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US 8,757,457 B2Granted
Car top carrier
AssigneeYakima Innovation Development Corporation
InventorsJoseph J. Settelmayer, Scott R. Allen, Timothy C. Smith
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The invention provides improvements for an enclosed carrier configured for mounting on top of a car.
Claims18
A car top carrier comprising
- a box having opposing lateral sides, a top, a bottom, a front end, and a rear end, the bottom having a floor, the floor having an inner surface and an outer surface, the top and the bottom being connected via a hinge mechanism,
- strut members connecting the top to the bottom on the front and rear ends of the box to assist in holding the box open,
- a plurality of preassembled clamp devices mounted to the floor configured to secure the box to a pair of crossbars on top of a vehicle, each clamp device including first and second jaw portions moveable relative to each other and extending from the outer surface of the floor defining a curved opening for receiving a crossbar, each clamp device further including a corresponding tightening mechanism mounted on the inner surface of the floor for controlling movement of corresponding jaw portions relative to each other on the outer surface of the floor between open and closed positions, and a connector linking two of the clamp devices so that the two clamp devices open and close together.
A car top carrier comprising
- a box having opposing lateral sides, a top portion, a bottom portion having a floor, the floor having an inner surface and an outer surface, the top portion and the bottom portion being connected by a hinge mechanism;
- and
- a plurality of clamp devices mounted to the floor and configured to secure the box to a pair of crossbars on top of a vehicle, each clamp device including a first jaw portion, a second jaw portion moveable toward and away from the first jaw portion, and an actuator configured to move the clamp device between an unclamped position and a clamped position;
- wherein two of the plurality of clamp devices are ganged together to form a single ganged clamp device in which multiple clamp devices move together between the unclamped position and the clamped position.
1 more element
A car top carrier comprising
- a box having opposing lateral sides, a top portion, a bottom portion having a floor, the floor having an inner surface and an outer surface, the top portion and the bottom portion being connected by a hinge mechanism along a hinge side of the box, and
- first and second clamp devices mounted to the floor and configured to secure the box to a pair of crossbars on top of a vehicle, the first clamp device being located proximal to the hinge side of the box, and the second clamp device being located distal from the hinge side of the box, wherein the first and second clamp devices are connected by a connector allowing operation of the second clamp device between unclamped and clamped positions to automatically operate movement of the first clamp device between unclamped and clamped position.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.