Reel assembly for chain hoist

A chain hoist system for a spare tire carrier in a vehicle comprising:

• an attachment device for holding a spare tire;
• an elastic member adjacent to the attachment device and configured for movement between a storage position and an extended position, and
• a housing containing a reel assembly for a chain hoist configured to move the elastic member between its storage position and extended position, the reel assembly comprising:
• a drive portion configured for rotation about an axis;
• a sprocket mounted to the drive portion and configured to be driven rotationally about the axis by the drive portion to drive a drive chain;
• the sprocket comprising a first axial half and a second axial half fixedly secured together and a central mounting portion for mounting with the drive portion;
• the sprocket further comprising protrusions and pairs of fingers arranged around and extending in a radial direction from a perimeter thereof, the protrusions and the pairs of fingers being in an alternating configuration in a circumferential direction of the sprocket;
• each protrusion extending in the radial direction relative to the axis of the sprocket and constructed and arranged to at least partially extend through and engage at least insides of alternate circumferentially oriented links of the drive chain, each protrusion comprising a first protrusion portion integrally formed as one-piece with the first axial half and a second protrusion portion integrally formed as one-piece with the second axial half with the first and second protrusion portions circumferentially aligned to define the protrusion;
• and
• the pairs of fingers each comprising a first finger and a second finger spaced apart from one another in an axial direction and each extending in the radial direction, the first finger of each pair being integrally formed as one-piece with the first axial half of each pair and the second finger being integrally formed as one-piece with the second axial half, and the first finger and second finger of each pair being circumferentially aligned with one another,
• wherein the pairs of fingers adjacent to each protrusion are each configured to receive alternate radially oriented links of the drive chain therebetween and contact the outsides thereof.

A method for forming a reel assembly for a chain hoist, the method comprising:

• stamping from sheet metal a first axial half of a sprocket, the first axial half comprising first protrusion portions and first fingers extending from a perimeter thereof in an alternating configuration in a circumferential direction;
• stamping from sheet metal a second axial half of the sprocket, the second axial half comprising second protrusion portions and second fingers extending from a perimeter thereof in an alternating configuration in a circumferential direction;
• and
• fixedly securing the first axial half and the second axial half together to form the sprocket,
• wherein after the securing, the sprocket comprises a central mounting portion for mounting with a drive portion of a reel and further comprises protrusions and pairs of fingers arranged around and extending in a radial direction from a perimeter thereof, the protrusions and the pairs of fingers being in an alternating configuration in a circumferential direction of the sprocket;
• each protrusion extending in the radial direction relative to the axis of the sprocket and constructed and arranged to at least partially extend through and engage at least insides of alternate circumferentially oriented links of a drive chain of the reel, each protrusion of the sprocket comprising first protrusion portions of the first axial half and second protrusion portions of the second axial half that are circumferentially aligned to define the protrusion;
• and the pairs of fingers each comprising first fingers and second fingers spaced apart from one another in an axial direction and each extending in the radial direction, the first fingers of each pair from the first axial half and the second fingers of each pair from the second axial half, and the first finger and second finger of each pair being circumferentially aligned with one another, and wherein the pairs of fingers of the sprocket adjacent to each protrusion are each configured to receive alternate radially oriented links of the drive chain therebetween and contact outsides thereof.