Patent Publication Number: US-2011048658-A1

Title: Cargo shade for automotive vehicle

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to an accessory cargo shade for covering an interior load area of a vehicle, and more particularly to a cover for an interior load compartment of a sport utility vehicle. 
     2. Related Art 
     Drivers of sport utility vehicles often find it desirable to deploy a sight shield or “shade” extending over the load compartment or cargo area of their vehicles. Such shades are employed to prevent the viewing of items stored within the vehicle. Known cargo shades employ rollers which are usually mounted upon the quarter trim panels of the vehicle. Unfortunately, this mounting method has proven to be cumbersome, because in order to access the stowage area, the shade must be retracted, and this is an inconvenience. Moreover, storing the shade when the rear seat of the vehicle is folded down is a problem because it is quite lengthy and difficult to manage. 
     It would be desirable to provide a cargo shade which does not inhibit stowage of large articles within the rear cargo area of a vehicle, but which is readily moved out of the way by elevating a cargo area liftgate, even with the shade attached at both ends, while providing an integral roller and reducing the direct labor required to assemble a vehicle, as well as reducing the number of parts that need to be installed at the vehicle assembly plant or dealer. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     According to an aspect of the present invention, a cargo shade for an automotive vehicle includes a shade storage device contained within a cargo area trim panel. A retractable shade is attached to the storage device. According to an another aspect of the present invention, the cargo area trim panel containing the shade storage device may be attached, or integrated within, a liftgate or alternatively, a seatback. In the event that the cargo area trim panel is part of a liftgate, a flexible shade will be removably attached to a seatback at the front of the cargo compartment, as well as to the storage device. According to another aspect of the present invention, when the cargo area trim panel housing the shade storage device is attached to a seatback, the flexible shade can be removably attached to a liftgate cargo area closure, as well as to the storage device. 
     According to another aspect of the present invention, a storage device may include a roller journaled within a compartment which is integral with a cargo area trim panel. As before, the cargo area trim panel may either be a trim panel attached to a liftgate, or a trim panel attached to a seatback, both of which adjoin the rear cargo area of a vehicle. 
     It is an advantage of a cargo shade according to the present invention that the shade need not be retracted in order to access a stowage area within the vehicle. 
     It is another advantage of a cargo shade according to the present invention that storage of the shade is facilitated because the shade storage device, illustrated as a roller, is built into the vehicle and is carried within either a trim panel attached to a seatback, or a trim panel of a liftgate. 
     It is yet another advantage of a cargo shade according to the present invention that assembly labor and material cost is reduced, by reducing the number of parts needed to assemble a vehicle. 
     Other advantages, as well as features of the present system, will become apparent to the reader of this specification. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a vehicle having a cargo shade according to an aspect of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a second perspective view of the cargo shade depicted in  FIG. 1 , but showing a liftgate in the closed position, as opposed to the open position shown in  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 3  illustrates a cargo shade according to an aspect of the present invention being installed within a seatback, as opposed to the liftgate installations shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 . 
         FIG. 4  illustrates a cargo shade according to the present invention being installed within a liftgate and selectively attachable to a vehicle&#39;s quarter trim panels. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     As shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , a vehicle,  10 , is equipped with a flexible retractable shade,  12 , which is wound upon a storage device embodied here as a roller,  22 , which is shown in alternate locations in  FIGS. 1 and 3 . Shade  12  may be located upon roller  22  which is journaled within either liftgate trim panel  14 , which is applied to the interior of liftgate  16 , or alternatively, within a seatback trim panel,  30 , which is applied to a rearward portion of seatback  18 . In either event, roller  22  is contained, or journaled, within a recessed compartment,  26 , which is set into a trim panel. 
     As is easily seen from the various Figures, liftgate  16  and seatback  18  adjoin cargo area  20  of vehicle  10  and define the front and rearmost portions of cargo area  20 . When liftgate  16  is in its open position ( FIG. 1 ), shade  12  is raised at its trailing end, allowing easy access to cargo compartment  20 . Conversely, when liftgate  16  is closed ( FIG. 2 ), visual access to cargo compartment  20  is prevented. Those skilled in the art will appreciate in view of this disclosure that shade  12  may be constructed from a range of woven, non-woven, composite, or non-composite materials having various optical densities. 
     When shade  12  is mounted within liftgate trim panel  14 , shade  12  is selectively fastenable to seatback  18  by hook-and-loop fastenings  32 , which are manually manipulated to fasten shade  12  to seatback trim panel  30 . These fastenings are shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 . In the embodiment of  FIGS. 1 and 2 , deployment of shade  12  involves manually withdrawing shade  12  from recessed compartment  26  ( FIG. 1 ), followed by manually attaching shade  12  by means of hook-and-loop fasteners  32  either to seatback trim panel  30 . In the embodiment shown in  FIG. 3 , to similar fastening provisions are provided upon liftgate trim panel  14 . In either event, when liftgate  16  is placed in a raised position as shown in  FIG. 1 , shade  12  will be raised as also shown in  FIG. 1 , to allow access to the cargo area  20 . Moreover, when shade  12  is arranged as shown in  FIG. 3 , that is, mounted upon roller  22  contained within seatback  18 , and with the shade attached to liftgate trim panel  14 , raising of liftgate  16  will also cause shade  12  to be lifted to allow access to cargo area  20 . 
       FIG. 4  shows an embodiment in which cargo shade  12  is selectively attachable to interior quarter trim panels,  40 , (one being shown). A loop,  44 , mounted upon shade  12 , is engageable with mushroom-shaped posts,  48 , (one shown) mounted to panels  40  at each side of shade  12 . 
     The foregoing invention has been described in accordance with the relevant legal standards, thus the description is exemplary rather than limiting in nature. Variations and modifications to the disclosed embodiment may become apparent to those skilled in the art and fall within the scope of the invention. Accordingly the scope of legal protection afforded this invention can only be determined by studying the following claims.