Land vehicles: bodies and tops – Tops – Let-down type top
Reexamination Certificate
2002-11-12
2004-04-27
Pape, Joseph D. (Department: 3612)
Land vehicles: bodies and tops
Tops
Let-down type top
C296S107080
Reexamination Certificate
active
06726270
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
This application claims the priority of German Patent Document 101 55 308.0, filed on Nov. 10, 2001, the disclosure of which is expressly incorporated by reference herein.
The invention relates to a vertically adjustable convertible top compartment floor on a vehicle with a folding or convertible top, the floor being connected by foldable side walls with the vehicle body.
A convertible top compartment floor of this type is known from German Patent Document DE 38 29 346 A1, and corresponding U.S. Pat. No. 4,969,679, on a motor vehicle with a top which can be folded back. This folding top compartment floor, when lowered into a low position, forms a receiving space above the folding top compartment floor, into which the opened folding top is to be moved. When, while the folding top is closed, the folding top compartment floor is lifted into a high position, a receiving space is formed under the folding top compartment floor, which receiving space correspondingly enlarges the luggage space situated behind it. The edge areas of the convertible compartment floor are adjoined by walls made of an elastic flexible material which can be pushed together in the vertical direction in an accordion-type manner. The elastic and flexible side walls cannot sufficiently hold the folding top compartment floor in any vertical position.
It is an aspect of the invention to provide a vertically adjustable convertible top compartment floor, as above, which is sufficiently held by way of simple devices in a high and a low position.
This aspect is achieved in that the side walls arranged on opposite areas of the folding top compartment floor are formed by two wall sections, respectively, the wall sections being swivellably connected about a hinge axis, and in that one of the wall sections is swivellable about a connection axis linked to the folding top compartment floor and the other wall section is swivellable about a supporting axis linked to the vehicle body. Advantageous developments of the invention are described below.
The side walls connected with the convertible top compartment floor may in each case be formed by two simple, sufficiently fixed wall sections, for example, made of a plastic material, which are swivellably connected by way of a common hinge axis. In order to permit a larger swivelling angle of the two swivellably connected wall sections of, for example, approximately 180°, the hinge axis may be formed laterally next to the principal plane of the wall sections. The two wall sections, which are connected with one another in a hinge-type manner, are in each case swivellably connected on an edge area facing away from the hinge area, on the one side, with the convertible top compartment floor and, on the other side, with the vehicle body. In the high position and in the low position, the folding top compartment floor can be held in a simple manner. For example, in the high position and in the low position, a respective wall section of the two wall sections connected with one another in a hinge-type manner rests against an assigned stop, and a spring element, such as a simple over-dead-center spring, loads the corresponding wall section against the stop. The over-dead-center spring can be linked to a wall section such that it loads the convertible top compartment floor above a defined vertical position into the high position and below the defined vertical position into the low position.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4969679 (1990-11-01), Eyb
patent: 5810413 (1998-09-01), Siring et al.
patent: 5904395 (1999-05-01), Wedin
patent: 3829346 (1990-03-01), None
patent: 19713606 (1998-04-01), None
patent: 29809008 (1999-06-01), None
patent: 0933242 (1999-08-01), None
Bayerische Motoren Werke AG
Crowell & Moring LLP
Pape Joseph D.
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