Back to results
US 2020/0047680 A1Published application
Accessory rack for a vehicle
AssigneeWestcott Designs Inc.
InventorJeffrey Richard Westcott
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An accessory rack for a vehicle couples to the hitch receiver of a vehicle to carry accessories on the vehicle. The accessory rack includes a base rack, a hitch coupling assembly, a first swing arm assembly and a second swing arm assembly. The first and second swing arm assemblies are hingedly and removably coupled to the base rack. The first and second swing arm assemblies swing out from the center of the base rack using hinges at the outer ends of the base rack. The first and the second swing arm assemblies carry accessory racks for different types of accessories. The base rack is coupled to the hitch coupling assembly. The hitch coupling assembly couples the base rack and the first and second swing arm assemblies to the hitch receiver of the vehicle.
Claims20
An accessory rack for a vehicle, the accessory rack comprising:
- a base rack comprising:
- an upper support rod having an upper rod first end, an upper rod second end and an upper rod longitudinal axis;
- a first hinge tube coupled to the upper rod first end, wherein the first hinge tube has a first hinge tube first end, a first hinge tube second end, and a first hinge tube longitudinal axis, and wherein the upper rod longitudinal axis is perpendicular to the first hinge tube longitudinal axis;
- a second hinge tube coupled to the upper rod second end, wherein the second hinge tube has a second hinge tube first end, a second hinge tube second end, and a second hinge tube longitudinal axis, and wherein the upper rod longitudinal axis is perpendicular to the second hinge tube longitudinal axis;
- a first lower support rod having a first lower rod first end, a first lower rod second end, and a first lower rod bend, wherein the first lower rod first end is coupled to the first hinge tube a first end distance away from the upper rod first end, wherein the first end distance is between about 0.1 inches and about 2 inches;
- a second lower support rod having a second lower rod first end, a second lower rod second end, and a second lower rod bend, wherein the second lower rod first end is coupled to the second hinge tube a second end distance away from the upper rod second end, wherein the second end distance is between about 0.1 inches and about 2 inches;
- a hitch coupling assembly comprising a receiver tube having a receiver tube longitudinal axis, wherein the receiver tube is coupled to the first lower rod second end and the second lower rod second end, and wherein the receiver tube longitudinal axis is perpendicular to the upper rod longitudinal axis and spaced apart from the upper rod longitudinal axis by a hitch distance of about 6 inches to about 10 inches;
- a first swing arm assembly removably and rotatably coupled to the first hinge tube;
- and
- a second swing arm assembly removably and rotatably coupled to the second hinge tube.
7 more elements
A vehicle having an accessory rack coupled to the vehicle, the vehicle comprising:
- a bumper, wherein the bumper has a bumper longitudinal axis;
- a hitch receiver;
- and
- the accessory rack coupled to the vehicle, wherein the accessory rack comprises:
- a hitch coupling assembly, wherein the hitch coupling assembly couples to the hitch receiver;
- and
- a first lower support rod coupled to and extending from the hitch coupling assembly towards a vehicle driver side, wherein the first lower support rod comprises:
- a first lower rod first end;
- a first lower rod second end coupled to the hitch coupling assembly;
- a first lower rod bend between the first lower rod first end and the first lower rod second end, wherein the first lower rod bend has a first lower rod inner angle of between about 160 degrees and about 168 degrees;
- a first hinge tube coupled to the first lower rod first end;
- a second lower support rod coupled to and extending from the hitch coupling assembly towards a vehicle passenger side, wherein the second lower support rod comprises:
- a second lower rod first end;
- a second lower rod second end coupled to the hitch coupling assembly;
- a second lower rod bend between the second lower rod first end and the second lower rod second end, wherein the second lower rod bend has a second lower rod inner angle of between about 160 degrees and about 168 degrees;
- a second hinge tube coupled to a second lower rod first end;
- and
- an upper support rod coupled to and extending between the first hinge tube and the second hinge tube, wherein the upper support rod has an upper rod longitudinal axis and wherein the upper rod longitudinal axis is parallel to the bumper longitudinal axis;
- a first swing arm assembly removably and rotatably coupled to the first hinge tube;
- and
- a second swing arm assembly removably and rotatably coupled to the second hinge tube.
18 more elements
A method of coupling a barbecue to a vehicle, the method comprising:
- coupling a base rack to a hitch coupling assembly, wherein the base rack comprises:
- an upper support rod having an upper rod first end, an upper rod second end and an upper rod longitudinal axis, wherein the upper rod longitudinal axis is parallel to a bumper longitudinal axis of the vehicle;
- a first hinge tube coupled to the upper rod first end;
- a second hinge tube coupled to the upper rod second end;
- a first lower support rod extending between the first hinge tube and the hitch coupling assembly;
- and
- a second lower support rod extending between the second hinge tube and the hitch coupling assembly;
- coupling the hitch coupling assembly to the vehicle, wherein the hitch coupling assembly comprises:
- a receiver tube, wherein the receiver tube is an elongate hollow tube with a rounded rectangular shaped transverse cross-section;
- a receiver wedge tube, wherein the receiver wedge tube is a hollow tube with a rounded rectangular shaped transverse cross section;
- and
- a tightening bolt and a nut that couples the receiver wedge tube to the receiver tube;
- hingedly coupling a first swing arm assembly to the first hinge tube, wherein the first swing arm assembly comprises a first swing rod having a first swing rod first end removably and rotatably coupled to the first hinge tube;
- and
- hingedly coupling a second swing arm assembly to the second hinge tube, wherein the second swing arm assembly comprises:
- a second swing rod having a second swing rod first end removably and rotatably coupled to the second hinge tube, a second swing rod second end opposing the second swing rod first end, and a second swing rod longitudinal axis;
- a first accessory support rod coupled to the second swing rod, wherein the first accessory support rod has a first support rod first end coupled to the second swing rod, a first support rod second end opposing the first support rod first end, and a first support rod longitudinal axis, wherein the first support rod longitudinal axis is perpendicular to the second swing rod longitudinal axis;
- a first angle bracket coupled to the first support rod first end, wherein the first angle bracket has a first angle bracket longitudinal axis perpendicular to the first support rod longitudinal axis;
- a second angle bracket coupled to the first support rod second end, wherein the second angle bracket has a second angle bracket longitudinal axis perpendicular to the first support rod longitudinal axis;
- a second accessory support rod coupled to the second swing rod, wherein the second accessory support rod has a second support rod first end coupled to the second swing rod, a second support rod second end opposing the second support rod first end, and a second support rod longitudinal axis, wherein the second support rod longitudinal axis is perpendicular to the second swing rod longitudinal axis;
- a third angle bracket coupled to the second support rod first end, wherein the third angle bracket has a third angle bracket longitudinal axis perpendicular to the second support rod longitudinal axis;
- and
- a fourth angle bracket coupled to the second support rod second end, wherein the fourth angle bracket has a fourth angle bracket longitudinal axis perpendicular to the second support rod longitudinal axis;
- and
- coupling a barbecue to the first, second, third and fourth angle bracket.
22 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.