Patent Application
20060243767
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to vehicle roof racks and more particularly to roof racks which are held in place by magnetic attraction.
2. Background Information
There are a number of different structures which are available for attaching loads to the roof of a vehicle. These structures are generally bars which are mounted to feet or towers, with the feet or towers mounted to the gutter, or some other physical structure of the vehicle. The bars are available for a number of different attachments to be mounted to. Attachments can be mounted to the bars for carrying canoes, bicycles, skis, or other items typically carried on a roof rack. General purpose load carrying devices can also be mounted to the load bars, such as baskets, boxes, and cargo carriers which have a top and a bottom and which open and close like a suitcase.
However, sometimes what is needed for carrying a load is to have an extremely unobtrusive device which attaches to the roof and protects the roof from the sharp edges or projecting points of loads. Such a roof pad would preferably interact with factory roof racks or luggage carriers that come with the car when it is purchased. This type of roof rack would mount directly against the roof of the vehicle, and protect the vehicle roof from scratches or dents from loads being carried. Such loads could include boxes, bicycles, canoes, skis, duffle bags, suitcases, or other similar devices.
Additional objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows and in part will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon examination of the following or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and attained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims.
These and other claims are achieved by the roof pad of the invention. The roof pad is designed to be mounted on the roof of a vehicle, and to adhere to the roof of the vehicle by magnetic attraction. It includes a planer pad body which includes a magnetic layer. The magnetic layer is affixed to a matrix or sealant layer with the magnetic layer providing magnetic attraction to the metal of a vehicle roof. Various design features and accessories are built into the pad body matrix layer. These may include one or more anchor points for securing the roof pad to vehicle load bars. These anchor points serve as points of attachment to the load bars, and are provided as a safety feature in case for some reason, the pad body became unattached from a vehicle roof. The anchor points to the vehicle load bars can include restraint in the form of a cable, strap, cord or other flexible line, which attaches the pad body to some portion of a load bar on the roof. It can also include a bar clasp, which can be a long tube-like device or several sections of a tube-like form, which snap in place over a load bar. The bar clasp could also be generally C-shaped in cross section, fit over a load bar, and be strapped, snapped, buckled or otherwise fixed in place around the load bar. The roof pad can include one or more load tie points, also called attachment points, configured for securing cargo to the roof pad. The cargo attachment points would preferably be formed from a bar embedded in the matrix layer of the pad body, and would typically be designed to be flush with the pad surface. The anchor points to the load bars would typically be a feature which is configured to lay flush with the surface of the pad body, but when desired it could rotate to an accessible position and be clipped into attachment with the load bars of the vehicle.
The invention may also include one or more rain gutters, which are grooves or channels formed in the pad body to facilitate the drainage of liquid from the load tie points and from the upper surface of the pad body.
Further, the invention may include one or more bumper strips, which are raised sections positioned around one or more of the peripheries of the pad body. These would typically be made of resilient material, and would help to position cargo, and keep it from sliding off the edge of the pad body.
The purpose of the foregoing Abstract is to enable the United States Patent and Trademark Office and the public generally, and especially the scientists, engineers, and practitioners in the art who are not familiar with patent or legal terms or phraseology, to determine quickly from a cursory inspection, the nature and essence of the technical disclosure of the application. The Abstract is neither intended to define the invention of the application, which is measured by the claims, nor is it intended to be limiting as to the scope of the invention in any way.
Still other objects and advantages of the present invention will become readily apparent to those skilled in this art from the following detailed description wherein I have shown and described only the preferred embodiment of the invention, simply by way of illustration of the best mode contemplated by carrying out my invention. As will be realized, the invention is capable of modification in various obvious respects all without departing from the invention. Accordingly, the drawings and description of the preferred embodiment are to be regarded as illustrative in nature, and not as restrictive in nature.
While the invention is susceptible of various modifications and alternative constructions, certain illustrated embodiments thereof have been shown in the drawings and will be described below in detail. It should be understood, however, that there is no intention to limit the invention to the specific form disclosed, but, on the contrary, the invention is to cover all modifications, alternative constructions, and equivalents falling within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the claims.
The preferred embodiment of the invention is shown in
While there is shown and described the present preferred embodiment of the invention, it is to be distinctly understood that this invention is not limited thereto but may be variously embodied to practice within the scope of the following claims. From the foregoing description, it will be apparent that various changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the following claims.
