CLAIM OF PRIORITY

Applicant claims priority of invention, pursuant t 35 ϋ.S.C. §119, to Australian Design Registration applicatio Nos. 8646/84, filed August 24, 1984, 1797/85, filed July 10, 1985, and 1798/85, filed July 10, 1985.

REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation-in-part of United States Design patent application. Serial No. 704,528, filed February 22, 1985, and the teaching and technology contained therein are incorporated herein.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Field of the Invention

This invention relates to the support art, and, more particularly, to an improved rack arrangement which may be mounted upon a particular surface for supporting a variet of articles on the rack.

Rack arrangements, and, in particular, roof rack arrangements, have been utilized in a variety of application In particular, on vehicles such as cars, station wagons, motor homes, recreational vehicles, and the like, rack arrangements are often coupled to particular surfaces of the vehicle such as the roof, trunk lid, and the like. Such rac arrangements as heretofore utilized in these, and other, applications, have not proven to be completely satisfactory

in installation, operation, or use. In particular, it has been found that such prior art rack arrangements have often been comparatively loosely fitting between the support brackets which are coupled to the surface, and the trans- versely extending bars between aligned pairs of the support brackets. Attempts to provide comparatively tight fitting configurations between these portions of such rack arrange- ments have, in general, been unsuccessful as requiring either comparatively tight tolerance specifications for the manufac- ture of the parts, thereby requiring an excess of quality control inspections, and thus raising the cost of such items to uneconomic levels, or attempts to provide set screws or other mechanical connections between the bars and the support members. The set screws or other mechanical interconnections have generally not proven to completely solve the problem, because of alignment between the comparatively widely spaced apart support members made mass assembly of such arrangements with set screws or the like impractical because of tolerance build-up and normal manufacturing tolerance dimensional variations and the like.

Further, such rack arrangements as utilized on vehicles were often permanently attached. In other applica- tions where removal attachments were provided, such arrange- ments could be comparatively easily stolen from the vehicle, resulting in economic loss to the owner thereof.

Thus, there has long been a need for a rack arrangement particularly adapted for utilization on vehicles, which provides a tight fitting, as well as attractive appearance when mounted on a surface of a vehicle, trunk lid, or the like, be comparatively economic to fabricate, com- paratively easily installed on the vehicle, and where remov- able installation is desired, all or major portions of the ^' rack arrangement may be comparatively easily and quickly removed. Further, it has long been desired that where such

1 removable rack arrangements are provided, they also be com-

2 paratively difficult to remove except by authorized persons. 3.

4

5 SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

6

7 Accordingly, it is an object of the present inven-

8 tion to provide an improved rack arrangement.

0 It is another object of the present invention to 1 provide an improved rack arrangement particularly adapted for 2 mounting on a surface of a vehicle such as a roof of a 3 vehicle, trunk lid, or the like. 4 5 It is another object of the present invention to 6 provide an improved rack arrangement which is both visually 7 attractive and economical to manufacture. 8 9 It is another object of the present invention to 0 provide an improved rack arrangement that reduces the possi- 1 bility of theft of the rack arrangement from the surface. 2 3 The above and other objects of the present inven- 4 tion are achieved, in a preferred embodiment thereof, in a 5 rack arrangement which is adapted for attachment to a prese- 6 lected surface such as, for example, the roof of a motor 7 vehicle. The rack arrangement generally comprises two pair 8 of support bracket means mounted on the roof, and aligned in 9 a predetermined spaced array in both longitudinal transverse 0 directions on the surface. The support bracket means has a 1 mounting end and a coupling end spaced from the mounting end, 2 with a predetermined geometrical shape between the mounting 3 end and the coupling end. The mounting end is adapted to be 4 mounted on the surface and the preselected geometrical shape 5 of the support bracket means provides the coupling end 6 thereof in a spaced relationship to the surface. Mounting

means are provided for mounting the support bracket means to the preselected surface and the mounting may be a permanent mounting, or a removable mounting _* Further, the mounting means preferably incorporates an "anti-theft" structural arrangement which reduces the possibility of theft or inad- vertent removal of the rack means from the surface. Such "anti-theft" device or arrangement may incorporate mounting bolts in the mounting means which secures the rack arrange- ment to the surface to have a specially designed head portion, such as a head portion having an external spline thereon, for which a special wrench, having a matching spline, is required to remove the bolts, and thus remove the rack arrangement. Additionally, the structure of the rack arrangement may pro- vide comparatively closely fitting cavities into which the splined head of the mounting bolt fits when it is installed, such that the clearance between the head of the bolt and the walls defining the cavity allows insertion of the special wrench for removing the bolt, but other types of tools such as pliers, vise-grips, or the like, cannot be readily uti- lized to remove the bolts.

The coupling end of the support bracket means has a telescopic coupling means thereon, and the telescopic coupling means has a frictional engagement means thereon. The coupling end of the support bracket means is adapted to telescopically couple with the transversely extending bar means, such that the bar means is supported at each end of the bar means by the coupling end of each of the aligned pair of support bracket means. In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the bar means is an extrusion, having walls defining a particularly geometrically shaped internal surface and external surface, and may, ^' for example, be an extrusion of the type shown in Australian Design Registration No. 89,506, dated July 29, 1983. The telescopic coupling means of the coupling end of the support bracket means fits into the internal cavity of the bar means for frictional

engagement therein. The frictional engagement may be pro- vided by the walls of the telescopic coupling means engaging the internal walls of the bar means. However, it has been found that a particular frictional engagement arrangement is particularly useful in the practice of the present invention. The particular frictional engagement arrangement utilized in the preferred embodiment of the present invention comprises a pair of spaced apart tab means which are fabricated as part of the telescopic coupling means, fitting into the internal cavity of the bar means. As fabricated, the tab means are in opposed relationship and have a predetermined dimension between the external portions of the tab means greater than the dimension between the internal wall surfaces of the bar means which engage such tab means. When the bar means is first inserted on the telescopic portion of the telescopic coupling means, it shears the tab means to the particular dimension existing on that particular bar for that particular support bracket means, thereby providing a very tight fric- tional fit between the support bracket means and the bar means. Therefore, comparatively tight tolerances need not be maintained in the fabrication of the components of the pre- sent invention, resulting in a lower fabrication cost and ultimately, a lower cost to the consumer. Further, the tight fit provided by the above mentioned preferred frictional engagement means provides an improved rack arrangement according to the principles of the present invention by mini- mizing wobble and wear during the use of the rack arrangement.

The mounting means utilized for mounting the rack arrangement on the surface may be a removable clamping arrangement for clamping engagement on rain gutters of vehicles, and, in such embodiments, the entire rack arrange- ent is removable. In other embodiments of the present invention, a shoe means, which may be four spaced apart shoes in the predetermined spaced array, which are permanently attached to the surface and into which the mounting end of

the support bracket means may be detachably (or permanently, if desired) mounted. Alternatively, the shoe means may take the form of a pair of longitudinally extending track means onto which the mounting end of the support bracket means is coupled, and, in such an embodiment, longitudinal spacing adjustment may be provided between the pairs of support bracket means to thereby longitudinally space the bar means of the rack arrangement for particular applications.

Further, the bar means utilized in the practice of the present invention may be of the above described extrusion type and may be configured in any desired geometrical arrangement for particular applications, and, alternatively, may have various structural arrangements coupled thereto for carrying particular items. Thus, either the bar means itself or the attachments made thereto may be configured for carrying such diverse items as surfboards, skis, bicycles, wind surfers, or virtually any other desired materials.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other embodiments of the present invention may be more fully understood from the following detailed description when taken together with the accom- panying drawings, wherein similar reference characters refer to similar elements throughout and in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a preferred embo- diment of the present invention as mounted on the roof of an automobile;

Figure 2 is an exploded sectional view of a support bracket means useful in the embodiment illustrated in Figure 1;

Figure 3a is a perspective view, partially in sec-

tion, of a bar means useful in the practice of the present invention;

Figure 3b is a sectional view of a resilient bumper strip useful in the practice of the present invention;

Figure 4 is a sectional view, along the line 4—4 of Figure 2;

Figure 5a is a sectional view along the line 5a—5a of Figure 2;

Figure 5b is an enlarged sectional view of a por- tion of the structure shown in Figure 5a;

Figure 6 is a sectional view along the line 6—6 of Figure 2;

Figure 7 is a perspective view of another embodi- ment of the present invention, as mounted on the roof of a motor vehicle;

Figure 8 is a perspective view of the embodiment shown in Figure 7;

Figure 9 is an exploded perspective view of a sup- port bracket means useful in the practice of the embodiment shown in Figure 7;

Figure 10 is a perspective view of a mounting means useful in the practice of the embodiment of the present invention illustrated in Figure 7;

Figure 11 is a view along the line 11—11 of Figure 9;

Figure 12 is a sectional view along the line 12—12 of Figure 9;

Figure 13 is a perspective view of another embodi- ment of the present invention as installed on the roof of an automobile;

Figure 14 is an exploded view of a portion of the structure of the embodiment illustrated in Figure 13.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring now to the drawing, there is illustrated the various preferred embodiments of the present invention. For convenience, the embodiments of the present invention are shown on the drawing as utilized on a motor vehicle, and, in particular, as mounted on the roof of a motor vehicle. It will be appreciated, of course, that the invention herein is not so limited, but, rather, may be mounted upon any desired surface for which a rack arrangement of the type described herein may be desired. Further, embodiments of the present invention may also be utilized as mounted on the trunk lid or otherwise, on different portions of motor vehicles, and the drawing and description presented herein are not intended to be limited as to the application of the present invention.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment, generally designated 10, of the present invention, as mounted on the roof 12 of a station wagon type motor vehicle 14. The station wagon type motor vehicle 14 has rain gutters 16 along the side edges of the roof 12 and the embodiment 10 of the present invention illustrated in Figure 1 is adapted to be clampingly mounted on the rain gutters 16 of the motor vehicle 14.

The embodiment 10 generally is comprised of support bracket means 18 of which four are shown in Figure 1 and the four support bracket means 18 are arranged in a predetermined aligned spaced array to comprise two support bracket means 18, such as 18a and 18b in transverse alignment with each other, and two support bracket means 18c and 18d in transverse align- ment. In the embodiment 10, the support bracket means 18a and 18c are aligned as required to clampingly engage the rain gutter 16, as are the support bracket means 18b and 18d.

A bar means 20 extends transversely between each of the pairs of support bracket means 18. Thus, a bar means 20a extends between the support bracket means 18a and 18b and a bar means 20b extends between the support bracket means 18c and 18d.

Figure 2 of the drawing illustrates an exploded view of the support bracket means 18. It will be appreciated that each of the support bracket means 18 are substantially identical to each other according to the principles of the present invention. As illustrated in Figure 2, the support bracket means has a mounting end generally designated as 22, and a coupling end, generally designated as 24, spaced from the mounting end 22. The support bracket means 18 has a pre- selected geometrical shape between the mounting end 22 and the coupling end 24. The mounting end 22 is adapted to be mounted on the vehicle 14, as illustrated in Figure 1, and to clampingly engage the rain gutter 16. Accordingly, there is provided a mounting means, generally designated 26, which is adapted to be positioned adjacent the mounting surface 28 of the support bracket means 18, and retained thereon by means of a bolt 30 having a head 32 and a threaded shank 34. The bolt 30 extends through an aperture 36 in the mounting means 26 for threading engagement with a nut 38 which is retained in a pocket 40 on the mounting surface 28 of the support bracket means 18.

1. As shown more clearly in the sectional view of

2 Figure 4, the mounting end 22 of support bracket means 18 has

3 a base edge 42 which engages upper portions of the rain

4 gutter 16 (omitted from Figure 4 for clarity). Mounting

5 means 26 further comprises the clamping member 44 which has a

6 lip portion 46 which engages the lower portions of the rain

7 gutter 16. The bolt means 30, by threading engagement with

8 the nut 38, clamps the rain gutter 16 between the base edge 42 and the lip portion 46. The removable bolt 30 allows the removable attachment of the embodiment 10 to the motor 1 vehicle 14.

In order to minimize the potential for theft of the embodiment 10 from the vehicle, in preferred embodiments of the present invention, the clamping means 26 further com- ^* prises walls 48 defining a bolt head receiving cavity 50 in which the bolt head 32 is positioned when the embodiment 10 is installed as shown in Figure 1. The walls 48, therefore, are comparatively closely adjacent the head 32 as shown in Figure 4, so that conventional pliers, vise-grips, wrenches, and the like, cannot be used for engaging the head 32 of the bolt 30. Further, the head 32 of the bolt 30 is generally provided with a splined configuration, as illustrated in Figure 6 at 52. Therefore, the user of the embodiment 10 may be provided, at the time of acquiring the rack arrangement, with a special tool having an internal spline matching the spline 52 and fitting within the walls 48 defining the cavity 50. Such structure tends to minimize the possibility of theft or other undesired removal of the embodiment 10 from the vehicle 14.

It will be appreciated, of course, that, as described below in connection with other embodiments of the present invention, a similar bolt 30 may be utilized for attachment. Washers, as desired, may, of course, be provided for utilization in connection with the bolts 30.

The coupling end 24 of the support bracket means 18 has a telescopic coupling means, generally designated 54, having a predetermined external shape. The telescopic coupling means 54 is adapted to fit into the bar means 20. Figure 3a illustrates a perspective sectional view of the bar means 20 which may be utilized in the preferred embodiments of the present invention. It will be appreciated, however, that the exact shape and configuration of the bar means 20, as illustrated in the drawing and as described herein, may be varied as required for particular applications. That is, different shapes of the bar means 20 may be utilized, both as to internal configuration and external configuration, spe- cialized configurations for carrying particular items may be fabricated as the bar 20 or attachments made thereto, such as for carrying skis, surfboards, wind surfers, bicycles, or the like, and, further, the telescopic arrangement between the support brackets 18 and the bars 20 may provide that the bars 20 fit into a matching cavity in the support brackets 18. Those skilled in the art may readily see and determine such variations as those described above, and others, as may be required, or desired, for particular applications.

The bar means 20, as illustrated in Figure 3a, is an extrusion having a predetermined external shape defined by the external wall surfaces 56 and internal wall surfaces 58, defining an internal cavity 60 extending for the length of the bar 20. The internal wall surfaces 58 have opposed cut- out portions 62 and the external walls 56 have bumper mounting wall portions 64 to which a bumper, as illustrated in Figure 3b, and generally designated 66, is mounted. The bars 20 may, for example, be an extrusion fabricated of alu- minum, brass, or virtually any other desired material. The support brackets 18 may be fabricated from, for example, molded reinforced nylon, resin impregnated glass fiber cloth, metal, or the like.

In order to insure a tight fit between the telesco- pic portion 54 of the coupling end 24 of the support bracket means 18 with the bar 20, Applicant prefers frictional engage- ment means to be provided on the telescopic coupling means 54» The frictional engagement means may, of course, be the external surfaces of the telescopic coupling means 54 engaging the walls 58 of the bar 20. However, it has been found that in order to provide a desired tight fit between the bar 20 and the support bracket means 18, but without requiring the maintenance of very close tolerances in the dimensions of the component parts, tab means, generally designated 64, are fabricated into the telescopic coupling means 54. Figure 5a illustrates the tab means 64 as fabri- cated on the telescopic coupling means 54 at the coupling end 24 of the support bracket means 18. As initially fabricated, the dimension indicated by the letter "D" on Figure 5, between the opposed tabs 64' and 64" is larger than the dimension "L" between the corresponding opposed portions of the internal walls 58 of the bar 20, as shown on Figure 3a. Therefore, when the telescopic coupling means 54 is inserted into the cavity 60, the end of the bar 20 shears off a portion of each of the tabs 64' and 64". Figure 5b illustrates the tab 64" after it has been inserted into the cavity 60 of the bar 20. As shown in Figure 5b, in the dotted portion labeled 64"a, part of the tab has been removed by the shearing action of the bar 20, and the wall surface 64"' engages the internal surface 58 of the bar 20 to provide a tight frictional fit therein. Additionally, by properly positioning the tabs 64' and 64" such that they will be adjacent the cut-out 62, a portion 64"b thereof can extend into the cut-out 62, to thereby provide additional frictional supporting engagement between the telescopic coupling means 54 and the bar 20, thus resulting in a comparatively tight fit therebetween. Thus, comparatively tight quality control and tight tolerance main- tenance during fabrication of the various components need not be maintained and the tight frictional fit provides no wobble

or shaking between the bar 20 and the support bracket means 18. However, if desired, a set screw may be inserted through the set screw hole 66 in the bar 20 and extend into the threaded aperture 68 in the telescopic coupling means 54 for additional mechanical joining therebetween. The coupling end 24 of the support bracket means 18 further comprises a shoulder means 70 which abuts the shoulder formed by the end of the bar 20 and in preferred embodiments of the present invention, the surface provided at the abutment shoulder means between the support bracket means 18 and the bar 20 are substantially co-planar in alignment, to provide a smooth transition between the two portions. Thus, the telescopic coupling means 54 comprises a plug means which extends a pre- selected distance into the interior cavity 60 of the bar 20. As noted above, the support bracket means 18 has a predeter- mined geometrical shape between the mounting end 22 and coupling end 24. As illustrated in the drawing, the prede- termined geometric shape is such that the central section 18a of the support bracket means 18 provides that the mounting end 24 is spaced a preselected distance from the roof 12 of the vehicle 14 for the condition of the mounting end 22 mounted onto, for example, the rain gutter 16 of the vehicle 14. The spacing between the bars 20 and the roof 12, as defined by the geometrical shape of the central portion 18a of the support bracket means 18 may be any desired amount to accommodate particular load configurations, and particular surface configurations upon which the embodiment 10 may be utilized.

It will be appreciated, of course, that the fric- tional engagement means such as the tab means 64 may be uti- lized on all of the embodiments described herein, and, further, the bar 20, as illustrated, for example, in Figure 3a, together with the bumper strip 66, may be utilized in all embodiments of the invention described herein.

Figure 7 illustrates another embodiment, generally designated 70, of the present invention, as mounted on the roof 12 of a motor vehicle 14, shown in fragmentary form on Figure 7. In the embodiment 70 are provided two spaced apart bars 20, each supported by a pair of support bracket means 72, such as bar 20a supported by support bracket means 72a and 72b, which are in transverse alignment, and bar 20b, supported by support bracket means 72c and 72d, which are in transverse alignment. However, it will be appreciated that the support bracket means 72a and 72c need not be in a longitudinal aligned relationship, and the support bracket means 72b and 72d need not be in an aligned relationship. Thus, the trans- verse spacing between the support bracket means 72c and 72d may be different from the transverse spacing between the sup- port brackets 72a and 72b, as may be desired for particular applications. However, if desired, of course, the support bracket means 72a may be longitudinally aligned with the sup- port bracket means 72c and the support bracket means 72b may be correspondingly aligned with the support bracket means 72d.

Figure 8 illustrates in perspective view the support bracket means 72a and 72b as mounted on the bar 20. The vehicle 14 has been omitted from Figure 8 for clarity. The support bracket means 72a, 72b, 72c, and 72d are substan- tially identical and comprise a coupling end 74 and the mounting end 76. The mounting end 76 is adapted to be mounted onto the roof 12 of the vehicle 14 and supports the bar 20 at a preselected spacing from the roof 12 by the par- ticular geometrical shape of the support bracket means 72 between the coupling end 74 and the mounting end 76.

Referring now to Figure 9, the coupling end 74 of the support bracket means 72 is substantially identical to the coupling end 24 of the support bracket means 18 described above. A bolt 30, which may be identical to the bolt 30 described above is utilized for mechanical attachment of the

support bracket means 72 onto the vehicle 14. In the embodi- ment 70, there is provided shoe means, generally designated 78, as illustrated in Figure 10. In the embodiment 70, one shoe means 78 is provided for each of the support bracket means 72, and, consequently, there are four separate shoe means 78 utilized in the embodiment 70. Each of the shoe means 78 is substantially identical to the other shoe means 78. The shoe means 78 may be mounted directly onto the roof 12 of the vehicle 14 by screw means (not shown) extending through slotted apertures 80 in spaced apart relationship in the shoe means 78. To prevent inadvertent or undesired removal of the shoe means 78 from the vehicle 14, it may be desired in some applications to use "tamper-proof" type of screws which allow insertion, but prevent ready removal remo- val thereof, additionally, double sided tape could be uti- lized for the attachment. Coupling means, generally designated 82, are pro- vided for coupling the shoe means 78 to the mounting end 76 of the support bracket means 72. In the embodiment 70, the coupling means 82 comprises a recessed portion 84 in the shoe means 78, having a nut means 86 positioned therein. The nut means 86 has a threaded aperture 88 therein, for receiving the threaded shank 34 of the bolt 30. As shown in Figures 11 and 12, the mounting end 76 of the support bracket means 72. may be provided with walls 90 for abutment with the recess-"84 for proper alignment of the mounting end 76 in the elongated cavity 92, defined by the wall portion 94 of the shoe means 78. The mounting end 76 has walls 96 defining a cavity 98 for receiving the splined head 32 of the bolt 30 as described above in connection with the walls 48 and cavity 50 of the embodiment 10. As shown in the embodiment 70, the mounting end 76 of the support bracket means 72 comprises a shoe means 76' which fits into the cavity 92 defined by the walls 94 of the shoe means 78 and, as illustrated in Figure 12, the shoe means 78 also comprises walls 100 for engaging the nut 86 to retain the nut 86 and prevent rotation thereof. In the

embodiment 70, the nut means 86 is retained at a particular location defined by the walls 100 on the shoe means 78. It will be appreciated, therefore, that utilization of a special tool, as described above, to remove the nut 30, allows quick and convenient removal of most of the structural portions of the rack arrangement of the embodiment 70, leaving only the shoe 78 in place on the vehicle 14.

Figure 13 illustrates another embodiment, generally designated 110 of the present invention, which comprises a pair of transverse extending bar means 20, supported by two pair of aligned support bracket means 72 on the roof 12 of a motor vehicle 14.

The bar means 20 and support bracket means 72 and bolt 30 may be identical to the corresponding structure described above in connection with the embodiments 70 and 10. However, the embodiment 110 is designed to allow variable longitudinal spacing in a direction indicated by the double ended arrow 112 of the bars 20 with respect to each other on the roof 12. This is achieved, according to the embodiment 110, by utilizing track means 114 in which a sliding nut 116 is mounted for movement in the direction indicated by the double ended arrow 112. The sliding nut 116 threadingly engages the bolt 30, and when tightened, retains the nut 116 at a particular location on the track 114.. A plug 118 may be utilized to slide into the ends of the track 114 to close the exposed portions thereof. It will be appreciated that plugs 118, sliding nuts 116, and track 114 are structures known in the art, utilized in similar applications to that described herein. However, the use thereof, with the support bracket 72 and bar means 20 provides a novel combination for utiliza- tion as a rack arrangement.

This concludes the description of the preferred embodiments of the present invention. It will be appreciated

that many variations and adaptations thereof may be made by those skilled in the art to adapt the principles of the pres- ent invention to the multitude of embodiments for particular applications. Therefore, it is intended that the appended claims cover all such variations and adaptations falling within the true scope and spirit of the invention herein.