Vehicle trunk mountable bicycle rack

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9649985-B2
Application number	US-201013497458-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 22, 2010
Priority date	Sep 22, 2009
Publication date	May 16, 2017
Grant date	May 16, 2017

Abstract

Trunk mountable bicycle carrier racks and various improved aspects thereof such as retractable spool mechanism, cable end-hooks, anti-sway device, improved rotatable hubs, and improved frame supports.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A vehicle trunk mountable bicycle rack, comprising:
mounting arms abuttable against a vehicle;
at least one carrier arm projecting rearward away from said vehicle in a carrying configuration; and
an adjustable ratcheting arrangement for pulling said rack against said vehicle and stably mounting said rack thereon, said ratcheting arrangement comprising:
a set of upper flexible cables for attachment to said vehicle,
a set of rotatable upper spools, said set of upper spools having inner trough portions including a plurality of concave tracks, said inner trough portions receiving corresponding upper flexible cables,
a set of lower flexible cables for attachment to said vehicle, and
a set of rotatable lower spools, said set of lower spools having inner trough portions including a plurality of concave tracks, said inner trough portions receiving corresponding lower flexible cables,
wherein each spool includes a knob for rotation of said spool, whereby said corresponding flexible cable is retracted and released.

2. The bicycle rack as in claim 1 , wherein said spools are substantially circular.

3. The bicycle rack as in claim 1 , wherein said concave tracks are each sized to correspond to a diameter of said flexible cable.

4. The bicycle rack as in claim 1 , wherein said tracks are arranged to wind said flexible cables in a single layer across said trough portion.

5. The bicycle rack as in claim 1 , wherein said spools have gear teeth on at least one side thereof.

6. The bicycle rack as in claim 1 , wherein each of said spools has a latch arranged to toggle between a retraction configuration and a release configuration of each of said spools.

7. The bicycle rack as in claim 6 , wherein when said latch is actuated, said corresponding spool can only rotate in a retraction direction.

8. The bicycle rack as in claim 1 , further comprising cross-members suspended above said inner trough portions of said upper spools.

9. The bicycle rack as in claim 8 , wherein a distance between said inner troughs and said cross-members is less than two diameter lengths of said upper flexible cables.

10. The bicycle rack as in claim 1 , wherein said flexible cables have a hooked end piece for attachment to said vehicle.

11. The bicycle rack as in claim 10 , wherein said flexible cables have a covering over a portion of said hooked end piece configured to be gripped by a user.

12. The bicycle rack as in claim 1 , wherein said flexible cables are encircled by a plastic coating.

13. The bicycle rack as in claim 1 , wherein said carrier arm projects in a lengthwise direction of said vehicle.

14. The bicycle rack as in claim 1 , wherein said carrier arm is pivotally connected with said mounting arms.

15. The bicycle rack as in claim 1 , wherein said upper spools and said lower spools are disposed along a single axis.

16. The bicycle rack as in claim 1 , further comprising a hub, wherein said mounting arms and said carrier arm are coupled about said hub, and wherein said carrier arm is rotatable about said hub while coupled to said hub.

17. A vehicle trunk mountable bicycle rack, comprising:
mounting arms abuttable against a vehicle;
at least one carrier arm projecting rearward away from said vehicle in a carrying configuration, said carrier arms having at least one cradle disposed on said carrier arm configured to receive a portion of a bicycle, and one or more anti-sway devices attached to said carrier arm configured to support said bicycle; and
an adjustable ratcheting arrangement having a set of upper and lower lines for attachment to said vehicle and pulling said rack against said vehicle, said ratcheting arrangement comprising:
a set of upper and lower rotatable spools, said set of upper and lower spools each having an inner trough portion including a plurality of concave tracks, said inner trough portions receiving corresponding upper and lower lines for release and retraction of said set of upper and lower lines,
wherein each spool includes a knob for rotation of said spool, whereby said corresponding line is retracted and released.

18. The bicycle rack as in claim 17 , wherein said spools are substantially circular.

19. The bicycle rack as in claim 17 , wherein said lines are flexible cables.

20. The bicycle rack as in claim 17 , wherein said plurality of concave tracks are each sized to correspond to a diameter of said flexible cables.

21. The bicycle rack as in claim 17 , wherein each of said spools has a latch arranged to toggle between a retraction configuration and a release configuration of each of said spools.

22. The bicycle rack as in claim 21 , wherein when said latch is actuated, said respective spool is locked from rotating such that said corresponding line cannot be drawn out from said spool.

23. The bicycle rack as in claim 17 , wherein each spool has gear teeth on at least one side thereof.

24. The bicycle rack as in claim 17 , wherein each line has a hooked end piece for attachment to said vehicle.

25. The bicycle rack as in claim 24 , wherein each line has a covering over a portion of said hooked end piece configured to be gripped by a user.

26. The bicycle rack as in claim 17 , further comprising a rotatable segment for rotating each said spool.

27. The bicycle rack as in claim 26 , wherein said rotatable segment comprises outer projections.

28. The bicycle rack as in claim 17 , further comprising an axle segment.

29. The bicycle rack as in claim 17 , wherein said carrier arm is pivotally connected with said mounting arms.

30. The bicycle rack as in claim 17 , further comprising a hub, wherein said mounting arms and said carrier arm are coupled about said hub, and wherein said carrier arm is rotatable about said hub while coupled to said hub.

31. A vehicle trunk mountable bicycle rack, comprising:
mounting arms configured to abut against a vehicle;
at least one carrier arm projecting rearward away from the vehicle in a carrying configuration and configured to support a bicycle; and
an adjustable ratcheting arrangement for securing the rack against the vehicle, the ratcheting arrangement comprising:
a plurality of rotatable spools each having a corresponding flexible cable, wherein the rotatable spools are configured to retract the corresponding flexible cable, and
wherein a first spool is disposed adjacent to a second spool along a common longitudinal axis.

32. The bicycle rack as in claim 31 , wherein the first spool and the second spool are configured to rotate independently.

33. The bicycle rack as in claim 32 , further comprising an inner knob disposed adjacent to an outer knob, wherein the inner knob and the outer knob are disposed along the longitudinal axis, and wherein the inner knob is configured to rotate the first spool and the outer knob is configured to rotate the second spool.

34. The bicycle rack as in claim 33 , further comprising:
an external axle segment extending from the inner knob and coupled to the first spool; and
an internal axle segment extending from the outer knob and coupled to the second spool,
wherein at least a portion of the internal axle segment is disposed inside the external axle segment.

35. The bicycle rack as in claim 17 , wherein said

Assignees

• Prescott Keith L
• Fiegener John D
• Flaherty Joseph R
• Hanson Thomas J
• Makris Timothy J
• Tinstman Michael
• Thule Sweden Ab

Inventors

• Prescott Keith L
• Fiegener John D
• Flaherty Joseph R
• Hanson Thomas J
• Makris Timothy J
• Tinstman Michael

Classifications

• B60R9/10 Primary

  for cycles · CPC title

• B60R9/06

  at vehicle front or rear {(rear luggage compartments within vehicle extensible externally of the vehicle body B60R5/041)} · CPC title

• Y10S224/924

  Vehicle attached carrier for bicycle or motorcycle · CPC title