GB2575531A

GB2575531A - Luggage compartment floor and motor vehicle with a luggage compartment floor

Info

Publication number: GB2575531A
Application number: GB1906465.8A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Kammerlander Patrick; Ullmann Christoph
Original assignee: Bayerische Motoren Werke AG
Current assignee: Bayerische Motoren Werke AG
Priority date: 2018-05-09
Filing date: 2019-05-08
Publication date: 2020-01-15
Anticipated expiration: 2039-05-08
Also published as: DE102018207324A1; GB2575531B; GB201906465D0

Abstract

A luggage compartment floor 2 for a motor vehicle according to the invention is composed of a front section 4 facing an interior of the vehicle and a rear section 6 facing a rear opening of the vehicle, the two sections being pivotable towards one another about a pivot axis 5. By means of an actuator 10, the front section of the floor can be brought from an essentially horizontal starting position (figure 1) in which it is aligned with the rear section into an operating position in which it is pivoted upwards. The upwardly pivoted front section of the luggage compartment floor acts as a ramp between the rear section and a step (S, figure 3) located in front of the luggage compartment floor. The step is formed, for example, by a folded-down backrest of a rear seat. The actuator may comprise an electric motor (14, figure 6), a threaded spindle (22) and a scissor drive (26, 28) which act to raise a cross-member (40) located over a substantial portion of the width of the front section.

Description

Luggage compartment floor and motor vehicle with a luggage compartment floor

The invention relates to a luggage compartment floor for a motor vehicle according to the preamble of Claim 1, as well as a motor vehicle with a luggage compartment floor according to the preamble of Claims 7 and 9.

In their operating position in the motor vehicle, known luggage compartment floors for motor vehicles form an essentially horizontally aligned, flat storage surface for transported goods. Here, it is known to divide the luggage compartment floor into a front and rear section, the rear section being pivotable in relation to the front section. This configuration enables a user of the motor vehicle, who is located behind a rear opening of the motor vehicle, to lift the rear section, in order for example to access a storage compartment located beneath the luggage compartment floor.

The object of the invention is to further refine the known luggage compartment floor.

This object is achieved by a luggage compartment floor having the features of Claim 1 and by a motor vehicle having the features of Claim 7 and/or 9.

The core principle of the invention according to Claim 1 is to provide an actuator that generates external power at the front section of the luggage compartment floor, by means of which the front section is pivotable in relation to the rear section. This enables the front section of the luggage compartment floor, which faces the interior compartment of the motor vehicle and is therefore not accessible to a user standing behind the motor vehicle, to be pivoted by means of external power where necessary.

The pivoting of the front section of the luggage compartment floor preferably serves to achieve alignment with the height of a step in front of the luggage compartment floor. In other words, the front section of the luggage compartment floor forms a ramp that provides a transition from the level of the rear section of the luggage compartment floor to the level of the step.

The step is formed, for example, by an enlargement of the luggage compartment in the direction of the interior compartment of the motor vehicle by displacing components of the rear seat or by displacing the entire rear seat. Preferably, the

-2backrest of the rear seat is folded down in order to enlarge the luggage compartment, over the entire width of the rear seat or over only a part of the extent of the width of the rear seat. The term “rear seat” comprises both a rear seat bench and a rear seat system with individual seats.

The height of the step, in other words for example the height offset between the level of the luggage compartment floor and the level of the rear side of the backrest of the rear set, may depend on a number of limiting conditions, such as the design of the underbody of the motor vehicle in the region of the rear seat and the type and/or the thickness of the upholstery of the rear seat. Furthermore, an accumulator for electrical energy may be provided in the region of the rear seat, increasing the installation height in this region.

The pivoting of the front section of the luggage compartment floor and the ramp formed by this make it significantly easier to load long objects into the luggage compartment. Long objects include, for example, skis, planks, rods etc. In the case of a luggage compartment floor with a step ahead of it, such long objects remain “stuck” on this step and can only be raised over the step with a great application of force due to the long lever arm.

Motor vehicles with a rear opening include, for example, motor vehicles with a combination design as well as so-called sport utility vehicles (SUV) or sport activity vehicles (SAV). These vehicle types usually have a boot lid that extends approximately to the level of the luggage compartment floor and therefore have a low loading sill. For this reason, these vehicles are especially suitable for transporting objects, including long objects. With a luggage compartment floor according to the invention, these long objects can be loaded into the luggage compartment of the motor vehicle in a simple and energy-saving manner.

The invention is especially advantageous in the case of sport utility vehicles or similar motor vehicles that have a “split boot lid”. A “split boot lid” has a top part which is hinged in the roof region of the motor vehicle, and a lower part which is hinged in the region of the loading sill. In the case of motor vehicles with a “split boot lid”, when the luggage compartment is open, the user is further away from the rear opening on account of the lower part of the boot lid, which is pivoted downwards into an approximately horizontal position, than they are in the case of motor vehicles with a

-3single-piece boot lid that opens exclusively upwards.

In principle, the invention may also be used with motor vehicles of other designs, for example saloon cars or coupes.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the actuator has an electric motor, with benefits with regard to the required installation space and the wide variety of options concerning actuation. Alternatively, it is of course also possible for the actuator to have a hydraulic or pneumatic cylinder, for example.

In a further refinement of the invention, the combination of electric motor and threaded spindle results in an especially space-saving actuator. By varying the thread pitch of the threaded spindle, it is possible to adapt the adjustment force, adjustment path and/or adjustment time to the respective requirements in an especially simple manner.

In one embodiment of the invention, the threaded spindle drives a lifting rod assembly, which impinges in the front region of the luggage compartment floor. Preferably, two lifting rod assemblies are provided, which impinge on the right and the left side, respectively, of the front section. In this manner, a broad supporting base is achieved which functions reliably irrespective of the asymmetrical load distribution (based on the extent of the width of the luggage compartment floor).

In a further refinement of the invention, the lifting rod assembly is or the lifting rod assemblies are designed as a scissor drive. Such drives are distinguished by their compact dimensions and variable design with regard to the transmission, as a result of which, for example, the adjustment height and adjustment force can be defined in a simple manner.

In a further embodiment of the invention, a cross member that runs in the transverse direction of the luggage compartment floor is provided on the underside of the front section of the luggage compartment floor and acts as an “intermediary” between the actuator and the front section by evenly distributing the applied forces. Furthermore, in the case of a scissor drive, the cross member can be embodied as a rail guide.

According to Claim 7, the invention can be used in an especially advantageous manner in a motor vehicle having a rear seat with a foldable backrest, as already

-4described in more detail above.

Here, it is especially advantageous for the front edge of the front section to be able to be raised sufficiently far as to an enable as continuous a transition as possible to the rear side (which is folded down into an approximately horizontal plane) of the backrest of the rear seat.

The invention according to Claim 9 provides for a control device with which the actuator generating external power can be actuated. This control device has at least one operating unit, which is located within reach of the rear opening of the motor vehicle. This enables a user standing behind the motor vehicle to raise or lower the front section of the luggage compartment floor during loading or during unloading of the luggage compartment from the back of the motor vehicle.

The operating unit consists, for example, of a switch with buttons for the two movement directions “up” and “down”. The switch can be embodied as a double switch or rocker switch, for example.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the control device exclusively enables travelling to the two end positions of the front section of the luggage compartment floor. These end positions are the positions “essentially horizontal” and “pivoted upwards to the maximum extent”. The “maximum upward pivoting” corresponds, for example, to the level of a step located in front of the front section of the luggage compartment floor.

All position designations used in conjunction with the luggage compartment floor refer to the installation position of the luggage compartment floor in the motor vehicle.

For reasons of linguistic simplification, the invention is described and claimed on the basis of a two-part luggage compartment floor with a front and a rear section. However, the invention also applies in equal measure to a luggage compartment floor with more than two sections and a motor vehicle with such a multi-part luggage compartment floor. Such multi-part luggage compartment floors have at least one central section between the front and the rear section. This central section is connected to the front section along a pivot axis which extends in the transverse direction of the luggage compartment floor. Just like the rear section, the at least one

-5central section forms an essentially horizontally aligned storage surface for transported goods.

A possible exemplary embodiment of the invention is shown in the drawing and is described in more detail below. In the figures:

Fig. 1 shows a perspective view of a luggage compartment floor according to the invention for a motor vehicle, with the viewing direction running diagonally counter to the driving direction of the motor vehicle, in the starting position of the luggage compartment floor,

Fig. 2 shows a view corresponding to Fig. 1 in the operating position of the luggage compartment floor, in other words with the front section of the luggage compartment floor pivoted upwards,

Fig. 3 shows a view corresponding to Fig. 1, with the viewing direction running diagonally in the driving direction of the motor vehicle,

Fig. 4 shows a perspective view of an actuator for pivoting the front section of the luggage compartment floor, in the operating position,

Fig. 5 shows a view corresponding to Fig. 4, with the actuator in the starting position,

Fig. 6 shows a view of the actuator with walls of the housing of the actuator depicted as transparent, with the viewing direction running approximately in the driving direction, and

Fig. 7 shows a view corresponding to Fig. 6, with the viewing direction running approximately counter to the driving direction.

Figures 1 to 3 show a luggage compartment floor according to the invention in its entirety denoted with 2. The luggage compartment floor 2 is intended for installation in the luggage compartment of a motor vehicle which is not shown. The driving direction of the motor vehicle is indicated with X. It corresponds to the longitudinal direction of the motor vehicle. Furthermore, the spatial coordinates Y (transverse direction) and Z (vertical direction) are given.

-6The luggage compartment floor 2 consists of a front and a rear section 4 and 6, respectively, which are joined together along a pivot axis 5. The two sections 4 and 6 form a storage surface A for transported goods. The pivot axis 5 is formed by a hinge, for example made of metal, between the two plate-like sections 4 and 6, and by a “carpet-type hinge” formed on the top side in the support (for example made of textile or leather) of the luggage compartment floor 2. The plate-like sections 4 and 6 consist, for example, of a CFRP material.

At least one central section can of course also be provided between the front and the rear section 4 and 6, respectively.

The front edge of the front section 4 of the luggage compartment floor 2 abuts the interior compartment of the motor vehicle, specifically the rear side of the rear seat. A step S can be seen in the schematic view in Fig. 3, which is formed by a backrest of the rear seat folded over forwards in the driving direction X. The rear side R of the backrest forms an expansion of the storage surface A for the transported goods, but with a height offset h in the direction of the vertical axis Z. The height offset h is approximately 150 millimetres, for example.

The rear edge of the rear section 6 of the luggage compartment floor 2 abuts a loading sill L. The loading sill L preferably has the same height as the storage surface A. The loading sill L is formed, for example, by a cladding of a rear bumper or by a lower part of an opened “split boot lid”. The rear section 6 has a loop 8 so that the rear section 6 can be raised by pivoting about the pivot axis 5 in order to enable access to a storage compartment located beneath the rear section 6.

Fig. 1 shows the luggage compartment floor 2 in its starting position in which the storage surfaces A of both the front and the rear section 4 and 6 lie approximately in a horizontal plane. The luggage compartment has its maximum volume in this starting position.

Figures 2 and 3 show the luggage compartment floor 2 in its operating position, in other words with the front section 4 pivoted upwards, from different viewing directions. In this operating position, the front section 4 forms a ramp, which provides a continuous transition from the approximately horizontal storage surface A of the rear

-7 section 6 to the level of the rear side R of the backrest of the rear seat.

The pivoting of the front section 4 is carried out by an actuator which is denoted in its entirety with 10. The actuator 10 has a cartridge 12 for accommodating the individual components of the actuator 10. An electric motor 14 is positioned on the rear wall of the cartridge 12. Further components of the actuator 10 are located in the interior of the cartridge 12 and are described in more detail below in the description of Figures 4 to 7. In this case, a lifting rod assembly in the form of a scissor drive is concerned, which is distinguished by a compact design at high transferable loads. For instance, the actuator 10 shown in the drawing can apply or bear a load of approximately 5000 N.

As is apparent in particular in Figures 4 to 7, a drive shaft of the electric motor 14 drives a right and a left threaded spindle 22 via a gear 20. Spindle nuts 24 are positioned on the threaded spindles 22. The displacement of the spindle nuts 24 in the transverse direction Y of the motor vehicle that occurs upon rotation of the threaded spindles 22 is transmitted by control arms 26 to one-armed levers 28. The control arms 26 are connected by an articulated joint to the spindle nuts 24 and the levers 28 on bearings 30 and 32, respectively. The levers 28 are pivotably fastened on their outer side in bearings 34 in the cartridge. The free ends of the control arms 28 bear rollers 36, which engage in a cross member 40 extending over the entire width of the front section 4 of the luggage compartment floor 2. The cross member 40 is arranged on the underside in the region of the front edge of the front section 4. It is embodied as a rail guide for the rollers 36.

The cross member 40 distributes the force applied via the control arms 26 over the entire width of the front section 4 of the luggage compartment floor 4. In the operating position, in other words with the front section 6 pivoted upwards, the load applied to the front section 4 (due to the loading of transported goods) also supports itself via the cross member 40, the control arms 26 and the self-locking between the spindle nuts 24 and the threaded spindles 22 on the body of the motor vehicle.

In the starting position of the front section 4 of the luggage compartment floor 2, the cross member 40 rests on the walls of the cartridge 12.

The combination of luggage compartment floor 2 and actuator 10, which is embodied

-8as a pre-assembly unit, is attached to the body of the motor vehicle by way of a right and a left bearing block 50. The bearing blocks 50 enable restricted pivoting of the actuator 10 during pivoting of the front section 4 of the luggage compartment floor 2. The bearing blocks 50 are designed to be sound absorbing, which is achieved for example with a layer of an elastomer material. The transmission of noises that are generated during operation of the actuator 10 is thus counteracted.

The electric motor 14 is driven by a control device which is not shown. Here, the pivoting of the front section 4 of the luggage compartment floor 2 is effected by a user via an operating unit which is not shown. The operating unit is located, for example, in the region of the rear edge of the rear section 6 of the luggage compartment floor 2 at an ergonomically advantageous height for a user on a lateral partition wall of the luggage compartment of the motor vehicle.

The power consumption of the electric motor 14 can be monitored by means of the control device, so that in the event of an inappropriately high load (for example greater than 5000 N) on the front section 4 of the luggage compartment floor 2, the electric motor is switched off for safety reasons. Such an overload situation exists, for example, if an object being transported already fills the entirety of the available height of the luggage compartment in the starting position of the front section 4 shown in Fig. 1, in other words in its lowered position, and is consequently pressed against the upper limit of the luggage compartment, in other words the roof of the motor vehicle, when the front section 4 is pivoted.

The invention can be summarised as follows: A luggage compartment floor 2 according to the invention is composed of a front and a rear section 4 and 6, respectively, the two sections 4 and 6 being pivotable towards one another. By means of an actuator 10, the front section 4 of the luggage compartment floor 2 can be brought from an essentially horizontal starting position in which it is aligned with the rear section 6 into an operating position in which it is pivoted upwards.

The upwardly pivoted front section 4 of the luggage compartment floor 2 acts as a ramp between the rear section 6 and a step S located in front of the luggage compartment floor 2. The step S is formed, for example, by a folded-down backrest of a rear seat.

-9List of reference signs luggage compartment floor front section pivot axis rear section loop actuator cartridge electric motor gear threaded spindle spindle nut control arm lever bearing bearing bearing roller cross member bearing block

A storage surface h height offset

L loading sill

R rear side

S step

X longitudinal direction

Y transverse direction

Z vertical direction

Claims

1. A luggage compartment floor for a motor vehicle, having a front section facing an interior compartment of the motor vehicle, and having a rear section facing a rear opening of the motor vehicle, the front and rear sections being joined together along a pivot axis running in the transverse direction of the luggage compartment floor, characterised in that an actuator (10) acting with external power is provided on the front section (4), by means of which the front section (4) is pivotable in relation to the rear section (6).

2.

A luggage compartment floor according to Claim

1, characterised in that the actuator (10) has an electric motor (14).

3. A luggage compartment floor according to electric motor (14) drives a threaded spindle (22).

Claim

2, characterised in that the

4. A luggage compartment floor according to threaded spindle (22) moves at least one lifting rod assembly (26, 28) which is positioned on the front region of the front section (4) of the luggage compartment floor

Claim

3, characterised in that the (2).

5. A luggage compartment floor according to Claim 4, characterised in that the lifting rod assembly (26, 28) is a scissor drive.

6. A luggage compartment floor according to any of the preceding claims, characterised in that the actuator (10) acts on a cross member (40), which is arranged on the underside of the front section (4), in the region of its front edge, and extends over a substantial portion of the width of the front section (4).

7. A motor vehicle with a luggage compartment floor according to any of the preceding claims, characterised in that the front section (4) of the luggage compartment floor (2) is connected to a foldable rear seat of the motor vehicle.

8. A motor vehicle according to Claim 7, characterised in that the front edge of the front section (4) of the luggage compartment floor (2) is pivotable at a height which corresponds to the height of a step (S) formed by the rear seat in its folded-down position.

9. A motor vehicle with a luggage compartment floor according to any of Claims 1 to 6, characterised in that a control device is provided for actuating the actuator (10) and has an operating element for triggering a pivoting movement of the front section (4), the operating element being located in the vehicle interior within reach of a rear opening of the motor vehicle.

10. A motor vehicle according to Claim 9, characterised in that the control device is designed such that the front section (4) of the luggage compartment floor (2) can adopt exclusively its two intended end positions.