Patent Application
20090120981
Vehicle-mounted racks may be mounted on many types of vehicles (e.g., car, van, truck) to retain many types of loads. While vehicle-mounted racks often are mounted on the roofs of vehicles, a vehicle-mounted rack may be mounted on other parts of a vehicle, such as the trunk or rear of the vehicle. Vehicle-mounted racks may include bars, such as horizontal crossbars and/or rails, for securing and supporting loads.
Various devices may be deployed on a vehicle-mounted rack for supporting various types of loads. Examples of mounting systems for vehicle-mounted racks are found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,094,373, 5,685,686, 5,820,002, 5,951,231, 6,164,507, 6,283,310, 6,286,738, 6,367,673, 6,422,441, 6,425,509, 6,561,398, 6,681,971, and 7,357,283, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.
Recreational equipment including kayaks and other boats are examples of loads that may be retained by, secured by, or mounted on a vehicle-mounted rack using a load-supporting device. One example of a load-supporting device particularly well-suited for boats includes a vertical bar or support arm that is mounted on a horizontal crossbar. One or more boats may be placed on the crossbar and leaned against the support arm. Straps may be used to secure the boat(s) to the crossbars and/or support arms.
Securing or coupling the straps to the support arm may be difficult, and different users may have varying preferences as to how to accomplish this task. Existing support arms include U-shaped arms or a spike with a hook to secure the strap. Some users may add padding to the support arms or boat(s) to protect the boat(s).
Load-supporting devices are provided herein for supporting and/or securing loads to vehicle-mounted racks.
Boat 22 is shown in phantom being supported by and/or secured to load-supporting device 20 using one or more straps 24. It should be appreciated that load-supporting devices 20 are not limited to use with boats, and may be adapted and used for any type of load, including recreational equipment for skiing, camping, boating, hiking, sailing, flying and traveling. For example, the load-supporting devices may be provided for carrying skies, snowboards, surfboards, kayaks, bicycles, etc. Load-supporting devices 20 may also be adapted to support non-recreational loads, such as cargo baskets, cargo boxes, luggage, tool boxes, ladders, tools, and the like.
In some embodiments, support arm 30 may be pivotable between multiple locked positions.
Support arm 30 may be pivotally attached to mounting assembly 50 in various ways to be pivotable between multiple locked positions. One of the mounting assembly or support arm may include at least two recesses, and the other of the mounting assembly or support arm may include a pawl configured to engage one of the at least two recesses to maintain support arm 30 in a locked position.
In the example shown in
Included on an area 54 of mounting assembly 50 for receiving support arm 30 is a pawl 56 sized to engage a recess such as first recess 38, second recess 40, or third recess 42. Accordingly, support arm 30 is pivotable between various locked positions. For example, in a first locked position, pawl 56 engages first recess 38 and support arm 30 is maintained generally perpendicular to generally planar top surface 16 of vehicle 10 (see
Although
Mounting assembly 50 may include a disengagement mechanism 58 adapted to be actuated to disengage pawl 56 from a recess such as first recess 38, second recess 40, or third recess 42, allowing support arm 30 to freely pivot about axis 18. In the example shown in
In some embodiments, pawl 56 and recesses (e.g., 38, 40, 42) may be shaped and/or configured to operate together as a ratchet mechanism. Rotation in one direction may be possible, and pawl 56 may snap into each recess as support arm 30 is pivoted about axis 18. Rotation in the opposite direction may not be possible without disengaging pawl 56 from the recesses.
In some embodiments, support arm 30 includes a padded portion 35 (
In another aspect, mounting assembly 50 may be provided with one or more support pads to provide lateral support along axis 18. An example mounting assembly 50 having support pads is shown in
Mounting assembly 50 may include an adjustable clamp 64 defining a crossbar-receiving area 66 for receiving crossbar 14. The example mounting assembly 50 shown in
Returning to the example of
At least a portion of first support pad 68 may be outside of crossbar-receiving area 66 on one side 70 of adjustable clamp 64. In embodiments such as the example in
Some embodiments, including the example shown in
Support pads may be removable from mounting assembly 50. Additionally or alternatively, support pads may be movably coupled to mounting assembly 50 so that they are movable relative to crossbar 14. For example, first support pad 68 and/or second support pad 72 may be movable about axis 18. Additionally or alternatively, first support pad 68 and/or second support pad 72 may be movable along axis 18.
Users of load-supporting device 20 may prefer to secure or couple strap 24 (see
Accordingly, the example load-supporting device 20 shown in
In some embodiments, such as the one depicted in
The various structural members disclosed herein may be constructed from any suitable material, or combination of materials, such as metal, plastic, nylon, plastic or any other materials with sufficient structural strength to withstand the loads incurred during use. Materials may be selected based on their durability, flexibility, weight, and/or aesthetic qualities.
Although the present disclosure has been provided with reference to the foregoing operational principles and embodiments, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes in form and detail may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure. The present disclosure is intended to embrace all such alternatives, modifications and variances. Where the disclosure recites “a,” “a first,” or “another” element, or the equivalent thereof, it should be interpreted to include one or more such elements, but neither require nor exclude two or more such elements. Further, ordinal indicators, such as first, second, or third for identified elements are used to distinguish between the elements; they do not indicate a required or limited number of such elements, and do not indicate a particular position or order of such elements unless otherwise specifically stated. Any aspect shown or described with reference to a particular embodiment should be interpreted to be compatible with any other embodiment, alternative, modification, or variance.
This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119 from U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/958,570 filed Jul. 6, 2007, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety for all purposes. This application also incorporates by reference in their entirety for all purposes the following U.S. Provisional Patent Applications and U.S. Patent Application: 60/958,475 filed Jul. 6, 2007, 60/958,476 filed Jul. 6, 2007, and filed Jul. 7, 2008 entitled “Load-Carrying Members for Vehicle Roofs.”
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60958570 | Jul 2007 | US |
