US3866776A

US3866776A - Boat loader of the side mounting type

Info

Publication number: US3866776A
Application number: US409758A
Authority: US
Inventors: Michael J Partyka
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1973-10-25
Filing date: 1973-10-25
Publication date: 1975-02-18
Anticipated expiration: 1992-02-18

Abstract

The invention is a car top boat carrying and loading device upon which a boat is preferably loaded and carried in an inverted position. It includes frame members mountable on top of a car; rails which are pivotably and removably attached at either side of the frame members to extend downward from the top and to the side of the car; rollers associated with the boat and rollable upon the frame members and rails; foldable supporting legs at the ends of the rails which in their opened position, extend downward preferably vertically from the ends of the rails to the ground; stops at the ends of the rails to prevent the boat from rolling off the ends thereof; and handles attached to the ends of the rails. The foldable legs are pivotally attached to the rails and removable resilient connectors are provided between the legs and rails. After the boat has been rolled off the frame members to the stops, the resilient connectors are stretched and attached between the legs and rails so that if the handles are used to lift the legs clear of the ground, the legs will be pulled up to a folded position. Thus, when the rails are lowered to the ground, the boat will be tipped to a relatively steep angle from which it may be easily uprighted and removed from the rails. In reloading the reverse procedure is used except that the resilient connectors are left unattached and when the handles are lifted, the legs swing to a generally vertical position by their own weight.

Description

United States Patent [1 1 Partyka [451 Feb. 18, 1975 BOAT LOADER OF THE SIDE MOUNTING TYPE [76] Inventor: Michael ,1. Partyka, 22 Jeremiah Ave, Trenton, NJ. 08610 Filed: Oct. 25, 1973 Appl. No.: 409,758

[52] U.S. Cl. 214/450, 214/85 [51] lnt.Cl. B60p 3/10 [58] Field of Search 214/85, 85.1, 450; 224/421 E, 42.1 F, 42.1 H; 198/87, 113

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,603,529 7/1952 Troth et al....' 214/85 UX 3,186,569 6/1965 Roux 214/450 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 573,055 3/1959 Canada 214/450 Primary Examiner-Robert B. Reeves Assistant Examiner-Joseph J. Rolla Attorney, Agent, or FirmSperry and Zoda [57] ABSTRACT The invention is a car top boat carrying and loading device upon which a boat is preferably loaded and carried in an inverted position. It includes frame members mountable on top of a car; rails which are pivotably and removably attached at either side of the frame members to extend downward from the top and to the side of the ear; rollers associated with the boat and rollable upon the frame members and rails; foldable supporting legs at the ends of the rails which in their opened position, extend downward preferably vertically from the ends of the rails to the ground; stops at the ends of the rails to prevent the boat from rolling off the ends thereof; and handles attached to the ends of the rails. The foldable legs are pivotally attached to the rails and removable resilient connectors are provided between the legs and rails. After the boat has been rolled off the frame members to the stops, the resilient connectors are stretched and attached between the legs and rails so that if the handles are used to lift the legs clear of the ground, the legs will be pulled up to a folded position. Thus, when the rails are lowered to the ground, the boat will be tipped to a relatively steep angle from which it may be easily up righted and removed from the rails. 1n reloading the reverse procedure is used except that the resilient connectors are left unattached and when the handles are lifted, the legs swing to a generally vertical position by their own weight.

1 Claim, 5 Drawing Figures PATEHTEU H55] 8 5 SHEET 1 OF 2 BOAT LOADER OF THE SIDE MOUNTING TYPE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention relates to the field of car top boat carrying and loading devices, especially of the side loading type in which the boat is preferably loaded and carried in an inverted position.

2. Description of the Prior Art Numerous patents have been issued relating to boat loading and carrying devices for automotive use. In the various applications the boat may be carried keel side up or keel side down, it may be loaded from the side or from the back of the car, winches may be used, and stationary and movable frame members may be combined in one unit.

Specific prior art references are as follows (all are United States Patents):

Embler 2,849,135 Erdody 3,244,300 Heflin 3,45 2,893 Oldham 3,460,693 Simms 3,460,694 Wuest 3,615,030 Fulcher 3,679,080

One difficulty with the side loading devices in the prior art has been the steepness of the slope of the rails extending from the top of the car. If the slope is very steep, much of the weight of the boat will be thrown on the boat handler. Legs have often been supplied at the ends of the rails to provide a more gentle slope. However, the presence of legs has created an additional problem in that the boat must be lifted the height of the legs in order for it to be placed in position on the rails or removed therefrom.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention represents a substantial improvement in boat loading and carrying devices of the side mounting type. The invention includes frame members mountable on top of a car, upon which a boat may be carried, preferably in aninverted position; rails which are pivotally and removably attached at either side of the frame members to extend downward from the top and tothe side of the car; rollers associated with the boat and rollable upon the frame members and rails; foldable supporting legs at the ends of the rails which, in their opened position, extend downward preferably vertically from the ends of the rails to the ground, and which are of sufficient length so the railsare not disposed at so steep an angle to make it difficult to roll the boat upon them; stops at the ends of the rails to prevent the boat from rolling off the ends thereof; and handles attached to the rails. The foldable legs are pivotally attached to the ends of the rails and removable resilient connectors are provided between the legs and rails.

When a boat is to be unloaded from the top of the car the rails are put in place on either side of the car and the legs are unfolded without the resilient connectors attached. In this position the rails will be supported by the legs so that a gentle slope is presented down which the boat is rolled until it hits the stops. The resilient connectors are now attached but the legs are prevented from folding by the weight of the boat and interference of the legs with the ground until the boat handler, using the handles, lifts the legs clear of the ground. The resilient connectors then act to retract the legs and the boat handler may lower the ends of the rails down to the ground, thus greatly increasing the slope of the rails and allowing the boat to be easily rolled over to an upright position in or out of the water.

To reload the boat upon the car, the reverse of the above procedure is used except that the resilient connectors are not attached at anytime. Instead, after the boat has been rolled over onto the rails, the rails are lifted using the handles, and the legs swing down to their unfolded position by gravity. Otherwise the reverse of the above described procedure is preferably followed exactly.

The invention is very useful in allowing one man loading and unloading of even heavy boats. Further, it is quite simple in construction and operation and does not require the use of heavy and expensive winches or other hardware.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is an isometric view of one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of one embodiment of the present invention particularly showing the relation of DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The present invention represents a structurally simple but substantial improvement in automotive boat loading and carrying devices, in which a boat is preferably loaded from the side of acar and carried in an inverted position. In general terms the invention includes a car top rack or frame upon which a boat may be carried, rails pivotally connected to, and extending outward and downward from said frame to the side of the car, upon which rails a boat may be rolled; and foldable supporting legs which may be folded to allow the ends of the rails to rest on the ground, or unfolded to support the ends of the rails at a height off the ground. Such legs further include an automatic foldability feature such that they may be automatically retracted to a folded position when they are lifted clear of interference with the ground.

The embodiment of FIG. 1 shows all of the principal features of the invention. Frame members generally designated 10 are mountable upon the roof of a motor vehcle. Frame members 10 may be conventional roof racks adapted for use with the present invention or may be specially constructed. Frame members 10 consist essentially of support brackets 12 and cross members 14. Support brackets 12 are adapted to clamp onto the rain gutters of an automobile in a conventional manner and cross members 14 are attached to said brackets 12.

Rails generally designated 16 are provided, which may be removably and pivotally connected to either of the ends of cross members 14. As shown in the drawings, cross members 14 and rails 16 are preferably of tubular cross section and connected by hinged connector 18 which fits snugly but removably inside the ends of cross members 14 and rails 16. This construction is considered to provide for simple assembly of the invention, however, the specific cross section of the cross members 14, rails 16 and connectors 18 should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention. In order to allow the invention to be disassembled into relatively small components, rails 16 are most conveniently constructed in two parts, labelled as 16a and 16b. These parts are removably joined at 20, as by a plug which is preferably welded to one part of rail 16 and slidingly fitted into the other part.

A boat 22 is provided with rollers 24, as shown in detail in FIG. 4, which rollers 24 are adapted to roll upon cross members 14 and rails 16. In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 4, rollers 24 are attached to boat 22 in a manner similar to oarlocks, however any convenient method of attachment may be used. Further, rollers 24 need not be attached directly to boat 22, but they may be a part of a small dolly upon which boat 22 is tied down.

In the embodiments shown in FIGS. 1-5 the rolling face of rolers 24 is concave and rails 16 are circular in cross section. These surfaces complement each other in allowing rollers 24 to roll along rails 16 or cross members l4, and in preventing rollers 24 from sliding transversely off of rails 16 or cross members 14. Thus when boat 22 is in place on top of frame members it may be tied firmly in place. This particular construction should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention, however.

Support members or legs 26 are pivotally attached to rails 16 near the free ends thereof such that they will freely swing downward under their own weight if they are not otherwise restrained. Preferably, the attachment of legs 26 to rails 16 is also removable, as by a wing nut and bolt, thus enabling disassembly of the invention for storage. Although the pivotal connection between legs26 and rails 16 is such that legs could be rotated completely around through a full circle, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that when the free ends of legs 26 are placed upon the ground, the entire structure of the invention will become stable since legs 26 will be prevented from moving by their contact with the ground.

Rails 16 are also provided with stops 28 which project upward therefrom for the purpose of preventing the boat 22 from rolling off the end of the rails 16.

These stops 28 are preferably threaded pegs which are screwed into threaded holes in rails 16. However, any appropriate means for limiting the travel of the boat 22 on the rails 16 may be used. Handles 30 are also provided preferably to fit into the ends of rails 16. These too may be held in place by convenient means, as by a nut and bolt.

Legs 26 and rails 16 are also provided with cross braces numbered 32 and 34 respectively, which provide stability to the assembled structure. Preferably these should allow for adjustability of the width between the legs 26 and rails 16, and they should be removably attached, as by wing nuts and bolts. Adjustability in the'width of legs 26 may be provided by a multiple of holes in either or both of legs 26, through which cross brace 31 may be attached. Adjustability in the width between rails 16 may be provided by a two part cross brace in which the parts overlap and contain a multiple of complementary holes through which the parts may be secured by wing nuts and bolts. Thus the width between the rails 16 and legs 26 may be adjusted as may be necessary to adapt the present invention to different automobiles. Accordingly, the rollers 24 should be placed on the boat, and frame members 10 should be placed on the car, in a manner to complement the particular width adjustment selected for the rails.

At the heart of the present invention is the automatic retractability of the legs 26, which is embodied in the resilient connectors 36 which may be springs, rubberlike straps, or the like. These are removably connected, as by hooks, between rails 16 and legs 26, and are of a length such that they will be under tension when the present invention is assembled on the car and legs 26 are unfolded, to extend generally vertically from the rails 16 to the ground. The resiliency of resilient connectors 36 should be such that they will pull legs 26 up into a folded position when legs 26 are lifted clear of the ground. Therefore legs 26 and cross braces 32 and 34 are preferably constructed from light weight material, such as aluminum.

When the resilient connectors 36 are attached between the rails 16 and legs 26, if the legs 26 are resting on the ground, the legs 26 will be prevented from folding up. However, if the handles 30 are used to lift'the legs 26 clear of the ground, the legs 26 will be automatically retracted by the resilient connectors 36, so that the ends of the rails 16 may be lowered to rest on the ground.

The ingenuity of the present invention may best be seen by a complete description of the preferred procedure to be used in loading and unloading a boat. When preparing to load a boat, the frame members 10 are attached to the roof of a car and the rails 16 and other parts of the invention assembled thereon, at either side of the car, as may be convenient. Resilient connectors 36 are left unattached, legs 26 are placed in a folded position and the ends of rails 16 are allowed to rest on the ground, as shown in FIG. 3. A boat 22 with rollers,

24 is then placed in an initial upright position on the ground near the ends of rails 16. Boat 22 may then be easily rolled over until rollers 24 engage rails 16. It should be noted that because of the steepness of the slope of rails 16, it is not necessary to lift boat 22 off the ground or to roll it completely over. However, stops 28 will prevent the boat 22 from rolling off rails 16. Handles 30 are now used to lift the boat 22, the ends of rails 16 and legs 26 clear of the ground. As this is done, legs 26 will swing down by their own weight to a generally vertical position at which time handles 30 should be lowered and released so that legs 26 will support the full weight at the ends of rails 16. This relative position of the invention is illustrated in FIG. 2. It should be noted that in this position the slope of rails 16 is much less than before and that the boat22 may now be quite easily rolled into place on top of the car. Finally, the boat 22 should be tied firmly in place and the rails 16, legs 26 and other parts of the invention disassembled for transportation or storage.

When it is desired to unload the boat 22 from the top of the car a similar procedure is used in reverse. First the various elements of the invention are assembled and put in place. Legs 26 are placed in an unfolded vertical position so that rails 16 are supported in a gentle slope. Boat 22 is untied and rolled down rails 16 until it rests against stops 28. Now resilient connectors 36 are stretched and attached between legs 26 and rails 16. The weight bearing down on legs 26 and the interference of legs 26 with the ground will prevent resilient connectors 36 from pulling the legs 26 up to their folded position. However, when handles 30 are used to lift the legs 26 clear of the ground, the legs 26 will be quickly retracted allowing the ends of the rails 16 to be lowered all the way to rest on the ground. It will now be a simple matter to roll boat 22 over to an upright position. Further, the entire procedure may be performed so that the boat 22 is finally positioned either in or out of the water.

In practical application the invention is quite simple and convenient to use. After one or two trial runs, the user of this invention will quickly develop his own personal methods for taking the best advantage of its salient features.

I claim:

1. A boat carrier mountable upon a motor vehicle and comprising:

l. a pair of parallel, generally horizontal cross members mountable on a vehicle roof and disposed to extend transversely of said roof, at least one end of the cross members terminating adjacent one side of the vehicle;

2. means detachably connecting the respective cross members to the vehicle;

3. a pair of elongated, parallel rails pivotally joined at one end to said ends of the respective cross members and extending laterally downwardly from said side of the vehicle as continuations of the respective cross members;

4. a series of rollers disposable in supporting relation to the boat to be carried, and positioned to rollably support said boat upon the rails and cross members;

5. a pair of legs pivotally attached to the respective rails at the other ends thereof for swinging movement between a collapsed position in which said legs underlie and extend alongside the respective rails to an extent sufficient for disposition of said other ends of the rails at ground level, and a railsupporting position in which the legs extend vertically downwardly from the rails, the legs in the collapsed position thereof supporting the rails in a position of greater inclination from the horizontal than is assumed by the rails when the legs are in their rail-supportingpositions; and

6. resiliently contractile means detachably connectable between said rails and the respective legs and tensioned to bias the legs from their rail-supporting to their collapsed positions whenever the legs are shifted vertically upwardly out of contact with the ground surface while in the rail-supporting positions thereof, said rails being pivotable upwardly from said positions of lesser inclination thereof to free the legs from contact with the ground surface,-

said legs being free to gravitate to their railsupporting positions when the resiliently contractile means is disconnected and the rails are pivotally moved upwardly from said positions of lesser inclination thereof.

Claims

1. A boat carrier mountable upon a motor vehicle and comprising: 1. a pair of parallel, generally horizontal cross members mountable on a vehicle roof and disposed to extend transversely of said roof, at least one end of the cross members terminating adjacent one side of the vehicle; 2. means detachably connecting the respective cross members to the vehicle; 3. a pair of elongated, parallel rails pivotally joined at one end to said ends of the respective cross members and extending laterally downwardly from said side of the vehicle as continuations of the respective cross members; 4. a series of rollers disposable in supporting relation to the boat to be carried, and positioned to rollably support said boat upon the rails and cross members; 5. a pair of legs pivotally attached to the respective rails at the other ends thereof for swinging movement between a collapsed position in which said legs underlie and extend alongside the respective rails to an extent sufficient for disposition of said other ends of the rails at ground level, and a rail-supporting position in which the legs extend vertically downwardly from the rails, the legs in the collapsed position thereof supporting the rails in a position of greater inclination from the horizontal than is assumed by the rails when the legs are in their rail-supporting positions; and 6. resiliently contractile means detachably connectable between said rails and the respective legs and tensioned to bias the legs from their rail-supporting to their collapsed positions whenever the legs are shifted vertically upwardly out of contact with the ground surface while in the rail-supporting positions thereof, said rails being pivotable upwardly from said positions of lesser inclination thereof to free the legs from contact with the ground surface, said legs being free to gravitate to their rail-supporting positions when the resiliently contractile means is disconnected and the rails are pivotally moved upwardly from said positions of lesser inclination thereof.

2. means detachably connecting the respective cross members to the vehicle;

5. a pair of legs pivotally attached to the respective rails at the other ends thereof for swinging movement between a collapsed position in which said legs underlie and extend alongside the respective rails to an extent sufficient for disposition of said other ends of the rails at ground level, and a rail-supporting position in which the legs extend vertically downwardly from the rails, the legs in the collapsed position thereof supporting the rails in a position of greater inclination from the horizontal than is assumed by the rails when the legs are in their rail-supporting positions; and

6. resiliently contractile means detachably connectable between said rails and the respective legs and tensioned to bias the legs from their rail-supporting to their collapsed positions whenever the legs are shifted vertically upwardly out of contact with the ground surface while in the rail-supporting positions thereof, said rails being pivotable upwardly from said positions of lesser inclination thereof to free the legs from contact with the ground surface, said legs being free to gravitate to their rail-supporting positions when the resiliently contractile means is disconnected and the rails are pivotally moved upwardly from said positions of lesser inclination thereof.