WO2008156230A1

WO2008156230A1 - Auto surface protection cover

Info

Publication number: WO2008156230A1
Application number: PCT/KR2007/005322
Authority: WO
Inventors: Chul-Woo Joo
Original assignee: Chul-Woo Joo
Priority date: 2007-06-21
Filing date: 2007-10-26
Publication date: 2008-12-24

Abstract

Provided is a protective cover for a vehicle surface comprising one or more unit covers in¬ dividually installed at the respective parts of an exterior panel of a vehicle, a first adhesive tape attached to the edge of the underside of each unit cover, and second adhesive tapes attached to a non-adhesive side of the first adhesive tape. The first adhesive tape and each second adhesive tape may have the same shapes as the edge of the unit covers, and some of the unit covers may have holders at their corners and corners of corresponding panel are inserted into the holders. The protective cover for a vehicle surface can prevent damage to adhesion parts of the cover at the time of changing the adhesive tapes enabling reuse of the cover and provide good adhesion to the exterior panel of the vehicle. In addition, it is possible to perform easy installation and dis¬ mantlement, reduce operation time, and always install the protective cover at a given position.

Description

AUTO SURFACE PROTECTION COVER

Technical Field

[1] The present invention relates to a protective cover for a vehicle surface and more particularly, to a protective cover for a vehicle surface capable of providing good adhesion, readily installing and dismantling the protective cover, and reducing time consumption in installation and dismantlement by providing a shape and structure that can be closely adhered to a surface of an outer panel of a vehicle. Background Art

[2] Generally, in order to protect the exterior of a vehicle from external environment elements such as moisture, dusts, and direct rays of light, and improve merchantibility by making exterior panel appearance beautiful, painting is performed.

[3] Vehicles manufactured through various processes including the painting process are delivered to a consumer through inland, marine and aviation transport. During the delivery, it is very important to prevent damage to a film of paint of the vehicle due to various causes such as moisture, dusts and direct rays of light. In particular, in case of vehicles exported to foreign countries, in consideration of export/import procedures, transport period to importing countries, duration of storage after transport, and inland and standby period until the final delivery to consumers, period more than 6 to 8 months may be consumed.

[4] Therefore, in order to protect the film of paint of the vehicle, conventional opaque vinyl wrap has been adhered or anticorrosive agent has been applied to the surface of the film of paint. However, adhesion of the vinyl wrap needs much time and manpower, and adhesives may remain after removal of the vinyl wrap. In addition, when the anticorrosive agent is used, car washing should be performed before delivery to consumers. Since wastewater generated during car washing causes environmental contaminations, developed countries restrict use of the anticorrosive agent.

[5] In order to solve the problems, a protective cover for a vehicle surface having a double-sided tape adhered to the underside thereof is used to enable ready installation and dismantlement. However, since the double-sided tape is directly adhered to the underside of the protective cover for a vehicle surface, the cover part to which the double-sided tape adheres may be torn or damaged when the protective cover for a vehicle surface is removed. As a result, the protective cover for a vehicle surface once used cannot be reused decreasing economic efficiency.

[6] In addition, since the protective cover for a vehicle surface has an outer periphery formed of a set of curves and straight lines, when straight double-sided tapes are used, adhesion surfaces of the double-sided tapes should partially overlap each other at the curves. Further, overlapping of the tapes may cause fine gaps at corresponding parts reducing adhesive force. Disclosure of Invention

Technical Problem

[7] In order to solve the foregoing problems, it is an object of the present invention to provide a protective cover for a vehicle surface capable of preventing damage to an adhesion part at the time of changing an adhesive tape to enable reuse of the protective cover.

[8] It is another object of the present invention to provide a protective cover for a vehicle surface capable of providing good adhesion to an outer panel of a vehicle, readily performing installation and dismantlement, reducing time consumption in installation and dismantlement, and securely installing the protective cover at a given position. Technical Solution

[9] In order to achieve the above-mentioned objects, a protective cover for a vehicle surface according to the present invention includes one or more unit covers individually installed at each part of an exterior panel of a vehicle, a first adhesive tape is attached to the edge of the underside of each unit cover, and second adhesive tapes are attached to a non-adhesive side of the first adhesive tape.

[10] Here, the first adhesive tape and each second adhesive tape may have the same shapes as the edge of the unit covers, and some of the unit covers may have holders at their corners and corners of corresponding panel are inserted into the holders.

Advantageous Effects

[11] Therefore, a protective cover for a vehicle surface according to the present invention can prevent damage to adhesion parts at the time of changing adhesive tapes enabling reuse of the cover and provide good adhesion to an outer panel of the vehicle. In addition, it is possible to perform ready installation and dismantlement, reduce operation time, and always install the protective cover at a predetermined position. Brief Description of the Drawings

[12] The above objects, and other features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent after reading the following detailed description in conjunction with the drawings, in which:

[13] FIGS. 1 and 2 are perspective views showing a protective cover for a vehicle surface in accordance with the present invention installed at a vehicle;

[14] FIG. 3 is a plan view of a protective cover for a vehicle surface in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; [15] FIGS. 4 and 5 are a plan view and a bottom view of a hood cover in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; [16] FIGS. 6 and 7 are a plan view and a bottom view of a roof cover in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; [17] FIGS. 8 and 9 are a plan view and a bottom view of a first trunk cover in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; [18] FIGS. 10 and 11 are a plan view and a bottom view of a second trunk cover in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; [19] FIGS. 12 and 13 are a plan view and a bottom view of a front glass cover in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; [20] FIGS. 14 and 15 are a plan view and a bottom view of a rear glass cover in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; [21] FIGS. 16 and 17 are a plan view and a bottom view of a front door cover in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; [22] FIGS. 18 and 19 are a plan view and a bottom view of a rear door cover in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; [23] FIGS. 20 and 21 are a plan view and a bottom view of a fender cover in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; [24] FIGS. 22 and 23 are a plan view and a bottom view of a quarter cover in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; [25] FIG. 24 is a plan view and a bottom view of a pillar cover in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; [26] FIGS. 25 and 26 are a plan view and a bottom view of a chrome-plated part protection cover in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; and [27] FIGS. 27 to 31 are views showing various embodiments of a holder provided at the protective cover for a vehicle surface in accordance with the present invention.

Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention [28] Reference will now be made in greater detail to a preferred embodiment of the invention, an example of which is illustrated in the accompanying drawings. [29] Referring to FIGS. 1 to 3, a protective cover for a vehicle surface 1 in accordance with the present invention includes one or more unit covers 10 to 120 installed at the respective exterior panels of a vehicle. Here, the unit covers 10 to 120 include a hood cover 10, a roof cover 20, and trunk covers 30 and 40, which are installed at a hood

(referred also to as a bonnet), a roof and a trunk, respectively. In addition, the unit covers include a front glass cover 50 and a rear glass cover 60 installed at a front glass and a rear glass, and front door covers 70 and rear door covers 80 installed at front doors and rear doors. Further, the unit covers include fender covers 90, quarter covers 100, and pillar covers 110 installed at fenders, quarters and pillars, respectively. Meanwhile, when a chrome-plated part is provided at a front end of the hood according to specification of the vehicle, the unit covers further include a chrome-plated part protection cover 120 for protecting the chrome-plated part.

[30] Here, the protective cover for a vehicle surface 1 is made of high-density polyethylene of non-directional superfine fiber having a diameter of 0.5 to 10D, and the protective cover is formed using heat and pressure only without any binder or filler so that the cover is lightweight and strong, and has no dusts in comparison with other materials. In addition, the protective cover has good durability such that the protective cover is not torn even though repeated folding and unfolding of not less than 20,000 times, chemical resistance that does not react with chemical components such as acid, base, salt, and so on, and retractility and flexibility that can be adhered to each panel having curves. In addition, the protective cover has good air permeability and waterproof performance, good ultraviolet and heat shielding characteristics, and its surface is antistatic-treated, thereby exerting no influence on the film of paint.

[31] Hereinafter, the unit covers 10 to 120 will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 to

26.

[32] Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, the hood cover 10 has a shape and size for covering the entire surface of the hood, and includes first and second adhesive tapes 11 and 12 attached to the underside thereof to adhere and fix the hood cover 10 to the surface of the hood, and holders 13 installed at both sides of rear end thereof for easy installation of the hood cover 10. In addition, slit parts 14 are formed at both sides of a front end of the hood cover 10 to adhere the hood cover 10 to curved surfaces of the hood, and extension covers 15 are disposed at one side of the slit part to prevent the hood cover 10 from being taken off due to wind blowing from the front during driving. Further, through-holes 16 are formed at positions of the hood cover 10 corresponding to nozzles for jetting washer liquid to prevent the hood cover 10 from being come off due to the nozzles for jetting washer liquid.

[33] Here, the first and second adhesive tapes 11 and 12 have the same shape as the edge of the hood cover 10. The first adhesive tape 11 as a single-sided tape is first attached along the edge of the underside of the hood cover 10, and the second adhesive tapes 12 are attached to a non-adhesive side of the first adhesive tape 11. As described above, since the first and second adhesive tapes 11 and 12 have the same shape as the edge of the hood cover 10, there is no overlapping of adhesion surfaces at curved parts of the hood cover 10, thereby increasing adhesive force thereof. In addition, since each second adhesive tape 12 is attached to the non-adhesive side of the first adhesive tape 11, the second adhesive tapes can be changed without harming the cover and the hood cover 10 can be reused. [34] The holders 13 have a pocket shape through which each rear corner of the hood is inserted during installation, which will be described later.

[35] Meanwhile, reinforcement films 17 having a predetermined strength are attached to the periphery of the slit parts 14 and the through-holes 16 on the topside of the hood cover. In addition, a single-sided tape 17 is attached to the periphery of each slit part 13 and a double- sided tape 18 is attached to the periphery of each through-hole 15 on the underside of the hood cover, thereby preventing introduction of foreign substances through the slit parts 13 and the through-holes 15.

[36] Process of installing the hood cover 10 is described below. The hood cover 10 is installed such that the corners of the hood are inserted into the holders 12, and the front end of the hood cover 10 is tensioned to attach the extension covers 15 to the rear surface of the hood. Then, a release paper is removed from the second adhesive tape 12 disposed at the edge of the underside of the hood cover 10, and then, the hood cover is attached and fixed along the edge of the hood.

[37] As described above, the hood cover 10 can be readily, conveniently and very effectively installed within a short time with a few worker.

[38] As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the roof cover 20 has a shape and size that can cover the entire surface of the roof. First and second adhesive tapes 21 and 22 are disposed at the underside of the roof cover 20 to adhere and fix the roof cover 20 to the roof at the time of installation. In addition, when a satellite antenna is installed at the roof of the vehicle, a U-shaped groove 23 is formed at a position corresponding to the satellite antenna, and a satellite antenna protection cover 24 is attached around the groove 23 to protect the satellite antenna exposed through the groove 23. At this time, the satellite antenna protection cover 24 may have various shapes and can be attached in various manners, and description of which will be omitted.

[39] The above-described roof cover 20 has no holder unlike the hood cover 10 (see 13 of FIG. 5) to be readily installed at the roof. That is, after a release paper is removed from the second adhesive tape 22 disposed at the edge of the underside of the roof cover 20, the roof cover 20 is attached and fixed along the periphery of the roof to complete installation thereof.

[40] Meanwhile, the structure and installation method of unit covers to be described are similar to the structure and installation method of the hood cover 10 and the roof cover 20, and thus, detailed description for the same part will be omitted below.

[41] Referring to FIGS. 8 to 11, the trunk covers 30 and 40 comprise a first trunk cover

30 and a second trunk cover 40 installed at a horizontal surface and a vertical surface of a notch back style trunk curved vertically. First adhesive tapes 31 and 41 and second adhesive tapes 32 and 42 are provided at the underside of each trunk cover. At this time, a pair of holders 33 and 43 are formed at both sides of a front end of the first trunk cover 30 and both sides of a lower end of the second trunk cover 40. In addition, slit parts 44 are formed at both sides of an upper end of the second trunk cover 40, extension covers 45 are formed both side ends thereof, and single- sided tapes 46 are attached to surfaces of the slit parts 44.

[42] As shown in FIGS. 12 to 15, the front glass cover 50 and the rear glass cover 60 have a shape and size that can cover the corresponding glass, first adhesive tapes 51 and 61 and second adhesive tapes 52 and 62 are disposed at the underside of each cover, and transparent films 53 and 63 are disposed at center part of each cover to secure front and rear visual field while driving the vehicle. At this time, it is preferable to use a film having no vertical and horizontal distortion as the transparent films 53 and 63.

[43] Referring to FIGS. 16 to 19, the front door cover 70 and the rear door cover 80 have a shape and size that can cover only upper parts of corresponding doors, and adhesive tapes 71, 72, 81 and 82 are disposed at the underside of each cover. In addition, through-holes 73 and 83 are formed at positions corresponding to door catches (not shown) of the front door cover 70 and the rear door cover 80, and door catch covers 74 and 84 are additionally installed to protect the door catches exposed through the through-holes 73 and 83. Further, films 75 and 85 are additionally provided at one side end of each topside of the front door cover 70 and the rear door cover 80 to attach door guards (not shown). At this time, shapes and attachment methods of the door catch protection covers 74 and 84 can be performed in various manners, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

[44] Meanwhile, a lower part of the door catch protection cover 74 installed at the driver's side front door among the door catch protection covers 74 and 84 has a structure that can be opened to operate the door catch. At this time, double-sided adhesive tapes 76 are disposed inside the through-holes 73 to prevent the front door covers 70 from being spaced apart from the front door at the time of opening the door catch protection cover 74.

[45] Further, the front door cover 70 and the rear door cover 80 have a shape and size that can cover only an upper part of the corresponding door, because there is little probability of damage to a lower part of the door due to external environment elements such as moisture, dusts, and direct rays of light. However, the cover may be additionally installed or may have a size that can cover both upper and lower parts according to user's requirements or transport and storage environments.

[46] As shown in FIGS. 20 and 21, the fender covers 90 have a shape and size that can cover the fenders, and first and second adhesive tapes 91 and 92 are disposed at the underside of each cover. In addition, holders 93 and slit parts 94 are formed at front ends of the fender covers 90, and single-sided adhesive tapes 95 are attached to the periphery of the slit parts 94. When direction indicator lights are installed at the fenders according to specification of the vehicle, through-holes 96 are formed at positions corresponding thereto, and direction indicator light protection covers 97 are additionally installed to protect the direction indicator lights exposed through the through-holes 96.

[47] Referring to FIGS. 22 and 23, the quarter covers 100 have a shape and size that can cover the quarters, and first and second adhesive tapes 101 and 102 are disposed at the underside of each quarter cover. At this time, any one of driver's side quarter cover and passenger's side quarter cover 100 has a through-hole 103 formed at a position corresponding to a fuel inlet, and a fuel inlet protection cover 104 is additionally installed to protect the fuel inlet exposed through the through-hole 103. Here, the fuel inlet protection cover 104 has the same structure as the door catch protection cover 74 of the driver's side front door cover 70, and description thereof will not be repeated.

[48] As shown in FIG. 24, the pillar covers 110 may have two or three pillar covers according to a body style of the vehicle. In this embodiment, an exemple of a cover constituted of three pillar covers will be described.

[49] The pillar covers 110 include first pillar covers 111 attached to both sides of the front glass, second pillar covers 112 attached to both sides of the roof, and third pillar covers 113 attached to both sides of the rear glass. The first to third pillar covers 111 to 113 have a shape and size that can cover surfaces of the pillars, and first and second adhesive tapes 114 and 115 are provided at the underside of each pillar cover. Among them, since the first pillar cover 111 is influenced more largely than the second and third pillars 112 and 113 by the wind blowing from the front during driving, after attachment of the first adhesive tape (not shown) to the entire underside surface of the first pillar cover 111, the second adhesive tape 115 is attached to the entire surface of the first adhesive tapes. In addition, a slit part 116 is formed on the third pillar cover 113.

[50] Referring to FIGS. 25 and 26, the chrome-plated part protection cover 120 includes a first cover 121 attached to an upper surface of the chrome-plated part, and a second cover 122 attached to a lower surface of a front end of the hood. At this time, one side of the first cover 121 and one side of the second cover 122 are sewn each other to form a pocket shape, and first and second adhesive tapes 123 and 124 are adhered to the surfaces of the first and second covers 121 and 122 facing each other along edges of the first and second covers 121 and 122. In addition, a predetermined groove 124 and a plurality of through-holes 125 are formed on the second cover 122 of the chrome- plated part protection cover 120.

[51] Here, the reason for forming the chrome-plated part protection cover 120 as a pocket shape is to prevent the chrome-plated part protection cover 120 from being come off due to the wind blowing from the front while driving. In addition, the groove 124 and the through-holes 125 formed in the second cover 122 function to prevent interference with components such as a hood latch, a hood lock, and a shock absorption rubber installed at the hood, which are formed at positions corresponding to the respective components.

[52] One or more holders 13, 33, 43 and 93 are installed at corners of the hood cover 10, the first and second trunk covers 30 and 40, and the fender covers 90 among the unit covers 10 to 120. The holders 13, 33, 43 and 93 are means for enabling the unit covers 10, 30, 40 and 90 to be readily installed and dismantled, and always to be installed at predetermined positions, which can be manufactured in various shapes depending on user's necessity.

[53] FIGS. 27 to 31 are views showing various embodiments of the holders provided in the protective cover for a vehicle surface in accordance with the present invention. The holders will be described below with reference to FIGS. 27 to 31. Here, for the convenience of description, holders of the hood cover and the trunk covers will be described as examples.

[54] Referring to FIG. 27, a first embodiment of the holder 210 is formed by folding a holder cover 212 extending from a rear corner of the hood cover 200 to one side thereof. In this state, the opened other side is sewn by attaching a sewing member 214 to complete the holder 210. The holder 210 completed as described above can simplify manufacturing process since the holder cover 212 is integrally formed with the hood cover 200. In addition, since the sewing member 214 is added to the opened other side, the sewed part is not easily torn. Here, the dotted line of the drawings represents a folding line.

[55] FIG. 28 shows a second embodiment of the holder 220. The holder cover 222 is separately manufactured from the hood cover 200, and then the holder cover 222 is directly sewed to the corners of the hood cover 200 or sewed to the hood cover 200 by attaching sewing members 224 thereto. While the number of processes for manufacturing the holder 220 is increased in comparison with the holder 210 of the first embodiment, cutting process of the hood cover 200 is easily performed because the holder cover 222 is separately manufactured.

[56] Referring to FIG. 29, in a third embodiment of the holder 330, holder covers 332 and 334 extending from rear corners of the trunk cover 300 to both sides thereof are sequentially folded to form a pocket shape. At this time, an adhesive surface 336 is provided on the underside of one of the pair of holder covers 332 and 334 to maintain the folded state. In the above structure of holder 330, sewing process is not required differently from the holders 210 and 220 of the first and second embodiments enabling easy manufacturing of holders. [57] FIG. 30 shows a fourth embodiment of the holder 340. Holder covers 342 and 344 extending from rear corners of the trunk cover 300 to both sides thereof are sequentially folded to form a pocket shape. Then, a fixing cover 338 having an adhesive surface 336 surrounds the pocket shape and maintains the folded state of the holder. In the above structure of holder 340, sewing process is not required differently from the holders 210 and 220 of the first and second embodiments enabling easy manufacturing of holders. Moreover, the fixing cover 348 added structure as the fourth embodiment can enhance the durability of the holder 340 in comparison with the third embodimnet.

[58] As shown in FIG. 31, a fifth embodiment of the holder 350 has the same structure as the holder 340 of the fourth embodiment. However, the holder 350 is separatly manufactured and attached to the trunk cover 300. That is, second holder covers 352 and 353 extending from corners of a first holder cover 351 are sequentially folded to form a pocket shape, a fixing cover 355 having an adhesive surface 354 surrounds the pocket shape, and the first holder cover 351 is attached to the trunk cover 300 using an adhesive tape 356 disposed at the underside thereof to complete the holder 350 of the fifth embodiment. Since the holder 350 is separately manufactured, cutting process of the trunk cover 300 can be easily performed. In addition, sewing process is not required differently from the holders 210 and 220 of the first and second embodiments, making it easy to manufacture the holders.

[59] Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been disclosed for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as disclosed in the accompanying claims.

Claims

[1] A protective cover for a vehicle surface comprising one or more unit covers individually installed at each part of an exterior panel of a vehicle, wherein a first adhesive tape is attached to the edge of the underside of each unit cover, and second adhesive tapes are attached to a non-adhesive side of the first adhesive tape.

[2] The protective cover according to claim 1, wherein the first adhesive tape and each second adhesive tape have the same shapes as the edge of the unit covers.

[3] The protective cover according to claim 1, wherein some of the unit covers have holders at their corners and corners of corresponding panel are inserted into the holders.

[4] The protective cover according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the first adhesive tape is a single-sided adhesive tape and the second adhesive tape is a double-sided adhesive tape.

[5] The protective cover according to claim 4, wherein the second adhesive tapes comprise one or more double-sided adhesive tapes corresponding to the edge of each unit cover, and a pair of adjacent second adhesive tapes are connected to each other by a connection tape.

[6] The protective cover according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the holder is formed by folding a holder cover extending from one or both sides of a corner of the unit cover in a pocket shape.

[7] The protective cover according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the holder is formed by separately attaching a holder cover folded in a pocket shape to a corner of the unit cover.