Abstract:
A vehicle having a cargo extender mounted to a rear portion thereof, preferably a minivan or a sport utility vehicle, is provided. The cargo extender is preferably slidable between a retracted position stowed in an aesthetically-pleasing manner within the rear portion of the vehicle and an extended position where any contents of the extender can be accessed. Further, the cargo extender can be pivoted to different angular positions (as opposed to the generally horizontal position in which it is stored) to provide additional functionality thereto.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
   This application claims the benefit of U.S. provisional application Ser. No. 60/522,654, filed Oct. 25, 2004, which is incorporated herein in its entirety. 

   FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
   The invention relates to a cargo extender mounted between a retracted and an extended position from a rear body area of a minivan or a sport utility vehicle. In various embodiments of the invention, the rear-mounted cargo extender can also be articulated to various multifunctional positions, such as a vertical to act as a rack and downward to act as a step. 
   DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART 
   With the increase in popularity of the minivan and sport utility vehicle (SUV), it has been found that there is a continuous desire to increase the stowing capacity of these vehicles and/or to increase their functionality. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   This invention relates to a vehicle having a cargo extender mounted to a rear portion of a vehicle, preferably a minivan or a sport utility vehicle. The cargo extender is slidable between a retracted position stowed in an aesthetically-pleasing manner within the rear portion of the vehicle and an extended position where any contents of the extender can be accessed. Further, the cargo extender can be pivoted to different angular positions (as opposed to the generally horizontal position in which it is stored) to provide additional functionality to the cargo extender according to the invention. 
   In one aspect, the invention relates to a vehicular rear-mounted cargo extender comprising: a base comprising a support surface; a first strut and a second strut mounted generally to opposing side portions of the base, wherein the struts are adapted to be mounted to a vehicle in a location generally beneath a rear storage location of a vehicle; and a fascia extending across a rear portion of the base, the fascia having an exterior surface configured to match an exterior styling surface of the vehicle adjacent the rear storage location of the vehicle. The first strut and the second strut are thereby mounted to the vehicle between a retracted position and an extended position. 
   In another aspect, the invention relates to a vehicle having a vehicular rear-mounted cargo extender comprising: a vehicle having a rear storage location and an exterior styling surface surrounding the rear storage location; the cargo extender comprising: a base comprising a support surface; a first strut and a second strut mounted generally to opposing side portions of the base, wherein the struts are mounted to the vehicle in a location generally beneath the rear storage location; and a fascia extending across a rear portion of the base, the fascia having an exterior surface configured to match the exterior styling surface of the vehicle adjacent the rear storage location. The first strut and the second strut are thereby mounted to the vehicle between a retracted position and an extended position and, whereby, when the cargo extender is mounted to the vehicle and positioned in the retracted position, the fascia is positioned so that the exterior styling surface and the exterior surface of the fascia are generally contiguous. 
   Various embodiments of the invention are contemplated. For example, each of the first strut and the second strut can each comprise a rearward strut portion mounted to the base and a forward strut portion adapted to be mounted to the vehicle. The rearward and forward strut portions are thereby separated by a pivot, wherein the pivot allows pivotal movement of the rearward strut portion with respect to the forward strut portion as selected by a user. 
   The pivot can allow the rearward strut portion to be positioned in a depending angular position with respect to the forward strut portion. The pivot can allow the rearward strut portion to be positioned in an upward angular position with respect to the forward strut portion. The upward angular position can be a generally vertical angle. 
   An actuator can be operably interconnected to the pivot to allow a user to fixedly and selectively position the rearward strut portion with respect to the forward strut portion. The rear storage location of the vehicle can comprise at least one of a trunk, a rear hatchback, a rear liftgate. The vehicle can comprise at least one of a sport utility vehicle and a crossover utility vehicle. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a vehicle having a rear-mounted cargo extender according to the invention. 
       FIG. 2  is a perspective view of a vehicle having the rear-mounted cargo extender shown in  FIG. 1 , the rear-mounted cargo extender shown in an extended position. 
       FIG. 3  is a side elevational view of the rear-mounted cargo extender shown in  FIG. 1  shown in the extended position. 
       FIG. 4  is a side elevational view of the rear-mounted cargo extender shown in  FIG. 1 , shown in the extended position and illustrating the pivotal movement of the cargo extender between upwardly-pivoted and downwardly-pivoted positions shown in phantom lines. 
       FIG. 5  is a side elevational view of the rear-mounted cargo extender shown in  FIG. 1 , shown located in the downwardly-pivoted position. 
       FIG. 6  is a side elevational view of the rear-mounted cargo extender shown in  FIG. 1 , shown located in the upwardly-pivoted position. 
   

   DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
   With reference to the drawings and to  FIGS. 1-2  in particular, a vehicle  10  having a rear area  12  is shown having a cargo extender  14  mounted thereto and movable between a retracted position as shown in  FIG. 1  and an extended position as shown in  FIG. 2 . In the retracted position of  FIG. 1 , the cargo extender  14  is still stowed within the rear area  12  of the vehicle  10  and preferably has an outer fascia  18  forming an aesthetically-pleasing interaction with the styling of the rear area  12  of the vehicle  10 . In the extended position of  FIG. 2 , the cargo extender  14  is extended along a generally horizontal plane out of the rear area  12  of the vehicle  10  so that any contents of the cargo extender  14  can be accessed by a user of the vehicle  10 . 
   With reference to  FIGS. 2-3 , the cargo extender  14  preferably comprises a extender-or tray-like structure formed by a pair of lateral struts  16  which form side rails of the cargo extender  14  and terminate at each corresponding outward end thereof to the fascia  18  of the cargo extender  14 . The cargo extender  14  has a base  20  which can be any suitable lower surface of the cargo extender  14 , such as the meshwork shown in  FIG. 2 . 
   A pair of mounting struts  22  are mounted to the interior of the rear area  12  of the vehicle  10  and are preferably slidably mounted with respect to the rear area  12  of the vehicle  10 . The mounting struts  22  are interconnected to the cargo extender struts  16  by a multifunctional pivot joint  24 . A suitable embodiment of the multifunctional pivot joint  24  is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,364,392, issued Apr. 2, 2002, commonly assigned to the owner of this invention described herein, and which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. The struts  16  and the mounting struts  22  can be formed in any suitable manner to create the desired movement of the cargo extender  14  as described herein. However, it should be noted that the mounting post assemblies in the above-incorporated patent are suitable for this purpose. 
   The multifunctional pivot joint  24  preferably has more than one function and assists in the positioning of the cargo extender  14  relative to the rear area  12  of the vehicle  10 . The articulation provided to the cargo extender  14  relative to the rear area  12  of the vehicle  10  is shown in  FIG. 4  by the cargo extender  14  shown in its generally standard horizontal position in solid lines. A first upwardly articulated position is shown in phantom lines wherein the cargo extender  14  can be used as a rack such as for bicycles. A second downwardly articulated position is shown in phantom lines in which the cargo extender  14  can be used to assist a user into stepping into the rear area  12  of the vehicle  10 , such as when a liftgate is open and the user needs to access the contents behind the liftgate. The articulated positions of the cargo extender  14  relative to the rear area  12  of the vehicle  10  are shown in solid lines in  FIGS. 5-6 . 
   Use of the cargo extender  14  is relatively straightforward. The cargo extender  14  would be typically stored in the retracted position shown in  FIG. 1  whereby the fascia  18  forms an aesthetically-pleasing interface with the remainder of the rear area  12  of the vehicle  10 . When a user desires to access the cargo extender  14 , the user simply releases the cargo extender  14  from the retracted position and slides the cargo extender  14  outwardly from the rear area  12  of the vehicle  10  into the extended position such as that shown in  FIG. 2  in the drawings. The user can articulate an actuator  26  to perform such release functions as: releasing the cargo extender from the retracted position to the extended position, and articulating the cargo extender  14  from a generally horizontal position into either an upwardly or downwardly articulated position. 
   The cargo extender  14  which is preferably positioned in a rear area  12  of the vehicle  10  described herein according to the invention provides benefits over prior art minivans and sport-utility vehicles without such stowage-enhancing features. A user of the vehicle  10  can store additional cargo within the cargo extender  14  and carry the cargo within the interior of the vehicle  10  in a concealed manner. A user of the vehicle  10  can also use the cargo extender in an upwardly articulated position while operating the vehicle  10  to carry items on the cargo extender positioned in the extended position, such as bicycles or other things to be carried on the rear of the vehicle. A user the vehicle  10  can also use the cargo extender  14  in a downwardly articulated position, for example, such as by a step to assist the user of the vehicle  10  to climb into the rear area  12  of the vehicle  10 . 
   While the invention has been specifically described in connection with certain specific embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that this is by way of illustration and not of limitation, and the scope of the appended claims should be construed as broadly as the prior art will permit.