GB2291841A

GB2291841A - Vehicle partition

Info

Publication number: GB2291841A
Application number: GB9516070A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Heinz Otto Bonn; Elisabeth Eichhorn
Original assignee: KLEINMETALL GmbH
Current assignee: KLEINMETALL GmbH
Priority date: 1994-08-04
Filing date: 1995-08-04
Publication date: 1996-02-07
Also published as: GB9516070D0; DE19528359A1; DE9412560U1

Abstract

A net partition 10 which can be disposed between the back seats of a motor vehicle and the stowage compartment behind the back seats comprises a frame (12) having transverse and longitudinal frame limbs (16, 18, 20) which at least in sections is adapted to the internal contour of the motor vehicle the frame being fastenable by means of fastening elements (46, 48) in the interior of the body. To enable easy fitting of the partition, combined with inherent stability of the partition, it is proposed that the frame (12) is subdivided along a line (22) extending parallel to the floor area (28) of the stowage compartment into two regions (24, 26), which define two planes describing an angle differing from 180 DEG relative to one another. <IMAGE>

Description

Partition The invention relates to a partition, such as a net partition, to be disposed between the rear seats of a motor vehicle and the stowage compartment extending behind the rear seats, comprising a frame having transverse an longitudinal frame limbs, which at least in part is adapted to the internal contour of the motor vehicle, the frame being fastenable by means of fastening elements in the interior of the body.

In motor vehicles which have no partition between the passenger area and the stowage compartment, sudden braking or accidents involving collision may lead to the articles carried in the stowage compartment being hurled into the passenger area and injuring the passengers of the vehicle.

The risk of injury may be avoided by net partitions disposed between the passenger area and the stowage compartment extending behind the seats.

A stowage compartment separated off from the passenger area by a net partition is also particularly suitable for transporting animals such as dogs and cats; during travel, said animals cannot pass into the passenger area and be a hindrance to the driver.

The invention is based on the problem of developing a partition which is easy and simple to install and remove from motor vehicles and has a high inherent stability. The stowage compartment should also be optimally utilized.

Accordingly, the invention provides partition - for example a net partition - to be disposed between the rear seats of a motor vehicle and the stowage compartment extending behind the rear seats, comprising a frame having transverse and longitudinal frame limbs which at least in part is adapted to the internal contour of the motor vehicle, the frame being fastenable by means of fastening elements in the interior of the car, and wherein the frame is subdivided along a line extending parallel to the floor area of the stowage compartment into two regions which define two planes describing an angle differing from 1800 relative to one another.

An advantage of the invention is that the partition has an increased inherent stability so that the total area of the partition may be increased. Another advantage is that, by subdividing the partition into two flat regions enclosing an angle, the stowage compartment may be optimally utilized.

It is provided that the bottom region of the partition extends obliquely relative to the floor area of the stowage compartment and the top region is inclined away from the stowage compartment. The effect thereby achieved is that the partition may be adapted to a likewise inclined rear side of a back seat (not shown), thereby increasing the stowage space available. To achieve this, it is likewise provided that the bending edge extends approximately at the level of an upper boundary of the back seats. By virtue of the top region being inclined away from the stowage compartment it is possible to achieve a further enlargement of the stowage space compared to conventional vertical arrangements.

To achieve optimum adaptation of the frame of the partition to the internal contour of the motor vehicle, the bottom region of the partition defines an area which may be divided into rectangular and trapezoidal sub-areas extending up to the longitudinal frame limbs, with, starting from the bottom transverse frame limb, a distance L between the longitudinal frame limbs increasing or remaining constant from sub-area to sub-area. By virtue of such a refinement, the transverse frame limbs may be optimally adapted to the internal contour of the motor vehicle, thereby preventing articles or animals carried in the stowage compartment from passing into the passenger area.

The same applies to the top region of the partition, which likewise defines an area which may be divided into trapezoidal sub-areas extending up to the longitudinal frame limbs, with, starting from the top transverse frame limb, the distance L between the longitudinal frame limbs increasing from sub-area to sub-area.

The area between the driver's compartment and the stowage compartment which is to be closed is therefore adapted by means of rectangular and trapezoidal sub-areas. The result is a shape of frame which is easy and simple to manufacture and yet is adequately adaptable to the internal contour of the motor vehicle.

The frame is advantageously fastenable by means of fastening elements in the floor and roof region of the interior. By means of the fastening elements provided both in the roof and in the floor region of the partition, fastening of the partition may be effected at at least four points in the interior of the body. A secure and stable assembly of the partition is therefore ensured.

The fastening elements in the roof region are preferably connectable to the body by connection elements having spring properties. By means of the fastening element having spring properties, the partition is isolated from the body so that vibrations of the body are transmitted only in a damped manner to the partition. Unwanted noise, e.g. as a result of natural vibrations of the partition frame, is therefore substantially reduced.

The connection elements preferably take the form of U shaped brackets. These are easy and inexpensive to manufacture and possess the required spring properties.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the fastening elements take the form of fastening clips and are welded to the frame. The fastening clips have through openings, such as bores, which are used to receive fastening screws.

The frame is fastenable to the body by means of screws, which penetrate the fastening clips and engage into tapped holes. The screws preferably take the form of tommy screws. This enables a particularly easy assembly and disassembly of the partition in the motor vehicle.

Further details, advantages and features of the invention are evident not only from the claims, the features contained therein - on their own and/or in combination -, but also from the following description of a preferred embodiment which is illustrated in accompanying drawings, wherein: Fig. 1 is a front view of a partition; Fig. 2 is a side view of the partition according to Fig.

1; Fig. 3 is a sectional view of a portion of the partition having fastening means adjacent to a roof region of a motor vehicle; and Fig. 4 is a sectional view of a portion of the partition having fastening means adjacent to a floor region of the motor vehicle.

Fig. 1 shows the front view of a partition (10) to be fitted in a motor vehicle, for example an off-highway passenger vehicle. The partition (10) may be fastened behind the rear seats (not shown in detail).

The partition (10) comprises a net which is fitted in a frame (12) having a bottom transverse frame limb (14), extending from the ends of which are longitudinal frame limbs (16), (18) adapted to the internal contour of the motor vehicle, and a top transverse frame limb (20) which extends substantially parallel to the bottom transverse frame limb (14). The frame (12) is perferably made from a single, tubular metal bar.

Fig. 2 shows a side view of the partition according to Fig.

1. As is evident from Fig. 2, the frame (12) has a line such as bending edge (22) which extends parallel to the bottom transverse frame limb (14). The partition (10) is therefore subdivided into two regions (24) and (26), each of which defines one plane. The planes define an angle which differs from 1800. The bending of the partition (10) on the one hand enables better utilization of the available stowage space and on the other hand increases the stability of the partition (10).

The bottom region (24) of the partition (10) is preferably inclined relative to the stowage area (28) in such a way that the rear wall of a back seat (not shown) extends parallel to the bottom region (24) of the partition (10).

A top region (26) of the partition is arranged in such a way that it is bent towards the passenger area, thereby likewise achieving an enlargement of the stowage space.

There now follows a detailed description of the shape of the frame (12) with reference to Fig. 1. As previously described, the frame (12) is divided by the bending line (22) into a bottom region (24) and a top region (26).

The bottom region (24) is bounded towards the vehicle floor (28) by the bottom transverse frame limb (14) and towards the side by portions of the longitudinal frame limbs (16), (18).

The bottom region (24) defines an area (30) which may be subdivided into rectangular and trapezoidal sub-areas (32), (34), (36), (38), which extend laterally up to the longitudinal frame limbs. In order to illustrate the subareas (32), (34), (36), (38) more clearly, artificial lines in the form of dashes have been inserted in Fig. 1. The longitudinal frame limbs (16), (18) in the bottom region (24) are shaped in such a way that, starting from the bottom transverse frame limb (14), a distance L between the longitudinal frame limbs (16), (18) increases or remains constant from sub-area to sub-area. The effect achieved by the special shaping of the longitudinal frame limbs in the bottom region of the partition (10) is that the partition may be optimally adapted to the internal contour of the motor vehicle.Optimum adaptation may therefore be ensured, especially in the region of, for example, wheel arches or axle fairings.

The top region (26) of the partition (10) defines a further area (40), which may be subdivided into two trapezoidal sub-areas (42), (44). Starting from the top transverse frame limb (20), the distance L between the longitudinal frame limbs (16), (18) steadily increases.

In the region of the bending line (22), the distance L assumes its maximum value. For fastening the partition (10) in the floor and roof region of the interior, the frame (12) has, on the one hand, fastening elements such as fastening clips (46), (48) on the bottom transverse frame limb and, on the other hand, further fastening elements such as fastening clips (50), (52) on frame portions of the longitudinal frame limbs (16), (18) facing the roof region of the motor vehicle.

The areas (30), (40) defined by the frame (12) are preferably filled by a flexible net (54). The net (54) may however alternatively take the form of a metal mesh.

Fig. 3 shows a portion of the partition (10) having fastening means (50), (66) adjacent to a body part such as the roof region (62) of the motor vehicle. The fastening element (50) preferably takes the form of a clip and is adapted to the external shape of the frame portion (42) in such a way that the clip (50) in part rests on the surface (64) of the frame segment (42) and is welded to said frame segment. In the roof region, a connection element (66) extends from the fastening element (50) to the body part (62). The connection element (66) in part lies parallel and adjacent to the fastening clip (50) and is fastened by means of a screw connection (68), which penetrates through openings (70) and (72) in the fastening clip (50) and the connection element (66) respectively.

A further end (74) of the connection element (66) lies parallel and adjacent to the body part of the motor vehicle and is fastened by means of a screw (76), which engages into a tapped hole (78) in the body part (62). The fastening clip (52) is fastened in a corresponding manner to the body of the motor vehicle. The connection element advantageously has spring properties enabling the transmission of body vibrations to the frame (12) to be reduced. To achieve the spring properties, the connection elements preferably take the form of U-shaped brackets.

Fig. 4 shows a portion of the partition (10) having fastening means (46) adjacent to a body part (28) such as the floor area of the motor vehicle. As already mentioned above, the fastening clip (46) in part rests on the surface of the frame portion (14) and is connected, e.g. welded, to said frame portion. The fastening clip (46) is provided in such a way that it rests in part flat in the floor area (28). Introduced into the fastening clip (46) are openings (82), through which fastening elements (84) such as screws may be introduced into a tapped hole (86) introduced to the floor area (28). The screws (76), (84) preferably take the form of tommy screws, thereby guaranteeing easy assembly and disassembly of the partition (10).

Claims

1. Partition - for example a net partition - to be disposed between the rear seats of a motor vehicle and the stowage compartment extending behind the rear seats, comprising a frame having transverse and longitudinal frame limbs which at least in part is adapted to the internal contour of the motor vehicle, the frame being fastenable by means of fastening elements in the interior of the car, and wherein the frame is subdivided along a line extending parallel to the floor area of the stowage compartment into two regions which define two planes describing an angle differing from 180 relative to one another.

2. Partition according to claim 1, wherein the bottom region of the partition extends obliquely relative to the floor area of the stowage compartment and the top region is inclined away from the stowage compartment.

3. Partition according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the bottom region of the partition extends substantially parallel to rear walls of the back seats.

4. Partition according to claim 1, wherein the line, e.g.

bending edge, subdividing the partition extends approximately at the level of an upper delimitation of the back seats.

5. Partition according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the bottom region of the partition defines an area which may be subdivided into rectangular and trapezoidal sub-areas extending up to the longitudinal frame limbs with, starting from the bottom transverse frame limb, a distance L between the longitudinal frame limbs increasing or remaining constant from sub-area to sub-area.

6. Partition according to claim 5, wherein the area is symmetrical and comprises at least four sub-areas with there starting from a rectangular sub-area close to the bottom a first trapezoidal sub-area adjoined by a further rectangular sub-area and a second trapezoidal sub-area.

7. Partition according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the top region of the partition defines an area which may be subdivided into trapezoidal sub-areas extending up to the longitudinal frame limbs with, starting from the top transverse frame limb, the distance L between the longitudinal frame limbs increasing from sub-area to sub-area.

8. Partition according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the frame is fastenable by means of fastening elements in the floor and roof region of the interior.

9. Partition according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the fastening elements in the roof region are connectable by connection elements having spring properties to a body part.

10. Partition according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the connection elements take the form of U-shaped brackets.

11. Partition according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the fastening elements take the form of fastening clips.

12. Partition according to claim 6, wherein the fastening clips are welded to the frame.

13. Partition according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the partition is fastenable to the body parts by means of screws such a tommy screws which engage into tapped holes.

14. Partition to be disposed between the rear seats of a motor vehicle and the stowage compartment thereof, substantially as herein described and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.