COMPLATE AFTER PR0VTSONALI LEFT ON
2 1 JAN 2008
FORM 2
THE PATENTS ACT 1970
(39 of 1970)
&
THE PATENTS RULES, 2003

COMPLETE SPECIFICATION
(See Section 10; rule 13)
TITLE OF THE INVENTION
"TOW HOOK ASSEMBLY" APPLICANT
TATA MOTORS LIMITED, an Indian company
having its registered office at Bombay House,
24 Homi Mody Street, Hutatma Chowk,
Mumbai 400 001 Maharashtra, India
INVENTORS
Milind Bhatambarekar and Mayur Velhal
Both Indian national
of TATA MOTORS LIMITED,
an Indian company having its registered office
at Bombay House, 24 Homi Mody Street, Hutatma Chowk,
Mumbai 400 001 Maharashtra, India
PREAMBLE TO THE DESCRIPTION le following specification particularly describes the invention and the manner in which it is to be performed.
1 8 JUN 2007

TECHNICAL FIELD
The subject matter described herein, in general, relates to a tow hook assembly for a vehicle and in particular relates to providing reinforcement to tow hooks.
BACKGROUND
A process of pulling or drawing a vehicle by a rope, chain, bar, etc is known as towing and the devices used for pulling and/or drawing the vehicle are known as towing devices. Generally, one or more tow hooks are provided at the front and rear side of any vehicle for the purpose of towing the vehicle. In case a vehicle gets stalled, the stranded vehicle can be drawn by another vehicle using the towing device.
Typically, one end of the towing device is fastened to a tow hook of the stranded vehicle, and the other end is fastened to the towing vehicle. The towing vehicle thus tows the stranded vehicle using the towing device that is connected to the front or rear tow hooks of the stranded vehicle.
During the process of towing, high stresses can develop in the tow hooks. The stresses can make the tow hooks more susceptible to failures and can lead to breakage of the tow hooks.. In case of such a failure of the tow hooks, there can be a risk of damage to the vehicle and also to other components associated with the tow hooks. Further, in such cases, control over the vehicle being towed can also be lost.
The challenge, therefore, is to provide a tow hook that can sustain a considerable amount of load, with minimum possibility of failure. Further, the design of the tow hook needs to be such that load is evenly distributed to prevent damage to the tow hook as well as to the chassis of the vehicle.
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21 JAN 2008

SUMMARY
The subject matter described herein is directed to a tow hook assembly that can be used for towing a vehicle. The assembly has a tow hook, a supporting bracket and one or more reinforcement ribs. A first end of the tow hook is attached to the chassis of the vehicle and a second end of the tow hook is free. The supporting bracket has a first wall and a second wall that are inclined to each other. A first surface of the first wall supports the tow hook, and a first surface of the second wall is attached to the chassis. One or more reinforcement ribs are attached to a second surface of the first wall and a second surface of the second wall, such that the ribs extend in a longitudinal direction of the tow hook.
These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present subject matter will be better understood with reference to the following description and appended claims. This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form. This summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
The above and other features, aspects, and advantages of the subject matter will become better understood with regard to the following description, appended claims, and accompanying drawings where:
Fig. 1 illustrates an isometric view of a chassis with a front tow hook assembly in accordance with the present subject matter.
Fig. 2 illustrates a side view of a chassis depicting the front tow hook assembly.
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21 JAN 2008

Fig. 3 and Fig. 4 illustrate an isometric iew and a side view of the tow hook assembly.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
The tow hook assembly described herein includes a tow hook, a supporting bracket and one or more reinforcement ribs.The bracket and the ribs provide reinforcement to the tow hook by sharing the load directed to the tow hook
Fig. 1 illustrates an isometric view of a chassis showing a front tow hook assembly in accordance with the present subject matter. The front tow hook assembly includes a tow hook 102, a supporting bracket 108 and two reinforcement ribs (not shown in the figure). The tow hook 102 is a U-shaped member. End sections of the tow hook 102 are attached to a chassis member 114. A first surface of the bracket 108
is attached to the tow hook 102 as shown. A second surface of the bracket 108 is attached to the chassis member 114. The chassis member 114 is further attached to the long member 104 of the chassis. Thus, the load acting on the tow hook 102 is shared by the bracket 108 and the ribs.
Fig. 2 illustrates a side view of the chssis depicting the front tow hook assembly. In one implementation, the two ends of' the tow hook 102 can be attached to the chassis member 114. The attachment can be c one by the process of welding. The bracket 108 can be attached to the tow hook 102 as well as to the bottom side of the long member of the chassis 104.
hook assembly. The bracket 108 comprises a firs and a second wall 118 lying in a horizontal plane
Fig. 3 and Fig. 4 illustrate an isometric view and a side view of the front tow
wall 116 lying in a vertical plane The tow hook 102 can be attached
to a first surface of the first wall 116. Ribs 112 provide additional reinforcement to the
21 JAN 2008

tow hook assembly as mentioned before. In one implementation, each rib 112 can be attached to a second surface of the first wall 116 and to a second surface of the second wall 118. When a load is applied to the tow hoc k 102, the load can be shared by the bracket 108 and the ribs 112. Thus, the bracket 108 and the ribs 112 provide reinforcement to the tow hook assembly.
o another embodiment of the present
The tow hook assembly 110 with respect to another embodiment of the present subject matter can include more than two ribs ill.
The previously described embodiments of the subject matter and its equivalents thereof have many advantages, including those which are described below. The bracket 108 and the ribs 112 share the load acting on the tow hook. As a result the tow hook assembly 110.
Although the subject matter has been described in considerable detail with reference to certain preferred embodiments thereof, other embodiments are possible. As such, the spirit and scope of the appended dlaims should not be limited to the description of the preferred embodiments contained herein.
I/We claim:
I. A tow hook assembly for a vehicle, said tow hook assembly comprising

a tow hook, wherein a first enc

of said tow hook is attached to a

chassis of said vehicle and a secor d end of said tow hook is free;
a bracket having a first wall and second wall, wherein said first wall
and said second wall are inclined to each other, and wherein
a first surface of said first \ /all supports said tow hook, and a first surface of said second wall is attached to said chassis, and
one or more ribs attached to a sedond surface of said first wall and a second surface of said second wall, wherein said ribs extend in a longitudinal direction to said tow h )ok.
2. The tow hook assembly as claimed in clair 1 1, wherein said tow hook has a U-shape.
3. The tow hook assembly as claimed in clair A 1, wherein two ribs are attached to said second surface of said first wall.
4. The tow hook assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein said ribs are disposed substantially along the surface of contact of said tow hook and said bracket.
5. The tow hook assembly as claimed in claim 1 wherein said tow hook has a circular cross section.
6. The tow hook assembly as claimed in claimi 1, wherein said first wall and said second wall are perpendicular.
7. The tow hook assembly as claimed in cclaim 1, wherein said first end of said tow hook is welded to a long member of said chassis. The tow hook assembly as claimed in claim 1„ wherein said first wall is welded to said tow hook.
8. The tow hook assembly as claimed in claim 1,, wherein said second wall of said bracket is welded to said chassis.
9. The tow hook assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein said ribs are welded to said bracket.
10. A tow hook assembly substantially as herein described and illustrated in the figures of the accompanying drawings.


Dated this 21st Day of January 2008
To
The Controller of Patents,
Patent Office, Mumbai

T.Srinivasan for the Applicant