Title of Invention

AUTOMOTIVE REAR PARCEL RACK SUPPORTING STRUCTURE

Abstract

The present invention provides an automotive rear parcel rack supporting structure which can be easily installed to the vehicle and achieves the reduction in weight of inner trim and the improvement in appearance. A supporting structure for an automotive rear parcel rack 12 supports the rear parcel rack 12 disposed at the rear potion of a cabin 30 of an automobile by using a rear parcel rack holder 10 comprising a body 1, an attachment portion 2 for attaching the body 1 to the vehicle, an attachment portion 3 for an inner trim 13, and a support portion 4 for the rear parcel rack 12. In the supporting structure for an automotive rear parcel rack holder 10, the rear parcel rack holder 10 is disposed between the inner trim 13 and a vehicle body 11, and is fixed to the vehicle body 11 by the attachment portion 2 for attaching the body 1 to the vehicle.

Full Text

The present Invention relates to an automotive rear parcel rack supporting structure. More particularly, it relates to a structure of a rear parcel rack holder itself for supporting a rear parcel rack, and an automotive rear parcel rack supporting structure in which the arrangement position of a rear parcel rack holder on an automobile is most favorable. A rear parcel rack is sometimes disposed at the rear portion of an automotive cabin to put parcels or install car stereo speakers depending on the type of vehicle. Conventionally, structures of a rear parcel rack holder itself for supporting the rear parcel rack and technologies concerning a rear parcel rack supporting structure considering the arrangement position of the rear parcel rack holder on an automobile have been disposed in large numbers. For example, Japanese Patent Provisional Publication No. 5-238323 (No. 238323/1993) fuid Japanese Patent Provisional Publication No. 8-132970 (No. 132970/1996) are taken as the examples. In any of these technologies, an inner trim is first installed to a vehicle body, and then a rear parcel rack holder is installed to the vehicle body or the inner trim from the upside of the inner trim covering the vehicle body to support a rear parcel rack. Specifically, a technology has been disclosed In which the rear parcel rack holder is installed on the cabin side of inner trim, and the rear parcel rack is supported by the rear parcel rack holder only or by both of the rear parcel rack holder and the inner trim. In the aforementioned related arts, the rear parcel rack holder for supporting the rear parcel rack is installed from the upside of the inner trim. For such a structure, when heavy objects such as parcels and car stereo speakers are put on the rear parcel rack, these loads are transmitted to the inner trim via the rear parcel rack holder. Therefore, the inner trim is required to have strength and rigidity enough to support the load to prevent deflection, etc., so that it is necessary to dispose reinforcement ribs on the inner trim or to increase the thickness of the inner trim. As a result, the inner trim has been regarded as a part whose weight is difficult to decrease in designing. Also, since the rear parcel rack holder is attached to the inner trim on the cabin side, the holder must be located at a position where the design of inner trim is not degraded, and the selection of the arrangement position of holder is restricted from the viewpoint of appearance. Also, conventionally, when the rear parcel rack holder is installed to the vehicle body via the inner trim with screw or the like, a nut is welded to the vehicle side, or installation work is performed while the operator holds a nut by hand from the vehicle side. Therefore, an extra work process of welding the nut to the vehicle body in advance is needed, or work efficiency of the installation of the rear parcel rack holder is poor. Further, since the rear parcel rack holder is installed on the cabin side of the inner trim, the design shape of inner trim surface on the cabin side is often discontinuous, which causes degradation in appearance in the cabin. OBJECT AND SUMMARY QF THE IMVEHTION To solve the above problems, the automotive rear parcel rack supporting structure in accordance with the present invention supports a rear parcel rack disposed at the rear portion of an automotive cabin by using a rear parcel rack holder comprising a body, an attachment portion for attaching the body to the vehicle, an attachment portion for an inner trim, and a support portion for the rear parcel rack. The rear parcel rack holder is disposed between the inner trim and a vehicle body, and is fixed to the vehicle body by the attachment portion for attaching the body to the vehicle. The aforesaid rear parcel rack means a plate-shaped automotive part for partitioning the space at the rear portion of the automotive cabin. This rear parcel rack means an automotive part which not only serves as a mere psirtition but also has a function such that parcels can be put or car stereo speakers or the like can be installed. Also, the automotive rear parcel rack supporting structure in accordance with the present invention is configured so that the rear pfiircel rack holder is disposed on the rear side or the transverse side of the vehicle to support the rear parcel rack. Also, the automotive rear parcel rack supporting structure in accordance with the present invention is configured so that the centerline of the body with respect to the width in the lengthwise direction of the rear parcel rack holder passes through the center of the attachment portion for attaching the body to the vehicle, and a resin nut is provided at the attachment portion for attaching the body to the vehicle. Further, the automotive rear parcel rack supporting structure in accordance with the present invention is configured so that the attachment portion for attaching the rear parcel rack holder to the inner trim is shifted to the side of the cabin with respect to the attachment portion for attaching the body of the rear parcel rack holder to the vehicle so as to approach the side of the inner trim. According to the present invention, the rear parcel rack holder for supporting the rear parcel rack is attached to the vehicle body. In a structure in which the rear parcel rack holder is installed from the upside of the inner trim rack as in the case of the related art, when heavy objects such as parcels and car stereo speakers are put on the rear parcel rack, these loads are supported by the inner trim via the rear parcel rack holder. Therefore, the inner trim is required to have strength and rigidity enough to support the load to prevent deflection, etc., so that it is necessary to dispose reinforcement ribs on the inner trim or to increase the thickness of the inner trim. According to the present invention, however. the structure is such that the vehicle body supports the load, so that the load carried by the inner trim can be decreased as compared with the related art. Therefore, the number of reinforcement ribs of the inner trim can be reduced or the thickness of the inner trim can be decreased, which enables the decrease in weight. The present invention provides a structure in which the rear parcel rack holder is attached to the vehicle body, not to the inner trim unlike the related art. Therefore, the arrangement position of the rear parcel rack holder can be selected freely without degrading the design of the inner trim. Also, according to the present invention, the resin nut is provided on the rear parcel rack holder. Therefore, when the rear parcel rack holder is installed to the vehicle body with a screw or the like, it can be installed to the vehicle body without the advance welding of the nut to the vehicle body side or the holding of the nut by operator"s hand from the vehicle body side. Consequently, the installation work of the rear parcel rack holder can be Improved, by which the productivity can be enhanced and the cost can be reduced. Further, according to the present invention, the attachment portion for attaching the rear parcel rack holder to the inner trim is disposed so as to approach the inner trim side. Conventionally, since the rear parcel rack holder is attached to the inner trim on the cabin side, the surface shape of the inner trim on the cabin side is often discontinuous. However, according to the present Invention, since the rear parcel rack holder Is disposed between the inner trim and the vehicle body, the surface shape of the inner trim can be designed continuously, so that the appearance in the cabin can be improved. In addition, according to the present invention, the shape of the rear parcel rack holder is symmetrical with respect to the centerline of the rear parcel rack holder with respect to the width in the lengthwise direction. Therefore, the rear parcel rack holder can be used in common for both of the right and left sides of the vehicle, so that the part can be made common. BRIEF DESCRTPTTQH OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing an embodiment of an automotive rear parcel rack supporting structure in accordance with the present invention; FIG. 2 is a view of a rear parcel rack holder, viewed in the direction of the arrow A of FIG. 1; FIG. 3 is a view of a reeir parcel rack holder, viewed in the direction of the arrow B of FIG. 1; FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view showing another embodiment of an automotive rear parcel rack supporting structure to which the present invention is applied; FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a rear parcel rack holder used for the automotive rear parcel rack supporting structure shown in FIG. 4; and FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along the line C-C of the automotive rear parcel rack supporting structure shown in PIG. 4. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODTMENTS FIGS. 1 to 6 show embodiments of the present invention. FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing an embodiment of an automotive rear parcel rack supporting structxire in accordance with the present invention, FIG. 2 is a view of a rear parcel rack holder, viewed in the direction of the arrow A of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a view of a rear peircel rack holder, viewed in the direction of the arrow B of FIG. 1. FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view showing another embodiment of an automotive rear parcel rack supporting structure to which the present invention is applied, FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a rear parcel rack holder used for the automotive rear parcel rack supporting structure shown in FIG. 4, and FIG. 6 is a sectional view taKen along the line C-C of the automotive rear parcel rack supporting structure shown in FIG. 4. FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing an embodiment of an automotive rear parcel rack supporting structure to which the present invention is applied. As shown in FIG. 1, a rear parcel rack 12 is fitted with a shaft 16, and the shaft 16 is inserted in a support portion 4 of a rear parcel rack holder 10, by which the rear parcel rack 12 is held by the rear parcel rack holder 10. A resin nut 5 is provided at an attachment portion 2 for attaching a vehicle, and a mounting hole 38 is formed in a vehicle body 11. After the resin nut 5 is fitted into the mounting hole 38, the rear parcel rack holder 10 is fixed to the vehicle body 11 by tightening with a screw 15. Thus, the rear parcel rack holder 10 Is fixed to the vehicle body 11 on the rear side of the vehicle. Also, an inner trim 13 is fixed to an attachment portion 3 of the rear parcel rack holder 10 with a screw 14 through a mounting hole 35. FIG. 1 shows only the right side of the vehicle for convenience. The shape of vehicle on the left side, which is not shown in the figure, is substantially symmetrical to the shape shown in FIG. 1 with respect to the centerline in the vehicle width direction of the vehicle. FIGS. 2 and 3 show the shapes of the rear parcel rack holder 10 viewed in the directions of the arrows A and B, respectively. The rear parcel rack holder 10 comprises the body 1, the attachment portion 2 for attaching the body 1 to the vehicle, the attachment portion 3 for the inner trim 13, and the support portion 4 for the rear parcel rack 12. For the rear parcel rack holder 10, a centerline 40 of the body 1 with respect to the width in the lengthwise direction of the holder passes through the center of the attachment portion 2, and the resin nut 5 is provided at the attachment portion 2. The rear parcel rack holder 10 has a symmetrical shape with respect to this centerline 40. Further, the shape of the rear parcel rack holder 10 is made a shape approaching the side of the inner trim 13 by shifting the attachment portion 3 for the inner trim 13 to the side of a cabin 30 with respect to the attachment portion 2 for attaching the body 1 to the vehicle. The rear parcel rack holder 10 is required to have strength and rigidity enough to support a load which is applied when a parcel etc. are put on the rear parcel rack 12 in order to prevent deflection etc. For this purpose, measures are taken by arranging ribs 6 or the like. The material of the rear parcel rack holder 10 is a resin of, for example, polyacetal, and the body 1 and the resin nut 5 are basically formed into one piece. In some cases, however, the body 1 and the resin nut 5 may be manufactured separately and thereafter integrated with each other. The state in which the rear parcel rack holder 10 is installed to the vehicle body IX is as shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 2 is an enlarged view showing the rear parcel rack holder 10. Similarly, the state in which the rear parcel rack 12 is installed to the rear parcel rack holder 10 is also shown in the enlarged view of FIG. 2. The above is a detailed description of one embodiment of the present invention. Another embodiment is shown in FIGS. 4 to 6. FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view showing an automotive rear parcel rack supporting structure to which the present invention is applied. A rear parcel rack 12" is installed to the vehicle in a state in which one of shafts 16" is inserted in a support portion 4" of a rear parcel rack holder 10" through a groove 32 of an inner trim 13" and the other of the shafts 16" is supported by a groove 33 in the inner trim 13". A resin nut 5" (see FIG. 5) is provided at an attachment portion 2" for attaching a body 1" to the vehicle, and a mounting hole 38" is formed in a vehicle body 11". After the resin nut 5" is fitted into the mounting hole 38", the rear parcel rack holder 10" is fixed to the vehicle body 11" by tightening with a screw 15". Thus, the rear parcel rack holder 10" is fixed to the vehicle body 11" on the rear side of the vehicle. Also, the inner trim 13" is fixed to an attachment portion 3" of the rear parcel rack holder 10" with a screw 14" through a mounting hole 35". At the same time, the inner trim 13" is fixed to an attachment portion 31 of the vehicle body 11" with a screw 36 through a mounting hole 34. Like FIG. 1, FIG. 4 shows only the right side of the vehicle for convenience. The shape of vehicle on the left side, which is not shown in the figure, is substantially symmetrical to the shape shown in FIG. 4 with respect to the centerline in the vehicle width direction of the vehicle. FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the rear parcel rack holder 10" shown in FIG. 4. The rear parcel rack holder 10" comprises the body 1" , the attachment portion 2" for attaching the body 1" to the vehicle, the attachment portion 3" for the inner trim 13", and the support portion 4" for the rear parcel rack 12". For the rear parcel rack holder 10", a centerline 40" of the body 1" with respect to the width in the lengthwise direction of the holder passes through the center of the attachment portion 2", and the resin nut 5" is provided at the attachment portion 2". The rear parcel rack holder 10" has a symmetrical shape with respect to this centerline 40". Fiirther, the shape of the rear parcel rack holder 10" is made a shape approaching the side of the inner trim 13" by shifting the attachment portion 3" for the inner trim 13" to the side of a cabin 30" with respect to the attachment portion 2" for attaching the body 1" to the vehicle. The rear parcel rack holder 10" is required to have strength and rigidity enough to support a load which is applied when a parcel etc. are put on the rear parcel rack 12" in order to prevent deflection etc. For this purpose, measures are taken by arranging ribs 6" and 7 or the like. The material of the rear parcel rack holder 10" is a resin of, for example, polyacetal, and the body 1" and the resin nut 5" are basically formed into one piece, in some cases, however, the body 1" and the resin nut 5 " may be manufactured separately and thereafter integrated with each other. The state in which the rear parcel rack holder 10" is installed to the vehicle body 11" is as shown in FIG. 4, and FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along the line C-C of FIG. 4. As shown in FIG. 4, the attachment portion 3" for attaching the inner trim 13" to the rear parcel rack holder 10" is shifted to the side of the cabin 30" with respect to the attachment portion 2" for attaching the body 1" of the rear parcel rack holder 10" so as to approach the side of the inner trim 13". By contrast, conventionally, the rear parcel rack holder 10" is installed on the cabin 30" side of the inner trim 13", so that the shape of a surface 37 of the inner trim 13" on the side of the cabin 30" is often discontinuous. According to the present invention, however, as shown in FIG. 6, the shape of the surface 37 on the cabin 30" side of the inner trim 13" can be formed continuously, so that degradation in appearance in the cabin 30" can be prevented without sacrificing the design. WE CLAIM 1. An automotive rear parcel rack supporting structure for supporting a rear parcel rack, which is disposed at the rear portion of an automotive cabin, by using a rear parcel rack holder comprising a body, an attachment portion for attaching said body to the vehicle, an attachment portion for an inner trim, and a support portion for the rear parcel rack, characterized in that said rear parcel rack holder is disposed between said inner trim and a vehicle body, and is fixed to said vehicle body by said attachment portion for attaching said body to the vehicle. 2. The automotive rear parcel rack supporting structure according to claim 1, wherein said rear parcel rack holder is disposed on the rear side or the transverse side of the vehicle to Support said rear parcel rack. 3. The automotive rear parcel rack supporting structure according to claim 1, wherein the centerline of said body with respect to the width in the lengthwise direction of said rear parcel rack holder passes through the center of said attachment portion for attaching said body to the vehicle, and a resin nut is provided at said attachment portion for attaching said body to the vehicle. 4. The automotive rear parcel rack supporting structure according to claim 1, wherein said attachment portion for said inner trim is shifted to the side of said cabin with respect to said attachment portion for attaching said body to the vehicle so as to approach the side of said inner trim. 5. An automotive rear parcel rack supporting structure substantially as described hereinabove and illustrated with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Documents:

570-mas-1999 abstract-duplicate.pdf

570-mas-1999 abstract.pdf

570-mas-1999 claims-duplicate.pdf

570-mas-1999 claims.pdf

570-mas-1999 correspondence-others.pdf

570-mas-1999 correspondence-po.pdf

570-mas-1999 description (complete)-duplicate.pdf

570-mas-1999 description (complete).pdf

570-mas-1999 drawings.pdf

570-mas-1999 form-19.pdf

570-mas-1999 form-2.pdf

570-mas-1999 form-26.pdf

570-mas-1999 form-4.pdf

570-mas-1999 form-5.pdf

570-mas-1999 others.pdf