FORM 2
THE PATENTS ACT 1970
[39 OF 1970]
&
THE PATENTS RULES, 2003
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION
[See section 10; rule 13]
TITLE: “A ROOF RAIL FOR A VEHICLE AND A ROOF RAIL ASSEMBLY
THEREOF”
Name and Address of the Applicant:
TATA MOTORS PASSENGER VEHICLES LIMITED; an Indian company having a registered address at Floor 3, 4, Plot-18, Nanavati Mahalaya, Mudhana Shetty Marg, BSE, Fort, Mumbai, Mumbai City, Maharashtra, 400001, India.
Nationality: Indian
The following specification particularly describes the invention and the manner in which it is to be performed.

TECHNICAL FIELD
Present disclosure, in general, relates to a field of automobiles. Particularly, but not exclusively, the present disclosure relates to a roof rail for a vehicle. Further, embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a convertible roof rail assembly for selectively mounting load on the roof rail of the vehicle.
BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE
Generally, luggage/goods is transported from one location to another in vehicles including, but not limited to, cars, vans, trucks, and the like, where such vehicles for transportation are opted based on volume of luggage and/or distance to transport. In general, for passenger vehicles, goods and/or luggage are placed in a trunk or empty passenger seats for transportation. To improve creature comfort of commuters in the vehicles and without compromising on the luggage capacity, conventional vehicles have been provided with roof racks or luggage carriers mounted to the roof of the vehicle for securing such luggage or goods. To mount such roof racks, the roof rails are provisioned on the roof of the vehicle, where such rails are spaced apart for removably or fixedly accommodating the roof racks.
Conventionally, the roof rails are positioned along a longitudinal axis of the roof and the roof racks are positioned across the roof rails. The roof racks include a plurality of slats positioned across the roof rails to carry and transfer weight of the luggage to the roof rails. Further, the plurality of slats enable fastening of the luggage to the roof rack for secure transportation of the luggage. However, in recent years, the roof rails have become an accessory component to improve aesthetics of the vehicles, rather than functional. Additionally, some roof rails are bulky and affect aerodynamic efficiency of the vehicle.
With modern aesthetic profiling of the vehicle, the roof rails on the roof of the vehicle are considered to reduce the aesthetic appeal of the vehicle. To improve such appeal and profiling of the vehicle, roof rails made of polymeric material are being utilized, however, such roof rails may not be capable of mounting the luggage on the roof. To find a balance between aesthetics and functionality, automatic roof rail systems have been developed, where the roof rails utilize various configuration involving motors and other automated mechanisms. However, such configurations add to the complexity and cost of the vehicle and further require additional maintenance.

The present disclosure is directed to overcome one or more limitations stated above or any other limitations associated with the conventional mechanisms.
SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE
One or more shortcomings of the prior art are overcome by a method and a system as claimed and additional advantages are provided through the method and the system as claimed in the present disclosure. Additional features and advantages are realized through the techniques of the present disclosure. Other embodiments and aspects of the disclosure are described in detail herein and are considered a part of the claimed disclosure.
In one non-limiting embodiment of the present disclosure, a roof rail for a vehicle is disclosed. The roof rail comprises at least one rail, at least one movable rail portion, and a guideway. The at least one rail is fixed on at least a portion of a roof of the vehicle. The at least one movable rail portion is movably engaged to the at least one rail and is displaceable between a first position and a second position relative to the at least one rail. The guideway is defined with a pin and the at least one movable rail portion is configured to displace along the guideway. The pin is adapted to lock the at least one movable rail portion in the second position.
In an embodiment, the at least one movable rail portion protrudes relative to the at least one rail portion on displacement from the first position to the second position.
In an embodiment, the guideway is defined on the at least one movable rail portion and is defined with a wall section to engage with the pin defined on the at least one rail, when the at least one movable rail portion is displaced from the first position to the second position.
In an embodiment, the at least one movable rail portion is defined with an aperture, proximal to the guideway.
In an embodiment, the at least one rail comprises a detent movably accommodated in a slot defined in the at least one rail.
In an embodiment, the detent is configured to displace into and out from the slot to operate between an engaged condition and a retracted condition, based on interaction between the at least one rail and the at least one movable rail portion.

In an embodiment, the detent of the at least one rail is operated to the engaged condition and accommodated in the aperture of the at least one movable rail portion, to lock the at least one movable rail portion in the first position.
In an embodiment, the detent of the at least one rail is operated to the retracted condition and disengaged from the aperture of the at least one movable rail portion to unlock the at least one movable rail portion on displacement from the first position to the second position.
In an embodiment, the detent in the retracted condition is configured to support the at least one movable rail portion in the second position.
In an embodiment, the at least one rail comprises at least one resilient member to bias the detent between the engaged condition and the retracted condition.
In another non-limiting embodiment of the disclosure, a roof rail assembly is disclosed. The roof rail assembly comprises at least two roof rails, and at least one connecting member. The at least two roof rails are attachable on a roof of the vehicle, and are selectively operable between an unladen configuration and a laden configuration. Each roof rail of the at least two roof rails comprises at least one rail, at least one movable rail portion and a guideway. The at least one rail is fixed on at least a portion of a roof of the vehicle. The at least one movable rail portion is movably engaged to the at least one rail and is laterally displaceable between a first position and a second position relative to the at least one rail. The guideway is defined with a pin and the at least one movable rail portion is configured to displace along the guideway. The pin is adapted to lock the at least one movable rail portion in the second position.
In an embodiment, the at least one connecting member is detachably coupled to at least a portion of the at least one movable rail portion, to selectively mount a carrier on the roof of the vehicle.
In an embodiment, the at least two roof rails are positioned parallelly along the longitudinal axis of the roof of the vehicle and the at least one connecting member is disposed perpendicular to the at least two roof rails.
In an embodiment, the first position of the at least one movable rail portion is configured to lower the at least one connecting member to the roof of the vehicle to operate the at least two roof rails in the unladen configuration.

In an embodiment, the second position of the at least one movable rail portion is configured to rise the at least one connecting member to allow fastening of the carrier to the roof rail assembly through the at least one connecting member to operate the at least two roof rails in the laden configuration.
In an embodiment, the carrier fastened to the roof rail assembly is selected from a group consisting of roof rack, roof bag, and cargo box.
In an embodiment, the at least one movable rail portion includes at least one opening to detachably couple the at least one connecting member across the roof of the vehicle for mounting the carrier.
The foregoing summary is illustrative only and is not intended to be in any way limiting. In addition to the illustrative aspects, embodiments, and features described above, further aspects, embodiments, and features will become apparent by reference to the drawings and the following detailed description.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS
The novel features and characteristic of the disclosure are set forth in the appended claims. The disclosure itself, however, as well as a preferred mode of use, further objectives and advantages thereof, will best be understood by reference to the following detailed description of an illustrative embodiment when read in conjunction with the accompanying figures. One or more embodiments are now described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying figures wherein like reference numerals represent like elements and in which:
Figure 1a is a cross sectional view of a roof rail depicted in a first position, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
Figure 1b is a cross sectional view of the roof rail depicted in a second position, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
Figure 2 is an isometric view of a rail depicting a detent, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Figure 3 is an isometric view of a movable rail portion depicting a guideway, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
Figure 4 is an isometric view depicting the roof rail assembly in a laden configuration, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
The figures depict embodiments of the disclosure for purposes of illustration only. One skilled in the art will readily recognize from the following description that alternative embodiments of the system and method illustrated herein may be employed without departing from the principles of the disclosure described herein.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
While the embodiments in the disclosure are subject to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiment thereof has been shown by way of example in the figures and will be described below. It should be understood, however that it is not intended to limit the disclosure to the particular forms disclosed, but on the contrary, the disclosure is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternative falling within the scope of the disclosure.
The terms “comprises”, “comprising”, or any other variations thereof used in the disclosure, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a device, assembly, mechanism, system, method that comprises a list of components does not include only those components but may include other components not expressly listed or inherent to such system, or assembly, or device. In other words, one or more elements in a system proceeded by “comprises… a” does not, without more constraints, preclude the existence of other elements or additional elements in the system or method.
Embodiments of the present disclosure disclose a roof rail for a vehicle. The roof rail comprises at least one rail, at least one movable rail portion, and a guideway. The at least one rail is fixed on at least a portion of a roof of the vehicle. The at least one movable rail portion is movably engaged to the at least one rail and is displaceable between a first position and a second position relative to the at least one rail. The guideway is defined with a pin and the at least one movable rail portion is configured to displace along the guideway. The pin is adapted to lock the at least one movable rail portion in the second position. With such configuration, the roof rail allows a user to selectively mount load on the roof rail by lifting at least a portion of the roof rail while maintaining aesthetical profile of the vehicle when the load is not mounted on the roof rail.

The disclosure is described in the following paragraphs with reference to Figures 1a to 4. In the figures, the same element or elements which have same functions are indicated by the same reference signs. It is to be noted that, the vehicle is not illustrated in the figures for the purpose of simplicity. One skilled in the art would appreciate that the system as disclosed in the present disclosure may be used in any vehicle including but not liming to heavy and light commercial vehicles, passenger vehicles, load carrying vehicles, and the like.
Figure 1a and Figure 1b are exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure which illustrate a roof rail (100) of a vehicle [not shown in figures]. The roof rail (100) includes at least one rail (101), at least one movable rail portion (102) and a guideway (103). The roof rail (100) is positioned on at least a portion of a roof (204) of the vehicle. At least a portion of the roof rail (100) may be fixedly mounted on the roof (204) of the vehicle using plurality of fasteners, adhesives, and the like, where the roof rail (100) may be aligned longitudinally on the roof of the vehicle (i.e., extending from proximal to a tailgate connection section to a frontal windshield connection section of the roof). The roof rail (100) may be configured to allow mounting of a load on the roof of the vehicle.
As best seen in figures 1a and 1b, the at least one rail (101) is fixed on at least a portion of the roof of the vehicle, while the at least one movable rail portion (102) is movably engaged to the at least one rail (101) and is displaceable between a first position and a second position relative to the at least one rail (101) and in-turn the roof of the vehicle. In the illustrative embodiment as best seen in Figures 1a and 1b, the at least one rail (101) is defined with two detents (106a, 106b) [hereinafter interchangeably referred to as “106”] displaceably defined within two slots (107a and 107b) [hereinafter interchangeably referred to as “107”], where the at least one movable rail portion (102) is depicted with at least one guideway (103) on either side facing each of the at least one rail (101). In an embodiment, number of movable rail portion (102) may not be considered as a limitation, as any number of movable rail portions may be suitably connected by means including, but not limited to, snap fitting, adhesive bonding, and the like, for securing positioning thereto. Here, the number of rails, the number of movable rail portions (102) and and the number of guideways (103) being depicted are for sake of explanation of the present disclosure and the same should not be considered a limitation, while variation in number of such components have also been depicted in Figure 4.

As seen in Figure 1a, the at least one rail (101) is fixedly positioned on the roof (204) and the at least one movable rail portion (102) is movably positioned between the at least one rail (101). The at least one rail (101) is defined with two detents (106a and 106b) movably accommodated in two slots (107a and 107b) defined in the at least one rail (101). The two slots (107a and 107b) allow the two detents (106a and 106b) to be temporarily accommodated while the at least one movable rail portion (102) displaces between the first position and the second position. The detents (106a and 106b) are configured to displace into and out from two slots (107) to operate between an engaged condition and a retracted condition, based on interaction between the at least one rail (101) and the at least one movable rail portion (102). The at least one rail (101) includes at least one resilient member (108) to bias the at least one detent (106) between the engaged condition and the retracted condition. In the illustrative embodiment, the at least one rail (101) is depicted with two resilient members (108a and 108b) [hereinafter interchangeably referred to “108”] positioned in two slots (107a and 107b) configured to bias two detents (106a and 106b). The at least one resilient member (108) and includes a spring and the same should not be considered to be a limitation. The at least one resilient member (108) stores the mechanical energy when the at least one detent (106) is pushed back from an engaged condition towards the at least one rail (101) to a retracted condition and delivers the energy to change condition of the detent (106) from the retracted condition to the engaged condition while the at least one movable rail portion (102) displaces between the first position and the second position.
As best seen in Figure 1a, the roof rail (100) adds to aesthetic profiling of the vehicle when the at least one movable rail portion (102) is positioned between the at least one rail (101) proximal to the roof (204) of the vehicle. The at least one detent (106) of the at least one rail (101) is in engaged condition, where the at least one detent (106) is engaged to lock the at least one movable rail portion (102) in the first position. The at least one movable rail portion (102) is configured with at least one aperture (109) on either side facing at least one rail (101) and proximal to the guideway (103) as best seen in Figure 3. The at least one aperture (109) is configured to allow the at least one detent (106) into the at least one movable rail portion (102) in the engaged condition to lock the at least one movable rail portion (102) in the first position.
Referring to figure 1b, the roof rail (100) is operable to the second position from the first position, where the at least one movable rail portion (102) is displaced relative to the at least one rail (101). In the illustrative embodiment, the at least one movable rail portion (102) is

displaced perpendicular to length of the roof rail (100) i.e., along a vertical axis or away from the roof (204) of the vehicle. The at least one movable rail portion (102) is lifted from the roof (204) of the vehicle by applying a lifting force at bottom portion or top portion of the at least one movable rail portion (102). While the at least one movable rail portion (102) displaces vertically, the at least one detent (106) is displaced outward from the at least one aperture (109) of the at least one movable rail portion (102). The at least one resilient member (108) supporting each of the at least one detent (106) is compressed as the at least one movable rail portion (102) is displaced from the first position to the second position. The at least one detent (106) is in a retracted configuration while the at least one movable rail portion (102) displaces from the first position to the second position, where the at least one detent (106) may be in engaged configuration after the at least one movable rail portion (102) is in the second position.
Referring now to Figure 2, the at least one detent (106) may be configured with a tapered section (111) on one end facing the at least one movable rail portion (102). In an embodiment, the at least one aperture (109) of the at least one movable rail portion (102) may also be defined with a tapered section, complementing a tapered section (111) of the at least one detent (106) of the at least one rail (101). For example, the tapered section (111) of the at least one detent (106) is configured to slide along the tapered profile of the at least one aperture (109), to be displaced between the extended condition and the retracted condition while the at least one movable rail portion (102) displaces between the first position to the second position.
For sake of explanation of the present disclosure, the roof rail (100) is depicted with two detents such as a first detent (106a) and a second detent (106b), two slots (107a and 107b) and two resilient members (108a and 108b) and the same should not be considered a limitation. As best seen in figure 1b, when the at least one movable rail portion (102) is displaced from the first position to the second position, the two resilient members (108a and 108b) are displaced between an extended position and a compressed position while the at least one movable rail portion (102) is configured to displace the first detent (106a) and the second detent (106b) between the engaged condition and the retracted condition. In the illustrative embodiment, the first detent (106a) and the second detent (106b) are in the engaged condition after the at least one movable rail portion (102) is in the second position, protruding from the at least one rail (101). Again referring to Figure 1b, the at least one movable rail portion (102) is supported by the two detents (106a and 106b) of the at least one rail (101), when the at least one movable rail portion (102) is in the second position.

Further, as seen in Figures 3, the guideway (103) is defined with a pin (104) and the at least one movable rail portion (102) is configured to displace along the guideway (103). In the illustrative embodiment, the pin (104) is defined on the at least one rail (101) and at least one detent (106). In the illustrative embodiment, the position of the at least one detent (106) is along one side of the at least one rail (101) facing the at least one movable rail portion (102) and wherein the pin (104) is defined at the top of the at least one rail (101) facing the at least one movable rail portion (102). Here, such positions of the pin (104) and the at least one detent (106) are illustrated for explanation of the present disclosure and the same should not be considered a limitation. When the at least one movable rail portion (102) is displaced from the first position to the second position, the at least one pin (104) on the at least one rail (101) slides along the guideway (103) of the at least one movable rail portion (102) allowing guided displacement of the at least one movable rail portion (102). Further, the guideway (103) is defined with at least one wall section (105) to engage with the pin (104) defined on the at least one rail (101), when the at least one movable rail portion (102) is displaced from the first position to the second position. In the illustrative embodiment, the at least one wall section (105) is positioned at the bottom of the guideway (103), such that when the at least one movable rail portion (102) displaces from the first position to the second position, the wall section (105) restricts the movement of the at least one movable rail portion (102) after a predetermined displacement in the second position to lock the at least one movable rail portion (102) in the second position and to be supported by the at least one detent (106) of the at least one rail (101). In an embodiment, the pin (104) may be a cuboidal shaped projection projecting from the at least one rail (101) wherein one side is facing the wall section (105) of the guideway (103). The pin (104) is adapted to lock the at least one movable rail portion (102) in the second position by interfacing with the wall section (105) of the guideway (103) of the at least one movable rail portion(102).
In an embodiment, the at least one movable rail portion (102) may be defined with two guideways (103) on either sides defined with two wall sections (105) and two apertures (109) defined proximal to the two guideways (103). The at least one rail (101) may be defined with two pins (104) on the sides facing the two guideways (103) of the at least one movable rail portion (102) of the roof rail (100). The two pins (104) defined on the at least one rail (101) are configured to slide through the two guideways (103) positioned on either side of the at least

one movable rail portion (102) to enable the at least one movable rail portion (102) between the first position and the second position.
In an embodiment, lengths of the two guideways (103) and the two pins (104) may be variable. For example, the length of one of the two guideways (103) may be limited up to a predetermined length (i.e., may be to an extent ranging from about 30% to 75% of height) measured from a top surface of the at least one movable rail portion (102). Further, the length of an other of the two guideways (103) on the other side of the at least one movable rail portion (102) may be of substantial length (i.e., in a range of 75% to 100%) of the height measured from the top surface of the at least one movable rail portion (102). Further, the at least one rail
(101) may be defined with one pin (104) on one side extended along substantial height (i.e., being in a range of 10% to 50%) measured from the top surface and defined at the top surface of the at least one rail (101) to restrict displacement of the at least one movable rail portion
(102) to the second position by sliding through the corresponding guideway (103) with predetermined length. In an embodiment, the at least one rail (101) may be defined with an other pin (104) extended along substantial height (i.e., being in a range of 50% to 100%) measured from the top surface of the at least one rail (101) to slide through the guideway (103) extended completely along the height of the at least one movable rail portion (102). In an embodiment, the lengths of the two guideways (103) defined on either sides of the at least one movable rail portion (102) may be substantially equal (i.e., being in a range of 50% to 100%) measured from the top surface and wherein the lengths of the two pins (104) defined on the at least one rail (101) may also be substantially equal (i.e., in a range of 75% to 100%) measured from the top surface.
In another non-limiting embodiment of the disclosure, a roof rail assembly (200) is disclosed. The roof rail assembly (200) comprises at least two roof rails (201a and 201b), and at least one connecting member (205). The at least two roof rails (201a and 201b) are attachable on the roof (204) of the vehicle and are selectively operable between an unladen configuration and a laden configuration. Each roof rail of the at least two roof rails (201a and 201b) comprises at least one rail (202a, and 202b), at least one movable rail portion (203a and 203b) and a guideway (103). The at least one rail (202a, and 202b) is fixed on at least a portion of a roof (204) of the vehicle. The at least one movable rail portion (203a and 203b) is movably engaged to the at least one rail (202a, and 202b) and is laterally displaceable between the first position and the second position relative to the at least one rail (202a, and 202b). The guideway (103)

is defined with the pin (104) and the at least one movable rail portion (203a and 203b) is configured to displace along the guideway (103). The pin (104) is adapted to lock the at least one movable rail portion (203a and 203b) in the second position. The roof rail assembly (200) is configured to operate in the laden configuration when the at least one movable rail portion (203a and 203b) is displaced from the first position to the second position and wherein the roof rail assembly (200) is configured to operate in the unladen configuration when the at least one movable rail portion (203a and 203b) is displaced from the first position to the second position.
Now referring to Figure 4 which illustrates an isometric view depicting a roof rail assembly (200) in the laden configuration. For explanation of the invention, two roof rails such as a first roof rail (201a) and a second roof rail (201b) are depicted and each of the first roof rail (201a) and the second roof rail (201b) are depicted with two movable rail portions such as a first movable rail portion (203a) and a second movable rail portion (203b) and the two rails such as the first rail (202a) and the second rail (202b) are depicted for the sake of explanation of the disclosure and the same should not be considered to be a limitation. The first roof rail (201a) is mounted on one side of the roof (204) along the longitudinal axis of the vehicle. The second roof rail (201b) is mounted on the other side of the roof (204) opposite to the one side mounted with the first roof rail (201a) along the longitudinal axis of the vehicle, parallel to the first roof rail (201a). Each of the first roof rail (201a) and the second roof rail (201b) comprises a first rail (202a) and a second rail (202b), at least one movable rail portion (203a and 203b) and a guideway (103). The first roof rail (201a) and the second roof rail (201b) are fixed on at least a portion of the roof (204) of the vehicle. The first movable rail portion (203a) and the second movable rail portion (203b) are movably engaged to the first rail (202a) and the second rail (202b) and are laterally displaceable between a first position and a second position relative to the first rail (202a) and the second rail (202b). The guideway (103) is defined on at least one side of the first movable rail portion (203a) and the second movable rail portion (203b) wherein the pin (104) is defined on each of the first rail (202a) and the second rail (202b).
Further, the first movable rail portion (203a) and the second movable rail portion (203b) are configured to displace along the guideway (103). The first movable rail portion (203a) and the second movable rail portion (203b) of the first roof rail (201a) and the second roof rail (201b) are displaced from the first position to the second position to operate the roof rail assembly in the laden configuration to mount luggage or load on the vehicle roof (204). Each of the first rail (202a) and the second rail (202b) are defined with two detents (106) displaceably

positioned within a slot defined by each of the first rail (202a) and the second rail (202b). While the first movable rail portion (203a) and the second movable rail portion (203b) displace vertically, the two detents (106) displace outwardly from the aperture (109) of the first movable rail portion (203a) and the second movable rail portion (203b). The two detents are configured to support the first movable rail portion (203a) and the second movable rail portion (203b) in the second position to enable mounting of the load on the roof (204) of the vehicle.
Referring again to Figure 4, each of the first movable rail portion (203a) and the second movable rail portion (203b) is defined with at least one opening (110) on an adjacent side to the side defined with the guideway (103) to mount the at least one connecting member (205) across and perpendicular to the first roof rail (201a) and the second roof rail (201b). Further, for explanation of the invention, the two connecting members (205) are depicted to be positioned across the first roof rail (201a) and the second roof rail (201b) and the same should not be considered to be a limitation. The at least one connecting member (205) is detachably coupled to at least a portion of the at least one movable rail portion (203) through an opening, to selectively mount a carrier on the roof (204) of the vehicle. When each of the at least one movable rail portion (102) of the first roof rail (201a) and the second roof rail (201b) are displaced to the second position as best seen in Figure 4, a clearance from the roof (204) the vehicle to the at least one movable rail portion (102) is defined, which allows fastening of the load on the roof (204) of the vehicle. The clearance between the at least two connecting members (205) prevents luggage mounted on the roof (204) from contacting the roof (204) of the vehicle thereby preventing damage to the roof (204). In an embodiment, the carrier fastened to the roof rail assembly (200) is selected from a group consisting of roof rack, roof bag, and cargo box. In an embodiment, the two movable rail portions (203a and 203b) are lowered to the first position by manually forcing the first detent (106a) and the second detent (106b) to change the roof rail assembly (200) to unladen configuration from the laden configuration after load on the roof (204) is removed.
In an embodiment, the roof rail allows a user to selectively mount load on the roof rail by lifting at least a portion of the roof rail while maintaining aesthetical profile of the vehicle when the load is not mounted on the roof rail

EQUIVALENTS
With respect to the use of substantially any plural and/or singular terms herein, those having skill in the art can translate from the plural to the singular and/or from the singular to the plural as is appropriate to the context and/or application. The various singular/plural permutations may be expressly set forth herein for sake of clarity.
It will be understood by those within the art that, in general, terms used herein, and especially in the appended claims (e.g., bodies of the appended claims) are generally intended as “open” terms (e.g., the term “including” should be interpreted as “including but not limited to,” the term “having” should be interpreted as “having at least,” the term “includes” should be interpreted as “includes but is not limited to,” etc.). It will be further understood by those within the art that if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is intended, such an intent will be explicitly recited in the claim, and in the absence of such recitation no such intent is present. For example, as an aid to understanding, the following appended claims may contain usage of the introductory phrases “at least one” and “one or more” to introduce claim recitations. However, the use of such phrases should not be construed to imply that the introduction of a claim recitation by the indefinite articles “a” or “an” limits any particular claim containing such introduced claim recitation to inventions containing only one such recitation, even when the same claim includes the introductory phrases “one or more” or “at least one” and indefinite articles such as “a” or “an” (e.g., “a” and/or “an” should typically be interpreted to mean “at least one” or “one or more”); the same holds true for the use of definite articles used to introduce claim recitations. In addition, even if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is explicitly recited, those skilled in the art will recognize that such recitation should typically be interpreted to mean at least the recited number (e.g., the bare recitation of “two recitations,” without other modifiers, typically means at least two recitations, or two or more recitations). Furthermore, in those instances where a convention analogous to “at least one of A, B, and C, etc.” is used, in general such a construction is intended in the sense one having skill in the art would understand the convention (e.g., “a system having at least one of A, B, and C” would include but not be limited to systems that have A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, and/or A, B, and C together, etc.). In those instances where a convention analogous to “at least one of A, B, or C, etc.” is used, in general such a construction is intended in the sense one having skill in the art would understand the convention (e.g., “a system having at least one of A, B, or C” would include but not be limited to systems that have A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C

together, B and C together, and/or A, B, and C together, etc.). It will be further understood by those within the art that virtually any disjunctive word and/or phrase presenting two or more alternative terms, whether in the description, claims, or drawings, should be understood to contemplate the possibilities of including one of the terms, either of the terms, or both terms. For example, the phrase “A or B” will be understood to include the possibilities of “A” or “B” or “A and B.”
In addition, where features or aspects of the disclosure are described in terms of Markush groups, those skilled in the art will recognize that the disclosure is also thereby described in terms of any individual member or subgroup of members of the Markush group.
While various aspects and embodiments have been disclosed herein, other aspects and embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art. The various aspects and embodiments disclosed herein are for purposes of illustration and are not intended to be limiting, with the true scope and spirit being indicated by the following claims.
Referral Numeral:

101 At least one rail
102 Movable rail portion
103 Guideway
104 Pin
105 Wall section
106a First detent
106b Second detent
107a First slot
107b Second slot
108a First resilient member
108b Second resilient member
109 Aperture
110 Opening
111 Tapered section

201a First roof rail
201b Second roof rail
202a First rail
202b Second rail
203a First movable portion
203b Second movable rail portion
204 Roof
205 At least one connecting member

We claim:
1. A roof rail (100) for a vehicle, the roof rail (100), comprising:
at least one rail (101) fixed on at least a portion of a roof (204) of the vehicle; and
at least one movable rail portion (102) movably engaged to the at least one rail (101), the at least one movable rail portion (102) is displaceable between a first position and a second position relative to the at least one rail (101),
a guideway (103) defined with a pin (104) and the at least one movable rail portion (102) configured to displace along the guideway (103);
wherein the pin (104) is adapted to lock the at least one movable rail portion (102) in the second position.
2. The roof rail as claimed in claim 1, wherein the at least one movable rail portion (102) protrudes relative to the at least one rail (101) on displacement from the first position to the second position.
3. The roof rail as claimed in claim 1, wherein the guideway (103) is defined on the at least one movable rail portion (102) and defined with a wall section (105) to engage with the pin (104) defined on the at least one rail (101), when the at least one movable rail portion (102) is displaced from the first position to the second position.
4. The roof rail as claimed in claim 1, wherein the at least one movable rail portion (102) is defined with an aperture (109), proximal to the guideway (103).
5. The roof rail as claimed in claim 1, wherein the at least one rail (101) comprises a detent (106a and 106b) movably accommodated in a slot (107a and 107b) defined in the at least one rail (101).
6. The roof rail as claimed in claim 5, wherein the detent (106a and 106b) is configured to displace into and out from the slot (107a and 107b) to operate between an engaged condition and a retracted condition, based on interaction between the at least one rail (101) and the at least one movable rail portion (102).
7. The roof rail as claimed in claim 4, wherein the aperture (109) of the at least one movable rail portion is defined with a tapered section, complementing a tapered profile of the detent (106a and 106b) of the at least one rail (101).

8. The roof rail as claimed in claim 5, wherein the detent (106a and 106b) of the at least one rail (101) is operated to the engaged condition and accommodated in the aperture (109) of the at least one movable rail portion (102), to lock the at least one movable rail portion (102) in the first position.
9. The roof rail as claimed in claim 5, wherein the detent (106a and 106b) of the at least one rail (101) is operated to the retracted condition and disengaged from the aperture (109) of the at least one movable rail portion (102), to unlock the at least one movable rail portion (102) on displacement from the first position to the second position.
10. The roof rail as claimed in claim 6, wherein the detent (106a and 106b) in the retracted condition is configured to support the at least one movable rail portion (102) in the second position.
11. The roof rail as claimed in claim 7, wherein the tapered profile of the detent (106a and 106b) is configured to slide along the tapered profile of the aperture (109), to displace the at least one movable rail portion (102) from the first position to the second position.
12. The roof rail as claimed in claim 6, wherein the at least one rail (101) comprises at least one resilient member (108a and 108b) to bias the detent (106a and 106b) between the engaged condition and the retracted condition.
13. A roof rail assembly for a vehicle, the assembly (200), comprising:
at least two roof rails (201a and 201b) attachable on a roof of the vehicle, the at least two roof rails (201a and 201b) are selectively operable between an unladen configuration and a laden configuration, wherein each roof rail of the at least two roof rails (201a and 201b) comprises:
at least one rail (101) fixed on at least a portion of a roof (204) of the vehicle; and
at least one movable rail portion (102) movably engaged to the at least one rail (101), the at least one movable rail portion is laterally displaceable between a first position and a second position relative to the at least one rail (101),
a guideway (103) defined with a pin (104) and the at least one movable rail portion (102) configured to displace along the guideway (103);
wherein the pin (104) is adapted to lock the at least one movable rail portion (102) in the second position;

at least one connecting member (205) detachably coupled to at least a portion of the at least one movable rail portion (102), to selectively mount a carrier on the roof (204) of the vehicle.
14. The roof rail assembly as claimed in claim 13, wherein the at least two roof rails (201a and 201b) are positioned parallelly along longitudinal axis of the roof of the vehicle and wherein the at least one connecting member is disposed perpendicular to the at least two roof rails.
15. The roof rail assembly as claimed in claim 13, wherein the first position of the at least one movable rail portion (102) is configured to lower the at least one connecting member (205) to the roof rail assembly (200) to operate the at least two roof rails (201a and 201b) in the unladen configuration.
16. The roof rail assembly as claimed in claim 13, wherein the second position of the at least one movable rail portion (102) rise the at least one connecting member (205) from the roof (204) of the vehicle to allow fastening of the carrier through at least one connecting member (205) and operate the at least two roof rails (201a and 201b) in the laden configuration.
17. The roof rail assembly as claimed in claim 13, wherein the carrier fastened to the roof rail assembly (200) is selected from a group consisting of roof rack, roof bag, and cargo box.
18. The roof rail assembly as claimed in claim 13, wherein the at least one movable rail portion (102) comprising at least one opening (110) to detachably couple the at least one connecting member (205) across the roof (204) of the vehicle for mounting the carrier.