FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[001] The invention relates to an assembly for mounting a wheel to a vehicle.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[002] Most vehicles have at-least one spare wheel as a back-up for a flat/punctured or a damaged wheel.
[003] In order to replace a flat/punctured or a damaged wheel with the spare wheel, the vehicle is first lifted with the help of a jack mechanism and thereafter flat/punctured or damaged wheel is removed from a wheel hub, and replaced with the spare wheel. To fit the spare wheel, the spare wheel has to be lifted as the vehicle is in lifted condition, and the mounting holes of the wheel also have to be aligned with bolts of an axle.
[004] Replacement of the wheel is thus a tedious task, especially, in case of heavy-duty vehicles. The wheels of heavy-duty vehicles are usually too heavy (approximately 100 kg), and requires at-least two people to replace the punctured wheel with the spare wheel. However, handling the wheel is still a challenge, as the wheel has to be lifted and aligned with the wheel hub. It has been also observed that during the lifting of the wheel, the wheel tends to fall towards the person changing the wheel which may cause fatal injuries to the person.
[005] In view of the above, there is a need in the art to address at-least the aforementioned problems.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[006] Accordingly, the present invention in one aspect provides an assembly for mounting a wheel to a vehicle, the assembly comprises a first bar member; a second bar member movably/slidably adapted to the first bar member; a first supporting member adapted perpendicularly to the first bar member; a second supporting member adapted perpendicularly to the second bar member such that the first supporting member and the second supporting member are spaced apart from each other to hold/support the wheel between the first supporting member and the second supporting member; and a drive mechanism for moving the second bar member, movement of the second bar member causes the second supporting member to move with respect to the first supporting member, whereby the wheel supported between the first supporting member and the second supporting member is lifted or lowered depending upon position of the second supporting member.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[007] Reference will be made to embodiments of the invention, examples of which may be illustrated in accompanying figures. These figures are intended to be illustrative, not limiting. Although the invention is generally described in context of these embodiments, it should be understood that it is not intended to limit the scope of the invention to these particular embodiments.
Figure 1 shows an assembly for mounting a wheel to a vehicle in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

Figure 2 shows a wheel supported by the assembly in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[008] The present invention is directed towards an assembly for mounting a wheel to a vehicle. The assembly lifts and aligns the wheel with a wheel hub, enabling easy installation/assembly of the wheel to the vehicle.
[009] Figure 1 and 2 shows an assembly 100 for mounting a wheel W to a vehicle in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. The assembly 100 comprises of a first bar member 110, a second bar member 120, a first support member 130, a second support member 140, and a drive mechanism 150.
[010] As shown in the figures, the second bar member 120 is axially aligned with the first bar member 110 and is slidable with respect to the first bar member 110. The first bar member 110 and second bar members 120 are tubular and have a square cross-section. The second bar member 120 is slidable inside the first bar member 110. [011] The first support member 130 and the second support member 140 are adapted perpendicular to the first bar member 110 and the second bar member 120 respectively. As shown in figure 2, the first support member 130 and the second support member 140 are spaced apart such that the wheel W in an upright position can be held/supported by the first support member 130 and the second support member 140. The second support member 140 being mounted on the second bar member 120 is movable along with the second bar member 120. Thus, the

space/distance between the support members 130,140 is variable. Also, as the second support member moves towards the first support member with the wheel W supported between the support members, the second support member moves along circumference of the wheel W causing the wheel W to be raised or lowered. The wheel W supported between the first supporting member 130 and the second supporting member 140 is thus lifted or lowered depending upon position of the second supporting member 140. In this regard, as the second support member 140 moves towards the first support member 130 the wheel W is raised, and as the second support member 140 moves away from the first support member 130, the wheel W is lowered. The support members 130,140 thus enable the wheel W to be aligned with a wheel hub. Further, the support members 130,140 are rotatable, whereby the support members 130, 140 comprises an inner tube and an outer tube concentric with the inner tube. In an embodiment, the tubes are cylindrical tubes. The inner tube is fixed with the corresponding bar member 110,120, and the outer tube is free to rotate whereby the outer tube enables the wheel W supported thereon to be rotated, thereby allowing alignment of mounting holes with corresponding bolts of a wheel hub. Alternately, the support members may be stationary, wherein the support member comprises one cylindrical tube fixed with the first bar member.
[012] As discussed hereinbefore, the second bar member 120 is slidable with respect to the first bar member 110. In an embodiment of the invention, the drive mechanism 150 is provided for moving/sliding the second bar member 120. The drive mechanism 150 comprises of a ratchet wheel 152 and a locking pawl 154 mounted on the first bar

member 110. Further, a cable 156 is provided, one end which is mounted and wound on the ratchet wheel 152 and the other end is coupled to the second bar member 120 . As the ratchet wheel 152 is rotated via a handle 158, the cable 156 is wound/unwound on the ratchet wheel 152 which pushes or pulls the second bar member 120 with respect to the first bar member 110. The locking pawl 154 will prevent rotation of the ratchet wheel 152 once the wheel W has been raised to required height/position. The drive mechanism 150 provides gradual lifting or height alignment of the wheel W allowing precise alignment of the wheel W with the wheel hub. Further, while the figure illustrates a handle 158 for rotating the ratchet wheel 152, the ratchet wheel 152 can be rotated by electrical or mechanical drives.
[013] Further, as shown in the figures, plurality of roller wheels 170 are provided on the assembly 100 for mounting a wheel to a vehicle 100. The roller wheels 170 provide mobility to the assembly 100.
[014] Furthermore, as shown a stopper frame 160 is provided. The stopper frame 160 is placed around the spare wheel W to further support the wheel W, which prevents the wheel W from falling sideways or rolling away from the assembly. The support frame comprises of two curved bars and a top cross-bar and a bottom cross¬bar. Each curved bar extends from the second support member 140 towards a top-end. As the top-end, the top cross-bar interconnects the curved bars, and the bottom cross¬bar interconnects the curved bars at an intermediate position. The top cross-bar and the bottom cross-bar restrict movement or rolling over of the wheel W on either side. The curved bars restrict the wheel W from leaning or falling over on either front-side

or rear-side. In an embodiment, the stopper frame is removable adapted to the assembly 100.
[015] For mounting a spare wheel via the assembly 100 of the present invention, the spare wheel is first removed a spare wheel carrier, and placed between the support members130, 140. Thereafter, the handle 158 is rotated in clockwise direction. Rotating the handle 158 in clockwise direction causes the cable 156 to be wound on the ratchet wheel 152 which pulls the second bar member 120 towards the first bar member 110, and thereby the second support member 140. As the second support member 140 moves towards the first support member 130, the support wheel is lifted, and the handle 158 is rotated till the spare wheel reaches the required height i.e. the wheel hub. Once the spare wheel s in alignment with the wheel hub, the spare wheel can be rotated over the support members 130,140 for aligning the mounting holes of the wheel rim with bolts.
[016] Advantageously, the assembly of the present invention lifts the wheel to the required height and also aligns mounting holes of the wheel with the wheel hub, thereby easing assembly of the wheel with the vehicle.
[017] While the present invention has been described with respect to certain embodiments, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modification may be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the following claims.

1. An assembly 100 for mounting a wheel W to a vehicle, the assembly
comprising:
a first bar member 110;
a second bar member 120 movably/slidably adapted to the first bar member
110;
a first supporting member 130 adapted perpendicularly to the first bar member
110;
a second supporting member 140 adapted perpendicularly to the second bar
member 120 such that the first supporting member 130 and the second
supporting member 140 are spaced apart from each other to hold/support the
wheel W between the first supporting member 130 and the second supporting
member 140; and
a drive mechanism 150 for moving the second bar member 120, movement of
the second bar member 120 causes the second supporting member 140 to
move with respect to the first supporting member 130, whereby the wheel W
supported between the first supporting member 130 and the second supporting
member 140 is lifted or lowered depending upon position of the second
supporting member 140.
2. The assembly 100 as claimed in claim 1, wherein the drive mechanism 150
comprises of a ratchet wheel 152 mounted on the first bar member 110; a
locking pawl 154 provided adjacent to the ratchet wheel 152; a cable 156, one

end of which is mounted on the ratchet wheel 152 and the other end coupled to the second bar member 120; and a handle 158 mounted on the ratchet wheel 152 for rotating the ratchet wheel 152, rotation of the ratchet wheel 152 causes the cable 156 to move the second bar member 120.
3. The assembly 100 as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first supporting member 130 and the second supporting member 140 are rotatable.
4. The assembly 100 as claimed in claim 3, wherein each supporting member 130,140 comprises of an inner tube and an outer tube concentric with the inner tube, the inner tube fixed with corresponding bar member 110,120, and the outer tube is free to rotate allowing the wheel W mounted thereon to be rotated.
5. The assembly 100 as claimed in claim 4, wherein the inner tube and the outer tube are cylindrical.
6. The assembly 100 as claimed in claim 1, wherein plurality of roller wheels 170 is mounted on assembly 100 to provide mobility to the assembly 100.
7. The assembly 100 as claimed in claim 1, wherein a stopper 160 is attached to the assembly 100 to support the spare wheel W.