Rack for motor vehicles

Details Rack for motor vehicles Rack for motor vehicles

1998-05-21

2001-01-30

Krizek, Janice L. (Department: 3652)

Material or article handling

Vehicle attached auxiliary carriers

C224S310000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06179543

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of Invention
This invention relates generally to motor vehicle racks used to carry large, burdensome items such as ladders, pipes, and cable. More specifically, this invention relates to such racks which can be moved between two positions, [1] a first secured position generally utilized when the vehicle is in motion wherein the rack is securely disposed above the motor vehicle and the item is secured on the rack and [2] a second accessible position generally utilized when the item is being loaded and unloaded from the rack wherein the rack is adjacent to one side of the motor vehicle.
2. Related Art
A number of different racks exist in the prior art. Illustrative of such movable racks are U.S. Pat. No. 5,058,791 issued to Henriquez et al. on Oct. 22, 1991; U.S. Pat. No. 5,297,912 issued to Levi on Mar. 29, 1994; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,398,778 issued to Sexton on Mar. 21, 1995.
Each invention described in the listed patents includes a number of pivot points and/or rotating elements. Rotating elements and pivot points are inherently weak points in a design. Thus, it would be beneficial to the art to provide a rack having a minimal number of pivot points and rotating elements thereby increasing the overall strength of the rack.
In addition, none of the racks described in the listed patents are adjustable to securely carry items, specially ladders, having different widths. Thus, it would be beneficial to the art to provide a rack which is adjustable enabling it to securely carry ladders and other items having different widths.
Furthermore, the great majority of prior art racks that are movable between a secured position and an accessible position experience an instability problem as the rack is moved between the two positions. The instability problem is caused by the sudden extra weight contributed by the ladder once the center of gravity of the ladder moves “overcenter”. This sudden extra weight provides an abrupt “jerk” on the operator's hold which may cause the operator's hold on the pivoting arm of the rack to slip, potentially resulting in property damage to the ladder, rack, and/or vehicle. Thus, it would be beneficial to the art to provide a rack which does not experience the instability problem experienced by prior art racks.
Finally, a number of different types of work vehicles exist, including vans and pick-up trucks, most of which have the need for a rack. Each vehicle type has different overall dimensions. In addition, obvious structural differences exist between pick-up trucks and vans which affect the placement and attachment of a rack to the vehicle. Thus, it would be beneficial to the art to provide a rack that is adjustable to fit a large number of vehicle types.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, the objectives of this invention are to provide, inter alia, a motor vehicle rack that:
includes a minimal number of pivot points and rotating elements thereby increasing the overall strength of the rack;
is adjustable enabling it to securely carry items having different widths;
does not experience the instability problem experienced by prior art racks; and
is adjustable to fit a large number of vehicle types.
To achieve such improvements, my invention is a ladder rack for motor vehicles including at least two support mechanisms for supporting an item such as a ladder, a pivoting means for concurrently pivoting each of the support mechanisms between a first position and a second position, and a motion stabilizer mechanism mounted on each of the support mechanisms. In the first position, each of the support mechanisms is securely disposed above the vehicle over the vehicle's roof. When in the first position, the item is secured on the support mechanisms against movement. In the second position, each of the support mechanisms is disposed adjacent to a side of the vehicle thereby enabling easy loading and unloading of the ladder from the rack. The motion stabilizer mechanism stabilizes and guides the motion of the ladder as the rack is moved between the first and second positions. In the preferred embodiment, the rack additionally includes a width adjustment means for adjusting the ladder size carrying capacity of the support mechanisms.


REFERENCES:
patent: 2492841 (1949-12-01), Burkey
patent: 3141565 (1964-07-01), Cain
patent: 3862390 (1975-01-01), Watson
patent: 3963136 (1976-06-01), Spanke
patent: 4008838 (1977-02-01), Correll
patent: 4081095 (1978-03-01), Wilburn et al.
patent: 4170331 (1979-10-01), Faulstich
patent: 4240571 (1980-12-01), Ernst
patent: 4262834 (1981-04-01), Nutt
patent: 4291823 (1981-09-01), Freeman et al.
patent: 4339223 (1982-07-01), Golze
patent: 4350471 (1982-09-01), Lehmann
patent: 4390117 (1983-06-01), Fagan
patent: 4808056 (1989-02-01), Oshima
patent: 4826387 (1989-05-01), Audet
patent: 4887750 (1989-12-01), Dainty
patent: 5058791 (1991-10-01), Henriquez et al.
patent: 5104280 (1992-04-01), Ziaylek et al.
patent: 5209628 (1993-05-01), Hassell
patent: 5297912 (1994-03-01), Levi
patent: 5360151 (1994-11-01), Fine
patent: 5398778 (1995-03-01), Sexton
patent: 5421495 (1995-06-01), Bubik et al.
patent: 5791857 (1998-08-01), Ziaylek, Jr. et al.
The Crown Divisions of TransPro, Inc. 1997 Commercial Van Equipment Catalogue, pp. 29-33.
The Crown Divisions of TransPro, Inc. 1997 Commercial Pickup Equipment Catalogue, pp. 4 & 7.

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