NZ560832A - Carrying rack with pivotal upright portion and pivotal lateral portions - Google Patents

Abstract

A carrying rack, typically for bicycles, is disclosed having at least one support member for supporting at least one object to be carried and at least one upright member attached to the support member(s) at an upper end and to a vehicle at a lower end. The support member(s) is foldable about a horizontal axis only from a use position transverse to the upright member to a non-use position where there is alignment with the support and upright members. Additionally the upright member is reversibly tiltable away from the vehicle to a non-use position while the upright member is attached to the vehicle.

Description

Received by 1PONZ 28 June 2010 560832 PATENTS FORM NO. 5 Fee No. 4: $250.00 PATENTS ACT 1953 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION After Provisional Nos: 560832 and 566222 Dated: 22 August 2007 and 25 February 2008 Carrying Rack We Furniture Components NZ Limited, A New Zealand company of 42 Aintree Ave, Airport Oaks, Mangere, Auckland, New Zealand hereby declare the invention for which we pray that a patent may be granted to us, and the method by which it is to be performed to be particularly described in and by the following statement: Received by 1PONZ 28 June 2010 James & Wells Intellectual Property Ref: 23373QCOG/53 560832 CARRYING RACK STATEMENT OF CORRESPONDING APPLICATIONS This application is based on the Provisional specifications filed in relation to New Zealand Patent Application Number 560832 and New Zealand Patent Application Number 566222, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a carrying rack. In particular the present invention relates to a carrying rack for carrying objects such as bicycles and attachment to a vehicle.

BACKGROUND ART Carrying racks used to carry at least one object such as a bicycle including at least one fixed support arm on which the bicycle is supported and a substantially upright bar attached to the support arm(s) at its upper end, and to the tow bar of a vehicle at its lower end, are known.

Such racks have the disadvantage that they are can present a safety risk due to the fixed support arms projecting out substantially perpendicular to the back of the vehicle, especially when the rack is not carrying any bicycles. In addition, such fixed support arm racks can be inconvenient to store either inside the vehicle when not in use, or away from a vehicle due to the unbalanced and bulky shape of the carrying rack.

A further disadvantage of known carrying racks which attach to the tow bar of a motor vehicle Is that they do not provide for ease of access through a rear hatch of a vehicle without taking the carrying rack and/or carried objects off the vehicle. 2 Received by 1PONZ 28 June 2010 James & Wells Intellectual Property Ref: 23373QCOG/53 560832 Known carrying racks frequently make use of securing means such as elasticised cords with attached hooks ("bungy" cords) to secure a bicycle to the rack. Such cords can pose a safety risk to a user by becoming unattached to the rack under tension and causing subsequent injury, and/or causing damage to the bicycle(s) and/or vehicle.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a carrying rack to address the foregoing problems or at least to provide the public with a useful choice.

Further aspects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the ensuing description which is given by way of example only.

It is acknowledged that the term 'comprise' may, under varying jurisdictions, be attributed with either an exclusive or an inclusive meaning. For the purpose of this specification, and unless otherwise noted, the term 'comprise' shall have an inclusive meaning - i.e. that it will be taken to mean an Inclusion of not only the listed components it directly references, but also other non-specified components or elements. This rationale will also be used when the term 'comprised' or 'comprising' is used in relation to one or more steps in a method or process.

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a carrying rack comprising: • at least one support member for supporting at least one object to be carried; and • at least one upright member attached to the at least one support member at an upper end and to a vehicle at a lower end 3 Received by 1PONZ 28 June 2010 James & Wells Intellectual Property Ref: 233730CQG/53 560832 wherein the at least one support member and/or the at least one upright member can be reversibly folded between an in-use position and a non-use position.

Preferably, the non-use position of the at least one support member is defined where the angle between the support member and/or the at least one upright member is substantially 0°.

Preferably, the in-use position of the at least one support member is defined where the angle between the support member and/or the at least one upright member is substantially 90°.

Preferably, the non-use position of the at least one upright member is defined where the angle between the upright member relative to the horizontal plane of the support surface is between 20° to 60°.

Preferably, the in-use position of the at least one upright member is defined where the angle between the upright member relative to the horizontal plane of the support surface is substantially 90°.

According to a further aspect of the present invention there is provided a carrying rack comprising: • at least one support member for supporting at least one object to be carried; • at least one upright member attached to the at least one support member at an upper end and to a vehicle at a lower end, and • at least one fastener for securing a fastening means wherein: • The at least one support member and/or the at least one upright member can be reversibly folded from an in-use position to a non-use position; and 4 Received by iPONZ 28 June 2010 560832 James & Wells Intellectual Property Ref: 233730CCJG/53 • the at least one fastener includes • at least one passage to thread a fastening means; • at least one channel to secure the said fastening means, and • at least one fixing point for a fixing means to fix the fastener to the carrying rack.

Preferably, the at least one support member is two support members.

Preferably, the support member and the upright member are bars.

Preferably, the support member may be locked in the in-use and/or non-use position.

Preferably, the at least one upright member may be locked in the in-use and/or non-use position.

Preferably, the fastener is a cleat.

Preferably, the at least one passage to thread a fastening means is two passages. Preferably, the at least one channel to secure a fastening means will be one channel. Preferably, the at least one channel is v-shaped.

Preferably, the fastener may be fixed to the support member and upright member.

Preferably, there is 4 fasteners per support member and 1 fastener on the upright member.

Preferably, the at least one fixing point is two fixing points.

Preferably, the fixing means is a screw.

Preferably, the fastening means is a cord.

Received by iPONZ 28 June 2010 560832 James & Wells Intellectual Property Ref: 233730COG/53 Preferably, the object to be carried is a bicycle.

In another aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of securing an object to the carrying rack of the present invention, comprising the steps: • locking the at least one upright member in an in-use position; • locking the at least one support member in an in-use position; • placing an object to be carried on the said support member; • securing the object to be carried by means of at least one fastener and fastening means, including the steps: o threading a fastening means through one passage of the fastener; o wrapping the said fastening means around said object to be carried; o threading the said fastening means through a further passage of the said fastener, and o locking the said fastening means in a channel of the said fastener.

Thus, preferred embodiments of the present invention may have a number of advantages over the prior art which can include: ■ reducing the risk of injury resulting from fixed support members projecting from the back of the vehicle when the rack is not carrying an object; ■ providing ease of storage of the rack when not on the vehicle; ■ providing ease of handling of the rack when fitting to or removing from the vehicle; 6 Received by 1PONZ 28 June 2010 James & Wells Intellectual Property Ref: 233730CQG/53 560832 ■ improving ease of securing an object to be carried to the carrying rack, and ■ improving ease of entry to the interior of a hatch-back vehicle without the need to take the carrying rack off the vehicle.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS Further aspects of the present invention will become apparent from the ensuing description which is given by way of example only and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 shows a side view of a preferred embodiment of the carrying rack of the present invention with the support members and upright member folded in an in-use position and with bicycles secured; Figure 2 shows a side view of the preferred embodiment of the present invention shown in Figure 1 with the support members folded down in a non-use position; Figure 3 shows a sectional side view of a pivoting mechanism of the preferred embodiment of the present invention shown in Figure 1; Figure 4 shows a side view of the preferred embodiment of the present invention shown in Figure 1 with the upright member of the carrying rack folded in a non-use position to allow a hatch of a hatchback vehicle to be opened; Figure 5 shows a sectional plan view of the upright member of the preferred embodiment of the present invention shown in Figure 1 in a non-folded position; Received by 1PONZ 28 June 2010 James & Wells Intellectual Property Ref: 233730CQG/53 560832 Figure 6 shows a sectional side view of an upright member hinge of the preferred embodiment of the present invention shown in Figure 1 in a non-folded position; Figure 7 shows a sectional side view of the hinge of the upright member of the preferred embodiment of the present invention shown in Figure 1 in a folded position; and Figure 8 shows a perspective view of the fastener of the present invention shown in Figure 1.

BEST MODES FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The invention is now described in relation to one preferred embodiment of the present invention as shown in Figures 1 to 8. It should be appreciated that the invention may be varied from the Figures without departing from the scope of the invention.

A carrying rack is generally indicated by arrow 1. The carrying rack 1 includes an upright member 2 to which two support members in the form of two parallel support arms 3 are attached. The upright member 2 is held in a substantially upright position by attachment to a tow ball 4A of a vehicle 4.

The two support arms 3 may be folded in the direction of arrow A from an in-use position for carrying objects such as bicycles 100, in which the angle between the support arms 3 and the upright member is substantially 90° (shown in figure 1), to a non-use position where the support arms 3 are substantially parallel to the upright member 2, and the angle between the support arms 3 and the upright member is substantially 0° (shown in Figure 2) The support arms 3 may be aided in folding by means of a strut or the like (not shown). The two support arms 3 are reversibly foldable independently of one another. 8 Received by 1PONZ 28 June 2010 James & Wells Intellectual Property Ref: 233730CQG/53 560832 The support arms 3 are padded with rubber 3A, or some other resilient material (such foam, rubber or braiding) so as to prevent damage to the objects such as bicycles 100 to be carried.

Figure 3 shows a sectional view of a preferred pivoting and locking mechanism associated with the support arms 3. A sprung pin 5 is used to lock a support arm from a non-use position to an in-use position in the direction of arrow B and vice versa. The pin 5 passes through two plates 5A and 5B. One plate 5A attached to the upright member 2 and the other plate 5B attached to the support arm 3. The plates 5A and 5B have two passages 6A and 6B which allow the pin 5 to lock the support arm 3 with the upright member 2 in a non-use position or an in-use position respectively. The two plates 5A and 5B swivel relative to each other via an internal sleeve 8 which is held in place within the support arm 3 and upright member 2 by a ball bearing 9 held in place by a screw 10 located in a channel 11.

Figure 4 shows the upright member 2 hinging at point 12 relative to tow bar 4A in the direction of arrow C, to allow access to the interior of the vehicle 4 from the rear via lifting of a vehicle hatch 4B in the direction of arrow D without the need to take the carrying rack 1 off the vehicle 4. Preferably, the angle between the upright member 2 and the horizontal plane of the tow bar 4A of a vehicle 4 may vary between 20° and 60° when in the non-use position and may be limited (in known fashion) in its range of movement by a stop (not shown) at point 12. The angle between the upright member 2 and the horizontal plane of the tow bar 4A of a vehicle 4 is substantially 90° when in the In-use position.

The upright member 2 may be attached to a vehicle 4 via a tow ball 4A and socket, pin, screw, bolt, hook and loop or similar arrangement.

Referring to Figures 5 to 7, a pin 13 is used to lock the upright member 2 in an upright position. The pin is biased towards the locked position by a spring (not shown) in 9 Received by 1PONZ 28 June 2010 James & Wells Intellectual Property Ref: 23373CICOG/53 560832 known fashion. The pin 13 passes through two overlapping brackets 15a and 15b. Bracket 15a is attached to the upper part of upright member 2 and bracket 15b is attached to the lower part of upright member 2. Brackets 15a and 15b are joined about pivot point 12. Pin 13 passes through apertures 15A1 and 15B1, which allow the pin 13 to lock the upright member 2 in an upright position. Release of the pin 13 and movement of the upright member 2 permits folding of the upright member 2 about point 12 in the direction of arrow E (see Figure 7) and vice versa.

With reference to Figure 8, the upright member 2 may be profiled to fit a particular vehicle 4. For example a curved profile may be used to further accommodate attachment of the carrying rack 1 to a hatchback car 4.

With reference to Figure 8, the carrying rack 1 also includes fasteners in the form of cleats 16 fixed to the upright member 2 and support bars 3 via two apertures 17 for a fixing means in the form of screws (not shown) to fix each cleat 16 to the carrying rack 1. A cleat 16 has two internal passages 18A and 18B and a v-shaped channel 19 (see Figure 8).

With reference to Figure 8 in use a cord 20 is threaded through the first internal passage 18A, wrapped around a bicycle 100 placed on the support bars 3 of the carrying rack 1, threaded back through the second internal passage 18B and pulled into the v-shaped channel 19 for locking into place. Four cleats 16 are fixed to each of the support bars 3 so that up to 4 bicycles can be secured on the carrying rack 1.

The cords 20 are attached to the carrying rack 1 in the vicinity of each of the cleats 16 to prevent them being lost when the carrying rack 1 is not in use.

A further cleat 16A and cord 20A is fixed to the upright member 2 for the purpose of tying down the bottom of objects being carried such as bicycle frames or wheels.

Received by 1PONZ 28 June 2010 James & Wells Intellectual Property Ret: 23373GCOG/53 560832 Aspects of the present invention have been described by way of example only and it should be appreciated that modifications and additions may be made thereto without departing from the scope thereof as defined in the appended claims. 11 Received by 1PONZ 28 June 2010 James & Wells Intellectual Property Ref: 23373QCOG/53 560832

Claims (19)

WHAT WE CLAIM IS:

1. A carrying rack comprising: • at least one support member for supporting at least one object to be carried; and • at least one upright member attached to the at least one support member at an upper end and to a vehicle at a lower end wherein • the at least one support member is configured to be reversibly foldable about a horizontal pivot axis only from an in-use position, where the angle between the support member and/or the at least one upright member is substantially 90°, to a non-use position, where the angle between the support member and/or the at least one upright member is substantially 0°; and • the at least one upright member is configured to be reversibly tiltable away from the vehicle to a non-use position while the upright member is attached to the vehicle.

2. A carrying rack as claimed in claim 1 wherein the carrying rack also comprises: • at least one fastener for securing a fastening means, wherein the at least one fastener includes: • at least one passage to thread a fastening means; • at least one channel to secure the said fastening means, and • at least one fixing point for a fixing means to fix the fastener to the carrying rack. 12 Received by 1PONZ 28 June 2010 James & Wells Intellectual Property Ref: 23373QCOG/53 560832

3. A carrying rack as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 2 wherein the non-use position of the at least one upright member is defined where the angle between the upright member relative to the horizontal plane of the support surface is between 20° to 60°.

4. A carrying rack as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3 wherein the in-use position of the at least one upright member is defined where the angle between the upright member relative to the horizontal plane of the support surface is substantially 90°

5. A carrying rack as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 4 wherein the at least one support member is two support members.

6. A carrying rack as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 5 wherein the support member and the upright member are bars.

7. A carrying rack as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 6 wherein the support member is locked in the in-use and/or non-use position.

8. A carrying rack as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 7 wherein the at least one upright member is locked in the in-use and/or non-use position.

9. A carrying rack as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 8 wherein the fastener is a cleat.

10. A carrying rack as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 9 wherein the at least one passage to thread a fastening means is two passages.

11. A carrying rack as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 10 wherein the at least one channel to secure a fastening means will be one channel. Received by 1PONZ 28 June 2010 560832 James & Wells Intellectual Property Ref: 233730COG/53

12. A carrying rack as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 11 wherein the at least one channel is v-shaped.

13. A carrying rack as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 12 wherein the fastener is fixed to the support member and upright member.

14. A carrying rack as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 13 wherein there is 4 fasteners per support member and 1 fastener on the upright member.

15. A carrying rack as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 14 wherein the at least one fixing point is two fixing points.

16. A carrying rack as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 15 wherein the fixing means is a screw.

17. A carrying rack as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 16 wherein the fastening means is a cord.

18. A carrying rack as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 17 wherein the object to be carried is a bicycle.

19. A carrying rack substantially as herein illustrated with reference to any one of the accompanying drawings 1 to 8. Furniture Components New Zealand Limited by its authorised agents s]uvt James & Wells Intellectual Property 14