Abstract:
A protective rear accessory bumper and integrated spare tire carrier for use on a host land vehicle providing protective features designed to minimize vehicle damage in rear-end vehicular collisions, and also providing rapid access to, and stowage of, a spare tire, by means of a pivoting tire carrier assembly, allowing a single person to change a heavy tire too heavy for the person to lift by hand.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]    Reference is made to and priority claimed from U.S. provisional application Ser. No. 61/039,280, filed on Mar. 25, 2008. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]    The present invention relates to vehicle bumpers and spare tire storage devices, and more particularly pertains to a rear protective accessory bumper with an integrated spare tire carrier. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0003]    The rear bumper area on a vehicle is prone to collision and other damage due to its location. Additionally, spare tire storage on motorized vehicles can make the process of loading and unloading a heavy tire cumbersome and inconvenient. In particular, the tires used for some military vehicles can weigh over 300 pounds, and hence changing these tires can be difficult for a single person. 
         [0004]    It would be advantageous to combine the properties of a protective bumper minimizing collision damage to a host vehicle with easy storage and retrieval of a spare tire. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0005]    The present invention provides a new protective rear accessory bumper designed to minimize collision damage to a host vehicle, and further for facilitating stowage of, and rapid access to, a spare tire via an integrated spare tire carrier. The integrated spare tire carrier allows a single person to change a heavy tire too heavy to lift by hand. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
         [0006]    The invention will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. The description makes reference to the annexed drawings wherein: 
           [0007]      FIG. 1  is a front view of a protective rear accessory bumper and integrated spare tire carrier according to the invention, shown in stowed position. 
           [0008]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of a protective rear accessory bumper and integrated spare tire carrier according to the invention, shown with the carrier assembly pivoted 90 degrees from the stowed position, with the pivot arm in the upward (stowed) position. 
           [0009]      FIG. 3  is a side view showing the carrier assembly pivoted 180 degrees from the stowed position, with the pivot arm in the downward (deployed) position, and illustrating that the orientation of the spare tire relative to the carrier assembly does not change as the arm is pivoted downwards. 
           [0010]      FIG. 4  is a front view of the protective rear accessory bumper and integrated spare tire carrier according to the invention, shown in the stowed position. 
           [0011]      FIG. 5  is a perspective view of a new protective rear accessory bumper and integrated spare tire carrier according to the invention, shown with the carrier assembly pivoted 90 degrees from the stowed position, with the pivot arm in the upward (stowed) position. 
       
    
    
     DRAWINGS LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS  
       [0012]    The following is a list of reference labels used in the drawings to label components of different embodiments of the invention, and the names of the indicated components. 
         [0013]      300  spare tire 
         [0014]      301  holding mast 
         [0015]      302  neon flash tube strobe light 
         [0016]      304  pivot arm 
         [0017]      306  cable 
         [0018]      307  cross bar for ladder arm 
         [0019]      307   a  hole for inserting lock pin or hitch pin 
         [0020]      308  stop 
         [0021]      310  locking wing nut 
         [0022]      312  threaded shaft 
         [0023]      314  motor 
         [0024]      316  second or raise-lower swivel hinge 
         [0025]      318  bolt holes per bolt pattern for OEM bumper 
         [0026]      320  lock pin or hitch pin 
         [0027]      322  “fair lead” or four roller winch face 
         [0028]      400  rear bumper assembly 
         [0029]      402  frame 
         [0030]      402   a  tire carrier assembly attachment point 
         [0031]      404  striking surface 
         [0032]      406  tire carrier assembly 
         [0033]      408  first or out-back swivel hinge 
         [0034]      410  horizontal support member 
         [0035]      412  vertical pivot member 
         [0036]      414  searchlight 
         [0037]      416  latch 
         [0038]      500  rear bumper with integrated spare tire carrier 
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0039]    Referring to  FIGS. 1-5 , a protective rear accessory bumper with an integrated spare tire carrier  500  includes a rear bumper assembly  400  and an integrated spare tire carrier assembly  406 . The rear bumper assembly is a shock absorbing bumper structure—e.g. a weldment, casting, or extrusion-adapted to removably couple to the frame of a host land vehicle, and the deployable tire carrier structure  406  is pivotably attached to the bumper structure for providing mechanical advantage in loading and unloading a spare tire. The invention may also feature an opening to accommodate guide rollers for a winch, and a searchlight or other optional lighting component. 
         [0040]    As best illustrated in  FIGS. 3 &amp; 4 , the rear accessory bumper assembly  400  generally comprises a two-ended protective frame element  402  having at least one striking surface  404 . The frame  402  may be a c-channel weldment or other structure (e.g. a casting or an extrusion), or any other suitable weldment or other structure shaped so as to roughly conform to the rear profile of the host vehicle. The frame  402  may have at least one removable or non-removable attached light or strobe light, such as a neon flash tube strobe light  302  applied to, or recessed within, the at least one striking surface  404 . The striking surface  404  may include a plurality of bolt holes  318  corresponding to the hole pattern found in host vehicle&#39;s OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) rear bumper. 
         [0041]    The rear accessory bumper assembly  400  may further provide an opening configured to accommodate guide rollers for a winch  322  having at least one winch roller and a winch motor, centrally located on the frame  402  so as to allow winching from the striking surface  404 . The winch may be a “fair lead” winch having four rollers, and the winch motor may be mounted to the interior of the frame  402  facing the host vehicle. A controller (not separately shown) for operation of the winch plugs into an outlet (not separately shown) on the back of the host vehicle. 
         [0042]    As shown more particularly in  FIGS. 3 ,  4  and  5 , the rear accessory bumper with integrated spare tire carrier  500  further comprises a tire carrier assembly  406  pivotably attached to the frame  402  by a first or out-back swivel hinge  408  at an attachment point  402   a.  The out-back swivel hinge  408  may include a vertical pivot member  412  pivotably attached to and extending through either end of the frame  402 . As shown more particularly in  FIG. 3 , a lock pin or a hitch pin  320  is inserted into a hole  307   a  created by a hollow cylindrical cross member  307  in the pivot arm  304 , and is used to secure the tire carrier assembly in an upright position, with a retainer pin (not shown) securing the hitch pin  320 . The hitch pin  320 , in the embodiment shown, consists of a one-inch diameter, solid steel cylindrical pin pierced by a hole at one end, and through which the retainer pin is inserted, however any suitable fastening means, including screws, pins and clamp fasteners may be used to secure the assembly  406 . As shown more particularly in  FIGS. 3 and 5 , a latch  416  located on the bumper striking surface  404  holds the tire carrier assembly  406  in place for transit. 
         [0043]    The tire carrier assembly  406  may further comprise a holding mast  301  fixedly attached to the frame  402  and in some embodiments, to a distal end of at least one horizontal support member  410 . As shown more particularly in  FIG. 3 , a pivot arm  304  is pivotably attached to the frame  402  and in some embodiments, as shown in  FIGS. 4 and 5 , to the at least one support member  410  by a second or raise-lower swivel hinge  316 , so that when the arm is in a transit or “back” or stowed position, the pivot arm  304  abuts or nearly abuts the holding mast  301 . The pivot arm may be any type of arm, but a ladder-type arm having at least one ladder cross member  307  is preferred. A searchlight  414 , as shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , may also be attached to the top of the holding mast  301  by means of an adaptor plate (not shown). 
         [0044]    As shown more particularly in  FIG. 3 , a motor  314  may be used to control tension on a cable  306  used for raising and lowering the pivot arm  304  when a spare tire is present. Preferably, the motor  314  drives a spool (not separately shown) about which the cable  306  may be wound and unwound, so as to affect movement of the pivot arm  304 . The motor may be any suitable motor, such as an electric motor driven by the host vehicle&#39;s internal power supply. To prevent motor damage, an electric stop  308  including a limit switch able to sense the travel distance of the assembly  406 , may be attached to the holding mast  301  to limit upward travel of the pivot arm  304 . 
         [0045]    As shown more particularly in  FIGS. 3 and 5 , a spare tire  300  is connected to the pivot arm  304  by a threaded shaft  312 . The shaft  312  itself is pivotably attached (not shown) to the pivot arm  304  and this pivoting attachment allows the spare tire to consistently remain in an upright, level position, regardless of the position of the pivot arm  304 . Gravity keeps the spare tire level as the tire assembly  406  is deployed. The tire in the embodiments shown in  FIGS. 3-4  is secured to the shaft  312  a locking wing nut  310 , but any appropriate securing means can be used. 
         [0046]    In operation, the tire carrier assembly  406  is designed to swivel outward from the vehicle and then the motor lowers or raises the spare tire to minimize or eliminate any heavy lifting that would otherwise be necessary. It should be noted that the tire assembly  406  may also be deployed without swiveling the assembly  406  away from the vehicle. The swiveling feature allows the vehicle tailgate to be opened at the same time the assembly  406  is deployed. The bumper assembly  400  may be provided as an original bumper for the host vehicle or as a replacement bumper and is installed in the same fashion and with the same fastening means as an original host vehicle bumper. 
         [0047]    The protective rear accessory bumper and tire carrier  500  may be constructed from aluminum, steel, titanium, composites, or any other suitable material able to support sheer stress. Preferably, the protective rear accessory bumper should substantially extend across the rear of the host vehicle so as to provide protection in the event of a rear-end collision. The protective rear accessory bumper is designed so as to complement the host vehicle design, and can preferably be used to replace the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) bumper, but can also be used in addition to the OEM bumper. The bumper assembly  400  is particularly suited for use on utility vehicles, such as the International MXT® utility truck, the HMMWV (High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle) used by the US Military and also variants for sale commercially, including the so-called Hummer and H 2 , available from AM General. 
         [0048]    With respect to the above description, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of the invention to include variations in form, shape, size, use, function, assembly, materials, and manner of operation, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by the present invention. The phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention.