Patent Publication Number: US-11648883-B1

Title: Apparatus and method for active cargo carrier mounting system

Description:
PRIORITY CLAIM 
     This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application, Ser. No. 63/128,637, filed on Dec. 21, 2021, entitled Systems and Methods For Active Cargo Carrier Mounting System, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety for all purposes. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Cargo carriers, also known as roof boxes, ski boxes, cargo boxes, roof top boxes, car toppers, or the like, are portable storage containers that can be secured to the top of an automobile on an as-needed basis. Such cargo carriers may be secured to structural elements, such as mounting brackets, roof racks, side rails, crossbars, or the like. These structural elements are typically integrated components that are permanently secured to the roof of the vehicle. 
     One problem encountered in the arts is that the roofs of the many different vehicle models vary significantly in shape, size and profile. Accordingly, some cargo carriers may only be suitable for a particular vehicle model. Universal cargo carriers are available, but their application may still be limited to a number of different vehicle models. 
     Many vehicles do not include permanently secured structural elements. Glass tops and/or glass sun roofs are becoming increasingly popular in the automotive industry. Further, there is a trend away from including permanently secured structural elements on new vehicles, especially sport cars. Accordingly, most commercially available cargo carriers are simply unsuitable for use in vehicles that do not have permanently secured structural elements. 
     Accordingly, in the arts of automobile cargo carriers, there is a need in the arts for an improved methods, apparatus, and systems for permanently or releasably securing a cargo carrier to the top of an automobile while maintaining the required safety standards and providing methods to prevent theft. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Embodiments of active cargo carrier mounting system secure a cargo carrier to a top surface of a vehicle using an outer seal secured to the rooftop of a vehicle, at least one vacuum pump controllably coupled to a microcontroller, a vacuum line fluidly coupled to the at least one vacuum pump, and a plurality of vacuum cups configured to secure the active cargo carrier mounting system to the rooftop of the vehicle. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The components in the drawings are not necessarily to scale relative to each other. Like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several views. 
         FIG.  1    is a partially transparent top view of an active cargo carrier mounting system. 
         FIG.  2    is a side view of an active cargo carrier mounting system secured to a vehicle roof top. 
         FIG.  3    is a partially transparent perspective view of an active cargo carrier mounting system. 
         FIG.  4    is a drawing of a side view of an active cargo carrier mounting system  100  secured to a roof top of a vehicle. 
         FIG.  5    is a drawing of a perspective view of an active cargo carrier mounting system secured to a roof top of a vehicle. 
         FIG.  6    is a partially transparent perspective front view of an active cargo carrier mounting system secured to a roof top of the vehicle of  FIG.  5   . 
         FIG.  7    is perspective rear view of an active cargo carrier mounting system secured to a roof top of the vehicle of  FIG.  5   . 
         FIG.  8    is a partially transparent perspective view of an active cargo carrier mounting system secured to a roof top of the vehicle of  FIG.  7   . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       FIG.  1    is a partially transparent top view of an active cargo carrier mounting system  100 . In the non-limiting example embodiment, the active cargo carrier mounting system  100  is coupled to a cargo carrier  102 . In some embodiments, suitable fasteners may be used to secure the cargo carrier to the active cargo carrier mounting system  100 . Suitable fasteners may include snaps, buttons, straps, belts with buckles, hook and loop fasteners, zippers or the like. In other embodiments, the cargo carrier and the active cargo carrier mounting system  100  are fabricated as a unibody integrated system. 
     When the user wishes to use the cargo carrier, the active cargo carrier mounting system  100 , in a preferred embodiment, may be permanently secured to the vehicle roof  104 . Alternatively, the active cargo carrier mounting system  100  may be releasably secured to the vehicle roof. When the user is not using the cargo carrier, the active cargo carrier mounting system  100  is released from the vehicle roof  104  so that the active cargo carrier mounting system  100 , preferably with an integrated cargo carrier, can be removed from the vehicle on command via a hand held device and/or an internal switch. 
     An unexpected advantage provided by embodiments of the active cargo carrier mounting system  100  is to improve safety in using cargo carriers and by providing antitheft protection. The vacuum cups  106  (interchangeably referred to herein as suction cups  106 ) of the active cargo carrier mounting system  100  provide a stronger securing means for securing the cargo carrier  102  than legacy securing means. Additionally, the active cargo carrier mounting system  100  is tamper resistant and cannot be easily removed by a thief. 
     The disclosed systems and methods for securing a cargo carrier to a vehicle roof  104  using the active cargo carrier mounting system  100  will become better understood through review of the following detailed description in conjunction with the figures. The detailed description and figures provide examples of the various inventions described herein. Those skilled in the art will understand that the disclosed examples may be varied, modified, and altered without departing from the scope of the inventions described herein. Many variations are contemplated for different applications and design considerations, however, for the sake of brevity, each and every contemplated variation is not individually described in the following detailed description. 
     Throughout the following detailed description, a variety of examples for systems and methods for securing a cargo carrier to a vehicle roof  104  using the active cargo carrier mounting system  100  are provided. Related features in the examples may be identical, similar, or dissimilar in different examples. For the sake of brevity, related features will not be redundantly explained in each example. Instead, the use of related feature names will cue the reader that the feature with a related feature name may be similar to the related feature in an example explained previously. Features specific to a given example will be described in that particular example. The reader should understand that a given feature need not be the same or similar to the specific portrayal of a related feature in any given figure or example. 
     The following definitions apply herein, unless otherwise indicated. 
     “Substantially” means to be more-or-less conforming to the particular dimension, range, shape, concept, or other aspect modified by the term, such that a feature or component need not conform exactly. For example, a “substantially cylindrical” object means that the object resembles a cylinder, but may have one or more deviations from a true cylinder. 
     “Comprising,” “including,” and “having” (and conjugations thereof) are used interchangeably to mean including but not necessarily limited to, and are open-ended terms not intended to exclude additional, elements or method steps not expressly recited. 
     Terms such as “first”, “second”, and “third” are used to distinguish or identify various members of a group, or the like, and are not intended to denote a serial, chronological, or numerical limitation. 
     “Coupled” means connected, either permanently or releasably, whether directly or indirectly through intervening components. 
     “Communicatively coupled” means that an electronic device is communicatively connected to another electronic device, either wirelessly or with a wire based connector, whether directly or indirectly through a communication network. “Controllably coupled” means that an electronic device controls operation of another electronic device. 
     Returning to  FIG.  1   , the active cargo carrier mounting system  100  comprises a microcontroller  108 , one or more vacuum pumps  110 , a battery  112 , a vacuum line  114 , a plurality of vacuum cups  106 , a plurality of tee fittings  116 , an outer seal  118 , and at least one optional pressure sensor  120 . Any suitable processor-based  108  may be used in the various embodiments. 
     In a preferred embodiment, each vacuum cup  106  is fluidly coupled to the vacuum line  114  using a tee fitting. A first end of the tee fitting  116  is fluidly coupled to a proximal point in the vacuum line. A second end of the tee fitting  116  is coupled to an inlet of a vacuum cup. A third end of the tee fitting  116  is fluidly coupled to a continuing portion of the vacuum line. The continuing portion of the vacuum line  114  is fluidly coupled to a next one of the plurality of vacuum cups  106  using a tee fitting. Accordingly, a plurality of vacuum cups  106  may be fluidly connected to the vacuum line  114  in a serial fashion or other manner. Other embodiments may couple the plurality of vacuum cups  106  to one or more vacuum lines using alternative fluid couplers. 
     In a preferred embodiment, an outer seal  118  forms a seal between a lower surface of the cargo carrier  102  and the vehicle roof. The outer seal  118  is a suitable semi-rigid or flexible foam-like material that generally conforms to the shape and size of the outer perimeter the active cargo carrier mounting system  100  and/or the cargo carrier. In a preferred embodiment, the outer seal  118  is made of neoprene, rubber, rubberized foam, or the like of a suitable thickness (height) that is sufficient to create a cavity between the lower surface of the cargo carrier  102  and the vehicle roof. Accordingly, the active cargo carrier mounting system  100  fits between the lower surface of the cargo carrier  102  and the vehicle roof, and is surrounded by the outer seal. 
     In a non-limiting example embodiment, a suitable adhesive may be used to secure the outer seal  118  to the cargo carrier  102  and/or the vehicle roof. In other embodiments, the seal  118  may be secured using other means, such as hardware. In a preferred embodiment, the outer seal  118  forms a continuous ring of material surrounding the active cargo carrier mounting system  100 . In other embodiments, a non-continuous ring of material is used for the outer seal. Alternatively, or additionally, strips of material placed at selected locations may be used to form the outer seal. 
     In some embodiments, the outer seal  118  is not secured to either the lower surface of the cargo carrier  102  and the vehicle roof  104  or the vehicle roof. Rather, after the active cargo carrier mounting system  100  is placed in position over the vehicle roof, the outer seal  118  is placed on the vehicle roof  104  around the active cargo carrier mounting system  100 . Then, the cargo carrier  102  is placed on the vehicle roof, resting on a top surface of the outer seal. 
     In the various embodiments, in response to actuation of the active cargo carrier mounting system  100 , air is drawn out from the plurality of vacuum cups. The plurality of vacuum cups  106  partially collapse, decreasing their height as the vacuum within the vacuum cups  106  is created. Since the bottom of the cargo carrier  102  is secured to the active cargo carrier mounting system  100 , the downward collapse of the vacuum cups  106  pulls the lower surface of the cargo carrier  102  downward. Accordingly, the outer seal  118  is compressed to form a frictional seal between the lower surface of the cargo carrier  102  and the vehicle roof. Since the vacuum cups  106  are within the cavity formed by the compressed seal, the vacuum cups  106  are protected from weather and moving air over the vehicle roof  104  as the vehicle is moving. That is, since the outer seal  118  is made of a flexible and air tight material such as neoprene or the like, the outer seal  118  serves to diffuse air away from the vacuum cups  106  to avoid disturbance to the vacuum cups  106  while the vehicle is moving. By protecting the seal of the vacuum cups  106  to the vehicle roof, power requirements on the vacuum pumps  110  may be decreased. Further, reliability may be increased to the leading edge vacuum cups  106  that may otherwise experience the greatest “lift” during vehicle movement. 
     In a preferred embodiment, the outer seal  118  is initially provided as a sheet of material that the user may cut to a desired shape and size. Alternatively, or additionally, a pre-cut outer seal  118  may be provided that is cut based on the dimensions of the active cargo carrier mounting system  100 , the cargo carrier, and/or the user&#39;s vehicle model. 
     In practice, the user places the active cargo carrier mounting system  100  onto the vehicle roof  104  and adjusts the location of the plurality of vacuum cups  106  to a desired location on the vehicle roof. Next, the user actuates the active cargo carrier mounting system  100  to cause the controller to operate a vacuum pump  110  to create a vacuum within the vacuum line. The created vacuum then draws air from the underside of each vacuum cup  106  to create a vacuum. The generated vacuum then seals the vacuum cup  106  to the top surface of the vehicle roof  104  so long as the vacuum is maintained. Accordingly, the integrated cargo carrier of the active cargo carrier mounting system  100  is then secured to the vehicle roof. 
     Preferably, when the vehicle has a glass top, the plurality of vacuum cups  106  are located over the glass top. A relatively strong seal is created between each vacuum cup  106  (and the intervening outer seal) and the smooth glass surface of the vehicle&#39;s glass top. Alternatively, the plurality of vacuum cups  106  may be secured to a painted surface of a metal vehicle roof. Further, the active cargo carrier mounting system  100  can be used to secure a cargo carrier  102  to other surfaces of a vehicle, such as a vehicle trunk, side, or other surface. 
     The cargo carrier  102  may be a box-like structure configured to store items within the interior of the cargo carrier. Alternatively, the cargo carrier  102  may be a rack or other securing device that may be used to secure other objects of interest, such as bikes, surfboards, fishing equipment, golf clubs, tools, ladders, or the like, to the vehicle roof. 
     A preferred embodiment has two or more vacuum pumps. Multiple vacuum pumps  110  provide for reliability in the event of a single vacuum pump  110  failure. Also, multiple vacuum pumps  110  can be used together to create a stronger vacuum. 
     In an example embodiment, a pressure sensor  120  is located within the active cargo carrier mounting system  100  to sense vacuum pressure. The pressure sensor  120  is communicatively coupled to the microcontroller. The pressure sensor  120  may be a separate component located along the vacuum line, at a vacuum pump, within a vacuum cup, and/or at a tee fitting. Alternatively, or additionally, the pressure sensor  120  may be an integrated component of the vacuum pump. 
     The microcontroller, in an example embodiment, monitors the vacuum pressure generated by the vacuum pump(s). The microcontroller  108  is controllably coupled to the vacuum pump(s) to control the vacuum pump(s) to maintain a desired vacuum pressure in the vacuum line. Accordingly, the vacuum pressure within each of the plurality of vacuum cups  106  can be controlled to a desired pressure value. For example, the vacuum within the plurality of vacuum cups  106  and the vacuum line  114  will vary with vehicle elevation. In instances where the user drives the vehicle to a higher elevation, or to a lower elevation, the microcontroller  108  may operate the vacuum pump(s) to adjust and/or maintain the vacuum pressure to the desired target pressure value as the elevation of the vehicle changes during the trip. As another example, the vacuum pressure may be varied as a function of vehicle velocity. Here, a higher vacuum pressure may be generated at higher vehicle velocities. 
     The microcontroller  108  includes, or is coupled to, a wireless communication system that enables communication between the active cargo carrier mounting system  100  and the user&#39;s portable hand held electronic device, such as a smart phone, notebook, or the like. Alternatively, or additionally, the microcontroller  108  may be communicatively coupled to a control system of the vehicle. In a preferred embodiment, the user may use their portable hand held electronic device and/or the vehicle control system to operate and/or monitor performance of the active cargo carrier mounting system  100 . 
     The battery  112  provides power for operation of the vacuum pump(s) and/or the microcontroller. In a preferred embodiment, a plurality of interchangeable batteries may be available to the user. For example, a first battery  112  may be used to operate the active cargo carrier mounting system  100  during a trip. A second battery  112  may be held in reserve, and/or may be charged using the vehicle&#39;s electric system. 
     In a preferred embodiment, the microcontroller  108  monitors battery power that is currently available from the battery. If battery power decreases below a threshold, a warning notification may be communicated from the microcontroller  108  to the portable hand held electronic device and/or the vehicle control system. In some embodiments, power management recommendation may be made to the user so that they can manage their trip. For example, if a low battery condition occurs, or if a low battery condition can be projected to occur in the near future, the user may halt their trip to replace the battery  112  and also perform other actions, such as stopping at a rest stop, eating at a restaurant, and/or filling up their vehicle with gas. 
     In some embodiments, the active cargo carrier mounting system  100  may be coupled to the electric system of the vehicle. For example, a power cord or the like may couple the active cargo carrier mounting system  100  and the vehicle electric power system. 
       FIG.  2    is a side view of an active cargo carrier mounting system  100  secured to a vehicle roof  104  top. 
       FIG.  3    is a partially transparent perspective view of an active cargo carrier mounting system  100 .  FIG.  4    is a drawing of a side view of an active cargo carrier mounting system  100  secured to a roof top of a vehicle. Here, the cargo carrier  102  is relatively large, wherein a leading edge of the cargo carrier  102  extends some distance beyond the roof line of the vehicle roof. Here, the leading vacuum cups  106  firmly secure the leading portion of the cargo carrier  102  to the vehicle roof. 
     In other embodiments, the cargo carrier  102  may be relatively small. The smaller active cargo carrier mounting system  100  may be releasably secured to the larger vehicle roof  104  at any suitable desired location. In practice, multiple cargo carriers (each with their own active cargo carrier mounting system  100 ) may be secured onto the vehicle roof. Alternatively, a single active cargo carrier mounting system  100  may be used to secure multiple cargo carriers. For example, two cargo carriers may be mounted side by side, or end to end, on the vehicle roof. The use of multiple cargo carriers may enable the user to sort the contents of each cargo carrier  102  in any desire manner. For example, one cargo carrier  102  might be used to carry water toys or scuba equipment, while the other cargo carrier  102  may be used to store dry clothes. 
       FIG.  5    is a drawing of a perspective view of an active cargo carrier mounting system  100  secured to a roof top of a vehicle.  FIG.  6    is a partially transparent perspective front view of an active cargo carrier mounting system  100  secured to a roof top of the vehicle of  FIG.  5   .  FIG.  7    is perspective rear view of an active cargo carrier mounting system  100  secured to a roof top of the vehicle of  FIG.  5   .  FIG.  8    is a partially transparent perspective view of an active cargo carrier mounting system  100  secured to a roof top of the vehicle of  FIG.  7   . 
     An unexpected advantage of embodiments of the active cargo carrier mounting system  100  is that a single product may be suitable for securing a particular cargo carrier  102  to many different vehicle models and brands. The advantage is even greater when the cargo carrier  102  is made of a semirigid material so that the active cargo carrier mounting system  100  can be secured to different vehicle roof  104  profiles. 
     Further, the number of and/or location of the plurality of vacuum cups  106  may be defined based on the known shape and profile of the vehicle roof, and/or based on the shape and size of the cargo carrier  102  that is based on the needs of the user, weight of the cargo load, vehicle speed, duration of trips, and/or geographic locations of travel. In some embodiments, the user may modify the number of and/or location of the vacuum cups being used to secure the active cargo carrier mounting system  100 . 
     In some embodiments, two or more vacuum lines may be used to provide vacuum to selected vacuum cups. Using multiple vacuum lines improves reliability in the event that there is a failure of one of the vacuum lines. In a preferred embodiment, each vacuum cup  106  and/or tee fitting  116  includes an internal shut off valve that can isolate a failed vacuum cup  106  from the vacuum line  114  in the event of a failure. Further, a user notification may be sent by the microcontroller  108  to the user&#39;s portable hand held electronic device and/or the vehicle control system to warn the user of the failure. Accordingly, the user may pull off the road to resolve the vacuum line failure. 
     It should be emphasized that the above-described embodiments of the active cargo carrier mounting system  100  are merely possible examples of implementations of the invention. Many variations and modifications may be made to the above-described embodiments. All such modifications and variations are intended to be included herein within the scope of this disclosure and protected by the following claims. 
     Furthermore, the disclosure above encompasses multiple distinct inventions with independent utility. While each of these inventions has been disclosed in a particular form, the specific embodiments disclosed and illustrated above are not to be considered in a limiting sense as numerous variations are possible. The subject matter of the inventions includes all novel and non-obvious combinations and subcombinations of the various elements, features, functions and/or properties disclosed above and inherent to those skilled in the art pertaining to such inventions. Where the disclosure or subsequently filed claims recite “a” element, “a first” element, or any such equivalent term, the disclosure or claims should be understood to incorporate one or more such elements, neither requiring nor excluding two or more such elements. 
     Applicant(s) reserves the right to submit claims directed to combinations and subcombinations of the disclosed inventions that are believed to be novel and non-obvious. Inventions embodied in other combinations and subcombinations of features, functions, elements and/or properties may be claimed through amendment of those claims or presentation of new claims in the present application or in a related application. Such amended or new claims, whether they are directed to the same invention or a different invention and whether they are different, broader, narrower, or equal in scope to the original claims, are to be considered within the subject matter of the inventions described herein.