WO2009012104A1

WO2009012104A1 - Method of applying wheel balancing weights

Info

Publication number: WO2009012104A1
Application number: PCT/US2008/069592
Authority: WO
Inventors: Kyle D. Lasenby; Karen L. Asmundson
Original assignee: 3M Innovative Properties Company
Priority date: 2007-07-13
Filing date: 2008-07-10
Publication date: 2009-01-22

Abstract

A method of applying a wheel balancing weight to a vehicle wheel. The method comprises providing a vehicle wheel having a tire mounted on a wheel rim; providing a wheel balancing weight having a back surface, with a pressure sensitive adhesive attached to the back surface; providing a cleaning fluid applicator; cleaning a surface of the wheel rim using the cleaning fluid applicator; and adhering the wheel balancing weight to the cleaned surface of the wheel rim. The cleaning fluid applicator comprises a bottle containing a cleaning fluid, a pressure activated valve, and a non- woven abrasive pad that is sufficiently compressible so as to activate the valve when compressed and porous enough to allow the cleaning fluid to pass therethrough and onto a surface to be prepared for adhesive bonding or otherwise cleaned.

Description

METHOD OF APPLYING WHEEL BALANCING WEIGHTS

Cross Reference to Related Application

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/949748, filed July 13, 2007, the disclosures of which are incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

Technical Field

The present invention relates to methods of applying weights used in vehicle ballasting applications, in particular, methods of applying adhesive-backed weights used in balancing rotating portions of a vehicle and, more particularly, methods of applying adhesive-backed weights for use in balancing automobile or other vehicle wheels.

Background The wheels used on vehicles such as, for example, automobiles (e.g., cars, motorcycles, trucks, buses, etc.) typically include two or more tubeless "rubber" tires. Each tire is mounted so as to form a relatively air tight seal against a metal rim, such that the tire can be filled with pressurized air. Each wheel is balanced to allow for an even rotation of the wheel at high rates of speed (i.e., high wheel rotations) using weights that are attached to the wheel rim. Automotive wheel balancing devices or balancers currently use individual wheel balancing weights of varying sizes (i.e., weight), typically in increments of 5 grams or 1/8 ounces, and made of lead or other metals. Such wheel balancing weights have been secured to wheel rims using mechanical fasteners as well as adhesives. Pressure sensitive adhesive tape has been used on the back of such metal wheel weights for adhering the weight to a surface of the wheel rim. One or more such taped wheel weights are adhered to a desired location on the wheel rim, determined by the particular wheel balancing requirements. Typically, the surface of the wheel rim is cleaned before the balancing weight is adhered. The common technique used to so clean the wheel rim is to spray or pour the first available solvent on the wheel rim and wipe clean the desired area with a rag. If the wheel rim is particularly dirty or grimy, a grinder with a grinding disc has been first used to grind the surface. However, such a grinding technique results in undesirable deep scratches in the metal surface of the wheel rim and, as a result, is unacceptable for those wheel rims that have a polished, plated, painted or otherwise aesthetically coated surface. In addition, far more of the solvent is usually used than is needed to adequately clean the surface, creating a mess that has to be cleaned-up before the balancing of the wheel can be finished. The present invention provides one or more improvements in the art of vehicle wheel balancing, as well as in other ballasting applications.

Disclosure of Invention In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, a method is provided for applying a balancing weight to the rim of a vehicle wheel. The method comprises providing a vehicle wheel having a tire mounted on a wheel rim; providing a wheel balancing weight having a back surface, with a pressure sensitive adhesive attached to the back surface; providing a cleaning fluid applicator; cleaning a surface of the wheel rim using the cleaning fluid applicator; and adhering the wheel balancing weight to the cleaned surface of the wheel rim. The wheel balancing weight can be adhered to the cleaned surface by pressing the weight against the surface of the wheel rim while the pressure sensitive adhesive is in contact with the surface of the wheel rim.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a cleaning fluid applicator is provided that comprises a bottle containing a cleaning fluid, a pressure activated valve, and a non-woven abrasive pad that is sufficiently compressible so as to activate the valve when compressed and porous enough to allow the cleaning fluid to pass therethrough and onto a surface to be prepared for adhesive bonding or otherwise cleaned. The applicator can be operatively adapted for sufficiently cleaning a metallic surface of a vehicle wheel rim to allow a pressure sensitive adhesive-backed wheel weight to remain adhered to the surface even while the wheel rim is rotating at high rates of speed.

The surface of the wheel rim can be cleaned by compressing the abrasive pad against the surface so as to pressure activate the valve to an open condition and allow cleaning fluid to pass through the abrasive pad and onto the surface, while scrubbing the surface of the rim with the abrasive pad. The cleaning fluid applicator can be operatively adapted for sufficiently cleaning a metallic surface of a vehicle wheel rim to allow the pressure sensitive adhesive-backed wheel weight to remain adhered to the surface even while the wheel rim is rotating at a number of revolutions equivalent to a vehicle traveling at a speed of at least 80 miles per hour. In addition, the use of such a self-contained cleaning system (i.e., the present cleaning fluid applicator) allows for localized cleaning of substantially only the applicable surface area needed for adhesion of the balancing weight.

Brief Description of Drawings

The invention may be further understood by reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein like parts are indicated by similar reference numerals throughout the several views. Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a cleaning fluid applicator, with its cap off, in position to activate its pressure activated valve so as to dispense cleaning fluid onto a surface, in accordance with the principles of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a side view of a pressure activated valve, like that used in the cleaning fluid applicator of Fig. 1, in accordance with the principles of the present invention; Fig. 3a is a side view of a less desirable plastic spring plunger for use in the pressure activated valve of Fig. 2;

Fig. 3b is a side view of a more desirable plastic spring plunger for use used in the pressure activated valve of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4a is a partially cross sectioned side view of the body of a pressure activated valve in position above a cross sectional view of the top opening of a bottle neck, with the spring plunger of Fig. 3b shown in phantom; and

Fig. 4b is a top view of the non- woven abrasive pad mounted on top of the valve of Fig. 4a, in accordance with the principles of the present invention.

Modes for Carrying Out the Invention

The present invention provides a method for applying a wheel balancing weight to the rim of a vehicle wheel. The vehicle wheel can be of the type that includes a tubeless tire such as, for example, a conventional automobile tire made of natural or synthetic "rubber" (i.e., an elastomeric polymer) composite (e.g., with metal wire or polymer fiber cords) mounted on a metallic wheel rim (e.g., a rim made of bare steel, aluminum or a metal alloy or such a rim chrome or otherwise plated, anodized, painted or otherwise aesthetically coated). According to one embodiment of the present method, the vehicle wheel is provided with the tire mounted on the wheel rim. The provided wheel balancing weight can be any such weight having a pressure sensitive adhesive attached to its back surface. It is preferable for the wheel balancing weight to be flexible and bendable. One such wheel balancing weight comprises an elastomeric or other polymer matrix material filled with a high density particulate material (e.g., tungsten, stainless steel and/or other metal particles). Examples of such a metal polymer composite material can be found in International Publication No. WO 2005/049714, which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. Two examples of such an adhesive-backed wheel balancing weight are sold by 3M Company, of St. Paul, Minnesota, under the product designations TN2015, which uses a 3M™ 5314 double-sided acrylic pressure sensitive adhesive (PSA) tape, and TN2023, which uses a 3M™ 5392 double-sided acrylic PSA tape.

Before the wheel balancing weight is applied to the wheel rim, a surface of the wheel rim is cleaned using a cleaning fluid applicator such as, for example, the applicator 10 described in detail below. The wheel balancing weight is then adhered to the cleaned surface of the wheel rim by pressing the weight against the cleaned surface of the wheel rim while the pressure sensitive adhesive is in contact with the cleaned surface.

Referring to Fig. 1, a cleaning fluid applicator 10 useful according to the present invention can comprise a bottle 12 containing cleaning fluid, a pressure activated valve 14 for controlling the release of the cleaning fluid from the bottle 10, and a non- woven abrasive pad 16 that is capable of scouring, buffing or otherwise abrading the surface of the wheel rim. The bottle 12 has a neck 18 and an opening 19 at the top of the neck 18 over which the valve 14 is mounted. A cap 20 mounts so as to snap fit onto the top of the neck 18 and over the abrasive pad 16 and valve 14.

The surface of the wheel rim can be cleaned using the applicator 10 by compressing the abrasive pad 16 against the wheel rim surface so as to pressure activate the valve 14 to an open condition and allow cleaning fluid to pass through the abrasive pad 16 and onto the wheel rim surface, while the surface of the rim is scrubbed with the abrasive pad 16 (i.e., while moving the abrasive pad within a plane generally parallel to the surface of the rim). It is preferable to wipe off any remaining cleaning liquid on the cleaned surface, before the wheel weight is adhered to the cleaned surface. Though, it can also be acceptable to simply allow the cleaning liquid to dry, before adhering the wheel weight to the cleaned surface. It is desirable for the wheel rim surface to be sufficiently cleaned to allow the pressure sensitive adhesive-backed wheel weight to remain adhered to the wheel rim surface even while the wheel rim is rotating at high rates of speed such as, for example, revolutions equivalent to vehicle traveling speeds of 50 miles per hour (mph), 60 mph, 70 mph, 80 mph, 90mph, 100 mph or even faster.). The cleaning fluid can be any affective cleaning liquid, but is preferably an adhesive remover such as, for example, that sold by 3M Company, of St. Paul, Minnesota, under the product designation 3M™Adhesive Remover Citrus Base. If such an adhesive remover is used, it is preferable to use a fluorinated bottle 12, because of the affect such adhesive removers can have on many plastics (e.g., swelling, chemical permeation, weight loss, odor emission, etc.). Such a fluorinated bottle 12 can be produced, for example, by subjecting a conventional plastic bottle 12, molded for example from high density polyethylene (HDPE), to a separate fluoropolymer treatment process to minimize the absorption of cleaning fluid into the bottle material (e.g., HDPE). The bottle 12 is subjected to this operation in a separate step performed after the bottle is molded. An example of such a fluorination process is the Fluoro-Seal™ process practiced by the

Container Division of CL. Smith, of St. Louis, Missouri. In this way, the bottle 12 can be made compatible with the cleaning fluid (e.g., an adhesive remover). If desired, a primer (e.g., 3M™ Black Primer, Part Number 08684/08686) can be applied to the cleaned surface, if additional bond strength is desired, such as if a particularly heavy wheel weight is used.

Referring to Figs. 2 to 4, the exemplary pressure activated valve 14 comprises a plastic spring plunger 22 having a valve stem 24 that is spring pressure activated within a valve body 26. The valve body 26 has a middle portion 28 and a disk- or plate-shaped top 32 with a lower surface 30 that extends beyond the middle portion 28 (i.e., top 32 has a larger diameter than portion 28). The body 26 is mounted so that its middle portion 28 fits into the opening 19 at the top of the bottle neck 18. It is desirable to have a friction- fit between this portion 28 of the body 26 and the opening 19, which is sufficiently snug to prevent cleaning fluid from exiting the bottle 12 between the portion 28 and a rim 34 that defines the opening 19 of the bottle 12. This can be accomplished by providing the middle valve body portion 28 with an outside diameter that is just a little larger than the inside diameter of the bottle opening 19. It is desirable for the valve 14 to be pushed into the opening 19 so that the lower surface 30 of the valve body top 32 makes contact with the top rim 34 of the bottle opening 19. If such a friction-fit does not sufficiently seal the valve body 26 in the opening 19, a portion of valve body top 32 (e.g., lower surface 30) can be welded (e.g., by heat or sonic welding) or otherwise fused with the bottle 12 so as to seal the joint between the valve body top 32 and the rim 34 of the bottle 12. In this way the cleaning fluid can only exit out the bottle opening 19 by passing through the valve 14, when the valve stem 24 is pressure activated to an open condition (i.e., when the stem 24 is pushed back toward the bottle 12).

The plunger 22 has an annular sealing surface 40 at the base of the stem 24 and an annular locking ridge 41 at the base of the plunger 22 and a spring 43 therebetween. The plunger 22 is inserted through an opening 35 and into a cavity 36 inside of the valve body 26 such that the sealing surface 40 of the stem 24 is positioned in sealing contact against a mating surface 38 of a dispensing port 42, formed through the center of the disk-shaped top 32, with the valve stem 24 extending beyond the top 32 and into the pad 16. With the surfaces 38 and 40 in contact with each other, the base of the plunger 22 is pushed through the opening 35 until the locking ridge 41 is forced past and comes to rest against a corresponding annular locking rim 44 defining the valve body opening 35. In this condition, the spring 43 is compressed and provides a pressure between the surfaces 38 and 40 that seals the port 42 closed, thereby blocking the passage of the cleaning fluid out of the bottle 12. It is desirable for the plunger 22 to be inserted into the valve body cavity 36 with sufficient force to preload (i.e., compress) the plunger spring 43 so that the stem 24 is less likely to be unseated and the valve opened (i.e., for the surface 40 to separated from the surface 38). It has been found desirable to preload the plunger 22 so that the stem 24 is capable of withstanding a force of at least about 2 pounds, exerted along the longitudinal axis of the stem 24 and in a direction toward the opening 35. That is, an axial force greater than 2 pounds would be needed to push the stem 24 into the cavity 36 enough to unseat the stem sealing surface 40 and allow the passage of cleaning fluid through the dispensing port 42.

The non- woven abrasive pad 16 can be made (e.g., by die cutting the desired pad shape) from a web, mat or sheet of low density non-woven fibrous abrasive material like that disclosed in U.S. Patents Nos. 2,958,593 and 4,078,340, which are incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. The preferred abrasive material for pad 16 is a lofty fibrous non- woven abrasive product of the type sold under the registered trademark "Scotch-Brite" by 3M Company. This type of abrasive product is typically formed of crimped staple fibers which have been formed into a mat and impregnated with resinous binder and abrasive materials (e.g., abrasive particles). One example of a Scotch-Brite™ product that can be used, according to the present invention, is marketed under the product designation 3M™ Scotch-Brite ™ General Purpose Scrubbing Pad No. 9650. This particular lofty fibrous non-woven abrasive material comes in sheet form and has a thickness of about 13 mm (about 0.5 to 5/8 inch), which has been found to be desirable.

The pad 16 is sufficiently compressible so as to allow the valve 14 to be activated by pushing the stem 24 back into the cavity 36, when the pad 16 is compressed in the thickness direction, for example, against a surface to be cleaned. At the same time, the pad 16 is porous enough to allow the cleaning fluid to pass through the valve dispensing port 42, into the pad 16 and onto the surface to be cleaned (e.g., a surface of the wheel rim where an adhesive -backed wheel weight is to be adhered).

Referring to Figs. 3a and 3b, it has been found more desirable for the length of the stem 24 of the spring plunger 22 to be shorter (Fig. 3b) than the stem used on a conventional plunger like that shown in Fig. 3a, which has been used in applicators designed to dispense shoe polish. For example, by sufficiently reducing the length of the stem 24 and using a porous abrasive material for pad 16, like the Scotch-Brite™ products, a mating cavity does not need to be cut or otherwise formed in the pad 16 so as to receive the stem 24. Similarly, the shorter the length of stem 24, the more likely the spring plunger 22 will seal and re-seal consistently, with each activation of the stem 24, because the stem 24 has a shorter distance to travel in order to close, and the shorter stem 24 will encounter less resistance from the pad 16. It has also been found that the shorter the stem length the slower the flow rate of cleaning fluid out of the bottle 12, because the stem 24 is not forced as far back when opened and, as a result, the opening through which the cleaning fluid passes is not as large. Therefore, the length of the stem 24 can be adjusted to control how slowly or how quickly the cleaning fluid is applied to the surface to be cleaned during the cleaning operation. It has been found desirable for the stem 24 of the illustrated spring plunger 22 (Fig., 3b) to have a length of about 3.175 mm (0.125 inches) when using a pad 16 made from 3M™ Scotch-Brite ™ General Purpose Scrubbing Pad No. 9650. From the above disclosure of the general principles of the present invention and the preceding detailed description, those skilled in this art will readily comprehend the various modifications, re-arrangements and substitutions to which the present invention is susceptible. For example, the present invention can be used in the application of balancing weight to surfaces other than wheel rims (e.g., transmission shafts, grinding wheels, etc.). It may also be desirable to use the present inventive applicator to clean surfaces other than metallic surfaces.

Therefore, the scope of the invention should be limited only by the following claims and equivalents thereof.

Claims

What is Claimed is:

1. A method of applying a balancing weight to a vehicle wheel, said method comprising: providing a vehicle wheel comprising a tire mounted on a wheel rim; providing a wheel balancing weight having a back surface, with a pressure sensitive adhesive attached to the back surface; providing a cleaning fluid applicator comprising: a bottle having an opening, a cleaning fluid contained in the bottle, a pressure activated valve mounted over the opening of the bottle such that the fluid exits out the opening of the bottle by passing through the valve, when the valve is pressure activated to an open condition, and a non- woven abrasive pad that is sufficiently compressible so as to activate the valve when compressed and porous enough to allow the cleaning fluid to pass therethrough and onto a surface of the wheel rim; cleaning a surface of the wheel rim by compressing the abrasive pad against the surface so as to pressure activate the valve to an open condition and allow cleaning fluid to pass through the abrasive pad and onto the surface, while scrubbing the surface of the rim with the abrasive pad; and adhering the wheel balancing weight to the wheel rim, after said cleaning, by pressing the weight against the surface of the wheel rim while the pressure sensitive adhesive is in contact with the surface of the wheel rim.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle wheel being provided comprises a tubeless tire mounted on a metallic wheel rim.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the wheel balancing weight being provided comprises an elastomeric matrix filled with a high density particulate material.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the pressure activated valve of the provided cleaning fluid applicator comprises a spring plunger having a valve stem that is spring pressure activated within a valve body.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the spring plunger is made of plastic.

6. The method according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the valve of the provided cleaning fluid applicator is mounted over the opening of the bottle such that the fluid only exits out the opening of the bottle by passing through the valve, when the valve stem is pressure activated to an open condition.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the non-woven abrasive pad of the cleaning fluid applicator is sufficiently compressible so as to activate the valve when compressed in the thickness direction and porous enough to allow the cleaning fluid to pass therethrough and onto the surface of the wheel rim.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the cleaning fluid is an adhesive remover.

9. A cleaning fluid applicator comprising: a bottle having an opening, a cleaning fluid contained in the bottle, a pressure activated valve mounted over the opening of the bottle such that the fluid exits out the opening of the bottle by passing through the valve, when the valve is pressure activated to an open condition, and a non- woven abrasive pad that is sufficiently compressible so as to activate the valve when compressed and porous enough to allow the cleaning fluid to pass therethrough and onto a surface to be cleaned, wherein said applicator is operatively adapted for sufficiently cleaning a metallic surface of a vehicle wheel rim to allow a pressure sensitive adhesive-backed wheel weight to remain adhered to the surface even while the wheel rim is rotating at high rates of speed.

10. The cleaning fluid applicator according to claim 9, wherein said pressure activated valve comprises a spring plunger having a valve stem that is spring pressure activated within a valve body.

11. The cleaning fluid applicator according to claim 10, wherein said spring plunger is made of plastic.

12. The cleaning fluid applicator according to any one of claims 9 to 11, wherein said bottle is designed, and the valve of said cleaning fluid applicator is mounted over the opening of said bottle, such that the fluid only exits out the opening of said bottle by passing through said valve, when said valve is pressure activated to an open condition.

13. The cleaning fluid applicator according to any one of claims 9 to 12, wherein the non- woven abrasive pad of the cleaning fluid applicator is sufficiently compressible so as to activate the valve when compressed in the thickness direction.

14. The cleaning fluid applicator according to any one of claims 9 to 13, wherein said applicator is operatively adapted for sufficiently cleaning a metallic surface of a vehicle wheel rim to allow a pressure sensitive adhesive-backed wheel weight to remain adhered to the surface even while the wheel rim is rotating at a number of revolutions equivalent to a vehicle traveling speed of at least 80 miles per hour.

15. The cleaning fluid applicator according to any one of claims 9 to 14, wherein said cleaning fluid is an adhesive remover.

16. The cleaning fluid applicator according to any one of claims 9 to 15, wherein said bottle is a fluorinated polymeric bottle that is compatible with said cleaning fluid.