Swing away support assembly for spare tire carrier

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10858050-B2
Application number	US-201916395000-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 25, 2019
Priority date	Apr 25, 2018
Publication date	Dec 8, 2020
Grant date	Dec 8, 2020

Abstract

Disclosed herein are embodiments of a swing away support assembly that can be installed on a tailgate of a vehicle, such as on a bumper and/or rear panel of the vehicle. The swing away support assembly can provide additional structural support for spare tires and/or other heavy mounted objects. Advantageously, the swing away support assembly is compatible with existing spare tire carriers, backup cameras, and rear lights.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method of mounting a swing away support assembly on a vehicle, the method comprising:
connecting the swing away support assembly to the vehicle, wherein the swing away support assembly comprises a pivot, an arm, a main body including a support platform, and a vehicle mount, the swing away support assembly being rotatable about the pivot;
removing an existing spare tire carrier assembly from a rear panel of the vehicle, wherein the existing spare tire carrier assembly comprises a tire carrier housing, a camera housing, a rear camera, a rear light mount, and a rear light; and
mounting the existing spare tire carrier assembly on to the swing away support assembly in a single step.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein removing the existing spare tire carrier assembly from the rear panel of the vehicle comprises removing the existing spare tire carrier assembly as a single unit.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein removing the existing spare tire carrier assembly from the rear panel of the vehicle comprises keeping the rear light mount connected to the tire carrier housing.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein mounting the existing spare tire carrier assembly on to the swing away support assembly comprises mounting the existing spare tire carrier assembly on to the support platform as a single unit.

5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising extending an electrical wire through a hole in the support platform.

6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising removing an existing bumper from the vehicle and installing a bumper having a pivot mount on the vehicle.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein connecting the swing away support assembly to the vehicle comprises inserting at least a portion of the pivot of the swing away support assembly into at least a portion of the pivot mount in the bumper, wherein the pivot mount defines an opening in the bumper.

8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising creating a hole in an existing bumper for receiving a portion of the pivot of the swing away support assembly.

9. The method of claim 1 , further comprising keeping the main body of the swing away support assembly spaced apart from the existing spare tire carrier assembly when connecting the pivot to the vehicle.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein removing the existing spare tire carrier assembly from the rear panel of the vehicle comprises keeping the rear camera connected to a first electrical wire of the vehicle.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein removing the existing spare tire carrier assembly from the rear panel of the vehicle comprises keeping the rear light connected to a second electrical wire of the vehicle.

12. The method of claim 1 , wherein removing the existing spare tire carrier assembly from the rear panel of the vehicle comprises separating the rear light mount from the tire carrier housing.

13. The method of claim 1 , wherein connecting the swing away support assembly to the vehicle comprises repurposing a plurality of fasteners of the existing tire carrier assembly to secure the vehicle mount to the rear panel of the vehicle.

14. The method of claim 1 , further comprising removing a cushion from the rear panel of the vehicle and attaching it to the support platform of the swing away support assembly, the cushion forming a buffer between a tire and the support platform when the tire is attached to the tire carrier housing.

15. The method of claim 1 , wherein connecting the swing away support assembly to the vehicle comprises attaching a first end of a link to a first link mount on the vehicle mount and attaching a second end of the link to a second link mount on the support platform such that when the rear panel of the vehicle swings out, the swing away support assembly swings with it and maintains a gap between the vehicle mount and the main body.

16. A swing away support assembly for repositioning an existing spare tire carrier assembly on a vehicle having a bumper, the swing away support assembly comprising:
a main body comprising a frame and a support platform;
a pivot configured to connect to the bumper of the vehicle;
an arm extending from the pivot to the main body;
a vehicle mount configured to attach to a rear panel of the vehicle, wherein the vehicle mount comprises a first link mount and the support platform comprises a second link mount; and
a link having a first end and a second end opposite the first end, wherein the first end of the link is coupled to the first link mount of the vehicle mount and the second end of the link is coupled to the second link mount of the support platform.

17. The swing away support assembly of claim 16 , wherein the pivot is stepped, having at least a first section with a first diameter and a second section with a second diameter that is larger than the first diameter, and wherein when the pivot is connected to the vehicle the first section of the pivot is inserted into an opening in the bumper.

18. The swing away support assembly of claim 16 , wherein the vehicle mount defines an opening for a vehicle vent panel.

19. The swing away support assembly of claim 16 , wherein the support platform comprises a back light mount support for a light mount.

20. The swing away support assembly of claim 16 , wherein the support platform defines at least two sets of holes that each correspond with a fastener pattern of the existing spare tire carrier assembly such that in use a position of the existing spare tire carrier assembly can be adjusted relative to the support platform to accommodate different sized tires.

21. The swing away support assembly of claim 16 , wherein the support platform comprises a plurality of apertures configured to provide clearance.

22. The swing away support assembly of claim 16 , further comprising an accessory mount attached to the arm, the accessory mount comprising a support having a plurality of openings.

23. The swing away support assembly of claim 16 , wherein each end of the link comprises a rotatable eyelet connector.

Assignees

• Lund Motion Products Inc

Inventors

• Headlee Jake

Classifications

• B60Q1/2661

  mounted on parts having other functions (on wheels B60Q1/326) · CPC title

• B62D43/02 Primary

  external to the vehicle body · CPC title

• B60Q1/44

  for indicating braking action {or preparation for braking, e.g. by detection of the foot approaching the brake pedal} · CPC title

• B60Q1/302

  mounted in the vicinity, e.g. in the middle, of a rear window · CPC title