A partition apparatus and a fitting for a partition for a vehicle

Abstract

A partition apparatus for a vehicle and a fitting therefor, the partition apparatus comprising a lefthand fitting 4, a partition 3 and a righthand fitting 5, the lefthand fitting having connection mea

Description

BACKGROUND The present invention relates to a partition apparatus for a vehicle and a fitting for a partition for a vehicle. In vehicles which carry a driver and may carry passengers, such as cars, mini-vans and coaches, it may be desirable to partition the driver or the front seats of the vehicle from the passenger or rear area of the vehicle. This may be important in transporting violent passengers. This may be achieved by installing plexi-glass, plastics material, wooden or metal screen around the driver. Such partition may be installed as an after-market option. A problem identified by the inventor, is that such partitions require the removal and reinstallation of a number of trim parts. Furthermore, many such trim parts are not designed to be removed and reinstalled. Some trim part fixings are once use only, or if re-used, do not function as well as the original installation. Furthermore, such partitions require a number of fixing points and custom fixings. Furthermore, removal of the partition and reinstatement of the vehicle to its original state can be time consuming and expensive, often requiring new trim parts . SUMMARY AND STATEMENTS OF INVENTION In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a partition comprising a partition apparatus for a vehicle, the partition apparatus comprising a lefthand fitting, a partition and a righthand fitting, the lefthand fitting having connection means to connect the fitting to a lefthand handle connection point of a vehicle and the righthand fitting having connection means to connect the fitting to a righthand handle connection point of the vehicle. The partition is preferably arranged between the lefthand fitting and righthand fitting forming a barrier between a front and rear portion of a cabin of a vehicle. Optionally, at least one of the lefthand fitting and the righthand fitting comprises a partition portion and a vehicle connection portion. The partition portion and a vehicle connection portion may lie in parallel planes. The parallel planes may be separated by between 20 and 100mm and may be spaced by approximately 50mm. Optionally, at least one of the lefthand fitting and the righthand fitting further comprises a rigidity portion arranged between the partition portion and the vehicle connection portion. The rigidity portion may be arranged at an angle to both the partition portion and a vehicle connection portion, the angle preferably being right angles although may be between 30 and 90 degrees. Optionally, the partition portion is substantially planar. Optionally, the vehicle connection portion is substantially planar. Optionally, the rigidity portion is substantially planar. Optionally, the vehicle connection portion comprises at least one hole or recess sized for receiving a fixing for fixing the vehicle connection portion to one of the lefthand or righthand handle connection points. The fixing may be a bolt, screw, rivet or the like. Optionally, the vehicle connection portion comprises at least one opening for receiving a part of a handle of the vehicle. The part of the handle may be a lower handle part of a C or D-shape handle. The opening may have a mouth. Alternatively, the further opening may be a hole, without a mouth. Optionally, the vehicle connection portion comprises at least a further opening for receiving a further part of a handle of a vehicle. The part of the handle may be an upper handle part of a C or D-shape handle. The further opening may have a mouth. Alternatively, the further opening may be a hole, without a mouth. Optionally, the vehicle connection portion has a tongue portion between the opening and the further opening. Optionally, the vehicle connection portion has at least one edge contoured to substantially match the contour of a trim lining of the vehicle. Optionally, the vehicle connection portion may be in comprise a lower vehicle connection portion below the lower opening for the handle of the vehicle. The surface area of the lower vehicle connection portion may be in the order of 50% to 75% of the area of the entire vehicle connection portion. A lower vehicle connection portion with a large surface area may improve rigidity of the fitting and of the entire partition apparatus. Optionally, the partition connection portion comprises a plurality of holes for receiving partition fixings. The fixing may be a bolt, screw, rivet or the like. Optionally, a cover-strip is provided which may have a plurality of corresponding holes, an edge portion of the partition sandwiched between the cover-strip and the partition connection portion of the fitting. Optionally, at least one of the lefthand fitting and the righthand fitting are made from a sheet material. The sheet material may be folded to form the partition portion and the vehicle connection portion and the rigidity portion. The present invention also provides a vehicle comprising a lefthand handle connection point and a righthand connection point and the partition apparatus of the present invention. The present invention also provides a fitting or a fitting for a partition for a vehicle, the fitting comprising a partition connection portion and a vehicle connection portion, the vehicle connection portion comprising at least one opening to accommodate, in use, at least part of a hand of the vehicle and a connection means for connecting the vehicle connection portion to a handle connection point of the vehicle. The handle connection point in the vehicle may be a handle connection hole in a structural part of the vehicle, such as a flange or strengthening rib of the bodywork or skeleton of the vehicle. The handle connection hole may be threaded or provided with a nut holder. The fitting may be a righthand fitting or a lefthand fitting. The fitting may comprise any or all of the above described optional features. The invention may comprise in any combination, some or all of the above features set out in any statement made herein. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS For a better understanding of the present invention reference will now be made, by way of example only, to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is rear view of a partition apparatus in accordance with the present invention comprising a partition and a lefthand fitting and a righthand fitting in accordance with the present invention installed in a passenger vehicle, shown with a rear facing set of seats in an upright position; Figure 2 is a rear view of the partition apparatus shown in Figure 1 installed in the vehicle shown in Figure 1, shown with a rear facing set of seats folded; Figure 3 is a side view of a trim part and handle of the vehicle shown in Figure 1; Figure 4 is a front perspective view of a left trim part and handle in the vehicle shown in Figure 1, with a trim part portion removed during a step in installation of the partition apparatus; Figure 5 is a front perspective view of the left trim part and handle in the vehicle shown in Figure 1, with a trim part portion machined and replaced during a step in installation of the partition apparatus; Figure 6 is a rear perspective view of the left trim part of the vehicle shown in Figure 1, with a fitting of the invention in a step in installation of the partition; Figure 7 is a front perspective view of the left trim part of the vehicle shown in Figure 1, with a handle trim part portion removed and the fitting of the invention in an optional step in installation of the partition; Figure 8 is a behind perspective view of a right trim part of the vehicle shown in Figure 1, with a fitting of the invention in an optional step in installation of the partition; Figure 9 is a behind perspective view of the left trim part of the vehicle shown in Figure 1, with a fitting of the invention in a step in installation of the partition; Figure 10 is a front view of the left trim part of the vehicle shown in Figure 1; Figure 11 is a bottom perspective end view of the left trim part of the vehicle shown in Figure 1; Figure 12 is a front view of the left trim part of the vehicle shown in Figure 1, with a handle trim part portion removed and the fitting of the invention; and Figure 13 is aside view the left fitting shown in Figure 1. DETAILED DESCRIPTION Referring to the Figures, there is shown a partition apparatus generally identified by reference numeral 1 in a passenger vehicle 2. The partition apparatus 1 comprises a partition 3, a lefthand fitting 4 and a righthand fitting 5. The partition 3 may be a continuous planar board made from a transparent polycarbonate material. The continuous planar board is of preferably 10mm in thickness, having lefthand edge 6 and a righthand edge 7, a contoured top edge 8 and a bottom edge 9. The passenger vehicle 2 roof lining 10 has a profile between sides of the vehicle, the contoured top edge 8 of the partition generally following the profile of the roof lining 9 and spaced therefrom by approximately 10mm. The lefthand edge 6 and righthand edge 7 are substantially straight and substantially vertical when installed. Bottom edge 9 is substantially straight and substantially horizontal when installed. There are five predrilled holes 11 arranged in a line approximately 20 to 30mm from lefthand edge 6 and five predrilled holes 12 arranged in a line approximately 20 to 30mm from righthand edge 7 respectively. Lefthand fitting 4 and righthand fitting 5 are substantially mirror images of one another taken about a centre vertical line of the passenger vehicle 2. Referring to Figure 10, lefthand fitting 4 generally comprises a single piece of 2mm mild steel sheet, which is cut and folded to form a partition connection portion 12, a rigidity portion 13 and a vehicle connection portion 14 with folds 15 and 16 therebetween. The partition connection portion 12 forms a substantially planar rectangular leaf approximately 50mm wide and 460mm high with five holes 11' of approximately 6.5mm diameter which line up with holes 11 in the partition 2. The rigidity portion 13 forms a substantially rectangular strip substantially perpendicular to the plane of the partition connection portion 12. The rigidity portion 13 is approximately 50mm wide and 460mm high. The vehicle connection portion 14 comprises an inwardly sloping edge 17 generally shaped to fit within the side trim panel 20 and defined by position of window beads 22 of door window 23, as shown in Figure 3 and 6 of the passenger vehicle 2. The door window 23 may be a sliding window or vertical winding window. The sloping edge 17 is located opposite fold 16. A lower handle cutout 18 is provided with an open mouth to fit about a lower handle end 24 of a D—shape handle 25 of the passenger vehicle 2. An upper handle cutout 19 has an open mouth to fit about an upper handle end 27 of the D-shape handle 25 of the passenger vehicle 2. A tongue portion 17" is defined between the upper handle cutout 19 and the lower handle cutout 18. One or both of the upper and lower handle cutouts 18 and 19 may be provided with a rubber or rubber like gasket 18' (only one shown in Figure 10) . An edge 17' is provided above the upper handle cutout 19 to substantially follow an interior trim part of the passenger vehicle 2. The D-shape handle 25 is a standard part of a passenger vehicle 2, such as a minibus or minivan. The D—shaped handle 25 also comprises a grip portion 26. Upper and lower holes 41a and 42a are provided in the vehicle connection portion 14: upper hole 41a located between the upper handle cutout 19 and lower handle cutout 18; and lower hole 42a located below the lower handle cutout 18 in a lower vehicle connection portion 14' . A lower edge 17a bounds the vehicle connection portion 14 and is substantially horizontal when installed in the passenger vehicle 2. The lower vehicle connection portion 14' may comprise a relatively large surface area of between to provide rigidity to the fitting and the partition apparatus. The surface area of the lower vehicle connection portion 14' may be in the order of 50% to 75% of the area of the entire vehicle connection portion 14. Referring to Figures 4, 7 and 8, the D-shape handle 25 comprises a structural element 28 of skeletal configuration, with a C—shape spine 29 shaped along the lower handle end 24, grip portion 26 and upper handle end 27, the spine 29 provided with a plurality of substantially planar ribs 30 extending substantially perpendicularly therefrom and therealong at a spacing of approximately 10mm and outer leaves 31 substantially perpendicular to the spine 29 and the plurality of ribs 30, the outer leaves 31 forming upper and lower strengthening elements. The structural element 28 also comprises a base 35 having a base portion 37 provided with a longitudinal flange rib portion 38. A lower structural element end 33 of the structural element 28 is integral with a lower end 39 of the base portion 37. An upper structural element end 34 is integral with an upper end 40 of the base portion 37. The structural element 28 is formed in a single piece from a plastics material, which may be formed using a known plastics injection moulding method. The base portion 37 of the lower structural element 28 is provided with recessed upper retaining hole 41 and recessed lower retaining hole 42, each provided for receiving a short bolt 41' and 42' for fixing into corresponding holes (not shown) in a rigid structural element 46 of the passenger vehicle 2, such as a steel strengthening upright rib of the bodywork of the passenger vehicle 2. The short bolts 41' and 42' may typically be in the order of 4mm to 8mm in diameter (such as M4, M5, M6 to M8) and approximately 10mm long and made of a steel material. The short bolts 41' and 42' may be provided with any or all of: a washer; a spring washer; and nut. The nut (not shown) may be a nyloc nut comprising a ring of nylon to inhibit the nut from loosening when in service. The nut may be located in a nut retainer (not shown) on a rear side of the rigid structural element 46 which holds the nut rotationally and longitudinally stationary relative to the rigid structural element 46. Alternatively, the nut may be adhered to a rear side of the rigid structural element 46 which holds the nut rotationally and longitudinally stationary relative to the rigid structural element 46. The handle 25 further comprises an outer shell 43 formed in two shell parts 44 and 45: shell part 44 generally forming the front of the handle 25; and shell part 45 generally forming the rear of the handle when the handle 25 is viewed from within the passenger vehicle 2 . The shell 43 may be ergonomically designed to be comfortable to grip when in use. The handle 25 may be used by passengers in entering and exiting the vehicle and may also be used by a passenger during transit. The shell part 44 and shell part 45 may be provided with male and female clips (not shown) to be used to connect the shell parts 44 and 45 together to form a complete shell 43. Shell part 44 generally forms a complete D-shape and shell part 43 forms a C-shape with a further small trim panel 48, shown in Figure 5 (in a slightly modified form to include drilled holes) , covering inter alia a portion of the base 35 of the structural element 28. The small trim panel 48 is removed in Figure 4. During installation, the small trim panel 48 is removed and two small holes 41b and 42b drilled therein, of approximately 6.5mm in diameter to align with the heads of the bolts 41' and 42' and then replaced. Alternatively, the small trim panel 48 is replaced with a fresh trim panel with such holes predrilled. Bolts 41' and 42' are removed. The lefthand fitting 4 is offered up with upper and lower handle cutout 19 and 18 located about the upper and lower handle ends 27 and 24 and so that holes 41a and 42a align with holes 41b and 42b of the small trim panel 48. Longer bolts 41c and 42c are inserted in through holes 41a and 42a of the lefthand fitting and rotated into respective nuts until a head of the bolt tightly fixes the lefthand fitting 4 against the small trim panel 48. The corresponding righthand fitting 5 is installed similarly, with vehicle connection portion 14' bolted to connection points for righthand handle 25' . The partition 3 is then offered up between the rigidity portion 13 of the lefthand fitting 4 and the corresponding rigidity portion (not shown) of the righthand fitting 5. The series of five holes 11 on partition edge 6 are aligned with the series of five holes 11' in the partition connection portion 12 of the lefthand fitting 4 and the series of five holes 11a on partition edge 7 are aligned with the series of five holes 11a' in the partition connection portion 12 of the righthand fitting 5. A coverstrip 50, which may be a strip approximately 50mm wide and 460mm long of 2mm mild steel plate with a series of five corresponding bolt holes lib is laid over the partition edge 7 and five bolts 51 (two shown in Figure 13) are pushed through the holes 11, 11' and lib and secured with a nut 52, sandwiching the partition and retaining the partition firmly in place. Seat backs 55 of backwardly facing seats in the passenger vehicle may be raised from a folded position to provide a continuous barrier between the front seats of the vehicle with the rear seats. Side seatbelts 56 and 57 and central seatbelt 58 are integral with their respective seat. It is envisaged that the partition 3 may be made from any wood, metal, glass, other plastics material, such as an ABS, plexiglass, fibreglass or carbon fibre. The partition may be transparent, tinted, opaque or obscure. lt is envisaged that the partition may be generally obscure, but may have a window therein, which window is made from a transparent or tinted material. The partition 3 may be of between 6mm and 18mm in thickness. The partition 5 3 may be curved and may comprise a grid, mesh or ventilation openings and openings to facilitate sound transmission and voice transmission. It is envisaged that the device of the present invention will be made from a plastics material. The 10 plastics material may be a recycled plastics material. It is envisaged that the lefthand fitting, the righthand fitting and the partition are integral. In such a partition apparatus, the screen may flex during installation and / or removal. 15

Claims

1. A partition apparatus for a vehicle, the partition apparatus comprising a lefthand fitting (4), a partition (3) and a righthand fitting (5), the lefthand fitting (4) having connection means (41a, 42a, 41c,42c) to connect the fitting to a lefthand handle connection point of a vehicle and the righthand fitting (5) having connection means (41a, 42a, 41c,42c) to connect the fitting to a righthand handle connection point of said vehicle.

2. A partition apparatus as claimed in Claim 1, wherein at least one of said lefthand fitting (4) and said righthand fitting (5) comprises a partition portion (12) and a vehicle connection portion (14).

3. A partition apparatus as claimed in Claim 2, wherein at least one of said lefthand fitting (4) and said righthand fitting (5) further comprises a rigidity portion (13) arranged between the partition portion (12) and the vehicle connection portion (14).

4. A partition apparatus as claimed in Claim 2 or 3, wherein said partition portion (12) is substantially planar.

5. A partition apparatus as claimed in Claim 2, 3 or 4, wherein said vehicle connection portion (14) is substantially planar.

6. A partition apparatus as claimed in Claim 2, 3, 4 or 5, wherein said vehicle connection portion comprises at least one hole or recess sized for receiving a fixing for fixing the vehicle connection portion to one of the lefthand or righthand handle connection points.

7. A partition apparatus as claimed in any of Claims 2 to 6, wherein said vehicle connection portion comprises at least one opening (18) for receiving a part of a handle of said vehicle.

8. A partition apparatus as claimed in any of Claims 2 to 7, wherein said vehicle connection portion comprises at least a further opening (19) for receiving a further part of a handle of a vehicle.

9. A partition apparatus as claimed in Claim 7 and 8, wherein a vehicle connection portion has a tongue portion (17") between said opening and said further opening.

10. A partition apparatus as claimed in any of Claims 2 to 9, wherein the vehicle connection portion has at least one edge contoured to substantially match the contour of a trim lining of said vehicle.

11. A partition apparatus as claimed in any of Claims 2 to 10, wherein said partition connection portion comprises a plurality of holes for receiving partition fixings.

12. A partition apparatus as claimed in any of Claims 2 to 11, wherein at least one of said lefthand fitting (4) and said righthand fitting (5) are made from a sheet material.

13. A vehicle comprising a lefthand handle connection point and a righthand connection point the partition apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim.

14. A fitting or a fitting for a partition for a vehicle, the fitting comprising a partition connection portion (12) and a vehicle connection portion (14), the vehicle connection portion (14) comprising at least one opening (18,19) to accommodate, in use, at least part of a hand of said vehicle and a connection means (41a, 42a) for connecting said vehicle connection portion (14) to a handle connection point of said vehicle.

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