GB2053814A - A wheel and hubcap assembly - Google Patents

Abstract

A wheel and hubcap assembly comprises an axially extending annular flange (28) on the wheel (18) and a retaining member (42) on the hubcap (14) which bitingly engages the flange. The lip (44) of the cap engages bosses (30) adjacent the wheel attaching nuts (24) so as to provide gaps (60) for insertion of a tool and removal of the hubcap from the wheel. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION A wheel and hubcap assembly Technical field and background art This invention relates to vehicle wheels and more particularly to a wheel and hubcap combination.

In some instances vehicle wheels are made such as to provide an ornamental and pleasing appearance without necessitating a wheel cover for the entire wheel. In such instances only the hub portion of the wheel requires ornamentation. This usually is provided for by means of an ornamental hubcap which presents problems of mounting in orderto maintain the ornamental hubcap axially fixed relative to the wheel and so that the hubcap is mounted concentrically with the axis of rotation of the wheel.

Statement ofinvention and advantages It is an object of the invention to alleviate these problems and there is accordingly provided a wheel and hubcap assembly comprising a wheel having an outer face and an annular flange extending axially outwardly from said face at the hub of the wheel, a cup shaped cap, and an annular retaining member at the opening of the cap having a plurality of circum ferentiallyspaced attaching portions each of which has an edge capable of bitingly engaging the radial outward surface of the annular flange, the attaching portions extending radially inwardly and axially outwardly to resist axial displacement of the cap from the wheel.

By the present invention there is provided a hub cap which may be easily attached to a vehicle wheel in a manner retarding unintentional removal.

Preferably the attaching portions are deflectable upon engagement with the flange during relative axial movement of the wheel and cap so that they act to centre the hub cap relative to the axis of rotation of the wheel. Furthermore, the end portion of the cap, adjacent to the attaching portions, may deflect radially outwardly upon engagement of the attaching portions with the flange to assist maintaining the cap in position.

The open end of the cap may be defined by a lip portion which may assist in holding the retaining member in position at the opening of the cap.

The attaching portions which extend radially in wardiy and axially outwardly resist axial outward removal of the hubcap except with the use of a tool, and provision for receiving a suitabie tool may be provided by forming the wheel with portions which stand proud of the outer face of the wheel (such as bosses for locating the nuts holding the wheel to the hub of the vehicle), which are engageable by the end of the cap leaving a predetermined spacing between said end and the outer face of the wheel.

Figures ofthe drawings One embodiment of a wheel and hubcap assembly in accordance with the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a cross-sectional view of the assembly; Figure 2 is an elevation at an enlarged scale of a portion of the assembly seen in Figure 1; Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 3-3 of Figure 2; Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view at an enlarged scale of a portion of the structure seen in Figure 3, and Figure 5 is a view of an element prior to formation into an annular retaining member for the hubcap.

Detailed description of the drawings Referring to the drawings, particularly to Figures 1 and 2, the wheel and hubcap assembly embodying the invention includes a wheel 12 and hubcap 14.

The wheel 12 has a drop centre, tyre-receiving rim 16 attached to a metal disc or spider 18. The spider 18 has a plurality of stud-receiving openings 20 through which studs 22 can extend to receive nuts 24 to secure the wheel 12 to the hub of a vehicle in a conventional manner. The stud-receiving openings 20 lie on an annular bolt circle spaced radially outwardly from an opening 26 in the wheel spider 18 to receive a hub or axle portion, not shown. The opening 26 is surrounded by an axially extending annular flange 28. Each of the. stud openings 20 is formed in a pad or boss 30 which forms a surface 32 raised or extending axially outwardly a slight amount from the surrounding surface or face 34 of the spider 18. The spider 18 may be contoured to give a styled, attractive appearance.

The hubcap 14 includes a generaily cup shaped cap 40 and an annular retaining member 42 fastened within the cap 40 adjacent to its opening, defined by an annular lip 44.

The retaining member 42 is made from a relatively hard spring-like material whereas the cap portion 40 can be made of more decorative materials or from lower grade materials which are subsequently plated or painted.

The retaining member 42 will be best understood by referring to Figure 5 showing a flat stamping 46 which is subsequently formed to form the retaining member 42. The stamping 46 includes a plurality of diametrically opposed attaching portions 48 each having a blade or edge portion 50. Disposed between adjacent attaching portions 48 are flange portions 52. During the formation of the retaining member 42 the flange portions 52 are bent at substantially right angles to the outer portion of the ring 54 so that in the finish form the flange portions extend axially. The attaching portions 48 are bent first in the same direction as the flange portions 52 and then radially inwardly as best seen in Figure 4.

The flange portions 52 are received within the cap 40 to engage the inner walls and to centre the annular retaining ring relative to the cap 40. The annular radially extending flange portion 54, which is seen in Figure 4, is in engagement with a radially outwardly extending flange 56 which limits axial inward movement of the retaining member 42 relative to the cap 40. With the retaining member 42 in position within the cap 40 an edge flange 58 is bent to engage the opposite face of the annular flange 54 of the retaining ring 42 so that the latter is prevented from moving axially outwardly from the cup shaped cap 40. The flanges 56 and 58 serve to form the radially extending lip 44 of the hubcap 14.

To attach the hubcap 14 to the wheel assembly 12, the cap is placed in axial alignment with the wheel and is moved axially inwardly so that the attaching portions 48 are deflected radially outwardly as shown in Figure 4from their full line position to their broken line position at which time the attaching portions 48 extend radially inwardly relative to the axis of the wheel and axially outwardly so that the blades 50 bitingly engage the annular flange 28 to resist axial displacement of the hubcap 14from the wheel 12.

In attaching the hubcap 14 to the wheel 12, the hubcap 14 is displaced axially until the lip 44 comes into engagement with the bosses 30, as best seen in Figure 3. In that position the edges 50 bitingly engage the annular flange 28 at a point very closely adjacent to the face surface 34 of the spider 18. Also, the engagement of the lip 44 with the bosses 30 ensures that the lip 44 remains in slightly spaced relationship to the face 34 of the spider 18 so that a tool such as a screwdriver may be inserted between the lip 44 and wheel face 34 in the gap indicated at 60 in Figure 3. Such gaps are formed between adjacent nuts 24. The tool may then be used to pry the hubcap 14from the face of the wheel.

With the hubcap 14 in position on the annular flange 28 the attaching portions 48 act to resiliently centre the cap 40 relative to the wheel 12. The deflection of the attaching portions 48 from their full line position to the broken line position, as shown in Figure 4, serves to forcibly urge the blade 50 into biting engagement with the flange 28. Although not visible in the drawings, the annular spacing of the attaching portions 48 allows the lip 44to deflect radially outwardly a slight amount adjacent to the attaching portions 48 so that the tendency to return to the completely annular condition also exerts a force radially inwardly on the annular flange 28 to assist in retaining the hubcap 14 on the wheel 12.

Awheel and hubcap assembly have been provided in which a wheel with an outer face and a radially inner annular flange extending axially from the face of the wheel is provided with a cup shaped hubcap held in position relative to the annularflange by a retaining member having circumferentially spaced attaching portions with blade or edge portions bitingly engaging the flange. The retaining portions act to resiliently centre the hubcap relative to the wheel and to resist axial displacement of the hubcap and wheel unless a tool is used to remove the cap. The attaching portions extend radially inwardly and axially outwardly to resist such axial displacement and the lip of the hubcap is placed in a particular relationship to the face of the wheel to afford a space to receive a tool for removal of the hubcap from the wheel.

Claims (4)

1. A wheel and hubcap assembly comprising a wheel having an outer face and an annular flange extending axially outwardly from said face at the hub of the wheel, a cup shaped cap, and an annular retaining member atthe opening of the cap having a plurality of circumferentially spaced attaching portions each of which has an edge capable of bitingly engaging the radial outward surface of the annular flange, the attaching portions extending radially inwardly and axially outwardly to resist axial displacement of the cap from the wheel.

2. An assembly as claimed in claim 1 wherein the attaching portions are disposed within the cap.

3. An assembly as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2 wherein said edges of the attaching portions engage the flange close to the outer face of the wheel.

4. An assembly as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the lip portion restrains axial movement of the annular retaining member relative to the cap.

4. An assembly as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3 wherein the wheel has a plurality of spaced bosses which stand proud of the outer face adjacent the flange, and the cap is capable of engaging the bosses, when the attaching portions are in engagement with the flange, to maintain the cap in predetermined spaced relationship to the outer face of the wheel.

5. An assembly as claimed in claim 4 in which the bosses are uniformly spaced and are apertured to receive wheel securing studs, the wheel being securable on the studs by nuts which engage the bosses when threaded on to respective studs.

6. An assembly as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the attaching portions are deflectable upon engagement with the flange during relative axial movement of the wheel and cap.

7. An assembly as claimed in claim 6 wherein the end portion of the cap, adjacent to the attaching portions, deflects radially outwardly upon engage mentofthe attaching portions with the flange to assist maintaining the cap in position.

8. An assembly as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the annular retaining member has a radially outwardly extending flange which limits movement of the ring axially into the cap.

9. An assembly as claimed in claim 8 wherein the cap has a radially extending flange adjacent the open end thereof, which is complementary to the radial flange of the annular retaining member.

10. An assembly as claimed in any one of the preceding claims in which the open end of the cap is defined by a lip portion.

11. Awheel and hubcap assembly substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

New claims or amendments to claims filed on 19 June1980 Superseded claims 1-10 New or amended claims:

1. A wheel and hub cap assembly comprising a wheel having an outer face and a plurality of uniformly and circumferentially spaced mounting bosses defined thereon and adapted to receive and to engage wheel securing nuts, an annular flange extending axially outwardly from said face adjacent the axis of said wheel and radially inwardly of said mounting bosses, a cup-shaped cap having a radial ly extending lip portion at the opening thereof which defines a radially inwardly opening annular groove, an annular retaining member having a radially outwardly extending flange disposed in said groove, said retaining member having a plurality of uniformly circumferentially spaced resilient attaching portions extending radially inwardly relative to said lip portion and axially outwardly relative to said face, each of the attaching portions having an edge capable of bitingly engaging the radially outward surface of the annular flange to resist axial displacement of the cap from the wheel, and the retaining member having axially extending portions formed intermediate the attaching portions, said axially extending portions being engageable with the interior walls of the cup to maintain the retaining member co-axial with the cup.

2. An assembly as claimed in claim 1 wherein the mounting bosses stand proud of the outer face adjacent the flange, and the lip portion engages the bosses when the attaching portions are in engagement with the annular flange to maintain the cap in predetermined spaced relationship to the outer face of the wheel between the mounting bosses.

3. An assembly as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the lip portion of the cap deflects radially outwardly upon engagement of the attaching portions with the annular flange to assist maintaining the cap in position on the wheel.