Patent ID: 7837179

Claim:
A tire carrier assembly comprising: a housing having a bottom wall and a side wall extending outwardly from the bottom wall defining an interior space; a rotation shaft coupled to the housing and having a longitudinal axis; a sheave coupled to the shaft and rotatable about the longitudinal axis; a gear member extending from the sheave and rotatable therewith; a pin fixedly secured to the housing; and a torque plate having a gear portion epicyclically engaged with the gear member of the sheave, the torque plate having an arm portion extending generally radially outwardly with respect to the gear portion, the torque plate having a closed-ended slot formed in the arm portion and receiving the pin therethrough, the arm portion having legs extending along opposite sides of the slot, at least one of the legs having a weakened area at which the arm portion deforms in response to an application of a predetermined amount of force, which allows the torque plate to rotate non-epicyclically about the longitudinal axis and contact an inner surface of the housing controlling payout of a cable from the sheave.