Abstract:
A universal roof rack mounting system includes small, nearly imperceptible, permanently attached pads and removable cross bar towers. The pads extend only about one quarter inch from an automobile roof and may be painted to match the color of the roof. The cross bar towers may be quickly and easily attached and detached from the pads, and the cross bar towers include a passage which accepts known roof rack cross bars including, both round and rectangular cross bars. An adjustable latching action between the pads and the cross bar towers allows a range of cross bar tower lean angles, thereby allowing the mounting system to adapt to any vehicle roof. The cross bar towers include locking release covers, and the cross bar towers are easily removed, with or without cross bars attached, by unlocking and lifting the tower covers, and the rack system can be lifted off as a unit.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention relates to automobile roof racks, and in particular to a universal removable roof rack mounting system allowing simple attachment and removal of roof racks 
   Although the primary purpose of most automobiles is personal transportation, there is also a frequent need to transport other items such as sporting equipment and luggage. Often, these items are too large to fit within the automobile interior or within a trunk, or the items are likely to damage the interior if carried therein. Roof racks have been developed to enable carrying such items on the roof of an automobile. 
   Unfortunately, known roof racks are either permanent, or are so difficult to install and remove, that they are nearly always left on the vehicle, even though the products being carried have been removed. 
   When racks are present on automobile roofs, the air flow around the racks both creates drag and wind noise. With increasing fuel costs, drivers are reluctant to add mileage reducing drag to their automobiles. Further, drivers of most automobiles are accustomed to a quiet driving experience, and find excessive wind noise to be unacceptable. 
   Known roof racks often present a clumsy and unattractive appearance when attached to modern automobiles. Many drivers view their automobiles as creating an image or personification of themselves. Many of the same drivers participate in sports like snow skiing or mountain bike riding, which often requires a roof rack for carrying skis, bikes, or similar sports gear. The appearance of known racks left on the vehicle after the gear has been removed, produces an image nearly opposite the drivers intent, and is therefore unacceptable to many drivers. 
   Known roof racks require the rack dealer to stock hundreds of stock keeping units. Even with this extensive inventory, it is almost impossible to have some parts in stock. This results in calling the rack manufacturer, delays in providing the rack to the end customer, and in some cases, losing the sale. 
   Therefore, a need remains for a removable roof rack mounting system which is easily installed and removable and does not include unsightly permanently attached hardware. There is a further need that such mounting system is universally suitable for a wide variety of vehicles. 
   BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention addresses the above and other needs by providing a universal roof rack mounting system including small, nearly imperceptible, permanently attached pads and removable cross bar towers. The pads extend only about one quarter inch from an automobile roof and may be painted to match the color of the roof. The cross bar towers may be quickly and easily attached and detached from the pads, and the cross bar towers include a passage which accepts known roof rack cross bars including, both round and rectangular cross bars. A latching action between the pads and the cross bar towers allows a range of cross bar tower lean angles, thereby allowing the mounting system to adapt to any vehicle roof. The cross bar towers include locking release covers, and the cross bar towers are easily removed, with or without cross bars attached, by unlocking and lifting the tower covers. In many cases, the entire rack system can be lifted off as a unit, saving disassembly and reassembly time. 
   In accordance with one aspect of the invention, there is provided a roof rack system comprising pads adapted to mount on a motor vehicle roof, and removable cross bar towers which attach to the pads. The cross bar towers comprise tower bodies, cross bar passages through the tower bodies, and outward facing covers. The covers are pivotable to a closed position to clamp the towers to the pads and are pivotable to an open position to release the towers from the pads. The towers include pad hooks mechanically linked to the tower bodies, and the pads include hook ledges, wherein pivoting the cover to the closed position moves the pad hooks into contact with the hook ledge, and pivoting the cover to the open position moves the pad hooks away from the hook ledge. The covers are attached to cover eccentrics and the cover eccentrics rotate in the tower bodies about eccentric axles. Hook wrists are attached to the cover eccentrics and rotate about wrist axles displaced from the eccentric axles wherein opening the covers causes the wrist axles to move toward a vertical alignment with the eccentric axles, and closing the cover causes the wrist axles to move away from a vertical alignment with the eccentric axles. The pad hooks are mechanically linked to the hook wrists wherein a vertical motion of the hook wrists is coupled into a vertical motion of the pad hooks. 
   In accordance with another aspect of the invention, there is provided a roof rack system comprising pads adapted to permanently mount on a motor vehicle roof, and removable cross bar towers. The cross bar towers comprise tower bodies, cross bar passages through the tower bodies, and outward facing covers. The covers are pivotable to a closed position to attach the towers to the pads and are pivotable to an open position to release the towers from the pads. The tower bodies include feet, and the pads include seats for seating the feet on the pads, wherein the feet pivotally cooperate with the seats, and wherein the feet remain in cooperation with the seats when the tower bodies are leaned. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING 
     The above and other aspects, features and advantages of the present invention will be more apparent from the following more particular description thereof, presented in conjunction with the following drawings wherein: 
       FIG. 1A  is a side view of a motor vehicle with cross bar towers, according to the present invention, attached to a roof of the motor vehicle. 
       FIG. 1B  is a side view of the motor vehicle with the cross bar towers detached and with pads remaining on the roof. 
       FIG. 2A  is a rear view of the motor vehicle with the cross bar towers attached to the roof of the motor vehicle. 
       FIG. 2B  is a rear view of the motor vehicle with the cross bar towers detached and with the pads remaining on the roof. 
       FIG. 3A  a perspective view of the cross bar tower with a cross bar tower cover open. 
       FIG. 3B  a perspective view of the cross bar tower with the cross bar tower cover closed. 
       FIG. 4A  a perspective view of the cross bar tower with the cross bar tower cover removed and a pad hook in an open position. 
       FIG. 4B  a perspective view of the cross bar tower with the cross bar tower cover removed and the pad hook in a closed position. 
       FIG. 5A  is a front view of the cross bar tower and pad. 
       FIG. 5B  is a side view of the cross bar tower and pad. 
       FIG. 6  is a top view of the pad. 
       FIG. 7  is a cross-sectional view of the pad taken along line  7 - 7  of  FIG. 6 . 
       FIG. 7A  is a cross-sectional view of the pad taken along line  7 - 7  of  FIG. 6  with a pad hook engaging a hook ledge of the pad, and a tower foot resting in a seat of the pad. 
       FIG. 7B  is a cross-sectional view of the pad taken along line  7 - 7  of  FIG. 6  with a pad hook engaging a hook ledge of the pad, and a tower foot resting in a seat of the pad with the pad hook and tower hook leaning. 
       FIG. 7C  is a cross-sectional view of the pad taken along line  7 - 7  of  FIG. 6  with a pad hook engaging a hook ledge of the pad, and a tower foot resting in a seat of the pad with the pad hook and tower hook leaning and the pad leaning in an opposite direction. 
       FIG. 8A  is a top view of a pad gasket. 
       FIG. 8B  is a side view of the pad gasket. 
       FIG. 8C  is a cross-sectional view of the pad and pad gasket bolted to the roof, taken along line  8 C- 8 C of  FIG. 6 . 
       FIG. 9A  is a side view showing the cover in mechanical cooperation with the pad hook in a open position. 
       FIG. 9B  is a side view showing the cover in mechanical cooperation with the pad hook in a closed position. 
       FIG. 10A  is a cross-sectional view taken along line  10 - 10  of  FIG. 5A  with a cross bar wedge in a loose position. 
       FIG. 10B  is a cross-sectional view taken along line  10 - 10  of  FIG. 5A  with a cross bar wedge in a tight position. 
   

   Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding components throughout the several views of the drawings. 
   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
   The following description is of the best mode presently contemplated for carrying out the invention. This description is not to be taken in a limiting sense, but is made merely for the purpose of describing one or more preferred embodiments of the invention. The scope of the invention should be determined with reference to the claims. 
   A side view of a motor vehicle  10  with cross bar towers  12  according to the present invention attached to a roof  11  of the motor vehicle  10  is shown in  FIG. 1A , and a side view of the motor vehicle  10  with the cross bar towers  12  detached and with longitudinally spaced apart pads  14  remaining on the roof  11  is shown in  FIG. 1B . A rear view of the motor vehicle  10  with the cross bar towers  12  attached to a roof  11  of the motor vehicle  10  is shown in  FIG. 2A , and a rear view of the motor vehicle  10  with the cross bar towers  12  detached and with laterally spaced apart pads  14  remaining on the roof  11  is shown in  FIG. 2B  with pad outside edges  14   a  (see  FIG. 5B ) towards a roof outside edge  11   a . The cross bar towers  12  support cross bars  16  suitable for carrying a variety of items such as sporting equipment and luggage carriers. The pads  14  are small having approximately the same width as the towers  12 , low profile, and may be painted to match the roof  11 , thus nearly disappearing when the towers  12  are detached. The towers  12  may be individually removed, or may be removed as units with cross bars  16  and other accessories attached. The towers  12  are detached from the pads  14  by simply opening a cover  18  (see  FIGS. 3A and 3B ). The roof rack mounting system according to the present invention thus provides a roof rack system which avoids the drawbacks of known roof racks. 
   A perspective view of the cross bar tower  12  with the cross bar tower cover  18  open is shown in  FIG. 3A , and a perspective view of the cross bar tower  12  with the cross bar tower cover  18  closed is shown in  FIG. 3B . The tower  12  rests on the pad  14 , and a pad hook  22  grasps the pad  14  when the cover  18  is closed, and the pad hook  22  releases the pad  14  when the cover  18  is opened. A lock passage  26  is provided in the cover  18  to allow a key actuated lock to be fitted to the tower  12 , whereby the cover  18  may be locked in the closed position. The lock preferably passes though the pad hook  22  and engages a back surface of the tower body  24 , thus providing a locking feature to retain the towers  12  on the pads  14 . A label indent  28  is provided to attach a label to the cover  18 , which label may be used to cover screws use to assemble the tower  12 . 
   A perspective view of the cross bar tower  12 ′ with the cross bar tower cover  18  removed and the pad hook  22  in an open position is shown in  FIG. 4A , and a perspective view of the cross bar tower  12 ′ with the cross bar tower cover  18  removed and the pad hook  22  in a closed position (grasping the pad  14 ) is shown in  FIG. 4B . The pad hook  22  is pivotally attached to a hook link  30 , and the hook link  30  is connected to a hook wrist  36  by a link bolt  32 . The link bolt  32  slidably cooperates with the hook link  30 , wherein the link bolt  32  turns in the hook link  30  without advancing or retreating with respect to the hook link  30 . A link nut  33  is preferably threadably positioned on the link bolt  32  to establish the position of the link bolt  32  with respect to the hook link  30 . The link nut  33  is preferably a locking nut, and more preferably a nut with a nylon locking feature. 
   Continuing with  FIGS. 4A and 4B , the hook wrist  36  is pivotally connected to cover eccentrics  34 , and the cover eccentrics  34  are pivotally connected to a tower body  24 . The cover  18  is attachable to the cover eccentrics  34 . The mechanical cooperation of the cover  18  and pad hook  22  is described in  FIGS. 9A and 9B . Cross bar passages  20  are provided for the cross bars  16  (see  FIG. 2A ). The passages  20  include corners  21   a  which are adapted to cooperate with substantially rectangular cross bars, and rounded surfaces  20   b  adapted to cooperate with round cross bars. The towers  12  are thus suitable for either round or rectangular cross bars. 
   A front view of the cross bar tower  12  engaging the pad  14  is shown in  FIG. 5A , and a side view of the cross bar tower  12  engaging the pad  14  is shown in  FIG. 5B . The cover  18  widens as it extends downward to the pad  14  and the portion of the cover  18  (or the tower  12  as a whole) proximal to the pad  14  has approximately the same width W as the pad  14  and the same depth D as the pad  14 . 
   A top view of the pad  14  is shown in  FIG. 6 . The pads  14  are preferably permanently mounted to a roof  11  using screws through counter-sunk mounting holes  39 . A cross-sectional view of the pad taken along line  7 - 7  of  FIG. 6 , is shown in  FIG. 7 . The pad  14  includes seats  38 , a hook ledge  40 , and an outward face  40   a  of the hood ledge  40 , the outward face  40   a  along a recessed area  14 ″ on the outward side of the perimeter of the pad  14 . The pads  14  are approximately ¼ inch high and may be painted to match the roof  11  (see  FIG. 1B ). The seat  38  allows the tower  12  to be installed from directly above, and not requiring sliding the tower  12  onto the pad  14  from the side. The hook ledge  40  is seen to be only slightly laterally separated from the seat  38 . Further, because of the slight separation of the hook ledge  40  from the seat  38 , only slight adjustment of the length of the latching mechanism (see  FIGS. 9A and 9B ) is required to compensate for the slope of the vehicle roof  11  allowing a compact latching mechanism. 
   A cross-sectional view of the pad taken along line  7 - 7  of  FIG. 6  with a pad hook  22  engaging the hook ledge  40  of the pad  14 , and a tower foot  42  resting in the seat  38  of the pad  14 , is shown in  FIG. 7A . The pad hook  22  hooks under the hook ledge  40  to grasp the pad  14 , and the foot  42  rests in the seat  38  to support the tower  12 . Generally, even with a flat roof  11 , the tower  12  must lean to align the cross bar passage  20  (see  FIGS. 4A and 4B ) in opposing towers  12 . A second cross-sectional view of the pad  14  taken along line  7 - 7  of  FIG. 6  with the pad hook  22  engaging the hook ledge  40  of the pad  14 , and the tower foot  42  resting in the seat  38  of the pad  14 , with the pad hook  22  and tower foot  42  leaning (or pivoted) to allow for the slope of the roof  11  (see  FIG. 1 ), is shown in  FIG. 7B . 
   A cross-sectional view of the pad taken along line  7 - 7  of  FIG. 6  with a pad hook  22  engaging the hook ledge  40  of the pad  14 , and a tower foot  42  resting in a seat  38  of the pad  14  is shown in  FIG. 7C . The pad hook  22  and tower foot  42  are leaning in one direction, and the pad  14  is leaning in an opposite direction, as might be expected on a typical roof  11  (see  FIG. 2A ). A pad gasket  43  resides between the pad  14  and the roof  11  to protect the roof  11  from damage, and to conform to a slight curvature of the roof  11 . In the examples shown in  FIGS. 7A ,  7 B, and  7 C, the hooked bottom end  22   a  of the pad hook  22  is seen to not extend outside the recessed area  14 ″ when the pad hook  22  is hooked under the hook ledge  40 . The pad  14  has a pad length L P , the hook ledge  40  has a hook length L H , and the seat  38  has a seat length L S . 
   A cross-sectional view of the pad  14  and pad gasket  43  mounted to the roof  11 , taken along line  8 C- 8 C of  FIG. 6 , is shown in  FIG. 8C . The pad  14  with pad gasket  43  are preferably permanently attached to the roof  11  using a machine screw  66  passing through the pad  14  and pad gasket  43  and into an expanding nut  68  inserted through holes drilled in the roof  11 . The expanding nut  68  is preferably a swedge nut, but may be any nut which may be inserted through a blind hole, and manipulated to allow a screw to be tightened into the nut. 
   A top view of the pad gasket  43  is shown in  FIG. 8A , and a side view of the pad gasket  43  is shown in  FIG. 8B . The pad  43  is preferably made from rubber, and more preferably from 70 to 90 hardness rubber. 
   A simplified side view showing the cover  18  in mechanical cooperation with the pad hook  22  in a open position is shown in  FIG. 9A , and a side view showing the cover  18  in mechanical cooperation with the pad hook  22  in a closed position is shown in  FIG. 9B . The pad hook  22  is pivotally connected (i.e., mechanically linked) to the hook link  30  by a link axle  48 . The link bolt  32  is rotatably retained in the hook link  30  by the link nut  33 . The link bolt  32  is screwed into the hook wrist  36  (see  FIGS. 4A and 4B ), and the hook wrist  36  is pivotally connected to the cover eccentrics  34  by wrist axles  46 . The cover eccentrics  34  are pivotally connected to the tower body  24  (see  FIGS. 4A and 4B ) by eccentric axles  44 , and the cover  18  is attached to the cover eccentrics  34 . 
   The cover  18  is pivoted along arc  50   a  into an open position in  FIG. 9A , with the pad hook  22  moved down along arrow  52   a  to release the pad  14 . The cover  18  is pivoted along arc  50   b  into a closed position in  FIG. 9B , with the pad hook  22  moved upward along arrow  52   b  to grasp the pad  14 . Thus, the hook wrists  36  are attached to the cover eccentrics  34  and rotate about wrist axles  46  which are displaced from the eccentric axles  44  wherein opening the covers  18  causes the wrist axles  46  to move toward a vertical alignment with the eccentric axles  44 , and closing the cover  18  causes the wrist axles  46  to move away from a vertical alignment with the eccentric axles  44 . Such motion causes the pad hook  22  to release the pad  14  (when the wrist axles  46  and the eccentric axles  44  are more vertically aligned) or to grasp the pad  14  (when the wrist axles  46  and the eccentric axles  44  are less vertically aligned). The link bolt  32  may be advanced into the link wrist  36  to tighten the grasp of the pad hook  22  on the pad  14 , or the link bolt  32  may be retreated from the link wrist  36  to loosen the grasp of the pad hook  22  on the pad  14 . Thus the towers  12  may be adjusted for various tilts. 
   A cross-sectional view taken along line  10 - 10  of  FIG. 5A  with a cross bar wedge  54  in a loose position is shown in  FIG. 10A , and a cross-sectional view taken along line  10 - 10  of  FIG. 5A  with a cross bar wedge  54  in a tight position is shown in  FIG. 10B . The cross bar wedge  54  slides on a ramp  62  inside the cross bar passage  20 . A wedge bolt  58  is screwed into a wedge nut  60  held in the cross bar wedge  54 . When the wedge bolt  58  is tightened, the cross bar wedge  54  is pulled up the ramp  62 , thus grasping a cross bar  16  (see  FIG. 2A ) residing in the cross bar passage  20 . 
   While the invention herein disclosed has been described by means of specific embodiments and applications thereof, numerous modifications and variations could be made thereto by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention set forth in the claims.