Abstract:
A theft resistant strap and buckle assembly for securing cargo on a vehicle rack includes a strap and a buckle. The strap is reinforced to resist cutting. The buckle has a lock and pawl device that operates to prevent loosening of the strap when the buckle is locked.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
       [0001]    This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119 and applicable foreign and international law of the following U.S. provisional patent application, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety for all purposes: Ser. No. 61/133,441, filed Jun. 26, 2008. 
     
    
     FIELD 
       [0002]    The invention relates to straps for securing cargo on a vehicle, particularly straps with a locking mechanism. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0003]    People frequently carry cargo on vehicles. Specialized racks are available for securing recreational items typically on top or on the rear of vehicles. Carrying cargo outside the vehicle is a convenient way to increase carrying capacity, particularly considering current trends to drive smaller more fuel efficient vehicles, and particularly with respect to inherently large items that usually don&#39;t fit well inside a vehicle, for example, boats, bikes, skis, and surfboards. However, a significant concern with external carrying devices is the potential for theft. 
         [0004]    Some cargo items require straps to bind things to a rack or to an external surface of a vehicle. For example, straps are typically used to secure boats and surfboards on top of vehicles. Straps are also commonly used to secure baggage to external racks. Unfortunately, straps may be easily cut or loosened sufficiently for a thief to quickly remove cargo from the vehicle. There is a need for strapping devices that are more secure from theft, and easy to use. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0005]    A strapping device for securing cargo on a vehicle includes a reinforced strap and a buckle having a lock to prevent unauthorized de-tensioning of the strap device. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0006]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a rack for carrying cargo on top of a vehicle, including straps for binding a surf board onto a pair of crossbars. 
           [0007]      FIGS. 2-5  are a series of cross sectional views of a buckle used to secure a strap for carrying cargo on a vehicle rack. 
           [0008]      FIGS. 6 &amp; 7  are a series of cross sectional views of an alternative buckle design for securing a strap around cargo on a vehicle. 
           [0009]      FIGS. 8-11  are a series of cross sectional views of another embodiment of a buckle used to secure a strap around cargo on a vehicle rack. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0010]    This disclosure provides numerous selected examples of invented devices for carrying cargo on or with a vehicle. Many alternatives and modifications which may or may not be expressly mentioned are enabled, implied, currently possessed, and supported by the disclosure. 
         [0011]      FIG. 1  shows rack  20  for carrying cargo, specifically, a surf board, on vehicle  24 . Rack  20  includes a pair of crossbars  26   a ,  26   b , secured to vehicle  24  via towers  28   a - d . Straps  30   a ,  30   b  are used to bind surfboard  22  onto crossbars  26   a    26   b . Buckles  32   a ,  32   b , are used to tension, tighten and secure belts  30   a ,  30   b , respectively. 
         [0012]    As shown in  FIG. 2 , buckle  32   a  includes housing  33 . Housing  33  generally has a pair of adjacent chambers  34   a ,  34   b . Chamber  34   a  provides openings  35   a ,  35   b  for threading a first end portion of strap  30   a  through passage  36  of housing  33 . Pawl  42  has teeth  43  for gripping strap  30   a . Pawl  42  is biased in a clockwise direction by spring  44 . Button, switch, or toggle  46  is movable between first and second positions. Protrusion  48  engages pawl  42 , and urges pawl  42  to rotate in a counterclockwise direction as button  46  is pressed downward, as shown in  FIG. 2 . 
         [0013]    In second chamber  34   b  of housing  33 , lock  60  is provided. Lock  60  may be operated between locked and unlocked positions by using an appropriate key, combination, or any other method or device which allows a user to control access to the buckle mechanism. Follower, or block  62 , is linked or coupled to lock  60  in such a manner so that movement of lock  60  to the unlocked position causes follower  62  to move substantially away or out of chamber  34   a , and the path of button  46 , as it moves into the second position. In a preferred design, a keyed lock core interacts with the sliding block or follower (pillar). There may be a small eccentric boss on the bottom of the lock core that engages a slot in the sliding block. Alternatively, a cam and follower mechanism may also be used similarly. Follower  62  may also be biased, for example, by a spring, in one direction or another, or may be passive. Another chamber  66  is suitably provided for fixing, securely holding, the other end portion of strap  30   a.    
         [0014]    Strap  30   a  is suitably constructed of materials for the purpose of resisting cutting. For example, nylon, PP or polyester webbing with inserted wired rope (single rope or multiple ropes) may be used for strap  30   a . Alternatively, nylon, PP or polyester webbing with inserted flat woven steel webbing, may also be used. Over-molded steel cords or belts, like a tire or some timing belts (single cord or multiple cords) may also be used. 
         [0015]      FIG. 2  shows an end portion of strap  30   a  being threaded through passage  36  of buckle  32   a . It may be helpful for threading purposes to press button  46 , thereby rotating pawl  42  counterclockwise slightly to begin the threading process. 
         [0016]      FIG. 3  shows strap  30   a  being pulled through passage  36  in the process of tightening the strap around cargo and a supporting rack assembly. Friction between strap  30   a  and teeth  35   a  of pawl  42  causes pawl  42  to rotate slightly counterclockwise, thereby permitting further tightening of strap  30   a.    
         [0017]      FIG. 4  shows buckle  32   a  in a tightened, secure position with respect to strap  30   a . Strap  30   a  is prevented from sliding through passage  36  in a loosening direction, by teeth  35   a  of pawl  42 . The orientation of pawl  42  allows further tightening, as shown in  FIG. 3 , but does not allow the effective length (length of the strap from one end of the buckle to the other end of the buckle) of the strap to be lengthened or loosened. 
         [0018]      FIG. 5  shows buckle  32   a  with lock  60  in the unlocked position. Accordingly, follower  62  is retracted substantially out of chamber  34   a , out of the path of button  46 , thereby permitting button  46  to be pressed to the second position ( FIG. 2 ) for strap loosening purposes. In contrast,  FIG. 4  shows lock  60  in the locked position in which follower  62  has moved into chamber  34   a , blocking button  46  from moving to the second position. Accordingly, the configuration shown in  FIG. 4  allows strap  30   a  to be tightened, but not loosened, thereby preventing an unauthorized person, i.e., a person without a key to the lock, from loosening or removing the strap. 
         [0019]    In  FIG. 5 , lock  60  has been rotated to an unlocked position, thus causing follower  62  to retract out of chamber  34   a , out of the path of button  46 , thus permitting movement of button  46  into the second position and allowing loosening and/or removal of strap  30   a  from a cargo carrying load and/or rack. 
         [0020]      FIGS. 6 and 7  show an alternative buckle design which in many respects functions similarly to the buckle shown in  FIGS. 2-5 . As shown, buckle  80  includes housing  82 . Openings  84   a  and  84   b  define passage  86  for threading an end portion of strap  88  through housing  82 . 
         [0021]    Chamber  90  of housing  82  contains pivoting pawl  92 . Pawl  92  has teeth  94  for engaging strap  88  similar to the embodiment described with respect to  FIGS. 2-5 . Spring  96  biases pawl  92  to rotate in a clockwise direction, toward engagement between pawl  92  and strap  88 . Loosening of strap  88  is not allowed without physically pressing end portion  97  of pawl  92  downward in the direction of arrow  98 . The other end of housing  82  has a suitable structure  100  for retaining the other end portion of strap  88  in a fixed position. 
         [0022]    Cover  104  is pivotally connected to housing  82 . As shown in  FIG. 7 , when cover  104  is closed, access to end portion of pawl  96  is blocked. Therefore, strap  88  may not be loosened or removed while cover  104  is closed. Further, cover  104  has lock assembly  106  which is movable between locked and unlocked positions. As shown in  FIG. 7 , lock  106  engages groove  108  of post  110 , thus preventing cover or lid  104  from being opened; preventing pawl  92  from being manipulated from rotating counterclockwise; thus preventing strap  88  from being loosened or removed from a cargo carrier. 
         [0023]      FIGS. 8-11  show a series of cross-sectional views through an alternative buckle embodiment. In most respects, except as pointed out below, buckle  120  is similar to buckle  32   a , as shown in  FIGS. 2-5 . In particular, the lock and follower mechanism of buckle  120  is the same as shown and previously described for buckle  32   a . Therefore, this mechanism will not be described again. 
         [0024]    Buckle  120  includes housing  122  containing the strap tensioning, controlling, and locking devices. Openings  124   a ,  124   b  define passage  126  for threading an end portion of strap  130  through housing  122 . In contrast to buckle  32   a , buckle  120  has an integrated pawl/button member  140 . Teeth  142  are provided for engaging strap  130 . Spring  144  biases pawl  140  in a clockwise direction. Button portion of  146  may be pressed downward, as show in  FIG. 8 , to create space in passage  126  for threading strap  130 . 
         [0025]      FIG. 9  shows teeth  142  of pawl  140  engaging strap  130 . Strap  130  is moving as shown by the arrow, in a tightening process. Friction between strap  130  and teeth  142  of pawl  140  cause slight counterclockwise rotation of pawl  140  permitting strap  130  to continue tightening. 
         [0026]    In  FIGS. 8 and 9 , pawl  150  is retracted leaving space for button portion  146  to rotate downward for purposes of loosening strap  130 . 
         [0027]      FIG. 10  shows lock  152  in a locked position. Accordingly, follower  150  has moved into an extended position blocking button portion  146  from moving downward. It may be desirable to leave sufficient space between follower  150  and button portion  146  so that strap  130  may continue to move in a tightening direction while the buckle is locked, but may not be loosened or removed. 
         [0028]    Finally,  FIG. 11  shows buckle  120  in which lock  152  has been rotated to its unlocked position, causing follower  150  to be retracted. Button portion  146  is pressed downward causing rotation of pawl  140  in a counterclockwise direction causing disengagement of teeth  142  from strap  130 , allowing loosening and/or removal of strap  130  from a cargo carrier. 
         [0029]      FIG. 12  shows a modification of buckle  80  as previously described and shown in  FIGS. 6 and 7 . Buckle  200  includes housing  202  with openings  204   a ,  204   b  defining passage  206  through housing  202 . Belt  208  is threaded through passage  206  in housing  202 . Pawl  210  is spring-biased and operates similar to the one described in buckle  80  in  FIGS. 6 and 7 . 
         [0030]    In contrast to buckle  80 , buckle  200  has cover or lid  212  which does not carry a lock. Lock  214  remains with the main body of housing  202 . Lock  214  is movable between locked and unlocked positions. In  FIG. 12 , lock  214  is movable between locked and unlocked positions. In  FIG. 12 , lock  214  is in its locked position in which it engages groove  216  in lid  212 , thereby preventing opening of lid  212 , and access to pawl  210 . 
         [0031]    The various structural members disclosed herein may be constructed from any suitable material, or combination of materials, such as metal, plastic, nylon, plastic, rubber, or any other materials with sufficient structural strength to withstand the loads incurred during use. Materials may be selected based on their durability, flexibility, weight, and/or aesthetic qualities. 
         [0032]    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.