Roof for Vehicles, Especially Motor Vehicles, for Agricultural Purposes

The invention relates to a roof for vehicles, especially motor vehicles, for agricultural purposes, the roof having the shape of a trough and being mounted on a roof frame.

In a known roof of the species cited hereinabove (French Pat. No. 2 201 667), the upper roof wall, running approximately horizontally, is supported on cross members by means of elastic elements, whereby a segment which circumferentially delimits the roof wall rests directly upon the frame parts of the vehicle. This design suffers from the disadvantage that this type of design and mounting not only causes permanent deformation of the roof wall but also makes it more difficult to mount the roof, especially when tolerances are unsatisfactory. Moreover, no precautions are taken to ensure that the segment is always aligned in proper position with the adjacent frame of the vehicle.

Thus, an object of the present invention is to provide a roof which can be mounted easily and is held firmly on the vehicle.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, this object is achieved by the roof being made of plastic and fastened removably to the vehicle, having a segment which rests upon the roof frame with a sealing element provided between them, said frame being provided with a supporting part for an upper roof wall, and by the segment cooperating with the roof frame by a holding device. It is advantageous in this connection for the roof wall to have a local expansion in the vicinity of the supporting part, the expansion resting upon a bend in the supporting part. The expansion is provided with a threaded insert. The mounting device is formed by a gutter and by an element projecting into the latter. The gutter is provided on the segment in the vicinity of a thickening. The element is formed by an angle mounted on the supporting part. Moreover, the part of the segment which covers the roof frame runs at a distance from one roof frame wall.

Special advantages achieved by the invention include the fact that the roof, which exhibits a certain degree of instability because of its shape and material, can be mounted easily and rests upon the roof frame without creating noise. During assembly, the mounting device ensures that it is always aligned in the proper position. Moreover, the mounting of the segment, which is provided with a thickening, provides an arrangement which is favorable from the strength standpoint.

These and further objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more obvious from the following description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings which show, for purposes of illustration only, a single embodiment in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 1 is a rear view of a vehicle equipped with a roof according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a cross section along Line II--II in FIG. 1 on an enlarged scale; and

FIG. 3 is a partially cut-away view of FIG. 1.

Vehicle 1, in the area shown, comprises a body 2 with a roof 3 and a rear window 4. Roof 3 is made of plastic and is formed by an upper wall 5, which runs approximately horizontally, and a segment 6 which delimits the latter circumferentially. The arrangement of segment 6 on roof wall 5 gives roof 3 the shape of an inverted trough.

Segment 6 has a thickened portion 7, located inside the roof, which rests upon a roof frame 9 (FIG. 3) with a sealing element 8 interposed therebetween. Thickened portion 7 and roof frame 9 have areas 10 and 11, respectively, which run horizontally. Roof frame 9 is formed by an inner part 12 and an outer part 13, which are fastened at respective flanges 14, 24.

A supporting part 16 is provided on roof frame 9, the part fitting against an extension 17 of roof wall 5 which prevents local collapse. Extension 17 rests upon an angle 18 of supporting part 16 and is provided with a threaded insert 19 to accept a bolt 20. The shape and thickness of extension 17 are determined by the anticipated stresses.

Supporting part 16 also forms part of a holding device 15 formed by a preferably local recess 21 in thickened portion 7 and an element 22 projecting into recess 21. Element 22 is made in the form of an angle and is connected integrally with supporting part 16 to facilitate manufacture, the part 16 being fastened to roof frame 9 at 23 and 24 by welding.

Segment 6 comprises a part 25 which covers roof frame 9 on its outside 26 and is constructed to serve as a rain gutter. A distance A is provided between part 25 and roof frame 9 in order to compensate for manufacturing and temperature tolerances.

While we have shown and described one embodiment in accordance with the present invention, it is understood that the same is not limited thereto but is susceptible of numerous changes and modifications as known to those skilled in the art and we therefore do not wish to be limited to the details shown and described herein but intend to cover all such changes and modifications as are encompassed by the scope of the appended claims.