Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
LUGGAGE RACK WITH
SUSPENDED CROSS RAII,
ackground of the Invention
I. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a cross rail for a luggage
rack adapted to be mounted to an exterior surface of an
automotive vehicle and, in particular, to a fixedly
mounted cross rail which forms a suspended load-bearing
5 rack of a luggage carrier.
II. Description of the Prior Art
Luggage racks m~unted to the exterior surface of
automotive vehicles have long been utilized to transport
luggage exteriorly of the vehicle. The simplest form of
luggage carrier is formed by a series oE parallel slats
mounted flush with th0 top of the vehicle. These slats
are designed to provide extra support while preventing
damage to the roof top. However, these racks lacked means
for constraining the baggage which oftentimes resulted in
lost luggage as it slid off of the rack.
In order to overcome this disadvantage, an elevated
frame was added which prevented the baggage from sliding
off of the carrier due to changes in momentum. This frame
generally extends about the peripheral edge of the slats
which support the luggage and is supported above the
vehicle surface by stanchions mounted to the roof top.
Although providing support and constraint of a majority of
articles, it was found that heavier packages tended to
cause the support slats and the roof top to bow under
their weight. However, because of vehicle weight and
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aerodynamic re~uirements, support racks manufactured rom heavier
materials were undesirable.
As a result, elevated racks were developed which dld not
depend on the support of the vehicle top. Moreover, since these
luggage carriers could be assembled prior to mounting,
manufacturing and assembly costs were reduced. However, these
past known elevated racks either lacked the necessary peripheral
constrainment or employed bulky connecting assemblies for the
cross rails. Since the ultimate goal of any vehicle design is to
eliminate drag by making the vehicle as aerodynamic as possible,
these connecting assemblies defeat this goal by adding wind
resistance at a crucial position of the vehicle construction.
Summarv of the Present Invention
The present invention is an improved cross rail assembly
for a luggage carrier which overcomes the disadvantages of the
previously known luggage rack assemblies.
The invention relates to an improvement in a luggage
carrier adapted to be mounted to an exterior surface of a vehicle
and having a substantially rectangular frame supported in a plane
in spacial relationship above the vehicle surface, the frame
including two side rails and at least one cross rail means formlng
a load-bearing rack suspended from said frame, the improvement
wherein said cross rail means compromise:
an elongated cross rail member having opposing ends and
upper and lower surfaces; and
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means for fixedly attaching the ends oE said cross rail
member to said side rails in suspended relation between the plane
formed by said Erame and the vehicle surface.
The cross rail according to the present invention is
designed to be utilized in forming a Eixed load-bearing rack
suspended from the peripheral frame of the luggage carrier. The
peripheral frame of the carrier is adapted to be mounted to a
surface of a vehicle and elevated in spaced relation to the
vehicle surface. The rail of the present invention includes an
elongated cross rail member having a substantially oval cross-
section with upper and lower surfaces. A coupling for fixedly
attaching the cross rail to the said side rails of the frame is
mounted to each end of the cross rail member. The coupling has a
substantially planar body with a U-shaped bottom edge and a
rectilinear top edge. Disposed proximate the bottom
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edge of the coupling is an inwardly extending portion
which is fixedly recaived within the hollow end of the
cross rail member.
The configuration of the coupling and the placement
of the inwardly extending portion are designed to reduce
wind resistance caused by the coupling between ~he side
rails of the frame and the suspend~d cross rail. Thus,
upon connection of the cross rail member to the coupling,
the U-shaped lower edge of the coupling aligns with the
lower suface of the rail member. Similarly, upon con-
nection of the cross rail to the side rails, the upper
edge of the coupling aligns with the upper edge of the
side rail. In addition, a throughbore is provided
proximate the upper edge of the coupling which receives
the mounting screw for fixedly attaching the cross rail to
the frame.
Other objects, features and advantages of the present
invention will be apparent from the following detailed
description taken in connection with the accompanying
drawings.
Brief Description of the Drawin~
The present invention will be more fully understood
by reference to the following detailed description of a
preferred embodiment of the present inv ntion when read in
conjunction with the accompanying drawing, in which lik~
reference characters refer to like parts throughout the
views, and in which:
FIGURE 1 is an elevated perspective of a luggage
carrier mounted to a vehicle surface and embodying the
present invention;
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~IGURE 2 is an exploded perspective of the present
invention priox to assembly; and
FIGURE 3 ls a cross-sectional view of the present
invention.
Detailed DescriPtion of a_Preferred
Embodiment of th~ Present Invention
.
Referring first to Fig. 1, a luggage carrier 10
embodying the present invention is thereshown mounted to
an exterior surface of a vehicle 12 for supporting and
transporting luggage or similar cargo. In the preferred
embodiment, the luggage carrier 10 is shown mounted to the
rooftop of the vehicle 12 although similar principles may
be adapted for rear deck mounted luggage racks. The
luggage carrier 10 generally compris~s a substantially
rectangular frame 1~ which is supported in spacial rela-
tionship to the vehicle surface 12 by a plurality of
lS support stanchions 16. The frame 14 includes at least two
side rails 18 which extend longitudinally between the
stanchions 16. Additional rails 20 may also be secured to
the stanchions 16 to form the rectangular frame 14
although these rails 20 may be replaced by the cross rails
~2 of the present invention. As is shown in Fig. 1, the
suspended cross rails 22 embodying the present invention
are detachably secured to the side rails 18 of the frame
14.
Referring now to Figs. 2 and 3, the cross rail 22
comprises an elongated cross rail member 24 having
identical opposing ends 26. For claarness of understand-
ingr the present invention will be desoribed in
conjunction with only one end 26 of the cross rail member
24 although it is to be understood that both ends of each
of the cross rails 22 are identically assembled. The
cross rail member 24 has a substantially oval cross-
section with an upper surface 28 and a lower surface 30.
In the preferred embodiment, the end 26 of the crDss rail
member 24 is hollow in order to receive the attachin~
means as will be subsequently described. However, the
cross rail member 24 may have a tubular construction in
order to reduce manufacturing costs. Moreover, the cross
rail member 24 may have any cross sectional configuration
although the oval configuration provides the maximum
load-bearing strength while minimiæing wind resistance.
The cross rail 22 also includes means 32 for fixedly
attaching the ends 26 of the cross rail member 24 to the
side rails 18. This attaching means 32 secures the cross
rail 22 in a suspended relation from the sidP rails 18
between the plane formPd by the frame 14 of the luggage
carrier lO and the vehicle surface 12 and includes a
coupling 34. The coupling 34 has a substantially L-shaped
cross-section with an inwardly extending portion 36 which
is received within the hollow end 26 of the cross rail
member 24. The inwardly extending portion 36 has an oval
configuration which closely conforms with -the shape of the
cross rail member 24 to provide secure attachment~ In
addition, a bolt or screw 38 is utilized to fixedly secure
the coupling 34 to the cross rail member 24. This screw
cooperates with an aperture 40 formed in the wall of the
cross rail memker 24 and a bore 42 in the inwardly extend-
ing portion 36 of the coupling 34 to attach the coupling34 to the cross rail member 24.
Referring still to Figs. 2 and 3, the coupling 34 has
a substantially U-shaped bottom edge 44 which closely
conforms to the configuration of the lower surface 30 of
the cross rail member 24. Moreover, although the inwardly
extending portion 36 is disposed proximate this lower edge
44 of the coupling 34, a peripheral shoulder 46 is
provided between the portion 36 and the bottom edge 44 of
the coupling 34. As a result of the similar
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configurations and the shoulder 46, connection of the
coupling 34 to the cross rail member 24 cause~ the lower
surface 30 of tha cross rail member 24 to align with the
bottom edge 44 of the coupling 34 as shown in Fig. 3.
5 Thi5 flush alignment substantially reduces the wind
resistance which can result from securing the cross rail
22 to the side rails 18 of the prior known luggage
carriers.
Upon assembly o* the ~ross rails 22, the assembly is
readily secured to the side rails 18 in a spaced parallel
arrangement to form a load~bearing surface which is
suspended from the frame 14 between the surface 12 of the
vehicle and the frame 14. The coupling 34 includes a
~hroughbore 4B which receives a mounting screw 50. Upon
insertion of the screw 50 within the bore 48, the coupling
34 and therefore the cross rail 22 is attached to the side
rail 18. In the preferred embodiment, the side rails 18
are provided with pre-formed apertures 52 at the intended
mounting positions of the rail 22. The coupling 34 is
secured to the side rail 18 by insert:ing the screw 50 into
the aperture 52.
As is best shown in Fig. 2, the coupliny 34 includes
a substantially rectilinear upper edge 54 which aligns
with the upper edge 56 of the rail :18 upon attachme.nt of
the cross rail 22. The throughbore 48 of the coupling and
the aperture 52 of the side rail 18 are positioned to
ensure alignment of these edges. Thus, exposed edges
which reduce the aerodynamic design of the carrier lO are
eliminated thereby advancing the objective of providing a
surface mounted luggage carrier lO which minimizes
additional wind resistance.
Thus, the present invention provides a suspended
load-bearing surface which is suspended below the
peripheral frame of the luggage carrier in order to
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constrain the cargo disposed therein. In addition, the
position and number of cross rails may be varied to form
load-bearing surfaces of varying strength and size.
Finally, although the present invention has been described
in conjunction with a plurality of cross rails extending
between the lonyitudinal side rails of the frameO it
should be understood that the rails 22 may be disposed in
a longitudinal alignment to form the load-b~aring ~urface.
The foregoing detailed description has been given for
clearness of understanding only and no unnecessary
limitations should be understood therefrom as some
modifications will be obvious to those skilled in the art
without departing from the scope and spirit of the
appended claims.
I claim:
