Spare wheel carrier for vehicles

Claim 1

A spare wheel carrier comprising (a) a first member adapted for mounting on the rear bumper of a vehicle, (b) a second member pivotally secured at its lower end to said first member and arranged to be swung between a vertical position adjacent to said first member and a horizontal position forwardly of said bumper, (c) said second member constituted by a flanged channel member comprising a pair of side walls connected by a forwardly directed wall and having a reinforcing brace at the rear thereof extending between the side walls, and a pair of bolts in vertical alignment extending forwardly from the web thereof for mounting differently apertured hubs of a vehicle wheel thereto, (d) a spring-biased latch element, located between the side walls, pivotally mounted within said channel member at an intermediate part thereof and terminating in a hook portion for engagement with a part of said first member, (e) a resilient rod-lock operating member for said latch element having the major portion thereof extending through said channel with the lower end thereof connected to said hook portion of said latch element, and the upper end thereof extending through an opening at the upper end of said channel member and contoured in the form of a handle adapted to pull said latch element from locking engagement with said first member against the spring-bias of said latch element, (f) the terminal portion of said handle constituting a hook adapted to be moved into engagement with an opening at the top of the channel member when the operating member is deformed under stress thereby preventing accidental release of said first-mentioned latch element.