Abstract:
An article holder having bifurcated arms extending from a common base and bendable cores within the arms that allow the arms to be bent to desired position and having resilient cushion means that will stretch and relax as necessary to provide adequate cushion means for articles placed between the arms. A stretchable cover material encases the bifurcated arms and common base and stretches and relaxes during bending of the arms.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]     Not Applicable.  
       STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT  
       [0002]     Not Applicable.  
       REFERENCE TO MICROFICHE APPENDIX  
       [0003]     Not Applicable.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0004]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0005]     The present invention relates to holding devices that are easily mounted to racks of all terrain vehicles, snowmobiles and other vehicles, such as pick-up trucks. It is particularly concerned with article holders that allow an article to be inserted downwardly between bifurcated arms of a holder and that can be readily attached to such vehicles.  
         [0006]     2. Prior Art  
         [0007]     It has been well recognized that article holders having generally U-shaped receivers can be used to hold portions of a variety of elongate articles, including rifles, shotguns, bows and arrows, and even shovels and axes. Racks have been developed in the past that attach to a rear wall of a pick-up truck cab, to support such items. These racks commonly include a frame and spaced apart receptacles having U-shaped support holders for the articles.  
         [0008]     More recently, article holders have been developed to utilize bifurcated arms projecting upwardly from a base and with means secured to the base that can be used to attach the article holder to a vehicle. Such article holders are disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,078,239, 5,344,032, 5,915,572, 6,382,488 and 6,695,183 and, in addition, in published U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/320,675.  
         [0009]     The article holders disclosed in the aforementioned United States patents and application are particularly useful in retaining articles that need to be easily retrieved from such retaining structure. Rifles and shotguns, for example, often must be available for quick retrieval from an article holder to meet the needs of shooters and hunters. Thus, while it is often desirable to secure rifles and shotguns so that they are more securely retained, it is also desirable that article holders for such guns be capable of holding the guns so that a very quick retrieval is possible.  
         [0010]     Since articles to be placed in the article holders of the type in the aforementioned patents described, may vary considerable in size and particularly in the widths to be inserted into the article holders, it is desirable that such article holders be constructed to accommodate portions of elongate articles of that are to be held and having varying widths.  
         [0011]     Further, because the articles to be held by article holders of the type in the aforementioned patents described vary greatly in size, and particularly in the width of the article to be placed within the article holder, it is desirable that such article holder be able to accommodate the varying widths involved, while still adequately securing the article to be positioned. It has been found, for example, that the same article holder that may be suitable to receive the stock of a gun, does not work nearly so well in receiving portions of bows and arrows or receiving a portion of a fishing pole. It has also been found that article holders of the type in the aforementioned U.S. patents described, in general, cannot provide adequate cushioning support for articles of different widths inserted into and held by an article holder. The above identified U.S. patents, disclose article holders that recognize some of the features necessary to provide a suitable article holder. However, it does not appear that there has heretofore been developed an article holder that will provide for adjustment of bifurcated arms to accommodate articles of widely varying widths, placed between the arms. Further, it does not appear that the aforementioned U.S. patents recognize the need for providing an adjustable resilient cushion on which articles positioned within adjustable bifurcated arms are supported. Also, it does not appear that the aforementioned U.S. patents disclose a structure wherein a resilient cushion on which an article is to be supported, provides a degree of support that is determined by the width of the article to be supported and proper adjustment of bendable bifurcated arms.  
       OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION  
       [0012]     Principal objects of the present invention are to provide an article holder that will hold a portion of an elongate article, such that the article is protected from damage; that can secure an article for quick retrieval, when desired; that will secure an article against instant retrieval during periods of travel and/or other periods when the article is not to be retrieved on a quick basis; that will conform to and readily hold its shape to hold a portion of an article; and that will provide ample cushioning on which an article will rest, even as the bifurcated arms of the article are closed together, spread apart, or otherwise deformed.  
         [0013]     Another object of the invention is to provide an article holder with bifurcated arms and holding structure between the arms that can be rotated to a best holding angle and then be secured in place.  
         [0014]     Still another object is to provide an article holder for a portion of an elongate article that will not damage the article and that will hold such article for easy retrieval or that can be used for more positive holding of the article.  
       FEATURES OF THE INVENTION  
       [0015]     Principal features of the article holder of the invention includes deformable bendable bifurcated arms extending from a common base and having flexible fingers affixed to interior surfaces of the bifurcated arms.  
         [0016]     Other features of the article holder of the present invention further include a cushion system positioned above the base of the article holder and between the bifurcated arms extending from the base. The cushion system is resilient and changes shape with bending of the bifurcated arms at the base. The cushion system is preferably formed integral with resilient cover material that encloses the bifurcated arms and base as a protection for articles positioned in the article holder.  
         [0017]     Still other features of the invention include a threaded support bolt projecting from the base from which the bifurcated arms project to be fastened by a connector to a vehicle, or the like.  
         [0018]     A lock nut is provided on the support bolt to secure the bifurcated arms of the article holder of the invention at a desired angle.  
         [0019]     Additional objects and features of the invention will become apparent to persons skilled in the art to which the invention pertains from the following detailed description and claims.  
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES OF THE INVENTION  
       [0020]     In the Drawings  
         [0021]      FIG. 1  is a front elevation view of a article holder of the invention, shown secured to a mount, shown fragmentarily;  
         [0022]      FIG. 2 , a view like that of  FIG. 1 , but showing the bifurcated arms bent closer together;  
         [0023]      FIG. 3 , a view of an article holder of the invention with some coating material removed; and  
         [0024]      FIG. 4 , a front elevation view of the core material of the article holder of the invention, with all outer covering removed. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0025]     Referring now the Drawings  
         [0026]     In the illustrated preferred embodiment, the article holder of the invention is shown generally at  10 .  
         [0027]     Article holder  10  includes a pair of bifurcated arms  12  and  14  that each have one end fixed to a common base  16 .  
         [0028]     Each of the bifurcated arms  12  and  14  and the common base  16  is covered with a resilient rubberized or plasticzed coating material  18 , shown best in  FIG. 3 . Bifurcated arm  12  has a core  20 A and bifurcated arm  14  has a core  20 B. The cores  20 A and  20 B of the arms  12  and  14  are interconnected by a common core  22  that forms a part of the common base  16 . The material from which cores  20 ,  20 B and core  22  are selected is a strong, durable, bendable material, such as steel, that will retain an assigned shape. Preferably the cores are formed as one piece from a single piece of core material  20 . The material  20  from which cores  20 A,  20 B and  22  are formed is also sufficiently pliable that it can be forcefully bent by hand. The resilient rubberized or plasticzed resilient coating material  18  fit snugly, fully covering the cores  20 A,  20 B and  22  and the head  24  of a bolt  26  and head  24  that is inserted downwardly between the arms  12  and  14  and through the core  22 .  
         [0029]     Bolt  26  also passes through a washer  28  and is threaded through a nut  30 . The coating material then also covers the washer  28  and nut  29 .  
         [0030]     Another nut  32  is threaded onto bolt  26  and bolt  26  may be threaded into a bracket (not shown) to be attached to a vehicle or may be passed through a support bracket  34 , shown fragmentarily in  FIGS. 1 and 2 . If passed through a support bracket  34 , a washer  36  is preferably provided between the support bracket and a nut  38 . Nut  32  is tightened down against support bracket  34  to secure the angular relationship of the article holder  10 .  
         [0031]     Portions  18 A and  18 B of coating material  18 , respectively, cover arms  12  and  14 . The coating material  18  also preferably forms resilient knobs  18 C and  18 D, respectively, on the face ends of arms  12  and  14 . The resilient knobs protect articles being placed downwardly between the bifurcated arms from being scratched or otherwise damaged. A C-clip  39  is also formed by the coating material  18  beneath the knobs  18 D. One end  40  of resilient band  42  is positioned in the C-clip and a tab  44  is provided on an opposite end of the resilient band  40 . The pull tab is used to stretch the resilient band over knob  18 C such that the band  42  is held on the arm  12  by the knob  18 C. Alternatively, the band can be further stretched by pulling on tab  44  to catch beneath one of the spaced apart ears  44 ,  46  or  48  to positively hold an inserted article in position between the legs  12  and  14 .  
         [0032]     A plurality of downwardly and forwardly directed spaced apart, flexible fingers  50  are provided on each of the legs  12  and  14 . The fingers  50  yield to allow insertion of a portion of an elongate article between the arms  12  and  14 . Pressure of the resilient fingers on an inserted article and positioning of fingers past which an article has been inserted hold the article in place, while allowing quick, easy retrieval of the article from the article holder  10 , whenever desired.  
         [0033]     A resilient cushion  52  is provided between the legs  12  and  14  and above the common base  16 . The resilient cushion includes a resilient member  54  curved inwardly from leg  12  and extending from a connection with the inside of the leg  12  to the common base  16 . Similarly, a resilient member  56  curves inwardly from leg  14  and extends from a connection at the inside of leg  14  to the common base  16 . Another upwardly curved strip  58  extends from the resilient member  54  to the resilient member  56 .  
         [0034]     Article holders of the type herein disclosed and capable of holding a portion of an elongate article using bifurcated arms, inwardly and downwardly extending fingers and cushion means between the bifurcated arms, as shown in the aforementioned U.S. patents. Also, it has been known to provide such article holders with a resilient band to more securely hold articles in the article holder. However, with the present invention, the deformable arms  12  and  14  are bendable to more closely fit against a portion of an article positioned in the article holder. The arms  12  and  14  can be bent to extend further away from one another and to receive an article having a greater width. The arms  12  and  14  can also be bent towards one another to receive a portion of an article having a smaller width.  
         [0035]     The resilient cushion  52  provided above the common base  16  and connected to the arms  12  and  14  will remain in place as it is stretched or released to provide continuing support of an inserted article.  
         [0036]     It will also be apparent that the arms  12  and  14  are each separately bendable, if desired, to better accommodate the shape of an article being secured by the article holder. The resilient coating material  18  will stretch and relax to maintain coverage over the arms  12  and  14  and common base  16 , as one or both arms are bent to provide better accommodations of an article.  
         [0037]     Although a preferred embodiment of my invention has been herein described, it is to be understood that the present disclosure is by way of example and that variations are possible without departing from the subject matter coming within the scope of the following claims, which subject matter I regard as my invention.