GB2314060A

GB2314060A - Bumper guard device for vehicles

Info

Publication number: GB2314060A
Application number: GB9711485A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Hirohito Hayashi; Kazuhiro Sasaki; Hiroshi Matsumoto; Naoki Ohara; Yukio Yoshioka; Masahiko Terazoe
Original assignee: Toyoda Jidoshokki Seisakusho KK; Toyoda Automatic Loom Works Ltd
Current assignee: Toyota Industries Corp
Priority date: 1996-06-11
Filing date: 1997-06-04
Publication date: 1997-12-17
Also published as: DE19724495A1; GB9711485D0; JPH09328040A

Description

2314060 TITLE

Bumper Guard Device for Vehicles DESCRIPTION

The invention relates to a bumper guard device for vehicles which also functions as a carrier for luggage.

A known carrier device is described below with reference to Figs. 13 and 14 of the drawings. This device comprises a main body formed by bending cylindrical pipe into a generally rectangular form. This known carrier device has problems in that changing position between the horizontal state and the raised state requires troublesome work of fitting and removing in the vicinity of rear tires, so that it is difficult to use, and the user must find a place for storage.

The invention provides a device comprising a guard for mounting on a vehicle so as to be rotatable between a guard position and a carrier position; a mechanism which allows the guard to be locked in the guard position and in the carrier position, the locking mechanism including lock plates for fixing to the rear portion of the vehicle and having lock grooves; lock pins attached to the guard and capable of engaging in the lock grooves; and means f or disengaging the lock pins from the grooves to enable the guard to be rotated between positions.

Preferably, the pin plates are rotatably mounted on the guard and having the lock pins f ixed thereto; and springs pressing the pin plates to engage the lock pins in the lock grooves. The disengaging means preferably comprises a bar linking the pin plates to each other; and an operating lever connected to the bar. The operating lever may be attached to the bar foldably between an operative position generally perpendicular to the bar and a storage position generally parallel to the bar.

The end portions of a main body of the guard may have an opening of a gourd-shaped cross-section, a portion of each attachment leg having an elongated rectangular cross-section inserted into and welded to the opening of the corresponding end portion of the main body. A cover is preferably provided for the locking mechanism. The device may comprise a front bar extending in the width direction of the vehicle; and lock plates fixed to the front bar at a distance from each other and rotatably mountable on the rear portion of the vehicle. Discs may be welded to the ends of the front bar, the sides of a generally triangular flat plate are welded to the discs, a pair of rectangular flat plates are disposed above and below the triangular flat plate and welded to the discs and to the triangular flat plate.

DRAWINGS Fig..1 is a perspective diagram showing a bumper guard device according to a first embodiment of the invention; Figs. 2 and 3 are a schematic side view and a schematic rear view of the device of Fig. 1 mounted on the rear portion of a vehicle; Figs. 4 and 5 are an exploded view and a plan view of the portion P shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 6 is a perspective view illustrating the welded structure of an attachment leg in Fig. 1; Figs. 7A to 7C are side views illustrating the state of a locking mechanism wherein a lock pin is engaged with upper, middle and lower lock grooves, respectively; Fig. 8 is a perspective diagram showing a bumper guard device according to a second embodiment of the invention; Fig. 9 is a detailed diagram of portion R shown in Fig. 8; Figs. 10 and 11 are an exploded view and a plan view of the portion Q shown in Fig. 8; Figs. 12A and 12B are side views illustrating the state of a locking mechanism wherein a bumper guard is in a raised state and a horizontal state, respectively; Fig. 13 is a perspective diagram showing a known carrier device mounted on the rear portion of a vehicle; and Fig. 14 is a cross-sectional diagram illustrating the attachment of the known carrier device of Fig. 13.

First Embodiment:

As shown in Fig. 1 through Fig. 3, a bumper guard 1 comprises a guard main body 2 formed by bending a round pipe in a U-shaped form, a front bar 3 formed of a round pipe welded so as to link between the general center portions of right and left longitudinal frame portions 2a of the guard main body 2, and plate-shaped attachment legs 4 attached to the end portions of the longitudinal frame portions 2a so as to serve as attachment portions. Each attachment leg 4 is attached to a rear under frame 5 through a bracket 6 at the rear portion of the vehicle so as to be rotatable in a vertical direction.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 4, lock plates 7 serving as guard supporting members are welded to the rear portion of the right and left brackets 6 fixed to the rear under frame 5, respectively. A stepped pin 8 is provided to each lock plate 7 so as to protrude to the outer surf ace side thereof. Each attachment leg 4 of the bumper guard 1 is disposed on the outer surf ace of the corresponding lock plate 7 and attached to the stepped pin 8 so as to be rotatable in a vertical direction, the -4attachment leg being prevented from removing by means of a nut 9 screwed to the threaded portion at the tip of the stepped pin 8.

Next, a locking mechanism of the bumper guard 1 will be described with reference to Figs. 4 and 5. The locking mechanism comprises the lock plates 7 each of which has three lock grooves 7a to 7c, and pin plates 12 provided with lock pins 10 detachably fittable to one of the lock grooves 7a to 7c of the corresponding lock plate 7. The locking mechanism selectively locks the bumper guard 1 to one of the three positions of a raised position A, a horizontal position B and a lowest position C, as shown in Fig. 2.

Each lock plate 7 has an outer circumferential edge of a circular arc shape centered around the stepped pin 8 which serves as the center of rotation of the bumper guard 1. Formed on the outer circumferential edge are the three lock grooves 7a, 7b and 7c for the raised position A, the horizontal position B and the lowest position C, respectively. On the other hand, each pin plate 12 is disposed on the outer surface side of the corresponding attachment leg 4 with the rear edge thereof being rotatably attached to the attachment leg 4 by means of an attachment pin 11. A lock pin 10 is provided to the front edge portion of each pin plate 12.

The lock pin 10 extends inwards through an arcshaped slot 4a centered around the attachment pin 11 formed in the attachment leg 4, the extended portion of the lock pin 10 being detachably engaged with one of the lock grooves 7a, 7b and 7c of the lock plate 7. Further, a lock spring 13 is strung between the pin plate 12 and the attachment leg 4 by using hooks 13a, whereby the lock pin 10 is pressed in the direction of engaging with one of the lock grooves 7a, 7b and 7c.

Also, both the lock pin 10 and the attachment pin 11 of the pin plate 12 are stepped pins which have the threaded tips extending inwards than the lock plate 7. A linkage bar 14 provided with linkage plates 15 on both sides is horizontally -5provided between the right and left attachment legs 4, and the lock pin 10 and the attachment pin 11 are fastened to the corresponding linkage plate 15 by means of nuts 16 tightened to the tip portions thereof, as shown in Fig. 5. The pin plates 12 on both sides are constructed so as to move in union by means of the linkage bar 14 and the linkage plates 15.

An operation lever 17 is provided to the linkage bar 14 to serve as operation means for disengaging the locked state of the locking mechanism. The operation lever 17 is formed of a cylindrical rod, and as shown in Fig. 5, the base portion thereof is foldably attached to one end of the linkage bar 14, e.g., to a bracket 18 at a position somewhat inwards from the left end of the linkage bar 14 by means of a pin 19. Thus, when not in use, the linkage lever 17 can be folded along the linkage bar 14 and held at the tip thereof by a holder 20 formed of an elastic clip. The operation lever 17 is provided on the inner side of the bumper guard 1 and is made so as to be storable thereto.

The operation lever 17 is designed such that when the bumper guard 1 is in the horizontal position B, the operation lever 17 can be pulled rearwards in a generally horizontal manner, and the linkage bar 14 is coupled to the portions generally central between the front and rear of the linkage plates 15. Accordingly, the operation of raising the operation lever 17 which has been pulled in a rearward direction causes the pin plates 12 on both sides to be rotated in a downward direction around the attachment pins 11 through the linkage bar 14 and the linkage plates 15, so that the lock pins 10 disengage from the lock grooves 7a to 7c.

Fig. 6 shows the fixed structure of the attachment leg 4 to the longitudinal frame portion 2a of the guard main body 2.

The end portion of the longitudinal frame portion 2a is formed to have an opening of a somewhat gourd-shaped cross-section, and one end of the attachment leg 4 having an elongated rectanglar -6cross-section is inserted into the opening and welded. Thus, welding surfaces are formed in the vertical direction and horizontal direction of the attachment leg 4 by deforming the end portion of the longitudinal frame portions 2a formed of a pipe, and welding strength is enhanced by means of providing slits 2b in the both sides thereof to increase welding area. Also, as shown in Figs. 2 to 4, it is preferable that the attachment portion of the bumper guard 1 and the locking mechanism thereof are covered with a cover 21 so as to improve the looks thereof.

Next, a description will be made regarding the operation of changing the position of the rear bumper guard device for vehicles constructed as described above. When changing the'position of the bumper guard 1, first, the operation lever 17 is extracted from the holder 20, as indicated by a double-dots broken line shown in Fig. 5. At this time, if the lock pins 10 are engaged with the upper lock grooves 7a of the lock plates 7 so that the bumper guard 1 is in the raised position A as shown in Fig. 7A, the operation lever 17 is pulled out in an upwards direction. Pressing this operation lever 17 forwards causes the pin plates 12 to rotate through the linkage bar 14 in the direction indicated by an arrow against the pulling force of the lock spring 13, and thus the lock pins 10 are disengaged from the lock grooves 7a so that the locked state is released. Also, if the lock pins 10 are engaged with the middle lock grooves 7b or the lower lock grooves 7c of the lock plates 7 so that the bumper guard 1 is in the horizontal position B or lowest position C as shown in Fig. 7B or 7C, the operation lever 17 is pulled out in a rearward direction. Raising this operation lever 17 causes the pin plates 12 to rotate in the direction indicated by an arrow, and thus the lock pins 10 are disengaged from the lock grooves 7b or 7c so that. the locked state is released.

After the lock pins 10 are disengaged from one of the 7lock grooves 7a to 7c, the bumper guard 1 can be rotated upwards or downwards centrally around the stepped pins 8 to change the position thereof. According to the present embodiment, the user can release the lock by operating the operating lever 17 with one hand, and thereafter change the position of the bumper guard 1 by rotating it with the other hand. Accordingly, troublesome removal of the under bar as with the known art becomes unnecessary, markedly simplifying the work of changing positions of the bumper guard 1, and improving ease of use.

Also, when conducting position changing, in the event that the user makes the operating lever 17 free after the lock pins 10 have been disengaged from the lock grooves 7a to 7c and the bumper guard 1 has been rotated by any degree, the lock pins 10 come into.contact with the outer periphery of the lock plates 7. However, since the outer periphery surface thereof is made to be a circular arc centered around the stepped pins 8 which serve as the center of rotation of the bumper guard 1, the lock pins 10 can easily move along the outer periphery surface thereof in accordance with the subsequent rotation of the bumper guard 1 and the lock pins 10 fall into one of the lock grooves 7a, 7b and 7c, thus locking at that position.

In such a way, the position of the bumper guard 1 is changed. In Fig. 2, the bumper guard 1 is used in the raised position A as a guard for the rear bumper 22 (or in the event of a vehicle which is mounted with a spare tire on the back door 23, as a guard for the rear bumper 22 and the spare tire), and in the horizontal position B, the bumper guard 1 can be provided with various attachment to serve as a carrier for luggage such as bicycles or skis. Further, in the event that the bumper guard 1 obstructs opening and closing of the back door 23 due to the configuration of the particular vehicle, the bumper guard 1 can be lowered to the lowest position C so as to allow for opening and closing of the back door 23.

Further, according to the present embodiment, the -8operating lever 17 for performing disengaging of the lock is provided at a position higher than the knees of the operator so as to facilitate easy lock disengaging operation. Moreover, the operating lever 17 is provided inside of the bumper guard 1, thereby preventing accidental contact with the operating lever 17 which might disengage the lock. Also, folding the operating lever 17 and storing it along the linkage lever 14 is effective in preventing undesirable lock disengagement operation such as by mischief or the like.

Now, depending on the type of vehicle, the form of the rear under frame 5 may differ from that shown in Fig. 1. In the case of applying the bumper guard 1 of the above-described embodiment to such vehicles, an unillustrated sub-bracket of a certain form'may be beforehand provided to the rear under frame 5, for example, and the bracket 6 shown in the figures may be attached to the subbracket, thus allowing for application of the bumper guard 1 without changing the entirety thereof.

Second Embodiment:

As shown in Fig. 8, the bumper guard 31 according to the second embodiment comprises a guard main body 32 formed of bending a round pipe in a U-shaped form, and a front bar 33 formed of a round pipe linking the ends of the longitudinal frame portions 32a of the guard main body 32 horizontally, so as to have an overall rectangular form longer in the lateral direction. Lock plates 37 are fixed by means of welding to both sides of the front bar 33.

The ends of the guard main body 32 and the front bar 33 are welded in an L-shape to each other. As for the welding construction for the present embodiment, as shown in Fig. 9, disks 32c and 33a are welded to the ends of the guard main body 32 and the front bar 33, respectively, a generally triangular flat plate 58 is welded to the disks 32c and 33a in a horizontal direction, and a pair of flat plates 59 are welded above and -9 below the flat plate 58 in vertical directions. Since all welding planes are flat planes in such an arrangement, the ease of welding is improved as compared to that of the aforementioned curved surface welding of the guard main body 2 and the front bar 3 described in the first embodiment, and the welding strength is also enhanced.

Attachment plates 57 serving as guard supporting members are integrally formed to or welded to the rear portion of the right and left brackets 36 fixed to the rear under frame 5 in the rear of the vehicle. As shown in Figs. 10 and 11, each lock plate 37 of the bumper guard 31 is attached to the corresponding attachment plate 57 by using a stepped pin 38 so as to be rotatable in a vertical direction, the lock plate 37 being prevented from removing by means of a nut 39 screwed to the threaded portion at the tip of the stepped pin 38. The lock plates 37 are provided to the inner side of the attachment plates 57, and on the outer periphery of each lock plate 37 two lock grooves 37a and 37b for raised position and horizontal position are formed upon an circular arc line centered around the stepped pin 38.

Also, a pin plate 42 is provided on the outer side of each attachment plate 57, the pin plate 42 being rotatably attached to the attachment plate 57 by means of an attachment pin 41. A lock pin 40 is provided at the rear edge portion of the pin plate 42. The lock pin 40 extends to the inner side through an arc-shaped slot 57a centered around the attachment pin 41 formed to the attachment plate 57, and the extended portion thereof can be detachably engaged with one of the lock grooves 37a and 37b of the lock plate 37. A lock spring 43 is strung between the pin plate 42 and the attachment plate 57 by using hooks 43a, whereby the lock pin 40 is pressed in the direction of engaging with one of the lock grooves 37a and 37b.

Also, as with the case of the lock pin 10 and the attachment pin 11 described in the first embodiment, both the -10attachment pin 41 and the lock pin 40 are stepped pins and the tips thereof are fastened to a linkage plate 45 fixed to the end of a linkage bar 44 by means of nuts 46 tightened to the tip portions thereof. Thus, according to the second embodiment, a locking mechanism comprises the lock plates 37 provided on the side of the bumper guard 31 having the lock grooves 37a and 37b, and the pin plates 42 with lock pins 40 provided on the side of the attachment plates 57. The pin plates 42 on both sides are constructed so as to move in union by means of the linkage bar 44.

An operation lever 47 is provided to the linkage bar 44 for disengaging the locked state of the locking mechanism. As with the operation lever 17 described in the first embodiment, the base portion thereof is foldably attached to a bracket 48 at a position somewhat inwards from the left end of the linkage bar 44 by means of a pin 49. When not in use, the linkage lever 47 can be folded along the linkage bar 44 and held at the tip thereof by a holder 50 formed of an elastic clip to be stored.

When changing the position of the bumper guard 31 according to the second embodiment of a construction such as described above, first, the operation lever 47 is extracted from the holder 50, as indicated by a double-dots broken line shown in Fig. 11. Next, depressing this operation lever 47 downwards causes the pin plates 42 to rotate through the linkage bar 44 and linkage plates 45 in a downwards direction, and thus the lock pins 40 are disengaged from the lock grooves 37a or 37b of the lock plates 37 so that the locked state is released. In this state, the bumper guard 31 can be rotated upwards or downwards to change the position thereof. Fig. 12A shows a state wherein the lock pin 40 is engaged with the upper lock groove 37a to lock the bumper guard 31 in a raised position, while Fig. 12B shows a state wherein the lock pin 10 is engaged with the lower lock groove 37b to lock the bumper guard 31 in a horizontal position.

According to the second embodiment, as with the f irst embodiment, the user can easily change the bumper guard 31 between the raised position and the horizontal position by operating the operating lever 47 with one hand and rotating the bumper guard 31 with the other hand. Also, according to the second embodiment, since the lock plates 37 serving as attachment members of the bumper guard 31 are provided on the front bar 33, various vehicles can be readily accommodated. That is, depending on the type of vehicle, the rear under f rame 5 may have the peculiar form or spacing, or there may be obstructing objects on the bottom rear side of the vehicle. In these cases, the bumper guard 31 can be easily applied to such vehicles without altering the main portions or the entirety of the bumper guard 31 by simply changing the fixing position of the lock plates 37 to the front bar 33.

As described above, according to the present invention, the user can release the state of locking of the locking mechanism by operating the operating lever and vertically rotate the bumper guard to change the position thereof. Accordingly, troublesome removal and mounting work as with the known art becomes unnecessary, facilitating easy changing of position of the bumper guard. Also, the operating lever is provided inside of the bumper guard, thereby preventing undesirable disengagement of the lock.

The prior art carrier of Figs. 13 and 14 comprises a base 61 or main body. Two members 62 are provided between a front frame portion 61a and a rear frame portion 61b of the carrier base 61, and a pair of combination lamps 63 are attached to the rear frame portion 61b. The carrier base 61 is attached to the rear portion of a vehicle using a pair of mounts 65 provided to the left and right. As shown in Fig. 14, each mount 65 is formed integrally of an L-shaped plate 65a and a sleeve 65b, and is fixed with a bolt 67 to a bracket 64 provided to the rear under frame (not shown) of the vehicle, passing through a rear bumper

66. Also, a washer 68 is fixed to the bolt 67 by means of a nut 69, and the front frame portion 61a of the carrier base 61 is held by means of this washer 68 and the mount 65 so as to be rotatable vertically.

Provided to the lower side of the carrier base 61 is a pair of under bars 70 for fixing the carrier base 61. Each under bar 70 is detachably attached at the base portion thereof to respective brackets 64 using a pin 71. A grooved receiving portion 72 is formed on the extended end of the under bar 70 extended rearwards through the lower portion of the carrier base 61, and the rear frame portion 61b of the carrier base 61 fits within this receiving portion 72. The rear frame portion 61b is fixed within the receiving portion 72 by means of a stopper 73 attached to the under bar 70 with a pin 74. Thus, the carrier base 61 is attached to the rear portion of the vehicle in a generally horizontal manner so as to be favourably used for loading of luggage.

Luggage is placed on the carrier base 61, using a variety of attachments not shown. Examples of attachments include, e.g., cycle attachment for bicycles, ski attachment for ski gear, luggage storage boxes, and so forth, such attachments being attached to the carrier base 61 and loading luggage. When the carrier device is not in use, the under bars 70 are removed from the brackets 64 and the carrier base 61, following which the carrier base 61 is raised rotating around the front frame portion 61a serving as an axis and is maintained in a vertically raised position by means of a bar or the like (not shown).

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. A bumper guard device for vehicles comprising: a guard for mounting on a vehicle so as to be rotatable between a guard position and a carrier position; a mechanism which allows the guard to be locked in the guard position and in the carrier position, the locking mechanism including lock plates for fixing to the rear portion of the vehicle and having lock grooves; lock pins attached to the guard and capable of engaging in the lock grooves; and means for disengaging the lock pins from the grooves to enable the guard to be rotated between positions.

2. A device according to claim 1 comprising: pin plates rotatably mounted on the guard and having the lock pins fixed thereto; and springs pressing the pin plates to engage the lock pins in the lock grooves.

3. A device according to claim 2 in which the disengaging means comprises: a bar linking the pin plates to each other; and an operating lever connected to the bar.

4. A device according to claim 3 in which the operating lever is attached to the bar foldably between an operative position generally perpendicular to the bar and a storage position generally parallel to the bar.

5. A device according to claim 4 comprising a holder attached to the bar for holding the lever in the storage position.

6. A device according to any preceding claim comprising: a main body formed by bending a pipe into a U-shape; and attachment legs fixed to the main body.

7. A device according to claim 6 in which the end portions of the main body have an opening of a gourd-shaped cross-section, a portion of each attachment leg having an elongated rectangular cross-section inserted into and welded to the opening of the corresponding end portion of the main body.

8. A device according to any preceding claim comprising a cover for the locking mechanism.

9. A device according to any preceding claim comprising a front bar extending in the width direction of the vehicle; and lock plates fixed to the front bar at a distance from each other and rotatably mountable on the rear portion of the vehicle.

10. A device according to claim 9 in which discs are welded to the ends of the front bar, the sides of a generally triangular flat plate are welded to the discs, a pair of rectangular flat plates are disposed above and below the triangular flat plate and welded to the discs and to the triangular flat plate.

11. A bumper guard device for vehicles substantially as herein described with reference to Figs 1 to 7 of the drawings.

12. A device according to claim 11 modified substantially as described with reference to Figs. 8 to 12 of the drawings.