Patent Publication Number: US-2009236576-A1

Title: Auxiliay winch for automobile

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to an auxiliary winch for automobiles, and in particular to a winch comprising an axle connecting between spaced first and second disks and coupled to a cable having an end forming a hook and two nut members that releasably mounting the winch to a wheel of automobile so that when an automobile is trapped in for example mud, the driver of the automobile may easily and efficiency install the winch on the wheel of the automobile to help the automobile get rid of the trapped condition. 
     2. The Related Arts 
     Special-purpose vehicles or rescue vehicles, jeeps and mountain-climbing vehicles are often provided with a winch to provide rescue function. For example, when the automobile or vehicle is trapped in mud, a recess, or a slipping road surface and is thus not able to move further, the winch that is provided on the automobile may be used to get the automobile out of the trap or the winch can be used to rescue other trapped vehicles. 
     The known winch is often arranged to receive mechanical power from an engine of vehicle to provide power for the winch. Also, a substantial space is needed to install the winch. Due to these reasons, the conventional automobile winch is often installed on the special-purpose vehicles or rescue vehicles and jeeps and is not suitable for regular automobiles, such as a sedan. Apparently, a regular vehicle, when trapped and incapable to further move, cannot self rescue and has to wait for a rescue vehicle to get it out of the trap. 
     Thus, it is desired to have an automobile winch that overcomes the above discussed deficiencies. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     To overcome the above discussed deficiencies, the present invention is aimed to provide an auxiliary winch for automobiles. 
     In other words, an objective of the present invention is to provide an auxiliary winch for automobiles, which winch can be easily and efficiently mounted to a wheel of the automobile by a driver of the automobile in order to release the automobile from a trapped condition. 
     To achieve the above objective, a technique solution in accordance with the present invention is as follows. 
     The present invention provides a winch that is adapted to install in an automobile, comprising a first disk and a second disk that are spaced from each other and connected together by an axle therebetween, a cable having a distal end forming a hook, and at least two nut members. 
     The first disk forms therethrough two through holes at opposite locations for receiving the nut members respectively. Each through hole is comprised of an outer hole section having a small diameter and an inner hole section having a large diameter so that a circumferential internal shoulder is formed between the inner hole section and the outer hole section, functioning to support and retain the nut member. 
     The second disk forms two bores therethrough, corresponding in location to the through holes of the first disk. 
     The axle is arranged between and is integrally formed with the first and second disks. The axle has an outer circumference forming a notch to which a proximal end of the cable is received and fixed. 
     In a practical application, to install the winch, a tool is used to remove two lug nuts from wheel studs that fix a wheel to an automobile. The first disk is then mounted to the wheel by fitting the through holes over the wheel studs and tightening with the nut members that engage the wheel studs. 
     To operate, the hook of the distal end of the cable is attached to a fixed object and the proximal end of the cable is fixed to the axle. By starting an engine of the automobile and driving the wheel to rotate at a low speed, the axle winds the cable thereon and thus inducing a towing or driving force in the cable that moves the automobile, which may be for example trapped in mud, out of the trapped condition. 
     The present invention provides a winch that is of a simple structure and has a compact arrangement for ready storage. The installation of the winch is also easily and efficiently. Thus, the winch in accordance with the present invention is most suitable for mounting to an automobile that is not equipped with a power winch to function to for example rescue the automobile out of a trapped condition. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art by reading the following description of preferred embodiments thereof, with reference to the attached drawings, wherein: 
         FIG. 1  shows a perspective view of a winch constructed in accordance with the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  illustrates mounting the winch of the present invention to a wheel of an automobile; 
         FIG. 3  shows a perspective view of the winch of the present invention mounted to the automobile wheel; and 
         FIG. 4  shows a cross-sectional view of the winch of the present invention mounted to the automobile wheel. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     With reference to the drawings and in particular to  FIG. 1 , which shows a perspective view of a winch constructed in accordance with the present invention, generally designated with reference numeral  10 , the winch  10 , which is provided to serve as an auxiliary winch for automobiles, comprises a first disk  11  and a second disk  12  that are coupled to each other by an axle  13  and a cable  20  having a distal end to which a hook  21  is mounted and at least two nut members  16 . Preferably, the first disk  11  and the second disk  12  are opposite to and spaced from each other. 
     The first disk  11  forms at least two through holes  14  at opposite locations. Each through hole  14  is constituted by first and second sections, which are respectively located close to outer and inner sides of the first disk  11  and have small and large diameters so that the through hole  14  includes an outer hole section having a small diameter and an inner hole section having a large diameter and a circumferential internal shoulder  15  is formed between the small-diameter outer hole section and the large-diameter inner hole section of the through hole  14 . 
     The second disk  12  forms therethrough a bore  16  corresponding in location to each through hole  14  of the first disk  11  for the extension of a tool (not shown) that may be used ton install the winch  10  to an automobile (not shown). 
     As shown in  FIG. 1 , the axle  13  is preferably integrally formed with and arranged between the first and second disks  11 ,  12 . The axle  13  has an outer circumference in which a notch  18  is formed for tightening of a proximal end of the cable  20 . 
     In a practical embodiment of the present invention, the axle  13  is made of a shape having two ends that are of increased diameters, while a central portion of the axle  13  being of a relatively small diameter, so that the axle  13 , when viewed sideways, has a concave curved shape. In this way, structural strength of the connection between the axle  13  and the first and second disks  11 ,  12  is enhanced. Further, such a concave curved configuration of the axle  13  also helps organizing turns of the cable  20  when the cable  20  is wound around the axle  13 , without causing any undesired entangling of the turns of the cable  20 . 
     Also referring to  FIGS. 2-4 , wherein  FIG. 2  demonstrates mounting or installing the winch  10  on a wheel  30  of an automobile,  FIG. 3  shows a perspective view of the winch  10  that is mounted to the wheel  30 , and  FIG. 4  shows a cross-sectional view of the winch  10  mounted to the wheel  30 , to install winch  10  to an automobile, the winch  10  is mounted to the wheel  30  of the automobile by means of engagement of the nut members  17  with corresponding wheel studs  33  of the wheel  30 . This can be done in a way similar to replacement of for example a flat tire by removing two of the lug nuts  32  from the wheel studs  33  of the wheel  30 , followed by fitting the first disk  11  to the nut-removed studs  33 , and only tire replacement tools are needed in carrying out the installation of the winch  10  to the wheel  30 . General consumers, who are capable to replace an automobile tire by themselves, can perform the installation of the winch  10  in a simple and generally efficient manner. 
     The installation of the winch  10  will be further described in more details. As shown in  FIG. 2 , two lug nuts  32 , preferably two opposite ones, are removed from the corresponding wheel studs  33  of an automobile wheel  30 , but the remaining lug nuts  32  are still in tight engagement with the corresponding studs  33  so that the wheel  30  remains securely fixed to a wheel axle and can be driven by the engine (not shown) of the automobile through a transmission system of the automobile. 
     The first disk  11  is then positioned against the wheel  30  by having the through holes  14  of the first disk  11  fit over the wheel studs  33  of which the lug nuts  32  have been removed. The nut members  17  are then put into engagement with the nut-removed studs  33  and tightened, preferably by means of a tire replacement tool (not shown) that extends through the bores  16  of the second disk  12  to drive the nut members  17 . The circumferential internal shoulder  15  of each through hole  14  provides a support to an expanded head of the nut member  17  received in the through hole  14 . In this way, the winch  10  is securely fixed to the wheel  30  by the nut members  17  tightly engaging the wheel studs  33 , as shown in the perspective view of  FIG. 3  and the cross-sectional view of  FIG. 4 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 3 , to operate the winch  10 , the hook  20  provided at the distal end of the cable  20  is stretched out and attached to a fixed object, such a tree in front of the automobile to which the winch  10  is mounted. The proximal of the cable  20  is fixed to the axle  13  of the winch  10  by means of the notch  18  and the cable  20  is properly wound around the axle  13  to make the cable  20  properly stretched. Thereafter, the engine of the automobile is started and the transmission of the automobile is set in a low speed to slowly rotate the wheel  30 , which causes the axle  13  of the winch  10  to rotate and thus wind the cable  20  thereon so that a towing force is induced and the automobile is moved. In this way, an automobile trapped in mud can rescue itself. 
     The first and second disks  11 ,  12  of the winch  10  can be made in similar or identical shape or they can be made in different shapes or configurations. Or, they can be made in a shape and/or size in accordance with the specifications of the wheels to which the winch  10  is to be mounted, including different shapes and different sizes. 
     If desired, the first disk  11  of the winch  10  can be provided with more or less than two through holes  14  in accordance with different specifications of the wheels to which the winch  10  is to be mounted. 
     To this point, it is apparent that the winch  10  of the present invention is of a simple structure and can thus be of a small size suitable for storage in a storage cabin of an automobile. Further, installation of the winch  10  of the present invention is also easy and simple and is most suitable for any vehicle that is not equipped with a power winch to provide the function of self rescue as well as a rescue device for other trapped vehicles. 
     Although the present invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiments thereof, it is apparent to those skilled in the art that a variety of modifications and changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention which is intended to be defined by the appended claims.