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US 11,850,888 B2Granted
Adaptive wheel assembly with interchangeable decorative faces
OwnerMichael Raveloinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A wheel assembly that provides a simulated center lock wheel look that also enables exchanging of ornamental face plates with a center hub attachment device that will allow car enthusiasts to easily change the look of their automotive wheels while maintaining a center lock wheel appearance. The assembly includes three components: a base wheel, a plurality of ornamental face plates, and a center hub attachment extending from one of either the hub or the ornamental face plate.
Claims33
A wheel assembly for use on a vehicle and for use with a plurality of ornamental face plates, the wheel assembly comprising:
- a barrel having a sidewall that circumscribes an interior having a first end and a second end, the barrel having a rotational axis;
- and
- a hub located in the interior of the barrel and capable of coupling the barrel to the vehicle and supporting weight of the vehicle, the hub having a longitudinal axis that is coincident with the rotational axis of the barrel, the hub further comprising at least one threaded attachment point that does not bear any vehicle weight when the wheel assembly is mounted on the vehicle, the at least one threaded attachment point sized and shaped to enable selective positioning of one or more of the ornamental face plates on the hub along the longitudinal axis of the hub and the rotational axis of the barrel that allows for selection in a level of concavity between the ornamental face plate and the barrel, the hub is offset along the longitudinal axis to be closer to the first end of the barrel than to the second end of the barrel, the hub is offset along the longitudinal axis to be closer to the first end of the barrel than to the second end of the barrel, and
- the threaded attachment point comprises a post extending from the hub, the post having an exterior and further including an internal axial bore and means for securing one or more ornamental face plates to the post;
- and
- an externally threaded collar that includes a wall sized and shaped to be received over the exterior of the post, a plurality of transverse openings in the wall, and a plurality of set screws to engage the respective transverse openings in the collar wall, each of the set screws having a head shaped to be recessed within the collar wall, the post including openings sized, shaped, and positioned to accept the set screws in response to the set screws passing through the transverse openings in the collar wall to thereby attach the collar to the post.
3 more elements
A vehicle, comprising:
- a wheel assembly for use on the vehicle, the wheel assembly comprising:
- a plurality of ornamental face plates having a plurality of ornamental spokes, each ornamental spoke having an interior side;
- a barrel having a sidewall that circumscribes an interior having a first end and a second end;
- a plurality of barrel spokes attached to the barrel and extending radially inward in the interior of the barrel, each spoke of the plurality of barrel spokes having a top and opposing sides;
- and
- a hub located in the interior of the barrel and capable of coupling the barrel to the vehicle to bear at least a portion of vehicle weight, the hub coupled to the barrel by attachment to the plurality of spokes that form windows or spaces in the barrel to enable one or more of cooling of vehicle components and visualization of components on the vehicle, and the hub further having at least one attachment point formed along a longitudinal axis of the hub to receive at least one ornamental face plate of the plurality of ornamental face plates without the attachment point or the ornamental face plate bearing any vehicle weight and to enable changing a concavity between the ornamental face plate and the barrel sidewall.
3 more elements
A wheel assembly for use on a vehicle and for use with a plurality of ornamental face plates, the wheel assembly comprising:
- a barrel having a sidewall that circumscribes an interior having a first end and a second end, the barrel having a rotational axis;
- and
- a hub located in the interior of the barrel and capable of coupling the barrel to the vehicle and supporting weight of the vehicle, the hub having a longitudinal axis that is coincident with the rotational axis of the barrel, the hub further comprising at least one threaded attachment point that does not bear any vehicle weight when the wheel assembly is mounted on the vehicle, the at least one threaded attachment point sized and shaped to enable selective positioning of one or more of the ornamental face plates on the hub along the longitudinal axis of the hub and the rotational axis of the barrel that allows for selection in a level of concavity between the ornamental face plate and the barrel, the hub is offset along the longitudinal axis to be closer to the first end of the barrel than to the second end of the barrel, the barrel further including an outer lip portion;
- and
- an annular ring sized and shaped to be attached to the outer lip portion of the barrel, wherein the annular ring includes a plurality of tabs, each tab sized and shaped to be slidably received in an opening formed between distal ends of spokes on the ornamental face plate, a U-shaped terminal end is formed at the distal ends to connect each pair of spokes together, and the U-shaped terminal end is sized and shaped to extend over and bear against an annular face of the ring.
2 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.