Rear-mounted vehicle cargo carrier

The rear-mounted vehicle cargo carrier includes a mounting bar for detachable mounting on a vehicle. A first arm is pivotally mounted on the mounting bar. The first arm pivotally carries a second arm. A frame bar is pivotally carried on the second arm. The frame bar is part of the cargo carrier rack, which has fittings suitable to carry the selected cargo. With this structure, the rack can be swung in any desired direction out of the way of the rear doors or tailgates of the vehicle. A locking pin locks the rack and arms to the mounting bar in folded, travel position.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
This invention is directed to a cargo carrier which can be attached to the 
rear of an automotive vehicle. The carrier is locked in place and is 
mounted on arms so that, when unlocked, the carrier can be moved to a 
large number of different positions for access to the rear of the vehicle 
and for access to the carrier for loading and unloading its cargo. 
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
It is often useful to carry cargo, such as sports equipment, on the outside 
of an automotive vehicle. Such usage may be required because the interior 
is already sufficiently occupied by passengers and/or other cargo. 
Sometimes the cargo to be carried is of such large size that it is 
inconvenient to place it within the vehicle. Sports equipment, such as 
skis, bicycles, surfboards and the like are of such nature. Some feel it 
desirable to roof-mount the extra cargo. This is undesirable both for 
reasons of the windage while traveling and for the relative 
inaccessability of the roof for loading and unloading. While bicycles are 
sometimes carried on the roof, rear-mounting racks are also available for 
the carrying of bicycles. Some things, such as wheelchairs, are too heavy 
to conveniently place on the roof, and in some cases, have been placed on 
rear-mounted racks. 
There are devices for mounting on the rear of a motor vehicle for the 
carrying of various different cargoes. There are trunk deck-mounting 
structures as well as rear bumper-mounting structures. Some motor vehicles 
are equipped with a receiver which is positioned beneath the bumper at the 
rear centerline of the vehicle. These receivers are normally employed for 
the placement of a trailer ball so that a trailer may be pulled by the 
motor vehicle. However, such receivers can also be employed to support 
other devices, such as bicycle racks. When such are mounted on the rear of 
a motor vehicle that has rear-opening tailgates or doors, those 
rear-mounted racks are in the way of access. Accordingly, there is need 
for a rear-mounted vehicle cargo carrier which can be moved to a 
convenient position for loading and unloading cargo and can be moved to a 
convenient position out of the way for access to, an opening of, rear 
doors and/or tailgates on the motor vehicle on which it is mounted. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
In order to aid in the understanding of this invention, it can be stated in 
essentially summary form that it is directed to a rear-mounted vehicle 
cargo carrier. The vehicle cargo carrier has a mounting bar for preferably 
detachably mounting to a vehicle. The mounting bar pivotally carries a 
first arm, the first arm pivotally carries a second arm and the second arm 
pivotally carries a carrier rack configured to carry the desired cargo. 
The carrier rack and arms can be moved to engage the mounting bar and 
locked thereto for travel. Upon unlocking, the carrier rack can be swung 
to the left or right of the vehicle and/or moved away from the 
rear-opening doors or tailgate. 
It is thus a purpose and advantage of this invention to provide a 
rear-mounted vehicle rack such as a mounting bar for attachment to the 
vehicle and has a first arm pivoted on the mounting bar, a second arm 
pivoted on the first arm and has a vehicle rack pivoted on the second arm 
so that the vehicle rack can be swung left and right of the vehicle or 
away from the vehicle. 
It is a further purpose and advantage of this invention to provide a 
rear-mounted vehicle rack which can be swung to either side for loading 
and unloading so that it can be positioned for accessibility even in 
crowded parking locations. 
It is a further purpose and advantage of this invention to provide a 
rear-mounted vehicle rack which is pivoted so that it can swing to either 
side so that it can be moved to a location to take advantage of an uneven 
parking place and moved to the downhill side, when the vehicle is 
laterally tilted. 
It is another purpose and advantage of this invention to provide a 
rear-mounted vehicle rack which can be mounted in any standard receiver 
which is mounted on the rear of a large number of motor vehicles. 
The features of the present invention, which are going to be novel, are set 
forth with particularity in the appended claims. The present invention, 
both as to its organization and manner of operation, together with further 
objects and advantages thereof, may be best understood by reference to the 
following description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings 
.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
FIG. 1 shows the back end of a conventional motor vehicle 10 which has road 
wheels and is self-propelled by means of an internal combustion engine. 
The motor vehicle 10 illustrated is the type having rear access in the 
form of left and right doors 12 and 14. The doors 12 and 14 are on hinges 
with substantially vertical axes. The hinges are on the outer edges so 
that the doors part on the centerline and open outwards toward the sides. 
This is a specific illustration and the rear-mounted vehicle cargo carrier 
of this invention works just as well on vehicles with trunks, tailgates or 
doors hinged at the top to swing outwards and upwards from the bottom. The 
vehicle 10 may have a bumper 16 below the doors. The bumper 16 is usually 
mounted to the vehicle frame so that there is minimum damage in low-speed 
collisions. Receiver 18 is rigidly mounted on the frame of the vehicle 10, 
is positioned below the bumper, and extends out substantially in line with 
the rear of the bumper. The receiver 18 is a standard structure and is 
often used for the support of a trailer hitch ball so that a trailer can 
be towed by the vehicle 10. The receiver 18 has a square opening 20 
therein to receive a bar on which the trailer ball is mounted. A cross pin 
22, see FIG. 5, holds the bar in place. 
The rear-mounted vehicle cargo carrier, indicated generally at 24, is seen 
in FIG. 1 in exploded partly extended position. In FIG. 2, it is seen in 
rear elevation. In FIG. 3, it is seen in plan view. In FIG. 5, a portion 
of it is seen in section, looking leftward toward the receiver 18. In FIG. 
6, it is shown in elevational view as seen from the rear, when it is in 
locked position. In FIG. 6, parts are broken away to shorten the length of 
the several arms for convenience of illustration. 
FIGS. 1 and 5 show mounting bar 26 which is sized to fit into the receiver 
18 and is the main or only support of the vehicle cargo carrier with 
respect to the vehicle. The mounting bar is sufficiently strong to support 
the entire vehicle cargo carrier and the cargo mounted thereon, but 
sometimes an additional tie-down is helpful for reducing vibration. The 
mounting bar 26 has a pinhole 28 to receive the pin 22 to lock the 
mounting bar in the receiver. The outer end of the mounting bar carries 
flange 30. Flange 30 is generally horizontal when the vehicle 10 is 
horizontal. The flange 30 may be one of two flanges of an angle iron, the 
other flange 32 of which is welded to the rear end of mounting bar 26. 
Bearing post 34 is attached to the underside of flange 30, as by welding. 
Bearing hole 36 extends downward through the flange 30 and bearing post 
34. 
A first arm 38 of the cargo carrier 24 carries bearing pin 40 extending 
downwardly on its inner end. The configuration of the flange 30 and the 
positioning of bearing hole 36 is such that the first arm 38 can swing 180 
degrees from its leftmost position (shown in FIG. 2) around to the right. 
In FIG. 1 it has not reached its rightmost position. Set screw 41 is 
positioned in a threaded hole through the side of bearing post 34. When 
the set screw is tightened, it clamps on bearing pin 40 to stop rotation 
of the bearing pin and stop rotation of first arm 38. In this way, the 
first arm 38 can be clamped in a selected position. The first 38 arm has a 
length which is preferably between one-half and onethird the total width 
of the vehicle 10 so that the outer end of the arm 38 does not extend 
beyond the sides of the vehicle. 
A second arm 42 of the cargo carrier 24 is positioned above first arm 38. 
The inner end of the second arm 42 is pivoted to the outer end of the 
first arm 38 on pivot pin 44. As seen in FIGS. 2 and 6, the second arm 42 
is preferably slightly longer than the first arm 38. 
A carrier rack, indicated generally at 46 can be configured to carry the 
desired cargo. The illustrated rack 46 has a rectangular frame which 
includes bottom and top horizontal frame bars 48 and 49, and upright frame 
bars 50 and 51. The bottom frame bar 48 carries a downwardly directed 
pivot pin 52 (see FIGS. 1, 2 and 6) which engages through a bearing hole 
in the outer end of second arm 42. In this way, the bottom frame bar 48 
and the entire carrier rack 46 are pivotal on a vertical axis on the end 
of second arm 42. The rack 46 may carry any structural elements which are 
helpful in carrying a particular kind of cargo. For example, arms with 
hooks would help it carry bicycles. In the illustrated version, ski clamps 
54, 55, 56 and 57 are mounted on bars extending rearwardly from the rack 
46. Other configurations of bars, clamps and housings would be convenient 
for carrying other varieties of cargo. Manual handle bars 58 and 59 are 
convenient for manipulation of the carrier rack 46 as well as the entire 
cargo carrier 24 with its arms 38 and 42. For convenience of designation, 
the orientation of the rack 46, as seen in FIG. 1, will be called rearward 
facing because it faces in the same direction as the rear of the 
automotive vehicle 10. 
The pivoting of carrier rack 46 on the outer end of second arm 42, the 
pivoting of second arm 42 on the outer end of first arm 38 and the 
pivoting of the inner end of first arm 38 on mounting bar 26 permit a wide 
degree of motion of rack 46 with respect to motor vehicle 10. In the 
locked travel position, both the first and second arms 38 and 42 
respectively are positioned to the left, as seen in FIGS. 2 and 6; also 
note the solid line showing in FIG. 3 and the partial showing in FIG. 4. 
When released from the travel position, the rack 46 may be swung to the 
left, as in FIG. 3 in broken lines, to permit access and opening of door 
14. It may be moved straight back for opening both doors. It may be swung 
to the left or to the right, as also seen in FIG. 3 in broken lines, for 
loading on the left or right side of the vehicle. The positioning of the 
rack for loading and/or unloading may be dictated by the fact that the 
motor vehicle is not parked on absolutely level ground. If the ground 
slopes to the right, swinging the rack to the right provides more 
stability. Furthermore, since the arms are pivoted at both of their ends, 
the rack may be moved into an infinite number of positions with the back 
of the rack facing in almost any selected position. In this way, 
tremendous convenience is provided both for positioning the rack for 
loading and unloading as well as for access to the tailgate or rear doors 
of the vehicle. 
Stops are provided to properly position the rack and arms for locking, and 
a lock pin is provided for locking the rack and arms in travel position. 
As is best seen in FIGS. 1, 5 and 6, stop tube 60 is secured to the back 
of bottom frame bar 48. The stop tube 60 extends below the bottom of the 
bar 48 so that, when rack 46 is rotated in the clockwise direction on the 
second arm 42, the lower end of the stop tube 60 engages against the back 
side of second arm 42. Similarly, stop tube 62 is secured to the back side 
of second arm 42 and extends therebelow to engage against the back side of 
first arm 38. In addition, stop tube 64 is secured to the back of first 
arm 38 but is even with the bottom thereof. These stop tubes are aligned 
with each other and with stop pin opening 66 (see FIG. 1) when the arms 
are swung forward on the left side and the rack 46 is in the rear-facing 
position. In this position, stop pin 68 can be inserted to lock the arms 
and rack frame into that travel position. Access to the rear doors and/or 
tailgate of the vehicle is easily achieved by pulling the stop pin 68 
upward free of its stop tubes and then swinging the rack to left, right or 
pulling it rearwardly as desired. 
This invention has been described in its presently contemplated best mode, 
and it is clear that it is susceptible to numerous modifications, modes 
and embodiments within the ability of those skilled in the art and without 
the exercise of the inventive faculty. Accordingly, the scope of this 
invention is defined by the scope of the following claims.