Spare tire lock

Details Spare tire lock Spare tire lock

1999-04-22

2003-01-14

Barrett, Suzanne Dino (Department: 3676)

Locks

Special application

For automotive vehicles

C070S014000, C070S055000, C224S042230

Reexamination Certificate

active

06505488

ABSTRACT:

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention generally relates to locks and, more particularly, to locks used to prevent the theft of a vehicle spare tire.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The spare wheel and tire for a vehicle normally exhibits a high replacement cost. This is particularly true for vehicles such as pick-up trucks and sport utility vehicles, which typically must carry a full-size spare wheel and tire. Unfortunately, theft of such valuable spare tires is a pervasive problem, especially for vehicles such as pick-up trucks and SUVs, which often mount the spare wheel and tire below the vehicle frame, suspended by a winch-driven cable. For example, it is not uncommon for franchised new truck dealers to have many spare tires stolen from the trucks while they are stored or displayed on the dealer's lot. Private owners of these vehicles also experience similar problems.
Because of these theft concerns, it is desirable to provide a means for locking the spare tire (and the corresponding wheel) to the vehicle in order to prevent theft. It is particularly desirable to provide a device which can be added to the already manufactured vehicle without modification to the vehicle.
Various devices have been developed in the past to lock an under-frame mounted spare tire to the vehicle. For example, my previous patent, U.S. Pat. No. 4,794,771, comprises a bar which is suspended from the metal spare tire winch tube and extends through the spare wheel. A lock is fastened to the end of the bar in order to securely lock the wheel to the vehicle. The which tube in this previous design is a solid metal tube that is rotated to operate the winch, and therefore is structurally solid enough to support the spare tire lock bar. This design has proven to be an exemplary protection device for many vehicle designs, however, some manufacturers of vehicles such as pick-up trucks are now employing a plastic winch tube on the vehicles which limits the usefulness of my prior art design, because this plastic winch tube only serves to guide the winch rotation tool to the winch and is not structurally suited to support the spare tire lock bar.
With reference to
FIG. 1
, there is shown a prior art spare tire winch mechanism, such as those currently found on many pick-up trucks, as viewed from the underside of the vehicle. The prior art winch assembly is generally indicated at
10
. The winch assembly
10
includes a winch mechanism
12
mounted to the underside of the vehicle frame
14
by means of a bolt-on bracket
16
. A cable
18
extends from the bottom surface of the winch
12
and is attached to the spare wheel/tire (not shown) in order to raise and lower same from underneath the vehicle. Extension and retraction of the cable
18
is accomplished by rotation of the square post
20
.
In order to provide convenient access to the square post
20
from the rear of the vehicle, a plastic winch tube
22
covers the square post
20
and extends to the rear of the vehicle through an opening in the vehicle bumper (not shown). This allows an elongated tool to be inserted into the winch tube
22
from the rear of the vehicle, such that the tool engages the square post
20
, whereupon the tool may be rotated in order to raise and lower the winch cable
18
(and hence the spare wheel/tire). In order to prevent unauthorized access to the winch
12
, the vehicle manufacturer provides a lock cylinder
24
which lockingly engages the open end of the winch tube
22
at the rear bumper, thereby preventing access to the square post
20
until the lock cylinder
24
is unlocked and removed from the winch tube
22
.
This prior art security means provided by the manufacturer has proven to be relatively ineffective because it can be defeated by a thief in many different ways. For example, six different ways to easily defeat the prior art factory-installed winch mechanism lock are illustrated in
FIGS. 2A-F
.
FIG. 2A
illustrates the rear bumper of the vehicle, where access is provided to the lock cylinder
24
at the end of the winch tube
22
. A screwdriver
26
or small pry bar may be placed under the flange edge of the plastic lock housing which forms the proximal end of the winch tube
22
. This flange edge will break away in several pieces when pried upon, allowing the lock housing to be pushed through the vehicle bumper. Reaching up behind the bumper will then allow the broken lock housing to be removed from the end of the winch tube
22
with the lock cylinder still locked inside. Access may then be had to the square post
20
, which operates the winch
12
.
As shown in
FIG. 2B
, there is a small raised cavity
28
on the lower side of the plastic lock housing just behind the rear bumper. Using an ice pick held with the pointed end angled slightly to the rear of the vehicle, a small hole may be made in the bottom of the cavity
28
. Pushing the end of the ice pick in through the hole will depress the spring-loaded lock bolt, releasing the lock cylinder from the end of the lock housing. Access may then be had to the square shaft
20
, which operates the winch
12
.
Referring to
FIG. 2C
, a pair of pliers
30
may be clamped around the plastic winch tube
22
from the backside of the rear vehicle bumper, and rotated. Such an attempt to turn the lock housing in its square mounting hole will crack and break the edge of the steel retainer ring, which holds it in place. Pulling down on what remains of the broken lock housing will release the lock cylinder from the part of the lock housing which is still installed in the rear vehicle bumper. Access may then be had to the square shaft
20
which operates the winch
12
.
Referring to
FIG. 2D
, the plastic winch tube
22
may be reached above the spare tire from the right side of the vehicle. Grasping the winch tube
22
and pulling downward sharply will release the winch tube
22
from its mounting location over the square shaft
20
. The square shaft
20
can now be accessed through the large rectangular hole in the center of the rear bumper.
Referring to
FIG. 2E
, only one mounting bolt
32
attaches the winch
12
to the vehicle frame. A new spare wheel design with large center hub openings allows easy access to the mounting bolt
32
. Removing this bolt
32
releases the winch mechanism
12
from the frame
14
, with the spare tire still attached.
Referring to
FIG. 2F
, a quick and easy way to defeat most spare tire locks is to simply cut the winch cable
18
above the spare wheel. The new wheel design with larger center hub openings now allows unrestricted access to cut the winch cable
18
.
It can be seen from the above examples that there are numerous ways to easily defeat the factory supplied spare tire lock system. There is therefore a need for an alternative spare wheel/tire lock design which cannot be defeated by any of these methods. The present invention is directed toward meeting this need.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a spare tire lock which installs through an opening in the vehicle frame in order to suspend a locking bar down through an opening (preferably the lug nut hole) in the spare wheel. A locking device may then be slid over the distal end of the locking bar in order to lock the spare wheel securely in place. The locking device is designed to accept a lock cylinder from the manufacturer's easily-defeated spare tire lock, so that the locking device of the present invention may be keyed with the remaining locks of the vehicle. The locking mechanism of the present invention also incorporates a spring-loaded resilient boot which engages the vehicle spare wheel lug nut hole and eliminates excessive end play, thereby preventing annoying rattling between the spare tire lock of the present invention and the spare tire.
In one form of the invention, a spare tire lock for securing a spare wheel and tire suspended under a vehicle having a frame is disclosed, said spare tire lock comprising a lock bar having a proximal end and a distal end, the lock bar proximal end being coupled to said vehicle frame, where

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