Patent ID: 7766202

Claim:
A carrier detachably connectable to a hitch of a road vehicle and adapted to transport at least one article mounted thereto, the carrier comprising: a foot member having a first end and a second connecting end, the second connecting end being adapted to be detachably connected to the hitch; a post having a bottom end and a top end, the bottom end being connected to the first end of the foot member and extending upwardly therefrom in an operational position; a top member pivotally connected to the top end of the post and displaceable between a deployed operative position and a collapsed inoperative position, the top member having a carrying portion adapted for receiving the at least one article, the top member in the deployed operative position extending substantially perpendicularly from the post with at least the carrying portion extending away from the vehicle, and the carrying portion and a major part of the top member being located between a longitudinal axis of the post and the vehicle when the top member is in the collapsed inoperative position; and retaining means for selectively retaining the top member at least in the deployed operative position; wherein the top member includes a first retaining hole defined therethrough and a portion of the post includes second and third retaining holes defined therethrough, the first and second retaining holes being aligned when the top member is in the deployed operative position, the first and third retaining holes being aligned when the top member is in the collapsed inoperative position, and the retaining means include a locking device selectively insertable into the aligned first and second retaining holes and the aligned first and third retaining holes.