Wheel adapter

Claim 1

An adapter for facilitating a mounting of one or more wheels on a vehicle wheel hub having plural externally threaded wheel studs of a finite length secured thereon, comprising: a cylindrical adapter body having a central opening therethrough adapted to receive said wheel hub therein, said adapter body further having means defining plural parallel holes extending therethrough and concentrically arranged about an axis of said central opening, said plural holes each being adapted to receive in one end thereof said externally threaded wheel studs, said plural holes having an effective length greater than said finite length of said wheel studs; wheel mounting surface means on said adapter; shoulder means located on said wheel mounting surface means and encircling each of said holes at an end thereof remote from said one end; means defining a radially facing free space intermediate said shoulder means and said one end and an adjacent abutment surface means, said free space opening into each of said holes; an elongated bolt snugly received in an end of each of said plural holes remote from said one end, each bolt having an enlarged head intermediate its length and engaging said shoulder means, an internally threaded opening at one end thereof adapted to be threadedly coupled to said wheel stud, and an externally threaded stud at the other end, each said bolt further having a recess means therein intermediate said one end and said enlarged head, said recess means being exposed in said free space; barrier means fixedly and removably received in said free space and said recess means, said barrier means having a portion positioned adjacent said abutment surface means for preventing a substantial relative axial movement between each said bolt and said adapter body and a withdrawal of said bolts from said plural holes; and an internally threaded nut threadedly engaged with said externally threaded stud for clamping said one or more wheels between each said nut and said wheel mounting surface means.