Abstract:
A mounting system is provided for reducing binding effects that includes a first rail and a second rail. The mounting system also includes a first mount and a second mount that are coupled to each other. The first mount is configured to engage with the first rail in a sliding manner generally along a first longitudinal axis. A liner is positioned between the second mount and the second rail and is configured to permit the second rail to slide within the second mount generally along a second longitudinal axis spaced from and substantially parallel to the first longitudinal axis. The liner is also configured to permit relative movement between the second mount and the second rail in a transverse direction transverse to the second longitudinal axis during sliding of the second mount generally along the second longitudinal axis.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    The present invention relates to mounting assemblies and, more particularly, to a mounting assembly that reduces binding effects. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    Conventional truck bed accessories are typically attached to rail tracks by sliding a slotted mount over an end of a track. The mount and accessory are then slid along the track until they reach their final position. Due to nonconformities in the vehicle, rail, or track, however, sliding mounts may run into problems such as, for example, binding, derailment, or blockage. In cases where accessories have two mounts coupled thereto, each sliding onto opposite rails on a truck bed, a small defect may result in the rails becoming nonparallel and cause the accessory mounts to bind, preventing attachment. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, a mounting system is provided for reducing binding effects that includes a first rail and a second rail. The mounting system also includes a first mount and a second mount that are coupled to each other. The first mount is configured to engage with the first rail in a sliding manner generally along a first longitudinal axis. A liner is positioned between the second mount and the second rail and is configured to permit the second rail to slide within the second mount generally along a second longitudinal axis spaced from and substantially parallel to the first longitudinal axis. The liner is also configured to permit relative movement between the second mount and the second rail in a transverse direction transverse to the second longitudinal axis during sliding of the second mount generally along the second longitudinal axis. 
         [0004]    In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a method is provided for mounting an object to a rail in which a liner is slid onto a rail along a longitudinal axis and a mount is slid onto the rail along the longitudinal axis. The mount and the liner are configured to permit movement, during sliding, of the mount relative to the rail in at least one direction transverse to the longitudinal axis. 
         [0005]    Other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, the accompanying drawings, and the appended claims. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0006]    The above-mentioned and other features and advantages of this disclosure, and the manner of attaining them, will become more apparent and the disclosure itself will be better understood by reference to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein: 
           [0007]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a vehicle truckbed in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0008]      FIG. 2  is an exploded perspective view of a mount assembly in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0009]      FIG. 3  is a cross sectional view of a mount assembly and rail in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0010]      FIG. 4  is a detail cross sectional view of a mount assembly and rail track in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0011]      FIG. 5  is a detail cross sectional view of a mount assembly and rail track in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0012]      FIG. 6  is a partial cross sectional view of a mount assembly with a locking knob in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0013]      FIG. 7  is a schematic diagram of an accessory for mounting on parallel rails in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0014]      FIG. 8  is a cross sectional view of a movement restricting mounting assembly in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; and 
           [0015]      FIG. 9  is a cross sectional view of a movement restricting mounting assembly in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention. 
       
    
    
       [0016]    An embodiment will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views. The description as set out herein illustrates an arrangement of an embodiment of the present disclosure and is not to be construed as limiting its scope in any manner. 
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0017]      FIG. 1  shows a vehicle truckbed  100  suitable for use in the present invention. One of skill in the art will appreciate, however, that the present invention may be applied to a great variety of applications including, but not limited to, objects and vehicles onto which substantially parallel rails may be installed to receive sliding accessory or other object mountings. As shown in  FIG. 1 , the truckbed includes two side panels  110  and a rear or tailgate panel  120 . Rails  12  are fixedly mounted on the inside of each of the panels ( 110 ,  120 ). Although not shown, it is appreciated that rails  12  may additionally or alternatively be fixedly mounted to a top portion  115  of the side panels  110  and/or a top portion  125  of the rear panel  120 . The rails  12  may be of a “T-track” type that has one, two, or several attachment tracks  28 ,  30  (see  FIG. 3 ) for receiving a mount  10 , which slides along the rail  12  generally along a common longitudinal axis. Conventional mounts for attachment to such rails typically have slots that are slid longitudinally onto the rail tracks at each of their respective ends. The conventional mount is then slid along the track until it reaches its final location. Reference may be made to the sliding overhead racks in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,494,327 and 6,547,311, the entirety of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
         [0018]    As shown in  FIG. 2 , a mount assembly  10  for slidingly mounting to a rail  12  in accordance with the present invention includes a mount frame  16  and a liner  14 . The mount assembly  10 , in alternative embodiments, may further include end caps  26 , end cap fasteners  24 , and knob  18 . As shown in  FIG. 2  and in cross-section in  FIG. 3 , the frame  16  may include a top wall  16   a,  a bottom wall  16   b,  a side wall  16   c,  a medial wall  16   d,  an upper flange  16   e,  and a lower flange  16   f.  As shown, a portion of the top wall  16   a,  the medial wall  16   d,  the upper flange  16   e,  and the lower flange  16   f  are configured to form a C-shape and to enclose a space  15 . The space  15  is configured to slidingly receive the track portion  30  of the rail  12  with excess space between the walls of the frame  16  and the track. 
         [0019]    To attach the mount assembly  10  to a rail  12  with a track  30  (and/or  28 ), the liner  14  may be slid onto the track  30 . As shown in  FIG. 3 , the liner  14  substantially conforms to the vertical width dimension of the track  30  and may optionally be sized to allow a space  32  between the liner  14  and the track  30 , also shown in detail in  FIG. 4 . Then, the mount frame  16  is slid longitudinally along the track  30  with liner  14  until it reaches its final position. During the sliding movement of the mount  16  along the track  30 , the excess portions of space  15  on opposing sides of the liner  14  allows the frame  16  to move freely in a direction C, as shown in  FIG. 4 , which is transverse to a common sliding longitudinal axis of the track  30  and frame  16 . As shown, the space  22  between medial wall  16   d  and the liner  14 , the space  20  between the liner  14  and the flange  16   f,  and the space  32  between the track  30  and the liner  14  are all configured to permit movement of the frame  16  in the transverse direction C relative to the track  30 . 
         [0020]    End caps  26  may then be inserted into the ends of the frame  16  in order to provide protection and/or for aesthetic purposes. The end caps  26  may be secured by end cap fasteners  24 . The end caps  26  may be configured to cover parts of the longitudinal ends of space  15  to partially entrap the liner  14 . 
         [0021]    As shown in  FIG. 6 , the frame  16  may be further secured to the rail  12  by inserting a threaded bolt  34 , connected to locking knob  18 , into hole  40  in the wall  16   c  and hole  38  in medial wall  16   d  to abut a surface of the liner  14 , as shown. The holes  40  and/or  38  may be threaded for tightening the bolt  34 , or a threaded nut  36  may be provided for tightening the bolt  34 . In this manner, the mount frame  16  may be held against the liner  14  and the track  30  in a secure position against longitudinal movement. Any type of fastener for providing a forced engagement between the frame  16 , the liner  14  and the track  30  may be used. 
         [0022]    In one embodiment, shown in  FIG. 5 , a track  230  may instead be oriented with its width in a horizontal direction. In this embodiment, a frame  216  that is mounted to the horizontally oriented track  230  forms a C-shaped space  215  that is open in a downward direction instead of the sideways direction shown in  FIGS. 2 and 3 . This embodiment may be applicable, for example, in configurations in which tracks  12  are mounted on a top surface  115  of truckbed side panels  110 . The end caps  26  and locking knob  18  may be used in this embodiment in a manner similar to that described above. 
         [0023]    In one embodiment, the liner  14  may be configured to substantially conform to the track  12  in a horizontal direction and provide a space in the vertical direction, or be configured to provide spaces in both the horizontal direction as well as the vertical direction for increased tolerance of inconsistencies or defects in the rails  12  or frames  16 . 
         [0024]    Although the method described above refers to sliding the liner  14  onto the track  30  prior to sliding the frame  16  onto the liner  14 , one of skill in the art will appreciate that the liner  14  may instead be first inserted into the space  15  of the frame  16 . Then, together with the frame  16 , the liner may be slid onto the track  30 . Performing the method in this manner likewise permits movement of the frame  16  relative to the track  30  in a manner similar to that described above. 
         [0025]    In use, the mount assembly  10  described above may be part of an accessory  42 , as shown in  FIG. 7 , or other apparatus that simultaneously attaches to a pair of rails  12  that are substantially parallel, such as the rails  12  along the two side panels  110  of the vehicle truckbed  100 , as shown in  FIG. 1 . The accessory  42  may be, for example, a tonneau cover, a toolbox or other tool container, rack, or mount, a ladder rack, a sporting equipment rack, a glass panel rack, a truckbed cap or shell, etc. In such an application, the accessory  42  to be mounted may include two sliding mount frames  16  that are coupled to each other through the body of the accessory  42 . One of the mount frames  16  may be part of a mount assembly that slides along one of the rails  12  without permitting movement in a transverse direction to the common sliding longitudinal axis, such as a mount assembly as shown in  FIG. 8  or  FIG. 9 . In those embodiments, no excess space is provided for permitting movement between the rail and the frame. The other mount frame  16  may also be part of a mount assembly that permits relative movement between the frame  16  and the track  30  in a direction transverse to the common sliding longitudinal axis, such as that described above with respect to  FIGS. 3 and 4 . 
         [0026]    As shown in  FIG. 8 , a mount frame  16  is part of a mount assembly that does not permit substantial relative movement between the frame  16  and the track  30  in a direction transverse to the sliding direction, or common sliding longitudinal axis. As shown, a liner  114  is configured such that there is little or no excess space between the frame  16  and the liner  114  or between the liner  114  and the track  30 . Accordingly, any transverse movement is substantially restricted by virtue of the liner  114  taking up excess space between the frame  16  and the track  30 . 
         [0027]      FIG. 9  shows another embodiment of a mount assembly that restricts relative movement between a sliding mount frame and a rail track in a direction transverse to the sliding direction. As shown, a mount frame  116  is provided that substantially conforms to the dimensions of the track such that there is little or no space therebetween. In the illustrated embodiment, the frame walls  116   d,    116   e,  and  116   f  are thickened relative to the embodiment shown in  FIG. 8 , but one of skill in the art will appreciate that the walls need not be thickened in order to conform to the shape of the track. For example, the mount frame  116 , or at least the portion of the frame  116  that engages the track  30  may simply be made smaller and/or more compact to more closely fit the dimensions of the track  30 . Accordingly, the embodiment shown in  FIG. 9  likewise restricts relative movement between a mount frame and a rail track in a direction transverse to the sliding direction. These examples of limiting relative movement between a mount frame and a track are merely illustrative and one of skill in the art would appreciate that a great variety of configurations of mount assemblies may be used to limit such movement and are within the scope of the present invention. 
         [0028]    In one embodiment, an accessory  42  may include mount assemblies  10  that are both configured to permit relative movement between the mount frame  16  and the track  30  in a direction transverse to a common sliding longitudinal axis. In this case, both mount assemblies are configured in accordance with the embodiments shown in  FIGS. 2-6 , including the modifications and adaptations known to those skilled in the art. 
         [0029]    It should be understood that any directional references (e.g., up, down, top, bottom, left, right, etc.) have been used for convenience and with reference to the accompanying Figures. These should not be regarded as limiting. The invention and/or any embodiment thereof may be practiced in various orientations, and no particular directions are essential. 
         [0030]    While specific embodiments have been described above, it will be appreciated that the subject of the present disclosure may be practiced otherwise than as described. The descriptions above are intended to be illustrative, not limiting. Thus, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the claims set out below.