Method for manufacturing a reducer wheel by overmolding

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11718000-B2
Application number	US-202017007746-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 31, 2020
Priority date	Aug 29, 2019
Publication date	Aug 8, 2023
Grant date	Aug 8, 2023

Abstract

A method for manufacturing a wheel integrated to a support shaft, including: making by overmolding, in a first material, of a wheelrim on the support shaft, the wheelrim having an upper face having a ribbed annular portion in which cells are formed, delimited by reinforcing ribs and having respective bottoms, making by overmolding, in a second material, of a crown on the upper face of the wheelrim, by implementing an injection in at least one injection point positioned opposite the ribbed annular portion, prior to the step of making the crown by overmolding, formation of a material deposit in at least one target cell, selected amongst the cells, so as to form a raised area with respect to bottom thereof, the injection of the second material at the injection point being performed opposite the raised area.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method for manufacturing a reducer wheel integrated to a support shaft, the manufacturing method including:
making by overmolding, in a first material, a wheelrim on the support shaft, the wheelrim extending radially from an inner peripheral edge disposed around the support shaft up to an outer peripheral edge and having an upper face and a lower face opposite to one another, the upper face having a ribbed annular portion in which cells are formed, delimited by reinforcing ribs and having respective bottoms,
forming a material deposit in at least one target cell, selected amongst the cells of the ribbed annular portion, so as to form a raised area with respect to the bottom of the target cell, and then
making by overmolding, of a second material, a crown on the upper face of the wheelrim, by injecting the second material in at least one injection point positioned opposite the ribbed annular portion and opposite the raised area.

2. The manufacturing method according to claim 1 , wherein the material deposit is made of the first material.

3. The manufacturing method according to claim 1 , wherein the formation of the material deposit is performed concomitantly with the making of the wheelrim by overmolding.

4. The manufacturing method according to claim 1 , wherein the raised area links at least two reinforcing ribs delimiting the target cell.

5. The manufacturing method according to claim 1 , wherein the raised area has an upper surface flush with the upper face of the wheelrim.

6. The manufacturing method according to claim 1 , wherein each cell extends over a determined radial length from the outer peripheral edge of the wheelrim according to a radial direction, and wherein an inner distance measured in the at least one target cell according to the corresponding radial direction between the outer peripheral edge of the wheelrim and the raised area of the target cell is smaller than the radial length of each of the cells other than the at least one target cell.

7. The manufacturing method according to claim 1 , wherein the material deposit is made straight above a boss formed on the upper face of the wheelrim, in the ribbed annular portion.

8. The manufacturing method according to claim 7 , wherein the boss extends radially from the raised area in the direction of the inner peripheral edge.

9. The manufacturing method according to claim 1 , wherein:
the making of the crown by overmolding is performed by injecting the second material in at least two distinct injection points, each of the injection points being positioned opposite the ribbed annular portion,
the forming of a material deposit in at least one target cell comprises forming a material deposit in at least two distinct target cells so as to form two raised areas with respect to the bottom of the respective target cells, and
the second material is injected opposite the respective raised areas.

10. The manufacturing method according to claim 9 , wherein:
the at least two injection points comprise three distinct injection points, and
the at least two distinct target cells comprises three distinct target cells.

11. The manufacturing method according to claim 1 , wherein the second material is injected using an injection system including at least one cold-drop trap, the at least one cold-drop trap being designed so as to prevent, during the making of the crown over the wheelrim, the injection in each injection point of a cold drop solidified beforehand in the injection system, during a prior injection of the second material by the injection system.

Assignees

• Jtekt Europe Sas

Inventors

• Pauloz Olivier
• Grampre Gaël
• Jacquet Damien

Classifications

• B29C45/1459 Primary

  Coating annular articles · CPC title

• B29L2015/00

  Gear wheels or similar articles with grooves or projections, e.g. control knobs · CPC title

• B29L2031/32

  Wheels, pinions, pulleys, castors or rollers {, Rims (inner tubes B29L2023/245; gears B29L2015/003; tyres B29L2030/00)} · CPC title

• B29C45/16 Primary

  Making multilayered or multicoloured articles {(B29C45/0062 takes precedence; feeding colouring materials into the injection unit B29C45/1816)} · CPC title

• B29C45/1671 Primary

  with an insert · CPC title