Roof rack for a vehicle and a vehicle having the same

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10279749-B2
Application number	US-201815866288-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 9, 2018
Priority date	Jan 19, 2017
Publication date	May 7, 2019
Grant date	May 7, 2019

Abstract

A roof rack for a vehicle is provided. The roof rack includes at least one roof rail. The roof rail includes a main body having a first end and a second end opposite to the first end, a pivoting mechanism having a pivoting shaft at the first end and a locking mechanism disposed at the second end. The pivoting shaft is configured such that the main body is pivotable about an axis defined by the pivoting shaft, and the locking mechanism is configured to lock and release the second end of the main body.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A roof rack for a vehicle, comprising:
at least one roof rail including:
a main body having a first end and a second end opposite to the first end;
a pivoting mechanism having a pivoting shaft, wherein the pivoting shaft is connected to the first end of the main body such that the main body is pivotable about an axis defined by the pivoting shaft; and
a locking mechanism disposed at the second end of the main body and configured to lock and release the second end of the main body,
wherein the locking mechanism comprises a latch catch and an operation button, and wherein the latch catch is configured to engage with a latch bolt on a roof of the vehicle to lock the second end, and the operation button is configured to release the latch catch.

2. The roof rack of claim 1 , wherein the pivoting shaft comprises an upper end and a lower end opposite to the upper end, and the pivoting mechanism further comprises:
a case to receive the lower end of the pivoting shaft; and
a bearing having an inner ring and an outer ring rotatory to each other, wherein the outer ring is retained in the case, and the inner ring is fixed to the lower end of the pivoting shaft.

3. The roof rack of claim 2 , wherein the pivoting shaft includes a threaded part in the upper end, wherein the main body includes an opening in the first end, and wherein the threaded part of the pivoting shaft is connected with a nut via the opening in the first end of the main body to connect the pivoting mechanism and the main body.

4. The roof rack of claim 3 , wherein the first end of the main body comprises a base and a cover disposed on the base, the base includes a honeycomb structure, and the opening of the main body is formed in the base, and wherein the base and the cover are connected via clips or interference fit.

5. The roof rail of claim 2 , wherein the pivoting mechanism further comprises a retaining element disposed above the bearing and fitted on the case to limit the bearing from moving upwards or downwards.

6. The roof rack of claim 5 , wherein the case comprises an upper holding portion and a lower holding portion disposed below the upper holding portion and having a width less than that of the upper holding portion, wherein the outer ring of the bearing is received in the lower holding portion, and wherein the retaining element comprises a flange retained in the upper holding portion, one of the retaining element and the outer ring includes a plurality of protrusions, and another includes a plurality of recesses for receiving the protrusions.

7. The roof rack of claim 2 , wherein the pivoting shaft comprises a threaded hole in the lower end, wherein the pivoting mechanism further includes a bolt and a flange having an opening, the flange is disposed below the bearing and has a diameter larger than an inner diameter of the inner ring, and bolt is engaged with the threaded hole of the pivoting shaft via the opening of the flange to connect the pivoting shaft and the inner ring of the bearing.

8. The roof rack of claim 1 , wherein the operation button is disposed on an outer surface of the second end of the main body.

9. The roof rack of claim 1 , further comprising at least one stop disposed on the main body along a longitudinal direction, wherein the stop includes a base and a head above the base, and the base is configured to be driven to move into or out of the main body by an actuation of the head.

10. The roof rack of claim 9 , wherein the main body comprises an external sleeve and an internal sleeve slidably received in the external sleeve, and the internal sleeve is configured to move out of the external sleeve under a force to increase a length of the main body.

11. A vehicle comprising:
a roof panel; and
a roof rack including at least two parallel roof rails disposed on the roof panel, wherein at least one of the roof rails includes a main body, a pivoting mechanism, and a locking mechanism, wherein the main body is disposed above the roof panel and has a first end and a second end opposite to the first end, wherein the pivoting mechanism has a pivoting shaft and is connected to the first end of the main body such that the main body is pivotable about an axis defined by the pivoting shaft, and wherein the locking mechanism is disposed at the second end of the main body and configured to fix the second end of the main body on the roof panel and release the second end from the roof panel,
wherein the pivoting mechanism further includes a case and a bearing, wherein the pivoting shaft includes an upper end and a lower end opposite to the upper end and received in the case, wherein the bearing has an inner ring and an outer ring rotatable each other, the outer ring is retained in the case, and the inner ring is fixed to the lower end of the pivoting shaft.

12. The vehicle of claim 11 , wherein the roof panel includes a housing to receive the case of the pivoting mechanism.

13. The vehicle of claim 12 , wherein the housing of the roof panel has a first opening at a bottom, and the case of the pivoting mechanism includes a bolt at a bottom, and wherein the bolt is engaged with a nut via the first opening to fix the case to the roof panel.

14. The vehicle of claim 12 , wherein the housing of the roof has a second opening at the bottom, the case of the pivoting mechanism includes a protrusion at the bottom, and the protrusion is retained in the second opening to limit movement of the case.

15. The vehicle of claim 12 , wherein the upper end of the pivoting shaft extends beyond the housing of the roof panel and has a threaded portion, the main body has an opening at the first end, the threaded portion of the pivoting shaft is engaged with a nut via the opening of the first end to connect the pivoting mechanism with the main body.

16. The vehicle of claim 12 , further comprising a sealing member for coving the recess in the roof panel and wherein the sealing member is disposed below the first end of the main body, and the sealing member is formed with elastic materials.

17. The vehicle of claim 11 , wherein the locking mechanism comprises:
an operation button disposed on an outer surface of the second end of the main body;
a driving mechanism to be activated by the operation button;
a latch catch connected with the driving mechanism; and
a latch bolt disposed on the roof panel, wherein driving mechanism is configured to move the latch catch between a locked position and a released position in response to activation of the operation button, wherein, at the locked position, the latch catch is engaged with the latch bolt, and wherein, at the released position, the latch catch is disengaged from the latch bolt.

18. The vehicle of claim 11 , further comprising a rail stop configured to restrict movement of the roof rail at a predetermined position when the main body is pivoted to a deployed position.

19. A roof rail for a vehicle, comprising:
an elongated rod having a first end and a second end opposite to the first end;
a pivoting mechanism disposed at the first end of the elongated rod to connect the elongated rod with a roof of the vehicle, wherein the pivoting mechanism includes a pivot shaft having an upper end and a lower end opposite to the upper end, a case to receive the lower end of the pivoting shaft; and a bearing having an inner ring and an outer ring rotatory to each other, and wherein the outer ring is retained in the case, and the inner ring is fixed to the lower end of the pivoting shaft; and
a locking mechanism disposed at

Assignees

• Ford Global Tech Llc

Inventors

• Wang Joe
• Zou Helen
• Yu Peng

Classifications

• B60R9/045 Primary

  Carriers being adjustable or transformable, e.g. expansible, collapsible {(transformable into tents B60P3/36; into beds B60P3/38)} · CPC title

• B60R9/058

  characterised by releasable attaching means between carrier and roof · CPC title