초록 ▼

A cargo carrier mountable to a hitch receiver of a vehicle includes a lightweight, open-air wire basket supported by a tough metal bracket. The bracket is reversible so that the carrier can be attached to different size hitch receivers. To simplify assembly, the mounting hardware for attaching the b

A cargo carrier mountable to a hitch receiver of a vehicle includes a lightweight, open-air wire basket supported by a tough metal bracket. The bracket is reversible so that the carrier can be attached to different size hitch receivers. To simplify assembly, the mounting hardware for attaching the basket to the bracket is the same regardless of which size receiver is being used. The holes for the mounting hardware are positioned such that the fasteners can avoid carrying most of the cargo's weight. If the basket is evenly loaded with cargo, it is possible for the fasteners to carry substantially no weight whatsoever. When not in use, the basket is collapsible to lie generally flat against the bracket so that the cargo carrier can be readily stowed.

대표청구항 ▼

The invention claimed is: 1. A cargo carrier mountable to a hitch receiver of a vehicle, wherein the hitch receiver could be one of a first size and a second size, the cargo carrier comprising: a bracket being selectively positionable to a first position and a second position, a relatively small en

The invention claimed is: 1. A cargo carrier mountable to a hitch receiver of a vehicle, wherein the hitch receiver could be one of a first size and a second size, the cargo carrier comprising: a bracket being selectively positionable to a first position and a second position, a relatively small end and a relatively large end at opposite ends of the bracket, wherein the relatively small end has a first outer periphery defining a nominal 1.25-inch square, and the relatively large end has a second outer periphery defining a nominal 2-inch square such that the relatively small end is adapted to snugly fit within the hitch receiver of the first size when the bracket is in the first position, and the relatively large end is adapted to snugly fit within the hitch receiver of the second size when the bracket is in the second position; a first weight-bearing surface disposed on the relatively small end; a second weight-bearing surface disposed on the relatively large end and being substantially parallel with and offset to the first weight bearing surface, wherein the first weight-bearing surface and the second-weight bearing surface face in substantially opposite directions of each other such that: a) when the relatively small end is disposed within the hitch receiver, the first weight-bearing surface faces generally downward and the second weight bearing surface faces generally upward; and b) when the relatively large end is disposed within the hitch receiver, the first weight-bearing surface faces generally upward, and the second weight-bearing surface faces generally downward; a mounting plate being selectively mountable to the relatively small end and the relatively large end; a wire basket attached to the mounting plate such that the mounting plate is underneath the wire basket, the wire basket being situated over and supported by the first weight-bearing surface when the bracket is in the second position, the wire basket being situated over and supported by the second weight-bearing surface when the bracket is in the first position, the wire basket comprising two side screens, two end screens, and a bottom screen, the wire basket being selectively configured in a first configuration and a second configuration, such that: a) in the first configuration, the two side screens, the two end screens and the bottom screen are in an orthogonal arrangement that places the wire basket in a box-like shape, b) in the second configuration, the two end screens are sandwiched in a generally flat arrangement between the bottom screen and the two side screens such that the bottom screen, the two side screens and the two end screens all lie substantially flat and substantially parallel to each other; and a hitch fastener and a basket fastener, wherein the relatively small end defines a first generally horizontal hole and a first generally vertical hole, and the relatively large end defines a second generally horizontal hole and a second generally vertical hole, the first generally horizontal hole is substantially parallel to the second generally horizontal hole, and the first generally vertical hole is substantially parallel to the second generally vertical hole, such that: a) when the bracket is in the first position, the hitch fastener extends through the first generally horizontal hole to help fasten the bracket to the hitch receiver, the basket fastener extends through the second generally vertical hole to help fasten the basket to the bracket, the first generally vertical hole is substantially unused, and the second generally horizontal hole is substantially unused; and b) when the bracket is in the second position, the hitch fastener extends through the second generally horizontal hole to help fasten the bracket to the hitch receiver, the basket fastener extends through the first generally vertical hole to help fasten the basket to the bracket, the second generally vertical hole is substantially unused, and the first generally horizontal hole is substantially unused. 2. The cargo carrier of claim 1, wherein repositioning the bracket between the first position and the second position involves rotating the bracket substantially 180 degrees about a horizontal axis. 3. The cargo carrier of claim 1, wherein the entire relatively large end is higher than the relatively small end when the relatively small end is disposed within the hitch receiver, and the entire relatively small end is higher than the relatively large end when the relatively large end is disposed within the hitch receiver. 4. The cargo carrier of claim 1, further comprising a backup plate adjacent to the basket such that the basket is sandwiched between the mounting plate and the backup plate. 5. The cargo carrier of claim 1, wherein most of the basket comprises a network of substantially round wires. 6. The cargo carrier of claim 1, wherein the basket is selectively collapsible to a relatively flat configuration that lies generally parallel to the first weight-bearing surface and the second-weight bearing surface. 7. The cargo carrier of claim 1, wherein the relatively large end comprises a substantially square tube and a spacer, a metal bead integrally and permanently joins the spacer to the substantially square tube, and the substantially square tube has a cross-sectional area that is substantially equal to that of the relatively small end.