Land vehicles are generally designed and structured primarily to carry objects and people inside the vehicle structure. Objects can be carried in either the passenger compartment or in the baggage section or trunk of the automobile. These are obvious functions of most land vehicles. However, land vehicles, and more specifically automobiles, have been used frequently to carry objects externally to the trunk or passenger compartment areas under diverse means and conditions. In this latter regard, some objects are either too large or are not appropriately structured for being carried in the passenger compartment or trunk. Rooftop carriers have been commonly and frequently utilized almost from the inception of the motor vehicle; and such rooftop carriers are used to carry either superfluous objects or those which cannot fit elsewhere in the automobile. Additionally, at times, vehicles such as automobiles have been temporarily rigged to carry objects on the front or side of the automobile, using in such cases external devices to hold the object closely to that area of the vehicle. Moreover, the very rear of a vehicle is used at times as a location for carrying objects, again with the aid of some appurtenance permanently or semi-permanently affixed to the vehicle.
There have been a myriad of vehicle attachments for the rooftop, side, front or rear end type carriers; and the structure, alignment, and positioning of these carriers have generally depended on the exact type of object that the carrier is designed to accommodate. For example, rooftop carriers have been designed and structured to carry relatively light objects, such as luggage, boxes and the like which can be fitted easily onto the rooftop. Carriers structured for use on the rear of a vehicle are used for many purposes, such as bicycles, small vehicles, light motorcycles, and similarly structured objects which do not lend themselves readily to being carried on a vehicle roof or other areas because of their cumbersome shape or weight characteristics. One of the other problems encountered with the utilization of roof type carriers is that modern automotive vehicles often have small, somewhat inclined roofs which are not compatible for installation of a roof carrier. Consequently, resort is often necessarily made to the use of an external carrier device on other areas of the vehicle, and in this regard only the rear end of a vehicle is feasible for an appendage as a carrier which is structured to carry fairly large or cumbersome objects. The sides and front of a vehicle have obvious limitations in this latter regard.
In considering and reviewing the array of all the carriers structured for use on the rear of any vehicle such as automobiles, generally all require that the object to be borne on the carrying platform be physically lifted by an individual's own efforts up and onto the platform itself. Thus, if a person of minimal or limited strength must lift an object which is cumbersome or of substantial weight, it may either be impossible or most difficult to lift the object onto the carrying platform. Indeed, the lifting of any object of any substantial weight or awkward construction by any person may involve a risk of physical injury which may be perilous. Furthermore, most existent carrier devices for the rear end of a vehicle are not readily and completely storable into a compact, unobtrusive device when not it use.
In light of the foregoing state of the art of external vehicle carriers, there is a need for a carrier which is strongly constructed and which will facilitate the lifting of the object onto the carrier; and which carrier can be easily retracted into an unobtrusive and compact storage position when not in use, and thence be readily unfoldable from this storage position for actual use. This invention is directed to this end, as discussed above.