The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Nov. 28, 1995
Filed:
Jan. 17, 1995
Donn S Van Dusen, Loma Rica, CA (US);
Douglas P Gibbs, Yuba City, CA (US);
Mascotech Accessories, Inc., Sacramento, CA (US);
Abstract
The present invention relates to a tire carrier for an automotive vehicle and, more particularly, to a hitch mounted tire carrier. The invention includes a cantilever construction having the combination of an elongated arm having the tire mount structure, and a bracket for the arm connectable, for example, to a tow hitch of a vehicle. The arm is movable relative to the bracket between the transportation position and in inactive position, and a cinch is provided on the bracket for normally maintaining the arm in the transportation position but releasing the same for movement to the inactive position. The cinch has a lever latch which, in keeping with the invention, is manipulatable of the cinch to an over-center position. A tightener is provided as a protuberance on the lever latch which is mounted for pivoting to a stop position beyond a center position at which it would be generally orthogonal to a bearing surface it engages. The combination also preferably includes a coupler having a drawbar and a tightener designed to maintain intimate contact between a surface of the drawbar and a surface of the tow hitch irrespective of vehicle movement.