JP2011063043A - Tonneau cover device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a tonneau cover device enabling a board material part to run onto a bracket to be certainly stored, without being hooked at a bracket tip end portion when a cover material is stored. <P>SOLUTION: As a bracket structure for holding a posture of the board material of the tonneau cover of an automobile, a rotating member assisting the running onto the bracket of the board material is set at the bracket tip end portion. Therefore, when the cover material is stored, winding is smoothly carried out to store the cover material without being hooked to the bracket for holding the posture. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a tonneau cover device for covering an upper portion of a luggage room provided at the rear of an automobile.

   In general, the tonneau cover has a cover material for covering the luggage room and a case for accommodating the cover material. In this case, a winding device that is coupled to one end of the cover material and winds up the cover material is disposed. In general, the cover material is configured to cover the luggage room in a state where the cover material is pulled out rearward from the case, and a board material is attached to an end portion of the cover material on the drawing side. The board material functions to facilitate the drawing of the cover material. Further, a pair of hooks for fixing the cover material to the pulled-out position by engaging with the engaging portions of the side walls in the vehicle interior are attached to the left and right ends of the board material.

  Usually, the cover material is made of a flexible material so that it can be easily wound and accommodated in the case, while the board material is made of a hard member, and even if the cover material is accommodated in the case, It is located outside. Therefore, the board material generally has a substantially uniform thickness that is larger than the width of the opening of the case for drawing out the cover material. Since the cover material is located outside the case, the user can easily pull out the cover material by grasping the board material portion.

  Here, when the cover material is in a state where it is housed in the case, if the board material hangs down due to its own weight, the user will not be able to use it the next time the user pulls the cover material out of the case. . Further, in a state where the board material hangs down, the board material is pushed in the direction of the rear seat by the luggage, and it may be difficult to perform the drawer operation. Therefore, Patent Document 1 discloses means for keeping the board material in a substantially horizontal state in a state where the cover material is accommodated in the case. In the configuration disclosed in this document, a member having a predetermined shape and keeping the board material in a substantially horizontal state by being in contact with the side surface of the case is attached to the lower surface of the board material with screws. Moreover, as shown in FIG. 7, the structure formed in the case which winds up a cover material and accommodates the bracket which supports a board material from the downward direction is also known.

JP 2008-265460 (Japanese Patent Application No. 2007-109269)

  The cover material pulled out into the vehicle compartment of the car is stored in the case, the handle part of the cover material is pulled, the stopper part is released, and when it is released, it is wound up by the case. Due to the weight of the part, there is a problem that it is caught by the tip of the bracket for maintaining the horizontal state and is not stored. Further, as a cause of the catch, a step is formed due to the thickness of the board material as shown in FIG. 8, and the step is caught on the end of the bracket. Another reason is that the outer periphery of the cover material covering the board material of the board part is bonded by welding, but if an incomplete part occurs in the terminal part, the terminal is caught by the bracket. It will not be stored in the case.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a tonneau cover device that can be securely stowed and stored on a bracket without the board material portion being caught on the tip of the bracket when the cover material is stored.

The means of the present invention for solving the problems are achieved by a tonneau cover device having the features of claims 1 to 5.
According to the first aspect of the present invention, a rigid board material fixed to one end of the cover material and the board material are loaded when the cover material is wound and housed in the case. Holding shape,
A tonneau cover device capable of covering a luggage room of an automobile having a predetermined height,
The holding shape portion is a vertical wall that is a part for attaching the holding shape portion to the case;
A horizontal wall that has a substantially flat surface for loading the board material and is not continuous with the vertical wall;
The horizontal wall is provided with a notch or a recess,
The notch or recess is provided with a rotating member that can freely rotate with respect to at least the winding direction of the cover material,
In the tonneau cover apparatus, at least a part of the rotating member protrudes from a substantially flat surface of the horizontal wall.
Here, the fact that at least a part of the rotating member protrudes from the substantially flat surface of the horizontal wall refers to a state in which a raised shape is imparted to the substantially flat surface of the horizontal wall by a part of the rotating member.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, the horizontal wall has an inclined portion which is a surface inclined downward toward the tip, and the notch portion or the concave portion is formed in the inclined portion. Device.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the tonneau cover device, the rotating member is spherical, and the notch or the recess has a spherical surface.

In the invention of claim 4, the rotating member is a disk member having a disk-like surface in which an opening is formed, and a long shaft rod that can be inserted into the opening is passed through the opening of the disk member,
A tonneau cover device comprising a structure in which the notch or the recess is bridged by the shaft rod inserted into the disk.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the rotating member is a cylindrical roller member having an opening in the longitudinal direction, and a long shaft rod that can be inserted into the opening is passed through the roller member, and the notch or the recess It is a tonneau cover apparatus provided with the structure which bridge | crosslinks with the said shaft rod penetrated by the said roller member.

  In the present invention, as a bracket structure for maintaining the posture of the board material of the automobile, by setting a rotating member that assists the board material to ride on the bracket, it is caught by the bracket for maintaining the posture when the cover material is stored. Winding is performed smoothly and can be stored.

(A) Configuration of the tonneau cover device according to the first embodiment:
Hereinafter, a preferred first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a luggage room (2) of an automobile provided with a tonneau cover device (1) for an automobile that is an object of the present invention, and the upper portion of the luggage room (2) is covered with a cover material (3). Is shown. Here, the luggage room is a space for storing luggage behind the rear seat, and the tonneau cover device (1) covers the luggage room to prevent the luggage room containing the luggage from being viewed through the back door. Provided for.

  3 is a cross-sectional view of a portion A in FIG. The tonneau cover device (1) has a case (4) for accommodating the cover material (3) when not in use. The case (4) has a cylindrical case body formed by extrusion molding of aluminum and having a length substantially equal to the interior of the automobile, and lid members (5) that close both ends of the case body. A recess (6) into which both ends of the lid member (5) and the case (4) are fitted is provided in the interior of the automobile, and the case (4) is fitted into the recess by fitting both ends of the lid member (5) and the case (4). ) Is installed in the car. The case (4) is disposed immediately behind the rear seat, and an opening (7) serving as an entrance / exit of the cover material (3) is formed in a slit shape in the longitudinal direction of the case on the side wall facing the rear of the vehicle. Is formed. The winding shaft (8) is rotatably held in the case, and one end of the cover material (3) is fixed to the winding shaft. The take-up shaft (8) constitutes a take-up device together with a mechanism for rotating and energizing the take-up shaft (8). With this winding device, the tonneau cover device (1) is always wound around the winding shaft and accommodated in the case when no external force is applied.

  The cover material (3) is preferably made of a flexible material so that it can be easily wound up. As a material for the cover material (3), for example, vinyl chloride leather which is widely used in general can be used. In consideration of material recycling, TPO (olefin-based thermoplastic elastomer) can also be used.

  In the cover material (3), with respect to the winding direction of the cover material (3), the board material (9) having a shape along the rear edge of the tonneau portion at the end edge facing the one end edge portion fixed to the winding shaft. ) Is fixed. The thickness of the board material is larger than the width (size in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction) of the opening (7) formed in the case (4). Thus, even when the cover material (3) is housed in the case (4), the board material (9) is not drawn into the case (4), and the board material (9) It is used not only for completely covering the rear edge of the room, but also as a grip allowance when pulling out the cover material (3) housed in the case (4).

  In order to allow the cover material (3) to be pulled out easily, a gripping portion (10) is generally provided at the rear end of the board material (9). In order to prevent the board material (9) from being pulled into the case (4), not only by increasing the thickness of the board material (9), the width of the board material (9) is reduced to the opening ( It may be larger than the length of 7) or may be combined.

Moreover, the engagement hook (11) is provided in the width direction both ends of the board material (9), respectively. The engagement hook (11) is engaged with an engagement groove (12) formed in a side trim or the like of an automobile. By engaging the engagement hook (11) with the engagement groove, the board material ( 9) is pulled out.
When an automobile occupant or the like uses the tonneau cover device (1) for shielding the luggage room, the gripping part (10) is grasped and the cover member (3) is pulled out from the case (4) to the rear of the vehicle and engaged. The hook (11) is engaged with the engagement groove (12). When the tonneau cover device (1) is not used, the engagement between the engagement hook (11) and the engagement groove (12) is released. When the engagement is released, the winding shaft rotates so as to wind up the cover material by the urging force of the winding mechanism, and the cover material (3) is taken into the case (4) through the opening (7). .

  In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the case is provided with two holding shape portions (15) for horizontally holding the board material when the cover material is wound and stored. A holding | maintenance shape part (15) is a member which has the vertical wall (16) which is a part for attaching to a case, and the horizontal wall (17) which hold | maintains a board horizontally.

  The vertical wall (16) has a substantially flat surface in which an opening (18) is formed, and is a part attached to one surface of the case. An opening (19) is also formed in the case corresponding to the position where the holding shape portion is attached, and the holding shape portion is attached to the case by fastening both openings with screws (20).

  The horizontal wall (17) is formed so as to extend in a direction substantially perpendicular to the vertical wall, and has a substantially flat surface extending in parallel with the drawing direction of the cover material. Holds the board horizontally when it is wound and stored in the case.

  In the horizontal wall (17), the vicinity of the tip, which is an end that is not continuous with the vertical wall (16), forms an inclined portion (21) that slopes downward from the middle toward the tip. Furthermore, it is preferable that the tip (22) of the inclined portion has a rounded shape. With this shape, the board material is placed on the tip of the horizontal wall when the board material is placed on the horizontal wall. The risk of getting caught is reduced.

  Side walls (23), which are surfaces that are perpendicular to the substantially flat surfaces formed by the vertical walls and the horizontal portion, are provided. By forming the side wall (23), even when the board material is stacked on the holding shape portion, the holding shape portion (15) is prevented from being bent or deformed by the weight of the board material. The

  Here, in order to prevent the board material from being held horizontally by the holding shape portion by, for example, being caught on the tip of the horizontal wall of the holding shape portion when the cover material is wound and stored in the case, A rotating sphere (24), which is a spherical rotating member, is provided near the tip of the wall.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a main part of the holding shape portion (15) provided with a spherical rotating member, and FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line BB of FIG.
At the tip of the horizontal portion (25) of the holding shape portion, a rotating member receiving portion (concave portion) (26) for holding the rotating sphere in the holding shape portion is formed.
In the first embodiment, a spherical concave portion is formed in the holding shape portion, and the rotating ball is attached to the holding shape portion by pushing the rotating ball (24) into the receiving portion while elastically deforming the receiving portion. The attached rotating sphere (24) is positioned between the rotating sphere and the receiving part to such an extent that the rotating sphere can freely rotate within the receiving part and the rotating sphere is not detached from the receiving part due to vibrations caused by vibrations of the vehicle traveling. It is desirable to ensure a gap.

As a result, when the cover member is wound and housed in the case, even if the board member comes into contact with the tip of the horizontal portion, the rotating member rotates so that the board material can smoothly run on the horizontal wall. .
In addition, since the spherical rotating member can rotate in any direction regardless of which board material and cover material contact from any direction, the shape retaining portion and the spherical shape have an angle with respect to the winding direction of the cover. Even if it contacts the rotating member, it is possible to effectively assist the board material on the horizontal wall.

(B) Configuration of tonneau cover device according to second embodiment: disk member FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a main part of the second embodiment of the present invention.
In the second embodiment, a disk member (30) is used as the rotating member.
Hereinafter, in the second embodiment, the third embodiment, and the fourth embodiment, the configuration other than the rotating member and the holding means for the rotating member is the same as that of the first embodiment, and thus the description thereof is omitted.

In the second embodiment, a disk-shaped disk member having an opening at the center and a shaft rod (31) for inserting the disk member into the shape holding portion and using the disk member are used as the rotating member.
The material of the disk member is formed by molding a resin material (PBT), and a groove is formed on the surface of the disk member so that a grounding resistance to the cover material is applied. Further, the disk member may be made of a plurality of materials. In that case, it is preferable to use a material near the surface that is softer than the other materials so that the resistance on the surface of the disk member is increased. It is more effective if the surface is grooved to further increase the resistance.

  In order to attach the disk member to the shape holding portion, the shaft rod is passed through the opening of the disk member. The diameter of the shaft rod is preferably smaller than the inner diameter of the opening of the disk from the viewpoint that the disk member can freely rotate.

A notch (32) for attaching the disk member (30) is formed at the tip of the shape holding part. The cutout part (32) is a part cut out to such a degree that a part of the tip of the shape holding part (15) can accommodate the disk member.
The disc member is attached to the holding shape portion by attaching the notch portion so as to be bridged by a shaft rod passing through the disc member.

A shaft holding portion (33) is formed at a position sandwiching the cutout portion on the back surface side, which is a surface not the design side of the horizontal wall.
The shaft holding portion has a J-shaped cross section, and the shaft rod can be supported and fixed so as to bridge the notch (32) when the shaft rod is hooked. The shaft holding portion may be integrated with the holding shape portion, or may be molded separately and attached to the shape holding portion by adhesive or screwing.

It is also conceivable to form a shaft holding hole as a configuration other than the shaft holding portion described above.
A shaft holding hole, which is a hole through which the shaft rod can be inserted, is formed in a correspondingly facing position on the facing surface constituted by the notches. The disk member is disposed in the space formed by the notch, the shaft rod is inserted into one of the shaft holding holes, the opening of the disk member is inserted, and then the other shaft holding hole is inserted, whereby the disk member is inserted. Place in the notch.
At this time, it is desirable that the shaft rod not be detached from the opening holding hole. As an example of the configuration, a shaft stopper is provided at one end of the shaft rod, and after the shaft rod bridges the notch, a washer (34) is provided at the other end so that the shaft rod is not detached from the shaft holding hole. Is mentioned.

In the second embodiment, a configuration in which no shaft bar is used is also possible.
A projecting portion (35) projecting in a columnar shape from the center position of the disk member to the out-of-plane direction from the center position of the disk member is formed, and the same effect as the shaft rod can be obtained by the projecting portion. That is, the disk member can be disposed in the notch by hooking the protruding portion on the shaft holding portion.

  In this way, the disk member is attached to the vicinity of the tip of the shape holding portion so as to be freely rotatable in the direction in which the cover material is pulled out. When the board member is placed on the wall, the board member comes into contact with the disk member, so that the board member can smoothly run on the horizontal wall.

(C) Configuration of tonneau cover device according to third embodiment: roller member 1
FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a third embodiment of the present invention.
In 3rd Embodiment, a cylindrical roller member (40) and a shaft bar (41) for attaching a roller member to a shape holding part are used as a rotation member.

  A shaft rod (41) that can be skewered in the longitudinal direction is passed through the cylindrical roller member (40). The shaft rod is longer in the longitudinal direction than the roller member, and its radius and diameter are shorter than that of the roller member. In addition, it is desirable that the roller member passed through the shaft rod is freely rotatable. Therefore, the diameter of the shaft rod and the diameter of the cylindrical hollow portion of the roller member should be shorter than the diameter of the shaft rod. desirable.

As a method of attaching the roller member to the holding shape portion, any one of the shaft holding portion and the shaft holding hole (42) mentioned in the second embodiment may be used.
In the third embodiment shown in FIG. 5, one roller member is set, but two or more roller members may be provided.

  When the cover material is wound and stored in the case, when the board material is placed on the horizontal wall of the shape holding part, the board material can smoothly run on the horizontal wall by contacting the disk member. Become.

(2) Configuration of tonneau cover device according to fourth embodiment: roller member 2
FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a fourth embodiment of the present invention.
As mentioned in the second and third embodiments, the two shaft holding holes (50) are formed, the shaft rods (51) are respectively inserted, and the notches are bridged by the shaft rods.

A C-shaped rotating member having a C-shaped cross-section and having a slit-shaped notch in the longitudinal direction is used. The C-ring-shaped rotating member is attached to the shaft rod by pushing the C-ring-shaped rotating member while being elastically deformed from the notch to the shaft rod.
From this point of view, the C-ring-shaped rotating member is preferably made of an elastically deformable material and structure.

  According to the fourth embodiment, as in the other examples, when the cover material is wound and stored in the case, the board material is a disk member when the board material is placed on the horizontal wall of the shape holding portion (15). It is possible to smoothly board the board material on the horizontal wall.

  The configuration of the shape holding portion tip, the bearing portion, the rotating shaft, and the rotating member in the posture holding bracket structure of the tonneau cover device of the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, but is for explaining the present invention. Therefore, it should not be construed as limiting the invention described in the claims or reducing the scope thereof.

It is a perspective view of the luggage room of the motor vehicle provided with the tonneau cover apparatus. It is an external view of the bracket which concerns on this invention. It is sectional drawing of a tonneau cover apparatus. It is a perspective view which shows the principal part of 2nd Embodiment which concerns on this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the principal part of 3rd Embodiment which concerns on this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the principal part of 4th Embodiment which concerns on this invention. It is sectional drawing of the tonneau cover apparatus of a prior art example. (A) The level | step difference which causes the malfunction of a cover material (b) shows the incomplete part of a weld terminal part.

1: Tonneau cover device 3: Cover material 9: Board material 15: Shape holding part 24: Rotating ball 30: Disk members 31, 41, 51: Shaft bar 33: Shaft holding part 40: Roller member 52: Longitudinal member

Claims (5)

A rigid board material fixed to one end of the cover material;
A holding shape portion that is attached to a case and on which the board material is loaded when the cover material is wound and stored in the case;
A tonneau cover device capable of covering a luggage room of an automobile having a predetermined height,
The holding shape portion is a vertical wall that is a part for attaching the holding shape portion to the case;
A horizontal wall that has a substantially flat surface for loading the board material and is not continuous with the vertical wall;
The horizontal wall is provided with a notch or a recess,
The notch or the recess is provided with a rotating member that can freely rotate at least with respect to the winding direction of the cover material,
At least a part of the rotating member protrudes from a substantially flat surface of the horizontal wall;
A tonneau cover device. The horizontal wall has an inclined portion that is a surface inclined downward toward the tip,
The notch or the recess is formed in the inclined portion;
The tonneau cover apparatus of Claim 1 characterized by these. The rotating member is spherical;
The notch or the recess has a spherical surface;
The tonneau cover device according to claim 1. The rotating member is a disk member having a disk-like surface in which an opening is formed,
A long shaft rod that can be inserted into the opening is passed through the opening of the disk member,
The tonneau cover apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a structure in which the notch or the recess is bridged by the shaft rod inserted into the disk. The rotating member is a cylindrical roller member having an opening in the longitudinal direction,
A long shaft rod that can be inserted through the opening is passed through the roller member,
The tonneau cover device according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a structure in which the notch or the recess is bridged by the shaft rod inserted into the roller member.