GB2173456A

GB2173456A - Luggage compartment cover for a motor car

Info

Publication number: GB2173456A
Application number: GB08603581A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Anthony Peter Smallhorn
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1985-02-14
Filing date: 1986-02-13
Publication date: 1986-10-15
Also published as: GB8503822D0; GB8603581D0; GB2173456B

Abstract

A luggage compartment cover assembly for a motor car of the estate or hatch-back type comprising a pair of side panels 1, 2 each shaped to conform to the interior profile of the respective side wall of the luggage compartment of the vehicle in which they are to be fitted and also at their ends with adjacent portions of the front and rear of the luggage compartment and at least one centre panel 7, 8 arranged to rest along respective side edges thereof on flanged inner edges of the side panels 1, 2. The side panels 1, 2 are supported from underneath by a pair of forwardly and rearwardly positioned brackets 14, 15 each having an outer edge conforming to the interior profile of the respective side wall of the luggage compartment abutting against the respective side wall. The side panels 1, 2 are thus readily removable to increase the space available for storage if required. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Luggage compartment cover assembly for a motor vehicle The invention relates to a luggage compartment cover assembly for a motor vehicle and is particularly concerned with such an assembly for a motor car of the estate or hatchback type having a rear door mounted for pivoting about an axis along the upper edge of the rear door. A motor car of the hatchback type is normally used with the cover assembly in position, whereby when the rear door is closed the cover assembly forms a substantially flat surface completely covering the luggage compartment space between the back of the rear seat and the rear door.However by removing the cover assembly, or part thereof, and folding the rear seat, or part thereof, to a flat forwardly-extending position, the motor car can be converted into an estate car or by leaving the rear seat up, goods can be loaded to a level higher than is possible when the cover assembly is in position. Similarly an estate car can be converted into a motor car of the hatch-back type by fitting the cover assembly.

In known motor cars of the hatch-back type, the cover assembly usually provides a substantially flat and level upper surface and comprises a pair of side panels each extending inwardly from the respective side of the portion of the body of the vehicle defining the luggage compartment and also extending between the back of the rear seat, when erect, and a rear portion of the vehicle body adjacent the respective side of the rear door; a transverse front panel extending along and rearwardly from the back of the rear seat and a rear panel hinged to the rear edge of the front panel and arranged to be opened and closed in the manner of a lid which co-operates along each side edge thereof with the fore-and-aft edge of the respective side panel and which in its closed position has its rear edge positioned close to the rear door.Additionally by appropriately linking the rear panel by straps or cords to the rear door, the rear panel will automatically be lifted to an upper position and lowered to a closed position as the rear door is opened and closed. In such known cover assemblies, the side panels are either permanently fixed in position or are not made easily removable.

Thus when the cover assembly is not required, only the rear and front panels would be removable. This means that the luggage compartment is not uncovered across the full width of the motor car and so the space available for storage is partly restricted and also there is a risk that the side panels remaining in position could be damaged on the loading and unloading of goods.

An object of the invention is to provide a luggage compartment cover assembly of the kind described in the immediately preceding paragraph except that the side panels are made readily removable from the motor car.

According to the invention, a luggage com -partment cover assembly for a motor car of the estate or hatch-back type comprises a pair of side panels each shaped to conform to the interior profile of the respective side wall of the luggage compartment of the vehicle in which they are to be fitted and also at their ends with adjacent portions of the front and rear of the luggage compartment defined respectively by the back of the rear seat of the vehicle and a portion of the rear of the vehicle body adjacent the respective edge of the rear door, and at least one centre panel arranged to rest along respective side edges thereof on flanged inner edges of the side panels, the side panels arranged to be releasably engaged and located in the luggage compartment and each side panel also being supportable from underneath by at least a forwardly and a rearwardly positioned bracket each having an edge conforming to the interior profile of the respective side wall of the luggage compartment at the position of the bracket, whereby, when the side panels are correctly positioned in the luggage compartment and located by their outer edge portions they will be supported by the respective brackets abutting against the respective side wall, and the centre panel or panels will be supported by resting on the flanges of the side panels.

The side panels may each have downwardly-extending outer edge portions arranged to be located by hooking over adjacent complementary parts or fixtures in the motor car.

The said complementary parts or fixtures in the motor car may be for example ledges or the upper edges of trim panels at the sides of the luggage compartment. Alternatively or additionally releasable retaining hooks may be provided.

The brackets for supporting the side panels may conveniently be hinged to the underneath face of the respective side panel for pivoting about axes extending transversely of the side panel. Alternatively the hinges may be hinged about upright axes to the sides of the luggage compartment or side trim panels thereof, thereby to enable the brackets to be folded against the sides or side trim panels when the side panels of the cover assembly have been removed.

This construction therefore enables the centre panel or panels to be removed and then the two side panels to be lifted from the vehicle. By folding the brackets onto the respective side panels, where the brackets are hinged to the respective side panels, the latter can be stowed flat in the vehicle or elsewhere.

The side panels may be further located by readily separable and engageable strips or pads fitted to edges which will abut similar strips or pads fixed to the inside of the vehicle or to fabric covering the inside of the vehicle. Suitable strips or pads are those made of Velcro (Registered Trade Mark).

The cover assembly may have a single re movable- centre panel arranged to be rested on the side panels thereof. Alternatively the centre panel or a plurality of centre panels may be hinged to the side panels.

The cover assembly may have a front centre panel and a rear centre panel, each arranged to rest along respective side edges thereof on the flanged inner edges of the side panels.

The front centre panel may be located against the back of the rear seat of the vehicle by a downwardly-extending front edge to be hooked over a complementary part or fixture on the rear of the rear seat and/or by said readily separable and engageable strips or pads. Alternatively, the front centre panel need not be located against the rear seat as this would enable the back of the rear seat to be released from inside the passenger compartment without having to remove the front centre panel of the cover and so obtain access to the covered luggage compartment without having to remove the front and rear centre panels of the cover.

The rear centre panel may be hinged along its front edge to the rear edge of the front centre panel. Alternatively the rear centre panel may be effectively hinged along its front edge to the rear edge of the front centre panel by providing the adjacent transverse edges of the respective centre panels with interengageable rib and trough formations which can be separated merely by lifting the rear centre panel from the front centre panel but which when interengaged form an effective hinge.

Instead of having a front centre panel, the cover assembly may include a front panel which is positioned between the back of the rear seat and the side panels and which extends through the whole width of the luggage compartment between the side walls of the motor vehicle. The rear centre panel may be hinged - or effectively hinged to the front full width panel.

In any of the foregoing arrangements, the panels may be interconnected by readily disengageable clips and at least some of the panels may be anchored to the motor vehicle or the rear seat by readily disengageable clips.

The rear panel may have strips of cord to be attached to the rear door of the vehicle, as in known motor cars of the hatch-back type.

By way of example, two alternative luggage compartment cover assemblies are now described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a plan view of the first assembly; Figure 2 is an end view in the direction of arrow II in Fig. 1; Figure 3-is a section on the line Ill-Ill in Fig.

1, Figure 4 is a perspective view from the rear, one side and the top of the first assembly; Figure 5 is a side view of adjacent parts of the front and rear centre panels showing a hinging arrangement therebetween, and Figure 6 is an underneath perspective view of the second assembly.

Referring to the drawings, the assembly comprises a pair of side panels 1, 2 each shaped at their outer side edges 3, 4 to conform to the interior profile of the respective side wall of the luggage compartment of the vehicle in which they are to be fitted. As stated hereinbefore, the vehicle is a motor car of the hatch-back type or an estate car of the kind having a rear door mounted for pivoting about an axis along the upper edge of the rear door. The side panels 1, 2 are also shaped at their front and rear ends 5, 6 respectively, and are of the required length, to abut or to be positioned closely adjacent the back and side of the back of the rear seat of the vehicle when the rear seat is erected and a portion of the rear of the vehicle body adjacent the respective side edge of the rear door, when closed.

The assembly also includes a front panel 7 and a rear panel 8 which are hinged together along their adjacent transverse edges at 9.

The inner longitudinal, i.e., fore-and-aft, with reference to the vehicle, edges of the side panels are shaped to form rebated ledges 10 on which the front panel 7 and the rear panel 8 are laid flat. The ledges 10 are best shown in Fig. 3.

The side panels 1, 2 have their outer longitudinal, i.e., fore-and-aft, edges 3 downwardly curved at 11 to form inverted hook-shaped edges which are engageable with upwardlyfacing ledges or fixtures on the vehicle body.

These ledges or fixtures may, for example, be the upper edge of internal trim panels. As shown in Fig. 2, the downwardly-curved edges also extend around the rear end of the side panels 1, 2 at 12 and are engageable on corresponding upwardly-facing ledges or -fix- tures on the rear end wall of the vehicle body and so locate the side panels 1, 2 from movement relatively to the vehicle in the foreand-aft direction thereof.

The side panels 1, 2 also have brackets 14, 15 which are freely hinged underneath the side-panels about axes extending transversely of the side panels and positioned adjacent the rear edges and the vicinity of the hinge-line 9 between the front and rear panels 7 and 8.

The outer edge profile of each bracket 14, 15 is shaped to conform with the internal shape of the vehicle body or of its trim panel at the position of the respective bracket 14, 15.

When the side panels 1, 2 are to be posi tioned in the luggage compartment of the vehicle, each side panel is arranged horizontally to extend between the back of the rear seat and the rear of the vehicle body and the curved edges 11, 12 are engaged with the corresponding ledges or fixtures on the body of the vehicle or trim panels. The brackets 14, 15 hang freely down from beneath the respective side panels 1, 2 and abut the corresponding walls of the luggage compartment and so support the side panels 1, 2. The side panels 1, 2 are also located and held against the supporting surfaces of the vehicle body by readily separable and engageable strips or pads 16 on the underneath of outer edges of the panels 1, 2 and the brackets 14, 15 and on the corresponding supporting surfaces.Alternatively, the strips 16 on the panels 1, 2 and the brackets 14, 15 may be engageable directly with fabric lining the inside of the luggage compartment. These strips or pads 16 may be made of the material Velcro (Registered Trade Mark). Instead of securing the brackets 14, 15 to the vehicle by the strips or pads 16, returning clips or metal or plastics may be employed.

Having mounted the side panels 1, 2 in their required positions, as just described, the front panel 7 and the rear panel 8, already hinged together at 9 are laid flat on the rebated ledges 10 on the side panels 1, 2 and are thus supported thereby. Thus the whole area of the luggage compartment is now covered by the flat assembly of panels 1, 2, 7 and 8.

As is usual in hatch-back motor cars, the rear transverse edges of the rear panel 8 is attachable by straps 17 or cords to the rear door and so when the rear door is raised, the rear panel 8 will automatically be lifted in the manner of a lid about the hinge-line 9 and when the rear door is closed the rear panel 8 will automatically be lowered to its closed position. If this automatic opening and closing of the rear panel 8 is not required, the straps 17 would be detached from the rear door.

As in known hatch-back types of motor car, the front and rear panels 7, 8 can be removed. However with the assembly of this invention, the side panels 1, 2 can also readily be lifted from the luggage compartment. Thus the whole area of the luggage compartment will be uncovered. This has the advantage that the whole storage space of the luggage compartment can be used without any obstruction which would be caused by side panels 1, 2, if they were fixtures and not readily removable.

Furthermore there is no risk that the side panels 1, 2 or their supporting brackets would be damaged when loading or unloading the luggage compartment as there would be where the side panels 1, 2 are not removable.

When the side panels 1, 2 have been removed, the brackets 14, 15 can be folded to lie flat against the respective side panels and so the removed panels 7, 8 and 1, 2 can be laid flat in the luggage compartment or laid or stacked flat elsewhere.

With this completely removable cover assembly provided by this invention, a hatchback type of motor can can readily be converted to an estate car having the rear seat or part of it erect or folded forwardly or an estate car can be converted to a hatchback type of motor car by fitting the cover assembly.

The panels 1, 2, 7 and 8 may all be made from moulding in a plastics material and so may be formed with recesses in their upper surfaces. These recesses may be fitted with pieces of carpet 18.

In a modification, the front panel 7 may extend across substantially the whole width of the interior of the vehicle instead of resting on front portions of the side panels 1, 2. These would be made of shorter length to permit the front panel 7 to be inserted into the luggage compartment immediately behind the back of the rear seat. The front panel would be engaged by retaining clips with the side walls defining the luggage compartment and with the back of the rear seat.

Instead of having a permanent hinge between the front and rear panels 7, 8 the rear of the front panel 7 may be formed with an upwardly-open recess 30 extending transversely of the vehicle into which a depending transverse front edge portion 31 of the rear panel 8 is inserted and is rotatable therein about an effective hinge line 32 to provide the transverse hinge but which can be lifted freely from the recess, to enable the rear panel 8 to- be lifted from the front panel 7 and the side panels 1, 2. The depending portion 31 of the rear panel 8 may contain a foam rubber block 33 which abut at its ends against the respective side panels to provide an effective hinge. The recess 30 is defined along its rear wall by a moulded hollow upwardly-extending rib 34. This arrangement is shown in Fig. 5.

The rear panel 8, the front panel 7 and the side panels 1, 2 may all be provided with retaining clips operable to engage the panels together as a complete assembly. Retaining clips may also be provided to anchor the assembly to the vehicle body and to the rear seat. These retaining clips would be readily removable; but would serve to prevent the panels from becoming detached in the event of an accident. The straps 17 when attached to the rear door also serve to hold the rear panel 8 from becoming detached when the rear door is in the closed position.

The alternative second cover assembly shown in Fig. 6 is generally similar to the first cover assembly shown in Figs. 1-4 but it should be noted that the side panels 21, 22 are provided with depending flat strips which abut the respective side walls of the luggage compartment and are faced with fixing strips of, for example Velcro (Registered Trade Mark). Also the front centre panel 23 and the rear centre panel 24 are shaped at their side edges at 25, 26, 27 to embrace complementarily shaped side edges of the side panels 21, 22. The embracing faces at 25, 26, 27 may be faced with fixing strips, for example, of Velcro (Registered Trade Mark). The outside side edges of the hinged brackets 28, 29 of the side panels 21, 22 may be faced with fixing strips, as in the first example, of, for example, Velcro (Registered Trade Mark). Alternatively or additionally, the outside side edges of the hinged brackets 28, 29 may carry ready releasable catches to be engaged with fixed parts on the inside side walls of the vehicle. The strip 35 shown between the centre panels 23, 24 is a glued reinforcing and cover strip which would enclose the upwardly-extending rib 34, shown in Fig. 5 where provided.

Claims

1. A luggage compartment cover assembly for a motor car of the estate or hatch-back type comprising a pair of side panels each shaped to conform to the interior profile of the respective side wall of the luggage compartment of the vehicle in which they are to be fitted and also at their ends with adjacent portions of the front and rear of the luggage compartment defined respectively by the back of the rear seat of the vehicle and a portion of the rear of the vehicle body adjacent the respective edge of the rear door, and at least one centre panel arranged to rest along respective side edges thereof on flanged inner edges of the side panels, the side panels arranged to be releasably engaged and located in the luggage compartment and each side panel also being supportable from underneath by at least a forwardly and a rearwardly positioned bracket each having an edge conforming to the interior profile of the respective side wall of the luggage compartment at the position of the bracket, whereby, when the side panels are correctly positioned in the luggage compartment and located by their outer edge portions they will be supported by the respective brackets abutting against the respective side wall, and the centre panel or panels will be supported by resting on the flanges of the.

side panels.

2. An assembly as claimed in Claim 1 in which each side panel has downwardly-extending outer edge portions arranged to be located by hooking over adjacent complementary parts or fixtures in the motor car. The said complementary parts or fixtures in the motor car may be for example ledges or the upper edges of trim panels at the sides of the luggage compartment.

3. An assembly as claimed in Claim 1 or 2 in which releasable retaining hooks are engageable between each side panel and a fixed part of the motor car.

4. An assembly as- claimed in any preceding claim in which the brackets for supporting the side panels are hinged to the underneath face of the respective side panel for pivoting about axes extending transversely of the side panel.

5. An assembly as claimed in any one of Claims 1-3 in which the brackets for supporting the side panels are hinged about upright axes to the sides of the luggage compartment or side trim panels thereof, thereby to enable the brackets to be folded against the sides or side trim panels when the side panels of the cover assembly have been removed.

6. An assembly as claimed in any preceding claim in which the side panels are located by readily separable and engageable strips or pads fitted to edges which will abut similar strips or pads fixed to the inside of the vehicle or to fabric covering the inside of the vehicle.

7. An assembly as claimed in any preceding claim in which the cover assembly has a single removable centre panel arranged to be rested on the side panels.

8. An assembly as claimed in any of Claims 1-6 in which the centre panel is or a plurality of centre panels are hinged to the side panels.

9. An assembly as claimed in any of Claims 1-6 having a front centre panel and a rear centre panel, each arranged to rest along respective side edges thereof on the flange inner edges of the side panels.

10. An assembly as claimed in Claim 9 in which the front centre panel is located against the back of the rear seat of the vehicle by a downwardly-extending front edge to be hooked over a complementary part or fixture on the rear of the rear seat and/or by said readily separable and engageable strips or pads.

11. An assembly as claimed in Claim 9 in which the front centre panel is not located against the rear seat, thereby to enable the back of the rear seat to be released from inside the passenger compartment without having to remove the front centre panel of the cover and so obtain access to the covered luggage compartment without having to remove the front and rear centre panels of the cover.

12. An assembly as claimed in any of Claims 9-11 in which the rear centre panel is hinged along its front edge to the rear edge of the front centre panel.

13. An assembly as claimed in any of Claims 9-11 in which the rear centre panel is effectively hinged along its front edge to the rear edge of the front centre panel by providing the adjacent transverse edges of the respective centre panels with interengageable rib and trough formations which can be separated merely by lifting the rear centre panel from the front centre panel but which when interen gaged form an effective hinge.

14. An assembly as claimed in any of Claims 1-6 including a front panel which is positioned between the back of the rear seat and the side panels and which extends through the whole width of the luggage comparment between the side walls of the motor vehicle.

15. An assembly as claimed in Claim 14 in which the rear centre panel is hinged to or can be swung relatively to the front full width panel.

16. An assembly constructed and arranged substantially as described herein and shown in Figs. 1-4, Fig. 5 or Fig. 6 of the accompanying drawings.