WO2007027185A1

WO2007027185A1 - Spare tire cover

Info

Publication number: WO2007027185A1
Application number: PCT/US2005/031518
Authority: WO
Inventors: Christopher E. Fischer; Jessica Flynn
Original assignee: Boomerang Entreprises, Inc.
Priority date: 2005-08-31
Filing date: 2005-08-31
Publication date: 2007-03-08

Abstract

A spare tire cover (40) for covering a tire supported at the rear of a vehicle. The cover includes a rigid faceplate (42) and a flexible skirt (44), the skirt operable to wrap around the tire to hold the spare tire cover in place. The faceplate includes a recess (50) in which a license plate can be mounted, and further includes a plastic shroud (70) located above the recess that protects a light (24) that illuminates this license plate. The spare tire cover also includes a locking means (75/77) to prevent unwarranted removal of the spare tire from this carrier.

Description

SPARE TIRE COVER BACKGROUND

The embodiments of the present invention relate to tire covers. In particular, the embodiments of the present invention relate to tire covers for protecting and covering spare tires attached to an external fixture on the back of an automobile.

Most vehicles, especially sport utility vehicles, have spare tires for emergency situations, which can be a full size or smaller. Spare tires are either housed somewhere inside the vehicle or mounted to an exterior fixture with there being advantages and disadvantages associated with both approaches. Spare tires that are housed in the interior of the vehicle are perhaps best protected from the elements. Since tires are made of rubber, they are susceptible to UV damage over extended periods of time, which is especially problematic in areas having a lot of sunny days. Another possible advantage to having the spare tire on the inside of the vehicle is that the appearance of the car is not interrupted or detracted by the carriage and the tire itself on the exterior of the car.

Spare tires housed in the interior of the car, however, take up valuable cargo and passenger room, especially in the case of a full size spare. Many thus prefer having the spare tire mounted on the exterior of the vehicle. Additionally, in many instances, access to the spare tire is more convenient if the tire is on the outside of the vehicle, especially if luggage and other items in the vehicle are packed all around the spare, inhibiting access thereto. Spare tires are typically mounted under the vehicles or to a rear gate of the vehicle, if it has one.

Many vehicles, such as sports utility vehicles, have a full-size spare tire mounted to the rear gate of the vehicle. Typically, these spare tires are mounted on a carrier that swings open, or pivots, to permit access to the rear gate of the vehicle. Spare tire covers are used to protect the spare tires from elements, and, in fact, the use of tire covers has become increasingly popular. Vehicle owners are provided with the opportunity to select from a variety of designs or graphics that can be printed on the covers, to both individualize and enhance the overall appearance of the vehicle. Additionally, car manufacturers and dealers are realizing the value of the advertising space provided by the front panel of the tire cover. Advertising the dealer name, for example, on a tire cover is oftentimes more prominent than the removable label adhered to the rear of the vehicle. Given these advantages - greater interior space, accessibility, customization and advertising capabilities, many full size spare tires are being mounted to the rear gates of vehicles. Carriers for supporting the spare tires continue to be modified to provide a more efficient and durable design both for ease of access to the tire and the interior of the car, as well as for aesthetic value. Importantly, though, the placement of the spare tire cannot interfere with the driver's view out the rear window or the view by others of the vehicle's license plate. Accordingly, license plates are located in various places such as, for example, next to the spare tire carrier or off to one side of the rear of the vehicle.

In some instances, however, the license plate can be somewhat obscured by the enormity of the spare tire and its carrier. Additionally, the structure or design of the carrier needed and ultimate placement of the spare tire sometimes leaves little practical room for the license plate to be visible. Accordingly, there remains a need to provide new and improved tire covers that protect the spare tire, complement the overall appearance of the vehicle, and that also support a license plate. The present invention is directed to meeting this need.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

A tire cover, is provided, that is adapted to support a license plate and to extend over a spare tire that includes a tread surface, an annular sidewall surface, and a wheel area when in a mounted state on the spare tire. The tire cover generally includes a face panel and a skirt joined thereto and may optionally include a locking assembly to secure both the spare tire and the tire cover to the carrier or bracket.

The face panel is formed of a stiff, yet flexible material and has an outer peripheral margin. The face panel is sized and adapted to substantially cover the sidewall surface and wheel area of the spare tire in confronting relation thereto when in the mounted state. The face panel has a recess formed therein, which has a back wall that is sized and adapted to receive and secure a license plate therein in a secured state with the license plate confronting the back wall. The recess may be provided with a pair of bolt openings sized and located to register with bolt openings in the license plate when the license plate is in a secured state. The face panel may be substantially circular in configuration, having a generally flat central portion surrounded by the outer peripheral margin portion. The face panel may further be formed as a curved lip projecting away therefrom. The face panel may be formed of plastic material, such as ABS plastic.

The recess formed in the face panel may be substantially rectangular in configuration having a first long edge extending substantially along a diameter of the face panel. The face panel may further be provided with an opening formed therethrough, which is proximate to and above the recess, and that may be proximate to the first long edge of the recess. This opening may be formed as a semi-circular area. The tire cover may further be provided with a shroud supported by the face panel that is sized and adapted to conceal from view at least a portion of this semi-circular opening.

The skirt is formed of a flexible material, such as vinyl, and includes a first edge portion secured to the peripheral margin of the face panel and configured to extend circumferentially around the tire and cover the tread surface thereof. The first edge portion of the skirt may be joined to the peripheral margin of the face panel by stitching. The skirt may be formed of vinyl The skirt may be a generally cylindrical panel having a second edge portion opposite the first edge portion, said skirt including a resilient cord secured to and extending circumferentially around the second edge portion.

As mentioned above, the tire cover may further be provided with a locking assembly that locks the spare tire to the bracket by which it is supported, and further locks the tire cover thereon when in the mounted state. As such, the recess formed in the face panel may be provided with yet another opening formed therein and oriented so as to register with a tire mounting bolt, which forms a component of the locking assembly.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Figure 1 is a perspective back view of a vehicle having a spare tire supported thereby with a tire cover according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention in the mounted state;

Figure 2 is an exploded perspective view of the spare tire mounted to the vehicle and the tire cover shown in Figure 1 ;

Figure 3 is a back perspective view of the tire cover shown in Figures 1 and 2;

Figure 4 is a back perspective view of the face panel of the tire cover;

Figure 5 is a perspective view of the skirt, partially broken away, which forms a component of the tire cover; Figure 6 is an exploded cross-sectional view of the skirt and face panel of the tire cover, both of which are partially broken away;

Figure 7 is a front perspective view of the face panel and the license plate light that is mounted on the end of the arm of the spare tire carrier when assembled;

Figure 8 is a back perspective view of the shroud;

Figure 9 is a back perspective view of the face panel showing the arm of the spare tire carrier in phantom;

Figure 10 is a front view in elevation of the assembled tire cover;

Figure 11 is an exploded side view in elevation of the locking assembly;

Figure 12 is a cross-sectional side view of the face panel and tire cover showing the locking assembly in a locked state;

Figure 13 is a front view in elevation of the face plate of the locking assembly;

Figure 14 is a back view in elevation of the lock body of the locking assembly; and

Figure 15 is a front view in elevation of the tire cover showing the tire mounting bolt seated in the lock bolt opening formed in the face panel recess with the license plate is shown in phantom.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

Generally, the embodiments disclosed herein relate to tire covers. One aspect of the tire cover disclosed herein is that the face panel has a recess that is sized and adapted to receive a license plate therein. Another aspect is the use of a flexible skirt attached to the face panel, which skirt is configured to extend circumferentially around the tire and cover the tire's tread surface. The embodiments of the tire cover shown and described herein are particularly useful for covering and protecting spare tires mounted on the tailgate of a vehicle.

With this in mind, and with reference to Figs. 1 and 2, a rear portion of a vehicle is shown in the form of sports utility vehicle 10. Vehicle 10 includes tailgate 12 having a bracket in the form of a spare tire carrier 14 supported thereon, shown here in the latched position. Carrier 14 can be unlatched using handle 18 and moving it in the direction of "A". Unlatching carrier 14 permits it to swing outwardly from vehicle 10 on hinge 16 in the general direction of "B". Carrier 14 supports spare tire 30 with tire cover 40 mounted thereon, as shown in Fig. 1. As shown, tire cover 40 further supports both shroud 70 and license plate 80, the interrelationship of which will be discussed in more detail below following a more detailed description of the aspects of tire cover 40.

With continued reference, then, to Figs. 1 and 2, spare tire 30 is a conventional tire having annular sidewall surface 32, tread surface 34, and wheel rim 36, as known in the art. Tire cover 40 covers spare tire 30, when in a mounted state, as shown in Fig. 1 , and generally includes face panel 42 and skirt 44 joined thereto. With continued reference to Fig. 2 and additional reference to Figs. 3 through 4, face panel 42 is substantially circular in configuration and sized and adapted to substantially cover sidewall surface 32 of spare tire 30 in confronting relation thereto when in the mounted state. As shown, face panel 42 has a generally flat central portion 46 surrounded by outer peripheral margin portion 48. Outer peripheral margin portion 48 is shown here as being formed as a curved lip, which projects away from central portion 46.

Face panel 42 includes license plate recess 50 formed therein that is sized and adapted to receive and secure license plate 80 so it confronts back wall 52 thereof in a secured state. License plate recess 50 is substantially rectangular in configuration, having a first long edge 51 and a second long edge 53 extending substantially along a diameter of face panel 42. Face panel 42 also includes semicircular opening 54, which is formed therethrough and that is located proximate to and above license plate recess 50 and proximate first long edge 51.

There are several other openings formed through face panel 42, which will first be identified here, but discussed in more detail below. With reference then to Fig. 3, there are three tab openings 74 formed through face panel 42 and located about opening 54, which as discussed below, enables the shroud to be supported thereby. Also, in recess 50, there are a pair of bolt openings 84 formed therethrough that enable the license plate to be secured therein.

Face panel 42 is formed of a stiff, yet flexible material, such as plastic or other suitable material known in the art. The plastic material may specifically be any of a class of plastics based on acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene copolymers, which are referred to in the art as ABS plastic. In using ABS plastic, for example, face panel 42 may be molded or extruded by various methods known in the art, thereby to configure it so as to have the various aspects heretofore described.

With reference now to Figs. 3 through 6, skirt 44 is a generally cylindrical one- piece panel extending between a first end 56 and a second end 58. Skirt 44 is formed of a flexible material, such as vinyl, and has a first edge portion 60 and a second edge portion 62 opposite thereof. First edge portion 60 is joined to or otherwise secured to face panel 42 about its peripheral margin portion 48, for example, by stitching. As shown, peripheral margin portion 48 is provided with a plurality of spaced apart holes 57 through which thread 59 can be pulled and join skirt 44 thereto in a manner that enables it to extend circumferentially around a spare tire thereby to cover the tread surface thereof.

The second edge portion 62 includes sleeve 64 in which resilient cord 66 is received. When tire cover 40 is not in use, as shown in Fig. 3, resilient cord 66 is biased in an initial rest state, whereby tire cover 40 can be efficiently package and shipped to a desired destination. When mounting tire cover 40 onto a selected spare tire, resilient cord 66 can be expanded to enable skirt 44 to extend snuggly thereabout.

With reference to Figs. 4 and 8, tire cover may be provided with shroud 70, which is releasably attachable to face panel 42 so as to be supported thereby. Shroud 70 is generally semi-circular in configuration and includes three snap-fit or press fit tabs 72, which project rearwardly thereof that are adapted to be received by tab openings 74 formed in face panel 42. As shown in Fig. 7, tab openings 74 are formed in a semi-circular shroud recess area 76, which is formed in face panel 42 about opening 54.

Now that various aspects of the tire cover disclosed herein have been discussed, its assembly can now be better understood. Returning again to Fig. 2, spare tire 30 is supported by arm 22 of carrier 14. A portion of arm 22 extends through wheel area 36 and includes license plate light 24 mounted on the end thereof. When tire cover 40 is mounted on spare tire 30, license plate light 24 extends through opening 54 formed in face panel 42, as shown, for example, in Figs. 7 and 9. License plate 80 is received in recess 50, and may be secured therein with fasteners, such as plate mounting bolts 82, which are received through bolt openings 84. When assembled, then, license plate 80 is positioned below license plate light 24 as shown, for example, in Fig. 7.

Shroud 70 both protects light 24 and further maximizes the illumination of license plate 80. As shown in Figs 9 and 10, when shroud 70 is secured to and supported by face panel 42, its tabs 72 pass through tab openings 74 and through face panel 42 so as to conceal from view at least a portion of opening 54. Turning now to Figs. 11 and 12, lock assembly 90 can be provided to lock both spare tire 30 and tire cover 40 to bracket or carrier 14 in the mounted state Lock assembly 90 includes lock body 92, face plate 94, tire mounting bolt 96, nut 98, and key 91. As shown in Figs. 13 and 14, both lock body 92 and face plate 94 include openings 71 and 73 respectively, sized and adapted to receive tire mounting bolt 96 therethrough. When lock assembly 90 is assembled, as shown in Fig. 12, nut 98 is located on tire mounting bolt 96 and inside lock body 92. In this way, nut 98 prevents movement of tire mounting bolt 96 through openings 71 and 73. Face plate 94 further includes keyhole 75 while lock body 92 includes latch 77. Once inserted into keyhole 75, key 91 is operative to move latch 77 in either direction of arrows "C" or "D" between a locked state, which is shown in Fig. 14, and an unlocked state, as known in the art.

With continued reference to Figs. 11 and 12 and additional reference to Figs. 2 through 4, recess 50 includes lock bolt opening 95 formed therethrough and located below arm 22. When tire 30 and tire cover 40 are in the mounted state, tire mounting bolt 96 passes through lock bolt opening 95 and one of lug nut openings 97 in spare tire 30. Lock bolt opening 95 continues to pass through mounting plate 17, which forms a part of spare tire carrier 14, through lock face plate opening 71 , nut 98, and then lock body opening 73. Turning now to Fig. 15, when lock assembly 90 is in use, tire mounting bolt 96 is seated in recess 50 and then concealed from view by license plate 80, which is shown here in phantom.

From the foregoing, it should be appreciated that the tire cover described herein is useful for covering or protecting a variety of tires having a variety of different uses and its utility is not limited to spare tires located on the tailgate of vehicles. For example, recess 50 could be used for purposes other than receiving a license plate. Recess 50 could be used to receive therein something decorative to further personalize the tire cover, particularly for vehicles having a license plate secured to another location on the tailgate. Alternatively, recess 50 could be used to receive advertising material to advertise, for example, the dealership from which the vehicle was purchased.

Accordingly, the exemplary embodiments have been described with some degree of particularity. It should be appreciated, though, that the scope of the claimed invention is set forth in the following claims such that the exemplary embodiments should not limit the scope of the invention. That is, it should be clearly understood that modifications or changes may be made to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention without departing from the inventive concepts contained herein.

Claims

We claim:

1. A tire cover adapted to support a license plate and to extend over a spare tire that includes a tread surface, an annular sidewall surface, and a wheel area when in a mounted state on the spare tire, said tire cover comprising:

(A) a face panel formed of a stiff, yet flexible material and having an outer peripheral margin, said face panel being sized and adapted to substantially cover the sidewall surface and wheel area of the spare tire in confronting relation thereto when in the mounted state, said face panel having a recess formed therein with the recess including a back wall and being sized and adapted to receive and secure a license plate therein in a secured state with the license plate confronting said back wall; and

(B) a skirt including a first edge portion secured to the peripheral margin of said face panel and configured to extend circumferentially around the tire and cover the tread surface thereof.

2. A tire cover according to claim 1 wherein said skirt is formed of vinyl.

3 A tire cover according to claim 1 wherein said first edge portion of said skirt is joined to the peripheral margin of said face panel by stitching.

4. A tire cover according to claim 1 wherein said skirt is a generally cylindrical panel having a second edge portion opposite the first edge portion, said skirt including a resilient cord secured to and extending circumferentially around the second edge portion.

5. A tire cover according to claim 1 wherein said face panel is formed of a plastic material.

6. A tire cover according to claim 5 wherein said face panel is formed of ABS plastic.

7. A tire cover according to claim 1 wherein said face panel has a generally flat central portion surrounded by said outer peripheral margin portion, said the outer peripheral margin of said face panel being formed as a curved lip projecting away from said central portion.

8. A tire cover according to claim 1 wherein said face panel has an opening formed therethrough proximate to and above the recess.

9. A tire cover according to claim 8 including a shroud adapted to be supported by said face panel so that when supported thereby, said shroud conceals from view at least a portion of the opening.

10. A tire cover according to claim 1 wherein the face panel is substantially circular in configuration.

11. A tire cover according to claim 10 where the recess is substantially rectangular in configuration having a first long edge extending substantially along a diameter of said face panel.

12. A tire cover according to claim 1 wherein said face panel has an opening formed therethrough proximate to the first long edge.

13. A tire cover according to claim 12 wherein the opening is formed as a semi-circular area.

14. A tire cover according to claim 1 wherein said skirt is formed of a flexible material.

15. A tire cover adapted to extend over a spare tire that is supported by a bracket on a vehicle by means of a tire mounting bolt wherein said tire includes a tread surface, an annular sidewall surface, and a wheel area, said tire cover further adapted to mount a license plate having bolt openings to receive plate mounting bolts therefor, comprising:

(A) a face panel formed of a stiff, yet flexible material and having an outer peripheral margin, said face panel having a recess formed therein with the recess including a back wall and being sized and adapted to receive and secure a license plate therein in a secured state with the license plate confronting said back wall, said back wall having a first opening therein oriented so as to register with the tire mounting bolt so as to permit the tire and said face panel to be secured to the bracket on the vehicle in a mounted state and a pair of second bolt openings sized and located so as to register with the bolt openings of the license plate such that, when the license plate is mounted in the recess, the license plate covers the first opening, said face panel being sized and adapted to substantially cover the sidewall surface and wheel area of the spare tire in confronting relation thereto when in the mounted state; and

(B) a skirt formed of a flexible material and including a first edge portion secured to the peripheral margin of said face panel and configured to extend circumferentially around the tire and cover the tread surface thereof.

16. A tire cover according to claim 15 wherein said skirt is formed of vinyl.

17. A tire cover according to claim 15 wherein said skirt is a generally cylindrical panel having a second edge portion opposite the first edge portion, said skirt including a resilient cord secured to and extending circumferentially around the second edge portion.

18. A tire cover according to claim 15 wherein said face panel has a generally flat central portion surrounded by said outer peripheral margin portion, said the outer peripheral margin of said face panel being formed as a curved lip projecting away from said central portion.

19. A tire cover according to claim 15 wherein said face panel is substantially circular in configuration and wherein the recess is substantially rectangular in configuration having a first long edge extending substantially along a diameter of said face panel, said face panel has an opening formed therethrough proximate to the first long edge.

20. A tire cover according to claim 19 including a shroud adapted to be supported by said face panel so that when supported thereby, said shroud conceals from view at least a portion of the opening.

21. A tire cover according to claim 15 wherein said skirt is formed of a flexible material.