Package and article carriers – Vehicle attached – For rim – tire – or wheel
Reexamination Certificate
2001-07-31
2003-10-14
Newhouse, Nathan J. (Department: 3727)
Package and article carriers
Vehicle attached
For rim, tire, or wheel
C224S042280, C224S512000, C414S463000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06631834
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to spare tire carriers, and more particularly to bumper mounted spare tire carriers suitable for very heavy tires, such as those used by off road vehicles and military vehicles.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
For a variety of reasons, it is often desirable for a vehicle to be equipped with a spare tire. Indeed, the desirabilty and necessity of carrying a spare tire is well established. Spare tires are generally stowed in designated locations with regard to the specific type of vehicle. The spare tire in an automobile, for example, is conveniently located within the trunk or cargo compartment. In light trucks and derivative recreational and off-road vehicles, the spare tire is typically supported against the underside of the vehicle or the rear of the vehicle. Various placements of a spare tire are employed for motor homes and travel trailers.
Under-chassis placement on vehicles that are used for off road or cross-country travel, including military vehicles, is particularly problematic. The depending assemblage of tire and mount present an encumbrance that is readily snagged or caught upon brush, rocks, and other terrain obstacles, impeding progress and incurring damage to the vehicle. Interior storage space, on the other hand, is generally inconvenient and wasteful of precious cargo space.
Spare tire carriers for such vehicles have traditionally been mounted at the rear of the vehicle. U.S. Pat. No. 1,849,855 issued to F. A. Stutsman et. al. on Mar. 15, 1932, discloses a tire carrier mounted at the rear body portion of a vehicle and which comprises a stationary part and a swingable tire carrying part that can be lowered to the ground in order to remove the tire from the carrier. If a vehicle, however, is equipped with a tailgate or some other type of rear closure assembly such as a door, a rear mounted tire carrier such as that of Stutsman et al. will interfere with the operation of the closure assembly.
To overcome this difficulty, many conventional spare tire carriers have been mounted on a pivotable frame to allow the carrier to be swung away from the rear closure assembly. Such carriers have been mounted either on the vehicle body, the vehicle bumper, or a combination thereof.
A relatively simple yet well known unit incorporates a pair of angularly disposed arms. The free end of each arm is hingedly affixed to the body of the vehicle. An arrangement for detachably securing a spare tire is typically carried at the apex of the arms. Rotation of the device, between stowed or normal position and the door access position, is about a vertical axis. This configuration, however, has proven to be less than satisfactory. A primary deficiency is associated with the mounting upon the body. Vehicular body panels are commonly fabricated of relatively lightweight material. The combined mass of the carrier and the tire, constantly vibrating when the vehicle is underway, imparts stress and fatigue to the body panel resulting in eventual material failure.
One device mounted on a combination of the vehicle body and rear bumper is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,817,834, issued to Raymond C. Weiler on Apr. 4, 1989. This device is primarily supported by the rear bumper, rotates about a vertical axis between a stowed or normal position and an position which permits access to the rear closure assembly, and requires a body mounted latch for retaining the spare tire in the normal position. Considerable stress, however, is placed upon the latch as a result of the inherent instability of the pivotable attachment to the bumper.
A device mounted a rear vehicle bumper is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,679,717 to Hansen, issued on Jul. 14, 1987. This device is supported only by the rear vehicle bumper, rotates about a vertical axis between a stowed or normal position and a position which permits access to the rear closure assembly, and does not include a body mounted latch for securing the tire in the normal position.
In addition to not interfering with the tailgate or some other type of rear closure assembly, a problem to be overcome with spare tire carriers mounted on the rear of a vehicle is the need to lift the tire off of the carrier or to lift the tire onto the tire carrier. This is a particular difficulty with tires for off road and military vehicles, which tend to be four to five times heavier than tires for commercial vehicles. By way of example, one such military vehicle where this is of particular concern is the High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV or HumVee) manufactured by AM General. While there are a number of different HumVee models, a tire for a typical HumVee weighs approximately one hundred and twenty two (122) pounds and costs approximately US$800. HumVee tires may include a runflat system which permits the tire to be driven flat for twenty (20) miles at thirty miles per hour (30 mph) and a CTIS (Central Tire Inflation System) which allows the driver to inflate or deflate the tire on the move. Adjusting the tire pressure impacts the traction provided by the tire. Such options increase the weight and cost of a tire. The weight of these tires is of particular moment, given the US military's guidelines which recommend the per person lift load be no greater than forty two (42) pounds. Under these guidelines, a minimum of three (3) people are needed to lift a spare tire. Because of the cost of each tire, it is preferred that any damaged tires which are replaced in the field be recovered for repair. The weight of the tires, however, and the need to lift the tire to the spare tire carrier inhibits such recovery.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,822,814, issued to Baldi on Jul. 9, 1974, discloses a bumper mounted spare tire carrier which addresses the difficulty of lifting a tire to the spare tire carrier. In this case, the spare tire carrier comprises a mounting bracket bolted to a rear bumper of a vehicle and the tire is attached to a rigid arm pivotally mounted at one end of the bracket. The arm extends beyond the attachment point of the tire and a handle is mounted at a distal end of the arm so that the tire can be lowed by grasping the handle, unlatching a latch and pivoting the arm and tire downwardly to the ground for easy removal or attachment of the tire.
Although the Baldi patent provides a tire carrier which allows operation of the rear closure assembly without interference and also permits the tire to swing downwardly to make mounting and removing the spare tire less burdensome, one has to swing the tire downwardly and afterwards upwardly every time one wishes to use the tailgate or other rear closure assembly of the vehicle to which the device of Baldi is attached. U.S. Pat. No. 5,186,371 to Jozeczak et al., issued on Feb. 16, 1993, discloses a spare tire carrier affixed to the body of the vehicle that allows the tire to swing downwardly for easy removal and which is adapted to swing from a latched position adjacent to the rear portion of the vehicle to an open position. The device of Jozeczak et al., however, requires a body mounted latch for retaining the spare tire in the normal position and suffers from the deficiencies discussed above of body mounted carriers and carriers which require a body mounted latch for retaining the spare tire in the normal position. Moreover, a tremendous amount of leverage is required to lift the tire above its center of gravity. Devices like the device of Jozeczak et al., however, require the tire to be lifted above its center of gravity because doing so results in a tire in a stowed position that is very stable without the need for a powerful locking mechanism as the weight of the tire acts to hold the tire in place.
For off road vehicles, and military vehicles in particular, the spare tire carriers disclosed in the art are not suitable. Simply put, these carriers are designed for on road use and cannot withstand the stresses and strains placed upon them when supporting a larger tire in an off road environment. By way of comparison, a tire for a passenger car typically measures approximate
Ference & Associates
Ibis Tek, LLC
Newhouse Nathan J.
LandOfFree
Spare tire carrier does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Spare tire carrier, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Spare tire carrier will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-3151275