Abstract:
A radiator grille ( 10 ) for assembly in a motor vehicle radiator grille arrangement which is assembled by means of first fastening means and second fastening means in the radiator grille arrangement, which first and second fastening means are spaced from one another substantially corresponding to a vertical extent of the radiator grille, wherein at least one of the fastening means of the first and second fastening means is formed from a link guide device consisting of a groove ( 25 ) and a pin ( 16 ) guided therein, wherein the groove at least partially extends in the longitudinal axis (−x) of the vehicle and the pin ( 16 ) is movable within the groove as a result of an external action of force.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     The invention relates to a radiator grille for assembly in a motor vehicle radiator grille arrangement.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     In motor vehicles, radiator grille arrangements are generally provided in which a radiator grille is assembled. A radiator grille of this type is as a rule rigidly assembled in the radiator grille arrangement by means of non-releasable snap connections, for example to a bumper or on a bonnet. However, a rigidly assembled radiator grille is disadvantageous for effective passer-by protection in the event of a front impact. Furthermore, a rigidly assembled radiator grille is already damaged at low speeds in the event of a front impact and this then necessitates expensive replacement of the radiator grille.  
         [0003]     The recently introduced legal directives for improved passer-by protection in the event of a front impact have led to radiator grilles which are pivotally mounted in the radiator grille arrangement. The radiator grille can thus suitably pivot about an axis counter to the direction of travel in the event of an external action of force and this ensures better passer-by protection and helps to avoid disadvantageous damage to the radiator grille. However, pivotal attachment of the radiator grille necessitates expensive fastening elements which increase the constructional outlay and, in connection with this, also increase the production costs.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0004]     Accordingly, the invention is based on the object of providing a radiator grille for which, in the event of an external action of force, a deflective movement is possible with low outlay for construction.  
         [0005]     The radiator grille in accordance with the invention is provided for assembly in a motor vehicle radiator grille arrangement, wherein assembly takes place in the radiator grille arrangement by means of first and second fastening means. The first and second fastening means thus are spaced from one another which substantially corresponds to a vertical extent of the radiator grille. In other words, the first and second fastening means are provided either on an edge, or else at least in the vicinity of a respective edge of the radiator grille, which edges are preferably an upper and a lower edge of the radiator grille. At least one of the fastening means of the first and second fastening means is formed by a link guide device consisting of a groove and a pin guided therein. The groove thus extends at least partially in the longitudinal axis of the vehicle, wherein the pin is movable within the groove as a result of an external action of force.  
         [0006]     As a result of the spacing of the first fastening means from the second fastening means, corresponding to the vertical extent of the radiator grille or the height of the radiator grille, these fastening means are therefore each provided on edges of the radiator grille or in the vicinity thereof, said edges being opposite one another. For example, the first fastening means are provided on a lower edge of the radiator grille, while the second fastening means are provided in the area of the upper edge of the radiator grille.  
         [0007]     If the vehicle is involved in a front impact, as a result of which a force substantially against the direction of travel acts on the radiator grille, the pin can move, guided in a defined manner, in the groove. An edge area of the radiator grille, in the vicinity of which, or on which, the link guide device is provided, can correspondingly advantageously give way according to the orientation of the groove to the rear in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the vehicle, in other words counter to the direction of travel. This reduces, for example, the risk of injury to a passer-by and in addition any possible damage to the radiator grille by breaking, shattering or the like is avoided (at low impact speeds).  
         [0008]     In an advantageous configuration of the invention, both the first and the second fastening means are formed by the link guide device. Thus, a total of four pins can be moulded onto the radiator grille which engage in grooves which are adjacent thereto and can be movably guided therein. If, in the event of a front impact, a force acts against the radiator grille counter to the direction of travel, the radiator grille can move away as a whole to the rear, in that all pins are displaced to the rear in the grooves.  
         [0009]     In accordance with an alternative advantageous embodiment, the first fastening elements are non-releasable, and can preferably be provided by at least one snap-on hook at the lower edge of the radiator grille. A particularly reliable fastening of the radiator grille can be achieved, for example, by a plurality of snap-on hooks which are each provided along a lower edge of the radiator grille and, in the assembled state of the radiator grille, engage, for example, with corresponding recesses formed in an area of the bumper.  
         [0010]     Furthermore, the second fastening means can be formed by the above-described guide device. The link guide device is preferably provided in the area of the upper edge of the radiator grille. This ensures that the upper edge of the radiator grille can suitably give way to the rear in the event of a front impact. The displacement of the pin starting here inside the groove is further encouraged in that the radiator grille as a whole and also the bumper in the area where the radiator grille is non-releasably assembled thereon by means of the first fastening means, are slightly flexible and can be elastically deformed corresponding to the action of an external force.  
         [0011]     In an advantageous refinement of the invention, the groove has at least one locking cam which reduces the groove in width and holds the pin in a fixed position. It is thus advantageously ensured that the radiator grille is reliably held in the fixed position by the link guided device in a so-called “normal position”, in which there is no front impact and thus no disadvantageous rattling or the like occurs. Only when an external force acts counter to the direction of travel as a result of the front impact on the radiator grille, does the pin slide past the locking cam so it can then continue to move inside the groove.  
         [0012]     In the embodiment having a total of four link guide devices, the locking cams, which are provided in the link guide devices provided at the lower edge of the radiator grille, can be formed in such a way that they only allow the respective pins to pass on reaching a larger pressure point than is the case in the link guide devices provided at the upper edge of the radiator grille. This has the advantageous effect that upon the action of only small forces on the radiator grille, only the upper edge gives way, while the radiator grille pivots downwards around the lower pins. Only when the described larger pressure point is exceeded are the pins of the link guide devices provided on the lower edge also displaced to the rear in the respective grooves past the locking cams, with the result that the radiator grille as a whole can deflect to the rear.  
         [0013]     In a particularly advantageous configuration of the invention, the link guide device is formed in such a way that the pin is laterally moulded on to the radiator grille, and in that the groove is recessed in a part of the bumper. The bumper thus has a web which projects upwards from its upper side and has a so-called horn at its free end, which is adequately dimensioned in size for the provision of the groove. As an alternative to this, the groove may also be formed in a part of the bonnet.  
         [0014]     In an alternative embodiment, the link guide device is formed in such a way that the pin is formed on the bumper or on the bonnet, while the groove is then correspondingly recessed in the radiator grille, in other words on a lateral edge thereof. The above-described advantageous effect that the edge of the radiator grille, in the vicinity of which the groove is formed in this case, can give way to the rear, is also fully ensured in this embodiment. To achieve this effect it is ultimately not decisive on which component the pin or the groove are provided; the essential aspect in this type of attachment consists solely in that the pin is received inside the groove and is movable in the groove only as a result of an external action of force.  
         [0015]     The radiator grille in accordance with the invention can be particularly advantageously formed as a one-piece component. The injection moulding of plastics material is suitable for this, in particular. In this method, the moulding of the pin onto a side of the radiator grille, or alternatively the recessing of a groove in a side edge of the radiator grille is easily possible in one operation without any further after-treatment to the radiator grille being necessary.  
         [0016]     The groove may extend in a linear or else in a curved manner in an advantageous refinement of the invention. The selected extent of the groove makes a defined rearward guidance of the radiator grille possible in the event of a front impact. If, for example the groove is extended in a curved manner with its end remote from the direction of travel being oriented in the direction of the bonnet, the radiator grille can dip to the rear below the bonnet in the event of a fast impact, so this produces a large giving way movement of the radiator grille with a correspondingly reduced risk of injury for a passer-by.  
         [0017]     In a particularly advantageous configuration of the invention, the radiator grille has a small, to no, effective projection with respect to the bumper and/or the bonnet. An effective projection is taken to mean here a spacing of the outer faces of the respective components in the vertical orientation. The recently passed legal directives for effective passer-by protection require the effective projections between the front bumper edge and front radiator grille edge to be kept either small or reduced to zero, so the front radiator grille edge terminates flush with the front bumper edge. To take this fact into account it is particularly advantageous in the radiator grille in accordance with the invention for an outer edge area thereof, as described above, to be able to deflect to the rear. A small effective projection for passer-by protection is made possible by the radiator grille deflecting to the rear. This also allows the relevant Canadian and US-American and the European safety directives for crash tests to be complied with, such as, for example the pendulum test U.S. 49 CFR 581. Moreover, this results in a favourable insurance assessment as no damage to the radiator grille occurs in the event of a front impact.  
         [0018]     If, apart from the pin, the groove is also produced from a plastics material, which is the case, for example, when the groove is formed in a part of the bumper made of plastics material, particularly good, low-wear sliding properties of the pin inside the groove are produced and this ensures that the radiator grille deflects to the rear in an undisrupted manner.  
         [0019]     Further advantages and configurations of the invention emerge from the description and the accompanying drawing.  
         [0020]     It is obvious that the features mentioned above and those to be mentioned hereinafter cannot only be used in the respectively disclosed combination but also in other combinations or alone without departing from the scope of the present invention.  
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0021]     The invention will be schematically described with the aid of an embodiment in the drawings and will be described in detail hereinafter with reference to the drawings, in which:  
         [0022]      FIG. 1  shows a perspective side view of a radiator grille in accordance with the invention,  
         [0023]      FIG. 2  shows a perspective view of part of a motor vehicle bumper.  
         [0024]      FIG. 3  shows a front view of a motor vehicle front end in sharply simplified perspective view, with a radiator grille in accordance with the invention mounted in a radiator grille arrangement. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0025]      FIG. 1  shows a radiator grille  10  in a perspective side view in simplified form. In the embodiment shown here, the radiator grille  10  has a substantially rectangular or trapezoidal form, and correspondingly has an upper edge  11 , a lower edge  12 , a left-hand edge  13  and a right-hand edge  14 . Formed on the lower edge  12  are a plurality of recesses  15  which are provided for engagement with snap-on hooks (cf.  FIG. 2 ). Moulded onto the left-hand and right-hand edge  13 ,  14  of the radiator grille  10 , adjacent to the upper edge  11 , is a respective pin  16  which protrudes laterally substantially parallel to the upper and lower edge.  
         [0026]     In terms of manufacturing technology, it is particularly advantageous to form the radiator grille  10  in one piece, for example by the injection moulding of a plastics material. In this case, the radiator grille can be economically produced in one operation, without any further after-processing being required. The plastics material used for this and also the wall thickness achieved during injection moulding for the moulded part are appropriately selected such that the radiator grille  10  has adequate rigidity and dimensional stability, so a rigid seat of the radiator grille in the radiator grille arrangement is ensured in a normal position, in which no front impact occurs. If the radiator grille  10  is injection-moulded from a plastics material, its dimensional stability can be advantageously further increased by adding short glass fibres into the plastics material granules.  
         [0027]     The two pins  16  and the plurality of recesses  15  are arranged on the radiator grille  10  in such a way that they are spaced from one another corresponding substantially to a vertical extent of the radiator grille. In other words, the spacing of the pin  16  from the recesses  15  corresponds substantially to the height of the radiator grille  10 .  
         [0028]      FIG. 2  shows a lateral perspective view of a detail of a front bumper  20  on which the radiator grille is provided for assembly, as explained below. The bumper  10  has a so-called horn  21 , i.e. a web-shaped element which extends upwardly (in the z-direction) from the upper side  22  of the bumper. The horn  21  has, at its free end  23 , a part which extends counter to the direction of travel or to the rear (i.e. in the x-direction). In a lateral flank  24 , the horn has a groove  25  which extends in a curved shape in the z-direction. The length of the groove  25  may be, for example, 10 mm, while the depth thereof (i.e. in the y-direction) may be 5 mm, for example. The depth of the groove  25  is in any case large enough for the pin to be able to engage therein and be reliably guided therein in the x-direction.  
         [0029]     Furthermore, the bumper  20 , along its upper side  22 , has a plurality of snap-on hooks  26  which are moulded on to the upper side and extend in the x-direction. With reference to  FIG. 2 , it should be understood that the bumper  20  has a total of two of the described horns  21  while the lateral flanks  24  with the grooves  25  formed therein are located opposite in each case. The plurality of snap-on hooks  26 , in the embodiment shown here, for example a total of three, is provided in the area of the bumper  20  between the two horns  21 . As an alternative to this, the snap-on hooks  26  may also be moulded onto the lower edge  12  of the radiator grille  10 , the above-mentioned recesses  15  being formed on the upper side of the bumper  20 .  
         [0030]     The assembly of the radiator grille  10  in the radiator grille arrangement or on the bumper  20  is described herein-after.  
         [0031]     The radiator grille  10  is attached to the bumper  20  in the direction of the arrow A (cf.  FIG. 2 ), so the recesses  15  latch in each case with the snap-on hooks  26 . The recesses and the snap-on hooks are thus designed such that the radiator grille  10  is non-releasably clipped to the bumper  20 . The pins  16  of the radiator grille  10  are in-serted laterally into the respective grooves  25 , so they come to rest on a front end  27  (pointing in the x-direction). The state in which the pin is inserted into the groove  25  is indicated in  FIG. 2  by a hatched area  28 .  
         [0032]     The groove  25  also has two locking cams  29  which are provided on a point of the groove  25 , so they lock the pin  16  inserted in the groove in a position in which the pin  16  abuts the front end  27  of the groove  25 . If the recesses  15  and the respective pins  16  of the radiator grille  10  are assembled, as described above, on the bumper  20 , in particular when the pins  16  abut the respective front end  27 , a so-called normal position of the radiator grille  10  is thus defined. In this normal position, the radiator grille  10  either ends flush to the outside (x-direction) with the bumper  20 , or else the front edge of the radiator grille has only a very small effective projection with respect to the front edge of the bumper in the x-direction.  
         [0033]     In conjunction with a small, or no, effective projection of this type it is also important for effective passer-by protection, that in the event of a front impact, i.e. in the event of the external action of force counter to the direction of travel (in the x-direction) a corresponding edge of the radiator grille can deflect. Deflecting in this manner is ensured in the radiator grille  10  in accordance with the invention by guiding the two pins  16  in a respective groove  25 . If an external force as a result of a front impact acts on the radiator grille  10  in the area of its upper edge  11 , the pins  16  travel past the locking cams  29  and slide inside the groove  25  counter to the direction of travel to the rear, corresponding to the con-figuration of the two grooves  25 . The rearward movement of the pins is defined by the orientation of the groove  25  in the lateral flank  24  of the horn  21 . As the pins  16  on the radiator grille  10  are moulded thereon adjacent to the upper edge  11 , in the event of a front impact, the upper edge  11  of the cooler grille can move to the rear according to the guidance of the pins  16  inside the grooves  25 , in other words substantially in the x-direction.  
         [0034]     As explained above, the snap-on hooks  26  are non-releasably latched into the recesses  15  of the radiator grille  10 . The attachment of the radiator grille  10  to the bumper  20  by means of the snap-on hooks and the recesses is such that this connection also remains non-releasable in the case of a front impact. The described giving way movement of the upper edge  11  is therefore ensured in that, apart from the radiator grille  10 , the bumper  20  also has a certain basic elasticity, whereby elastic deformation is possible in the event of an impact at low speeds. Like the radiator grille  10 , the bumper  20  is also preferably produced from a plastics material, so said basic elasticity is provided in terms of material.  
         [0035]     In the embodiment shown in  FIG. 2  it can be seen that the groove  25  is not linear, but curves upwardly in the z-direction in a rear area, i.e. an area remote from the direction of travel. This orientation of the groove  25 , in the event of a front impact, ensures that the radiator grille  10  with its upper edge  11  cannot only displace or deflect to the rear (in the x-direction), but also upwardly (in the z-direction). This advantageously ensures a dipping of the upper edge  11  below the bonnet  34  (cf.  FIG. 3 ) of the motor vehicle, which prevents damage to the radiator grille, for example by shattering or the like. As an alternative to the embodiment shown here, the groove  25  may also, however, have a linear extent, in accordance with which the upper edge  11  of the radiator grille  10  can then deflect straight to the rear, in other words in the x-direction counter to the direction of travel in the event of a front impact.  
         [0036]     The bumper  20 , in a lower region of the horn  21  and also at the top on the free end  23  thereof, has further latching means  30 , with which the bumper  20  can be fastened to adjacent fascia elements of the radiator grille arrangement or to the body. Formed in a central section of the horn  21  is a so-called z-support  31  (shown in dashed lines in  FIG. 2 ), by means of which the bumper  20  can be suitably fastened to a body part (not shown), for example by screwing or the like.  
         [0037]      FIG. 3  shows a front end part of a motor vehicle shown in a partial view with a bonnet  34 , the bumper  20  and the radiator grille  10  in accordance with the invention, which as described above, is fastened to the bumper  20 . The radiator grille  10  ends substantially flush with the surrounding parts bonnet  24 , bumper  20  and a headlight housing  35  with respect to the outer skin, so in this embodiment the effective projection equals zero. An attachment of this type of the radiator grille to the bumper with a small or even no effective projection has significant advantages for passer-by protection.  
         [0038]     As a result of the radiator grille  10  designed in accordance with the invention, high design requirements can be met by small, or no, effective projections, and the legal requirements for effective passer-by protection can also be met. As an alternative to the embodiment described above, with reference to FIGS.  1  to  3 , the radiator grille  10  can also be assembled in a similar manner on the bonnet of the motor vehicle. Moreover, according to a kinematic reversal it is then also possible to form the groove  25  in the left-hand or right-hand edge  13 ,  14  of the radiator grille  10 , while the pin  16  is then respectively moulded onto the side flank  24  of the respective horn  21 .  
         [0039]     In a further alternative embodiment, the snap-on hooks  26  provided on the lower edge  12  of the radiator grille  10  and the corresponding recesses  15  can, in each case, be replaced by link guide devices, so the radiator grille is assembled, for example, by a total of four link guide devices in the radiator grille arrangement. Advantageously, for the event of a front impact, not only is deflection of an edge of the radiator grille thus ensured, but also deflection of the radiator grille as a whole.