GB2352012A

GB2352012A - Wheel nut locking device

Info

Publication number: GB2352012A
Application number: GB9916609A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Michael Robert Predeth
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1999-07-16
Filing date: 1999-07-16
Publication date: 2001-01-17
Anticipated expiration: 2019-07-16
Also published as: GB9916609D0; GB2352012B

Abstract

A wheel nut locking device (10) for securing wheel nuts (12) in position comprises a ring shaped collar (14) having locking tabs (16) secured on locking tab studs (18). Openings (20) in the collar (14) are received over wheel studs (22). The wheel nuts (12) are then used to tighten the collar (14) on the wheel studs (22), after which each locking tab (16) is placed over each of the wheel nuts (12). The locking tab (16) is then secured in position on the locking tab studs.

Description

2352012 Wheel Brace This invention relates to a wheel brace, particularly,

but not limited to, a wheel brace for maintaining wheel nuts in position in use. The invention also relates to a method of retaining wheel nuts in position in use.

A previous method for checking that wheel nuts securing a wheel to a vehicle are correctly tightened, includes placing indicator collars on a wheel stud and tightening a wheel nut over those collars. When tightened, pointed sections of the collars are aligned with an adjacent pointed section of an adjacent collar to indicate that the wheel nuts are tightened correctly. After a vehicle has been driven a reasonable distance, the alignment of the pointed sections can be checked to ensure that the wheel nuts are still correctly tightened.

Disadvantages arise with this system because it only gives a passive indication of whether wheel nuts are tightened correctly. It does not maintain the tightness of a wheel nut on its wheel stud.

It is an object of the present invention to address the above mentioned disadvantages.

According to one aspect of the present invention a wheel brace comprises a base portion and at least one locking tab, in which the base portion comprises at least one opening, the or each opening being arranged, in use, to receive therein and be fixed relative to, a wheel stud, and in which the or each locking tab is mountable on the base portion, wherein the or each locking tab is operable 2 hold in position in a f irst opening thereof a wheel nut mounted on a wheel stud received in one of said openings of the base portion, and wherein the locking tab is operable to be secured relative to the base portion with 5 fixing means.

Preferably the base portion comprises a plurality of openings. Preferably the base portion is ring-shaped, to match a configuration of wheel studs of a vehicle wheel lo hub. The or each opening in the base portion may be enclosed on all sides, and may be circular.

The number of locking tabs may be equal to the number of openings in the base portion.

The or each locking tab may be mounted on a respective projection of the base portion. Said projection may be adjacent an opening in the base portion. Said projection may be a stud, which may be threaded to receive the fixing means.

The or each locking tab may receive its respective projection in a second opening therein, which opening may be an elongate slot, which may be arcshaped and may curve at least partially around the first opening, said curvature being around a centrepoint substantially aligned with the centrepoint of the first opening.

The first opening may have a serrated periphery, preferably comprising triangular teeth. The periphery of the first opening may be arranged to engage the periphery of a wheel nut. The triangular teeth may be arranged to 3 receive the vertices of a wheel nut between adjacent teeth.

The or- each locking tab may have first and second configurations, in the first configuration the locking tab being loosely mounted on the base portion and pivotable on its mounting and in the second configuration the locking tab being fixed relative to the base portion and holding a wheel nut in position in an opening thereof.

Where more than one projection of the base portion is provided, one or more of said projections may be longer than the other projection(s). In which case the or each longer projection may be arranged to receive a wheel cover portion thereon.

The wheel brace may be for maintaining wheel nuts in position in use.

The invention extends to a kit of parts comprising at least one base portion and at least one locking tab, as described in relation to the previous aspect.

According to another aspect of the present invention a method of retaining wheel nuts in position in use comprises holding a wheel nut in position with a locking tab of a wheel brace, which locking tab receives the wheel nut mounted on a wheel stud in a f irst opening of the locking tab, with the locking tab being secured relative to a base portion of the wheel brace with fixing means, and which base portion is held in position relative to a wheel being secured by receiving a wheel stud in an 4 opening of the base portion, the wheel nut being secured on said wheel stud.

All of -the above aspects can be combined with any of the 5 features disclosed herein, in any combination.

A specific embodiment of the present invention will now be described, by way of example, and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a schematic view of a wheel brace mounted on a wheel hub, with locking tabs of the wheel brace shown in tightened and un-tightened positions; Figure 2 is a schematic partial cross sectional side view of the wheel brace fitted to a wheel rim; and Figure 3 is a schematic view of one of the locking tabs.

A wheel brace 10 for securing the wheel nuts 12 of a wheel 13 in position comprises a ring shaped collar 14 having ten locking tabs 16 (only seven of which areshown in figure 1) secured on locking tab studs 18. Openings 20 in the collar 14 are received over wheel studs 22 of a wheel hub 24 (see figure 2). The wheel nuts 12 are then used to tighten the wheel 13 and collar 14 on the wheel studs 22.

Af ter that, a locking tab 16 is placed over each of the wheel nuts 12. The locking tab is then secured in position (see lower part of figure 1) by tightening locking tab nuts 26 on each of the locking tab studs 18. The wheel nuts 12 are prevented from loosening, because they cannot turn relative to their respective locking tabs 16, which themselves are locked in position by locking tab nuts 26.

In more-detail, the collar 14 in this example includes ten equally spaced openings 20, meaning that the hole centres are 36 degrees apart. Each opening is 23mm in diameter. In this example, the collar 14 has an external diameter of 385mm and an internal diameter of 284mm. The locking tab studs 18 are also equally spaced around the collar 14.

Each locking stud is spaced from an adjacent opening 20 by 15.44 degrees (ie not equidistant between openings 20). These studs are secured in apertures (not shown) in which the studs are welded or brazed. The collar 14 is made of mild steel having a thickness of 5mm.

The above dimensions are chosen to suit a standard wheel for a lorry. The spacing of the openings 20 being chosen to correspond to the spacing and positions of wheel studs 22 of the lorry. It is within the scope of the invention to amend the relative spacing of the openings 20, to change the number of openings and to change the size of the collar 14 to suit a particular vehicle.

Each locking tab 16 has a locking tab slot 28 and a wheel nut opening 30, the separation between which is equal to the separation between a centre of each opening 20 and a centre of a corresponding locking tab stud 18.

The locking tab slot 28 forms an arc around a centre point of the wheel nut opening 30, to allow for angular adjustment of the locking tab 16 over a wheel nut 12, whilst maintaining the correct distance between locking tab stud and wheel nut 12.

6 The periphery of the wheel nut opening 30 has a saw tooth form, which is arranged to engage the wheel nut 12 over which-the wheel nut opening 30 is placed. Vertices of the wheel nut 12 are received between adjacent teeth of the opening 30. In this way, the teeth prevent the locking tab 16 from being turned relative to the wheel nut 12 on which it is located in the manner of, for instance, a spanner f itting. The teeth 32 form an opening with an inner diameter of 34.92mm and an opening with an outer diameter of 37. 25mm.

The locking tab slot 28 has a width of limm.

The locking tabs 16 have a width of 44MM. They are made of 5mm thick mild steel plate. The locking tabs 16 are held loosely in place by locking tab nuts 26 which are threaded on to the locking tab studs 18.

The locking tab studs 18 have an external thread of diameter 10mm. The base of each stud has a diameter of 16mm which is received into the aperture (not shown) in the collar 14 mentioned above.

Two lengths of locking tab stud 18 are provided. The first length is 35mm, the second length is 40mm. A majority of the locking tab studs 18 are of the shorter length. The longer locking tab studs 18 are arranged to receive and secure in position a wheel cover which has a snap fitting onto the longer locking tab studs. The wheel cover is similar to a wheel trim or hub cap typically used on wheels.

7 In use, the wheel brace 10 is supplied with each of the locking tabs 16 hanging freely on its corresponding locking tab stud 18 (see upper part of figure 1). The locking-tab nuts 26 prevent the locking tab 16 from coming free. with the locking tab 16 in the loose position the openings 20 in the collar 14 are aligned with the wheel studs 22 and the collar is placed over the wheel studs 22 on top of the wheel which is already mounted on the studs 22. The wheel nuts 12 are then tightened in the usual manner to secure the wheel, as well as the wheel brace 10 to the vehicle. When all of the wheel nuts 12 have been tightened, the locking tabs 16 are still in the loose position shown in figure 1. Each of the locking tabs 16 is then pivoted about its locking tab stud 18 until the wheel nut opening 30 can be placed over the wheel nut 12. In order to account for the particular orientation of a wheel nut involved, the angle of the locking tab 16 may need to be varied to allow the corners of the nuts to be received in between teeth 32 of the wheel nut opening 30 and the locking tab 16. This variation is taken up by movement of the locking tab slot 28 relative to the locking tab stud 18. When the locking tab 16 has been located properly, the locking tab nut 26 is tightened. This action is repeated for each of the locking tabs, until they are all in the position shown by the locking tab 16 in the lower half of figure 1.

With all the locking tabs 16 in position, the wheel nuts 12 cannot loosen on the wheel studs 22, because turning of the wheel nuts 12 is prevented by the locking tab 16, movement of which is prevented by the locking tab nut 26 tightened on to the locking tab stud 18.

8 when all of the locking tabs have been secured in position, a wheel cover can be placed over and secured on the longer locking tab studs 18 mentioned above.

The wheel brace 10 described above has significant advantages over previous devices in that loosening of the wheel nuts on the wheel of a vehicle is actively prevented, rather than an indication being given that the nuts are already loose.

The reader's attention is directed to all papers and documents which are filed concurrently with or previous to this specification in connection with this application and which are open to public inspection with this specification, and the contents of all such papers and documents are incorporated herein by reference.

All of the features disclosed in this specification (including any accompanying claims, abstract and drawings), and/or all of the steps of any method or process so disclosed, may be combined in any combination, except combinations where at least some of such features and/or steps are mutually exclusive.

Each feature disclosed in this specification (including any accompanying claims, abstract and drawings), may be replaced by alternative features serving the same, equivalent or similar purpose, unless expressly stated otherwise. Thus, unless expressly stated otherwise, each feature disclosed is one example only of a generic series of equivalent or similar features.

1 1 9 The invention is not restricted to the details of the foregoing embodiment(s). The invention extend to any novel one, or any novel combination, of the features disclosed in this specification (including any accompanying claims, abstract and drawings), or to any novel one, or any novel combination, of the steps of any method or process so disclosed. -

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. A wheel brace comprises a base portion and at least one locking tab in which the base portion comprises at least one opening, the or each opening being arranged, in use, to receive therein and be fixed relative to, a wheel stud, and in which the or each locking tab is mountable on the base portion, wherein the or each locking tab is operable to hold in position in a first opening thereof a wheel nut mounted on a wheel stud received in one of said openings of the base portion, and wherein the locking tab is operable to be secured relative to the base portion with fixing means.

2. A wheel brace as claimed in claim 1, in which the base portion is ring shaped, to match a configuration of wheel studs of a vehicle wheel hub.

3. A wheel brace as claimed in either claim 1 or 2, in which the number of locking tabs equals the number of openings in the base portion.

4. A wheel brace as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the or each locking tab is mounted on a respective projection of the base portion.

5. A wheel brace as claimed in claim 4, in which the or each locking tab receives its respective projection in a second opening therein, which opening is an elongate slot.

11

6. A wheel brace as claimed in claim 5, in which the second opening curves at least partially around a first opening, said curvature being around a centre point substantially aligned with the centre point 5 of the first opening.

7. A wheel brace as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the first opening has a serrated periphery.

8. A wheel brace as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the or each locking tab has first and second configurations, in the first configuration, the locking tab being loosely mounted on the base portion and pivotable on its mounting and in the second configuration the locking tab being fixed relative to the base portion and holding a wheel nut in position in an opening thereof.

9. A wheel brace as claimed in any preceding claim, in which where more than one projection of the base portion is provided one or more of said projections is longer than the other projections.

10. A kit of parts comprising at least one base portion and at least one locking tab as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 9.

11. A method of retaining wheel nuts in position in use comprises holding a wheel nut in position with a locking tab of a wheel brace, which locking tab receives the wheel nut mounted on a wheel stud in a first opening of the locking tab, with the locking tab being secured relative to a base portion of the 12 wheel brace with fixing means, and which base portion is held in position relative to a wheel being secured by receiving a wheel stud in an opening of the base portion, the wheel nut being secured on said wheel stud.

12. A wheel brace as substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings.

13. A method of retaining wheel nuts in position substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings.