WO2002034550A1 - Hub caps for motor vehicles with rapid locking anti-theft system - Google Patents

Abstract

Hub caps with rapid locking anti-theft system of the type comprised of a hub cap disc or body which covers the metal rim, comprising a series of tubular projections matching each of the locking screws of the wheel to the hub; each tubular projection comprises a mouth with an internal lip which is longitudinally grooved and biased by an elastic element such as a conical hoop or the like, embedded in the structure of the tubular projection; the external contour of the lip is bevelled so as to enable introduction of a ring or rib for interfering with the corresponding locking screw, the internal contour being appropriate for fixing permanently the hub cap.

Description

TUBACUBOS WITH ANTI-THEFT SYSTEM FOR QUICK FIXATION.

DESCRIPTIVE MEMORY. OBJECT OF THE INVENTION The purpose of the present invention patent application is to register a hubcap with a quick-locking anti-theft system that incorporates notable innovations and advantages over the current hubcaps for the wheels of motor vehicles and the like.

More specifically, the new invention consists of a hubcap that presents in correspondence with each of the wheel fastening screws on which an embedded tubular projection is mounted, in which there is a flexible surrounding lip forced by an elastic compression element, suitable for said lip to fit simply on a surrounding rib of said screw in its assembly, avoiding the removal of the hubcap without the previous removal of all the screws that hold the wheel to the bushing. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

It is common to use hubcaps and trims on the wheels of motor vehicles to completely or partially cover the metal rim for protection and the hub on which said wheel is mounted. The hubcap mounted on the tire protects the hub from bumps and projections of stones and foreign elements, extending its protection to elements such as the braking mechanism and the suspension, reduces aerodynamic noise and also beautifies the aesthetics of the vehicle in general.

The wheels of the wheels are constituted by a bucket of more or less discoidal constitution anchored to the emergent hub of the suspension. Said hub has around it a cylindrical crown or similar sheet, with its contours contoured forming the throat on which they rest the heels of the tire The hub is attached to the hub by a series of screws, so that these screws compress the inner face of the hub against the outer face of the hub, the frictional force between the contact surfaces of both parts being responsible for the vehicle support. A generally discoidal hubcap is provided on the tire, provided with fastening means that allow its handling and extraction independently or jointly to the wheel of the car.

Many of these hubcaps are normally attached to the rim by elastic elements whose expansion or compression locks their detachment. These means can be flexible clips or sheets that are housed in an inner groove made next to the outer contour or outer crown of the rim or springs whose lateral flexion allows anchoring. Said fixing means make it possible to assemble or disassemble the wheel covers easily without manipulating any element of said wheel. The hubcaps equipped with these fixing means tend to have a certain eccentricity with respect to the axis of rotation of the wheel and considerable warping, with the consequent aesthetic deterioration, production of aerodynamic noise and the risk of its detachment if high speeds are reached. It is common that in a sharp turn, a blow of the wheel with a curb or in the jolt caused by a bump the hubcap jumps out of its housing in the rim. In the event that the speed of rotation of the detached hubcap is high, it continues rolling only on an uncontrolled path, with the consequent risk of damage and damage to persons and foreign objects. There is also the risk of their theft, since to extract them it is not necessary any tool or perhaps a tool with which to pry and force the fixing system, forcing the car owner to buy new ones for replacement. A widely used alternative is the hubcaps attached directly by the wheel anchor bolts to the hub. In fact, these hubcaps are safe since they cannot be removed if said wheel anchor bolts are not removed with the appropriate tools to perform wheel assembly and disassembly operations. In exchange to install these hubcaps it is necessary to disassemble the wheel and make the assembly of the hubcap together, this operation being very difficult and complicated.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The hubcap with quick-locking anti-theft system that is the object of this registry is characterized in that it comprises a quick and comfortable hubcap, with a favorable aesthetic appearance and high safety with respect to accidental detachments and theft, improving concentricity and warping.

In fact, the hubcap is essentially constituted by an outer disk or ornamental casing that covers all or a large part of the tire and presents, in correspondence with each of the wheel anchor bolts, a series of tubular projections towards the inside. Each of said projections is finished in its inner mouth in a surrounding lip suitable for locking in interference with a ring or surrounding rib arranged on the head of the clamping screw, so that the hubcap rests only on said screws and on the contour outer crown of the rim. The opening of the projection that holds the hubcap with the screw has an elastic compression element attached that contributes to its fastening.

Indeed, the nerve or lip inside the mouth in contact with the screw has an inclined outer contour, allowing the screw ring to deform it during the assembly of the hubcap and thus fit. In turn, the interior contour forms a seat in an incoming straight step, such that it does not allow the deformation of the mouth and therefore the improper extraction of the hubcap. To facilitate deformation of the fixing mouth, said mouth can have a series of notches or longitudinal grooves distributed regularly, forming a sequence of serrated tabs. Around said mouth or integrated therein is an elastic element such as tapered strap or a circular expansion ring or the like that compresses said tongues inwards, reaffirming its position once the hubcap is mounted.

Its placement and removal are simple. For its placement the hubcap is arranged on the wheel already mounted conventionally to the suspension bushing, by the fastening screws. The tubular openings are placed correspondingly with the heads of the wheel anchor bolts, subsequently exerting a certain pressure on said hubcaps. The pressure on the hubcap forces the fixing lip of each tubular projection to yield until the screw ring is housed in its inner seat, being ensured by the adjuvant effect of the elastic compression strap.

The elastic strap may be part of the inner contour of the lip on which the screw ring sits. In this way said ring does not rest directly on the plastic of the mouth but is in contact with the surface of the strap, which protects the exposed area of the hubcap from the heat generated by the brakes on the bushing and transmitted by the hub of the wheel and bolts to the hubcap. The metal strip is cylindrical or conical, embedded in the injection molding of the plastic hubcap, thus constituting a monobloc body. This thin strap reinforces the flexibility of the tubular mouth, preventing the plastic material from plastic deformation and cracking, and, as previously mentioned, insulates the hubcap from heat. The accidental extraction in the event of a blow, braking or similar is impossible. The safety is total since the removal of the hubcap can only be done after unscrewing the wheel fixing screws to the hub, making it impossible to steal without the necessary tools, a common case in most car hubcap thefts.

In turn, the tapered strap used as an elastic compression element of the mouthpiece can be replaced by a metal ring or ring arranged around the mouthpiece, so that it expands in the placement of the hubcap over the anchor bolts, recovering its shape immediately after and fixing the ring on its inner seat of the mouth interference lip.

The outer shell of the hubcap can be of multiple shapes and designs, whether or not there are ventilation openings, made of plastic materials and the inlet holes of the screws or covered with a cover or plug for this purpose being discovered. The surrounding edge of the hubcap is seated on the outer contour of the crown of the rim, completely covering it and pulling the tubular anchors by flexion of the external trim disk. This seat is made perfectly, since the hubcap being attached to the wheel anchor bolts is completely concentric, adjusting exactly. It should also be noted that the formation of any warpage of the hubcap with respect to the axis of rotation of the wheel is completely avoided. That's right, the hubcap rests completely on the outer contour of the rim and is tensioned into the wheel by the central anchors on the screws, which exert a convergent force on the outer disc of the hubcap, evenly distributing the force that ensures the mentioned contact with the external contour of the tire. Another advantage is the total fixation of the hubcap to the wheel. Its direct mounting to the screws, combined with its light weight prevents deterioration and friction of the Rim surface caused by clips or fixing springs that have other types of hubcaps for the same function.

Compared to the conventional hubcaps fixed by the interference of the wheel clamping screws, the new invention hubcaps allow the independent fixation of the wheel to the hub in a simple way, the hubcaps are conveniently coupled after their assembly and not simultaneously, making it unnecessary handling at the same time of the wheel, the hubcap and the screws and its positioning tool.

To complete the description that is going to be carried out below and in order to help a better understanding of its characteristics, this descriptive report is accompanied by a set of figures, in an illustrative and non-limiting way, where the details are represented more significant of the invention. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DESIGNS. Figure 1.- Shows a perspective view of the hubcap assembly on the rim.

Figure 2.- Shows a perspective view of the fixing mouth and the anchor screw.

Figure 3.- Shows a sectional view of a wheel with the hubcap installed. Figure 4.- Shows a sectioned detail of the hubcap equipped with the embedded pressure strip.

DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT.

In view of the aforementioned figures and in accordance with the numbering adopted, a preferred but non-limiting embodiment of the invention can be observed therein, which consists of a discoidal body (1) covering the rim (10) of A car wheel. Said disk (1) presents a series of tubular projections (2) in correspondence with the location of the anchor bolts (7) on the rim (10), at the end of said projection (2) being a socket (4) for fixing the hubcap to the screw head ( 7). Each of the openings (4) is constituted by an inner lip (5) which has a surrounding chamfered front contour and a straight staggered rear contour or similar, preferably there are a plurality of notches (6) or longitudinal grooves distributed along the aforementioned mouthpiece (4). The mouth (4) has a conical or cylindrical metal strip (3) embedded in its inner contour, adjusted to the inner contour of the lip (5), said strap (3) being able to be replaced by an elastic compression ring surrounding said mouth ( 4) on the outside. In turn, each of the bolts (7) for anchoring the rim (10) to the hub (9) has a ring (8) or surrounding rib suitable for interference with the lip (5) on the contour of its head inside of the corresponding mouth (4), the outer contour of said ring (8) being inclined in chamfer, while the inner contour of the ring (8) is straight in accordance with the inner contour of the lip (5).

Claims

CLAIMS. 1 .. TUBACUBOS WITH ANTI-THEFT SYSTEM FOR QUICK FASTENING, of the type used in automobile or similar vehicles as ornamentation and total or partial coverage of the wheel rim (10), existing in the disc (1) or outer casing of said hubcap a series of tubular projections (2) in correspondence with \ a placement of the bolts (7) for anchoring the rim (10) to the hub (9) of the suspension, characterized in that each of said projections (2) it has a mouth (4) suitable for pressure anchoring on the head of the corresponding screw (7), being subsequently immovable without removing said screw (7) from its housing; and because the fixing mouth (4) has an inner anchor lip (5) by interference with a locking element of the screw head (7), the outer contour of said chamfered lip (5) and the internal contour being staggered straight, suitable for the seat of the locking element of the screw head (7); and because the mouth (4) preferably has a series of grooves (6) or longitudinal notches operatively capable of conferring flexibility to the deformation of the mouth (4) by effect of the screw (7); and because embedded in the molding inside said mouth (4) and adjusted with the inner contour of the lip (5) there is a strap (3) surrounding elastic, cylindrical or conical, that contributes to the convergent grip flexibility of said mouthpiece (4); and because the head of the screw (7), has a locking element consisting of a ring (8) or surrounding ring whose outer contour is inclined in chamfer and the internal contour staggered straight in accordance with the inner contour of the lip (5) , operatively capable of allowing its passage through the mouth (4) by expanding it and the strap (3) in the placement of the hubcap and preventing its removal due to the interference between the ring (8) and the lip ( 5). 2. TAPCUBOS WITH ANTI-THEFT FASTENING SYSTEM, according to claim 1, characterized in that the strap (3) is replaced by a ring (3) or elastic compression ring, arranged in a seat around the mouth (4) and that presses said mouthpiece (4) with convergent effect. 3. TUBACUBOS WITH ANTI-THEFT SYSTEM FOR QUICK FIXING, according to claim 1, characterized in that the outer contour of the disc (1) trim is suitable for coupling over the protruding perimeter of the rim collar (10), oversizing its diameter and operatively capable of exerting, by flexing said disc (1), an affirmation effort of the respective lips (5) on the rings (8) of the screws (7) axially fixing the hubcap. 4. TUBACUBOS WITH FASTENING ANTI-THEFT SYSTEM, according to claims 1 and 3, characterized in that the distribution of the projections (2) on the heads of the respective anchor bolts (7) allows the fully concentric arrangement of the hubcap with respect to the rim (10) of the wheel. 5. TUBCUBA WITH FASTENING ANTI-THEFT SYSTEM, according to claims 1, 3 and 4, characterized in that the outer edge of the housing (1) is fully supported on the surrounding outer contour of the rim (10) and slightly tensioned by the openings (4) locked in the rings (8) of the screws (7), said disc (1) being arranged completely coaxial with the rim (10), completely avoiding the warping of the hubcap.