Abstract:
A license plate bracket includes a pair of resilient hooks for hooking the bracket to the grille of a vehicle. The hooks, in part, replace conventional hardware such as screws and bolts which are incompatible with the thin plastic ribs found on modern vehicle front grilles. The entire bracket, including the hooks, can be formed as a one-piece plastic molding.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates in general to brackets for mounting license plates to vehicles and in particular to a bracket adapted to be at least partially clipped to a front grille or fascia of an automobile. 
     2. Description of Prior Developments 
     License plate brackets have been in use in many forms to secure a license plate to the body of a vehicle. Generally, screws or bolts are used to mount such brackets to a vehicle bumper to provide a planar mounting surface for holding a license plate. Although such brackets generally function adequately, new vehicle designs have created a problem with respect to the anchoring of such brackets to a bumper. 
     In particular, new vehicle designs have covered the front bumper area with a plastic grille. In this case, there is insufficient support or available surface area to attach a license plate bracket to the thin plastic grille bars using conventional fasteners such as bolts and screws. Trying to thread screws into the thin grille can break the grille bars and result in little or no support for the license plate bracket. 
     Accordingly, a need exists for a license plate bracket adapted to mount a license plate to the grille of a vehicle, particularly where the grille extends in front of and covers the front bumper. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention has been developed to fulfill the needs noted above and, therefore, has as an object the provision of a license plate bracket which is adapted to be securely retained on the grille of an automobile without the use of a traditional hardware mounting arrangement. 
     Another object is to provide a license plate bracket which can be quickly and easily attached to a thin rib or bar of a vehicle front grille so that the use of screws or bolts is at least partially obviated. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a license plate bracket constructed in accordance with the invention and shown mounted on the front grille of a vehicle; 
     FIG. 2 is a view in section taken through section line  2 — 2  of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the front of the license plate bracket of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the rear of the license plate bracket of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 5 is a bottom view of the bracket of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 6 is a right side view of the bracket of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a license plate bracket constructed in accordance with a second embodiment of the invention and attached to the front grille of a vehicle; 
     FIG. 8 is a view in section taken through section line  8 — 8  of FIG. 7; 
     FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the front of the bracket of FIG. 7; 
     FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the back of the bracket of FIG. 7; 
     FIG. 11 is a top view of the bracket of FIG. 7; and 
     FIG. 12 is a right side view of the bracket of FIG.  7 . 
     In the drawings, like reference numerals denote like or similar parts. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     The invention will now be described in conjunction with the drawings, beginning with FIG. 1, which shows the front end of a vehicle  10  having a front grille  12  in the form of a lattice of thin plastic horizontal ribs or bars  14  and thin plastic vertical ribs or bars  16 . The grille  12  in this particular vehicle design is located at least in part over and in front of the front bumper of the vehicle. With this grille and bumper construction, there is insufficient support space to mount a conventional license plate bracket on the bumper area. What is needed is a license plate bracket which can be attached at least in part to the grille. 
     As further seen in FIGS. 1 through 7 and particularly in FIGS. 1 and 2, a generally rectangular license plate support member in the form of bracket  18  is mounted directly on the grille  12 . Bracket  18  has a substantially flat, planer front face  20  bordered by a peripheral U-shaped ridge  22  which extends around the bottom and two side edges of the bracket for centering and holding a license plate in place on the bracket. Two hold-down tabs  24  are located in the upper corners of the bracket  18  for further supporting the corners of a license plate and minimizing rattling of the license plate by extending over and clipping the plate in place thereby preventing the top of the license plate from flexing outwardly. 
     Bracket  18  further includes a pair of mounting holes  26  for receiving a pair of mounting screws for screwing a license plate to the front face  20  of bracket  18 . When a license plate is inserted under the hold-down tabs  24  and centered on the bracket  18 , it may be screwed in position and held to the surface of the bracket with only two screws. 
     A pair of upper molding recesses  28  is formed adjacent the upper corners of bracket  18  and a pair of lower molding recesses  30  is formed adjacent the lower corners of bracket  18 . As seen in FIG. 4, tubular sleeves  27  provide support for the threads of the mounting screws. As best seen in FIGS.  2 - 6 , a grip member in the form of a rearwardly projecting cantilevered grip arm  32 , having a downwardly projecting hook  34 , extends from the top of each upper molding recess  28 . 
     A pair of sidewalls  33  provides support to the arm  32  and hook  34 . Hook  34  is provided with a detent  35  dimensioned to form a secure resilient over-center snap-fit connection to the rear edge  36  of one of the horizontal ribs  14  of front grille  12 . As seen in FIG. 5, the rear faces  37  of hooks  34 , in top plan view, extend at an acute angle A with respect to the plane of bracket  18  to complement the shape and contours of the grille  12  and assist in centering the bracket on the grille. 
     A mounting arm  38  or flange, reinforced by a pair of sidewalls  40 , extends rearwardly from the bottom of each lower molding recess  30 . A mounting hole  42  is formed on the end of each mounting arm  38  for receiving a fastener such as the self-tapping mounting screw  44  shown in FIG.  2 . When each mounting screw  44  is torqued down, it threads itself into a portion  46  of grille  12  to securely anchor the bracket  18  in position. Grille  12  is typically formed of a plastic material. 
     A locator or positioning member in the shape of a rearwardly projecting tab  48  having a recess  50  formed on its free end aids in the proper positioning of the bracket  18  on the grille  12 . The recess  50  is shaped to engage and self-center on one of the vertical ribs  16  of grille  12 . Tab  48  can be aligned with and connected to one of the tubular sleeves  27  to add strength and rigidity to the sleeve. A similar tab  52  can be provided to add support to the other tubular sleeve. 
     The rear face  54  of the bracket  18  may be provided with a series or pattern of raised ribs  56  for strengthening and adding rigidity to the bracket. Further rigidity may be provided by a rearwardly extending rectangular flange  58  which forms an outer border around bracket  18 . 
     Bracket  18  as well as all of the structure carried by bracket  18 , that is, the entire construction as best shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, can be formed as a single homogeneous plastic molding. This reduces cost and simplifies assembly. 
     The mounting of bracket  18  to grille  12  is extremely simple and fast. With the arms  32  and hooks  34  positioned over the appropriate horizontal rib  16 , an installer provides a moderate downward force on the bracket, causing the detents  35  of hooks  34  to resiliently snap in place over the rear edge  36  of the rib. The bracket is then laterally adjusted, if necessary, to align the recesses  50  of tab  48  with the appropriate vertical rib  16  of grille  12 . Self-tapping fastener screws  44  are then torqued down into the grille to complete the installation. 
     It should be noted that in those cases where a front license plate is not required, the bracket  18  may simply be eliminated. Since the front grille  12  need not be modified to accommodate bracket  18 , the grille without the bracket will appear natural with smooth continuous lines and features insofar as special planar recesses or flattened shapes formed in the grille are not required for bracket  18 . 
     Another embodiment of the invention is shown in FIGS.  7 - 12  wherein hold down tabs  24  are moved to the bottom edge of the bracket  18  and mounting holes  26  are moved toward the top of the bracket. In this design, the locator tab  48  and recess  50  are moved to the upper central portion of the rear surface  54  of bracket  18 . 
     Many modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings. Therefore, within the scope of the appended claims, the present invention may be practiced other than specifically described.