Electric rain cover for vehicles

Abstract

To provide an electric rain shelter device for a vehicle capable of preventing deterioration due to an external environment while maintaining the original exterior design of the vehicle, and further capable of freely taking in and out a rain shelter by operating from a driver's seat. [Solution] An electric rain protection device for vehicles is installed in a vehicle to provide rain protection at or near the boarding and alighting entrance, and is equipped with a flat rain protection canopy 3, a rain protection canopy storage section 2 for storing the rain protection canopy 3, a driving means for moving the rain protection canopy 3 in and out of the rain protection canopy storage section 2 in the width direction of the vehicle and approximately horizontally, and an operating means for operating the rain protection canopy 3 in and out, wherein the driving means is composed of a power window regulator mechanism, and the electric rain protection device for vehicles of the present invention is characterized in that it is built into the space between the roof of the vehicle and the interior ceiling.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] This device relates to an electric rain cover device that is installed on vehicles, including ordinary automobiles such as buses, and is used when getting on and off during rain. [Background technology]

[0002] In places with multi-storey car parks and covered driveways, people can get in and out of their cars without getting wet when it rains, but in general places without these facilities, people often use umbrellas when getting in and out of their cars. However, in this case, it is necessary to open and close the umbrella at the same time as getting in and out, which is troublesome. In particular, many of the people who use buses are students and elderly people with weak legs and backs, and as they close their umbrellas just before boarding the bus and then open them after getting off, it is inevitably difficult to avoid getting wet when boarding and alighting.In particular, elderly people tend to take longer to board and alight, making them even more likely to get wet. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2005-112321 A [Patent Document 2] JP 2019-1443 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In order to solve the problems described above, various rain protection devices have been proposed for installation on automobiles, such as those shown in Patent Document 1 or Patent Document 2. However, since all of these are installed on the roof of the vehicle body, they have a strong retrofitting feel in terms of external design and affect the air resistance value of the vehicle body while driving, leaving room for improvement. In addition, because they are exposed to the outdoors, they are susceptible to deterioration due to the external environment and are also prone to theft. Furthermore, the mechanism for extending and removing the rain cover (umbrella board) is linked only to the opening and closing of the door, so it is not possible to flexibly respond to other uses, such as leaving the umbrella board extended when the door is closed. In order to solve the above problems, the present invention aims to provide an electric rain protection device for a vehicle that can maintain the original exterior design of the vehicle while preventing deterioration due to the external environment, and further allows the rain protection canopy to be freely extended and retracted by operating it from the driver's seat. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] The electric rain protection device for vehicles of the present invention is an electric rain protection device for vehicles that is installed in a vehicle to provide rain protection at or near the boarding and alighting entrance, and is equipped with a flat rain protection eaves, a rain protection eaves storage section for storing the rain protection eaves, a driving means for moving the rain protection eaves in and out of the rain protection eaves storage section in the width direction of the vehicle and in a substantially horizontal direction, and an operating means for operating the rain protection eaves in and out, wherein the driving means is composed of a power window regulator mechanism, and the electric rain protection device for vehicles of the present invention is characterized in that it is built into the space between the roof of the vehicle and the interior ceiling. Effect of the Invention

[0006] The electric rain protection device for vehicles of this invention is built into the space between the roof of the vehicle and the interior ceiling, so it can maintain the original exterior design of the vehicle while preventing deterioration due to the external environment. Furthermore, the rain protection can be freely extended and retracted by operating it from the driver's seat. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0007] [Figure 1] 1 is an external view of a vehicle with a rain cover of an electric rain cover device for a vehicle according to the present invention protruding outward; [Diagram 2] 1 is an external view showing the main components of an electric rain protection device for a vehicle according to the present invention; [Diagram 3]3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 2. [Figure 4] 1 is a diagram showing the main components of a drive mechanism and a power supply circuit of an electric rain cover device for a vehicle according to the present invention; DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0008] BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE DISCLOSURE Hereinafter, an embodiment of an electric rain shield device for a vehicle according to the present invention will be described with reference to Figs. The main components of the electric rain shelter device 1 for vehicles are a rain shelter storage section 2 in which a flat rain shelter 3 is stored as shown in Figure 2, a drive mechanism 4 for moving the rain shelter 3 in and out in the width direction of the vehicle and in the approximately horizontal direction, and an operating means for operating the rain shelter 3 in and out.

[0009] The rain protection eaves 3 is suitably made of resin, but the material is not particularly limited. The rain protection eaves storage section 2 is a U-shaped housing to which a rain protection eaves storage section cover 2b for maintenance is attached. In addition, as described in claim 5, on both side walls inside the rain eaves storage section 2, slide guide groove members 2a are arranged facing each other in a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the rain eaves are inserted and removed, for sliding both sides of the rain eaves 3 in a fitted state, so that the rain eaves 3 can be inserted and removed smoothly and maintained in a horizontal position (see FIG. 3). Note that a material such as a slippery engineering plastic is suitable for this slide guide groove member 2a.

[0010] In addition, a guide rail A is fixed to the rear end of the rain protection canopy 3, to which the ends of a wrist arm 4a and a sub-wrist arm 4b of a drive mechanism 4, which will be described later, are slidably connected. In addition, if the thickness of the rain shelter 3 is thin and it is difficult to attach the guide rail A, it may be attached via a guide rail mounting bracket 3a.

[0011] Next, the drive mechanism 4 for taking the rain shelter 3 in and out of the rain shelter storage section 2 will be described. The main components of drive mechanism 4, as shown in FIG. 4, are an X-shaped arm mechanism consisting of wrist arm 4a, sub-wrist arm 4b, and pivot A4h provided at the middle of each of these and fixed to drive mechanism housing section 5, a section gear 4c attached to one end of wrist arm 4a, a reversible drive motor 4e that is driven via pinion gear 4d meshed with this section gear 4c, a guide rail A4f to which the respective ends of wrist arm 4a and sub-wrist arm 4b are slidably connected, and a guide rail B4g to which the other end of sub-wrist arm 4b is slidably connected.

[0012] The drive motor 4e is attached to a base plate 4j fixed to the drive mechanism housing 5, and a pivot B4i is axially attached to the base plate 4j on the mounting side of the section gear 4c of the wrist arm 4a. The teeth of the section gear 4c are formed in an arc shape centered on the pivot B4i. The drive mechanism 4 is housed in a drive mechanism housing section 5 of a door pocket-shaped housing, and a drive mechanism housing section lid 5a for maintenance purposes is attached.

[0013] The operation of extending and retracting the rain canopy 3 by the drive mechanism 4 will now be described. When the drive motor 4e rotates, the wrist arm 4a rotates together with the sub-wrist arm 4b via the pinion gear 4d and the sector gear 4c, thereby moving the rain protection canopy 3, to whose rear end the guide rail A4f is fixed, in and out of the rain protection canopy storage section 2.

[0014] As described in claim 2, if the drive mechanism 4 uses a commercially available power window regulator mechanism, it is versatile and costs can be reduced.

[0015] In this embodiment, the rain canopy storage section 2 and the drive mechanism storage section 5 are provided separately, but they may be integrated into one storage section. Furthermore, if a storage section mounting base (not shown) for mounting both the rain protection eave storage section 2 and the drive mechanism storage section 5 integrally is provided on the lower bottom surface thereof, the ease of installation and maintenance of the electric vehicle rain protection device 1 on the vehicle can be improved, and further, if the mounting positions of the storage sections 2, 5 are printed and guides for fitting the storage sections 2, 5 are provided on this storage section mounting base, the storage sections 2, 5 can be easily attached and detached.

[0016] Next, an operating means for the electric rain protection device 1 for a vehicle according to the present invention will be described. The main components of the power supply circuit are the main battery 6 used in the vehicle 9, the operation switch 7 for operating the drive motor 4e, and the breaker 8, as shown in claim 4 and Fig. 4, and the operation switch 7 is located at the driver's seat. This allows the rain visor 3 to be freely extended or retracted by operating it from the driver's seat.

[0017] The electric rain protection device 1 for vehicles of the present invention is characterized in that it is built into the space between the roof of the vehicle and the interior ceiling as described in claim 6. This makes it possible to maintain the original exterior design of the vehicle as shown in Fig. 1 and prevent the deterioration of the electric rain protection device 1 for vehicles due to the external environment. In addition, when the electric vehicle rain protection device 1 of the present invention is to be installed in the space between the roof of the vehicle and the interior ceiling, it is desirable to take this into consideration from the initial design stage of the vehicle. [Explanation of symbols]

[0018] 1 Electric rain protection device for vehicles 2. Rain cover storage section 2a Slide guide groove member 2b Rain cover storage compartment cover 3. Rain shelter 3a Guide rail mounting bracket 4 Power window regulator mechanism (drive mechanism) 4a Wrist Arm 4b Sub wrist arm 4c Sect Gear 4d pinion gear 4e Drive motor 4f Guide rail A 4g Guide rail B 4h Axis A 4i Axis B 4j Base plate 5 Drive mechanism storage section 5a Drive mechanism storage compartment cover 6 Main battery 7 Operation switch 8 Breaker 9 Vehicles

Claims

1. An electric rain protection device for vehicles that is installed in a vehicle to provide rain protection at or near an entrance to a vehicle, the electric rain protection device for vehicles comprising: a flat rain protection canopy; a rain protection canopy storage section for storing the rain protection canopy; a driving means for moving the rain protection canopy in and out of the rain protection canopy storage section in the width direction of the vehicle and in a substantially horizontal direction; and an operating means for operating the rain protection canopy in and out.

2. 2. The electric rain cover device for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the driving means is constituted by a power window regulator mechanism.

3. The electric rain shield device for a vehicle according to claim 1, characterized in that the drive means is composed of an X-shaped arm mechanism consisting of a wrist arm, a sub-wrist arm, and a pivot provided at the intermediate portion of each of them and fixed to a drive mechanism storage portion, a sect gear attached to one end of the wrist arm, a drive motor that drives the arm mechanism via a pinion gear meshed with the sect gear, a guide rail fixed to the rear end of the rain shield and to which the other ends of the wrist arm and the sub-wrist arm are slidably connected, and a guide rail to which one end of the sub-wrist arm is slidably connected.

4. The electric rain shelter device for a vehicle as described in claim 1, characterized in that the operating means has a power supply circuit consisting of an operation switch for rotating a drive motor for extending and retracting the rain shelter, the operation switch being installed in the driver's seat, and the power supply for the power supply circuit being provided by the vehicle's main battery.

5. The electric rain protection device for a vehicle as described in claim 1, characterized in that both side walls inside the rain protection eaves storage section are arranged opposite each other in a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the rain protection eaves are inserted and removed, and are provided with slide guide groove members for sliding both sides of the rain protection eaves when fitted.

6. 6. The electric rain protection device for a vehicle according to claim 1, which is installed in a space between a roof and an interior ceiling of a vehicle.

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