Tire carrier
AssigneeDura Global Technologies, Inc.
InventorsCharles Flynn, Madhu Posani, Rosanne Weitzel, John Truckey
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A tire carrier assembly for storing a spare tire on a vehicle which includes a carrier adapted for supporting the spare tire and a winch operatively connected to the carrier to raise and lower the carrier between a stowed position wherein the carrier is inaccessible and a deployed position wherein the carrier is accessible. The winch has a flexible member secured to the carrier and one of an electric motor and a manual device which selectively raises and lowers the carrier between the stowed and deployed positions. A monitoring device is located adjacent the winch and a control module is operably connected to the monitoring device to monitor movement of the carrier from the deployed position toward the stowed position.
Claims20
A tire carrier assembly for storing a spare tire on a vehicle, said tire carrier assembly comprising, in combination:
- a carrier adapted for supporting the spare tire;
- a winch operatively connected to the carrier to raise and lower the carrier between a stowed position wherein the carrier is inaccessible and a deployed position wherein the carrier is accessible;
- wherein the winch has a flexible member secured to the carrier and an electric motor selectively raises and lowers the carrier between the stowed and deployed positions;
- a monitoring device adjacent the winch and providing a signal indicating when the carrier is in the stowed position;
- and
- a control module operably connected to the monitoring device and receiving the signal so that the control module automatically stops the motor when the carrier reaches the stowed position.
A tire carrier assembly for storing a spare tire on a vehicle, said tire carrier assembly comprising, in combination:
- a carrier adapted for supporting the spare tire;
- a winch having a flexible member operatively connected to the carrier and having an actuation member connected to the flexible member to raise and lower the carrier between a first position and a second position relative to the vehicle;
- a monitoring device adjacent the flexible member to measure tension in the flexible member when the tire carrier is raised from the first position to the second position;
- a control module operably connected to the monitoring device to monitor a tension force level in the flexible member as the tire carrier moves from the first position toward the second position;
- and
- wherein the control module is programmed to prevent further movement of the carrier toward the second position when the tension force level in the flexible member exceeds a predetermined tension level.
A tire carrier assembly for storing a spare tire on a vehicle, said tire carrier assembly comprising, in combination:
- a carrier adapted for supporting the spare tire;
- a winch having a flexible member operatively connected to the carrier and having one of an electric motor and a manual device connected to the flexible member to raise and lower the carrier;
- a monitoring device adjacent the winch to control movement of the carrier between a stowed position wherein the carrier is inaccessible and a deployed position wherein the carrier is accessible;
- and
- wherein the monitoring device includes at least one of a tension monitoring device providing signal indicating a tension force level of the flexible member, a force switch providing a signal indicating an engagement force level of the spare tire, a hall effect sensor providing a signal indicating a deployed length of the flexible member, a hall effect device providing a signal indicating a deployed length of the flexible member, a stress monitoring device providing signal indicating a tension force level of the flexible member and a pressure sensor providing a signal indicating an engagement force level of the spare tire.
A method of storing and accessing a spare tire on a vehicle, comprising the steps of:
- placing the spare tire on the tire carrier, the tire carrier including a winch assembly and a flexible member, the winch assembly being connected to one of a motor and a manual device;
- raising the spare tire from a deployed position wherein the spare tire is accessible toward a stowed position wherein the spare tire is inaccessible;
- monitoring a current condition including at least one of a tension force level in the flexible member, a stress level in a member supporting the tire carrier, an engagement force level of the spare tire, and a deployed length of the flexible member;
- and
- discontinuing the raising step when the current condition corresponds to a predetermined level.
A method of storing and accessing a spare tire using a tire carrier on a vehicle, comprising the steps of:
- moving the tire carrier from a stowed position wherein the tire carrier is inaccessible to a deployed position wherein the tire carrier is accessible using a flexible member;
- measuring a current condition including one of a tension force level in the flexible member, a stress level in a member supporting the tire carrier, an engagement force level of the spare tire, and a deployed length of the flexible member;
- and
- monitoring the current condition in order to control movement of the tire carrier from the deployed position toward the stowed position.
A tire carrier assembly for storing a spare tire on a vehicle, said tire carrier assembly comprising, in combination:
- a carrier adapted for supporting the spare tire;
- a winch operatively connected to the carrier to raise and lower the carrier between a stowed position wherein the carrier is inaccessible and a deployed position wherein the carrier is accessible;
- wherein the winch has a flexible member secured to the carrier and an electric motor selectively raises and lowers the carrier between the stowed and deployed positions;
- a monitoring device adjacent the winch and providing a signal indicating when the carrier is in the stowed position;
- and
- a control module operably connected to the monitoring device and monitoring the signal so that the control module automatically activates the motor to raise the carrier back to the stowed position when the signal indicates the carrier is undesirably out of the stowed position.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.