Patent Application
20230174173
Various types of construction vehicles are utilized on construction sites, such as excavators, bulldozers, loaders, dump trucks, and/or others. Such construction vehicles are often refueled utilizing a refueling system that is affixed to another vehicle, such as a pickup truck of a construction superintendent, overseer, or foreman. For example, a foreman's pickup truck may include a fuel tank that resides in the truck bed. A pump and hose may be connected to the fuel tank within the truck bed. To refuel a construction vehicle, the hose may be extended over the side of the truck bed toward a fuel inlet of the construction vehicle, and the pump may be activated to facilitate transportation of fuel from the fuel tank to the fuel reservoir of the construction vehicle.
Existing refueling systems that are mountable on pickup trucks suffer from a number of shortcomings. For instance, storing the fuel pump and hose in the truck bed with the fuel tank occupies otherwise usable space of the truck bed. Also, storing the fuel hose in the truck bed can result in a cumbersome refueling process, requiring users to gather the fuel hose from the back of the truck, uncoil the hose, perform the refueling, recoil the hose, and return the hose to the back of the truck. Furthermore, when fuel leaks occur, fuel often spills into the truck bed, which can be aesthetically unappealing, can damage other materials or tools positioned within the truck bed, and/or can render portions of the truck bed unusable until the fuel spill is addressed. Still furthermore, extending the fuel hose over the side of the pickup truck bed can scratch and/or deposit debris on the side of the pickup truck.
For many construction entities, pickup trucks used for refueling construction vehicles are operated by foremen, superintendents, owners, and/or other overseeing/managing individuals. Such individuals often utilize their pickup trucks for other purposes in addition to refueling, such as interfacing with clientele, business partners, investors, suppliers, and/or others. As noted above, existing refueling systems can degrade the aesthetic of pickup trucks (e.g., hose storage and/or fuel spills within the truck bed, scratches and/or debris on the side of the truck, etc.). Thus, when a refueling truck operator uses a pickup truck with a conventional refueling system to interface with customers (or others), the customers' perception of the refueling truck operator (and/or the business entity associated with the refueling truck operator) can be affected by the aesthetic damage wrought upon the pickup truck by the conventional refueling system.
Accordingly, there is an ongoing need and desire for improved refueling systems that can be implemented on pickup trucks.
The subject matter claimed herein is not limited to embodiments that solve any disadvantages or that operate only in environments such as those described above. Rather, this background is only provided to illustrate one exemplary technology area where some embodiments described herein may be practiced.
In order to describe the manner in which the advantages and/or features described herein can be obtained, a particular description of the subject matter disclosed herein will be rendered by reference to specific embodiments and/or components, which are illustrated in the appended drawings. Understanding that these drawings depict only example embodiments/components and are not therefore to be considered limiting in scope, embodiments/components will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail through the use of the accompanying drawings in which:
Disclosed embodiments are generally directed to housings and/or hose reel systems that are mountable within spare tire cavities of vehicles (e.g., pickup trucks). At least some disclosed embodiments are generally directed to a method for mounting a housing and/or hose reel system within a spare tire cavity of a vehicle.
Those skilled in the art will recognize, in view of the present disclosure, that at least some of the disclosed embodiments may be implemented to address various shortcomings associated with at least some conventional vehicle-mounted refueling systems. The following section outlines some example improvements and/or practical applications provided by the disclosed embodiments. It will be appreciated, however, that the following are examples only and that the embodiments described herein are in no way limited to the example improvements discussed herein.
Many pickup trucks include after-market wheels, especially those used by construction superintendents, foreman, owners, and the like. In many instances, the spare tire/wheel provided by the pickup truck manufacturer is incompatible with the after-market wheels obtained by the pickup truck owner/operator. Thus, spare tires on pickup trucks are often rendered functionally obsolete and go unused by pickup truck owner/operators.
Spare tires on pickup trucks are typically stored on an underside of the pickup truck within a spare tire cavity, with the spare tire held in place by a spare tire mounting bracket of the pickup truck. Typically, the spare tire mounting bracket is connected to a cable suspended from a middle portion of the spare tire cavity of the pickup truck. The spare tire mounting bracket inserts through the centerbore of the spare tire. After entry through the centerbore of the spare tire, opposing engagement members of the spare tire mounting bracket are brought into contact with the center disc of the spare tire such that, when tension is applied to the cable connected to the spare tire mounting bracket, the spare tire mounting bracket pulls the spare tire into the spare tire cavity and retains the spare tire therein. Tension is typically applied to the cable via a tensioning system of the pickup truck, which is often accessible from a rear of the pickup truck and actuatable utilizing a tool provided with the pickup truck (e.g., a spare tire iron, which may include an end that is insertable into a slot at the rear of the pickup truck, whereupon rotation of the spare tire iron may facilitate actuation of the tensioning system).
In view of the foregoing, in many instances, spare tires on pickup trucks (e.g., pickup trucks used by construction foreman, superintendents, owners, and the like) can be removed to advantageously render the spare tire cavity or space available for other uses.
At least some implementations of the present disclosure include hose reel system configured to reside in spare cavity tire and to be secured therein using the mounting hardware of the truck for securing a spare tire within the cavity. The hose reel system is configured to connect to a reservoir that resides within the truck bed of the reservoir. A hose of the hose reel system may be accessible from the rear of the truck and extendable therefrom. In this way, the hose reel system may facilitate access and/or extraction of fuel from the reservoir of the truck bed without use of a fuel hose that resides within the truck bed and extends over the side of the truck bed. Instead, the fuel can travel to the hose reel system residing within the spare tire cavity, and a hose may extend from the hose reel system from the rear of the truck to facilitate refueling of proximate construction equipment.
By utilizing a hose reel system in accordance with the present disclosure, the unappealing aesthetic of coiled fuel hoses residing within the beds of construction pickup trucks may be avoided. Furthermore, damage and/or soiling of truck bed interiors and/or sides may be at least partially avoided, in particular because the fuel hose need not reside within the truck bed or extend over the side of the truck bed to reach proximate construction equipment for refueling.
Further advantageously, hose reel systems of the present disclosure may be mounted within a pickup truck spare tire cavity utilizing the existing spare tire mounting hardware of the pickup truck (e.g., the spare tire mounting bracket, cable, tensioning system etc.). Thus, in many instances, pickup trucks may receive the disclosed hose reel systems without undergoing significant hardware modifications.
Although the present disclosure focuses, in at least some respects, on hose reel systems that are mountable within spare tire cavities of pickup trucks, embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited thereto. For example, at least some implementations of the present disclosure are directed to a housing that is mountable within a spare tire cavity of a pickup truck via a bracket receiving element of the housing. Such a housing may define an interior space which may store or house any suitable device(s), component(s), tool(s), and/or apparatus(es) (e.g., not limited to hose reels).
Having just described some of the various high-level features and benefits of the disclosed embodiments, attention will now be directed to
Attention is now directed to
The housing 100 of
In some instances, the bracket receiving element 110 is connected or selectively connectable to the cover 104 of the housing 100. For example, in some implementations, where the bracket receiving element 110 is selectively connectable to the cover 104, a user may cause the bracket receiving element to receive the spare tire mounting bracket of a vehicle and subsequently selectively connect the bracket receiving element 110 to the housing 100 (e.g., via removable bolts) prior to operating the tensioning system of the vehicle to cause the spare tire mounting bracket (and housing 100) to ascend into the spare tire cavity. In some implementations, the bracket receiving element 110 is not directly connected to the cover 104 and/or housing 100 and is instead connected a device secured within the housing 100, such as a hose reel.
As is shown in
In some implementations, as shown in
For instance,
The bracket receiving element 310 of the housing 300 may similarly be configured to receive and retain a spare tire mounting bracket of a vehicle. For example, to facilitate entry of the spare tire mounting bracket through the opening 316, the spare tire mounting bracket may be oriented such that the longest dimension of the spare tire mounting bracket (e.g., extending between opposing engagement members of the spare tire mounting bracket) is substantially perpendicular to or otherwise angularly offset from a plane defined by the opening 316. Stated differently, the shortest dimension of the spare tire mounting bracket may be aligned to be substantially parallel with a plane defined by the opening 316 to allow the spare tire mounting bracket to fit through the opening. With such an orientation, the spare tire mounting bracket may be advanced through the opening 316. After entry, the spare tire mounting bracket may be rotated to bring the engagement members of the spare tire mounting bracket into contact with the upper wall 314 of the bracket receiving element 310.
Although the bracket receiving elements 110 and 310 of
As noted above, the housings 100 and 300 may be configured to house one or more devices, such as a hose reel. The example housing 100 of
In the example of
In alternative implementations, a second opening for facilitating access to a device housed by a housing may be positioned on a bottom portion of the housing (e.g., on a bottom cover of the housing).
In some implementations, the hose reel 150, 350 is mounted to an interior of a sidewall 102, 302 of the housing 100, 300. A hose reel 150, 350 may additionally or alternatively be configured to be mounted to any number of other surfaces of a housing 100, 300 (e.g., a cover 104 and/or 304 and/or a bottom cover).
In at least some of the examples discussed above, the bracket receiving elements 110 and 310 of the housings 100 and 300 are mounted directly to the housings 100 and 300, respectively (e.g., to the top covers 104 and 304 of the housings 100 and 300). In contrast, in some instances, the bracket receiving elements 110 and/or 310 may be mounted directly to a hose reel (or other device) mounted within the housings 100 and/or 300, such as hose reels 150 and/or 350. For instance, a bracket receiving element 110 and/or 310 may be mounted directly to a top portion of a hose reel housed within the housings 100 and/or 300. In some instances, to facilitate direct connection between a bracket receiving element and a top portion of a hose reel (or other device), a cover of a housing includes a bracket opening through which the bracket receiving element is configured to extend (e.g., to protrude upward from the hose reel and/or housing).
To facilitate fluid passage between the fuel reservoir of a vehicle and the hose 152 of the hose reel 150 of the housing 100, the supply hose 162 and/or the swivel connection element 160 may be configured to pass through one or more supply openings on the bracket receiving element 110 and/or on another portion of the housing 100. For instance, the opening 206 (see
The housing 300 may similarly include a swivel connection element (not shown), supply hose 362, and/or a supply opening to facilitate fluid passage between a fuel reservoir of a vehicle and the hose 352 of the hose reel 350 of the housing 300. In the example of
In alternative implementations, the opening 316 of the bracket receiving element 310 may serve as a supply opening through which the supply hose 362 and/or the swivel connection element of the hose reel 350 may extend. In some instances, a bracket opening of a cover 104, 304 of a housing 100, 300 may be regarded as a supply opening through which a supply hose and/or the swivel connection element may extend.
In addition, or as an alternative, to the foregoing examples, one or more supply openings may be formed on any surface of the bracket receiving element 110, 310 and/or other portions of the housing 100, 300. For instance, a supply opening may additionally or alternatively be formed in a sidewall of a bracket receiving element (e.g., sidewalls 202 and/or 312 of bracket receiving elements 110 and 310, respectively). As another example, a supply opening may be formed in a sidewall of a housing (e.g., sidewalls 102 and/or 302 of housings 100 and/or 300, respectively).
In some instances, only the supply hose extends through a supply opening of the housing and/or bracket receiving element, whereas the swivel connection element does not extend through a supply opening of the housing and/or bracket receiving element. For example, a swivel connection element may be entirely contained within the interior space of the housing 100 and/or 300 (e.g., without extending outward from the housing and/or into the interior space of the bracket receiving element), and the supply hose may extend through one or more supply openings positioned anywhere on the housing 100 and/or 300 and/or the bracket receiving element 110 and/or 310 to reach the swivel connection element.
Conversely, in some instances, only the swivel connection element extends through a supply opening of the housing and/or bracket receiving element, whereas the supply hose does not extend through a supply opening of the housing and/or bracket receiving element. For example, a swivel connection element may extend through a supply opening on a bottom surface of the housing 100 and/or 300 (e.g., on a bottom cover of the housing 100 and/or 300), and the supply hose may connect to the swivel connection element outside of the housing 100 and/or 300 without passing through a supply opening of the housing 100 and/or 300. In such implementations, a protective plate may be affixed to the housing over the swivel connection element and/or the supply hose to prevent damage thereto.
In view of the foregoing, a swivel connection element may be positioned on various portions of a housing 100 and/or 300 or device positioned therein. For example, as noted above, a swivel connection element may be positioned on a bottom surface of the housing 100 and/or 300 (or directly to a bottom of the hose reel positioned within the housing 100 and/or 300). In some implementations, the swivel connection element is positioned on a top portion of the housing 100 and/or 300 (or directly to a top of the hose reel positioned within the housing 100 and/or 300). In some instances, when the swivel connection element is positioned on the top portion of the housing 100 and/or 300 (or directly to the top of the hose reel), at least a portion of the swivel connection element is at least partially surrounded by the sidewall(s) of the bracket receiving element 110 and/or 310. For example, the swivel connection element may be positioned at least partially within an interior space formed by the bracket receiving element 110 and/or 310 to limit the number and/or location of protrusions extending outward from the housing.
In some implementations, the upper wall 204, 314 of the bracket receiving element 110, 310 of the housing 100, 300 is situated offset from (e.g., above) the cover 104, 304 and/or the sidewall 102, 302 of the housing 100, 300. In some implementations, a cover 104, 304 of a housing 100, 300 comprises a concave profile (as shown in
As noted above, a housing 100, 300 may comprise a bottom cover 402 (see
A housing and/or components thereof may be formed from any suitable material or combination of materials, such as, by way of non-limiting example, aluminum, steel, combinations/alloys thereof, one or more polymers (e.g., high-density polyethylene) and/or others. In some instances, the thickness of the walls of the housing may be within a range of about ⅛ inch to about ¼ inch, however thicknesses outside of this range are within the scope of the present disclosure. One or more portions of a housing may be coated with any suitable coating, such as, by way of non-limiting example, a rust and/or corrosion preventive/protective coating, a thermal insulation coating (e.g., a BELZONA coating), paint, and/or others.
Hoses discussed herein (e.g., a hose and/or supply hose of a hose reel) may comprise any number of connected hose elements defining a fluid conduit.
In some implementations, a bracket receiving element of a housing (e.g., for at least partially enclosing a hose reel) is implemented as an opening in the top cover of the housing that directly receives a spare tire mounting bracket (e.g., without vertical sidewalls offsetting the bracket receiving opening from the top cover). Stated differently, a bracket opening of a cover (e.g., cover 104, 304) may be regarded as a bracket receiving element in some implementations.
The following discussion now refers to example methods and method acts that may be performed using systems that include components as disclosed herein. Although the method acts are discussed in a certain order, no particular ordering is required unless specifically stated, or required because an act is dependent on another act being completed prior to the act being performed. One will appreciate that certain embodiments of the present disclosure may omit one or more of the acts described herein.
Act 504 of flow diagram 500 includes removing the spare tire from the spare tire mounting bracket (e.g., where a spare tire is initially secured by the spare tire mounting bracket).
Act 506 of flow diagram 500 includes inserting the spare tire mounting bracket through an opening of a bracket receiving element of a hose reel system (e.g., a hose reel 150, 350 housed by a housing 100 and/or 300, as described herein). The hose reel system may include a housing sized and shaped to fit within the spare tire cavity of the vehicle (e.g., housing 100 and/or 300), a hose reel disposed within the housing (e.g., hose reel 150, 350), and the bracket receiving element (e.g., bracket receiving element 110 and/or 310). The bracket receiving element may include one or more sidewalls (e.g., sidewalls 202 and/or 312), one or more upper walls (e.g., upper walls 204 and/or 314) connected to the one or more sidewalls, and the opening (e.g., openings 206 and/or 316) configured to receive the spare tire mounting bracket.
Act 508 includes actuating the tensioning system to raise the spare tire mounting bracket with the hose reel system connected thereto, thereby causing the hose reel system to become secured within the spare tire cavity of the vehicle.
One will also appreciate that any feature or operation disclosed herein may be combined with any one or combination of the other features and operations disclosed herein. Additionally, the content or feature in any one of the figures may be combined or used in connection with any content or feature used in any of the other figures. In this regard, the content disclosed in any one figure is not mutually exclusive and instead may be combinable with the content from any of the other figures.
Certain terms are used throughout the description and claims to refer to particular methods, features, or components. As those having ordinary skill in the art will appreciate, different persons may refer to the same methods, features, or components by different names. This disclosure does not intend to distinguish between methods, features, or components that differ in name but not function. The figures are not necessarily drawn to scale. Certain features and components herein may be shown in exaggerated scale or in somewhat schematic form and some details of conventional elements may not be shown or described in interest of clarity and conciseness.
Although various example embodiments have been described in detail herein, many modifications are possible in the example embodiments without materially departing from the concepts of present disclosure. Accordingly, any such modifications are intended to be included in the scope of this disclosure. Likewise, while the disclosure herein contains many specifics, these specifics should not be construed as limiting the scope of the disclosure or of any of the appended claims, but merely as providing information pertinent to one or more specific embodiments that may fall within the scope of the disclosure and the appended claims. Any described features from the various embodiments disclosed may be employed in combination. In addition, other embodiments of the present disclosure may also be devised which lie within the scopes of the disclosure and the appended claims. Each addition, deletion, and modification to the embodiments that falls within the meaning and scope of the claims is to be embraced by the claims.
Certain embodiments and features may have been described using a set of numerical upper limits and a set of numerical lower limits. Ranges including the combination of any two values, e.g., the combination of any lower value with any upper value, the combination of any two lower values, and/or the combination of any two upper values are contemplated unless otherwise indicated. Certain lower limits, upper limits and ranges may appear in one or more claims below. Any numerical value is “about” or “approximately” the indicated value, and takes into account experimental error and variations that would be expected by a person having ordinary skill in the art.
The terms first, second, third and the like may be used for distinguishing between similar elements and not necessarily for describing a sequential or chronological order. The terms are interchangeable under appropriate circumstances and the embodiments of the invention can be practiced in sequences other than those described or illustrated herein.
The terms “topmost,” “upper,” “bottommost,” “lower,” “above,” “below,” and the like in the description and in the claims are also used for purposes of example and are not necessarily used to describe relative positions. These terms are interchangeable under appropriate circumstances and the embodiments of the invention described herein can be practiced in other orientations than described or illustrated herein.
In addition, the various embodiments which may be described as “preferred embodiments” are to be construed as merely illustrative of ways and modes for carrying out the invention and not as limitations on the scope of the invention.
The terms “comprising”, “including”, or “having” as used in the claims should not be interpreted as being limited to the means or steps mentioned thereafter. The terms are to be interpreted as specifying the presence of the stated features, elements, steps, or components as referred to, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, steps or components, or groups thereof. Thus, the scope of the expression “an apparatus or device comprising means A and B” should not be taken as being limited to an apparatus or device consisting only of components A and B. It is intended that for the purposes of this disclosure, only the parts A and B of the device are specifically mentioned, but the claims should be further construed to include equivalents of these parts.
Any reference herein to singular components or features may additionally or alternatively refer to pluralities of the components or features. Similarly, any reference herein to pluralities of components or features may additionally or alternatively refer to singular components or features.
The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from its spirit or characteristics. The described embodiments are to be considered in all respects only as illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of the invention is, therefore, indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description. All changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are to be embraced within their scope.
This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/287,356, filed on Dec. 8, 2021, and entitled “SPARE TIRE CAVITY HOSE REEL SYSTEM”, the entirety of which is incorporated herein by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63287356 | Dec 2021 | US |
