Apparatus for fixing vehicle roof bar

An apparatus for fixing a vehicle roof bar including: a long roof bar which is disposed horizontally at an interval from a vehicle roof; two buffer members which are in close contact with both window frames of the vehicle, respectively, each have an L-shaped cross section and are each made of an elastic material; two hooks which are fixed to the window frames of the vehicle, respectively, with the buffer members interposed therebetween; two brackets through which both ends of the roof bar protrude by penetrating the two brackets; two stands which are supported on the vehicle roof; and two half-moon-shaped head bolts which each have a half-moon-shaped heads having a half-moon-shaped cross section and fitted into the groove of each of the stands.

This application claims the priority of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2016-0158972, filed on Nov. 28, 2016 in the KIPO (Korean Intellectual Property Office), the disclosure of which is incorporated herein entirely by reference. Further, this application is the National Stage application of International Application No. PCT/KR2017/009240, filed Aug. 24, 2017, which designates the United States and was published in Korean. Each of these applications is hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety into the present application.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to an apparatus for fixing a vehicle roof bar, and particularly, to an apparatus for fixing a vehicle roof bar, which enables an ordinary person to easily install a roof bar.

BACKGROUND ART

In general, a vehicle roof bar is fixed to a vehicle roof by two brackets that apply pressure to two sides of the roof bar.

FIG. 1is a cross-sectional view illustrating an example of an apparatus for fixing a roof bar in the related art and illustrating left and right sides of the roof bar.

As illustrated, in the related art, a buffer pad55′ is installed under a stand50′ that supports a bracket40′ for supporting a roof bar10′ so that the bracket40′ is rotatable. The buffer pad55′ is supported on a surface of a vehicle roof, and a hook30′, which is fixed to a window frame of a vehicle, is fixed to the bracket40′ from a lateral side by tightening a fixing bolt35′ into the hook30′. The stand50′ and the buffer pad55′ are enlarged in the drawing as indicated by the arrow. The buffer pad55′ serves to support the stand50′ to prevent damage to the surface of the vehicle roof. Types of dedicated buffer pads vary depending on types of vehicles, and this is because curvatures and shapes of the vehicle roofs vary depending on types of vehicles.

In addition, because the bolt35′ for fixing the hook30′ to the bracket40′ mostly has a head formed with a hexagonal groove, a hexagonal wrench needs to be used to tighten the bolt35′. In addition, if the two left and right support brackets are not appropriately centered so that the two left and right support brackets are disposed at accurately the same positions when fixing the roof bar10′, the roof bar is not positioned to be perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the vehicle, which causes a problem in that the roof bar is easily separated when impact or external force is applied while the vehicle travels.

That is, in the related art, it is significantly difficult for an ordinary person to install and fix the roof bar10′ to the vehicle roof because it is difficult to center the roof bar10′ with respect to the left and right sides, and a separate tool such as a hexagonal wrench is required to install the roof bar10′.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

Technical Problem

The present invention has been contrived in consideration of the above-mentioned problems in the related art, and an object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for fixing a vehicle roof bar, which is structured to prevent a roof bar from being easily separated even though the roof bar is not accurately centered, and enables an ordinary person to easily install and disassemble the roof bar without using a separate tool.

Technical Solution

The above-mentioned object of the present invention is achieved by an apparatus for fixing a vehicle roof bar, which is configured to fix a roof bar installed on a vehicle roof, the apparatus including: a long roof bar10which is disposed horizontally at an interval from the vehicle roof; two buffer members20which are in close contact with both window frames of the vehicle, respectively, each have an L-shaped cross section and are each made of an elastic material; two hooks30which are fixed to the window frames of the vehicle, respectively, with the buffer members20interposed therebetween, each have an L-shaped cross section, are each made of metal or hard plastic, and each have a contact portion which is in contact with each bracket40and perpendicular to the ground surface; two brackets40through which both ends of the roof bar10protrude by penetrating the two brackets40and which each have a ⊏-shaped cross section and an outer surface supported by each of the two hooks30such that the two brackets40are fixed uprightly at an interval from the vehicle roof; two stands50which are supported on the vehicle roof, each have a half-moon-shaped groove52formed at an upper end of each of the two stands50and having a half-moon-shaped cross section, are positioned immediately under the brackets40, each have multiple protruding portions54formed at a lower end of each of the two stands, and are each made of an elastic material; and two half-moon-shaped head bolts60which each have a half-moon-shaped heads62having a half-moon-shaped cross section and fitted into the groove52of each of the stands50, each have a screw thread formed on a body thereof and are each screwed into each of the brackets while penetrating each of the brackets40in an assembled state, in which the roof bar10is fitted into horizontal portions of the brackets so that ends of the roof bar10protrude, in a state in which the two brackets40are in close contact with the hooks30and fixed by first fasteners, the roof bar10is fixed to the brackets40by second fasteners, the half-moon-shaped head bolts60are fixed uprightly to the stands50, the half-moon-shaped head bolts60are screwed into the brackets40, and the half-moon-shaped head bolts60are tightened to the brackets40by nuts, such that the roof bar10is fixed by being bidirectionally tightened in a horizontal direction and a vertical direction.

In the present invention, the half-moon-shaped head bolts60may be tightened to the brackets40by using nuts at threaded portions of the half-moon-shaped head bolts60exposed to opening portions46at middle portions of the brackets40.

Advantageous Effects

According to the apparatus for fixing a roof bar according to the present invention which is configured as described above, even a non-professional ordinary person may easily install and disassemble the roof bar without using a separate tool.

MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

FIG. 2is cross-sectional views illustrating left and right sides of a vehicle roof and illustrating an apparatus for fixing a roof bar according to the present invention.

As illustrated, the apparatus for fixing a roof bar according to the present invention is equally applied to two door frames and a roof portion of a vehicle.

The apparatus for fixing a vehicle roof bar according to the present invention includes a roof bar10, buffer members20, hooks30, brackets40, stands50, and half-moon-shaped head bolts60, and the two buffer members20, the two hooks30, the two brackets40, the two stands50, and the two half-moon-shaped head bolts60are configured as one set except for the roof bar10.

As illustrated in the left side ofFIG. 2, the roof bar10is a long bar-shaped member disposed horizontally at an interval from the vehicle roof.

In order to prevent a vehicle surface from being scratched or damaged when fixing the roof bar10, the buffer member20is in close contact with a window frame of the vehicle. The buffer member has an L-shaped cross section and is made of an elastic material. The hook30is in close contact with the window frame of the vehicle with the buffer member20interposed therebetween. The hook30has an approximately L-shaped cross section and may be made of metal or hard plastic. The hook30may have a middle portion which is slightly curved so that a portion of the hook30, which is in contact with the bracket40, is perpendicular to the ground surface.

As illustrated inFIG. 2, the bracket40is installed on a lateral surface of the hook30in a direction perpendicular to the vehicle roof, and the bracket is fixed to the hook30by tightening a bolt35. A knob bolt, which may be manipulated manually by a person, may be used as the bolt35. The bracket40has a ⊏-shaped cross section, and in an assembled state, an end of the roof bar10protrudes by penetrating an upper end horizontal portion of the bracket40. In this case, the roof bar is fixed to the bracket as a knob bolt44is coupled to the roof bar10through the bracket from the front side of the bracket40.

The stand50is supported on the vehicle roof under the protruding portion of the bracket40. A groove52having a half-moon-shaped cross section is formed at an upper end of the stand50. The stand50is made of an elastic material containing rubber to prevent damage to a surface of a vehicle body. Specifically, multiple protruding portions54may be formed at a lower end of the stand50. In more detail, protruding legs may be formed at four edges of the lower end of the stand50. In this case, the protruding legs may support the roof surface even though the vehicle roof has any shape, and as a result, the stand may be used regardless of the types of vehicles.

During an assembly process, the half-moon-shaped head bolt60stands upright on the half-moon-shaped groove52of the stand50, that is, the half-moon-shaped head62of the bolt is coupled to the groove52so that the half-moon-shaped head bolt60stands upright, and a body of the bolt having a screw thread is screwed into the bracket by penetrating the bracket40in the assembled state. The bolt60may be configured to pass a lateral side of the roof bar without interfering with the roof bar10when the bolt60vertically penetrates the bracket40. Since the head62of the bolt60has the half-moon shape and the groove52also has the half-moon shape, the bolt60may rotate somewhat at an angle in the groove52when viewed from the left and right sides inFIG. 2, and as a result, the bolt60may be easily screwed into the bracket even though the two brackets are not accurately aligned.

Meanwhile, the bracket40has an opening portion46at a middle portion of the bracket40, such that a nut48may be coupled to the threaded portion of the bolt60through the opening portion46. A knob nut, which may be manipulated manually by a person, may be used as the nut48. As illustrated at the right side inFIG. 2, when the knob nut48is tightened, the stand50is pushed downward as the knob nut48is coupled to the bracket40, the roof bar10coupled to the bracket40is pushed upward, and the hook30is pushed upward with respect to the window frame, such that forces F are applied in the directions indicated as the three arrow directions in the drawing. As the knob nut48is tightened in this way, the forces are applied in the three directions, such that a stable coupled state of the roof bar10is maintained.

A function of the half-moon-shaped head bolt according to the present invention, which is configured as described above, will be described with reference toFIG. 3.FIG. 3Ais a left side view ofFIG. 2, andFIG. 3Bis a right side view ofFIG. 2.

As illustrated inFIG. 3, since the half-moon-shaped head62of the bolt60may rotate in the coupled state in the groove52, the hook30may be freely mounted even on any type of vehicle. That is, the apparatus according to the present invention may be used for all types of vehicles regardless of types of vehicles. Because of the shape of the half-moon-shaped head of the bolt60disposed in this manner and the shape of the groove, the knob nut48may be tightened with respect to the bolt when the knob nut48is tightened in a state in which the bolt60spins without traction, such that the roof bar10may be securely fixed as the forces F are applied in the three directions as described above.

FIG. 4is an exploded perspective view of the left fixing device.

As illustrated, a spring washer36may be used to prevent, the knob bolt35, which is tightened to couple the bracket40to the hook30, from being loosened. A large-sized washer37, which widely disperses the force of the knob bolt35applied to the hook30, may be additionally used to further reinforce a supporting force applied to the hook30and prevent a bent portion, which is curved at the middle portion, from being straightened by external force in use. Of course, a spring washer and a plain washer may be further used even when the knob nut48is tightened, in order to prevent the knob nut48from being loosened.

FIG. 5is a perspective view and a partially enlarged view illustrating a state in which the roof bar10is fixed to the vehicle roof in accordance with the present invention.

As illustrated, the roof bar10may be securely fixed to the vehicle roof as the roof bar10is fitted into the bracket40and then the knob bolts35and44and the knob nut48are tightened. With the function of the half-moon-shaped head62, it is not necessary to accurately align positions of both ends of the roof bar10. Accordingly, it is possible to more safely protect the roof bar from impact and vibration while the vehicle travels.