FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a winch assist assembly system used for the safe loading or unloading of a wheelchair and passenger to a suitable vehicle conversion which may be a motability conversion taxi or ambulance. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A known vehicle winch assist assembly system is located between the front seats of a the vehicle, and has a motor to wind in a belt, on a drum, the belt being attached to a wheelchair, and so pulls the wheelchair into the back compartment of the vehicle.

The belt is subjected to substantial wear and tear over time, and needs to be replaced regularly, up to four times a year. The belt is secured to the drum by a pin which passed through a loop in the belt and is located by a hole in both the drum flanges. Access to this pin after assembly of the system into the vehicle is not possible and so, to install a new belt, the winch has to be removed from the vehicle, the motor has to be withdrawn from the drum and the drum removed from the bracket, the retaining pin can then be withdrawn, and a new belt fitted, prior to the reverse procedure to re-build the assembly.

Thus there is a need to provide an improved design of winch system which enables simplified replacement of belts.

The winch system was modified by creating a window in the mounting frame in order to gain access to the pin, but this was not successful because of inadequate space to allow the drive spigot to be withdrawn horizontally. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a vehicle having a winch assist assembly system for loading a wheelchair into the vehicle, the winch assist assembly system having a motor to rotate a drive pin, and an anchor plate to hold an end of a belt, the anchor plate being detachably secured on the drive pin by one or more elongate rods while the system is installed in the vehicle, wherein the rod(s) act as guide(s) operable to position a portion of a belt coiled on the drive pin during a coiling/uncoiling operation.

In this way, the winch assist assembly system does not have a drum unit to hold the wound-up part of the belt, the anchor plate can be detached from the drive pin with the assembly still installed in the vehicle.

Preferably, the vehicle comprises one or more of the following features:-

• each rod comprising an elongate screw and a spacer.

• the spacer is tubular to contain the screw.

• the rod has an anti abrasive low friction outer surface.

• the elongate rod(s) is/are operable to effect securing/detaching of the anchor plate with the drive pin while the winch system is installed in the vehicle.

• the rod(s) has/have a free end standing proud of nearby elements of the system to allow manual operation of that rod to secure/detach the anchor plate and the drive pin.

• the anchor plate is locatable at one end in a recess of the drive pin and another end detachably secured by a rod.

The present invention also provides a winch assist assembly system for a vehicle, the winch assist assembly system having a motor to rotate a drive pin, and an anchor plate to hold an end of a belt, the anchor plate being detachably secured on the drive pin by one or more elongate rods while the system is installed in the vehicle, wherein the rod(s) act as guide(s) operable to position a portion of a belt coiled on the drive pin during a coiling/uncoiling operation. Preferably the system comprises one or more of the following features:- each rod comprising an elongate screw and

the spacer is tubular to contain the screw.

the rod has an anti abrasive low friction outer surface.

the elongate rod(s) is/are operable to effect securing/detaching of the anchor plate with the drive pin while the system is installed in the vehicle,

the rod(s) has/have a free end standing proud of nearby elements of the system to allow manual operation of that rod to secure/detach the anchor plate and the drive pin.

a system wherein the anchor plate is locatable at one end in a recess of the drive pin and another detachably secured by a rod.

Typical prior art winch assemblies are shown in, for example published US Patent Nos US 5957433, US 2012/074364 and US 2013/334479, all of which have spindle side walls to support the belt and position/keep it central.

Thus, the rod(s), used to secure the anchor plate and so the belt on the drive pin, also provide the mechanism for keeping the belt centralised on the drive pin, thereby replacing the side walls, making them redundant, and ensuring that the belt can be easily and quickly replaced. A rod may be a screw or a screw/spacer combination.

ADVANTAGES OF THE PRESENT INVENTION An advantage of the present invention is that it eliminates the need of a drum to hold the belt.

An advantage of the present invention is that the rod(s), used to secure the anchor plate and so the belt on the drive pin, also provide the mechanism for keeping the belt centralised on the drive pin, thereby replacing the side walls, making them redundant. A further advantage of the present invention is that it provides fast, simple and easy replacement of a worn or damaged belt.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In order that the invention may more readily understood, a description is now given, by way of example only, reference being made to various embodiments of the present invention, in which: - FIGURE 1 is a schematic view of a winch assist assembly system of the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a view of part of the winch assist assembly system of Figure 1. FIGURE 3 is a view of part of a variant of the system of Figure 1. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

There is illustrated in Figures 1 and 2 a winch assist assembly system 2 which is installed in a vehicle conversion, for pulling a wheelchair or mobility scooter up a ramp at the back of the vehicle and into the rear section of the vehicle.

The winch assembly system 2 is located between the front seats of the vehicle in a fully- enclosed housing for safety reasons and has a motor 4 operable to rotate in either direction but typically anti-clockwise direction to thereby also turn an attached drive pin 6 and so cause a belt 8 (of the normal seatbelt-type material, characteristics and dimensions) to become wound around drive pin 6, and so draw up the remote end 10 of belt - and anything (e.g. a wheelchair) attached to that remote end 10 - towards and into the rear of the vehicle.

Drive pin 6 has an elongate recess 12 in only part of the periphery of pin 6, to accommodate a flat anchor plate 14 which has been passed through a stitched loop 16 formed of the belt material at the end of the belt. Anchor plate 14 is of rectangular cross-section with a through-hole 18, 20 near each end. Anchor plate 14 is secured on drive pin 6 by two caphead screws 22, 24, with a threaded end 26, 28 of each passing through a respective through-hole 18, 20 and then screwed into a screw-thread recess 30, 32 in the drive pin 6. Each screw 22, 24 passes through a respective tubular metallic spacer 34, 36 which positions the screw and also provides a smooth anti abrasive and/or low friction surface for the edge of the belt, each screw/spacer combination 22/34, 24/36 being a rod as defined in the invention. Screws 22, 24 have a Phillips-screwdriver (or other as appropriate) keying surface or cap head 38, 40 respectively to enable ready securing and detachment of anchor plate 14 on drive pin 6.

Thus, when a belt 8 needs replacing, the entire length of belt 8 is unwound from drive pin 6 so that loop 16 is accessible, screws 22, 24 are unscrewed from drive pin 6 so that anchor plate 14 is released, and loop 16 is removed from anchor plate 14. Then a new replacement belt 8 is incorporated into the winch assist assembly system 2 by feeding anchor plate 14 into loop 16 of the replacement belt 8, passing screws 22, 24 into through-holes 18, 20 and screwing the threaded ends 26, 28 of screws 22, 24 into threaded recesses 30, 32 of drive pin 6. Then winch assist assembly system 2 is ready for operation again.

Through-holes 18, 20 are suitably located on anchor plate 14 such that, when screws 22, 24 are screwed into drive pin 6, the spacers 34, 36 act as guides for ensuring that the part of belt 8 wound on drive pin 6 is tidily wound-up, thereby ensuring also that this neat arrangement is maintained as belt 8 is unwound and wound-up again. Thus, the distance between the nearest-most parts of spacers 34, 36 - when on drive pin 6 - are only slightly more than the width of belt 8.

Figure 3 shows a variant to the system of Figures 1 and 2, in which each rod comprises a screw 22', 24' alone, i.e. without a corresponding spacer, such that each screw acts to detachably secure the anchor plate 14 on the drive pin 6 and guide the belt 8 for coiling/uncoiling on drive pin 6. Each screw 22', 24' has an anti abrasive and/or low friction surface at least on an appropriate part of its outer surface for the edge of the belt, to assist in the winding/uncoiling operation.

In a modification, the system has a single rod 22, (whether having only a screw alone, or in combination with a spacer) which is at one end of anchor plate 14, with the other end of the plate engaging in a recess of drive pin 6 such that engagement of the single rod 22 ensures securing of the plate on the pin.