FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to method and a luggage net device adapted to protect vehicle passengers from loose luggage during heavy breaking and/or a vehicle crash, comprising a protective net behind vehicle back seat head rests.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Motor vehicles that have a passenger compartment with a luggage compartment behind a row of passenger seats are well known. It is known to provide vertically extending dividers such as luggage nets between the passenger compartment and the luggage compartment to restrain items of luggage from movement in a longitudinal direction of the vehicle, i.e. from the luggage compartment to the passenger compartment, in case of hard breaking or car crashes. This arrangement may be used particularly in estate vehicles to prevent luggage from entering the passenger compartment from the luggage compartment causing damage to the passengers.

It is also known for luggage nets to be retractably mounted on a roller in a cassette. The cassette is mounted in the luggage compartment so that the net can be drawn out of the cassette and the free end attached to suitable fastenings when required. When not in use, the net is released from the fastenings and retracted into the cassette for storage.

A common disadvantage with known luggage nets is that they are complex to fit in order to meet high demands regarding strength requirements. In general this implies that each car model needs it own design of the net, which leads to relatively high costs, since no large scale advantages may be obtained.

In US5971433 a safety net device for preventing objects from being flung from a luggage compartment into the passenger space of a motor vehicle is described. The device includes a safety net which can be pulled out and used at different pull out lengths from a winding shaft rotatably supported within a housing of the apparatus. The winding shaft includes a blocking device adapted for blocking rotation of the winding shaft as a consequence of an object being flung into the safety net for preventing further unwinding of the safety net from the winding shaft as a consequence of the forces acting on the net. In JPH08238978 it is disclosed how to improve load putting-in/out performance and make effective use of luggage room space by engaging a first clip and a second clip respectively with body hooks in the case of using a luggage net, and disposing the luggage net in the standing state in the cross direction of a luggage room.

In DE 19731372, a luggage department divider comprising a net is disclosed. The frame is rigidly fixed to several attachment points in the floor of the luggage compartment.

In GB2408024, a pet separation device is disclosed. The pet separation device comprises two tubes and a first separation member is fixedly connected to the two tubes. Each tube has a top suction member connected a top end thereof and an inclined tube is retractably connected to a lower end of each of the tubes. A bottom suction member is connected to each of the two inclined tubes. Two second separation members each have a part thereof overlapped to the first separation member and a plurality of locking assemblies are used to connect the overlapped first separation member and the second separation members.

As mentioned above known luggage net arrangements generally work well, but only offer a limited range of functionality, adjustment and flexibility. Further, where the nets are provided in a cassette, the cassette is often permanently located in the vehicle taking up valuable luggage space when not in use.

There is a need, therefore, for an improved vehicle luggage system which in a safe manner secures that no luggage can enter into the passenger compartment and which is more flexible and easier to use as well as to mount and demount than the known arrangements.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to overcome the drawbacks and disadvantages of the above described technique. This can be obtained by a luggage net device according to claim 1.

Thanks to the invention an easy and flexible mounting of a luggage net device is provided, which mounting fulfils high safety regulations and that may fit into luggage compartments of many different vehicles independent of vehicle models, due to the fact of using the back seat in combination with the floor of the luggage compartment to transfer load to the chassis, i.e. very wide structures providing a large variety regarding safe positioning of load transferring structures of the luggage net.

According to the invention, the geometry of the luggage net device, e.g. thanks to flexibly anchored support members/legs abutting the floor, will prevent pivoting of the device when a force is applied at the back side of said net, i.e. a force being directed towards the passenger compartment (the forward driving direction of the vehicle.

Desired safety may be achieved by means of a tongue/gripping member, providing safety to hold the device in place in the luggage compartment in connection with a crash, thereby safely preventing that loose articles may come flying into the passenger compartment causing injuries of the driver and the passengers.

According to one aspect of the invention, the support members are arranged, at least partly, to substantially follow the extension of said back seat by means of being inclined at a sharp angle in relation to said vehicle floor, said angle preferably being 90° or less and more preferred 85°-65°, whereby possibly a tongue/gripping member (se above) may be superfluous. According to another aspect of the invention, said fixation devices comprise support feet arranged to rest on said floor, that extend parallel with the extension of the vehicle and also are arranged to extend parallel to said vehicle floor when mounted on said floor, and that an adjustment arrangement at each foot is arranged to facilitate adjustment of the angle between the support member and the foot.

According to another aspect of the invention, the net device further comprises two anchoring devices connected on one end to each of said support members and at the second end to said vehicle floor, preferably in the form of a rod. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Fig. 1 shows a side view of a vehicle provided with a protective luggage net device according to the invention,

Fig. 2 shows a side view of a different embodiment.

Fig. 3 shows a view from behind of fig 2, and

Fig.4 and 5 show a view from the side and behind respectively, of a modified

embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODFMENTS

In Fig. 1 a vehicle provided with the inventive removable protective luggage net device 1 is shown. As shown, the luggage net device 1 is intended to be positioned in a luggage compartment 44 behind a back side of back seats 10 in a vehicle, e.g. a private car, transport car, van, minivan, SUV etc. Said luggage net device 1 is adapted to protect vehicle passengers from loose luggage located in the luggage compartment 44 of the vehicle during hard breaking or a vehicle crash, by comprising a protective net 4 behind back seat 10 that also may be equipped with head rests 11. In a preferred embodiment of the invention the luggage net device 1 comprises support member 2, preferably in the form of at least two legs, support feet 3 (on each leg 2), and a protective net 4. Said net 4 has a front side 41 directed to a passenger compartment 42 of the vehicle and a back side 43 directed to said luggage compartment 44 of the vehicle.

Each leg 2 is preferably made from a U- or C-formed metallic tube (also other shapes would fulfil the desired function, e.g. cylindrical or square tubes) proving an opening along one side of the legs (e.g. the rearward facing side) enable easy access to the inside of the legs 2 for fixation of attachment devices. Each leg includes an upper portion 25 and a lower portion 26 that are telescopic. Thanks to this telescopic aspect the length of the support legs 2 is adjustable and can be tailored so as to fit the height of the luggage compartment 44 independent of vehicle model. The upper portion 25 of the leg 2 is pulled out of the under portion 26 till the appropriate length of the leg 2 has been reached. Then the upper portion 25 and the under portion 26 are adjustably fixedly locked in relation to each other by a locking arrangement 21, 24. One example of a locking arrangement is locking holes 24 in the form of through holes in both the upper and under parts 25, 26, preferably along a substantial portion of at least one of the leg parts 25, 26, whereas the other part is provided with at least one, preferably two or three through holes 24. When the upper portion 25 has been pulled out to reach its preferred length, the upper portion 25 and the under portion 26 are fixed to each other by inserting one or two or three bolts 21 through the holes 24 of the upper portion 25 and under part 26, respectively. The bolts 21 are then preferably provided with nuts for safe securing.

When the luggage net device 1 is in its mounted position in the vehicle, the support feet 3 preferably are parallel to the vehicle floor 8 of the luggage compartment 44 and the support legs 2 are preferably inclined backwardly (with regard to a forward driving direction of the vehicle) in relation to said vehicle floor 8 and said feet 3. Preferably, said support legs 2 are inclined an angle a less than 90° and most preferred 85-65°. Said angle a may preferably be 100°-60° adjustable due to each foot 3 having its front part 31, (which part is adjacent to the lower leg 2 end) pivotable, preferably providing adjustment of a between 100°-55°. In the shown embodiment this is achieved by means of a vertically extending slit 33 in a lower region of the support leg 2, a pivot pin 23 that protrudes from the front of each foot 3 into the groove 22 and having it adjustably fixable by means of a plate with screw elements 32 that is movable along the vertical slit 33 on the inside of the support leg 2, whereby the angle a may be adjusted. Two anchoring devices 5, preferably in the form of rods 51, are used for attachment of the device 1 to anchoring rings 6 (standard equipment in most vehicles) on the floor 8 behind the back seats 10 in the vehicle, i.e. the floor 8 of the luggage compartment 44. Each of said anchoring devices 5 is connected by one of its ends to each of said legs 2, preferably to the longitudinal center of each leg 2, and at its second end to said vehicle floor 8. A lower part of the anchoring device 5 forms a hook 53 and on an upper part 54 of the anchoring device 5 there is a male device 55 which can be inserted into a row of matching female holes 24 provided in both the lower portion 26 and the upper portion 25 of each leg 2. By means of a screw knob 52 the rod 51 can be shortened/tightened, to secure the device against the floor 8. Here it is shown that the same holes 24, are used for two purposes. However, the skilled person realizes that separate holes may be used for that and that the holes for locking the length of the legs may be arranged in a surface facing transversely (i.e. the forward directed face) in relation to the holes 24 shown in fig l . A separate tongue device 7 is arranged at the lower region of each leg 2, to protrude downwardly and grip around the front edge 80 of the floor 8 in the vehicle to further improve safety by holding the device 1 in place.

The protective net 4 is preferably mounted having an angle β in relation to the legs 2, to enable a substantial vertical extension of the net 4. As seen in Fig. 1 the protective net 4 preferably has a substantially vertical position. A vertical or substantially vertical position may often be preferred so as to keep the volume of luggage compartment 44 as large as possible. The protective net 4 comprises two vertically extending net arms 46. Each net arm 46 is fixedly attached to (preferably releasable by means of a screw/bolt attachment) the upper region of each leg 2 forming an angle β between the net 4 and the support legs 2. The net 4 may have different designs. In the embodiment shown in figure 2 and 3 the net 4 comprises four horizontal tubes/rods 45. Said tubes/rods 45 may be connected to each other at their respective ends e.g. by means of U-members 47, but it is also understood that in some cases the rods 45 may not be connected to each other. It is understood that the horizontal 45 tubes/rods could be telescopic thereby making it possible to adjust the horizontal length/width, so as to fit the width of the vehicle into which the device 1 is to be inserted independent of vehicle model. In a preferred embodiment the tubes/rods 45 are rigidly attached to the net arms 46, and their ends telescopically connected to adjustable end members 47 e.g. U-shapes members connected to two rods/tubes 45.

The number of tubes/rods 45 may vary depending on the height of the luggage compartment. In some embodiments the device 1 may have four rods, while in other embodiments five or six or even as many as seven, or more, may be more appropriate. It is also conceivable with only three rods for use in low luggage compartments.

In figure 2 and 3 there is shown a preferred embodiment of an actual design of the invention, (in contrast figure 1 shows a sketch) In this embodiment the support members 2 are in the form of C-shaped shaped metal beams, having a central wall portion 26A, 25 A, having the main plane extending in the main direction of the vehicle. Perpendicularly thereto wall portions 26B, C, 25 B, C protrude from the central wall portion 26A, 25 A. To increase the strength the C- shaped beams 25,26 are preferably arranged with inwardly protruding edges at the outer ends of the sidewalls 26 A,B, 25 A,B. In the rear wall portions 26C, 25C, there are arranged holes 29 adapted to have the upper portion 55 of the anchor device 5 fixed there in. In a preferred embodiment the holes 29 have a T-form that will safely withhold the upper end 55 once introduced and slid into the safe position within the hole 29. Further it is shown that the adjustment knob 52 preferably is arranged in connection with an upper anchoring device 56 having the fixing end 55 attached/integrated thereto. The plate shape part 56A may act as a force transferring member between the rod 51 and the adjustment nob 52.

Moreover is shown that the adjustment holes 24 for telescopically adjusting the upper 25 and lower 26 parts of the support member 2 preferably are arranged in the central wall portions 26 A, 25 A thereof. In a preferred embodiment the distance between such two holes 24 is the same as the distance between two holes 29 for the anchoring device, whereby automatically holes will be "synchronized" when adjusting height. Further it is shown that the vertical rods 45 are fixedly attached within the net device 4 to the vertical net arms 46, which in turn at their lower ends are attached to the top of each support member 2. Within (or at if reversed) the ends of each vertical tube/rod 45 there are arranged ends of U-shaped tubes, whereby telescopically the horizontal width maybe adjusted by pulling/pushing each U-shaped member 47 in or out of the vertical tube 45.

In figures 4 and 5 there is shown a further slightly modified embodiment according to the invention, wherein six horizontal tubes/rods 45 are used instead of four, as in figures 1, 2 and 3. It also shows that the different U- members 47 may be differently positioned to adjust the width to match specific desires/need within the vehicle of use.

Furthermore figures 4 and 5 shows that the height adjustment of the net advice 1 is very flexible, by showing that the upper support member 25 has been positioned in an upper most position along the lower support member 26. Further, as can be seen there is made use of the same anchoring device 5, etc as in figs. 2 and 3. Accordingly the same lower structure 2, 3 may be used independent of how the net device 4 is designed, since the net device 4 may be independently connected to the support members 2. Moreover it is shown that the width W between the support members 2 is determined by the distance L between the net arms 46, which in turn is determined by their positions on the horizontal rods 45 (here shown as fixed, but may also be adjustable). As a consequence, this provides the advantage that the width W may be easily adapted to different net devices 4, which in turn may be adapted to different vehicle deceives. As is evident the with W may normally be chosen very flexibly, since seats used in today's vehicles do normally have high strength along a substantial portion of the backside thereof, i.e. it may normally not be important to exactly position the support members in relation to the backseats. Preferably the width W is between 600-800 mm.

However thanks to the flexibility of the concept according to the invention it is feasible to exactly position (normally no need, as mentioned above) the support members 2 in relation to any specific need, e.g. by means of having a specific net device 4 for a specific vehicle, e.g. if it is important that the support members 2 are positioned more or less exactly. Still the same main parts 2, 3, 5, 7 of the device can be used as for other vehicles.

If luggage comprising very small articles are to be kept in the luggage compartment 44 it may be preferred to choose a net comprising both vertical and horizontal rods. In some embodiments said angle β between the net 4 and the support legs 2 may be adjusted by means of an adjustment device (not shown) arranged on the upper region 30 of the support legs 2, e.g. in the form of a screw element. By adjusting the angle β, it is possible to keep the protective net 4 in a vertical position even if the angle a of the inclined legs 2 is adjusted.

It is appreciated that the device 1 also functions as a pet separation device when one or several pet/s is/are kept in the luggage compartment 44, keeping the pet/s safely in place.

The inventive luggage net device is preferably made of metal, e.g. stainless steel, but is evident for the skilled person that also other materials, e.g. composite polymeres.

Thanks to the invention an easy attachment of the device 1, i.e. merely to the anchoring rings 6 on the floor 8, is achieved, since no other part/-s of the vehicle, need to be attached thereto, making it extremely easy to demount and remove the luggage net device 1 from the luggage compartment 44 if desired.

Thanks to the invention safety may be combined with high flexibility, e.g. the same kind of safety net structure may be used for many different vehicles. The main reason to these important advantages is the fact that the invention takes use of load transferring structures that exist in almost all vehicles, and in a manner that provides a large flexibility of the positioning of load transferring structure of the arrangement. In contrast, traditionally specific part of the vehicle, e.g. the C-post of the chassis, for transfer of load from the luggage net to the chassis in connection with a crash or sudden break when luggage need to be hindered from moving into the passenger compartment 42.

The combination of forming support members 2 that may cooperate with the backside of the backseats 10 and also fixation devices 3, 7 that jointly cooperate regarding load transfer to the chassis of the vehicle, and that can meet high demands regarding safety. The geometry regarding the interaction between the backside of the backseat 10 and the support members to and the fixation devices 3, 7 are essential aspects in this regard, since when a horizontal force is applied to the luggage net 4 this will create a momentum, trying to rotate the support members 2 around a pivot point somewhere along the backside of the backseat 10. Thanks to the sharp angle a of the support member 2 in relation to the floor 8 and/or the use of a tongue/gripping member, any rotation will be hindered, since such a momentum will try to push the lower ends of the support members 2 into the floor, which is not possible. The design of the backseat 10 and also the floor 8 in almost all cars are such that very high strength requirements can be met in relation to moving luggage that may bump into the luggage net 4.

In many applications the use of the mere ends of the support members 2 would be sufficient to balance the forces needed in connection with a crash. However, In a preferred embodiment a larger area of load transfer in relation to the floor 8 is preferred and therefore is it preferred to use feet 3, preferably extending in the length direction of the vehicle to thereby also from stable supports to enable it to more or less stably stand on its own, which in many cases may make easier for a user to handle the luggage net device 1.

By making the angle a adjustable the feet can easily be fitted to match different design of different vehicles. In order to further strength the structure and also to improve upon easy attachment into a safe position, the end of the support members 2, 7 (on at the ends of the feet 3) may preferably be arranged with protruding gripping devices 7 that protrude down below the floor 8 and in contact with the front most edge of the floor 8. Further, in some applications it may be desired to increase strength (e.g. if week seat back are used), e.g. by means of using an extra support member, extending horizontally between the vertical support members and/or the net arms 46 may extend also outside of the vertical members if desired.

As will be understood by those skilled in the present field of art, numerous changes and modifications may be made to the above described and other embodiments of the present invention, without departing from its scope as defined in the appending claims. For example, in vehicles such as transport cars, having no back seat but instead a larger luggage compartment, the luggage net device is mounted behind the front seats of the vehicle and in the same way as described above. Furthermore, the net arms 46 may be used for attachments to safely attach an extension (e.g. a plate) to cover any possible gap between the net 4 and the inner roof of a vehicle. Moreover, it is for seen that they device 1 may be extra stabilized by using an extra anchoring device between the support members 2 and/or net arms 46 and/or vertical tubes/rods 45, e.g. screw fixing device including a hook adapted to hold around head restraint posts and/or adjustable securing strap/string. Thereby further devices, e.g. saddles, may more safely be supported by the net device 1. It is further understood that the means for locking the telescopic parts, i.e. the upper part and the under part of the legs, could be any kind of suitable known locking means without departing from the scope of the invention. Also, the under part could be arranged within the upper part instead of the upper part being arranged within the under part as described above.