Cargo carrier for a vehicle

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11623580-B2
Application number	US-202016986013-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 5, 2020
Priority date	Dec 4, 2019
Publication date	Apr 11, 2023
Grant date	Apr 11, 2023

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a cargo carrier for a vehicle, in particular a rooftop cargo carrier, for stowing goods to be transported therein. The cargo carrier comprises a base and a lid, which are moveable with respect to each other to adjust the cargo carrier between a closed and an open state. Further, the cargo carrier comprises an air channel for purging air from an interface region formed between the base and the lid in the closed state at a front portion of the cargo carrier, preferably to reduce a force caused by a headwind that acts to spread the base and the lid apart in the interface region.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A cargo carrier for a vehicle for stowing goods to be transported therein, the cargo carrier comprising:
a base and a lid configured to form an interior cargo space in a closed state, wherein the base and the lid are moveable with respect to each other to adjust the cargo carrier between the closed state and an open state; and
an air channel for purging air from an overlapping region formed between an upper edge of the base and a lower edge of the lid in the closed state at a front portion of the cargo carrier, the air channel configured to reduce a force caused by a headwind that acts to spread the base and the lid apart in the overlapping region.

2. The cargo carrier according to claim 1 , wherein the air channel has at least one inlet formed in the base or the lid at the front portion of the cargo carrier.

3. The cargo carrier according to claim 2 , wherein the inlet is formed in the overlapping region and at least partially extends along the overlapping region and/or faces in a forward direction.

4. The cargo carrier according to claim 2 , wherein the air channel has at least one outlet that is arranged in a portion of the cargo carrier different from the front portion of the cargo carrier, and wherein the outlet is arranged in a side portion of the cargo carrier.

5. The cargo carrier according to claim 4 , wherein the outlet is visible when the cargo carrier is mounted to a roof of the vehicle.

6. The cargo carrier according to claim 4 , wherein an air channel inlet area is smaller than an air channel outlet area.

7. The cargo carrier according to claim 1 , wherein the air channel is separate to the interior cargo space of the cargo carrier.

8. The cargo carrier according to claim 1 , wherein the air channel is arranged between an outer wall and an inner wall of the cargo carrier, the outer wall and the inner wall being an outer wall and an inner wall of the base.

9. The cargo carrier according to claim 8 , wherein the base comprises an interior element limiting an interior cargo space of the cargo carrier, the interior element forming the inner wall, and an add-on element attached to the interior element, the add-on element forming the outer wall.

10. The cargo carrier according to claim 8 , wherein an inlet, an outlet, or both of the air channel is formed in the outer wall.

11. The cargo carrier according to claim 1 , wherein the air channel is formed by a hose arranged in an interior cargo space of the cargo carrier.

12. The cargo carrier according to claim 9 , wherein in the closed state, a transition between the lid and the base at an edge of the overlapping region is configured as a flush transition.

13. The cargo carrier according to claim 4 , wherein the cargo carrier comprises a protective means preventing passage of objects above a predetermined size through the air channel, wherein the means is configured as a cover for the inlet.

14. The cargo carrier according to claim 2 , wherein the inlet has a cross-sectional area between 0.5 cm 2 to 3 cm 2 and the inlet has a maximum length between 5 cm to 30 cm.

15. The cargo carrier according to claim 1 , wherein the lid is hingedly coupled to the base, at a side of the cargo carrier, to allow adjustment of the cargo carrier between the open state and the closed state with a pivoting motion.

16. The cargo carrier according to claim 1 , wherein the cargo carrier is a rooftop cargo carrier.

17. The cargo carrier according to claim 2 , wherein the air channel comprises a plurality of spaced apart inlets formed in the front portion of the cargo carrier.

18. The cargo carrier according to claim 6 , wherein the air channel inlet area is at least 5% smaller, or at least 10% smaller, or at least 15% smaller.

19. A cargo carrier for a vehicle for stowing goods to be transported therein, the cargo carrier comprising:
a base and a lid configured to form an interior cargo space in a closed state, wherein the base and the lid are moveable with respect to each other to adjust the cargo carrier between the closed state and an open state, wherein the base and the lid define an overlapping region at a front portion of the cargo carrier when in the closed state; and
an air channel at a front portion of the interior cargo space of the cargo carrier and configured for purging air from the overlapping region, and
wherein the air channel defines a separate volume from the interior cargo space of the cargo carrier.

Assignees

• Thule Sweden Ab

Inventors

• Treptow John-Patrik
• Stark Urban
• Wärnelöv Filip
• Parsmo Sebastian

Classifications

• B60R9/055 Primary

  Enclosure-type carriers, e.g. containers, boxes (B60R9/048 takes precedence) · CPC title