Conversion Roof for Vans

Recreational motor vehicles or small panel trucks or vans are currently made into much more comfortable vehicles for human occupancy by removing the standard metal roof and replacing it with a conversion roof which provides greater headroom inside even sufficient for persons to stand. It has been common to do this in the past to vehicles which had a sharply rounded juncture between the roof and the side wall and included a drip rail or rain gutter at that juncture. The conversion roof was made to rest along the side walls in the drip rail and thus the attachment of the conversion roof to the body of the van was relatively easy. In today's van design, however, the drip rail in many vans have been eliminated and the juncture between the roof and the side wall has been spread over a much larger zone such that there is no sharp distinction between the roof and the side wall. This design change has also permitted the tops of doors to extend into the roof line which, in turn, has caused problems in designing conversion roofs to cover the roof of the vehicle and yet not interfere with the opening and closing of doors.

It is an object of this invention to provide an improved conversion roof for the newer designs of vans. It is another object of this invention to provide a system for preparing the conversion roof to be used on vans with doors that extend into the roof line of the van. Still other objects will be apparent from the more detailed description which follows.

This invention relates to a system for preparing a roof conversion member for a vehicular van automobile which comprises

(a) preparing a peripheral flange member having a lower supporting web which rests against and conforms to the periphery of the roof of the van and an upwardly standing web for attachment to the conversion roof, the flange being positioned and shaped to be free of interference with the opening and closing of van doors;

(b) preparing a conversion roof member adapted to be joined around its periphery to the flange member;

(c) attaching a conversion roof at its periphery to the standing web by adhesive means; and

(d) attaching the conversion roof with attached peripheral flange to the van roof at the lower supporting web by spaced removable fastening devices passing through the van roof and lower supporting web in a manner to produce a water-tight joint.

In preferred embodiments of this invention the peripheral flange and the conversion roof member are made of fiber glass reinforced resinous material and are adhesively attached to each other.

The invention also relates to a system for expanding the interior headroom of a vehicular van automobile which comprises

(a) cutting away the van roof leaving a marginal portion around the top of all doors and windows;

(b) preparing a flange support of fiber glass reinforced resin having a V-shaped cross-section with one leg of the V adapted to lie flat on the marginal portion and the other leg projecting upwardly following the contour of the adjoining side wall of the roof, the apex of the V being spaced laterally outward from the cut away portion of the van roof;

(c) molding a unitary dish-shaped, thin walled, conversion roof member of fiber glass reinforced resin to provide the desired expanded headroom and outside contour with the inside contour at the periphery of the roof member mating with the other leg of the flange support;

(d) attaching the flange support to the conversion roof member around the periphery of the conversion roof member with the apex of the V being substantially contiguous with periphery and the other leg extending laterally inwardly of the periphery;

(e) applying a strip of caulking compound to the van roof around the marginal portion;

(f) positioning the conversion van roof and its attached flange support on the strip of caulking compound with the other leg and the marginal portion having the caulking compound sandwiched therebetween; and

(g) clamping the other leg, the caulking compound, and the marginal portion together by a plurality of bolt means spaced apart around the marginal portion.

The novel features believed to be characteristic of this invention are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to its organization and method of operation, together with further objects and advantages thereof, may best be understood by reference to the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of the mold in which the conversion roof of this invention is prepared, and also showing the molded conversion roof and the peripheral support;

FIG. 2 is a partial enlarged view of the mold of FIG. 1 with the conversion roof therein and the support flange attached;

FIG. 3 is a partial perspective view of the left side of a van without drip flanges, and a van with the conversion roof of this invention attached;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the right side of a van with the conversion roof attached and showing the manner of fitting the conversion roof over doors which extend into the roof line of the van;

FIG. 5 is a partial enlarged rear elevational view, partially in cross-section, of a van with the conversion roof of this invention attached.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of the cross-sectional portion of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the van and the conversion roof at the top of a door;

FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view of one corner of the mold with the conversion roof body in the mold and the support flanges ready to be fitted thereto;

FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view similar to FIG. 8, and showing a corner jig ready to be attached thereto;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view as in FIG. 9 with the jig attached to the flanges and to the mold;

FIG. 11 is an exploded perspective view showing removal of the jig and the fitted support flange as illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of the arrangement in FIG. 11 with the jig and the supporting flange held in place for adhesive bonding to the roof body;

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of the conversion roof body, as shown in FIG. 8, but with the supporting flange bonded thereto; and

FIG. 14 is a cross sectional view taken along line 14--14 of FIG. 10.

The features of this invention are best appreciated by reading the following description in connection with the attached drawings.

In FIG. 3 there is shown a vehicular van 22, without drip flanges, to which the conversion roof 20 of this invention is attached along a juncture line 26 at the top of the side wall 25 of the van. Now referring more particularly to FIGS. 1 and 2, there are shown the two principal components of the invention; namely, the conversion roof member 20 and the peripheral support flange 21. Both of these components are preferably made of resinous material reinforced with fiber glass. Roof member 20 is made in a conventional mold 35 in which alternating layers of fiber glass and resin are laid down until the desired thickness is reached. The fiber glass may be in the form of a fabric or in the form of strands or rovings which can be distributed over a surface of resin. The resinous material is a thermosetting material conventionally used with fiber glass, such as polyester resin or the like.

The peripheral support flange 21 is prepared in four pieces, two side portions 38, a front portion 39, and a rear portion 40. After each portion has been separately prepared the four portions are placed in a jig (not shown) which support same in their proper positions in the roof member 20. Support flange 21 has a V-shaped cross-section having an acute angle between upstanding leg 27 and horizontal leg 28.

After coating the lower inside portion of roof member 20 with adhesive, the ring flange 21 is positioned and is attached to the inside of conversion roof member 20 around its periphery 41 with the upstanding leg 27 being adhesively attached to roof member 20 and with the horizontal leg 28 extending inwardly and the apex 29 of the V-shaped flange 21 being contiguous to the periphery 41 of roof member 20. It is not possible to make roof member 20 and flange 21 into a unitary article in a single molding process because of the reverse bend of horizontal leg 28. Fiber glass cannot be laid down in such a configuration in the confined locations near apex 29 nor upside down to form such leg 28. Accordingly, roof 20 and flange 21 are made separately and joined together afterward with the proper spacing and/or build-up necessary to meet the required tolerances presented by a particular van 22.

Some of the especially important and inventive features are shown in FIGS. 4-7. In FIG. 4 there is shown the portion of the van above a normal forwardly hinged door 42 and above a side sliding door 43. In the type of van depicted the side wall 25 and roof meet in a large rounded contour with no sharp line dividing the roof from the side wall. Consequently, the tops, including top 33 of door 42 are in the roof line of the vehicle as shown in FIG. 7. In order for the conversion roof 20 to be operable and be unobstructive with the proper opening and closing of doors 42 and 43 the bottom edge 24 of roof member 20 is shortened to be above the top edge of the doors. This is accomplished by modifying flange 21 in the cross-section of leg 28 as shown at 24 so as to increase the acute angle now formed between bridging leg portion 24 and upstanding leg 27. The normal juncture 26 between roof member 20 and the side wall 25 of the van (where there is no door) is shown in FIG. 6 to be a flush extension upward of the contour of side wall 25. If the finished color of roof member 20 and side wall 25 is identical the juncture 26 is substantially unnoticeable except under reasonably close inspection. Contrariwise when roof member 20 extends over a door, such as 42 in FIG. 7, the apex 29 of flange member 21 must be raised upwardly and away from contact with side wall 25, here formed as part of door 42, in order to provide clearance for door 42 to operate in its intended manner. This results (see FIG. 4) in the bottom edge of roof member 20 taking on the appearance of an overhanging eave, somewhat similar to an eave of a house. The V-shape of the flange 21 is modified at this joint by proper bending, during formation, of the horizontal leg 28 upwardly through portion 24. The same modification may be needed in some vans above rear doors 44, as seen in FIG. 5. The bottom edge 37 of roof member 20 is raised slightly to permit the top edges 36 of doors 44 to be opened or closed.

It is a special benefit of this invention that the conversion roof does not rely upon a drip rail or rain gutter for support as in U.S. Pat. No. 4,575,148, dated Mar. 11, 1986. The conversion roof of this invention is attached to the van by a plurality of spaced bolt means 30 in the form of bolt 48, washer 47, and lock nut 46, which clamp horizontal leg 28 of support flange 21 to the marginal strip 32 of the van roof with a strip of caulking composition 31 sandwiched between so as to provide a water-tight joint. Caulking composition 31 may be a preformed gasket material of a mastic composition, a rubbery material, or the like. Caulking composition 31 may also be a thick pasty composition which is applied as a paste and dries to a solid, but may remain flexible or resilient. A combination of both a preformed gasket material and the pasty caulking compound may also be used.

The roof body 20, after it has been molded, is prepared by removing any and all slag from its open perimeter and the open edge is trimmed as necessary. From the open edge down a predetermined distance, about four inches, the inside surface is ground to remove the residual surfacing agents present in all FRP polyester resins.

In the preparation of the conversion roof of this application the dish shaped roof body 20 is formed in mold 35 and the support flange 21 is prepared in four pieces, two side portions 38, a front portion 39, and a rear portion 40. These portions are fitted together by mitering at the corners as at 49 in FIG. 8. After all edges are trimmed to remove rough edges and the bonding surface of each of the portions 38, 39, and 40 is ground, they are placed in their perspective desired position inside the molded roof body 20 in mold 35 and jig 50 is positioned so that its base plate 51 fits precisely over the contour of joined portions 38 and 40 around corner 49. Preferably jig 50 is positioned precisely by means of inletting pins or dowels projecting downwardly from base plate 51 to fit into holes 55 on the edges of mold 35. Small C-clamps 52 connect the horizontal leg 28 of flange 21 to base plate 1. Large C-clamps 53 connect jig 50 to mold 35. The use of these clamps 52 and 53 makes it possible to precisely fit flange 21 (including portions 38 and 40) to roof body 20. After the positioning of flange portions 38 and 40 is adjusted to the proper position as shown in FIG. 10, large C-clamps 53 are loosened and the combination of flange portions 38 and 40 and four jigs 50 is lifted away from mold 35 in the direction of arrow 56. While FIG. 11 shows only one corner where flanges 38 and 40 are joined, it is to be understood that the structure lifted in FIG. 11 includes four flange portions 38, 39, and 40, as shown in FIG. 1, held together at all four corners of the support flanges 21 by a jig 50 at each corner and C-clamps 52. While the support flange 21, jigs 50, and C-clamps 52 are removed from conversion roof body 20, a band of appropriate adhesive or bonding agent 54 is applied around the interior of roof body 20 where vertical leg 27 of flange 21 is to be attached to roof body 20. In FIG. 12 the combination of flange 21, jigs 50, and C-clamps 52 are returned to the proper position inside the perimeter of roof body 20, and large C-clamps 53 are fastened in place to hold the structure in place until the adhesive solidifies and cures. Any excess adhesive 50 which is squeezed out (particularly upwardly) is removed prior to any solidification so that grinding and/or priming is minimized. The jigs 50 and C-clamps 52 and 53 are then removed to leave the conversion roof body 20 with flange 21 attached and ready to be attached to a van roof.

A suitable straight jig, not shown but corresponding to one leg of the corner jig 50, may be secured midway of each side flange portion 38 to position same accurately in the bonding process, as will be understood with reference to FIG. 1.

In the general system of converting a van roof to the improved roof of this invention

(a) the original roof is cut away by an acetylene torch or by a saw to leave a marginal strip 32 around the tops of the side walls and around the tops of the doors, and around the tops of the windows;

(b) a dish shaped thin walled shell 20 of fiber glass reinforced resin is molded to conform to the shape desired and to fit around the marginal strip 32 and appear to be an upward extension of the side walls of the van;

(c) a support flange 21 is made by molding four V-shaped strips of fiber glass reinforced resin to lie on the marginal portion 32 of the van roof leaving clearance for all doors to open and close, and the four pieces are then clamped together to form a continuous ring 21 supported into the shell 20 by a jig;

(d) the support flange ring 21 is adhesively attached to the periphery 41 of the molded conversion roof member 20 by bonding the upstanding leg 27 of the V-shaped support flange 21 to the inside surface of roof member 20 so that the apex 29 of the V is contiguous with the peripheral edge 41 of roof member 20;

(e) a strip of caulking composition 31 is then placed on the top of marginal strip 32 of the van roof;

(f) the conversion roof member 20 with support flange 21 attached is positioned on the strip of caulking composition 31 so that all juncture 26 of the roof member 20 and side walls 25 are as perfectly matched as possible; and

(g) holes are drilled at spaced locations through marginal strip 32, caulking strip 31, and horizontal leg 28 of support flange 21 and bolt means 30 are placed through the holes and drawn tight to clamp conversion roof 20 in place.

While the invention has been described with respect to certain specific embodiments, it will be appreciated that many modifications and changes may be made by those skilled in the are without departing from the spirit of the invention. It is intended, therefore, by the appended claims to cover all such modifications and changes as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.