JP6920966B2 - Hubcap - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to hubcaps mounted on automobile wheels.

Patent Document 1 discloses a hubcap mounted on the design surface of an automobile wheel. The wheel cap is fixed by engaging a claw formed at the tip of a rib protruding from the back surface with the wheel nut. Further, Patent Document 2 discloses a wheel cap that covers a hub hole and a wheel nut of an automobile wheel. The hubcap is fixed by engaging the engaging protrusion formed on the inside of the peripheral wall with the in-row portion of the automobile wheel.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 9-263101 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2001-71703

Here, since the hubcap of Patent Document 1 is fixed to the wheel for automobiles by using ribs protruding from the back surface, when the engaging force is increased, the ribs are reinforced to complicate the structure and weight. Invites an increase in. Further, since the wheel cap of Patent Document 2 engages and fixes the claws with the in-row portion of the automobile wheel, when the peripheral wall portion covering the wheel nut is separated from the engaging portion, the peripheral wall portion receives an external force. Easy to come off. In this case, it is difficult to secure the hubcap holding force even if the engaging force at the engaging portion is increased.

In consideration of the above facts, an object of the present invention is to obtain a wheel cap capable of ensuring a holding force while simplifying and reducing the weight of the structure.

The wheel cap of the first aspect of the present invention constitutes a design surface along a plurality of wheel nuts for fixing the wheel, and each of the wall portion inscribed by each of the wheel nuts and the inner peripheral surface of the wall portion. It is provided with a locking portion that is formed so as to project at a position corresponding to the wheel nut and is locked to the wheel nut.

In the wheel cap of the first aspect, a locking portion that is engaged with the wheel nut is formed with respect to the wall portion that constitutes the design surface. Therefore, as compared with the case where the wheel nut is engaged by the claw formed on the rib independent of the wall portion, the engaging force can be secured by the simple structure. Further, since the wheel cap is engaged at the outer peripheral portion of the wheel cap as compared with the case where the wheel is engaged at the in-row portion of the wheel for automobiles, the holding force can be secured with a small engaging force. As described above, according to the wheel cap of the first aspect, it is possible to secure the holding force while simplifying the structure and reducing the weight.

In the wheel cap of the second aspect of the present invention, the plurality of locking portions are set with a plurality of protrusion amounts for each of the corresponding wheel nuts.

According to the wheel cap of the second aspect, the engaging force with respect to the wheel nut can be adjusted and the holding force with respect to the wheel can be adjusted by setting a plurality of protrusion amounts of the locking portions. For example, by increasing the amount of protrusion, the stress generated in the wall portion increases. That is, the engaging force at the locking portion increases, and the holding force of the wheel cap increases accordingly. Further, for example, by reducing the amount of protrusion, the stress generated in the wall portion is reduced. That is, the engaging force at the locking portion is reduced, and the holding force of the hubcap is reduced accordingly. Further, the holding force of the wheel cap can be increased by increasing the number of locking portions having a large protruding amount among the plurality of locking portions. On the other hand, the holding force of the wheel cap can be lowered by increasing the number of locking portions having a small protrusion amount among the plurality of locking portions.

In the wheel cap of the third aspect of the present invention, the wall portion has a wall thickness changing portion in the circumferential direction.

According to the wheel cap of the third aspect, the engaging force with respect to the wheel nut can be adjusted and the holding force with respect to the wheel can be adjusted by providing the changing portion having a wall thickness different from that of the periphery in the circumferential direction of the wall portion. .. For example, increasing the wall thickness near the locking portion increases the rigidity of the wall portion. That is, the engaging force at the locking portion increases, and the holding force of the wheel cap increases accordingly. Further, for example, the rigidity of the wall portion is lowered by reducing the wall thickness in the vicinity of the locking portion. That is, the engaging force at the locking portion is reduced and the holding force of the hubcap is reduced.

In the wheel cap of the fourth aspect of the present invention, the wall portion has a pair of ribs provided for at least one wheel nut and erected from the inner peripheral surface for accommodating the wheel nut. doing.

According to the wheel cap of the fourth aspect, the relative position of the hubcap with respect to the wheel for automobiles can be fixed by providing a pair of ribs capable of accommodating the wheel nut. The pair of ribs may be provided corresponding to at least one wheel nut.

As described above, according to the wheel cap of the present invention, it is possible to secure the holding force while simplifying the structure and reducing the weight.

It is a perspective view of the wheel cap and the wheel mounted with the 1st Embodiment. It is a rear view of the wheel cap of the 1st embodiment. It is a wheel cap of the first embodiment, and is a rear perspective view showing (A) a rear perspective view and (B) a rear perspective view showing a positional relationship with a wheel nut. It is a side sectional view of the wheel cap of 1st Embodiment, which is (A) the sectional view including the 1st engaging claw, and (B) the sectional view including the 2nd engaging claw. It is a rear view of the wheel cap of the 2nd Embodiment.

(First Embodiment)
Next, the first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings of FIGS. 1 to 4. The positional relationship of each part of the hubcap is based on the positional relationship of the automobile wheel. That is, the outside in the vehicle width direction is the outside of the wheel cap, and the inside in the vehicle width direction is the inside of the wheel cap. When referring to the front and back of the hubcap, the outer surface appearing on the side of the vehicle is the front surface, and the inner surface hidden from the side of the vehicle is the back surface. Further, the direction along the axis of the wheel is the axial direction, and the direction around the axis of the wheel is the circumferential direction.

(composition)
FIG. 1 shows a hubcap 10 of the present embodiment and a disc 32 of an automobile wheel (hereinafter, simply referred to as “wheel”) 30 to which the hubcap 10 is mounted. The wheel cap 10 of the present embodiment covers the in-row portion 34 forming the hub hole 36 of the wheel 30 and the wheel nut 40 for fixing the wheel 30 (see FIGS. 4A and 4B). ). Here, the wheel 30 of the present embodiment is fixed by five wheel nuts 40.

The wheel cap 10 of the present embodiment is made of resin and has a dome-shaped top wall portion 12 facing the disc 32 and a substantially cylindrical peripheral wall portion 14 extending from the outer edge portion of the top wall portion 12 toward the disc 32. And are configured to include. Here, the peripheral wall portion 14 constitutes a design surface along the wheel nut 40, and the five wheel nuts 40 are inscribed with respect to the peripheral wall portion 14. A disk-shaped flat surface portion 12A is provided on the center side of the top wall portion 12. For example, a log mark of an automobile manufacturer or a vehicle model is displayed on the flat surface portion 12A. In the present embodiment, the surfaces of the top wall portion 12 and the peripheral wall portion 14 form the design surface of the wheel cap 10.

As shown in FIG. 2, on the back surface of the wheel cap 10, engaging claws 20 are provided at five locations on the inner peripheral surface of the peripheral wall portion 14, and partition walls 26 are provided at three locations on the inner peripheral surface. ..

The engaging claw 20 is a claw formed so as to project at a position corresponding to the wheel nut 40 on the inner peripheral surface of the peripheral wall portion 14. The engaging claw 20 is recessed in an arc shape on the central side when viewed from the back surface, and has a triangular cross section in the circumferential direction (FIGS. 4A and 4B). Here, the engaging claw 20 has a first engaging claw 22 and a second engaging claw 24 having different amounts of protrusions from the inner peripheral surface of the peripheral wall portion 14 toward the center side. Specifically, the engaging claw 20 has a first engaging claw 22 formed at three locations and a second engaging claw 24 formed at two locations and having a smaller protrusion amount than the first engaging claw 22. doing. When viewed from the back surface, these engaging claws 20 are the first engaging claw 22, the second engaging claw 24, the first engaging claw 22, and the first engaging claw 22 clockwise from the bottom of FIG. , And the second engaging claw 24 are arranged in this order.

Then, as shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, each engaging claw 20 is locked to the tapered surface 42 of the wheel nut 40, respectively. The cross-sectional shape of the engaging claw 20 is not limited to a triangular shape, and may be any shape such as a trapezoidal shape, a square shape, a circular shape, or the like as long as it can be locked to the tapered surface 42.

As shown in FIG. 2, the partition wall portion 26 corresponds to the first engaging claw 22 and is formed at three positions on the inner peripheral surface of the peripheral wall portion 14. The partition wall portion 26 is composed of a pair of ribs 26A facing each other with the first engaging claw 22 interposed therebetween. The rib 26A is erected from the peripheral wall portion 14 and the top wall portion 12. Here, the opposing ribs 26A are parallel, and the distance between them is slightly larger than the maximum diameter of the head 44 of the wheel nut 40. Further, the central end of the rib 26A is parallel to the axial direction, and the inner end is perpendicular to the axial direction. As shown in FIG. 3B, the partition wall portion 26 formed in this way can accommodate the wheel nut 40.

(Detachment of wheel cap)
When mounting the wheel cap 10 on the wheel 30, first, as shown in FIG. 1, the back surface of the wheel cap 10 is made to face the disc 32 of the wheel 30. Then, the position in the circumferential direction is adjusted so that the wheel nut 40 is accommodated in each partition wall 26, and the wheel cap 10 is strongly pressed against the disc 32. As described above, the wheel cap 10 is made of resin and has elasticity. Therefore, as the peripheral wall portion 14 is deformed, each engaging claw 20 gets over the head 44 of the wheel nut 40. Then, the engaging claw 20 that has passed over the head 44 of the wheel nut 40 is pulled inward along the tapered surface 42 by the force when the deformation of the peripheral wall portion 14 returns to the original shape, and is brought into contact with the tapered surface 42. Locked in the state (see FIGS. 4A and 4B). As described above, the wheel cap 10 is fixed to the wheel 30 by exerting an engaging force by the peripheral wall portion 14 and the engaging claw 20.

On the other hand, when the wheel cap 10 is separated from the wheel 30, a tool such as a flat-blade screwdriver or a small lever is inserted between the peripheral wall portion 14 and the disc 32, and the peripheral wall portion 14 is twisted outward. As a result, the peripheral wall portion 14 is deformed, and each engaging claw 20 gets over the tapered surface 42 and the head portion 44 of the wheel nut 40. Then, when all the engaging claws 20 get over the head 44, the wheel cap 10 is separated from the wheel 30. Here, by dividing the insertion points of the tool into a plurality of places, the wheel cap 10 can be evenly lifted from the disc 32, and the wheel cap 10 can be easily detached.

(Action effect)
The wheel cap 10 of the present embodiment is formed with an engaging claw 20 that is engaged with the wheel nut 40 with respect to the peripheral wall portion 14 that constitutes the design surface. As described above, in the wheel cap 10 of the present embodiment, the peripheral wall portion 14 constituting the design surface is elastically deformed so that the engaging claw 20 gets over the head 44 of the wheel nut 40 and the tapered surface of the wheel nut 40. Locked against 42. At this time, the engaging claw 20 applies stress to the peripheral wall portion 14. In other words, the engaging claw 20 generates an engaging force with respect to the tapered surface 42.

Here, as in Patent Document 1, when the claw formed at the tip of the rib protruding from the back surface of the wheel cap is fixed by being engaged with the wheel nut, in order to increase the engaging force. It is necessary to increase the rigidity of the rib. For example, it is necessary to increase the wall thickness of the rib or to bend the rib. Further, it is necessary not only to increase the rigidity of the rib itself but also to reinforce the top wall portion which is the base end portion of the rib. In this case, for example, it is necessary to increase the wall thickness of the top wall portion or provide a curved portion. If the top wall is bent too much when a tool such as a flat-blade screwdriver or a small lever is inserted, the wheel cap cannot be removed. From this point as well, it is necessary to reinforce the top wall. As described above, the weight of the hubcap as in Patent Document 1 is increased by increasing the wall thickness, and the structure is complicated by providing the curved portion. Further, when the curved portion is provided, the design may be restricted depending on the structure of the mold. On the other hand, according to the wheel cap 10 of the present embodiment, the engaging force can be secured by the peripheral wall portion 14 constituting the design surface. That is, the engaging force can be secured by the simple structure. Further, since it is not necessary to increase the wall thickness for reinforcement, the weight can be reduced. Then, the detachability when the wheel cap 10 is detached from the wheel 30 by using a tool can be ensured.

On the other hand, as in Patent Document 2, when the claw is engaged and fixed to the in-row portion of the automobile wheel, the peripheral wall portion covering the wheel nut is separated from the engaging portion, so that the peripheral wall portion receives an external force. As a result, the force acting on the engaging portion is increased. Therefore, the hubcap that is engaged in the in-row portion is easily disengaged and is inferior in stability when mounted. Further, it is difficult to secure the hubcap holding force even if the engaging force at the engaging portion is increased. On the other hand, according to the wheel cap 10 of the present embodiment, the wheel cap 10 is engaged with the peripheral wall portion 14 which is the outer peripheral portion of the wheel cap 10. Therefore, even if the peripheral wall portion 14 receives an external force, the force acting on the engaging claw 20 is not increased, so that the holding force can be secured with a small engaging force.

As described above, according to the wheel cap 10 of the present embodiment, it is possible to secure the holding force while simplifying the structure and reducing the weight as compared with the wheel cap of the prior art. As a result, the manufacturing cost can be suppressed. Further, by simplifying the structure for ensuring the holding force of the wheel cap 10, the restrictions on the shape are alleviated, so that the deterioration of the design is suppressed.

Further, the wheel cap 10 of the present embodiment can adjust the engaging force with respect to the wheel nut 40 and the holding force with respect to the wheel 30 by setting a plurality of protrusion amounts of the engaging claws 20. Specifically, in the present embodiment, the first engaging claw 22 having a large amount of protrusion with respect to the second engaging claw 24 and the second engaging claw 24 having a small amount of protrusion with respect to the first engaging claw 22. By setting, the holding force of the wheel cap 10 obtained by the entire engaging claw 20 is adjusted.

Here, by increasing the amount of protrusion of the engaging claw 20, the stress generated in the peripheral wall portion 14 increases. That is, by providing the first engaging claw 22 having a large amount of protrusion, the engaging force is increased, and the holding force of the wheel cap 10 is increased accordingly. Further, by reducing the amount of protrusion, the stress generated in the peripheral wall portion 14 is reduced. That is, by providing the second engaging claw 24 having a small protrusion amount, the engaging force is lowered, and the holding force of the wheel cap 10 is lowered accordingly. Further, the holding force of the wheel cap 10 can be increased by increasing the number of engaging claws 20 having a large amount of protrusion among the plurality of engaging claws 20. On the other hand, the holding force of the wheel cap 10 can be lowered by increasing the number of engaging claws 20 having a small protrusion amount among the plurality of engaging claws 20. That is, in the present embodiment, the holding force of the wheel cap 10 can be increased by increasing the ratio of the first engaging claw 22 among the five engaging claws 20, and the ratio of the second engaging claw 24 is increased. As a result, the holding force of the wheel cap 10 can be lowered.

In the engaging claw 20 of the present embodiment, two types of protrusion amounts are set, that is, the first engaging claw 22 and the second engaging claw 24 are provided, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the amount of protrusion may be changed in all the engaging claws 20.

Further, in the wheel cap 10 of the present embodiment, the engaging force with respect to the wheel nut 40 is adjusted and the holding force with respect to the wheel 30 is adjusted by providing a changing portion having a wall thickness different from that of the periphery in the circumferential direction of the peripheral wall portion 14. be able to. For example, increasing the wall thickness near the engaging claw 20 increases the rigidity of the peripheral wall portion 14. That is, the engaging force of the engaging claw 20 increases, and the holding force of the wheel cap 10 increases accordingly. Further, for example, the rigidity of the peripheral wall portion 14 is lowered by reducing the wall thickness in the vicinity of the engaging claw 20. That is, the engaging force of the engaging claw 20 decreases, and the holding force of the wheel cap 10 decreases accordingly.

The thickness changing portion of the peripheral wall portion 14 is not limited to the periphery of the engaging claw 20. For example, an arbitrary number can be provided at an arbitrary place such as between adjacent engaging claws 20. Then, the holding force of the wheel cap 10 may be adjusted by adjusting the wall thickness of the entire peripheral wall portion 14 without providing a changing portion having a wall thickness different from that of the surroundings in the circumferential direction of the peripheral wall portion 14.

Further, in the present embodiment, the protrusion amount of the engaging claw 20 and the wall thickness of the peripheral wall portion 14 may be adjusted at the same time. However, the protruding amount of the engaging claw 20 and the wall thickness of the peripheral wall portion 14 are set so that the deformation amount (deflection amount) of the peripheral wall portion 14 becomes uniform throughout the circumferential direction when the wheel cap 10 is attached to the wheel 30. do. That is, even if the reaction force when the wheel nut 40 gets over the head 44 for each engaging claw 20 at the time of mounting or disengaging due to a change in the protruding amount of each engaging claw 20 or the wall thickness of the peripheral wall portion 14, the reaction force varies. In the mounted state, the stress generated in the peripheral wall portion 14 is equalized. As a result, the engaging force in each engaging claw 20 is evenly distributed.

Further, in the wheel cap 10 of the present embodiment, partition walls 26 capable of accommodating the wheel nut 40 are provided at three locations. In the present embodiment, the portion surrounded by the pair of ribs 26A and the peripheral wall portion 14 serves as the accommodating portion of the wheel nut 40. In the wheel cap 10 of the present embodiment, the relative position of the wheel cap 10 in the circumferential direction with respect to the wheel 30 can be fixed by providing the partition wall portion 26 at at least one place. In the present embodiment, the wheels nuts 40 are provided at three locations corresponding to the first engaging claws 22, but the arrangement location and the number of arrangements are arbitrary as long as at least one wheel nut 40 can be accommodated.

(Second embodiment)
The wheel cap 50 of the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. Hereinafter, the differences from the first embodiment will be described. In FIG. 5, the same components as those in the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals.

The peripheral wall portion 14 of the first embodiment is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape (see FIGS. 1 and 2), whereas the peripheral wall portion 14 of the second embodiment has a substantially pentagonal shape. It is formed. That is, in the peripheral wall portion 14 of the present embodiment, the top portion corresponding to the engaging claw 20 protrudes most in the radial direction, and the intermediate portion between the engaging claws 20 has the smallest diameter.

When the wheel cap 50 of the present embodiment is attached to the wheel 30, the wheel nut 40 interferes with the peripheral wall portion 14 except at the position corresponding to the engaging claw 20 (see the two-dot chain line in FIG. 5), so that the wheel cap 50 Cannot be installed. Therefore, according to the wheel cap 50 of the present embodiment, the partition wall portion 26 composed of the pair of ribs 26A as in the first embodiment is unnecessary. Further, the wheel cap 50 of the present embodiment can be easily attached because the position for accommodating the wheel nut 40 can be specified by its appearance.

If the engaging claws 20 are provided at the corresponding positions of the wheel nuts 40 as in each embodiment, the shape of the peripheral wall portion 14 is not limited to a substantially cylindrical shape or a substantially pentagonal shape. For example, the wheel cap may be formed so that the peripheral wall portion 14 has a substantially star shape or a wavy shape.

The wheel cap 10 of each embodiment is formed for the wheel 30 fixed by five wheel nuts 40, but is not limited to this. For example, it may be formed for a wheel fixed by four or six wheel nuts.

10 Hubcap 14 Peripheral wall (wall)
20 Engagement claw (locking part)
22 First engaging claw (locking part)
24 Second engaging claw (locking part)
26A Rib 30 Wheel 40 Wheel Nut 50 Hubcap

Claims (3)

A wall portion that constitutes a design surface along a plurality of wheel nuts that fix the wheel and is inscribed by each of the wheel nuts.
A locking portion that is formed so as to project at a position corresponding to each wheel nut on the inner peripheral surface of the wall portion and is locked to the wheel nut is provided .
The plurality of locking portions are
A hubcap in which a plurality of protrusion amounts are set for each corresponding wheel nut . The wall part
The wheel cap according to claim 1, which has a portion for changing the wall thickness in the circumferential direction. The wall part
The wheel cap according to claim 1 or 2, which is provided for at least one wheel nut and has a pair of ribs erected from the inner peripheral surface for accommodating the wheel nut.

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