Glass Carrying Rack

This invention relates to a glass carrying rack for transporting plate glass on a vehicle, and more specifically, to such a glass carrying rack which is not bolted to the vehicle and which may be rapidly and easily removed therefrom.

Many people, e.g., construction workers must occasionally transport large pieces of plate glass. Without a special frame or rack, the possibility of glass breakage is fairly high. On the other hand, permanently attaching a glass carrying rack to a construction worker's vehicle is inefficient since the rack is so seldom used.

A number of devices for supporting objects or vehicles are known in the art. U.S. Pat. No. 1,383,324 to Martell discloses a portable rack or frame such as would be used in a drive-in restaurant. Although the disclosed rack may be easily removed from the vehicle, it certainly could not support plate glass or anything, for that matter, while the vehicle is moving. U.S. Pat. No. 2,409,103 to Cameron discloses an automobile luggage carrier which may be detached from a vehicle. However, detachment is an involved process, and such a carrier would not be appropriate for transporting glass.

U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,424,487 and 2,739,747 to Pector et al and Lyszczek, respectively, both teach glass transporting racks which are rigidly connected to a vehicle. U.S. Pat. No. 3,913,965 to Muller et al discloses a carrying frame for glass sheets. The frame in Muller et al is designed for transportation by a crane or the like. Thus, none of these references teach a glass carrying rack which may be easily mounted on a vehicle or a frame attached to the vehicle.

The present invention meets the needs of people who must occasionally transport plate glass by providing a portable glass carrying rack which is not bolted to the vehicle and which may be quickly and easily attached to and removed from a vehicle or a frame attached to the vehicle. The present invention includes a plurality of upright supports, each of which has a hook at the top. The hook may be attached, for example, to a lumber rack on the bed of a pickup truck. Boards, interconnecting the upright supports, support one face of the glass sheet. A board interconnecting the bottom of the upright supports has a groove in which one edge of the glass plate rests. A bracket is slidably attached to each of the upright supports in order to bias the rack away from the truck and at a small angle with respect to the vertical.

The fact that the brackets are slidable allows the point at which the bracket contacts the vehicle or the frame to be varied. Without the bracket, the rack would lie against the side of the vehicle thereby scraping it. Also, since the rack and glass thereon would rest nearly vertically, shocks caused by bumps in the road would be applied to the rack nearly parallel to the upright supports. Since the entire force of the bumps would be exerted on one edge of the glass, the possibility of breakage is increased. In fact, the rack may become disengaged from the frame. In the present invention the glass carrying rack is biased at a small angle with respect to the vertical to overcome this problem. Because of this angle, shocks to the rack and glass caused by potholes and the like are transmitted into rotational or horizontal forces. Since the full force is not exerted in the vertical direction, the rack is less likely to become detached from the vehicle. Also, since part of the force is transmitted to a horizontal direction, a portion of the force on the glass with respect to the frame is applied to the face of the glass where it contacts the boards interconnecting the upright supports. Therefore, since the entire force is not applied to the edge of the glass where it contacts the support, the glass is less likely to crack.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will become more apparent and more readily appreciated from the following detailed description of the presently preferred exemplary embodiment of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, of which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the present invention; and

FIG. 3 is an exploded detail of the brackets of the present invention.

Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2, a vehicle such as pickup truck 10 has a frame 12 attached thereto. For example, the frame may be a lumber rack or a ladder rack attached to the bed of the pickup truck 10. The glass carrying rack, generally indicated by reference numeral 14, comprises upright supports 16. In the preferred embodiment, the upright supports are three pieces of 11/4 inch diameter pipe. Attached to each upright support 16 are means for supporting the weight of rack 14 consisting of hooks 18. Hooks 18 enable rack 14 to be detachably secured to frame 12. In the preferred embodiment, the curved portion of each hook 18 has a 11/2 inch diameter with a 2 inch return. Members 20, providing means for interconnecting upright supports 16, support one face of the plate glass to be carried. In the preferred embodiment, members 20 are 1 inch by 6 inch boards attached to pipes 16 by means of carriage bolts. Applied to the surface of boards 20 are cushioning means 24 for protecting the glass. In the preferred embodiment, cushioning means 24 is carpeting. One extension 26 is welded near the bottom of each of pipes 16 so that each pipe 16 forms a 90.degree. angle with the associated extension 26. In the preferred embodiment, extensions 26 are 1/8 inch by 1 inch angle iron. Braces 28 are welded to and interconnect each extension 26 and pipe 16 in order to strengthen extensions 26. In order to support the bottom edge of the glass being transported, support 30 is attached to extensions 26. In the preferred embodiment, support 30 is a 2 inch by 4 inch wooden member having a dadoed groove 32 in which the edge of the glass rests. The bottom surface of the groove is covered with cushioning means 34, which in the preferred embodiment is carpeting.

One bracket 36 is slidably attached to each pipe 16. As illustrated in FIG. 3, each bracket 36 comprises tubing 38 to which is welded member 40. In the preferred embodiment, pipe 38 has an inner diameter of 11/4 inches so as to be slidable along pipe 16 which has an outer diameter of 11/4 inches. Member 40 is welded to tubing 38. The edge of member 40 opposite the weld is contoured to correspond to the surface of the frame or the truck against which member 40 will rest. Member 40 is sufficiently long to bias pipes 16 away from truck 10 and at a slight angle with the vertical. Set screws 42 lock the position of brackets 36 along pipes 16.

In order to utilize the present invention, hooks 18 are simply attached to the vehicle or the frame such as bar 44 of the frame in FIGS. 1 and 2. Set screws 42 are loosened so that brackets 36 slide freely along pipes 16. The position of each bracket 36 is then adjusted as desired. In FIGS. 1 and 2, bracket 36 is set so that the curved portion of member 40 rests against bar 46 of the frame 12. Set screws 42 are then tightened.

The lower edge of the glass is then positioned in groove 32 of support 30 and the face of the glass is rested upon boards 20. Since upright supports 16 form a slight angle with a vertical, shocks caused by potholes and the like are partially absorbed on the face of the glass plate resting against boards 20 and not entirely on the one edge resting upon support 30. Therefore, the glass is less likely to break. Also, since a portion of the force resulting from the shocks are transferred to the horizontal direction, hooks 18 are less likely to become disengaged from bar 44 when vehicle 10 encounters a pothole.

Although only one exemplary embodiment of this invention has been described in detail above, those skilled in the art readily appreciate that many modifications are possible in the exemplary embodiment without materially departing from the novel teachings and advantages of this invention. Accordingly, all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of this invention as defined in the following claims.