Abstract:
A universal license plate holder which is selectively adjustable to accommodate various sized license plates used around the world, composed of a pair of attachment brackets which are spaced apart and connected to the motor vehicle via respective mounting fasteners and further composed of a cross-bar which is pivotally connected to the attachment brackets. When loosened, each mounting fastener provides a pivot axis for its respective attachment brackets; however, when tightened the attachment brackets are frozen in a fixed relative position. Operatively, rotation of the attachment brackets allows for alignment with the plate holes of any license plate, for example a North American standard license plate, a European standard license plate, a Japanese standard license plate and a Korean standard license plate.

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD  
         [0001]    The present invention relates to holders used to attach a license plate to a motor vehicle, and more particularly to a universal license plate holder which is selectively adjustable so as to accommodate differing sizes of license plates that are used in various locations around the world.  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    Motor vehicle regulations around the world require that motor vehicles display a license plate indicative of the registration of that vehicle. The usual mounting of the license plate is by threadably fastening the license plate to a bracket attached at the rear of the vehicle, for example at the rear deck lid, lift gate, rear deck panel, or bumper.  
           [0003]    License plate size is not universal around the world. There are, for example, different size license plates used in each of North America, Europe, Japan and Korea. Problematically, since automakers ship motor vehicles to a number of countries, the license plate bracket must be correctly chosen to fit the license plate of the country of destination, and this requires an added cost involved in the customization. In this regard, it is presently customary to provide plate mounting holes into the vehicle sheet metal specific to the country of destination of the vehicle, or alternatively, to not provide any holes at the manufacturing facility and default to the dealer the job of drilling the holes (which holes are problematic in that they result in exposed metal edges which are prone to rust initiation). These customary plate mounting hole options involve a cost impact, part number proliferation, sequencing, scheduling and warranty issues, as well as the need to install plastic appliques to hide unused mounting holes.  
           [0004]    Accordingly, what is needed in the art is a single license plate holder which can somehow universally accommodate different sized license plates used around the world.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0005]    The present invention is a universal license plate holder which is selectively adjustable to accommodate various sized license plates used around the world.  
           [0006]    The universal license plate holder according to the present invention is composed of a pair of attachment brackets which are spaced apart and connected to the motor vehicle via respective mounting fasteners and is further composed of a cross-bar which is pivotally connected to the attachment brackets. When loosened, each mounting fastener provides a pivot axis for its respective attachment bracket; however, when the mounting fasteners are tightened, the attachment brackets are frozen in a fixed relative position.  
           [0007]    In operation, the attachment brackets are connected loosely to the motor vehicle via the mounting fasteners so that the mounting brackets are free to rotate therearound. Next, the mounting brackets are rotated in unison due to the interconnection therebetween by the cross-bar so that a plate mounting hole of each of the mounting brackets is aligned with a respective plate hole of a chosen size of license plate. The mounting fasteners are then tightened to affix the orientation of the mounting brackets so that thereafter any license plate of this size is easily attached and/or removed as necessary without readjustment of the mounting brackets.  
           [0008]    Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a universal license plate holder which is selectively adjustable so as to hold a range of differently sized license plates.  
           [0009]    This and additional objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become clearer from the following specification of a preferred embodiment. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0010]    [0010]FIG. 1 is a plan view of the universal license plate holder according to the present invention, shown in operation with respect to a motor vehicle, wherein the configuration is set for attaching a North American standard license plate.  
         [0011]    [0011]FIG. 2 is a partly sectional view, seen along line  2 - 2  of FIG. 1.  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an attachment bracket according to the present invention.  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 4 is a plan view of an attachment bracket according to the present invention.  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 5 is a plan view of the universal license plate holder according to the present invention, shown in operation with respect to a motor vehicle, wherein the configuration is set for attaching a European standard license plate.  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 6 is a plan view of the universal license plate holder according to the present invention, shown in operation with respect to a motor vehicle, wherein the configuration is set for attaching a Japanese standard license plate.  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 7 is a plan view of the universal license plate holder according to the present invention, shown in operation with respect to a motor vehicle, wherein the configuration is set for attaching a Korean standard license plate. 
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0017]    Referring now to the Drawing, FIG. 1 depicts a universal license plate holder  10  according to the present invention in operation with respect to a mount location  12  of a motor vehicle (which may be, for example, at the rear deck lid, lift gate, rear deck panel, or bumper, and which may include a depression  12 ′). The universal license plate holder  10  is exemplarly shown configured to hold a North American standard license plate  14  (shown in phantom).  
         [0018]    The universal license plate holder  10  includes first and second attachment brackets  16 ,  18  which are mutually spaced apart from each other. Each attachment bracket  16 ,  18  is connected to the motor vehicle via respective mounting fasteners  20  which allow for rotation of its respective attachment bracket thereabout when in a loosened state, but held in fixed position when in a tightened state. A cross-bar  22  is pivotally connected, via respective ends thereof, to each of the attachment brackets  16 ,  18 . The cross-bar  22  interacts with the attachment brackets  16 ,  18  such that if any one attachment bracket is rotated about its respective mounting fastener, then the other must rotate in unison about its respective mounting fastener.  
         [0019]    The attachment brackets  16 ,  18  each have at least one license plate mounting hole  24 . Preferably, this hole is shaped to accept a standard nylon mounting nut  26  of the type well known in the art and commonly used for license plate mounting via a mounting bolt (see  36  in FIG. 2) threading thereinto. In this regard, the attachment brackets  16 ,  18  are rotated so that the plate mounting holes  24  thereof align with a pair of plate holes  28  of a certain standard size license plate, as for example the upper pair of plate holes of a North American standard license plate  14 , as shown at FIG. 1.  
         [0020]    The foregoing operation of the universal license plate holder  10  and its interface with the rear panel  12  and the license plate  14  can be further comprehended by additional reference to FIG. 2, wherein while only the first attachment bracket  16  is shown the same description applies to the second attachment bracket  18 .  
         [0021]    It will be seen that the rear panel  12  has an attachment hole  30  (there being provided one such attachment hole for each of the first and second attachment brackets) which is preferably provided at the factory prior to application of metal coatings (for example corrosion inhibiter, primer and paint). By way of example, a nylon attachment nut  32  is press-fit into the attachment hole  30 . A mounting fastener  20  in the form of a bolt  20 A is passed through a pivot hole  34  of the first attachment bracket  16  and then threaded into the nylon attachment nut  32 . A mounting bolt  36  is passed through a plate hole  28 , the plate mounting hole  24  and then threaded into the mutually aligned nylon mounting nut  26  of the first attachment bracket  16 . The foregoing is repeated for the second attachment bracket  18  so as to thereby mount the license plate  14  onto the universal license plate holder  10 .  
         [0022]    Referring now additionally to FIGS. 3 and 4, the preferred attachment brackets  16 ,  18  will be further detailed.  
         [0023]    Each attachment bracket  16 ,  18  has a pair of arms in the form of a first arm  38  and a second arm  40 , wherein the second arm is oriented at a right angle to the first arm. Each of the first and second arms  38 ,  40  have the aforementioned license plate mounting hole  24  located at a distal bracket portion  42 . Each distal bracket portion  42  is parallel with, and elevated by a step  44  with respect to, a main bracket portion  46  whereat the pivot hole  34  is located. The distance R (see FIGS. 1 and 4) between the pivot hole  34  and each of the license plate mounting holes  24  is the same for the first and second arms of each attachment bracket  16 ,  18 . Adjoining the first arm  38 , a flange  48  protrudes from, and is in parallel relation with, the main bracket portion  46 . A cross-bar connection hole  50  is formed therein. As indicated at FIG. 2, the cross-bar  22  is pivotally connected at each end thereof to a respective attachment bracket  16 ,  18  at the cross-bar connection hole  50  thereof via, for example, a rivet  52  passing through a respective cross-bar hole  54 .  
         [0024]    By way merely of illustration and not limitation, preferred dimensions for the universal license plate holder  10  will now be given. The distance between the cross-bar holes  54  of the cross-bar  22  is about 182.5 cm. The distance between the pivot holes  34  of the first and second attachment brackets  16 ,  18  is about 185 cm. The distance between the pivot hole  34  of each of the first and second attachment brackets  16 ,  18  and the mounting hole  24  of each of the distal bracket portions  42  respectively thereof is about 43 cm. Finally, the distance between the pivot hole  34  of each of the first and second attachment brackets  16 ,  18  and the cross-bar connection hole  50  of the flange  48  respectively thereof is about  21  cm.  
         [0025]    In operation, the attachment brackets  16 ,  18  are connected loosely to the motor vehicle via the mounting fasteners  20  being loosely threaded so that the mounting brackets are free to rotate therearound. Next, the mounting brackets are rotated in unison due to the interconnection therebetween by the cross-bar  22  so that a plate mounting hole  24  of each of the mounting brackets is aligned with a respective plate hole  28  of a chosen size of license plate. The mounting fasteners are then threadingly tightened to affix the orientation of the mounting brackets so that thereafter any license plate of this size is easily attached and/or removed as necessary without readjustment of the mounting brackets.  
         [0026]    The foregoing is illustrated by simultaneous reference to FIGS. 1, 5,  6  and  7 .  
         [0027]    In the operative illustration of FIG. 1, the attachment brackets  16 ,  18  have been positioned so that the upper pair of plate holes  28  of a North American standard license plate  14  is aligned with the license plate mounting holes  24 , wherein utilized is the first arm  38  of the second attachment bracket  18  and the second arm  40  of the first attachment bracket  16 . In this particular case, the license plate mounting holes are located a distance apart of about 178 cm.  
         [0028]    In the operative illustration of FIG. 5, the attachment brackets  16 ,  18  have been positioned so that the pair of plate holes  28 ′ of a European standard license plate  14 ′ is aligned with the license plate mounting holes  24 , wherein utilized is second arm  40  of the second attachment bracket  18  and the first arm  38  of the first attachment bracket  16 . In this particular case, the license plate mounting holes are located a distance apart of about 270 cm.  
         [0029]    In the operative illustration of FIG. 6, the attachment brackets  16 ,  18  have been positioned so that a pair of plate holes  28 ″ of a standard Japanese license plate  14 ″ is aligned with the license plate mounting holes  24 , wherein utilized is the first arm  38  of the second attachment bracket  18  and the second arm  40  of the first attachment bracket  16 . In this particular case, the license plate mounting holes are located a distance apart of about 210 cm.  
         [0030]    In the operative illustration of FIG. 7, the attachment brackets  16 ,  18  have been positioned so that a pair of plate holes  28 ′″ of a standard Korean license plate  14 ′″ is aligned with the license plate mounting holes  24 , wherein utilized is the first arm  38  of the second attachment bracket  18  and the second arm  40  of the first attachment bracket  16 . In this particular case, the license plate mounting holes are located a distance apart of about 205 cm.  
         [0031]    It will be noted that as a matter of operational simplification and facility of use of the universal license plate holder  10 , the configuration is predetermined such that the attachment brackets  16 ,  18  were not rotated as between FIGS. 1 and 5. Accordingly, if only North American and European standards are involved, there is no need to reposition the attachment brackets, and yet either size license plate is immediately accommodated and, since readjustment is unnecessary, the cross-bar  22  is obviated.  
         [0032]    To those skilled in the art to which this invention appertains, the above described preferred embodiment may be subject to change or modification. Such change or modification can be carried out without departing from the scope of the invention, which is intended to be limited only by the scope of the appended claims.