GB2118501A - Roof rack device - Google Patents

Abstract

A device to be fixed on a car roof for supporting a load such as a boat, in which the rack is securable on a car roof or gutter has at least two cross members 5, to one end of which is pivotally mounted, at 14, a framework 13 having transverse rails 15, the framework being pivotal to and from a position overlying the rack. Two spaced parallel extension rods 19 are telescopically mounted on, or detachably mountable on, the framework to form extensions of the rails, and a carriage 20 is movable along the extension rods and the rails from a position adjacent the ground when the framework is tilted to a position above the rack. The carriage is moved by a flexible strap 35 which can be wound on a winding mechanism 33, 34. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Roof rack device The present invention relates to a device for fixing to a car roof for supporting a load such as a boat.

For transporting boats and similar bulky loads on cars, roof racks are used which can be fixed on the roof of the car and which are provided with auxiliary means for securing the load onto the rack. However, the difficulty often arises when the load, such as a boat, is so bulky that it cannot be handled easily by a single person. Thus, at least two people are necessary to put the boat on the rack and to remove it therefrom.

Even with two people, such an operation requires a considerable effort and it is often almost impossiblue to stand directly underthe load because of the forwardly and rearwardly projecting parts of the car.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a device which does not suffer from these drawbacks, so that a single person is able to put a bulky load such as a boat on the rack by himself and to remove it therefrom.

According to the present invention, there is provided a device for fixing to a car roof for supporting a load, such as a boat, said device comprising a rack having at least two cross members, means for mounting the rack on a car roof or gutter and securing it in place, a framework having laterally extending rails parallel to said cross members, said framework being pivotally mounted at, or adjacent to, one of the ends of the cross members, so that the framework can be pivoted to and from a first position in which it overlies the rack, two spaced parallel extension rods telescopically mounted on, or detachably mountable on the framework to form extensions of said rails, so that when the framework is tilted to a second position, the remote ends of said extension rods can be located at or near the ground beside the car, a load-carrying carriage movable along said rails and said extension rods, a winding mechanicam mounted on said rack and at least one flexible cable or the like attached to the carriage and to the winding mechanism, whereby operation of said winding mechanism will pull the carriage up the extension rod and onto the rail and thus, after pivoting of the framework to its first position, to a location over the rack.

When such a device is used for carrying a boat, the framework is first extended by means of the extension rods and then the framework and the extension rods are pivoted to the second position and the carriage is moved towards the end of the extension rods, which ends can rest on the ground. The carriage in its lowest position the boat can be placed on the carriage. During the downward movement of the carriage, it is braked by means of the cable or cables which are unwound slowly from the winding mechanism.

When the boat has been placed and secured to the carriage, the carriage can then be moved upwardly along the supporting rods and onto the rails by operating the winding mechanism to pull the cables up. The framework can then tilt to its first position and the carriage moved so that it is fully over the rack.

Preferably, two cables or pulling belts are used which are spaced from one another so that a better distribution of forces on the carriage can be achieved. Advantageously the cables are secured at the carriage at a location thereof remote from the winding mechanism.

The framework is preferably rectangular and is provided in its central region with a rod extending transverse to the rails, the cable or belts passing over the rods in such a manner as to limit the tilting movement of the framework. This will ensure that the carriage will slide slowly and the tilting operation can take place slowly until the extension rods rest on the ground.

The cross members of the rack are advantageously connected to one anogther at least by a longitudinal member at a location remote from the pivot, this longitudinal member carrying the winding mechanism. With such a construction the winding mechanism can be provided within the length of the rack, when it is fixed to the car, so that in the transport position of the device, part of the carriage will lie above the winding mechanism.

Desirably the rack is provided with retainers to secure the carriage when it is at the location over the rack and these retainers preferably lie between a part of the framework and a part of the carriage, in such a manner that after securing the carriage to the framework, the framework cannot pivot relative to the rack.

In one particular embodiment the laterally extending rails and extension rods are of circular crosssection, and the carriage is provided with rollers with a concave periphery adapted to the cross-section of the rails and extension rods, the carriage further being provided with retainer brackets underlying the rails and extension rods, to prevent the carriage from lifting therefrom.

In order that the present invention may more readily be understood, the following description is given, merely by way of example, reference being made to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure l is a perspective view of a car with one embodiment of device according to the present invention mounted thereon, with the framework tilted to the second position; Figure2 is a rear view in section on the line ll-ll of Figure 1; and Figure 3 is an enlarged cross-section taken along the line Ill-Ill of Figure 1, but with the framework tilted to the first position above the rack.

Referring now to the drawings, there is illustrated a car 3 having a roof 2 provided with a conventional gutter 1 to which is secured the rack 4 of a device according to the invention. The rack 4 includes two cross members 5 each of which are carried by two supports 6, the lower edges of which are located in the gutter 1 to which they are held in place by conventional clamps 7 provided with tightening bolts 8. The lateral position of the supports 6 can be adjusted to suit the particular car and the support 6 can be clamped in the desired location on the cross members by bolts 8a.

The two cross members 5 are connected to one another by longitudinal members 9 which have, at their ends, strips 10 through which bolts 11 pass to secure the longitudinal members to the cross members 5. Space sleeves 12 surrounding the bolts 11 space the strips 10 from the adjacent portion of the supports 6 to facilitate positioning of the supports on the cross members to give the optimum location for a particular car.

Adjacent one end of the cross members 5 there is pivoted by means of picots 14 a framework 13 which consists of two laterally extending rails 15, which are parallel to the cross members 5, the rails 15 being joined by rods 16 extending between the rails.

Into the ends of the laterally extending rails can be inserted extension rods 19 which may be of such a type that the rods are telescopically accommodated in the rails 15 with some clamping effect so that they will notfall outofthe rail easily. Alternatively, the extension rods can be detachably mounted to form an extension of the rails.

A carriage 20 is adapted to travei along the rails 15 and extension rods 19. The carriage 20 comprises two inverted U-shaped cross-section bars 21 spaced from one another and parallel to the cross members 5 and the rails 15 and of two tubes 22 and 23 extending between the bars 21.

Within the side flanges of the inverted U section bars 21 there are mounted rollers 24 on bearing bolts 25. The rollers are formed with a concave periphery which conforms to the circular cross-section of the rails 15 and extension rods 19. L-shaped retainer brackets 29 are secured to the bars 21 to underlie the rails-15 and the extension rods 19so that the carrige cannot be disengaged therefrom.

Mounted on the top of the carriage 20 are clamps 27 held in position by clamp bolts 28 which pass through slots 29 and are screwed into plates 30. The slots allow adjustment of the position of the clamps 27. The plates 30 are rectangular in cross-section so that they do not rotate so that the clamp bolts 28 can easily be loosened and tightened to effect the positioning of the clamps 27.

The longitudinal member 9 which connects the two cross members 5 of the rack to one another carries two support brackets 31 in which a shaft 32 is rotatable. On this shaft 32 there are mounted two spaced belt drums 33 and a drive mechanism 34 of the worm and wormwheel type is mounted adjacent one of the support brackets 31 to rotate the shaft 32 and thus the belt drums 33. The drive mechanism 34 includes an operating handle (not shown) which extends obliquely downwardly and away from the side of the car so that the shaft 32 can be rotated.

Belts 35 are secured to the belt drums 33 and to the tube 23 of the carriage remote from the drive mechanism. Bolts 35 extend over the central rod 17.

In operation, starting from the position shown in Figures 1 and 2, that is with the lower ends of the extension rods 19 preferably on the ground adjacent the car, a load such as a boat is placed on the carriage and is secured thereon by means of the clamps 27 or by straps or the like secured to these clamps. The shaft 32 is rotated by the mechanism 34 and its operating handle in such a way that the belts 35 are wound up on the belt drums 33. The carriage 20 will then travel up along the extension rods 19 and along the rails 15 of the framework 13. Thus the center of gravity of the parts which are mounted on the pivots 14 moves steadiiy from left to right as seen in the Figures and will thus come closerto the pivot point. The counterclockwise moment exerted on the framework will thus become smaller and smaller.Since the straps 35 pass over the rod 17 this will also exert a clockwise moment on the framework 13 and at a certain time this clockwise moment will become greater than the counterclockwise moment, so that the framework 13 will pivot in a clockwise direction and take up the final position in which the rod 16 of the framework 13 will be in the position which is shown in Figure 2 by broken lines and which is indicated by the reference numeral 16a.

The carriage 20, with the load thereon, will then be essentially at the right hand side of the pivots 14 and when the belts 35 are wound up further, the carriage 20 will be drawn to its extreme righthand position, as in Figure 2, and the tube 22 of the carriage 20 will lie adjacent a clamp 36 which is secured to the elongate bracket 10. The tube 22 will then be in the position shown in Figure 2 in broken lines as referred to by the reference 22a.

When the carriage is moved to this position, the operating handle can be removed and the belt drums 33 will not be able to rotate back by themselves, because the drive is provided by means of a worm and wormwheel. Therefore the belt 35 will remain taut and the framework 13 will remain locked in this position with respect to the pivots 14 since the carriage resting thereon will be locked by the clamp 36. The framework can also be provided with operating members having bores therein (not shown) through which a padlock or the like may be inserted. After the carriage has reached the above described final position, the extension rods can be removed or telescoped into position after which the car can be driven off.

When the load is to be taken off again, the extension rods are put back into place and the shaft 32 is turned by means of the handle and the drive drum, so that the belts 35 are paid out. The carriage 20 with the load thereon, can now be slid by hand and as the centre of gravity of the combination comes sufficiently to the left, as seen in Figure 2, the framework together with the carrige and the load will pivot counterclockwise while the belts ensuring that the pivoting moment takes place very gradually until the lower end of the extension rods rest on the ground.

Claims (8)

1. A device for fixing to a car roof for supporting a load, such as a boat, said device comprising a rack having at least two cross members, means for mounting the rack on a car roof or gutter and securing it in place, a framework having laterally extending rails parallel to said cross members, said framework being pivotally mounted at, or adjacent to, one of the ends of the cross members, so that the framework can be pivoted to and from a first position in which it overlies the rack, two spaced parallel extension rods telescopically mounted on, or detachably mountable on, the framework to form extensions of said rails, so that, when the framework is tilted to a second position, the remote ends of said extension rods can be located at or near the ground beside the car, a load-carrying carriage movable along said rails and said extension rods, a winding mechanism mounted on said rack and at least one flexible cable or the like attached to the carriage and to the winding mechanism, whereby operation of said winding mechanism will pull the carriage up the extension rod and onto the rails and thus, after pivoting of the framework to its first position, to a location over the rack.

2. A device according to claim 1, wherein said flexible cable or the like is secured to the carriage at a location thereof remote from the winding mechanism.

3. A device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the framework is rectangular and is provided in its central region with a rod extending transverse to the rails, said at least one cable or the like passing over said rod in such a manner as to limit the tilting of the framework.

4. A device according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the two cross members of the rack are connected to one another at least by a longitudinal member at a location remote from the pivot, this longitudinal member carrying the winding mechanism.

5. A device according to any preceding claim, wherein the rack is provided with retainers to secure the carriage when it is at the location over the rack.

6. - A device according to claim 5, wherein a vertical part of the retainer lies between a part of the framework and a part of the carriage in such a manner that after securing the carriage to the framework, the framework cannot pivot relative to the rack.

7. A device according to any preceding claim, wherein the laterally extending rails and the extension rods are of circular cross-section, and wherein the carriage is provided with rollers with a concave periphery adapted to the cross-section of the rails and extension rods and wherein the carriage is provided with retainer brackets underlying the rails and extension rods to prevent the carriage from lifting therefrom.

8. A device for fixing to a car roof substantially as hereinbefore described, with refernece to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.