BRACKET FOR A CARGO BARRIER

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to cargo barriers for vehicles. In particular, the invention relates to the mounting of cargo barriers to vehicle bodies.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Many vehicles sold today have open interiors where passengers share the same space as objects in rear storage areas. For example, four wheel drive vehicles, sports utility vehicles and wagons generally have a cargo area immediately behind the rear row of seats. Load restraints of various types, ranging from nets to mesh panels, are commonly fitted to vehicles, either as original equipment or as after market equipment in order to offer some degree of protection to the vehicle occupants from objects that can become projectiles in the event of an accident or even heavy braking.

It is known for load restraints of the type mentioned above to be secured in position within the vehicle by fixed metal brackets which are connected to an anchorage plate fixed, for example, to the floor of the vehicle and/or to side beams or other parts of the vehicle body. Elongate straps, such as those disclosed in Australian Patent No. 2002300059 titled "Improved Motor Vehicle Safety Barrier Mounting", are used to connect fixed metal brackets to the load restraints described above.

In order to provide adequate anchorage points for the cargo barriers described above, generally it is necessary to remove trim from the vehicle. This can result in trim damage and adds complexity to the task of after market installation of cargo barriers.

It is an object of the invention to provide a bracket for securing a cargo barrier to a vehicle that addresses at least some of the problems described above.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to a first aspect of the invention there is provided a bracket for securing a cargo barrier to vehicle, the vehicle having a rear tailgate opening and the tailgate opening having an annular sheet metal seam, the bracket including: a seam engaging portion extending, in use, in a direction away from the vehicle from a position outside of and adjacent to a portion of the annular seam and returning through approximately 180 degrees around the portion of the seam; a strap mount portion extending from the seam engaging portion; and a body attachment portion for attaching the bracket to the vehicle,

wherein, in use, the strap mount portion receives a strap connected to a cargo barrier within the vehicle.

In one form the body attachment portion is in the form of a flange portion attachable to the vehicle at said position outside of and adjacent to a portion of the annular seam, the flange portion connected to the seam engaging portion.

In one form the flange portion defines a plurality of holes, the holes provided to receive fasteners.

In one form the holes are arranged in an offset pattern.

According to a second aspect of the invention there is provided a bracket for securing a cargo barrier to vehicle, the vehicle having a rear tailgate opening and the tailgate opening having an annular sheet metal seam, the bracket including: a flange portion attachable to a rear portion of the vehicle outside of and adjacent to a portion of the annular seam; a seam engaging portion extending, in use, from the flange portion away from said rear portion of the vehicle and returning through approximately 180 degrees around the seam; and a strap mount portion extending from the seam engaging portion, wherein, in use, the strap mount portion receives a strap connected to a cargo barrier within the vehicle.

In one form the flange portion defines a plurality of holes, the holes provided to receive fasteners.

In one form the holes are arranged in an offset pattern.

According to a third aspect of the invention there is provided a cargo barrier assembly for a vehicle, the vehicle having a rear tailgate opening and the tailgate opening having an annular sheet metal seam, the assembly including: a bracket mounted to the seam, the bracket including a strap mount portion; a cargo barrier; and a strap having a distal end releasably connected to the bracket and a proximal end connected to the cargo barrier, wherein, in use, the strap mount portion receives a strap connected to a cargo barrier within the vehicle.

In one form the bracket includes: a seam engaging portion extending, in use, in a direction away from the vehicle from a position outside of and adjacent to a portion of the annular seam and returning through approximately

180 degrees around the portion of the seam; a strap mount portion extending from the seam engaging portion; and a body attachment portion for attaching the bracket to the vehicle, wherein, the strap mount portion receives the strap connected to the cargo barrier.

In one form the body attachment portion of the bracket is in the form of a flange portion attachable to the vehicle at said position outside of and adjacent to a portion of the annular seam, the flange portion connected to the seam engaging portion.

In one form the flange portion defines a plurality of holes, the holes provided to receive fasteners.

In one form the holes are arranged in an offset pattern.

A specific embodiment of the invention will now be described in some further detail with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying figures. This embodiment is illustrative, and is not meant to be restrictive of the scope of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying representations in which:

Figure Ia is a perspective view of a cargo barrier mounted behind the rear passenger seats of a vehicle.

Figure Ib is a diagrammatic view showing commencement of installation of a mounting plate for the cargo barrier of figure 1 a.

Figure 2 is a perspective view through the tail gate of a vehicle showing a bracket according to the invention and a cargo barrier assembly according to the invention.

Figure 3 is an enlarged cutaway perspective view showing the bracket of Figure 2 located in the area indicated by circle 3 on Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a perspective view of the bracket of Figures 2 and 3.

Figure 5 is a cutaway perspective view showing the bracket of Figures 2 to 4 in a partially assembled ' condition.

Figure 6 is a perspective view showing an alternative mounting position for the bracket of Figure 4.

Referring to Figure Ia, a background art cargo barrier assembly 100 mounted behind the rear passenger seats of a vehicle is shown. The background art arrangement of Figure Ia shows attachment of a strap 30 which is removahly secured at its trailing end by means of a quick release connector 16 connected to an anchorage point behind the side trim of the vehicle. With this arrangement, it is necessary to remove trim from the vehicle, drill a substantial hole 9 through the sheet metal of the vehicle, and then to feed a mounting plate 8 through the hole and secure into position as is shown in Figure Ib. Finally it is necessary to replace the trim of the vehicle (generally with a further hole in the trim).

Referring now to Figure 2, a bracket 20 according to the invention is shown. The bracket 20 and its position on the vehicle 10 is shown more clearly in Figure 3. As can be seen in Figure 3, the bracket 20 can be fitted to a vehicle having a rear tailgate opening. The bracket 20, once installed, is partially hidden by an annular seal mounted to an annual sheet metal seam.

Now referring to Figure 4, it can be seen that the bracket 20 includes a seam engaging portion 22 extending in a direction away from the vehicle 10 from a position 13 outside of and adjacent to a portion of the annular sheet metal seam 12' and returning through approximately 180° around the portion of the seam 12. The bracket 20 further includes a strap mount portion 26 extending from the seam engaging portion 22.

With the embodiment of the invention shown, the bracket 20 further includes a flange portion 28 that assists with the attachment of the bracket 20 to the vehicle 10 at the aforesaid position 13 adjacent to the portion of the annular seam 12' as shown in Figure 5. The flange 28 defines a plurality of holes 23. The holes are provided to receive fasteners such as the rivets 15 shown in Figure 5. The holes 23 are arranged in an offset pattern to enhance the strength of the attachment of the bracket 20 to the vehicle 10.

A nut 27 is welded to the strap mount portion 26.

The bracket 20 can be fabricated from sheet metal. A single piece of sheet metal can be punched to provide a blank having holes 23 and 29 as illustrated in Figure 4 and then folded to provide the bracket illustrated in Figure 4. The nut 27 can be welded to the sheet metal blank either before or after folding. Thus, it can be seen that bracket 20 can easily be fabricated from sheet metal. In other embodiments of the invention, not shown, other suitable materials may be used.

A complete cargo barrier assembly for a vehicle is illustrated in Figure 2. This cargo barrier includes a bracket 20 mounted- to an annular sheet metal seam around the tailgate, a cargo barrier 100 and a strap

30 having a distal end 32 releasably connected to the bracket 20 and a proximal end 34 connected to the cargo barrier 100.

After market installation of cargo barrier 100 into a vehicle 10 using the bracket 20 will now be described.

The installer removes the rear tailgate seal 20, or at least partially removes it as is shown Figure 5, so as to expose a portion 12' of the seam 12: Next a bracket 20 is positioned as is shown in Figure 5. With the embodiment illustrated in the drawings, six offset holes through the flange portion 28 are provided. These holes 23 can be used as a guide for a drill. Once holes have been drilled through the vehicles body panel 13, rivets 15 can be installed as shown in Figure 5. With the bracket 20 now securely in place, the seal 20 can be repositioned to leave an assembly as illustrated in Figure 3. A strap 30 can then be connected to the bracket 20 by quick release connector 16.

With the installation described above, the only trim that is required to be removed from the vehicle is the seal 14.

The bracket 20, and in particular the strap receiving portion 26 of the bracket 20, can be painted to match the interior trim of the vehicle. In practice, brackets may be produced in a range of colours so that they can readily be matched to the interior trim of most vehicles.

Optionally, the strap receiving portion 26 of the bracket 20 may be positioned underneath trim of the vehicle. In that case, a hole will need to be drilled through the trim to allow access to the nut 27 of the bracket 20 for attachment of the quick release connector 16.

It is envisageα mat ror mosi installations the strap receiving portion 26 will be outside the trim of the vehicle and that therefore no modification of the trim is required. This provides for a very straight forward installation and does not damage the vehicle.

An alternative mounting position for the bracket 20 is shown in Figure 6 in which the bracket is attached to the rear door seam.

It has been found that the sheet metal seam provides a very good attachment point providing sufficient anchorage performance for the bracket described above during impact on a cargo barrier held by a strap extending between the barrier and the bracket.

Alternative mounting points (to those described above) for the bracket may include shelf areas or other suitable edged areas.

While the present invention has been described in terms of a preferred embodiment in order to facilitate better understanding of the invention, it should be appreciated that various modifications can be made without departing from the principal of the invention. Therefore, the invention should be understood to include all such modifications within its scope.