WO2011070388A1

WO2011070388A1 - A fender for a vehicle

Info

Publication number: WO2011070388A1
Application number: PCT/IB2009/007968
Authority: WO
Inventors: Fabien Prual
Original assignee: Renault Trucks
Priority date: 2009-12-11
Filing date: 2009-12-11
Publication date: 2011-06-16

Abstract

The fender (6) is designed to be fixed on a vehicle structure proximate a wheel of said vehicle. The fender comprises a fender wall (7) in which is arranged at least one slot (14) adapted to receive a fastening means (21) such as a bolt and to allow the adjustment of the position of the fender (6) with respect to the vehicle structure. The slot (14) is substantially filled with a film (15) provided with a slit (16), thereby forming two sections of film (17, 18), said sections being capable of moving apart locally around the fastening means (21) when said fastening means is inserted through the slot (14).

Description

A FENDER FOR A VEHICLE

Field of the invention The present invention relates to a fender for a vehicle, especially for an industrial vehicle.

Technological background A vehicle conventionally comprises a frame, at least two front wheels and two rear wheels, said vehicle being further equipped with fenders in order to avoid water or mud projections. Such a fender typically comprises a wall and needs to be fixed to a vehicle structure such as the vehicle frame proximate one wheel or each wheel.

The fender is fixed to the vehicle frame thanks to fastening means, such as bolts, rivets, threaded rods or the like, which assemble the fender wall to one or more support members fixed to the vehicle frame. Moreover, for aesthetic reasons, it is generally desirable that the fender be properly positioned, for example substantially aligned in a vertical plane with a vehicle part such as the cabin of a truck, or aligned vertically with said cabin,

For this purpose, conventionally, slots designed to receive the fastening means are arranged in the fender wall to allow the adjustment of the position of the fender with respect to the vehicle frame along the direction of the slot. However, if the slot is to be long enough to accommodate a substantial range of adjustment of the position of the fender, there remains a gap between the fastening means and the slot end. This is not desirable because water and mud can pass through the gap and cause mud to flow onto the fender wall, which has an extremely negative effect in terms of overall vehicle quality and which can moreover be contrary to some regulations.

It therefore appears that the conventional fenders are not fully satisfactory.

Summary It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved fender which can overcome the above mentioned drawbacks. According to the invention, such a fender, which is designed to be fixed on a vehicle structure such as the frame or the cabin, proximate a wheel of said vehicle, comprises a fender wall in which is arranged at least one slot adapted to receive a fastening means such as screws, bolts, rivets, threaded rods or the like, and to allow the adjustment of the position of the fender with respect to the vehicle frame, wherein the slot is substantially filled with a film provided with a transverse slit, thereby forming two sections of film, said sections being capable of moving apart locally around the fastening means when said fastening means is inserted into the slot.

In concrete terms, when a fastening means is inserted into the slot, it passes through the slit and causes the two film sections to become deformed. In the vicinity of the fastening means, the edges of the film sections move apart and are in contact with the fastening means, on opposite sides thereof, while further away from the fastening means in the direction of slit, the edges of the film sections remain substantially contiguous. Due to the fastening means located into the slot, the two film sections define between them an opening having substantially the form of an eye, i.e. comprising: a central portion which receives the fastening means and two end portions, having a substantially triangular and tapered shape.

Thanks to the invention, water and mud are prevented from passing through the slot. Indeed, the central portion of the opening is filled up by the fastening means; the triangular end portions of the opening are covered by a washer which is generally provided with the fastening means, by the head of screw or rivet if the fastening means are such screw or rivet, and/or simply by the structure or support member on which the fender is to be fixed; finally, between the opening ends and the slot ends, the edges of the film sections remain substantially contiguous and therefore block the slot up.

The film is a sheet having a low thickness which is smaller than the fender wall thickness, so as to be properly deformed by the fastening means. Preferably, the deformation of the film shall be possible without too much effort while manually engaging the fastening means through the slit. Preferably, the film sections will be at least partly elastic so as to recover at least substantially their form.

Thus, the fender according to the invention can effectively prevent the water and mud from passing through the adjustment slot without requiring the use of a larger washer - which would set practical problems specifically regarding the room available for this oversized washer - or of an additional part to obstruct the slot. Therefore, the invention does not involve extra costs and is easy to implement.

Advantageously, the film is integrally formed with the fender wall, preferably by moulding. This can be achieved by a tool adjustment which creates a thin film of material that fills the slot. This film can be cut directly in the mould in order to form the transverse slit. Alternatively, the slit can be cut after the moulding process, in a subsequent operation. Alternatively, the slit can be not entirely formed but only partially formed, either in the moulding process or in subsequent operation. By partial forming of the slit, it is understood that an extremely thin veil of material, thinner than the film itself, may be left after the partial slit forming process, the edges of the film being united by the extremely thin veil of material. Alternatively, the slit can be formed discontinuously along the slot, as a dashed line.

The film and the fender wall can be made of a plastic material comprising a polypropylene, a polyethylene, and/or a polyamide, with the possible inclusion of reinforcing fibres.

According to a preferred implementation of the invention, the slit extends substantially on the entire length of the slot, i.e. from one end of the slot to the other.

It is envisaged that the fender wall comprises several substantially identical slots substantially parallel one to the other.

The invention also relates to a fender assembly comprising a fender as previously described and fixing means including at least one support member designed to be fixed to a vehicle structure and a fastening means designed to fix the fender wall to the support member, said fastening means comprising at least an elongated member and a washer.

The washer diameter can be smaller than the slot length, since the film becomes deformed only locally around the elongated member of the fastening means. Further from said fastening means, the slot obstruction is achieved by the film sections whose edges remain substantially contiguous, and therefore there is no need for a washer large enough to cover the whole slot.

Besides, the slot height is preferably larger than the elongated member diameter, in particular in order to allow the two film sections to move apart. This disposition does not permit water or mud to come through the slot because the film and the washer prevent it.

The invention further relates to a vehicle comprising a frame, at least two wheels substantially aligned transversally and where a fender as previously described is fixed on the vehicle frame, proximate each of said two wheels.

In particular, the vehicle comprises at least two front wheels and two rear wheels, and the fender is fixed proximate the front wheels.

These and other advantages will become apparent upon reading the following description in view of the drawing attached hereto representing, as non-limiting examples, embodiments of a vehicle according to the invention.

Brief description of the drawings The following detailed description of several embodiments of the invention is better understood when read in conjunction with the appended drawings being understood, however, that the invention is not limited to the specific embodiments disclosed. In the drawings,

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a truck having a fender according to the invention located behind a front wheel;

Figure 2 is an enlarged view of detail A in figure 1 , showing the front wheel and the inside surface of the fender wall;

Figure 3 is a detailed view of the trailer of Figure 1, from behind, showing the front wheel and the outside surface of the fender wall;

Figure 4 shows a slot arranged in the fender wall;

Figures 5 to 7 show three successive steps of setting a fastening means in the slot of Figure 4.

Detailed description of an embodiment

As this is illustrated in figure 1, a vehicle such as a truck 1 comprises a frame 2, a cabin 3, two front wheels 4 which are substantially aligned in the transverse direction D, and two rear wheels 5 which are substantially aligned in the transverse direction D.

The vehicle 1 is equipped with fenders 6 fixed on the frame 2, at least behind the front wheels 4. The fender 6 comprises a curved fender wall 7 having an inside surface 8 facing the wheel 4 and an opposite outside surface 9, oriented rearward. The fender 6 also comprises a side wall 10 which is preferably level with the corresponding side wall 11 of the cabin 2, for aesthetic reasons.

Said fender wall 7 is generally made by moulding of a plastic material such as a polypropylene, a polyethylene, and/or a polyamide, with the possible inclusion of reinforcing fibres.

The fender 6 is fixed to the vehicle frame 2 by means of a bracket comprising an upper and a lower support member which are fixed to the vehicle frame 2. In the illustrated embodiment (see Figure 3), the support members are hollow arms which are welded on a plate fixed to said frame 2. The support members are arranged substantially transversally behind the fender wall 7. The bracket further comprises two vertical support members 12, 13 which extend each from the lower to the upper support members to which they are joined. The vertical support members are transversally spaced apart and the fender 6 is fixed to each of said vertical support members 12, 13 by fastening means, the transverse position of the fender 6 with respect to the frame 2 being adjustable.

For this purpose, the fender 6 comprises transversal slots 14 which are provided in the fender wall 7. Preferably, the slots 14 are substantially identical. In the illustrated embodiment, there are two upper slots 14 arranged along a first substantially horizontal line and two lower slots 14 arranged along a second substantially horizontal line, each substantially in the same vertical plane as one of the upper slots. One of upper slots and one of the lower slots are located so as to allow the fixing of the fender 6 on one of the vertical support members 12, 13, while the other two slots are located so as to allow the fixing of the fender 6 on the other of the vertical support members.

As shown on Figure 4, the slot 14 is substantially filled with a film 15 provided with a transverse slit 16 extending on the entire length of the slot 14, and preferably arranged substantially in the middle of the slot 14 - in the vertical direction. As a consequence, an upper section 17 and a lower section 18 of film are formed in the slot 14. The upper film section 17 has a lower edge 19 and the lower film section 18 has an upper edge 20 which are substantially contiguous before any element has been introduced into the slot 14. The film 15 is preferably integrally formed with the fender wall 7 by moulding of the same material.

In the shown embodiment, the fastening means comprise a screw and include an elongated member, here a threaded rod 21, which is inserted through the slot 14 and through a hole provided in the corresponding support member 12, 13. The fastening means also comprise a washer 22 in contact with the inside surface 8 of the fender wall 7 and a nut 23 capable of tightening said washer 22 against the inside surface 8. Another washer and nut (not shown) may be provided against the other side of the fender 6 or against the corresponding support member 12, 13.

When the elongated member, here the threaded rod 21, is inserted through the slot 14, it passes through the slit 16 and causes the film sections 17, 18 to move apart locally, around the threaded rod 21. Therefore, an opening 24 is created between the edges 19, 20 of said film sections 17, 18. The opening 24 substantially has the shape of an eye, with tapered ends. As can be seen in Figure 5, between one end of the slot 14 and the corresponding end of the opening 24, the edges 19, 20 of the film sections 17, 18 remain substantially contiguous. In this area, therefore, the slot 14 is blocked up by the film. To make the introduction of the threaded rod 21 into the slot 14 easy, and to allow the film sections 17, 18 to be deformed, the threaded rod diameter is preferably slightly smaller than the slot height - in the vertical direction.

The transverse position of the fender 6 with respect to the vehicle frame 2 can be adjusted by moving the fender 6 transversally, the threaded rod 21 thus moving in the slot 14. When the appropriate position is achieved, the fastening means can be tightened.

The washer 22 is set around the threaded rod 21 (Figure 6) and then the nut 23 is turned to tighten the fastening means (Figure 7).

As can be seen on Figure 7, in the fixed position, the washer 22 covers the whole opening 24. As a consequence, there remains substantially no gap in the slot 14 through which water or mud could pass. Because the edges 19, 20 move apart only locally around the threaded rod 21 , it is possible to use a washer 22 having a diameter which is smaller than the slot length.

With the fender according to the invention, water and mud are effectively prevented from passing through the slot 14, thereby improving the vehicle overall quality, even though the slots 14 are transversally wider than the vertical support members 12, 13 which therefore cannot entirely cover the slots. Of course, the invention is not restricted to the embodiment described above by way of non-limiting example, but on the contrary it encompasses ail embodiments thereof.

Claims

1. A fender designed to be fixed on a vehicle structure (2) proximate a wheel (4) of said vehicle (1), said fender (6) comprising a fender wall (7) in which is arranged at least one slot (14) adapted to receive a fastening means (21) and to allow the adjustment of the transverse position of the fender (6) with respect to the vehicle structure (2), characterized in that the slot (14) is substantially filled with a film (15) provided with a slit (16), thereby forming two sections of film (17, 18), said sections (17, 18) being capable of moving apart locally around the fastening means (21) when said fastening means is inserted through the slot (14).

2- The fender according to claim 1, characterized in that the film (15) is integrally formed with the fender wall (7), preferably by moulding.

3. The fender according to claim 1 or claim 2, characterized in that the film (15) and the fender wall (7) are made of a plastic material comprising a polypropylene, a polyethylene, and/or a polyamide, with the possible inclusion of reinforcing fibres.

4. The fender according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the slit (16) extends substantially on the entire length of the slot (14).

5. The fender according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the fender wall (7) comprises several substantially identical slots (14) arranged substantially parallel one to the other.

6. A fender assembly comprising a fender (6) according to any one of claims 1 to 5 and fixing means including at least one support member (12, 13) designed to be fixed to a vehicle structure (2) and a fastening means designed to fix the fender wall (7) to the support member (12, 13), said fastening means comprising at least an elongated member (21) and a washer (22).

7. The fender assembly according to claim 6, characterized in that the washer diameter is smaller than the slot length. 8, The fender assembly according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that the slot height is larger than the elongated member diameter. 9. A vehicle comprising a frame, at least two wheels (4, 5) substantially aligned transversally and where a fender (6) according to any one of claims 1 to 5 is fixed on the vehicle structure (2), proximate each of said two wheels (4, 5). 10. The vehicle according to claim 9, characterized in that it comprises at least two front wheels (4) and two rear wheels (5), and in that the fender (6) is fixed proximate the front wheels (4).

2/3