Patent Application
20180361944
The disclosure relates to a bicycle rack that is attached to a receptacle in the sidewall of a pickup truck box without requiring additional supporting structure connected to the truck bed.
Pickup trucks are versatile vehicles that are well adapted to transport a wide variety of types of cargo for work or recreation. Bicycles are relatively long and have handle bars that prevent them from being closely stacked side-by-side. Several different devices have been proposed for transporting bicycles in the bed of a pickup truck but they generally obstruct the bed and limit the space available in the bed for other types of cargo. One example of such a bicycle rack is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 8,820,811 that is assigned to the assignee of this application.
This disclosure is directed to solving the above problems and other problems as summarized below.
According to one aspect of this disclosure, a bicycle rack is disclosed that is attached to a pickup truck having a plurality of receptacles in the sidewalls of a truck box. The bicycle rack is spaced above a truck bed and does not require support from or obstruct the truck bed. The bicycle rack comprises a bicycle receiver attached to a set of arms. A pair of connectors are attached to the arms to detachably assemble the arms to the receptacles with the arms and the receiver spaced from the bed.
The receptacles have load supporting portions that the connectors are assembled to by sliding the connectors onto the supporting portions. The connectors are retained on the receptacles by a locking cam that engages the supporting portions.
The receptacles may define an opening having a lower supporting edge and an upper supporting edge. The connectors may further comprise a tab offset from a plate portion of the connector that may be received in the opening above the lower supporting edge with the plate portion abutting an outer face of the receptacles. A hook may be provided on a top end of the plate portion that receives the upper supporting edge of the receptacle.
The bicycle receiver may be an upwardly open channel that is adapted to receive the tires or other parts of the bicycle.
The bicycle rack may include a pair of arms that extend vertically above the connectors inside the sidewall and include an upper portion that is disposed above an upper surface of the sidewall. The bicycle receiver is attached to the upper portion and allows the bicycle to be carried entirely outside the truck bed.
In other alternative arrangements, the pair of arms may include a body portion and a leg portion that is disposed at an angle to the body portion to extend inwardly and into the truck box. The bicycle receiver is attached to the leg portion and holds the bicycle spaced above the truck bed. The leg portion may extend from a lower end of the body portion or may extend from an upper end of the body portion. The body portion may be adapted to abut an outer face of the receptacles.
According to another aspect of this disclosure, a method is disclosed for transporting a bicycle with a pickup truck including sidewalls having receptacles and a truck bed between the sidewalls. The method comprises providing a rack including arms supporting a bicycle receiver that a bicycle is secured to be transported. Connectors are attached to the arms that are detachably assembled to the receptacles. The arms and the receiver are spaced above the bed and are assembled by sliding the connectors downwardly relative to the receptacles.
The connectors are retained on the receptacles by rotating a locking cam disposed on the rack to lock the connectors to the receptacles. The locking cam wedges against the top portion of the opening defined by the receptacle to positively hold the tab against the lower supporting edge of the opening.
The above aspects of this disclosure and other aspects will be described below with reference to the attached drawings.
The illustrated embodiments are disclosed with reference to the drawings. However, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are intended to be merely examples that may be embodied in various and alternative forms. The figures are not necessarily to scale and some features may be exaggerated or minimized to show details of particular components. The specific structural and functional details disclosed are not to be interpreted as limiting, but as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art how to practice the disclosed concepts.
Referring to
Referring to
The bicycle rack 12 includes a receiver 32, or channel, in which the bicycle 14 is assembled to be carried by the pickup truck. A lock pin assembly 36 is provided on one or both ends of the receiver 32 that is used to lock the bicycle 14 in the receiver 32. The bicycle rack 12 includes arms 38 that are connected to the receiver 32. The arms 38 include a body portion 40 and a leg 42. The leg 42 extends from a lower end 44 of the body portion 40.
A connector 48 is shown exploded away from the body portion 40 of the arms 38. The connector 48 includes a tab 50 and a hook 52. The hook 52 is formed on the top end 54 of a plate portion 56. The tab 50 is formed in the plate portion 56. The plate portion 56 is assembled to an outer face 58 of the receptacle 24 with the tab 50 being assembled to the lower supporting edge 28 of the opening 26. The hook 52 is hooked over the upper supporting edge 30 of the receptacle 24. A cam lock 59 may be provided on the bicycle rack 12 that extends through the body portion 40 and connector 48. The cam lock 59 is inserted into the opening 26 to selectively prevent the connector 48 from sliding upwardly and detaching the bicycle rack 12 from the receptacle 24.
Referring to
Alternative embodiments of the bicycle rack 12 are shown in
The bicycle rack 12 is shown attached to the receptacles 24. Arms 38 are shown supporting the bicycle receiver 32, or channel, that is adapted to receive the bicycle 14. The receptacles 24 are attached to the sidewall 18. Body portions 40 of the arms 38 are attached to the connector 48 and may be selectively locked together by the cam lock 59. As previously described with reference to
Referring to
Referring specifically to
The tab 50 and hook 52 are secured to the receptacle 24 by sliding the plate portion 56 against the outer face 58 of the receptacle 24 in the direction indicated by arrow “S.” The cam lock 59 is rotated to engage the top portion of the opening 26 to hold the bicycle rack 12 in place on the receptacle 24. He locking cam 59 may be a lock cylinder that is operated by a key 72 that may be provided to lock and unlock the locking cam 59 to secure the bicycle rack to the receptacles 24. The bicycle is held above the truck box and is spaced from the truck bed and does not encumber the truck bed 20 in any way.
The embodiments described above are specific examples that do not describe all possible forms of the disclosure. The features of the illustrated embodiments may be combined to form further embodiments of the disclosed concepts. The words used in the specification are words of description rather than limitation. The scope of the following claims is broader than the specifically disclosed embodiments and also includes modifications of the illustrated embodiments.
