Abstract:
A carrying tray assembly for the rear of a sport utility vehicle. The assembly is suspended from sections of the sports bar arrangement and permits easy access to any items on the tray of the assembly. The assembly also permits other gear to be placed below the tray on the floor of the rear deck of the vehicle and covered with a tonneau if desired to protect the gear from the elements. The assembly has front and rear supporting systems that are adjustable to fit a variety of sport bar designs. Additionally, because the tray is suspended from sections of the sports bar arrangement rearwardly of the driver&#39;s and front passenger&#39;s seats, traditional half tops and windscreens can also be used on the vehicle at the same time as the carrying tray assembly.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    1. Field of the Invention  
           [0002]    This invention relates to the field of carrying tray assemblies for sport utility vehicles and more particularly to the field of such tray assemblies that are adjustable to fit different vehicles.  
           [0003]    2. Discussion of the Background  
           [0004]    In most sport utility vehicles, carrying or storage space for gear and other items for camping, hunting, and the like is at a premium. Presently, it is common just to stack or pile as much gear as possible in the open rear of the vehicle. In doing so, it can become difficult to find and retrieve individual items (e.g., a coat or flashlight) without having to move the bulk of the stored gear out of the way. Additionally, it is usually necessary to cover the complete rear of the vehicle if any of the stored gear (e.g., clothing) needs to be protected from exposure to the elements. However, in nearly all cases, many of the items (e.g., fishing tackle boxes) can easily withstand such exposure but are nevertheless covered up with the other items. The top or other covering over the rear of the vehicle must then be completely or at least partially removed to reach even the items that really could have been left exposed for easy access.  
           [0005]    With this and other problems in mind, the present invention was developed. With it, gear and other equipment can be carried above the rear deck of the vehicle in a tray suspended from sections of the sports bar arrangement. Access to the items in the tray is unrestricted while at the same time, other items that need to be protected from the elements can be placed below the tray on the floor of the rear deck and covered with traditional accessories such as a tonneau. Additionally, because the tray is suspended from the sports bar arrangement behind the driver&#39;s and front passenger&#39;s seats, half tops and windscreens can also still be concurrently used on the vehicle to protect the occupants from the elements.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0006]    This invention involves a carrying tray assembly for the rear of a sport utility vehicle. The assembly is suspended from sections of the sports bar arrangement and permits easy access to any items on the tray of the assembly. The assembly also permits other gear to be placed below the tray on the floor of the rear deck of the vehicle and covered with a tonneau if desired to protect the gear from the elements. The assembly has front and rear supporting systems that are adjustable to fit a variety of sport bar designs. Additionally, because the tray is suspended from sections of the sports bar arrangement rearwardly of the driver&#39;s and front passenger&#39;s seats, traditional half tops and windscreens can also be used on the vehicle at the same time as the carrying tray assembly of the present invention.  
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0007]    [0007]FIG. 1 is a rear perspective view of the carrying tray assembly of the present invention suspended from the sports bar arrangement of a vehicle.  
         [0008]    [0008]FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the carrying tray assembly of FIG. 1 with items of gear placed on the tray of the assembly and on the rear deck of the vehicle below the tray.  
         [0009]    [0009]FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 1 but with the tray of the assembly removed to better illustrate the front and rear support systems for it.  
         [0010]    [0010]FIG. 4 is an enlarged view taken along line  4 - 4  of FIG. 3 showing details of the clamp member that removably attaches the horizontal member of the rear support system to the vertical sections of the sports bar arrangement.  
         [0011]    [0011]FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 4 showing the clamp member adjusted to an expanded position on the horizontal member to effectively adjust the length of the rear support system to fit varying sizes of sports bar designs.  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 6 illustrates the members of the front support system for the tray adjusted to be in a substantially orthogonal relationship with each other.  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 7 is a plan view taken along line  7 - 7  of FIG. 6.  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 8 is an enlarged view of the clamp member of the front support system taken along line  8 - 8  of FIGS. 6 and 7.  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 9 is a view similar to FIG. 6 illustrating the members of the front support system in positions adjusted to fit a sports bar arrangement in which the horizontal sections are closer to one another than in the arrangement of FIG. 6.  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 10 is top view taken along line  10 - 10  of FIG. 9 illustrating how the horizontal sections of the sports bar arrangement of FIG. 9 are slanted toward each other from the rear of the vehicle toward the front.  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 11 is a view similar to FIG. 8 showing the clamp member in a rotated position on the vertical member of the front support system to align it with the inwardly slanted horizontal section of the sports bar arrangement of FIG. 9.  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 12 is an enlarged view taken along line  12 - 12  of FIG. 10 with the substantially horizontal section of the sports bar arrangement of FIG. 10 inclined upwardly from the rear of the vehicle toward the front and with the clamp member further adjusted to accommodate this inclination of the sports bar section.  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 13 is an enlarged view of a corner area of the tray of FIG. 1 illustrating one manner in which the tray can be rigidly attached and anchored to the horizontal member of the rear support system.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0020]    The carrying tray assembly  1  of the present invention is shown in FIG. 1 supported on the sports bar arrangement  2  in the rear of the vehicle  4 . The sports bar arrangement  2  as illustrated includes substantially horizontal sections  6  and substantially vertical sections  8  on each side of the vehicle  4 . The horizontal sections  6  extend rearwardly from respective front locations  10  adjacent the driver&#39;s seat  14  and front passenger&#39;s seat  16  to rearward locations  18  adjacent the rear of the vehicle  4 . The vertical sections  8  of the sports bar arrangement  2  then extend downwardly from the respective locations  18  to the body of the vehicle  4 .  
         [0021]    In use as illustrated in FIG. 2, boxes and other items of gear  20  can be placed in the tray  3  of the assembly  1 . The tray  3  in the preferred embodiments is supported in a horizontal position above the sides  22  and closed tailgate  24  (see FIG. 1) of the body of the vehicle  4 . In this manner, small items of gear such as the containers  26  of FIG. 2 can be placed in the storage space adjacent the floor or rear deck  30  of the vehicle  4  through the horizontally extending gap  32 ,  32 ′ of FIG. 1. Larger items such as the cooler  34  in FIG. 2 can also be placed under the tray  3  by simply opening the tailgate  24 . This spacing of the tray  3  to create gap  32 ,  32 ′ in FIG. 1 aids in loading, finding, and retrieving gear items from the rear deck  30  of the vehicle  4 . This is particularly true in regard to smaller items such as the containers  26  which can be handled without even having to open the tailgate  24 .  
         [0022]    The carrying tray assembly  1  as illustrated in FIG. 1 includes the tray  3  and the front and rear support systems  5  and  7 . The rear support system  7  as best seen in FIG. 3 has an elongated member  9  that extends horizontally between the vertical sections  8  of the sports bar arrangement  2 . The member or bar  9  is removably attached to the respective vertical sections  8  by clamp members  11 . Each clamp member  11  as shown in FIG. 4 has a stem portion  13  partially surrounding an end  15  of the member  9  and secured to the end  15  by an arrangement such as bolt  17  and nut  19 . In use, the interlocking clamp sections  21  and  23  of each clamp member  11  (see FIG. 4) are positioned about the vertical section  8  and tightened by knob  25  to hold the clamp  11  securely in place. Each clamp member  11  on each end  15  of the horizontal member  9  (see FIG. 5) is adjustable along the longitudinal or horizontal axis  27  of the member  9 . In this way, the length of the rear support system  7  can be expanded or shortened to fit vertical sections on different sports bar arrangements such as  8 ′ in FIG. 5 that may be spaced apart at different distances from those of FIG. 4.  
         [0023]    As mentioned above, the horizontally extending member  9  of the rear support system  7  is preferably spaced above the body of the vehicle  4  (including the closed tailgate  24 ) to create the rear gap  321 . This gap  321  then allows for easy rear loading and retrieving of gear items (particularly smaller ones such as  26  in FIG. 2) from the storage area under the tray  3  on the rear deck  30  of the vehicle  4 . It is also noted that this spacing of the tray  3  above the sides  22  and tailgate  24  of the vehicle  4  will permit the user to place smaller items such as  26  in this area and then cover them with a traditional tonneau to protect them from the elements. In this regard, the support systems  5  and  7  of the carrying tray assembly  1  of the present invention (see FIGS. 1 and 2) are above the top edges  22 ′ and  24 ′ of the sides  22  and tailgate  24 . Consequently, the carrying tray assembly  1  will not interfere with the attachment of a conventional tonneau over the rear deck  30  at the level of these upper edges  22 ′.  
         [0024]    The front support system  5  of the carrying tray assembly  1  of the present invention as best seen in FIGS. 1 and 3 preferably includes the horizontally extending member  31  (see FIG. 3) and the pair of vertical members  33 . The upper ends of the vertical members  33  are removably attached by clamps members  11 ′ to the respective horizontal sections  6  of the sports bar arrangement  2 . In this manner, the front support system  5  of members  31  and  33  is suspended downwardly from the horizontal sections  6  preferably about midway along the sections  6 . The points of suspension can be closer to the front locations  10  in FIGS.  1 - 3  if desired but preferably are still spaced rearwardly thereof and rearwardly of the cross member  44  of the sports bar arrangement  2 . In this way, a conventional half top (over the driver and front passenger) and/or windscreen (directly behind the driver and front passenger) can be attached to the cross member  44  as well as vertical members  46  without any interference from the carrying tray assembly  1 . Additionally, if desired, the complete rear of the vehicle  4  including the carrying tray assembly  1  can be covered by a conventional top.  
         [0025]    Like the rear support system  7  for the carrying tray assembly  1 , the front support system  5  is adjustable to accommodate sports bar arrangements in which the horizontal sections such as  6  are spaced apart different distances. In this regard and referring to FIGS.  6 - 8 , the adjustable front support system  5  of the preferred embodiment is shown in an orthogonal set up with the horizontal member  31  and vertical members  33  at right angles. In this position, the clamp members  11 ′ in FIG. 6 on the upper ends of the vertical members  33  are removably attachable to the horizontal sections  6 ′ of the sports bar arrangement. This is accomplished substantially in the same manner as the clamp member  11  in FIG. 4. That is, the stem portions  13 ′ of clamp members  11 ′ in FIGS.  6 - 8  partially surround each upper end of vertical members  33  and are secured thereto by bolt  17 ′ and nut  19 ′. Additionally, the clamp sections  21 ′ and  23 ′ of FIG. 6 as in FIG. 4 are positioned about the horizontal sections  6 ′ and tightened securely in place by knobs  25 ′. In the orthogonal relationship of FIGS.  6 - 8 , the bolt  17 ′ (see FIG. 8) is substantially centered in the slot  37  in the stem portion  13 ′ of each clamp member  11 ′.  
         [0026]    In mounting the adjustable front support system  5  to a sports bar arrangement like  2  in FIGS.  1 - 5  and  9 - 10  (in which the horizontal sections  6  are laterally closer to each other than in FIG. 6), the vertical members  33  are pivoted inwardly from the orthogonal positions of FIG. 6. This is accomplished by rotating the vertical members  33  about the horizontal axes  41  relative to the elongated member  31  (see FIG. 9). The horizontal axes  41  in this regard are substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the elongated member  31 . Additionally, if the horizontal sections  6  are inclined toward each other from the rear of the vehicle  4  toward the front as illustrated in FIG. 10, the clamp members  11 ′ can be rotated about the longitudinal axis  43  of each vertical member  33  (compare again FIGS. 6 and 9). This rotation as best seen in FIG. 11 is accomplished by rotating the clamp member  11 ′ so that the bolt  17 ′, for example, is positioned closer to the left end of the slot  37  as in FIG. 11. Further, if each section  6  of the sports bar arrangement  2  as in FIGS. 1 and 10 is also inclined upwardly from the rear of the vehicle  4  toward the front, the clamp members  11 ′ as illustrated in FIG. 12 can be rotated about the axis  45  of the bolt  17 ′ (see FIGS. 9 and 12). The axis  45  in this regard is also substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis  43  of the vertical member  33 . In this manner and with the clamp members  11 ′ of the preferred embodiments, the front support system  5  can be attached to and suspended from any number of sports bar designs that have different spacings and/or alignments of their horizontal sections corresponding to the illustrated ones  6  and  6 ′.  
         [0027]    In most applications, the various parts of the carrying tray assembly  1  can be rigidly tightened to each other after the assembly  1  is positioned on the sports bar arrangement. That is, the various parts (e.g., bolt  17 ′ and nut  19 ′ in FIG. 6) may first be loosened relative to each other to make the necessary adjustments to fit the specific sports bar design. They can thereafter be tightened as desired. In the assembly  1  of the present invention, the rear support system  7  is preferably used as the anchor for the assembly  1 . In this regard, the elongated bar  9  of the rear support system  7  can be rigidly secured to the vertical sections  8  of the sports bar arrangement  2 . The body of the tray  3  is then preferably secured in a rigid manner (e.g., bolt and nut arrangement  47  and  49  of FIG. 13) to the elongated member  9  and similarly to the front support system  5 . The entire assembly  1  of tray  3 , front support system  5 , and rear support system  7  then has substantially rigid, structural integrity in its attachment to the sports bar arrangement.  
         [0028]    While several embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described in detail, it to be understood that various changes and modifications could be made without departing from the scope of the invention.