CLIAMS:We Claim:

1. A system for loading and unloading a spare wheel of a vehicle, the system comprising:
a structure connected to the chassis of the vehicle;
at least one supporting plate hingebly connected with the structure;
a plurality of rollers rotatably disposed on the supporting plate, wherein the roller enables sliding of the spare wheel thereon;
lifting means secured to the structure and the supporting plate, wherein the lifting means enables lifting and lowering of the supporting plate with respect to the structure;
holding means secured to the structure for securing the spare wheel with the structure, and
a holding plate for holding the spare wheel with the holding means,
wherein the spare wheel is secured to the holding plate and then glided over the plurality of rollers for mounting the spare wheel over the supporting plate, thereafter upon operating the lifting means, the supporting plate along with the spare wheel is lifted, thereafter the holding plate is secured to the holding means thereby securing the spare wheel against the vehicle chassis.

2. The system as claimed in claim 1, the lifting means is a pulley having a flexible wire coiled thereon and the flexible wire is connected to the supporting plate.

3. The system as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a plurality of guide plates adjustably secured to the supporting plate for guiding and holding the shape wheel sidewise.

4. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the structure is secured to the vehicle chassis by “C” channels frame.

5. The system as claimed in claim 5, wherein the “C” channel is welded to the structure and bolted to the vehicle chassis.

6. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the plurality of rollers having rubber surface for griping the spare wheel.

7. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the holding mean and the holding plates are secured by nuts and bolts.

8. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the holding plate is semicircular segment plate.

9. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the structure having two ‘L’ shaped frame elements connected with each other by a hollow tube.
,TagSPECI:FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a system for loading and unloading a spare wheel of a vehicle, more particularly, the present invention relate to a system for loading and unloading a spare wheel of commercial vehicle.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In the commercial vehicles, a spare wheel is generally mounted a below floor of the vehicle and secured to the chassis. The size and weight of the spare wheel of the commercial vehicle is on higher side in comparison to that of non-commercial vehicles. Therefore, it is difficult to unload and load the spare wheel in case of any requirement of replacing the wheel that is in-use. Replacement of the wheel may be required in case the wheel in-use is puncture or there is a need to replace in-use wheel due to some other reasons.

The spare wheel mounting systems developed as on date are a combination of frame side mounted bracket assembly which is bolted on frame rails with ratchet mechanism to unload the spare wheel having tire and a rim which are typically either immovable or exceedingly difficult to be operated by a single operator. Unloading this spare wheel typically requires a strong person, or specially designed mechanisms for assistance. The difficulty of handling operating these devices gets magnified during off-road operations of the vehicle. The spare wheel has be either unloaded manually or by using existing mechanism. It’s very difficult for a single person to unload these wheels. Also, the available systems are not easy to operate and may pose a threat of possible injury to the operator. Further, these systems are costly and are not user friendly.

Therefore, there is a need to provide a system for loading and unloading the spare wheel for a vehicle.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

Object of the present invention is to provide a system for loading and unloading a spare wheel of a vehicle, which assist a user to load and unload the spare wheel easily.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a system for loading and unloading a spare wheel of a vehicle, which is easy to operate and is user friendly.

Further object of the present invention is to provide a system for loading and unloading a spare wheel of a vehicle, which is safe for operating and therefore reduces possibility of injury to an operator.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a system for loading and unloading a spare wheel of a vehicle, which is robust in construction.

One more object of the present invention is to provide a system for loading and unloading a spare wheel of a vehicle, which is economical in construction.

Further one object of the present invention is to provide a system for loading and unloading a spare wheel of a vehicle, which is easy to manufacture.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to the present invention there is provided a system for loading and unloading a spare wheel from a vehicle. The system includes a structure, at least one supporting plate, a plurality of rollers, lifting means, holding means and a holding plate. The structure is connected to the chassis of the vehicle. The at least one supporting plate is hingebly connected with the structure. The plurality of rollers is rotatably disposed on the supporting plate, wherein the roller enables sliding of the spare wheel thereon. The lifting means is secured to the structure and the supporting plates. Further, lifting means secured to the structure and the supporting plate, wherein the lifting means enables lifting and lowering of the supporting plate with respect to the structure. The holding means is secured to the structure for securing the spare wheel with the structure. The holding plate is provided for holding the spare wheel with the holding means. Further, the spare wheel is secured to the holding plate and then glided over the plurality of rollers for mounting the spare wheel over the supporting plate, thereafter upon operating the lifting means, the supporting plate along with the spare wheel is lifted, thereafter the holding plate is secured to the holding means thereby securing the spare wheel against the vehicle chassis.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

Fig. 1 shows a perspective view of a system for loading and unloading a spare wheel in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 2 shows a perspective view of a top portion of the system of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 shows a perspective view of a bottom portion of the system of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 shows an exploded view of the spare wheel and a holding plate of a spare wheel mounting system in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 5 shows a side view of the system in operation condition with a spare wheel thereon in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 6 shows a perspective view of fig. 5; and

Fig. 7 shows a side view of the system for loading and unloading a spare wheel in accordance with the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

An embodiment of this invention, illustrating its features, will now be described in detail. The words "comprising," "having," "containing," and "including," and other forms thereof, are intended to be equivalent in meaning and be open ended in that an item or items following any one of these words is not meant to be an exhaustive listing of such item or items, or meant to be limited to only the listed item or items.

The terms “first,” “second,” and the like, herein do not denote any order, quantity, or importance, but rather are used to distinguish one element from another, and the terms “a” and “an” herein do not denote a limitation of quantity, but rather denote the presence of at least one of the referenced item.

The disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the invention, which may be embodied in various forms.

The present invention provides a system for loading and unloading a spare wheel of a vehicle. The system assists a user to load and unload the spare wheel easily. Further, the system is easy to operate and is user friendly. The system is safe for operating and therefore reduces possibility of injury to an operator. The system is robust in constriction. Furthermore, the system is economical in construction. Moreover, the system is easy to manufacture.

The advantages and features of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following detailed description and claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein like elements are identified with like symbols.

Referring now to Figs. 1, 5 and 6, various view of a system (herein after referred as the “system 100”) for loading and unloading a spare wheel 200 from a vehicle in accordance with the present invention is illustrated. The system 100 includes a structure 12, at least one supporting plate, the present invention is shown to include two supporting plates 14a and 14b, a plurality of rollers, the present invention is shown to include three rollers 16a, 16b & 16c, lifting means, the present invention is shown to include two pulleys 18a, 18b, a holding means 20, and a holding plate 22 as shown in fig. 4. For the proper of explanation only and in the present embodiment, the lifting means are pulleys 18a, 18b. It may be obvious to a person skilled in the art to use other lifting means such as rack and pinion and the like.

The structure 12 includes a two identical ‘L’ shaped frame members 24a, 24b connected with each other by a hollow tube 24c as shown in figure 2. The holding means 20 includes two flat plates 20a and 20b that are secured to the hollow tube 24c. In the present embodiment, the two flat pates 20a and 20b are welded to the hollow tube 24c. Each of the flat plates 20a and 20b includes at least two opening for passing a bolt or a stud through each of the opening and thereafter a nut is used for holding the fastening. Alternatively, the flat plates 20a, 20b can be semicircular segment plates having through slot with length of arc sufficient enough to cover two adjacent openings configured on the rim 220 of the spare wheel 200. Further, the supporting plates 14a and 14b are hinged to the structure 12. Specifically, each of the supporting plates 14a and 14b are secured to an end portion of the respective frame members 24a and 24b. This hinged configuration allows arcuate movement of the supporting plates 14a and 14b with respect to the structure 12 and around hinge axis. The frame members 24a, 24b and the supporting plates 14a and 14b provide space for holding the spare wheel 200 therebetween. The hinge between the respective frame members 24a, 24b, and the respective supporting plates 14a, 14b, is configured by providing openings on the end portions of the frame members 24a, 24b, and the supporting plates 14a, 14b and then pivotally passing hinge pins 30a, 30b through these openings to configure hinge therebetween.

Further, each of the frame members 24a and 24b is secured to a chassis on lower side of a floor of the vehicle by ‘L’ shaped ‘C’ channels 26a and 26b with holes 28a and 28b on one end. Other ends of the ‘C’ channels 26a and 26b are welded to the frame members 24a and 24b respectively. These ‘C’ channels 26a and 26b are bolted to the chassis by using nut and bolts passing through the holes 28a and 28b.

Referring to figs. 1 and 3, the rollers 16a, 16b and 16c are rotatably disposed on the supporting plates 14a, 14b. Specifically, the end portion of the rollers 16a, 16b and 16c are disposed on the supporting plate 14a and on the supporting plate 14b. The rollers 16a, 16b and 16c are disposed equidistantly, parallel to each other and perpendicularly with respect to the supporting plates 14a, 14b. It may be obvious to a person skilled in the art to provide any other arrangement between the supporting plates 14a, 14b and the rollers 16a, 16b and 16c. Each of the rollers 16a, 16b and 16c are made of a cylindrical rod surrounded by rubber. The rubber enables to provide sufficient friction for griping and sliding a tire 210 of the spare wheel 200 thereon. Specifically, the cylindrical rod are extending out of the rubber, these extending portion of the cylindrical rod of each of the rollers 16a, 16b and 16c are secured over the supporting plates 14a, 14b by using a strip passing over the extending portion and bolted to the supporting plates 14a, 14b both sides of the cylindrical rod. This arrangement facilitates rotational movement of the rollers 16a, 16b and 16c.

Referring to figs. 1, 2, 5, 6 and 7, the pulleys 18a and 18b are connected axially with each other by a connecting tube 32 passing though the respective axis of the pulleys 18a and 18b. Further, the connecting tube 32 is rotatably secured to the frame members 24a and 24b of the structure 12. In an embodiment, the connecting tube 32 is secured to each of the frame members 24a and 24b by pulley holders 34a, 34b. Further, either of the pulleys 18a and 18b is provided with a handle 36 and a lock. Alternatively, the pulleys 18a, 18b can be operated and locked by electric motor, which is obvious to a person skilled in the art. For the purpose of representation only, the pulley 18b is shown secured with the handle 36. The handle 36 provides holding portion for griping and rotate the pulleys 18a and 18b. The lock is a rod 38 retractably extending from the handle 36 parallel to axis of connecting tube 32. For locking the pulleys 18a, and 18b, the rod 38 is extended to rest against the frame member 24b thereby restricting further rotation of pulleys 18a and 18b. It may be obvious to a person skilled in the art to use any other type of locking arrangement for locking the pulley.

Further, each of the pulleys 18a and 18b are provided with flexible wires 40a and 40b coiled around respective pulleys 18a and 18b and connected to the supporting plates 14a and 14b respectively. In the present embodiment, the flexible wires 40a and 40b is connected to the respective supporting plates 14a and 14b through respective lifting plates 42a & 42b. The lifting plates 42a & 42b are perpendicularly extending outwards from the respective supporting plates 14a and 14b. For example, the flexible wire 40a is connected to the supporting plates 14a through the lifting plate 42a. The lifting plate 42a is rigidly secured to the supporting plate 14a and the flexible wire 40a is secured to the lifting plate 42a. In an embodiment, the lifting plate 42a is welded to the supporting plate 14a. Further, it may be obvious to provide any other arrangement between the lifting plates 42a & 42b and the respective supporting plates 14a and 14b

Each of the supporting plates 14a, 14b includes guide plates 44a, 44b adjustably secured to the respective supporting plates 14a, 14b as shown in figs. 1, 5 and 6. The guide plates 44a, 44b are ‘L’ shaped and include slits 44c, 44d respectively configured on longer side that is adjustably secured to the respective supporting plates 14a, 14b. Other smaller side of the guide plates 44a, 44b is extending vertically upwards. This slits 44c, 44d enables to adjust extension of the guide plates 44a, 44b according to the wheel size of the spare wheel 200 by using nut and bolt passing through the slits 44c, 44d. The vertical portion of the guide plate 44a, 44b prevents unwanted lateral movement of the spare wheel 200.

The holding plate 22 as shown in Fig. 4 and 7 is a disc shaped flat ring with central open portion. The holding plate 22 includes a plurality of studs 22a rising therefrom. In the plurality of studs, two studs 22b positioned diametrically opposite are provided with shorter height then the remaining studs. These studs 22b are used for securing the holding plate 22 with the rim 220 of the spare wheel 200 by using nuts 22c. The spacing and position of the studs 22a, 22b is such that the studs 22a, 22b passes through the opening provided on the rim 220 of the spare wheel 200 that are used to fastening with an axle. Upon positioning the holding plate 22 against the rim 220, the spare wheel 200 is pushed and placed on the three rollers 16a, 16b & 16c and over the supporting plates 14a and 14b as shown in figs. 5 and 6. Thereafter, the handle 36 is rotated to lift the supporting plates 14a, 14b, thereby lifting the spare wheel 200 towards the holding means 20. Once the studs 22a pass through the holes provided on holding means 20, the nuts are placed over the studs 22a and rotated to secure the spare wheel 200 against the structure 12. Thereafter, the rod 38 is extended to rest against the frame member 24b thereby restricting further rotation of the pulleys 18a and 18b and locking further movement of the supporting plates 14a, 14b. Alternate arrange of the flat plates 20a, 20b with semicircular segment plates having through slot with length of arc sufficient enough to cover two adjacent openings configured on the rim 220 of the spare wheel 200. This arrangement enables easy alignment of the studs 22b with the opening on the flat plates 20a, 20b. Alternatively, the studs 22a can have tapering ends followed by threads thereon. These tapering ends provide a guide for passing easily through the openings on the flat plates 20a, 20b.

Further, for loading the spare wheel 200, the nuts are loosen for detaching the spare wheel 200 from the holding mean 20, thereafter the rod 38 is pulled back for allowing rotation of the pulleys 18a and 18b. Further, the handle 36 is rotated to lower the supporting plates 14a, 14b, thereby lowering the spare wheel 200. Thereafter, the spare wheel 200 is pulled by sliding over the rollers 16a, 16b, and 16c, thereby unloading the spare wheel from the system 100. Further, as shown in fig. 5 a plate 300 can be used for holding the spare wheel 200 when unloaded and for carrying to desired destination.

The system 100 for loading and unloading a spare wheel from a vehicle of the present invention has an advantage of providing assistance to a user for load and unload the spare wheel easily. Further, the system 100 is easy to operate and is user friendly. The system 100 is safe for operating and therefore reduces possibility of injury to an operator. The system 100 is robust in constriction. Further, the system 100 is economical in construction and easy to manufacture.

While the foregoing written description of the invention enables one of ordinary skill to make and use what is considered presently to be the best mode thereof, those of ordinary skill will understand and appreciate the existence of variations, combinations, and equivalents of the specific embodiment, method, and examples herein. The invention should therefore not be limited by the above described embodiment, method, and examples, but by all embodiments and methods within the scope and spirit of the invention as claimed.