[0001] The present subject matter described herein, relates to a front cross member for the roof of a vehicle. More particularly, the present subject matter described herein relates to a front cross member for the roof of a vehicle for mounting IRVM, Room Lamp and Bluetooth Mic.
BACKGROUND
[0002] Background description includes information that may be useful in understanding the present invention. It is not an admission that any of the information provided herein is prior art or relevant to the presently claimed invention, or that any publication specifically or implicitly referenced is prior art.
[0003] Front cross member is an integral part of the roof assembly. It finds its use in holding components like IRVM, Room Lamp, Sun visor and Bluetooth Mic, etc.. It also serves the purpose of a connection between roof and side body inner assembly.
[0004] The roof cross members are covered by Roof liner which is visible to the customer from cabin inside. Components like Room Lamp, IRVM, Bluetooth Mic, Sun Visor etc. are assembled onto the roof lining.
[0005] Currently, to mount a room lamp, an additional bracket is used. This bracket is welded onto the front member, and the front member comp is welded onto the roof, to make the Roof Comp assembly.
[0006] Referring to Fig. 1, the existing design of front roof cross member comp is disclosed. The existing front roof cross member comp consists of a front member and a room lamp bracket which are welded together through couple of flanges provided on either sides of the room lamp bracket.
[0007] The technical problem in the existing design is that the room lamp bracket is connected by weld spots on one end with the front member and mastic sealant is applied on the other end between roof and bracket. Since the bracket is

connected by spots from just one end, it tends to behave like a cantilever from the other end.
[0008] Also, there is a possibility for the mastic sealant to detach from the roof surface due to vibration of the body in white (BIW) during assembly operation. This would result in improper fitment of the electrical components onto the roof lining which would lead to unwanted vibration, noises and light leakage through gaps formed between room lamp and roof liner due to over-hang of room lamp mounting bracket or improper application of mastic sealant.
[0009] Further, because the room lamp bracket is spot welded with the front member and results in the cantilever effect, over the period of time the room lamp starts to hang from the roof lining, thereby resulting in an uneven surface which is aesthetically not accepted.
[0010] Hence, there is a need for a front cross member for the roof of a vehicle wherein various cabin components such as IRVM, room lamp and Bluetooth mic, etc. can be mounted without increasing the weight of the vehicle and without the danger of improper fitment of electrical components on the roof lining.
OBJECTS OF THE DISCLOSURE
[0011] Some of the objects of the present disclosure, which at least one embodiment herein satisfy, are listed herein below.
[0012] The principal object of the present invention is to provide a front cross member for the roof of the vehicle for mounting of in cabin components.
[0013] Another object of the present invention is to provide a front cross member for the roof of the vehicle which is a single structure.
[0014] Another object of the present invention is to provide a front cross member for the roof of the vehicle wherein the in cabin components do not hang towards the inside of the cabin.

[0015] Another object of the present invention is to provide a front cross member for the roof of the vehicle which gives a smooth surface on the roof lining to create better touch and feel experience to the customer.
[0016] These and other objects and advantages will become more apparent when reference is made to the following description and accompanying drawings.
SUMMARY
[0017] This summary is provided to introduce concepts related to a front cross member for roof of a vehicle. The concepts are further described below in the detailed description. This summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter.
[0018] In an embodiment, the present disclosure relates to a front cross member for roof of a vehicle, comprising of a plurality of mounting provisions to mount various cabin components. To strengthen the front cross member, a plurality beads for strengthening are provided.
[0019] In an aspect, the components for mounting are a room lamp, an inside view rear mirror (IRVM) and plurality of Bluetooth Mic.
[0020] In an aspect, the front cross member is bolted on the top of the A-pillars extension of the vehicle.
[0021] In an aspect, the width of the front cross member is between 160 mm -300 mm.
[0022] In an aspect, the room lamp, IRVM and plurality of Bluetooth mic are mounted in the centre of the front cross member.
[0023] In an aspect, guide beads are provided on either sides of the room lamp mounting provision for Bluetooth wire harness.
[0024] In an aspect, the height of the guide beads is greater than the radius of the Bluetooth harness.

[0025] In an aspect, stiffener beads are provided around the room lamp mounting provision and the IRVM mounting provision to strengthen the front cross member against deformation during assembly fitment.
[0026] In an aspect, various components, when mounted on the front cross member, do not hang abruptly downwards towards the vehicle cabin.
[0027] Various objects, features, aspects, and advantages of the inventive subject matter will become more apparent from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments, along with the accompanying drawing figures in which like numerals represent like components.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0028] The illustrated embodiments of the subject matter will be best understood by reference to the drawings, wherein like parts are designated by like numerals throughout. The following description is intended only by way of example, and simply illustrates certain selected embodiments of devices, systems, and methods that are consistent with the subject matter as claimed herein, wherein:
[0029] Fig. 1 illustrates the existing front roof cross member comp assembly;
[0030] Fig. 2 illustrates the exploded view of the roof assembly at front end of a vehicle;
[0031] Fig. 3 illustrates the detailed top view of the front cross member according to an embodiment of the present invention;
[0032] Fig. 4 illustrates the A-A sectional view of the front cross member according to an embodiment of the present invention;
[0033] Fig. 5 illustrates the detailed top view of the mounting provisions of front cross member according to an embodiment of the present invention;
[0034] Fig. 6 illustrates the C-C sectional view of the front cross member according to an embodiment of the present invention; and

[0035] Fig. 7 illustrates the front cross member with in cabin components and
wire harness according to an embodiment of the present invention.
[0036] The figures depict embodiments of the present subject matter for the
purposes of illustration only. A person skilled in the art will easily recognize from
5 the following description that alternative embodiments of the structures and
methods illustrated herein may be employed without departing from the principles of the disclosure described herein
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0037] The detailed description of various exemplary embodiments of the
10 disclosure is described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings. It
should be noted that the embodiments are described herein in such details as to
clearly communicate the disclosure. However, the amount of details provided
herein is not intended to limit the anticipated variations of embodiments; on the
contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives
15 falling within the scope of the present disclosure as defined by the appended
claims.
[0038] It is also to be understood that various arrangements may be devised
that, although not explicitly described or shown herein, embody the principles of
the present disclosure. Moreover, all statements herein reciting principles, aspects,
20 and embodiments of the present disclosure, as well as specific examples, are
intended to encompass equivalents thereof.
[0039] The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular
embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of example embodiments. As
used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the
25 plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be
further understood that the terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “includes” and/or “including,” when used herein, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements and/or components, but do not preclude the presence
6

or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components and/or groups thereof.
[0040] It should also be noted that in some alternative implementations, the
functions/acts noted may occur out of the order noted in the figures. For example,
5 two figures shown in succession may, in fact, be executed concurrently or may
sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon the functionality/acts involved.
[0041] In addition, the descriptions of "first", "second", and the like in the
present invention are used for the purpose of description only, and are not to be
10 construed as indicating or implying their relative importance or implicitly
indicating the number of technical features indicated. Thus, features defining "first" and "second" may include at least one of the features, either explicitly or implicitly.
[0042] Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific
15 terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of
ordinary skill in the art to which example embodiments belong. It will be further
understood that terms, e.g., those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should
be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the
context of the relevant art and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly
20 formal sense unless expressly so defined herein.
[0043] These and other advantages of the present subject matter would be
described in greater detail with reference to the following figures. It should be
noted that the description merely illustrates the principles of the present subject
matter. It will thus be appreciated that those skilled in the art will be able to devise
25 various arrangements that, although not explicitly described herein, embody the
principles of the present subject matter and are included within its scope.
[0044] The main objective of the present invention is to provide a front cross
member for the roof of a vehicle.
7

[0045] Referring to Fig. 2 & 3, the front cross member (300) which runs
across the width of the vehicle. The front cross member (300) is bolted on the top
of the A-pillars extension of the vehicle, such that the front cross member (300)
connects the roof (305) and the side body of the vehicle and is sandwiched
5 between roof (305) and roof lining (310) of the vehicle.
[0046] The front cross member (300) is provided with a plurality of mounting
provisions (330a, 330b, 335, 340) (mentioned in Fig. 5) for mounting several
cabin components on it. In the preferred embodiment, the front cross member
(300) has an Inside Rear View Mirror (IRVM) (315) mounted on it through the
10 IRVM mounting provision (340), plurality of Bluetooth mic mounting provisions
(330a, 330b) for mounting of plurality of Bluetooth mics (320a, 320b) (mentioned in Fig. 7) and a room lamp mounting provision (335) for mounting of room lamp (325).
[0047] Referring to Fig. 5, the design of the mounting provisions of the front
15 cross member (300) is disclosed. The IRVM mounting provision (340) is provided
in the front and centre of the front cross member (300) surrounded by plurality of
Bluetooth mic mounting provisions (330a, 330b) such that the plurality of
Bluetooth mics (320a, 320b) are mounted on either sides of the IRVM (315). The
room lamp mounting (335) is towards the back of the front cross member (300)
20 for mounting the room lamp and is surrounded by a plurality of guide beads (345)
on either sides. This ensures that a proper support is provided to the Bluetooth
wire harness (350) of the Bluetooth mic (320a, 320b) and no wire is render loose
in the assembly. Further, the height of the guide beads (345) is kept such that it is
always greater than the radius of the Bluetooth harness (350) which helps in
25 assembly of harness to the Bluetooth smic.
[0048] Further, in order to provide strength to the front cross member (300),
during assembly fitment, the front cross member (300) is provided with a plurality
of stiffener beads (360). The stiffener beads (360) are provided, on the front cross
member (300), around room lamp mounting provision (335) and the IRVM
30 mounting provision (340). A central stiffener bead (365) is also provided in
8

between the IRVM mounting provision (340), to prevent the IRVM (315) from vibrating while the vehicle is in motion. This combined structure improves the booming noise in the front cross member.
[0049] Fig. 6 discloses the C-C sectional view of the front cross member
5 (300) according to the present invention. It clearly discloses the height of the
guide beads (345) greater than the radius of the Bluetooth harness (350).
[0050] The in-cabin components, such as room lamp (325), Bluetooth mics
(320a, 320b) and the IRVM (315), are mounted on the front cross member (300)
in a way that they do not hang abruptly towards the cabin of the vehicle and make
10 a smooth surface on the roof lining to give a better touch and feel experience to
the customer.
[0051] Referring to Fig. 7, the front cross member (300) fitted with the in-
cabin components is disclosed.
[0052] It will be understood by those within the art that, in general, terms used
15 herein, and especially in the appended claims (e.g., bodies of the appended
claims) are generally intended as “open” terms (e.g., the term “including” should be interpreted as “including but not limited to,” the term “having” should be interpreted as “having at least,” the term “includes” should be interpreted as “includes but is not limited to,” etc.). It will be further understood by those within
20 the art that if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is intended, such
an intent will be explicitly recited in the claim, and in the absence of such recitation no such intent is present. For example, as an aid to understanding, the following appended claims may contain usage of the introductory phrases “at least one” and “one or more” to introduce claim recitations. However, the use of such
25 phrases should not be construed to imply that the introduction of a claim recitation
by the indefinite articles “a” or “an” limits any particular claim containing such introduced claim recitation to inventions containing only one such recitation, even when the same claim includes the introductory phrases “one or more” or “at least one” and indefinite articles such as “a” or “an” (e.g., “a” and/or “an” should
30 typically be interpreted to mean “at least one” or “one or more”); the same holds
9

true for the use of definite articles used to introduce claim recitations. In addition, even if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is explicitly recited, those skilled in the art will recognize that such recitation should typically be interpreted to mean at least the recited number (e.g., the bare recitation of "two recitations," without other modifiers, typically means at least two recitations, or two or more recitations). Furthermore, in those instances where a convention analogous to "at least one of A, B, and C, etc." is used, in general such a construction is intended in the sense one having skill in the art would understand the convention (e.g., "a system having at least one of A, B, and C" would include but not be limited to systems that have A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, and/or A, B, and C together, etc.). In those instances where a convention analogous to "at least one of A, B, or C, etc." is used, in general such a construction is intended in the sense one having skill in the art would understand the convention (e.g., "a system having at least one of A, B, or C" would include but not be limited to systems that have A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, and/or A, B, and C together, etc.). It will be further understood by those within the art that virtually any disjunctive word and/or phrase presenting two or more alternative terms, whether in the description, claims, or drawings, should be understood to contemplate the possibilities of including one of the terms, either of the terms, or both terms. For example, the phrase "A or B" will be understood to include the possibilities of "A" or "B" or "A and B."
[0053] While the foregoing describes various embodiments of the invention, other and further embodiments of the invention may be devised without departing from the basic scope thereof. The scope of the invention is determined by the claims that follow. The invention is not limited to the described embodiments, versions or examples, which are included to enable a person having ordinary skill in the art to make and use the invention when combined with information and knowledge available to the person having ordinary skill in the art.

WE CLAIM:

A front cross member (300) for roof of a vehicle, the front cross member (300) comprising:
a plurality of mounting provisions (330a, 330b, 335, 340) to mount various in cabin components;
a plurality of stiffener beads (360) for strengthening the front cross member; and
a central stiffener bead (365) between the mounting provision (340).
The front cross member (300) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the components for mounting are a room lamp (325), an inside view rear mirror (IRVM) (315) and plurality of Bluetooth Mic (320a, 320b).
The front cross member (300) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the front cross member (300) is bolted on the top of the A-pillars extension of the vehicle.
The front cross member (300) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the width of the front cross member is between 160mm - 300mm.
The front cross member (300) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the room lamp (325), IRVM (315) and plurality of Bluetooth mic (320a, 320b) are mounted in the center of the front cross member (300).
The front cross member (300) as claimed in claim 1, wherein guide beads (345) are provided on either sides of the room lamp mounting provision (340 for Bluetooth wire harness (350).
The front cross member (300) as claimed in claim 6, wherein the height of the guide beads (345) is greater than the radius of the Bluetooth harness (350).

The front cross member (300) as claimed in claim 1, wherein stiff ener beads (360) are provided around the room lamp mounting provision (335) and the IRVM mounting provision (340) to strengthen the front cross member (300) against deformation during assembly fitment.
The front cross member (300) as claimed in claim 1, wherein in-cabin components (320a, 320b, 325, 315), when mounted on the front cross member (300), do not hang abruptly downwards towards the vehicle cabin.