The present invention relates to vehicle roof racks and accessories. In particular, the present invention relates to a cargo carrier system for carrying and supporting cargo on a vehicle roof rack.
Many of today""s vehicles are equipped with roof racks for stowing cargo. Such roof racks typically include feet or towers that are mounted to the roof of the vehicle and that support a plurality of transversely extending load beams. The load beams typically support cargo above the roof of the vehicle and provide structures for tying down and securing the cargo.
Although providing a basic structure for supporting cargo upon the roof of the vehicle, such roof racks are not well suited for supporting elongate, irregularly shaped cargo, such as various watercraft, surfboards, ski equipment and the like. In particular, securely mounting such elongate cargo to and upon the transverse load beams is difficult. Moreover, the elongate cargo is susceptible to shifting and possible damage. As a result, various specialized brackets and mounting arrangements have been developed for more securely supporting and holding such elongate cargo upon a roof rack. Examples of such mounting arrangements are found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,516,017 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,951,231. Although such mounting arrangements facilitate more reliable mounting of elongate cargo upon the roof of the vehicle, such arrangements only minimally conform to the contour of the elongate cargo being stowed and are difficult to load with the elongated cargo.
Another problem associated with merely using a conventional roof rack or the aforementioned mounting arrangements to support the elongated cargo is the extremely difficult task of loading or unloading elongated cargo onto or off of the roof rack or mounting arrangement. Because such elongated cargo is frequently heavy or extremely awkward to handle, maneuvering and positioning such elongated cargo onto the roof rack or onto the roof-mounting arrangement on top of the roof rack is tedious, time consuming and prone to mistakes. In an attempt to provide easier loading and unloading of elongated cargo onto and off of a vehicle roof rack, a multitude of loading arrangements have been developed. Examples of such loading arrangements are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,884,824; 3,756,648; 3,746,194; 3,338,156; 4,329,100; 5,346,355; 5,360,151; 5,850,891; 5,398,778; and 5,360,150. Such known loading arrangements are extremely complex, difficult to manipulate and difficult to mount to an existing roof rack.
Thus, there is a continuing need for a cargo carrier system that more securely mounts elongate cargo to an existing vehicle roof rack irregardless of the precise shape or contours of the elongate cargo. There is also a continuing need for a cargo carrier system that is simple, easy to mount to an existing roof rack and that is easy to shift or manipulate for loading and unloading cargo, including elongate cargo such as watercraft, skis and surfboards.
According to one exemplary embodiment, a cargo carrier for use with a vehicle having a front, a rear, a first side, a second side and a roof rack is provided. The carrier includes a base adapted to be pivotably coupled to the roof rack about a first axis extending parallel to the first side, a cargo holder configured to be secured to cargo, a first link having a first end pivotably coupled to the base about a second axis extending parallel to the first axis and a second end pivotably coupled to the holder about a third axis extending parallel to the first axis, and a second link having a first end pivotably coupled to the base about a fourth axis extending parallel to the first axis and a second end pivotably coupled to the holder about a fifth axis extending parallel to the first axis.
According to another exemplary embodiment, a cargo carrier for use with a vehicle having a front, a rear, a first side, a second side and a roof rack is provided. The cargo carrier includes a base adapted to be mounted to the roof rack, a cargo holder configured to be secured to cargo, a first link having a first end pivotably coupled to the base about a first axis parallel to the first side and a second end pivotably coupled to the holder about a second axis extending parallel to the first axis and a second link having a first end pivotably coupled to the base about a third axis extending parallel to the first axis and a second end pivotably coupled to the holder about a fourth axis extending parallel to the first axis. The holder moves between a vertical raised position in which the holder extends above the base in a first plane and a vertical lowered position in which the holder extends at least partially below the base in a second plane parallel to or coextensive with the first plane.
According to yet another exemplary embodiment, a cargo carrier for use with a vehicle having a front, a rear, a first side, a second side and a roof rack is provided. The carrier includes a base adapted to be coupled to the roof rack, a cargo holder configured to be secured to cargo and a first link having a first end pivotably coupled to the base about a first axis extending parallel to the first side and a second end pivotably coupled to the holder about a second axis extending parallel to the first axis. The holder moves between a vertical raised position in which the holder extends above the base in a first plane and a vertical lowered position in which the holder extends at least partially below the base in a second plane parallel to or coextensive with the first plane.
According to yet another exemplary embodiment, a cargo carrier for use with a vehicle having a front, a rear, a first side, a second side and a roof is provided. The cargo carrier includes a cargo holder configured to be coupled to the roof rack. The cargo holder includes a rigid arm having an arcuate portion configured to receive an elongate watercraft, a flexible support and an elongate flexible member. The flexible support has a first portion, a second opposite portion and an intermediate portion between the first portion and the second portion. The first portion is coupled to a first side of the arcuate portion while the second portion is coupled to a second side of the arcuate portion. The intermediate portion is spaced above the arm and is adapted to support the elongate watercraft at a distance spaced above the arm such that a gap extends between the arm and the intermediate portion. The elongate flexible member has a first end and a second end. The first end is coupled to a first side of the arcuate portion while the second end is coupled to a second side of the arcuate portion. The flexible member and the flexible support are configured such that the elongate watercraft is sandwiched therebetween.
According to another exemplary embodiment, a cargo carrier for use with a vehicle having a front, a rear, a first side, a second side and a roof rack is provided. The cargo carrier includes a base adapted to be coupled to the roof rack, a cargo holder coupled to the base and configured to be secured to cargo, and a locking mechanism. The cargo holder is configured to move between a raised position and at least one lowered position. The cargo is biased towards the raised position. The locking mechanism is configured to releasably lock the cargo holder in the at least one lowered position.