted together. This eliminates the need to remove material from the fiber-reinforced structure, preserving the integrity and strength of the fiber reinforcement while achieving the desired spoke design.
Solution Approach 2:
The spoke elements are designed with specific local geometries including flat contact surfaces for abutting and curved surfaces for rim attachment. These localized features provide the necessary design freedom without requiring material removal that would damage the fiber reinforcement in critical load-bearing areas.
3Force
If a metal wheel hub is used with force-fit connection to fiber composite rim, then force transmission is improved, but the different coefficients of thermal expansion cause damage
Solution Approach 1:
The hub components are made from fiber-reinforced composite material matching the rim material, eliminating the thermal expansion compatibility issues between dissimilar materials. This composite construction maintains effective force transmission through the hub-spoke-rim assembly while avoiding thermal stress damage from coefficient of thermal expansion differences.
4Adaptability or versatility
If decorative spokes are added as detachable components to a disc wheel, then design freedom is improved, but the overall weight of the wheel is adversely affected
Solution Approach 1:
The hub and spoke elements are integrated into a unified structural assembly where the spokes serve both aesthetic and load-bearing functions. The hub parts axially secure the spoke elements through abutting connections, creating a cohesive wheel construction that eliminates the need for separate detachable decorative components, thereby reducing overall weight while maintaining design freedom.
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a wheel, which comprises a rim having a rim well and rim flanges, a hub, and at least three spoke elements. Each spoke element forms at least one spoke between the hub and the rim. The spoke elements are fastened to the inside of the rim in a form-closed manner or a form-closed and bonded manner. The invention is characterized in that, in the hub region, the spoke elements are supported on each other in the circumferential direction at abutting surfaces designed therefor. The invention further relates to a method for producing the wheel according to the invention.