Kuat Innovations, LLC

Luke Kuschmeader

Jordan K Bowles

Aaron A Houston

Jonathan Graif

Austin Harrill

Joshua Schwartz

Patrick Schloth

James Gerard Quintus

Jamie Kummerfeld

Brian Atkinson

Michael Buis

Jordan Bowles

Marc Basiliere

Clayton Villars

Utility rack for a truck

A utility rack for a truck may be removably attached to the side walls of the bed of the truck. The disclosed utility rack discloses internal cavities for attachment bolts or other fasteners. The internal cavities allow the fasteners to be hidden under an access cover during use of the utility rack while also providing strong and secure butt joints between the ends of some of the components. The ends of the components of the utility rack may be provided with protrusions and sockets that interlock to improve the stability of flush butt joints between components. The utility rack may include closed-loop outer-boundary side frames configure to clamp on opposing side walls of a truck cargo bed, with a crossbar spanning the truck cargo bed between top rails of the side frames. The closed-loop outer-boundary side frames do not require internal vertically oriented support posts inside the outer-boundary frame.

Utility rack

Utility rack with panels

A latch assembly is described for use with a pivoting hitch device that allows the pivoting of a bicycle rack away from the rear of a vehicle to allow access to a lift gate, tail gate, trunk, hatchback, or other rear access point for a vehicle. The pivoting hitch device has two support members that are pivotally attached to one another. The latch assembly is attached to one of the support members of the pivoting hitch device, and may have an actuator, a latch bar, and a connecting member that connects the actuator to the latch bar. A latch member is attached to the other support member of the pivoting hitch device. The latch bar engages the latch member to secure the two support members in relation to one another and prevent pivotal movement.

Latch assembly for pivoting hitch device

An improved ratchet mechanism for the tire arm of a bicycle carrier comprises a guide component disposed inside an extendable inner arm of the tire arm, a pushrod body movably held by the guide component, and a ratchet pawl rotatably supported in relation to the guide component. An actuator on the tire arm moves a pushrod inside the inner arm to move the pushrod body causing the ratchet pawl to disengage from a ratchet rack on the tire arm, allowing the inner arm to be extended by a user. The guide component guides the movement of the pushrod body to disengage a tooth portion of the ratchet pawl from the ratchet rack. The guide component, ratchet pawl, and the pushrod body comprise an improved ratchet assembly for use in an extendable tire arm for a bicycle carrier.

Ratchet mechanism for bicycle carrier tire arm

An equipment rack is described with an integrated lighting system. The integrated lighting system may connect to the vehicle's electrical system to provide tail light, brake light, hazard, reverse light, and turn signal functions. The lighting system may include an automatic connection for lighting attached to a rack extension when the rack extension is attached to a base rack. The lighting may also be visible on a pivoting rack when the rack is stowed or in use to carry bicycles. The lighting elements may be disposed on or inside the equipment rack and may be provided with internal wiring to connect the lights to the vehicle's electrical system.

Equipment rack with lighting

Equipment such as bicycle racks are often delivered to the end user in a partially assembled state. The component subassemblies may be heavy or unwieldy in size, making it difficult for the end user to hold the subassemblies in the correct positions with respect to each other while attaching the fasteners that hold the subassemblies together while the equipment is in use. An equipment rack is described having features that hold the subassemblies in an assembled configuration while the operational fasteners are added or engaged to hold the equipment rack in its final, assembled configuration. These features may be surface features that the end user is able to engage with each other to provide support to subassemblies and hold them in the proper orientation and position while the operational fasteners are aligned, inserted, tightened, or otherwise affixed to the assembled parts.

Bicycle rack with assembly features

A bicycle rack is described with an actuated arm that pivots to an open position in response to user activation of the actuator. The actuator is attached to the rack and the arm and exerts a force on the arm by extension to pivot the actuated arm to the open position. The actuator extends only when a release mechanism has been actuated by a user, but a user may pivot the actuated arm back to a closed position, or a position securing a bicycle, without actuating the release. The actuated arm will then be retained at a position selected by the user until the release is actuated by the user again.

Bicycle rack with actuated arm

Bicycle carriers or racks for attachment to vehicles may be provided with a pivoting mechanism to rotate the rack in a vertical plane to provide access to the rear of the vehicle without removing bicycles from the rack. An actuator may be provided for a user to engage and disengage the pivoting mechanism to respectively secure the rack in a desired orientation or allow it to pivot from one desired orientation to another. The actuator may be coupled to a bar that engages one or more protrusions in the pivoting mechanism to secure the pivoting mechanism at a desired orientation. In some mechanisms the actuator may be actuated by hand or by foot, or both.

Pivot mechanism for bicycle carrier

A mechanism for clamping a drawbar in a receiver hitch uses a clamp pad to engage two adjacent interior surfaces of the receiver hitch tube. The clamp pad presses outwardly on the receiver hitch tube causing the opposing corner of the drawbar to engage the other sides of the receiver hitch tube. The clamp pad is extended and retracted by a shuttle member disposed inside the drawbar tube. The clamp may be self-aligning with respect to the receiver hitch. An adjustment mechanism is described for translating the shuttle member. An extendable pin mechanism may be actuated by the shuttle assembly. A locking mechanism may be provided to prevent an unauthorized person from releasing the clamp pad and the extendable pin.

Growing community of inventors

Springfield, MO, United States of America

Luke Kuschmeader