Lashing rail mounting structure and bracket used therefor

Abstract

To provide a novel lashing rail mounting structure and a bracket used therefor, with which a lashing rail 30 can be easily mounted to a post side 26, and with which large disposal costs are not caused even if an erroneous operation occurs in mounting the lashing rail.SOLUTION: A bracket 44 is caused to be elastically deformed and mounted to a post side 26, and the bracket 44 mounted to the post side 26 is restricted in movement in the vehicle longitudinal direction and the vehicle width direction with respect to the post side due to engagement with the post side 26. Then, one end of the lashing rail 30 is fixed to the bracket 44 mounted to the post side 26.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a lashing rail mounting structure and a bracket used therein. [Background technology]

[0002] For example, as shown in Patent Document 1 below, lashing rails have conventionally been provided on the inner surface of the wall of a vehicle luggage compartment. Lashing rails are typically provided on the inner surface of a wall extending in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, i.e., on the surface facing inward in the vehicle width direction. The lashing rail is strip-shaped with a required cross-sectional shape, and has a plurality of through-holes formed at intervals along its length. Such lashing rails are fixed to a plurality of posts erected at intervals along the length to support the wall, using appropriate fasteners such as bolts and nuts. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-42738 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] From the perspective of convenience, the longer the lashing rail, the better. Therefore, it is preferable that both longitudinal ends of the lashing rail be fixed to a pair of post sides supporting both ends of the vehicle's trunk wall. However, because the post sides support the ends of the wall, they require higher strength than the intermediate posts located between the post sides at both ends, and therefore require a larger amount of material and are more expensive. Therefore, if an error occurs when fastening the ends of the lashing rail to the post sides, resulting in the post sides having to be discarded, significant disposal costs will be incurred. Furthermore, if the fasteners are composed of bolts and nuts, the installation process requires drilling holes in the post sides and the lashing rail using a necessary processing tool, such as a drill. While it is possible to consider not fastening both longitudinal ends of the lashing rail to the post sides, not fastening both longitudinal ends of the lashing rail to the post sides would allow both longitudinal ends of the lashing rail to elastically deform in the vehicle width direction, which is undesirable from the standpoints of safety during use and the product life of the lashing rail and the wall on which it is installed.

[0005] The present invention was made in consideration of the above facts, and its main technical object is to provide a new lashing rail mounting structure and a bracket to be used therewith, which allows a lashing rail to be easily mounted to a post side and does not incur large disposal costs even if an error is made during the mounting operation. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] After extensive research, the inventors discovered that the above-mentioned main technical problem can be solved by elastically deforming a bracket to attach it to the post side, and by engaging the bracket attached to the post side with the post side to restrict movement of the bracket in the fore-and-aft direction and width direction of the vehicle, and by fixing one end of the lashing rail to the bracket attached to the post side.

[0007] That is, according to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a lashing rail mounting structure that solves the above-mentioned main technical problem, in which one end of a lashing rail is fixed via a bracket to an end of a post side that supports one end of a wall of a luggage compartment of a vehicle, and The cross-sectional shape of the end portion of the post side is L-shaped, and is formed by a first wall portion on a base end side extending in the vehicle width direction and a second wall portion on a free end side extending in the vehicle front-rear direction from an inner end of the first wall portion in the vehicle width direction, The bracket comprises a post mounting portion attached to an end of the post side and a rail support wall to which one end of the lashing rail is fixed, the post mounting portion comprising a base wall, one side wall depending from one side edge of the base wall, and another side wall depending from the other side edge of the base wall, a recess formed on the inner surface of the other side wall, and the rail support wall connected to the outer surface of the other side wall, A lashing rail mounting structure is provided in which, from a state in which the recess of the post mounting portion of the bracket engages with the free edge portion of the second wall portion of the post side and the inner surface of one side wall of the post mounting portion abuts against the outer surface of the corner of the end portion of the post side so that the base wall of the post mounting portion is not seated on the second wall portion, when the post mounting portion is elastically deformed and the base wall seats on the second wall portion, the one side wall and the other side wall restrict movement of the bracket in the fore-and-aft direction of the vehicle relative to the post side, and the recess also restricts movement in the width direction of the vehicle relative to the post side.

[0008] Preferably, the bracket is detachably attached to the end of the post side.

[0009] According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a bracket for solving the above-mentioned main technical problem, which is a bracket for fixing one end of a lashing rail to an L-shaped cross-sectional end of a post side supporting one end of a wall of a luggage compartment of a vehicle, A bracket is provided which comprises a post mounting portion which is mounted on the post side, and a rail support wall to which one end of the lashing rail is fixed, the post mounting portion having a base wall, one side wall which depends from one side edge of the base wall, and another side wall which depends from the other side edge of the base wall, a recess formed on the inner surface of the other side wall, and the rail support wall which is connected to the outer surface of the other side wall.

[0010] Preferably, the side wall on one side has a longer hanging length from the base wall than the side wall on the other side. [Effects of the Invention]

[0011] According to the present invention, the bracket to which one end of the lashing rail is fixed is attached to the post side by elastic deformation itself without using any fasteners, and the bracket attached to the post side is restricted from moving in the longitudinal and transverse directions of the vehicle by engaging with the post side, so even if a mistake is made in the process of attaching the lashing rail to the post side, the post side will not be discarded, and therefore no large disposal costs will be incurred.Furthermore, since no tools are used in the process of attaching the bracket to the post side, the process is carried out simply and quickly. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] 1 is a perspective view showing a luggage compartment of a vehicle equipped with a mounting structure configured according to the present invention; [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of part A in FIG. 1. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line XX in FIG. 2. [Figure 4] 1 is a perspective view showing a first embodiment of a bracket constructed according to the present invention; [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a side view of the bracket shown in FIG. 4. [Figure 6] 5 is a diagram showing a process of attaching the bracket shown in FIG. 4 to a post side. [Figure 7] FIG. 10 is a side view showing a second embodiment of a bracket constructed in accordance with the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0013] A mounting structure and a bracket used therein constructed according to the present invention will be described in further detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings showing preferred embodiments. In this specification, the vehicle longitudinal direction and vehicle width direction are based on the vehicle's traveling direction unless otherwise specified. In Figures 2, 3, and 6, the front and rear in the vehicle longitudinal direction are indicated by the English letters F and R, respectively, and the inner and outer sides in the vehicle width direction are indicated by the English letters I and O, respectively.

[0014] FIG. 1 shows an example of a vehicle equipped with a mounting structure constructed according to the present invention. The vehicle shown in FIG. 1 is a so-called wing vehicle and is equipped with a cargo box generally designated by the reference numeral 2. The cargo box 2 is equipped with a rectangular floor panel 4 fixed to a chassis frame (not shown). Gate panels 6 extend in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle from both side edges of the floor panel 4. That is, the gate panels 6 extend linearly in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle at both ends of the floor panel 4 in the transverse direction. The gate panels 6 are rotatable between an upright position and a deployed position deployed outward in the transverse direction of the vehicle. A rectangular front frame 7 is erected at the front end of the floor panel 4, and a floor panel 8 is fitted inside the front frame 7. A rectangular rear frame 10 is erected at the rear end of the floor panel 4, and a double-door door 12 that can be opened rearward is fitted inside the rear frame 10. The upper ends of the front frame 7 and the upper ends of the rear frame 10 are connected at the center of the vehicle in the transverse direction by a center beam 14 that extends linearly in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle. A pair of wings 16a and 16b are attached to the center beam 14 so as to be rotatable about the center beam 14. The pair of wings 16a and 16b are rotated by an appropriate drive source such as a hydraulic mechanism (not shown). The cross section of each of the pair of wings 16a and 16b is L-shaped and is divided into an upper panel portion 18 at the base end connected to the center beam 14 and a side panel portion 20 at the free end, the lower surface of which is close to or abuts against the upper surface of the gate 6 in an upright position when closed. Therefore, when the gate 6 is in an upright position and the pair of wings 16a and 16b are closed, the cargo box 2 assumes a rectangular parallelepiped shape.

[0015] Continuing the explanation with reference to Figure 1, each side panel portion 20 of the pair of wings 16a and 16b includes an upper beam 22 and a lower beam 24 extending linearly in the vehicle longitudinal direction, a pair of post sides 26, 26 connecting the front and rear ends of the upper beam 22 and the lower beam 24 to each other, and a plurality of intermediate posts 28 connecting the upper beam 22 and the lower beam 24 at equal intervals in the vehicle longitudinal direction between the pair of post sides 26, 26. The upper beam 22 and the lower beam 24, the pair of post sides 26, 26, and the intermediate posts 28 are all made of metal. A metal lashing rail 30 extending linearly in the vehicle longitudinal direction is disposed in the vertically intermediate portion of the inner surface of the side panel portion 20. Referring also to FIG. 2, the lashing rail 30 is a strip-like member extending linearly in the longitudinal direction. Its cross section is comprised of a U-shaped main portion 32, an upper mounting portion 34 extending upward from the upper edge of the main portion 32, and a lower mounting portion 36 extending downward from the lower edge of the main portion 32. The main portion 32 has a plurality of mounting holes 38 spaced equally apart in the longitudinal direction. The lashing rail 30 is fixed to a pair of side posts 26 and an intermediate post 28 with the main portion 32 protruding inward in the vehicle width direction. The lashing rail 30 and the intermediate post 28 are fixed together with suitable fasteners such as bolts. The fastening of the lashing rail 30 to the side posts 26 will be described later. The outer surface of the side panel portion 20 is covered with an outer cover member 40 such as an aluminum plate. The outer cover member 40 is fixed to the upper beam 22, lower beam 24, side posts 26, and intermediate post 28 with suitable fasteners. The inner surface of the side panel portion 20 is covered with inner covering members 42a and 42b, such as plywood. The inner covering members 42a and 42b are omitted from Fig. 1 to make it easier to understand the structure of the side panel portion 20, but are shown by two-dot chain lines in Fig. 2. The inner covering members 42a and 42b are also fixed to the upper beam 22 and lower beam 24, post sides 26 and 26, intermediate post 28, and lashing rail 30 with appropriate fasteners.As shown in Figure 2, the inner cover member 42a is fixed to the upper mounting portion 34 of the lashing rail 30, and the inner cover member 42b is fixed to the lower mounting portion 36 of the lashing rail 30, and the main portion 32 of the lashing rail 30 is exposed to the inner surface of the side panel portion 20.

[0016] 2 and 3, in the mounting structure constructed according to the present invention, one end of the lashing rail 30 is attached to the end 46 of the post side 26 via a bracket generally designated by the numeral 44. The cross-sectional shape of the end 46 of the post side 26 is L-shaped, with a first wall portion 48 on the base end side extending in the vehicle width direction and a second wall portion 50 on the free end side extending in the vehicle front-rear direction from the inner end of the first wall portion 48 in the vehicle width direction. Since the post side 26 shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 is located on the front right side, the second wall portion 50 extends rearward from the inner end of the first wall portion 48 in the vehicle width direction. However, although not shown, in the case of a post side 26 located rearward, the second wall portion 50 extends forward from the inner end of the first wall portion 48 in the vehicle width direction.

[0017] 4 and 5, the bracket 44 includes a post mounting portion 52 that is attached to the end portion 46 of the post side 26 and a rail support wall 54 to which one end of the lashing rail 30 is fixed. In the illustrated embodiment, these are integrally molded from an appropriate synthetic resin. The post mounting portion 52 includes a rectangular base wall 56, a rectangular side wall 58 that depends from one edge of the base wall 56, and a rectangular side wall 60 that depends from the other edge of the base wall 56. The side wall 58 has a longer length that depends from the base wall 56 than the other side wall 60. A first protrusion 62 is provided on the underside of the base wall 56 near the side wall 58, and a second protrusion 63 is provided on the other side wall 60 near the side wall 60, extending linearly along the left and right side edges, respectively. The second protrusion 63 is also connected to the base end of the inner surface of the other side wall 60. The inner surface of the side wall 58 is provided with a third ridge 64 and a fourth ridge 66, which extend linearly parallel to the vertical edge and are spaced apart in the vertical direction. The fourth ridge 66 is located at the lower end of the inner surface of the side wall 58. A fifth ridge 68, which extends linearly along the vertical edge, is also located at the lower end of the outer surface of the side wall 58. The other side wall 60 has a recess 70 formed on its inner surface. In the illustrated embodiment, the other side wall 60 has a locking projection 72 formed at the lower part of its inner surface that protrudes inward, and the recess 70 is defined between the upper surface of the locking projection 72, the lower surface of the base wall 56, and the inner surface of the other side wall 60. The locking projection 72 extends linearly along the vertical edge of the other side wall 60, and a sixth ridge 73 is also provided on the upper surface of the locking projection 72. If desired, a plurality of locking projections 72 may be arranged linearly at intervals along the vertical edge of the other side wall 60. The rail support wall 54 is rectangular and connected to the lower end of the outer surface of the other side wall 60. The rail support wall 54 is parallel to the base wall 56 of the post mounting portion 52 in a side view and extends equally beyond both ends of the base wall 56 in a plan view. A plurality of reinforcing ribs 74 are formed at equally spaced intervals at the corners between the upper surface of the rail support wall 54 and the outer surface of the other side wall 60. Furthermore, holes 76 are formed at both ends of the rail support wall 54 that penetrate in the vertical direction.

[0018] The bracket 44 is attached to the end 46 of the post side 26 before one end of the lashing rail 30 is fixed to the rail support wall 54. In the illustrated embodiment, the bracket 44 is detachably attached to the end 46 of the post side 26. The process of attaching the bracket 44 to the end 46 of the post side 26 will be described with reference to FIG. 6. To attach the bracket 44 to the end 46 of the post side 26, first, as shown in FIG. 6( a), the recess 70 of the bracket 44 is engaged with the free end edge of the second wall portion 50 of the end 46. Next, the bracket 44 is rotated clockwise in the figure, using the free end edge of the second wall portion 50 as the rotation starting point, until the outer surface of the corner of the end 46 abuts against the inner surface of one side wall 58 of the post mounting portion 52, as shown in FIG. 6( b). At this time, in the illustrated embodiment, the outer surface of the corner of the end portion 46 abuts against the inner surface of one side wall 58 between the third ridge 64 and the fourth ridge 66, thereby temporarily holding the bracket 44 to the end portion 46. In the state shown in FIG. 6( b), the inner surface of the base wall 56 of the post mounting portion 52 does not rest on the outer surface of the second wall portion 50 of the end portion 46. If the bracket 44 is forcibly rotated clockwise from this state in the same figure, with the free edge of the second wall portion 50 as the rotation starting point, the post mounting portion 52, being made of synthetic resin, will elastically deform, and as shown in FIG. 6( c), the inner surface of the base wall 56 will rest on the outer surface of the second wall portion 50 and the free edge of the second wall portion 50 will enter the recess 70. In this way, the bracket 44 is restricted from moving in the fore-and-aft direction of the vehicle relative to the post side 26 by the one side wall 58 and the other side wall 60, and is also restricted from moving in the width direction of the vehicle relative to the post side 26 by the recess 70. In this case, the post mounting portion 52 does not necessarily need to elastically hold the end 46 of the post side 26; it is sufficient to restrict the above-mentioned movement. If the post mounting portion 52 does not elastically hold the end 46 of the post side 26, the bracket 44 will be able to move in the up-and-down direction along the post side 26 after the inner surface of the base wall 56 seats on the outer surface of the second wall portion 50, allowing fine adjustment of the up-and-down position of the bracket 44 relative to the post side 26.In the illustrated embodiment, the outer surface of the end 46 of the post side 26 can locally abut against the first ridge 62, second ridge 63, third ridge 64, and fourth ridge 66 of the bracket 44, the inner surface of the end 46 can locally abut against the sixth ridge 73 of the bracket 44, and the free end surface of the end 46 can locally abut against the inner surface of the other side wall 60 of the bracket 44. After the bracket 44 is attached to the end 46 of the post side 26, one end of the lashing rail 30 is fixed to the rail support wall 54 of the bracket 44, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. The lashing rail 30 and the rail support wall 54 of the bracket 44 are fixed together with appropriate fasteners such as bolts and nuts after the upper and lower mounting portions 34 and 36 of the lashing rail 30 are appropriately aligned with the holes 76 formed in the rail support wall 54.

[0019] Therefore, according to the present invention, the bracket 44 to which one end of the lashing rail 30 is fixed is attached to the post side 26 by elastic deformation of itself without using any fasteners, and the bracket 44 attached to the post side 26 is restricted from moving in the longitudinal and transverse directions of the vehicle by engaging with the post side 26, so that even if a mistake is made in the process of attaching the lashing rail 30 to the post side 26, the post side 26 will not be discarded, and therefore no large disposal costs will be incurred. Furthermore, since no tools are used in the process of attaching the bracket 44 to the post side 26, the process is carried out simply and quickly.

[0020] The lashing rail mounting structure and bracket used therein constructed in accordance with the present invention have been described in detail above with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and appropriate modifications and variations are possible without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. For example, while the bracket is made of synthetic resin in the illustrated embodiment, it may be made of metal. In the case of a metal bracket (designated as 44'; hereinafter, the same components as those of bracket 44 will be described with the same reference numerals followed by an "'"), as shown in FIG. 7, one side wall 58' of the post mounting portion 52' hangs downward from one side edge of the base wall 56', then extends inward, and then hangs further downward. As a result, even though the entire bracket 44' is made of metal, the one side wall 58' can be elastically deformed somewhat around the base end, allowing it to be mounted to the end of the post side in the same manner as the bracket 44 described above. Furthermore, a guide surface 78' is formed on the upper surface of the locking projection 72' to guide the free end edge of the second wall portion of the post side into the recess 70'. [Explanation of symbols]

[0021] 2: Vehicle cargo box 26: Post side 30: Lashing rail 44: Bracket 46: (Post side) end 48:First wall 50:Second wall part 52: Post attachment part 54: Rail support wall 56: Base wall 58: One side wall 60: Other side wall 70: Recess

Claims

1. A lashing rail mounting structure in which one end of a lashing rail is fixed via a bracket to an end of a post side that supports one end of a wall of a luggage compartment of a vehicle, a cross-sectional shape of the end portion of the post side is L-shaped, the cross-sectional shape being formed by a first wall portion on a base end side extending in the vehicle width direction and a second wall portion on a free end side extending in the vehicle front-rear direction from an inner end of the first wall portion in the vehicle width direction; The bracket comprises a post mounting portion attached to an end of the post side and a rail support wall to which one end of the lashing rail is fixed, the post mounting portion comprising a base wall, one side wall depending from one side edge of the base wall, and another side wall depending from the other side edge of the base wall, a recess formed on the inner surface of the other side wall, and the rail support wall connected to the outer surface of the other side wall, A lashing rail mounting structure in which, from a state in which the recess of the post mounting portion of the bracket engages with the free edge portion of the second wall portion of the post side and the inner surface of one side wall of the post mounting portion abuts the outer surface of the corner of the end portion of the post side so that the base wall of the post mounting portion is not seated on the second wall portion, when the post mounting portion is elastically deformed and the base wall seats on the second wall portion, the movement of the bracket in the fore-and-aft direction of the vehicle relative to the post side is restricted by the one side wall and the other side wall, and the movement of the bracket in the width direction of the vehicle relative to the post side is also restricted by the recess.

2. 2. The lashing rail mounting structure according to claim 1, wherein said bracket is detachably attached to the end of said post side.

3. A bracket for fixing one end of a lashing rail to an L-shaped cross-sectional end of a post side supporting one end of a wall of a luggage compartment of a vehicle, A bracket comprising a post mounting portion attached to the post side and a rail support wall to which one end of the lashing rail is fixed, the post mounting portion having a base wall, one side wall depending from one side edge of the base wall, and another side wall depending from the other side edge of the base wall, a recess formed on the inner surface of the other side wall, and the rail support wall connected to the outer surface of the other side wall.

4. 4. The bracket according to claim 3, wherein the side wall on one side has a longer hanging length from the base wall than the side wall on the other side.

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