Abstract:
A front bumper for a mobile vehicle having separate swinging end assemblies to provide additional access to the vehicle engine. The front bumper and separate swinging end assemblies are provided in various embodiments, exemplifying possible modes of configuration and operation thereof. Specifically, methods of retaining the separate swinging end assemblies in a non-articulated position are presented, as well as the operative and styling advantages of the invention.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF INVENTION  
       [0001]     This invention relates to a front bumper with swinging ends that provides easy access to the engine compartment of a mobile commercial vehicle. Specifically, multiple embodiments are disclosed, by means of which the ends of the vehicle front bumper, which ordinarily prevent access to the engine compartment, may be rotated forward. In this way, the rearwardly swept ends of the front bumper are moved out of the way.  
       SUMMARY  
       [0002]     Mobile vehicles, especially heavy and medium-duty commercial vehicles, are commonly configured with the engine located longitudinally forward of the cab and mounted to a set of frame rails, which form the structure of the vehicle. Due to the overall size of these commercial vehicles, access to the engine and associated mechanical systems is provided by means of a forward tilting hood. This is in contrast to a passenger vehicle hood that lifts up from the front and provides access from the top of the engine compartment. This tilting hood allows a technician to service the vehicle engine from a standing position.  
         [0003]     Additionally, these heavy and medium-duty commercial vehicles are provided with a front bumper, located forward and below the tilting hood. For reasons of aerodynamics, aesthetics, and safety, this front bumper commonly has ends that wrap around the front corners of the vehicle, so that they extend rearwardly before terminating. A front bumper with the characteristic of rearwardly extending termini is known as a “wrap-around” or “swept” front bumper. Occasionally, the front bumper is integrated into the forward tilting hood, but more often it is fixedly mounted to the vehicle frame rails.  
         [0004]     In the case of previous fixedly attached wrap-around front bumpers, the rearwardly extending termini of the front bumper presented a barrier to a technician attempting to access the engine compartment. This forced the technician to climb over the end of the front bumper, or to squeeze between it and the vehicle front tire. The proximity of the rearwardly extending terminus of the front bumper to the vehicle front tire also prevented rapid egress from a standing position between the vehicle front tire and the engine compartment, a position often occupied by a technician when servicing the vehicle engine. It sometimes even presented a barrier to a technician attempting to access the underside of the engine compartment using a mechanic&#39;s creeper.  
         [0005]     In the case of previous wrap-around front bumpers that were integrated into the vehicle hood, a major drawback of the integrated design was the fact that, in the event of damage to the front bumper, either the entire vehicle hood would require replacement, or significant work would be involved in detaching the front bumper from the hood assembly.  
         [0006]     The invention disclosed herein provides a wrap-around front bumper with rearwardly extending termini having the capability of being independently swung forward and out of the path of access to the vehicle engine. These rearwardly extending termini are separately formed from the center portion of the front bumper, and are mounted to structural braces, which in turn pivot about points affixed to the vehicle frame rails. The rearwardly extending termini themselves are allowed to pivot on the ends of the structural braces distal from the chassis, so that the rearwardly extending termini and the center portion of the front bumper clear one another upon articulation. Additionally, as the figures will illustrate, another advantage of allowing the rearwardly extending termini to pivot on the ends of the structural braces distal from the chassis, is that the joint lines between the rearwardly extending termini and the front bumper center section may be configured to match the aesthetics of the vehicle, rather than being constrained to the intercept of the front bumper surface and a cylinder projected about a given single pivot line. The structural braces are of sufficient strength that the impact and load bearing characteristics of the rearwardly extending termini are retained. Various ways of releasably affixing the swinging assemblies to the center portion of the front bumper are disclosed.  
         [0007]     The figures listed illustrate a vehicle with a front bumper which is divided into three sections per the invention disclosed, that is, having a center section and separate swinging ends. The structural braces and pivot mechanisms are shown, as well as various methods of releasably fixing the swinging assemblies, as mentioned previously.  
         [0008]     The invention as presented is a solution to one of the maintenance difficulties heretofore inherent in the design of heavy-duty commercial vehicles with wrap-around front bumpers. It allows access to the vehicle engine without requiring a technician to climb over the rearwardly extending termini of the front bumper, while retaining the aerodynamic, aesthetic, and safety advantages of the wrap-around front bumper design. Additionally, it allows the use of a non-integrated front bumper, so that in the event of damage to the front bumper center section or swinging ends, removal and replacement of the damaged component remains a simple procedure. 
     
    
     DRAWINGS  
       [0009]      FIG. 1 —A front view of a vehicle upon which the invention may be used.  
         [0010]      FIG. 2 —A side view of a vehicle upon which the invention may be used.  
         [0011]      FIG. 3 —A side view of a vehicle upon which the invention may be used.  
         [0012]      FIG. 4 —A rear view of a vehicle made in accordance with a first embodiment of the invention.  
         [0013]      FIG. 5 —A rear view of a vehicle made in accordance with a second embodiment of the invention.  
         [0014]      FIG. 6 —A front view of a vehicle made in accordance with a third embodiment of the invention.  
         [0015]      FIG. 7 —A detailed view of a left front bumper swinging end assembly affixed to a front bumper in accordance with a fourth embodiment of the invention.  
         [0016]      FIG. 8 —A detailed view of a left front bumper swinging end assembly affixed to a front bumper in accordance with a fifth embodiment of the invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0017]     The vehicle  101  shown in  FIG. 1  has a cab  102  and a hood  103  engaged to a chassis  104 . The vehicle  101  also has a front bumper  105  attached to the chassis  104 . The chassis  104  is provided with front wheels  107 . Furthermore, the front bumper  105  is provided with rearwardly swept termini  106 , which are proximate to the front wheels  107 . This is an example of the type of vehicle to which this invention may be applied.  
         [0018]     The vehicle  101  shown in  FIG. 2  has a similar cab  102  and hood  103  attached to a chassis  104  as the vehicle  101  shown in  FIG. 1 . The front bumper  105  is also attached to the chassis  104 , and is shown with a rearwardly swept terminus  106 , proximate to the front wheel  107 . This is another example of the type of vehicle to which this invention may be applied.  
         [0019]     The vehicle  101  shown in  FIG. 3  has a similar cab  102  and hood  103  attached to a chassis  104  as the vehicle  101  shown in  FIG. 1 . The front bumper  105  is also attached to the chassis  104 , and is shown with a rearwardly swept terminus  106 , proximate to the front wheel  107  as in  FIG. 2 . The hood  103  is shown in an open position, thereby providing access to an engine  123  installed on the chassis  104 . Note that the rearwardly swept terminus  106  presents a barrier to the frontal area of the engine  123 , which is an area commonly accessed for routine service.  
         [0020]     The vehicle  101  shown in  FIG. 4  has a similar chassis  104  and an engine  123  as the vehicle  101  shown in  FIG. 1 . For the sake of clarity, the cab  102 , the hood  103 , and the front wheel  107  are not shown in  FIG. 4 . In accordance with the invention disclosed herein, the front bumper  105  is attached to the chassis  104 , and is shown with the left front bumper swinging end assembly  108 , of which the rearwardly swept terminus  106  is a part. The right front bumper swinging end assembly  109  is symmetrically opposite to the left front bumper swinging end assembly  108 , and is not shown in  FIG. 4 . The left front bumper swinging end assembly  108  is comprised of the rearwardly swept terminus  106 , which is pivotally attached to the structural brace  110 , which in turn is pivotally attached to the chassis  104 . The structural brace  110  pivots about the structural brace upper pivot point  113  and the structural brace lower pivot point  114 . The rearwardly swept terminus  106  pivots about the rearwardly swept terminus upper pivot point  115  and the rearwardly swept terminus lower pivot point  116 . Furthermore, the left front bumper swinging end assembly  108  is removably affixed to the front bumper  105  at the upper mounting point  111  and the lower mounting point  112 , thereby preventing the left front bumper swinging end assembly  108  from articulating inadvertently. The pivotal attachment of the rearwardly swept terminus  106  to the structural brace  110  allows the rearwardly swept terminus  106  to clear the upper mounting point  111  and the lower mounting point  112  when it is detached and articulated. The right front bumper swinging end assembly  109  is similarly configured.  
         [0021]     The vehicle  101  shown in  FIG. 5  has a similar chassis  104 , engine  123 , front bumper  105 , left front bumper swinging end assembly  108 , rearwardly swept terminus  106 , and structural brace  110 , as the vehicle  101  shown in  FIG. 4 . For the sake of clarity, the cab  102 , the hood  103 , and the front wheel  107  are not shown in  FIG. 5 . Similar to the chassis  104  in  FIG. 4 , the right front bumper swinging end assembly  109  is not shown. Similar to the vehicle  101  shown in  FIG. 4 , the rearwardly swept terminus  106  is pivotally attached to the structural brace  110 , which in turn is pivotally attached to the chassis  104 . The structural brace  110  pivots about the structural brace upper and lower pivot points  113  and  114 , respectively. The rearwardly swept terminus  106  pivots about the rearwardly swept terminus upper and lower pivot points  115  and  116 , respectively. The left front bumper swinging end assembly  108  is shown detached from the upper mounting point  111  and the lower mounting point  112 , and is shown articulated forward, thereby providing greater access to the engine  123 .  
         [0022]     The vehicle  101  shown in  FIG. 6  has a similar chassis  104 , cab  102 , hood  103 , front wheel  107 , front bumper  105 , and rearwardly swept terminus  106  as the vehicle  101  shown in  FIG. 1 . The advantageous nature of having the structural brace  110  (not shown) pivot about the structural brace upper and lower pivot points,  113  and  114  respectively (not shown), and having the rearwardly swept terminus  106  pivot about the rearwardly swept terminus upper and lower pivot points,  115  and  116  respectively (not shown), is illustrated in the styling joint line  117 . Specifically, the styling joint line  117  may be configured to match the aesthetics of the vehicle  101 , rather than being constrained to the intercept of the front bumper surface and a cylinder projected about a given single pivot line, as noted previously.  
         [0023]      FIG. 7  is a detailed view of a left front bumper swinging end assembly  108 , comprised of a rearwardly swept terminus  106  and a structural brace  110 . For the sake of clarity, the cab  102 , the hood  103 , the front wheel  107 , and the engine  123  are not shown. Similar to the left front bumper swinging end assembly  108  shown in  FIG. 4 , the rearwardly swept terminus  106  is pivotally attached to the structural brace  110 , pivoting about the rearwardly swept terminus upper and lower pivot points  115  and  116  respectively. In the same way, the structural brace  110  pivots about the structural brace upper and lower pivot points  113  and  114  respectively, which are provided upon the chassis  104 . Furthermore, as in  FIG. 4 , the left front bumper swinging end assembly  108  is removably affixed to the front bumper  105  at the upper mounting point  111  and the lower mounting point  112 , thereby preventing the left front bumper swinging end assembly  108  from articulating inadvertently. Attachment of the left front bumper swinging end assembly  108  to the front bumper  105  is accomplished by the retaining bolt  118  and the retaining nut  119 . The right front bumper swinging end assembly  109  (not shown) is similarly provided with retaining bolts and nuts.  
         [0024]      FIG. 8  is a detailed view of a left front bumper swinging end assembly  108 , similar to the left front bumper swinging end assembly  108  that appears in  FIG. 7 . The left front bumper swinging end assembly  108  is again comprised of a rearwardly swept terminus  106  and a structural brace  110 . For the sake of clarity, the cab  102 , the hood  103 , the front wheel  107 , and the engine  123  are not shown. The rearwardly swept terminus  106  is again pivotally attached to the structural brace  110 , pivoting about the rearwardly swept terminus upper and lower pivot points  115  and  116  respectively. In the same way, the structural brace  110  pivots about the structural brace upper and lower pivot points  113  and  114  respectively, which are provided upon the chassis  104 . Furthermore, as in  FIG. 7 , the left front bumper swinging end assembly  108  is removably affixed to the front bumper  105  at the upper mounting point  111  and the lower mounting point  112 , thereby preventing the left front bumper swinging end assembly  108  from articulating inadvertently. Attachment of the left front bumper swinging end assembly  108  to the front bumper  105  is accomplished by the latching pins  120  and the devises  121 . The right front bumper swinging end assembly  109  (not shown) is similarly provided with latching pins and clevises.  
         [0025]     Other permutations of the invention are possible without departing from the teachings disclosed herein, provided that the function of the right and left front bumper swinging end assemblies  108  and  109 , respectively, is to allow greater access to the engine  123 . Other advantages to a vehicle  101  equipped with right and left front bumper swinging end assemblies  108  and  109 , respectively, may also be inherent in the invention, without having been described above.