FORM 2
THE PATENTS ACT 1970
(39 of 1970)
&
The Patent Rules, 2003
Complete Specification
(See section 10 and rule 13)
A Tapered Bead Seat Wheel Rim
Kalyani Maxion Wheels Limited
Gate No. 635, Kuruli Village, Chakan, Taluka Khed, Pune 410 501, Maharashtra,
India
Indian company registered under the Indian Companies Act, 1956
The following specification particularly describes the invention and the manner in which it is to be performed.

Field of the invention
The present invention relates to vehicle wheels. In particular the invention relates to wheels that comprises of a disc and rim type construction that support tyres of the vehicle. Also in particular the invention relates to valved wheels to facilitate use with tubeless applications.
Background of the Invention
Wheels used in vehicles, in particular automobiles are divided into categories such as two piece wheels, integral drop center wheels, and casted/forged wheels. Further, the wheels are also classified as those with tubed-tyres or tubeless tyres. The focus of the present invention is on the taper bead seat wheel used for light commercial vehicles (LCV) and Heavy commercial Vehicles wherein the profile of the rim as generally defined in ETRTO (European Tyre and Rim Technical Organisation) and ITTAC (Indian Tyre Technical Advisory Committee) Standards. This invention relates to the wheels with rim width in the range of 5” to 9.5”, rim diameter in the range of 15” to 24”.
As per standards, there are majorly two types of designs used in market for Commercial Vehicles
a) 5 deg. Tapered bead seat wheels for tube type application
b) 15 deg. Drop Center wheels for tubeless application
Both cases are now described in detail.

a. 5 deg. Tapered bead seat wheels for tube type application (see prior art Fig. 1)
The two or three piece wheels comprise of a disc that is attached with the inner surface of a rim wherein the rim is manufactured by rolling a steel strips in cylindrical shape having substantially flat surface on circumference and further forming the said surface of this cylinder (round) to provide a profile to mount the valve appropriately. The profile surface provided near one of the ends in axial direction (width) of the said round is known as gutter and the profile is called as gutter groove. There is also provided an opening for the disposition of valve on the rim profiled surface. Disc is manufactured from flat plate that is die-cut in a circular form or from rectangular blank. Further, this round or cylindrical portion is formed or bent to provide desirable profiles to form disc.
The assembly of the rim fixed with the said disc is called wheel-rim assembly. The inner surface of the rim and the circumference area of disc are welded together. The connecting region / welded region is preferably situated between gutter groove on the rim till the valve hole on the rim. The disc is positioned and welded with the inner surface of the rim so as to maintain the offset requirement of the vehicle manufacturer wherein offset is the axial distance between the centre of the substantially flat circumferential surface of the rim and the outer flat surface of the said disc. The profile of the disc is formed and machined such that the joining portion of the disc can be welded with the wheel rim at a connecting region between gutter groove and the valve slot of the wheel.

The design and profile of the said joining portion is critical since the load of the vehicle is ultimately transferred through the said joining portion to ground and this portion is subjected to cyclic fatigue load in radial/axial or combination.
The currently available 5o wheel includes a rim portion having one or two axially opposite end rings, and a disc portion having a plurality of ventilation holes. The wheel is used alongwith a tyre, tube and flap. The valve is embedded into the tube. The inflation happens with having pressurized air into the tube of the assembly.
The existing rim wheel assemblies or methods of their manufacture have a number of drawbacks. It has be used only with tube and flap which adds a difficult and cumbersome assembly procedure.
b. 15 deg. Drop Center wheels for tubeless application (see prior art Fig. 2). This single piece wheel comprise of a disc that is attached with the inner surface of a rim wherein the rim is manufactured by rolling a steel strips in cylindrical shape having substantially flat surface on circumference and further forming the said surface of this cylinder (round) to provide a profile to mount the valve appropriately. The profile surface is further roll formed in such a way so as to have a flange on both sides of rim which helps in retaining the tyre after inflation in axial direction. There is also provided an opening for the disposition of valve on

the rim profiled surface. Disc is manufactured from flat plate that is die-cut in a circular form or from rectangular blank. Further, this round or cylindrical portion is formed or bent to provide desirable profiles to form disc.
The assembly of the rim fixed with the said disc is called wheel-rim assembly. The inner surface of the rim and the circumference area of disc are welded together. The connecting region / welded region is preferably situated between below the flat portion on the rim. The disc is positioned and welded with the inner surface of the rim so as to maintain the offset requirement of the vehicle manufacturer wherein offset is the axial distance between the centre of the substantially flat circumferential surface of the rim and the outer flat surface of the said disc. The profile of the disc is formed and machined if necessary such that the joining portion of the disc can be welded with the wheel rim at a connecting region of disc and rim.
The design and profile of the said joining portion is critical since the load of the vehicle is ultimately transferred through the said joining portion to ground and this portion is subjected to cyclic fatigue load in radial/axial or combination.
The currently available 15o wheel includes a rim portion having curled flanges at both ends of the rim, and a disc portion having a plurality of ventilation holes. The wheel is used alongwith a tubelesstyre. The valve is attached to the rim with appropriate clamping torque. The inflation happens with having pressurized air

into the tubeless tyre of the assembly.
The existing rim wheel assemblies or methods of their manufacture have a number of drawbacks. It has be used cautiously on smooth roads and with moderate increase on load. With typical application like rough road, moderately higher load than specified load combined with high speed and flap which adds a difficult and cumbersome assembly procedure.
The flanges of the rim are designed in such a way to facilitate the tyre retention and also assist in tyre mounting demounting. In order to achieve these the flange portion of the said design have limitations in their performance against the radial load esp. on rough road combined with high speed. The drawback restricts its use on the severe field applications.
There is a need to develop an improved wheel which facilitates removal of tube and flap from the wheels assembly and tyres can be mounted directly on wheels with reduction in number of components required for tyre and wheel assembly. Further the wheel has to withstand severe load against flange bending esp. on rough roads. In particular this need exists for presently available tapered bead seat type wheel wherein the rim width is in the range of 5.5 to 9.5 inches and diameter is 16 to 24 inches and wherein the ratio of diameter to width is more than 2. Further, the corresponding tyre for the wheel should be easily mountable and demountable with least tools and manual efforts.

Objects of the invention
The main object of the invention is to have a 5o tubeless wheel in commercial vehicle application which will obviate the problems associated with typical 15o wheels and 5 deg. Tube type wheels.
Another object of the present invention is to enable provision of tubeless tyres without having major changes in dimensional and load carrying capacity of existing tyre itself.
Yet another object of the invention is to have a 5o tubeless wheels in commercial vehicle application wherein the diameter of rim to width of the rim is more than 2.
A further object of the invention is to considerably reduce the input material required for tyre and wheel assembly so as to reduce weight of the assembly.
A still further object of the invention is to facilitate change of valve alone in case of damage to the valve.
Yet further object of the invention is to provide better fitment of the valve on the wheels rim.
Another object of the invention is to provide facilitate smaller disc input weight which will assist in reducing total wheel weight.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide means for effective brake cooling as the invention facilitates higher ventilation area between wheel and

brake parts as compared to existing wheels in market in similar sizes.
Summary Of Invention
Accordingly, a tapered bead seat wheel rim is disclosed for used with tubeless tyre in commercial vehicle application having a wheel rim 3 and a disc 2, said rim comprising an outer flange 8, a central body portion 9, a gutter portion 10, a locking rings 4 – which is split into two rings viz. a continuous flange ring 4a and a split Lock ring 4b; a rubber sealing ring 6, and a valve 7 mounted on the rim characterized in that said disc is attached to said wheel rim at the underside of said gutter portion 10 or under the central body portion of rim 9 using a weld 11.
Brief Description Of Figures
Figures 1 and 2 show a prior art wheels
Figure 3 shows the cross-sectional details of the proposed wheel of the invention
Detailed Description of the Invention
Features and advantages of the invention will become apparent in the following detailed description and the preferred embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Referring to Figure 3, the improved wheel assembly 1 comprises of a disc 2, a rim 3, a ring (4a and 4b), a rubber sealing ring 6, and a valve 7. The rubber sealing ring 6 facilitates proper sealing of the tyre onto wheel rim and assists in using a

tubeless tyre on the wheel rim. The fixed flange area remains unchanged. The tapered portion on the fixed flange side seals the tyre and prevents air escape.
Unlike the with-tube tyre, wherein the valve is an integral part of tube, in the improved wheel, the valve is mounted on the rim portion. A suitable mounting arrangement is provided on the wheel rim depending on the valve type like clamps or grommets and so on.
The rubber sealing ring 6 which is mounted on the removable ring side of the wheel is unique and is not been used wherein the wheel diameter to width ratio is more than 2.
The tyre which generally rests on split side of removable ring, in the improved design rests of full circumference of flange ring which do not have split end. This improves tyre performance and facilitates better seating and sealing.
As there is no tube or flap, the assembly is lighter which helps in reducing un-sprung mass on the vehicle. This leads to improved fuel consumption, higher mileage and so on. As there is no tube, the tyre life is also higher.
As the valve is separately mounted on the wheel, if there is damage to the valve, it is possible to replace only valve – this is unlike to existing wheel, wherein the valve is part of tube and in case of damaged valve, it is necessary to change the

entire tube or repair the tube-valve joint by un-conventional way.
The improved design facilitates substantial increase in the ventilation area between wheel and brake drum. This helps in faster cooling of the brake parts. As the cooling is better, it is possible to use bigger brake drum diameter.
The removable ring design facilitates better locking of the flange ring 4a on split locking ring 4b. The design is much safer as it prevents flange ring 4a to fly-off in case of mis-fitment or tyre deflation kind of situation happens while vehicle is running.
As the valve is part of wheel, and there is no tube or flap in the assembly, the design facilitates use of any appropriate run-flat, TPMS or bead lock system. This is not possible with existing design.
A Run-flat system comprises a solid rubber annular ring, which is mounted on the wheel rim and operated when the tyre is deflated. It avoids bigger damage to the tyre as the deflated assembly runs on run-flat system till the tyre is repaired / replaced.
Bead lock system is the annular and thick rubber strip mounted on the wheel and locked into both beads of tyre. The strip prevents the tyre from slipping towards center of wheel, thereby preventing bigger damage.

A tyre pressure monitoring system (TPMS) is an electronic system designed to monitor the air pressure inside the tyres. A TPMS provides real-time tyre pressure information to the driver of the vehicle, either via a gauge, a pictogram display, or a simple low-pressure warning light. The TPMS RF signal emitter device is mounted inside the tyre on the valve end and the display unit is mounted on dash board of vehicle for easy viewing of the driver – in case of change in air pressure inside the tyre.
In case of tube type tyres, such mounting is not possible; hence, valve mounted type TPMS kit cannot be used for these tyre and wheel assemblies.
It is evident from the foregoing description that the invention has a number of embodiments:
1. A tapered bead seat wheel rim used with tubeless tyre in commercial vehicle
application having a wheel rim 3 and a disc 2, said rim comprising an outer
flange 8, a central body portion 9, a gutter portion 10, a locking rings 4, said
locking ring 4 further split into two rings, namely a continuous flange ring 4a
and a split lock ring 4b; a rubber sealing ring 6, and a valve 7 mounted on the
rim characterized in that said disc is attached to said wheel rim at the
underside of said gutter portion 10 or under the central body portion of rim 9
using a weld 11.
2 The tapered bead seat wheel as disclosed in embodiment 1, wherein said rim has flat center body portion or disc has flow formed or press formed profile to the end portion of the wheel wherein the disc is welded to the rim.

3. The tapered bead seat wheel as disclosed in embodiments 1 or 2, wherein there is rubber sealing ring mounted at one or both sides of cental rim which seals the inflation pressure of the tyre in running condition.
4 The tapered bead seat wheel as disclosed in embodiments 1 to 3, wherein the rim flanges and locking rings are sufficiently strong enough to the load acting on rough road esp. with higher load and combined with vehicle speed more than average speed.
5 The tapered bead seat wheel as disclosed in embodiments 1 to 4, wherein there is possibility to use tubeless tyre on the wheel due to sealing at one or both sides of rim flanges and also there is sealing at valve area.
6 The tapered bead seat wheel as disclosed in embodiments 1 to 5, wherein the wheel is having provision to clamp the valve at appropriate place in ordet to inflate the tubeless tyre.
7 The tapered bead seat wheel as disclosed in embodiments 1 to 6, wherein there is provision to assemble the tyre along TPMS kit or a run-flat system or a bead lock system as required by the user.
While the above description contains much specificity, these should not be construed as limitation in the scope of the invention, but rather as an

exemplification of the preferred embodiments thereof. It must be realized that modifications and variations are possible based on the disclosure given above without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the scope of the invention should be determined not by the embodiments illustrated, but by the appended claims and their legal equivalents.

We claim:
1. A tapered bead seat wheel rim used with tubeless tyres in commercial vehicle application having a wheel rim 3 and a disc 2, characterized in that said rim comprises an outer flange 8, a central body portion 9, a gutter portion 10, a locking rings 4, said locking ring 4 further split into two rings, namely a continuous flange ring 4a and a split lock ring 4b; a rubber sealing ring 6, and a valve 7 mounted on the rim, wherein said disc is attached to said wheel rim at the underside of said gutter portion 10 or under the central body portion of rim 9 using a weld 11.
2. The tapered bead seat wheel as claimed in claim 1, wherein said rim has flat center body portion or disc has flow formed or press formed profile to the end portion of the wheel wherein the disc is welded to the rim.
3. The tapered bead seat wheel as claimed in claims 1 or 2, wherein there is rubber sealing ring mounted at one or both sides of cental rim which seals the inflation pressure of the tyre in running condition.
4. The tapered bead seat wheel as claimed in any of claims 1 to 3, wherein the rim flanges and locking rings are sufficiently strong enough to the load acting on rough road with higher load and combined with vehicle speed more than average speed.

5. The tapered bead seat wheel as claimed in any of claims 1 to 4, wherein there is possibility to use tubeless tyre on the wheel due to sealing at one or both sides of rim flanges and also there is sealing at valve area.
6. The tapered bead seat wheel as claimed in any of claims 1 to 5, wherein the wheel is having provision to clamp the valve at appropriate place in ordet to inflate the tubeless tyre.
7. The tapered bead seat wheel as claimed in any of claims 1 to 6, wherein there is provision to assemble the tyre along TPMS kit or a run-flat system or a bead lock system as required by the user.