Patent Application
20200079144
In tractor and trailer wheel end axle assemblies, the wheel is mounted on a fixed axle or spindle, and is rotatable about the axle or spindle. The hub of the wheel includes a lubricant chamber around the end of the spindle, in which the wheel bearings may be positioned. Lubricant is maintained in the lubricant chamber or wheel housing to provide lubricant to the bearings. Particularly in freight or other heavy-duty applications, a hubcap is used to enclose the lubricant chamber.
The hubcaps may be ventilated, because the operation of a truck or trailer results in the heating of the fluid lubricant within the wheel housing. Ventilation provides pressure equalization between the lubricant chamber and the surrounding atmosphere. Such ventilated hubcap designs have been implemented with varying levels of success. For example, the hubcaps may vent gas through a fill plug with a vent port on the outside thereof. While this may provide for acceptable ventilation, a drawback of such designs is that they can allow for ingress of contaminants, particularly water, during a high-pressure washdown of the wheels, into the lubrication chamber. Accordingly, plugs with a one-way valve are sometimes employed, in which the ventilation path is only open when pressure builds up from within the hubcap, or which integrate components such a labyrinth seals into the plug. However, such flow restriction devices can increase expenses and can limit the effectiveness of the ventilation.
Embodiments of the disclosure may provide a plug for a hubcap, the plug including a base configured to fit into and obstruct a port of a hubcap. The base at least partially defines a cavity therein. The plug also includes a cap extending radially outward from the base. The cap defines an opening therein, the opening extending at least partially radially, and a passage extending axially between the opening and the cavity. The opening is in fluid communication with the cavity via the passage.
Embodiments of the disclosure may also provide a hubcap including a hubcap body defining a port, and a plug configured to be received into the port, so as to at least partially obstruct the port. The plug includes a base configured to fit into and couple with the port, wherein the base at least partially defines a cavity therein, and a cap extending radially outward from the base. The cap defines an opening therein, the opening extending at least partially radially, and a passage extending axially between the opening and the cavity. The opening is in fluid communication with the cavity via the passage.
Embodiments of the disclosure may further provide an apparatus for plugging a centerfill port in a hubcap. The apparatus includes a base configured to fit into and obstruct the port of the hubcap. The base at least partially defines a cavity therein. The apparatus also includes a cap that is integral with the base and extends radially outward therefrom. The cap defines an opening therein, the opening extending at least partially radially, and a passage extending axially between the opening and the cavity. The opening is in fluid communication with the cavity via the passage. The apparatus also includes an inner splash shield positioned in the cavity. The inner splash shield includes an opening that communicates with, but is not aligned with, the passage. The inner splash shield includes a bottom, a cylindrical side surface, and a toroidal retention portion. The toroidal retention portion bears against a surface of the cavity, so as to retain the inner splash shield in the cavity. The opening of the inner splash shield extends radially through the cylindrical side surface, and the passage is aligned with the bottom of the inner splash shield. The apparatus does not include any filters or valves.
The foregoing summary is intended merely to introduce some aspects of the following disclosure and is thus not intended to be exhaustive, identify key features, or in any way limit the disclosure or the appended claims.
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate an embodiment of the present teachings and together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the present teachings. In the figures:
It should be noted that some details of the figures have been simplified and are drawn to facilitate understanding of the embodiments rather than to maintain strict structural accuracy, detail, and scale.
Reference will now be made in detail to embodiments of the present teachings, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, like reference numerals have been used throughout to designate identical elements, where convenient. In the following description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings that form a part of the description, and in which is shown by way of illustration one or more specific example embodiments in which the present teachings may be practiced.
The plug 100 may be vented. For example, the plug 100 may include a cavity 106, a passage 108, and a radial opening 110, which may intersect and communicate with one another, providing a flowpath through the plug 100. The cavity 106 may be defined at least partially by a cylindrical inner surface 112 of the base 102, and may be open-ended on one side, as shown. In a specific embodiment, the inner surface 112 may extend radially outwards as proceeding away from the cap 104 and toward an axial end 116 of the plug 100. The cavity 106 may also be defined within the cap 104, and, e.g., the cap 104 may provide a top surface 118 for the cavity 106.
The passage 108 may be defined in the cap 104 and may extend axially, along a central longitudinal axis 120 of the plug 100. In particular, the passage 108 may extend through the top surface 118 to the radial opening 110, thereby communicating the cavity 106 with the radial opening 110. In turn, the radial opening 110 may extend radially (e.g., at least partially perpendicular to the axis 120) outwards from the center of the plug 100 and outwards through the side of the cap 104. Although a single radial opening 110 is shown, it will be appreciated that two or more, distributed at any angular interval may be employed.
As such, venting through the plug 100 may be accomplished by communication through the cavity 106, the passage 108, and the radial opening 110. Further, there is no direct path between the exterior of the plug 100 and the cavity 106, as the flowpath turns from radial to axial between the radial opening 110 and the axial passage 108. As such, fluids, such as water sprayed onto a hub cap, may not reach the interior of the hub cap through the plug 100.
Accordingly, embodiments of the present plug 100 may allow for gaseous venting, but may prevent, or at least reduce, fluid flow therethrough. This may be accomplished without the use of expensive filters or flow restriction (e.g., labyrinth seals) or multiple component parts made of different materials, but rather may be, in some embodiments, cast as a single piece.
The plug 100 may be configured to couple to a hub cap via an interference fit, although this is but one configuration contemplated, and others, such as threading, could also be used. In such an interference fit, the base 102 may extend radially outwards as proceeding toward the axial end 116, and may be configured to deflect resiliently inwards, in order to push the plug 100 into a center-fill port of a hubcap. Further, the base 102 may define a retention lip 200, which may be proximal to the axial end 116 and may extend radially outwards from a remainder of the base 102, as shown. Between the retention lip 200 and the transition surface 105, the plug 100 (e.g., the base 102 thereof) may define a retention contour 202. The retention contour 202 may receive a rim or another surface of the hubcap. The lip 200 may press on one side of the hubcap, and the transition surface 105 may press on the other side, thereby keeping the plug 100 in place.
In the illustrated embodiment, the plug 100 is pressed axially into the center-fill port 300, so as to provide a vented obstruction thereof. In particular, as the plug 100 is pressed into the opening, the axial end 116 of the base 102 deflects resiliently inward, until the rim 312 is received into the retention contour 202, between the retaining lip 200 and the transition surface 105.
The radial opening 110 (see
As also shown in
In addition, the inner splash shield 400 may include one or more openings 406 (two are visible). The opening 406 may not be aligned with the axial passage 108. Rather, for example, the opening 406 may be radially extending, and, e.g., defined through a side of the cylindrical section 402. As such, gaseous communication through the opening 406, the passage 108, and the radial opening 110 may be permitted, while liquids may be generally blocked by the inner splash shield 400 from exiting outwards through the ventilation flowpath (e.g., the passage 108 and radial opening 110).
While the present teachings have been illustrated with respect to one or more implementations, alterations and/or modifications may be made to the illustrated examples without departing from the spirit and scope of the appended claims. In addition, while a particular feature of the present teachings may have been disclosed with respect to only one of several implementations, such a feature may be combined with one or more other features of the other implementations as may be desired and advantageous for any given or particular function.
Furthermore, to the extent that the terms “including,” “includes,” “having,” “has,” “with,” or variants thereof are used in either the detailed description and the claims, such terms are intended to be inclusive in a manner similar to the term “comprising.” Further, in the discussion and claims herein, the term “about” indicates that the value listed may be somewhat altered, as long as the alteration does not result in nonconformance of the process or structure to the illustrated embodiment. Finally, “exemplary” indicates the description is used as an example, rather than implying that it is an ideal.
Other embodiments of the present teachings will be apparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of the specification and practice of the present teachings disclosed herein. It is intended that the specification and examples be considered as exemplary only, with a true scope and spirit of the present teachings being indicated by the following claims.
