Patent ID: 7487953

Claim:
A hoist assembly in combination with a motor vehicle wheel having a center portion defining a circular central opening and circumferentially spaced lug holes, said hoist assembly including a housing having spaced side walls supporting a drive shaft for rotation, an annular spool supported by said shaft within said housing for rotation relative to said shaft and defining a circumferential groove surrounding a hub, an elongated flexible cable having a first end portion connected to said hub of said spool and extending within said groove and through an opening within said housing, a tire support member connected to an opposite second end portion of said cable, a drive mechanism connecting said shaft to said spool and effective to rotate said spool through one revolution relative to said shaft in response to multiple revolutions of said shaft for winding said cable within said groove, a down stop member supported within said housing for pivotal movement into engagement with said spool and on an axis disposed radially outwardly from said spool, said tire support member comprising a substantially straight elongated bar having a central portion positively attached to said cable by a fitting crimped to said cable, said elongated bar having a width substantially less than a diameter of said circular central opening of said wheel and having opposite end portions defining a length for said bar greater than said diameter of said central opening, said opposite end portions of said bar being positioned under said center portion of said wheel in response to passing said elongated bar longitudinally through said central opening of said wheel while attached to said cable, and a pair of parallel pins secured to said opposite end portions of said bar and projecting upwardly through diametrically opposed said lug holes within said center portion of said wheel.