GB2118115A

GB2118115A - Flexible cover for vehicles

Info

Publication number: GB2118115A
Application number: GB08200170A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Colin John Taylor; Rex Joseph Taylor
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1982-01-05
Filing date: 1982-01-05
Publication date: 1983-10-26
Also published as: GB2118115B

Abstract

A flexible cover for motor cycles, other vehicles, or other objects comprises a flexible waterproof sheet; a roller to which one end of the sheet is secured, and from and about which the sheet can respectively be rolled and unrolled; a holder in which the roller is journaled; and means to secure one end of the unrolled sheet to an end region, for example to the handlebar, of a motor cycle or other object to be covered. The sheet is so sized and shaped that, when secured to the object and unrolled, it exhibits opposed side flaps which hang from the central region of the sheet to provide at least partial protection for each side of the covered object. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Flexible cover The invention relates to flexible covers and is especially, though not exclusively, applicable to covers for motor cycles or other vehicles.

Given the difficulties of travelling to work in most major towns and cities, and of parking once having arrived there, more and more people are using motor cycles as daily transport. City-centre on-street parking areas are often set aside for the exclusive use of solo motor cycles. Very few of these motor cycles are covered whilst they are parked. The seat of an uncovered motor cycle which has been exposed to rain can be very difficult to wipe dry, especially if it is still raining at the time. A wet seat can quickly penetrate the nominally waterproof but porous plastics riding suits favoured by most motor cyclists nowadays.

In addition, of course, a motor cycle which is left exposed to the weather throughout the working day will deteriorate more quickly than one which is covered; and its resale value will deteriorate similarly.

Covers are available for motor cycles and for other vehicles. They comprise a relatively large flexible waterproof sheet which is usually heatseamed to the approximate shape of the vehicle to be covered. Such sheets however are very awkward to fold up after use, especially when wet; they take up valuable storage space when being carried on a vehicle such as a motor cycle having little storage space; and if they are not unfolded again and properly dried-out before they are next used then their life will be short.

For these reasons there are relatively few such covers in use amongst the many motor cyclists who daily park their vehicles in towns and cities and leave them parked there throughout the working day.

The invention seeks to provide a flexible cover which is especially suitable for use as a motor cycle cover and which is convenient to use, equally convenient to pack up after use, and is generally without the drawbacks of the traditional one-piece shaped cover just discussed.

According to the invention the cover comprises a flexible waterproof sheet; a roller -- solid or hollow - to which one end of the sheet is secured, and from and about which the sheet can be respectively rolled and unrolled; a holder in which the roller is journaled; and means to secure one end of the unrolled sheet to an end region (for example to the handlebar) of a motor cycle or other object to be covered; the sheet being so sized and shaped that, when secured to the object and unrolled, it exhibits opposed side flaps which hang from the central region of the sheet to provide at least partial protection for each side of the covered object.

Such a cover can be clipped via its holder to, say, the handlebar of a motor cycle; the sheet can be unrolled to expose the side flaps and to cover most of the top and sides of the machine; and, after use, the sheet and its flaps can be rolled back into the holder to form an elongate tube of material which can readily be carried on the motor cycle without taking up valuable storage space.

Alternatively the free end of the sheet may be secured to, say, the handlebar and the holder then extended along the top of the machine to unroll the sheet and side flaps.

Thus the means to secure the said one end of the sheet to the vehicle may attach to the holder or to the unrolled free end of the sheet.

If such means attach to the holder, the sheet can be rolled steadily and smoothly back into the holder, after use, from the other end of the vehicle, and the supported holder provides a relatively stable axis for the advancing sheet. If alternatively the said means attach to the free end of the sheet, the holder will have to be brought back along the vehicle as the sheet is rolled, but the weight of the holder and roller may well enable the unrolled sheet to hang without its holder end having to be secured to the vehicle. Both alternatives thus have their respective advantages.

Whichever end of the sheet incorporates the said securing means, the other sheet-end may also incorporate means to secure it releasably to a region of the vehicle once the sheet has been unrolled. If both ends of the sheet are so secured when unrolled, the sheet is less likely to be blown off the machine by strong winds or shifted by the weight of accumulated falling snow in bad weather.

For the same reason the side flaps may also incorporate means to secure them to the vehicle once the sheet has been unrolled.

The sheet may be so sized and shaped that its central region spans substantially the full width of the holder, and its side flaps have to be folded onto the central region before the unrolled sheet and flaps can be rolled back into the holder. Such an arrangement would give the sheet maximum vehicle-protective effect for a given width of holder.

Alternatively the opened-out sheet and flaps may be contained within the width of the holder, so that the unrolled sheet is able to be rolled back into the holder without the flaps first having to be folded onto the central region of the sheet. This arrangement would be quicker and less bothersome to operate than the one just outlined and might, for that reason, prove commercially more popular.

The means which secure the said one end of the sheet may also enable the holder, containing the rolled sheet, to be carried releasably on the vehicle without taking up conventional storage space. For example such means may comprise clips which attach to the holder and which, as well as securing the holder to the handlebar or another region of a motor cycle for unrolling, could also secure the rolled cover releasably to a frame tube or a rear carrier bar of the motor cycle when the cover was not in use. Instead of, or as well as, such clips, the securing means could comprise an elastic cord spanning the width of the cover and enabling the rolled cover to be worn bandolier fashion by the motor cyclist in much the same way as, for example, anglers carry cases containing the various parts of their rods when they travel by motor cycle.

If the sheet is rolled wet, its life will be shortened. The holder may therefore incorporate a blade, spanning the sheet, which wipes the top surface of the sheet as the sheet approaches the roller.

The sheet may be spring-loaded towards a fully-rolled condition, or it may be manually or electrically rolled. Either of these last two constructions may be spring-assisted to roll the sheet.

The sheet may incorporate advertising material on the top surface of its central region and/or on the outer surface of each of its side flaps. Although it is not new to put advertising material on flexible waterproof sheets, it is believed to be entirely novel to incorporate it onto a vehicle cover, especially a motor cycle cover, and especially of course a cover in accordance with the present invention. Given the relatively large area of advertising space offered by a motor cycle cover, and the many motor cycles now parked in most town centres and city centres, this aspect of the invention could commercially be very successful.

The advertising material could be extremely eyecatching, brightly coloured, and spread over virtually the entire top surface of the cover when unrolled. At the same time, once the cover was rolled for transport after use, the advertising material would disappear and would therefore not constitute a hazardous distraction to other traffic in homeward-bound rush-hour conditions.

The accompanying drawings show several vehicle covers each embodying the invention.

They are only examples of forms which the invention might take within its broadest aspect.

They will now be described with reference to the drawings, in which: Figure 1 shows a motor cycle cover in perspective; Figures 2A and 2D show parts of the cover in detail; Figure 3 shows another motor cycle cover in perspective; and Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 3 but showing yet another cover embodying the invention.

Referring initially to Figures 1 to 2D, a flexible waterproof plastics sheet is referenced 11 and is rectangular in shape with opposed triangular side flaps 1 a, 1 b hanging from each of its respective opposite longitudinal edges. One end of this sheet is fixed to a roller 12 which carries discs 13, 14 spaced apart by the width of the sheet 11 and which is itself journaled at each of its opposite ends in the end-plates of a hollow tubular holder 15.

A slot 1 6 is cut along the outer surface of the tubular holder 1 5 and extends from one disc 1 3 of the roller 12 to the other disc 14. As Figure 2A shows, the slot 1 6 is not straight. It curves from one of its ends to the opposite end, but it is symmetrical, when viewed as in Figure 2A, about the mid-plane of the roller 12 between the discs 13,14.

The slot 16 allows the sheet 11 into the tube 1 5 and onto the roller 12. To roll the sheet, the side flaps 11 a,11 b are first folded under the central region of the sheet 11, to meet along the centreline of that surface without overlapping, and the whole sheet is then rolled into the tube 1 5 by a manually-operated mechanism which will shortly be described.

A rubber blade 1 7 extends from the top edge of the slot 1 6 and spans the width of the slot and hence the width of the incoming rolled sheet 11. A similar blade 1 8 spans the under-surface of the sheet. If, after use, the sheet 11 and its side flaps 11 a,11 b are wet, the blade 17 wipes the top surface of the sheet 11 and the blade 18 wipes the folded-under top surfaces of the side flaps 11 a,11 b as the sheet is rolled.

One end 1 2a of the roller 12 is squared in cross-section, as illustrated in Figure 2A, as it emerges from its adjacent bearing in the end-plate 15a of the tube 15. The hub 19 of a handle assembly 19, 21, 22 receives this squared-off roller end 1 2a and is pinned to it. When the handle assembly is rotated, the roller rotates inside the tube 1 5. As shown in Figures 2B, 2C and 2D, the handle 21, 22 can pivot 180 degrees about the boss 1 9 from its rolling to its non-rolling position.

The pivot is indicated at 23. Thus when the handle is not being used to roll or unroll the sheet 11, it can be pivoted into a position in which it does not project appreciably from the end-plate 15a.

As Figures 2B and 2C show, the end-plate 15a is notched about is periphery. When the sheet has been rolled, and the handle pivoted into its out-ofuse position (Figure 2C), the boss 22 of the handle sits in one of the notches and prevents the sheet 11 from unrolling itself. The handle 21 may be spring-loaded into its in-use and out-of-use positions, by known methods, to assist the quick unrolling of the sheet 11 and the secure retention of the rolled sheet, respectively.

If, when the sheet has been rolled, the handle 21 is pivoted towards its Figure 2C position and it is found that the boss 22 is in between successive notches in the periphery of the end-plate 1 5a, there will virtually always be sufficient "give" in the roll to enable the handle to be forced on to the next notch (i.e. to be forced anti-clockwise in Figure 2C). This '!give" will be provided by a combination of the inherent resilience of the sheet material, the shiny and hence friction-free nature of most waterproof materials, and the fact that the rolled side flaps 11 a, 11 b will prevent the roll itself from being completely tight initially.

Resilient plastics clips 23, 24 are fixed to the outer surface of the tubular holder 1 5 diametrically opposite the slot 1 6 from which the sheet and its side flaps emerge. These clips secure the holder 15, in use, to the handlebar of a motor cycle (not shown). An elongate circular-section plastics strip 25 is seamed into the free end of the sheet 11 and butts up against the two blades 17, 1 8 without entering the tubular holder 1 5 when the sheet is rolled.

The weight of the strip 25 enables the unrolled free end of the sheet 11 to hang down over the rear mudguard of the covered motorcycle without needing to be secured positively to the mudguard.

In Figure 3, however, a different cover is shown in which the sheet-end-strip 25 incorporates means to secure that sheet-end to the covered vehicle.

The securing means comprises a loop 26 moulded integrally with a hook 27. Either the loop or the hook can be used as appropriate to anchor the end of the sheet 11 to the vehicle.

The Figure 3 construction also illustrates side flaps 11 a,11 b which when opened out are contained within the width of the slot 1 6 in the tubular holder. It is not necessary to fold these side flaps over, or under, onto the central region of the sheet before the sheet can be rolled. The blade 1 8 could thus be dispensed with.

In Figure 4, the holder, and the free end 25 of the sheet, are each spanned by respective elastic cords 28, 29 which attach the opposite ends of the cover to the vehicle when the sheet is unrolled and which, with the sheet rolled, are together grasped and stretched over a user's head and shoulder to enable the rolled cover to be carried bandolier-fashion.

In Figure 4 the side flaps are defined by the longitudinal edges of the sheet, but the sheet itself is sufficiently wide to hang down around the covered vehicle without needing extra-area shaped side flaps as in the previous embodiments.

Loops 31 are seamed into the longitudinal edges of the Figure 4 sheet and fit around the footrests of the motor cycle being covered.

In a modification, not illustrated, to the first described embodiment, the handle 21,22 is replaced by a knob which in appearance is very similar to the end-plate 1 5a and whose peripheral notches provide finger grips for the knob to be rotated manually to roll and unroll the sheet.

Claims

1. A flexible cover for motor cycles, other vehicles, or other suitable objects, the cover comprising a flexible waterproof sheet; a roller to which one end of the sheet is secured, and from and about which the sheet can be respectively rolled and unrolled; a holder in which the roller is journaled; and means to secure one end of the unrolled sheet to an end region (for example to the handlebar) of a motor cycle or other object to be covered; the sheet being so sized and shaped that, when secured to the object and unrolled, it exhibits opposed side flaps which hang from the central region of the sheet to provide at least partial protection for each side of the covered object.

2. A cover according to Claim 1 and in which the sheet is so sized and shaped that its central region spans substantially the full width of the holder, and its side flaps have to be folded onto the central region before the unrolled sheet and flaps can be rolled back into the holder.

3. A cover according to Claim 1 and in which the opened-out central region and flaps comprising the sheet are contained within the width of the holder, so that the unrolled sheet is able to be rolled back into the holder without the flaps first having to be folded onto the central region of the sheet.

4. A cover according to any of the previous Claims and in which the means which secure the said one end of the sheet comprise clips which attach to the holder and which, as well as securing the holder to the handlebar or other region of the object for unrolling, may also secure the rolled cover releasably for stowage or transport when the cover is not in use.

5. A cover according to any of the previous Claims and in which the one-end-securing means comprises an elastic cord which extends across the holder, or across said one end of the sheet, or across both, to enable the rolled cover to be worn bandolier-fashion for stowage or transport.

6. A cover according to any of the previous Claims and in which the holder incorporates a blade, spanning the sheet, which wipes the top surface of the sheet as the sheet approaches the roller.

7. A cover according to Claim 6 and in which a blade also wipes the bottom surface of the sheet as the sheet approaches the roller.

8. A cover according to any of the previous Claims and in which advertising material is incorporated on the top surface of the central region and/or on the outer surface of each of the side flaps.

9. A flexible waterproof cover substantially as described herein with reference to and as illustrated in Figures 1 and 2A to 2D of the accompanying drawings.

10. A cover according to Claim 9 modified substantially as described herein with reference to and as illustrated in Figure 3 of the accompanying drawings.

11. A cover according to Claim 9 modified substantially as described herein with reference to and as illustrated in Figure 4 of the accompanying' drawings.