Abstract:
A one way free spinning hubcap assembly having a decorative hubcap and a bracket assembly. The bracket assembly is attached to a vehicular wheel and the hubcap is rotatably attached thereto. A bearing clutch present in the bracket assembly permits the hubcap to rotate independently from the wheel when the wheel is rotated in one direction, but forces the hubcap to rotate concurrently with the wheel when rotational force is applied in the opposite direction. In this way the hubcap may be permitted to continue rotating after the associated wheel has ceased rotating.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to hubcaps, in particular to a hubcap assembly that permits a hubcap to spin independently from an associated vehicular wheel in only one direction of rotation. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     There have been a plethora of inventions relating to rotating hubcaps and wheel covers. Many of these references, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,490,342 to Rutterman et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,588,715 to Harlen, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,659,989 to Hsiao et al. disclose different mechanisms which allow a hubcap to maintain its rotational orientation independent of the rotation of the associated wheel. Each of these inventions employs some type of weighting mechanism to maintain the hubcap&#39;s orientation regardless of the reverse or forward rotation of the associated wheel. These inventions differ from the present invention in that the present invention employs no weighting mechanism, and permits the hubcap to rotate independently from its associated wheel in only one direction of rotation. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 3,158,946 discloses a spinning hub cap designed to be spun relative to the vehicle wheel on which it is mounted, as the vehicle wheel rolls forward, and to continue to spin after the vehicle wheel has been brought to a stop. The &#39;946 invention differs from the present invention in that the present invention uses a bearing clutch rather than a rachet type mechanism to control hubcap rotation, and because the &#39;946 invention lacks a hub bracket. Both of these features make the present invention more reliable, safer, and more cost effective to produce. 
     None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The one way free spinning hubcap assembly is a novelty device that allows a vehicle&#39;s hubcaps to freely spin in one direction independent of the rotation of the associated wheel. For example, when a vehicle using the invention accelerates or maintains its forward velocity the vehicles hubcaps are forced to spin at the same rate as the wheels. However, when the vehicle then slows or stops the hubcaps are free to continue spinning independently of the motion of the wheels. 
     The assembly has a hub bracket with a generally dome shaped body having a concave inner surface and a convex outer surface. Several legs extend from the bottom of the dome shaped body and terminate in feet extending perpendicularly from each leg. Defined in each foot is an aperture roughly the size of a wheel stud. An aperture, preferably threaded, is defined in the top of the dome between the inner and outer surfaces. When in use, the apertures in the feet are each positioned around a vehicular wheel stud and secured thereto with the vehicle&#39;s lug nuts. 
     The assembly further includes a central bolt with a head and a shank. The portion of the shank directly adjacent to the head is smooth while the balance of the shank is threaded. The central bolt is screwed into the aperture on the top of the dome and held there with two nuts, one adjacent to the inner surface (inner nut) of the dome and one adjacent to the outer surface (outer nut) of the dome. 
     The invention further includes a bolt collar. The bolt collar is a generally flat plate having an inner surface and an outer surface. A clutch bearing is positioned in the center of the collar and extends between the inner and outer surfaces. The collar is positioned around the central bolt, with the clutch bearing riding on the smooth portion of the central bolt between the head of the bolt and the top nut. A decorative hub cap is attached to the collar by screws. 
     When in use, the clutch forces the associated hubcap to rotate at the same speed as the associated wheel when the vehicle is traveling forward. When the vehicle slows, such as during braking the inertia permits the hubcap to spin independently of the wheel. 
     Accordingly, it is a principal object of the invention to provide a device which allows the free rotation of vehicular hubcaps, in one direction only, independently of the associated wheel. 
     It is another object of the invention to provide a device which projects the illusion of forward motion in a stopped vehicle. 
     It is a further object of the invention to provide a device that will improve the looks of a vehicle. 
     It is an object of the invention to provide improved elements and arrangements thereof in an apparatus for the purposes described which is inexpensive, dependable and fully effective in accomplishing its intended purposes. 
     These and other objects of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is an environmental side view of a wheel having a one way free spinning hubcap assembly according to the present invention. 
     FIG. 2 is a section view along lines  2 — 2  of FIG.  1 . 
     FIG. 3A is a top view of a two leg hub bracket according to the present invention. 
     FIG. 3B is a side view of the bracket of FIG. 3A according to the present invention. 
     FIG. 3C is a top view of a three leg hub bracket according to the present invention. 
     FIG. 3D is a perspective view of the bracket of FIG. 3C according to the present invention. 
     FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the spinner assembly, the hubcap being omitted for clarity. 
     Similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the attached drawings. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     The present invention, as shown in FIG. 1, is a one way free spinning hubcap assembly, designated generally as  10  in the drawings. The assembly  10  has a decorative hubcap  12  that is positioned adjacent to a vehicular wheel. The internal mechanisms of the invention, discussed below, cause the hubcap to rotate with the wheel when the wheel is turning in the direction of arrow  14 . Therefore, when a vehicle employing the present invention is accelerating forward or maintaining its forward velocity the hubcap rotates at the same speed as the associated wheel, as would a conventional hubcap. However, when the vehicle decelerates, a bearing clutch (discussed below) in the assembly  10  permits the hubcap to continue to freely rotate, giving the appearance that the entire wheel is quickly rotating even when the wheel itself is slowing or has stopped rotating. 
     FIG. 2 illustrates a sectional view of the present invention. The assembly  10  has a hubcap  12  which is connected by several hubcap bolts  16  to a bolt collar  18 . The bolt collar  18  is a flat plate with an outer surface  17  and an inner surface  19 . Disposed in the center of the collar  18  and extending just past the outer  17  and inner  19  surfaces is a bearing clutch  20 . 
     The assembly  10  further includes a central bolt  22  having a head  24  and a shank. The central bolt  22  extends through the bearing clutch  20  and the associated bolt collar  18 . Next, the central bolt  22  extends through an outer nut  26  and a lock washer  28 , then through a dome shaped hub bracket  30 , (detailed below). The central bolt  22  finally extends through a second lock washer  28  and is secured by inner nut  29 . The hub bracket  30  itself is secured to a vehicle&#39;s wheel assembly W through the use of the vehicle&#39;s wheel studs S and lug nuts L. 
     FIGS. 3A-3D illustrate two different embodiments of the hub bracket, designated as  31  and  30 , respectively. Each embodiment has a dome shaped body  32  with a concave inner surface and a convex outer surface. A threaded aperture  33  is defined in the top of the body  32 . Extending from the bottom of the body  32  are a plurality of legs  34 . The legs  34  extend downward from the base of the dome-shaped body  32  and terminate in perpendicularly disposed feet  36 . Defined in each foot  36  is an aperture  38  having a diameter larger than the diameter of a vehicular wheel stud S. The difference between the hub bracket embodiments  30 ,  31  stems from the brackets having differing numbers of legs  34  and feet  36 . Generally, hub brackets may include any number of legs  34  and feet  36 , with brackets having even numbers of legs  34  and feet  36  being designed for wheel assemblies with an even number of wheel studs, and with hub brackets  30  with odd numbers of legs  34  and feet  36  being designed for wheel assemblies with an odd number of wheel studs. Either type of hub bracket  30 ,  31  is interchangeable with the rest of the invention and the invention is not limited to a hub bracket of any particular number of legs  34  or of feet  36 . 
     The bracket  31  is shown with two feet  36 , and the bracket  30  is shown with three feet  36 . The number of feet  36  need not be equal to the number of wheel studs S. 
     Referring back to FIG. 2, the body  32  of the hub bracket  30  is designed to be positioned adjacent to a wheel assembly with the wheel studs S being positioned inside the foot apertures  38 . The bracket is then secured thereto with the wheel&#39;s existing lug nuts L. 
     FIG. 4 illustrates and exploded view of the present invention. The central bolt  22  is made up of a head  24  and a shank  42 . The shank has a threaded section  44  and a smooth journal portion  46  that is adjacent to the head  24 . The threaded section  44  has right-hand threads (normally) for devices intended for wheels on the driver&#39;s or left side of a vehicle, and left-hand threads (reverse) for devices intended for the passenger&#39;s or right side of a vehicle. When assembled, the bearing clutch  20  rotates on the journal portion  46  of bolt  22 . 
     In order to facilitate the spinning of the bolt collar  18  and the associated hubcap  12  (not shown) the length of the bearing clutch  20  should be greater than the distance between the outer  17  and inner  19  surfaces of the bolt collar  18 . The length of the journal portion  46  of bolt  22  should also be greater than the length of the bearing clutch  20 . In this way the friction of rotation is minimized. 
     The bolt collar  18  is shown as a flat rectangular plate with several holes defined therein. The rectangular shape is not critical to the invention and may be altered so long as the collar  18  remains balanced around the bearing clutch  20 , e.g., square, circular, etc. A plurality of holes  50  are defined between the outer surface  17  and the inner surface  19  of the collar  18 . 
     Hubcap bolts  16  extend through these holes  50  and are the preferred method used to secure a hubcap  12  (not shown) to the bolt collar  18 . Any number of other means are available to secure the hubcap to the collar  18 , including adhesives, clips or latches. A second plate may also be secured to the hubcap  12  and the hubcap bolts  16  may be secured thereto. This option is especially useful with specialty hubcaps. 
     A second hole  54  may also be disposed in the plane of the bolt collar  18 . The hole  54  extends from the edge of the collar  18  to the bearing clutch  20 . A set screw  52  may be inserted into the collar  18  through the hole  54  and used to secure the bearing clutch  20 . 
     Bearing clutch  20  may be any conventionally available bearing clutch, usually of the type having roller or needle bearings for engaging a shaft and a mechanism for restricting rotation to a single direction, e.g., cams. 
     It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the sole embodiment described above, but encompasses any and all embodiments within the scope of the following claims.