Abstract:
An apparatus for storing and unloading a component such as a spare tire and wheel assembly mounted at a rear storage location on a vehicle includes a vehicle attachment arm having a first end releasably attached at a mounting location on the vehicle and a component attachment having a first end positioned adjacent the component storage location. The arms each have a second end attached to a connector member that permits the component attachment arm to be rotated between the component storage location and an unloaded position on the ground. The vehicle attachment arm is adjustable in length to move toward and away from the storage location. The component attachment arm is adjustable in length to move toward and away from the component storage location.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates generally to an apparatus for detachably mounting a component on a vehicle and, in particular, to an apparatus for facilitating the loading and unloading of a component, such as a spare vehicle tire and wheel assembly, detachably mounted on a vehicle. 
     Many vehicles in the past carried components, such as a spare vehicle tire and wheel assembly, in the vehicle interior as a smaller “space saver” device physically smaller and lighter than the standard wheel and tire assembly. These spare tires allowed the owner to remove a flat tire and replace it with the smaller spare in order to have the standard tire repaired while still not occupying a large amount of interior volume when the spare is stowed on-board the vehicle. 
     As larger vehicles are produced, however, correspondingly larger tire and wheel assemblies are required: for these larger vehicles. Because of the larger tire and wheel assemblies, many of the larger vehicles carry an exterior rear mounted spare tire to maximize interior cargo room. The larger spare tires, however, are correspondingly heavier and have become increasingly difficult for the average vehicle owner to maneuver the spare tire safely between the ground and the rear mounting location of the vehicle. 
     It is desirable, therefore, to provide an apparatus for assisting a person attempting to maneuver a component, such as a spare vehicle tire and wheel assembly, between a rear portion of the vehicle and the ground. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention concerns an apparatus that is adapted to be attached to a rear portion of a vehicle for facilitating the storing and unloading of a component. The apparatus includes a vehicle attachment arm having a first end that is adapted to be attached to a mounting location on a vehicle and a second end. The apparatus also includes a component attachment arm having a first end that is adapted to be attached to a mounting location on a component and a second end. The apparatus also includes a connector member having a first portion and a second portion. The first portion of the connector member is adapted to be connected to the second end of said vehicle attachment arm and the second portion of the connector member is adapted to be connected to the second end of the component attachment arm. The connector member is operable to move the component between a stored position on the vehicle and an unloaded position on the ground. 
     Preferably, the component is a vehicle spare tire and wheel assembly and the apparatus is used as a spare tire storage device. Alternatively, the component is a bicycle and the apparatus is utilized as a bicycle rack. Preferably, the attachment point on the vehicle is a hitch receiver located on a rear portion of the vehicle. The hitch receiver has become a generally standard item on larger vehicles such as pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles and its size has become standardized as well to allow for a plurality of different hitches to be attached thereto. The apparatus, therefore, can be attached to a number of different vehicles without extensive modification. 
     The connector member preferably includes a planetary gear assembly having a ring gear is that disposed radially outwardly of a plurality of planetary gears and meshes with each of the planetary gears. The ring gear is coupled to the second portion of the connector member for rotating the component attachment arm. A sun gear that is disposed radially inwardly of the planetary gears also meshes with each of a plurality of planetary gears. The sun gear is preferably adapted to receive a wrench for applying a torque thereto for lowering the component from the vehicle to the ground. 
     The apparatus in accordance with the present invention advantageously allows the user of the vehicle to maneuver heavy and/or awkward items, such as a spare vehicle tire and wheel assembly that are attached to the vehicle, between the vehicle attachment point and the ground. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The above, as well as other advantages of the present invention, will become readily apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment when considered in the light of the accompanying drawings in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an apparatus for facilitating the storing and unloading of a component in accordance with the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a front perspective schematic view of a planetary gear assembly of the apparatus of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  is a side perspective schematic view of the planetary gear assembly of  FIG. 2 ; and 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of an apparatus for facilitating the storing and unloading of a component in accordance with the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Referring now to  FIG. 1 , an apparatus in accordance with the present invention is indicated generally at  10 . The apparatus  10  is adapted to be attached to a rear portion of a vehicle  60  for facilitating the storing and unloading of a component, such as a vehicle spare tire and wheel assembly (not shown). The apparatus  10  includes a vehicle attachment arm  12  having an inner member  13  with a first end  14  and an outer member  15  with a second end  16 . The first end  14  of the vehicle attachment arm  12  is adapted to be attached to a mounting location  62  on the vehicle  60 . The vehicle attachment arm  12  is preferably constructed of steel or aluminum square tubing with the inner member  13  telescoping into an interior of the outer member  15 . Alternatively, the vehicle attachment arm  12  is constructed of an alternate material having similar material strength properties or is formed in an alternate profile that is adapted to be attached to the mounting location  62  on the vehicle  60 . The second end  16  of the vehicle attachment arm  12  is attached to a first portion of a connector member  18 . 
     A component attachment arm  20  includes a generally L-shaped inner member  21  with a first end  22  and an outer member  23  with a second end  24 . The first end  22  is adapted to be attached to a mounting location on the component, such as the hub of a spare tire and wheel assembly. The second end  24  is attached to a second portion of the connector member  18 . The component attachment arm  20  is preferably constructed of steel or aluminum square tubing with the inner member  21  telescoping into an interior of the outer member  23 . Alternatively, the component attachment arm  20  is constructed of an alternate material having similar material strength properties or is formed in an alternate profile that is adapted to be attached to the mounting location on the component. 
     The vehicle attachment arm  12  is operable to be adjusted in an axial generally horizontal direction indicated by an arrow  26  along a longitudinal axis  28  thereof. The component attachment arm  20 , shown in a component storage position, is operable to be adjusted in an axial generally vertical direction indicated by an arrow  30  along a longitudinal axis  32  thereof. Preferably, the vehicle attachment arm  12  and the component attachment arm  20  can be locked in a plurality of axial positions by spring-loaded locking pins  33  on the inner members  13  and  21  that cooperate with a plurality of axially spaced apertures  34  formed in the outer member  15  of the vehicle attachment arm  12  and the outer member  23  of the component attachment arm  20 . Alternatively, the vehicle attachment arm  12  and the component attachment arm  20  may be locked in a plurality of axial positions by any suitable locking means. Preferably, the component attachment arm  20  includes spring-loading locking pins  33  located on opposite sides of the inner member  21  so that the first end  22  of the component attachment arm  20  may face in opposite directions, discussed in more detail below, when the component attachment arm  20  is attached to the connector member  18 . As discussed below, the connector member  18  permits rotation of the component attachment arm  20  about the longitudinal axis  28  in both directions as indicated by a double headed arrow  36 . By virtue of their axial adjustability, the vehicle attachment arm  12  and the component attachment arm  20  are operable to allow the apparatus  10  to be used with any number of vehicles and components. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 2 , the connector member  18  is shown in detail. The connector member  18  includes a planetary gear assembly, indicated generally at  38 . The planetary gear assembly  38  includes a ring gear  40  having a plurality of teeth (not shown) on an interior surface thereof that mesh with corresponding teeth (not shown) on respective exterior peripheral surfaces of a plurality of planetary gears  42  disposed radially interior therein. The ring gear  40  is attached to the second end  24  of the component attachment arm  20  shown in FIG.  1 . The ring gear  40 , therefore, is a part of the second portion of the connector member  18 . The teeth of the planetary gears  42  also mesh with a plurality of teeth (not shown) on an exterior peripheral surface of a sun gear  44  disposed radially interior therein. The sun gear  44  is rotatably mounted in the connector member  18  and includes an aperture  45  formed in an outwardly facing surface thereof for receiving a wrench (not shown) or the like for turning the sun gear when the apparatus  10  is operated, discussed in more detail below. A cover plate  39 , best seen in  FIG. 1 , is attached to an outwardly facing surface of the ring gear  40 , encloses the interior of the planetary gear assembly  38  and protects the meshing gear teeth from foreign object damage. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 3 , each of the planetary gears  42  is rotatably mounted on a separate shaft  46 . The shafts  46  extend rearwardly from the planetary gears  42  generally parallel to one another. Another shaft  48  extends rearwardly from a rear surface of the sun gear  44  generally parallel to the shafts  46 . A generally box-shaped receiver  50  mounts each of the planetary gear shafts  46 , which shafts can be fixed in the receiver with the gears  42  rotating on the shafts, or the shafts can be rotatably mounted in the receiver with the gears fixed on the shafts. The receiver  50  is sized such that it is retained in the interior of the outer member  15  at the second end  16  of the vehicle attachment arm  12 . The receiver  50 , therefore, is a part of the first portion of the attachment member  18 . 
     The sun gear shaft  48  extends through a central portion of the receiver  50  and has a free end extending from a rear surface of the receiver through a central aperture in a clutch  52 . The clutch  52  is attached to the sun gear shaft  48  with an interference fit and frictionally engages the rear surface of the receiver  50 . Thus, a predetermined amount of torque must be applied to the sun gear  44  to overcome the predetermined frictional holding force applied by the clutch  52  and rotate the sun gear. The holding force can be selected to correspond with a desired maximum component load attached to the first end  22  of the inner member  21  with the component attachment arm  20  fully extended. A locking pin  54  (shown in  FIG. 1 ) is releasably insertable into an aperture  56  ( FIG. 1 ) formed in the second end  16  of the outer member  15  of the vehicle attachment arm  12  and an aperture  58  ( FIG. 3 ) formed in the free end of the sun gear shaft  48  for preventing unintentional rotation of the component attachment arm  20 . Alternatively, the apparatus  10  includes another suitable means for locking the arm  20  relative to the vehicle attachment arm  12 . 
     In operation, the first end  14  of the vehicle attachment arm  12  is attached to the mounting location  62  on the rear portion of the vehicle  60 . The vehicle mounting location  62  is preferably a trailer hitch receiver of the vehicle  60 . The respective lengths of the vehicle attachment arm  12  and the component attachment arm  20  are adjusted so that the first end  22  of the component attachment arm  20  is adjacent a mounting location on the component, such as the center hole in the wheel of the spare wheel and tire assembly that is attached to a component mounting location (not shown) on the vehicle. The spare tire is attached to the first end  22  of the component attachment arm  20  and the vehicle attachment arm  12  is adjusted outwardly so that the spare tire will have a clear path to the ground in the loading/unloading direction  36 . A wrench (not shown) is inserted into the aperture  45  in the sun gear  44  and a torque is provided to the wrench to begin rotating the sun gear  44 . As the sun gear  44  rotates, the planetary gears  42  rotate, and the ring gear  40  rotates. Preferably, the gear ratio between the interconnected sun gear  44 , planetary gears  42 , and the ring gear  40  is at or near 20 to 1, to allow for an optimum mechanical advantage when applying a torque to the wrench. As the torque is applied to the sun gear  44 , the holding force applied by the clutch  52  is overcome, the component attachment arm  20  moves in the loading/unloading direction  36  and lowers the spare tire towards the ground. After the spare tire has touched the ground, the spare tire is removed from the first end  22  of the component attachment arm  20 , and the first end  14  of the vehicle attachment arm  12  is removed from the trailer hitch receiver. The apparatus  10  may also be used to assist in storing the component, such as a flat vehicle tire and wheel assembly, at the component mounting location on the vehicle  60  by attaching the first end  14  of the vehicle attachment arm  12  to the vehicle mounting location  62  and attaching the first end  22  of the component attachment arm to the component and reversing the steps outlined above. The wrench is inserted into the aperture  45  and a torque is provided to rotate the component attachment arm  20  in the loading/unloading direction  36  such that the first end  22  of the component attachment arm  20  is moved adjacent the component mounting location on the vehicle  60 . 
     Referring now to  FIG. 4 , an alternative embodiment of an apparatus for facilitating the storing and unloading of a component is indicated generally at  10 ′. The apparatus  10 ′ includes the vehicle attachment arm  12  and the component attachment arm  20  extending outwardly from the connector portion  18 . The first end  22  of the component attachment arm  20  faces an opposite direction as in FIG.  1 . The component attachment arm  20  includes a component attachment bracket  64  attached to the first end  22  thereof for attaching a component (not shown) thereto. The component is preferably a bicycle or the like and the component attachment bracket  64  includes a cross support member  66  and a pair of attachment rods  68  extending therefrom for facilitating the attachment of the bicycles wheels or frame (not shown) thereto. Alternatively, the component attachment bracket  64  is shaped or configured to attach to any number of components including, but not limited to, skis, surfboards, food cooler chests, or any component where it is advantageous to provide a mechanical advantage for moving the component from the vehicle to the ground. 
     In operation, the apparatus  10 ′ is operated in the same manner as the apparatus  10  so that the bicycle or other component is lowered to the ground and later raised to a mounting location on the vehicle. 
     In accordance with the provisions of the patent statutes, the present invention has been described in what is considered to represent its preferred embodiment. However, it should be noted that the invention can be practiced otherwise than as specifically illustrated and described without departing from its spirit or scope.