Support trough
OwnerRoger E Crowley, James Bruce McMenamyinventors
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An equipment hauling apparatus for a vehicle comprises a tang assembly with a longitudinal portion having through-apertures for a typical receiver hitch and a vertical portion for holding a strut assembly. The strut attaches to a transverse trough for holding the equipment. The trough has sidewalls and a floor and cutouts which pass through these features. The ends of the trough have tabs with a lead-in angle for centering the equipment as it is loaded into the trough. The tabs have holes for receiving latch pins to lock the equipment within the trough for transport, and the latch pins are loosely attached to the trough by lanyards to prevent their misplacement. The strut and trough elevation is adjustable at its connection to the tang.
Claims19
A trough comprising:
- first and second walls each extending in
- a first direction and in a second direction orthogonal to said first direction,
- said first and second walls each also having first and second edges extending along said second direction from a first end to a second end,
- said first and second walls also spaced apart in a third direction orthogonal to both said first and said second directions,
- said first wall further comprising a first proximal tab at said first end of said second edge of said first wall and said second wall further comprising a second proximal tab at said first end of said second edge of said second wall,
- with mutually inward facing surfaces of said first and second proximal tabs subtending a first included angle and
- a floor spanning between said first edges of said first and said second walls and extending along said first direction from said first end of said second wall to said second end of said second wall;
- said trough further comprising:
- a first cutout having a cross section parallel to said floor and passing through said first and second edges of said first wall and a first portion of said floor,
- a second cutout having a cross section parallel to said floor and passing through said first and second edges of said first wall and a second portion of said floor, and
- a third cutout having a cross section parallel to said second wall and passing through said second edge of said first wall.
An equipment hauling apparatus for a vehicle comprising:
- a tang assembly further comprising
- a longitudinal portion having a first set of at least one transverse through-aperture and
- a vertical portion having a second set of at least one transverse through-aperture,
- a strut assembly comprising
- a proximal end having a tang-receiving aperture with a third set of at least one transverse through-aperture registerable with said second set and
- a distal end affixed to a second transverse wall of a transverse trough, said trough further comprising:
- a first transverse wall and a transverse floor,
- a first cutout having a cross section parallel to said transverse floor and passing through first and second edges of said first transverse wall and a first portion of said transverse floor,
- a second cutout having a cross section parallel to said transverse floor and passing through said first and second edges of said first transverse wall and a second portion of said transverse floor, and
- a third cutout having a cross section parallel to said second transverse wall and passing through said second edge of said first transverse wall.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.