Vehicle seat mount equipment rack

• US 20060226322A1
• Filed: 07/29/2004
• Published: 10/12/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 07/31/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Edward F. Spellman
• Original Assignee: Edward F. Spellman
• Inventors: Spellman, Edward F.
• Granted Patent: US 7,810,880 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 248/306
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/809 vertically slidable
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/879 with additional features not related to head-rest positioning, e.g. heating or cooling devices or loudspeakers
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2002/905 the head-rest or seat used as an anchorage point, for an object not covered by groups in B60N, e.g. for a canvas
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 3/002 of trays
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 11/00 Arrangements for holding or mounting articles, not otherwise provided for
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 11/02 for radio sets, television sets, telephones, or the like; Arrangement of controls thereof
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2011/0015 Back-rests
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2011/0017 Head-rests
• CPC Class Codes: F16B 45/00 Hooks; Eyes if the attaching parts or means are concerned, groups F16B13/00, F16B15/00, F16B19/00, F16B25/00, F16B35/00, F16B47/00 take precedence; for hanging pictures or the like A47G1/16; towing hooks for ships B63B21/58; for hoisting or hauling purposes B66C; hooks or eyes with integral parts designed to facilitate quick attachment to cables or ropes at any point F16G11/14
• CPC Class Codes: F16B 7/22 using hooks or like elements

Abstract

A vehicle equipment rack and methods for removably holding equipment on a shelf that is removably and preferably releasably mounted within a vehicle. A hook bar assembly has a guide portion, and at least one sliding portion telescopically engaged with the guide portion. The hook bar assembly is attached to the shelf. Two end hooks are on distal longitudinally outward ends of the hook bar assembly, and each end hook is configured for hooking on a headrest post of the vehicle. The end hooks may have hooks that open forward, rearward, or outward and are biased with respect to each other. Preferably, a hook portion is releasably attached to the hook bar assembly for releasing in response to a laterally directed force.

Claims

1. A vehicle equipment rack for removably holding equipment on a shelf that is removably mounted within a vehicle that has a first and a second headrest on one or more seats, each headrest having at least one headrest post, the vehicle equipment rack characterized by:

a hook bar assembly having a guide portion, and at least one sliding portion telescopically engaged with the guide portion, wherein the hook bar assembly is attached to the shelf;

two end hooks on distal longitudinally outward ends of the hook bar assembly, wherein one end hook is configured for hooking on a headrest post of the first headrest, and the other end hook is configured for hooking on a headrest post of the second headrest; and

a spring connected for biasing the two end hooks with respect to each other.

4. The vehicle equipment rack of claim 1, wherein the end hook has a forward opening hook with inside walls including:

a longitudinally straight shank wall that extends longitudinally outward; and

a straight finger wall that extends from the longitudinally outward end of the shank wall, and that is angled forward and longitudinally inward relative to the shank wall.

6. The vehicle equipment rack of claim 1, wherein the end hook has a rearward opening hook with inside walls including:

a longitudinally straight shank wall that extends longitudinally outward; and

a straight finger wall that extends from the longitudinally outward end of the shank wall, and that is angled rearward and longitudinally inward relative to the shank wall.

7. The vehicle equipment rack of claim 6, further characterized by:

an anti-rotation bar extending longitudinally outward from the rearward opening hook such that a bar wall is parallel to, and approximately collinear with, the shank wall;

wherein;

the anti-rotation bar is dimensioned to be long enough to reach at least longitudinally outward of an outside headrest post when the rearward opening hook is hooked on an inside headrest post.

8. The vehicle equipment rack of claim 1, wherein the end hook has an outward opening hook with inside walls including:

a forward finger wall that extends forward and longitudinally outward, and a rearward finger wall that extends rearward and longitudinally outward;

wherein the forward finger wall and the rearward finger wall are both straight, and are angled relative to each other.

9. The vehicle equipment rack of claim 1, further characterized by:

a socket on the hook bar assembly that opens longitudinally outward;

a latch hole in a lateral inside surface of the socket;

a hook portion of the end hook;

a peg portion of the end hook extending longitudinally inward from the hook portion wherein the peg portion is configured to fit within the socket;

a flange of the hook portion where the hook portion joins the peg portion, wherein the flange is laterally dimensioned larger than the socket;

a shoulder of the peg portion adjacent to the flange wherein the shoulder is laterally dimensioned to closely fit within the socket;

a first lateral wall of the peg portion that is recessed relative to the socket;

a peg spring extending from the first lateral wall, and configured for biasing apart the first lateral wall and the socket when the peg portion is positioned in the socket; and

a protrusion extending laterally from a second lateral wall of the peg portion that is laterally opposed to the first lateral wall, wherein the protrusion is dimensioned and shaped for mating with, and catching in, the latch hole, and the latch hole is positioned to catch the protrusion when the peg portion is inserted into the socket such that the flange longitudinally abuts the socket.

12. The vehicle equipment rack of claim 9, further characterized in that:

the end hook as a forward opening hook portion;

the first lateral wall of the peg portion faces forward;

the second lateral wall of the peg portion faces rearward; and

a spring is connected for biasing the end hook longitudinally inward.

13. The vehicle equipment rack of claim 12, further characterized in that:

the shelf is attached to the guide portion;

the guide portion s a tube having a rectangular cross-section;

two sliding portions are the two distal longitudinally outward ends of the hook bar assembly; and

both of the two sliding portions have rectangular cross sections and are telescopically engaged for sliding longitudinally within the guide portion.

17. The vehicle equipment rack of claim 1, further characterized by:

a limit pin that is secured in one of the sliding portion and the guide portion; and

an extension limiter with limit hooks that is attached to the other one of the sliding portion and the guide portion, and that is cooperatively engaged with the limit pin for limiting outward extension of the sliding portion.

18. The vehicle equipment rack of claim 1, further characterized by:

a tolerance bump that extends between the guide portion and the at least one sliding portion.

19. The vehicle equipment rack of claim 1, further characterized by:

a pivoting connection of the shelf to the hook bar assembly; and

pivot stops for limiting the extent of shelf pivoting.

20. The vehicle equipment rack of claim 1, further characterized by:

a retaining post that protrudes upward near a forward edge of the shelf;

an elastic cord that is attached near a first side edge of the shelf and has a knot at an end of the elastic cord that is removably caught in a cord notch in a second side edge of the shelf opposite to the first side edge, wherein the cord notch 104 opens outward at the second side edge; and

a strap having a first end that is attached to a first side edge of the shelf, and having a second end with hook-and-loop material that removably attaches to a fastening pad with a corresponding hook-and-loop material, wherein the fastening pad is affixed near the second side edge of the shelf.

22. The vehicle equipment rack of claim 1, further characterized by:

a softened rearward edge of the shelf.

23. The vehicle equipment rack of claim 1, further characterized by:

a compressible sleeve removably hooked on the headrest post and positioned between the end hook and a headrest supported by the headrest post.

24. The vehicle equipment rack of claim 1, further characterized by:

an audio transmitter attached to the shelf; and

an audio cord that is connected between the audio transmitter and an audio plug for plugging into the equipment.

25. The vehicle equipment rack of claim 1, further characterized by:

a power jack module that is mounted on the shelf; and

a power cord that is connected between the power jack module and a power plug for plugging into the equipment.

26. The vehicle equipment rack of claim 25, wherein the power jack module is further characterized by:

power conversion circuitry.

27. The vehicle equipment rack of claim 25, wherein the power jack module is further characterized by:

power conditioning circuitry.

2. (canceled)

3. (canceled)

5. (canceled)

10. (canceled)

11. (canceled)

14. (canceled)

15. (canceled)

16. (canceled)

21. (canceled)

28. A method for removably mounting an equipment rack within a vehicle that has a first and a second headrest on one or more seats, each headrest having at least one headrest post, the method characterized by the steps of:

providing two end hooks on distal longitudinally outward ends of the rack;

configuring one end hook for hooking on a headrest post of the first headrest, and configuring the other end hook for hooking on a headrest post of the second headrest;

employing the end hooks as sliding portions that are telescopically engaged with a guiding portion of the rack; and

biasing the two end hooks with respect to each other.

30. The method of claim 28, further characterized by the step of:

shaping inside walls of the end hook for establishing two lines of contact between the end hook and the headrest post.

31. The method of claim 28, further characterized by the steps of:

biasing the end hook longitudinally outward; and

shaping the end hook for opening longitudinally outward.

33. The method of claim 28, further characterized by the steps of:

biasing the end hook longitudinally inward; and

sloping an inside wall of the end hook forward and longitudinally inward for removably and releasably holding the rack on the headrest post.

34. The method of claim 28, further characterized by the steps of:

biasing the end hook longitudinally inward; and

sloping an inside wall of the end hook rearward and longitudinally inward for removably and releasably holding the rack on the headrest post.

35. The method of claim 28, further characterized by the steps of:

providing a socket, a peg portion, and a hook portion at the longitudinally outward end of the end hook;

extending the peg portion longitudinally inward from the hook portion;

shaping the peg portion to releasably fit into the socket;

laterally biasing the peg portion against the socket when the peg portion is in the socket; and

providing a catch system that releases in response to tilting the peg portion in the socket.

37. The method of claim 28, further characterized by the step of:

preventing undesirable movement of the sliding portion relative to the guiding portion by forming tolerance bumps between the sliding portion and the guiding portion after they have been telescopically engaged.

38. The method of claim 28, further characterized by the step of:

preventing undesirable movement of the rack by removably hooking a compressible sleeve on the headrest post between the end hook and a headrest supported by the headrest post.

29. (canceled)

32. (canceled)

36. (canceled)

39. A method for removably holding equipment on a shelf that is mounted within a vehicle wherein the mounting includes attaching the shelf to an approximately horizontal bar that is attached within the vehicle, the method characterized by the steps of:

preventing horizontal movement of the equipment by providing one or more posts protruding upward from the shelf; and

holding the equipment down on the shelf with a flexible strap that is removably attached to the shelf.

40. (canceled)

41. (canceled)