US5135145A — Mountain bike rack

Claim 1

Independent Claim 219 words

An accessory carrier for a motor vehicle comprising a pair of support arms for supporting a load remote from the vehicle, mounting means for supporting said support arms for rotation of the support arms into any one of a plurality of defined angular positions about a horizontal rotational axis, each of said mounting means including a fixed hub supported on a fixed horizontal axis and a rotary hub supported for rotation on said fixed axis and integral with said support arms for rotation during swinging adjustment movement of said support arms and lock means on said fixed hubs cooperating with lock means on said rotary hubs to maintain the support arms in any one of a plurality of selected angular positions and vehicle attachment means comprising front legs and rear legs for supporting said carrier on the vehicle, said attachment means including side plates fixed to said fixed hubs, said front legs being pivotally attached to said plate, said rear legs being fastened to said plates by means of elongated channels formed in said plates which nestingly receive said rear legs, said horizontal axis extending through said legs and said plates, said fixed hubs being secured in a stationary, fixed relationship relative to said rear legs, and said rear legs being positioned between said plates and said fixed hubs.

Claim 2

Dependent Claim 219 words

An accessory carrier for a motor vehicle comprising a pair of support arms for supporting a load remote from the vehicle, mounting means for supporting said support arms for rotation of the support arms into any one of a plurality of defined angular positions about a horizontal rotational axis, each of said mounting means including a fixed hub supported on a fixed horizontal axis and a rotary hub supported for rotation on said fixed axis and integral with said support arms for rotation during swinging adjustment movement of said support arms and lock means on said fixed hubs cooperating with lock means on said rotary hubs to maintain the support arms in any one of a plurality of selected angular positions and vehicle attachment means comprising front legs and rear legs for supporting said carrier on the vehicle, said attachment means including side plates fixed to said fixed hubs, said front legs being pivotally attached to said plate, said rear legs being fastened to said plates by means of elongated channels formed in said plates which nestingly receive said rear legs, said horizontal axis extending through said legs and said plates, said fixed hubs being secured in a stationary, fixed relationship relative to said rear legs, and said rear legs being positioned between said plates and said fixed hubs.

Claim 3

Dependent Claim 74 words

The accessory carrier of claim 1 wherein said rotary mounting means includes a manually manipulatable lock nut threaded on said bolt for maintaining engagement of said locking means when said support arms are in the selected position and said lock nuts affording release of said locking means and manipulation of the rotary hubs with respect to the fixed hubs when said nuts are counter rotated to change the angular position of the support arms.

Claim 4

Dependent Claim 39 words

The accessory carrier of claim 1 wherein said attachment means include a pair of forward legs and means for adjustably connecting said forward legs to said plates to afford angular movement of said forward legs relative to said plates.

Claim 5

Dependent Claim 27 words

The accessory carrier of claim 1 wherein a bolt passing through the rotational axis of said hubs secures said leg tubes in said channels in fixed relationship.

Claim 6

Dependent Claim 31 words

The accessory carrier of claim 1 wherein said legs include outwardly diverging tubular run portions connected to a base tube to provide broad based support for said carrier on said vehicle.

Claim 7

Dependent Claim 20 words

The accessory carrier of claim 7 wherein said run portions angle forwardly in a plane transverse to said leg portions.

Claim 8

Dependent Claim 58 words

An accessory carrier according to claim 1 wherein said rear legs comprises leg portions in a first plane and leg portions in the second plane transverse to said first plane, and toward the vehicle, said leg portions in said second plane diverging laterally outwardly and joining a base tube longer than the spacing of said first tube portions.

Claim 9

Dependent Claim 183 words

In an accessory carrier for a motor vehicle comprising front and rear frames having lower ends adapted to engage a vehicle and support a load in a position clear of the vehicle, said frame having upper ends and plate attachment means for tying the upper ends of said frames together, the improvement comprising a pair of load supporting arms and rotational support means for mounting said support arms to plates, said rotational support means further comprising a fixed hub secured to said plates and rotational hubs secured to said support arms, said hubs being provided with circumferentially arranged interlocking teeth on opposed adjacent surfaces of said hub, and nut means to clamp said teeth in locking relationship to fix the angle of the support arms relative to the frames and to unclamp said teeth and release said teeth for changing the angel of the support arms to another selected position, the plate and the fixed hub containing elongated channels that nestingly engage opposite sides of a component of said rear frame, thereby positioning said rear frame between said plates and said fixed hubs.

Claim 10

Dependent Claim 183 words

In an accessory carrier for a motor vehicle comprising front and rear frames having lower ends adapted to engage a vehicle and support a load in a position clear of the vehicle, said frame having upper ends and plate attachment means for tying the upper ends of said frames together, the improvement comprising a pair of load supporting arms and rotational support means for mounting said support arms to plates, said rotational support means further comprising a fixed hub secured to said plates and rotational hubs secured to said support arms, said hubs being provided with circumferentially arranged interlocking teeth on opposed adjacent surfaces of said hub, and nut means to clamp said teeth in locking relationship to fix the angle of the support arms relative to the frames and to unclamp said teeth and release said teeth for changing the angel of the support arms to another selected position, the plate and the fixed hub containing elongated channels that nestingly engage opposite sides of a component of said rear frame, thereby positioning said rear frame between said plates and said fixed hubs.

Annuity Stage	Window Opens	Payment Deadline	Surcharge Period Until	Estimated Fee	Status
3.5 Years (Year 4)	1995-08-04	1996-02-03	1996-08-04	$2000.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
7.5 Years (Year 8)	1999-08-04	2000-02-03	2000-08-04	$3760.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
11.5 Years (Year 12)	2003-08-04	2004-02-03	2004-08-04	$7700.00	Window Closed / Lapsed

Mountain bike rack

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