Patent Application
20060237500
Top-mounted vehicle racks provide a versatile platform for transporting bicycles, skis, snowboards, boats, cargo boxes, gear racks, and other items. Such racks may include crossbars that extend side-to-side across the top of a vehicle. The crossbars typically are supported on each side of the vehicle's roof by a tower, where the length of each crossbar and the distance between crossbars depend on factors such as the shape and size of the vehicle's roof. The towers supporting the rack crossbars are securely fastened to the vehicle in some manner, to prevent the rack from slipping during use.
In the case of vehicles that do not have pre-installed rails on the roof of the vehicle (often referred to as a “factory rack”), the fastening mechanism may include clips that attach directly to the underside of the vehicle roof, where a window of the car meets the roof. The clips may be customized to fit a particular vehicle, while still allowing the doors of the vehicle to open and close normally with the rack installed.
In the case of vehicles that do have a preinstalled factory rack, the rack towers may be attached directly to the rails of the factory rack, avoiding any need to insert clips under the vehicle roof. Attachment of rack towers to a factory rack may, for example, be accomplished using clips or hooks that attach to the outer edge or underside of the rails, in a manner similar to attaching the towers directly to the vehicle roof.
Vehicle factory racks are manufactured in a wide variety of shapes and styles, and in some cases the rails of a factory rack may be provided with a groove or notch specifically designed for allowing attachment of a rack. The groove may be provided either on the inboard or the outboard side of the rail, and it may have a vehicle-specific shape or profile. Therefore, attachment of a tower to a groove in a factory rack rail may require a uniquely shaped clip mechanism and/or tower body. In some situations, a user may wish to move a rack from one vehicle equipped with a factory rack to another, where the rails on the two vehicles have differently shaped surfaces and/or attachment grooves.
Some rails provided with factory racks may not have an attachment groove, and may not be ideally suited for attachment of clips directly to the underside of the rail. For example, the shape of the rail may make it difficult for a clip to securely grip the rail without slipping. Therefore, existing vehicle rack systems may not be configured to be mounted easily on all vehicles equipped with a factory rack. In addition, it may be undesirable for a rack manufacturer to provide separate tower designs for every different make or model of car that uses a different factory rail configuration.
Thus, a need exists for a mechanism to securely attach rack towers to a vehicle equipped with factory rails, where the mechanism does not rely on the presence of a groove in the rails or on a particular rail shape, and where the crossbars and towers may be relatively easily separated and reconfigured for attachment to rails on a number of different vehicles.
Rail engagement portion 14 attaches to a rail 20 with a fastening device that at least partially conforms to the shape of the rail. In some embodiments, such as the embodiment depicted in
The rail engagement portion and/or the crossbar engagement portion also include an interface for attaching the rail and crossbar engagement portions to each other, thus securing the crossbar to the rail. This interface may be configured to allow rotation of the rail engagement portion on the rail, simplifying the installation process. For example, the embodiment depicted in
As
Many variations of the devices described above are possible. Cables may be substituted for straps in any of the examples described above. The same types of assemblies including flexible straps or cables may be used to attach cargo specific accessories to crossbars of various shapes and sizes. For example, a flexible strap or cable may be used to attach a ski mount or bike mount to crossbars of many different shapes and sizes. Various alternative types of tightening mechanisms may also be used.
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, neither requiring nor excluding two or more such elements. Furthermore, 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(e) to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/635,755 entitled “Side Rail Rack with Removable Base,” filed Dec. 13, 2004 and Ser. No. 60/656,529 entitled “Side Rail Rack with Removable Base,” filed Feb. 23, 2005, the complete disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference for all purposes. This application incorporates by reference in their entirety the following U.S. patents and PCT publication: U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,190,198; 5,715,980; 6,010,048; 6,305,589 and WO2004/076237.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60635755 | Dec 2004 | US | |
| 60656529 | Feb 2005 | US |
