ROLL CAGE

Abstract

The invention relates to a roll cage for a motor vehicle that has Isofix attachment points in the rear section of the motor vehicle interior, wherein the roll cage is formed by a rollbar that has at least four mounting points for securing and supporting the rollbar in the motor vehicle, two of which mounting points form two first mounting points in the form of clamp elements that clamp onto at least two Isofix attachment points, and the other two of which form two support elements, which support the rollbar in the passenger compartment, in particular on its floor. Such a roll cage can be installed quickly, and does not require approval.

Claims

1. A roll cage for a passenger compartment of a motor vehicle, which has at least two Isofix attachment points in a rear section of the passenger compartment of the motor vehicle, wherein the roll cage is formed by a rollbar that has at least two clamp elements that clamp onto the at least two Isofix attachment points, and two support elements, which support the rollbar on a floor of the passenger compartment.

2. The roll cage according to claim 1, wherein each of the two support elements comprises a support plate.

3. The roll cage according to claim 2, wherein each of the support plates includes a flange attached to a lower end of a tube forming a downwardly extending leg of the rollbar.

4. The roll cage according to claim 3, wherein the flange of each of the support plates and the lower end of the tube forming the leg of the rollbar are connected together by a screw clamp that encompasses both the flange and the tube.

5. The roll cage according to claim 2, wherein the support plates weighs between 5 and 15 kg, in particular between 8 and 10 kg.

6. The roll cage according to claim 1, wherein each of the clamp elements is made of first and second oblong clamp parts which can be connected to one another by at least one threaded bolt, and that at least one of the first and second clamp parts has at least one trough or recess on its side facing the other of the first and second clamp parts wherein the at least one trough or recess is sized to encompass at least a portion of the Isofix attachment point.

7. The roll cage according to claim 6, wherein each of the first and second clamp parts is made of a metal strip or metal bracket that is 4 to 10 mm thick, in particular 5 to 8 mm thick.

8. The roll cage according to claim 6, wherein the first clamp part is welded to the rollbar, and the second claim part is screwed to the first clamp part.

9. The roll cage according to claim 6, wherein each of the first and second clamp parts has a trough on its side facing the other of the first and second clamp parts and when the first and second clamp parts are connected together the troughs of the first and second clamp parts form a cylindrical hole sized to encompass a mount on a respective one of the Isofix attachment points, the cylindrical hole having a diameter of at least 5 mm, in particular 5.5 mm to 6.5 mm which is transverse to the longitudinal axes of the first and second clamp parts.

10. The roll cage according to claim 6, wherein the first and second clamp parts are connected to one another by at least two threaded bolts, located successively behind one another in the longitudinal direction.

11. The roll cage according to claim 6, wherein the distance from the hole to the next threaded bolt is at least 3 cm.

12. The roll cage according to claim 1, wherein the rollbar and the two support elements or the two clamp elements or both are made of metal.

13. The roll cage according to claim 1, characterized in that the spacing between the two clamp elements can be adjusted.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0031] The invention shall be described in greater detail below on the basis of exemplary embodiments in conjunction with the schematic drawings. Wherein:

[0032] FIG. 1 shows a side view of a roll cage according to an embodiment of the invention in a motor vehicle;

[0033] FIG. 2 shows a rear view of the roll cage shown in FIG. 1;

[0034] FIG. 3 shows a detailed view of the support element in a fragmentary, side view;

[0035] FIG. 4 shows a top view of the support element;

[0036] FIG. 5 shows a top view of a clamp element; and

[0037] FIG. 6 shows a longitudinal cut through the clamp element shown in FIG. 5.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF AN EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION

[0038] FIG. 1 shows a schematic and very simplified illustration of a passenger compartment 10 in a motor vehicle, with a windshield 12, steering wheel 14, front seats 16, rear section 18 behind the front seats, and a back seat 20.

[0039] A mount 26 for an Isofix attachment point is located in the known manner on the back seat 20 in the gap between the seat 22 and the backrest 24. These attachment points are usually used for securing child seats.

[0040] A roll cage 30 is located in the rear section 18 of the passenger compartment 10, which shall be explained in greater detail in reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.

[0041] The roll cage 30 contains a rollbar 32, which, seen from the side, has an A-frame structure with a front leg 36 and rear leg 33, connected by a horizontal connecting web 39. The rear leg 33 has a horizontal web 37 at its lower end, which has two first mounting points 34a, 34b, each of which can be secured to a mount 26 on an Isofix attachment point, preferably on both sides at the outermost Isofix attachment points.

[0042] The front leg 36 extends into the footwell in front of the back seat 20, and is supported by two supporting elements 38a, 38b on the floor 41 of the passenger compartment 10. Each supporting element 38a, 38b is composed of a support plate 40 with a flange 42, which is connected to the lower end 46 of the front leg 36 of the rollbar 32 by a screw clamp 44.

[0043] The support elements 38a, 38b are shown in greater detail in FIGS. 3 and 4. They are composed of the support plate 40, which is preferably 150 milimeters (mm)×250 mm to 200 mm×350 mm, and therefore supported with a large surface area on the floor 41 of the passenger compartment. The weight is preferably numerous kilograms, preferably 5 to 15 kg, such that the weight of the support plates 40 keeps the rollbar 32 securely on the floor 41 of the passenger compartment 10.

[0044] The flange 42, i.e. a tube flange, is welded to the support plate 40. The flange 42 preferably has the same diameter as the lower end 46 of the front leg 36 of the rollbar 32. It is then connected via the screw clamp, or tube screw clamp 44. The tube screw clamp 44 is composed of two half-clamps 48, 50, which are tightened to one another by two screws 52 that pass through the flange 42 and the lower end 46 of the front leg 36, thus securely connecting the lower end 46 and the flange 42 to one another.

[0045] The clamp elements 34a, 34b are shown in greater detail in FIGS. 5 and 6. The clamp elements 34a, 34b are composed of a first clamp part 54, which is welded to the horizontal web 37 of the rollbar (FIG. 2). The first clamp part 54 forms an oblong metal bracket with a material thickness of preferably at least 5 mm.

[0046] The first clamp part 54 has a cylindrical trough 56, transverse to the longitudinal axis, at its front end, which encompasses the mount 26 on the Isofix attachment point over approximately 180°. A second clamp part 60 is secured by two screws 58 to the first clamp part 54, which also forms an oblong metal bracket with a thickness of preferably at least 5 mm. The second clamp part 60 also has a complementary trough 62 at its front end, lying opposite the trough 56 on the first clamp part 54, such that the two troughs form a cylindrical hole 64 that entirely encompasses the mount 26, thus securing the rollbar 32 to the mount 26 on the corresponding Isofix attachment point.

[0047] There can be two or four first mounting points in the form of these clamp elements 34, which are secured to a corresponding number of mounts 26 in the rear section 18 of the vehicle's interior.

[0048] The rollbar 32 is securely anchored to the Isofix attachment points in this manner, and it is also supported on the floor 41 of the passenger compartment. The roll cage 30 can thus be quickly installed, without having to be registered, and it is also robust and functional.

[0049] It is clear to the person skilled in the art that the invention is not limited by the description of the drawings, and can be varied within the scope of protection of the subordinate claims.

LIST OF REFERENCE SYMBOLS

[0050] 10 passenger compartment in the vehicle [0051] 12 windshield on the vehicle [0052] 14 steering wheel [0053] 16 front seat [0054] 18 rear section of the passenger compartment [0055] 20 back seat [0056] 22 seat part of the back seat [0057] 24 backrest on the back seat [0058] 26 mount on the Isofix attachment point [0059] 30 roll cage [0060] 32 rollbar [0061] 33 rear leg of the A-frame rollbar [0062] 34a, b first mounting point—clamp element [0063] 36 front leg of the A-frame rollbar [0064] 37 lower horizontal web of the rear leg for attaching the first mounting point [0065] 38a,b second mounting point—support element [0066] 39 connecting web between the front and rear leg [0067] 40 support plate of the support element [0068] 42 flange welded to the support plate of the support element [0069] 44 screw clamp—tube screw clamp for attaching the support element to the lower end of the front leg [0070] 46 lower end of the front leg of the rollbar [0071] 48 first half-clamp of the screw clamp [0072] 50 second half-clamp of the screw clamp [0073] 52 screws for tightening the two half-clamps [0074] 54 first clamp part—metal bracket [0075] 56 cylindrical trough in first clamp part, transverse to the longitudinal direction for clamping the mount [0076] 58 screws for tightening the clamp parts to one another [0077] 60 second clamp part—metal bracket [0078] 62 cylindrical trough in first clamp part, transverse to the longitudinal direction, for clamping the mount [0079] 64 cylindrical hole for receiving the mount, formed by the troughs in the two clamp parts facing one another