Roof rack

Abstract

To provide a roof rack capable of more appropriately suppressing air resistance.SOLUTION: A roof rack 10 includes a rack body 12, and a wind breaking member 20 provided in a front end of the rack body 12. The wind breaking member 20 can be switched between an upright posture of blocking wind toward the rack body 12 and a lying posture of lying so as to approaches a horizontal state than the upright posture.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] This specification discloses a roof rack that is mounted to the roof of a vehicle. [Background technology]

[0002] It has been proposed to attach a roof rack to the roof of a vehicle in order to load luggage on the roof of the vehicle. In order to prevent the loaded luggage from being exposed to wind or foreign objects, a windbreak member is usually provided at the front end of the roof rack to block the wind blowing toward the roof rack. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 10-119657 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] While such windbreak members have the advantage of protecting the loaded luggage, they also cause an increase in air resistance when the vehicle is traveling at high speed. In many cases, roof racks are not removed from the vehicle and are left attached to the vehicle even when no luggage is loaded. In addition, in the case of conventional roof racks, the position of the windbreak members is invariable. Therefore, when the vehicle is traveling at high speed without loading luggage, there is a problem that the windbreak members unnecessarily increase the air resistance.

[0005] Patent Document 1 discloses a vehicle in which a front roof spoiler is arranged in front of a connecting bar that constitutes a roof rack. However, the front roof spoiler in Patent Document 1 is only used to store the connecting bar. Therefore, the technology described in Patent Document 1 cannot sufficiently suppress air resistance.

[0006] Therefore, this specification discloses a roof rack that can more appropriately suppress air resistance. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The roof rack disclosed in this specification is a roof rack comprising a rack body and a windbreak member provided at the front end of the rack body, and is characterized in that the windbreak member is switchable between an upright position that blocks wind toward the rack body and a tilted position in which it is tilted closer to horizontal than the upright position.

[0008] According to the above-described roof rack, the attitude of the windbreak member changes, so that air resistance can be more appropriately suppressed depending on the situation.

[0009] In this case, the roof rack may further have an elastic member that urges the windbreak member in the direction of the upright position, and when the vehicle is stopped, the windbreak member may maintain the upright position by receiving a urging force from the elastic member.

[0010] By maintaining the windbreak member in an upright position when the vehicle is stopped, the design of the vehicle is improved when the vehicle is stopped.

[0011] The roof rack may further include a pressure-receiving member provided at the bottom of the rack body and descending under the weight of luggage when the luggage is placed on the rack body, a support member that is switchable between a support position in which the windbreak member is pressed in the direction of the upright position and a retracted position away from the windbreak member, and a transmission mechanism that transmits the downward movement of the pressure-receiving member to the support member, and changes the support member from the retracted position to the support position as the pressure-receiving member descends.

[0012] With this configuration, when luggage is placed on the rack body, the windbreak member is kept in an upright position, which prevents foreign matter from adhering to the luggage and prevents an increase in air resistance.

[0013] The windbreak member may be switched between the upright posture and the lying down posture by swinging about an axis extending in a vehicle width direction near a lower end of the windbreak member.

[0014] With this configuration, the wind hitting the roof is suppressed, and air resistance is further reduced.

[0015] The upper edge of the windbreak member may be wavy with continuous projections and recesses in the vehicle width direction.

[0016] With this configuration, wind noise is reduced. Effect of the Invention

[0017] According to the roof rack disclosed in this specification, the attitude of the windbreak member changes, so that air resistance can be more appropriately suppressed depending on the situation. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0018] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of a roof rack. [Diagram 2] 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the roof rack when the windbreak member is in an upright position. FIG. [Diagram 3] 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the roof rack when the windbreak member is in a fallen position. FIG. [Figure 4] 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the roof rack when luggage is placed on the bottom plate. FIG. [Diagram 5] 11A and 11B are diagrams illustrating other examples of the windbreak member. [Figure 6] FIG. 11 is a schematic cross-sectional view of another example of a roof rack. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0019] The structure of the roof rack 10 will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of the roof rack 10. The roof rack 10 is a rack that is attached to the outer surface of the roof of a vehicle. The roof rack 10 has a rack body 12, a windbreak member 20, and a bottom plate 32. The rack body 12 is a container that receives luggage 100. In this example, the rack body 12 is a basket-shaped member that is configured by combining a plurality of wires 14. More specifically, at the front end of the rack body 12, a front upper wire 14a and a front lower wire 14b are arranged with a vertical gap. At the rear end of the rack body 12, a rear upper wire 14c and a rear lower wire 14d are arranged with a vertical gap. All of these four wires 14a, 14b, 14c, and 14d extend in the vehicle width direction. At both ends of the rack body 12 in the vehicle width direction, side wires 14g are arranged. A plurality of horizontal wires 14e are stretched between the two side wires 14g, and a vertical wire 14f is stretched between the plurality of horizontal wires 14e.

[0020] Here, the front end surface of the rack body 12 is composed of a front upper wire 14a, a front lower wire 14b, and two side wires 14g. In this example, the front upper wire 14a is located further rearward in the vehicle than the front lower wire 14b. Therefore, the front end surface of the rack body 12 is inclined downward toward the front.

[0021] The windbreak member 20 is a plate-like member disposed at the front end of the rack body 12. The windbreak member 20 is large enough to cover all or most of the front end face of the rack body 12. In this example, the windbreak member 20 is switchable between an upright position and a tilted position. In the upright position, the windbreak member 20 stands upright from the bottom surface of the rack body 12 so as to block the wind heading toward the rack body 12. In the tilted position, the windbreak member 20 is tilted so as to be closer to horizontal than in the upright position. Such position changes of the windbreak member 20 will be described in detail later.

[0022] The bottom plate 32 is a plate material disposed on the bottom surface of the rack body 12. The baggage is placed on the bottom plate 32. Therefore, the bottom plate 32 functions as a pressure-receiving member 30 that receives the weight of the baggage. The bottom plate 32 descends under the weight of the baggage, which will also be described later.

[0023] As described above, the roof rack 10 is attached to the outer surface of the roof of the vehicle. Therefore, when the vehicle is moving, the luggage placed on the roof rack 10 is naturally exposed to wind. If the wind from the vehicle moves directly hits the luggage, air resistance increases. In addition, there is a risk that foreign objects (e.g., garbage, insects, etc.) will adhere to the luggage along with the wind.

[0024] On the other hand, when the windbreak member 20 is placed, the wind and foreign objects heading toward the luggage are blocked. Naturally, if the wind caused by traveling hits the windbreak member 20, the air resistance increases accordingly. However, the air resistance generated when the wind caused by traveling hits the windbreak member 20, which has few irregularities, is smaller than the air resistance generated when the wind caused by traveling hits the luggage directly, which has many irregularities.

[0025] In this way, the windbreak member 20 is provided to prevent an increase in air resistance and protect luggage from foreign objects. However, it is possible that there is no luggage on the roof rack 10. Users often leave the roof rack 10 attached to the vehicle even when there is no luggage to be stored on the roof. In this case, the windbreak member 20 unnecessarily increases air resistance compared to when the windbreak member 20 is not present. Therefore, in this example, the windbreak member 20 of the roof rack 10 is swingable to prevent an increase in air resistance. This will be described with reference to Figs. 2 and 3.

[0026] 2 and 3 are both schematic cross-sectional views of the roof rack 10. In FIG. 2, the windbreak member 20 is in an upright position, and in FIG. 3, the windbreak member 20 is in a fallen position. As shown in FIG. 2, in the upright position, the windbreak member 20 stands upright immediately behind the front end face of the rack body 12. In other words, the windbreak member 20 is located behind the front upper wire 14a and the front lower wire 14b. A first rotating shaft 22 extending in the vehicle width direction is set at the lower end of the windbreak member 20. The windbreak member 20 is connected to the rack body 12 in a state in which it can rotate around this first rotating shaft 22.

[0027] Further, the windbreak member 20 is biased by the first elastic body 24 in a direction to take an upright posture. In Fig. 2 and Fig. 3, the arrows indicate the biasing directions of the first elastic body 24 and a second elastic body 38 described later. In the example of Fig. 2, the first elastic body 24 is, for example, a compression coil spring having a first end connected to the windbreak member 20 and a second end connected to the bottom surface of the rack body 12. The force with which the first elastic body 24 biases the windbreak member 20 is greater than the weight of the windbreak member 20 itself, but is smaller than the wind pressure that the windbreak member 20 receives when the vehicle is traveling at high speed.

[0028] Therefore, when the vehicle is not moving, the windbreak member 20 receives the urging force of the first elastic body 24 and maintains an upright position. On the other hand, when the vehicle is moving at high speed, the windbreak member 20 receives wind pressure and swings around the first rotation shaft 22. As a result, the windbreak member 20 changes to a tilted position, as shown in FIG. 3, in which the windbreak member 20 is tilted closer to horizontal than the upright position. When in the tilted position, the wind generated by the running of the vehicle flows smoothly to the rear of the vehicle without being blocked by the windbreak member 20. This reduces air resistance and improves the fuel efficiency of the vehicle.

[0029] As is clear from the above description, in this example, when the vehicle is stopped or traveling at a low speed, the windbreak member 20 stands upright, improving the appearance of the roof rack 10. On the other hand, when the vehicle travels at high speed, the windbreak member 20 falls over, preventing an increase in air resistance. Also, as is clear from the above description, in this example, the first rotating shaft 22 is set at the lower end of the windbreak member 20. With this configuration, the windbreak member 20 is in a forward-downward position until it changes from an upright position to a fallen position. This causes the wind that hits the windbreak member 20 to be guided to the upper side of the vehicle. As a result, the amount of wind that hits the upper surface of the roof can be reduced, thereby further reducing air resistance.

[0030] Incidentally, when luggage is placed on the roof rack 10, the windbreak member 20 needs to maintain an upright position in order to protect the luggage. Therefore, in this example, a support member 40 is provided to keep the windbreak member 20 in an upright position when luggage 100 is placed on the roof rack 10. The support member 40 will be described with reference to Figs. 2 and 4.

[0031] The support member 40 is, for example, a substantially seesaw-shaped member that swings around a second rotating shaft 48 extending in the vehicle width direction. In this example, the support member 40 is a member that is bent near the second rotating shaft 48 and has a substantially L-shaped cross section. In the following, the portion of the support member 40 that is forward of the second rotating shaft 48 is referred to as the "support portion 40a," and the portion of the support member 40 that is rearward of the second rotating shaft 48 is referred to as the "transmission portion 40b." The support member 40 swings around the second rotating shaft 48 while moving straight forward in the front-rear direction, thereby switching between the support posture and the retracted posture. As shown in FIG. 4, the support member 40 in the support posture presses the windbreak member 20 from behind, thereby keeping the windbreak member 20 in the upright posture. Also, as shown in FIG. 2, the support member 40 in the retracted posture is separated from the windbreak member 20.

[0032] The roof rack 10 is further provided with a transmission mechanism 42 that transmits the movement of the bottom plate 32 to the support member 40. The transmission mechanism 42 changes the support member 40 from the retracted position to the support position as the bottom plate 32 descends. The configuration of the transmission mechanism 42 is not particularly limited, but in this example, the transmission mechanism 42 has a link mechanism and a second elastic body 38.

[0033] Specifically, the bottom plate 32 is connected to the bottom of the rack body 12 via the connecting link 33. That is, one end of the connecting link 33 is connected to the bottom plate 32, and the other end of the connecting link 33 is connected to the bottom of the rack body 12. While the connecting link 33 is swingable, the length of the connecting link 33 is invariable. Therefore, when the bottom plate 32 receives a downward force from the luggage 100, the bottom plate 32 descends and moves toward the front of the vehicle.

[0034] In addition, the bottom plate 32 is biased by the second elastic body 38 in a direction to rise from the bottom of the rack body 12. When the luggage 100 is removed from the bottom plate 32, the bottom plate 32 receives the biasing force of the second elastic body 38 and rises from the bottom of the rack body 12, as shown in Fig. 2. The second elastic body 38 is, for example, a tension coil spring. In this case, a first end of the tension coil spring is connected to the bottom plate 32, and a second end of the tension coil spring is connected to the bottom of the rack body 12.

[0035] The transmission portion 40b of the support member 40 is connected to the bottom plate 32. In addition, a part of the support member 40 is connected to a moving shaft 46. The moving shaft 46 is a shaft member arranged coaxially with the second rotation shaft 48. A guide member 43 that guides the moving shaft 46 and therefore the moving direction of the support member 40 is fixed to the rack body 12. A guide hole 44 that is long in the front-rear direction is formed in the guide member 43. The moving shaft 46 is inserted into the guide hole 44 and moves straight along the guide hole 44.

[0036] As shown in FIG. 4, when the luggage 100 is placed on the bottom plate 32, the bottom plate 32 moves downward and forward against the biasing force of the second elastic body 38. The bottom plate 32 moves forward, and the position and posture of the support member 40 connected to the bottom plate 32 change. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 4, the support member 40 swings so that the support portion 40a stands up and moves forward. As a result, the support portion 40a of the support member 40 presses the windbreak member 20 so as to prevent the windbreak member 20 from falling. As a result, even when the vehicle travels at high speed, the windbreak member 20 is prevented from falling. As a result, the traveling wind is prevented from directly hitting the luggage 100, and an increase in air resistance can be prevented. In addition, since the traveling wind does not directly hit the luggage 100, adhesion of foreign matter to the luggage can be effectively prevented.

[0037] On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 2, when the baggage 100 is removed from the bottom plate 32, the bottom plate 32 receives the urging force of the second elastic body 38, rises up, and moves toward the rear of the vehicle. In conjunction with the rising and retreating of the bottom plate 32, the support member 40 connected to the bottom plate 32 moves rearward and swings so that the support portion 40a falls horizontally. As a result, the support member 40 takes a retracted position away from the windbreak member 20. Therefore, when no baggage 100 is placed on the bottom plate 32, the windbreak member 20 receives a large wind pressure and changes to an upturned position. Then, the windbreak member 20 changes to an upturned position, thereby reducing air resistance during high-speed driving.

[0038] In this way, by providing the support member 40 that supports the windbreak member 20, the bottom plate 32 that descends under the weight of the luggage, and the transmission mechanism 42 that transmits the movement of the bottom plate 32 to the support member 40, the attitude of the windbreak member 20 can be changed depending on whether or not luggage 100 is present and the traveling speed of the vehicle. As a result, the fuel efficiency of the vehicle can be improved while adequately protecting the luggage.

[0039] The configuration described above is an example. As long as the roof rack 10 has the configuration of claim 1, other configurations may be changed. For example, in Figs. 1 to 4, the windbreak member 20 is illustrated as a rectangle, but the shape of the windbreak member 20 may be changed as appropriate. For example, the upper edge of the windbreak member 20 may be wavy with continuous unevenness in the vehicle width direction as shown in Fig. 5. By adopting such a configuration, wind noise is reduced. That is, consider a case where the upper edge of the windbreak member 20 is a straight line parallel to the front upper wire 14a. In this case, a long and narrow gap is formed in the vehicle width direction between the upper edge of the windbreak member 20 and the front upper wire 14a as the windbreak member 20 falls down. When the traveling wind passes through this long and narrow gap, wind noise is likely to be generated. On the other hand, if the upper edge of the windbreak member 20 is wavy as shown in Fig. 5, a long and narrow gap is not formed, so wind noise is unlikely to be generated.

[0040] In the above description, the first elastic body 24 and the second elastic body 38 are both described as coil springs. However, the elastic bodies 24, 38 may be other than coil springs as long as they can exert an appropriate biasing force. For example, the elastic bodies 24, 38 may be torsion springs, dampers, etc. The configuration of the transmission mechanism 42 may also be changed as appropriate. For example, the above-mentioned transmission mechanism 42 may have other mechanical elements instead of or in addition to the connecting link 33 and the second elastic body 38. For example, the transmission mechanism 42 may have gears, cams, cranks, etc.

[0041] Also, as long as the roof rack 10 has the windbreak member 20 that can be changed between an upright position and a tilted position, other elements may be omitted. For example, in Figs. 2 to 4, the first elastic body 24 that biases the windbreak member 20 is provided, but the first elastic body 24 may be omitted. In this case, unless the luggage 100 is placed on the bottom plate 32, the windbreak member 20 will be subjected to gravity and will assume the tilted position. On the other hand, when the luggage 100 is placed on the bottom plate 32, the windbreak member 20 will be pushed up by the support member 40 and will change to the upright position. This allows the luggage 100 to be appropriately protected from foreign objects. As another embodiment, the first elastic body 24 may be provided, but the support member 40 may be omitted.

[0042] In the above description, the first rotating shaft 22 is set at the lower end of the windbreak member 20. However, the first rotating shaft 22 may be set at another location. For example, as shown in Fig. 6, the first rotating shaft 22 may be set at the upper end of the windbreak member 20. Furthermore, the pressure-receiving member 30 that receives the weight of the luggage 100 is not limited to a plate-shaped member, and may be a member of another shape, such as a rod-shaped member. [Explanation of symbols]

[0043] 10 roof rack, 12 rack body, 14 wire, 20 windbreak member, 22 first rotating shaft, 24 first elastic body, 30 pressure-receiving member, 32 bottom plate, 33 connecting link, 38 second elastic body, 40 support member, 42 transmission mechanism, 43 guide member, 44 guide hole, 46 moving shaft, 48 second rotating shaft, 100 luggage.

Claims

1. A roof rack, The rack body, A windbreak member provided at a front end of the rack body; Equipped with The windbreak member is switchable between an upright position in which the wind is blocked from blowing toward the rack body and a tilted position in which the windbreak member is tilted closer to horizontal than the upright position. A roof rack characterized by:

2. 2. The roof rack of claim 1, further comprising: an elastic member that biases the windbreak member in a direction toward the upright position, When the vehicle is stopped, the windbreak member receives a biasing force from the elastic member to maintain the upright position. A roof rack characterized by:

3. 2. The roof rack of claim 1, a pressure-receiving member provided at a bottom of the rack body and descending when an item is placed on the rack body under the weight of the item; a support member that is switchable between a support position that presses the windbreak member in a direction to assume the upright position and a retracted position that is spaced apart from the windbreak member; a transmission mechanism that transmits a downward movement of the pressure-receiving member to the support member, the transmission mechanism changing the support member from the retracted posture to the support posture as the pressure-receiving member descends; A roof rack comprising:

4. 2. The roof rack of claim 1, A roof rack characterized in that the windbreak member switches between the upright position and the tilted position by swinging about an axis extending in the vehicle width direction near the lower end of the windbreak member.

5. 2. The roof rack of claim 1, A roof rack characterized in that an upper edge of the windbreak member is wavy with continuous unevenness in the vehicle width direction.

Images