Swingable apparatus attachable to a vehicle for transporting a cooking device and permitting access to the vehicle

• US 6,701,913 B1
• Filed: 09/30/2002
• Issued: 03/09/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sunbeam Products, Inc. d/b/a Jarden Consumer Solutions (Newell Brands Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Freedom Grill Incorporated (Curtis Mathes Corp.)
• Inventors: Salter, Scott C., LeDuc, Ernest W., Caliguri, Steven J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Basichas, Alfred
• Application Number:
  US10/261,800
• Time in Patent Office: 526 Days
• Field of Search: 126/276, 126/30, 126/275.R, 224/488, 224/495, 224/497, 224/502, 224/504, 224/505, 224/506, 224/508, 224/510
• US Class Current: 126/276
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 9/06 at vehicle front or rear rear luggage compartments within vehicle extensible externally of the vehicle body B60R5/041
• CPC Class Codes: F24C 15/30 Arrangements for mounting stoves or ranges in particular locations

Abstract

An apparatus that is selectively attachable to a vehicle, for transporting a cooking device and positioning the cooking device in a desired orientation for cooking that also permits access to the vehicle. The apparatus includes a hitch insertion member for insertion into a trailer hitch, a support arm attached to the hitch insertion member, a swing arm attached to the support arm with a locking hinge assembly, a pedestal attached to the swing arm, and a cooking device, for example a barbeque, that is attached to a column that is inserted into the pedestal and that can rotate in the pedestal. The locking hinge assembly has a plurality of locking holes for selective alignment with an angle securing hole in the support arm for locking the swing arm at a selected angle in relation to the support arm by placing an angle locking bar into the aligned holes.

Claims

1. An apparatus selectively attachable to a vehicle, for transporting a cooking device and positioning the cooking device in an orientation for cooking that permits access to the vehicle, the apparatus comprising:

a hitch insertion member having a base;

a support arm having a support arm top and a support arm bottom, and wherein the support arm defines a support arm longitudinal axis, and wherein the support arm top has a support arm top primary hinge hole and the support arm bottom has a support arm bottom primary hinge hole aligned with the support arm top primary hinge hole, and wherein the support arm is attached to the base of the hitch insertion member;

a primary swing arm defining a primary swing arm longitudinal axis;

a primary hinge assembly comprising;

a top hinge plate having a central hole for alignment with the support arm top primary hinge hole;

a bottom hinge plate having a central hole for alignment with the support arm bottom primary hinge hole; and

an attachment wall connected to the top hinge plate and the bottom hinge plate, the attachment wall being attached to the primary swing arm;

a primary hinge bar inserted through the central hole in the top hinge plate in the primary hinge assembly, the support arm top primary hinge hole, the support arm bottom primary hinge hole, and the central hole in the bottom hinge plate of the primary hinge assembly, to attach the primary swing arm to the support arm, and to permit the swing arm to rotate in relation to the support arm;

a pedestal having a base, wherein the base of the pedestal is attached to the primary swing arm; and

a column, the column being at least partially inserted into the pedestal.

2. The apparatus of claim 1:

wherein the hitch insertion member has a hitch insertion member first side and a hitch insertion member second side, and wherein the hitch insertion member first side has a hole and the hitch insertion member second side has a hole aligned with the hole in the hitch insertion member first side;

wherein the support arm has a support arm primary angle securing hole;

wherein the top hinge plate of the primary hinge assembly has a plurality of locking holes for selective alignment with the support arm angle securing hole;

wherein the primary hinge assembly further comprises a stop wall attached to the bottom hinge plate to establish the maximum angle the longitudinal axis of the primary swing arm can rotate in relation to the longitudinal axis of the support arm;

wherein the pedestal has a rotation adjustment hole;

further comprising a primary angle locking bar inserted into one of the plurality of locking holes in the top hinge plate of the primary hinge assembly and into the primary angle securing hole in the support arm, to lock the longitudinal axis of the primary swing arm at an angle in relation to the longitudinal axis of the support arm selected from a plurality of angles determined by the locations of the locking holes in the top hinge plate of the primary hinge assembly and by the location of the primary angle securing hole in the support arm;

further comprising a column rotation locking bar secured through the pedestal rotation adjustment hole to lock the column at a selected rotation within the pedestal; and

a lateral member attached to the column.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 further comprising a cooking device attached to the lateral member.

4. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein the cooking device is a barbeque.

5. The apparatus of claim 4:

wherein the pedestal has a pedestal front securing hole and a pedestal back securing hole, and wherein the pedestal front securing hole and the pedestal back securing hole are on opposite sides of the pedestal and are aligned with each other;

wherein the column has a column front securing hole and a column back securing hole, wherein the column front securing hole and the column back securing hole are on opposite sides of the column and are aligned with each other, and wherein the column front securing hole is located to permit alignment with the pedestal front securing hole and the column back securing hole is located to permit alignment with the pedestal back securing hole when the column is fully inserted into the pedestal; and

further comprising;

a securing wall attached to the support arm, the securing wall having a securing wall hole located to align with the pedestal back securing hole when the primary swing arm is adjacent the support arm; and

a locking bar for insertion into the pedestal front securing hole, the column front securing hole, the column back securing hole, the pedestal back securing hole, and the securing wall hole, to secure the apparatus for transport.

6. The apparatus of claim 5:

wherein the central hole in the top hinge plate of the primary hinge assembly is located in an overhang area of the top hinge plate, and wherein the plurality of locking holes in the top hinge plate of the primary hinge assembly are also located in the overhang area of the top hinge plate; and

wherein the central hole in the bottom hinge plate of the primary hinge assembly is located in an overhang area of the bottom hinge plate.

7. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein the bottom hinge plate also has a nonoverhang area, and wherein the stop wall is partially contiguous with the overhang area and the nonoverhang area of the bottom hinge plate.

8. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein the support arm has a first end, and wherein the support arm top primary hinge hole is located within about 5 centimeters from the second end of the support arm, and wherein the support arm primary angle securing hole is located within about 10 centimeters from the support arm top primary hinge hole.

9. The apparatus of claim 8:

wherein the hitch insertion member defines a hitch insertion member longitudinal axis, and wherein a cross section of the hitch insertion member perpendicular to the hitch insertion member longitudinal axis is a square;

wherein a cross section of the support arm perpendicular to the support arm longitudinal axis is a rectangle;

wherein a cross section of the primary swing arm perpendicular to the primary swing arm longitudinal axis is a rectangle; and

wherein the pedestal defines a pedestal longitudinal axis and wherein a cross section of the pedestal perpendicular to the pedestal longitudinal axis is a square; and

wherein the column defines a column longitudinal axis, and wherein a cross section of the column perpendicular to the column longitudinal axis is a circle.

10. The apparatus of claim 9 further comprising:

a support arm outside gusset attached to the support arm and the hitch insertion member;

a support arm inside gusset attached to the support arm and the hitch insertion member;

an inside pedestal gusset attached to the pedestal and the primary swing arm, the inside pedestal gusset having a threaded hole aligned with the rotation adjustment hole in the pedestal;

an outside pedestal gusset attached to the pedestal and the primary swing arm;

a top hinge hole liner attached to the support arm top primary hinge hole;

a bottom hinge hole liner attached to the support arm bottom primary hinge hole;

a first bracket attached to a first end of the lateral member;

a second bracket attached to a second end of the lateral member;

a plurality of bolts and nuts; and

wherein the first bracket has a plurality of holes and the second bracket has a plurality of holes, and the barbeque has a plurality of holes aligned with the plurality of holes in the first bracket and the second bracket, and wherein the barbeque is attached to the first bracket and the second bracket with a bolt from the plurality of bolts inserted through each of the aligned holes in the barbeque and the first bracket, and through each of the aligned holes in the barbeque and the second bracket, with each bolt being secured with a nut from the plurality of nuts; and

wherein the lateral member has a lateral member hole, and the column is inserted into the lateral member hole.

11. The apparatus of claim 4:

wherein the hitch insertion member defines a hitch insertion member longitudinal axis and the pedestal defines a pedestal longitudinal axis;

wherein the support arm has a support arm first end, and wherein the support arm first end is attached to the base of the hitch insertion member with the support arm longitudinal axis substantially perpendicular to the hitch insertion member longitudinal axis; and

wherein the primary swing arm has a primary swing arm hinged end and a primary swing arm swinging end, and wherein the attachment wall of the primary hinge assembly is attached to the primary swing arm hinged end, and wherein the base of the pedestal is attached to the primary hinge assembly swinging end, with the pedestal longitudinal axis substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the primary swing arm.

12. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein, the support arm longitudinal axis and the swing arm longitudinal axis are substantially parallel and horizontal, when the hitch insertion member is oriented to be inserted into a trailer hitch.

13. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the support arm longitudinal axis is substantially parallel to horizontal, and wherein the swing arm longitudinal axis defines an angle alpha from horizontal, when the hitch insertion member is oriented to be inserted into a trailer hitch.

14. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the support arm and the primary swing arm are curved.

15. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the support arm has at least one additional support arm segment and the primary swing arm has at least one additional swing arm segment.

16. The apparatus of claim 3, further comprising a hitch vertical member attached to the hitch insertion member and the support arm for attaching the support arm to the hitch insertion member and to locate the support arm and the primary swing arm in a plane that is a specified distance above the trailer hitch.

17. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein the primary swing arm is above the support arm.

18. The apparatus of claim 3, further comprising a support vertical member attached to the primary hinge assembly and the primary swing arm to position the primary swing arm a specified distance above the support arm.

19. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the primary swing arm comprises a retainer portion and a telescoping insertion portion partially inserted into the retainer portion and secured to the retainer portion, wherein the telescoping insertion portion can be partially extended from within the retainer portion to extend the length of the primary swing arm, and wherein the attachment wall of the primary hinge assembly is attached to the retainer portion, and wherein the base of the pedestal is attached to the telescoping insertion portion.

20. The apparatus of claim 3, further comprising a supplemental trailer hitch receptacle attached to the apparatus.

21. The apparatus of claim 20, further comprising trailer hitch ball attached to the supplemental trail hitch receptacle.

22. The apparatus of claim 4 further comprising a license plate mount and a license plate light attached to the apparatus.

23. The apparatus of claim 4 further comprising a fuel tank retaining rack attached to the apparatus, for attaching a fuel tank to the apparatus.

24. The apparatus of claim 4 further comprising a shock dampening device having a shock dampening device first end attached to the hitch insertion member and a shock dampening device second end attached to the lateral member.

25. The apparatus of claim 3 further comprising:

a height locking bar pivotally connected to the swing arm, the height locking bar having a movable end having a hole;

a ledge attached to the lateral member, the ledge having a lateral slit;

a height locking bolt inserted through the hole in the movable end of the height locking bar and the lateral slit in the ledge of the lateral member; and

a wingnut attached to the height locking bolt, for locking the cooking apparatus at a desired height.

26. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the hitch insertion member has a hitch insertion member top and a hitch insertion member bottom, and wherein the hitch insertion member top has a hitch insertion member top hinge hole and the hitch insertion member bottom has a hitch insertion member bottom hinge hole aligned with the hitch insertion member top hinge hole, and wherein the hitch insertion member top has a hitch insertion member angle securing hole;

and

further comprising;

a central hinge assembly comprising;

a top hinge plate having a central hole for alignment with the hitch insertion member top hinge hole, the top hinge plate also having a plurality of locking holes for selective alignment with the hitch insertion member locking hole;

a bottom hinge plate having a central hole for alignment with the hitch insertion member bottom hinge hole;

a stop wall attached to the bottom hinge plate to establish a maximum angle the longitudinal axis of the support arm can rotate in relation to the longitudinal axis of the hitch insertion member; and

a back wall connected to the top hinge plate and the bottom hinge plate, the back wall being attached to the support arm;

a central hinge bar inserted through the central hole in the top hinge plate in the central hinge assembly, the hitch insertion member top hinge hole, the hitch insertion member bottom hinge hole, and the central hole in the bottom hinge plate of the central hinge assembly, to attach the support arm to the base of the hitch insertion member, and to permit the support arm to rotate in relation to the hitch insertion member; and

a central angle locking bar inserted into one of the plurality of locking holes in the top hinge plate of the central hinge assembly and into the locking hole in the hitch insertion member, to lock the longitudinal axis of the support arm at an angle in relation to the longitudinal axis of the hitch insertion member selected from a plurality of angles determined by the locations of the locking holes in the top hinge plate of the central hinge assembly and by the location of the angle securing hole in the hitch insertion member.

27. The apparatus of claim 3:

wherein the support arm as a support arm top secondary hinge hole and the support arm bottom has a support arm bottom secondary hinge hole aligned with the support arm top secondary hinge hole, and wherein the support arm top has a support arm secondary angle securing hole; and

further comprising;

a secondary swing arm defining a secondary swing arm longitudinal axis;

a secondary hinge assembly comprising;

a top hinge plate having a central hole for alignment with the support arm top secondary hinge hole, the top hinge plate also having a plurality of locking holes for selective alignment with the support arm secondary angle securing hole;

a bottom hinge plate having a central hole for alignment with the support arm bottom secondary hinge hole;

a stop wall attached to the bottom hinge plate to establish the maximum angle the longitudinal axis of the secondary swing arm can rotate in relation to the longitudinal axis of the support arm; and

an attachment wall connected to the top hinge plate and the bottom hinge plate, the attachment wall being attached to the secondary swing arm;

a secondary hinge bar inserted through the central hole in the top hinge plate in the secondary hinge assembly, the support arm top secondary hinge hole, the support arm bottom secondary hinge hole, and the central hole in the bottom hinge plate of the secondary hinge assembly, to attach the secondary swing arm to the support arm, and to permit the secondary swing arm to rotate in relation to the support arm; and

a secondary angle locking bar inserted into one of the plurality of locking holes in the top hinge plate of the secondary hinge assembly and into the secondary angle securing hole in the support arm, to lock the longitudinal axis of the secondary swing arm at an angle in relation to the longitudinal axis of the support arm selected from a plurality of angles determined by the locations of the locking holes in the top hinge plate of the secondary hinge assembly and by the location of the secondary angle securing hole in the support arm.

28. An apparatus selectively attachable to a vehicle, for transporting a cooking device and positioning the cooking device in an orientation for cooking that permits access to the vehicle, the apparatus comprising:

means for connecting the apparatus to a trailer hitch on a vehicle;

a support arm defining a support arm longitudinal axis, wherein the support arm is attached to the means for connecting the apparatus to a trailer hitch;

a primary swing arm defining a primary swing arm longitudinal axis;

means for pivotally attaching the primary swing arm to the support arm;

means for locking the longitudinal axis of the primary swing arm at an angle in relation to the longitudinal axis of the support arm selected from a plurality of angles determined by the locations of a plurality of locking holes and an angle securing hole;

means for attaching the cooking device to the primary swing arm;

means for rotating the cooking device;

means for adjusting the height of the cooking device; and

means for securing the apparatus for safe transport while driving the vehicle.