JP3256832B2 - Car roof rail - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automobile roof rail.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A roof rail of this type is installed on a roof of an automobile in a pair, for example, on the roof of a vehicle for convenience of mounting a ski carrier or the like. As an example of this roof rail, for example, a roof rail body with a hollow uniform cross section made of extruded aluminum is fixed on the roof of an automobile, and the opening end of the roof rail body is sealed and the overall appearance of the roof rail is improved. Some have a structure in which a resin cover is attached to the cover.

FIGS. 8, 9 and 10 show a structure conventionally used as a connection structure between the roof rail body and the resin cover in this case. These figures show a roof rail installed on the right side of the roof. The roof rail main body 50 is made of a mold material having a uniform cross section formed by aluminum extrusion molding, and a rail groove 51 is formed on an inner side surface thereof. The resin cover 30 has a base end surface having substantially the same shape as the end surface of the roof rail main body 50, has a smoothly tapered outer shape, and has an open lower surface.

In this conventional structure, the roof rail body 50
The following bracket 40 formed of a metal plate is used to connect the resin cover 30 and the resin cover 30 to each other and to fix the resin cover 30 to the roof 60. The bracket 40 has a clip engaging hole 42a opened forward at a distal end portion of a strip member extending in a longitudinal direction, and a rivet hole 44 for connecting with a roof rail main body at a base end side. Is formed, and a convex bent portion 4 is formed at a portion near the front end of the intermediate portion in the longitudinal direction of the strip plate member.
3 is formed, and a clip holding hole 4
3a is open. Two engaging pieces 41 are formed on the left and right sides of the band plate member in the middle portion in the longitudinal direction and closer to the base end than the protruding bent portion 43 so as to extend in the width direction.

On the other hand, on the inner surface of the distal end portion of the resin cover 30, an engagement holding portion 32 formed of two upper and lower horizontal parallel plates into which the ends of the clip engagement portion 42 of the bracket 40 are inserted. A horizontal plate-shaped clip engaging portion 31 is formed at a position from the base end of the mating holding portion 32, and a locking claw 34 is formed at a lower portion of the inner surface of the left and right side walls. Engaging hole 3 opened toward
1a is formed. A bolt stopper 33 extends rearward from the base end surface of the resin cover 30, and a bolt hole 33 a is formed in the bolt stopper 33.

The bracket 40 is driven by driving the rivets 9 into the rivet holes 44a formed in the base rivet holes 44 and the bottom wall of the front end of the roof rail body 50.
It is connected to the roof rail body 50 in advance. Also,
When the roof rail body 50 is installed on the roof 60, the distal end of the bracket 40 is fixed on the roof by pushing the clip 6b attached to the clip engaging hole 42a into the clip hole of the roof. Further, a predetermined clip 6c is held in advance in the clip holding hole 43a of the convex bent portion 43.

The resin cover 30 is attached by moving the lower surface along the roof from the front to the rear so that the front end of the bracket 40 is held by the engagement holding portion 32 and the bracket 40 in advance. The neck of the clip 6c engages with the clip engaging hole 31a of the clip engaging portion 31, and the engaging piece 41 of the bracket engages with the locking claw 34, respectively. Then, the bolts 8 passed through the holes 51 a formed in the rail grooves 51 are screwed into the bolt fixing pieces 33, so that the connection between the resin cover 30 and the roof rail main body 50 is reliably performed.

[0008]

However, in the above-described mounting structure of the resin cover 30, the clip 6c is engaged with the clip engaging hole 31a provided in the resin cover and the clip provided at one end of the bracket 40. The distal end of the engagement hole is engaged with an engagement holding portion 32 provided on the inner surface on the distal end side of the resin cover 30.
In order to attach the bracket 0, it is necessary to perform a very troublesome operation of engaging the engaging claws 34 provided on the lower portions of the inner surfaces of both sides with the engaging pieces 41 provided on the bracket 40. Since everything is hidden on the back side of the resin cover 30, a high level of skill is required to obtain an appropriate engagement state of each engagement portion.

The bracket 40 has a clip engaging hole 42a opened forward at one end in the longitudinal direction, a rivet hole 44 near the other end, and a longitudinally bent portion from the center in the longitudinal direction to a position closer to the engaging hole. Since it has a structure including the bent portion 43 and the clip holding hole 43a, and the engaging piece 41 protruding in the width direction at the center in the longitudinal direction and at a position near the rivet hole, considerable cost is required for its production.

In addition, even when the resin cover 30 is mounted, there is a problem that the interior of the roof rail can be seen from the gap between the base end surface of the resin cover 30 and the end surface of the roof rail body 50.

The present invention has been devised in view of the above circumstances, and it is possible to easily attach a resin cover to a roof rail body, and to reduce costs by reducing the number of parts. It is an object of the present invention to provide an automobile roof rail that can achieve an appearance.

[0012]

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION The present invention employs the following means to solve the above problems.

That is, the roof rail of an automobile according to the present invention comprises a roof rail body having a hollow uniform cross section installed on the roof of the automobile so as to extend in a longitudinal direction thereof, and a resin connected to an open end of the roof rail body. A roof rail of an automobile having a cover, wherein the resin cover has an insertion portion formed at a base end thereof inserted into an opening end of the roof rail main body so as to be connected to the roof rail main body. The distal end side is fixed to the roof of the automobile using a clip, and the insertion portion is easily inserted into the open end of the roof rail body with the distal end of the resin cover being lifted above the vehicle body. As a result, the lower surface is inclined so as to retract upward as it approaches the tip.

In a preferred embodiment, a rib extending in the longitudinal direction is formed on the outer surface of the insertion portion formed on the resin cover.

The base end of the resin cover is restricted from moving vertically and horizontally relative to the roof rail main body by inserting an insertion portion provided therein into an opening of the roof rail main body. The front end of the resin cover is fixed to the roof by pushing a clip previously attached to the resin cover into a clip hole of the roof.

In the present invention, in particular, since the lower surface of the insertion portion of the resin cover is inclined, the insertion portion is tapered as a whole. Therefore, this insertion portion is inserted into the opening of the roof rail main body. Cheap. Moreover, it is also possible to insert the above-mentioned insertion portion into the opening of the roof rail main body with the tip of the resin cover raised. With this, the clip is attached to the front end of the resin cover in advance, and even when the clip protrudes from the lower surface of the front end of the resin cover, the insertion portion of the roof rail body can be inserted without the clip interfering with the roof. It can be inserted into the opening. Then, the tip of the resin cover is pressed down and the clip is pushed into the clip hole of the roof, whereby the tip of the resin cover is fixed to the roof.

As described above, in the automobile roof rail according to the present invention, first, the connection of the resin cover to the roof rail body and the fixing of the resin cover to the roof are performed without using a bracket having a complicated form as in the conventional example. Therefore, the number of parts can be reduced, and the cost can be reduced.

The operation of inserting the tapered insertion portion of the resin cover into the opening of the roof rail body and the operation of pushing down the tip of the resin cover to push the clip into the roof are as follows.
From the above, all are very easy and therefore the work of assembling the roof rail on the roof is greatly simplified.

Although there may be a gap between the end surface of the roof rail body and the base end surface of the resin cover, since the insertion portion is located behind the clearance, the gap between the roof rail body and the resin cover is different from the conventional example. The inside of the roof rail can be seen from the gap and the appearance does not deteriorate.

Other features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the detailed description given below with reference to the drawings.

[0021]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a disassembled state of each component before being connected. The roof rail body 20 is formed of a mold material having a uniform cross section formed by, for example, aluminum extrusion, and has a rail groove 21 formed on an inner side surface thereof. A bolt hole 22 is formed through the bottom wall of the rail groove 21. The resin cover 10 has a base end surface having substantially the same shape as the end surface of the roof rail main body 20, and has a base end portion having a cylindrical insertion portion 1 that can be inserted into an end opening of the roof rail main body 20.
1 is provided, has a smoothly tapered outer shape as a whole, and its lower surface is open.

On the inner surface of the distal end of the resin cover 10, a horizontal plate-shaped clip engaging portion 14 is formed so as to be able to engage with the neck of the clip 6a.
4 is formed with a clip engaging hole 14a that is opened rearward. The insertion portion 11 provided at the base end of the resin cover 10 has a rib 11a extending in the longitudinal direction formed on an outer surface thereof, and a lower surface 11b of the insertion portion 11 is inclined at a predetermined angle to retreat upward toward its tip. And tapered as a whole.

As shown in FIGS. 3, 4 and 5, in order to secure the rigidity of the resin cover 10 in the lateral direction, a reinforcing member 13 is provided below the vicinity of the longitudinal center of the resin cover 10 between the left and right side walls. It is provided to hang over,
A plurality of reinforcing ribs 12 extending in the width direction along the inner surface of the resin cover 10 are provided.

Further, as shown in FIG. 6, the inner surface of the inner wall of the insertion portion 11 can be filled with a washer portion of the square washer integrated nut 7 and the washer portion of the square washer integrated nut 7 is bolted to the bolt 8.
A nut holding groove 16 is formed to hold the nut so as not to rotate with the rotation of the bolt with respect to the rotation at the time of screwing. The nut 7 is held in the nut holding groove 16. And, on the inner wall of the insertion portion 11,
A bolt hole 15 is provided on the inner surface side in correspondence with the nut 7 held as described above.

The solid line in FIG. 2 shows a state in which the resin cover 10 is attached to the roof rail main body 20 and is fixed to the roof 60. The broken line in FIG. Insertion section 11 provided on end side
Is shown inserted into the end opening of the roof rail body 20.

The base end of the resin cover 10 is restrained from moving in the vertical and horizontal directions with respect to the roof rail main body 20 by inserting the insertion portion 11 provided therein into the end opening of the roof rail main body 20. You. The distal end of the resin cover 10 is fixed to the roof 60 by pushing the clip 6a previously attached to the resin cover 10 into the clip hole of the roof 60 (the state shown by a broken line → the state shown by a solid line in FIG. 2). The fixing between the roof rail body 20 and the resin cover 10 is performed by the bolt hole 22 formed in the rail groove 21 of the roof rail body 20 and the insertion portion 1 of the resin cover 10.
This is performed by screwing a bolt 8 passed through a bolt hole 15 formed in 1 into the above-mentioned square washer integrated nut 7. The attachment of the resin cover 10 to the roof rail body 20 is completed by the extremely simple operation as described above.

In the above configuration, since the lower surface 11b of the insertion portion 11 of the resin cover 10 is inclined so as to retreat upward as it goes toward the tip, the insertion portion 11 has a tapered shape as a whole. This insertion portion 11 can be easily inserted into the end opening of the roof rail body 20. Further, in the present embodiment, the resin cover 10
The insertion portion 11 provided at the base end of the roof rail main body 2 has a rib 11a extending in the longitudinal direction formed on the outer surface thereof.
Since the contact area between the inner surface of the opening portion 0 and the outer surface of the insertion portion 11 is extremely reduced, the insertion resistance when the insertion portion 11 of the resin cover 10 is inserted into the opening of the roof rail body 20 is greatly reduced. In addition, the insertion portion 11 of the resin cover 10 can be easily inserted into the opening end of the roof rail body 20.

Since the lower surface 11b of the insertion portion 11 is inclined as described above, as shown by the broken line in FIG. It is also possible to insert into the end opening of the main body 20. Thereby, the clip 6a is attached to the distal end of the resin cover 10 in advance, and even if the clip 6a protrudes from the lower surface of the distal end of the resin cover 10, the clip 6a does not interfere with the roof 60, and The insertion part 11 can be inserted into the opening of the roof rail main body 20. As described above, the mounting of the resin cover 10 to the roof rail body 20 does not require a high level of skill, and can be easily performed.

When it is necessary to remove the resin cover 10 from the roof rail body 20 at the time of repainting or repairing the roof, the bolt 8 is removed, and the resin cover 10 is removed from the front side.
In other words, it is only necessary to slide the resin cover 10 in a direction in which the resin cover 10 is detached from the roof rail main body 20, and remove the clip 6a whose neck is engaged with the clip engaging hole 14a provided on the inner surface on the distal end side of the resin cover 10. In the present embodiment, since the clip engagement hole 14a has a form that is open rearward, such a removal operation of the resin cover 10 becomes possible.

When the resin cover 10 is attached to the roof rail body 20 again, the insertion portion 11 is slid rearward, that is, in a direction in which the resin cover 10 is brought closer to the roof rail body 20, so that the opening 11 of the roof rail body 20 is opened. While being inserted into the car roof 60
The clip engaging hole 14a provided on the inner surface on the distal end side of the resin cover 10 is engaged with the clip 6a remaining on the upper side,
Thereafter, it is only necessary to connect the resin cover 10 and the roof rail body 20 with the bolts 8. Again,
Since the lower surface of the insertion portion 11 is inclined and the shape of the insertion portion 11 is tapered as a whole, the resin cover 10 can be easily inserted into the opening of the roof rail body 20.

As described above, once the roof rail body 2
Even when the resin cover 10 is mounted on the roof rail main body 20, it is easy to remove the resin cover 10 from the roof rail main body 20, and it is also easy to mount the resin cover 10 on the roof rail main body 20 again. Because of the simplicity of removing the resin cover 10 from the roof rail main body 20 and attaching the resin cover 10 to the roof rail main body 20 as described above, when the resin cover 10 is dried at a high temperature at a temperature at which the resin cover 10 is melted after painting, the resin Cover 10
Can be easily removed from the roof rail main body 20, and after the drying is completed, the resin cover 10 can be easily attached to the roof rail main body 20.

The above-described embodiment is merely an example, and the rib 1 is provided on the outer surface of the insertion portion 11 of the resin cover 10.
Whether to provide 1a is an optional matter.

The cross-sectional shape of the roof rail body 20
Alternatively, the overall shape of the resin cover 10 can be variously changed. Further, as the connecting means between the roof rail main body 20 and the resin cover 10, the use of the connecting means using bolts and nuts according to the above embodiment is also an optional matter.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of an embodiment of an automobile roof rail according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of one embodiment of a roof rail of an automobile according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line III-III in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line IV-IV in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a bottom view of the resin cover.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line VI-VI in FIG. 2;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along line VII-VII in FIG. 2;

FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view of one embodiment of a roof rail of an automobile according to a conventional example.

FIG. 9 is a longitudinal sectional view of one embodiment of a roof rail of an automobile according to a conventional example.

FIG. 10 is a sectional view taken along line XX in FIG. 9;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Resin cover 11 Insertion part 11a Rib 12 Reinforcement rib 13 Reinforcement material 14 Clip engagement part 14a Clip engagement hole 15 Bolt hole 20 Roof rail body 21 Rail groove 22 Bolt hole 60 Automobile roof 6a Clip 8 Bolt

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B60R 9/04 B60R 13/04

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A roof rail for an automobile, comprising: a roof rail body having a hollow uniform cross section installed on a roof of the automobile so as to extend in a longitudinal direction thereof; and a resin cover connected to an open end of the roof rail body. The resin cover has an insertion portion formed at a base end thereof inserted into an opening end of the roof rail main body so as to be connected to the roof rail main body. The insertion part is fixed to the roof and the tip of the resin cover
In the state lifted above the vehicle body can be easily inserted into the open end of the roof rail body, tip the lower surface
A roof rail of an automobile, characterized in that the roof rail is inclined so as to retreat upward as it goes toward .