GB2278091A

GB2278091A - Spare wheel carrier

Info

Publication number: GB2278091A
Application number: GB9310547A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Jonathan Michael Howa Layfield
Original assignee: Nissan Technical Centre Europe Ltd
Current assignee: Nissan Technical Centre Europe Ltd
Priority date: 1993-05-21
Filing date: 1993-05-21
Publication date: 1994-11-23
Anticipated expiration: 2013-05-21
Also published as: GB9310547D0; GB2278091B

Abstract

A spare wheel carrier 25 for a vehicle 1 comprises a support structure 27 and wheel mounting means 19, 21 for mounting a spare wheel 13 on the support structure. Hinge means 47, 49 hingeably mount the support structure 27 on a body 9 of the vehicle and a linkage 51 connects the support structure to a door 3 of the vehicle. <IMAGE>

Description

SPARE WHEEL CARRIER The present invention relates to a spare wheel carrier for vehicle. This carrier is of the type for mounting a spare wheel exterior to a vehicle on the outside of a door thereof.

Figures 1A and 1B show a conventional arrangement of this general kind. As shown, a vehicle 1 is a four-wheel drive or off-road vehicle in which a rear door 3 opens sideways and outwardly on hinges 5,7 arranged one above the other on one side of the rear face of the vehicle body 9. The door is opened by pulling on a handle 11 arranged at the other side from the hinges.

The spare wheel 13 is mounted on a carrier 15 which comprises a base 17 attached to the door 3, e. g. by means of a screw fixing (not shown). The wheel 13 is supported by screw fixings 19,21 protruding from the base. The base is attached direct to the metal door panel.

A spare wheel for this type of vehicle is a relatively heavy item and the arrangement of the conventional wheel carrier tends to exert substantial cyclic loading upon the structure of the door in normal use of the vehicle.

This loading would adversely affect the durability of the door, its hinges and the adjoining body panels resulting in premature falure of the door structure.

A new kind of spare wheel carrier has now been devised which overcomes the aforementioned problem and depending on its exact design, provides one or more distinct advantages over the conventional carrier.

Thus the present invention provides a spare wheel carrier comprising a support structure, wheel mounting means for mounting a spare wheel on the support structure, hinge means for hingeably mounting the support structure on a body of a vehicle and a linkage for connecting the support structure to a door of the vehicle.

With the spare wheel carrier according to the present invention, the weight of the wheel is not taken only on a small area of the door panel. All or a substantial part of the load can be taken by the vehicle body through the hinge means which connects the support structure to suitable parts of the rear body.

It is preferred for the hinge means to comprise two separate hinges which conveniently may be arranged one above the other on the same side of the rear of the vehicle body which bears the door-mounting hinges.

It is possible to eliminate the transmission of the load weight of the spare wheel to the vehicle door through the linkage by making the linkage flexible. Preferably, such a flexible linkage provides at least two degrees of freedom of limited movement of the support structure relative to the vehicle door. Using a flexible linkage has other advantages as recited in more detail hereinbelow.

It is also possible for the linkage to comprise space adjustment means for varying the distance between the support structure and the vehicle door. In this way, the support structure can be adjusted to have an optimumspacing between itself and the door so that by virtue of its interaction with the vehicle body, it does not restrict the degree of opening of the door.

Nevertheless, it is also preferred for the carrier to be provided with position compensation means for compensating relative positional movement of the support structure in relation to the door whilst the door is open.

The position compensation means fulfils one or more of several functions depending on the exact configuration of the carrier according to the present invention.

However, its general purpose arises from the fact that the carrier and the door are both hingeably mounted relative to the vehicle body but are connected together.

It is highly desirable for the carrier not to restrict the amount of ease of opening of the door. Some factors which can have adverse effects in this regard but which are overcome by appropriate position compensation means are as follows: (i) The hinges of the door and the hinge means of the carrier may not be in axial alignment. This is particularly significant when the design of the vehicle prevents hinge alignment or when the carrier is fitted as an aftermarket accessory.

(ii) The support structure and the door are inevitably not in the same plane although they are both hinged relative to the same plane of the vehicle body.

(iii) The support structure and the door might not be completely parallel. Again, the design of some vehicles make this inevitable. It is undesirable to make a large number of different carrier designs to fit a wide range of different vehicles. A given carrier should be as adaptable to as many different types of vehicles as possible.

One form of position compensation means is in the form of a flexible linkage of the kind mentioned above. For example, the linkage may be provided with a pivotal bearing or a sliding member. It is also possible for the linkage to comprise a flexible member, for example of a resilient plastics material.

Yet again, the position compensation means may comprise a telescopic member forming part of the support structure.

It is also possible to provide the carrier with damping means for damping relative movement between different parts of the carrier and/or between the carrier and the vehicle door and/or between the carrier and the vehicle body.

The damping means may, for example, comprise a common sealed cylinder and piston arrangement containing suitable gas or fluid damping agent designed to have an appropriate damping factor.

Since the carrier is attached to the door and is hinged relative to the vehicle body independently of the door hinging, any such damping means is able to damp opening motion of the door. This can be highly advantageous because when the wheel is mounted on the support, the door will be linked to the wheel carrier so that the total assembly weight will be more than that of the same door when unencumbered by mounting of the spare wheel.

The damping effect and/or restorative door closing force can help prevent the door slamming shut or swinging violently open.

The present invention will now be explained in more detail by way of the following description of preferred embodiments and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: - Figure 1A shows a plan view of a conventional spare wheel mount and Figure 1B shows an elevation of the conventional mount; Figure 2A shows a plan view with door closed, Figure 2B an elevation and Figure 2C, a plan view with door open, of a first embodiment of a spare wheel carrier according to the present invention; Figure 3A shows a cross-section through a hinge attaching the carrier shown in Figures 2A-2C to the vehicle body, and Figure 3B shows a perspective view of a detail of the carrier frame enabling it to receive the hinge shown in Figure 3A.

Figure 4 shows details of the linkage between the frame of the carrier shown in Figures 2A-2C and the vehicle door; Figure 5 shows an elevation of a second embodiment of a spare wheel carrier according to the present invention; Figures 6A and 6B show part sectional views of two respective alternative linkages of the carrier shown in Figure 5; and Figure 7A shows a plan view with door closed, Figure 7B an elevation and Figure 7C, a plan view with door open, of a third embodiment of a spare wheel carrier according to the present invention.

In the description of the preferred embodiments, the same reference numerals are used for the vehicle, door, door hinges and handle, vehicle body and for the spare wheel as are used in Figures 1A and 1B.

Referring to Figures 2A and 2B, there is shown a first embodiment of a wheel carrier 25 according to the invention, comprising a support frame 27 formed of a pair of upper and lower substantially straight members 29,31 respectively, in a substançially V-formation whereby they are joined at a junction 33 forming an apex roughly mid-way between the two sides 35, 37 of the rear of the vehicle. The free ends 39,41 of the substantially straight members are provided with short parallel portions 43,45 respectively.

The parallel portions are provided with respective hinges 47,49 thereby hingeably mounting the support structure on the right hand side 37 of the rear of vehicle body 9, being the same side of the vehicle body rear where the two hinges 5, 7 support the door 3. The door hinges 5, 7 are not in axial alignment with the hinge members 47,49.

The wheel mounting fixings 19,21 to which the spare wheel 13 is attached are connected to the members 29,31 of the support frame 27, close to the junction 33.

The support structure is also attached to the door by means of a linkage 51 between the junction 33 and the metal panel of the door. This linkage has a pivoting mechanism which is described in more detail hereinbelow. As Shown in Figure 2A, the door is in the closed position. The linkage 51 is at an oblique angle relative to the support structure 29.

Figure 2C shows the situation when the door is fully open. The relative positions of the door hinges 5,7 and the hinge members 47,49 respectively, means that in the open position, the distance between the hinge members 47,49 and the linkage 51 reduces somewhat. As a result, the linkage is moved from the angled position shown in Figure 2A to be substantially perpendicular to the door. Also, unlike when the door is closed, the support frame 27 is no longer substantially parallel to the door 3. Instead, it is angled so that near to the hinge members 47,49, it is closer to the door than it is adjacent the linkage 51.

Thus, it can be seen that the linkage pivots to compensate for the relative differential movement of the support frame and door.

Figure 3A shows details of the hinge member 47. The other hinge member 49 is the same. A sheet metal body panel 53 forming part of the right hand side 37 of the vehicle body 9 is drilled through to form a mounting hole 55. A threaded rod-end 57 passes through the hole to be secured by a nut 61 on the inside of the panel. A second nut 59 permits fore and aft adjustment of theprecise hinge position. After the desired position is achieved, the two nuts are tightened together to secure the assembly. This adjustment feature is particularly advantageous if the wheel carrier is fitted as an after market part.

Alternatively, if the carrier is provided as a standard feature of the vehicle, then the hinge members 47 49 may be fixed permanently to the vehicle body 9 at the most suitable position eg. by welding.

Optional reinforcing members (not shown) may be disposed on the outside and/or inside of the panel adjacent the metal and surrounding the hinge fixing position so that the hinge member does not over-stress the body panel.

A recess 63 is formed in the free end 39 of the parallel portion 43 of the upper substantially straight member 29 and houses a spherical bearing assembly 65 secured in the free end 39 by means of a nut 67 and a bolt 69. As shown in Figure 3B, at least the parallel portion 43 of the member 29 has a substantially rectangular cross-section and has an open end 71. The recess is formed by a cut-away section 73 down a short distance of one side 75 of the parallel portion.

Details of the linkage 51 are shown in Figure 4. The linkage is attached to the door 3 by a screw fixing (not shown). The part 77 directly attached to the door is provided with a first spherical bearing assembly 79 from which depends a male threaded portion 81 received within female threaded portion 83 of a second spherical bearing assembly 89. The degree to which the male thread penetrates the female thread is adjustable. In this way, the distance between the support frame 25 and the door 3 can be varied. When the distance is adjusted to the desired degree, the position is fixed by a lock nut 85 fitted to the male threaded portion 81 and co-operating with one end 87 of the female threaded portion.

Again, this adjustment feature is provided mainly for after-market fitting purposes. If the wheel carrier is fitted as a standard feature, this adjustment feature may be omitted and the two bearing assemblies 79 and 89 may be linked directly with the optimum separation distance.

The second spherical bearing assembly 89 is pivotally mounted to a short link arm 91 which is directly connected to the support frame 33. The arrangement of the first and second spherical bearing assemblies 79 and 89 is similar to the bearing arrangement shown in Figure 3A. This linkage and bearing arrangement permits smooth relative movement between the door and the support frame and eliminates the transmission of the load weight of the spare wheel to the vehicle door.

Figure 5 shows a second embodiment of a spare wheel carrier 93 according to the present invention. The construction of this carrier is exactly the same as that of the carrier of the first embodiment except for the following points.

Instead of a substantially V shaped support frame, a substantially U-shaped support frame 95 is provided, comprising respective substantially straight upper and lower parallel portions 97, 99 contiguous with a bend portion 101. Therefore, this frame may be formed by bending a single lenght of metal tube.

The parallel straight members have respective upper and lower free ends 103,105 hinged to the body 9 in the same way as the free ends of the support frame of the first embodiment. The other ends 107, 109 (where the straight members connect with the bend 101) are bridged by a bridging strut 111 on which are located wheel mounting studs 113,115. The distal point 117 of the bend is connected to a linkage 119 which connects the support frame to the vehicle door 3.

Although the linkage may be the same as the linkage 51 of the first embodiment, here it may adopt one or two alternative forms shown in Figures 6A and 6B.

The linkage shown in Figure 6A comprises a guide-rail 121 having a elongate slot 123 mounted on the door 3 by a screw fixing 125. A slide-pin 127, freely slidable along the slot 123, links the guide-rail 121 to a short link member 129 which is connected direct to the support frame (not shown).

With the variant shown in Figure 6B, instead of the guide-rail 121, an elongate body 131 is formed integral with the base 123. An elongate opening 133 is formed in a side surface 135 of the body, opening into a groove 137 of near-circular cross-section.

A ball runner 139 is freely slidable within the groove.

The limit of travel of the ball runner is delimited by vertical walls 141 at the end of the groove. The ball is attached to the short link member 129. A stop member (not shown) is provided at the opening side end of the elongate body 131 to prevent the ball from coming out of the groove.

The carrier of the first emobodiment may also incorporate an alternative linkage as shown in Figure 6A or 6B in place of the linkage shown in Figures 2A-2C.

Turning now to Figures 7A-7C, there is shown a spare wheel carrier 145 in accordance with a third embodiment of the present invention. This is somewhat similar to the carrier of the second embodiment. However, here there is a support frame 147 comprising respective upper and lower substantially parallel members 149,151 having respective upper and lower free ends 153, 155 connected by respective hinge members 157,159 with the vehicle body in the same positions as with the hinged attachments in the first and second embodiments.

The upper and lower substantially parallel frame members 149,151 are each telescopic and comprise upper 161 and lower 163 inner members which are contiguous with the free ends 153,155 connected to the hinge members. The frame members also comprise respective upper and lower outer members 165,167 telescopically slidable over the inner members 161,163.

The outer members 165, 167 terminate in respective upper and lower ends 169, 171 remote from the free ends 153, 155 and joined by a cross member 173. The centre 175 of the cross member is joined by a linkage 177 to the door 3.

The linkage 177 has a hinge 179. The hinge members 157, 159 comprise a simple hinge link 179, etc., extending subtantially perpendicular to the door 3.

As shown in Figure 7A, when the door is closed, the inner members 161, 163 are in an extended position relative to the outer members 165, 167. As shown in Figure 7C, when the door is open, the inner members adopt a retracted position relative to the outer members.

In this third embodiment the inner telescoping members are hinged to the vehicle body and the outer members connect via the linkage with the door. However, the converse construction with outer members hinged to the body and inner members linked to the door is also possible.

In the light of this disclosure, modifications of the described embodiments, as well as other embodiments all within the scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims, will now become apparent to persons skilled in this art.

Claims

1. A spare wheel carrier comprising a support structure, wheel mounting means for mounting a spare wheel on the support structure, hinge means for hingeably mounting the support structure on a body of a vehicle and a linkage for connecting the support structure to a door of the vehicle.

2. A carrier according to claim 1, wherein the linkage is flexible.

3. A carrier according to claim 2, wherein the flexible linkage provides at least two degrees of freedom of limited movement of the support structure relative to the vehicle door.

4. A carrier according to any preceding claim, wherein the linkage comprises space adjustment means for varying the distance between the support structure and the vehicle oor.

5. A carrier according to any preceding claim, further comprising position compensation means for compensating relative positional movement of the support structure in relation to the door as the door is opened.

6. A carrier according to claim 5, wherein the position compensation means comprises a flexible linkage as defined in claim 2 or claim 3.

7. A carrier according to claim 5 or claim 6, wherein the position compensation means comprises a pivotal bearing forming part of said linkage.

8. A carrier according to claim 5 or claim 6, wherein the position compensation means comprises a flexible member forming part of said linkage.

9. A carrier according to claim 5 or claim 6, wherein the position compensation means comprises a sliding member forming part of said linkage.

10. A carrier according to claim 5 or claim 6, wherein the position compensation means comprises a telescopic member forming part of said support structure.

11. A carrier according to any preceding claim, further comprising damping means for damping relative movement between different parts of the carrier and/or between the carrier and the vehicle door and/or between the carrier and the vehicle body.

12. A carrier according to any preceding claim, having a wheel mounted thereon.

13. A vehicle comprising a spare wheel carrier according to any preceding claim.

14. A spare wheel carrier substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to any of Figures 2-7 of the accompanying drawings.