Package and article carriers – Vehicle attached – Carrier attached to the front or rear end of vehicle
Reexamination Certificate
2000-11-27
2003-02-04
Garbe, Stephen P. (Department: 3727)
Package and article carriers
Vehicle attached
Carrier attached to the front or rear end of vehicle
C224S404000, C224S495000, C224S502000, C224S518000, C224S523000, C224S524000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06513690
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention pertains to an cargo carrier for a motor vehicle, and in particular to an attachment compatible with a trailer hitch such as a Reese hitch, which can expand the cargo carrying capacity beyond the originally intended capacity of the vehicle.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Vehicles having a drop-down type tailgate and a vehicle bed, such as pickup trucks and station wagons, are commonly used to transport large, often heavy, objects such as lumber, furniture, and machinery. In practice, such objects often exceed the length of the vehicle bed and when placed therein extend over the tailgate. Such a situation may result in an awkward load, a situation which is preferably avoided.
One solution to this problem is to provide a larger vehicle bed. However, increasing the length of the bed must be weighed against other vehicle design objectives, such as the desire to have a vehicle which is short enough, from front bumper to rear bumper, to fit into most garages and parking spaces.
Users of other vehicles such as sports utility vehicles and cars also may sometimes require additional space for carrying cargo. One solution to this problem is to provide a roof rack or carrier; however, this is often inconvenient.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a supplemental structure that temporarily extends a vehicle bed for conveniently supporting cargo which cannot easily be supported by the vehicle bed alone.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a supplemental cargo structure that can be used with vehicles for carrying cargo in excess of the normal capacity of such vehicles.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a structure that can be easily mounted to and detached from the vehicle.
It is yet a further object of this invention to provide that the structure be easily configured for alternative uses and for alternative types of vehicle.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide for the convenient loading and unloading of wheeled cargo such as small tractors, lawn mowers and the like, or of normally immobile cargo such as furniture, using a wheeled moving device such as a dolly or a handcart.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The cargo carrier of this invention includes a support-frame with a stem and a crossbar attached to the stem in the shape of a T. Two first support bars which are upright and tubular have upper ends extending to an adjustable height from the crossbar to an edge of a generally rectangular platform. The upright bars are pivotally connected to an edge of the platform, and may be adjusted so that the platform is at the same level as the truck bed. The pivotal connections allow a user to tilt the platform. The upright bars may be unitary and have a slidable relationship with the crossbar, or they may be telescopic having two portions which have a slidable relationship with each other.
One or more second support bars or inclined bars which are tubular and telescopic are pivotally connected to the crossbar, and can selectably extend rearwardly or forwardly therefrom at some chosen inclination. The inclined bars, typically two in number, are pivotally connected to the platform, preferably to a cross-member parallel to and spaced apart from the platform edge to which the upright bars connect. The perpendicular distance between the two inclined bars is preferably greater than that between the upright bars.
The combination of two sets of pivoting support bars, both of which are variably extendable from the crossbar, allows the user to alter the configuration of the platform from a horizontal bed extender to an inclined surface to a vertically oriented surface which can serve as a supplementary tailgate or just to stow the invention in a space saving manner when it is not otherwise in use.
Removable guards can extend upwards from the platform to help retain cargo in position and prevent cargo from falling off the bed.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3913811 (1975-10-01), Spencer
patent: 5033662 (1991-07-01), Godin
patent: 5116096 (1992-05-01), Taylor
patent: 5224636 (1993-07-01), Bounds
patent: 5328225 (1994-07-01), Melching et al.
patent: 5375773 (1994-12-01), Lewis
patent: 5501500 (1996-03-01), Cannon
patent: 5658033 (1997-08-01), Delaune
patent: D407135 (1999-03-01), DeWitt
patent: 5881937 (1999-03-01), Sadler
patent: 5927925 (1999-07-01), Winkelmann
patent: 5971241 (1999-10-01), Allen et al.
patent: D415988 (1999-11-01), Stearns
patent: 6070926 (2000-06-01), Hardin
patent: 6237824 (2001-05-01), Bagley
Churchill Michael P.
Swartz Robert W.
Brevard Maerena W.
Garbe Stephen P.
Harter Secrest & Emery LLP
Salai Esq. Stephen B.
Shaw Esq. Brian B.
LandOfFree
Supplementary cargo carrier for a vehicle does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Supplementary cargo carrier for a vehicle, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Supplementary cargo carrier for a vehicle will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-3180721