Hoist assembly for a motor vehicle spare tire

In a hoist assembly adapted for raising and lowering a spare tire on a motor vehicle, comprising 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 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 effected 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, and a down stop member supported within said housing for pivotal movement into said groove on an axis disposed radially outwardly from said spool, the improvement wherein said down stop member has an inner end portion engaging said cable, said inner end portion of said down stop member being confined between adjacent portions of said cable at all times while said end portion of said down stop member moves radially inwardly within said groove in response to unwinding of said cable from said spool, and said end portion of said down stop member wedges between said first end portion of said cable and said hub for positively stopping rotation of said spool when said cable is fully extended through said opening within said housing.

In a hoist assembly adapted for raising and lowering a spare tire on a motor vehicle, comprising 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 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 effected 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, and a down stop member supported within said housing for pivotal movement into said groove on an axis disposed radially outwardly from said spool, the improvement wherein said tire support member includes an elongated bracket having a substantially uniform width and a center hole, said bracket having a pair of diametrically opposite straight and smooth uninterrupted surfaces extending outwardly and downwardly in opposite directions from said center hole, each of said surfaces extending at an angle of about thirty degrees relative to an axis of said center hole and having a length substantially greater than said width of said bracket, and said sloping surfaces providing for automatic self-centering of different spare tire wheels having center holes of different diameters.

In a hoist assembly adapted for raising and lowering a spare tire on a motor vehicle, comprising 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 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 effected 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, and a down stop member supported within said housing for pivotal movement into said groove on an axis disposed radially outwardly from said spool, the improvement including an elongated metal mounting channel having longitudinally extending parallel spaced flanges receiving said housing therebetween, a set of fasteners extending through corresponding aligned holes within said flanges and said housing, said elongated mounting channel having opposite end portions projecting longitudinally outwardly in opposite directions from said housing, and said end portions of said channel having holes for receiving fasteners to provide a high strength support for said hoist assembly and for conveniently securing said hoist assembly to the vehicle.

In a hoist assembly adapted for raising and lowering a spare tire on a motor vehicle, comprising 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 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 effected 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, and a down stop member supported within said housing for pivotal movement into said groove on an axis disposed radially outwardly from said spool, the improvement wherein said hub of said spool integrally connects spaced side walls defining said groove, said side walls having axially aligned peripheral stop surfaces, a one-piece said down stop member having an internal passage receiving said cable adjacent said opening within said housing and pivotally supported by said housing, and said stop member having a stop surface spanning said groove and engaging both of said stop surfaces on said side walls of said spool in response to tilting movement of said stop member by said cable when said cable is fully extended.