Conversion kit for utility vehicles

Abstract

The present invention relates to a fitting device (1) for the interior of a utility vehicle (V) comprising: - a floor (2) arranged to cover the floor of the body (B), - two wheel arch boxes (5) arranged to cover the rear wheel arches (F), and - two side panels (6) arranged to cover a portion of the side walls of the body (E). According to the invention, in this fitting device (1): the side edges of the floor (2) include a floor cutout (23) arranged to receive by recess at least a portion of the lower edge of the box (54), and to longitudinally secure the floor (2), the wheel arch boxes (5) are secured to the side panels (6) by first assembly means, and the side panels (6) are secured to the side walls of the body (E) by second assembly means (7) of the tool-free removable type. Figure for the summary: Figure 5

Description

Title of the invention: Fitting device for utility vehicle Technical field of the invention

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of the interior design of utility vehicles.

[0002] It relates more particularly to a device for fitting out the body of a utility vehicle by covering at least some of its interior surfaces by means of added protective panels. State of the art

[0003] The interior of the body of utility vehicles can be covered, totally or partially, with added panels, made of wood or other materials (plastic panels, polypropylene, etc.), in particular to provide protection against impacts.

[0004] This is the case in particular for the bottom of the body, at least part of the side walls of the body and the rear wheel arches of vans or craftsmen's vans (masons, electricians, carpenters, etc.).

[0005] In this context, the corresponding development devices generally comprise, at least:

[0006] - a floor arranged to cover the bottom of the body,

[0007] - two wheel arch boxes for covering the side arches of rear wheels, and

[0008] - two side panels arranged to cover part of the side walls of body, above the rear wheel arches.

[0009] The side panels may be equipped with shelf structures or housings, for example for storing tools or accessories.

[0010] The inner face of the rear door openings can also be equipped with such protective panels.

[0011] The covering panels in question are generally fixed by screwing into the body of the vehicle (bottom of the body, wheel arches, side walls, door openings) by means of self-drilling screws, and preferably using an electric screwdriver.

[0012] However, installing the panels by screwing takes a significant amount of time and is not always easy to achieve.

[0013] Such screw installation can also damage the vehicle bodywork.

[0014] Furthermore, the panels in question can only be removed with suitable tools (in this case a screwdriver or an electric screwdriver). Presentation of the invention

[0015] In order to overcome the aforementioned drawbacks of the state of the art, the present invention proposes a fitting device for the interior of the body of a utility vehicle which comprises a body bottom, body side walls and rear wheel lateral arches,

[0016] which arrangement device comprises:

[0017] - a floor arranged to cover the bottom of the body, which floor comprises two side borders,

[0018] - two wheel arch boxes arranged to cover said side passages rear wheels, which wheel arch boxes include a lower box edge,

[0019] - two side panels arranged to cover part of the side walls of body, above said rear wheel arches,

[0020] this arrangement device being characterized by the fact that:

[0021] - said side edges of the floor each comprise a cutout of floor, over at least part of the thickness of said floor, which floor cutout is arranged to receive by embedding at least part of said lower edge of the box of said wheel arch boxes, and to longitudinally block said floor,

[0022] - which wheel arch boxes are secured to said panels lateral by first assembly means,

[0023] - which side panels are secured to the side walls of the box by second assembly means of the type assembly means which can be dismantled without tools.

[0024] Such a layout device structure is very simple to assemble.

[0025] Its disassembly is also very simple and can be carried out manually, without tools.

[0026] It also limits the drilling of the bodywork.

[0027] Other non-limiting and advantageous characteristics of the arrangement device according to the invention, taken individually or in all technically possible combinations, are the following:

[0028] - the floor cutout comprises a longitudinal cutout portion and at least a cutout end portion; the lower box edge comprises a longitudinal lower box edge portion and two lower box edge end portions; and the lower box edge end portions cooperate with said at least one cutout end portion of said floor cutouts to longitudinally lock the floor;

[0029] - the floor cutouts are made, from a top face of the floor, on only part of the thickness of said floor;

[0030] this feature allows the wheel arch boxes to rest in the bottom of the floor cutout to vertically block the floor. And it is therefore not necessary to fix the floor to the bottom of the body;

[0031] - the first assembly means are in the form of screws;

[0032] - the second assembly means are in the form of thumbscrews, comprising a screw body provided with a thread for fixing in the side wall of the body, and a screw head provided with an external thread cooperating with a fixing wheel in the form of a manually tightened nut, one contact face of which is adapted to come opposite a side panel and block the latter;

[0033] - the arrangement device comprises two juxtaposed floor parts, of which two transverse free edges are intended to come into contact to define a contact line, which two transverse free edges extend to said floor cutout,

[0034] and said two floor parts are assembled together by third assembly means of the embedding type;

[0035] - the third assembly means consist of at least one profile attached to H-shaped section comprising two opposing recessed housings, for the assembly by recessing the free edges of the two floor parts.

[0036] Of course, the various features, variants and embodiments of the invention may be combined with each other in various combinations to the extent that they are not incompatible or mutually exclusive. Detailed description of the invention

[0037] Furthermore, various other characteristics of the invention emerge from the appended description given with reference to the drawings which illustrate a non-limiting form of embodiment of the invention and where:

[0038] [Fig.l] is a schematic perspective view of the rear of a utility vehicle, with its rear door openings open, showing its body equipped with an interior fitting device according to the invention;

[0039] [Fig.2] is a schematic top view of the floor of the arrangement device illustrated in [Fig.l], this floor being here made up of two juxtaposed floor parts assembled by H-section profiles;

[0040] [Fig.3] is a perspective view of an H-section profile for assembling the two juxtaposed floor parts of [Fig.2];

[0041] [Fig.4] is a schematic perspective view of a portion of the interior of the utility vehicle of [Fig.l] illustrating the step of assembling a side panel with a side wall of the vehicle body;

[0042] [Fig.5] is a schematic view similar to [Fig.l], which illustrates the step of laying the wheel arch boxes;

[0043] [Fig.6] is a schematic view illustrating the step of fixing a passage box of wheels on the opposite side panels.

[0044] [Fig.l] shows a utility vehicle V, seen from the rear, with its rear door openings P open, showing its body C equipped with an interior fitting device 1 in accordance with the invention.

[0045] The body C of the utility vehicle V comprises, in a conventional manner, a body bottom B, body side walls E and rear wheel side arches F.

[0046] The interior fitting device 1 comprises a floor 2, shown in isolation in [Fig.2], arranged to cover the bottom of the body C.

[0047] The floor 2 is delimited by a peripheral contour 3 adapted to follow the contour of the bottom of the body B, at least in certain areas.

[0048] This peripheral contour 3 comprises in particular a front edge 31 intended to be positioned on the side of the front part of the vehicle V, a rear edge 32 intended to be positioned on the side of the rear part of the vehicle V, and two lateral edges 33 intended to be positioned along the sides of the bottom of the body B.

[0049] Floor 2 can be made of wooden panels or other materials (plastic panels, polypropylene, etc.).

[0050] The floor 2 is here made of two juxtaposed floor parts 21 and 22, of which two free transverse edges, respectively 211 and 221, facing each other, are intended to come into contact to define a contact line 24.

[0051] The floor part 21 is intended to equip the front part of the bottom of the body B, and the floor part 22 is intended to equip the rear part of the bottom of the body B.

[0052] The positioning of the contact line 24 is adapted so that once the floor 2 is in place on the bottom of the body B, this contact line 24 ends on each side opposite the rear wheel lateral arches F (for example approximately in the middle of these rear wheel lateral arches F).

[0053] The transverse free edge 211 of the floor part 21, and the transverse free edge 221 of the floor part 22, are assembled together, in a removable manner, by third assembly means 4.

[0054] These third assembly means 4 are of the embedding type.

[0055] They may consist of one or more profiles 4, one example of which is illustrated in isolation in [Fig.3].

[0056] The profile 4 comprises two opposing embedding housings 41 for receiving the free edges 211, 221 of the two floor parts 21, 22, and the assembly of the latter by embedding.

[0057] In the embodiment illustrated in the figures, this assembly of the two floor parts 21, 22 is achieved by means of three profiles 4 each having a few centimeters in length, regularly distributed on the contact line 24.

[0058] Such a two-part structure makes it easier to install the floor 2, in particular due to the small gaps provided between its contour 3 and the contour of the bottom of the body B.

[0059] In the rear part of its two lateral edges 33, the floor 2 comprises a floor cutout 23, made over only part of the thickness of the floor 2, and which is constituted here by a longitudinal cutout part 231 and by and by a cutout end part 232.

[0060] The floor cutout 23 here has an L shape with the cutout end portion 232 extending perpendicular to the longitudinal cutout portion 231.

[0061] Alternatively, this cutout may be U-shaped.

[0062] As explained later in the description, this floor cutout 23 is arranged to cooperate with at least a portion of the lower edge of a wheel arch box to ensure the blocking or locking in position of the floor 2.

[0063] For example, the floor cutout 23 has a depth which corresponds to half the thickness of the floor 2, and its width corresponds to the thickness of the lower edge of the associated wheel arch box.

[0064] The interior fitting device 1 also comprises two wheel arch boxes 5 arranged to cover the rear lateral wheel arches F.

[0065] As can be seen in [Fig. 5], each of these wheel arch boxes 5 comprises a vertical or substantially vertical front panel 51, a horizontal or substantially horizontal top panel 52, and two vertical or substantially vertical side panels 53.

[0066] The front edge 521 of the top panel 52 is assembled with the upper edge 511 of the front panel 51, for example by stapling.

[0067] The upper edge 531 of the side panels 53 is assembled with the side edge 522 of the facing top panel 52, for example by screwing; and the front edge 532 of the side panels 53 is assembled with the side edge 512 of the facing front panel 51, for example by screwing.

[0068] The front panel 51 extends in a plane perpendicular or substantially perpendicular to the plane of the top panel 52 and to the plane of the side panels 53. The side panels 53 extend parallel to each other and in planes perpendicular or substantially perpendicular to the plane of the top panel 52.

[0069] The rear edge 523 of the top panel 52 is free.

[0070] The longitudinal lower box edge portion 513 of the front panel 51 and the lower box edge end portion 533 of the side panels 53 together form a lower box edge 54.

[0071] This lower box edge 54 is generally U-shaped, delimited by a longitudinal portion (corresponding to the longitudinal portion of the lower box edge 513 of the front panel 51) and by two end portions (corresponding to the ends of the longitudinal portion of the lower box edge 513 of the front panel 51 and to the end portion of the lower box edge 533 of the side panels 53).

[0072] In the context of the present invention, each floor cutout is arranged to receive by embedding at least part of the lower edge of the wheel arch boxes 5, and to block the floor 2 longitudinally (i.e. in its plane, and in a front-rear direction).

[0073] The interior fitting device 1 also comprises two side panels 6 arranged to cover part of the side walls of the body E, above the rear wheel lateral arches F.

[0074] The side panels 6 are secured to the side walls of the box E by second assembly means 7, of the type assembly means which can be dismantled without tools, a preferred embodiment of which is described later in the description.

[0075] In addition, the wheel arch boxes 5 are secured to the side panels 6 by first assembly means 8, for example in the form of simple fixing screws 8.

[0076] The interior fitting device 1 may also comprise additional panels 9 for covering a portion of the body side walls E (in particular on the front portion of the body side walls E), and / or additional panels 10 for partially covering the internal face of the rear door openings P. Installation of the interior fittings

[0077] For the assembly of the interior fitting device, the floor 2 is placed on the bottom of the body B, and the side panels 6 are fixed against the side walls of the body E, without any necessary order of installation between the two.

[0078] The floor part 21 is placed on the front part of the body bottom B, the assembly profiles 4 are positioned on the transverse free edge 211 of this floor part 21 and the floor part 22 is placed on the rear part of the body bottom B, its transverse free edge 221 being fitted into the fitting housings 41 opposite the profiles 4.

[0079] This operation of laying the floor 2 is carried out without fixing by screws on the bottom of the body B.

[0080] The contact line 24 of the two juxtaposed floor parts 21 and 22 ends on each side opposite the rear wheel lateral arches-F.

[0081] The side panels 6 are fixed against the side walls of the body E by the second assembly means 7 of the type assembly means which can be dismantled without tools.

[0082] The side panels 6 therefore comprise through holes 61, which pass through their thickness, made beforehand, for example in the factory at the time of their manufacture.

[0083] As can be seen in [Fig.4], the second assembly means 7 may be in the form of thumbscrews 7, comprising a screw body 71 provided with a thread 72 for fixing in the body side wall E, and a screw head 73 provided with an external thread 74 cooperating with a fixing thumbwheel 75 in the form of a manually tightened nut.

[0084] The fixing wheel 75 comprises a central tapped hole 76 arranged to cooperate with the threaded screw head 73, 74.

[0085] The screw body 71 is fixed by screwing into the body side wall E at a defined location; the side panel 6 is positioned against the body side wall E, with the screw head 73 passing through one of the aforementioned through holes 61; and the fixing wheel 75 is manually screwed onto the screw head 73 to lock the side panel 6. The corresponding locking is achieved by a contact face 77 of the fixing wheel 75 adapted to bear against the opposite face of the side panel 6.

[0086] In the embodiment illustrated in the figures, two thumbscrews 7 are used to fix each side panel 6.

[0087] The assembly is then finalized by the installation of the wheel arch boxes 5, as illustrated in Figures 5 and 6.

[0088] As can be seen in [Fig.5], the wheel arch boxes 5 are reported and positioned so that:

[0089] - their lower edge of box 54 comes to be positioned on the floor 2, and more precisely in the floor cutout 23, and

[0090] - their rear edge 523 comes to bear against the opposite side panel 6.

[0091] The wheel arch boxes 5 prevent vertical movements of the floor 2, and in addition, the lower box edge 54 and the floor cutout 23 are adapted to block the floor 2 longitudinally, that is to say in a direction from the front to the rear of the vehicle V.

[0092] Finally, the wheel arch boxes 5 are secured to the side panels 6 by the first assembly means 8, as illustrated in [Fig.6].

[0093] For this, one can for example use 3 to 6 classic 8 assembly screws.

[0094] The longitudinal part 513 of the lower edge of the box 54 comes to bear on the two floor parts 21, 22 and on the contact line 24, which makes it possible to optimize the blocking of the floor 2.

[0095] It is understood that the assembly placed in this way can be dismantled without requiring tools, simply by unscrewing the fixing studs 75 by hand, then by first removing the assembled side panel 6 / wheel arch box 5 assemblies, and then the two floor parts 21, 22.

[0096] It will be noted that the aforementioned additional panels 9 and 10, adapted to cover part of the body side walls E and part of the internal face of the rear door openings P, can also be fixed to the body of the vehicle V by assembly means which can be removed without tools, for example by thumbscrews 7, as described above.

[0097] Other forms of floor cutouts 23 can be envisaged.

[0098] For example, the floor cutout may consist of a longitudinal cutout portion, the ends of which each extend into a cutout end portion.

[0099] The longitudinal locking function of the floor 2 can be fulfilled by the ends of the longitudinal cutting part, possibly associated with an edge of the cutting end part(s).

[0100] In another possible embodiment, the floor cutout comprises only a longitudinal cutout portion of which at least one end fulfills the desired longitudinal locking function of the floor 2.

[0101] In another possible embodiment, the floor cutout extends over the entire thickness of the floor.

Claims

Claims

1. Arrangement device (1) for the interior of the body (C) of a utility vehicle (V) which comprises a body bottom (B), body side walls (E) and rear wheel arches (F), which arrangement device (1) comprises: - a floor (2) arranged to cover the body bottom (B), which floor (2) comprises two lateral edges (33), - two wheel arch boxes (5) arranged to cover said rear wheel arches (F), which wheel arch boxes (5) comprise a lower box edge (54), - two side panels (6) arranged to cover a portion of the body side walls (E), above said rear wheel arches (F), which arrangement device is characterized in that: - said lateral edges (33) of said floor (2) each comprise a floor cutout (23), over at least a portion of the thickness of said floor (2),which floor cutout is arranged to receive by embedding at least part of said lower box edge (54) of said wheel arch boxes (5), and to longitudinally block said floor (2), - which wheel arch boxes (5) are secured to said side panels (6) by first assembly means (8), - which side panels (6) are secured to the box side walls (E) by second assembly means (7) of the type assembly means removable without tools.,

2. Arrangement device (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that said floor cutout (23) comprises a longitudinal cutout portion (231) and at least one cutout end portion (232), in that said lower box edge (54) comprises a longitudinal lower box edge portion (513) and two lower box edge end portions (533), and in that the lower box edge end portions (533) cooperate with said at least one cutout end portion (232) of said floor cutouts (23) to longitudinally block said floor (2).

3. Arrangement device (1) according to any one of claims 1 or 2, characterized in that the floor cutouts (23) are made, from a top face of the floor (2), over only part of the thickness of said floor (2).

4. Arrangement device (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that said first assembly means (8) are in the form of screws (8).

5. Arrangement device (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that said second assembly means (7) are in the form of thumbscrews (7), comprising a screw body (71) provided with a thread (72) for fixing in said body side wall (E), and a screw head (73) provided with an external thread (74) cooperating with a fixing thumbwheel (75) in the form of a manually tightened nut, a contact face (77) of which is adapted to come opposite a side panel (6) and block the latter.

6. Arrangement device (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that it comprises two juxtaposed floor parts (21, 22) of which two transverse free edges (211, 221) are intended to come into contact to define a contact line (24), which two transverse free edges (211, 221) extend as far as said floor cutout (23), and in that said two floor parts (21, 22) are assembled together by third assembly means (4) of the embedding type.

7. Arrangement device (1) according to claim 6, characterized in that said third assembly means (4) consist of at least one profile (4) attached with an H-shaped section comprising two opposing embedding housings (41), for the assembly by embedding of said free edges (211, 221) of the two floor parts (21, 22).

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