Ballistically deployed vehicle and utility covers

Abstract

A ballistically deployable cover for an object, such as vehicle, comprising a light weight fabric, having a plurality of weights affixed thereto, generally evenly spaced around the perimeter of the fabric, each of said weights comprising an outer pouch, a layer of padding within said pouch and ballast material within said padding.

Description

[0001] This application is a continuation-in-part of my parent application Ser. No. 09 / 405,776 filed Sep. 27, 1999.[0002] 1. Field of Invention[0003] This invention relates to vehicle and utility covers, specifically, an improved design that can be deployed and stored in seconds, and is, therefore, truly practical for everyday use.[0004] 2. Description of Prior Art[0005] Many varied designs of car covers exist, offering protection from dirt, heat, ultraviolet damage, and prying eyes. A car cover is essential to protect against the intense heat created by the greenhouse effect. This heat can melt plastics such as CDs, laser discs, and cassettes, and can dry out, and crack upholstery, and dashboards. Air-conditioning is ineffective with this heat for the first several minutes. In colder climates a cover can prevent ice from adhering to windows.[0006] Existing designs have numerous features such as suction cups, hook and loop type fasteners, straps, locking devices, vents, flaps, weigh...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0022] (1) to provide said cover with light-weight, highly UV and IR reflective, water and ice resistant fabric and light-weight; to provide easily handled weights that are rigid enough that a rapid thrust imparts adequate energy to them, so that they are propelled ballistically, instantly carrying the cover over many types of vehicles, such that even a short person can quickly cover a tall vehicle such as a motor-home;

[0023] (2) to provide energy absorbing qualities to said weights so that they will not damage the vehicle when they are deployed;

[0024] (3) to provide said weights with a special padding that minimizes impact noise so that they are perceived to be safe;

Problems solved by technology

This heat can melt plastics such as CDs, laser discs, and cassettes, and can dry out, and crack upholstery, and dashboards.

Air-conditioning is ineffective with this heat for the first several minutes.

However, existing covers are cumbersome and take too much time to deploy.

The problem is the difficulty and time it takes to deploy and secure the cover after parking, and then the time and inconvenience to remove and stow the cover prior to departure.

None of the existing designs are convenient enough for the average person to keep their car covered during a normal day.

Such a cover would require numerous sizes to fit properly, and is time consuming to deploy.

Tension from wind blowing the cover could damage the wiper arms.

This cover must be oriented properly and is difficult to deploy.

With the cylindrical compartment filled with gravel or sand, it would be difficult to maneuver this cover over the vehicle or fold it for stowage.

Most of the above mentioned covers are nearly impossible for one person to deploy quickly, especially if the person is not tall.

Unless the cover is folded and stowed very carefully, it is difficult to properly orient the cover prior to deployment.

This is time consuming and inconvenient.

This action is awkward at best and largely negates the benefit of having one end permanently attached to the vehicle.

Each can be easily tangled.

Stowage is more awkward because the attachment to the trunk lid impedes pulling or pushing the cover back into the trunk.

The attachment also makes it nearly impossible to fold the cover while stowed.

Curchod and Mower provide pouches but stuffing the cover into the pouch requires even more time.

Each occupies considerable trunk space.

The installation and labor for this system is unduly complicated and expensive.

While the trunk mount designs attempt to address the problem of deployment, all are unduly complicated.

Mater's handles are made of ABS plastic, which is very hard and not very energy absorbing.

Mater's handles cannot be easily stacked together because of their shape.

There is no prior art car cover that can be thrown over a vehicle.

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