Bicycle carrier with fork mount and universal crossbar clamp

Abstract

A fork mount for securing a bicycle fork to a crossbar that comprises a top clamp including a pair of side surfaces having substantially aligned openings, an upper crossbar surface having a hole, and an adjustment surface with a plurality of substantially horizontal grooves. The fork mount further comprises a bottom clamp that has a groove engager frictionally engagable within each groove to form a pivot point to a clamped position, and a lower crossbar surface with a hole. When in the clamped position, the upper and lower crossbar surfaces form a crossbar opening and the holes of each crossbar surface are substantially alignable. The fork mount comprises a connector that is engagable through the substantially alignable holes of each crossbar surface, wherein the connector secures the top and bottom clamps in the clamped position. A skewer is extendable through the substantially aligned openings of the top clamp.

1 . A rack for carrying a bike on top of a vehicle comprising
 a wheel tray having a front end portion,   first and second clamps for connecting the wheel tray to a pair of crossbars, wherein the wheel tray includes a pair of parallel bars separated by a gap, one of the clamps being adjustably slideable along the tray and including a fastening member that passes through the gap substantially perpendicular to the bars of the tray,   a first gripping device connected to the tray for binding a rear wheel of a bike to the tray, and   a second gripping device connected to the front end portion of the tray for securing a front portion of a bike.   
     
     
         2 . The rack of  claim 1  wherein the second gripping device is configured to grip the front fork of a bike. 
     
     
         3 . The rack of  claim 1  wherein the second gripping device is configured to grip the front wheel of a bike. 
     
     
         4 . A rack for carrying a bike on top of a vehicle comprising
 a wheel tray having a front end portion,   a first clamp for connecting the wheel tray to a pair of crossbars,   a first gripping device connected to the tray for binding a rear wheel of a bike to the tray, and   a fork mount connected to the front end portion of the tray, the fork mount being configured to grip the front fork of a bike, and including top and bottom clamping portions pivotally connected along an adjustable pivot axis.   
     
     
         5 . The rack of  claim 4  wherein one of the top and bottom clamping portions has a plurality of slots, the other of the top and bottom clamping portions having a bar member for engaging a selected slot. 
     
     
         6 . The rack of  claim 5  wherein the plurality of slots are in the top clamping portion, the bar member being formed in the bottom clamping portion. 
     
     
         7 . The rack of  claim 5  wherein the plurality of slots are in the bottom clamping portion, the bar member being formed in the top clamping portion. 
     
     
         8 . A rack for carrying a bike on top of a vehicle comprising
 a wheel tray having a front end portion,   a first clamp for connecting the wheel tray to a pair of crossbars, including top and bottom clamping portions pivotally connected along an adjustable pivot axis   a first gripping device connected to the tray for binding a rear wheel of a bike to the tray, and   a fork mount connected to the front end portion of the tray, the fork mount being configured to grip the front fork of a bike.   
     
     
         9 . The rack of  claim 8  wherein one of the top and bottom clamping portions has a plurality of slots, the other of the top and bottom clamping portions having a bar member for engaging a selected slot. 
     
     
         10 . The rack of  claim 9  wherein the plurality of slots are in the top clamping portion, the bar member being formed in the bottom clamping portion. 
     
     
         11 . The rack of  claim 9  wherein the plurality of slots are in the bottom clamping portion, the bar member being formed in the top clamping portion. 
     
     
         12 . A fork mount for securing a bicycle fork to a crossbar of a vehicle-mounted rack, comprising:
 a top clamp portion including one or more openings defining an axis parallel to the crossbar, an upper surface having a first hole, and an adjustment surface with a plurality of substantially horizontal slots,   a bottom clamp portion having a slot engager that is frictionally engagable interchangeably in the slots to form a pivot axis between the top clamp portion split sliding crossbar clamp tray and the bottom clamp portion, and a lower surface having a second hole, wherein, in a clamped position, the upper and lower surfaces form an opening for receiving a crossbar and the first and second holes are substantially aligned,   a connector that is engagable through the substantially aligned first and second holes, wherein the connector secures the top clamp and the bottom in the clamped position, and   a skewer that is extendable through the one or more openings of the top clamp.   
     
     
         13 . The fork mount of  claim 12 , wherein the connector includes a t-bar that extends into the substantially aligned first and second holes of the crossbar surfaces, and a threaded portion of the t-bar that engages a knob, wherein manipulating the knob allows adjustment of the distance between the top clamp and the bottom clamp. 
     
     
         14 . The fork mount of  claim 12 , wherein the substantially horizontal slots are substantially vertically stacked on the adjustment surface. 
     
     
         15 . The fork mount of  claim 12 , wherein the crossbar is round or square. 
     
     
         16 . A fork mount for securing a bicycle fork to a crossbar of a vehicle-mounted rack, comprising:
 a top clamp portion including a pair of side surfaces having substantially aligned openings, an upper crossbar surface having a hole, and a surface with an adjustment area,   a bottom clamp portion having an engager that attaches to the adjustment area, and a lower crossbar surface with a hole, wherein, in a clamped position, the upper and lower crossbar surfaces form a crossbar opening and the holes of each crossbar surface are substantially alignable,   a connector with an adjustment portion attached to a bar extendable through the substantially alignable holes of each crossbar surface,   a securement piece that engages the top clamp portion and prevents manipulation of the adjustment portion of the connector when in the clamped position, the securement piece including an opening that is substantially alignable with the openings of the side surfaces of the top clamp in the clamped position, and   a locking skewer extendable through the substantially alignable openings of the securement piece and the top clamp in the clamped position, wherein the locking skewer in a locked position is adapted to secure the fork mount to the crossbar.   
     
     
         17 . The fork mount of  claim 16 , wherein the securement piece includes a pair of protrusions engagable with a pair of slots of the top clamp, an area between the protrusions that receives the adjustment portion of the connector, wherein the protrusions prevent manipulation of the adjustment portion. 
     
     
         18 . The fork mount of  claim 16 , wherein the securement piece is a cover placed over a hollow body of the top clamp in which the adjustment portion is positioned. 
     
     
         19 . The fork mount of  claim 16 , wherein the adjustment portion is a knob. 
     
     
         20 . The fork mount of  claim 16 , wherein the connector includes a t-bar that extends into the substantially aligned holes of the crossbar surfaces, and a threaded portion of the t-bar that engages to a knob, wherein manipulating the knob when engaged with the threaded portion allows adjustment of the distance between the top clamp and the bottom clamp. 
     
     
         21 . The fork mount of  claim 16 , wherein the fork mount is part of a vehicle rack system that comprises:
 a pair of elongated members, which each include a front end, that are mounted in parallel adjacent each other with an open gap formed between the mounted elongated members,   a rear crossbar mount coupled to the elongated members, and   a rear tire mount coupled to the elongated members.