GB2253381A - Spare wheel support - Google Patents

Abstract

A structure for supporting a vehicle's spare wheel in front of an outward-opening and vertically-hinged door 11 of the vehicle's bodywork, the structure comprising at least one arm 13; means hinging the arm in use to a region of the vehicle structure, other than the door panel, such that the arm hinge lies adjacent the door hinge 12 and the arm swings substantially in unison with the door as the door is opened; means, on or adjacent the end of the arm remote from the hinged end, to carry the wheel; and, preferably, means 16 linking the arm to the door panel so that the arm and the door close, as well as open, together. <IMAGE>

Description

SPARE WHEEL SUPPORT Field of the Invention The invention relates to a structure for supporting a vehicle's spare wheel.

The invention is specifically concerned with supporting a spare wheel in front of an outward-opening and vertically-hinged door of the vehicle's bodywork. One well known example of this is the back door of a Land Rover. But the invention is equally applicable to supporting (for example) one or more life rafts or rings in front of the outward-opening door of a ship's bodywork.

The term "vehicle" and the term "spare wheel" are accordingly to be given a broad rather than a strictly literal interpretation.

Background to the Invention The Land Rover is perhaps the best known example of the allterrain vehicle; that is, a road-going vehicle which is usually four-wheel-driven and where the vehicle's spare wheel is often mounted on the outside of the vehicle's bodywork in order to maximize the cargo-carrying space inside the vehicle. Such vehicles have achieved a cult status in recent years, so that drivers who may never venture off-road are to be seen driving them around town. The makers of the Land Rover themselves have capitalized on this with their Range Rover model, but the Range Rover is both large and expensive; and there has been a flood of big-selling Japanese small vehicles such as the Suzuki Jeep to cater for the cheaper and/or younger end of the market.

The Land Rover has traditionally mounted its spare wheel on its bonnet. But this has drawbacks. The prime one is that it obstructs the driver's forward vision. It is now much more common, for this and other reasons, to mount the spare wheel on the outwardopening and vertically-hinged back door of the vehicle's bodywork.

Apart from anything else, it enables the manufacturer to make prominent display of his name and/or logo on the spare wheel cover which is so often used especially with the Suzuki class of vehicle.

The weight of the spare wheel, with or without cover, is considerable. In time, and given the rough usage to which these vehicles might be often subject, this starts to pull the door off its hinges. It can also loosen the door window glass by distorting the door panel. And in some instances a poorly-primed or painted steel door has been known to rust at the point where the spare wheel attachment is welded to it.

The door panel itself is a relatively lightweight structure and its hinges, normally designed to take no more than the door panel weight, are similarly not especially robust. Even the relatively ruggedly built Land Rover suffers from this drawback in time.

But mounting the spare wheel on the back door is, as previously outlined, now overwhelmingly the most common way to do it. And there therefore exists a problem to which there is no readily apparent solution.

Summary of the Invention In its broadest aspect, the invention provides a structure for supporting a vehicle's spare wheel in front of an outward-opening and vertically-hinged door of the vehicle's bodywork (eg the back door of a Land Rover); the structure comprising at least one arm; means hinging the arm in use to a region of the vehicle structure, other than the door panel, such that the arm hinge lies adjacent the door hinge and the arm swings substantially in unison with the door as the door is opened; means, on or adjacent the end of the arm remote from the hinged end, to carry the wheel; and, preferably, means linking the arm to the door panel so that the arm and the door close, as well as open, together.

Such an arrangement has the advantage that the door and its hinges no longer have to take the weight of the wheel which is borne by the structure - preferably the chassis structure - to which the arm is fixed. And in the preferred version, the door can be closed - as well as opened - from inside the vehicle despite the presence of the wheel-carrying arm which would otherwise block the door from being opened from inside.

In addition, in the preferred version, the wheel (which is a sizeable item in itself) and the arm both act as a barrier protecting the relatively easily damaged back door panels. The door window glass itself can be protected in this way even though the wheel, as such, is normally mounted so as to be below the glass in order to maximize rearward vision. But there is no reason why the arm (or an extension of it) should not be configured so as to overlie the glass and act as a grill which protects it without unduly blocking vision through it.

The structure may be combined with, or may be sold as part of a kit which includes, one or more rear light unit guards and/or mini-bumper units. One such kit is illustrated and will be described in this specification. It represents a structure which brings to the vehicle all the advantages of the primary wheel-supporting invention together with other components specifically designed and adapted to be applied with advantage to an all-terrain-off-road vehicle.

It is therefore inventive in its own right.

Brief Description of the Drawings In the accqmpanying drawings: Figure 1 shows in diagrammatic perspective the way the structure operates; and the remaining Figures, each drawn to the same scale (enlarged by contract with Figure 1) are a series of detailed engineering drawings of the individual components of the structure.

Description of the Preferred Embodiment The structure shown is designed especially for mounting on a Land Rover (the words ROVER, LAND ROVER, and RANGE ROVER are currently United Kingdom registered trade marks) but it will be appreciated that this is only one way in which the invention might be put into practice.

The broad schematic layout is shown in Figure 1. An outward-opening vertically hinged door is referenced 11 (the hinges themselves are each referenced 12) and opens outwards in the direction of arrow A. The spare-wheel-carrying assembly consisting of arm 13 swinging about a pivot axis 14 is mounted on a bumper 15 which is fixed to the chassis of the vehicle. A link 16 is pivotally connected at one end to the door 11 and at the other end, via a suitable lost-motion connection, to the arm 13.

The spare wheel is carried on a group of studs 17 which project from the non-hinged end of the arm 13. The grouping of studs 17 is such that the studs fit within the holes of the spare wheel (not itself shown) by which it is, in use, fixed to the vehicle hub. Nuts (not shown) screw thread onto the studs 17 to fix the spare wheel in place on the arm 13.

Figure 2 shows the bumper 15 and the construction supporting the pivot axis 14 in more detail. The bumper itself can be an appropriately sectioned component, for example a U-section component, fixed (for example bolted) by a lug 18 (which projects from the rear of the bumper) to the vehicle chassis or bodywork (not shown). A vertical angle-section post 19 rises at right angles from the run of the bumper 15 and shrouds the pivot pins 14A, 14B vertically in line with one another. Bars 21 form a framework shrouding the vehicle lights and, if required, incorporating electrical sockets for trailers and the like.

Another angle-section beam 22 runs across the top of the post 19 (ie generally parallel with bumper 15) and incorporates holes 23 through which the beam 22 can be screwed to the back bodywork of the vehicle adjacent the door 11. Lug 18 and beam 22 give post 19 a rigid fixing to the vehicle bodywork without in any way being fixed to the swinging-open door 11. Referring momentarily to Figure 5, an approximately mirror-image construction of bumper 24, lug 25, and framework bars 26 is exhibited at the otherside of the vehicle bodywork (ie adjacent the non-hinged edge of door 11) both for aesthetic reasons and for reasons of practicality. But this "left-hand end" (when viewing the vehicle from the rear) bumper and bar framework assembly forms no part of the spare-wheel-carrying arrangement as such.

Figure 3 shows the detailed construction of arm 13. An upper arm 13A is straight, elongate, and in use is essentially horizontal with the vehicle in its normally intended road-going attitude. Bores 14C, 14D are formed in, respectively, arm 13A and another arm 13B which is angled as shown and which is welded to arm 13A to complete a broadly Y-shaped unit.

Bores 14C and 14D are in line and enable the composite arm 13 to fit onto, and swing generally horizontally about pivot pins 14A.

Studs 17 previously referred to project from the non-hinge-adjacent end region of arm section 13B and from a strut 27 which is welded between that arm and its companion arm 13A.

As shown, there are lugs 28 and 29 which are welded to arms 13A and 13B respectively to accept a standard Land Rover spare wheel carrier. These can be used instead of, or in addition to, studs 17 to carry the spare wheel.

With the Y-shaped arm assembly 13 in place on the pivot pins 14, the linking arm 16 is pivoted between arm 13A (at 31 in Figure 3) and the door 11. There are a number of ways in which this can be done. As illustrated in Figure 4, the arm can pivot at its door end about a pivot pin 32 carried in spaced-apart plates on a beam 33 fixed to the door 11 to rib-up the door strength when the spare wheel carrying assembly is in use.

As will be appreciated, the arm 16 links the Y-shaped spare wheel carrying assembly 13 etc to the door 11 in such a way that, whenever the door is opened or closed (whether from inside or outside the vehicle) the Y-shaped assembly swings open and shut with the door. Virtually the entire stresses caused by the cantilevered weight of the spare wheel are carried ultimately by bumper 15 and are transmitted to it through components which are more than man enough to stand those stresses. There is the minimum of cantilevered stress on the door hinges 12 and on the door itself.

Claims (6)

1. A structure for supporting a vehicle's spare wheel in front of an outward-opening and vertically-hinged door of the vehicle's bodywork (eg the back door of a Land Rover); the structure comprising at least one arm; means hinging the arm in use to a region of the vehicle structure, other than the door panel, such that the arm hinge lies adjacent the door hinge and the arm swings substantially in unison with the door as the door is opened; means, on or adjacent the end of the arm remote from the hinged end, to carry the wheel; and, preferably, means linking the arm to the door panel so that the arm and the door close, as well as open, together.

2. A structure according to Claim 1 and adapted to be fixed to the chassis structure of the vehicle in use.

3. A structure according to Claim 1 or Claim 2 and in which, in use, the arm and - when fitted - the wheel both act as a barrier protecting the back door panels of the vehicle.

4. A structure according to any of the preceding Claims and in which the arm - or an extension of it - is configured so as to overlie the glass (if any) of the back door.

5. A structure according to any of the preceding Claims and combined with - or forming part of - a kit which includes one or more rear light unit guards and/or mini-bumper units.

6. A structure substantially as described herein with reference to and as illustrated in any appropriate combination of the accompanying drawings.