Abstract:
A removable tire caddy and method of use for providing convenient access and manipulation of a vehicle-mounted spare tire. The removable tire caddy includes a wheeled carriage frame designed to support a tire on at least two wheels. In the center of the carriage is a structure for engaging a cable of a spare tire lift-and-carry apparatus that extends or retracts to move the spare tire and wheeled carriage between a release position and a storage position under the vehicle. When the carriage is disengaged from the cable, the user is able to move the tire about easily as the weight of the tire and carriage are borne by the wheels.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   1. Field of the Invention 
   The present invention relates to spare tire vehicle mounting methods and apparatus and more particularly pertains to a new removable tire caddy and method of use for providing convenient access and manipulation of a vehicle mounted spare tire. 
   2. Description of the Prior Art 
   The use of spare tire vehicle mounting methods and apparatus is known in the prior art. More specifically, spare tire vehicle mounting methods and apparatus heretofore devised and utilized are known to consist basically of familiar, expected and obvious structural configurations, notwithstanding the myriad of designs encompassed by the crowded prior art which have been developed for the fulfillment of countless objectives and requirements. 
   Known prior art includes U.S. Pat. No. 4,884,729, which teaches a tire rack hingedly mounted to a vehicle that can be lowered from a storage position to a release position by use of a mechanical gear system. The invention does not include a removable assembly. 
   U.S. Pat. No. 5,718,553 teaches an invention for lowering a spare tire from a position of storage to a release position through means of a retaining cable attached to a wheel engaging member. While the present invention has similar apparatus to this invention, the present invention disclosed herein has significant and distinct improvements over this prior art invention. 
   U.S. Pat. No. 5,860,786 teaches a support shelf for a spare tire which is connected to the underside of a vehicle. The entire shelf is able to raise and lower through means of telescoping supports and tension cables driven by a crank assembly. The shelf includes a pair of channel rail guides that hold the removable shelf upon which the spare tire resides. The present invention does not rely upon the complex apparatus of frame support structures, telescoping vertical supports or a slidable support shelf, which results in a mechanically simpler, more reliable and easier to use device than disclosed in this reference. 
   U.S. Pat. No. 5,993,133 teaches spare tire carrier similar to the support shelf of U.S. Pat. No. 5,860,786 for lowering the tire from a storage position, but relies upon a cantilever arm to extend the tire to the position of release. The apparatus disclosed in this patent does not include a removable carriage. 
   U.S. Pat. No. 6,053,690 teaches a shelf like system similar to U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,860,786 and 5,993,133, and utilizes a relatively square carrier that encompasses the entire spare tire (and is referred to as a tire pod). This patent does not teach the removal of the tire pod or the ability to support the tire pod on wheels outside of the mounting assembly. 
   While these devices fulfill their respective, particular objectives and requirements, the aforementioned patents do not disclose a new removable tire caddy and method of use. The inventive device includes a wheeled carriage frame designed to support a tire on two or more wheels. In the center of the carriage is a site to engage a cable of a spare tire lift-and-carry apparatus as is commonly known in the art. 
   In these respects, the removable tire caddy and method of use according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in so doing provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of providing convenient access and manipulation of a vehicle mounted spare tire. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   In view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent in the known types of spare tire vehicle mounting methods and apparatus now present in the prior art, the present invention provides a new removable tire caddy and method of use construction wherein the same can be utilized for providing convenient access and manipulation of a vehicle mounted spare tire. 
   The general purpose of the present invention, which will be described subsequently in greater detail, is to provide a new removable tire caddy apparatus and method which has many of the advantages of the spare tire vehicle mounting methods and apparatus mentioned heretofore and many novel features that result in a new removable tire caddy and method of use which is not anticipated, rendered obvious, suggested, or even implied by any of the prior art spare tire vehicle mounting methods and apparatus, either alone or in any combination thereof. 
   To attain this, the present invention generally comprises a wheeled carriage frame designed to support a tire on two or more wheels. In the center of the carriage is a site to engage a cable of a spare tire lift-and-carry apparatus that extends or retracts to move the spare tire and wheeled carriage between a release position and a storage position under the vehicle. Furthermore, when the carriage is disengaged from the cable, the user is able to move the tire about easily as the weight of the tire and carriage are born by the wheels. 
   There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the invention in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the invention that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto. 
   In this respect, before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. 
   As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception, upon which this disclosure is based, may readily be utilized as a basis for the designing of other structures, methods and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present invention. It is important, therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructions insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention. 
   Further, the purpose of the foregoing abstract is to enable the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the public generally, and especially the scientists, engineers and practitioners in the art who are not familiar with patent or legal terms or phraseology, to determine quickly from a cursory inspection the nature and essence of the technical disclosure of the application. The abstract is neither intended to define the invention of the application, which is measured by the claims, nor is it intended to be limiting as to the scope of the invention in any way. 
   It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a new removable tire caddy apparatus and method which has many of the advantages of the spare tire vehicle mounting methods and apparatuses mentioned heretofore and many novel features that result in a new removable tire caddy and method of use which is not anticipated, rendered obvious, suggested, or even implied by any of the prior art spare tire vehicle mounting methods and apparatuses, either alone or in any combination thereof. 
   It is another object of the present invention to provide a new removable tire caddy and method of use, which may be easily and efficiently manufactured and marketed. 
   It is a further object of the present invention to provide a new removable tire caddy, which is of a durable and reliable construction. 
   An even further object of the present invention is to provide a new removable tire caddy, which is susceptible of a low cost of manufacture with regard to both materials and labor, and which accordingly is then susceptible of low prices of sale to the consuming public, thereby making such removable tire caddy economically available to the buying public. 
   Still yet another object of the present invention is to provide a new removable tire caddy and method of use, which provides in the apparatuses and methods of the prior art some of the advantages thereof, while simultaneously overcoming some of the disadvantages normally associated therewith. 
   Still another object of the present invention is to provide a new removable tire caddy and method of use for providing convenient access and manipulation of a vehicle mounted spare tire. 
   Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a new removable tire caddy and method of use, which includes a wheeled carriage frame designed to support a tire on two or more wheels. In the center of the carriage is a site to engage a cable of a spare tire lift-and-carry apparatus that extends or retracts moving the spare tire and wheeled carriage between a release position and a storage position under the vehicle. 
   Still yet another object of the present invention is to provide a new removable tire caddy and method of use that is easily transportable when disengaged from the vehicle mount. 
   These together with other objects of the invention, along with the various features of novelty, which characterize the invention, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure. For a better understanding of the invention, its operating advantages and the specific objects attained by its uses, reference should be made to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter in which there are illustrated preferred embodiments of the invention. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     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. Such description makes reference to the annexed drawings wherein: 
       FIG. 1  is a rear profile view of a new removable tire caddy suspended underneat a vehicle in the storage possition according to the present invention. 
       FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the present invention showing the relation of the carriage to the tire. 
       FIG. 3  is a side profile view of the present invention suspended underneat a vehicle in the storage possition. 
       FIG. 4  is a cross section view of the present invention. 
   

   DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
   With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to  FIGS. 1 through 4  thereof, a new removable tire caddy embodying the principles and concepts of the present invention and generally designated by the reference numeral  10  will be described. 
   As best illustrated in  FIGS. 1 through 4 , the removable tire caddy  10  may generally comprise two main assemblies. The first assembly is the carriage  20  and the second assembly is the spare tire lift and carry apparatus  50 . 
   The carriage  20  may comprise a frame  22  for supporting a spare tire  16 . The frame may comprise four arms  24  that radiate from a central portion  32  and extend to a distance sufficient to contact and support an ample portion of the spare tire  16 , but the invention is not so limited. For example, the carriage  20  could employ as few as three arms  24  and still function as described below. Optionally, a multitude of arms  20  or supporting surfaces could serve to perform the same function as the four arms  20  used in the example. One preferred embodiment of the invention has four arms  20  for the purpose of simplicity in that a four arm design can easily be constructed by connecting two pieces of flatbar in a cross configuration. 
   The arms  20  of the carriage may be bent for the purpose of keeping the spare tire  16  placed centrally on the carriage  20 .  FIG. 2  best illustrates the contouring of the arms  24  that raises the central portion  32  higher that the ends of the arms  24  to fit within the central cavity of the spare tire  16 . 
   At the end of the arms  24  there may be included functional elements of the invention. These elements may include wheels  26 , handle  30 , and a foot  28 . 
   Wheels  26  may be located at two or more ends of the arms  20 . Practical placement may include generally opposing ends of the arms  24  and may comprise several wheel types such as a simple solid wheel and axle as depicted in the drawings, or optionally caster wheels, pneumatic wheels, multi wheel treads, collapsible wheels, pedrail wheels etc. employed with or without an articulated suspension structure. 
   A handle  30  may be located at the end of one or more of the arms  24 . The handle  30  may simply comprise a section of the arm  24  formed so that the user may grip it, or optionally may include a sleeve of conformable material formed in a configuration fashioned for gripping. The handle  30  may be mounted in a horizontal, vertical, or diagonal position relative to the arm  24 . 
   A foot may be located at another end of one or more of the arms  24  that would assist in supporting the carriage  20  in union with the wheels  26  when not in motion. Like the handle  30 , the foot may simply comprise the end of one of the arm  24  sections or may include a resistant, non-skid gripping material attached to the end of the arm to keep the carriage  20  from moving when idle. 
   To promote more convenient use of the handle  30  and foot  28  elements of the carriage  20 , it may be beneficial to set the weight of the frame  22  slightly off center. The center of gravity may be positioned slightly toward the foot  28  end of the fulcrum defined by the axles of the wheels  26 . In this configuration, the weight of the carriage  20  may be distributed substantially on the wheels  26  with a portion of the weight being borne by the foot  28 . This design would assure that, when idle, the carriage would rest on the foot leaving the handle free to be easily grasped and preventing the carriage from rolling away. 
   An engagement device  34  may be incorporated on the central portion of the carriage  20  an engagement device  34 . Such a device may comprise a variety of structures to attach a cable to the carriage. For example, such structures may include a hook, an eye bolt, a hole, a clamp, a clip, a latch, an open loop, a spring fastener, a narrowed section of the arm, a tension connector, and a capture block. A plurality of devices for attaching a cable to an object are known to those of skill in the art and it is anticipated that any of these methods or devices could be employed to practice the invention. The cable engagement device  34  may be used to connect the carriage with or without a spare tire to a spare tire lift and carry apparatus  50 . 
   The spare tire lift and carry apparatus  50  is well known in the art having been defined in the prior art. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,390,864; 3,554,397; 3,874,536; 4,047,629; 4,059,197; 4,492,506; 4,544,136; 4,625,947; 4,915,358; 4,969,630; 5,060,912; 5,297,913; 5,314,288; and 5,718,553 all teach various manners of moving a tire between a position of access, generally on the ground, and a position of storage, generally located underneath the undercarriage of a vehicle. Each of these reference disclose a flexible member  52 , such as a chain or cable, connected directly to the spare tire  16  or a support hub device via a coupling device  54  that couples to the engagement device  34  for supporting the spare tire  16 . The flexible member is connected to a take up means  56  for retracting the flexible member and the spare tire  16 , and the take up means may comprise a winch, a windlass, a take up reel, a cable drum, etc. A motivator  58  such as a crank, ratchet, motor, lever, etc could drive the take up means. The entire apparatus  50  may be connected to, integrated into, or mounted upon the vehicle  12 . 
   The present invention could incorporate any of the prior art methods for retracting and releasing the spare tire  16  and the carriage  20  with respect to the undercarriage  14  of a vehicle  12 , but departs from the prior art in the design and use of the carriage  20 . 
   In use, the removable tire caddy  10  supports a spare tire  16  underneath the undercarriage  14  of a vehicle  12 . The vehicle  12  undercarriage  14  may include a cavity to encompass the spare tire  16 . 
   The spare tire may reside on the frame  22  of the carriage  20  in a position centered on the frame  22  due to the raised central portion  32  of the frame  22  nesting in the inner hub of the spare tire  16 . A flexible member  52  may be connected to the carriage  20  by a coupling device  54  engaged with the engagement device  34  of the carriage  20 . The coupling means between elements  34  and  54  could take a plurality of forms, such as those forms disclosed for element  34 . 
   When the user desires to access the spare tire  16 , the user activates the motivator  58 , which is illustrated in  FIGS. 1 and 3  as a crank. The crank would extend the flexible member  52  from the take up means  56  and lower the carriage  20  and the spare tire  16  to the ground. An adequate length of the flexible member  52  would be extended to allow the user to grasp the handle  30  of the carriage  20  and pull the carriage  20  to a position sufficiently out from underneath the vehicle  12  to conveniently disengage the coupling device  54  from the engagement device  34 . 
   Once the spare tire  12  and caddy  10  have been removed from the spare tire lift-and-carry apparatus  50 , the caddy  10  can be used to carry the spare tire to anywhere the user desires. The wheels of the carriage  20  make it easy to pull the carriage  20  to the location where the spare tire  16  is needed. The user may hold the handle  30  and push down, thus shifting a small portion of the weight of the spare tire from the foot to the wheels  26 . The user can then pull the caddy by the handle  30  to direct the carriage  20  to the desired location. The tire  16  can then be taken off of the carriage  20  for change-out, servicing, replacement, etc. The carriage  20  will resist any tendency to roll away from the user due to the weight bearing on the foot  28  when the carriage is idle. 
   When the change-out, service or replacement tire has been completed, the spare tire may be placed back on the carriage  20  and the carriage rolled back to the undercarriage  14  of the vehicle  12 . The coupling device  54  can then be reattached to the engagement device  34 . The user then uses the motivator  58  to retract the flexible member  52  with the take up means  56 . This retraction movement will at first draw the carriage  20  and spare tire  16  under the vehicle  12  and then hoist the carriage  20  and spare tire  16  into the position of storage underneath the vehicle&#39;s  12  undercarriage  14 . 
   With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of the invention, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, 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. 
   Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention.