GB2260557A

GB2260557A - Vehicle protection means

Info

Publication number: GB2260557A
Application number: GB9126908A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Manuel Gallego Marquez
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1991-10-02
Filing date: 1991-12-19
Publication date: 1993-04-21
Also published as: ES1018618Y; GB9126908D0; ES1018618U

Abstract

A vehicle protection device is mounted on the vehicle in a housing 1 from an opening or openings 5, 6 in which a cover or covers 3, 4 can be withdrawn to cover the vehicle, the ends of the covers being attachable to the ends of the vehicle. A length of the cover is preferably spaced from the vehicle to reduce conduction of heat to the vehicle. The housing may be aileron shaped to reduce air resistance. <IMAGE>

Description

VECHICLE PROTECTION ZINGS Tnls invention relates to protection means for venlcles which have been specially designed for protecting them against the weather, especially solar radiation.

The effects of tne sun on the interior of vehicles when parked, with regard to the deterioration suffered by certain materials of which tney are constructea, such as plastics, upnolstery, etc., and Witfl regard to tne temperature witnin the venlcle when entered, are very well Known.

Different tes of shades which can be extended over the windscreen and/or tne rear window are well known attempts to overcome this problem and tnese shades only wring a partial solution to the problem descried above because on the one hana they ao not provide an enclosure wnich is in any way an integral enclosure and on the otner band they only constitute a barrier to solar radiation directly striKing the interior of the venicle, while the said solar radiation also strikes the coackwork directly, thus reaching the interior by conduction. This suggests that the temperature within the passenger space Wi 11 be very much greater than aeslraDle and tat the paintwork of tne coacnwor# will also suffer directly from the effects of solar radiation.

Covers wnicn are capable of covering the outside of a vehicle are also Known as attempts to overcome this problem, Dut these covers are difficult to handle, and their use is only justified when venicles are parked for a long time. They have to fit the vehicle perfectly in which case they do not avoid the problem of heat transmission to the interior of the vehicle by conduction, or they nave to te provided with an internal frame which mazes the cover very cum@ersome and expensive, resembling a demountable gauge.

The invention provides a vehicle protective device as set out in claim 1.

Spacer means may be provided to assist keeping the withdrawn cover spaceofrom the vehicle body, in order to reduce conduction between the cover and the body. Frame means may also be provided to support a length of withdrawn cover to prevent it sagging on to the car body, or to reinforce the free end of the cover.

The cover can be gathered automatically within the housing by rolling or folding, manually or automatically, in the former case by means of a handwheel or crank and in the latter case by means of suitably tensioned springs, or by means of a motor appropriately connected to the vehicle's battery via a corresponding switch. The free end of said cover can be attached when withdrawn from the housing to any projection on the vehicle such as for example the edge of the bonnet or the boot, the klvnpers, etc.

The protection device constructed in this way may be single or double, especially double when it is designed to be of a dismantlable nature, and the sheets or awnings may or may not carry some kind of advertising.

#nen spaced from the vehicle body it provides a Darrier against solar radiation and the heat generated by this radiation, providing perfect protection for both the interior and the exterior of the vehicle, and is easy to fix and recover.

In one option, the use of the spacers is dispensed with so that the sheet or awning lies directly on the upper surface of the vehicle, forming a contact which prevents the deposition of ice or dirt on the said surface of the vehicle.

Examples of the invention will now be descried with reference to the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 shows a diagrammatical side view of a vehicle provided with a protection device; Figure 2 shoqs a plan view of the assembly in the above figure, ana Figure 3 shows an alternative embodiment.

From these figures it will be seen that the protective device provided consists of a wide housing shell 1, preferably of the same length as the width of the vehicle, attached to the roof thereof by the aid of any appropriate kind of support 2, such as for example supports similar to those used in conventional roof racks, or including suckers for direct attachment by vacuum to the body snell. The nousing shell can be permanently or temporarily fixed.

In Figure 1 the case or shell 1 incorporates with it means for rolling or folding, which may be manual or automatic, for a pair of cover sheets or a##ings 3 and 4 wnicn can emerge therefrom via corresponding slot openings 5 and 6, each of these sheets (3) and 4 having a stiffening rod 7 across its free end and hooks 8 or other means for attachment to the coachwork of vehicle 9 when in its working position on the vehicle.

As said previously the protective device is more efficient if it creates a space between itself and the vehicle. If the vehicle does not already have a roof rack which serves the appropriate function, provision is made as illustrated on the roof of the said vehicle 9 at the opposite end from the location of the case or shell 1 for a support 10 acting as a "bridge" to keep the sheet or awning 4 up, thus forming the said space 11 between the roof of the vehicle and the sheet 4, a space which obviously extends, in greater size, over the bonnet 13 and the boot 12.

This spacer support 10 is also attached to the roof of the vehicle 9 by any means, as with the case or shell 1, and, as said previously, it has an aerodynamic shape in the form of an aileron so as not to have an acnerse effect on the resistance of the velnlcle when the latter is movlng.

On the basis of this fundamental configuration it is feasible that the members previously described may be double, i.e. that two transversely aligned cases or shells 1 may be placed on the roof of the vehicle 9, especially when the device is of a dismantlable nature, and the sheet or awning 4 may be provided with lateral flaps to protect the vehicle's windows 14 and also that the said case or shell 1 may be aligned longitudinally without this having any effect on the essence of the invention.

In any event, when the protective device is not in use the sheets or awnings thereof are wholly enclosed within the shell 1, with the result that the device becomes both visually and effectively of no pro > .~nence, merely forming a aileron on the roof, from which situation the protective arrangement can be produced quickly and easily oy pulling out the sheets or awnings 3 and a to the limiting positions at which they are attached by their hoot means 8, and from which position the sald sheets or awnings can also be recovered quickly and easily, either manually or automatically.

Nevertheless and in accordance with a first variant embodiment of the means provided, the shell 1, which may have any configuration other than that shown in the figures, ray in turn ircorporate a single groove in such a way that both sheets 3 and 4 emerge therefrom via the said single groove without this affecting the essence of the invention.

Similarly and as shown in Figure 3, the shell 1 may occupy a position other than on the roof of the vehicle, such as for example simulating an aileron on the rear edge of the boot, or simulating a bumper on the lower edge of the rear door in vehicles of the hatchback type, as in the case shown in Figure 3, in which case the shell 1 incorporates a single groove for the emergence of a single sheet which covers the entire vehicle, the roof of which supports at least a pair of supports or spacers 10, as in the previous case, to maintain the said space 11 between tne roof of the vehicle and the sheet 4, providing optiiiim protection for it.

b nally it only remains to point out that although this description specifies that the sheet or sheets 3 and 4 are fixed by means of hooks 8 or by any other appropriate means of attachment to the coachwork 9 of the vehicle, obviously it is possible to provide such atteonments to supports outside the vehicle itself, such as for example a post, tree, etc., when the conditions under which the vehicle is parked permit it.

Claims

CLEMS

1. A vehicle protective device comprising : a housing adapted to be mounted on the vehicle, and having an outlet; a flexible cover mounted within the housing and withdrawable progressively through the outlet; and means at the free end of the cover

attachment to a fixture.

2. A device as claimed in Claim 1 wherein the attachment means coprises a hook.

3. A device as claimed in Claim 1 or Claim 2 comprising means to space a lengtn of the withdrawn cover from the body of the vehicle.

4. A device as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 3 comprising two said covers, for withdrawing and covering parts of the vehicle respectively in opposite directions from the housing.

5. A device as claimed in Claim 4 comprising two said outlets, one for each cover.

6. A device as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 5 comprising means to mount the housing on the roof of the vehicle.

7. A device as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 6 wherein the housing has an aileron section.

8. A device as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 7 wherein the housing and tne cover are of modular construction.

9. A device as claimea in any one of Claims 1 to 8 comprising means to retract the cover into the housing.

10. A vehicle protection device substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.