Automobile Wheel Hat Portion Curved Protrusions Stiffness
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional automobile wheels face challenges in achieving a balance between lighter weight and higher strength while maintaining driving stability, especially under lateral force loading, and often require design compromises that affect stiffness and weight reduction.
Innovation Solution
The proposed automobile wheel features a wheel disk with a hat portion that includes curved protruding and recessed circumferential portions, arranged concentrically to enhance stiffness and strength, while minimizing contact with the brake caliper to reduce weight and maintain stability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If the hat portion is made with conventional smooth circumferential portions, then the manufacturing process is simple, but the stiffness and strength are insufficient under lateral force loading
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies curvature by forming the hat portion with circumferential protruding portions and circumferential recessed portions that have curved surfaces. These curved structures increase the stiffness and strength of the hat portion to resist bending moments under lateral force loading, while the smooth curved surfaces maintain ease of manufacturing through conventional forming processes.
2Strength
If the hat portion is designed with increased material and larger cross-section, then the strength is improved, but the weight of the wheel increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the hat portion into multiple circumferential protruding portions and circumferential recessed portions instead of using a solid homogeneous structure. This segmentation provides the necessary strength and stiffness through the distributed structural elements while removing unnecessary material from the recessed portions, thereby reducing the overall weight of the wheel.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies local quality by concentrating material in the circumferential protruding portions where strength is needed to resist bending moments, while creating recessed portions where material can be removed. This localized material distribution optimizes the strength-to-weight ratio by placing material only where structurally necessary.
3Weight of moving object
If the hat portion is made lighter by reducing material, then the weight is reduced, but the stiffness and strength decrease
Solution Approach 1:
The curved surfaces of the circumferential protruding and recessed portions create efficient stress distribution patterns that maintain structural integrity with less material. The curvature allows the structure to resist bending moments more effectively per unit of material compared to flat or straight configurations.
Data Source
AI summary
A hat portion of a wheel disk includes a hat inner inclined circumferential portion and a hat outer inclined circumferential portion. At least one of the hat inner inclined circumferential portion and the hat outer inclined circumferential portion includes: a plurality of curved protruding circumferential portions that protrude toward a surface side into a curved shape; and at least one curved recessed circumferential portion that is provided between the adjacent curved protruding circumferential portions and that is recessed toward a back side into a curved shape. The hat portion of this construction provides a significant effect in improving stiffness because of the shapes of the curved protruding circumferential portions and the curved recessed circumferential portion. Consequently, an automobile wheel has improved overall stiffness and strength. Therefore, a car on which the automobile wheel is mounted can provide increased driving stability.