Patent Publication Number: US-2016243892-A1

Title: Non-Rotating Wheel Cap

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 14/104,081, filed on Dec. 12, 2013, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a non-rotating decorative cap which can be fixed to a rotating body, and in particular, the present invention relates to a non-rotating decorative cap which can be fixed at the center of a vertically rotating member such as a vehicle&#39;s wheel; thereby showing a non-rotating state of a pattern, emblem or advertisement irrespective to the rotation of a rotating member. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Non-Rotating decorative caps are widely known as vehicles&#39; accessories, which are used to display logos, emblems, or advertisements upon; wherein such caps use adhesives in order to be installed, and use transparent protective covers on the displayed item; wherein the transparent cover causes dust to be accumulated between the transparent cover and the displayed item; and wherein such caps vibrate at certain speeds causing the displayed item to vibrate, and thus become unreadable. 
     To overcome the rotation problem of regular decorative wheel caps which causes the logo, emblem, advertising or pattern of the caps to be unreadable during the motion of the vehicle, a new non-rotating wheel cap must be put in place with an engineered shape that prevents the caps from vibrating. The new cap must be light in weight, easier to install and more stable than those in the prior art, and does not use any protective covers to prevent the accumulation of dust in order for the logo to be readable all the time. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Through the movement of a vehicle and during the rotation of the vehicle wheels, any decoration; whether it was a logo, an advertisement or an emblem imprinted on a regular wheel cap becomes impossible to be seen and identified clearly, and after the vehicle stops in a static position, the decoration rarely remains in its upright position and usually stops in a tilted manner, therefore, the main purpose of such cap is to exhibit certain decorative shapes clearly. 
     Having discussed the main flaw in a regular wheel cap, the need for a non-rotating wheel cap that overcomes this flaw becomes apparent, but due to the limitations of acceptable prices paid for wheel caps and due to constructive and design-related issues, the mechanism that keeps the decoration in its upright vertical position in such caps must be cost effective, simple in design, small in size, light in weight and easy to clean, therefore it is a main objective of the present invention to provide a non-rotating wheel cap that is distinguished by these advantageous features. 
     To achieve the objective of the present invention, all the components of the non-rotating wheel cap disclosed in this invention are press-fitted to each other in order to avoid the usage of bolts and nuts; which would increase the weight of such cap, and accordingly increases the force needed to maintain such cap in its upright position. Such cap is installed in its position at the center of a wheel rim using fixtures, thus, it is easy for the user himself to install and uninstall such cap, whenever he pleases. Narrow spaces are avoided in the cap of the present invention, since these spaces increase the difficulty of cleaning such cap. The decorations displayed on such cap are at the most apparent component on the outer side of such cap, with no transparent surfaces covering the decoration, since these surfaces are known for accumulating mist. 
     There is provided a non-rotating wheel cap device for displaying decorations at the center of a vehicle&#39;s wheel rim, the device comprising: 
     A cylindrical body  1  having a central axis  15 , a lower body edge  16  and an upper body edge  17 , the cylindrical body comprising an opening  18  at the upper body edge  17 , a bottom wall  19  at the lower body edge  16 , and inner body space between said bottom wall  19  and said opening  18 , a pin  3  extending vertically from the bottom wall  19  along the central axis  15  outwardly toward the opening  18 , a lip  20  extending from the upper body edge  17  radially outwardly from the central axis  15  and having an upper lip portion  21  and a lower lip portion  22 , and mounting members  2  located at said lower lip portion  22  adapted to removably mount said cylindrical body  1  on said vehicle&#39;s wheel rim; 
     a roller bearing  6 , said pin  3  being adapted to be press-fitted inside said roller bearing; 
     a curved crescent-shaped body  4  having an upper and a lower lateral surfaces  26  and  27 , wherein the upper surface  26  is concaved while the lower surface  27  is flat. Said body  4  has a plurality of holes  7  extending throughout the upper and lower lateral surfaces  26  and  27  of the body; 
     a cylindrical housing  9  having cylindrical wall  28  and a concaved base  29  with an upper surface  33  and a lower surface  34  , wherein the radius of said cylindrical wall  28  is smaller than the radius of said concaved base  29 , thus rendering the base  29  to be extended radially outwardly from said cylindrical wall  29 . Said cylindrical wall  28  has a plurality of partitions  35   a,    35   b,    35   c,    35   d,    35   e  that define a plurality of housing spaces  36   a,    36   b  for said crescent shaped body  4  and said roller bearing  6  respectively, and a plurality of empty spaces  36   c,    36   d,    36   e.  The housing space for said crescent-shaped body  36   a  comprises cylindrical members  8  extending vertically downwardly from the lower cover surface  34 , said cylindrical members  8  being adapted to be press-fitted inside said cylindrical holes  7  at the upper lateral surface  26  of the crescent-shaped body  4 . The curvature of said base  29  is adapted to allow said upper surface  26  of said body  4  to be always in contact with the lower surface  34  of said base  29 ; 
     a concaved circular metal sheet  37  having a plurality of protrusions  37   a,    37   b,    37   c,    37   d,    37   e,  protruding radially from said concaved circular metal sheet  37 . 
     Preferably, the cylindrical body  1  and the cylindrical housing  9  are made out of plastic, while the crescent-shaped body  4  and said metal sheet  37  are made out of metal. Preferably, the cylindrical holes  7  are three holes. Preferably, the cylindrical housing  9  is adapted to cover the opening  18  of the cylindrical body  1 . Preferably, the roller bearing  6  and the crescent-shaped object  4  are adapted to be enclosed inside the inner body space between the opening  1  and the bottom wall  19 . 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Further features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, taken in combination with the appended drawings, in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a non-rotating wheel cap configured according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is an exploded perspective view of a non-rotating wheel cap configured according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 3  is a rear perspective view of a concaved circular metal sheet of a non-rotating wheel cap configured according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 4  is a top view of a cylindrical housing of a non-rotating wheel cap configured according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 5  is a side view of a cylindrical housing with an attached concaved circular metal sheet of a non-rotating wheel cap configured according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 6  is a perspective view of a cylindrical housing of a non-rotating wheel cap configured according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 7  is a perspective view of a cylindrical body of a non-rotating wheel cap configured according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       FIG. 1  illustrates a non-rotating wheel cap for displaying decorations configured according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention; wherein this embodiment comprises a cylindrical body  1  having a central axis  15 , a lower body edge  16  and an upper body edge  17 , the cylindrical body comprising an opening  18  at the upper body edge  17 , a bottom wall  19  at the lower body edge  16 , and inner body space between said bottom wall  19  and said opening  18 , a pin  3  extending vertically from the bottom wall  19  along the central axis  15  outwardly toward the opening  18 , a lip  20  extending from the upper body edge  17  radially outwardly from the central axis  15  and having an upper lip portion  21  and a lower lip portion  22 , and mounting members  2  located at said lower lip portion  22  adapted to removably mount said cylindrical body  1  on said vehicle&#39;s wheel rim; a roller bearing  6 , said shaft being adapted to be press-fitted inside said roller bearing; a curved body having substantially the shape of a crescent  4  having an upper and a lower lateral surfaces  26  and  27 , wherein the upper surface  26  is concaved while the lower surface  27  is flat. Said body  4  has a plurality of holes  7  extending throughout the upper and lower lateral surfaces  26  and  27  of the body; a cylindrical housing  9  having a cylindrical wall  28  and a concaved base  29  with an upper surface  33  and a lower surface  34 , wherein the radius of said cylindrical wall  28  is smaller than the radius of said concaved base  29 , thus rendering the base  29  to be extended radially outwardly from said cylindrical wall  29 . Said cylindrical wall  28  has a plurality of partitions  35   a,    35   b,    35   c,    35   d  that define a plurality of housing spaces  36   a,    36   b  for said crescent shaped body  4 , said roller bearing  6  respectively, and a plurality of empty spaces  36   c,    36   d,    36   e.  The housing space for said crescent-shaped body  36   a  comprises cylindrical members  8  extending vertically downwardly from the lower base surface  34 , said cylindrical members  8  being adapted to be press-fitted inside said cylindrical holes  7  at the upper lateral surface  26  of the semi-circular body  4 . The curvature of said base  29  is adapted to allow said upper surface  26  of said body  4  to be always in contact with the lower surface  34  of said base  29 . The preferred embodiment also comprises a concaved circular metal sheet  37  having a plurality of protrusions  37   a,    37   b,    37   c,    37   d,    37   e  distributed at the circumference of such sheet  37  to enable the attachment of such metal sheet  37  onto the upper base surface  33  of the housing  2 . The housing space of the roller bearing  36   b  is cylindrical and has two radially inwardly protrusions; an upper protrusion  360   b  and a lower protrusion  361   b,  wherein such protrusions restrict the linear displacement of the roller bearing  6  with respect to its housing  36   b.  The roller bearing housing has a plurality of notches  362   b  distributed radially along the upper protrusion  360   b,  wherein such notches  362   b  extend toward the lower protrusion  361   b  of the roller bearing housing  36   b.    
     Preferably, the bottom wall  19  is inclined upwards toward the pin  3 . 
     Preferably, said pin  3  comprises a curved base  300 , a cervix  301  and a head  302  with the head and cervix forming a mushroom-shape such that the radius of the cervix  301  at the point of connection to the head  302  is greater than the radius of the remaining portions of the cervix  301 . Said head  302  and part of the cervix  301  are divided into three symmetrical parts  3   a,    3   b,    3   c.    
     Preferably, said cylindrical body has a plurality of holes  38  distributed radially at the distance between the upper and lower body edges  16 , 17 . 
     The inclination of said bottom base  19 , the curvature of the pin base  300 , and the holes  38  allows for better centrifugation force to clean the device of the present invention. 
     Preferably, each of the supporting members  2  of the cylindrical body  1  has supporting member  200  connected to said lower lip portion  22 . 
     Preferably, desired decorations are printed on the concaved circula metal sheet  37 . 
     The cylindrical body  1  and the cylindrical housing  9  are made out of plastic, and the crescent-shaped object  4  is made out of metal. Preferably, the cylindrical holes  7  are three holes. Preferably, the cylindrical housing  9  is adapted to cover the opening  18  of the cylindrical body  1 . Preferably, the roller bearing  6  and the crescent-shaped object  4  are adapted to be enclosed inside the inner body space between the opening  1  and the bottom wall  19 . 
     From the discussed features of the preferred embodiment of the present invention, it is clearly noticed that the cylindrical body  1  can be manufactured based on the central space of a wheel rim, thus, and due to the compact design of the non-rotating wheel cap disclosed in present invention and since these designs enfold the mechanisms needed to keep the upright position of the cap inside the inner space of the cylindrical body  1 , the cap can be simply inserted in the inner space of any wheel rim with no need to any modifications, in a manner similar to any regular wheel cap. 
     Excluding the roller bearing  6 , the crescent shaped object  4  and concaved circular metal sheet  37 ; which are made out of metal, all the components of the cap are made of plastic, in order to reduce weight; wherein such reduction in weight enables the single roller bearing  6  to efficiently hold the cap in its upright position. 
     The non-rotating wheel cap of the present invention has also been tested at a machine that rotates the wheel of a vehicle in order to simulate the actual motion of vehicles. Going at a simulated speed that exceeds 400 km/hr, the non-rotating wheel cap disclosed in the present invention kept at an upright position during the whole period of the test. 
     Although the above description of the present invention has disclosed the features of the invention as applied to the preferred embodiment; additions, omissions and modifications applied to the details of the embodiment illustrated may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the essential characteristic of the present invention.