WEIGHT-OPTIMIZED TAPERED-RIM WHEEL FOR UTILITY VEHICLES HAVING A NOVEL WHEEL RIM AND WHEEL CENTER WELD CONNECTION

摘要

The invention relates to a utility vehicle wheel comprising a tapered rim (1) for tubeless tires and a wheel center which is welded to the side wall (8a) in the curvature of the well base (4) by means of a butt joint. This region is considered to be the most rigid point in tapered-rim wheels, such that wheels having such a rim/center connection are subject to minimum alternating stresses during vehicle operation and thus have higher fatigue strength. Welding is performed only from the inside. The weld seam (11) is characterized in that the rim has weld pool protection (19) that is arranged in a particular manner, resulting in a highly reliable weld connection (11) of rim (1) and wheel center (2). The changed position of the weld seam (11) allows various modifications to the rim, the disc (2) and the valve position (7), such that material savings of more than 15% are achieved, leading to a reduction in wheel weight and costs. The valve system can be chosen such that a straight tube (12) can be used as the outer valve.