Vehicle wheel with internally located emergency wheel

Claim 2

A vehicle wheel arrangement comprising a wheel rim formed to include a pair of radially outwardly facing tire support surfaces, the tire support surfaces being situated in axially spaced apart relation one to another, and a rim channel therebetween, the rim channel being formed to include at least one bolt-receiving aperture, an inflatable vehicle tire including an interior surface and tire bead means for engaging the tire support surfaces in sealing relation, a plurality of emergency wheel segments including foot means for engaging the rim channel to permit each wheel segment to be attached to the wheel rim and head means for engaging a portion of the interior surface of the vehicle tire during deflation thereof, the foot means being formed to include at least one bore for receiving a threaded bolt and seal retaining recess means for retaining a resilient sealing ring at an outer edge of each bore to permit preassembly of the sealing ring to accommodate subsequent assembly of each wheel segment to the wheel rim, said seal retaining recess means including a relief section means for retaining the sealing ring means in position on the segments during assembly, said relief section means including segment portions extending radially inwardly of the maximal radial width of the sealing ring means to overlap and retain the sealing ring means in position, and attachment means for detachably attaching each wheel segment to the wheel rim, the attachment means including a threaded bolt for sequential reception in the bolt-receiving aperture, the resilient sealing ring, and the wheel segment bore to attach rigidly a companion emergency wheel segment in a mounted position on the wheel rim.

Claim 3

The vehicle wheel arrangement of claim 1, wherein the tire bead means includes a pair of bead rings, each bead ring engaging one of the tire support surfaces to separate the bead rings in axially-spaced relation, the spaced-apart bead rings and the attached emergency wheel segments cooperating to define a pair of annular spaces to permit sliding movement of the bead rings toward one another to facilitate collapse of the vehicle tire during emergency running conditions caused by deflection of the vehicle tire.

Claim 4

The vehicle wheel arrangement of claim 2, wherein the foot means includes an annular radially inwardly facing wheel rim-engaging surface formed to include a plurality of circumferentially spaced, axially-extending adjustment accommodating grooves for receiving an adjustment tool so that the adjustment tool is advanceable through the bolt-receiving aperture of the rim channel to engage the wheel segment adjustment accommodating grooves to permit a tool-user to move a wheel segment relative to the wheel rim to position the wheel segment in a proper attachment position within the rim channel while the wheel segment is contained inside the vehicle tire.

Claim 5

The vehicle wheel arrangement of claim 1, wherein the inside of each segment foot means includes, on its circumference outside the region of the bolt-receiving bores, adjustment accommodatiing grooves the mutual interval of which is equal to or less than the diameter of the bolt-receiving apertures.

Claim 6

The vehicle wheel arrangement according to claim 4, wherein the adjustment accommodating grooves are axially oriented and are disposed over substantially the entire circumference of the segment foot means outside the region of the bores, and wherein a first lateral flank of each of the grooves located closest to a bolt-receiving bore is inclined toward the bore and another lateral flank stands at right angles to a radially inwardly-facing, wheel rim-engaging surface of the foot means.

Claim 7

The arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the segment foot means is wider in one axial direction than the other with respect to a transverse center plane of the wheel to accommodate a corresponding shape of the wheel rim.

Claim 8

The arrangement according to claim 1, wherein said wheel segments are fixedly maintained in position on the wheel rim independently of any spring means.

Claim 9

A vehicle wheel arrangement comprising a wheel rim formed to include a pair of radially outwardly facing tire support surfaces, the tire support surfaces being situated in axially spaced-apart relation one to another, and a rim channel therebetween, the rim channel being formed to include at least one bolt-receiving aperture, an inflatable vehicle tire including an interior surface and tire bead means for engaging the tire support surfaces in sealing relation, a plurality of emergency wheel segments wherein each wheel segment is formed to include at least one bore for the reception of a threaded clamp screw and a frusto-conical radially inwardly flared countersunk section at an outer edge of the bore, sealing means for providing an airtight seal between the rim and the clamp screws on the wheel segment contact side of the rim, said sealing means include a loop-ring formed of rubber elastic material and positioned in the countersunk section of the wheel segment wherein the countersunk section includes a relief for retaining the loop-ring such that it overlaps the maximum radial width of the loop-ring radially inwardly, said plurality of emergency wheel segments including foot means for engaging the rim channel to permit each wheel segment to be attached to the wheel rim and head means for engaging a portion of the interior surface of the vehicle tire during deflation thereof, the foot means including an annular radially inwardly facing wheel rim-engaging surface formed to include a plurality of circumferentially-spaced, adjustment accommodating grooves for receiving an adjustment tool so that the adjustment tool is advanceable through the bolt-receiving aperture of the rim channel to engage the adjustment accommodating grooves to permit a tool-user to move a wheel segment relative to the wheel rim to position the wheel segment in a proper attachment position within the rim channel while the wheel segment is contained inside the vehicle tire.

Claim 10

A vehicle wheel arrangement comprising a wheel rim formed to include a pair of radially outwardly facing tire support surfaces, the tire support surfaces being situated in axially spaced-apart relation one to another, and a rim channel therebetween, the rim channel being formed to include at least one bolt-receiving aperture, an inflatable vehicle tire including an interior surface and tire bead means for engaging the tire support surfaces in sealing relation, a plurality of emergency wheel segments wherein each wheel segment is formed to include at least one bore for the reception of a threaded clamp screw and a frusto-conical radially inwardly flared countersunk section at an outer edge of the bore, sealing means for providing an airtight seal between the rim and the clamp screws on the wheel segment contact side of the rim, said sealing means include a loop-ring formed of rubber elastic material and positioned in the countersunk section of the wheel segment wherein the countersunk section includes a relief for retaining the loop-ring such that it overlaps the maximum radial width of the loop-ring radially inwardly, said plurality of emergency wheel segments including foot means for engaging the rim channel to permit each wheel segment to be attached to the wheel rim and head means for engaging a portion of the interior surface of the vehicle tire during deflation thereof, the foot means including an annular radially inwardly facing wheel rim-engaging surface formed to include a plurality of circumferentially-spaced, adjustment accommodating grooves for receiving an adjustment tool so that the adjustment tool is advanceable through the bolt-receiving aperture of the rim channel to engage the adjustment accommodating grooves to permit a tool-user to move a wheel segment relative to the wheel rim to position the wheel segment in a proper attachment position within the rim channel while the wheel segment is contained inside the vehicle tire.

Claim 11

The vehicle wheel arrangement of claim 8, further comprising attachment means for detachably attaching each wheel segment to the wheel rim.

Claim 12

The vehicle wheel arrangement of claim 8, wherein the tire bead means includes a pair of bead rings, each bead ring engaging one of the tire support surfaces to separate the bead rings in axially-spaced relation, the spaced-apart bead rings and the attached emergency wheel segments cooperating to define a pair of annular spaces to permit sliding movement of the bead rings toward one another to facilitate collapse of the vehicle tire during emergency running conditions caused by deflation of the vehicle tire.

Claim 13

The arrangement according to claim 8, wherein the adjustment accommodating grooves are axially oriented and are disposed over substantially the entire circumference of the segment foot means outside the region of the bores, and wherein a first lateral flank of each of the grooves located closest to a bolt-receiving bore is inclined toward the bore and another lateral flank stands at right angles to the wheel rim-engaging surface of the segment foot means.