Patent ID: 7172380

Claim:
A wheel nut assembly comprising: a wheel stud having: a first portion having a first external thread which is adapted to co-operate with an internal thread provided on a wheel nut, and a second portion having a second thread of opposite hand to the first external thread, which co-operates with a retaining member having a thread which is of the same hand as the second thread; a locking member configured to substantially prevent relative movement between the retaining member and the wheel nut, the locking member comprising a cap which is slidably mounted onto the retaining member and the wheel nut, the locking member being configured to captively retain the retaining member such that the retaining member remains axially displaceable relative to all portions of the locking member; and a spring means configured to apply forces to the retaining member in an axial direction so as to bias the retaining member away from an open end of the locking member, the spring means being elastically deformable to permit axial bodily movement of the locking member relative to both the retaining member and the wheel nut, to disengage the locking member from the wheel nut to permit removal of the locking member and retaining member as a unit from the wheel stud.