Patent Application
20150232038
This application derives priority from New Zealand patent application number 601789 incorporated herein by reference.
Described herein is a roof rack leg for a roof rail. More specifically, a roof rack leg is described for connecting a roof rack crossbar to a roof rail on a vehicle and a roof rack incorporating the leg or legs.
Sports equipment racks for vehicles typically include a pair of crossbars configured to extend across a vehicle roof width-wise for securing recreational equipment items. Typically, each crossbar is attached to the vehicle roof via a pair of legs also known as towers. For the purposes of this specification, the term ‘leg’ or ‘legs’ will be used although it should be appreciated that the terms ‘leg’, ‘tower’ or ‘foot’ may be used interchangeably.
Many different types of rack legs are known, and may be configured to be attached to a vehicle roof in any or a number of different ways. For example, some rack legs are configured for attachment to rain gutters. Others are designed for attachment to vehicle roof rails. Roof rails are elongate, linear, rigid structures mounted to the roofs of many vehicles, often by the vehicle manufacturer. A vehicle with roof rails typically has two rails running in parallel at least partially along the length of the roof. Roof rails may be raised or flush with respect to the vehicle roof.
One more recent variation in rail design are so called “flush rails”, which are relatively low and lie close to the vehicle. Often such flush rails do not include any gap under the rail meaning that roof rack attachment points need to clamp the roof rails on either side of the rails and not underneath the rail as occurs in many art designs. An example roof rack design to clamp a crossbar to vehicle rails is that published as WO94/214940. This patent publication describes a double clamp assembly using wedge shaped clamping jaws. The jaws move against each other for clamping around a roof rail via a clamping means.
Flush rails require special design considerations. Often such rails have a tapered shape along the roof of the vehicle with a width apart that narrows across the vehicle length reflecting the change in width of the vehicle roof to a narrow rear width. Rails may also be curved to suit the vehicle roof shape. A result of this design of rail is that the rail angle is not at right angles to the clamp jaws of a roof rack leg. This can result in difficulties achieving the desired strength of clamping on the rail in order to retain the roof rack (and any carried load) attached to the vehicle.
Flush rails also require the roof rack leg design to grip only the sides of the rail and not underneath the rail as often there is no gap between the rail and vehicle roof. This can considerably weaken the grip on the vehicle rail without a variation in design to cater for the changed grip required.
Further, with flush rails, it may be difficult to get the sufficient height/grip on the clamping jaws so that the load carrier bar can pass freely over the arched roof of the vehicle.
One of the problems in general with existing art legs for securing crossbars on top of vehicles is that the variability in rail configurations requires numerous different leg designs. This places a manufacturing and design burden on manufacturers, which increases product costs. The complexity of rail and leg designs also complicates the purchasing process for consumers who must determine which tower design is most appropriate for a given rail configuration. Consumers typically need to select from a range of leg designs configured to fit specifically small raised rails, large raised rails and flush rails. Reduction in the range of leg products required to fit various types of vehicle roof rails is useful to the customer, manufacturer and retailer.
Further aspects and advantages of the roof rack leg and rack will become apparent from the ensuing description that is given by way of example only.
Described herein is a roof rack leg between a roof rack cross bar and a vehicle rail, the leg including two opposing jaws that grip the rail, with the inner jaw having two degrees of movement. A rack incorporating the leg is also described along with a method of use.
In a first aspect, there is provided a roof rack leg linking a roof rack cross bar to a vehicle roof rail, the leg including:
In a second aspect, there is provided a roof rack leg linking a roof rack cross bar to a vehicle roof rail, the leg including:
In a third aspect, there is provided a rack for carrying cargo on a vehicle, the vehicle having a pair of rails, the rails tapering in width from the front to the rear of the vehicle, the rack including:
Further aspects of the roof rack leg and rack will become apparent from the following description that is given by way of example only and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
As noted above, a roof rack leg is described located between a roof rack cross bar and a vehicle rail, the leg including two opposing jaws, with the inner jaw having two degrees of movement. A rack incorporating the leg is also described.
For the purposes of this specification, the term ‘about’ or ‘approximately’ and grammatical variations thereof mean a quantity, level, degree, value, number, frequency, percentage, dimension, size, amount, weight or length that varies by as much as 30, 25, 20, 15, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, or 1% to a reference quantity, level, degree, value, number, frequency, percentage, dimension, size, amount, weight or length.
The term ‘substantially’ or grammatical variations thereof refers to at least about 50%, for example 75%, 85%, 95% or 98%.
For the purpose of this specification the term ‘comprise’ and grammatical variations thereof shall have an inclusive meaning—i.e. that it will be taken to mean an inclusion of not only the listed components it directly references, but also other non-specified components or elements.
The term ‘rail’ or grammatical variations thereof refers to a raised projection from the roof surface of a vehicle generally extending along a portion or all of the sides of a vehicle.
The term ‘inner’ or grammatical variations thereof refers to the orientation of a surface relative to a person standing on the side of a vehicle with the inner surface or jaw of a leg being located towards the vehicle roof and away from the outer side of the vehicle when viewed in a horizontal plane.
The term ‘exterior’ or grammatical variations thereof refers to the orientation of a surface relative to a person standing on the side of a vehicle with the exterior surface or jaw of a leg being located towards the outer side of the vehicle and away from the vehicle roof when viewed in a horizontal plane.
The term ‘side’ or grammatical variations thereof, in the context of a vehicle rail refers to the lateral or approximately lateral surfaces of the rails (as opposed to the front, back, top or bottom if visible of the rail(s)).
The term ‘front of vehicle’ or grammatical variations refers to the end of the vehicle that is in the normal direction of travel of the vehicle (not a reverse direction of travel).
The term ‘rear of vehicle’ or grammatical variations refers to the end of the vehicle that is in the reverse direction of travel of the vehicle (not a normal direction of travel).
In a first aspect, there is provided a roof rack leg linking a roof rack cross bar to a vehicle roof rail, the leg including:
The inventors have found that by having two degrees of movement of the inner jaw, a bigger proportion of the jaw is able to abut the rail side irrespective of rail tapering angle or rail curvature meaning a greater grip surface is achieved.
Rotational movement of the inner jaw is particularly advantageous. Rotational movement is relative to the exterior jaw in an approximately horizontal plane where the term ‘approximately’ in this context refers to the plane being either in a purely horizontal plane (i.e. 0 degrees offset) or up to 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, or 30 degrees offset from a purely horizontal plane. The degree of offset from a purely horizontal plane may in part be defined by the angle of the rail, curvature of the rail and design considerations in the leg itself. For example, the exterior jaw may be seated higher than the inner jaw due to the rail being angled towards the inner portion (roof area) of the vehicle.
The vehicle roof rail may be a flush rail. As noted above, so called ‘flush rails’ present a greater degree of difficulty in roof rack leg design as the grip surface is smaller than other types of design and often there is no gap under the rail hence the attachment point or points are the sides of the rail(s). Flush rails may also be interchangeably referred to in the art as ‘integrated rails’. It should however be appreciated that the above leg design, while useful for flush rails, may also be used with other types of vehicle rails.
The vehicle roof rail may have an undercut on the exterior side of the roof rail. Other contours such as protrusions, dips, cut outs and the like may also exist on the rail sides depending on the vehicle manufacturer. The jaws described herein may be shaped to directly or indirectly (such as via an insert) complement the contours of the rail.
The connecting means may be a moulding made from a plastic, elastomer or metal.
The exterior jaw may be integral to the connecting means. While separate embodiments are also encompassed herein, the exterior jaw may be integral to a moulding that receives and retains the cross bar and other items forming the leg. By way of example, the exterior jaw may be a separate item fitted to the moulding via a mechanical fastener or fasteners.
The inner face of the exterior jaw may have similar contours to the side of the rail to which the exterior jaw abuts. The term ‘inner face of the exterior jaw’ refers to the face of the exterior jaw that abuts the rail or the face that, via another item such as an insert, abuts the rail. As noted above, the rail may have varying contours and shapes and it is useful to complement this shape on the exterior jaw face in part or in full in order to maximise the surface area abutting the rail side.
The inner face of the exterior jaw may have an insert located between the exterior jaw face and the vehicle roof rail side. Use of an insert may enhance the grip of the jaw against the side of the rail by providing a greater contact area and, through use of high friction materials in the insert, the grip strength may also be increased.
The pad may be manufactured from a plastic, elastomer or metal material. In one embodiment the insert may be a rubber based insert. A rubber insert may be useful to prevent aesthetic damage to the vehicle rail or rails particularly on the more visible exterior sides. The rubber insert may be manufactured from a thermoplastic vulcanizate (TPV). One commercially available example TPV may be Santoprene™. It should be appreciated that other types of rubber may also be used.
The insert may be shaped to match the profile and tapering of the rail. As noted above, the contours of the rail may vary hence it is helpful to also provide a complementary insert surface.
The insert may extend to at least cover a portion of the top surface of the rail as well as the side of the rail. Extension to some or the entire top region of the rail also may assist to prevent any aesthetic damage to the top of the rail.
The insert may be removable and/or affixed to the jaw or jaws.
The inner jaw may have an approximately C-shaped cross-section wherein, one end of the inner jaw fastens to the connecting means and the other end of the inner jaw abuts and clamps the side of the vehicle rail. The C-shape may be formed in three folds where the angle of the face of the inner jaw that abuts the rail runs in parallel with the angle of the rail when viewed in a vertical plane. Whilst not essential, having folds may increase the surface area abutting the rail thereby increasing the grip strength of the leg on the rail.
The connecting means may incorporate a clamping means linking the inner and exterior jaws. The clamping means may be a threaded fastener. When rotated, the threaded fastener may draw the inner jaw toward or away from the exterior jaw in a linear movement. The inner jaw may link to the fastener about a jaw driver and the jaw driver translates rotational movement of the fastener to linear movement of the inner jaw.
The jaw driver may also have a further function of acting as an orthogonal axis about which the inner jaw rotates allowing the inner face of the inner jaw to conform to the direction of the side of the vehicle rail and allowing rotational movement independent of the face of the exterior jaw.
The connecting means may include a stop or stops to prevent excess rotational movement of the inner jaw. The stop or stops may be protrusions integral to and projecting from the connecting means or moulding.
The inner jaw may be manufactured from an alloy. The alloy may be a stainless steel. The face of the inner jaw that abuts the vehicle rail may have a high friction coating. The entire inner jaw may have a high friction coating. The high friction coating may be a PVC coating.
The inner jaw may have a pin or pins protruding from the inner face of the inner jaw that correspond and are received within complementary holes in the vehicle rail. Some vehicle manufacturers include a location hole or holes on the inside of the rail. In these cases, the inner jaw may have a complementary pin or pins that fit and help to locate the leg onto the rail. As should be appreciated, the pin may be sized to have a diameter approximately the same as that of the hole in the rail. The pin may be approximately 1, or 2, or 3, or 4, or 5, or 6, or 7, or 8, or 9, or 10 mm in diameter and the pin may be approximately 1, or 2, or 3, or 4, or 5, or 6, or 7, or 8, or 9, or 10 mm long.
In a second aspect, there is provided a roof rack leg linking a roof rack cross bar to a vehicle roof rail, the leg including:
In a third aspect, there is provided a rack for carrying cargo on a vehicle, the vehicle having a pair of rails, the rails tapering in width from the front to the rear of the vehicle, the rack including:
Advantages of the above leg design are that the leg may be used on a variety of vehicles due to the ability to rotate the inner jaw thus being able to cater for a wide range of vehicles types. The design also avoids having to redesign the leg for each vehicle as variation of the exterior jaw inner face contours or rubber insert contours may easily be completed whilst not having to alter other parts. The design is also strong and is capable of meeting safety standards such as the so-called ‘City Crash’ test and DIN standards.
The embodiments described above may also be said broadly to consist in the parts, elements and features referred to or indicated in the specification of the application, individually or collectively, and any or all combinations of any two or more said parts, elements or features, and where specific integers are mentioned herein which have known equivalents in the art to which the embodiments relates, such known equivalents are deemed to be incorporated herein as of individually set forth,
Where specific integers are mentioned herein which have known equivalents in the art to which this invention relates, such known equivalents are deemed to be incorporated herein as if individually set forth.
The above described roof rack leg and rack are now described by reference to a specific example.
Referring to
The inner jaw 9 may be manufactured in a C-cross section shape, one end abutting the rail 2 and the other end being linked to a clamping means 12 which in the embodiment shown is a threaded fastener 12. The inner jaw 9 may be manufactured from stainless steel and may have a partial to full high friction coating so as to ensure a tight fit against the rail 2. The coating may only be on the face abutting the rail 2 or may be over the whole piece forming the inner jaw 9. The coating may be a PVC coating. The inner jaw 9 is moveable relative to the exterior jaw 10 in a linear direction generally indicated by arrow BB in
The inner jaw 9 is also able to move rotationally in an approximately horizontal plane (0 degrees to 30 degrees offset from a horizontal plane) about an axis defined by the jaw driver 13. As best viewed in
Finally, as shown in
To summarise, the above example embodiment, a roof rack leg 1 is described for linking a roof rack cross bar 3 to a vehicle roof rail 2. The leg 1 includes two opposing jaws being a movable inner jaw 9 and a fixed position exterior jaw 10 both with internal facing surfaces that abut and clamp about opposing sides of a roof rail 2. The movable inner jaw 9 has two degrees of movement being linear movement (shown as arrow BB in
A rack for carrying cargo on top of a vehicle with rails 2 is also incorporated within this example. The rack may include a pair of crossbars 3, each crossbar 3 having a pair of legs 1 described above for mounting the crossbar 3 on the rails 2 of the vehicle.
The leg 1 and rack incorporating the leg 1 or legs 2 may be advantageous as they provide a secure way of attaching a rack to a vehicle with rails including vehicles with flush rails. The two degrees of rotation allowed for in the inner jaw 9 allows for more tolerance in terms of tapering of the rails 2 meaning less re-design and re-tooling for different vehicle types. The one part that may be interchanged for different vehicles can be the rubber insert 11 which is easy to mould to suit the specific rail 2 shape for a vehicle and which is inexpensive to mass produce and fit to the rest of the leg assembly as needed thereby minimising equipment costs while maximising potential market opportunity.
Aspects of roof rack leg and rack have been described by way of example only and it should be appreciated that modifications and additions may be made thereto without departing from the scope of the claims herein.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 601789 | Aug 2012 | NZ | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/NZ2013/000141 | 8/13/2013 | WO | 00 |
