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US 5,174,702 AGranted
Lug nut retainer
OwnerLee A. Dolininventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
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OwnerLee A. Dolininventor
Estimating the term…
A lug nut retainer that holds a lug nut in position proximate to a wheel lug hole to accept a stud extended through the wheel lug hole and for resiliently urges the lug nut onto the stud while allowing the lug nut to rotate to screw onto and off the stud. A resilient retaining clip is mounted onto the wheel to hold the lug nut in position near the wheel lug hole and to resiliently urge the lug nut towards the wheel lug hole. The retaining clip is fastened to the wheel lug hole by inserting an arm of the clip through two holes provided in the wheel. As an additional feature, a limit clip is provided that limits the motion of the retaining clip to decrease the likelihood that the retaining clip may be bent or damaged while allowing the retaining clip to be positioned on a nut. The lug nut is provided with a socket stop ring around which the retaining clip is positioned. The stop ring keeps the socket from rubbing against the retaining clip. For wheel types where the retaining clips protruding through the back of the wheel would contact the hub or otherwise interfere with other parts of the automobile, a retaining plate is attached to the wheel for holding the retaining and limit clips.
A lug nut retainer comprising a lug nut having a socket stop means and an outwardly extending flange, retaining means for holding said lug nut in position proximate to a lug hole of a wheel to accept a stud extending through said lug hole and for resiliently urging said lug nut onto said stud and simultaneously allowing said lug nut to rotate to screw onto and off of said stud, said retaining means including a resilient retaining clip affixed to the wheel, said retaining clip being positioned to engage the nut so that the nut will displace said retaining clip upon movement of the nut away from the lug hole, said retaining clip having a thickness, the socket stop means protecting said retaining means, said stop means having a dimension sufficient to protect all of said retaining means from significant rubbing by a tool used to turn said nut, said retaining clip including a retaining ring sized to extend around the nut and extend over said flange, said retaining ring including an expansion limit means for preventing said ring from expanding beyond a predetermined diameter.
A lug nut retainer comprising a lug nut having an outwardly extending flange, retaining means for holding said lug nut in position proximate to a lug hole of a wheel to accept a stud extending through said lug hole and for resiliently urging said lug nut onto said stud and simultaneously allowing said lug nut to rotate to screw onto and off of said stud, said retaining means including a resilient retaining clip affixed to the wheel, said retaining clip being positioned to engage the nut so that the nut will displace said retaining clip upon movement of the nut away from the lug hole, said retaining clip including a retaining ring sized to extend around the nut and extend over said flange, said retaining ring including an expansion limit means for preventing said ring from expanding beyond a predetermined diameter and a socket stop means for engaging a socket stop tool used to turn said nut for preventing significant rubbing of said retaining ring by said socket stop tool.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.