FR2752793A1 - Fastening for vehicle roof load=carrying bar - Google Patents

Abstract

A load-carrying bar is fitted to a vehicle roof by supporting feet (1) with jaws (8, 9) which can be engaged with or disengaged from an anchoring member (6) fixed rigidly to the roof structure by means of a groove close to the edge of the roof. The jaws have a locking mechanism with a spring (11) for engaging with the anchoring member, which has a dovetail shape. The two jaws are made from sheet metal, slide relative to one another, and have horizontal lower edges with teeth (8b, 9b) to grip a male anchoring member, while the locking mechanism spring tends to pull the teeth towards one another. In a variant of the design the anchoring member is female with the jaw teeth fitting inside it and the spring tending to push them apart.

Description

 The present invention relates to a device for fixing a load-bearing bar on the roof of a motor vehicle, of the type comprising, in each of the support legs of the bar which rest on a roof edge region, two jaws, one of which is movable relative to the other between a first state in which the two jaws can be engaged and disengaged from an anchor which is rigidly attached to the roof structure, in the bottom of a groove formed in the surface top of the roof, near a longitudinal edge thereof, and a second state in which the two jaws are clamped against said anchor and firmly attached thereto by complementary shape, and clamping means acting on at least one of the two jaws to put them in their second state.

Load bars are already known, each of whose two support legs is equipped with a fixing device of the above-mentioned type. These load-bearing bars are intended to be fixed on the roof of certain motor vehicles, in particular on certain models of vehicles manufactured by the Company.
VOLKSWAGEN. In these known load bars, each of the two support legs of the bar is made in a hollow form and contains a fixing device one of which is fixed jaws, while the other jaw is pivotally mounted relative to the fixed jaw. A helical compression spring biases the pivoting jaw in a direction tending to move it away from the fixed jaw.

A clamping screw acts on the pivoting jaw so that the screwing of the screw brings the two jaws closer to one another to grip and tighten firmly between them the anchor piece attached to the roof of the vehicle, while by compressing the helical compression spring, and that the unscrewing of the screw allows the two jaws to move apart from each other under the action of the helical compression spring, so that they can be released from said piece anchor.

Each of the two support legs of the load bar has a hatch which must be open to have access to the clamping screw of the corresponding fastening device.

 Although such a known fastening device allows to ensure an impeccable fixation of the load bar on the roof of a vehicle, it is relatively difficult to implement. Indeed, it is first necessary to open the door of each of the two support legs of the load bar. It is then necessary, using a suitable tool, to unscrew the clamping screw of the fastening device of each of the two support legs until the pivoting jaw of each of the two support legs is sufficiently separated from the corresponding fixed jaw so that each pair of jaws can be engaged on the corresponding anchor of the roof of the vehicle. Then, the two pairs of jaws must be successively engaged on the corresponding anchor, by a vertical displacement of the foot in which the pair of jaws concerned. This last operation can be carried out only with a certain trial and error because neither the active parts of the jaws nor the anchor part are visible during this operation and it is rare that the opening between the two jaws is immediately and exactly in position. face of the corresponding roof anchor when the support leg of the load bar is approaching said anchor. Once the two jaws have been engaged on the anchor, then tighten and tighten the clamping screw with the above-mentioned tool, then close the bracket flap. The same operations must also be performed for the attachment device of the other support leg of the load bar.

 The present invention therefore aims to provide a fixing device of the type defined in the preamble, which allows to fix the foot of a load bar on the roof of a motor vehicle in a much simpler way and much more faster than with the known fastening device, and without the help of any tool.

 For this purpose, the fixing device according to the invention is characterized in that the clamping means is constituted by a spring element.

 While the coil spring compression of the known fastening device is used to separate the two jaws from one another, that is to say to put them in a state such that they can be engaged and released from the corresponding anchor, the spring element of the fastening device according to the invention is used instead to firmly press the two jaws against the anchor. As the fixing device according to the invention does not include any clamping screw, no tool is necessary to fix each support leg of the load bar to the corresponding anchor of the roof. In these conditions, and as will be seen in detail below, each support leg of the load bar can be fixed quickly and easily to the corresponding anchor of the roof of the vehicle.

 Other features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description of two embodiments of the embodiment of the invention, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: FIG. 1 is a side elevational view, broken away partial, a support leg of a load bar, comprising a fastening device according to a first embodiment of the invention; => Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view along the line II - II of Figure 1; =, Figure 3 is a vertical sectional view along line III - III of Figure 1; => Figure 4 is an elevational view of one of the parts forming a first clamping jaw of Figure 1; > Figure 5 is a vertical sectional view along line V - V of Figure 4; => Figure 6 is an elevational view of another piece forming a second jaw of the fastener of Figure 1; => Figures 7, 8 and 9 are views respectively corresponding to those of Figures 1, 4 and 6, showing a second embodiment of the fixing device according to the invention.

 In Figures 1 and 2, there is shown one of the two feet 1 of a load bar 2 (only visible in Figure 2) with a fixing device 3 for fixing the foot 1 to the roof 4 d ' a motor vehicle. In known manner, the roof 4 comprises, in its upper surface, two longitudinal grooves 5 (only one of the two grooves 5 is visible in Figure 2) which respectively extend along the longitudinal edges of the roof. On the bottom Sa of each groove 5 is fixed rigidly at least one anchor 6 shown in phantom in Figures 1 and 2 (in general, there are two anchoring pieces in each groove 5, respectively for a bar front load carrier and for a rear load bar). As shown in Figure 1, the anchor 6 usually has a male dovetail profile.

 As can be seen more particularly in FIG. 2, the support leg 1 may consist, for example, of a molded part, in the form of a butt, comprising a substantially horizontal branch, with a recess 7 into which one of the ends is fitted. of the bar 2, and a branch lb, substantially vertical or slightly oblique with respect to the vertical, which is hollow and contains the fixing device 3 according to the invention.

 This fastening device 3 essentially comprises a fastening tab 8 (shown only in FIGS. 4 and 5), which forms a first jaw intended to cooperate with the anchor piece 6, a fastener piece 9 (shown alone in FIG. 6), which forms a second jaw for cooperating with the anchor 6, and a spring 11 which acts on the two jaws 8 and 9 to press them firmly against the anchor 6 as shown in FIG.

 As shown, the two jaws 8 and 9 may consist of sheet metal parts, for example sheet steel. The two sheet metal parts respectively forming the jaws 8 and 9 are joined to one another by one of their large faces and can slide on one another in a relative translational movement as will be described later. As shown in Figures 4 and 6, each of the two sheet metal parts forming the jaws 8 and 9 is cut, for example by stamping, so as to have a substantially horizontal lower edge, respectively 8a or 9a, with a tooth respectively 8b or 9b, which projects downwards and whose sidewall, respectively 8c or 9c, is undercut.

The two flanks 8c and 9c of the teeth are oriented towards each other and inclined so as to define, with the lower edges 8a and 9a of the jaws 8 and 9, a female dovetail coupling profile, which is complementary to the male dovetail coupling profile of the anchor piece 6.

 Preferably, the spring 11 is constituted by a helical spring. In this case, each of the two sheet metal parts forming the jaws 8 and 9 is cut so as to have an elongated opening, respectively 8d or 9d, which extends parallel to the lower edge 8a or 9a of the corresponding sheet metal part. .

The two openings 8d and 9d overlap each other over a portion of their length and the coil spring 11 is disposed in the overlapping portions of the openings 8d and 9d. The coil spring 11 is supported at one end against an end 8e of the opening 8d and at its other end against the opposite end 9e of the opening 9d. Each of the two sheet metal parts forming the jaws 8 and 9 comprises a tongue, respectively 8f or 9f, which protrudes longitudinally in the opening 8d or 9d of the corresponding part from the end 8e or 9e of this opening. The tabs 8f and 9f serve to retain the spring 11 in the overlapping portions of the openings 8d and 9d.

 The two sheet metal parts forming the jaws 8 and 9 are held contiguous to each other and guided in translation relative to each other by guide means which will now be described. For this purpose, one of the two parts forming the jaws 8 and 9, for example the part 9, is cut so as to have an elongated opening 9g, which extends parallel to its lower edge 9a, close to the one of its ends, and a 9h hole located near its other end. The other piece, for example the piece 8, is cut to form a tab 8g, whose width corresponds to that of the opening 9g of the piece 9. The tab 8g is folded at right angles to the piece 8 so as to engage and be guided in the opening 9g of the piece 9. Although this is not absolutely essential, the tab 8g preferably comprises, at its free end, an enlarged portion 8h which clings behind the longitudinal edges of the opening 9g of the part 9. The part 8 further comprises, opposite the tab 8g, another opening 8i, of elongate shape, which extends parallel to its lower edge 8a and which covers the hole 9h of the part 9. A bolt 12, whose threaded rod 12a passes through the opening 8i of the part 8 and the hole 9h of the part 9, and a nut 13 hold the two parts 8 and 9 joined to each other face to face (Figure 3). Of course, the nut 13 must not be tightly tightened, so that the two parts 8 and 9 can slide on one another.

 Preferably, when the two parts 8 and 9 are assembled to one another as described above, the lower edge 9a of the part 9 is set back, that is to say shifted upwards, by relative to the lower edge 8a of the part 8, as can be seen in FIG. 1 and as also shown in FIG. 6, in which the dashed line 14 represents the position occupied by the lower edge 8a of the part 8. Thanks to this measurement, the spring 11 can compensate for all the operating clearances of the fixing device 3 when the jaws formed by the parts 8 and 9 are clamped against the anchoring piece 6.

 Preferably, one of the two parts 8 and 9, for example the part 8 may further comprise a flange 15, folded horizontally (Figures 4 and 5) which extends over at least a portion of the length of the lower edge 8a of this piece. This rim 15 serves as a stop to limit the transverse movement of the two jaws 8 and 9 in the groove 5 of the roof 4 (FIG. 2), in particular to prevent one or the other of the teeth 8b and 9b of the jaws 8 and 9, which have a relatively small thickness, can not be engaged in the gap between the anchoring piece 6 and one of the flanks of the groove 5.

 In the embodiment described here by way of example, the fastening tab 8 which forms one of the two jaws, extends upwardly within the hollow leg lb of the support leg 1 to a shoulder 16 serving as a stop for the end of the bar 2 which is fitted into the recess 7 of the branch 1a of said support leg. At its upper end, the fastener 8 has a hole 17 (FIGS. 4 and 5), which is aligned with a hole formed in the shoulder 16 and through which an assembly screw 18 (FIG. is screwed into a nut 19 held prisoner in one end of the bar 2, in a similar arrangement to that shown in Figure 5 of EP-B-0 354 104.

However, in the present case, since the upper end of the fixing lug 8 bears against the shoulder 16, the screw 18 and the nut 19 serve only to fix together the support leg 1, the bar 2 and the bracket 8.

It goes without saying, however, that other known means could be used to fasten together the three elements 1, 2 and 8, or that separate fastening means could be used to fasten on the one hand the foot 1 to the bar 2 and, on the other hand, the foot 1 to the bracket 8.

 We will now describe how the load bar that has been described above can be easily and quickly attached to the roof 4 of the vehicle, with reference to Figure 1. First, the load bar is placed on the roof 4 in a position such that the tooth 9b of the jaw 9 of the fixing device 3 associated with each of its two feet 1 is engaged in the corresponding groove 5 of the roof and is close to one of the ends of the piece of corresponding anchorage 6, and that the tooth 8b of the jaw 8 of the fixing device 3 rests on the top of the anchoring piece 6. Then, the user moves one of the two feet in the direction of the arrow F until the tooth 9b comes into contact with the end 6a of the anchor piece 6. Then, the user exerts a stronger thrust on the foot 1, always in the direction of the arrow F, in order to compress the spring 11. Indeed, in this situation, the tooth 9b e it is supported on the end 6a of the anchoring piece 6 and the spring 1 1 rests on the end 9e of the opening 9d of the jaw 9, so that, under the effect of the aforementioned thrust , the end 8e of the opening 8d of the jaw 8 compresses the spring 11. Under these conditions, under the effect of said thrust, the tooth 8b of the jaw 8 deviates from the tooth 9b of the jaw 9. The user pushes the foot 1 until the tooth 8b, sliding on the top of the anchor 6, passes beyond the end 6b of this anchor and that, consequently, the tooth 8b can penetrate deeper into the groove 5 by a slight tilting of the foot 1 down around the end 6a of the anchoring piece 6. The user can then stop exerting the thrust on the foot 1 , so that the tooth 8b of the jaw 8 is automatically applied against the end 6b of the anchoring piece 6 under the effect of the restoring force of the re ssort 11.

The user can then attach the other foot of the load bar by performing the same operations as those described above. Note that the load bar can be easily and quickly detached from the roof of the vehicle by performing the same operations, in the reverse order of that described above.

 The anchoring piece 6, the two jaws 8 and 9 and the spring 11 are dimensioned such that, when the user releases the foot 1 and the two teeth 8b and 9b respectively come into contact with the ends 6b and 6a of the anchoring piece 6, the spring 1 1 is still sufficiently compressed so that not only the two teeth 8b and 9b are firmly pressed against the ends 6b and 6a of the anchoring piece 6, but also that the clamping force thus obtained is able to withstand loads, temporary or continuous, to which the foot 1 can be subjected in service, so that the fastening device 3 can not detach from the anchor 6 inadvertently under the effect of said loads. These charges can be generated for example by inertia forces occurring in case of acceleration or deceleration of the vehicle, for example in the event of sudden braking or in case of collision of the vehicle with another vehicle or an obstacle, particularly in case frontal or rear collision. It may also be pulling forces directed upwards and generated by the relative wind when the vehicle is running. Such tearing forces may be produced for example by the aerodynamic forces acting on the lower surface of a load, for example a windsurf board, attached to the load bars. For this purpose, the fixing device 3 is designed such that, when the spring 1 1 is not compressed, the spacing between the teeth 8b and 9b of the jaws 8 and 9 is smaller than the length of the piece 6. In other words, the female dovetail profile defined by the two teeth 8b and 9b is narrower than the male dovetail profile of the anchor 6. In addition, the spring 1 1 is chosen so as to have a relatively strong stiffness. For example, the spring stiffness may be 2.5 DaN. Finally, the undercut angle of the teeth 8b and 9b of the jaws 8 and 9 and the angle formed by each of the ends 6a and 6b of the anchor piece 6 relative to the horizontal may be between 40 and 500 and are preferably 450.

 In the embodiment which has just been described, the anchor piece 6 had a male dovetail hooking profile. However, the invention is also applicable in the case where the anchor 6 has a female dovetail hooking profile, as shown in FIGS. 7 to 9.

In this case, the tooth 8b of the bracket 8 is no longer at one end of the lower edge 8a of this bracket, but at a point of the lower edge 8a located below the region between the two openings 8d and 8i of the bracket, as shown in Figure 8. Similarly, the tooth 9b of the part 9 is no longer at one end of the lower edge 9a of this piece, but roughly in the middle of the lower edge 9a, as shown in Figure 9. For the rest, the parts 8 and 9 of Figures 8 and 9 are identical to the parts 8 and 9 of Figures 4 and 6.

 Thus, when the parts 8 and 9 of Figures 8 and 9 are joined to each other, face against face, with the spring 1 1 in their openings 8d and 9d, as described above about the first mode embodiment, they define a male dovetail hooking profile, as shown in Figure 7, which is adapted to cooperate with the female dovetail hooking profile of the piece of dovetail. 6. In this second embodiment, the teeth 8b and 9b of the two parts 8 and 9 are arranged such that, when the spring 1 1 is not compressed, the shackle-shaped attachment profile male dovetail defined by the two teeth is wider than the female dovetail hooking profile of the anchor piece 6.

 With this second embodiment of the fixing device 3, each leg 1 of the load bar can be fixed to the corresponding anchor 6 in the following manner. The tooth 9b of the part 9 is first engaged in the female profile of the anchor 6 and the foot 1 is pushed in the direction of the arrow F until the tooth 9b abuts against the side 6a of said female profile. Then, by exerting a stronger thrust on the foot 1, always in the direction of the arrow F, the spring 1 1 is compressed and the tooth 8b is close to the tooth 9b. As soon as the tooth 8b passes beyond the side 6b of the female profile of the anchor piece 6 by sliding on the top thereof, it can be engaged in said female profile by a slight tilting of the foot 1 downwards. Then, ceasing to exert a thrust on the foot 1, the tooth 8b is pressed against the side 6b of the female profile of the anchor 6 under the action of the force of the return spring 11, and the two teeth 8b and 9b are firmly pressed against the sides 6b and 6a of said female profile by the spring 11 which remains compressed, as in the first embodiment.

 It goes without saying that the embodiments of the invention which have been described above have been given by way of purely illustrative and non-limiting example, and that many modifications can be made by those skilled in the art without as far out of the scope of the invention. Thus, in particular, instead of being guided so as to translate with respect to one another, the two jaws of the fixing device could be pivotally mounted relative to one another. other. In addition, instead of using a spring working in compression to press the two jaws against opposite sides of the anchor 6, one could also use a tension spring. Instead of using a coil spring, other types of spring elements could also be used, such as Belleville washers, a bending spring or a torsion spring.

Claims (12)

1. Device for attaching a load bar (2) to the roof (4) of a vehicle  automobile, of the type comprising, in each of the support legs (1) of the  bar resting on a roof edge region, two jaws (8  and 9) one of which is mobile relative to the other between a first state in  which both jaws can be engaged and released from one piece  anchor (6) which is fixed rigidly to the roof structure (4) in the bottom  a groove (5) formed in the upper surface of the roof, near an edge  of the latter, and a second state in which the two jaws (8 and  9) are clamped against said anchor (6) and firmly attached to  it by complementarity of form, and a clamping means acting on to  minus one of the two jaws (8 and 9) to put them in their second state,  characterized in that said clamping means is constituted by an element  spring (11). 2. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the anchor (6) has  a dovetail profile, and in that the two jaws (8 and 9)  define, at least in their second state, a snap profile  complementary to that of the anchor. 3. Device according to claim 2, characterized in that the two jaws (8  and 9) consist of sheet metal parts, which are joined to each other by  one of their big faces, can slide on one another and have an edge  lower (8a, 9a) substantially horizontal, with a protruding tooth (8b, 9b)  down from the lower edge of the corresponding sheet metal part and from which  a flank (8c, 9c) is undercut, the undercut flanks of the two  teeth defining the dovetail hooking profile of the two jaws. 4. Device according to claim 3, characterized in that the tail profile  of the anchor piece (6) is a male profile, while the profile in  dovetail defined by the teeth (8b and 9b) of the jaws is a profile  female, and that said spring element (11) acts on both jaws (8  and 9) in a direction tending to bring the two teeth (8b and 9b) closer to each other.  the other. 5. Device according to claim 3, characterized in that the tail profile  of the anchor piece (6) is a female profile, while the profile in  dovetail defined by the teeth (8b and 9b) of the jaws is a male profile,  and in that said spring element (11) acts on both jaws (8 and 9)  in a direction tending to separate the two teeth (8b and 9b) from one another. 6. Device according to any one of claims 3 to 5, characterized in that  each of the sheet metal parts forming the jaws (8 and 9) comprises a  first opening (8d or 9d) of elongated shape, which extends parallel to  its lower edge (8a or 9a), in that the first openings of the two  sheet metal parts overlap each other over part of their length, and  the spring element (11) is a coil spring which is arranged in the  overlapping portions of the first openings (8d and 9d) of the two  sheet metal parts (8 and 9) and bears, at one end, against one end (8e)  of one of the first openings and, at its other end, against the end  opposite (9e) of the other first opening. 7. Device according to claim 6, characterized in that each of the two  sheet metal parts (8 and 9) has a protruding tongue (8f or 9f)  longitudinally in the first opening (8d or 9d) of the workpiece  corresponding from the end (8th or 9th) of the first opening on  which rests the spring (11), and which serves to retain said spring in said  first opening. 8. Device according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that one (9) of the two  jaws (8 and 9) is movable in translation relative to the other jaw (8)  in a direction parallel to their horizontal lower edge (8a, 9a), and in that  it comprises guiding means (8g, 9g, 8i, 12, 13) for guiding the  relative movement of translation of the jaws (8 and 9). 9. Device according to claim 8, characterized in that a first (9) of  two sheet metal parts (8 and 9) has a second opening (9g) of shape  elongate, which extends parallel to its lower edge (9a) near one of its  ends, and a hole (9h) located near its other end, in that the  second (8) of the two sheet metal parts (8 and 9) comprises a folded tab (8g), which  engages and is guided in the second opening (9g) of the first piece  sheet metal (9), and a second elongate opening (8i) extending  parallel to its lower edge (8a), and in that a bolt assembly (12)  nut (13), whose threaded rod (12a) passes through the hole (9h) of the first piece  sheet (9) and the second opening (8i) of the second sheet metal part (8) serves both  to maintain the two sheet metal parts (8 and 9) contiguous to each other face against  facing and guiding their relative translational movement in cooperation with  said folded tab (8g) of the second sheet metal part (8) and the second opening  (9g) of the first sheet metal part (9). 10. Device according to claim 9, characterized in that the folded tab (8g) of  the second sheet metal part (8) has an enlarged portion (8h) at its end  free, which clings behind the longitudinal edges of the second opening  (9g) of the first sheet metal part (9). 11. Device according to any one of claims 3 to 10, characterized in that  the lower edge (9a) of the sheet metal part forming the jaw (9) which is  movable relative to the other jaw (8) is shifted upwards relative to the  lower edge (8a) of the sheet metal part forming said other jaw. 12. Device according to claim 11, characterized in that one (8) of the two  sheet metal parts comprises a flange (15) folded horizontally, which extends over  at least a portion of the length of the lower edge (8a) of said sheet metal part  and which serves as a stop to limit the transverse movement of the two jaws  (8 and 9) in the groove (5) of the roof (4).