Abstract:
Disclosed is system configured to place a load in a motor vehicle. The system includes a beam defining a first end configured to receive the load, and a second end configured to receive a counter force to the load; and a base defining a fulcrum for the beam, such that the second end of the beam receives a constraining force from a ceiling of the vehicle, the constraining force thereby acting as the counter force.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0002]    This invention relates generally to systems and methods of loading and unloading a vehicle and, more particularly, to an in-car crane product or assembly kit for installing inside vans and station wagons with a cargo hatch door, without having to make modifications such as bolting it to the body of the vehicle, enabling loading and unloading of cargo by one person, safely. 
         [0003]    2. Description of Related Art 
         [0004]    Loading of cargo that is too heavy to lift by one person can be a problem with vans and station wagons with a roof and a cargo hatch door at the rear of the vehicle, especially when using hoists or cranes mounted outside of the vehicle and the roof interferes the loading, or when there is not even a hoist or a crane. In these cases, assistance from another is required to load the cargo, and, it may lead to accidents such as dropping or pinching of the hands may occur. 
         [0005]    Furthermore, unavailability of a method to load and unload a wheelchair by oneself limits the range of activity of the user of the wheelchair. 
         [0006]    In-car cranes such as Japan Pat. 2010-47416, Japan Pat. 2004-35238, Japan Pat. Heisei 9-315778, Japan Pat. Heisei 6-56388, Japan Pat. Utility Model Heisei 7-35486, and Japan Pat. Utility Model Heisei 5-35476 have been presented, however, these are all rigid-structured cantilever cranes mounted on truck beds for loading cargo. 
         [0007]    Although Japan Pat. Heisei 11-79668 is compact and therefore suitable for installing inside vans and station wagons, it is a rigid-structured rotating cantilever crane where the crane must be bolted on to the floor of the vehicle&#39;s body with enough durability because the load and the bending momentum of the cargo concentrates on the attachment on the floor of the vehicle. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0008]    According to an aspect of the present invention, there is a system configured to place a load in a motor vehicle. The system comprises a beam defining a first end configured to receive the load, and a second end configured to receive a counter force to the load; a base defining a fulcrum for the beam, such that the second end of the beam receives a constraining force from a ceiling of the vehicle, the constraining force thereby acting as the counter force. 
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       [0009]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a first exemplary system. 
         [0010]      FIG. 2  is the enlarged view of an L-shaped bracket section shown in  FIG. 1 . 
         [0011]      FIG. 3  is a perspective view of a second exemplary system using collapse prevention pillars and plates when accessory mounts are not available. 
         [0012]      FIG. 4  is a perspective view of the crane in the process of loading and unloading cargo. 
         [0013]      FIG. 5  is a side view emphasizing other aspects of an exemplary system and method. 
         [0014]      FIG. 6  is another side view emphasizing the system and method at a time subsequent to that depicted in  FIG. 5 . 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS 
       [0015]      FIG. 1  shows the entire configuration diagram of a first exemplary embodiment. The main frame  1  is an arch-shaped structural object composed of a beam and pillars with width and height measured to the interior dimension of the vehicle, formed by bending a round or square, stainless steel or steel pipe, or pipes joined together using joint clamps. 
         [0016]    Sub frame  2  is formed from a round or square, steel or stainless steel or steel pipe, and stretched across the vehicle&#39;s ceiling sideways so it acts as a beam on the ceiling. If there are accessory mounts in the vehicle, sub frame mounting clasps  3 ,  4  that fit the mounts are attached to both ends of the sub frame are used to fix the sub frame in position. 
         [0017]    Both ends of the beams of the main frame  1  and sub frame  2  are joined by  2  arms  5 ,  6  to maintain constant spacing. The crane arm  7  is set between the upper middle part of the main frame  1  and the bottom middle part of the sub frame  2 , then L-shaped brackets  8 ,  9  and  10 ,  11  sandwich the crane arm and are attached to the main frame  1  and sub frame  2 . 
         [0018]    The first exemplary system includes a rigid-structured frame made from  2  pillars installed near the cargo hatch door at the rear of the vehicle and a beam that connects the pillars together. A sub frame  2  acts as a beam on the ceiling at the front of the vehicle. Two arms connect the main frame and the sub frame  2  together. A crane arm  7  supported by the beams of the main frame  1  and the sub frame  2  can be pulled out and pushed into the vehicle. A winch  17 , manual or electronic, attached anywhere on the crane arm or main frame, enables loading and unloading of cargo by winding and unwinding the wire rope and pushing and pulling the crane arm in or out. 
         [0019]    When a load is applied on the crane arm  7 , the load is applied on the main frame  1  downwards to the floor  43  of the vehicle and the load is applied on the sub frame  2  upwards to the ceiling  42  due to rotational momentum. Thus, the floor  43  exerts a constraint force (reaction force) up, while the ceiling  42  exerts a constraint force (reaction force) down. 
         [0020]    The crane fits in between the floor  43  and the ceiling  42 . Since load  44  is barely applied against the main frame and sub frame in a front-back direction, loading and unloading of cargo is facilitated, even without having to bolt the pillars of the main frame down to the floor. 
         [0021]    When the crane arm  7  is pushed into the vehicle and load is not applied, downward force is applied to the beam of the sub arm  2  from the weight of the crane arm itself, and will collapse forwards if the crane  7  is not attached anywhere. For this reason, it can be advantageous to attach the sub frame  2  to accessory mounts if the vehicle is equipped with one, as shown in the first exemplary system of  FIG. 1  or to insert supplementary pillars under the sub frame  2  if there are no accessory mounts, as shown in the second exemplary system of  FIG. 3  and plates  37  and  38  can be attached to the pillars of the main frame to prevent the crane from collapsing. 
         [0022]    An electrical or manual winch  17  is attached to the beam of the main frame  1 . Pulleys  18  and  19  line the wire rope  20  along the pipe to prevent the load from being applied in an oblique angle to the crane arm and the main frame. A hoisting clamp  21  for hoisting the cargo is attached to the tip of the wire rope  20 . 
         [0023]      FIG. 2  shows the enlarged diagram of L-shaped brackets  8 ,  9  and  10 ,  11  with the crane arm  7  attached. Rollers  22 ,  23 ,  24 ,  25  which act as spacers are sandwiched between the L-shaped brackets  8 ,  9  and  10 ,  11  and attached to the top, bottom, left and right of the crane arm  7  using bolts  26 ,  27 ,  28 ,  29 , to smoothen the movement when the crane arm is pushed in and pulled out. 
         [0024]    The crane arm can be locked when raising and lowering cargo, by aligning the holes for the fixing pin  12 ,  13  found in the middle of L-shaped brackets  8 ,  9  on the side that sandwiches the crane arm attached on the main frame  1 , with holes for fixing the crane arm  14 ,  15  see  FIG. 4  found in positions where the crane arm is fully pulled out and fully pushed in, and inserting a fixing pin  16 . 
         [0025]    L-shaped brackets  8 ,  9  which sandwich the crane arm  7  are attached to the main frame  1  using U-shaped bolts  30 ,  31 ,  32 ,  33 . 
         [0026]    L-shaped brackets  10 ,  11  which sandwich the crane arm  7  are attached to the sub frame  2  also in the same way, facing downwards. 
         [0027]      FIG. 3  shows the example diagram of using collapse prevention pillars  35 ,  36  and collapse prevention plates  37 ,  38  when accessory mounts are not available. When there are no accessory mounts to fix the sub frame  2  to the vehicle, a metal plate  34  bent to fit the shape of the vehicle&#39;s ceiling is installed to disperse the load when cargo is hauled. Plate  34  is shaped to form a conformal contact with the ceiling, meaning that plate  34  and ceiling initially contact over a finite area. For example, plate  34  may have a convex surface that contacts with a concave surface of the ceiling. 
         [0028]    Plate  34  and ceiling are subjected to a pressure over the area where they are in contact. 
         [0029]    Collapse prevention pillars  35 ,  36  are inserted under the sub frame  2  and collapse prevention plates  37 ,  38  are attached to the pillars of the main frame  1  to prevent the crane from collapsing when the crane arm  7  is stored inside the vehicle and no load is applied. 
         [0030]    The system shown in  FIG. 3  offers an in-car crane product or assembly kit capable of installing in vans and station wagons with a cargo hatch door without having to make modifications such as bolting to the body of the vehicle, enabling loading and unloading of cargo by oneself, safely. 
         [0031]    Thus, the exemplary systems provide a crane arm supported by the beams of the main frame and the sub frame that can be pulled out and pushed into the vehicle, and a winch, manual or electronic, attached anywhere on the crane arm or main frame, it enables loading and unloading of cargo by winding and unwinding the wire rope and pushing and pulling the crane arm in or out. 
         [0032]      FIG. 4  is the diagram of the crane in the process of loading and unloading cargo. The cargo is once secured to the pulley  19  of the crane arm  7  using a hoisting clamp  39  to prevent the cargo from dropping when wire rope  20  of the winch  17  is loosened. When loading cargo into the vehicle, push the crane arm  7  into the vehicle in this state until the holes for fixing the crane arm  14  align with the holes for the fixing pin  12 ,  13  on the L-shaped bracket  8 ,  9 , lock the crane arm by inserting a fixing pin  16 , then release the hoisting clamp  39  and loosen the wire rope  20  to unload the cargo. 
         [0033]    When unloading cargo from the vehicle, pull the crane arm  7  in this state until the holes for fixing the crane arm  15  align with the holes for the fixing pin  12 ,  13 , lock the crane arm by inserting a fixing pin  16 , then release the hoisting clamp  39  and loosen the wire rope  20  to unload the cargo. 
         [0034]      FIG. 5  shows a side view of other aspects of an exemplary system and method. Winch  17  applies a tension to cord  20  to suspend load  44 . Cord  20  suspends load  44  at a position such that load  44  is horizontally displaced from vehicle  41 . Frame  1  acts as a fulcrum for crane arm (beam)  7 , such that the weight of load  44  clauses a force Fc, as shown by an arrow in  FIG. 5 , to be exerted against vehicle ceiling  42 . Vehicle ceiling  42  exerts a constraining force that balances force Fc. The force Fc is applied via beam  7  via frame  2 , such that the force Fc is applied at a position horizontally displaced from frame  1 . 
         [0035]    Subsequently, with load  44  suspended, the operator fixes load  44  relative to beam  7 , by using clamp  39 , and the operator slides beam  7  into vehicle  41  such that load  44  is in horizontal alignment with vehicle  41 . 
       LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS 
       [0000]    
       
           1  Main Frame 
           2  Sub Frame 
           3  Sub Frame Mounting Clasp 
           4  Sub Frame Mounting Clasp 
           5  Arm 
           6  Arm 
           7  Crane Arm 
           8  L-Shaped Bracket 
           9  L-Shaped Bracket 
           10  L-Shaped Bracket 
           11  L-Shaped Bracket 
           12  Holes for the Fixing Pin 
           13  Holes for the Fixing Pin 
           14  Holes for Fixing the Crane Arm 
           15  Holes for Fixing the Crane Arm 
           16  Fixing Pin 
           17  Winch 
           18  Pulley 
           19  Pulley 
           20  Wire Rope 
           21  Hoisting Clamp 
           22  Roller 
           23  Roller 
           24  Roller 
           25  Roller 
           26  Bolt 
           27  Bolt 
           28  Bolt 
           29  Bolt 
           30  U-Shaped Bolt 
           31  U-Shaped Bolt 
           32  U-Shaped Bolt 
           33  U-Shaped Bolt 
           34  Metal Plate 
           35  Collapse Prevention Pillar 
           36  Collapse Prevention Pillar 
           37  Collapse Prevention Plate 
           38  Collapse Prevention Plate 
           39  Hoisting Clamp 
           41  Vehicle 
           42  Vehicle ceiling 
           43  Vehicle force 
           44  Load 
       
     
         [0079]    Benefits, other advantages, and solutions to problems have been described above with regard to specific examples. The benefits, advantages, solutions to problems, and any element(s) that may cause any benefit, advantage, or solution to occur or become more pronounced are not critical, required, or essential feature or element of any of the claims. 
         [0080]    Additional advantages and modifications will readily occur to those skilled in the art. The invention in its broader aspects is therefore not limited to the specific details, representative apparatus, and illustrative examples shown and described. 
         [0081]    For example, lengths of the main frame, the sub frame, the arm and the crane arm are adjustable to fit the dimensions of the vehicle regardless of automakers and models, to allow installation inside any vans and station wagons with a cargo hatch door at the rear of the vehicle with a roof. 
         [0082]    The parts of the crane are made to be assembled using nuts and bolts to allow installation inside vehicles, and disassembled and stored away when not in use. The crane can also be provided as a fully assembled product or as an assembly kit. 
         [0083]    The crane can be installed inside vans and station wagons with a cargo hatch door and a roof without having to make any modifications to the body of the vehicle, enabling loading and unloading of cargo by one person, safely. 
         [0084]    For example, when using the crane to load and unload electrical wheelchairs, etc., the user of the wheelchair can load and unload the electrical wheelchair at the vehicle destination, thus broadening one&#39;s range of activity, and rehabilitation and contribution to society of elderly people and physically challenged people. 
         [0085]    Thus, departures may be made from such details without departing from the spirit or the scope of Applicants&#39; general inventive concept. The invention is defined in the following claims. In general, the words “first,” “second,” etc., employed in the claims do not necessarily denote an order.