Retractable bicycle rack

Details Retractable bicycle rack Retractable bicycle rack

1999-10-12

2001-04-17

Gibson, Jr., Robert W. (Department: 3634)

Supports: racks

Special article

Velocipede type

C211S019000, C211S021000, C211S096000, C211S104000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06216882

ABSTRACT:

This invention relates to bicycle racks, and more particularly, to bicycle racks which can be conveniently attached to a wall and retracted when not in use.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Bicycles are often parked in a home garage. They can be hung on a garage wall or from the ceiling to keep floor space open, but that is somewhat inconvenient, particularly for children. For this reason, it is preferable to leave a bicycle on the garage floor.
Kickstands are usually used to park a bicycle on the garage floor, but the bicycle can easily fall over. A falling bicycle can knock over other bicycles, and can fall on autos and other things, causing damage. Also, a parked bicycle can be disturbed when someone moves another bicycle between a car and the parked bicycle. Thus, there is a need for improved apparatus for storing a bicycle on a garage floor.
Bicycle racks are used to store bicycles in school yards, parks and other places. Bicycle racks conveniently support several bicycles, but they are not suitable for home garages because there is not enough space for them, particularly along the sides of a car, and the bicycles cannot be parked generally parallel to the garage wall. Thus, there is a need for bicycle racks which can be used in narrow spaces such as the area between the inside wall of a garage and a parked automobile. There is also a need for bicycle racks which allow a bicycle to be parked generally parallel to the wall.
Bicycles are often stored during cold winter months, and of course a garage floor must be cleaned from time to time. A conventional bicycle rack in a garage would obstruct the open floor space in the garage, even when the bicycles were stored. Such a bicycle rack would also interfere with cleaning the garage. Thus, there is also a need for bicycle racks which can be retracted when not in use, to create open floor space for other purposes, and for easy cleaning of the garage floor.
Accordingly, one object of this invention is to provide new and improved apparatus for storing bicycles in garages and the like.
Another object is to provide new and improved bicycle racks.
Still another object is to provide new and improved bicycle racks which can be conveniently attached to a wall in a garage or the like.
A further object is to provide new and improved bicycle racks which allow a bicycle to be parked on a floor more parallel than perpendicular to an adjacent wall, if desired.
Yet another object is to provide new and improved bicycle racks which can be retracted when not in use.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In keeping with one aspect of the invention, a bicycle rack includes an inner vertical bar and an outer vertical bar arranged in generally parallel relation to each other by at least one horizontal support. The horizontal support is secured at one end to at least one wall support. The vertical bars are secured by the same or another horizontal support so that they are spaced from the wall support.
The wall support is fastened to a garage wall, and is preferably set at an angle with respect to the wall by a retaining rod. One end of the retaining rod is connected to the rack, and the other end is connected to the wall.
The horizontal support is preferably rotatably connected to the wall support, and the retaining rod is removably connected at one or both ends. When the rack is not in use, the retaining rod can be disconnected at at least one end, and the rack rotated so that it lies against the wall, without removing it from the wall.


REFERENCES:
patent: 1745402 (1930-02-01), Bülck
patent: 3883002 (1975-05-01), Moore
patent: 4033459 (1977-07-01), Zach
patent: 5477971 (1995-12-01), Howard
patent: 5749474 (1998-05-01), Woodcock
patent: 6053337 (2000-04-01), Venegas
patent: 3045769 (1982-09-01), None
Graber Parking Systems Catalog Sheets; Wave Series, Oct. 1999.

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