Patent Publication Number: US-9409528-B1

Title: Lightbar mounting system

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a system for mounting lightbars on the roof of vehicles, and more particularly to a universal lightbar mounting system, apparatus, and method for mounting a lightbar on vehicle roofs of different curvature. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Presently a large inventory of brackets or gutter clips is needed to accommodate the many different roof and gutter styles of different vehicle models on which lightbars are assembled. It is desirable to reduce the inventory of lightbar mounting parts and facilitate the marketing of the lightbars by equipping each lightbar with the same mounting. Various attempts to provide universal lightbar mounts which accommodate different styles and curvatures of vehicle roofs has led to complex mounting mechanisms which have not achieved substantial commercial success, such as described, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,114,789 and 7,517,120. The need, and the solutions proposed, for providing a mount for lightbars which may be used with different styles of vehicle roofs is also described in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2010/0230566. The design for typical clips or brackets is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 7,244,053. 
     Straps have also been proposed for holding down carriers, racks, and lightbars on vehicle roofs, see U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,596,860 and 4,995,538. Such strap designs as have been proposed are not adapted for use in mounting lightbars on vehicle roofs of different curvature and where the lightbars may themselves be of different length. It is also desirable that noise engendered by air passing through the mounting device be minimized so that the mounting does not interfere with the use and performance of the vehicle on which the lightbar is mounted. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Accordingly it is the principal object of the present invention to provide an improved lightbar mounting system. 
     It is a more specific object of the invention to provide a universal lightbar mounting system capable of mounting a lightbar on many different vehicles using like parts in each mounting system despite different styles of vehicle roofs in terms of curvature and width. 
     It is still a further object of the present invention to provide an improved universal lightbar mounting system utilizing a flexible member or strap to mount the lightbar on different styles of vehicle roofs and minimizes noise due to wind passing over the lightbar mounting by maintaining the strap of the mounting flush against the surface of the roof of the vehicle. 
     Briefly described, a lightbar mounting system in accordance with the invention utilizes mounting assemblies at opposite ends of the lightbar. These assemblies include a bracket mounted to the lightbar and having a foot which extends to the roof of the vehicle. A subassembly utilizes a strap, or belt strip, having loops at opposite ends thereof which are attached to each of a pair of brackets, one of which is attachable at the edges of the roof of the vehicle to the gutter or door jamb. The bracket attached at the other end of the strap or belt strip is moveable upon the bracket having the foot extending to the roof of the vehicle. The sub-assembly is assembled with the bracket having the foot via a floating connection which enables the moveable bracket to move sufficiently to stretch the strap or belt over and against the surface of the roof of the vehicle. When stretched to the position against the roof of the vehicle, the floating connection is used to fix the position of the moveable bracket upon the bracket having the foot. This mounting system makes use of a strap in a unique manner in order to provide for universal mounting for lightbars. 
     The present invention further embodies a method for mounting a lightbar on a curved roof of a vehicle having the steps of looping a flexible strap around an attachment to the roof at an edge thereof, looping the strap over the roof and around a bracket moveably attached to the lightbar, moving the bracket to stretch the strap to conform to the roof, and fixing the moveable bracket to the lightbar. The steps of this method are carried out at opposite ends of the lightbar along different sides of the roof with different ones of the strap and bracket. 
     The present invention still further embodies an apparatus for mounting a lightbar onto the vehicle roof with respect to one of the left or right sides thereof. The apparatus having a first bracket attachable to one of a gutter or door jamb along an edge of the roof of a vehicle, a second bracket attachable to the base of a lightbar along the left or right side thereof and having a foot positionable against a roof of the vehicle, a third bracket movable with respect to the second bracket to a fixed position with respect to the second bracket, and a flexible member, e.g., strip, strap or band, coupled between the first bracket and third bracket. In operation, when the first bracket is attached to the edge of the roof of a vehicle and the second bracket is attached to a lightbar with the foot positioned against the roof of a vehicle, the third bracket is then moved to the fixed position with respect to the second bracket to substantially conform the flexible member to the curvature of the roof of the vehicle between the first bracket and the third bracket. The apparatus is provided along each of the left and right sides of the roof to rigidly couple the lightbar to the roof. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The foregoing and other objects features and advances of the invention will become more apparent from a reading of the following description in connection with the accompanying drawings in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a vehicle having a lightbar mounted on the roof thereof using a mounting system in accordance with the invention; 
         FIG. 2  is an enlarged portion of the view shown in  FIG. 1  which is within the circle marked  2 - 2 ; 
         FIG. 3  is a bottom perspective view illustrating one of the lightbar mounting assemblies of the lightbar mounting system of  FIG. 1  as attached to the bottom of the lightbar; 
         FIG. 4  is a side view of the mounting assembly of  FIG. 3  showing the lightbar mounting system attached to the lightbar at the bottom thereof; 
         FIG. 5  is an exploded view of the mounting assembly of  FIG. 3 ; 
         FIG. 5A  is a partial exploded view of the mounting assembly of  FIG. 3  from the top thereof showing the pad and part of the foot of the mounting assembly; and 
         FIG. 6  is a perspective view illustrating the mounting assembly of  FIG. 3  apart from a lightbar looking downwardly from the end thereof. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Referring more particularly to the drawings, there is shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2  a vehicle  10 , such as an emergency response vehicle, namely a police car, having a lightbar  12  mounted on the roof  14  thereof. The edges of the roof  14  have gutters  16 , to which the lightbar has a lightbar mounting system having two mounting assemblies  18 , each on to opposite edges of the roof  14 . If vehicle  10  does not have gutters  16  the attachment may be to the vehicle&#39;s door jambs. The assemblies  18  are shown in  FIGS. 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6  which portray one of the assemblies  18 . These assemblies  18  each have a first bracket  20  with a foot  22 , which rests on the roof  14 . Foot  22  has a pad  24  of elastomeric (resilient plastic) material along its bottom end  47 . Such pad  24  has projections or nibs  28  and  32  which align and snap into oblong openings  30  and hole  34 , respectively, provided in foot  22  to attach the pad to the foot (see  FIGS. 5 and 5A , and assembled view of  FIG. 4 ). The bottom  33  of pad  24  is placed in contact with the surface of roof  14 . The bracket  20  is attached to the bottom of the lightbar  12  by means of a fastener  40 . The bracket  20  is bent into a general “Z” shape with a long leg  42  opposed on the base  12   a  of the lightbar  12 . Shorter legs  44  and  46  provide the foot  22  section of the bracket  20 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 3 , and as discussed above, the pad  24  is attached to the leg  46  of the foot  22 . The leg  44 , which is perpendicular to both the legs  42  and  46 , has a rectangular hole  50  providing a passage or port through which another bracket  52  extends. The bracket  52  and a bracket  54 , which connects bracket  20  to the gutter  16  using a flexible strip  56 , constitute a subassembly  58  of the mounting assembly  18 . The strip  56  is a belt or strap of flexible material. Preferably the material of the strip  56  is a wire mesh. The opposite ends of the strip  56  have loops  60  and  62 . Loop  60  extends and encompasses opening or slot  66  in an oblong portion  68  at one end of a leg  69  of the bracket  52  of the subassembly  58 , and loop  62  extends through and encompasses rectangular opening or slot  64  in the bracket  54 . 
     The wire mesh constituting the strip  56  is sufficiently thick so that it enables the strip to be flexible enough to form the loops  60  and  62 , while being resistant to cutting by persons who wish to detach the lightbar from the vehicle. The material of the wires of the mesh may be metal, suitably steel wires. Each of loops  60  and  62  being formed after passage of opposing free ends of strip  56  through respective openings  64  and  66 , whereby after such passage the free ends of the strip are attached back along the strip, as shown for example in  FIG. 5 , such as by adhesive, a joint or weld, or other attachment mechanism. The bracket  52  has a bottom leg  74  in addition to the leg  69  having the oblong end  68  through which the loop  60  extends, and an intermediate leg  70  generally perpendicular to the legs  69  and  74 . 
     The bracket  52  also has a rectangular central slot  76  in the leg  74  and a pair of slots  78  and  80  on opposite sides of the central slot  76 . The fastener  40  extends through the central slot  76  because there is sufficient clearance between the fastener  40  and the walls of the slot  76  in the leg  74  (see  FIG. 3 ). The bracket  54  which attaches the assembly  18  to the edge of the roof gutter or door jamb utilizes screws  55  in holes  81  in bracket  54  (see also  FIG. 5 ). 
     The other bracket  52  of the subassembly  18  extends through the opening  50  of leg  44  of bracket  20 . Fastener  40  represents a nut  40   a  and a bolt  88 , which is affixed to lightbar  12  and extends from the bottom or base  12   a  thereof. Other fasteners  84  and  86  are also provided, where fastener  84  represents a nut  84   a  and bolt  90 , and fastener  86  represents a nut  86   a  and a bolt  92 .  FIG. 5  shows such fasteners  40 ,  84 ,  86  by their components part in exploded view, and as assembled in other figures. The brackets  20  and  52  are connected together via a floating connection provided by the fasteners  40 ,  84  and  86 , where such floating connection is provided by nuts  40   a ,  84   a , and  86   a  which rotationally attach to bolts  88 ,  90  and  92 , respectively, which are affixed to the lightbar  12  and extend from the bottom or base  12   a  thereof (see especially  FIG. 5 ). Preferably, nuts  40   a ,  84   a , and  86   a  rotationally attached to the bolts  88 ,  90  and  92 , respectively, via washers  41 ,  85 , and  87 , respectively. 
     The bolt  88  passes through an opening  94  in leg  42  of bracket  20  and opening or slot  76  of bracket  52 . The bolts  90  and  92  pass through other holes  96  and  98 , respectively, in the leg  42  of the bracket  20  and openings  78  and  80 , respectively, of bracket  52 . The bolt  88  and nut  40   a  of fastener  40  are smaller in diameter than the width of the rectangular slot  76  as described above, so that fastener  40  passes through slot  76  and can be turned down to fasten bracket  20  to the base or bottom  12   a  of lightbar  12  when the nut  40   a  of fastener  40  is tightened on bolt  88 . The slots  78  and  80  are slightly wider than the diameter of bolts  90  and  92  and the nuts  84   a  and  86   a  of fasteners  84  and  86 , respectively. These bolts  90  and  92  are long enough to extend through the leg  74  of the bracket  52  with sufficient clearance to permit the bracket  52  to be moveable (or slidable) on bracket  20 , when the nuts  84   a  and  86   a  of fasteners  84  and  86  are not tightened, but are loosely screwed onto bolts  90  and  92 , respectively. Thus, the combination of fasteners  40 ,  84  and  86  and slots  76 ,  78  and  80  provide the floating connection between the subassembly  58  and the rest of assembly  18 , and especially the bracket  52  thereof and the bracket  20  which is attached to the lightbar  12 . 
     The bracket  52  is moveable longitudinally along the lightbar  12  since the slot  76  is wider than the bolt  88  and fastener  40  when attached thereto, and the slots  78  and  80  are longer and slightly wider than the bolts  90  and  92 , respectively. In order to provide means for moving the bracket  52 , the leg  44  of bracket  20  has a threaded connection provided by the threaded boss  100  and a bolt  102 , which is moveable when turned in threaded boss  100 , and bears against an outside surface  104  of the leg  70 , as best shown in  FIG. 4 . 
     In order to firmly attach the lightbar  12  to the roof  14  of the vehicle  10  the strip  56  is stretched so that it lies flush against the curved surface  108  (at least substantially conforming to such curvature) at the end of the roof  14 , as shown best in  FIG. 2 . The strip  56  therefore accommodates any curvature of the surface of the roof  14  and does away with the need for different strips or brackets or special mechanisms for accommodating roofs of different curvature. After the strip  56  is stretched, the nuts  84   a  and  86   a  of the fasteners  84  and  86 , respectively, are tightened upon their respective bolts  90  and  92  to clamp the leg  74  of the moveable bracket  52  and the lightbar bottom  12  to the mounting assembly  18 . Also the disposition of the strip  56  flush against the roof  14  reduces any extraneous noise due to wind or air movement when the vehicle  10  travels along a roadway. 
     For example, lightbar  12  installation onto vehicle  10  may be provided by lightbar  12  being positioned prior to placement onto roof  14  so that a first set of bolts  88 ,  90 , and  92  extending from the left side of base  12   a , and a second set of bolts  88 ,  90 , and  92  extending from the right side of base  12   a , are accessible. A left one of mounting assembly  18  is then located so that its bracket  52  is positioned through opening  50  of bracket  20 , and the first set of bolts  88 ,  90 , and  92  are extended through holes  94 ,  96 , and  98 , of bracket  20 , and openings  76 ,  78 , and  80  of bracket  52 , respectively. Nuts  40   a ,  84   a , and  86   a  are then tightened over their respective bolts  88 ,  90 , and  92 , via their respective washers, where nut  40   a  rigidly attaches bracket  20  to lightbar  12 , and nuts  84   a  and  86   a  are only loosely tightened so that bracket  52  can slide as needed with respect to bracket  20  by turning bolt  102  that extends between brackets  20  and  52 . Such slidable positioning being defined by longitudinal dimension of openings  78  and  80  of bracket  52 . The right one of mounting assembly  18  is then similarly attached to lightbar  12  along the second set of bolts  88 ,  90 , and  92 . 
     With both left and right mounting assemblies  18  coupled to lightbar  12 , the lightbar  12  is positioned onto roof  12 , via pads  24  of feet  22 , and the bracket  54  and strip  56  of the left and right mounting assemblies  18  are extended towards and then attached by screws to left and right gutters or door jambs, respectively, of vehicle  10 . Bolts  102  of the left and right mounting assemblies  18  are turned to first enable such attachment, and then turned to tighten the strips  56  of the respective assemblies so that the strips stretch and conform to the curvature of the roof exterior surface. Nuts  84   a  and  86   a  of the left and right mounting assemblies  18  are then fully tightened. 
     Brackets  20  and  52  may be formed of metal bent and/or welded to provide their respective legs with drilled or cut openings/holes, as described herein and shown in the figures. The strip  56  is made of flexible and stretchable material(s), but may alternatively be non-stretchable (or partially stretchable) material(s) and can similarly conform at least substantially between brackets  54  and end  68  of bracket  52  to a vehicle roof by being made taut when bracket  52  is fixed in position with respect to bracket  20 . Although the lightbar  12  is shown in the figures, other roof mountable lightbars (of same or different size) with comparable bolts  88 ,  90 , and  92  along the bar of their left and right sides may similarly be attached to roofs of vehicles using the mounting system of assemblies  18  of the present invention. 
     From the foregoing description it will be apparent that there has been provided an improved lightbar mounting system which does away with the need for special mechanisms or brackets to accommodate for different curvatures of different vehicles roofs&#39; thereof. Variations and modifications in the herein described system, apparatus, and method will undoubtedly suggest themselves to those skilled in the art. Accordingly the foregoing description should be taken as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.