Abstract:
An ergonomic ladder rack assembly mounted on the roof of a topper for a pick-up truck bed or on the roof of a cargo van, the topper having a ladder rack assembly mounted thereon, the ladder rack assembly designed to lift, move and return a ladder load between a stowed position atop the roof of the topper or van and a deployed position alongside of the vehicle. The roof of the topper or van has recessed areas formed therein for containing components of the ladder rack to thereby lower the height profile of the combination.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     None 
     GOVERNMENT OWNERSHIP RIGHTS 
     None 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     This invention relates generally to truck and van vehicles, and more particularly to pickup trucks with toppers or inserts and cargo vans used for transporting cargo and ladders to work sites. 
     2. Discussion of the Prior Art 
     Pickup trucks used as work vehicles typically comprise a cargo bed and a cab. Owners may typically install a topper unit on the cargo bed where the topper unit typically comprises a molded fiberglass structure having a front wall adjacent the cab, a rear wall adjacent a tailgate and with sidewalls extending between the front and rear walls. A roof of the topper unit covers the space defined by the front, rear and sidewalls. In some instances, the height of the topper unit matches the height of the cab but there are topper designs where the height of the topper exceeds the height of the cab. The topper will typically have doors in the side and rear walls to facilitate loading and unloading of cargo from the interior of the topper compartment. 
     A typical cargo van has a unitized passenger cab and a closed cargo compartment having a roof, left and right sidewalls and a rear wall with access doors on the sides and/or rear wall. 
     In many service industries, such as building construction, plumbing, communication equipment installation and the like, extension ladders are a necessary implement. Because such ladders are typically too long to fit within a pickup truck&#39;s cargo bed, they are commonly carried on a rack affixed to the roof of the topper as shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,170,331 and 4,932,717. The ladders are fastened to the rack while being transported to a job site but are then manually removed from the rack and carried to the point of use. 
     When an ergonomic ladder rack that include a mechanism for transferring a ladder from a stowed position on the roof of the vehicle to a take-away position along the vehicle&#39;s side, such as described in applicant&#39;s earlier U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,099,231 and 6,764,268, is conventionally mounted on a pickup truck topper, as shown in  FIG. 3  of the drawings or on the roof of a cargo van, the overall height of the combination may preclude the vehicle from entering many parking ramps, underground parking facilities and other buildings where the clearance height for the vehicle is limited. Accordingly, a need exists for an assembly of an ergonomic ladder rack with either a pickup vehicle with a topper or a cargo van where the overall height dimension of the assembly is reduced to a point where the vehicle can readily clear existing building structures with height restrictions. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In accordance with the present invention, a ladder rack for facilitating the loading and unloading of a ladder from a roof of a cargo van or a pickup truck equipped with a topper unit is integrated into the roof structure so as to reduce the height profile of the combination. The integration involves partially recessing the ladder rack below a major surface of the van or topper&#39;s roof. More particularly, the roof of the topper, for example, is provided with front and rear recesses proximate the front wall and rear wall of the topper, respectively. The recesses are sized to at least partially contain components comprising the ladder rack therein. 
     In the following detailed description of the invention, it will be explained in connection with a truck with a topper unit, but persons skilled in the art will readily see how the roof of a cargo van can be altered to accommodate an ergonomic ladder rack as well. 
    
    
     
       DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The foregoing features, objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent to persons skilled in the art from the following detailed description of the invention, especially when considered in light of the accompanying drawings in which like numerals in the several views refer to corresponding parts. 
         FIG. 1  is a rear/side perspective view of a pickup truck with a topper installed; 
         FIG. 2  is a view of a prior art ladder rack removed from a topper; 
         FIG. 3  is a rear view of a topper for a pickup truck having a ladder rack conventionally mounted thereon; 
         FIG. 4  is a partial rear view of a topper unit with a ladder rack integrated into the roof structure of the topper; 
         FIG. 5  is a side perspective view illustrating a rear portion of the topper&#39;s roof that has been provided with a recess for accommodating components of the ladder rack of  FIG. 2 ; 
         FIG. 6  is a partial side perspective view showing a front portion of a topper&#39;s roof provided with a recess for accommodating components of the ladder rack of  FIG. 2 ; and 
         FIG. 7  is a view like that of  FIG. 5 , but with the ladder rack components in their ladder deploying state. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     This description of the preferred embodiments is intended to be read in connection with the accompanying drawings, which are to be considered part of the entire written description of this invention. In the description, relative terms such as “lower”, “upper”, “horizontal”, “vertical”, “above”, “below”, “up”, “down”, “top” and “bottom” as well as derivatives thereof (e.g., “horizontally”, “downwardly”, “upwardly”, etc.) should be construed to refer to the orientation as then described or as shown in the drawings under discussion. These relative terms are for convenience of description and do not require that the apparatus be constructed or operated in a particular orientation. Terms such as “connected”, “connecting”, “attached”, “attaching”, “join” and “joining” are used interchangeably and refer to one structure or surface being secured to another structure or surface or integrally fabricated in one piece, unless expressively described otherwise. 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 , there is shown a pickup truck work vehicle indicated generally by numeral  10  which includes a driver/passenger cab  12  and a cargo bed  14 . Shown disposed in the cargo bed is a topper unit  16  having a front wall  18 , a rear wall  20  and right and left side walls  22  and  24  and a roof  25 . The topper unit  16  is provided with access doors  26  in the rear wall  20  which are designed to swing open about hinges  28  allowing access to the interior compartment of the topper. The topper  16  may also have swing-up access doors, as at  30 , formed in the side walls  22  and  24  that are adapted to rotate about hinges (not shown) disposed proximate the roof  25  of the topper  16 . 
     Referring next to  FIG. 2 , there is shown a perspective view of an ergonomic ladder rack specifically designed to aid in the transfer of a ladder load from the roof of a work vehicle to a position alongside the vehicle where a workman can readily remove the ladder from the rack and manually transport it to his/her work site. 
     The ladder rack is indicated generally by numeral  32  and includes as components a rear stationary member  34 , a front stationary member  36 , a rear ladder support member  38 , a front ladder support member  40  along with connecting linkages  41  and  42 . Journaled for rotation in the stationary members  34  and  36  is an elongated drive shaft  44  to which the linkage  41  is attached. Likewise, a linkage  46  is operatively coupled to the drive shaft  44  and to the ladder support member  40 . A hydraulic dampener  48  has its cylinder affixed to the stationary member  34  and its piston coupled to the drive shaft  44 . The ladder rack assembly  32  of  FIG. 2  is the same as that described in the Levi U.S. Pat. No. 6,764,268 which is hereby incorporated by reference and that patent explains in significant detail the manner of operation of the ladder in loading and unloading ladders onto and from the roof a vehicle. 
       FIG. 3  is a rear view of a topper  16  with a pair of ladder racks  32  mounted in a conventional manner on the roof of a topper unit with one on the driver&#39;s side and one on the passenger&#39;s side. In affixing the ladder rack members  32  to the topper roof, front and rear standoff brackets  50  have their base fastened by screws to the topper&#39;s fiberglass roof. Spanning the distance between the tops of the front and rear mounting brackets  50  are elongated rails (not shown) and clamped to the rails are front and rear cross members, as at  52 . The stationary members  34  and  36  on the ladder rack attach to the front and rear crossbars  52 , the result being that the overall height above ground of the topper plus ladder rack is such that the ladder rack is elevated to a point where it is likely to interfere with lower clearance entrances to building structures. The present invention provides as a way of significantly reducing the overall height involved from what is shown in  FIG. 3 . 
       FIG. 4  is shown so as to be compared with the mounting arrangement of the ladder rack illustrated in  FIG. 3 . In the view of  FIG. 4 , certain components of the ladder rack are recessed below the level of the topper&#39;s roof  25 . It is found that the mounting method of the present invention reduces the composite height of the topper plus ladder rack by about 10 inches. 
     Now, with reference to  FIG. 5 , it shows a recess  50  formed in the roof  25  proximate the rear wall  20  of the topper. Likewise, as seen in  FIG. 6 , a similar recess  52  is formed in the roof  25  proximate the front wall  18  of the topper. Fitted within the recess  50  proximate the rear wall  20  are components  34 ,  38  and  42  of the ladder rack assembly with the linkage  42  being hidden from view in that it lies beneath the linkage  41  when the ladder rack assembly is in a position where ladders resting on members  38  and  40  are stowed atop the roof of the vehicle  10 . 
     The elongated control shaft  44  passes through an aperture in a vertical wall of the recess  50  at a location close to the underside of the roof  25  and extends the length dimension of the topper so as to exit through an aperture in a vertical wall of the recess  52  formed proximate the front wall of the topper where it is rotationally journaled in the stationary member  36 . Because of the location where the control shaft  44  traverses the length dimension of the topper, it in no way interferes with the ability to load and unload cargo through the swing-up door  30  and which is in covering relation to the control shaft  44  when the door  30  is closed. 
     With continued reference to  FIGS. 5 and 6 , it can be seen that the rear and front recesses  50  and  52  include a downward sloping segment  54  and  56  allowing the linkages  41  and the ladder support members  38  and  40  to clear the sidewall  22  of the topper as the ladder support members  38  and  40  carrying a ladder are made to swing down to a position alongside of the sidewall of the topper by rotation of a crank arm joined to the control shaft  44 . 
     The recesses like  50  and  52  may be integrally formed in a molding process commonly used in fabricating fiberglass structures with a gel-coat finish. Alternatively, a cutout may be made in the contour of the topper roof or in the roof of a cargo van to allow separately molded inserts to be affixed in the cutouts and bonded in place. The insert piece will be formed to spatially accommodate the ladder rack components while allowing them to swing the ladder support members  38 ,  40  from their horizontal disposition atop the roof  25  to a position adjacent a sidewall  22  or  24  of the topper. 
     This invention has been described herein in considerable detail in order to comply with the patent statutes and to provide those skilled in the art with the information needed to apply the novel principles and to construct and use such specialized components as are required. However, it is to be understood that the invention can be carried out by specifically different equipment and devices, and that various modifications, both as to the equipment and operating procedures, can be accomplished without departing from the scope of the invention itself. For example, it is contemplated that the roof structure of most van-style vehicles can be modified to incorporate inserts of a metal or plastic conforming to the shape of the recesses  50 ,  52 ,  54 ,  56  as shown in  FIGS. 5 and 6  of the drawings, such that a vehicle roof mounted ergonomic ladder rack can be affixed with a reduced height profile.