WO2000000366A1

WO2000000366A1 - Blocking device for goods in the inner space of motor vehicle

Info

Publication number: WO2000000366A1
Application number: PCT/EP1999/001417
Authority: WO
Inventors: Marino Tonon
Original assignee: Marino Tonon & C. S.A.S.
Priority date: 1998-06-29
Filing date: 1999-03-04
Publication date: 2000-01-06
Also published as: AU3031599A; ITTO980561A1; ITTO980561A0

Abstract

A device (1) for blocking goods (2) for motor vehicles (4) presenting a panel (5) secured to the motor vehicle (4) and provided with a surface (7) for supporting the goods (2) themselves, and a number of housings (8) obtained in the panel (5) itself, and open towards the supporting surface (7) itself; a determined number of stakes (9) coupled to the housings (8) in order to define a barrier (10), which is substantially rigid, for restraining the goods (2).

Description

BLOCKING DEVICE FOR GOODS IN THE INNER SPACE OF A MOTOR VEHICLE DESCRIPTION The present invention relates to a device for blocking goods in the inner space of motor vehicles .

In particular, the present invention relates to a device for blocking goods which can be used to advantage in the inner transport space of a motor vehicle, to which the following explanation makes specific reference without, however, losing any generality.

Normally, in order to fix goods in the above- mentioned inner transport spaces, or to prevent the goods from moving around while the motor vehicle is being driven, well-known blocking devices are used such as those, for example, of the type comprising a roll-up cover around a roller fixed to the motor vehicle itself and suitable for covering the goods and blocking them on a bottom floor of the inner space, or of the type comprising a striker bar connected to the motor vehicle which can be regulated to reduce the volume of the inner transport space. There are also well-known types of blocking device comprising a number of shaped inserts to be arranged around the goods, and presenting respective bases provided with flexible hooks at the bottom which can be hooked to a cover of the above-mentioned bottom wall of the inner transport space .

The well-known blocking devices of the type mentioned above suffer from some drawbacks which compromise their reliability and, therefore, use. In fact, the above-mentioned roll-up cover does not permit the goods to be blocked from several directions at once and also presents the danger that it might become detached from the goods themselves, while the above-mentioned inserts have a tendency to become unhooked if the motor vehicle performs a sudden sharp manoeuvre as well as which it is absolutely indispensable to their use that the above- mentioned bottom wall be provided with a cover which is usually difficult to anchor to the motor vehicle in a secure fashion, and is therefore easily prone to wear. Furthermore, the majority of the above- mentioned blocking devices define a considerable overall volume inside the inner transport space thereby reducing the volume available for the transport of goods .

An aim of the present invention is to realise a blocking device which does not only provide a solution to the drawbacks described above, but is also simple and economical to realise.

According to the present invention there will

be realised a device for blocking goods in an inner space of a motor vehicle characterised by the fact that it comprises a panel secured to an inner space and presenting a surface for supporting said goods, a number of housings obtained in the panel and open towards the supporting surface itself, and a determined number of stakes coupled to said housings to define at least one barrier which is substantially rigid and able to restrain said goods.

The invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate a non limiting embodiment of the invention, in which;

FIG. 1 is a plan view, with parts in section and parts removed for purposes of clarity, of a preferred embodiment of the blocking device according to the present invention; FIG. 2 is a frontal elevation view, on an enlarged scale, with parts in section and parts removed for purposes of clarity, of a particular of

FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 illustrates, on an enlarged scale, a first and, respectively, a second preferred form of embodiment of a particular of FIG. 1.

With reference to FIGS 1 and 2, the number 1 indicates a blocking device in its entirety, which is arranged in the inner space 3 for transport of a motor vehicle 4, and is suitable for blocking packages 2 in relation to the motor vehicle 4 itself. The device 1 for blocking comprises a panel 5, which is secured, as will be better explained below, to a bottom wall 6 of the inner space 3, and peripherally delimited by an outer perimeter P which substantially reproduces an inner profile of the wall 6 itself, and presents an upper surface 9 for supporting the package 2. The device 1 comprises, furthermore, a number of housings 8 obtained in the panel 5 and open towards the supporting surface 7, and a determined number of stakes 9 which can be coupled to the housings 8 themselves to define a barrier 10 which is annular and substantially rigid for the restraint of said package 2 arranged in substantial contact with the package 2 itself.

In particular, the panel 5 comprises a plate limited at the upper extreme by the surface 7, and two series of ribs 12 for stiffening which extend in a transverse direction from the plate 11 of the opposite part of the surface 7 itself. The ribs 12 in each series are arranged parallel to each other and transversely to the ribs 12 of the other series in such a way as to form junction points 13 inside which are obtained the housings 8. The plate 11 and the ribs 12 are preferably, but not necessarily, realised in plastic material suitable for withstanding both the kind of impact and variation in temperature to which the device 1 might be subjected. The panel 6 , furthermore, comprises a number of fins 14 which are circular and uniformly distributed along the perimeter P, and which are provided with respective holes 15. The fins 14 are arranged both at the same height as the supporting surface 7 in a higher position than the wall 6, and at a lower level in relation to the surface 7 itself and in substantial contact with the wall 6 itself . The fins 14 permit: the panel 5 to be fixedly secured to the inner space 3 by means of one or more brackets 16 (FIGS. 3 and 4), each of which comprise an end portion 16a with a central hole and shaped substantially in the same way as the fins 14 to be joined to the fins 14 themselves by means of a pin or screw inserted in the hole 15, and a further end portion 16b which is substantially rectangular, which can either be anchored to the wall 6, or simply arranged to abut against the lateral walls of the inner space 3.

The housings 8 are equally spaced one from the other, they are uniformly distributed over the whole of the supporting surface 7, and are defined by a respective cavity 17 for attachment, which extends across a relative point 13 along a respective axis 17a transferral to the surface 7, and presents a tapered shape which tapers decreasingly away from the surface 7 itself. The cavity 17 is realised in rigid material, otherwise, according to a non- illustrated embodiment, it may also be realised in elastically yieldable material.

Each stake 9 comprises a cone 18 for attachment obtained in correspondence to a respective end portion 19, and able to be coupled by means of friction to the interior of the cavity 17 of the relative housing 8, and a further end portion 20, shaped substantially in the form of a hook, and which is suitable for being connected to the portion 20 of a stake 9 placed in an adjacent position along the barrier 10 by means of an elastic cable 21 arranged in a bridge like con iguration between the two portions 20. The cable 21 makes up part cf, although as an ootion, the device 1, and is suitable for further reinforcing the restraining action already exerted by the stakes 9 of the barrier 10 on the package 2.

Further to what has already been described above, it is obvious that the panel 5 can be installed in the interior of any inner transport space 3 of a motor vehicle 4 already in circulation as it can be shaped with an external perimeter P which can be adapted to meet specific needs, or it can be realised directly on the motor vehicle 4 itself. The panel 5 can be realised in a single piece in order to meet the needs just described or, according to the illustrations shown in FIGS. 3 - 5, the panel 5 can also be a modular panel comprising a number of elements 22 which are sectional in relation to each other, each of which is identical to the other elements 22 and to the panel 1, and comprising two fins 14a substantially coplanar to the supporting surface 7 arranged along two sides 23 adjacent to the element 22 itself, and two further fins 14b on a lower level in relation to the surface 7 itself, and arranged on the opposites sides of the fins 14a in relation to the element 22 itself.

According to the illustration shown in FIG. 6, the fins 14a and 14b present respective holes 24a and 24b for assembly, which, once a fin 14a is superimposed on a fin 14b to assemble two elements 22 between them, are placed in alignment in relation to each other and engaged by a pin 25 for assembly defined by a screw.

According to the illustration shown in FIG. 7, the fins 14b present respective holes 24b for assembly, while the fins 14a are provided with respective pins 25a for assembly, which present a substantially spherical shape, and, once a fin 14a is superimposed on a fin 14b to assemble two elements 22 between them, the pins 25a are snap fixed into the relative hole 24b of the adjacent sectional element 22. In use, once the panel 5 has been shaped in such a way that the relative perimeter P substantially reproduces the shape of the bottom wall 6 of the inner space 3, or once the elements 22 are assembled one to the other to define a panel 5 representing the outline of P, the panel 5 itself is secured to the wail 6 itself by brackets 16 for securing, the portions 16a of which are joined to the fins 14 arranged along the perimeter P, and the portions 16b of which are cut to specific measurements in such a way as to fit exactly the measurements of the inner space 3 , thus ensuring that the panel 5 is perfectly blocked in the inner space 3 itself .

At this point, a package 2 is placed on the supporting surface 7, and a suitable number of stakes 9 are inserted into the housings 8 so as to define a barrier 10 around the package 2 itself; FIG. 1 illustrates a single package 2 and relative barrier 10, but, in any case, it is possible to place more packages 2 on the surface 7 and, naturally, form a relative barrier 10 around each package 2. The tapering shape of the cavities 17 for attachment and the cones 18 for attachment means that the stakes 9 are connected to the housings 8 in substantially rigid fashion by means of friction and prevent the stakes 9 themselves from slipping out of the relative housings 8. In the case that the package 2 is rather cumbersome, or heavy, the restraining action of the barrier 10 from several directions at once is reinforced by the addition of the elastic cable 21, which is positioned in the interior of the hooked end portion 20 in such a way as to connect as a bridge two stakes 9 placed adjacent to each other along the

barrier 10. Once the package 2 has been transported, the stakes 9 can be replaced inside a box 26 (FIG. 2) , which is substantially rectangular and presents two cones 18 for attachment which extend from a wall 27 which is lower than the box 26 itself so that it can be fixed to the panel 5.

While a specific embodiment of the invention has been disclosed, it is to be understood that such disclosure has been merely for the purpose of illustration and that the invention is not to be limited in any manner thereby. The blocking device may be subject to further modifications in terms of shape, dimensions and arrangements of the parts and of the constructional and operational details.

For example, the cavities 17 for attachment of the housings 8 could present a cylindrical shape and, in such a case, the end portions 19 of the stakes 9 could also present a similar cylindrical shape. In this case, each housing 8 would be provided with, in correspondence to an edge lower than the relative cavity 17, a number of teeth of a preferably, but not necessarily, spherical shape, which would extend both inside the cavity 17 itself to function as a stopping point for the relative stakes 9, and on the opposite side of the surface 7 to function as a gripping device on the bottom wall 6 of the inner space 3. Furthermore, the stakes 9 could be assembled in pairs with a rectilinear or curved transverse for each pair, in such a way as to define bridging structures each presenting two respective portions 19 suitable for being introduced into the interior of the respective cavities 17. In this case, the annular barrier 10 could be defined by a group of stakes 9 and bridging structures .

Claims

1. A device (1) for blocking goods (2) in an inner space (3) of a motor vehicle (4) characterised by the fact that it comprises a panel (5) secured to an inner space (3) and presenting a surface (7) for supporting said goods (2) , a number of housings (8) obtained in the panel (5) and open towards the supporting surface (7) itself, and a determined number of stakes (9) coupled to said housings (8) to define at least one barrier (10) which is substantially rigid and able to restrain said goods .

2. A device according to Claim 1, characterised by the fact that said housings (8) are equally spaced one from the other, and are uniformly distributed over the entire supporting surface (7) .

3. A device 1 or 2 , characterised by the fact that said housings (8) are defined by respective cavities (17) which are tapered and are for the purpose of attachment .

4. A device according to Claim 3 , characterised by the fact that said stakes (9) comprise a cone (18) for attachment obtained in correspondence to a respective end portion (19) and able to be coupled by friction to the interior of a cavity (17) for attachment of the relative housing (8) .

5. A device according to Claim 4 , characterised by the fact that said stakes (9) comprise a further end portion (20) shaped substantially in the form of a hook.

6. A device according to Claim 5 , characterised by the fact that it comprises elastic means (21) arranging as a bridge between two said further end portions (20) of two stakes (9) placed in adjacent positions along said barrier (10) .

7. A device according to any of the preceding Claims, characterised by the fact that said panel (5) comprises a plate (11) limited by a part of said supporting surface (7) , and a number of ribs (12) for the purpose of stiffening which extend in a transverse direction from the plate

(11) of the opposite part of the supporting surface (7) itself.

8. A device according to Claim 7,

characterised by the fact that said ribs (11)

intersect each other in correspondence to said

housings (8) .

9. A device according to any of the preceding Claims, characterised by the fact that said panel (5) is a modular panel comprising a number of elements (22) sectional in relation to each other to define an outer perimeter (P) of the panel (5) itself which is adaptable to an inner space (3) of said motor vehicles (4) .

10. A device according to Claim 9, characterised by the fact that each of the said sectional elements (22) comprises at least one fin (14) substantially coplanar to said supporting surface (7) , and at least one further fin (14) which is on a lower level in relation to the supporting surface (7) itself.

11. A device according to Claim 10, characterised by the fact that said fins (14) present respective holes (24) for assembly able to be engaged by a pin (25) for assembly in order to secure between them two said sectional elements (22) .

12. A device according to Claim 10, characterised by the fact that a first fin (14) of said fins (14) of each sectional element (22) presents a hole (24) for assembly, and a second fin

(14) of said fins (14) of each sectional element (22) presents a pin (29) for assembly.

13. A device according to Claim 12 , characterised by the fact that said pin (25) for assembly of a sectional element (22) can be snap fixed into the hole (24) for assembly of the adjacent sectional element (22) .

14. A device for blocking goods in the inner space of a motor vehicle, substantially as described with reference to any of the accompanying drawings .