Abstract:
A movable panel attached to a seat assembly serves as both a security shade for a motor vehicle cargo area and as a close-out panel to close gaps in the cargo loading floor. The panel is pivotable and extendible to conceal the cargo area when the seatback is upright, and is pivotable and extendible to create a flat cargo load floor when the seatback is stowed.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to a security shade which is on the back of a vehicle seat and is movable to either extend a cargo floor when the vehicle seat is stowed or to conceal a cargo area from view from the exterior of the vehicle. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Many vehicles, such as hatchbacks, minivans, and sport-utility vehicles, have a cargo area located in the rear of the vehicle. This cargo area and its contents are often viewable from outside the vehicle. For privacy and security reasons, it is desirable to prevent passers-by from viewing the contents of the cargo area. 
     The prior art includes security shades that are extendible and retractable to alternatively conceal the cargo area from view from outside the vehicle, and to permit access to the cargo area by the vehicle user and to accommodate larger items. Prior art security shades typically comprise a flexible fabric panel wrapped onto a spring-loaded roller tube. The roller tube is rotatably mounted to the interior trim of the vehicle behind a seat assembly and extends transversely across the width of the vehicle behind a seat assembly. The flexible fabric panel is extendible and retractable across the cargo area. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,224,748, issued Jul. 6, 1993 to Decker, et al. 
     On many vehicles, the seat assembly is stowable or collapsible to expand the cargo area. Prior art security shades that are mounted to the interior trim of the vehicle may create a physical obstruction in the expanded cargo area when the seat assembly is stowed. Some prior art security shades are detachable from their mounting to avoid obstruction of the expanded cargo area. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,039,105, issued Mar. 21, 2000 to Patmore, et al., which illustrates an attachment device intended to facilitate the installation and removal of a security shade from a vehicle. Although detachment of the security shade eliminates physical obstruction of the expanded cargo area, it is not ideal because it requires an additional vehicle user action and a place to stow the security shade. 
     The cross body motor vehicle security shade described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,213,387, issued May 25, 1993 to Decker, et al., eliminates obstruction of the expanded cargo area when a seat assembly is stowed because the roller tube is positioned along a side of the vehicle and the flexible panel extends transversely across the vehicle to cover the cargo area. However, flexible fabric security shades may involve certain disadvantages such as being cumbersome to extend and retract. 
     Some prior art vehicles include trim panels movably mounted within the vehicles and configured to close gaps between seat assemblies and vehicle cargo floors. These trim panels are commonly referred to as “close-out panels” and “flipper panels” by those familiar with the art. An example of a flipper panel is found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,716,091, issued Feb. 10, 1998 to Wieczorek. 
     DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention provides a multi-function panel for use in a vehicle that has a stowable seat assembly adjacent to a cargo area. The seat assembly typically includes a seatback member and a seat cushion member. The seatback member has a cargo load surface that is opposite the seating surface, and that generally faces the cargo area when the seatback is upright. When the seat assembly is stowed to expand the cargo area, the seatback member is positioned such that the cargo load surface faces generally upward and functions as a cargo floor for the expanded cargo area. 
     The panel is mounted with respect to the cargo load surface and, when the seatback member is upright, is movable between a first configuration in which the panel is stowed by laying along the cargo load surface, and a second configuration in which the panel is generally horizontal and extends above or over the cargo area. 
     When the seatback member is in its stowed position, the panel is preferably movable between a third configuration and a fourth configuration. In the third configuration, the panel rests along the cargo load surface of the collapsed seatback member, thereby preventing its obstruction of the expanded cargo area. In the fourth configuration, the panel extends from a point on the cargo load surface to a point beyond the cargo load surface, and functions to either extend the length of the cargo floor formed by the cargo load surface, or to close a gap between the collapsed seatback member and a second seat assembly. 
     The panel may be pivotably attached directly to the surface of the, seatback, and may be variably extendible and retractable to accommodate the situation where the length of the panel necessary to conceal the cargo area from view is different from the length necessary to extend the cargo floor or stow the panel. 
     The present invention improves upon the prior art by providing a mechanically simple security shade that does not obstruct the cargo area when the adjacent seat assembly is collapsed or removed. The present invention also improves upon the prior art by combining a security shade and a flipper, or close-out, panel, thereby reducing the number of parts and therefore the weight and complexity of a vehicle. 
    
    
     The above objects, features, and advantages, and other objects, features, and advantages, of the present invention are readily apparent from the following detailed description of the best mode for carrying out the invention when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings. 
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a schematic side elevational view of the multi-function security shade flipper panel in a stowed configuration with the seat assembly in an upright, occupiable position in a vehicle; 
     FIG. 2 is a schematic side elevational view of the multi-function security shade flipper panel in its security shade configuration; 
     FIG. 3 is a schematic side elevational view of the multi-function security shade flipper panel in a stowed configuration with the seat assembly in a stowed position; and 
     FIG. 4 is a schematic side elevational view of the multi-function security shade flipper panel in its close-out panel configuration. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     FIG. 1 depicts a vehicle  10  having a cargo area  12  that is bordered by a rear seat assembly  14  and a rear vehicle closure  16  such as a rear liftgate. Glass windows  18  provide occupants of the vehicle  10  with visibility to the exterior of the vehicle  10 . The glass windows  18  also allow the cargo area  12  and any belongings therein to be viewed from the exterior of the vehicle  10 . 
     The rear seat assembly  14  includes a seat cushion member  20  and a seatback member  22 , and is mounted to a vehicle floor  23 . An intermediate seat assembly  24  is mounted to the vehicle floor  23  forward of the rear seat assembly  14 . The seatback member  22  of the rear seat assembly  14  is depicted in an upright, occupiable position in FIG.  1 . 
     For occupant comfort, the seat cushion member  20  includes springs or padding, and its surface is a soft, pliant material such as cloth or leather. The seatback member  22  has a generally forward-facing seating, or occupiable, surface  26  against which an occupant of the rear seat assembly  14  rests. The seatback member  22  has a cargo load surface  28  opposite the seating, or occupiable, surface  26  that generally faces the cargo area  12  when the seatback member  22  is upright. Similar to the seat cushion member  20 , the seatback member  22  contains springs or padding, and the seating surface  26  is a soft, pliant material such as cloth or leather for occupant comfort. 
     The rear seat assembly  14  is depicted in FIGS. 1-4 as a bench seat, such that it extends substantially across the width of the interior of the vehicle  10 . However, those skilled in the art will recognize a multitude of different seat assembly types and configurations that may be employed within the scope of the claimed invention, such as split bench seat assemblies, bucket seat assemblies, split-seatback bench seat assemblies, rearwardly-facing seat assemblies, etc. 
     A panel  30 , having a fixed length portion  32  and a telescoping portion  34 , is pivotably mounted to the cargo load surface  28  by a hinge  36 . Those skilled in the art will recognize that a multitude of materials are suitable for panel  30  construction within the scope of the claimed invention. For example, the panel  30  may be an injection molded polymer material, etc. The panel  30  is movable between four configurations. The function that the panel  30  performs in each configuration may require a different panel length. Therefore, the panel  30  is preferably variably extendible and retractable. In the preferred embodiment, the panel  30  is telescopically extendible and retractable. The length of the panel  30  is adjustable by moving the telescoping portion  34  relative to the fixed length portion  32 . 
     The first configuration of the panel  30  is depicted in FIG.  1 . When the seatback member  22  is in its upright, occupiable position, the panel  30  is stowed by positioning the panel  30  such that it lies along or against the cargo load surface  28 . The panel  30  may be held in place by a fastening device (not shown) such as a clip or hook and loop fastener. In the first configuration, the panel  30  does not obstruct the cargo area  12 , which is useful when access to the cargo area  12  is required, or to accommodate large items that otherwise could not fit in the cargo area  12 . The telescoping portion  34  of the panel  30  may be moved relative to the fixed length portion  32  to reduce the length of the panel  30  to facilitate compact storage along the seatback member  22 . 
     The panel  30  functions as a security shade in the second configuration, as depicted in FIG.  2 . To function as a security shade, the seatback member  22  is in its upright, occupiable position, and the panel  30  is rotated about the hinge  36  to a substantially horizontal position such that the panel  30  extends above the cargo area  12 . The panel  30  at least partially conceals the cargo area  12  from view from the exterior of the vehicle  10  but does not affect the visibility of passengers to the exterior of the vehicle  10 . The length of the panel  30  is adjusted by moving the telescoping portion  34  relative to the fixed length portion  32 , such that the panel  30  extends across the cargo area  12 . A support member  38  supports the panel  30  in the second configuration. The support member in the preferred embodiment shown in FIG. 2 is a slot formed in a body-side interior trim panel (not shown). 
     It may be advantageous to employ more than one panel, particularly in a vehicle that employs a split bench seat assembly or a bucket seat assembly bordering a cargo area. For example, in a vehicle with a split bench seat assembly having two or more independently-movable seatback members bordering a cargo area, each of the independently-movable seatback members may have a panel attached thereto and movable between four configurations as described herein. Each of the panels may extend above a portion of the cargo area, at least partially concealing the cargo area from view. Collectively, the panels may extend above all or substantially all of the cargo area, concealing all or substantially all of the cargo area from view. If there are any gaps between the panels, one or more of the panels may have a bridging panel attached thereto and configured to close the gap. Similarly, in a vehicle having a cargo area bordered by two or more bucket seat assemblies, each of the bucket seat assemblies may have a panel attached to its seatback member. 
     The seatback member  22  is movable between the generally upright, occupiable position as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, and a generally horizontal, stowed position as shown in FIG. 3, in which the seatback member  22  extends from a forward extent  40  to a rearward extent  42 . A preferred embodiment of the rear seat assembly  14  is depicted in FIGS. 1-4, wherein the seating surface  26  is juxtaposed to the vehicle floor  23  when the seatback member  22  is in its stowed position. However, those skilled in the art will recognize a multitude of other seat assembly designs that provide a seatback member movable between a generally upright, occupiable position and a generally horizontal stowed position within the scope of the claimed invention and with or without movement of the seat cushion member between the occupiable and stowable positions. For example, the seatback member may fold over the seat cushion member. 
     When the seatback member  22  is stowed, the cargo area  12  is expanded and is bordered by the intermediate seat assembly  24 , as depicted in FIG.  3 . The cargo load surface  28  faces generally upward when the seatback member  22  is stowed and forms part of the lower surface of the extended cargo area  12 . The cargo load surface  28  should therefore be a strong, durable, and scratch-resistant material to avoid damage caused by the weight or movement of any cargo placed upon it. 
     The third configuration of the panel  30  is depicted in FIG.  3 . When the seatback member  22  is stowed, the panel  30  is rotated about the hinge  36  such that it lies along or against the cargo load surface  28 . The third configuration is particularly useful when the panel  30  is employed with a seat assembly configured such that the forward extent of its stowed seatback member is adjacent to an intermediate seat assembly. In the third configuration, the stowed panel  30  does not physically obstruct the expanded cargo area  12 . 
     In FIG. 4, the panel  30  is depicted in its fourth configuration in which it functions as a “close-out” or “flipper” panel. When the seatback member  22  is folded to its stowed position to expand the cargo area  12 , the panel  30  is rotated about the hinge  36  to extend from the hinge  36  to a point forward of the cargo load surface  28 . Ideally, the panel  30  will extend such that it is in close proximity to, or in contact with, the intermediate seat assembly  24 . The length of the panel  30  is adjusted as necessary by moving the telescoping portion  34  relative to the fixed length portion  32 . The panel  30  is supported in the fourth configuration by the hinge  36 , a segment  44  of the cargo load surface  28  with which a segment  46  of the panel  30  is contiguous, and a support member  48  located on the intermediate seat assembly  24 . Alternatively, in other embodiments, the panel  30  could be supported in the fourth configuration by the seat cushion member  30 , another support member located on an interior trim panel or on the vehicle floor  23 , etc. 
     The soft and pliant material of the seat cushion member  20  may be damaged if cargo is placed directly on it. In the preferred embodiment, the panel  30  at least partially covers the seat cushion member  20  in the fourth configuration, thereby protecting it from cargo placed in the expanded cargo area  12 . 
     The panel  30  also functions as part of the lower surface of the expanded cargo area  12  in the fourth configuration. The panel  30  facilitates cargo stability during transport, as well as cargo loading and unloading, because the panel  30  is substantially coplanar with the cargo load surface  28 . The panel  30  also helps to prevent cargo from rolling or sliding into any gap between the intermediate seat assembly  24  and the rear seat assembly  14 . 
     Note that a panel that is the subject of the invention may be attached to the intermediate seat assembly  24  and moved between the first and second panel configuration, and, provided that the seatback member of the intermediate seat assembly  24  is movable to a generally horizontal, stowed position, the third and fourth configurations. 
     Although the description of this invention has been given with reference to a particular embodiment, it is not to be construed in the limiting sense. Many variations and modifications will now occur to those skilled in the art. For a definition of the invention, reference is made to the appended claims.