Abstract:
The present invention entails an enclosure that encompasses and protects a lug and lug nut extending from a wheel hub. Structurally, the enclosure comprises an end wall, a surrounding side, a snap on end cap, and a lug opening or port formed in the end wall. When installed, the lug extends through the lug opening and supports the enclosure while the end wall lies exteriorly of the lug nut and the surrounding side is spaced from the lug nut but generally encompasses and surrounds the lug nut and the lug. Prior to enclosing the enclosure by snapping on the end cap, the enclosure is filled at least partially with a grease or lubricant.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to devices for encapsulating or enclosing lug nuts and lugs so as to protect them from rust, corrosion and other adverse effects caused by exposure and weather. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     It is quite common to encounter a lug nut that is frozen tight to a lug extending from a wheel hub. Many times, the lug nut is so tightly bound to the lug that it cannot be loosened and removed even when treated with special oils that are designed to penetrate and loosen such a frozen nut. In fact, some lug nuts become so tightly bound and frozen to a lug that when sufficient torque is applied the entire lug breaks or is twisted off its hub. 
     Frozen lug nuts can be caused by a variety of conditions. Principal contributors are generally weather and environment related. For example, one of the most common places where one finds frozen lug nuts is on the hub of boat trailers. This is because the entire hub of a boat trailer is often submerged in water (fresh or salt) during the course of launching or loading a boat onto the trailer. In addition, boat trailers and other vehicles that are commonly maintained in coastal regions are prone to include rusted and corroded lug and lug nuts and this too can give rise to situations where the lug nuts become tightly bound about their lug. 
     Therefore, there has been and continues to be a need for some type of protective device to house and enclose lug and lug nuts that extend from boat trailer hubs and other vehicles that have hubs that are sometimes submerged in water or exposed to the elements of weather. 
     SUMMARY AND OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention entails a device for protecting a lug nut and lug and also a method for providing a protective barrier and enclosure around a lug nut and its supporting lug. 
     More particularly, the present invention entails an enclosure that is designed to fit on a lug extending from a hub and to enclose a segment of the lug along with a threaded lug nut. Along with the enclosure that is placed around the lug nut and the lug, the method of protection entails placing a grease, protectant or other lubricant within the enclosure such that it is placed or compacted around both the lug nut and the lug so as to protect the same from weather. Because the lug and lug nut is enclosed and because of the presence of the grease or lubricant within the enclosure, the lug nut and lug are essentially housed within a protected environment that for the most part is waterproof. 
     It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a simple enclosure design that is adapted to fit on the lug of a hub and to extend around and generally enclose a portion of the lug and a nut threaded thereon. 
     Still a further object of the present invention resides in the provision of a method for protecting a lug nut and its lug which involves injecting or placing a grease or lubricant in an enclosure that houses the lug nut and lug such that while the enclosure is disposed around the lug and lug nut, the grease or lubricant and the enclosure serve to isolate and separate the lug nut and lug from the elements of weather and even water. 
     A further object of the present invention resides in the provision of an open end cylinder that is designed to receive the lug and is spaced such that the accompanying nut can be threaded onto the lug and disposed within the cylindrical enclosure such that both the lug nut and the lug are confined within the enclosure. 
     Still a further object of the present invention resides in a method for protecting lugs and lug nuts associated with a wheel hub by providing an enclosure around the lug and lug nut that allows grease or a lubricant to be placed around the lug and the lug nut and to generally seal the same from the elements of weather and water. 
     Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent and obvious from a study of the following description and the accompanying drawings which are merely illustrative of such invention. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the lug and lug nut enclosure of the present invention. 
     FIG. 2 is a sectional view illustrating the enclosure of the present invention disposed around a lug and lug nut. 
     FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a second design for the lug and lug nut enclosure of the present invention. 
     FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the second enclosure shown in FIG.  3 . 
     FIG. 5 is an end elevational view of the enclosure shown in FIG.  3 . 
     FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken through the line  6 — 6  of FIG.  4 . 
     FIG. 7 is a transverse sectional view of the enclosure show in FIG. 3 showing the enclosure secured about the lug and lug nut. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     With further reference to the drawings, the enclosure or protective housing for a lug and lug nut is shown therein and indicated generally by the numeral  10 . As will be appreciated from subsequent portions of this disclosure, the enclosure  10  is designed to enclose or encapsulate a lug and lug nut extending from a wheel hub. To provide long term protection for the lug and lug nut, the enclosure, once it surrounds the lug and lug nut, is filled with a grease or lubricant. 
     Turning to a discussion of the enclosure  10  itself, it is seen that the same includes an end wall  12  that is of a generally concave/convex shape. More particularly, the interior side of the end wall  12  assumes a concave shape while the exterior side assumes a convex shape. Formed centrally in the end wall  12  is a lug opening  14 . The purpose of the lug opening  14  is to permit a lug from a wheel hub to be extended therethrough. 
     Projecting from the end wall  12  is a surrounding side  16 . In the case of the embodiment illustrated herein, the surrounding side  16  is generally cylindrical and the end wall  12  and surrounding side  16  form an open ended cylinder. As seen in the drawings, the end of the enclosure opposite the end wall is open. As will be appreciated from subsequent portions of the disclosure, this will permit a lug nut to be threaded on to a lug that projects into the confines of the enclosure  10 . 
     In order to enclose the enclosure  10 , there is provided a snap on end cap  20 . Cap  20  includes an integral angled recess  22  that is designed to engage and snap over a surrounding lip  18  that circumferentially extends around the outer surface of the surrounding side  16  adjacent the open end of the enclosure  10 . Thus, when the snap on cap  20  is secured across the open end of the enclosure  10  it is appreciated that the entire enclosure is closed except for the lug opening  14  formed in the end wall  12 . 
     Enclosure  10 , just described, is designed to enclose and protect a lug and lug nut that typically extends from a wheel hub. To illustrate the application of the enclosure  10 , the drawings (FIG. 2) show a conventional hub  30  that includes a lug  32  projecting therefrom and a lug nut  34  threaded on the lug  32 . In the case of the design illustrated in the drawings, the lug nut  34  is of a conventional design and includes a dome head  34   a . Typically, a wheel hub is provided with a series of lugs  32  and lug nuts  34 . The function of the lug nuts is to secure a rim or wheel  36  to the hub  30 . 
     In FIG. 2, the enclosure  10  is shown extending outwardly from the wheel or rim  36  and generally enclosing a segment of the lug  32  and the lug nut  34  threaded thereon. It is seen that there is formed an internal cavity  50  within the enclosure  10 . The internal cavity  50  is bounded by the end wall  12 , surrounding sides  16  and the snap on cap  20 . Also, it is seen that the surrounding side  16  of the enclosure  10  is sized or dimensioned such that it is spaced outwardly from the lug nut  34 . This enables the lug nut  34  to be screwed onto the lug  32  while the enclosure  10  extends around the lug  32 . In addition, it enables a socket to be inserted within the enclosure  10  for the purpose of engaging the lug nut  34  and either tightening or loosening the same. Finally, as will be discussed hereafter, the internal cavity  50  and the spaced defined around the lug nut  34  and the lug  32  provide an area for receiving a composition of grease or lubricant that will provide additional protection for the lug  32  and lug nut  34 . 
     To install the enclosure  10 , the lug nut  34  is removed from the lug  32 . Next, the enclosure  10  is inserted over the lug  32  by projecting the lug through the lug opening  14  of the end wall  12 . The enclosure  10  and end wall  12  is pushed tightly against a wheel or rim  36  that lies exteriorly of the hub  30 . Note again that the exterior side of the end wall  12  is generally convex shape. This shape is designed to be compatible with the shape of the wheel or rim  36  in the area where the lug passes through. More particularly, the wheel or rim  36  includes a concave shaped surface about the exterior thereof where the lug passes through. Consequently, when the enclosure  10  is pushed tightly against the wheel or rim  36 , the convex exterior shape of the end wall  12  will tend to seat against the concave shape of the hub. Once the enclosure is fitted onto the lug  32 , the lug nut is inserted through the open end of the enclosure  10  and threaded onto the lug  32 . After the lug nut has been threaded onto the lug  32  and tightened by a socket, the internal cavity  50  within the enclosure is filled with a grease or lubricant. While this disclosure suggests protecting both the lug nut  34  and the lug  32 , it is vitally important to protect the lug extending outwardly from the lug nut. This is because the problem of frozen lug nuts arise because the outer ends of lugs become so rusted or corroded that the lug nut cannot be screwed past the rusted or corroded outer end. Thus, it is very important to protect the exposed outer end of the lug  32 . Consequently, when placing the grease or lubricant within the enclosure, it is important at the very minimum to spread an application of grease or lubricant around the exposed end of the lug  32 . Finally, the end cap  20  is snapped onto the enclosure effectively closing the open end. It should be pointed out that once the snap on cap  20  is in place, that the enclosure  10  forms a relatively closed and sealed enclosure. The lug opening  14  is sized to form a relatively close fit around the lug  32 . In any event, once a grease or lubricant composition has been placed on the lug  32  and the lug nut  34 , and the end cap  20  has been snapped into place, this forms a generally closed and sealed protective housing or covering about the lug and lug nut. 
     The enclosure  10  can be constructed of various materials and can assume various shapes and sizes. It is contemplated that in one embodiment, that the end wall  12  of the enclosure would be constructed of a metal material while the surrounding side  16  and cap  20  may be constructed of a plastic material. In the second, the enclosure  10  could be constructed entirely of a molded plastic material. 
     Turning now to FIGS. 3-7, there is shown therein a second design for an enclosure that acts to surround and protect a lug and lug nut. The second design depicts a protective enclosure, indicated generally by the numeral  50 , that is designed to simply snap on or be inserted over a lug  32  and a lug nut  34  threaded on the lug nut (see FIG.  7 ). The protective enclosure  50  includes a housing structure  52 , a grease fitting opening  54  and a front opening  56 . 
     The protective enclosure  50  can be constructed of various materials. However, it is contemplated that a preferred design would entail a plastic or rubber type construction that would be sufficiently flexible to enable the enclosure  50  to be pushed onto and around a lug and lug nut and at the same time result in the enclosure gripping the lug and/or lug nut with sufficient force to retain the protective enclosure  50  around the lug and lug nut. 
     As seen in the drawings, the forward or front portion of the enclosure  50  is formed into an open cavity  58  that is designed to receive a lug nut  34 . Note that formed around the outer perimeter of the front opening  56  is a lip flange  60  that tends to extend inwardly and engage a portion of the surrounding structure of the nut  34  so as to retain the enclosure  50  about the nut  34 . 
     The protective enclosure  50  shown in FIGS. 3-7 is designed such that a portion of the structure that forms a part of the enclosure  50  actually engages the threaded lug  32 . In particular, formed interiorly within the protective enclosure  50  is a series of inwardly projecting ribs  62 . The ribs  62  include a series of teeth  64  formed along an inner edge of the ribs. The teeth  64  are designed to engage with and mate with conventional threads formed around the lug  32 . Consequently, the teeth  64  along with the ribs  62  result in the protective enclosure  50  being securely gripped or engaged around the lug  32 . 
     The protective enclosure  50  is provided with a grease fitting  68  that is threaded into the grease fitting opening  54  of the enclosure  50 . The grease fitting opening  54  is threaded to receive the threaded section  70  of the grease fitting. 
     In use, the entire protective enclosure  50  is simply pushed onto the combined lug  32  and lug nut  34  such that the enclosure  50  is securely retained about the lug  32  and lug nut  34 . The plastic or rubber or resilient material used to construct the protective enclosure  50  is designed such that the basic housing  52  and associated structure of the enclosure will yield and even slightly expand as the enclosure is pushed onto and around the nut  34 . However, once the enclosure  50  is in place, such as illustrated in FIG. 7, the material comprising the enclosure  50  will tend to collapse and grip the lug  32  and even the lug nut  34  so as to securely hold the protective enclosure  50  around the lug  32  and associated lug nut  34 . 
     To protect the lug and even the lug nut, grease or a lubricant is injected into the enclosure via the grease fitting  68 . This grease or other type of lubricant will surround the lug  32  and can surround the lug nut  34  so as to protect the same and to prevent the lug and lug nut from becoming corroded or rusted. 
     Thus, to remove the lug nut  34 , the enclosure  50  is simply popped off or pulled off the lug and lug nut and because of the protective coating of grease or other lubricant there is no rust or corrosion and consequently, the nut is easily removed from the lug. 
     From the foregoing specification and discussion, it is appreciated that the enclosure  10  of the present invention provides a protective barrier that encases a segment of the lug  32  extending from a hub. This protective barrier or enclosure enables a grease or lubricant to be injected or placed in the interior thereof and in and around the lug and lug nut such that when the enclosure  10  or  50  is closed, the lug and lug nut are protected from the elements of weather and other adverse conditions including protection against water if the lug, lug nut and enclosure are in fact submerged in water. 
     The present invention may, of course, be carried out in other specific ways than those herein set forth without parting from the spirit and essential characteristics of the invention. The present embodiments are, therefore, to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, and all changes coming within the meaning and equivalency range of the appended Claims are intended to be embraced therein.