Abstract:
A rotatable rack for a vehicle bed. The rack can be clamped onto a bed of a vehicle and an item, which can optionally include a case or a tool box, can be rotated into and out of the bed of the truck. The rack can be locked into one or more positions via a pin engaging one or more openings. The rack can hold the item inside of the bed of the vehicle suspended above the bed such that the item does not get slammed up and down as violently when traveling down a rough road as it would if it were merely placed on the bottom of the bed of the vehicle.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Field of the Invention (Technical Field) 
     Embodiments of the present invention relate to a rotatable rack. More particularly, embodiments of the present invention relate to a rotatable rack which can be mounted on the side of a truck bed and to which tools, equipment, and other items, including but not limited to gun cases, can be attached and made to pivot from inside of the truck bed to an area outside of the truck bed. 
     Description of Related Art 
     Note that the following discussion refers to a number of publications by author(s) and year of publication, and that due to recent publication dates certain publications are not to be considered as prior art vis-a-vis the present invention. Discussion of such publications herein is given for more complete background and is not to be construed as an admission that such publications are prior art for patentability determination purposes. 
     Although vehicle beds provide a large and convenient space in which to transport cargo, such beds often subject cargo to a rather rough ride. This is partly because of the stiff suspension of trucks that is provided in order to accommodate heavy loads and it is partly because the bed of the vehicle is not used for transporting people. 
     Often, persons transport valuable and/or fragile cargo in the bed of a truck. This is because such cargo cannot fit into the cab of a truck or it is because the driver prefers that it be separated physically from them. In such instances, the driver must then attempt to drive very carefully and smoothly or must provide some shock-absorbing packaging for the cargo. Of course, it is often not possible to drive smoothly (i.e. when the road surface is rough) and shock absorbing packaging takes up space, typically provides a very minimal amount of shock absorption, and does not secure the cargo. Thus, even with shock-absorbing packaging, the user must still strap the cargo to prevent it from sliding around on the bed of the vehicle. 
     There is thus a present need for a method and apparatus which provides an expedient and effective mechanism for not only providing significant shock-absorption for cargo, but which also prevents the cargo from sliding about in the bed of the truck. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE PRESENT INVENTION 
     An embodiment of the present invention relates to a rack having one or more vehicle bed clamps, a cross member, a plurality of arms; the arms disposed at opposing end portions of the cross member, a hinge connecting each of the arms to the cross member, and at least one tab disposed proximal to at least one of said arms; said tab comprising a pin-receiving opening. In one embodiment, the at least one tab includes two tabs, and each of the two tabs has at least one pin-receiving opening. The at least one tab can be disposed near each of the arms. A pin, positionable to engage the pin-receiving portion of the at least one tab can also be provided. At least one of the arms can include a pin-opening disposed therethrough. 
     In one embodiment, the arms can have a bend in them. The one or more vehicle bed clamps can have c-shape, for example, a shape similar to a conventional C-clamp. The one or more vehicle bed clamps can have a threaded portion which secures the rack to the vehicle bed upon rotation of the threaded portion. Optionally one or more tubes can be provided which can be disposed over at least part of said threaded portion. The rack can include an item attached to the arms, which can optionally include a case, including but not limited to a gun case, and/or a tool box. 
     Optionally, a pivoting member can be connected to the arms. And, an item can be connected to the pivoting member, such that it is pivotable with respect to the arms. 
     An embodiment of the present invention also relates to a rack having a pair of vehicle bed clamps, a cross member extending between the pair of vehicle bed clamps, a first arm hingedly connected to a first end portion of the cross member, a second arm hingedly connected to a second end portion of the cross member, and at least one tab disposed proximal to at least one of the arms, the tab comprising a pin-receiving opening. 
     Objects, advantages and novel features, and further scope of applicability of the present invention will be set forth in part in the detailed description to follow, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, and in part will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon examination of the following, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and attained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated into and form a part of the specification, illustrate one or more embodiments of the present invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention. The drawings are only for the purpose of illustrating one or more preferred embodiments of the invention and are not to be construed as limiting the invention. In the drawings: 
         FIGS. 1 and 2  are drawings which respectively illustrate an elevated perspective view and a top view of a mounting rack of the present invention; 
         FIGS. 3A and 3B  are drawings that illustrate embodiments of pivot mechanisms of the mounting rack of the present invention; 
         FIGS. 4, 5, and 6  are drawings which illustrate front and perspective side views of an embodiment of a mounting rack of the present attached to the side of a vehicle; 
         FIGS. 7, 8, 9, and 10  are drawings which illustrate a rack according to an embodiment of the present invention with a case attached thereto which is attached to the side of a vehicle and which illustrates the case at various positions which the rack is capable of retaining the case at; 
         FIG. 11  is a drawing which illustrates a case disposed on a rack according to an embodiment of the present invention which is mounted on the side of a vehicle and wherein the case is in an open position; and 
         FIG. 12  is a drawing which illustrates a toolbox hingedly connected to a rack according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 13  is a drawing which illustrates an embodiment of the present invention wherein a plurality of holes are provided for a multiple adjustment positions; and 
         FIG. 14  is a drawing which illustrates an embodiment of the present invention wherein a security mechanism is provided which inhibits theft of the apparatus. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     An embodiment of the present invention is directed to a pivoting rack that mounts to the side of vehicle bed, including but not limited to the sides of pickup truck beds. The rack preferably provides significant shock absorption and provides the user the ability to simply and expeditiously load and unload the cargo from into and out of the truck bed. 
     Referring now to the figures, rack  10  preferably includes a plurality of arms  12 . Rack  10  can pivot such that attached item  14  (see  FIG. 9 ) is attached to arms  12  of rack  10  can be moved from the outside of vehicle  16  (see  FIG. 9 ) to the inside of vehicle  16  and such that, if desired, item  14  can be suspended above the bed of vehicle  16 . Because arms  12  of rack  10  can optionally comprise a material having desirable stress-strain characteristics, such as elastic properties, the rack&#39;s positioning of item  14  above the bed of vehicle  16  thus promotes a reduction in shock-forces that would otherwise be encountered by item  14 . In one embodiment, item  14  can comprise any item which is desired to be transported, including but not limited to cases, containers, equipment, tools, combinations thereof, and the like. 
     By not bouncing around in the bed of a vehicle, more fragile items can thus be transported in the back of a vehicle. As best illustrated in  FIG. 12 , in one embodiment, item  14  can optionally be connected to swinging bracket  17  or another pivot point which can itself be attached to one or more of arms  12  such that item  14  can pivot with respect to rack  10 , thus permitting item  14  to remain in an upright position when rack  10  is rotated from inside of a bed of a vehicle to outside of the bed of the vehicle. As further illustrated therein, in one embodiment, item  14  can comprise a tool box or cabinet, which can optionally contain one or more compartments or drawers  19 . 
     Rack  10  preferably comprises hinges  18  which enable arms  12  to rotate with respect to cross-member  20 . Cross-member  20  is preferably rigidly connected to clamps  22 , which are most preferably spaced apart and are disposed at or near the proximal and distal end portions of cross-members  20 . In one embodiment, as best illustrated in  FIGS. 3B and 6 , one or more tabs are preferably attached to one or more of clamps  22  and/or cross member  20 . Tabs are preferably positioned near one or both of arms  12  and  24  and most preferably comprise one or more openings  26 . In this embodiment, pin  28  is preferably disposed through a lower portion of one or more of arms  12  and pin  28  can also be passed through opening  26  in tab  24 . In this embodiment, when pin  28  is passed through arm  12  and opening  26 , arm  12  is preferably held in a fixed position and is thus no longer free to rotate about hinge  18 . In one embodiment, a pair of tabs can be disposed back-to-back so that an opening of one of tabs  24  permits arm  12  to be held in a first position, whereas positioning pin  28  in the other tab causes arm  12  to be held in a second position. In one embodiment, a pair of tabs can be disposed back-to-back but can be spaced a slight distance apart such that a first opening for pin  28  is provided in a first tab, a second opening for pin  28  is provided in a second tab and a third opening for pin  28  is formed by the gap between the two tabs. This embodiment, thus provides three different locking positions for arm  12 . 
     Although clamps  22  can be constructed so as to form any structure capable of attaching rack  10  to a vehicle, in one embodiment, clamps  22  most preferably comprise a shape similar to that of a C-clamp, such that a user can simply side the clamps over a side of a truck bed and then the user need only screw a threaded member of the clamp to secure it to the vehicle. 
     In one embodiment, rack  10  preferably comprises two arms  12 , each of which are preferably connected at their proximal end to cross-member  20  via hinge  18  and a proximal end-portion of arms  12  are preferably each connected to an item which can optionally comprise a case and which can optionally comprise a tool box or a gun case. In one embodiment, item  14  is rotationally-connected to one or more arms  12 . In an alternative embodiment, item  14  is non-rotationally connected to one or more of arms  12 . In one embodiment, only one of arms  12  is securable to tabs  24  via pin  28 . In an alternative embodiment, a plurality of arms  12  are securable to tabs  24  via pins  28 . 
     In one embodiment arms  12  preferably comprise a bend in them which permits the arms to be oriented such that they are in a predetermined desired orientation, for example substantially vertical, when rotated to the fully out and down position on the side of the vehicle. In one embodiment, the bend in the arms can be formed such that it is an angularly-adjustable component. In one embodiment, the bend in arms  12  can be a lockable angularly-adjustable component. 
     In one embodiment, cross member  20  comprises a pipe or tube which has a length that is at least five times greater than its width and its height. In one embodiment, clamps  22  comprise a C-shape and are configured such that they can be slid from inside of a truck bed toward the outside of the truck bed, thereby causing their bottom portion to be placed under the lip of a top rail of a side of a truck bed and such that when a threaded rod is rotated on the bottom of the clamp, it travels upward and thereby presses upward against the bottom of the top rail of the side of the truck bed, thereby causing the top rail to be clamped between an end portion of the threaded rod (or something connected to the end of the threaded rod) and the bottom side of an upper member of the clamp. 
     In one embodiment, no holes need to be drilled into any portion of a vehicle in order to properly install rack  10  to the vehicle. In one embodiment, no permanent modifications, such as welding, are required in order to properly install rack  10  to the vehicle. 
     In one embodiment, item  14  is rigidly secured to arms  12  and thus does not rotate with respect to arms  12  when arms  12  are rotated to move the item from inside of a vehicle bed to a location outside of the vehicle bed. Thus, in one embodiment, the orientation of the item with respect to the ground becomes inverted when moved from inside of the truck bed to an outside of the truck bed and/or vice-versa. In one embodiment, aside from cross member  20  and item  14 , no other portions of rack  10  span a distance between arms  12  (i.e. no end rail or other structure is provided to join or other wise span between arms  12 ). In one embodiment, when rack  10  is installed in its intended operating position on a vehicle, hinges  18  extend above a top portion of a top rail of a side of the vehicle bed. In one embodiment, when installed in its intended operating position, cross member  20  preferably rests above a top of a top rail of a side of the vehicle bed. 
     As best illustrated in  FIG. 13 , a plurality of holes  26  can be provided such that arms  12  comprise multiple adjustment positions. As best illustrated in  FIG. 14 , in one embodiment, rack  10  can comprise a security feature. Which can optionally include tab  30  secured or otherwise formed onto a lower portion of clamp  22  which can include hole  32  which can be aligned with a respective hole  32  in tab  36 , which itself can be secured or otherwise formed onto tube  34 . In this embodiment, a user preferably slides tube  34  up over a lower end of a threaded member of clamp  22  so that it is covered, thus inhibiting the ability for someone to use pliers or another object to turn the threaded member and thus remove rack  10 . Once tube  34  is in place, a user preferably aligns holes  32  with one another and secures them together by passing a lock (for example a pad or combination lock) through holes  32 . In a further embodiment, a user can optionally remove the threaded member of clamp  22  and slide tube  38  up over it and then place the threaded member back into clamp  22 . Thus, the portion of the threaded member which extends up from clamp  22  is protected by tube  38 . The lower end of the threaded portion can then be covered with tube  34 . 
     In one embodiment, when item  14  is inside of a bed of the vehicle, no portion of the vehicle contacts item  14  and no portion of the vehicle contacts an end portion of any of arms  12  which is near the point of contact for item  14 . Thus, in one embodiment, when item  14  is inside of a bed of the vehicle, arms  12  do not contact the bottom of the bed of the vehicle. 
     Optionally, a hole can be disposed in one or a plurality of arms  12  near the pivot point of the rack such that a pin or other fastener can be disposed, thereby locking the rack into a particular position. The rack can be removably-positionable with respect to the side of the vehicle via a clamping mechanism. 
     Although the invention has been described in detail with particular reference to these preferred embodiments, other embodiments can achieve the same results. Variations and modifications of the present invention will be obvious to those skilled in the art and it is intended to cover in the appended claims all such modifications and equivalents. The entire disclosures of all references, applications, patents, and publications cited above are hereby incorporated by reference.