Patent Application
20200023909
The present disclosure relates to a rear spoiler device for a utility vehicle.
The vehicle in this case has two rear doors which can each be swung open rearward and outward, wherein they are pivotable forward in particular from a closed position by more than 180° , e.g. approximately 250° or 270° , in order to be placed, and optionally to be locked, against the side walls of a box-shaped body of the utility vehicle.
Rear spoiler devices of this type are provided in particular on utility vehicles having a blunt rear or substantially box-shaped body; the rear spoiler device here, together with the extended roof air-guiding elements, provides an aerodynamic extension of the contour rearward in order at least to reduce the separation vortices at the blunt separation edge. A rear spoiler device of this type generally has roof air-guiding elements which can be attached, e.g. to the rear door and are adjustable between a folded-in basic position, in which they lie flat against the rear door, and an unfolded driving position.
US 2004/0119319 A1 shows a vehicle having a rear spoiler device of this type. The roof air-guiding elements extend the roof surface of the vehicle rearward and can be folded in inward. In the retracted state, the rear spoiler device can be pivoted away together with the rear doors and can open up the loading space.
US 2007/0126261 A1 shows a further rear spoiler device which is attached to the side walls of the vehicle and permits folding in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, wherein a rear spoiler device of this type fills the entire rear surface of the vehicle.
However, rear spoiler devices of this type are frequently complicated to fit and do not permit simple access to the rear doors of the utility vehicle.
Further pivotable or adjustable arrangements of air-guiding elements are also shown, e.g. in DE 10 2009 014 860 A1, DE 20 2009 014 476 U1 and DE 102 286 58 A1.
However, the adjustment of the two roof air-guiding elements is relatively complicated. The user generally has to adjust both roof air-guiding elements via adjustment devices, such as, for example, pull-push struts, in order to adjust the rear spoiler device into the driving position. In a corresponding manner, in the case of pneumatic or electric systems, two adjustment devices have to be provided for the two roof air-guiding elements.
The present invention is therefore based on the object of providing a rear spoiler device for a utility vehicle, which is formed with relatively little outlay and provides reliable adjustment.
The present disclosure is based on the finding that the two roof air-guiding elements each perform a folding movement and a pivoting movement, which can, in principle, also be combined with each other. A coupling device is therefore provided, which couples the pivoting movement and folding movement of the roof air-guiding elements. The coupling device is provided here on a first roof air-guiding element, e.g. the left roof air-guiding element, which couples or carries along the other, second roof air-guiding element during the pivoting movement of the first roof air-guiding element.
The user, therefore, merely has to adjust the first roof air-guiding element actively from the basic position into the driving position, as a result of which, the second roof air-guiding element is pivoted at the same time because of the coupling device.
The coupling is accomplished in particular by an overlap between the roof air-guiding elements in which the actively adjusted first roof air-guiding element projects under an inner edge of the second roof air-guiding element. In this case, the coupling device of the first roof air-guiding element projects under the second roof air-guiding element; and it is also possible for a mating coupling device, which interacts with the (first) coupling device, to be provided on the second roof air-guiding element.
The coupling device and the mating coupling device may be plastic brackets or profiles, or metal brackets or profiles, e.g. with the coupling device and the mating coupling device in the form of U-shaped or S-shaped profiles, which are fastened respectively to individual roof air-guiding elements, thereby securely engaging one another by the interlocking of angular or profiled regions.
The coupling of the roof air-guiding elements does not impair the regular use of the rear doors. When the rear spoiler device is retracted, i.e. when the roof air-guiding elements rest on the rear doors, the user opens the rear doors in the customary manner. The user first opens the right rear door with the attached second roof air-guiding element and subsequently pivots the open rear door outward and forward to lie against the side wall. The coupling device and mating coupling device easily lift off from each other in the basic position, and therefore, there is no interference in the opening of the rear doors. Specifically, in the case of profiled engagements or angular engagements, there is preferably a non-latching support, and therefore the right rear door with the attached second roof air-guiding element easily lifts off from the first roof air-guiding element.
After the first rear door is opened, the user subsequently opens the second rear door with the attached second roof air-guiding element and can also pivot, in the same outward and forward direction, the door such that it lies against the side wall.
To adjust the rear spoiler into the driving position, the user therefore merely has to actuate the one adjustment device for actively pivoting the first roof air-guiding element from the basic position into the driving position, as a result of which, the second roof air-guiding element is carried along and is likewise pivoted into the driving position. During the resetting operation, the user correspondingly resets the first roof air-guiding element, which generally pivots downward by gravitational force alone; the second roof air-guiding element likewise pivots downward into the basic position solely because of its gravitational force, and need not be carried by the first roof air-guiding element.
A simple and cost-effective system, in particular of the coupling device and optionally the mating coupling device, is therefore provided, which ensures reliable adjustment with little outlay, namely with a single adjustment device, wherein further access to the loading space via the rear doors and the adjustment of the rear doors is not interfered with by this system.
The invention will be explained in more detail below by way of a number of embodiments with reference to the attached drawings, in which:
The drawings provided herewith are for purely illustrative purposes and are not drawn to scale or intended to limit the scope of the present invention.
The rear 2 of a utility vehicle 1 is shown in
A rear spoiler device 8 which has, on the left, a first roof air-guiding element 9 and, on the right, a second roof air-guiding element 10 is provided at the rear 2. The roof air-guiding elements 9, 10 are formed, for example, from a plastic material and, as shown in the figures, are flat, or else may be somewhat curved. The roof air-guiding elements 9, 10 are pivotable, or may be swung out between a basic position, in which they lie against the rear doors 6, 7, and a driving position. In the driving position shown in
The roof air-guiding elements 9 and 10, therefore, respectively have a front edge 9a, 10a which lies on or within a region of the roof surface 5, and also a rear end 9b, 10b which points rearward and downward in the driving position shown. In this case, the rear edges 9b, 10b preferably have a shorter width than the front edges 9a, 10a in order to satisfy the desired aerodynamic properties. The adjustment device 13 provided according to
A coupling device 15, which couples the pivoting movement or folding movement of the roof air-guiding elements 9, 10, is provided between the roof air-guiding elements 9, 10. The coupling device 15 is configured such that the left roof air-guiding element 9 is adjustable by the user via the adjustment device 13 and carries along the right roof air-guiding element 10 during the adjustment upward into the driving position. A dedicated adjustment device for the right roof air-guiding element 10 is therefore not provided; the adjustment into the driving position takes place via the coupling device, i.e. by being carried along with the adjusted left roof air-guiding element 9. The adjustment back to the basic, folded position takes place automatically because of gravity, i.e. when the left roof air-guiding element 9 is pivoted back or let down by the adjustment device 13, the right roof air-guiding element 10 automatically drops downward.
The coupling device 15 is preferably provided here as an extension of the left roof air-guiding element 9 beyond the center, i.e. to the right. The coupling device 15 therefore extends beyond the center line of symmetry or the opening line of the rear doors and lies below an inner edge of the right roof air-guiding element 10 (near the inner lateral edge 10d, for example). In this example, the coupling device 15 is a fixed part of the left roof air-guiding element 9, for example, as a plastic extension, or as an additional profile attached to the left roof air-guiding element 9.
According to the embodiment of
In the basic position of the roof air-guiding elements 9, 10, first of all the right rear door 7 can be opened in the customary manner; the mating coupling device 17 lifts out of the coupling device 15 without leading to a delay or damage. Subsequently, the rear doors 7, 6 can each be pivoted open rearward and, for example, can also be pivoted outward and forward by approximately 270° , to lie against the side walls 4, wherein the rear doors 6, 7 can be fastened to the side wall 4 and the folded-in roof air-guiding element 9, 10 are in each case accommodated here between the rear doors 6, 7 and the side walls 4.
The design according to the invention of the roof air-guiding elements with the coupling device 15 and mating coupling device 17 therefore requires only a little outlay for production; the handling of the rear doors is not impaired and the installation operation is simplified.
While the above description constitutes the preferred embodiments of the present invention, it will be appreciated that the invention is susceptible to modification, variation and change without departing from the proper scope and fair meaning of the accompanying claims.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 2017 003 191.6 | Apr 2017 | EP | regional |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/EP2018/057169 | 3/21/2018 | WO | 00 |
