WO2009137870A1

WO2009137870A1 - Demountable protectors

Info

Publication number: WO2009137870A1
Application number: PCT/AU2009/000589
Authority: WO
Inventors: Paul Ashley Flight
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2008-05-15
Filing date: 2009-05-12
Publication date: 2009-11-19
Anticipated expiration: 2010-11-15

Abstract

A demountable protector, including: an impact receiving panel having a peripheral member defining a space within and a plurality of spaced apart first cross members extending across the space and being connected at both ends to said peripheral member and a plurality of spaced apart second cross members extending across the space and crossing said plurality of first cross members, said second cross members also being connected at both ends to said peripheral member/ and a plurality of securing means operatively connected to and spaced from said impact receiving panel for selectively securing said impact receiving panel to one or more side panels of a motor vehicle body.

Description

DEMOUNTABLE PROTECTORS

Field of the invention

This invention relates to demountable protectors for use with motor vehicles.

The invention has particular application to demountable protectors for protecting the side panels of motor vehicles against scratch and dent type impacts. However, the invention may have application to protectors for other panels if desired and may be useful in non-vehicle applications.

Background of the invention

Impact protection of vehicle bodies in the past has been provided largely by strips of metal, rubber, plastic or other impact absorbing materials which are permanently or semipermanently secured to the car body typically by clips, adhesives, screws or the like. Such strips are commonly secured at or near the part of the side panels which are most vulnerable to scratch and dent type impacts, such as those caused by run-away shopping trolleys, opening of car doors of adjacent parked cars etc. However, such strips can detract from the aesthetics of the vehicle and often do not age well. Additionally, in some cases, the protective strips do not fully absorb the impact but instead transmit some of the impact forces to the body panels thereby causing damage to the panels. In such cases, commonly, the strip has to be removed to effect repairs and then replaced at undesirably high cost. Moreover, such strips cannot be fitted in a suitable position to provide the desired protection on some vehicles. The present invention is aimed at providing demountable protectors which can be quickly and easily mounted to the side panels of a vehicle for providing protection when needed such as when parked in a shopping centre carpark. The present invention is also aimed at providing demountable protectors which ameliorate one or more of the problems of the aforementioned strip type protectors.

Summary of the invention With the foregoing in view, the invention resides broadly in a demountable protector, including: an impact receiving panel having a peripheral member defining a space within and a plurality of spaced apart first cross members extending across the space and being connected at both ends to said peripheral member and a plurality of spaced apart second cross members extending across the space and crossing said plurality of first cross members, said second cross members also being connected at both ends to said peripheral member; and a plurality of securing means operatively connected to and spaced from said impact receiving panel for selectively securing said impact receiving panel to one or more side panels of a motor vehicle body.

In another aspect the invention resides broadly in a demountable protector, including: an impact receiving panel constructed of a plastics material; a plurality of spacers rigidly connected to and extending from said impact receiving panel; and securing means connected to each of said spacers for selectively securing said impact receiving panel to a side panel of a motor vehicle body in spaced apart relation.

Preferably, the impact receiving panel at least is constructed of a substantially non-scratch type plastics material so as to lessen the likelihood of it scratching the vehicle body to which it is attached in the case of a significant impact.

Preferably, said first cross members and said second cross members join each other on a common plane with the first cross members being on one side of the plane and the second cross members being on the other side of the plane. Advantageously, such arrangement minimises dust and debris collecting places and thereby reduces the possibility of dust or debris being caught in the panel and causing damage if the panel rubs on the vehicle body while maintaining an open mesh- like structure. Additionally, such arrangement lends the impact receiving panel to relatively easy cleaning. Suitably, the structure and material of the impact receiving panel, spacers and the securing means are selected and cooperate to the extent that impacts from adjacent car doors, shopping trolleys, strollers, prams and the like are absorbed by bending of the impact receiving panel without the impact receiving panel hitting the body panels to which the protector is secured.

Preferably, said first and second cross members are formed such that any edge likely to contact the vehicle body in the event of heavy impact is rounded thereby lessening the likelihood of scratching. Preferably, said peripheral member has a web and two spaced apart integral flanges. In such form, it is preferred that the axial plane of the web lies substantially in the axial plane of the first and second cross members. In one form of the invention where the first and second cross members join each other on a common plane, it is preferred that the axial plane of the web be co-planar with that plane. In such forms of the invention, it is preferred that the edges ^' of the flanges be rounded similarly to the edges of the cross members, so as to limit the possibility of damage to the vehicle body in the event of heavy impact.

Preferably, said spacers are integrally moulded with said impact receiving panel. It is also preferred that said spacers include a mounting head to which said first and second cross members are connected to support the spacers against movement relative thereto and a body extending from the head. In one preferred form where the peripheral member has a web and two spaced apart flanges, the mounting head includes a supporting web with an axial plane lying substantially in the same plane as the axial plane of the web of the peripheral member. Moreover, in such form, the web of the spacer terminates in a peripheral flange to which the first and second cross members are connected. It is also preferred that the body be a hollow body suitably arranged to allow the spacers to nest with the spacers of like demountable protectors to the extent that the impact receiving panels of like demountable protectors abut front face to back face prior to fitting the securing means thereby reducing freight costs.

Preferably, said securing means includes a suction cup adapted to vacuum bond to the side panels of a motor vehicle in known manner. In a preferred form in which the spacers each have a hollow body, such suction cup is adapted to connect to the hollow. In one such form, the hollow body tapers away from the impact receiving panel and terminates in an inner lip defining an opening. Advantageously, the suction cup has a mounting protuberance which is adapted to engage in the opening and while the protuberance has an annular recess formed therein which receives the lip to secure the suction cup to the hollow body. Preferably, the demountable protector also includes a tether which is operatively connected to the impact receiving panel and adapted to attach to one of the side windows of the vehicle to which the protector is mounted. In a preferred form, the tether is attached by a connector slides over the upper edge of the window glass and engages in the glass recess as the window is closed thereby securing the tether to the vehicle against loss. Brief description of the drawings

In order that the invention may be more easily understood and put into practical effect, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings which illustrate a preferred embodiment of the invention and wherein:

Fig. 1 is an isometric view of a demountable protector according to the invention from the outside;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the demountable protector of Fig. 1 from the car side; Fig. 3 is an elevation of the demountable protector of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a plan of the demountable protector of Fig. 1; Fig. 5 is a sectional elevation of the demountable protector of Fig. 1 along line 5-5; Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the window connector of the demountable protector of Fig. 1;

Fig. 7 is an elevation of one of the suction cups of the demountable protector of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 8 is a perspective view of two of the demountable protectors of Fig. 1 mounted to the side panels of a motor car.

Detailed description of the drawings The demountable protector 10 illustrated in Fig. 1 includes an impact receiving panel 11 having four spaced apart spacers 12 extending therefrom on one side, each spacer having a suction cup 13 attached thereto as will be described in more detail later. The impact receiving panel and the spacers are integrally moulded of a plastics material, preferably, Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene ("ABS") in order that the required lightness and rigidity be achieved. The suction cups on the other hand are moulded from a soft pliable plastics material so that they can suitably deform to properly vacuum bond to the side panels of the motor vehicle to which the demountable protector is to be fitted and be released relatively easily by manipulation.

The impact receiving panel comprises a continuous H- section peripheral member 16 having a web 17 and two spaced apart flanges 18 and 19, the member defining a rectangular space 20. A layer of parallel spaced apart first cross members 21 extend diagonally across the space and join the peripheral member 16 at both ends. Similarly-, a layer of parallel spaced apart second cross members 22 extend across the space perpendicular to the first cross members 21 and join the peripheral member at their ends also. The first and second cross members join each other at every point of cross over with the joints falling in a common plane 23 such that one layer of cross members lies on one side of the common plane while the other layer of cross members lies on the other side of the common plane. As can be seen more clearly in Fig.4, both the first and second cross members join the inner flange 18 of the peripheral beam. Advantageously, the edges of the cross members distal from the common plane are rounded with a radius equal to half the thickness of each member.

The four spacers 12 each have a generally annular head portion 26 and a body portion 27 extending therefrom. The head portion comprises a flat annular ring or web 28 lying in the common plane 23 with a flange 29 extending thereabout, the distal edge of the flange on one side being co-planar with the distal edges of the first cross members and the distal edge of the flange on the other side being co-planar with the distal edges of the second cross members on that side. The body portion takes the form of a hollow truncated cone tapering away from the head portion 26 and terminates at its distal end in a lip 31 which defines a hole 32.

A hole 33 is provided in the web 17 of the peripheral member 11 for attachment of a tethering rope or string 35 for tethering the impact receiving panel to the motor vehicle. For this purpose, a stainless steel connector 36 of generally U- shaped cross section is attached to the free end of the tethering rope, the connector being adapted to slidably engage the upper edge portion of the glass of a side window for up and down movement therewith for engagement with the top track so as to secure the tethering rope to the motor vehicle. The length of the tethering rope is selected so that in use it prevents the panel hitting the ground if the suctions cups lose their bond and is typically about 800mm long for most vehicles.

The suction cups 13 each have a conical suction portion 41 of known type and a generally cylindrical protuberance 42 extending therefrom and coaxial therewith for connecting the suction cup to the spacers 12. In this respect, the suction cup, including the protuberance, is constructed of a relatively soft plastics material and the protuberance is capable of being forced into the hole 32 such that the lip 31 engages in a recess 43 formed in the protuberance as can be seen in Fig. 8. As can be seen in Fig. 7, the demountable protector is mounted to the side panels of a motor vehicle by simply pushing the suction cups thereagainst to achieve suitable vacuum bonding and the tethering rope is attached to the window glass by sliding the connector 36 over the upper edge portion of the glass and then closing the window to lock the connector in the upper glass recess. Advantageously, the impact receiving panel is positioned between about 50mm and 75mm from the side panels on which the protector is mounted which is generally sufficient to accommodate deflection of the impact receiving panel during impact by adjacent car doors, shopping trolleys and the like.

The protector may be used in garages, carports and the like to protect the vehicle parked therein against damage by impact of the doors against the walls. In such application, the protectors can be mounted to the garage walls instead of the vehicle body at the prospective points of impact. In such cases, the securing means may be suitably changed to suit the wall material. While the foregoing description has been given by way of illustrative example of the invention, it will be understood that the invention mat be embodied in many other forms and all such forms are deemed to fall within the broad scope and ambit of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A demountable protector, including: an impact receiving panel having a peripheral member defining a space within and a plurality of spaced apart first cross members extending across the space and being connected at both ends to said peripheral member and a plurality of spaced apart second cross members extending across the space and crossing said plurality of first cross members, said second cross members also being connected at both ends to said peripheral member; and a plurality of securing means operatively connected to and spaced from said impact receiving panel for selectively securing said impact receiving panel to one or more side panels of a motor vehicle body.

2. A demountable protector according to Claim 1 wherein said first cross members and said second cross members join each other on a common plane with the first cross members being on one side of the plane and the second cross members being on the other side of the plane. .

3. A demountable protector according to Claim 2 wherein said first and second cross members join along their respective proximal edges and their distal edges are rounded so as to reduce the likelihood of scratching the vehicle to which the protector is to be mounted.

4. A demountable protector according to any one of the preceding claims wherein said peripheral member has a web and two spaced apart integral flanges.

5. A demountable protector according to Claim 4 wherein the axial plane of said web lies substantially in the axial plane of the first and second cross members.

6. A demountable protector according to Claim 5 wherein said first and second cross members join each other on a common plane and the axial plane of said web is co-planar with that plane .

7. A demountable protector according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the edges of the flanges of said peripheral member are rounded.

8. A demountable protector according to any one of the preceding claims wherein said securing means are connected to said impact receiving panel by a plurality of spacers rigidly connected to and extending from said impact receiving panel.

9. A demountable protector according to Claim 8 wherein said spacers are integrally moulded with said impact receiving panel .

10. A demountable protector according to Claim 9 wherein said spacers include a mounting head and a body extending therefrom, and said first and second cross members are connected to said mounting head so as to support said spacers against movement relative thereto.

11. A demountable protector according to Claim 10 wherein said mounting head includes a supporting web with an axial plane lying substantially in the same plane as the axial plane of the web of the peripheral member.

12. A demountable protector according to Claim 11 wherein the web of said spacer terminates in a peripheral flange to which at least one of the first and second cross members is connected.

13. A demountable protector according to any one of claims 10 to 12 wherein said body is hollow and arranged to allow the spacers to nest with the spacers of like demountable protectors .

14. A demountable protector according to any one of the preceding claims wherein said securing means includes a suction cup adapted to vacuum bond to the side panels of a motor vehicle.

15. A demountable protector according to Claim 14 wherein said spacers have a hollow body which tapers away from the impact receiving panel and terminates in an inner lip defining an opening and wherein said suction cup engages in said opening.

16. A demountable protector according to Claim 15 wherein said suction cup has a protuberance with an annular recess formed therein which engages about the lip of said hollow body to secure the suction cup to the hollow body.

17. A demountable protector according to any one of the preceding claims and including a tether which is operatively connected to the impact receiving panel and adapted to attach to one of the side window glasses of the vehicle to which the protector is mounted.

18. A demountable protector according to Claim 17 wherein said tether attaches to a window glass by a connector which slides over the upper edge of the window glass and engages in the glass recess as the window is closed thereby securing the tether to the vehicle against loss.

19. A demountable structure according to any one of the preceding claims as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings .

20. A demountable structure as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.