Bicycle carrier
AssigneeYakima Products, Inc.
InventorAaron J. Foley
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A bicycle carrier, including a rack and a fork mount. The rack includes cross bars for mounting on a vehicle. The fork mount includes a head portion adapted to selectively clamp the fork mount to one of the cross bars, and a skewer assembly adapted to selectively secure forks of a bicycle to the head portion. The skewer assembly includes a skewer bolt, an actuator handle that is moveable between a first position and a second position, and an adjustment member threaded onto an end of the skewer bolt that permits longitudinal adjustment of the skewer assembly to accommodate different fork dimensions. The adjustment member is accessible when the actuator handle is in the first position, but is covered by the actuator handle when the actuator handle is in the second position.
Claims25
A bicycle carrier, comprising
- a rack including cross bars for mounting on a vehicle;
- and a fork mount including a head portion adapted to selectively clamp the fork mount to one of the cross bars, and a clamping assembly adapted to selectively secure forks of a bicycle to the head portion, the clamping assembly having a bolt, an actuator handle that pivots around a pivot axis between a first position and a second position, a skewer assembly having a center portion, and an adjustment member threaded onto an end of the bolt that permits longitudinal adjustment of the clamping assembly to accommodate different fork dimensions, the pivot axis of the actuator handle being located between the center portion of the skewer assembly and the adjustment member, the adjustment member being accessible when the actuator handle is in the first position, wherein the actuator handle closes over the adjustment member as it pivots into the second position, thereby blocking access to the adjustment member.
A bicycle carrier, comprising
- a rack including cross bars for mounting on a vehicle, and a fork mount including a head portion adapted to selectively clamp the fork mount to one of the cross bars, and a skewer assembly adapted to selectively secure forks of a bicycle to the head portion, the skewer assembly having:
- a skewer passing through the head portion, with a first end disposed on a first side of the head portion, and a second threaded end disposed on a second side of the head portion, the skewer having a center portion between the first end and the second threaded end;
- an actuator handle that pivots around a first axis between the first position and the second;
- a clamping member slidably mounted on the skewer bolt, and movable between a clamped position and an unclamped position, wherein moving the actuator handle from the first position to the second position causes the clamping member to move from the unclamped position to the clamped position;
- and an adjustment member that permits longitudinal adjustment of the skewer assembly to accommodate different fork dimensions, the adjustment member being accessible when the actuator handle is in the first position, wherein the actuator handle closes over the adjustment member as it pivots into the second position, thereby blocking access to the adjustment member when the actuator handle is in the second position, and wherein the first pivot axis of the actuator handle is located between the center portion of the skewer and the adjustment member.
A bicycle carrier, comprising
- a rack including cross bars for mounting on a vehicle roof;
- a fork mount including a head portion adapted to selectively clamp the fork mount to one of the cross bars, and a skewer assembly adapted to selectively secure forks of a bicycle to the head portion, the skewer assembly including a skewer bolt having a proximal end, a distal end, and a center portion, proximal and distal being defined relative to a side on which a user would manipulate the fork mount, a handle selectively moveable around a pivot axis between a clamping position and an unclamping position to clamp and unclamp a bicycle fork, the pivot axis being substantially perpendicular to the long axis of the skewer bolt, an adjustment member configured to adjust an effective length of the skewer bolt to accommodate different fork dimensions, the pivot axis being located between the center portion of the skewer bolt and the adjustment member, and a wheel tray connected to the fork mount for supporting a rear wheel of a bicycle, wherein the actuator handle closes over the adjustment member as it pivots into the second position, thereby blocking access to the adjustment member.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.