CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/686,008 filed Nov. 15, 2019, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

Field of the Invention

This disclosure is in the field of equipment racks for carrying equipment, such as bicycles, on a vehicle. The disclosure relates to devices and systems for providing lighting on the equipment racks to make them safer and more secure.

Description of the Related Art

Equipment racks for vehicles, such as bicycle racks, are typically secured to the rear of a vehicle. They may be left in place for long periods of time and may obscure the operational lights attached to the rear of the vehicle.

These racks often pivot from an operational configuration when they are used to carry equipment, to a stowed configuration where they are folded up or otherwise reconfigured when not in use. These racks are often left on a vehicle permanently because the rack is conveniently stowed out of the way when not in use.

Some equipment racks also receive removable extensions to increase the carrying capacity of the rack. These racks are typically large and may further obscure the operational lights of the vehicle to which they are attached. This may be especially true when the lights are in the stowed configuration.

Some disclosures have included lights attached to an equipment rack. However, these disclosures are for lights on an equipment rack that are not visible in the proximity (such as rearward of) a vehicle when the rack is in both operational and stowed configurations. Furthermore, no disclosures have taught lights attached to or integrated with a removable extension for an equipment rack.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the lighting system for an equipment rack comprise a light emitting element attached to the equipment rack, where the light emitting element is visible in the proximity of the vehicle when the equipment rack is in both the stowed configuration and the operational configuration. In some embodiments, the light emitting element is controlled by the vehicle and may be electrically connected to the vehicle. In preferred embodiments of the lighting system, the light emitting element is visible from behind the vehicle in both the stowed configuration and the operational configuration. In various embodiments, the light emitting element is controlled by the vehicle to function as a tail light, turn signal, brake light, hazard light, or reverse light for the vehicle.

The lighting system may also include a lens that directs a first portion of the light emitted by the light emitting element in a first direction and a second portion of the light in a second direction. In some embodiments the lens scatters the light emitted by the light emitting element over an arc. In a preferred embodiment the arc may be substantially 90 degrees.

In some embodiments, the lens is disposed at an angle to the equipment rack so that a portion of the light emitted by the light emitting element is directed in a substantially horizontal direction when the equipment rack is in either the stowed configuration or in the operational configuration. In other embodiments, the light emitting element is disposed at an angle to the equipment rack so that a portion of the light emitted by the light emitting element is directed in a substantially horizontal direction when the equipment rack is in the stowed configuration and in the operational configuration.

In some embodiments, the equipment rack comprises a base rack for attachment to the vehicle and a removable rack extension for attachment to the base rack, wherein the light emitting element is attached to the removable rack extension, the integrated lighting system further comprising a connector that connects the light emitting element to the base rack when the removable rack extension is attached to the base rack.

In other embodiments, an integrated lighting system for an equipment rack attached to a vehicle, comprises a base rack and a removable rack extension, the integrated lighting system comprising a light emitting element attached to the removable rack extension, and a connector that connects the light emitting element to the base rack when the removable rack extension is attached to the base rack. In some embodiments, a light emitting element may be attached to the base rack. In a preferred embodiment, the light emitting elements are controlled by the vehicle to function as a tail light, turn signal, brake light, hazard light, or reverse light for the vehicle. In some embodiments, the electrical connector comprises a first electrical contact disposed on the base rack, and a second electrical contact disposed on the removable extension rack, wherein the first electrical contact automatically connects to the second electrical contact when the removable rack extension is attached to the base rack. The lighting system may further comprise an electrical conductor that connects the light emitting element to the second electrical contact, wherein the electrical conductor is disposed inside the removable rack extension.

In some embodiments of the integrated lighting system, the light emitting element is disposed on the equipment rack at an angle with respect to the horizontal plane. The equipment rack may have a stowed configuration and an operational configuration, with some embodiments of the lighting system providing that the light emitting elements are visible in a rearward direction from the vehicle when the equipment rack is in the stowed configuration and the operational configuration.

In some embodiments of the invention, the lighting system is for an equipment rack attached to a vehicle, the equipment rack having a platform for a bicycle extending outwardly from a support member, wherein a first and a second side of the platform are removable from the support member, the integrated lighting system comprising a first light emitting element attached to a first side of the platform, a second light emitting element attached to a second side of the platform, where the first and second light emitting elements are electrically connected to the support member by an electrical connector that automatically connects when the first and second sides of the platform are attached to the support member. In some of these embodiments, the equipment rack further comprises a removable extension rack having a platform for a bicycle, the integrated lighting system further comprising a third light emitting element and a fourth light emitting element attached to the removable rack extension, an electrical connector that automatically electrically connects the third and fourth light emitting elements to the support member when the removable rack extension is attached to the support member. In some of these embodiments, the equipment rack has a stowed configuration and an operational configuration, wherein the light emitting element is visible in the proximity of the vehicle when the equipment rack is in the stowed configuration and in the operational configuration.

In some embodiments the invention comprises an equipment rack for a vehicle, the equipment rack comprising a configurable hub attached to the vehicle, a support member attached to the configurable hub, and a light emitting element attached to the support member. In some of these embodiments, the configurable hub pivots from a first configuration to a second configuration, and the light emitting element is visible in the proximity of the vehicle in both the first and second configurations. In some of these embodiments, the equipment rack the equipment rack further comprises a removable rack extension for attachment to the support member, and the light emitting element is attached to the removable rack extension. In some embodiments, attachment of the removable rack extension to the support member connects the light emitting device to an electrical system of the vehicle.

