Patent ID: 7226039
Filing Date: 2007-06-05
Classification: B62D,B66D,Y10S

Abstract:
1. In a hoist assembly adapted for raising and lowering a spare tire on a motor vehicle, comprising a housing having spaced side walls supporting a drive shaft for rotation, an annular spool supported by said shaft within said housing for rotation relative to said shaft and defining a circumferential groove surrounding a hub, an elongated flexible cable having a first end portion connected to said hub of said spool and extending through an opening within said housing, a tire support member connected to an opposite second end portion of said cable, a drive mechanism connecting said shaft to said spool and effected to rotate said spool through one revolution relative to said shaft in response to multiple revolutions of said shaft for winding said cable within said groove, and a down stop member supported within said housing for pivotal movement into said groove on an axis disposed radially outwardly from said spool, the improvement wherein said down stop member has an inner end portion engaging said cable, said inner end portion of said down stop member being confined between adjacent portions of said cable at all times while said end portion of said down stop member moves radially inwardly within said groove in response to unwinding of said cable from said spool, and said end portion of said down stop member wedges between said first end portion of said cable and said hub for positively stopping rotation of said spool when said cable is fully extended through said opening within said housing.