GB2106060A

GB2106060A - Airstream deflectors for vehicles

Info

Publication number: GB2106060A
Application number: GB08225879A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Werner Hagen
Original assignee: Westfaelische Metall Industrie KG Hueck and Co
Current assignee: Westfaelische Metall Industrie KG Hueck and Co
Priority date: 1981-09-17
Filing date: 1982-09-10
Publication date: 1983-04-07
Also published as: SE8205070D0; GB2106060B; DE3136937A1; SE8205070L

Abstract

An airstream deflector for the roof of a vehicle having a rear roof portion on higher than a front roof portion comprises a deflector plate (1) mounted on the front roof portion through laterally spaced holders (4). Each holder provides a vertically adjustable location (10) for a front pivot pin (9) for the plate, to give precise adjustment of the tilt of the plate and the height of its front edge, and a rear attachment guide slot (15) for clamping means (17, 18). The plate and holders are formed as plastics blow mouldings and are connected together by metal angle members (12) which also allow adjustment of the holders laterally to suit different roof widths. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Airstream deflectors for vehicles The invention relates to an airstream deflector to be mounted on the roof of a vehicle with a rear roof portion which is situated at a higher level in comparison with a preceding front roof portion.

Such an airstream deflector is known from the DE-GM 76 21113, the deflector being secured to the gutter or drip mouldings of the front roof portion and being mounted for pivoting about a pin in the front region, therewith to be located in its operative position. In this deflector the gap between its lower longitudinal edge and the vehicle roof is very small so that nearly the whole airstream generating drag during travel is guided over the rear roof portion.

Embedded in the airstream deflector, at its lower longitudinal edge, is a metal tube which is pivotally mounted, at each of its two free ends, in an angle member secured to the drip moulding. After the deflector has been pivoted into the optimum position in relation to the rear roof portion it can be supported on the drip moulding, in the rear third by rods. The manufacture of the two supporting rods is expensive because they are continuously adjustable in length. In addition mounting and dismounting the deflector is complicated and time-consuming.

According to the present invention, there is provided an airstream deflector comprising a deflector plate and a mounting for securing said plate to the front roof portion of a vehicle having a front roof portion and a rear roof portion at a higher level relative to the front roof portion, said mounting comprising respective holders disposed at opposite sides of the deflector plate and adapted to be secured to the lateral margins of the vehicle front roof portion, the holders being provided with pivot means about which the deflector plate is pivotable to and from an operative position, said pivot means having an adjustable-height pivot axis, each holder further comprising an upwardly extending guide slot or recess spaced from the pivot means and to which the deflector plate is secured after the pivoting movement.

With such an arrangement, the airstream deflector may be secured to each of the two gutter or drip mouldings of the vehicle roof with only one holder, and after once being adjusted in its optimum position in relation to the front and rear roof portions, can be mounted easily and quickly (for example on a private car to be used with a camping trailer).

Advantageously, a plurality of spaced holes, situated one above the other, are provided in each holder of the airstream deflector to be engaged selectively by pivot pins of said pivot means. The required spacing between deflector plate and vehicle roof determines in which holes the pivot pins are inserted. As a result, it is possible to keep the spacing between the vehicle roof and the lower longitudinal edge of the deflector plate very small.

The bearing positions of the pivot pins of the deflector can be simply and cheaply produced if, in each holder, a screw passes with its threaded shank through one of its holes and through an opening in an angled portion of the airstream deflector directed downwards and bearing against the holder, and a nut screwed onto the threaded shank presses the angled portion of the airstream deflector against the holder. In this case, it is advisable to make the opening in each angled portion of the deflector an elongated slot formed as a plurality of overlapping bores corresponding in diameter to the threaded shank, the longitudinal direction of the slot extending substantially vertically. Such a configuration renders it possible to alter the spacing between vehicle roof and airstream deflector in very small steps. In this case, the spacing can be set very small in an optimum manner.

It is a further advantage if a screw passes with its threaded shank through a generally vertical elongated slot in the holder and through an elongated slot in the angled portion extending substantially transversely to the former slot and a nut which is screwed onto the threaded shank presses the angled portion against the holder so as to be secure against displacement. During the pivoting of the airstream deflector plate about its pivot, the screw is able to be displaced simultaneously in the two elongated slots disposed substantially at right angles to one another in the holder and the angled portion respectively.

After the pivoting adjustment, the deflector plate can be secured easily and quickly by tightening the nuts screwed onto each pair of cap screws.

The deflector plate together with the two holders can be given ample rigidity if they are produced by a blow moulding method from heat-formable plastics material. The two angled portions of the airstream deflector may then be formed by separate angle members which are each secured by one face to the underside of the deflector plate, conveniently using cap screws and nuts.

In this case it is advisable for the threaded shank of each screw to pass through a slot in its angle member extending transversely to the direction of travel and for both holders to be disposed each in a recess in the airstream deflector. Such an airstream deflector can be mounted on the vehicles with a larger range of widths by displacing the two holders to suit.

It can be arranged that the airstream deflector may be mounted easily and quickly on the two gutter or drip mouldings of the vehicle by hand, if the nuts of the screws are inserted in finger grips, e.g. consisting of plastics material.

The accompanying drawings illustrate one embodiment of the invention by way of example. In the drawings: Figure 1 shows the deflector plate with one holder but without attachment screws, in side view, Figure 2 shows a section through the holder on the line A-A in Figure 1, Figure 3 shows a section on the line B-B in Figure 2,and Figure 4 shows a section on the line C-C in Figure 2.

The drawing shows an airstream deflector comprising a deflector plate 1 which is secured to each of the conventional gutter or drip mouldings 2 dis posed at the sides of a vehicle roof by a respective holder 3. The deflector plate 1 has great rigidity because it is produced by a blow moulding process from heat-formable plastics material. The two holders 3, secured to the drip mouldings 2 have generally tongue-like bodies 4 which point vertically upwards and which are likewise produced by a blow moulding process from heat-formable plastics material. Each body 4 projects with its lower end, into the associated drip moulding 2 and is secured to the drip moulding 2 by a cap screw 5, the threaded shank of which passes through the body 4 and a securing channel member 6 engaging externally round the drip moulding 2, and is fastened by a nut 7 screwed onto the threaded shank.The two bodies 4 each project into a respective right-angled recess 8 in the deflector plate 1.

The deflector plate 1 is pivotable, about its front region, through coaxial pins 9 disposed transversely to the direction of travel. In each body 4 a pin 9 is inserted selectively in one of a plurality of holes 10 disposed vertically one above the other and spaced apart. Bearing against each of the adjacent sides of the two bodies 4 is a downwardly directed angled portion 11 forming part of a sheet-metal angle member 12 secured to the underside of the deflector plate 1. The threaded shank of a cap screw 14 passes through an opening 13 in the angled portion 11 and through a selected hole 10 in the tongue 4, and the angled portion 11 is pressed against the tongue 4 by a nut 23 screwed onto the threaded shank.The opening 13 in the angled portion 11 is formed by a plurality of bores which are disposed one above the other and overlap, in the form of an elongated slot, and which each have a diameter matched to the diameter of the threaded shank. The resulting elongated dimension of the slot extends substantially vertically. There is thus the possibility of combining selected apertures 10 and selected positions in the openings 13 to provide passages for the securing screws 14, so as to give a wide range of coarse and fine adjustment of the deflector plate pivot axis height.

In the rear region, each tongue 4 comprises an elongated slot 15 extending vertically. An overlapping elongated slot 16, extending generally horizontally or parallel to the plate, is formed in the angled portion 11 of the associated sheet-metal angle member 12. During the pivoting of the deflector plate 1, a cap screw 17, passing through the two elongated slots 15 and 16, is displaced along both slots. After the deflector plate has been pivoted into the operative position, each angled portion 11 already rigidly connected to the deflector plate 1 can be secured against displacement on the body 4 by tightening a nut 18 engaging in the threaded shank of the cap screw 17.

The arms 19 of the sheet-metal angle members 12 are each secured to the underside of the deflector 1 by two cap screws 20, the threaded shanks of which pass through the deflector plate and the elongated slot 22 in the arm 19 to be secured by means of a nut 21 in each case. The elongated slots 22 extend transversely to the direction of travel of the vehicle.

As a result, the spacing of the two bodies 4 in relation to one another can be adapted to the roof width of the vehicle when the airstream deflector is mounted thereon.

The nuts of the cap screws are shown inserted in finger grip portions, which may consist of plastics material. As a result the deflector plate and its two holders can be mounted and adjusted easily and quickly on the vehicle roof by hand.

Claims

1. An airstream deflector comprising a deflector plate and a mounting for securing said plate to the front roof portion of a vehicle having a front roof portion and a rear roof portion at a higher level relative to the front roof portion, said mounting comprising respective holders disposed at opposite sides of the deflector plate and adapted to be secured to the lateral margins of the vehicle front roof portion, the holders being provided with pivot means about which the deflector plate is pivotable to and from an operative position, said pivot means having an adjustable-height pivot axis, each holder further comprising an upwardly extending guide slot or recess spaced from the pivot means and to which the deflector plate is secured after the pivoting movement.

2. A deflector according to claim 1 wherein said pivot means comprises a plurality of selectively engageable apertures defining alternative pivot axes situated one above the other.

3. A deflector according to claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the deflector plate is secured to the holders through respective vertically disposed angled portions of the plate.

4. A deflector according to claim 3 wherein a releasable securing member clamps each said angled portion in contact with a face of the associated holder.

5. A deflector according to claim 4 wherein each said angled portion comprises an opening for receiv ing the member securing it to the holder, said opening having an elongate shape extending generally upwardly formed by a plurality of overlapping bores each arranged to receive the securing member.

6. A deflector according to any one of the preceding claims wherein said upwardly extending slots or recesses are engaged by respective securing members that also engage elongate receiving slots or recesses in fixed positions with respect to the deflector plate and extending generally transversely to said slots or recesses of the holders.

7. A deflector according to any one of the claims 3 to 5 together with claim 6 wherein said transverse ly extending slots or recesses are provided in said angled portions.

8. A deflector according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the holders and the deflector plate are produced from heat-formable plastics material.

9. A deflector according to claim 8 together with any one of claims 3 to 5 or 7 wherein said angled portions are provided by separate angle members releasably secured to both the deflector plate and to the holders.

10. A deflector according to claim 9 wherein said angle members are provided with slots extending transversely to the direction of travel for adjustable location of the elements with respect to the deflector plate.

11. A vehicle according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the holders are located in respective lateral recesses in the deflector plate.

12. A deflector according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the mounting means comprises screw-and-nut connections in at least some of which the nuts are carried in plastic finger-grip elements.

13. An airstream deflector constructed and arranged for use substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings.

14. Avehicle provided with an airstream deflector according to any one of the preceding claims.