The present invention relates to a vehicle protection device, comprising a canvas provided to be stretched over said vehicle to be protected, in order to cover at least partially said vehicle, said canvas being stored, when not in use, into a container, which comprises anchoring means provided to fix said container onto said vehicle, said canvas being provided with spacing means, provided for leaving a space between said canvas and said vehicle, when said canvas is stretched over said vehicle.
Such a vehicle protection device is known from US 2005/0212322 A1 and used to cover for example a car, a boat, a caravan or the like. In the known vehicle protection device, the canvas is stored into a container, which is fixed to the vehicle. This enables to adequately store the canvas, when not in use. In order to leave some space between the canvas and the vehicle body, spacing means are provided. The known spacing means are formed by a plurality of aligned padded strips forming an inner layer of the canvas.
A drawback of the known protection device is that the spacing means, formed by a plurality of aligned padded strips, are rather thick. This adversely affects a wounding up of the canvas, when the latter is stored in its container, as sufficient volume of the container has to be provided for storing a rather thick canvas. The thus required large container disturbs the whole aspect of the vehicle. Moreover, as there are a plurality of padded strips, they have each to be applied individually, which renders the device expensive to manufacture. Finally, the padded strips often rest on the vehicle body, when the canvas extends over the vehicle, so that there is nearly no distance between the padded strips and the vehicle body.
The object of the invention is to realise a vehicle protection device where the spacing means do not require a large container and where some distance can be created between the vehicle body and the canvas when extended over the vehicle.
A vehicle protection device according to the invention is characterised in that said spacing means comprise a resilient member, built-in into said canvas and provided for stretching up said canvas in such a manner as to maintain a distance between said canvas and said vehicle. The presence of the resilient member offers a favourable solution for creating a distance between the vehicle body and the canvas. As the spacing means enable to create a distance between the vehicle and the canvas, the air can circulate in the thus created space, thereby avoiding that the canvas would stick to the body of the vehicle. The fact that the resilient member is built-in into the canvas has for consequence that the canvas remains rather thin, thereby avoiding the use of a large container.
A first preferred embodiment of a vehicle protection device according to the invention is characterised in that said resilient member comprises a set of strips made of resilient material. The use of strips offers the advantage that they are rather thin, which is favourable for winding-up the canvas.
A second preferred embodiment of a vehicle protection device according to the invention is characterised in that said anchoring means are provided to removable fix said container on said vehicle. In such a manner the device can be recuperated when the vehicle is sold.
A third preferred embodiment of a vehicle protection device according to the invention is characterised in that said anchoring means are provided to be applied into anchoring points, provided on said vehicle for anchoring a luggage rack. In such a manner, a rigid and reliable fixing of the device on the vehicle is realised.
A fourth preferred embodiment of a vehicle protection device according to the invention is characterised in that said anchoring means are formed by a clamp, provided to engage with a towing hook. This embodiment offers a practical solution when the vehicle is equipped with a towing hook.
A fifth preferred embodiment of a vehicle protection device according to the invention is characterised in that said canvas is mounted on a spring-loaded drum. The use of a spring-loaded drum enables an easy unfolding and rolling up of the canvas.
Preferably said canvas comprises an attachment member, mounted on a front end thereof and provided to attach said front end on said vehicle. In such a manner, the canvas can be attached to the vehicle when spread over the latter.
Preferably said canvas comprises a grid of micro-perforations. The grid of micro-perforations provides an air circulation while avoiding a water infiltration through the canvas.
The vehicle protection device according to the present invention will now be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings showing preferred embodiments of the device.
In the drawings:
In the drawings a same reference sign has been allocated to a same or analogous element.
In the embodiment shown in
Although the drawings only show a car as vehicle, it should be noted that the present vehicle protection device can also be used on a boat, a truck, a caravan or any other vehicle.
The container 1 is provided with anchoring means 2, provided to fix the container on the vehicle. In the embodiment shown in
As is also illustrated in
As illustrated in the
When the container is mounted on the roof of the vehicle 7, as illustrated in
In the embodiment illustrated in
The canvas comprises preferably also an attachment member 10 mounted on a front end of the canvas and provided to attach the front end on the vehicle.
As illustrated in the
As illustrated in
The canvas is preferably made of a material comprising a grid of micro-perforations. In such a manner the air can circulate through the canvas whereas water can not penetrate. The canvas is preferably made of water impermeable material.
In order to maintain the canvas, when stretched over the vehicle, at a certain distance between the vehicle body and the canvas, for example between 0.5 and 30 cm, spacing means are provided on the canvas. As illustrated in
The
When the user wants to protect his vehicle with the device according to the invention, he will attach the container to the vehicle. Once attached, the canvas 6 is pulled out of the container by using the pulling member 5. The canvas can be pulled out by simply using the pulling member, which will cause the canvas 6 to unroll from the drum 3. Once the front end 4 has reached the last part to be covered, the canvas is attached by means of the attachment member 10. To roll up the canvas, the latter is first disconnected and then rolled up, thereby using the spring-loaded drums.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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06117278,9 | Jul 2006 | EP | regional |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
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PCT/EP2007/057118 | 7/11/2007 | WO | 00 | 9/21/2009 |