Deployable roof mounted equipment rack for tall vehicles

#This device relates to rooftop mounted equipment carriers for vehicles, specifically forms configured for improved accessibility.

#For many years luggage racks on cars have been provided as a convenient way for hauling baggage and larger items better kept outside the vehicle such as sports equipment. Their design provides an accessible and sizeable platform when used on a typical sedan. However, more recently Sport Utility Vehicles (SUV's) and minivans have become increasingly popular. Although these vehicles are commonly used for carrying bicycles, ski's, luggage, lumber, etc., their roof height creates inconvenient if not difficult access for a typical roof rack. A 6-foot tall person may need to stand on a rear tire or door sill to gain full access to the roof of an SUV. One popular alternative to the roof rack has been the trailer-hitch mounted equipment rack. An issue with some of these design's however is that access to the rear door or hatch is complicated. A limitation with all of these designs is the inability to also pull a boat, trailer, etc. while using the hitch rack. Other lesser concerns with hitch racks are their impact on rear view visibility, and higher vulnerability to equipment damage in traffic and parking. A hitch rack is also unable to carry certain types of equipment such as kayaks and shell-type equipment carriers, as well as lumber, plywood, and other large items better carried outside the vehicle.

#Existing patents granted over the recent years show that the access problem typical with roof racks on tall vehicles has been realized and addressed in many forms. There are more than two dozen patents citing roof mounted carriers that are specialized to provide improved convenience for mounting and dismounting of equipment. Many of the devices are complex assemblies of varying degrees using telescoping tracks such as U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,826,387 by Audet (1989), 5,884,824 by Spring (1999), 2002/0014504 by Hetu (2002), or U.S. Pat. No. 4,339,223 by Golze (1982). Some require multiple linkages such as U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,360,151 by Fine (1994), 5,544,796 by Dubach (1996), 5,360,150 by Praz (1993), or 5,988,470 by Siciliano (1999), while others are simpler but necessitate mounting hardware to the side of the vehicle as in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,240,571 by Ernst (1980), 4,682,719 by Ernst (1987), and 4,887,750 by Dainty (1989) which makes them less practical for private vehicles. Some designs either would block a side door when lowered, or can only be used on vans without a side door as in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,348,207 by Frank (1994), 5,535,929 by Neill (1996), 5,782,391 by Cretcher (1998), or 6,015,074 by Snavely (2000). Also, some devices are configured to carry specific equipment such as mainly bicycles like in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,284,282 by Mottino (1994), 5,421,495 by Bubik (1995), and 5,709,521 by Glass (1998). Others employ drive systems using cables and/or motors as in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,417,358 by Haselgrove (1995), 5,423,650 by Zerbst (1995), or 5,505,579 by Ray (1996). U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,728,244 by Stokkendal (1988) and 4,291,823 by Freeman (1981) use a much more complex configuration to attain the similar functional result of the device described here. U.S. Pat. No. 5,673,831 by Spratt (1997) effectively uses torsion springs to counterbalance the cargo load however the luggage rails of most vehicles may not accept the pull-out forces caused by reacting these torsion spring forces without augmenting their attachment to the vehicle. Neither the Spratt, Hetu, or forms of most of the aforementioned patents latch automatically when placed into their stowed positions, making inadvertent deployment a higher risk.

#FIG. 1 is a partially exploded isometric view showing the carriage as a separate assembly from the roof mounted components.

#FIG. 2A is a front view of the carriage in its stowed position latched into the track members mounted on the vehicle's roof.

#FIG. 2B is a side view of the carriage in its stowed position latched into the track members mounted on the vehicle's roof.

#1 End fitting, track member

#2 Latch Pin, end fitting

#3 Retaining Ring, latch pin