Mckechnie Vehicle Components (USA), Inc.

Douglas J Cutcher

Ted E Eikhoff

Scott A Hogan

Ted John Wieczorek

David Browning Ferriss

Mark Bennett

Scott Shore

A retaining assembly secures ornamentation having an inboard surface and a plurality of protrusions to a wheel. The retaining assembly includes a ring. The ring includes a plurality of openings extending therethrough. The openings receive protrusions that extend out from the ornamentation. Legs extend out from the ring and engage multiple sides of a portion of the lug nuts. This secures the ornamentation to the wheel hub. The retaining assembly also includes supports that are secured between the legs. The supports provide support and prevent over-travel of the legs when the ornamentation is being installed by securing the ring to the lug nuts. The supports include an extension and a cross member. The extension positions the supports with respect to the ring and the cross members are bent and welded to the legs that are disposed adjacent thereto to provide support and prevent the over-travel of the legs as the legs pass over the lug nuts to which they are being secured.

Method of securing ornamentation to a wheel using a retaining article

Adhesive patterns are applied to one of an outboard side of a wheel and an inner surface of a decorative wheel cover and used to bond the decorative wheel cover to the wheel with a spaced therebetween that is partially filled with the cured adhesive. The decorative wheel cover and wheel each include aligned lug nut apertures and aligned decorative openings. The adhesive patterns are configured to allow ambient fluids to enter throughout the space between the decorative wheel cover and the wheel (and leave) which is not filled with the cured adhesive to prevent corrosion from occurring between the decorative wheel cover and wheel.

Adhesive patterns for vehicle wheel assemblies

A composite wheel assembly includes a wheel having an outboard surface and a wheel ornamentation disposed over the outboard surface. The wheel ornamentation has a plurality of vent openings and a plurality of lug stud holes. The composite wheel assembly also includes an adhesive disposed between the wheel ornamentation and the wheel around each of the vent openings. The composite wheel assembly further includes at least one seal comprising an o-ring disposed between the wheel ornamentation and the wheel about at least one of the lug stud holes to prevent contaminants from entering the assembly between the wheel ornamentation and the wheel.

Composite wheel assembly

A retaining article secures ornamentation, namely wheel caps and wheel covers, to a wheel. The retaining article is a unitary structure. It is received by the ornamentation which has an inboard surface with a number of protrusions extending out therefrom. The protrusions are cylindrical in shape. The retaining article has a ring with a number of openings. The openings receive the protruding cylinders therein and are secured thereto by a number of tabs. The tabs are bent by the protruding cylinders. Legs extend out from the ring. The legs are forced over lug nuts which secure the wheel to a wheel hub. The legs engage the lug nuts creating a positive engagement with the lug nuts. Standoff extensions abut the top of the lug nut preventing lost motion between the lug nuts and the ring.

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Bloomfield Hills, MI, United States of America

Douglas J Cutcher