Wheel construction
AssigneeHedstrom Corporation
InventorRichard S. Hartung
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A wheel of the welded spoke variety has a hub with specially designed end caps. If the wheel is to be used as a front wheel of a tricycle, a pedal crank shaft having radial tabs is slid through openings in the end caps having inwardly projecting lips. As the shaft is forced further through the hub, the tabs slice into the rim around the opening in the distal end cap and also upset portions of the rim ahead of the cut into shaft slots just ahead of the tabs. This locks the hub to the shaft both axially and rotationally. If the wheel is to be used on a sidewalk bike with a coaster brake installed in the hub instead of a pedal crank, a circular array of teeth are formed in the outer surface of the proximate end cap which interfit with teeth on an element of the brake so that the brake element and hub rotate together.
Claims6
A wheel assembly comprising
- A. a shaft,
- B. at least one tab projecting radially out from the shaft and extending along the shaft so as to present an edge facing one end of the shaft,
- C. a wheel including a wheel hub composed of a tube whose bore cross-section is appreciably larger than that of the shaft and first and second end caps secured to the opposite ends of the tube,
- D. means defining axial aligned openings in the end caps to accommodate the shaft,
- E. a lip extending around the opening in at least the second end cap, said lip projecting into the hub, and
- F. at least one slot contiguous with the opening in the first end cap, said slot being arranged and adapted to permit passage of the tab when said one end of the shaft is inserted through the openings in the first and then the second end caps, said shaft being positioned axially in the hub so that said tab edge has sliced into the lip around the opening in the second end cap thereby rotatively locking the hub to the shaft.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.