ROOF AREA OF A MOTOR VEHICLE

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a roof area of ​​a motor vehicle, in particular a commercial vehicle such as a truck or bus, according to the preamble of claim 1.

[0002] German patent DE 34 02 824 A1 describes a commercial vehicle in which auxiliary headlights are mounted in the roof area at the two front, upper corners of the cab. The upper corners of the cab have hump-like recesses in which the auxiliary headlights are set back. These recesses create a relatively high air resistance to the oncoming airflow and generate increased turbulence, which impedes the vehicle's propulsion and significantly increases its energy consumption.

[0003] Furthermore, US Patent 5,836,640 A discloses a commercial vehicle with auxiliary headlights integrated into an external sun visor. In this case, the lens of each headlight is attached separately to the visor body of the sun visor and covers the opening facing the housing, which is also attached to the visor body.

[0004] The invention is based on the objective of further developing a generic roof area of ​​a motor vehicle in such a way that its air resistance is minimized and thus the energy consumption for the vehicle drive is reduced.

[0005] The problem is solved according to the invention by the features of claim 1.

[0006] The invention relates to a roof area of ​​a motor vehicle, in particular a commercial vehicle, which is equipped with at least one auxiliary headlight. This headlight has a housing open towards the front of the vehicle, in which at least one light is arranged. The housing opening is covered at the front by a diffuser lens.

[0007] Because the roof area, according to the invention, includes a sun visor extending over an upper section of the outer surface of the vehicle's windshield and housing at least one auxiliary headlight, the integration reduces air resistance. Therefore, only the contours of the sun visor determine the amount of air resistance, and not those of separate auxiliary headlights. The sun visor also has at least one opening in which the lens of the respective headlight is flush-mounted. The resulting parallelism of the frontal surfaces of the sun visor and lens, along with their simultaneous airflow, achieves a uniform and low-diffuse air deflection, thereby reducing air resistance and thus the energy consumption of the vehicle's drive system.

[0008] According to the invention, the diffuser lens forms the front of a cover that is sealed to the headlight housing and arranged within the opening of the sun visor, forming a circumferential gap. Integrating the diffuser lens into a cover significantly simplifies its attachment to the headlight housing. The gap and the connection between the cover and the headlight housing allow for adjustment of the housing.

[0009] According to the invention, the front of the sun visor is designed at an angle - falling from the top rear to the bottom front - which significantly reduces air resistance.

[0010] In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the diffuser lens is fitted into the through-opening with minimal play. This virtually eliminates the disruptive contours for laminar airflow, thereby further reducing air resistance and energy consumption.

[0011] The drag-reducing effect of the invention is further enhanced in a preferred embodiment in which the sun visor extends across the entire windshield in a transverse direction, thereby maximizing the uniformity of the airflow and further reducing energy consumption due to the associated reduction in drag.

[0012] In a preferred embodiment of the invention, a stiffening frame is incorporated into the through-opening and attached to the edge of the opening. This further reduces the gap between the edge of the through-opening and the circumference of the diffuser lens, thus preventing air turbulence and consequently reducing energy consumption.

[0013] In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the at least one through-opening is angular, in particular largely rectangular, which simplifies handling the headlight during assembly and, in particular, facilitates the alignment of the lens in the through-opening. However, the through-opening can also assume any other shape, for example, circular or elliptical.

[0014] The invention is explained in more detail below with reference to an embodiment shown in the drawings.

[0015] This shows: Fig. 1 In a perspective view, a section of the front of a commercial vehicle with a roof area according to the invention; Fig. 2 In a perspective view, a sun visor of the roof area according to the invention. Fig. 1 , Fig. 3 In a perspective sectional view, the sun visor made of Fig. 2 .

[0016] In Fig. 1 The front 1 of a commercial vehicle 2 is visible, featuring a hood-shaped roof section 3 that terminates at the front with an aerodynamically shaped wind deflector 4. A sun visor 5 extends downwards from the wind deflector 4, covering an upper section 6 of the outer surface 7 of a windshield 8 of the commercial vehicle 2 and attached to the roof structure 3 by means of brackets (not shown here). In this case, the sun visor 5 extends transversely across the entire windshield 8 of the commercial vehicle 2.

[0017] As in the Fig. 2 and3 As illustrated, the front surface 9 of the sun visor 5 is inclined – sloping from the upper rear to the lower front. The sun visor 5 has two elongated openings 10, mirror-symmetrical to its center, which are largely rectangular and run horizontally, i.e., perpendicular to the bevel of the front surface 9. However, it is conceivable that the sun visor 5 has only one central opening 10 or several, which are distributed along the sun visor 5.

[0018] The respective passage opening 10 can also have a different, deviating angular shape depending on the design requirements or the illumination of the surroundings, especially the street, or, for example, run along the chamfer of the front 9.

[0019] A headlight housing 11 of an auxiliary headlight 12 is attached to the brackets of the sun visor 5. This housing is open towards the front of the vehicle and contains one or more lights 13, which are inserted into a corresponding socket 14, forming an electrical contact. The lights 13 are preferably LEDs. The headlight housing 11 is fluid-tightly connected to a cup-shaped cover 15, adapted to the shape of the through-opening 10, which closes the opening 16 of the housing 11. The cover 15 can be screwed to the housing 11 or connected by means of a clip connection 17. The cover 15 is made of a transparent or translucent material and can also be colored.

[0020] The front of the cover 15 forms a diffuser 18, which is integrally connected to it. Alternatively, however, it is also conceivable that the diffuser 18 is a separate component attached to the cover 15. The diffuser 18, whose shape mirrors the chamfer of the front 9 of the sun visor 5, is flush within the opening 10 of the sun visor 5, forming a circumferential gap 19. A correspondingly shaped stiffening frame 20 is inserted into the opening 10, bearing against the front 9 of the sun visor 5 and framing the edge 22 of the opening 10 with a pull 21, preferably engaging behind it. The stiffening frame 20 is secured in the opening 10, for example by pressing or clipping it in. This aerodynamically reduces the gap 19 to an advantage. The diffuser disc 18 is thus fitted into the through-opening 10 with minimal play.The play, or rather the remaining gap 19, is dimensioned in such a way that adjustment of the housing, especially in the vertical and / or lateral direction, is possible.

Claims

1. A roof area (3) of a motor vehicle (2), in particular of a commercial vehicle, having at least one auxiliary headlight (12) that comprises a housing (11) open towards the front of the vehicle (11), at least one lamp (13) that is arranged inside the housing (11) and a diffusing lens (18) that covers the front of the housing opening (16), the roof area (3) having a sun visor (5) that extends over an upper portion (6) of the outside (7) of the windscreen (8) of the motor vehicle (2) and is received in the at least one auxiliary headlight (12), the sun visor (5) having at least one through-opening (10) in which the diffusing lens (18) of the headlight (12) is flush mounted, and the front side (9) of the sun visor (5) being designed to slope down obliquely from top rear to bottom front, characterised in that the diffusing lens (18) forms the front side of a covering cap (15) that is connected to the headlight housing (11) so as to make a seal and arranged inside the through-opening (10) of the sun visor (5) so as to form a circumferential gap (19).

2. A roof area in accordance with claim 1, characterised in that the sun visor (5) extends transversely over the entire windscreen.

3. A roof area in accordance with any one of claims 1 to 3, characterised in that the at least one through-opening (10) is of angular, in particular of rectangular, design.

4. A roof area in accordance with any one of claims 1 to 4, characterised in that the diffusing lens (18) is fitted into the through-opening (10) with a little play.

5. A roof area in accordance with any one of claims 1 to 5, characterised in that a reinforcing frame (20) is introduced into the through-opening (10) and fixed to the edge (22) of the opening.