WO2004030944A1

WO2004030944A1 - Wheel cover for car

Info

Publication number: WO2004030944A1
Application number: PCT/KR2003/002033
Authority: WO
Inventors: Jeonghyun Son
Original assignee: Jeonghyun Son
Priority date: 2002-10-04
Filing date: 2003-10-02
Publication date: 2004-04-15
Also published as: KR200300318Y1; AU2003265121A1

Abstract

Disclosed is a wheel cover mounted to a wheel of a car outside the wheel, while having functions of protecting the wheel from an impact externally applied thereto, and effectively cooling heat transferred from a tire and brake disc to the wheel during the running of the car. The wheel cover includes a plurality of through holes formed at a side rim while being circumferentially arranged along the side rim, and a plurality of streamlined cooling fan blades formed at the side rim inside the side rim such that they are integral with the side rim. Each cooling fan blade is arranged near an associated one of the through holes to guide air introduced into the associated through hole, thereby generating a vortex flow of air inside the wheel cover.

Description

WHEEL COVER FOR CAR

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a wheel cover for a car, and more particularly to a wheel cover, which is configured to cover the whole outer surface of a car wheel, thereby preventing any foreign substances from entering inside thereof, and improving a cooling efficiency thereof while securing a fine appearance.

Background Art

Conventionally, wheel covers for cars are formed with a plurality of slits or through holes. These slits or through holes have certain shapes freely selected from among various shapes, and function to discharge heat transferred from the tires and brake disks associated with the car wheels. The wheel covers are configured so as to be coupled to the wheels as they are fitted into the wheels.

With the conventional wheel covers as stated above, since the slits or through holes are formed over the whole surface of the wheel cover in great number, and further have a relatively large size, the conventional wheel covers have a difficulty of effectively preventing foreign substances from entering inside thereof. Further, the great number of the slits or through holes makes the appearance of the wheel covers look dirty somewhat. In order to solve these problems, the wheel covers developed thus far are formed with the slits or through holes in consideration of only improving the appearance of the wheel covers, while leaving a cooling function of the wheel covers out of account. As a result, the conventional wheel covers have a disadvantage related with deterioration in a cooling function.

On the other hand, in case that the wheel covers are configured to cover the whole surface of the wheel, they have effects of completely preventing any foreign substances or rain water from entering toward a brake disk located inside the wheel, and further leading them a smart exterior appearance.

The wheel covers configured to completely cover the whole surface of the wheel, however, are adapted to intercept the flow of air therethrough thus preventing heat transferred from a brake disk and tire to the wheel from being effectively discharged. If the heat is not effectively discharged, it adversely affects the wheel, tire, brake disk, and the like, resulting in a problem in safety of a car body.

As stated above, since the slits or through holes formed on the conventional wheel covers have been restricted in their number and size in consideration of only the exterior appearance of the wheel covers, the wheel covers have a problem ^;n their function, especially, their cooling function. In spite of such restriction for improving the exterior appearance of the wheel covers, however, the presence of the slits or through holes itself becomes a factor deteriorating the exterior appearance of the wheel covers, compared with the wheel covers configured to completely cover the whole surface of the wheel.

Disclosure of the Invention

Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a wheel cover, which is mounted outside a car wheel so as to completely cover the whole surface of the wheel, thereby securing a decorative appearance thereof, while further securing an effective outstanding cooling function thereof.

In accordance with the present invention, the above and other objects can be accomplished by the provision of a wheel cover mounted to a wheel of a car and adapted to cover the whole surface of the wheel, comprising: a plurality of through holes circumferentially formed along a side rim thereof; and a plurality of cooling fan blades integrally formed inside the side rim, thereby allowing wind blowing from a traveling direction of the car to be effectively introduced into the wheel cover by passing through the through holes and then to be guided by the cooling fan blades inside the wheel cover so as to be blown inside the wheel and rapidly cool heat generated from the wheel as well as heat generated from a tire, brake disk and pad when the car is in motion.

According to the present invention, by virtue of the fact that the through holes are formed at the side rim of the wheel cover, the remaining portion of the wheel cover can be decoratively formed, thereby allowing the exterior appearance of the wheel cover to be improved on the whole.

Brief Description of the Drawings The above and other objects, features and other advantages of the present invention will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a sectional view illustrating an exploded state of a wheel cover in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view illustrating an assembled state of the wheel cover in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view illustrating the wheel cover of the present invention; and

Fig. 4 is an enlarged perspective view illustrating a circle portion marked in Fig. 3.

Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

As shown in Figs. 1 to 4 illustrating a wheel cover in accordance with the present invention, the wheel cover, designated as reference numeral 100, comprises a plurality of through holes 110 formed at a side rim 104 thereof while being circumferentially arranged along the side rim 104, and a plurality of cooling fan blades 120 formed at the side rim 104 inside the side rim 104. Each cooling fan blade 120, having a certain size, is arranged near an associated one of the through holes 110.

The wheel cover 100 can be viewed as being divided into a recess 102, an inclined portion 101 , a planar portion 103, the side rim 104, and a bent portion 105. The recess 102, having a certain diameter, comprises at least two bolt holes 102a centrally formed at the bottom surface thereof, and a step 102c formed at a certain height along the inner peripheral surface thereof for allowing a cap 300 to be mounted in the recess 102. The inclined portion 101 extends outward from around the recess 102 by an inclination, thereby defining a main body of the wheel cover. The planar portion 103 is located outside the inclined portion 101 to surround the inclined portion 101 , and has a certain width. From the outer edge of the planar portion 103 extends the side rim 104 in perpendicular thereto, and in turn, the bent portion 105 is formed around the side rim 104 as it extends outward from the edge of the side rim 104 across a certain length and then bends inward by a certain angle. The through holes 110 formed at the side rim 104 are spaced apart from one another at constant distances and provided in the number of about twelve to twenty four. Inside the through holes 110 are provided the cooling fan blades 120, which are formed by cutting and bending the material corresponding to the through holes 110, respectively. Alternatively, separately prepared cooling fan blades may be attached inside the through holes 110 so that they are integral with the side rim 104 by welding and the like.

Although the cooling fan blades are formed outside the wheel cover so that each of them is arranged near an associated one of the through holes 110, such arrangement is not preferable in views of appearance, deformation resistance, and safety.

In order to mount the wheel cover 100 to a car wheel 10, a cap shaped bracket 200 is interposed between the wheel cover 100 and car wheel 10. The bracket 200 is configured so as to be mounted in a mounting groove 10a defined on the wheel 10. For this, the bracket 200 uses bolts 201 , which will be fastened into wheel nuts 10b provided in the mounting groove 10a. The bracket 200 is formed at the upper surface thereof with bolt holes 200a, which are positioned so as to correspond to the bolt holes 102a formed at the recess 102 of the wheel cover 100. As bolts 102b are fastened through the bolt holes 102a and 200a, the bracket 200 is mounted to the wheel cover 100.

Into the recess 102 of the wheel cover 100 is mounted the cap 300 as the cap 300 is fitted on the step 102c formed at the recess 102.

Meanwhile, the cooling fan blades 120 are arranged inside the side rim 104 so as to define an acute angle therebetween, thereby guiding air introduced inside the side rim 104 to generate a vortex flow of air.

The outer surface of the wheel cover 100 (shown as the upper surface of the wheel cover 100 in the drawings) is plated with chrome for the purpose of improving an exterior appearance of the wheel cover 100 and restricting it from being polluted by any contaminants.

Now, the mounting of the wheel cover 100 relative to the wheel 10 will be explained. First, the bracket 200 is mounted in the mounting groove 10a of the wheel 10 by fastening the bolts 201 into the wheel nuts 10b provided in the mounting groove 10a. After completing the mounting of the bracket 200 to the wheel 10, the lower surface of the recess 102 provided in the wheel cover 100 comes into contact with the upper surface of the bracket 200 so that the bolt holes 102a formed at the recess 102 and the bolt holes 200a formed at the bracket 200 are aligned. In this state, the bolts 102b are fastened through the bolt holes 102a and 200a.

According to the mounting procedure of the wheel cover 100 as stated above, the bent portion 105 of the wheel cover 100 comes into close contact with a certain portion of the side rim (not shown) of the wheel 10 contacting with a tire 20, thereby fixing the wheel cover 100 to the wheel 10. In this state, between an inclined surface 111 of the wheel 10 facing the wheel cover 100 and the planar portion 103 of the wheel cover 100 is defined a space, in which the cooling fan blades 120 are arranged.

In a state wherein the wheel cover 100 is mounted to the wheel 10 as stated above, the wheel cover 100 covers the whole surface of the wheel 10, when viewed laterally from the car. With this configuration, the wheel cover 100 can effectively prevent any foreign substances or rain water from entering inside thereof.

Since the plurality of the through holes 110 formed at the wheel cover 100 are circumferentially arranged along the side rim 104 of the wheel cover 100, the through holes 110 cause air to be automatically introduced inside the wheel cover 100 therethrough when the car is in motion. The air introduced inside the wheel cover 100 is guided by the cooling fan blades 120, thereby generating a strong vortex flow of air inside the wheel cover 100. Such strong vortex flow of air can be utilized so as to cool heat generated from the wheel 10 and hence a brake disk and drum, and the like inside the wheel 10.

Industrial Applicability

As apparent from the above description, the present invention provides a wheel cover for a car wheel, which is configured to completely cover the whole surface of the wheel, when viewed laterally therefrom, thereby endowing the wheel cover with a clean smart exterior appearance. Further, according to the present invention, the wheel cover comprises a plurality of through holes formed at a side rim while being circumferentially arranged along the side rim, and a plurality of cooling fan blades formed at the side rim inside thereof, thereby allowing air to be effectively introduced into the through holes and guided by the cooling fan blades so as to generate a strong vortex flow of air inside the wheel cover. By virtue of rapid and strong wind caused by such strong vortex flow of air, the wheel and hence a brake disk and drum, and the like can be cooled with good efficiency.

Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been disclosed for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as disclosed in the accompanying claims.

Claims

Claims:

1. A wheel cover, detachably mounted to a car wheel and configured to cover one surface of the wheel for the purpose of protection, comprising: a plurality of through holes formed at a side rim provided in the wheel cover while being circumferentially arranged along the side rim, the side rim being a front surface of the wheel cover; and a plurality of cooling fan blades having a certain size, the cooling fan blades being formed inside the wheel cover so that each cooling fan blade is arranged near an associated one of the through holes.

2. The wheel cover as set forth in claim 1 , further comprising: a recess of a certain diameter, the recess having at least two bolt holes formed at a bottom surface thereof, and a step formed at a certain height for mounting a cap; an inclined portion extending outward from around the recess by an inclination, the inclined portion defining a main body of the wheel cover; a planar portion located outside the inclined portion to surround it, the planar portion having a certain width; and the side rim extending perpendicularly from an outer edge of the planar portion, the recess, inclined portion, planar portion and side rim being successively connected to one another, wherein the side rim is formed with a plurality of the through holes so that the through holes are spaced apart from one another at constant distances, and inside the through holes are formed a plurality of the cooling fan blades.

3. The wheel cover as set forth in claim 1 or 2, wherein the cooling fan blades are formed by cutting and bending a material corresponding to the through holes, respectively.

4. The wheel cover as set forth in claim 1 or 2, wherein a cap shaped bracket is provided for mounting the wheel cover to the wheel, wherein: the bracket is mounted in a mounting groove defined at the wheel by fastening bolts into wheel nuts provided in the mounting groove; and the bracket is formed at an upper surface thereof with bolt holes so that bolts are fastened through the bolt holes of the bracket and the bolt holes formed at the recess of the wheel cover, thereby being mounting to the wheel cover.

5. The cover as set forth in claim 1 or 2, wherein the cap is mounted in the recess of the wheel cover as it is fitted on the step formed at the recess.

6. The cover as set forth in claim 1 or 2, wherein an outer surface thereof is plated with chrome.