Abstract:
An assembly for loading cargo on top of a vehicle includes at least one load bar oriented perpendicular to a pair of crossbars. The load bar is movable between stowed and loading positions in a direction parallel to the direction of vehicle travel. A rear end of the load bar is connected to a roller device for minimizing friction and avoiding contact with the vehicle when cargo is being elevated to the roof of the vehicle.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application incorporates by reference in their entirety for all purposes the following U.S. Provisional Patent Applications Ser. No. 60/853,116 filed Oct. 20, 2006; and Ser. No. 60/958,475 filed Jul. 6, 2007. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    Top-mounted vehicle racks provide a versatile platform for transporting bicycles, skis, snowboards, boats, cargo boxes, gear racks, and other items. Such racks typically include a pair of crossbars that extend side-to-side across the top of a vehicle. Each crossbar is supported on each side of the vehicle&#39;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&#39;s roof. The towers supporting the rack crossbars are securely fastened to the vehicle to prevent the rack from slipping during use. 
         [0003]    A typical top-mounted boat mount system includes two crossbars of the type described above, with supporting mounts of some type (e.g., a pair of saddles or J-shaped cradles) attached to the crossbars for supporting a boat, for example, a kayak or a canoe. After placing a boat on the mounts, the user then secures the boat to the rack by strapping it to both the cradles and the crossbars. However, placing the boat on the mounts may be cumbersome and difficult, and may result in damage to the vehicle, the boat, or injury to person(s) loading the boat. 
         [0004]    A common method of placing a boat on a vehicle roof rack is for a user to lift the bow of the boat onto the rear mount from the rear of the car, and then to slide the boat forward. This method has the advantage of allowing the user to lift only one half of the boat at a time, but it has the disadvantage that the bow of the boat often touches the upper rear corner of the car, resulting in scratches or other damage either to the car or the boat. An additional problem with this method is that the boat may be difficult to slide on the rear mount, due to friction between the mount and the boat hull. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES 
         [0005]      FIG. 1  is a top view of an apparatus for loading cargo on top of a vehicle. 
           [0006]      FIG. 2  is a side view of the rack shown in  FIG. 1 . 
           [0007]      FIGS. 3 and 4  are partial perspective views of a roller device used in a loading apparatus such as the ones shown  FIGS. 1 and 2 . 
           [0008]      FIG. 5  is a perspective view of a rear clamp assembly used on a loading apparatus such as the ones shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 . 
           [0009]      FIG. 6  is a cross-sectional view of the clamp shown in  FIG. 6 . 
           [0010]      FIG. 7  is a perspective view of a front clamp used on a loading apparatus such as the ones shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 . 
           [0011]      FIG. 8  is a top view of the clamp shown in  FIG. 8 . 
           [0012]      FIG. 9  is a top view of an alternative loading apparatus for loading cargo on top of a vehicle. 
           [0013]      FIG. 10  is a top view of an alternative loading apparatus for loading cargo on top of a vehicle. 
           [0014]      FIG. 11  is a top view of an alternative loading apparatus for loading cargo on top of a vehicle. 
           [0015]      FIG. 12  is a top view of an alternative loading apparatus for loading cargo on top of a vehicle. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0016]    As shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , boat loading device  10  attaches to front and rear crossbars  12 ,  14  of a rack disposed on top of a vehicle. Loading device  10  has a roller  40  located behind rear crossbar  14 . Roller  40  does not interfere with other supporting boat mounts or rack components installed on the crossbars, such as saddles  15  or J-cradles (not shown). As a result, the user may choose any desired supporting mounts to use in conjunction with loading device  10 , or may add loading device  10  to a rack previously configured with supporting boat mounts of any type. 
         [0017]    Loading device  10  includes a pair of longitudinal load bars  18 ,  20 , which distribute the any load placed on the loading device to the roof of the vehicle via crossbars  12 ,  14 . Load bars  18 ,  20  may be attached to crossbars  12 ,  14  by any suitable mechanism, such as with front clamps  70  and/or rear clamps  50 , which may be configured to accommodate crossbars of various cross-sectional shapes. Load bars  18 , may be attached to roller  40  via t-lugs  42 . As shown in  FIG. 1 , load bars  18 ,  20  are adjustable from side to side, allowing the user to configure the bars to accommodate locations of the crossbar towers, as well as any other preexisting roof rack components. As shown in  FIG. 1 , loading device  10  may have a width approximately equal to or slightly greater than the width of the vehicle. This allows the device to be used for loading of two or more boats onto a single vehicle without additional adjustments of the roller. As apparent in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , a boat or other object may be loaded into saddles using device  10  without the boat touching the vehicle. 
         [0018]    Partial views of roller assembly  40  are depicted in  FIGS. 3 and 4 . Roller assembly  40  includes crossbar  41  attached to distal ends of load bars  18 ,  20  via t-lugs  42 . Roller extrusion  43  including roller pad  44  holds a roller bar (not shown). The roller bar may be made of any suitable material, including elastomers. The roller extrusion  43  may be coupled to crossbar  41  via endcap  45 . Endcap  45  may extend partially into roller extrusion  43 , and may be stabilized within extrusion  43  by bushing  46 . Bushing  46  may be configured to rotate around endcap  45 . Roller assembly  40  may be approximately 40″ wide, which allows the loading of two boats side by side. Additionally, crossbar  41  may be non-circular, for example, oval-shaped to prevent it from rotating within t-lugs  42 , while allowing sideways movement of roller  40 . Alternative configurations for crossbar  41  may be used to prevent rotation of crossbar  41  within t-lugs  42 . For example, the crossbar may have other cross-sectional shapes such as rectangular, triangular, or may have ridges, flanges, or other projections that prevent rotation. 
         [0019]    T-lugs  42  are adjustable along crossbar  41 . This allows for placement of load bars  18  and  20  at various distances from one another, making loading device  10  compatible with a variety of vehicles and boat saddles. T-lugs  42  may be clamped to crossbar  41  via tamper-proof fasteners or bolts, to prevent theft. 
         [0020]    Roller  40  may be adjustable between multiple positions, as shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 . In a stowed or stored position roller  40  is located relatively close behind rear crossbar  14 , to allow full use of the vehicle&#39;s rear door (such as a hatch) without interference from roller  40 . In a loading/unloading position, as shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , roller  40  is located to the rear of the back corner of the vehicle, to allow the boat to move on the roller without contacting the vehicle. 
         [0021]    As shown in  FIG. 1 , roller  40  may be moved back and forth by sliding load bars  18 ,  20  back and forth through clamps  50 ,  70 . As described in more detail below, one or more of clamps  50 ,  70  may be equipped with a stop break, or lock to restrict back and forth movement of roller  40  and load bars  18 ,  20 . Roller  40  may also be adjustable in a side-to-side direction relative to the vehicle as shown in  FIG. 1 , so the roller may be approximately centered underneath each boat being loaded side by side. 
         [0022]    Support bars  18 ,  20  may be affixed to the cross bars using rear clamps  50  and front clamps  70 . As shown in  FIGS. 5 and 6 , rear clamp  50  includes upper and lower jaws  52 ,  54  manipulable towards one another to secure loading device  10  to rear crossbar  14 . T-bolt  56  is adapted to be coupled with nut  58  via intermediate threaded member  60 , and is manipulable to bias lower jaw  54  toward upper jaw  52 . Lower jaw  54  is rotatably coupled to upper tube member  62  via hinge  64 . Upper tube member  62  receives bar  18  or  20 . 
         [0023]    Quick release clamp  66  may be disposed on upper tube member  62  of rear clamp  50  via a tightening device  68 , as shown in  FIG. 7 . Quick release clamp  66  may be actuated to restrict or permit sliding movement of load bar  18  or  20  through tube member  62 , thus enabling back and forth movement of roller  40  between stowed and loading positions. For example, clamp  66  may be tightened by moving quick release lever  69  toward clamp  66 . Clamp  66  likewise may be released (i.e. untightened) by pulling quick release lever  69  away from clamp  66 . In some embodiments, the tightness of clamp  66  may be micro-adjusted by releasing quick release lever  69  and spinning it to tighten a screw in tightening device  68 . 
         [0024]    As shown in  FIGS. 7 and 8 , front clamp  70  includes upper and lower jaws  72 ,  74  manipulable toward one another to secure load bar  18  or  20  to crossbar  12 . T-bolt  76  is coupled with nut  78  via intermediate threaded member  80  to bias lower jaw  74  against upper jaw  72 . Lower jaw  74  may be rotatably coupled to upper tube member  82  via hinge  84 . Upper tube member  82  receives load bar  18  or  20 . 
         [0025]    Front clamp  70  may also include stop collar  86  coupled to load bar  18  or  20  to limit how far load bar  18  or  20  may slide towards the rear of the vehicle. Stop collar  86  may include a security mechanism, such as a tamper-proof screw for tightening stop collar  86  around load bar  18  or  20 , making removal of roller  40  and/or other components of loading device  10  difficult, discouraging theft. 
         [0026]    T-bolt  76  on front clamp  70  may be configured so that when upper member  82  receives load bar  18  or  20 , t-bolt  76  cannot be rotated. This arrangement prevents loosening of clamp  70  when load bar  18  or  20  engages tube member  82 . 
         [0027]    The various jaws of rear clamps  50  and front clamps  70  may be adapted to accommodate variously-shaped cross beams. Such shapes may include circles, ellipses, squares, rectangles, factory default vehicle rack shapes, or any other shape found in cross beams sold by various manufacturers. The jaws may also include jagged edges, curves, high friction materials, etc., to improve their grip on crossbars. 
         [0028]    Various alternative examples of loading devices may include only one longitudinal support bar, or may include two support bars configured differently from the embodiment described above and shown in  FIGS. 1-8 . For example,  FIG. 10  shows alternative L-shaped loading device  100  having a single longitudinal support bar  102 , and roller  104 . Roller  104  may be adjustable from a storage position to a loading/unloading position, through extension of support bar  102  to various lengths. For instance, the support bar may include a telescoping extension portion  108  configured to slide in and out of outer sleeve portion  110 . Quick release gripping device  112  may be provided to control freedom of back and forth movement of extension portion  108 . 
         [0029]      FIG. 11  shows another loading device  200  that includes a single longitudinal support bar  202 , and roller  204 . Support bar  202  is configured to lie between pairs of saddles  206 ,  208  that are attached to the crossbars of a rooftop rack. Support bar  202  is attached to the crossbars at locations between the saddles of each pair. 
         [0030]      FIG. 12  shows still another loading device  300  having a single longitudinal crossbar  302 , and a roller  304 . Crossbar  302  is configured to lie to one side of supporting saddle mount pairs  306 ,  308 . Hinge  310  allows roller  304  to be selectively pivoted between a stored position and a loading/unloading position. This may allow, for example, improved aerodynamics during transport of a boat, and also may allow the roller to be pivoted to one side of the vehicle to allow access to a rear hatch. Loading device  300  is preferably provided with a back and forth movement device similar to those described above. 
         [0031]      FIG. 13  shows yet another example. Loading device  400  has dual longitudinal support members  402 ,  404  connected at both ends to form loops  406 ,  408 . Support members  402  and  404  are configured to be attached to the crossbars of a rack adjacent supporting boat mounts such as saddles  410 ,  412 . Loop  406  extends far enough laterally so that roller  414  may slide along the loop  406  until roller  414  is aligned with the saddles. Alternatively, a roller may extend along the entire width of loop  406 . Support members  402  and  404  may further be connected by one or more connecting members  416 ,  418  configured to support and securely transport accessories, such as paddle  420 . 
         [0032]    There are various alternative ways to facilitate forward and backward movement of roller  40  relative to the rear end of a vehicle. One approach is to equip each of load bars  18  and  20  with a telescoping device. Each load bar may have an outer tube secured in a constant position by crossbar clamps. A smaller diameter tube is then positioned concentrically in the outer tube and is moveable to adjust the effective overall length of the load bar. The position of the small tube relative to the outer tube may be locked by a clamp device located either in one of the crossbar clamps or in a separate clamp device. 
         [0033]    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.