Spare tire lock

Claim 1

In a spare tire locking device of the type adapted to be manually threaded onto a threaded shaft and locked thereon so as to tightly hold a spare tire in storage with a desired degree of tightness, the combination comprising an actuating member, means defining a pair of bores in said member, said bores being arranged to intersect each other such that an opening is defined between the side walls thereof, means for rotating said actuating member about the axis of one of said bores, an internally threaded sleeve disposed in said one bore and adapted to be threaded onto the threaded shaft, said sleeve being rotatable within said one bore and constrained against substantial displacement axially thereof, a key-actuated lock in the other of said bores operable between locked and unlocked positions and coupling means operatively coupling said lock and said sleeve via said opening such that said slEeve is coupled for rotation with said actuating member when said lock is unlocked and said sleeve is decoupled from rotation with said actuating member when said lock is locked, said coupling means including a limited lost motion connection between said lock and said sleeve with said lock in the unlocked position, said limited lost motion connection permitting said lock to be operated between the locked and unlocked positions ove a limited range of rotation of said actuating means with respect to said sleeve, whereby, with said lock in the unlocked position, said actuating member may be manually rotated on said threaded shaft to tighten said sleeve as tightly thereon as desired and then said lock may be actuated to the locked position anywhere within said limited range of rotation provided by said limited lost motion connection without affecting the desired tightness with which said sleeve has been tightened on said threaded shaft.