Patent ID: 8777542

Claim:
A carrier for attachment to a motor vehicle to carry an object for transport by the vehicle with the carrier disposed in transport position that interferes with opening of a closure that, when open, provides access to a compartment of the vehicle, the carrier comprising: a platform; a hinge for hinging the platform on the vehicle for enabling the platform to swing from an orientation that the platform assumes when the carrier is in transport position to an orientation that does not interfere with opening of the closure; an enclosure for enclosing such an object when the object is on the platform; and locking means for locking the carrier in transport position to prevent the platform from being swung downward and the enclosure from being swung laterally outward, wherein the enclosure comprises a first wall that is hinged on the enclosure for swinging downward about a horizontal axis in excess of 90 degrees from an upright position to an inclined position for providing a ramp that allows such an object to be loaded into and unloaded from an interior space of the enclosure via the wall when in the inclined position, and wherein the enclosure comprises a second wall adjacent and at a right angle to the first wall when the first wall is in the upright, position, and the second wall comprises padding on a face that is toward the interior of the enclosure for engaging the object to aid in securing the object inside the enclosure, including a mechanism that can be operated from the exterior of the enclosure for moving the padding into engagement with the object to aid in securing the object inside the enclosure.