GB2513202A

GB2513202A - Grille for a vehicle

Info

Publication number: GB2513202A
Application number: GB1307197.2A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Richard Rampone; Michael Dawson; David Meyer
Original assignee: Daimler AG
Current assignee: Mercedes Benz Group AG
Priority date: 2013-04-19
Filing date: 2013-04-19
Publication date: 2014-10-22
Also published as: GB201307197D0

Abstract

A grille 12 for a vehicle 10 comprises a plurality of grille bars 14 of metal, preferably stainless steel, and a surround 15 having at least two carrier elements 20, 24 arranged opposite each other. Grille bars 14 are attached to carrier elements 20, 24 on both sides; suitably, plugs (28, Figure 10) in carrier elements 20, 24 may be inserted into ends of grille bars 14 which may be held by tabs (38, Figure 10). Carrier elements 20, 24 are plastic and may be formed by injection moulding. A cover 40 may cover at least one carrier element 20, 24, and may have openings exposing the carrier element. A bug screen mesh (26, Figure 6) may be attached to the rear of grille bars 14 using locking pins (36, Figure 6).

Description

Grille for a Vehicle The invent ion relates to a grille, in particular a radiator grille for a vehicle according to the preamble of patent claim 1. jg

of motor vehicles and in particular for heavy duty twcks. Such a grille comprises a * plurality of grille bars which, for example, have a longitudinal extension. The grille also : .". comprises a surround having at least two carrier elements which are arranged opposite each other. The grille bars are attached to the carrier elements on both sides. In other words, the respective grille bars are attached to one of the carrier elements on a respective first side of the grille bars. The grille bars are also attached to the other carrier * element on a respective second side of the grille bars, the second side being opposite of the first side.

Such a grille for a motor vehicle, in particle a truck1 can be found in US 200210116974 Al.

The grille bars are made of a metallic material in the form of stainless steel. It has been shown that, for example, hood mounted grilles for heavy duty trucks with grille bars made of a metallic material can rattle, fit poorly, are difficult to install on the vehicle, lack durability.and are difficult to replace in service. To reliably obtain close fitting parts, ordinarily the metal grille bars are mechanically attached to the surround. This results in a very rigid structure that may induce high stresses in the grille bars and their connections as, for example, the hood of the motor vehicle deforms during normal service. If the ôrille bars in the surround are not directly fastened together, obtaining the desired close fit can result in contact between the components causing objectionable noise and wear of the surface finish, Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to further develop a grille of the previously mentioned kind in such a way that the problems mentioned above can be avoided.

This object is solved by a grille for a vehicle having the features of patent claim 1.

Advantageous embodiments with expedient and non-trivial developments of the invention are indicated in the other patent claims.

In order to further develop a grille for a vehicle, in particular a heavy duty truck of the kind indicated in the preamble of patent claim 1 in such a way that the problems mentioned above can be avoided, according to the present invention the carrier elements are made of a plastic material.

By attaching the metallic grille bars to the plastic carrier elements, a very close fitting of thadsofthegriIIecanb-ere-alize&Moreover: noiswand-wearof-thesurfacefiniShcan * be avoided. Furthermore, a particularly high durability and a very easy assembly of the * grille bars and the carrier elements can be realized. In addition, the induction of high : ** stresses in the metal grille bars can be avoided. flsø

Further advantages, features and details of the invention derive from the following descriptionof a preferred embodiment as well as from the drawing. The features and feature combinations previously mentioned in the.description as well as the features and feature combinations mentioned in the following description of the figures andlor shown in the figures alone can be employed not only in the respective indicated combination but also in any other combination or taken alone without leaving the scope of the invention.

The drawings show in: Fig. 1 a sectional and perspective front view of a hood of a heavy duty truck, wherein a grille having grille bars and a surround is attached to the hood, the grille bars being made of stainless steel and the surround having two carrier elements which are made of a plastic material; Fig. 2 part of a schematic perspective and exploded front view of the hood and the grille; Fig. 3 part of a schematic perspective and exploded back view of the hood and the grille; Fig. 4 a schematic front view of the hood with the grille; Fig. 5 a schematic and perspective front view of the hood with the grille; Fig. 6 a schematic perspective and exploded back view of a panel of the grille; Fig. 7 a schematic and perspective back view of the panel according to Fig. 6; Fig. 8 a schematic and perspective front view of the panel according to Fig. 7 and 8; and * * * . * . Fig. 9 a schematic and magnified perspective view of an area of the panel according to Fig. 6 to 8, the area being designated by A in Fig. 7. ***

In the figures the same elements or elements having the same functions are equipped * ** with the same reference. * . . S..

* Fig. 1 shows a hood 10 for a motor vehicle in the form of a heavy duty truck. The hood 10 is equipped with a grille 12 which is attached to the hood 10. The grille 12 is a radiator grille through which air can flow, the air serving for cooling a radiator which is arranged behind the grille 12 in the long longitudinal direction of the heavy duty truck. The grille 12 comprises a plurality of grille bars 14 which are made of a metallic material in the form of stainless steel. The grille bars 14 each have a longitudinal extension which extends in the vertical direction of the heavy duty truck. The grille bars 14 are spaced away from each other in the transverse direction of the heavy duty truck.

As can be seen from an overall view of Fig. 114 and 5, the grille 12 comprises a left hand grille panel 16 and a right hand grille panel 18, the grille panels 16, 18 each comprising grille bars 14 which are made of stainless steel. The grille 12 also comprises a surround which surrounds the grille bars 14 in an assembled state of the grille 12 at least partially.

As can be seen from an overall view of Fig. 2, 3 and 6-9, the surround 15 -referring to the left hand grille panel 16 shown in Fig. 2, 3 and 6-9 -comprises an upper grille bar carrier in the form of an upper carrier element 20 and a bonded lower grille bar carrier assembly 22 having a lower grille bar carrier in the form of a lower carrier element 24.

The features, feature combinations and embodiments described above with reference to the left hand grille panel 16 can also be employed to the right hand grille panel 18 since they are designed at least substantially symmetrically.

In order to provide a cost-efficient production of the grille bars 14, the grille bars 14 are roll formed. The upper carrier element 20 and the lower carrier element 24 are made of a plastic material. Moreover, the upper carrier element 20 and the lower carrier element 24 which are arranged opposite each other in the vertical direction of the heavy duty truck are formed as injection moulded plastic parts. As can be seen from Fig. 6-8, each of the ille pin fasteners in the form of locking pins 36 through holes 35a-35e in the grille bars 14.

: ** Each of the grille panel 16, 18 has seven identical grille bars 14 which are inserted over male receptacle protrusions 28, 30 moulded into the respective injection moulded upper and lower plastic carrier element 20, 24. In other words, the male receptacle protrusions * .. 28, 30 are protrusions which canbe inserted into corresponding, female receptacles of the carrier elements 20, 24, the female receptacles being formed by respective hollow cross-sections of the grille bars 14.

Thus, the grille bars are attached to the carrier'elements 20, 24 by means of a respective plug-in connection, the respective plug-in connection comprising one of the male receptacle protrusions 28, 30. In this way, the grille bars 14 are attached to the carrier element 20 on a respective upper first side 32. On a respective lower second side 34, the grille bars 14 are attached to the lower carrier element 24, the second side 34 being opposite of the first side 32 in the vertical direction of the heavy duty truck.

The grille bars 14 are held in place on the carrier elements 20, 24 by means of cylindrical tabs 38 shown in Fig. 9, which are integrally formed on the protrusions 28, 30. Installation of each grille bar 14 onto the upper carrier element 20 is facilitated by sliding the grille bar 14 over the protrusion 28, and additionally over the cylindrical tab 38 which extends laterally off of the protrusion 28, where the tab 38 can be chamfered to more easily assist in mating the grille bar 14 with the protrusion 28. It will be noted that each grille bar 14 has five holes 35a-35e formed along its length in a symmetrical manner as shown in Fig. 6. In the assembly of grille bar 14 to the upper carrier element 20, the cylindrical tab 38 fits into the top most hole 35a of the upper first side 32 of the grille bar 14. Similarly for the assembly of the grille bar 14 to the bottom carrier element 24, the cylindrical tab 38 of the protrusion 30 fits into the bottom most hole 35e on the lower second side 34 of the grille bar 14.

To facilitate the attachment of the bug screen 26 to the grille bars 14, the unused holes 35b-35d of the grille bars 14 are utilized. The locking pins 36 secure the bug screen 26 into place. As can be seen in Fig. 6, the bug screen 26 attaches to a plurality of grille bars 14, but not necessary all grille bars 14 of a given grille side or grille panel 16 or 18, secured in place by the locking pins 36 utilizing the holes 35b, 35c and 35d per grille bar 14.

The lower griTli5ir made of a metallic material. Preferably, the channel 40 is made of stainless steel. The channel 40 is bonded to the injection moulded plastic carrier element 24. Hence1 the : *.. channel 40 is used as a covering element covering the carrier element 24 at least partially. In the current embodiment, at least a major part of an outer surface of the carrier element 24 is covered by the channel 40. For this purpose, the channel 40 bounds a receptacle in the form of a channel in which the carrier element 24 is arranged at least partially. a

The stainless steel channel 40 forms a styled lower horizontal bar 42 of the surround 15.

As can be seen from Fig. 1, the surround 15 also comprises a vertical bar 44 and an upper horizontal bar 46 which are made of stainless steel. The bars 44, 46 are formed in one piece.

The lower channel 40 is precisely located and bonded to the plastic carrier element 24 and has accurately placed cut outs in the form of through openings 48. The male receptacles 30 of the carrier element 24 penetrate the through openings 48. Moreover, the through openings 48 allow the grille bars 14 to engage the male receptacles 30 while protruding through the assembly. In other words, in the assembled state of the grille 12, the through openings 48 are penetrated by the grille bars 14 which are plugged onto the male receptacles 30. Furthermore, the through openings 48 allow each grille bar 14 to penetrate the horizontal surround surface of the channel 40 to a different depth. This allows the same kind of grille bar to be used for all seven grille bars 14 of each left hand grille panel 16 and right hand grille panel 18 while giving the desired style appearance of different lengths of the grille bars 14 while maintaining tight clearances between the metal components in the form of the grille bars 14 and the channel 40. This means that all grille bars 14 have the same length. Since the grille bars 14 can penetrate the through openings 48 to different depths, an appearance with different lengths of the grille bars 14 can be realized although the grille bars 14 have the same length.

This design provides a desired style appearance while the relatively flexible plastic carrier elements 20, 24 allow some deformation of the hood 10 without overstressing the metal parts. By using the chamfered cylindrical tabs 36, a snap-together or a snap-fit is realized which features easy assembly of the grille bars 14 to the upper and lower carrier elements 20, 24, easy installation on the hood 10 and ease of individual component replacement with no threaded fasteners.

-Tñi1èiiWis more assembly can allow for the dynamic displacement of the hood components to which it is * mounted. Thus, noise such as rattling can be avoided. Since there are no rivets or : ** screws, the components of the grille 12 can be replaced very easily. S...

As can be seen from Fig. 2, the grille bars 14 are mounted on the hood 10 via the upper carrier element 20 by means of vertical pins 50 which fit into precisely located holes 52 of a front opening flange 54 of the hood 10. As can be seen from Fig. 1.4 and 5, the upper plastic carrier element 20 is covered by the upper horizontal bar 46 towards the outside of the heavy duty truck.

Fig. 3 shows the lower plastic carrier element 24 as part of the assembly 22, which has a horizontal pin 58 which is inserted through a hole 60 in a lower reinforcement element 62 of the hood 10. This allows the assembly comprising the upper carrier element 20, the grille bars 14 and the lower grille bar carrier assembly 22 to sit in position without being held, while fasteners 64 for fastening the lower grille bar carrier assembly 22 to the reinforcement element 62 and the upper carrier element 20 to the front opening flange 54 (shown in Fig. 2) are being installed. Washers 56 are used, the washers 56 being arranged between the respective fastener 64 and the carrier element 20 or the lower grille bar carrier assembly 22 respectively.

The fasteners 64 are inserted into corresponding through openings 66 of the front opening flange 54, the carrier element 20, the lower bar carrier assembly 22 and the reinforcement element 62 respectively in order to hold said components together. The grille 12 can be assembled in a very time and cost-efficient manner since there are no threaded fasteners or rivets. Moreover, the äsembly is also very simple, thus lower labour costs for repair and maintenance can be achieved. S. * . . * S

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List of reference signs hood 12 grille 14 grille bars surround 16 left hand grille panel 18 right hand grille panel carrier element 22 lower grille bar carrier assembly 24 carrier element 26 bug screen 28 male receptacle protrusion male receptacles 32 first side 34 second side 35a-35e hole 36 locking pin 38 tab channel * ..

* 42 lower horizontal bar 44 lateral bar 46 upper horizontal bar 48 through opening vertical pin 52 hole 54 front opening flange 56 washer 58 horizontal pin hole 62 reinforcement element 64 fastener 66 through opening

Claims

Claims 1. A grille (12) for a vehicle, the grille (12) comprising a plurality of grille bars (14) made of a metallic material and a surround (15) having at least two carrier elements :.. (20, 24) which are arranged opposite each other, the grille bars (14) being attached * to the carrier elements (20, 24) on both sides, n.e..* characterized in that : *.. the carrier elements (20, 24) are made of a plastic material.
2. The grille (12) according to claim 1, * ..* . . characterized in that *.. C the carrier elements (20, 24) are formed as injection molded plastic parts.
3. The grille (12) according to any one or claims 1 or 2, characterized in that at least one of the carrier elements (20, 24) is at east partially covered by at least one covering element (40) being made of a metallic material, in particular stainless steel
4. The grille (12) accordingto claim 3, characterized in that the covering element (40) has through openings (48) via which the grille bars (14) penetrate the covering element (40).
5. The grille (12) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the grille bars (14) are attached to the carrier elements (20, 24) by means of a respective plug-in connection.
6. The grille (12) according to ahy one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the grille bars (14) are made of stainless steel. * * * * * * * * .* 1* * * ** * * S *.* * *