WO2021235927A1

WO2021235927A1 - Driver protection shield

Info

Publication number: WO2021235927A1
Application number: PCT/NL2020/050320
Authority: WO
Inventors: Mark Eduard VAN LAAR
Original assignee: Fixico B.V.
Priority date: 2020-05-19
Filing date: 2020-05-19
Publication date: 2021-11-25

Abstract

A vehicle-mountable driver protection shield (200) is provided, comprising a sheet body with an outer shape (202) corresponding to an inner shape of a vehicle, wherein the sheet body comprises four sets of mounting holes (210,212, 214,216)) comprising at least one mounting hole, which sets of mounting holes are distributed over the sheet body such that the sets of mounting holes each define a corner of a quadrilateral. Fig. 1 B

Description

Title: Driver protection shield

TECHNICAL FIELD

The aspects and embodiments thereof relate to the field of driver protection shields for vehicles.

BACKGROUND

Taxi vehicles may comprise a taxi partition between a front area of the vehicle and a rear area of the vehicle. In the front area, the driver is situated, and in the rear area, one or more passengers are situated. The taxi partition prevents the passenger from interfering with the driver, and may allow passengers to have private conversations. Such taxi partitions comprise steel tubing that is rigidly fixed to the coachwork of the car, in particular to prevent any possible physical interference between passenger and driver.

Nowadays, vehicles which are operated as taxi’s are not necessarily specific taxi vehicles with a build-in taxi partition. Especially trips booked using ridesharing applications are often performed in regular vehicles owned by the drivers. These vehicles are not equipped with a taxi partition.

Such a taxi partition may be undesirable since the vehicle may also be used for personal use of the driver. During such personal use, for example one or more kids will be present on the back seat and a taxi partition between the kids and the parent driving is highly undesirable.

SUMMARY

It is preferred to increase hygiene in a vehicle without a fixed and rigid taxi partition, which may be used as a taxi vehicle, for example for peer-to-peer ridesharing trips, and/or which may be used in other vehicles such as police vehicles and/or personal transportation vehicles. A first aspect provides a vehicle-mountable driver protection shield, comprising a sheet body with an outer shape corresponding to an inner shape of a vehicle, wherein the sheet body comprises four sets of mounting holes comprising at least one mounting hole, which sets of mounting holes are distributed over the sheet body such that the sets of mounting holes each define a corner of a quadrilateral.

With the protection shield according to the first aspect, it is possible to conveniently mount a separation wall in a vehicle, such as a car or a van, which may substantially block a flow of any liquid matter like, for example, droplet, that is potentially carrying pathogens between a front area and a rear area of the vehicle through the protection shield. Hence, the hygiene in a vehicle with a shield according to first aspect may be increased. The shield may hence act as a sneeze guard and/or a cough guard between a driver on the driver’s seat and a passenger in the back of the vehicle.

Furthermore, the protection shield may be easier removable than known separation walls when the vehicle is not used as a taxi vehicle.

In general, a set of mounting holes may comprise any number of mounting holes, including only one hole. A set of mounting holes may also comprise two, three, four, five, six or even more holes. A set of mounting holes is generally associated with one location at which the shield is mounted to the vehicle. Examples of such locations are a headrest, rear cushion part of a seat, centre console, or any other component of a vehicle.

Furthermore, in general, a mounting hole is formed as a through hole through the sheet body. A mounting hole may have any shape, for example circular, rectangular, square, oblong, triangular, any other shape, or any combination thereof.

A quadrilateral is a particular shape with four corners and four edges. Particular types of quadrilaterals are squares, rectangles, trapezoids or trapeziums, parallelograms, kites, and rhombuses. At least one of the sets of mounting holes may comprise three mounting holes distributed on a substantially straight line at a distance from each other. Additionally or alternatively, at least one of the sets of mounting holes may comprise four mounting holes, wherein each of the four mounting holes defines a corner of a quadrilateral.

When the sheet body comprises a recess for accommodating at least part of a centre console of a vehicle, the outer shape of the sheet body may correspond better to an inner shape of the vehicle. This may in turn result in even better blocking of a flow of any liquid matter potentially carrying pathogens between the rear area and the front area of the vehicle.

In embodiments, the sheet body may comprise a transparent material. The sheet body may comprise plastics such as polycarbonate, poly(methyl) (metha)crylate, any other plastic, or any combination thereof.

A second aspect provides a vehicle, such as a car, comprising a driver’s seat, provided in a front area of the vehicle, a rear seat, provided in a back area of the vehicle, and a vehicle-mountable driver protection shield according to any of the preceding claims. A sheet body of the shield is mounted to the driver’s seat and the passenger seat such that a flow of any hquid matter potentially carrying pathogens between the front area and the back area of vehicle is substantially prevented.

In particular embodiments of the vehicle, the sheet body may be mounted to a headrest guide of at least one of the driver’s seat and the passenger seat by at least one strap member. Additionally or alternatively, the sheet body may be mounted to a rear cushion part of at least one of the driver’s seat and the passenger seat by at least one strap member.

Examples of strap members are cable ties, ropes, wires, belts, twist ties, hook-and-loop strips, or any other strap member arranged to be passed through a mounting hole and around a vehicle component. A strap member may be reusable, and hence a reusable strap member may be connected, disconnected and reconnected at least one time. A third aspect provides a kit of parts, comprising a vehicle- mountable driver protection shield according to the first aspect, and at least two strap members arranged to pass through a mounting hole of the driver protection shield.

At least one of the strap members may be adjustable in length. Preferably, all strap members are adjustable in length, which may increase the ease with which the shield may be mounted to the vehicle. Furthermore, a strap member which is adjustable in length, may allow a shield to be compatible with more types and/or brands of vehicles.

Since a vehicle is prone to many low frequent and high frequent vibrations, it may be desired that the connection between the driver protection shield and the sheet body is substantially rigid. A substantially rigid connection may prevent vibrations, rattling and/or any other movements of the sheet body which may cause undesired noise while driving.

Hence, strap members which are adjustable in length may be used to connect the shield to the vehicle. For example, cable ties as strap members are adjustable in length by pulhng the flexible tape section further through the head in which the pawl is situated. In another example, a strap comprising a hook part and a loop part is adjustable in length by adjusting wherein the hook part engages the loop part to form a hook-and-loop connection.

A fourth aspect provides a method of mounting a vehicle mountable driver protection shield according to the first aspect in a vehicle, comprising the steps of passing a first strap member through a first set of mounting holes of the shield and around a post of a driver’s seat of the vehicle, passing a second strap member through a second set of mounting holes of the shield and around a post of a passenger seat of the vehicle, passing a third strap member through a third set of mounting holes of the shield and around a rear cushion part of the driver’s seat of the vehicle, and passing a fourth strap member through a fourth set of mounting holes of the shield and around a rear cushion part of the passenger seat of the vehicle.

It will be appreciated that this method of mounting is less cumbersome than mounting a known taxi partition into a vehicle.

A fifth aspect provides a method of removing a vehicle mountable driver protection shield mounted according to the method of the fourth aspect, the method of removing comprising releasing each of the first strap member, second strap member, third strap member, and fourth strap member and removing the shield from the vehicle.

It will be appreciated that this method of removing is less destructive to the vehicle compared to a vehicle from which a known taxi partition has to be removed.

At least one of the strap members may be non- destructively released. For example, the hooks and loops of a hook-and-loop strip may be disconnected from each other.

At least one of the strap members may be destructively released. For example, a cable tie may be cut.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

The aspects and embodiments thereof will be elucidated with figures. In the figures:

Fig. 1A schematically shows a side view of a vehicle;

Fig. IB schematically shows a section view of a vehicle;

Fig. 2A shows an embodiment of a driver protection shield;

Fig. 2B shows another embodiment of a driver protection shield; and

Fig. 2C schematically shows a top view of an embodiment of a vehicle.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES Fig. 1A schematically shows a side view of a vehicle 100. The vehicle 100 comprises a driver’s seat 102 and a rear seat 104. Mounted in the vehicle 100 is an embodiment of a driver protection shield 200. By virtue of the shield 200, a barrier is provided between the driver’s seat 102 and the rear seat 104, which barrier may block or restrict a flow of any hquid matter potentially carrying pathogens between a front area 106 of the vehicle 100 and a back area 108 of the vehicle.

The vehicle comprises a front window 110. The driver’s seat 102 comprises a driver’s headrest 116, a rear cushion part 118 and a bottom cushion part 120. The headrest 116 is connected to the rear cushion part 118 via two posts. By sliding the headrest 116 over the two posts, the length of exposed post may be adjusted.

In the embodiment of Fig. 1A, the sheet body 202 is mounted to the vehicle 100. In particular, a first connection is made via a first strap member 204 to the posts of the headrest 116, and an optional second connection is made via a second strap member 206 to the rear cushion part 118. For disconnecting the sheet body 202 from the vehicle 100, the first strap member 204 and the optional second strap member 206 may be removed.

This removal may be constituted by breaking, severing, cutting, ripping, or any destructive action to a connecting member. Additionally or alternatively, a connecting member may be non- destructively removed, for example by releasing a hook-and-loop connection, unzipping a zipper, untying a knot, any other substantially non-destructive action, or any combination thereof.

In any case, the removal may leave the vehicle 100 substantially in the same state as it was before the protection shield 200 was mounted to the vehicle 100. The protection shield 200 may be reused, and when a connecting member is non-destructively removed, such connecting member may be reused as well. Fig. IB schematically shows a section view of the vehicle 100, in which section view the back of the driver’s seat 102 and the back of a passenger seat 112 is visible. In front of the driver’s seat 102 and the passenger seat 112 the front window 110 of the vehicle is shown. The section view further shows a B-pillar 114 as a part of the vehicle 100, which B-pillar 114 may define an inner shape of the vehicle 100.

The driver’s seat 102 comprises two headrest guides 117 which connect the head rest 116 and the rear cushion part 118. The passenger seat 112 may be substantially similarly shaped as the driver’s seat 102. Hence, the shield 200 may be substantially symmetric around a centreline of the shield 200. This may allow for two orientations of the shield 200 wherein the shield 200 can be mounted to the vehicle 100.

Mounted in the vehicle 100 of Fig. IB is an embodiment of the driver protection shield 200, which is shown with a dotted pattern. In Fig. IB, mounting holes are shown as gaps in the shield 200. However, in practice as an option, mounting holes not used may for example be closed using tape and/or another substance provided over or in the mounting holes to also prevent air flow and/or flow of hquid containing pathogens through these mounting holes.

Additionally or alternatively, the inner shape of the vehicle 100 to which the outer shape of the sheet body 202 may be substantially complementary to other components of the vehicle 100. Examples of such components are the roof, doors, bottom of the vehicle, any other component of the vehicle 100 or any combination thereof.

When the outer shape of the sheet body 202 is substantially complementary to the inner shape of the vehicle 100, one or more gaps 190 may remain between the sheet body 202 and the vehicle. Gaps 190 may be present anywhere around the sheet body 202, for example near the roof, near the doors of the vehicle and/or near a bottom of the vehicle. This may allow a single outer shape of a sheet body 202 to be complementary to inner shapes of different types and brands of vehicles.

In the embodiment of Fig. IB, a first strap member 304 is provided through a first set of mounting holes 201. The first strap member 304 is also provided around the two headrest guides 117, and hence a connection between the sheet body 202 and the vehicle 100 is achieved to mount the shield 200 to the vehicle 100.

Similarly, a second strap member 306 is provided through a second set of mounting holes 212 and around posts which connect the headrest of the passenger seat 112 with the rear cushion part of the passenger seat 112. Hence, a further connection between the sheet body 202 and the vehicle 100 to mount the shield 200 to the vehicle 100 is achieved by virtue of the second strap member 306.

A third strap member 308 is provided through a third set of mounting holes 214 and around the driver’s seat 102. In particular, the third strap member 308 is provided around the rear cushion part 118 of the driver’s seat 102. With the third strap member 308, a third connection is provided between the sheet body 202 and the vehicle 100.

Similarly, a fourth strap member 310 is provided through a fourth set of mounting holes 216 and around the passenger seat 112. Hence, with the fourth strap member 310, a fourth connection is provided between the sheet body 202 and the vehicle 100.

In other embodiments, a strap member may extend through mounting holes belonging to different sets of mounting holes. For example, a strap member may extend through a mounting hole of the first set 210, through a mounting hole of the second set 212, around a headrest guide 117 of the driver’s seat 102, and around a headrest guide of the passenger seat 112.

As shown in Fig. IB, only two mounting holes may be required per set of mounting holes to obtain a connection with the vehicle. As will be elucidated in conjunction with Figs. 2A, 2B and 2C, a set of mounting holes may comprise any number of mounting holes, including only one.

Figs. 2A, 2B and 2C show different embodiments of driver protection shields 200. Any of the options disclosed in conjunction with any of the embodiments of Figs. 2A, 2B and 2C may be applied to any other embodiment of the driver protection shield 200, in any combination. In particular, any arrangement of mounting holes of a set of mounting holes may be applied to any set of mounting holes comprised by a driver protection shield 200.

Fig. 2A shows an embodiment of a driver protection shield 200 comprising a polycarbonate transparent sheet 202 as a sheet body. The sheet 202 comprises four sets of mounting holes: a left upper set 210, a right upper set 212, a left lower set 214 and a right lower set 216. As depicted with a dashed-dotted line, the four sets of mounting holes are distributed over the sheet body such that the sets of mounting holes each define a corner of a quadrilateral.

A corner defined by a set of mounting holes may for example be defined by one of the mounting holes in the set of mounting holes. Alternatively, a corner defined by a set of mounting holes may be defined by an average position of two or more of the mounting holes in the set of mounting holes, as is schematically depicted in Fig. 2A.

As an example of how mounting holes within a set of mounting holes may be distributed, the upper left set 210 of mounting holes comprises four mounting holes depicted as circles in Fig. 2A. The four mounting holes of the upper left set 210 each define a corner of a rectangle as an example of a quadrilateral.

The three mounting holes of the upper right set 212 of mounting holes are provided on a substantially straight line at a distance from one another. A distance between the middle of the three mounting holes and the left mounting hole may be equal to, smaller than, or larger than a distance between the middle of the three mounting holes and the right mounting hole.

When mounting the shield 200 to the vehicle 100, for example a strap member may pass through two of the three mounting holes of the upper right set 212. The choice of mounting holes may for example depend on the position of the upper right set 212 relative to the passenger seat of the vehicle, and/or on the distance between the two posts of the passenger seat.

The lower left set 214 of mounting holes comprises six mounting holes as an example. Four of the six mounting holes are provided on the corners of a rectangle and as an example of a quadrilateral, and the other two mounting holes are provided on edges of the same rectangle. This distribution of mounting holes provides at least three options of where to pass a strap member through. Each option corresponds in use to a different height, and hence the shield 200 may be used for different vehicles 100 with differently sized and shaped seats.

The lower right set 216 of mounting holes comprises eight mounting holes as an example. Four of the eight mounting holes are provided on the corners of a trapezoid as an example of a quadrilateral, and the other four mounting holes are provided on edges of the same trapezoid. This distribution of mounting holes provides at least eight options of where to pass a strap member through, which allows the shield 200 to be mounted to even more differently sized and shaped seats.

The embodiment of the shield 200 of Fig. 2B shows even further distributions of mounting holes within a set of mounting holes.

In the embodiment of Fig. 2B, the sheet body 202 comprises an optional centre console recess 290 for accommodating at least part of a centre console of a vehicle 100. The centre console recess 290 is a mere example of an adaption of the outer shape of the sheet body 202 to an inner shape of the vehicle 100. Hence, many outer shapes for the sheet body 202 are envisioned, which may be complementary to an inner shape of any type of vehicle, in particular any inner shape of cars which are suitable to be used as taxis.

In the embodiment of Fig. 2B, the sheet body 202 is partially asymmetric around a centre line 302 of the sheet body 202. The distribution of the mounting holes belonging to the left upper set 210 is similar to that of the right upper set 212. The distribution of the mounting holes belonging to the left lower set 214 is substantially the same as that of the right upper set 216, and is not mirrored around the centre line 302.

When the inner shape of a vehicle is not symmetrical and/or when the positioning and/or shape of the driver’s seat and the passenger seat is not equal, a non-symmetric sheet body 202 may be used.

Fig. 2C schematically shows a top view of an embodiment of vehicle 100 with a shield 200 mounted in the vehicle 100. Of the vehicle, only two headrest guides 117 of the driver’s seat and two headrest guides 117 of the passenger seat are shown, for conciseness.

In the embodiment of Fig. 2C, the upper left set of mounting holes is shown comprising a first mounting hole 210’ and a second mounting hole 210”. A first strap member 304 is shown passing through the first mounting hole 210’ and the second mounting hole 210”, and passing around the two headrest guides 117.

In Fig. 2C, on the right side, the upper right set of mounting holes is shown comprising a single mounting hole 212. A particular strap member 306 is used to connected the sheet body 202 to the vehicle, in particular to the headrest guides 117 of the passenger seat. The strap member 306 comprises a T-shaped part 307. The T-shaped part 307 extends through the single mounting hole 212 and allows connection between the strap member 306 and the sheet body 202, and hence connection between the sheet body 202 and the headrest guides 117. Alternatively, the T-shaped part 307 is provided separately from the strap member 306 and may be connectable with one another by means holes provided in either one of or both the T- shaped part and the strap member 306.

The T-shaped part 307 may for example be at least partially resilient, such that it can be pushed through the single mounting hole 212. Additionally or alternatively, a mounting hole may be shaped such that in a first orientation of the T-shaped part 307, the T-shaped part may be pushed through the mounting hole. The mounting hole may be further shape such that in a second orientation of the T-shaped part 307, for example constituted by a rotation of the T-shaped part 307, the T-shaped part cannot be pushed through the mounting hole.

In further embodiments of strap members, next to a T-shaped part, any otherwisely shaped part may be used which may hook behind the sheet body 202. For example, a thickened end part may be pushed through a mounting hole, by a resilience of the material comprised by the thickened end part and/or by virtue of a particular shape of the mounting hole as explained above.

As an option, any strap members used may be provided with or used in conjunction with resilient members, comprising, for example, rubber - synthetic and/or natural - or another elastomer, a foam, other or a combination thereof. The resilient members may be provided between parts of the vehicle 100 and the strap members to dampen transfer of vibrations from the vehicle to the sheet body 202 to reduce wear and reduce risk of cracks in the periphery of the holes in the sheet body 202, in particular in corners of such holes. Furthermore, the risk of cracks in the holes may be reduced by round off corners of the holes in the sheet body 202.

When a set of mounting holes comprises more than one mounting hole, also the particular strap member 306 of Fig. 2C may be used for more than one of the mounting holes of a set of mounting holes.

In the description above, it will be understood that when an element such as layer, region or substrate is referred to as being “on” or “onto” another element, the element is either directly on the other element, or intervening elements may also be present. Also, it will be understood that the values given in the description above, are given by way of example and that other values may be possible and/or may be strived for. Furthermore, the invention may also be embodied with less components than provided in the embodiments described here, wherein one component carries out multiple functions. Just as well may the invention be embodied using more elements than depicted in the Figures, wherein functions carried out by one component in the embodiment provided are distributed over multiple components.

It is to be noted that the figures are only schematic representations of embodiments of the invention that are given by way of non-limiting examples. For the purpose of clarity and a concise description, features are described herein as part of the same or separate embodiments, however, it will be appreciated that the scope of the invention may include embodiments having combinations of all or some of the features described.

The word ‘comprising’ does not exclude the presence of other features or steps than those listed in a claim. Furthermore, the words 'a' and 'an' shall not be construed as limited to 'only one', but instead are used to mean 'at least one', and do not exclude a plurality.

A person skilled in the art will readily appreciate that various parameters and values thereof disclosed in the description may be modified and that various embodiments disclosed and/or claimed may be combined without departing from the scope of the invention.

Claims

1. A vehicle-mountable driver protection shield, comprising a sheet body with an outer shape corresponding to an inner shape of a vehicle, wherein the sheet body comprises four sets of mounting holes comprising at least one mounting hole, which sets of mounting holes are distributed over the sheet body such that the sets of mounting holes each define a corner of a quadrilateral.

2. Shield according to claim 1, wherein the sets of mounting holes each define a corner of a trapezoid.

3. Shield according to any of the preceding claims, wherein at least one of the sets of mounting holes comprises three mounting holes distributed on a substantially straight hne at a distance from each other.

4. Shield according to any of the preceding claims, wherein at least one of the sets of mounting holes comprises four mounting holes, wherein each of the four mounting holes defines a corner of a quadrilateral.

5. Shield according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the sheet body comprises a recess for accommodating at least part of a centre console of a vehicle.

6. Vehicle, comprising: a driver’s seat, provided in a front area of the vehicle; a rear seat, provided in a back area of the vehicle; and a vehicle-mountable driver protection shield according to any of the preceding claims, wherein a sheet body of the shield is mounted to the driver’s seat and the passenger seat such that a flow of any liquid matter potentially carrying pathogens between the front area and the back area of vehicle is substantially prevented.

7. Vehicle according to claim 6, wherein the sheet body is mounted to a headrest guide of at least one of the driver’s seat and the passenger seat by at least one strap member.

8. Vehicle according to any of the claims 6-7, wherein the sheet body is mounted to a rear cushion part of at least one of the driver’s seat and the passenger seat by at least one strap member.

9. Kit of parts, comprising: a vehicle-mountable driver protection shield according to any of the claims 1-5; at least two strap members arranged to pass through a mounting hole of the driver protection shield.

10. Kit of parts according to claim 9, wherein at least one of the strap members is adjustable in length.

11. Method of mounting a vehicle mountable driver protection shield according to any of the claims 1-5 in a vehicle, comprising: passing a first strap member through a first set of mounting holes of the shield and around a post of a driver’s seat of the vehicle; passing a second strap member through a second set of mounting holes of the shield and around a post of a passenger seat of the vehicle; passing a third strap member through a third set of mounting holes of the shield and around a rear cushion part of the driver’s seat of the vehicle; and passing a fourth strap member through a fourth set of mounting holes of the shield and around a rear cushion part of the passenger seat of the vehicle.

12. Method of removing a vehicle mountable driver protection shield mounted according to the method of claim 11, the method of removing comprising: releasing each of the first strap member, second strap member, third strap member, and fourth strap member; and removing the shield from the vehicle.

13. Method according to claim 12, wherein at least one of the strap members in non-destructively released.

14. Method according to any of the claims 12-13, wherein at least one of the strap members is destructively released.