Vehicle mounted article carrier rack
AssigneeSteel Horse Automotive Accessories, Inc.
InventorsDonn Van Dusen, Jerry Hughes
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The vehicle mounted article carrier rack mounts equipment to the back end of a vehicle. A base arm is formed having an acute angle such that when the base arm is secured to a receiver hitch of a vehicle, the base arm sweeps back towards the rear of the vehicle. A swing arm is pivotally connected to the base arm and also pivotally connected to a vertical article carrier arm. The swept-back design assures that the article carrier rack remains within the width of the vehicle when in a closed position, yet when open, swings out of the way to allow access to the vehicle's rear cargo area. The vertical article carrier arm pivots downwards to lower articles to, or raise articles from, the ground.
Claims39
An article carrier rack comprising:
- a base arm having a pivot end and a mounting end for removable mounting to a vehicle;
- an article carrier arm operatively connected to the base arm;
- wherein an acute angle is formed between the mounting end and the pivot end of the base arm.
The rack of claimed 12, wherein:
- the article carrier arm is pivotally connected to the support base by means of a pivot pin passing through the article carrier arm and the support base and is secured against pivoting by a pin passing through the article carrier arm and the support base.
A vehicle and article carrier rack combination comprising:
- a base arm having a mounting end and a pivot end, the base arm mounting end removably attaching the base arm to a vehicle;
- an article carrier arm operatively connected to the base arm;
- wherein an acute angle is formed between the mounting end and the pivot end of the base arm so that the base arm is swept-back towards the vehicle.
A method for using a article carrier rack with a vehicle, comprising the steps of:
- securing a bicycle to the vehicle;
- accessing a cargo or passenger area of the vehicle by pivoting a swing arm portion of the rack from a position oblique relative to a bumper of the vehicle to a position wherein a longitudinal axis of the swing arm forms an obtuse angle relative to the bumper.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.