Patent ID: 6991417

Claim:
A spare tire handling device adapted for moving a spare tire relative to a vehicle, the device comprising, in combination: a winch apparatus; a flexible member having one end attached to the winch and the other end detachably engageable with the tire, the tire being displaceable from an accessible position to a stored position in response to the rotation of the winch in one direction and from the stored position to the accessible position in response to the rotation of the winch in the opposite direction; a wheel retainer member adjacent to the other end of the flexible member, the wheel retainer member having a housing and at least one extending portion being rotatable from a retracted position to an extended position, the housing having a secondary lock assembly and the spare tire having a rim, the rim including a radial web portion axially oriented with respect to a face of the spare tire and including a rim spacer member adjacent the rim, the rim spacer member having a portion forming a hole and an axially extending stand-off portion adjacent the hole, the flexible member being disposed in the hole, the stand-off portion limiting the axial movement of the wheel retainer member into the radial web portion of the rim wherein the at least one extending portion passes through an aperture in the rim when a face of the tire is in one position, and the at least one extending portion is prevented from passing through the aperture when the face of the tire is in another position; a stop adjacent the housing, the stop preventing over-rotation of the at least one extending portion beyond the extended position; and a biasing member urging the at least one extending portion toward the extended position.