AU771522B2 - Extruded section - Google Patents

Description

I,

P/00/0011 Regulation 3.2

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR A STANDARD PATENT

ORIGINAL

o Name of Applicant: Actual Inventor: Address for service in Australia: Invention Title: FETOVU PTY LTD Richard Cropley Freehills Carter Smith Beadle 101 Collins Street Melbourne Victoria 3000 Australia EXTRUDED SECTION Details of Associated Provisional Application: Australian Provisional Patent Application No PQ3473 filed 15 October 1999 The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to us 2 Field of the Invention This invention relates to an extruded section and relates particularly to an extruded metal or plastic structural section which is subsequently modified to change the structural characteristics in accordance with an intended use.

The invention will be described with particular reference to an extruded metal section designed for use as a roof bar for a motor vehicle. However, it will be appreciated that the principles of the invention have broader application and may be adopted and used in a wide variety of applications where extruded metal and/or plastic structural sections are used. Such uses extend to, for example, window frames, vertical and horizontal frame sections for office and other partitioning, decorative trim and a wide variety of other applications.

Background of the Invention Roof bars for vehicles are commonly manufactured of extruded aluminium sections which are cut to the desired length, fitted with end caps and mounted to the vehicle roof by appropriate clamps. Some vehicles are provided with longitudinal mounting bars or channels to which clamps are readily attached. For other vehicles, Scustomised clamps are provided which engage co-operating supporting structures so that the roof bar sits adjacent the vehicle roof. Roof bars are commonly used for supporting loads which cannot be otherwise carried within the vehicle. On some 0o.oo: vehicles, the roof bars, sometimes called carry bars or roof racks, are an integral of the vehicle structure. However, for most vehicles, particularly passenger Svehicles, the roof bars are an accessory and are generally able to be removed from the vehicle when not required for use. In many cases, however, roof bars, once affixed to the vehicle, are often left in place.

Roof bars are formed of a variety of shapes and configurations. However, shapes which are not aerodynamic may give rise to substantial wind resistance during vehicle movement. This can result in undesirable noise both within and externally of the vehicle, particularly at relatively high speeds of over 40 km per hour. The shape may also produce such wind resistance that the fuel economy of the vehicle is substantially diminished even without a load carried by the roof bars.

It is known to form the roof cross bars from a metal section having DCC:TG:40380534.CAP 5 October 2000 aerodynamic characteristics. One such metal section is of generally elliptical cross section having internal walls providing structural support for the upper and lower outer walls. Both upper and lower walls are formed with slots, the slot in the upper wall being provided to enable accessories to be directly attached to the bar while the lower slot is provided to enable the bar to be mounted on an appropriate clamp.

The provision of the upper and lower slots, however, reduce the aerodynamic characteristics of the roof bar.

It is therefore desirable to provide an improved roof bar section having improved aerodynamic characteristics.

It is also desirable to provide an improved extruded section which may be modified as required to form slots of predetermined lengths.

It is also desirable to provide an improved extruded section which is easily and simply modified.

.o It is also desirable to provide an improved extruded section, particularly for use as a roof bar, which is economical to manufacture.

Summary of the Invention According to one aspect of the invention there is provided an extruded section having a plurality of integral walls defining the cross sectional shape of the extrusion, at least one of the walls forming an outer wall, and at least two longitudinally extending, spaced grooves formed in at least one surface of said outer wall defining a pull-out tab section.

Preferably, opposed grooves are formed in both surfaces of the outer wall, the grooves defining lines of weakness which enable a longitudinally extending tab section to be separated from the outer wall leaving an intact outer wall inwardly from the end of the pull-out section.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, one or more holes, slots, punched or otherwise formed deformations or the like are provided or formatted along the length of the pull-out tab section defining a length of tab which may be removed from the outer wall. The tab section may be of any length along the total length of the extruded section.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, there is provided a roof DI)CC:TG:40380534.CAP 5 October 2000 bar for a vehicle, said bar comprising an extruded metal section having a plurality of integral walls, including at least one outer wall, defining the cross sectional shape of the extrusion, said at least one outer wall having at least two longitudinally extending, spaced grooves formed in one surface of said outer wall defining a pullout tab section, and means defining an inner end of a tab section portion inwardly from each end of the roof bar.

Preferably, the means defining an inner end comprises a hole drilled or punched into the pull-out tab section, or a line of weakness at which the pull-out tab section portion can be separated from the remainder of the tab section.

Preferably, the roof bar is of substantially elliptical cross section with the pull-out tab section substantially mid way on the outer wall between the ends of the elliptical section.

The removal of the pull-out tab section portion from the extruded section results in a slot in the extruded section extending from each end thereof to the end of the tab section portion. This slot is provided to enable the roof bar to be mounted to a support clamp using a bolt or other fastener which engages within the slot so formed. By leaving the remainder of the pull-out tab section in place after the removable portions have been removed, the integrity of the extruded section is maintained as well as maintaining a substantially continuous, smooth outer wall surface providing improved aerodynamic characteristics as compared to a similar surface formed with a full length, longitudinal slot.

In order that the invention is more readily understood, one embodiment thereof will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein: Figure 1 is a perspective view of an extruded section formed in accordance with the present invention; Figure 2 is a view similar to that of Figure 1 showing partial removal of a pull-out tab section portion; Figure 3 is a view similar to that of Figure 1 showing the pull out tab section portion completely removed; and Figure 4 is a view illustrating the use of an extruded section of the invention DCC:TG:40380534.CAP 5 October 2000 as a roof bar for a vehicle.

Referring to the drawings, an extruded section in accordance with the present invention is illustrated in Figure 1. The section 14 of this embodiment, which is designed particularly for use as a roof bar for a motor vehicle, is of substantially elliptical shape in cross section. The section 14 has an elliptical shaped outer wall 16 with internal structural walls 17 which are extruded integrally with the outer wall 16 to form a unitary extrusion. A slot 18 is formed in one part of the outer wall 16 on one side of the section 14. This slot 18, in use of the extruded section as a roof bar for a vehicle, is uppermost and provides access to the internal channel 19 so that fasteners for accessories or the like can be secured to the section through the channel 19 throughout the length of the roof bar. Captive nuts or the like may be engaged within the channel 19 for this purpose.

The outer wall 16 opposite the slot 18 is formed with two parallel, S"longitudinally extending grooves 21 in the outer surface of the outer wall 16.

Corresponding grooves (not shown) may also be provided along the inner surface of the outer wall 16 opposite the grooves 21. The grooves 21, together with any Scorresponding opposite grooves, provide lines of weakness in the structure of the outer wall and define a pull-out tab section 22.

Referring to Figures 2 and 3, the tab section 22 may be removed from the section 14 by breaking the section 22 from the outer wall 16 along the lines of weakness formed by the grooves 21. As shown in Figure 2, a hole 23 may be formed by drilling or punching into the tab section 22. The hole 23 defines an inner end for the portion of tab section 22a to be removed from the outer wall 16. The hole 23 may be provided at any suitable location along the length of the tab section 22 commensurate with the requirement to remove a tab section portion to open up a slot 24 in the outer wall 16.

Figure 3 illustrates the section 14 with the tab section portion 22a completely removed so that the slot 24 is defined by the exposed edges of the outer wall 16 and the end of the hole 23. The remaining part of the tab section 22 maintains the aerodynamic outer wall surface 16 to assist in the flow of air across the outer wall when the section 14 is used as, for example, a motor vehicle roof bar.

DCC:TG:40380534.CAP 5 October 2000 It will be appreciated that the length of the tab section portion 22a which has been removed may be any suitable length. Further, it will be appreciated that a plurality of holes 23 may be preformed in the tab section 22 at different spacings from the end of the section 14 to provide predetermined lengths of tab section portions which may be removed. It will also be understood that, instead of providing preformed holes, the tab section 22 may be formed with a transverse line of weakness defining an end of a tab section portion 22a.

It will also be understood that tab section portions 22a extend from each end of a section forming a vehicle roof bar.

Referring to Figure 4, there is illustrated a section 14 in accordance with the invention mounted to the roof 26 of a motor vehicle. The motor vehicle is provided with longitudinally extending rails 28 to which the section 14 is attached by clamps :i 29. The clamps 29 are engaged with the section 14 by bolts 31 which engage through the slot 24 formed by removal of a tab section portion 22a (not shown).

The slot 24 terminates at the edge of a hole 23 which had previously been formed in the tab section 22 to permit removal of the tab portion 22a of a predetermined length. The bolts 31 engage with nuts (not shown) which are located within the channel 32 (Figure 3) formed by removal of the tab section portion 22a.

An end cap 33 of plastic of similar material is engaged with the end of the *°ooo S0 20 section 14 in a known manner. The roof bar formed by the section 14 has a relatively smooth outer surface facilitating air movement across the surface of the 22.section 14. By leaving the tab section 22 in place between the slots 24 formed by the removal of portions 22a, the surface of the outer wall 16 is substantially continuous on the underside of the section 14 thereby reducing wind noise and improving the appearance of the roof bar.

It will be appreciated that the extruded section of the present invention may be used for a variety of purposes. For example, a section may be designed for use as a mast for a yacht or other watercraft, or as a boom or the like, or in any other application where it may be desired to remove a portion of an outer wall of an extruded section.

DCC:TG:40380534.CAP 5 October 2000

Claims (13)

1. An extruded section having a plurality of integral walls defining the cross sectional shape of the extrusion, at least one of the walls forming an outer wall, and at least two longitudinally extending, spaced grooves formed in at least one surface of said outer wall defining a pull-out tab section.

2. An extruded section according to Claim 1 wherein opposed grooves are formed in both surfaces of the outer wall, the grooves defining lines of weakness which enable a longitudinally extending tab section to be separated from the outer wall.

3. An extruded section according to Claim 1 or Claim 2 wherein at least one hole, slot, deformation, transverse groove or other means defines the length of said pull-out tab section to be removed from the outer wall.

4. An extruded section according to any one of Claims 1 to 3 wherein said extrusion is formed of aluminium or synthetic plastics material.

5. A roof bar for a vehicle, said bar comprising an extruded metal section having a plurality of integral walls, including at least one outer wall, defining the cross sectional shape of the extrusion, said at least one outer wall having at least two longitudinally extending, spaced grooves formed in one surface 000.of said outer wall defining a pull-out tab section, and means defining an inner end of a tab section portion inwardly from each end of the roof bar.

6. A roof bar according to Claim 5 wherein said means comprises a hole drilled or punched into the pull-out tab section.

7. A roof bar according to Claim 5 wherein said means comprises a line of weakness at which the pull-out tab section portion can be separated from the remainder of the tab section.

8. A roof bar according to any one of Claims 5 to 7 wherein the roof bar is of substantially elliptical cross section with the pull-out tab section substantially mid way on the outer wall between the ends of the elliptical section.

9. A roof bar according to any one of claims 5 to 8 wherein removal of the pull-out tab section portions from the extruded section results in two slots in the outer wall of the extruded section, extending from each end thereof to the end of the DCC:TG:40380534.CAP 5 October 2000 8 respective tab section portions.

A roof bar according to Claim 9 wherein a support clamp engages with the roof bar with a bolt or other fastener engaged within the slot.

11. A roof bar according to any one of Claims 5 to 10 wherein the pull- out tab section remaining in place after the removable portions have been removed from each end part of the roof bar maintains the integrity of the bar and provides a substantially continuous, smooth outer wall surface.

12. An extrusion substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

13. A roof bar substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings. DATED: 5 October 2000 Freehills Carter Smith Beadle S Patent Attorneys for the Applicant: 2T o:;o 20 FETOVU PTY LTD e** 0.4* •coo oooo• DCC:TG:40380534.CAP 5 October 2000