OPEN-TOP VEHICLE BODY

Abstract: An open-top vehicle body having a passenger compartment (2) defined rearwards of a front windshield (6). A shield member in the form of a thin flexible sheet (l4) is provided to extend transversely at a position behind the front seats (3) so as to block air flow which will otherwise be produced, in use, from the rear compartment (2b) to the front passenger compartment (2a). The shield member is attached to the vehicle body in a removable manner.

Description: The present invention relates to a vehicle body and more particularly to an open-top vehicle body. More specifically, the present invention pertains to means for preventing air stream from blowing into the front passenger compartment while the vehicle is running. Hithertofore, many types of convertible vehicles have been developed. These vehicles have roof structures which can be moved between an extended position where the roof structure covers the top portion of the vehicle body and a retracted position where the roof structure is retracted into the vehicle rear body section to open the top portion of the vehicle body. An example of such convertible vehicle body is shown by the U.S. patent 4,512,606. In this type of convertible vehicle body, when the vehicle is operated with the roof structure retracted to open the top portion of the body, a turbulent air flow is produced in the rear top portion of the body and there is produced a stream which is directed from the rear part of the body forwardly to the front passenger compartment. Such forwardly directed air stream chills the passengers in the front seats so that the passengers very often hesitate to operate the vehicle with an open-top condition under a cold weather although a driving of an open-top vehicle is attractive. Further, the air stream may sometimes blow off articles such as documents or clothes which are placed on the front seat. It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an open-top or convertible vehicle body in which air stream directed from the rear part forwardly to the front passenger compartment can be prevented. Another object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle body which can be operated with an open-top condition without producing an air stream which flows forwardly into the front passenger compartment. A further object of the present invention is to provide an open-top or convertible type vehicle body having means for blocking air stream directed forwardly from the rear body section to the front passenger compartment. DE-U-1797558 discloses an open-top vehicle body including a body structure comprising a front windshield and a compartment defined rearwards of the front windshield and having a floor panel and side panel structures the upper edges of which define side belt lines; shield means extending transversely in the compartment to divide the compartment for blocking an air stream which would otherwise flow, in use, from a rear portion of the compartment forwardly to a front portion of the compartment; and according to a first aspect of the present invention such a vehicle body is characterised by the shield means comprising a single continuous sheet which projects above the belt line, and which has a lower edge secured to the floor panel by means of releasable fasteners. DE-U-1797558 also discloses an open-top vehicle body including a body structure comprising a front section provided with a front windshield, a middle section provided with a floor panel and side panel structures having upper edges defining side belt lines, and a rear section, the body structure having a front passenger compartment defined rearwards of the front windshield and a rear compartment defined rearwards of the front passenger compartment, and shield means extending transversely between the front passenger compartment and the rear compartment for blocking an air stream which would otherwise flow, in use, from the rear compartment towards the front passenger compartment and according to a second aspect of the present invention such a vehicle is characterised by the shield means comprising a single continuous sheet which projects above the belt line, and which has a lower edge secured to the floor panel by means of releasable fasteners. As conventional in the art, the vehicle body may have roof means which normally covers the top portions of the front passenger compartment and the rear compartment and can be removed or folded rearwards to open the top portion. Front seats may be provided in the front passenger compartment. The rear compartment may be used as a package compartment or provided with rear seats for passengers. The shield means may be in the form of a thin flexible sheet, such as a sheet made of a vinyl chloride, or alternatively, it may be constituted by a rigid panel. In case where the shield means is in the form of a thin flexible sheet, it may be attached to the vehicle body at the opposite ends of the upper edge. Additionally, the sheet may be attached to the vehicle body at the opposite side edges. The above and other objects and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following descriptions of preferred embodiments-taking reference to the accompanying drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1 is a perspective view of a convertible vehicle body in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention; Figure 2 is a front view of the air shielding sheet used in the embodiment shown in Figure 1; Figure 3 is a perspective view of a fitting for securing the air shielding sheet to the vehicle body; Figure 4 is a top plan view of the fitting shown in Figure 3; Figure 5 is a side view of the fitting; Figure 6 is a schematic side view of the vehicle body showing the air streams; DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now to the drawings, particularly to Figure 1, there is shown a convertible type vehicle body including a body structure 1 comprising a front section 1a, a middle section 1b and a rear section 1c. The front body section 1a is provided with a front windshield 6. The middle section 1b includes side panels which may be side door panels 1d and rear fender panels 1e. In the body structure 1, there is defined a compartment 2 which includes a front passenger compartment 2a which is located rearwards the front windshield 6 and a rear compartment 2b which is located rearwards the front passenger compartment 2a. The side panels have upper edges which define side belt lines 1f of the vehicle body. As conventional in the art, transparent glass panels are provided in the door panels 1d and the rear fender panels 1e althrough Figure 1 shows the vehicle body with these glass panels retracted into the panels. In the front passenger compartment 2a there are provided front passengers' seats 3. In the illustrated embodiment, the rear compartment 2b is provided with a rear seat 4 for rear passengers. It should however be noted that the rear compartment may be used as a package compartment without providing the rear seat. The vehicle body has a foldable roof structure 5 which can be extended to cover the top portion of the compartment 2 and can be retracted into the rear body section 1c as shown in Figure 1. A roll bar 8 of an inverted U-shaped configuration is provided to extend from the front end portions of the rear fender panels 1e. The roll bar 8 has a transversely extending top portion 8a and a pair of leg portions 8b which are secured at the lower ends to the front end portions of the rear fender panels 1e. The roll bar 8 is located just behind the front seats 3. In other words, the roll bar 8 is located substantially at the border between the front and rear compartments 2a and 2b. According to the features of the present invention, there is provided a shield sheet member 14 which extends transversely between the leg portions 8b of the roll bar 8. The sheet member 14 may be made of a sheet of vinyl chloride and, as shown in Figure 2, has a pair of tying strings 14a at the opposite ends of the upper edge. The sheet member 14 further has side edges provided with Velcro type fasteners 14b and a lower edge provided also with Velcro type fasteners 14c. As shown in Figures 3 through 5, the roll bar 8 has an inner trim 8c which covers the inner surface of the roll bar 8. A fitting 9 comprising a front bracket 10a and a rear bracket 10b is attached to the inner trim of the roll bar at each leg portion 8b. The front bracket 10a is substantially of a J-shaped configuration having an end portion engaged with the front edge portion of the inner trim 8c at each leg portion 8b. The rear bracket 10b is of a substantially C-shaped configuration and engaged with the rear edge portion of the inner trim 8c of the roll bar 8 at each leg portion 8b. The brackets 10a and 10b respectively have flanges 10c and 10d which are connected together by a hook member 13 and a nut 12. Washers 11 may be used as necessary. The sheet member 14 is attached to the leg portions 8b of the roll bar 8 by tying the strings 14a to the hook members 13. The side edges and the lower edge of the sheet member 14 are secured to the middle section 1b of the body 1 by having the Velcro fasteners 14b and 14c engaged with corresponding fastener elements 15 and 16 provided on the inner panels of the rear fender panels 1e and the floor panel 17. Referring to Figure 6, when the vehicle is running with the roof panel structure retracted into the vehicle rear body section 1c,there will be produced turbulent flows of air stream in the rearward portion of the front windshield 6. As the result, a portion of the turbulent flows tends to be directed forwardly from the rear compartment 2b into the front compartment 2a as shown by phantom lines. It should be noted, however, that the shield member 14 functions to block such forwardly directed flow so that the front passenger compartment 2a can be maintained substantially free from such air stream. It is therefore possible to prevent the front passengers from being chilled by the air stream particularly in a cold weather and/or the articles laid on the front seat 3 from being blown off. It is preferable that the shield member 14 is as high as possible for the purpose of blocking the air flow. It should however be noted that the shield member should not be so high that it may disturb the rear view of the driver. Thus, the shield member 14 is higher than the belt line 1f and is preferably lower or at least not higher than the head rests 3a of the front seats 3. In any event, the shield member 14 extends transversely so that it covers the clearance between the two front seats3.

Claims: An open-top vehicle body including a body structure (1) comprising a front windshield (6) and a compartment (2) defined rearwards of the front windshield and having a floor panel (17) and side panel structures (1d) the upper edges of which define side belt lines (1f); shield means (14) extending transversely in the compartment to divide the compartment for blocking an air stream which would otherwise flow, in use, from a rear portion (2b) of the compartment forwardly to a front portion (2a) of the compartment; characterised by the shield means (14) comprising a single continuous sheet which projects above the belt line (1f), and which has a lower edge secured to the floor panel (17) by means of releasable fasteners (14c). An open-top vehicle body including a body structure (1) comprising a front section (1a) provided with a front windshield (6), a middle section (1b) provided with a floor panel (17) and side panel structures (1d) having upper edges defining side belt lines (1f), and a rear section (1c), the body structure having a front passenger compartment (2a) defined rearwards of the front windshield (6) and a rear compartment (2b) defined rearwards of the front passenger compartment (2a), and shield means (14) extending transversely between the front passenger compartment (2a) and the rear compartment (2b) for blocking an air stream which would otherwise flow, in use, from the rear compartment towards the front passenger compartment; characterised by the shield means (14) comprising a single continuous sheet which projects above the belt line (1f), and which has a lower edge secured to the floor panel (17) by means of releasable fasteners (14c). An open-top vehicle body in accordance with claim 1 or claim 2, in which the shield means (14) is in the form of a flexible sheet having an upper edge secured to the body structure. An open-top vehicle body in accordance with any one of the preceding claims, in which the upper end of the shield means (14) is not higher than a highest point of front seat means (3a) positioned in the front portion of the compartment or the front passenger compartment (2a). An open-top vehicle body in accordance with any one of the preceding claims, in which a pair of front seats (3) are provided in a side-by side relationship, and the shield means (14) has a transverse extent which is sufficient to cover a clearance between the front seats. An open-top vehicle body in accordance with claim 7, in which the shield member (14) has a transverse width which is substantially the same as a transverse width of the compartment (2) in the body. An open-top vehicle body in accordance with any one of the preceding claims, in which the body includes a roll bar (8) of substantially inverted U-shaped configuration having a pair of leg portions (8b) secured to the body, the shield means (14) including a thin member having an upper edge tied to the leg portion of the roll bar. An open-top vehicle in accordance with claim 7 when dependent at least on claim 3, in which each portion (8b) of the roll bar (8) is provided with a fitting (9) having a hook portion (13), and the upper edge of the thin flexible sheet (14) is tied at each end to a respective one of the hole portion of the fitting. An open-top vehicle body in accordance with claim 8, in which the thin flexible sheet (14) has side edges which are attached to the body by fastening means (14b). An open-top vehicle body in accordance with any one of the preceding claims, in which the shield means (14) is removably attached to the body.

Inventors: INOUE, HIROSHI, KOBAYAKAWA, TAKAHARU, SAITO, YOSUKE, SUEHIRO, MIKIO
Applicants: MAZDA MOTOR CORPORATION
Application year: 1987
Main classification: B60N3
IPC codes: B60H1, B62D25, B60R5, B60R21, B60J7