Abstract:
A carrier for real estate signs is mounted on the back of a motor vehicle to allow signs to be carried outside the vehicle rather than inside the vehicle. This keeps the dirty or wet signs from soiling the vehicle. The carrier may be mounted to a trailer hitch. The carrier has two ends to capture the two ends of the sign. The ends are adjustable relative to one another, preferably by sliding them apart or together. One end, such as a retaining end, has holes to allow the sign legs to pass through, and thereby retain the signs from sliding off the other end, such as the channel or tray end.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    The present invention relates to carriers for carrying real estate signs on the exterior of a vehicle. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    Real estate agents advertise houses for sale, and announce open-house events by placing metal signs in lawns at various locations in a neighborhood. These signs may need to be frequently moved as open-house events approach and are completed. These signs often have dirt on at least the portions that penetrate into the soil. In addition, if it has rained or snowed, the entire sign may be wet. 
         [0003]    Until now, agents have carried the signs inside their motor vehicle. This exposes the passenger compartment or the trunk of the motor vehicle to moisture and dirt. A desired improvement is to have a system such as a carrier to carry signs outside the vehicle. Real estate agents should be able to easily load and unload the signs. They should be able to easily mount and dismount the carrier from the motor vehicle, since such a carrier is not always needed. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0004]    To achieve the foregoing objectives, and in accordance with the purposes of the invention as embodied and broadly described, a carrier for mounting on the rear of a motor vehicle is adapted to carry at least one real estate sign, so that the dirt on the sign is kept out of the vehicle. The carrier has a mounting interface to mount to the vehicle. In one embodiment the interface attaches to a trailer hitch of the type typically made of square or rectangular tubing. 
         [0005]    The carrier has a channel that carries the weight of the signs. To keep the signs from sliding out of the channel there are holes in the carrier that hold the legs of the sign, thereby retaining the sign from significant lateral movement. These holes may be in the channel, or they may be in a retainer spaced away from the channel. The retainer also prevents the signs from tumbling out of the channel. 
         [0006]    To load and unload the carrier the retainer&#39;s position relative to the channel is altered, such as by moving it closer or further away. In one embodiment, the retainer slides along a rail between the retainer and the channel and does not need to be removed from the rail. Preferably, the rail is vertical, the channel is at the bottom, and the retainer, with the apertures, is near the top. In this embodiment the signs are loaded with their legs pointing upwards. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0007]    These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with regard to the following description, appended claims and accompanying drawings wherein: 
           [0008]      FIG. 1  is perspective view of a motor vehicle carrying an embodiment of the invention, with a sign shown in phantom lines with the sign panels removed for clarity. 
           [0009]      FIG. 2A  is a cross-section as indicated in  FIG. 1 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0010]    The embodiment illustrated in  FIG. 1  is sized for a particular style and size (width) of sign. The sign is shown in phantom lines, and its sheet metal panel is removed so the invention can be better viewed. In addition to the major sheet metal panel, signs often have “rider” panels that are smaller and positioned above or below the main panel. These rider panels will often have phrases such as “price reduced” or “warranty available”. These rider panels are also removed so the invention can be better viewed. In using the current invention there is no reason for any of the panels to be removed. 
         [0011]    The embodiment shown is mounted to a trailer hitch of a motor vehicle. It is envisioned that this would be the most common way to mount the carrier to a vehicle. However, the description of this embodiment does not preclude embodiments that use different means for mounting, for example straps having rubber coated clips and supports, such as those used with certain styles of bicycle carriers. 
         [0012]    Further, the embodiment described requires the legs of the sign to point upwards. This is the currently preferred embodiment, because by pointing the legs upwards, the entire carrier may be positioned lower on the vehicle. If the legs were pointed downwards to pass through holes in the bottom of the carrier, the legs would pose a ground-clearance issue. The issue would most likely require the carrier to be positioned higher on the vehicle, possibly blocking visibility. It would also require the real estate agent to lift the sign higher off the ground. 
         [0013]    As will be described in subsequent paragraphs, the embodiment illustrated has leg-accepting holes fixed at a particular spacing. A perusal of websites that sell signs reveals examples of signs that have panel widths, and therefore leg spacings, of approximately 18, 24, 28, 30, and 36 inches. A different style of sign has legs that converge below the panel. The spacing of these converging legs is not specified, but visually they are clearly less than 18 inches apart. Therefore, it is envisioned that the spacing of the holes should accommodate a wide variety of leg spacings. Among ways to accomplish this are; by including a plurality of holes, using elongated openings, or by employing multiple carrier components having holes of different spacings. 
         [0014]    Referring now to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the sign carrier  10  has a lower channel  12 , a mount  14 , a vertical member  16  and a retainer  18 . The mount is well known in the art, and for example would be a square or rectangular bar  20  that mounts into the square or rectangular tube of a trailer hitch mounted to the motor vehicle. Or, it may be any other system that retains the sign carrier  10  to the motor vehicle in a stable manner. The illustration shows several fasteners attaching pieces together, however the construction method of the carrier is not significant. The pieces may be fastened using fasteners, by welding, or by any suitable technique. Since moisture and road salt are often at the back of a motor vehicle, precautions to prevent corrosion should be incorporated in the choice of materials and the component designs. Welded aluminum is envisioned as a lightweight corrosion resistant construction method. 
         [0015]    The lower channel  12  has a forward vertical rail  22 , an aft vertical rail  24 , and a bottom  26 . Sides are not necessary, but may be included. However, sides may limit the size of sign that can be transported. The aft vertical rail  24  is shown at approximately the same height as the forward vertical rail  22 , but it may be beneficial to make the aft vertical rail  24  substantially higher, or to provide it with extensions (not shown). The reason for this will be described later. The lower channel  12  carries the weight of the signs, and is therefore mounted close to the mount  14 , to minimize the torque that the mount must handle. Optional drain holes  28  are representative of the need to allow rainwater to drain so that a real estate agent will encounter less water dripping from the sign as they lift it from the carrier. 
         [0016]    The retainer  18  may be of any sturdy size and shape, for example, a channel as illustrated. Two holes  30  are sized and spaced to receive the legs  32  of one or more signs  34 . As described earlier, there may be multiple holes or another arrangement to receive the legs  32 . It is important that the signs  34  are retained from excessive side-to-side movement as the vehicle drives around corners. Optional rubber flaps  36  are installed at the holes as an example of one method to deaden the rattling noises caused by signs moving in the holes  30 . 
         [0017]    The retainer  18  is adjustably mounted on the vertical member  16 . The mounting may be by way of discreet holes (not shown) in the vertical member  16  cooperating with fasteners. Or, preferably, the retainer  18  is slidably mounted by an adjuster assembly  38  on the vertical member as in the illustrated embodiment. As used in this application, slidably mounted and slidably adjusted are defined as moving one piece relative to another without requiring removal and repositioning. Adjuster assembly  38  is not new in the art, and may be designed in a variety of configurations. For example, in the embodiment illustrated, an aft plate  40  is fastened to the retainer  18  and has a threaded member  42  passing through it into a captured nut (not shown) on a forward plate  44 . The threaded member  42  has a surface (not shown) that can push against the aft plate  40 . As the threaded member  42  is turned clockwise in the captured nut, the aft plate  40  is pushed closer to the forward plate  44  until the vertical member  16  is squeezed between them. This keeps the retainer  18  in a chosen position along the vertical member  16 . 
         [0018]    In any design of the adjuster assembly  38 , it is preferable that all pieces are captured to the vertical member  16  so that none of them, including the retainer  18 , can fall off the vertical member  16  even if the adjuster assembly  38  is not properly tightened. 
         [0019]    In use, to load the carrier  10  a real estate agent moves the retainer  18  to a chosen raised position along the vertical member  16  and tightens it in position. Then the signs  34  are loaded upside down in the lower channel  12  so that the legs  32  approximately align with the holes  30 . When all signs  34  are in position, the retainer  18  is lowered as low as it will go. This may be at a mechanical stop (not shown) on the vertical member  16 , or it may be when the retainer contacts a lower rail  46  of the sign  34 . If there are signs of different construction, the retainer  18  will stop when it hits the highest lower rail  46  of the group. The threaded member  42  is then tightened to keep the retainer  18  in position during vehicle movement. The signs  34  are retained in the lower channel  12  and the holes  30 . Although it is also possible to drive the motor vehicle without tightening the threaded member  42  and thereby retainer  18 , tightening will minimize rubbing and wear. Removal of the signs  34  is done in the reverse order of installation. If the vehicle is driven with an empty carrier  10 , the retainer  18  should be lowered, and threaded member  42  tightened. 
         [0020]    As previously discussed, the aft vertical rail  24  may need to be higher than the forward vertical rail  22 . This is because the height of the aft vertical rail  24  is a trade-off of at least two factors. First, if the sign is going to fall or be ejected from the carrier, it should be realized that this would likely be in the aft direction, over the aft vertical rail  24 . It will not happen in the forward direction because the vertical member  16  is adjacent the signs. Ejection is most likely to happen when going over a bump, propelling the signs  34  upward, temporarily carrying the retainer  18  upward with them. If the lowest edge of the aft most sign is propelled higher than the aft vertical rail  24 , and if during this time the car accelerates, the signs may not return to the confines of the lower channel  12 . For this reason, a high aft vertical rail  24  is desired. However, the higher the aft vertical rail  24 , the higher the real estate agent must lift the sign during loading and unloading. Fortuitously, this is alleviated by the ability to slide signs into the lower channel  12  through the open sides. Similarly, if the sides of the lower channel  12  are not open, keeping them low will ease sign installation. 
         [0021]    While the foregoing description has set forth preferred embodiments of the present invention in particular detail, it must be understood that numerous modifications, substitutions and changes can be undertaken without departing from the true spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the ensuing claims. The invention is therefore not limited to specific embodiments as described but is only limited as defined by the following claims.