Injection molded racks and components for off-road recreational and utility vehicles

Injection molded components for off-road recreational and utility vehicles such as an ATV's, snowmobiles and the like. In one embodiment, the invention provides a rack having a fiber-filled plastic resin body. The body has an overall thickness substantially less than its width and length, and includes a generally flat, horizontal top having a plurality of slots. Each of the slots is defined by a flange extending downwardly the flange having a thickness that is substantially less than its height to define a downwardly extending reinforcing rib, which also provides a point of attachment for straps such as bungee cords. Preferably the rack includes integrally molded transverse reinforcing ribs extending across the slots, the reinforcing ribs having a top surface which is recessed downwardly from the top surface of the rack. In another embodiment, the invention provides an injection molded foot rest for an off-road recreational or utility vehicle. The foot rest is similarly made from a fiber-filled plastic resin body having a nominal thickness of less than about 1/4 inch. In another embodiment, the invention provides a bumper similarly made from such fiber-filled plastic resin.

TECHNICAL FIELD 
The invention relates to injection molded racks and other components for 
off-road recreational and utility vehicles, such as all terrain vehicles, 
snowmobiles and the like. 
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
Off-road recreational and utility vehicles such as all terrain vehicles 
("ATV's"), snowmobiles and the like frequently incorporate carrying racks, 
bumpers and similar components that traditionally have been fabricated 
from tubular steel (either square or round tube stock, though typically 
round), sometimes supplemented with stamped sheet metal where flat 
surfaces are desired. Although such steel construction usually provides 
the structural strength required for relatively rugged service, it is 
costly and labor intensive to fabricate--a typical rack for an ATV (often 
with associated bumper) may contain up to a dozen or more individual 
pieces, each of which must be cut to the proper length, some of which must 
be bent to the proper shape, and all of which must be welded together in 
the desired configuration. Because the assembly is manual, quality control 
is an important function to assure consistent assembly of the racks, 
bumpers, and similar components. Once assembled, the components must be 
painted before final assembly to the vehicle. Even with high quality 
painting technology, such components nevertheless are subject, eventually, 
to corrosion since the heavy service often required of the racks often 
eventually results in denting, chipping or scratching of the paint, giving 
corrosion an opportunity to set in. Moreover, design options are 
significantly limited by the nature of the material from which the 
components are made--any unique aesthetic nuances or style character built 
into a rack or bumper typically adds significant additional manufacturing 
pieces which must be fabricated and assembled, exacerbating the problems 
identified above. 
While many components of vehicles have been made in recent years from 
non-metal materials, the role of such materials in general has been 
limited to non-structural components because they typically do not provide 
the necessary strength and durability. Alternately, certain relatively 
exotic non-metal structural materials have recently become available. They 
typically involve other severe drawbacks, such as very high cost, 
difficult handling characteristics, limitations on the use or application 
of color to the material, and the like. Accordingly, such materials have 
not been considered economical or desirable for use in the manufacture of 
racks, bumpers and similar structural components of recreational and 
utility vehicles such as ATV's. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The invention provides injection molded structural components for use on 
off-road recreational and utility vehicles (such as ATV's, snowmobiles, 
and the like). In contrast to metal fabricated components, a component of 
the invention is easily injection molded in a single manufacturing step, 
which provides inherent quality control for size and configuration, and 
allows color to be selectively integrally molded into the component. Thus, 
the component provides substantial savings in manufacturing steps and 
labor, is economical to manufacture, and is not subject to corrosion. It 
does not dent or chip, and scratches, to the extent they can occur, do not 
affect the color of the component since the component may be molded of a 
solid color material. With properly designed structural configurations, 
the components provide ample structural strength, and the addition of 
unique aesthetic nuances, style character or function can be easily 
accommodated in many circumstances--since such nuances can be built right 
into the molding tooling, additional costs attributable to such additional 
aesthetic features are insignificant with reasonable volumes of production 
(and add no additional manufacturing steps). Thus, designers may be 
permitted relatively broad freedom for the creation of various "looks", 
both in terms of color and shape. 
In one embodiment, the invention provides an injection molded rack for an 
off-road recreational and utility vehicle (such as an ATV, snowmobile or 
the like). The rack includes a fiber-filled plastic resin body having 
fibers of a length of at least about 1/4 inch. The body has an overall 
thickness substantially less than its width and substantially less than 
its length, and includes a generally flat, horizontal top surface having a 
plurality of slots. Each of the slots is defined by a flange extending 
downwardly about the periphery of the slot, the flange having a thickness 
that is substantially less than its height to define a downwardly 
extending reinforcing rib. 
Preferably the rack of the invention includes a plurality of integrally 
molded transverse reinforcing ribs extending across the slots, the 
reinforcing ribs having a top surface which is recessed below the 
generally flat, horizontal top surface of the rack. Desirably at least one 
of the transverse reinforcing ribs is comprised of two or more downwardly 
extending flanges spaced laterally from one another and being joined by a 
common upper web which defines the top surface of the transverse 
reinforcing rib. In a particularly preferred embodiment, at least one of 
the transverse reinforcing ribs is comprised of three or more of such 
downwardly extending flanges. 
In another embodiment, the invention provides an injection molded foot rest 
for an off-road recreational or utility vehicle (such as an ATV, 
snowmobile or the like), comprising a fiber-filled plastic resin body 
having fibers of a length of at least about 1/4 inch. The body includes 
top and bottom surfaces, inner and outer edges, and a nominal thickness of 
less than about 1/4 inch. The bottom surface includes integrally molded 
downwardly extending reinforcing ribs. The outer edge has an upwardly 
extending ridge defining an outer boundary for the foot rest, the ridge 
including an inner upwardly extending flange and an outer downwardly 
extending skirt, the flange and skirt being joined by a common upper web 
which defines a top surface of the ridge, the flange and skirt thereby 
functioning to structurally reinforce the foot rest. 
In a preferred embodiment, the foot rest further includes an integrally 
molded transverse cleat extending upwardly from the top surface of the 
foot rest body and extending substantially entirely across the foot rest 
body to form an integral heal cleat. The foot rest may also include molded 
gripping cleats extending upwardly from the top surface of the foot rest 
body. Preferably such gripping cleats comprise upwardly extending 
protrusions each of which terminate in a transversely oriented pointed 
edge. 
In yet another embodiment, the invention provides an injection molded 
bumper for an off-road recreational or utility vehicle (such as an ATV, 
snowmobile or the like), comprising a fiber-filled plastic resin body 
having fibers of a length of at least about 1/4 inch. The body has an 
overall thickness substantially less than its width and substantially less 
than its length, and includes a generally vertically oriented front 
surface having upper and lower peripheral edges. At least a portion of 
such upper peripheral edge and at least a portion of such lower peripheral 
edge each has a flange extending generally horizontally away from the 
front surface, such flanges having a thickness that is substantially less 
than the lengths they extend from the front surface to thereby define 
generally horizontally extending reinforcing ribs. Additional reinforcing 
ribs may also be provided intermediate the flanges.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
FIG. 1 depicts an off-road recreational/utility vehicle commonly referred 
to as an all-terrain vehicle (ATV) on which is mounted the racks 20, 60, 
bumper 110 and foot rest 210 of the invention. It will be appreciated that 
other similar types of off-road recreational/utility vehicles could 
similarly utilize the components of the invention, such as snowmobiles, 
etc. 
FIGS. 2--9 illustrate in detail the construction of one particular 
embodiment of an integrally molded rack 60 of the invention. The rack 60, 
which is injection molded, includes a generally flat, horizontal top 
surface 64 having a peripheral edge and a plurality of slots 70. Each of 
the slots is rimmed by a flange 66 which extends downwardly from the top 
surface 64, the flange therefore defining the periphery of the slot 70. 
The peripheral edge similarly includes a downwardly extending flange 78. 
The downwardly extending flanges 66 and 78 are integrally molded in the 
rack 60, and have a thickness that is substantially less than their 
height; the flanges 66 and 78 thus serve to structurally reinforce the 
rack against deflection, particularly against deflection about an axis 
generally perpendicular to the longitudinal dimension of the flanges. 
Desirably the flanges have a thickness of not more than about 1/3 their 
height, and preferably not more than about 1/6 their height. Desirably the 
flanges have a height of at least about 1/2 inch, and preferably at least 
about 3/4 inch. The rack depicted in the drawings has a flange height of 
about one inch and flange thickness of about 1/6 inch, which has been 
found to work quite well. An incidental benefit of flanges with such 
heights and thicknesses is that the flanges provide ample convenient 
locations for attachment of bungee cords and similar fasteners. 
The rack 60 also desirably is provided with a number of integrally molded 
reinforcing ribs 74 which extend across the slots 70, thereby providing 
additional reinforcement against deflection of the rack 60 in a direction 
generally parallel to (and, if necessary, at acute angles to) the 
longitudinal dimension of the slots 70. Desirably the ribs are made from 
material with a thickness similar to the thickness of the flanges--the 
rack depicted in the drawings has a rib thickness of about 1/8 inch. 
As can be seen by reference to FIGS. 2, 4, 6 and 9, typically the 
transverse reinforcing ribs 74 are comprised of two or more (in many 
cases, three) downwardly extending flanges 76 which are spaced laterally 
from one another, being joined by a common upper web which defines the top 
surface 75 of the transverse reinforcing rib 74. Preferably this top 
surface 75 of the transverse reinforcing rib 74 is recessed with respect 
to the top surface 64 of the rack 60. Although recessing the transverse 
reinforcing ribs 74 does not entirely hide them from view (since they can 
nevertheless be seen through the slots 70), recessing them slightly does 
make them somewhat less visible, particularly at lower viewing angles. In 
a rack having overall dimensions of about 20 by 40 inches with slots about 
an inch wide and slot flanges about an inch tall, desirably the tops of 
the reinforcing ribs 74 are recessed at least about 1/8 inch, and 
preferably about 1/4 inch from the top surface 64 of the rack. In the rack 
depicted in the drawings, the tops of the reinforcing ribs 74 are recessed 
about 1/4 inch. 
The availability of recessed reinforcing ribs provides a rack designer with 
a relatively large degree of latitude in designing the aesthetic and 
functional characteristics of the rack. While the flanges 66 rimming the 
slots 70 provide a significant degree of structural reinforcement to the 
rack 60, the designer is not necessarily constrained to any particular 
number, size, configuration or orientation of the slots, since (at least 
within broad limits), any necessary structural reinforcement not provided 
by the slot flanges 66 can be supplied by employing recessed reinforcing 
ribs 74. Thus, a rack designer is able to design the rack slots 70 with 
aesthetics, and/or functionality, primarily in mind, thereby creating the 
desired look and utility for the rack. Structural rigidity can then be 
supplied by building in the necessary reinforcing ribs 74. As noted above, 
while recessing the portion of these ribs 74 which are exposed by the 
slots 70 does not completely remove them from view, it does significantly 
subdue their prominence in relation to the slots 70 and any other 
topographical features on the top surface 64 of the rack, particularly at 
lower viewing angles. 
The rack may be provided with a plurality of accessory mounting holes 
80--in the embodiment depicted in FIG. 2, six such accessory mounting 
holes are provide about the outer periphery of the rack 60, for mounting, 
e.g., an accessory box or railing. Detail regarding the configuration of 
these holes is illustrated in FIG. 8. Frame mounting holes 82 may also be 
provided for mounting the rack to the vehicle. Details of two of these 
holes are shown in FIG. 7. In the rack 60 depicted in FIG. 2, four frame 
mounting holes 82 are provided. Note that these holes are not located at 
the outer extremities (i.e., the outer comers) of the rack 60. As a 
result, a significant portion of the rack is cantilevered outwardly from 
such frame mounting holes. Accordingly, it is desirable to locate a number 
of recessed reinforcing ribs 74 such that they extend from an area 
adjacent to the frame mounting holes 82 to an area adjacent to the outer 
extremities of the rack 60, in this case, that being the outer comers of 
the rack. 
Conventional non-metallic materials generally are not strong enough to 
provide the strength and durability required for a rack of the used on 
ATV's and similar recreational/utility vehicles; moreover, many systems 
using fiber-reinforcement do not produce a sufficiently pleasing 
cosmetically clean finish--often fibers or fiber ends are visible at the 
surface, a result not ordinarily acceptable for finish parts used on ATV's 
and similar vehicles. It has been found, however, that utilizing injection 
moldable fiber-filled plastic resins having fibers of a length of at least 
about 1/4 inch provides sufficient reinforcement to achieve the necessary 
strength characteristics, while still being injection moldable. Suitable 
fiber-filled resins having such desirable characteristics and also 
producing the desired finish characteristics are available commercially 
from Polymer Composites, Inc. of Winona, Minn., under the trademark 
CELLSTRAN.RTM.. A particularly preferred CELLSTRAN.RTM. glass filled 
polypropylene resin is sold under the designation PPG 40-02-4 (this 
particular resin has 40% glass fibers, and is supplied in pellet form, 
preferably in pellets 11 mm in length, therefore containing glass fibers 
of the same length). The Polymer Composites material is desirable because 
the glass fibers are believed to be entirely wetted by the resin; the 
material thus works well in injection molding equipment, and produces a 
finish substantially without any fibers showing at the surface. 
As can be seen by reference to the drawings, preferred embodiments of the 
invention utilize injection molded material of a generally uniform 
thickness. That is, preferably the predominant portions of the top surface 
of the rack, as well as the predominant portions of the flanges and 
reinforcing ribs are all of a similar thickness--desirably in the range of 
about 1/10 to about 1/3 inch, and preferably about 1/6 inch. Preferably 
the ratio of the thickest of such portions to the thinnest of such 
portions is no more than about 2:1. Preferably the transverse reinforcing 
ribs have a thickness that is substantially less than their height to 
thereby provide a point of attachment for straps of the type terminating 
in a hook. 
Using conventional non-metallic materials, one ordinarily would not 
conclude that a rack of sufficient strength and durability could be 
successfully molded with such thinness. Molding the above-mentioned 
fiber-filled resins into the configuration shown in the drawings (i.e., 
with the reinforcing flanges and ribs), however, produces a remarkably 
strong, durable rack with excellent finish characteristics. Moreover, 
selected colors can be integrally molded into the part, so that painting 
is not necessary, thereby reducing manufacturing steps, complexity and 
cost; any scratches or other incidental damage to the component also are 
less noticeable since the part is of uniform color throughout its 
thickness. Since the part is not metallic, it is not subject to corrosion. 
An upwardly protruding lip 86 may be provided along a portion of the 
periphery of the rack to assist in retaining gear on the rack. Recesses 61 
may also be provided along the side edges for flush mounting of reflectors 
62 (the reflectors are depicted in FIG. 1). Also, the rack may include one 
or more slots 84 located adjacent edges of the rack, the slots 84 being of 
a size and shape permitting an adult hand to be inserted therethrough. 
Such slots 84 providing a hand hold for facilitating lifting and manual 
movement of the vehicle. 
FIGS. 10-15 depict in detail the rack 20 mounted to the front of the ATV 
shown in FIG. 1. The front rack 20 for this particular vehicle is somewhat 
smaller than the rear rack 60, with the result that fewer reinforcing ribs 
are needed to obtain the structural strength required. Most of the other 
structural features of this embodiment of the invention are otherwise the 
same as the rack depicted in FIG. 2. 
FIGS. 16-20 depict a bumper 110 of the invention manufactured using the 
process and materials described above with respect to the rack of the 
invention. The bumper includes a front face 112 having upper and lower 
peripheral edges 113 and 114, each of the edges in turn having a flange 
115, 116, respectively, extending generally horizontally rearwardly away 
from the front surface 112. The left and right ends or sides of the bumper 
110 similarly have rearwardly extending flanges which are joined with the 
upper and lower flanges 115 and 116. Together the flanges define generally 
rearwardly extending reinforcing ribs. One or more additional generally 
horizontal reinforcing ribs 119 may also be provided, along with vertical 
reinforcing ribs 120. 
The particular bumper 110 depicted in FIGS. 16-20 includes an optional 
upwardly extending central member 121 which, as depicted in FIG. 1, is 
designed to mate with the front rack 20 described above. For this purpose, 
the central section includes a series of tabs 122 which are received in 
complementary recesses in the bottom front portion of the front rack 20. 
Additional rearwardly extending ribs may be provided in this upwardly 
extending central section to further reinforce the entire structure. A 
plurality of mounting holes 124 may be provided for mounting the bumper to 
the vehicle. FIGS. 19-20 illustrate additional rearwardly extending 
reinforcing cylinders formed about the mounting holes 124 for adding 
further structural strength to this portion of the bumper. 
Note that the outer left and right ends 117 and 118 extend a significant 
distance outwardly of the mounting holes 124--i.e., the outer ends are 
significantly cantilevered in relation to the overall length of the 
bumper. Conventional non-metallic materials generally were not considered 
to be strong enough to provide the strength and durability required for a 
bumper of the type used on ATV's and similar recreational/utility 
vehicles, particularly given the cantilevered design depicted in the 
drawings. It has been found, however, that utilizing injection moldable 
fiber-filled plastic resins as noted above provides sufficient 
reinforcement and durability to achieve the necessary strength 
characteristics, while still being injection moldable. As noted above, 
suitable fiber-filled resins having such desirable characteristics and 
also producing the desired finish characteristics are available 
commercially from Polymer Composites, Inc. of Winona, Minn., under the 
trademark CELLSTRAN.RTM.. A particularly preferred CELLSTRAN.RTM. glass 
filled polypropylene resin is sold under the designation PPG 40-02-4 (this 
particular resin has 40% glass fibers, and is supplied in pellet form, 
preferably in pellets 11 mm in length, therefore containing glass fibers 
of the same length). 
As can be seen by reference to the drawings, preferred embodiments of the 
invention utilize injection molded material of a generally uniform 
thickness. That is, preferably the predominant portions of the bumper, 
including the flanges and reinforcing ribs, are all of a similar 
thickness--desirably in the range of about 1/8 to about 3/4 inch, and 
preferably about 1/6 to about 1/2 inch. Preferably the ratio of the 
thickest of such portions to the thinnest of such portions is no more than 
about 2:1. 
Using conventional non-metallic materials, one ordinarily would not 
conclude that a bumper of sufficient strength and durability could be 
successfully molded with such thinness. Molding the above-mentioned 
fiber-filled resins into the configuration shown in the drawings (i.e., 
with the reinforcing flanges and ribs), however, produces a remarkably 
strong, durable bumper with excellent finish characteristics. Moreover, 
selected colors can be integrally molded into the part, so that painting 
is not necessary, thereby reducing manufacturing steps, complexity and 
cost; any scratches or other incidental damage to the component also are 
less noticeable since the part is of uniform color throughout its 
thickness. Since the part is not metallic, it is not subject to corrosion. 
FIGS. 21-23 illustrate an alternate embodiment of a bumper of the 
invention. This bumper 130 has a shape slightly different from the bumper 
110 of FIGS. 16-20, in that it does not utilize the upwardly extending 
central member 121, and in that the internal rearwardly extending 
reinforcing ribs 132 are oriented at a variety of obtuse and acute angles 
to the general longitudinal length of the bumper 130. Because of the 
number and orientation of the various internal ribs 132, these internal 
ribs 132 do not need to extend as far rearwardly as the upper and lower 
flanges 134 and 136. 
FIGS. 24-30 depict a foot rest 150 of the invention which is injection 
molded for use on off-road recreational or utility vehicles such as the 
ATV depicted in FIG. 1. Like the racks and bumpers described above, the 
foot rest or foot well 150 is injection molded from a fiber-filled plastic 
resin to give it the strength, durability and resilience desired for such 
an application. 
The foot rest includes an inner edge 156, and an outer ridge 158 defining 
an outer boundary for the foot rest. The outer ridge 158 is desirably 
comprised of an inner, upwardly extending flange 162 and an outer 
downwardly extending skirt 164, the flange 162 and skirt 164 being joined 
by a common upper web 166 which defines a top surface of the ridge, the 
flange and skirt thereby functioning to structurally reinforce the foot 
rest. Preferably the foot rest also includes an integrally molded 
transverse cleat 170 extending upwardly from the top surface of the foot 
rest body 152. Preferably the cleat 170 extends substantially entirely 
across the foot rest body to form an integral heal cleat against which the 
vehicle operator may grip with the heal of his shoe or boot. 
Preferably the upper surface of the foot rest body 152 also includes 
integrally molded gripping cleats 172 dispersed over a substantial portion 
of the generally flat upper surface of the foot rest. In the particularly 
preferred embodiment shown in the drawings, the gripping cleats 172 
comprise upwardly extending protrusions, each of which terminate in a 
transversely oriented pointed edge (shown in detail in FIG. 31). Also, 
preferably these gripping cleats 172 are arranged in a plurality of 
generally parallel longitudinal rows of ribs, the ribs being scalloped 
with the scallops terminating in transversely oriented pointed edges. 
These pointed edges make an excellent gripping surface for the rider's 
shoes or boots. 
As is shown in particular detail in FIGS. 28-30, desirably the foot rest 
150 also includes reinforcing ribs 160 integrally molded to extend 
downwardly from the bottom of the foot rest. The size and depth of these 
ribs can be selected based on the desired rigidity requirements of the 
particular application. 
Suitable fiber-filled resins having desirable characteristics for this 
component and also producing the desired finish characteristics are 
available commercially from Polymer Composites, Inc. of Winona, Minn. A 
particularly preferred glass filled nylon resin is sold under the 
designation N6G50-01-4. This resin includes about 50% glass fiber. The 
polypropylene resin material used for the bumpers and racks, sold under 
the designation PPG 40-02-4, is also suitable, although it has been found 
that reduction of the percentage of glass fibers from 40% to 20% (by 
adding in compatible polypropylene) yields a less rigid foot rest which is 
less likely to fracture, e.g., if the foot rest strikes a rock, stump, 
etc. Both of these materials are supplied in pellet form, preferably in 
pellets 11 mm in length, therefore containing glass fibers of the same 
length. 
As can be seen by reference to the drawings, preferred embodiments of the 
invention utilize injection molded material of a generally uniform 
thickness. That is, preferably the predominant portions of the foot rest, 
including the predominant portions of the flanges and reinforcing ribs are 
all of a similar thickness--desirably in the range of about 1/10 to about 
1/3 inch, and preferably about 1/6 inch. Preferably the ratio of the 
thickest of such portions to the thinnest of such portions is no more than 
about 2:1. 
While a preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described, 
it should be understood that various changes, adaptations and 
modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the 
invention and the scope of the appended claims.