Undulate Wheel Rim for Stiffer Tire Fitting
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current wheel constructions, particularly those with single or double well designs, face challenges in fitting stiffer tires due to the limited angle of the well side walls, leading to temporary seating of tire beads on the well side walls during inflation, which can result in pressure issues and the need for increased tire pressures.
Innovation Solution
A wheel construction with a circular rim featuring axially inner and outer flanges and a mid-portion with side parts that are continuously undulate, providing multiple circumferential wells, reducing the effective angle between the wheel axis and the well side walls to between 25° and 45°, thereby alleviating the fitting issues of stiffer tires.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the well side wall angle is increased to improve tire bead seating, then the fitting of stiffer tires is improved, but the structural strength of the rim is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The side part is divided into multiple curved regions (first, second, third curved regions) that are immediately adjacent to each other, creating a continuously undulate structure. Each curved region provides a well, resulting in multiple wells along the side part. This segmentation allows the well side walls to be positioned at optimal angles for tire bead seating while distributing structural loads across multiple segments, thereby maintaining rim strength.
Solution Approach 2:
The side part transitions from a conventional straight or single-curved design to a continuously undulate form with multiple adjacent curved regions. This dimensional change in the profile creates multiple wells at different circumferential positions, enabling the well side walls to be oriented at angles between 25° and 45° to the plane normal to the wheel axis, which improves tire bead seating without compromising structural integrity.
2Ease of operation
If multiple curved regions are added to provide multiple wells, then the fitting of stiffer tires is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple curved regions are merged into a single continuously undulate side part structure. The first, second, and third curved regions are immediately adjacent to each other, forming an integrated profile rather than separate discrete features. This merging approach achieves the benefit of multiple wells for improved tire fitting while avoiding the complexity of multiple separate components or features.
Solution Approach 2:
The side part employs a continuously undulate profile composed of multiple curved regions instead of straight lines or simple geometric forms. This curvature-based design naturally creates multiple wells through the undulation pattern, providing the necessary structural features for tire bead seating while maintaining a relatively simple, flowable form that is easier to manufacture than angular or multi-faceted alternatives.
Data Source
AI summary
A wheel construction includes a wheel rim which in use, receives a tire, the rim being circular and having axially inner and outer portions each of which provides a flange which in use provides a seat for a bead of the tire, and the wheel construction including a mid-portion between the inner and outer portions, and side parts, connecting the mid and outer portions, the mid-portion including a circumferential well where the radius of the wheel rim is a minimum, at least one of the side parts including a plurality of curved regions, the plurality of curved regions each being immediately adjacent to each other whereby the side part is continuously undulate. Each curved region provides at least a further two circumferential wells. For each adjacent two curved regions, there is an effective angle between a plane normal to the axis of the wheel and a line struck tangentially at a point of inflection between the two curved regions at a tire side of the rim, of between 25° and 45°.