초록 ▼

A motor vehicle roof protection system includes a pair of magnetically attachable elongated roof standoffs to carry cargo above a car (or any motor vehicle) roof. One elongated roof standoffs may be positioned near a forward end of the car roof and another elongated roof standoffs may be positioned

A motor vehicle roof protection system includes a pair of magnetically attachable elongated roof standoffs to carry cargo above a car (or any motor vehicle) roof. One elongated roof standoffs may be positioned near a forward end of the car roof and another elongated roof standoffs may be positioned near a rearward end of the car roof. Magnets are embodied within the elongated roof standoffs to resist movement on the roof surface, with a layer of material under the magnets to protect the roof finish. The elongated roof standoffs have sloped tops, and the roof standoffs are positioned with the slopes facing forward to produce downward force on the roof standoffs, and thereby secure the roof standoffs with fewer magnets than otherwise required. The tops include a textured portion for contact with cargo. The cargo may be held against the elongated roof standoffs using straps, ropes, or any suitable fastener.

대표청구항 ▼

I claim: 1. A method for protecting a motor vehicle roof, the method comprising: positioning two long and narrow roof standoffs, having two opposite parallel long and straight sides and two opposite short ends, the ends connecting the sides, forming a rectangular footprint on the motor vehicle roof

I claim: 1. A method for protecting a motor vehicle roof, the method comprising: positioning two long and narrow roof standoffs, having two opposite parallel long and straight sides and two opposite short ends, the ends connecting the sides, forming a rectangular footprint on the motor vehicle roof with the sides residing across the motor vehicle roof and with a first one of the roof standoffs residing on a front portion of the motor vehicle roof and a second one of the roof standoffs residing on a rear portion of the motor vehicle roof spaced apart from the first one of the roof standoffs to provide support for cargo carried on the roof standoffs with bases of the roof standoffs residing against the motor vehicle roof and downward sloping top surfaces of the roof standoffs residing opposite the motor vehicle roof, wherein one of the sides and a lowest front edge of the downward sloping top surface of each roof standoff resides towards the front of the motor vehicle roof and the opposite sides and a highest rear edge of the downward sloping top surface of each roof standoff resides towards the rear of the motor vehicle roof and the sloping top surface slopes continuously downward from the higher rear edge to the lower front edge and has neither inwardly nor outwardly protruding features, and wherein each elongated roof standoff comprises a roof standoff body and at least two spaced apart magnets embedded in the body near the base to provide magnetic attraction between the roof standoffs and the roof and additional downward force provided by the downward sloping top surfaces add to the attraction of magnets to the roof, thereby allowing fewer magnets to be embedded in the roof standoff, thereby allowing easier positioning and removal of the roof standoff; positioning the cargo supported by the roof standoffs; and securing the cargo to the motor vehicle roof. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein positioning the cargo supported by the roof standoffs comprises resting the cargo on the roof standoffs while not attaching the cargo to the roof standoffs. 3. The method of claim 1, wherein positioning the two roof standoffs on the motor vehicle roof comprises positioning the two roof standoffs with lengthwise concave bases tapering from one of the ends to a center of each roof standoff and from the center to the opposite end of the roof standoff, concave in a direction parallel with the long sides, against the roof, the concave bases for allowing a better fit to typical motor vehicle roofs and providing a flatter cargo bearing top surface. 4. The method of claim 1, wherein securing the cargo to the motor vehicle roof comprises securing the cargo using a strap which is not attached to the roof standoffs. 5. The method of claim 1, further including securing the roof standoffs to the motor vehicle roof through a combination of an attraction of at least four spaced apart magnets embedded in the roof standoff body and air pushing down on the sloping top of the roof standoff while the vehicle is moving, wherein the no more than four spaced apart magnets provide a minimum necessary attraction to the roof to allow easy positioning of the roof standoffs and reduce the chance of scratching the roof, wherein the roof standoffs are at least 24 inches long. 6. The method of claim 5, wherein securing the roof standoffs to the motor vehicle roof through the attraction of four spaced apart magnets embedded in the roof standoff body comprises securing the roof standoffs to the motor vehicle roof through the attraction of four spaced at least four inches apart magnets having a thickness between ¼ and ½ inches and embedded in the roof standoff body to provide a minimum necessary attraction to the roof to allow easy positioning of the roof standoffs and reduce the chance of scratching the roof. 7. The method of claim 5, wherein securing the roof standoffs to the motor vehicle roof through the attraction of four spaced apart magnets embedded in the roof standoff body comprises securing the roof standoffs to the motor vehicle roof through the attraction of four spaced at least six inches apart magnets having a thickness between ¼ and ½ inches and embedded in the roof standoff body to provide a minimum necessary attraction to the roof to allow easy positioning of the roof standoffs and reduce the chance of scratching the roof. 8. A motor vehicle roof protector system comprising: at least one elongated roof standoff comprising: a long and narrow roof standoff body having opposite front and rear parallel long straight sides spanning the length of the roof standoff body and short ends connecting the parallel long straight sides, each of the long straight sides having a straight length of between 24 inches and 36 inches; a roof standoff base of the roof standoff body for residing against the motor vehicle roof; a forward face of the front parallel long straight side of the roof standoff body extending up from the roof standoff base and having a smaller height H1; a rearward face of the rear parallel long straight side of the roof standoff body opposite the forward face and extending up from the roof standoff base and having a greater height H2 greater than the height H1; a sloping top of the roof standoff body opposite the roof standoff base having neither inwardly nor outwardly protruding attachment features and sloping continuously downward between a rearward edge to a forward edge, the rearward edge meeting the rearward face and the forward edge meeting the forward face and connecting the forward face to the rearward face and having a downward forward attitude when the roof standoff base is residing on the vehicle roof, the sloping top for providing downward force on the roof standoff when the motor vehicle is moving forward due to air cooperating with the sloping top; and at least two spaced apart magnets embedded in the roof standoff body proximal to the roof standoff base, the magnets are selected so that the additional downward force provided by the downward sloping top surfaces add to the attraction of magnets to the roof, thereby allowing fewer magnets to be embedded in the roof standoff, thereby allowing easier positioning and removal of the roof standoff. 9. The motor vehicle roof protector system of claim 8, wherein at least two spaced apart magnets comprise at least four magnets spaced at least four inches apart, the magnets are between ¼ and ½ inches thick. 10. The motor vehicle roof protector system of claim 9, wherein at least four magnets spaced at least four inches apart comprise four magnets in a row spaced at least six inches apart. 11. The motor vehicle roof protector system of claim 9, wherein the at least two spaced apart magnets are embedded approximately ¼ inches from a base of the roof standoff body. 12. The motor vehicle roof protector system of claim 8, wherein the roof standoff body is between one and four inches high. 13. The motor vehicle roof protector system of claim 12, wherein the roof standoff body is approximately two inches high. 14. The motor vehicle roof protector system of claim 12, wherein the height H1 is approximately 1.25 inches and the height H2 is approximately two inches. 15. The motor vehicle roof protector system of claim 9, wherein the roof standoff body is approximately 32 inches long. 16. The motor vehicle roof protector system of claim 8, wherein the roof standoff is between three and four inches wide. 17. The motor vehicle roof protector system of claim 16, wherein the roof standoff is approximately three and one half inches wide. 18. A motor vehicle roof protector system comprising: two long and narrow roof standoffs having opposite front and rear parallel long sides spanning the length of the roof standoff and opposite short ends, the ends connecting the long sides, the front long sides between 24 and 36 inches long and the rear long sides between 24 and 36 inches long, each comprising: a roof standoff body approximately: between one and four inches high; and between three and four inches wide; a roof standoff base of the roof standoff body residing against the motor vehicle roof; a sloping top of the roof standoff body opposite the roof standoff base having neither inwardly nor outwardly protruding features, the sloping top having a forward edge with a first height H1 above the motor vehicle roof and a rearward edge with a second height H2 above the motor vehicle roof, wherein the height H2 is greater than the height H1 resulting in a continuous downward forward slope of the sloping top, the sloping top for providing aerodynamic down force to help hold the roof standoffs in place while the vehicle is moving; and four spaced at least six inches apart magnets embedded in the roof standoff body near the roof standoff base and residing parallel to the roof standoff base having a magnet thickness Tm less than both a magnet width Wm and a magnet length Lm, wherein the roof standoff is mountable with the forward edge forward facing a front edge of the vehicle roof and the combination of air pushing down on the sloping top and the magnets holds the roof standoff in place while the vehicle is moving. 19. The motor vehicle roof protector system of claim 18, wherein the base comprises a concave base, the concave base having a peak halfway between the short opposite ends and tapering from the peak down to the short opposite ends, the convex base for allowing a better fit to typical motor vehicle roofs. 20. The motor vehicle roof protector system of claim 18, wherein each of the magnets has a length Lm of between 1.5 and two inches, and a width Wm of between one and two inches, and a thickness between ¼ and ½ inches.