Translating Roller Load Assist for Kayak Carrier Stability
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional vehicular roof-top carriers for elongate articles like kayaks suffer from fixed front-to-back spacing between saddles and guides, leading to instability for longer boats and inadequate roller positioning, causing torquing of the supporting cross bars during loading.
Innovation Solution
A translating space-frame rack system with guides mounted on both vehicular cross bars, allowing for adjustable positioning and reducing torquing by using a cam lever to transition between locked and expanded configurations, ensuring secure loading and transport.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If fixed spacing between saddles and guides is used in traditional carriers, then the structure is simple and easy to manufacture, but stability is insufficient for longer boats and torquing occurs on cross bars
Solution Approach 1:
The space frame is made movable along the cross bars rather than being fixed, allowing dynamic adjustment of the distance between guides and saddles. This enables the carrier to adapt to different boat lengths and weight distributions, improving stability without requiring multiple fixed configurations or complex adjustment mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The carrier is divided into separate functional modules: guides mounted on one cross bar, saddles mounted on another cross bar, and a movable space frame connecting them. This segmentation allows independent positioning of each component along the cross bars, enabling flexible configuration for different loading scenarios while maintaining structural simplicity.
2Ease of operation
If roller is positioned far back to clear vehicle edge, then loading is facilitated, but torquing forces on supporting cross bar increase
Solution Approach 1:
The roller support is integrated into the movable space frame rather than being fixed to a single cross bar. As the space frame moves along the cross bars during loading, the roller's position adjusts dynamically, allowing it to clear the vehicle edge for easy loading while the distributed mounting reduces concentrated torquing forces on any single cross bar.
Solution Approach 2:
The movable space frame acts as an intermediary between the roller and the cross bars. Instead of the roller being directly and rigidly attached to a single cross bar (creating high torquing), the space frame mediates the connection, distributing forces across multiple mounting points and allowing positional adjustment to optimize both loading ease and force distribution.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution provides enhanced stability and secure loading of longer boats by allowing adjustable positioning of the space frame, reducing torquing forces on the cross bars and enabling effective weight distribution across the vehicle rack.
Implementation Method 1
roller load assist
Data Source
AI summary
A roller load assisted roof-top carrier for elongate articles such as kayak boats. The roof-top carrier includes a space frame having at least a U-shaped portion, the legs of which are each slidingly mountable to each of a front and back cross bar of a vehicular roof rack. In this manner, the space frame translates unitarily relative to the vehicular roof rack. Forward and back cross members are provided that are mounted upon the space frame, the front cross member carrying a pair of kayak saddles, each faced with a friction inducing material for discouraging slippage between a secured kayak and the space frame and the back cross member carrying a pair of guide panels, each faced with a slip inducing material for encouraging slippage between a kayak being loaded on or unloaded from the space frame. A roller can be mounted on a back portion of the space frame.