Abstract:
A roof-mountable retractable cargo securing system for cargo positioned in an open bed of a pick-up truck, the system may include two roof-mountable base tubes interconnected with a connecting plate so that longitudinal axes of the base tubes are separated by a distance that exceeds a width of the cargo to be secured. Securing members concentric with and slidably engaged with the base tubes may be selectively enclosed within the base tubes or partially extended from the base tubes to positions at sides of the cargo to be secured. Contact arms may be pivotally coupled to ends of the securing members and rotationally positionable to interconnect the securing members with the cargo to be secured.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to systems that provide securing of cargo being carried in a bed of a pick-up truck and, more particularly, to a cargo securing system that can be engaged with the cargo at a height higher than a side wall of the bed. 
     A pick-up truck may be used to carry various types of material or cargo. In some cases, it may be desirable to carry tall objects in a standing position. For example, when transporting a residential refrigerator, the refrigerator is typically positioned in a bed of a truck in a standing position. If a refrigerator were to be transported in a prone position, i.e., with its back or front lying on a floor of the bed of the truck, refrigerant might flow away from its normal locations and the refrigerator might suffer damage upon being restarted. 
     A typical refrigerator is about 6 feet tall and side walls of a typical pick-up truck are less than 2 feet high. Thus, when a refrigerator is placed in a standing position in the bed, more than ⅔ of its height extends above the side walls. Many pick-up trucks are provided with load-securing attachments devices such as welded rings or loops. But these attachment devices are located on the side walls of the bed. Thus, when a refrigerator is secured with straps or ties attached to these conventional devices, only a bottom portion of the refrigerator is secured. In other words, an upper ⅔ of the refrigerator may remain unsecured. 
     Transporting a standing refrigerator secured in this conventional manner is risky. If the truck were to turn quickly (e.g., to avoid a collision), high lateral acceleration forces would develop. The unsecured upper portion of the refrigerator could be driven laterally by these acceleration forces. In one scenario, the refrigerator might tilt and sustain damage when striking a side wall of the bed. In a worse scenario, the refrigerator might actually fall out of the truck and into a path of oncoming traffic. 
     As can be seen, there is a need for a cargo-securing system in which cargo may be secured at a height higher than side walls of a bed of the pick-up truck. More particularly, there is a need for such a system that will reduce risk of damage resulting from quick turning of the pick-up truck. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In one aspect of the present invention, a system for securing cargo on a vehicle comprises: a base tube; a securing member concentric with the base tube and slidably engaged with the base tube to be selectively enclosed within the base tube or partially extended from the base tube; and a pair of cargo contact arms pivotally coupled to an end of the securing member, wherein the cargo contact arms include notched hubs that surround the end of the securing member, and wherein the notched hubs are engageable with each other to lock the contact arms in desired rotational positions so that the contact arms can interconnect the securing member with the cargo to be secured. 
     In another aspect of the present invention, a roof-mountable retractable cargo securing system for cargo positioned in an open bed of a pick-up truck, the system comprises: two roof-mountable base tubes interconnected with a connecting plate so that longitudinal axes of the base tubes are separated by a distance that exceeds a width of the cargo to be secured; securing members concentric with and slidably engaged with the base tubes for selective enclosure within the base tubes or partial extension from the base tubes to positions at sides of the cargo to be secured; and contact arms pivotally coupled to ends of the securing members and rotationally positionable to interconnect the securing members with the cargo to be secured. 
     In still another aspect of the present invention, a cargo-securing system for installation on an open-bed pick-up truck having a factory installed roof rack comprises; base tubes; roof-rack clamps coupled to the base tubes; and securing members concentric with and slidably engaged with the base tubes for selective enclosure within the base tubes or partial extension from the base tubes to positions overlying the open bed at a height above the open bed substantially equivalent to a vertical distance between the roof and a floor of the open bed 
     These and other features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following drawings, description and claims. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a cargo securing system for a vehicle in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 1A  is a partial sectional view of a portion of the system of  FIG. 1  taken along the lines  1 A- 1 A; 
         FIG. 2  is an exploded perspective view of elements of the system of  FIG. 1  in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 3  is a simplified partial elevation view taken along the line  3 - 3  of  FIG. 1  in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 4  is a detailed exploded perspective view of a portion of the system of  FIG. 1  in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 5  is a simplified block drawing of a cargo securing system in accordance with another exemplary embodiment of the invention; and 
         FIG. 6  is a simplified block drawing of a cargo securing system in accordance with still another exemplary embodiment of the invention 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     The following detailed description is of the best currently contemplated modes of carrying out the invention. The description is not to be taken in a limiting sense, but is made merely for the purpose of illustrating the general principles of the invention, since the scope of the invention is best defined by the appended claims. 
     Various inventive features are described below that can each be used independently of one another or in combination with other features. 
     The present invention generally provides a cargo-securing system for a pick-up truck which may be extended from a position over a roof of the truck into a position over the bed when needed and retracted from the bed to overlie a roof of the truck when not in use. 
     Turning now to the description and with reference to  FIGS. 1, 1A and 2 , an open-bed vehicle such as a pick-up truck  100  may be equipped with an exemplary embodiment of a cargo securing system  102  for cargo  103 . Base tubes  104  may be attached to a roof  106  of the truck  100 . Support legs  108  may extend from the base tubes to a wall  113  of a bed  112  of the truck  100 . 
     A fixed rack  114  may be attached to the base tubes  104 . The fixed rack may be provided with horizontal members  115  oriented substantially orthogonally to a longitudinal axis  101  of the truck  100  and to axes  126  of the base tubes  104  and securing members  120 . The horizontal members  115  may be used as attachment points for a tie device  117 , such as a strap or bungee cord, which may be employed to secure the cargo against a front wall  113  of the bed  112  of the truck  100 . 
     Rear ends  116  of the base tubes  104  may be connected together with a connecting plate  118 . Extendable securing members  120  may be concentric with the base tubes  104  and may be configured to be selectively enclosed stowed inside the base tubes  104  when not in use. The securing members  120  may be selectively extended partially out from the base tubes  104  when the system  102  is deployed to secure the cargo  103 . When so deployed, the securing members  120  may be cantilevered over the bed  112  of the truck  100 . As shown in  FIG. 1A , the securing member  120  may be provided with an external shoulder  111  and the base tube  104  may be provided with an internal shoulder  109 . The shoulders  109  and  111  may engage with each other so that the securing members  120  may be precluded from being fully disengaged from the base tubes  104  when the system  102  is deployed to secure the cargo  103 . A desired amount of overlapping of the base tube  104  relative to the securing member  120  may be attained by selecting a desired longitudinal placement of the shoulders  109  and  111 . In an exemplary embodiment of the system  102 , the base tube  104  may overlap the securing member  120  by about 10% to about 15% of the length of the securing member  120 . 
     The base tubes  104  may be laterally spaced from one another by a distance that may be greater than a contemplated width of cargo to be secured. For example, the cargo  103  may be a refrigerator. Typical refrigerators may have various widths between about 23 inches to about 37 inches. In order to accommodate a wide range of refrigerator sizes, the base tubes  104  may be laterally separated by a distance of about 40 to about 45 inches. Thus, when a typical refrigerator is loaded on the truck  100 , the extended securing members  120  may be laterally spaced away from sides of the refrigerator. 
     Adjustable contact arms  122  may be provided at rear ends  124  of the securing members  120 . The contact arms  122  may be pivoted around axes  126  of the securing members  120  so that the contact arms  122  may be rotationally positioned to engage with sides of the cargo  103  as shown in  FIGS. 1 and 3 . Contact arms  122  may be long enough (about 15 inches each) to adjust to the smallest and largest width of cargo—a refrigerator. The contact arm  122  may include a hub  128 , a contact element  134  and a connecting arm  135 . The contact elements  134  may be oriented parallel to the axes  126  of the securing members  120 . The connecting plate  118  may be provided with a cut-out  119  through which the contact elements  134  may pass when the securing members  120  are stowed within their respective base tubes  104 . 
     Referring now to  FIG. 4 , it may be seen that the hubs  128  of the contact arms  122  may be notched. The securing member  120  may be provided with a notched outer tube  130  with a notching pattern that may correspond to that of the hubs  128 . An inner tube  132  of the securing member  120  may be threaded at the rear end  124 . The contact arms  122  may be pivoted to a desired rotational position so that the contact elements  134  of the contact arms  122  may engage firmly with sides of the cargo  103  as shown in  FIG. 3 . The hubs  128  may then be engaged with one another and with the outer tube  130 . An internally threaded knob  136  may then be tightened onto the threaded end  124  of the inner tube  132  so that the contact arms  122  are locked into their desired rotational positions. 
     Referring back now to  FIG. 2 , it may be seen that, in an exemplary embodiment of the system  102 , a rear connecting plate  138  may be attached to the rear ends  124  of the securing members  120 . The connecting plate  138  may provide desirable lateral supporting integrity to the system  102 . 
     Referring now to  FIG. 5 , it may be seen that, in another exemplary embodiment of a cargo securing system  202 , a securing member  220  may be positioned so that its rear end  224  does not reach fully across a side of the cargo  103 . The securing member  220  may include a first extension tube  240  and a second extension tube  242 . When deployed, the first extension tube  240  may extend only partially out of the base tube  104 . Consequently, the first extension tube  240  may be provided with lateral stabilization from an overlapping relationship with the base tube  104 . Similarly, the second extension tube  242  may remain overlapped with the first extension tube  240  when the securing system  202  is deployed. Desirable lateral stability may be provided when a length L 1  of overlapping of one of the extension members is at least 30% to about 50% of a length L 2  of a surrounding extension member or base tube. As discussed above with respect to  FIG. 1A , this desired amount of overlapping may be provided through selective relative positioning of the shoulders  109  and  111 . 
     The cargo securing system  202  may be advantageously utilized on pick-up trucks having a short roof length, e.g., a so-called regular cab truck. In that case the multiple extension tubes may be retracted or telescoped together so that they may collectively fit within a relatively short base tube that may not extend beyond front and rear edges of a roof of the truck. Similarly, the cargo securing system  102  of  FIGS. 1 and 3  may be adapted for use on short roof trucks. The securing members  120  of the system  102  may be constructed with telescoping extension tubes (not shown). 
     In an alternative embodiment of the system  102  illustrated in  FIG. 6 , the base tubes  104  may be temporarily clamped to longitudinal members  121  of a factory installed roof rack if the pick-up truck  100  is so equipped. The base tubes  104  may be provided with a roof-rack clamp  123  adapted to engage the longitudinal members  121 . Typically, a factory-installed roof rack includes horizontal cross members which may be used as attachment points for the tie device  117 . Consequently there may not be a need to install one of the fixed racks  114  (shown in  FIG. 2 ). 
     It should be understood, of course, that the foregoing relates to exemplary embodiments of the invention and that modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the following claims.