Vehicle roof rack and boat mounting system
US5951231A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Jul 17, 1997 |
| Grant date | Sep 14, 1999 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jul 17, 2017 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC B)Performing Operations; Transporting
- CPC primaryB60P3/1008
- WIPO fieldTransport
- WIPO sectorMechanical engineering
Abstract
A vehicle-top roof rack and boat mounting system for mounting a boat atop a roof of a car, the rack and mount is provided with a plurality of roof couplers attachable on the car roof, a plurality of crossbars attachable to the roof couplers, and a boat mounting system comprising a plurality of boat mounts. Each of the boat mounts include a crossbar grip coupled to the crossbar, a mounting frame coupled to the grip, a gimbal coupled to the mounting frame, and a roller support coupled to the gimbal. The gimbal allows the roller support to pivot with two degrees of freedom about a central gimbal point to adapt the mount to variously shaped boat hulls and to the varying curvature of each boat hull. The gimbal also adapts for the angle of loading in a one-person loading/unloading operation. The gimbal also includes a biasing mechanism operating about a first axis of rotation and a stop operating about a second axis of rotation, the biasing mechanism and the stop together putting the roller support in a predetermined neutral position prior to boat loading.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.