Sliding Tie Down Vehicle Luggage Carrier

The present invention relates generally to vehicle luggage carriers and more particularly to a new and improved sliding tie down device for vehicle luggage carriers of the type shown in the applicant's U.S. Pat. No. 4,099,658 and Ser. No. 952,393, filed Oct. 16, 1978. More specifically the improved sliding tie down device is to be used with luggage carriers of the type comprising two or more slat-type elements which are fixedly secured to an exterior horizontal surface of a vehicle, such as the trunk lid or vehicle roof, and which are permanently attached thereto and adapted to have ancillary article constraining members removably and adjustably secured thereto.

The sliding tie down device of the present invention is specifically designed as an improved adjustable tie down or anchor which also incorporates the object of securing article restraining members such as slats, bars, cross-bars, or rails to the luggage carrier systems, which devices may also have attachment means thereon for securing ancillary article carrying equipment, such as ski racks, bicycle racks, and the like to the carrier system. A device of the present invention also has the object of adding the tie down feature for use with a luggage carrier system as described above along with ropes, straps and other constraining elements to further enlarge the number of potential uses and the efficacy of a luggage carrier of the type described. Yet another object is to provide a tie down device which can be uniformly utilized in securing the various parts to the luggage carrier system interchangeably at whichever location the tie down assembly is desired. Among the other objects of the present invention are the provision of a tie down device which is inexpensive to manufacture, easy to install, compact in size, and convenient to use. The tie down device of the preferred embodiment also provides a highly effective combination of molded plastic and metal to accentuate the durable, aesthetically appealing, light-weight, and inexpensive to manufacture qualities of the molded plastic while also providing the strength and wear resistant properties of the metal portion of the tie down. Other objects and advantages of the instant invention will be apparent in the following specification, claims and drawings.

FIG. 1 is an elevated perspective view of the roof of an automotive vehicle having slidable tie down devices of the present invention shown in operative association with a vehicle luggage carrier mounted thereon;

FIG. 2 is an exploded assembly view of a portion of the luggage carrier illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged transverse cross-sectional view taken substantially along the line 3--3 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an elevated top view of the preferred embodiment of the tie down device of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a side view of the device illustrated in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a transverse cross-sectional view taken substantially along the line 6--6 of FIG. 5.

Referring now in detail to the drawings and in particular to FIG. 1 thereof, a vehicle luggage carrier 10 is shown in operative association with a generally horizontally disposed roof portion 12 of a conventional automotive vehicle 14. Generally speaking, the luggage carrier 10 comprises a pair of laterally spaced, longitudinally extending slats 16 and 18 which are secured upon the roof portion 12 at positions adjacent the lateral sides or edges thereof, along with laterally extending cross slats, generally designated by the numeral 20. The cross slats 20 are provided with fittings 24 at the opposite ends thereof. The opposite ends of cross slats 20 are adapted to be adjustably and removably secured by means of sliding tie down assemblies 30 of the present invention including tie down members 32 and threaded studs 34 which are adapted to cooperate with clamping plates 36 that are longitudinally slidably disposed within the slats 16 and 18 for adjustably securing the cross slats 20 at selected longitudinal positions along the slats 16 and 18.

The luggage carrier 10 also includes a pair of cross rails, generally designated by the numeral 40, which extend laterally or transversely between the slats 16 and 18 and are spaced upwardly from the plane of the roof portion 12 and operatively supported upon the slats 16 and 18 by means of a plurality of four stanchion assemblies, generally designated by the numeral 42 which are located one at each end of the cross rails 40, as shown in FIG. 1. The cross rails 40 may be of any suitable construction, but are preferably of a cross section as shown in FIG. 2, in which a track is defined within each cross rail 40 defining a channel adapted to receive one or more clamping plates, generally designated 36.

As shown in FIG. 2, each of the stanchion assemblies 42 includes an inwardly projecting mounting portion 72 which is adapted to be telescopically received within the adjacent end of an associated cross rail 40 and be secured therewith by means of a suitable screw, bolt or the like 74 which extends upwardly through an opening 76 in the adjacent end of cross rail 40.

The slidable tie down assembly 30, as stated previously, includes a rotatable tie down member 32, a threaded stud 34, and a clamping plate 36. The tie down member 32 is integral with threaded stud 34 as shown in FIG. 5, and is preferably made of a moldable plastic material, such as nylon. The stud 34, on the other hand is preferably made of metal. The tie down member 32 as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, comprises an annular manually rotatable portion 50 with a monolithic upwardly projecting loop portion 52 extending generally perpendicularly to the plane of the annular portion 50. The loop portion 52 is comprised of two side columns 54 and 56 mounted integrally at a radially outer station of said annular portion 52 directly opposite one another, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. Columns 54 and 56 converge radially inwardly toward one another with a top cross member 58 integrally connected to the top portions of columns 54 and 56 to form the loop 52. The cross section of the columns 54 and 56 and the top cross member 58 is substantially quadrilateral with rounded edges, having exterior surfaces 60a, 60b, and 60c of a scaled or roughened texture to facilitate the manual grasping of the loop 52. The annular manually rotatable portion 50 has a series of knurls, generally designated 62, at circumferentially spaced locations along the outer surface 64 of the annular portion 50, to facilitate manual rotation of the annular portion 50.

The clamping plate 36 is preferably made of metal of a generally flat, rectangular configuration as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, having some upward curvature from a threaded bore 35 to its edges. The upward curvature provides a degree of spring force when the stud 34 is threadably engaged within the bore 35, forcing the clamping plate 36 upwardly against the upper interior surfaces 17 of the slats 16 and 18 on surfaces 41 of the cross rail 40. The clamping plates 36 may be provided with retainer elements 37 which prevent longitudinal sliding movement of the clamping plates 36 when the associated tie down members 30 have their downwardly extending externally threaded stud elements 34 disengaged from the threaded bores 35 of the clamping plates 36.

The threaded stud 34 is integrally molded into position as part of the tie down assembly 30 at generally the same time that the tie down member 32 is produced by a process known in the art. The stud 34 extends perpendicularly from the annular portion 50 in an axially opposite direction of said tie down portion 52. The axis of the stud 34 is concentric with the axis of the annular portion 50. The head portion 70 of the stud 34 is a four-leaf cloverleaf configuration as shown in FIG. 6, having a relatively thin axial dimension as shown in FIG. 3. This configuration is preferred to virtually eliminate the possibility of slippage between the tie down member 32 and the threaded stud 34 when manually rotated.

The tie down assemblies 30 are adapted to provide for selective longitudinal adjustment of the cross or transverse slats 20 longitudinally of the longitudinally extending slats 16 and 18, with suitable rotation of the tie down members 32 effecting clamping engagement of the associated clamping plates 36 with the lower clamping surfaces 17 of the slats 16 and 18. Conversely, the clamping engagement between the plates 36 and the surfaces 17 is released upon rotation of the members 32 in the opposite direction. Thus, the cross slats 20 may be removed from the slats 16 and 18 during periods of non-use and may be longitudinally moved along the length of slats 16 and 18 so as to be adjustable commensurate with the size and type of load which is being carried upon the associated vehicle 14.

Also, the tie down assemblies are adapted to provide for selective longitudinal adjustment and the removable attachment of ancilllary article carrying equipment, such as ski racks, bicycle racks, and the like to the carrier system either to the longitudinally extending slats 16 and 18, or to a cross rail 40. To be compatible, the ancillary article carrying equipment need only have end portions similar to the fittings 24 of the cross slats 20.

It will be seen from the foregoing that the present invention provides a new and improved sliding tie down device which embodies a number of features not shown in the prior art. In particular, the tie down device of the present invention can be used with luggage carriers of the type herein described adapted to have ancillary article constraining members removably and adjustably secured thereto while also providing the tie down feature for use with ropes, straps, and other constraining elements to further enlarge the number of potential uses and the efficacy of a luggage carrier of the type described.

While it will be apparent that the preferred embodiment of the invention disclosed is well calculated to fulfill the objects above stated, it will be appreciated that the invention is susceptible to modification, variation and change without departing from the proper scope or fair meaning of the subjoined claims.