Bicycle carrier
OwnerHugh R. Higginbotham IIIinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A bicycle carrier primarily designed for transporting an off-road bicycle by a motor vehicle is designed to fit onto the trailer hitch of the motor vehicle. A channel member is supported to a support member and a cross member that fits into the trailer hitch and an upstanding post with a plurality of holes for receiving a locking pin. A locking arm is slidably mounted on the vertical post and when the bicycle is guided onto the channel member the locking arm is positioned downwardly with sufficient force to arm the shocking system of the bicycle and preload the bicycle to the carrier.
Claims9
A bicycle carrier for transporting an off-road type of bicycle includes a channel member having a channel wide enough to accommodate the width of the wheels of the bicycle, a cross member perpendicularly attached to the channel member and mounted thereto intermediate the ends of said channel member, a vertical post attached to said cross member, a locking arm slidably mounted to said vertical post, whereby said arm overlies the bicycle when the bicycle is fitted on the channel member and a pin removably mounted into one of a plurality of vertically spaced holes formed in said vertical member overlies said locking arm to prevent said locking arm from moving vertically whereby said bicycle is supported to said carrier and the cross member of said carrier is removably attached to the trailer hitch of a motor vehicle.
The method of supporting an off-road bicycle to a carrier that is mounted in the trailer hitch of a motor vehicle including the steps of
- i) providing a channel member having a channel sufficiently wide to receive the wheels of the bicycle, a cross member affixed to the channel member that fits into the trailer hitch, a vertical member attached to the cross member and a movable arm on said vertical member,
- ii) removably affixing said cross member into the trailer hitch,
- iii) placing said off-road bicycle on said channel member in a position where the seat of the bicycle is in line with the movable arm and the bicycle is between said movable arm and said channel member,
- iv) positioning the movable arm to force the seat of the bicycle to displace the shocking system of the bicycle and preload the bicycle on the bicycle carrier;
- and
- v) locking the movable arm in place subsequent to the step of iv.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.