Apparatus for securing a spare tire on a vehicle

A tire lift/carrier unit is mounted on a vehicle body and has a depending cable connected by a latch device to a fitting which supports the hub of a spare tire and wheel assembly. When the tire assembly is elevated by the unit to a stored position, the latch device is received within a holder also secured to the vehicle body. In event the cable fails to hold the spare tire assembly in the stored position, latch bolts spring outwardly from the latch device and engage the holder to prevent dropping of the tire assembly. The holder may be formed of adjustable or telescopic sections which may be tubular for enclosing the latch device.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
In the use of tie lift/carrier units, for example, of the type disclosed in 
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,544,136 and 4,625,947 which issued to the assignee of the 
present invention, a spare tire and wheel assembly is elevated to a stored 
position under a vehicle body by means of a cable which depends from a 
reel forming part of the unit. The cable is retracted on the reel and the 
spare tire assembly is elevated by rotating the reel with a drive and 
clutch mechanism as disclosed in the above patents. The cable holds the 
spare tire and wheel assembly firmly against the bottom of the vehicle 
body and prevents the tire assembly from bouncing against the vehicle 
body. 
In the event the cable becomes damaged, for example, by a kink in the cable 
or by improper flexing, it is possible for the cable to become weak in the 
damaged zone and to break after an extended period of time while the tire 
assembly is in its stored position. In the event the cable breaks while 
the tire assembly is in its retracted stored position and the vehicle is 
moving along a road, the tire assembly would be free to drop downwardly to 
the road surface. While it is possible to put support straps or bars under 
the spare tire and wheel assembly after it is retracted to its stored 
position, such straps or bars would defeat the primary purpose of using 
the tire lift/carrier unit, that is, to provide for conveniently moving 
the spare tire assembly between an elevated stored position and a lowered 
release position where it is conveniently accessible for use in replacing 
a flat tire on the vehicle. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention is directed to a novel device or apparatus which is 
ideally suited for use with a tire lift/carrier unit such as disclosed in 
the above-mentioned patents and which automatically connects or couples a 
stored spare tire and wheel assembly to a vehicle body in the event the 
cable fails to support the tire assembly in its stored position. Under 
normal use of the tire lift/carrier unit for raising and lowering the 
spare tire and wheel assembly, the apparatus of the present invention does 
not function to form a parallel or auxiliary connection of the tire 
assembly to the vehicle body. However, if for some reason the support 
cable breaks or becomes disconnected so that it fails to support the tire 
assembly, the apparatus of the present invention actuates and continues to 
support the spare tire assembly in an elevated position. 
In accordance with one embodiment of the invention, the above features and 
advantages are generally provided by a latch unit or mechanism which 
connects the support cable to the fitting adapted to engage the hub 
portion of the wheel for the spare tire. The latch unit incorporates a set 
of retractable latch bolts or elements which are normally held in 
retracted positions by a cam member actuated by the support cable. When a 
spare tire assembly is elevated to its stored position, the latch unit 
enters a bracket or holder secured to the vehicle body along with the tire 
lift/carrier unit. In the event the cable breaks or otherwise fails to 
support the tire assembly in its stored position, the latch bolts spring 
outwardly to engage the bracket or holder and thereby connect the support 
fitting directly to the holder. The support bracket or holder may be 
vertically adjustable and may consist of telescopic tubular sections to 
accommodate different spare tire assemblies and also to provide sufficient 
time for actuation of the latch bolts after the cable breaks. 
Other features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the 
following description, the accompanying drawings and the appended claims.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
Referring to FIG. 1, the apparatus of the present invention is particularly 
suited for use with a tire lift/carrier unit of the type disclosed in U.S. 
Pat. Nos. 4,544,136 and 4,625,947, the disclosures of which are 
incorporated by reference. As also shown in the embodiment described in 
connection with FIG. 13 of U.S. Pat. No. 4,625,947, a tire lift/carrier 
unit includes a cable 15 (FIG. 1) which is directed through a guide tube 
16 having a downwardly curved outer end portion 17. The end portion 17 is 
also secured to a motor vehicle body by a bracket 18 having an inverted 
hat-shaped cross-sectional configuration. A cable guide bushing 21 is 
secured to the bracket 18 by a clamping collar 22, as described U.S. in 
Pat. No. 4,625,947. 
In accordance with the present invention, a securing device 25 protects the 
connection of the cable 15 to a hat-shaped adaptor fitting 27 which 
engages a hub portion 28 of a metal wheel 30. The wheel 30 forms part of a 
spare tire and wheel assembly as provided with a motor vehicle such as a 
pickup truck or van. The device 25 includes a generally cylindrical latch 
unit 32 having a latch body 34 of molded plastics material or metal and 
surrounded by a tubular metal casing or shell 36 having a bottom flange 38 
projecting outwardly under an annular flange 39 of the adaptor fitting 27. 
The latch body 34 has a tapered or generally conical upper end portion 42 
which is partially surrounded by a mating end portion 43 of the metal 
shell 36. The cable 15 extends downwardly through a center hole 46 within 
the latch body 34 and receives a tubular sleeve or collar 48 which is 
positively secured to the lower end portion of the cable 15. The collar 48 
is confined within a counterbore 52 of the latch body 34, and an annular 
grove 54 within the latch body 34 receives an inwardly crimped or staked 
portion of the casing or shell 36 to secure the body 34 within the shell. 
Referring to FIGS. 2-4, a pair of parallel spaced slots 57 are formed 
within the latch body 34 and align with corresponding slots within the 
shell 36. A pair of latch elements or bolts 59 are slidably supported 
within the slots 57 and are urged outwardly by corresponding compression 
springs 61 captured within slots within the latch bolts. A cross pin 63 is 
mounted on the cable 15 directly above the collar 48 and is supported for 
vertical movement within the latch body 34 along with the collar 48. The 
cross pin 63 normally engages sloping cam surfaces 66 formed on the bottom 
of the latch bolts 59 and urges the latch bolts to their retracted 
positions (FIG. 2) compressing the springs 61. 
An inverted hat-shaped holder or bracket 70 includes parallel spaced 
vertical side walls 72 which are connected by a bottom wall 73 and have 
outwardly projecting corresponding flanges 76 disposed under the flanges 
of the bracket 18. The flanges 76 have holes 78 which align with slots 79 
within the bracket 18 for receiving machine screws or bolts for securing 
the brackets 18 and 70 to the body of the motor vehicle. The bottom wall 
73 of the bracket 70 has a circular opening or hole 82 (FIG. 3) which is 
slightly larger in the diameter of the metal shell 36 so that the hole 82 
receives the unit 32 when the spare tire and wheel assembly is elevated to 
its stored position (FIG. 2) by retraction of the cable 15 onto the reel 
of the tire lift/carrier unit. 
As apparent from FIGS. 2-4, if the cable 15 should break or pull through 
the collar 48, the spare tire and wheel assembly would begin to drop from 
its stored position (FIG. 2). However, when the tension in the cable 15 is 
released, latch bolts 59 fire or spring outwardly in response to the 
forces exerted by the springs 61, and the latch bolts 59 engage the bottom 
wall 73 of the bracket 70, as shown in FIG. 3. The spare tire and wheel 
assembly is thus retained in this elevated lock position until the cable 
15 is replaced or the latch bolts 59 are manually depressed into the body 
34 so that the tire and wheel assembly may be removed from the support 
bracket 70. 
Referring to FIGS. 5 and 6, a modified holder or support bracket 90 is 
constructed similarly to the support bracket 70, but is adjustable. The 
bracket 90 includes spaced sheet metal plates 92 having enlarged upper end 
portions with 93 which are secured to the side walls of a tire 
lift/carrier unit 95 by a pair of bolts 97. The lower portions of the 
plates 92 receive a U-shaped sheet metal bracket 101 which has a circular 
bottom opening 102 for receiving the latch unit 32. The side walls of the 
bracket 101 have channel-shaped upper end portions 104 which slidably 
receive the side plates 92 and have vertical slots 106. A pair of rivets 
108 project outwardly through holes within the side plates 92 and through 
the slots 106 to receive corresponding friction washers 109 and cup-shaped 
spring washers 111. This friction connection of the plates 92 and 104 
provides for telescopic or sliding movement of the bracket 101 on the side 
plates 92. As a result, the bottom wall of the support bracket 90 always 
seats on the top surface of the fitting 27 when the spare tire and wheel 
assembly is elevated to its stored position and regardless of the specific 
profile of the tire and wheel assembly. 
A modification of apparatus constructed in accordance with the invention is 
illustrated in FIGS. 7 and 8. In this embodiment, a securing device 125 
includes a latch unit 128 having a construction similar to that of the 
latch unit 32 described above and including a body 131 of molded plastics 
material or metal and surrounded by a metal casing or shell 134. The shell 
134 has a tapered or frusto-conical upper end portion 136 which mates with 
the body 131 and defines a center opening or hole for receiving a cable 
138 depending from the tire lift/carrier unit. The shell 134 has a lower 
end portion 141 which flares outwardly to support the fitting 27 for 
supporting the hub portion 28 of the spare tire and wheel assembly. 
The latch body 131 has four downwardly projecting portions 144 (FIG. 8) 
which define a slot for receiving a pair of opposing latch bolts 146 
having tapered bottom portions 147 (FIG. 7). A pair of opposing V-shaped 
flat wire springs 149 are confined within opposing slots within the latch 
bolts 146 and normally urge or bias the latch bolts 146 radially outwardly 
through corresponding slots within the shell 134 to extend positions as 
shown in FIGS. 7 and 8. A cylindrical cam member 152 surrounds the cable 
138 and has a pair of opposing flat cam surfaces 154 which mate with 
corresponding surfaces on the bottom portions 147 of the latch bolts 146. 
A cylindrical collar 158 is positively secured to the cable 138 and 
normally engages the bottom surface of the cam member 152. A cup-shaped 
cover 161 projects into the bottom of the shell 134 to enclose the body 
131, bolts 146 and collar 158 and is secured to the shell 134 by suitable 
means. 
A holder or support member 165 is formed by three interfitting and 
telescopic tubular sections 166, 167 and 168, and the section 166 has an 
outwardly projecting top flange 171 which is supported by an annular plate 
174 adapted to be secured to the bottom surface of the vehicle body. The 
bottom section 168 has an inwardly projecting flange 177 which defines a 
circular opening or hole for receiving the latch unit 128, and overlapping 
flanges 178 and 179 on the sections form a series connection of the 
sections. 
When the spare tire and wheel assembly is being elevated to its stored 
position by retracting the cable 138 into the tire lift/carrier unit, the 
latch bolts 146 are forced inwardly to their retracted positions against 
the bias of the springs 149. This inward movement is caused by the cam 
member 152 which shifts upwardly within the shell 134 as a result of the 
tension within the cable 138 due to the weight of the tire and wheel 
assembly. 
After the latch unit 128 enters the hole within the bottom flange 177, the 
fitting 27 engages the bottom flange 177. Continued retraction of the 
cable 138 until the tire engages the underneath surface of the vehicle 
body, causes the support section 168 to telescope within the section 167 
and, if necessary, both of these sections to telescope within the section 
166. When the spare tire engages the vehicle body surface, the latch unit 
128 will stop somewhere between the full line and the dotted line 
positions shown in FIG. 7. 
In the event the cable 138 whould break because of being weakened or 
damaged through use, the tension is released within the cable 138, and the 
latch bolts 146 spring outwardly to the positions shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 
so that the latch bolts will engage the bottom flange 177 of the support 
section 168. The spare tire and wheel assembly will then be supported in a 
released position slightly below its positive stored position. 
From the drawings and the above description, it is apparent that a securing 
device or apparatus constructed in accordance with the present invention, 
provides desirable features and advantages. For example, as long as the 
cable 15 or 138 extending from the tire lift/carrier unit is supporting 
the spare tire and wheel assembly in its uppermost stored position, the 
tire lift/carrier unit may be used for conveniently lowering the assembly 
to the ground so that it may be easily released from the fitting 27 and 
used to replace a flat tire. However, if the cable should break or fail to 
support the tire assembly in its stored position, the latch unit 32 or 128 
becomes effective to engage the holder 70 or 90 or 165 as the tire 
assembly begins to drop. The adjustable holder or support member 90 or 165 
further provides for accommodating spare tire and wheel assemblies having 
different heights between the hub 28 of the wheel 30 and the uppermost 
surface of the tire. In addition, the tubular support member 165 also 
forms and enclosure for the latch unit 128 and protects it from road dirt 
and other undesirable foreign material. 
While the forms of securing apparatus herein described constitute preferred 
embodiments of the invention, it is to be understood that the invention is 
not limited to these precise forms of apparatus, and that changes may be 
made therein without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention 
as defined in the appended claims.