US20070215565A1

US20070215565A1 - Positioning device for a rack on the rear of a vehicle

Info

Publication number: US20070215565A1
Application number: US11/308,349
Authority: US
Inventors: Chin-Sung Huang
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2006-03-17
Filing date: 2006-03-17
Publication date: 2007-09-20

Abstract

A positioning device for a rack on the rear of a vehicle thereof, comprising a main body, two clipping blocks, a tightening assembly and a connecting tube. The main body including a positioning base that connected to a connecting base in the lower side of the positioning base thereof, the clipping blocks are mounted the lower side of the connecting base oppositely, the tightening assembly is provided for tightening the clipping blocks to be clipped the ball so as to rotated pivotally and the connecting tube is positioned to the positioning base of the main body for inserting the bike rack, the bike rack can be pivotally rotated to be creating a horizontal structure for carrying goods, thus providing for carrying goods by cooperating with a shelf, which is very practical.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a positioning device for a rack, and more particularly to a positioning device for a rack on the rear of a vehicle thereof, which can carry bicycles and goods simultaneously.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A recreation vehicle or a jeep usually comprises a connecting base with a ball mounted the rear carriage or rear portion thereof, which is provided for towing a car away by cooperating with a towing pole, and carrying a bicycle by cooperating with a bike rack.
A conventional positioning device for a rack on the rear of a bicycle thereof as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, comprising two main poles 1 with a suitable bending angle, in the inner side of the bottom of each main pole 1 is mounted a clipping member 2 that are opposite to each other, and the main poles 1 are pivotally connected with the upper of the clipping member 2 by the front and the rear connecting poles 3, and the top end of each main pole 1 is disposed with a supporting pole 4 respectively, and in a suitable height of the main poles 1 is pivotally connected with a pressing pole assembly 5 that is pivotally formed with a piece-shaped short pole and a driving pole. When the user uses the above said device, the clipping members 2 are opposite to a ball 7 of a connecting base 6, and the short pole and the driving pole are rotated pivotally to be creating a horizontal structure by user's hands, so that the top end of the main poles 1 will be moved to the sides, thus clipping the clipping members 2 to the ball 7 of the connecting base 6, thereby the supporting poles 4 are only provided for carrying the bicycle without any other function.
The present invention has arisen to mitigate and/or obviate the afore-described disadvantages.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The primary objective of the present invention is to provide a positioning device for a rack on the rear of a vehicle thereof, comprising a main body, two clipping blocks, a tightening assembly and a connecting tube. The main body including a positioning base that connected to a connecting base in the lower side of the positioning base thereof, the clipping blocks are mounted the lower side of the connecting base oppositely, the tightening assembly is provided for tightening the clipping blocks to be clipped the ball so as to rotated pivotally. The clipping blocks are clipped on a ball of the connecting base of the car, and the connecting tube is positioned to the positioning base of the main body for inserting a bike rack. The rack can be rotated to create a vertical or a horizontal structure according to the requirement for carrying the bicycle or luggage by cooperating with the shelf.
The further objective of the present invention is to provide a positioning device for a rack on the rear of a vehicle thereof, except the function of carrying the bicycle, the rack can be pivotally rotated to be creating a horizontal structure, thus providing for carrying goods by cooperating with the shelf, which is very practical.
The present invention will become more obvious from the following description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, which show, for purpose of illustrations only, the preferred embodiments in accordance with the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a plane view of installing a conventional bike rake;
FIG. 2 is another plane view of disassembling the conventional bike rake;
FIG. 3 is an exploded view of a positioning device for a rack on the rear of a vehicle in accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 4 is an assembly perspective view of the positioning device for a rack on the rear of a vehicle in accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 5 is a perspective view of assembling a bike rack in accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 6 is a perspective view of installing the bike rack on the rear of the vehicle in accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 7 is a perspective view of showing the rotating of the bike rack in accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 8 is a perspective view of showing the rack of the present invention when carrying goods; and
FIG. 9 is an exploded view of a shelf in accordance with the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring to FIG. 3, a positioning device for a rack on the rear of a vehicle thereof in accordance with the present invention comprises a main body 10, two clipping blocks 20, a tightening assembly 30 and a connecting tube 40. The main body 10 including a □-shaped positioning base 11 that connected to a □-shaped connecting base 12 in the lower side of the positioning base 11 thereof, a gap 111 is defined in a front end of the bottom plate of the positioning base 11, two side plates of the positioning base 11 are L-shaped, each side plate is defined with an axle hole 112 in the middle portion thereof, a first positioning hole 113 is defined in the upper end of the side plate, a second positioning hole 114 is defined in the front end of the side plate, and a stopping piece 115 is mounted between the upper ends of the rear sides of the side plates. Each end of a side plate of the connecting base 12 is defined with a through hole 121. The clipping block 20 including a seat plate 21 that mounted with a sleeve 22 in the inner side thereof, the lower edge of the sleeve 22 is an arc-shaped concave portion 221, the sides of the upper end of the seat plate 21 are defined with two connecting holes 211 that opposite to each other. One of the clipping blocks 20 is defined with two locking holes 212 in the lower end of the back thereof, and in the lower end of the back of the other clipping blocks 20 is formed two locking grooves 213, and a groove 214 is defined between the locking grooves 213. The tightening assembly 30 comprises a connecting member 31, a thumb screw 32, two locking screws 33 having an arc-shaped portion 331 in the middle section thereof and two locking nuts 34. The connecting tube 40 is square, in the lower end of the side of the connecting tube 40 is defined a connecting hole 41, above the connecting hole 41 are formed with a first locking hole 42 and a second locking hole 43, a supporting member 44 is protrusively formed in the positive surface of the connecting tube 40, and an inclined section 45 is mounted the front side of the bottom of the connecting tube 40.
Referring to FIG. 4, mounting the clipping blocks 20 on the lower side of the connecting base 12 of the main body 10 oppositely, and connecting the through hole 121 of the connecting base 12 to the connecting hole 211 of the clipping block 20 by a connecting member while using, thereby the clipping blocks 20 can be rotated pivotally, and inserting the locking screws 33 of the tightening assembly 30 into the locking holes 212 of the clipping blocks 20 so as to lock the through holes of the locking groove 213 and the connecting member 31, thus positioning the nut 34, and inserting into the screw hole of the connecting member 31 by cooperating with the thumb screw 32 of the tightening assembly 30 for pressing against the groove 214 of the clipping block 20, thereby the clipping blocks 20 are clipped opposite to each other to be positioned on a ball 61 when pulling the connecting member 31 outwardly, and then inserting the connecting tube 40 into the positioning base 11 of the main body 10 so that the connecting tube 40 is close to the stopping piece 115 of the main body 10, and connecting the axle hole 112 of the positioning base 11 to the connecting hole 41 of the connecting tube 40 by a connecting member finally.
Further referring to FIGS. 5 and 6, a connecting pole 51 is inserted into the connecting tube 40 of a bike rack 50, a connecting member is inserted into the first positioning hole 113 of the positioning base 11 and the first locking hole 42 of the connecting tube 40 so as to connected to a through hole of the connecting pole 51 of the bike rack 50, and another connecting member is inserted into the second locking hole 43 of the connecting tube 40 for connecting to another through hole of the connecting pole 51 of the bike rack 50. Furthermore, since the clipping blocks 20 are opposite to the ball 61 of a connecting base 60 of the vehicle, the bike rack 50 can be positioned by the clipping of the sleeve 22 and the edge of the arc-shaped concave portion 221 of the clipping blocks 20, and cooperating with the thumb screw 32 of the tightening assembly 30 as shown in FIG. 7 so as to carry the bicycle.
Referring to FIGS. 7 and 8, disassembling the connecting member that inserted into the first positioning hole 113 of the positioning base 11 and the second locking hole 43 of the connecting tube 40, rotating the bike rack 50 to 180 degrees, and inserting the connecting pole 51 into the connecting tube 40 again, and rotating the connecting tube 40 simultaneously, thus creating a horizontal structure, thereby the supporting member 44 of the connecting tube 40 will be passed through the gap 111 of the positioning base 11 and pressed against the connecting base 12, then positioning two supporting poles 52 of the bike rack 50, and inserting the connecting member into the second positioning hole 114 of the positioning base 11 and the first locking hole 42 of the connecting tube 40 so as to connected to the through hole of the connecting pole 51 of the bike rack 50, and another connecting member is inserted into the second locking hole 43 of the connecting tube 40 for connecting to another through hole of the connecting pole 51 of the bike rack 50, and a shelf 70 is installed on the bike rack 50 and locked by a locking device 80 for carrying luggage and so on.
Referring to FIG. 9, the shelf 70 including two supporting poles 71, a plurality of connecting poles 72, mounting poles 73, two side poles 74, and a plurality of screws 75, 76, 77. The supporting pole 71 is ellipse and tube shaped, in the inner side of the supporting pole 71 is defined a plurality of mounting holes 711 equally, and the outer side and the ends of the supporting pole 71 are defined with a positioning hole 712 respectively for connecting to the mounting holes 711, the connecting poles 72 is tube shaped, each end of the connecting poles 72 is defined with an inner threaded hole 721, the side pole 74 is tube shaped, each end of the side pole 74 is bended to form a pressing section 741 having two locking holes 7411.
Sticking the pressing sections 741 of the side poles 74 to the outer side of the supporting poles 71, the ends of the connecting pole 72 and the mounting pole 73 are inserted into the mounting holes 711 of the supporting poles 71 by passing through the positioning holes 71 2 of the supporting poles 71 by the screws 75, and connected to the inner threaded hole 721 of the connecting pole 72, and the screws 76 are passed through the locking holes 7411 of the side pole 74 and the positioning holes 712 of the supporting poles 71, and connected to the inner threaded hole 721 of the connecting pole 72, similarly, the screws 77 are passed through the locking holes 7411 of the side pole 74, and connected to the inner threaded hole 721 of the connecting pole 72.
For the above-mentioned device, the advantages of the present invention describes as follows:
Firstly, except the function of carrying the bicycle, the bike rack 50 can be pivotally rotated to be creating a horizontal structure, thus providing for carrying goods by cooperating with the shelf 70, which is very practical.
Secondly, since the locking screws 33 of the tightening assembly 30 are passed through the locking holes 212 of the clipping blocks 20 and positioned to the locking grooves 213, the bike rack 50 can be positioned to the ball 61 of the connecting base 60 by cooperating with the thumb screw 32 of the tightening assembly 30, thereby the sleeve 22 of the clipping block 20 will be pressed against the edge of the arc-shaped concave portion 221 so as to solve the problem of loosing.
While we have shown and described various embodiments 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.

Claims

1. A positioning device for a rack on the rear of a vehicle thereof, comprising a main body, two clipping blocks, a tightening assembly and a connecting tube, wherein:

the main body, including a positioning base that connected to a connecting base in the lower side of the positioning base thereof;

the clipping blocks, formed in a lower side of the connecting base of the main body oppositely, positioned to a ball of the connecting base of a car;

the tightening assembly, provided for clipping the clipping blocks on the ball of the connecting base;

the connecting tube, positioned on the positioning base of the main body for inserting a bike rack, and the bike rack is pivotally rotated to create a vertical or a horizontal structure according to the requirement for carrying the bicycle or luggage by cooperating with a shelf.

2. The positioning device for a rack on the rear of a vehicle thereof as shown in claim 1, wherein the positioning base of the main body is □-shaped, and the connecting base of the main body is □-shaped.

3. The positioning device for a rack on the rear of a vehicle thereof as shown in claim 2, wherein two side plates of the positioning base is L-shaped.

4. The positioning device for a rack on the rear of a vehicle thereof as shown in claim 1, wherein a gap is defined in a front end of a bottom plate of the positioning base, each side plate is defined with an axle hole in the middle portion thereof, a first positioning hole is defined in the upper end of the side plate, a second positioning hole is defined in the front end of the side plate, and a stopping piece is mounted between the upper ends of the rear sides of the side plates.

5. The positioning device for a rack on the rear of a vehicle thereof as shown in claim 1, wherein each side plates of the connecting base of the main body is defined with two through holes.

6. The positioning device for a rack on the rear of a vehicle thereof as shown in claim 1, wherein the clipping block including a seat plate that mounted with a sleeve in the inner side thereof, the lower edge of the sleeve is an arc-shaped concave portion, the sides of the upper end of the seat plate are defined with two connecting holes that opposite to each other, one of the clipping blocks is defined with two locking holes in the lower end of the back thereof, in the lower end of the back of the other clipping blocks is formed two locking grooves, and a groove is defined between the locking grooves.

7. The positioning device for a rack on the rear of a vehicle thereof as shown in claim 1, wherein the tightening assembly comprises a connecting member, a thumb screw, two locking screws and two locking nuts.

8. The positioning device for a rack on the rear of a vehicle thereof as shown in claim 1, wherein the connecting tube is squire, in the lower end of the side of the connecting tube is defined a connecting hole, above the connecting hole are formed with a first locking hole and a second locking hole.

9. The positioning device for a rack on the rear of a vehicle thereof as shown in claim 1, wherein a supporting member is protrusively formed in the positive surface of the connecting tube.

10. The positioning device for a rack on the rear of a vehicle thereof as shown in claim 1, wherein the shelf including two supporting poles, a plurality of connecting poles, mounting poles, two side poles, and a plurality of screws, in the inner side of the supporting pole is defined a plurality of mounting holes equally, and the outer side and the ends of the supporting pole are defined with a positioning hole respectively for connecting to the mounting holes, each end of the connecting poles is defined with an inner threaded hole for inserting into the mounting holes of the supporting poles, the mounting pole is mounted between the mounting holes of the supporting poles, and each end of the side pole is bended to form a pressing section having two locking holes for inserting the connecting member into the connecting pole and positioning on the supporting pole.