GB2413540A

GB2413540A - Support apparatus on rear bumper of a vehicle

Info

Publication number: GB2413540A
Application number: GB0507147A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Trevor Mortimer
Original assignee: Nissan Technical Centre Europe Ltd
Current assignee: Nissan Technical Centre Europe Ltd
Priority date: 2004-04-28
Filing date: 2005-04-08
Publication date: 2005-11-02
Anticipated expiration: 2025-04-08
Also published as: WO2005105523A1; EP1742817A1; GB2413540B; GB0409438D0; GB0507147D0

Abstract

An adaptor 10 is provided for detachably supporting a frame such as a bicycle rack 12 to the rear bumper of a vehicle. In one embodiment, the apparatus comprises a support, a clamp arrangement for clamping the frame to the support in a desired attitude, in use, and attachment means mounted on the support for attaching or mounting the support to a part of the vehicle rear bumper.

Description

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24 1 3540

SUPPORT APPARATUS

The present invention relates to a support apparatus and particularly, but not exclusively, to an apparatus for supporting a bicycle rack or other load carrying apparatus on a vehicle.

In order to transport a bicycle on a motorised vehicle, such as an automobile or the like, the bicycle is usually secured to a bicycle rack which is in turn secured to the vehicle. Conventional, after-market bicycle racks can be attached to a tow bar fixed to the vehicle or strapped to the rear of the car. The former option, known as ball-hitch bicycle racks, require the fitting of a ball-hitch or tow bar to the vehicle which represents a significant expense and adversely affects the aesthetics of the vehicle. The latter form of bike rack, on the other hand, are generally complicated and time consuming to fit to the vehicle and present the risk of damage to the rear of the car by the rack which, of necessity, must rest against the bodywork or rear screen of the car.

The present invention seeks to provide a supporting apparatus for a vehicle which addresses the problems associated with the prior art and permits one or more bicycles, or other objects, to be carried on the vehicle. Embodiments of the invention provide an adaptor for securing a bicycle rack or other load carrying apparatus to a vehicle.

Accordingly, the present invention provides an apparatus for detachably securing a frame, such as a bicycle rack, to a rear bumper of a vehicle, the apparatus comprising: a support; a clamp arrangement for clamping the frame to the support, the clamp arrangement being mounted on the support so as, in use, to retain the frame in a desired attitude; and attachment means mounted on the support for attaching or mounting the support to a part of the vehicle rear bumper.

In one embodiment of the invention the clamp arrangement comprises a first clamp having first and second clamp jaws at least one of which is movable towards and away from the other between a first, clamping position of the clamp for clamping a first part of the frame therebetween and a second, release position of the clamp.

The clamp arrangement may comprise a second clamp having first and second clamp jaws at least one of which is movable towards and away from the other between a first, clamping position of the clamp for clamping a second part of the frame therebetween and a second, release position of the clamp.

The position of the or each clamp may be adjustable on the support. The first and second parts of the frame may comprise frame members which, in use, may be arranged generally vertically or generally horizontally.

The clamp arrangement may be mounted on the support so as, in use, to retain the frame in a generally upright attitude.

The or each clamp may be mounted for sliding movement on the support such that in use the position of the clamp is slidably adjustable in a direction laterally of the vehicle.

In a further embodiment of the invention the first and second clamp jaws are movable towards and away from one another between the clamping and release positions. The first and second clamp jaws are mounted on the support for sliding movement towards and away from one another between the clamping and release positions.

The attachment means may comprise an elongate member engageable through a through-hole in the bumper reinforcement and securing means for securing the member to the bumper or part thereof. In one embodiment, the apparatus is secured to a reinforcement member of the bumper such as a conventionally fitted reinforcement bar.

The present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a perspective exploded view of an adaptor embodying the invention together with a reinforcement of a vehicle rear bumper and a bicycle rack; Figure 2 is an enlarged perspective view of the adaptor of Figure 1; Figure 3 is an enlarged view of a clamp of the adaptor of Figure 2; Figure 4 is a perspective view showing one method of securing the adaptor of Figure 1 to the bumper reinforcement; and Figure 5 is a partial section through the reinforcement of Figure 4 along the line 5- 5.

Referring to Figure 1, this shows in perspective view a form of adaptor 10 embodying the present invention, the adaptor being used to secure a bicycle rack 12 to a reinforcement 14 which is provided at the rear of a motorised vehicle (not shown in the drawing) behind the rear bumper fascia. The reinforcement 14 is part of the vehicle structure and is fitted during vehicle manufacture.

The bicycle rack 12 is a conventional ball hitch bicycle rack and as can be seen from the drawing consists of a framework of vertical and horizontal bars 16, 18 to which one or more bicycles can be secured. Such bicycle racks can have a variety of structures and shapes but all have in common vertical bars to which a bicycle can be secured. In the illustrated bicycle rack 12 two central, vertical bars 20 are provided and are joined at their upper ends.

Referring now to Figure 2, the adaptor 10 has a support 30 which in the illustrated example is formed by a framework of bars or tubular members, conveniently of aluminium. The support 30 has two parallel side frames 32a, 32b. The side frames of the adaptor are identical and only the right hand side frame 32a as seen in Figure 3 is described here in detail. It will be appreciated, of course, that although for convenience the side frames are identical, they need not be.

The side frame 32a has a front end 34a and a rear end 36a with an upper generally horizontal bar 38a and a lower, generally horizontal bar 40a. Vertical bars 42a and 46a at the front and rear ends 34a, 36a rigidly interconnect the upper and lower bars 38a, 40a and an additional vertical bar 44a is provided at an intermediate location 48a. In the illustrated adaptor the lower bar 40a is bent at 48a to form an included angle of less than 180 and may be formed by two bars joined lengthwise or by providing a bend in a single bar. For the purposes of convenience bar 40a is described here as a single bar. The upper bar 38a has a rear, free end portion 35a which extends beyond the rear end of the lower bar 40a and is formed with an outer screw-thread.

As can be seen from Figure 2 the side frame 32a is effectively separated into two portions, a rear portion 56a and a front portion 58a. The front portion is in the shape of a trapezium whilst the rear portion 56a is generally rectangular.

The two side frames 32a, 32b are rigidly interconnected at their front ends 34 by upper and lower bars 50 interconnecting the two side frames. Additional rigidity is given to the support by further, generally horizontal upper and lower bars 52 which interconnect the side frames intermediate their ends at the location of the vertical bars 46, and an upper diagonal bar 54. It will, of course, be appreciated that additional strengthening bars may be provided.

The horizontal bars 50 at the front end of the support carry a clamp arrangement in the form of two clamps 70, 72 for clamping the support to the bicycle rack shown in Figure 1. The two clamps are identical and only the left hand clamp 70 as seen in Figure 2 is described in detail.

Clamp 70 has two clamp jaws or blocks 74a, 74b which are conveniently rectangular in shape. Each of these blocks is mounted on the support for sliding movement laterally of the support.

An enlarged view of the clamp 70 is shown in Figure 3 and in the illustrated embodiment the two clamp blocks 74a, 74b are actually slidably mounted on the bars 50 which pass through respective through- holes in the clamp blocks. It will be appreciated that the trapezium shape of the front portion 58 of each side frame 32 allows a greater separation of the bars 50 for better support of the clamps 70, 72 and the supported bicycle rack whilst allowing the rear portions 56 of the side frames to be relatively compact for attachment to the vehicle reinforcement 14.

The clamp blocks 74a, 74b have opposing major faces 76a, 76b with a vertically extending channel 78a, 78b formed in each surface 76a, 76b. The channels can be of any suitable shape to enable the clamp blocks 74a, 74b to clamp a vertical bar of the bicycle rack between them. The channels shown in Figure 3 are semi circular in cross-section but could be of any suitable shape, for example V-shaped.

The surfaces of the channels may also be provided with small protuberances, lacerations or other discontinuities in the surface to facilitate the clamping and holding of a vertical bar of the bicycle rack. In the clamp illustrated in Figure 3, an insert 80a, 80b is provided and this may be of any suitable material to assist in gripping the vertical bar of the bicycle rack or may, indeed, be a softer, pliant or resilient material which prevents damage to the vertical bar 16 when clamped in position.

As has been described earlier, each clamp block is slidable along the bars 50 and is locked in position by a locking mechanism in the form of a respective screw threaded bolt 82 which has a knurled head for finger tightening and can be screwed into the clamp block to engage against the bar 50 and lock the clamp block in position on the bar 50. A similar screw-threaded bolt 84 is provided in the major outer face of each clamp block 74a, 74b to engage the vertical bar 20 when screwed into the clamp block and secure the vertical bar in position.

It will be appreciated that other types of locking mechanisms can be used. For example, the opposing side faces 88a, 88b and 90a, 90b of the clamp blocks can be provided with toggle clips or catches to lock the two clamp blocks together and clamp the bar there between.

It is not essential to provide a locking mechanism on the clamps for locking the clamp blocks in position on the bars 50 and the clamp blocks could be positioned along the bars 50 by way of clips or split pins, for example, engaging through through-holes in the bars 50. If the bars 50 are provided with through-holes at S regular intervals along their length, a respective split pin on the outer or inner sides of each clamp would be sufficient to prevent or restrict unwanted movement of the] two clamps along the bars 50 when clamped to a bicycle rack.

Referring to Figures 4 and 5, these illustrate how the apparatus may be attached or] mounted to the vehicle. To this end, attachment means, comprising end portions 35a, 35b of the upper bars 38a, 38b of the support, extend through holes 22a, 22b in the reinforcement 14 so as to mount the apparatus thereto substantially rigidly.

The vertical bar 46a, 46b of each side frame serves as an abutment to limit the extension of the upper bars 38a, 38b through the holes and also as one "jaw" or clamp member of a clamp to enable the support to be clamped in place. A nut 92 forms the other "jaw" or clamp member and is threaded onto the end portion 35 of the upper bar, with a spring washer 94, to clamp the adaptor to the reinforcement 14. The bolts can be prevented from being loosened through vibration by clips 96 or split pins in a conventional manner. I The nuts 92 can be butterfly nuts for ease of attachment and removal. I Various other forms of locking mechanism can be used to lock the end portions 35 of the upper bars 38 to the reinforcement 14 such as quick release toggle bolts.

In order to mount a bicycle rack to a vehicle using the illustrated adaptor, two holes 100, 102 firstly need to be cut in the bumper fascia. These holes are spaced apart by the distance separating the side frames and are large enough to allow passage of the rear frame portions 56. The shape of the side frames as previously mentioned allows the rear frame portions 56 to be of relatively small vertical dimension so that the holes 100, 102 need not be too large. Co-operating through holes 22a, 22b also need to be drilled in the reinforcement 14, aligned with the upper portions of the holes 100, 102 such that when the rear frame portions 56a, 56b of the side frames are inserted through the holes 100, 102, the free ends of the I upper bars 36a, 36b engage and pass through the throughholes in the reinforcement to enable the adaptor to be bolted in place by the bolts 92. The holes in the fascia and the reinforcement can be provided during manufacture of I the vehicle and closed with cosmetically acceptable clips or inserts, or can be drilled during mounting of the adaptor.

The clamp blocks 74a, 74b of each clamp 70, 72 are loosened to allow free sliding movement along the bars 50 and two of the vertical bars 20 of the bicycle rack are positioned between respective clamp blocks of the two clamps. The clamp blocks are then locked together to clamp the bicycle rack to the adaptor and the positions of the clamps 70, 72 on the bars 50 are fixed by the associated locking mechanisms.

It will also be appreciated that the shape of the side frames and the frame portions I 48, 50 are not critical and can be varied from that shown in the drawing. Indeed, the term "frame" used herein is not intended to be limiting and it is envisaged that I a load carrying apparatus other than a bicycle rack could be mounted on the vehicle by means of the invention.

The invention provides a number of advantages. In particular, it will be I appreciated that the apparatus permits the use of conventional ball- hitch type bicycle racks whilst removing the need to fit a ball-hitch or tow-bar to the vehicle.

Moreover, the apparatus may function as an adapter for securely attaching or mounting an existing bicycle rack or other support structure to the vehicle. The simplicity and versatility of the clamping arrangement enables various styles or designs of racks or other load carrying devices to be mounted to the vehicle.

The apparatus can be fitted to, and removed from, the vehicle quickly and easily and, since it can be fitted such that no part of the adaptor or the bicycle bears against the bodywork or panels of the vehicle, damage to the vehicle paintwork is kept to a minimum. The simple nature of the adaptor ensures that manufacturing costs are relatively low. I

Claims

Claims 1 An apparatus for detachably supporting a frame such as a bicycle

rack to a rear bumper of a vehicle, the adaptor comprising: a support; a clamp arrangement for clamping the frame to the support, the clamp arrangement being mounted on the support so as, in use, to retain the frame in a desired attitude; I and attachment means mounted on the support for attaching or mounting the support to a part of the vehicle rear bumper.
2 An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein the clamp arrangement comprises a first clamp having first and second clamp jaws at least one of which is movable towards and away from the other between a first, clamping position of the clamp fir clamping a first part of the frame therebetween and a second, release position of the clamp.
3 An apparatus as claimed in claim 2 wherein the clamp arrangement comprises a second clamp having first and second clamp jaws at least one of which is movable towards and away from the other between a first, clamping position of the clamp for clamping a second part of the frame therebetween and a second, release position of the clamp.
4 An apparatus as claimed in claim 2 or 3 wherein the position of the or each clamp is adjustable on the support.
An apparatus as claimed in claim 4 wherein the or each the clamp is mounted for sliding movement on the support such that in use the position of the clamp is slidably adjustable in a direction laterally of the vehicle.
6 An apparatus as claimed in any of claims 2 to 5 wherein the first and second clamp jaws are movable towards and away from one another between the clamping and release positions.
7 An apparatus as claimed in claim 6 wherein the first and second clamp jaws are mounted on the support for sliding movement towards and away from one another between the clamping and release positions.
8 An apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the attachment means is arranged to attach or mount the support to a bumper reinforcement of the vehicle rear bumper.
9 An apparatus as claimed in any of claims 1 to 8 wherein the attachment means comprises an elongate member engageable through a through-hole in the bumper reinforcement and securing means for securing the apparatus to the reinforcement.

An apparatus constructed and arranged substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings.