Adaptive carrier insert bar assembly
AssigneeThule Sweden AB
InventorsKevin S. Bogoslofski, Keith L. Prescott
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An insert bar assembly can comprise an elongate hitch-attachment bar which in turn comprises a hitch-receiver insert portion located at an insertable end of the bar. An insert bar assembly can include an expander which accommodates attachment of the assembly to a hitch which is larger than the insert portion of the bar.
Claims17
An insert bar assembly for a hitch-rack load carrier comprising a leveraged, diagonally directed expander for securing the insert bar assembly in a rectangularly shaped hitch receiver, the insert bar assembly comprising:
- an elongate hitch-attachment bar having a length, width and height, and comprising a hitch-receiver insert portion located proximate a lead-in end of the bar;
- an expander that extends and retracts relative to an exterior surface of the hitch-receiver insert portion in response to relative motion of the expander on the bar;
- and
- a leveraging rocker-arm inter-coupling the expander, the hitch-attachment bar and a manually operable actuator for moving the expander along the hitch-receiver insert portion in response to manipulation of the actuator.
An insert bar assembly for a hitch-rack load carrier comprising an expander for securing the insert bar assembly in a hitch receiver, the insert bar assembly comprising:
- an elongate hitch-attachment bar comprising a hitch-receiver insert portion located proximate a lead-in end of the bar;
- an expander that extends and retracts relative to an exterior surface of the hitch-receiver insert portion in response to relative lateral motion of the expander along an exterior surface of the bar;
- and
- a leveraging rocker-arm inter-coupling the expander, the hitch-attachment bar and a manually operable actuator for moving the expander along the hitch-receiver insert portion in response to manipulation of the actuator.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.