Arrangement for installing equipment on the roof of a vehicle

Field of the invention

The present invention relates to an arrangement for installing equipment on vehicles with roof hatches.

Background of the invention.

The Norwegian Army possesses an armoured personnel vehicle, a weasel, Bv 206, which is to be equipped with roof mounted device for launching smoke hand grenades. The placement of this equipment appears to be problematic. According to a proposal from the army, a mounting stand, prototype, has been devised which projects from the roof in front of the car. This stand has the disadvantages of high weight and possibly high production cost. In addition, type approval could prove difficult to obtain, as the stand projects relatively far out from the car.

The invention in summary

The present invention has as its object to devise an arrangement for mounting equipment on the roof of vehicles that is compact, fast and easily to install without making changes in the vehicle's construction.

These objects are achieved in an arrangement according to the present invention as revealed in the appended patent claim 1. Other embodiments of the invention appear from the following dependent claims.

Brief description of the drawings

The invention will now be described in reference to the appended drawings, in which:

• Fig. 1 shows a perspective view of a gutter as used in the present invention, seen from above.
• Fig. 2 shows a corresponding view of the same gutter from below.
• Fig. 3 shows the same perspective view as in Fig. 1, with the launcher installed on the gutter.
• Fig. 4 shows a constructional view of a gutter as used in the arrangement according to the present invention comprising an instalment bracket. In addition, sections trough the gutter are shown, along the lines A - A, B - B, C - C, showing constructional details.
• Fig. 5 shows the same gutter with the launching gear installed, seen from above, from the side and from behind, respectively.

Detailed description of the invention

Fig. 1 and Fig. 2 shows a gutter according to the present invention, which is intended to be installed in the roof aperture of a weasel. Integrated into the gutter there is a bracket, 1, to which auxiliary equipment, like the launching gear for smoke grenades, can be attached.

To install the launcher, the roof hatch of the vehicle has to be dismounted and the gutter according to the invention has to be installed in the roof aperture by means of angular mounting brackets 3. The angular brackets are clamped against the inside of the roof by tightening the nuts 4. Thereafter the roof hatch is again mounted onto the fastenings 5 in the installed gutter.

The equipment for handling the launching gear can be mounted on a bracket 6 which belongs to that part of the gutter which projects into the car. The loading of the launcher is done from an upright position in the roof aperture. Type approval of the instalment should pose no problem, as the attachment bracket 1 will project about 10 cm out in front of the car, i.e. less than the engine casing itself.

The gutter with brackets is inexpensive in serial production, with a relatively light weight. This can be achieved by casting the gutter in one single piece of polyurethane. Installing (or dismounting) a complete smoke screening device on a weasel with roof hatch could thus be done in a very short time (5-10 min) without making any changes in the car itself.

The principle at the invention can also be utilised on other vehicles with roof hatch where the space or the possibility of mounting auxiliary equipment is limited.

The gutter for installing on the weasel, Bv 206, with a prototype of the smoke launcher installed, is shown in Fig. 3.

The gutter can comprise additional mounting brackets if the vehicle is to carry more launchers for grenades. It is also possible to install branch fenders (not shown) to avoid undue strain on the roof mounted equipment.