Abstract:
A mount for attaching a winch to an all-terrain vehicle. The mount allows the winch to pivot to face the cable anchor during use, thereby preventing improper spooling of the cable. Alternatively, the mount allows the winch to face a predetermined direction during use.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    This disclosure is directed to a device or an assembly that is a winch mount that can be attached to an all-terrain vehicle. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    All-terrain vehicles (“ATVs”) often get stuck in the mud or sand during use and require an external moving force, such as towing or a winch, to become unstuck. 
         [0003]    Often an ATV will have a winch attached to the front or back of the ATV. When the ATV becomes stuck, the winch cable is unwound and attached to an anchor, such as a tree or large rock. The winch is then activated to retract the cable, thereby pulling the ATV toward the anchor and out of the mud, sand, or other entrapping surface. 
         [0004]    Ideally, the winch will directly face the anchor so that the winch cable will not spool improperly or bind when the winch is retracting the cable. However, anchor position and availability is a matter of luck, and often the best or only available anchor is not directly facing the winch. 
         [0005]    It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide various embodiments of an ATV winch mount that allows a mounted winch to pivot towards an anchor, or pivot toward another predetermined direction, during use, thereby allowing the cable to spool properly when the cable is retracted. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0006]      FIG. 1  shows an embodiment of the invention in use. 
           [0007]      FIG. 2  shows a top view of an embodiment with an attached winch. 
           [0008]      FIG. 3  shows a top view of the embodiment of  FIG. 2  without an attached winch. 
           [0009]      FIG. 4  shows a side view of the embodiment of  FIG. 2  without an attached winch. 
           [0010]      FIG. 5  shows a top view of a second embodiment with an attached winch. 
           [0011]      FIG. 6  shows a side view of the embodiment of  FIG. 5  without an attached winch. 
           [0012]      FIG. 7  shows a top view of the embodiment of  FIG. 5  without an attached winch. 
           [0013]      FIG. 8  shows a top cross-section view of the embodiment of  FIG. 5  without an attached winch. 
           [0014]      FIG. 9  shows a top view of the embodiment of  FIG. 5  with an attached winch and a power connector. 
           [0015]      FIG. 10  shows a top view of the embodiment of  FIG. 5  with a bumper cover and a winch. 
           [0016]      FIG. 11  shows the bumper cover of  FIG. 10  without the winch. 
           [0017]      FIG. 12  shows a top cross-section view of the bumper cover of  FIG. 10 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0018]    A manual embodiment of the winch mount is shown in  FIGS. 2 ,  3 , and  4  generally at  20 . Referring to  FIG. 2 , pivot plate  28  rests flat on base plate  38 . Pin holes  24  run directly through bas plate  38  and pivot plate  28 . Pivot plate front  44  and base plate front  56  are rounded to allow both fronts to remain parallel as pivot plate  28  rotates. 
         [0019]    Pivot holding bolt  32  goes through the top of pivot bracket  36 , through pivot plate aperture  34 , and into the bottom of pivot bracket  36 /base plate  38 . Pivot holding bolt  32  is covered by pivot tube  52 . Pivot bracket  36  may include female threaded apertures where pivot holding bolt  32  intersects with pivot bracket  36  and base plate  38 , but pivot plate aperture  34  should not be threaded, in order to allow pivot plate  28  to move freely. Base plate  38  can be affixed to the front or back of an all-terrain vehicle by, for example, allen bolts placed through topped holes  116 . 
         [0020]    Winch  14 , for example a 12-volt DC winch, can include a cable  22 , a hook  26 , stabilizer bars  42 , a winch drum  40 , and a motor casing  50 . The underside of winch  14  is affixed to pivot plate  28  at countersunk bolt holes  110  with allen bolts  30 . Pivot plate  28  may pivot at pivot holding bolt  32 , thereby allowing winch  14  to pivot as well. When winch  14  is facing desired direction, a pin (not shown) may be dropped into one of the pin holes  24  at a point where said holes  24  of the pivot plate  28  and base/mount plate  38  are aligned. 
         [0021]    Due to the placement of winch  14  in front of pivot holding bolt  32 , the natural tendency of pivot plate  28  is to turn toward the pulling force of the cable  22  such that the winch  14  will naturally face the direction of the anchor  10  when cable  22  is being spooled on the winch drum  40 . 
         [0022]    Thus, as shown in  FIG. 1 , the winch  14  may directly face an anchor  10 , even when the all-terrain vehicle  12  is not directly facing a useful anchor. Thus, the cable  22  is able to spool properly on the winch drum  40  and not bind during retraction of the cable  22 . 
         [0023]    A motorized embodiment and its subparts thereof are shown in  FIGS. 4-9 . In this embodiment, pivot plate  66  and toothed wheel  64  are located in recess  78  in winch mount base  60 . Pivot plate  66  is affixed to toothed wheel  64 , by, for example, threaded apertures with allen bolts  74 . Pivot plate  66  covers toothed wheel  64  completely in order to prevent foreign objects from being lodged in toothed wheel  64 . Center pivot bolt  76  is threaded when contacting winch mount base  60  but is not threaded where contacting pivot plate  66  or toothed wheel  64 . Worm cylinder  62  is located in hollow cylinder  78  inside winch mount base  60 . Worm cylinder  62  interlocks with toothed wheel  64  such that toothed wheel  64  will rotate when worm cylinder  62  spins. 
         [0024]    Worm gear motor casing  70  is affixed to winch mount base  60  at flange  68  with fasteners  72 , for example, allen bolts. The worm gear motor (not shown), which resides in worm gear motor casing  70 , is affixed to worm cylinder  62 . Worm gear motor (not shown) can be, for example, a standard 12-volt DC motor and is well known to those with ordinary skill in the art. 
         [0025]    Winch  80  is affixed to pivot plate  66  with, for example, allen bolts  74 , thereby allowing winch  80  to rotate when worm gear motor is activated. If needed, winch  80  can rotate 360 degrees. 
         [0026]    At least two wires inside power/signal cord  94  are electrically coupled to winch drum motor (not shown), for example a 12-volt DC motor, located in winch drum motor casing  90 . At least two additional wires in power/signal cord  94  are electrically coupled to worm gear motor (not shown). Power/signal cord coupler  96  is attached to, for example, the battery for the all-terrain vehicle, as well as to a controller that can send current to the worm gear motor or to the winch drum motor. These types of battery and controller electrical couplings are common for winches installed on all-terrain vehicles and are well-known and can be easily duplicated by those with ordinary skill in the art. Power/signal cord  94  is long enough to allow winch  80  to rotate without pulling power/signal cord  94  taut. 
         [0027]    Modifications to the invention and embodiments described above are numerous and the means of their implementation will be obvious to those skilled in the art. By way of example only, the winch may include a fairlead  16  with trigger  110  switches on each fairlead side  18  that will cause the winch position to self-correct when the cable  82  pushes against one of the trigger switches. The trigger switches would be electrically coupled to the worm gear motor such that the worm gear motor will activate in a certain direction when the cable  82  presses against and activates one of the switches, thereby rotating the winch to a centered position during unspooling or spooling of the cable. 
         [0028]    As another modification example, the controller for the worm gear motor may be controlled by a smart phone application, or by a coded remote control device. 
         [0029]    As another modification example, the worm cylinder  62  may include an externally accessible coupling for an allen key or other turning mechanism, such that worm cylinder  62  (and therefore pivot plate  66 ) may be turned manually if needed. 
         [0030]    As another modification example, the winch mount base  60  can include LED lights that are electrically coupled to the power/signal cord  94 , for nighttime visibility and use. 
         [0031]    As another modification example, a camera may be attached to the winch  80  such that a user could, for example, view through a smartphone application the progress of the spooling of the cable  82 , to determine, for example, whether the cable was at risk of unspooling completely or, for example, whether the cable was spooling properly, thereby allowing a user to keep a safe distance from the winch and taut cable while the winch was in use. 
         [0032]    As another modification, as shown in  FIGS. 10-12 , the winch mount base  60  may attach to a larger bumper cover  120  at the bumper mount base  124 . Side flap  122  covers worm gear motor casing  70  and any power/signal cord coupler  96  at  135  bumper mount base portion  126 . 
         [0033]    Various changes, alternatives and modifications will become apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art following a reading of the foregoing specification. It is intended that any such changes, alternatives and modifications as fall within the scope of the appended claims be considered part of the present invention.