GB1580343A

GB1580343A - Wheel trim

Info

Publication number: GB1580343A
Application number: GB2462877A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: Kelsey Hayes Co
Current assignee: Kelsey Hayes Co
Priority date: 1976-07-01
Filing date: 1977-06-13
Publication date: 1980-12-03
Also published as: JPS534901A; IT1079963B; BR7704271A; DE2725949C2; CA1084084A; FR2356525B1; MX144643A; FR2356525A1; DE2725949A1

Abstract

WHEEL TRIM ATTACHMENT A wheel trim attachment structure that does not require specially formed wheels for its mounting. The trim has a retaining ring from which a plurality of resilient retention members extend. The resilient members have segmented conical gripping portions that grip the headed wheel fasteners. A camming portion leads into each retention portion for installation.

Description

(54) WHEEL TRIM (71) We, KELSEY-HAYES COMPANY, a Corporation organised and existing under the laws of the State of Delaware, United States of America, of 38481 Huron River Drive, Romulus, Michigan, 48174, United States of America, do hereby declare the invention, for which we pray that a patent may be granted to us, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement : This invention relates to a wheel trim and more particularly to a wheel trim having improved structure for attaching it to a vehicle wheel.

It has been common practice to utilize one or more trim members which are detachably connected to a vehicle wheel to improve its appearance. Examples of such trim are hub caps and wheel covers. Nearly all vehicle wheels are formed with a plurality of protrusions in the centre portion of the wheel radially outwardly from the mounting holes. These protrusions are intended to cooperate with a hub cap for retention of the hub cap. Such a construction presents several difficulties. The protrusions themselves are difficult to form and, unless the wheel is heavier in this area, tend to weaken it. Therefore, many cost and structural advantages could be achieved if it were not necessary to form these special hub cap mounting protrusions or bosses.

It is, therefore, a principle object of the invention to provide a wheel trim attachment that does not require specially formed wheels.

The attachment lugs of the wheel can be eliminated if the wheel trim is mounted on some other portion of the wheel or wheel assembly. Other attaching mounts are shown in the Specifications of United States Patents Nos. 2,143,456 and 2,217,086. The attachment construction shown in these patent specifications require special skirted nuts or other specially formed washers at the base of the nut attachment.

According to the invention there is provided a wheel trim adapted to cooperate with wheel fasteners for fixing the wheel trim relative to a mounted wheel, said wheel trim comprising a plurality of resilient detention members each adapted to be juxtaposed to a respective wheel fastener, each said retention member having a gripping surface comprising a segment of a frusto;; cone adapted to engage a frusto-conical surface of a fastener and being operative to yield upon assembly of the wheel trim onto a mounted wheel for resiliently gripping the fastener, the angle of conicity of the gripping surface substantially corresponding with the angle of conicity of the frustoconical surface of the fastener to be engaged thereby, a stop being provided at one circumferential end of the gripping surface to limit rotation of the wheel trim relative to a mounted wheel when being assembled onto the wheel by rotation relative to the wheel.

The invention will be further described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein: Figure 1 is a front elevational view of a wheel and mounted hub cap embodying this invention, with portions broken away and other portions removed more clearly to show the construction; Figure 2 is an enlarged view showing the co-operation of the trim attachment with a wheel retaining nut; and Figure 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along the line 3-3 of Figure 1.

In the drawings, the reference numeral 11 indicates generally a portion of a vehicle wheel spider. Except for the lack of the conventional hub cap retaining lugs, the spider 11 is of conventional construction and has a central opening 12 and a plurality of bolt receiving openings 13. When mourn ted on a vehicle wheel hub studs 14 extend through each of the bolt holes 13. The studs 14 are fixed to a brake drum, brake rotor, hub or the like for mounting of the wheel 11 on the associated vehicle. Wheel fasteners in the form of nuts 15 are threaded onto the studs 14 and have tapered frusto-conical bases 16 that cooperate with the holes 13 to locate the wheel 11 and to complete its mounting.

The wheel trim comprises a hub cap 17 which is only partially illustrated. In as much as the configuration of the hub cap 17, outside of its retention structure, forms no part of the invention, this construction has not been illustrated. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the hub cap 17 is formed from an injection moulded plastics such as polypropylene or any other such plastics preferably a plastics material which is capable of being plated. Instead of plastics, the hub cap 17 may be formed from any other suitable material having the desired strength and resilience.

The hub cap 17 is formed with a circular flange 18 from which a plurality of retention members 19 extend. In the illustrated embodiment, the retention members 19 are formed integrally with the flange 18. Of course, separate elements moulded in place could instead be employed.

The retention members 19 are comprised of a part frusto-conical shaped section 21 that is substantially complementary in shape to, and with substantially the same angle of conicity as, the tapered portion 16 of nuts 15. The conical sections 21 are, however, placed on a somewhat smaller diameter than the diameter circumscribed by the outer surface of the tapered sections 16.

Since the sections 21 are attached to the flange 18 at only one end and, accordingly, are cantilevered, they are resiliently deflected upon installation. Thus, a resilient gripping force is exerted on the nuts 15.

The sections 21 extend for an arc of approximately 85". As will be noted from an inspection of Figure 3, the sections 21 have sufficient length so as to extend from the tapered portion 16 of the nut into the area of the flats. The 85" arc is sufficient to ensure that at least one flat will be engaged. In some instances, engagement with two flats is provided depending upon the angular position of the nut 15 on the stud 14. The sections 21 each terminate at one circumferential end thereof in a section 22 that serves as a stop to prevent disassembly through rotation in the clockwise direction relative to the wheel 11 as viewed in Figure 1.

When assembled onto the wheel, the inner peripheral edge 24 of the sections 21 engage the surface of the wheel spider 11 surrounding the bolt holes 13. This pro vides axial location of the hub cap 17 relative to the wheel 11. Also, the section 21 is, in effect, trapped between the nut 15 and the surface of the wheel spider 11 to ensure rigid retention.

At the end opposite the section 22, a camming surface 25 is provided. The camming surface 25 terminates in a lobe 26 from which the section 21 extends. The surface 25 and lobe 26 are resilient as is the section 21 to permit assembly in the manner now to be described.

To install the hub cap 17 upon the wheel 11, it is placed in a position wherein the retention members 19 are spaced between the nuts 15. The hub cap 17 is then rotated in a clockwise direction as viewed in Figure 1. Each camming surface 25 will then yield as it engages a nut and, once the lobe 26 is passed, the cover 17 will slip into engagement. As has been previously noted, the sections 22 will prevent overtightening or disassembly through rotating the hub cap 17 too far.

From the foregoing, it should be readily apparent that a relative simple yet highly effective wheel trim retention has been described. Furthermore, the retention does not require specially formed wheels. Although the wheel trim retention has been described in connection with a hub cap, it can be used in attaching any other form of wheel trim that has at least a portion juxtaposed to the bolt circle.

WHAT WE CLAIM IS: - 1. A wheel trim adapted to cooperate with wheel fasteners for fixing the wheel trim relative to a mounted wheel, said wheel trim comprising a plurality of resilient retention members each adapted to be juxtaposed to a respective wheel fastener, each said retention member having a gripping surface comprising a segment of a frusto cone adapted to engage a frusto-conical surface of a fastener and being operative to yield upon assembly of the wheel trim onto a mounted wheel for resiliently gripping the fastener, the angle of conicity of the gripping surface substantially corresponding with the angle of conicity of the frustc conical surface of the fastener to be engaged thereby, a stop being provided at one circumferential end of the gripping surface to limit rotation of the wheel trim relative to a mounted wheel when being assembled onto the wheel by rotation relative to the wheel.

2. A wheel trim as claimed in claim 1, wherein a camming section extends from the gripping surface at the circumferential end thereof opposite the stop in the direction of assembly of the wheel trim onto the wheel.

3. A wheel trim as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the gripping surface comprises a segment of a frustocone for engagement with a tapered surface of a nut comprising the fastener, said tapered surface being located at the base of the flats of the nut.

4. A wheel trim as claimed in claim 3,

**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. frusto-conical bases 16 that cooperate with the holes 13 to locate the wheel 11 and to complete its mounting. The wheel trim comprises a hub cap 17 which is only partially illustrated. In as much as the configuration of the hub cap 17, outside of its retention structure, forms no part of the invention, this construction has not been illustrated. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the hub cap 17 is formed from an injection moulded plastics such as polypropylene or any other such plastics preferably a plastics material which is capable of being plated. Instead of plastics, the hub cap 17 may be formed from any other suitable material having the desired strength and resilience. The hub cap 17 is formed with a circular flange 18 from which a plurality of retention members 19 extend. In the illustrated embodiment, the retention members 19 are formed integrally with the flange 18. Of course, separate elements moulded in place could instead be employed. The retention members 19 are comprised of a part frusto-conical shaped section 21 that is substantially complementary in shape to, and with substantially the same angle of conicity as, the tapered portion 16 of nuts 15. The conical sections 21 are, however, placed on a somewhat smaller diameter than the diameter circumscribed by the outer surface of the tapered sections 16. Since the sections 21 are attached to the flange 18 at only one end and, accordingly, are cantilevered, they are resiliently deflected upon installation. Thus, a resilient gripping force is exerted on the nuts 15. The sections 21 extend for an arc of approximately 85". As will be noted from an inspection of Figure 3, the sections 21 have sufficient length so as to extend from the tapered portion 16 of the nut into the area of the flats. The 85" arc is sufficient to ensure that at least one flat will be engaged. In some instances, engagement with two flats is provided depending upon the angular position of the nut 15 on the stud 14. The sections 21 each terminate at one circumferential end thereof in a section 22 that serves as a stop to prevent disassembly through rotation in the clockwise direction relative to the wheel 11 as viewed in Figure 1. When assembled onto the wheel, the inner peripheral edge 24 of the sections 21 engage the surface of the wheel spider 11 surrounding the bolt holes 13. This pro vides axial location of the hub cap 17 relative to the wheel 11. Also, the section 21 is, in effect, trapped between the nut 15 and the surface of the wheel spider 11 to ensure rigid retention. At the end opposite the section 22, a camming surface 25 is provided. The camming surface 25 terminates in a lobe 26 from which the section 21 extends. The surface 25 and lobe 26 are resilient as is the section 21 to permit assembly in the manner now to be described. To install the hub cap 17 upon the wheel 11, it is placed in a position wherein the retention members 19 are spaced between the nuts 15. The hub cap 17 is then rotated in a clockwise direction as viewed in Figure 1. Each camming surface 25 will then yield as it engages a nut and, once the lobe 26 is passed, the cover 17 will slip into engagement. As has been previously noted, the sections 22 will prevent overtightening or disassembly through rotating the hub cap 17 too far. From the foregoing, it should be readily apparent that a relative simple yet highly effective wheel trim retention has been described. Furthermore, the retention does not require specially formed wheels. Although the wheel trim retention has been described in connection with a hub cap, it can be used in attaching any other form of wheel trim that has at least a portion juxtaposed to the bolt circle. WHAT WE CLAIM IS: -

1. A wheel trim adapted to cooperate with wheel fasteners for fixing the wheel trim relative to a mounted wheel, said wheel trim comprising a plurality of resilient retention members each adapted to be juxtaposed to a respective wheel fastener, each said retention member having a gripping surface comprising a segment of a frusto cone adapted to engage a frusto-conical surface of a fastener and being operative to yield upon assembly of the wheel trim onto a mounted wheel for resiliently gripping the fastener, the angle of conicity of the gripping surface substantially corresponding with the angle of conicity of the frustc conical surface of the fastener to be engaged thereby, a stop being provided at one circumferential end of the gripping surface to limit rotation of the wheel trim relative to a mounted wheel when being assembled onto the wheel by rotation relative to the wheel.

4. A wheel trim as claimed in claim 3,

wherein the gripping surface has sufficient length to engage at least one juncture of the flats of the nut.

5. A wheel trim as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the gripping surface circumscribes an arc of at least 60".

6. A wheel trim as claimed in claim 3 or 4, wherein the gripping surface terminates in an edge adapted to engage the outer surface of the wheel for locating the wheel trim axially relative to the wheel.

7. A wheel trim as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the trim comprises a hub cap having a circular flange adapted to surround the headed fasteners, the resilient retention members extending radially inwardly from the flange.

8. A wheel trim constructed and arranged substantially as herein described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.