Technical Field of Invention

Car covers, specially accordion pleated types: installation, removal, and storing on and from the vehicle for many reasons require assisting means: tools, kits., to make this process more practical and easy.

Background Art

Normal available vehicles' covers are totally fabrics, dependent directly on the hands of the user to deploy, remove, and store them without any intermediate means. Some claimed car covers in some published patents or patents applications include pulling, retarding, and storing means, regarding the pulling means used to pull the fabrics while deploying them, Patent No.: US 7,464,982 B1 provides a pliable cord attached to a rod, the cord is used to withdraw the front end of the fabric, while the rod is used to provide rigidity for the fabric front free end. Similarly patents No.s: US 6,513,858 B1 and US 6,131 ,643 are providing the same means of a cord or a rope connected to a rod and a holder fixed to a supporter bar respectively. Even though, these pulling means which are not appearing in the market have negative drawbacks, as the user clothes will be in touch with the dusty vehicle body, and the requirement to lean his body towards the front center of the cover, to pull the cord which is used to pull the fabric front end, or the attached rod in parallel with the longitudinal top center line of the vehicle, but practically the tilt of the hand of the user and the rope or cord flexibility will not achieve this, and so, the fabric will not be pulled straight forward, which may normally pull the fabric to the sides of the vehicle, and hence dropping down, unless two users do the job.

Regarding the retarding and storing means, claimed in some published patents and patents applications, they are depending normally on a roller assembly or motor-driven means that is installed in a housing, container, or bag secured over the front, middle, or rear of the vehicle exterior body, either located inside the luggage compartment, or under the front or rear bumper, the examples of 'roll-up' car covers can be found in U.S Pat. Nos. 1,918,423; 3,222,102; 3,992,053; 4,432,581 ; 4,519,644; 4,657,298; 4,720,135; 4,727,898; 4,732,421 ; 4,856,824; 5,056,839; 5,078,330; 5,086,988; 5,176, 421 and 5,597,196. Even though, these retarding means which are not appearing in the market have negative drawbacks, because while trying to keep the cover longitudinal center line in parallel with the longitudinal center line of the vehicle, while the fabric is retarded back, so that no curls and hence blockage or jamming of the fabric in the pulling device happen; the user clothes unavoidably will be in touch with the dusty vehicle body, because of the requirement of leaning his body towards the front center of the cover, furthermore, the storing means are not practical, as if it is stored inside the vehicle while in use it will add more time for handling the removal or installation process, while if it is kept out, it need hanging tools, in addition it will be exposed to the outside whether conditions, or even may be stolen as it contains expensive apparatus, also they are bulky, and so when they are stored inside the luggage compartment they will occupy a big space. Similarly, pulling, retarding, and storing means are claimed with published patents and patents applications for the promising accordion pleated car covers, patent no.: US 4,951,993 is providing a pulling means depending on guide cords, but this is only for a fabric that covers only the top side of the vehicle, while patents applications publications: WO/2010/073069, WO/2010/073070, WO/2010/073071, WO/2011/138690 for Alshdaifat et al provided a better means for pulling, guiding, and storing the fabric neatly, but even these means are more practical over the prior art, they still did not solve completely the problem of pulling the fabric straight forward, so that the center line of them moves in parallel with the top center line of the vehicle, also the pulling stick angular pull exposes it to breakage, the guide bar may scratch the body paint. If these bulky, expensive, unsafe retarding means are excluded, the remaining pulling stick and guide bar will not be practical in guiding and arranging neatly and firmly the pleats of the accordion pleated fabric one on the other, neither it will push it back, nor the practical means provided by them are enough. So, for a promising manual accordion pleated car cover, that is cheap, not bulky, safe, practical, and faster compared with the ones using expensive bulky power assistance; a pulling, guiding, and storing assisting kit is provided here. Disclosure of the Invention

Brief Description

As the most promising active car cover, is the accordion pleated type, and as its retarding mechanism are expensive, bulky, unsafe, laborious, when removed, hanged, and stored. While the pulling means are not perfectly active; a cheap, light, and active means are provided here as a kit to replace all the assisting mechanisms, big bags, strings, telescopic pulling stick, guide bar. .

Because the covering of the vehicle via accordion pleated fabric requires pulling and guiding, retarding and guiding, and storing; these three steps require three main tools of interrelated technical features, the kit here is made of three tools.

A plastic U-shaped box opened from three sides, enveloped by the same fabric rear end, enclosing inside it the fabric pleats, and a pulling arm inserted inside a pleats collecting tool, wherein the pleats collecting tool is enveloped by the fabric front end.

The pulling arm which is extracted out in parallel with the pleats collecting tool, is used to pull the tool forward or backward, the pleats collecting tool is used to withdraw the top pleats forward and to collect it in-between its jaws while moving backwards, while the box is used to store the fabric pleats in layers, and to store also the guide arm, and the pleats collecting tool.

Brief Description of the Drawings:

• FIG. 1-A: Illustrates a 3-dimensional view for the U-shaped plastic storing box.

· FIG. 1-B: Illustrates a 3-dimensional view for the enclosing fabric of the U- shaped plastic storing box.

• FIG. 2: Illustrates a 3-dimensional view for the pulling arm.

• FIG. 3-A: Illustrates a 3-dimensional view for the pleats collecting tool. • FIG. 3-B: Illustrates a 3-dimensional view of the enclosing fabric of the pleats collecting tool.

• FIG. 4: Illustrates a 3-dimensional view of the interrelated positioning of the storing box, pleats collecting tool, pulling arm relative to each other. · FIG. 5: Illustrates a 3-dimensional view for the assisting kit while in use with the accordion pleated car cover.

• Fig. 6: Illustrates a 3-dimensional view for the accordion pleated car cover while stored with the pulling arm and the pleats collecting tool all inside the U-shaped storing box. Best Mode for Carrying out the Invention:

In order to make it easy to carry out the invention, a detailed description of the parts of the invention supported with figures is provided here, where the figures of the main parts are arranged sequentially according to the importance of the part, each part has many features, since in the case here there are many pages of interfering parts drawings, we made it easy to read, by referring to each feature with a number included in the parts description text and in the parts numbering list, the numbering of parts features is indicated here by starting it sequentially from number 20, whenever a part feature appears in a text, it will be directly assigned its required serial number. As example in FIG. 1, the parts' features are arranged sequentially from number 20 to 21, 22, 23...

1- U-shaped Plastic storing box, FIG. 1 : the first part in the assisting kit 20 to be described here is the U-shaped plastic storing box 21 (Fig. 1-A) which will be used to store the accordion cover 22 pleats 23 (top 24, right 25 and left 26) (Fig.s 5, 6) while pressed, in addition to the pleats collecting tool 27 and the guide arm 28 (Fig.s 2,3), the plastic storing box 21 is open from three sides, to be entrances from three sides that allow the collection of the stored items inside.

In order to save matter, and to make the box 21 lightweight and costless, its three sides are not made from solid flat plastic sheets, but made from hardened semi-flexible plastic strips 29, created from a perimeter of a hollow plate or in another way a hollow plastic rectangle, with three cross-strips 30 connecting in-between its long ribs to provide extra rigidity.

Thermoplastic polypropylene is to be the material used in manufacturing the strips; the granules are to be heated to about 220 degrees Celsius, and the melt to is be injected into a mold to take the shape of the box 21. The surface of the box 21 should be very smooth, the edges and the corners are to be chamfered so that the box 21 will not cause any noticeable scratch in the paint of the vehicle, the box 21 is attached to the fabric 22 via an enclosing box shaped fabric 31, which is done by cutting and then sewing a flat piece of the same cover fabric, so that it will take the shape of the box 21 externally (Fig. 1-B), wherein the box 21 will be inserted inside it from any of its two non-sewn right and left edges, so that all the box 21 will be enclosed by this fabric, this will add an extra attraction for the box 21 and for the whole cover assembly, in addition to providing an extra protection for the car body paint from being scrateched by the box 21 edges or corners.

The rear end pleat 32 of the car cover 22 top side 24 is to be sewn to the enclosing sewn fabric 31 before insertion of the box 21, the location of sewing both of them together, should be longitudinally along the enclosing fabric 31 inner middle fabric extension 33.

2- Guide Arm and Pleat Collecting tool, Fig.s (2, 3, 4): in order to extract the fabric from the storing box 21, pulling it forward to cover the vehicle, and guiding it in parallel with the top center line 34 of the vehicle, a pulling (guiding) arm 28 is required (Fig. 2), while in order to pull back the pleats 23, arrange it neatly pressed side by side on each other, while guiding its backwards movement, pleats collecting tool 27 is required as in Fig.s (3-A, 3-B), but as both the pulling (guide) arm 28 and the pleats collecting tool 27 are interfering in their job with regard to guiding and pulling, both are to be in direct contact with each other, and cooperating in carrying out the required tasks. Starting from the basic requirement of making the top fabric center line 35 moves in parallel with the vehicle top center line 34 (Fig. 5), in order not to get the whole fabric sliding sideways and then falling down while being pulled, ropes, pulling sticks..etc, will not be capable enough to carry out this mission or to achieve this requirement, because the user is promptly standing near the vehicle, and so his hand can not pull the rope, or the pulling stick which is attached to the fabric front middle free end without creating an angle with the center line of the vehicle top 34, this angle will pull the fabric sideways from the vehicle top center line 34. According to this requirement, the pulling and guiding tools should be designed, the practical tested tool provided here in this invention is a pulling (guide) arm 28, such as the one shown in Fig. 2, wherein a guide arm 28 is designed, this guide arm 28 can be easily pulled straight forward in parallel with the vehicle top center line 34, because it is attached to a big length of the top fabric 24 front end not at one point, neither two, like in the case of pulling stick or rope (cord) in the prior art, but it is linked along a 2.5 feet distance of the top fabric 24 front side, 1.25 to the right, and 1.25 feet to the left of the front end center of the top fabric 24; the lightweight arm 28 pulling force distribution will not be concentrated at one point that lead to creating a pulling angle with the vehicle top center line 34, but it is having a balanced symmetrical pulling force distribution from the right and left of the vehicle top center line 34 along 2.5 feet distance.

But as it is mentioned that the pulling (guide) arm 28 and the pleats collecting tool 27 should be cooperating directly in their tasks on the front end of the top fabric 24, this means the design requirement for the shape and working location of the pulling (guide) arm 28 should be governed by the pleats collecting tool 27 and vice versa.

To judge which part will be in a direct contact with the top fabric 24 front end, the pleats collecting tool 27 is to be selected, because its job in collecting the pleats 23 requires promptly that it is the part which should be attached directly to the pleats 23 front end, as a result the design of the pleats collecting tool 27 will be judged by its intermediate job as a tool used for coolecting the pleats 23 and as a tool for transferring the pulling and guiding force of the pulling (guide) arm 28.

Hence, the pleats collecting tool 27 to be connected to the front end of the top fabric 24, should have its collecting surface 36 facing backwards, two elongated jaws 37 are to be designed along its inner upper and lower sides, wherein the pleats 23 will be collected in-between them while it is moving backwards, from another side, to attach the pulling (guiding) arm 28 to the pleats collecting tool 27 as a must, this should be governed by knowing that the pulling (guiding) arm 28 should be extended out toward one of the vehicle sides before pulling the fabric 22 forward or backward, this extra elongated distance in-between the hand of the user and the front end of the top fabric 24 is crated in order to keep a space between the user body and the vehicle body, and in order to let him freely pull the pulling (guide) arm 28 straight forward so that its center is parallel with the top center line 34 of the vehicle.

Added to this design requirement, the necissity of returning back the pulling (guide) arm 28 to its original storing location, that will make it completely facing the storing box 21, to be pushed inside it while stroring the fabric 22, which mean that the pulling (guide) arm 28 should have a free movement toward any of the vehicle sides, and to be returned back to inside a location facing the storing box 21.

Because all the sizes of the storing box 21, the pleats collecting tool 27, and the pulling (guide) arm 28 (specially the lengths) should achieve the smallest size for storing, and the best smallest suitable operating practical length, that achieves pulling forward and backward of the fabric pleats 23; it was found by experiments, practise, and test, that a length of around 2.5 feet is the most suitable, which means if we have a guide arm 28 with such a length, this length will be enough to keep the body of the user not in touch with the vehicle body, while pulling the (guide) arm 28 to either side, but without losing the contact and pulling effect of it on the pleats collecting tool 27. So for the storing and pulling requirements of the pulling (guide) arm 28; the best way is to create a storing groove 38 (Fig. 3-A) for it inside the pleats collecting tool 27, wherein it is inserted inside it, when both are stored inside the storing box 21 with nearly a suitable inner dimensions (Fig. 4), from another side the storing groove 38 permits for the pulling

(guide) arm 28 to move freely sideways towards the user, whom if he pulls the guide arm 28 out of the groove 38 of the pleats collecting tool 27, so that the guide arm 28 far end reaches the middle of the pleats collecting tool 27, it means the arm 28 will provide him with an intermediate length of around 2.5 feet in-between his hand and the center line of the vehicle top side 34, wherein if we added around 10 cm length as a handle 39 lenngth for the pulling arm 28, in addition to at least an avergae of around 1 foot length created by his hand length when it is extended horizontally to hold the handle of the pulling (guide) arm 28, the created length in-between the user body and the top center line 34 of the vehicle will be 3.5 feet + 10 cm - 115 cm.

Knowing that a big 4WD vehicle average distance from its top center line toward the top edge of it, is around 1 meter, the 1.15 m distance provided by the extended pulling (guide) arm 28 in-between the user body and the edge of the side body, is fairly enough to prevent the body of the user from touching the body of even a big vehicle, preventing his cloth belts, buttons.from scratching it, or getting his clothes dirty.

But the most important achievement appears here, when it is found that such a guide arm 28 which will be vertical on the vehicle top center line 34 and pulling in parallel with the straight front end of the fabric 22, with the help of the handle 39, and the lightness of the both the collecting tool 27 and the arm 28, and the justified stand of the user beside the vehicle without tilting or leaning, all these factors will provide all the required conditions to pull the guide arm 28 straight forward, and hence the fabric center line 35 will be pulled completely in parallel with the top center line of the vehicle 34. The pulling (guide) arm 28 as it appears in Fig.2 should have a protusions 40 along its upper and lower edges, it should be facing backwards and to be embedded (inderted) inside a top and lower extended horizontal grooves 41 inside the groove 38 of the pleats collecting tool 27, these protrusions 40 showed experimentally a very important role in tilting the pleats collecting tool 27 up or down while collecting the pleats 23, it furthermore gives a firm control and grasp of the pulling (guide) arm 28 over the pleats collecting tool 27.

It need to be noticed here, that the pleats collecting tool 27 and the pulling (guide) arm 28 are not made from solid plastic sheets, but of thermoplatsic polypropylene strips 28, to decrease the weight and save costs, also the pleat collecting tool 27, will be enveloped (enclosed) (Fig. 3-B) by the same vehicle fabric 21, following the same procedure mentioned before for enclosing the storing box 21 and for the same reasons.

The surfaces of the pleats collecting tool 27, and the pulling (guide) arm 28 should be smoothened, and the edges corners should be chamfered, so that no scratches happen on the car body paint while they are in use. FIG. 4: Illustrates a 3-dimensional view of the interrelated positioning of the storing box 20, pleats collecting tool 26, pulling arm 27 relative to each other.

Detailed description of operation

Method of operation.

Unlike the methods used in the prior art to pull, retard, and restore the accordion pleated cover 22 which has top 24 and side fabrics 25, 26, which are depending on bulky expensive mechanism, strings that complicate its design and use, and break its waterproof properties. The method of operation using the provided weightless compact assisting kit 20, is easy, because the cover types are basically designed to be handled easily by one person, simply, sequentially, with the lowest effort and time, and with a little number of simple cheap parts. Stages of operation

1- Deploying the cover 22:

The trunk lid is opened, the U-shaped storing box 21 is pulled out, the trunk lid is closed, and then the box 21 is laid down on its surface facing to the vehicle front side. The male and female stickers 42 (around the top entrance of the box 21 ) are detached, and the layers of the side fabrics 25, 26 are pulled and moved towards the sides of the vehicle.

The pulling (guide) arm 28 is extended out from the storing groove 38 of the pleats collecting tool 27, until it its half length, then it is pulled straight forward toward the front of the vehicle (Fig. 5), where all the pleats 23 of the top 24 and side fabrics 25, 26 will follow its motion smoothly forward, covering the vehicle.

The pulling arm 28 is pushed inside the storing groove 38 of the pleats collecting tool 27, the zippers at both front right and left corners of the cover 22 are closed, hangers are to be used if the weather is windy. The user then moves backwards, to move the storing box 21 back and downwards towards the bottom of the rear bumper, where as a result the rear pleats 23 will follow the box 21, extend, and cover the rear side of the vehicle. The zippers at both rear right and left corners are closed; hangers are to be used if the weather is windy.

2- Removing and storing the cover 22:

The rear zippers are released, and the storing box 21 is vertically moved up, wherein it will collect the pleats 23 of the rear vertical side of the middle (top) fabric 24, then the box 21 is moved horizontally forward and laid on its side over the trunk lid, facing forward.

The front right and left zippers are released, the pulling arm 28 is extended out, then the arm 28 is used to push up the pleats collecting tool 27 to collect the pleats 23 of the front vertical side of the top fabric 24.

The user moves to a side of the vehicle, where he pushes smoothly and straightly the guide arm 28 via the handle 39 backwards, wherein it will push the pleats collecting tool 27 backwards, gradually, the pleats 23 will gather one beside the other and collect and press against each other in-between the jaws 37 of the pleats collecting tool 27, while at the same time the pleated side fabrics 25, 26 which are fully sewed inline to the top fabric 24 will gather and move backwards with the movement and drag of the top fabric 24.

This will continue until the pleats collecting tool 27 itself enters the storing box 21, where the top fabric 24 pleats 23 will be pressed in-between them. The guide arm 28 is pushed inside the groove 38 of the pleats collecting tool 27, then a side fabric pleats are pressed and pulled to inside the storing box 21 and made over each other into two layers so that each layer length equals the length of the storing box 20, the same is done for the other side (Fig. 6).

The male and female stickers 42 on the top edges of the storing box 21 are attached to press on the stored pleats 23, and help in carrying the box 21, the storing box 21 is then returned to inside the luggage compartment. Industrial applicability

The subject invention has the following benefits:

1- Assisting kit which can be easily manufactured from thermoplastic propylene, wherein the granules are to be heated to about 220 degrees Celsius, and the melt is to be injected into the mold.

2- Assisting tool kit sides not made from sheets, but instead from thermoplastic strips which create the necessary active and operative weightless and costless parts.

3- A smooth surface and chamfered edges assisting kit which prevents scratching vehicles body paint.

4· Assisting kit flat surfaces which can be enveloped by the fabric of the vehicle cover, to give a one piece view.

5- A pulling and guiding parts that achieve easily and quickly covering the vehicle by pulling the top fabric to move in parallel with the vehicle top center line, while dragging the side fabrics with it too.

6- A collecting pleats tool, a pulling (guiding) arm, and a U-shaped storing box that guide and collect the pleats in-between their U-shaped faces neatly and fully pressed without curls.

7- A costless weightless assisting kit compared to other accordion pleated heavy, bulky, and expensive pulling mechanisms, wherein the assisting kit further more achieves faster pulling, retarding, and storing the pleats, without the use of strings going through holes in the fabric, the thing which save these costly additions, and prevents breaking the waterproof properties of the fabrics as it is when using the strings through holes for retarding the fabric.

8- Compact and attractive designs.

9- If accordion pleated fabrics are used with such assisting kit daily at a wide range it will save more than 50 % of the car wash requirements, which will be reflected on saving billions of dollars, billions of water cubic meters, energy, chemicals, manpower, damaged parts in unprotected vehicles, body paint polish... Parts Drawing Index:

20 Assisting Kit. Extended horizontal grooves.

21 U-shaped plastic storing box. Male and female stickers. 22 Accordion cover.

23 Pleats.

24 Top side fabric.

25 Right side fabric.

26 Left side fabric.

27 Pleats collecting tool.

28 Pulling (Guide) arm.

29 Plastic strips.

30 Cross-strips.

31 Enclosing box shaped fabric.

32 Rear end pleat.

33 Enclosing fabric inner extension.

34 Top center line of the vehicle.

35 Top fabric center line.

36 Vertical pleats collecting surface.

37 Two elongated jaws.

38 Storing groove.

39 Pulling handle.

40 Protrusion.