FIELD

[0001] The present disclosure relates generally to motor vehicles, and in particular to a hubcap for use on a wheel of a motor vehicle. More specifically, the present disclosure relates to interchangeability and anti-theft features for a hubcap.

BACKGROUND ART

[0002] A hubcap is used on a wheel of a motor vehicle to cover and protect at least a central portion of a wheel, known as the hub, from accumulation of dirt and moisture. A hubcap also serves the purpose of functioning as ornamentation, which adds to the overall aesthetic of a motor vehicle, but also increases a risk of theft of the ornamentation.

[0003] Motor vehicle manufacturers may sell a variety of motor vehicles utilizing wheels of different sizes and shapes, which require hubcaps and/or ornamentation of different sizes, shapes, and styles. In the alternative, motor vehicle manufacturers may sell a variety of motor vehicles having wheels of a common shape and size, which may require hubcaps of the same size but ornamentation of a different style. In such cases, a motor vehicle manufacturer typically produces each distinct hubcap as a whole, including the specific ornamentation of a given size, shape, and style, because the hubcap and ornamentation are constructed as one integral structure. A lack of versatility with respect to construction of the hubcap and the ornamentation may lead to increased manufacturing costs and complexity. [0004] It is desirable to provide an improved hubcap for covering a wheel of a motor vehicle that fulfills one or more of the needs described above.

SUMMARY

[0005] According to aspects of the present disclosure, a modular hubcap for use on a wheel of a motor vehicle comprises a base configured to be centered on an axis of rotation, the base including a wall portion having a first surface and a second surface, the first surface including a first coupling element, a fastening member extending from the wall portion of the base, a security member extending from the wall portion of the base, a cover including a second coupling element configured to engage with the first coupling element of the base, a catch included by the cover, the catch configured to engage the security member as the cover is coupled to the base.

[0006] According to aspects of the present disclosure, the first coupling element comprises a plurality of threads and the second coupling element comprises a plurality of threads complementary to the first coupling element. [0007] According to aspects of the present disclosure, the fastening member comprises a retention clip for engaging the wheel of the motor vehicle.

[0008] According to aspects of the present disclosure, the security member comprises a hook for engaging the catch. [0009] According to aspects of the present disclosure, the base comprises a plurality of fastening members and the plurality of fastening members are radially spaced from each other.

[0010] According to aspects of the present disclosure, the security member is positioned between a pair of adjacent fastening members. [0011] According to aspects of the disclosure, the cover is configured to be received within the base.

[0012] According to aspects of the present disclosure, the security member of the base is configured to project radially through the catch to engage an interior surface of the cover when the cover is coupled to the base. [0013] According to aspects of the present disclosure, the catch comprises a radially extending window defined within the second coupling element.

[0014] According to aspects of the present disclosure, the security member is configured to be disengaged inward of the cover.

[0015] According to aspects of the present disclosure, the base includes a reinforcement connected to the fastening member.

[0016] According to aspects of the present disclosure, the security member includes an arm extending from a root configured to engage an interior surface of the cover.

[0017] According to aspects of the present disclosure, the arm extends from the root in a direction corresponding to a direction of rotation for threadably engaging the cover to the base.

[0018] According to aspects of the present disclosure, the cover includes an ornamental element.

[0019] According to aspects of the present disclosure, the cover includes a peripheral lip configured to overlap the base. [0020] In the manner described and according to aspects illustrated herein, the modular hubcap is configured to mount to a wheel of a motor vehicle and address one or more needs such as allowing for a hubcap to have interchangeable ornamentation and reducing a risk of theft of the ornamentation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0021] Aspects of an embodiment will be described in reference to the drawings, where like numerals reflect like elements:

[0022] Figure 1A is a side perspective view of a cover of a modular hubcap according to aspects of the disclosure; [0023] Figure IB is a side perspective view of a base of the modular hubcap according to aspects of the disclosure;

[0024] Figure 2 is a side cross-sectional view of the cover of Figure 1A and the base of Figure IB in a coupled state;

[0025] Figure 3 is an enlarged view of portion III of Figure 2; [0026] Figure 4A is a side perspective view of an alternative embodiment of a cover of the modular hubcap according to aspects of the disclosure;

[0027] Figure 4B a side perspective view of an alternative embodiment of a base of the modular hubcap according to aspects of the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION [0028] An embodiment of the modular hubcap according to aspects of the disclosure will now be described with reference to Figures 1A-4B, wherein like numerals represent like parts, and will generally be referred to by the reference numeral 10. Although the modular hubcap 10 is described with reference to specific examples, it should be understood that modifications and changes may be made to these examples without going beyond the general scope as defined by the claims. In particular, individual characteristics of the various embodiments shown and/or mentioned herein may be combined in additional embodiments. Consequently, the description and the drawings should be considered in a sense that is illustrative rather than restrictive. The Figures, which are not necessarily to scale, depict illustrative aspects and are not intended to limit the scope of the disclosure. The illustrative aspects depicted are intended only as exemplary.

[0029] The term "exemplary" is used in the sense of "example," rather than "ideal." While aspects of the disclosure are amenable to various modifications and alternative forms, specifics thereof have been shown by way of example in the drawings and will be described in detail. It should be understood, however, that the intention is not to limit aspects of the disclosure to the particular embodiment(s) described. On the contrary, the intention of this disclosure is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the scope of the disclosure.

[0030] Various materials, methods of construction and methods of fastening will be discussed in the context of the disclosed embodiment(s). Those skilled in the art will recognize known substitutes for the materials, construction methods, and fastening methods, all of which are contemplated as compatible with the disclosed embodiment(s) and are intended to be encompassed by the appended claims.

[0031] As used in this disclosure and the appended claims, the singular forms "a," "an," and "the" include plural referents unless the content clearly dictates otherwise. As used in this disclosure and the appended claims, the term "or" is generally employed in its sense including "and/or" unless the content clearly dictates otherwise.

[0032] Throughout the description, including the claims, the terms "comprising a," "including a," and "having a" should be understood as being synonymous with "comprising one or more," "including one or more," and "having one or more" unless otherwise stated. In addition, any range set forth in the description, including the claims should be understood as including its end value(s) unless otherwise stated. Specific values for described elements should be understood to be within accepted manufacturing or industry tolerances known to one of skill in the art, and any use of the terms "substantially," "approximately," and "generally" should be understood to mean falling within such accepted tolerances.

[0033] When an element or feature is referred to herein as being "on," "engaged to," "connected to," or "coupled to" another element or feature, it may be directly on, engaged, connected, or coupled to the other element or feature, or intervening elements or features may be present. In contrast, when an element or feature is referred to as being "directly on," "directly engaged to," "directly connected to," or "directly coupled to" another element or feature, there may be no intervening elements or features present. Other words used to describe the relationship between elements or features should be interpreted in a like fashion (e.g., "between" versus "directly between," "adjacent" versus "directly adjacent," etc.).

[0034] Spatially relative terms, such as "top," "bottom," "middle," "inner," "outer," "beneath," "below," "lower," "above," "upper," and the like, may be used herein for ease of description to describe one element or feature's relationship to another element(s) or feature(s) as illustrated in the drawings. Spatially relative terms may be intended to encompass different orientations of a device in use or operation in addition to the orientation depicted in the drawings. For example, if the device in the drawings is turned over, elements described as "below" or "beneath" other elements or features would then be oriented "above" the other elements or features. Thus, the example term "below" can encompass both an orientation of above and below. The device may be otherwise oriented (rotated 90 degrees or at other orientations) and the spatially relative descriptors used herein interpreted accordingly.

[0035] Although the terms "first," "second," etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, components, regions, layers, sections, and/or parameters, these elements, components, regions, layers, sections, and/or parameters should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element, component, region, layer, or section from another region, layer, or section. Thus, a first element, component, region, layer, or section discussed herein could be termed a second element, component, region, layer, or section without departing from the teachings of the present inventive subject matter.

[0036] The modular hubcap 10 is configured for use on a wheel assembly of a motor vehicle (hereafter, referred to generally as "the wheel"). As shown in Figure 1A-2, the modular hubcap 10 includes a base (first hubcap part) 20 and a cover (second hubcap part) 60 which are configured to be arranged about an axis of rotation A-A. The base 20 and the cover 60 are configured to transition between a coupled state wherein the cover 60 is secured to the base 20 in a locked relationship and an uncoupled state wherein the cover 60 is remote from the base 20 and/or partially engaged with the base 20. It is contemplated that the base 20 and the cover 60 may be affixed to the wheel in the coupled state or the uncoupled state. In the disclosed embodiment, the base 20 and the cover 60 are constructed of a plastic such as a blend of polycarbonate (PC) and acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), polyoxymethylene (POM), or glass-filled polyamide (PA-GF), but a person having ordinary skill in the art would appreciate that similar materials may be compatible with the modular hubcap 10.

[0037] The base 20 may have a diameter which corresponds to a shape and/or size of the wheel. It is contemplated that the base 20 can be produced in high volumes, in different shapes and sizes or based upon a common principle circle diameter (PCD) of a given motor vehicle manufacturer. Further, it is contemplated that the cover 60 can also be produced in high volumes, in a common or different size and/or style, and configured to be interchangeable with or coupled to bases 20 of the same size and shape or bases of different sizes and shapes. To this end, regardless of the size and/or style of the base 20 and the cover 60, the base 20 and the cover 60 may universal connection features, such as threaded connections of a universal size, so that any base 20 may couple to any cover 60. In this manner, covers 60 having a common aesthetic feature (e.g. logo, color, and/or surface finish) may be coupled to bases 20 of multiple sizes and thus wheels of multiple sizes. Additionally or alternatively, covers 60 of multiple aesthetic features may be coupled to bases 20 of a common size and thus wheels of a common size. Therefore, due to the modular format of the base 20 and the cover 60, one cover 20 or a variety of covers 20 can be used and/or interchangeable on common or different bases 60, which simplifies and reduces the cost of manufacturing. [0038] As shown in Figure IB, the base 20 includes an annular wall portion 22 having an exterior (first) surface 24 and an interior (second) surface 26. The interior surface 26 of the wall portion 22 extends from an annular opening 28 and includes a first coupling element 30 for engaging a complementary element on the cover 60. In the disclosed embodiment, the first coupling element 30 includes a plurality of female threads, however, it is contemplated that other coupling elements, such as snap-fit or press-fit connections, may be compatible with the modular hubcap 10. One or more fastening members 32 extend axially from the wall 22 portion of the base 20 and are configured to engage the wheel to affix the modular hubcap 10 to the wheel in a locked relationship. In the disclosed embodiment, the one or more fastening members 32 include a plurality of radially-spaced retention clips. The fastening members 32 each include an outwardly extending protrusion 34 which is configured to engage the wheel. It is contemplated that the base 20 may include a reinforcement 36, such as a steel wire ring, which is connected to each of the fastening members 32.

[0039] The base 20 also includes a security member 38 extending axially from the wall portion 22 which is configured to project radially to engage the cover 60. The security member 38 is also configured to form and maintain the locked relationship between the base

20 and the cover 60. It is contemplated that the security member 38 may be universally sized so that any base 20 may be interchangeable with any cover 60. In the disclosed embodiment, the security member 38 includes backstop 40 and a hook (clip) 42 positioned radially-inwardly of the backstop 40. The hook 42 includes a root 44 extending from the wall portion 22 and an arm 46 extending from the root 44 which is configured to engage the cover 60. The arm 46 of the hook 42 extends from the root 44 in a direction corresponding to a direction of rotation for threadably engaging the cover 60 to the base 20, so that rotating the cover 60 in a reverse direction is impeded by the root 44 acting as a stop on a catch 76 of the cover 60. The catch may be a part of the cover, and may be formed integral with the cover. In the disclosed embodiment, the base 20 includes one security member 38 positioned between a pair of adjacent fastening members 32, however, more than one security member 38 may be compatible with the modular hubcap 10. It is contemplated that the security member 38 is capable of functioning as an anti-rotation and/or anti-theft device, in that the security member 38 is configured to be disengaged inward of the cover 60 and obviates decoupling of the cover 60 from an exterior and/or outward-facing side (from the perspective of a user standing outside of the motor vehicle, facing the motor vehicle and the modular hubcap 10) of the cover 60. Additionally, the security member 38 must be disengaged from the cover 60 to reverse the engagement of the first coupling element 30 with the cover 60. As such, the base 20 and the cover 60 are configured so that the modular hubcap 10 may only be removed from a wheel by removing the wheel from a motor vehicle— to access the security member 38 from inside the wheel— similar to a traditional hubcap. [0040] As shown by Figure 1A, the cover 60 includes an annular head portion 62 and an annular wall portion 64 having an interior (first) surface 66 and an exterior (second) surface 68. The wall portion 64 of the cover 60 is configured to be received within the base 20. The exterior surface 68 of the cover 60 includes a second coupling element 70 complementary to the first coupling element 30 of the base 20. In the disclosed embodiment, the second coupling element 70 includes a plurality of male threads, however, it is contemplated that other coupling elements, such as snap-fit or press-fit connections, may be compatible with the modular hubcap 10. Alternatively, it is contemplated that the first coupling element 30 may include male threads and the second coupling element 70 may include female threads. Further, it is contemplated that the first coupling element 30 may be present on the exterior surface 24 of the base 20 and the second coupling element 70 may be present on the interior surface 66 of the cover 60. The head portion 62 of the cover 60 includes a peripheral lip 72 configured to overlap and/or hide the wall portion 22 of the base 20 from view and an ornamental element 74 on the exterior surface 68. In the disclosed embodiment, the ornamental element 74 may include an insignia corresponding to a motor vehicle in which the wheel is mounted to. In the disclosed embodiment, the ornamental element 74 may be constructed of a combination of plastic, aluminum, paint and/or other plated metallic components, depending on the decorative technology used— such as, in-mould film, aluminum overlay, chrome plating, and the like. The cover 60 includes a catch 76 within the second coupling element 70 configured to engage the security member 38 of the base 20. In the disclosed embodiment, the catch 76 is a radially extending window defined within the second coupling element 70. Alternatively, it is contemplated that the cover 60 may include the security member 38 of the base 20 and the base 20 may include the catch 76 of the cover 60 (see Figures 4A and 4B). It is contemplated that the catch 76 may be universally sized so that any base may be interchangeable with any cover 60. [0041] As illustrated by Figures 1A-3, to couple the cover 60 to the base 20, the base 20 and the cover 60 are centered on the axis A-A in the uncoupled state, with the first coupling element 30 of the base 20 facing the second coupling element 70 of the cover 60. The second coupling element 70 is inserted within the opening 28 of the base 20 and one or both of the cover 60 and/or the base 20 are rotated about the axis A-A to threadably engage the first coupling element 30 with the second coupling element 70. The cover 60 and/or the base 20 are rotated until the cover 60 is coupled to the base 20 and the security member 38 engages the catch 76, transitioning the cover 60 and the base 20 from the uncoupled state to the coupled state. In the engagement between the security member 38 of the base 20 and the catch 76 of the cover 60, the arm 46 of the security member 38 snaps into the catch 76 and engages the interior surface 66 of the cover 60 within the second coupling element 70 while the backstop 40 engages the exterior surface 68 of the cover 60 about the second coupling element 70. In the disclosed embodiment, the security member 38 may be flexible to enable the security member 38 to snap into the catch 76. In this arrangement, the first coupling element 30, and thus the base 20, is retained in a locked relationship between the arm 46 and the backstop 40 of the security member 38. With the security member 38 extending through the catch 76, the catch 76 cannot move past the root 44. Therefore, neither the base 20 nor the cover 60 can rotate to threadably disengage the first coupling element 30 from the second coupling element 70, which prevents theft of the cover 60. To disengage the security member 38 from the catch 76, a user must insert a tool inward (from the perspective of a user standing outside of the motor vehicle, facing the motor vehicle and the modular hubcap 10) of the wheel and/or the base 20 and the cover 60 and push and/or elastically deform the security member 38 out of engagement with the catch 76. As such, the features described represent at least the same level of anti-theft functionality as a traditional hubcap.

[0042] Although the present disclosure herein has been described with reference to particular embodiments, it is to be understood that these embodiments are merely illustrative of the principles and applications of the present disclosure.

[0043] It is intended that the specification and examples be considered as exemplary only, with a true scope of the disclosure being indicated by the following claims.

[0044] Additionally, all of the disclosed features of an apparatus may be transposed, alone or in combination, to a method and vice versa.