Patent Publication Number: US-2009230162-A1

Title: Foldable bicycle rack

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a bicycle rack attached to rear end of vehicles and the bicycle rack can be foldable to reduce space occupied when not in use. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     A conventional bicycle rack attached to rear end of a vehicle is shown in  FIG. 9  and generally includes a base part  41  connected to a tube which is connected to rear end of a vehicle, and two side tubes  44  each have a first end  441  and pivotably connected to the base part  41  by pins  46  and two rings  45  are connected to a second end of each of the two side tubes  44  so that wheels of the bicycle (not shown) on the bicycle rack are positioned by the rings  45 . A post  42  has a first end  421  connected to the base part  41  and a second of the post  42  include two positioning members  43  connected thereto by a locking member  431 . Each positioning member  43  has a hook so as to hook the top tube of a bicycle. The locking member  431  allows the positioning members  43  to be set at desired position on the post  42 . 
     However, the conventional bicycle rack occupies too much space and the post  42  is located such that the back hatch of the vehicle cannot be opened. 
     The present invention intends to provide a foldable bicycle rack which can be tilted to allow the back hatch to be opened while the bicycle rack is still connected to the rear end of the vehicle. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a foldable bicycle rack which comprises a rack unit and a support unit which is connected with rear end of a vehicle. The support unit includes a U-shaped member which is pivotably connected to an L-shaped tube by a connection part. A bottom piece is connected to a first end of the L-shaped tube and a top piece is connected to the first end of the rack unit, the top piece is connected to the bottom piece by a pin. The second end of the rack unit is pivotably connected to a distal end of the support unit. 
     The primary object of the present invention is to provide a foldable bicycle rack connected to rear end of a vehicle and the bicycle rack can be folded to reduce space occupied by the bicycle rack. 
     Another object of the present invention is to provide a foldable bicycle rack wherein the rack unit can be tilted an angle to allow the back hatch of the vehicle to be opened without removing the bicycle rack from the vehicle. 
     The present invention will become more obvious from the following description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings which show, for purposes of illustration only, a preferred embodiment in accordance with the present invention. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view to show the foldable bicycle rack of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is an exploded view to show the foldable bicycle rack of the present invention; 
         FIG. 3  is a partial cross sectional view of the connected to the L-shaped tube and the U-shaped member  21  of the foldable bicycle rack of the present invention; 
         FIG. 3-1  is a cross sectional view taken along line a-a in  FIG. 3 ; 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective view to show the connection of the guide plate and the U-shaped member of the support unit of the foldable bicycle rack of the present invention; 
         FIG. 4-1  is a cross sectional view taken along line a-a in  FIG. 4 ; 
         FIG. 5  is an exploded view to show the holding bar and the locking unit of the foldable bicycle rack of the present invention; 
         FIG. 6  shows that a bicycle is secured on the foldable bicycle rack of the present invention; 
         FIG. 7  shows the folded status of the foldable bicycle rack of the present invention; 
         FIG. 8  shows that the rack unit is tilted an angle relative to the L-shaped tube, and 
         FIG. 9  is a perspective view to show a conventional bicycle rack. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Referring to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the foldable bicycle rack “A” of the present invention comprises a rack unit  1  and a support unit  2  which is connected with rear end  3  of a vehicle as shown in  FIG. 7 . The support unit  2  includes a U-shaped member  21  which is pivotably connected to an L-shaped tube  22  by a connection part  23 . The L-shaped tube  22  has a bottom piece  24  connected to a first end thereof and an insertion portion  222  is connected to a second end of the L-shaped tube  22 . The insertion portion  222  is inserted into a reception hole  31  at the rear end  3  of the vehicle as shown in  FIG. 7 . The bottom piece  24  is a U-shaped body  241  which includes a reception space  242  and a clamp member  2421  is located in the reception space  242  and two holes  243  are defined through the U-shaped body  241 . A positioning slot  244  is defined in an underside of the U-shaped body  241  and the L-shaped tube  22  is engaged with the positioning slot  244 . The L-shaped tube  22  has an oval hole  223  so that the bolt  27  extends through the oval hole  223  and the bottom piece  24 . A convex  245  is located within the positioning slot  244  and is engaged with a hollow interior  221  of the L-shaped tube  22  to easily position the bottom piece  24  to the L-shaped tube  22  when assembly. 
     Further referring to FIGS.  3  and  3 - 1 , the rack unit  1  generally is a rectangular frame and includes a first end and a second end, wherein a tube  13  is bent to be a U-shaped frame and a part of the tube  13  forms the second end of the rack unit  1 . A first end  131  and a second end  132  of the tube  13  are separated at a distance. A bar  11  has two ends thereof connected to two connection sleeves  14  on the first and second ends  131 ,  132  of the tube  13 . A top piece  12  is connected to the bar  11  of the first end of the rack unit and the top piece  12  includes an inverted U-frame  121 . A protrusion  122  is connected to an inside of the inverted U-frame  121 . The protrusion  122  is engaged with the reception space  242  of the U-shaped body  241  and a notch  124  is defined in the protrusion  122  and the clamp member  2421  clamps the bar  11  via the notch  124 . The protrusion  122  includes a passage  123  through which the bar  11  extends. The pin  25  extends through the holes  243  of the bottom piece  24  and the passage  123  of the top piece  12  to connect the rack unit  1  to the support unit  2 . By this arrangement, the second end of the rack unit  1  is pivotably connected to a distal end  211  of the support unit  2 . The pin  25  is an L-shaped pin and connected with a rope  251  which ties the pin  25  to the L-shaped tube  22 . 
     Referring to FIGS.  4  and  4 - 1 , the rack unit  1  includes a tilt unit  16  which includes a guide plate  17  and a positioning rod  18 , the guide plate  17  is connected to one of two rods  15  connected between the first and second ends of the rack unit  1 . The guide plate  17  includes a curved slot  171  defined therethrough which includes a high end and a low end. The positioning rod  18  is connected to the U-shaped member  21  and slidably engaged with the curved slot  171  in the guide plate  17 . The positioning rod  18  includes a U-plate  181  fixed to the distal end  211  of the U-shaped member  21  and two through holes  1811  are defined through the U-plate  181 . A spring  183  and a clamp  184  are located between two sides of the U-plate and an axle  182  extends through the two through holes  1811 , the spring  183  and the clamp  184 . An end of the positioning rod  18  is connected with a handle  185  so that the positioning rod  18  can be pulled to compress the spring  183  by pulling the handle  185  so as to allow the rack unit  1  to be tilted along the curved slot  171 . 
     The rack unit  1  further includes a plurality of locking units  19  connected between the two sides and the two rods  15  parallel to the two sides of the rack unit  1 . The two wheels of the bicycle that is carried by the bicycler rack “A” can be positioned by the locking units  19 . A U-shaped holding bar  193  is connected between the two rods  15  of the rack unit  1  to hold the handlebar of the bicycle as shown in  FIG. 6 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 5 , each of the locking units  19  includes a body  191  which includes a rectangular slot  1911  in a first side thereof so that the rod  15  is engaged with the rectangular slot  1911 . A positioning slot  1912  is defined in the first side of the body  191  and a distal end of the holding bar  193  is engaged with the positioning slot  1912 . The positioning slot  192  is composed of a longitude slot  1913  and a latitude slot  1914  which communicates with the lever  192  longitude slot  1913 . The longitude slot  1913  and the latitude slot  1914  decide the position of the holding bar  193  when distal end of the holding bar  193  is engaged with one of the longitude slot  1913  and the latitude slot  1914 . A groove  1915  is defined in a second side of the body  191  and a lever  192  is pivotably connected to the groove  1915 . The lever  192  includes a cam portion  1921  which is rotatably engaged with the groove  1915  and a pin extends through the distal end of the holding bar  193  and is connected to the cam portion  1921  so as to secure and control the distal end of the holding bar  193 . The lever  192  has an operation plate  1922  and the groove  1915  communicates with an engaging notch  1916 . The operation plate  1922  is engaged with the engaging notch  1916  and defines an access hole between the operation plate  1922  and the body  191 , so that the user can insert his/her finger to lift the lever  192 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 6 , the foldable bicycle rack “A” is connected to the rear end  3  of the vehicle by inserting the insertion portion  222  of the L-shaped tube  22  into the reception hole  31  in the rear end  3  of the vehicle. The rack unit  1  is then connected to the support unit  2  by connecting the top piece  12  and the bottom piece  24 . The holding bar  193  is adjusted to upright position to hole the handlebar of the bicycle so that the bicycle does not shake. 
     As shown in  FIG. 7 , when the foldable bicycle rack “A” is not in use, the pin  25  is removed, the positioning rod  18  is pulled and the quick-release  26  is released, the rack unit  1  is rotated counter clockwise and the U-shaped member  21  is pivoted clockwise, the rack unit  1  can be pivoted to upright position. The holding bar  193  is then positioned to horizontal position. The locking units  19  are released and the holding bar  193  is removed from the longitude slot  1913  and engaged with the latitude slot  1914 . The locking units  19  are then locked again. The rack unit  1  can be easily connected to or removed from the support unit  2 . The rack unit  1  and the U-shaped member  21  can be positioned upright when not in use so that the space occupied can be reduced. 
     As shown in  FIG. 8 , when opening the back hatch, the pin  25  is removed and the quick-release  26  is unlocked, the bottom piece  24  and the top piece  12  is separated. Because of the gravity applied to the rack unit  1 , the rod  15  and the U-shaped member  21  are tilted along the curved slot  171 , the rack unit  1  is pivoted about the pivot point with the U-shaped member  21 . By this way, the back hatch can be opened without removing the whole bicycle rack “A” from the vehicle. 
     While we have shown and described the embodiment in accordance with the present invention, it should be clear to those skilled in the art that further embodiments may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.