US-12623485-B2 - Removable aerodynamic wheel cover

Abstract

A removable wheel cover includes a disc and a shaft assembly. The shaft assembly is attached to the disc. The shaft assembly includes an outer shaft, a contact ring spring, a push button mechanism, and a contact ring. The outer shaft includes a walled structure. The push button mechanism further includes a body including a top surface. The walled structure of the outer shaft surrounds at least a portion of the body of the push button mechanism. The contact ring spring biases the contact ring in a direction away from the top surface of the push button mechanism. The contact ring spring further biases the push button mechanism in a direction opposite of the contact ring. The push button mechanism moves to assist in unlocking the removable wheel cover and a wheel.

Inventors

• Jeremiah Migas
• Raul Maturana
• Zachary McCoy

Assignees

• mantaLABS LLC

Dates

Publication Date

20260512

Application Date

20231009

Claims (20)

1. 1 . A removable wheel cover comprising: a disc; and a shaft assembly being attached to the disc, the shaft assembly including an outer shaft, a contact ring spring, a push button mechanism, and a contact ring, the outer shaft included a walled structure, the push button mechanism further including a body including a top surface, the walled structure of the outer shaft surrounding at least a portion of the body of the push button mechanism, the contact ring spring biasing the contact ring in a direction axially away from the top surface of the push button mechanism, the contact ring spring further biasing the push button mechanism in a direction axially opposite of the contact ring, wherein the push button mechanism is moveable to assist in unlocking the removable wheel cover and a wheel.
2. 2 . The wheel cover of claim 1 , wherein the disc is generally circular.
3. 3 . The wheel cover of claim 1 , wherein the disc forms a plurality of apertures therein.
4. 4 . The wheel cover of claim 1 , wherein the shaft assembly further includes a button spring, the button spring biasing the top surface of the push button mechanism in an axially direction toward the wheel in an unlocked position.
5. 5 . The wheel cover of claim 1 , wherein the shaft assembly is removably attached to the disc.
6. 6 . The wheel cover of claim 5 , wherein the shaft assembly is removably attached to the disc using at least one screw.
7. 7 . The wheel cover of claim 1 , wherein the shaft assembly further includes a plurality of ball bearings, the plurality of ball bearings assisting in locking and unlocking the removable wheel cover and the wheel.
8. 8 . The wheel cover of claim 7 , wherein the outer shaft includes at least one opening, the at least one opening of the outer shaft receives at least a portion of each of the plurality of ball bearings, the outer shaft and the push button mechanism assist in locking and unlocking the removable wheel cover and the wheel.
9. 9 . The wheel cover of claim 1 , wherein the push button mechanism includes a lower extension located opposite of the top surface, the lower extension extending radially outwardly and assisting in locking the removable wheel cover and the wheel.
10. 10 . The wheel cover of claim 1 , wherein the removable wheel cover is directly locked to the wheel.
11. 11 . A wheel assembly comprising: a disc wheel including a tire and a wheel hub; and a removable wheel cover including a disc and a shaft assembly, the shaft assembly being attached to the disc, the shaft assembly including an outer shaft, a contact ring spring, a push button mechanism, and a contact ring, the outer shaft included a walled structure, the push button mechanism further including a body including a top surface, the walled structure of the outer shaft surrounding at least a portion of the body of the push button mechanism, the contact ring spring biasing the contact ring in a direction axially away from the top surface of the push button mechanism, the contact ring spring further biasing the push button mechanism in a direction axially opposite of the contact ring, wherein the push button mechanism is moveable to assist in unlocking the removable wheel cover from the wheel.
12. 12 . The wheel assembly of claim 11 , wherein the removable wheel cover is configured to be locked and unlocked directly with the wheel.
13. 13 . The wheel assembly of claim 11 , wherein the wheel hub forms an undercut, the shaft assembly further including a plurality of ball bearings, each of the plurality of ball bearings contacts the undercut formed in the wheel hub to assist in locking the removable wheel cover and the wheel.
14. 14 . The wheel assembly of claim 11 , wherein the shaft assembly further includes a button spring, the button spring biasing the top surface of the push button mechanism in an axial direction toward the wheel in an unlocked position.
15. 15 . The wheel assembly of claim 11 , wherein the shaft assembly further includes a plurality of ball bearings, the plurality of ball bearings assisting in locking and unlocking the removable wheel cover and the wheel.
16. 16 . The wheel assembly of claim 15 , wherein the outer shaft includes at least one opening, the at least one opening of the outer shaft receives at least a portion of each of the plurality of ball bearings, the outer shaft and the push button mechanism assist in unlocking the removable wheel cover and the wheel.
17. 17 . The wheel assembly of claim 15 , wherein the push button mechanism includes a lower extension located opposite of the top surface, the lower extension extending radially outwardly and contacts the plurality of ball bearings in a locked position.
18. 18 . A method of installing a removable wheel cover assembly into a wheel, the method comprising: providing a removable wheel cover including a disc and a shaft assembly, the shaft assembly being attached to the disc, the shaft assembly including an outer shaft, a contact ring spring, a push button mechanism, and a contact ring, the outer shaft included a walled structure, the push button mechanism further including a body including a top surface, the walled structure of the outer shaft surrounding at least a portion of the body of the push button mechanism, the contact ring spring biasing the contact ring in a direction axially away from the top surface of the push button mechanism, the contact ring spring further biasing the push button mechanism in a direction axially opposite of the contact ring, providing a disc wheel including a tire and a wheel hub; placing the removable wheel cover into an opening in the wheel hub such that the removable wheel cover locks with the wheel.
19. 19 . The method of claim 18 further including pressing on the push button mechanism to unlock the removeable wheel cover and the wheel.
20. 20 . The method of claim 19 , wherein the placing of the removable wheel cover into the opening of the wheel hub such that the removable wheel cover locks with the wheel in the absence of tooling.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This application claims priority to and the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/379,331 filed Oct. 13, 2022 and entitled “Removable Aerodynamic Wheel Cover,” the contents of which are herein incorporated by reference in their entirety. FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates generally to an aerodynamic wheel cover. More specifically, the wheel cover locks with a wheel and is configured to be easily released by a user. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Wheel covers have been used to cover wheels in the automotive industry for many years. One disadvantage of many such wheel covers is the difficulty for users to install and release the wheel cover from the wheel. This is especially important in wheel covers that are used with electric vehicles due to the increased emphasis on range. Improved aerodynamics are more important on longer high-speed trips, and aesthetics are more important on shorter, low-speed trips. It would be desirable to provide an easily removable aerodynamic wheel cover that overcomes such problems. SUMMARY According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a removable wheel cover includes a disc and a shaft assembly. The shaft assembly is attached to the disc. The shaft assembly includes an outer shaft, a contact ring spring, a push button mechanism, and a contact ring. The outer shaft includes a walled structure. The push button mechanism further includes a body including a top surface. The walled structure of the outer shaft surrounds at least a portion of the body of the push button mechanism. The contact ring spring biases the contact ring in a direction away from the top surface of the push button mechanism. The contact ring spring further biases the push button mechanism in a direction opposite of the contact ring. The push button mechanism is configured to move to assist in unlocking the removable wheel cover and a wheel. According to a configuration of the above implementation, the disc is generally circular. According to another configuration of the above implementation, the disc forms a plurality of apertures therein. According to a further configuration of the above implementation, the shaft assembly further includes a button spring. The button spring biases the top surface of the push button mechanism in a direction toward the wheel in an unlocked position. In a further aspect of the above implementation, the shaft assembly is removably attached to the disc. The shaft assembly may be removably attached to the disc via at least one screw. In yet a further aspect of the above implementation, the shaft assembly further includes a plurality of ball bearings. The plurality of ball bearings assists in locking and unlocking the removable wheel cover and the wheel. In this embodiment, the outer shaft may include at least one opening. The at least one opening of the outer shaft is configured to receive at least a portion of each of the plurality of ball bearings. The outer shaft and the push button mechanism assist in unlocking the removable wheel cover and the wheel. According to another configuration of the above implementation, the push button mechanism includes a lower extension located opposite of the top surface. The lower extension extends outwardly and is configured to assist in locking the removable wheel cover and the wheel. According to a further configuration of the above implementation, the removable wheel cover is directly locked to the wheel. According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a wheel assembly includes a wheel and a removable wheel cover. The wheel includes a tire, and a wheel hub. The removable wheel cover includes a disc and a shaft assembly. The shaft assembly is attached to the disc. The shaft assembly includes an outer shaft, a contact ring spring, a push button mechanism, and a contact ring. The outer shaft includes a walled structure. The push button mechanism further includes a body including a top surface. The walled structure of the outer shaft surrounds at least a portion of the body of the push button mechanism. The contact ring spring biases the contact ring in a direction away from the top surface of the push button mechanism. The contact ring spring further biases the push button mechanism in a direction opposite of the contact ring. The push button mechanism is configured to move to assist in unlocking the removable wheel cover from a wheel. According to a configuration of the above implementation, the removable wheel cover is configured to be locked and unlocked directly with the wheel. According to another configuration of the above implementation, the wheel hub forms an undercut. The shaft assembly further includes a plurality of ball bearings. Each of the plurality of ball bearings is configured to contact the undercut formed in the wheel hub to assist in locking the removable wheel cover and the wheel. According to a further configuration of the above implementation, the shaft