Patent Publication Number: US-2023150580-A1

Title: Vehicle front end assembly

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     Technical Field 
     The present disclosure generally relates to a vehicle front end assembly. More specifically, the present disclosure relates to a vehicle front end assembly that includes a headlamp assembly with a lens shaped with a decorative slot with a trim panel that is installed to the headlamp assembly within the slot, the trim panel having a projection that is inserted behind an adjacent fender to ensure a secure attachment of the trim panel to the vehicle. 
     Background Information 
     Headlamp assemblies are typically made of two basic structural elements, a housing and a lens that attaches to the housing. 
     SUMMARY 
     One object of the present disclosure is to provide a vehicle front end assembly with a headlamp assembly with a lens shaped with a decorative slot with a trim panel installed to the headlamp assembly within the slot, the trim panel having a projection that extends behind an adjacent fender to ensure a secure attachment of the trim panel to the vehicle. 
     In view of the state of the known technology, one aspect of the present disclosure is to provide a vehicle front end assembly with a fender, a headlamp assembly and a trim pane. The fender has a front edge portion. The headlamp assembly has a housing and a lens. The lens defines an upper section and a lower section with a slot defined therebetween. The trim panel is installed to the housing within the slot. The trim panel is attached to the housing of the headlamp assembly and is retained by the front edge portion of the fender. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Referring now to the attached drawings which form a part of this original disclosure: 
         FIG.  1    is a perspective view of a vehicle with a front end assembly that showing a headlamp assembly with a lens that defines a slot with a trim panel installed to the headlamp assembly within the slot in accordance with an exemplary embodiment; 
         FIG.  2    is a perspective front view of a portion of the front end assembly showing the trim panel installed to the slot of the headlamp assembly in accordance with the exemplary embodiment; 
         FIG.  3    is another perspective front view of the portion of the front end assembly similar to  FIG.  2    with the trim panel removed showing a portion of a housing of the headlamp assembly revealed within the slot and further showing doghouse structures of the housing within the slot in accordance with the exemplary embodiment; 
         FIG.  4    is a perspective front view of a portion of the headlamp assembly with the trim panel removed showing one of the doghouse structures located on the housing within the slot defined by the lens of the headlamp assembly in accordance with the exemplary embodiment; 
         FIG.  5    is a top exploded view of a portion of the front end assembly showing the headlamp assembly with the trim panel positioned just prior to installation to the headlamp assembly and further showing double-sided tape in accordance with the exemplary embodiment; 
         FIG.  6    is a top cross-sectional view taken along the line  6 - 6  in  FIG.  2    showing the trim panel installed to the housing of the headlamp assembly with snap-fitting projections of the trim panel installed to the doghouses of the housing in accordance with the exemplary embodiment; 
         FIG.  7    is a top cross-sectional view of one of the doghouses with the snap-fitting projection installed to the one of the doghouses in accordance with the exemplary embodiment; 
         FIG.  8    is a front view of the trim panel removed from the vehicle showing a trim surface of the trim panel in accordance with the exemplary embodiment; 
         FIG.  9    is a rear view of the trim panel removed from the vehicle showing an attachment surface of a main body of the trim panel with two snap-fitting projections and a protrusion extending from a rearward end of the attachment surface of the main body of the trim panel in accordance with the exemplary embodiment; 
         FIG.  10    is a rear view of a portion of the attachment surface of the main body of the trim panel showing details of one of the snap-fitting projections in accordance with the exemplary embodiment; 
         FIG.  11    is a rear view of the rearward end of the attachment surface of the main body of the trim panel showing details of the projection in accordance with the exemplary embodiment; 
         FIG.  12    is a rear view of a portion of the front end assembly showing a front edge portion of the fender with the projection of the attachment surface of the trim panel extending behind the front edge portion of the fender in accordance with the exemplary embodiment; 
         FIG.  13    is a cross-sectional view taken along the line  13 - 13  in  FIG.  12    showing the front edge portion of the fender captured between the projection and the main portion of the trim panel in accordance with the exemplary embodiment; 
         FIG.  14    is a side view of the front end assembly and the fender showing the trim panel installed to the headlamp assembly in accordance with the exemplary embodiment; 
         FIG.  15    is a cross-sectional view of a portion of the vehicle front end assembly taken along the line  15 - 15  in  FIG.  14    showing the front edge portion of the fender extending into a gap defined between the projection and a rearward end of the trim panel in accordance with the exemplary embodiment; 
         FIG.  16    is another cross-sectional view of a portion of the vehicle front end assembly taken along the line  16 - 16  in  FIG.  14    showing the front edge portion of the fender extending into the gap defined between the projection and a rearward end of the trim panel in accordance with the exemplary embodiment; 
         FIG.  17    is a top view of the portion of the vehicle front end assembly showing at least one reinforcement rib extending from a forward portion of the projection within the gap in accordance with the exemplary embodiment; and 
         FIG.  18    is a rear view of the portion of the vehicle front end assembly showing a plurality of additional ribs extending from a rearward portion of the projection in accordance with the exemplary embodiment. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS 
     Selected embodiments will now be explained with reference to the drawings. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure that the following descriptions of the embodiments are provided for illustration only and not for the purpose of limiting the invention as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents. 
     Referring initially to  FIG.  1   , a vehicle  10  having a vehicle front end assembly  12  that includes a headlamp assembly  14  with a trim panel  16  is illustrated in accordance with an exemplary embodiment. 
     The vehicle  10  can be any of a variety of vehicle designs, such as an SUV (sports utility vehicle), a sedan, a coupe, a van, pickup truck or a commercial vehicle. The vehicle  10  can include a frame (not shown) where the body of the vehicle and the vehicle front end assembly  12  are bolted or otherwise fixed to the frame, or, the vehicle  10  can be manufactured with unibody construction where the body elements at least partially define the frame of the vehicle  10 . 
     The vehicle front end assembly  12  (herein after front end assembly  12 ) of the vehicle  10  includes a fender  20  that defines a front edge portion  22 . The fender  20  is attached to frame element(s) (not shown) or unibody constructed element(s) (not shown). The frame element (not shown) or unibody constructed elements (not shown) are conventional structural vehicle elements. Therefore, description of the frame elements and/or unibody constructed elements is omitted for the sake of brevity. 
     Several directions are defined by the vehicle  10 , such as a vehicle longitudinal direction D L , inboard directions D I , an outboard directions D O  and a vehicle lateral direction V S  (a vehicle side-to-side direction), as shown in  FIG.  1   . The inboard directions D I , an outboard directions D O  are defined relative to an imaginary centerline (not shown) that extends through the vehicle  10  in the vehicle longitudinal direction D L . 
     The headlamp assembly  14  includes a housing  30  and a lens  32 . The housing  30  is attached to other elements of the front end assembly  12 , such as structural elements (not show) in a conventional manner. The housing  30  defines a pair of doghouse structures  34  shown in  FIGS.  3 - 4  and  6 - 7   . The lens  32  defines an upper section  36 , a lower section  38 , a slot  40  and a joining section  42  ( FIGS.  1 - 3  and  5   ). The slot  40  is defined between the upper section  36  and the lower section  38 . With the trim panel  16  removed from the headlamp assembly  14 , the doghouse structures  34  are visible within the slot  40  between the upper section  46  and lower section  38  of the lens  32 , as shown in  FIGS.  3  and  4   . 
     As shown in  FIGS.  1 - 3  and  5   , the upper section  36 , the lower section  38  and the joining section  42  have a common finished surface  44  that is continuous and uninterrupted throughout the upper section  36 , the lower section  38  and the joining section  42 . The finished surface  44  is only interrupted by the slot  40  and any surface contours that can be included for design and/or optical purposes. 
     As shown in  FIG.  5   , the joining section  42  extends along a forward end  30   a  (forward edge  30   a ) of the housing  30  from a forward end  46  (an inboard end) of the upper section  36  of the lens  32  to a forward end  48  the lower section  38 . The slot  40  extends from the joining section  42  to a rearward end  49  of the housing  30  of the headlamp assembly  14 . 
     The trim panel  16  has a main body  16   a  that defines a trim surface  50  ( FIG.  8   ) and an attachment surface  52  ( FIG.  9   ) opposite the trim surface  50 . The trim surface  50  (a finished surface) has a smooth contour and is shaped and contoured to fit within the slot  40 . More specifically, with the trim panel  16  installed to the housing  30  of the headlamp assembly  14 , the trim surface  50  conforms to contours of a finished surface  44  of the lens  32  of the headlamp assembly  14 . A description of the attachment of the trim panel  16  to the housing  30  is provided in greater detail below. 
     The attachment surface  52  of the trim panel  16  includes at least two snap-fitting projections  54  ( FIGS.  7 ,  9  and  10   ) and a flange or projection  56  ( FIGS.  6 ,  11 - 13  and  15 - 18   ). 
     The snap-fitting projections  54  extend rearward from the attachment surface  53  of the main body  16   a  and are spaced apart from one another by a distance that corresponds to spacing between the doghouse structures  34 . With the trim panel  16  installed to the housing  30  within the slot  40 , each of the snap-fitting projections  54  is inserted into and retained within a corresponding one of the doghouse structures  34 , as shown in  FIGS.  6  and  7   . 
     As shown in  FIGS.  8 - 9 ,  11 - 13  and  15 - 18   , the projection  56  extends rearward from a rearward area of the attachment surface  52  of the main body  16   a  of the trim panel  16 . The projection  56  has a distal end  56   a  that extends beyond an adjacent outboard end of the trim panel  16 . A main portion of the projection  56  is spaced apart and inboard of the trim panel  26  itself via a projecting portion  56   b  ( FIG.  13   ). More specifically, when the trim panel  16  is installed to the housing  30  of the headlamp assembly  14 , the projection  56  is positioned and dimensioned to extend behind (inboard of) the front edge portion  22  of the fender  20 . 
     The trim panel  16  is installed to the housing  30  of the headlamp assembly  14  by first inserting the projection  56  behind the front edge portion  22  of the fender  20  and pushing the projection  56  further behind the fender  20 . Thereafter, the snap-fitting projection  54  are inserted into respective ones of the doghouse structures  34 . As well, double sided adhesive tape  60  is adhered to an inboard end  52   a  of the attachment surface  52  of the trim panel  16 . Once the trim panel  16  is fully installed, pressing of the inboard end of the trim panel  16  forces the double sided adhesive tape  60  into an adjacent surface of the housing  30  thereby further attaching the trim panel  16  to the housing  30 . 
     With the projection  56  extending behind the fender  20 , the trim panel  16  is in effect attached to the housing  30  of the headlamp assembly  14  and is retained and positioned by the front edge portion  22  of the fender  20 . 
     Specifically, as shown in  FIGS.  12 - 13  and  15 - 18   , the distal end  56   a  of the projection  56  extends behind the front edge portion  22  of the fender  20 . A gap G is defined between the projection  56  and the rearward end of the main body  16   a  of the trim panel  16 . The front edge portion  22  of the fender  20  is retained within the gap G. At the same time, the distal end  56   a  of the projection  56  is prevented from moving in the vehicle lateral directions D S  (inboard and outboard directions D I  and D O ) with the front edge portion  22  wedged within the gap G. 
     In order to ensure the strength of projection  56 , the attachment surface  52  is provided with a plurality of first ribs  62  that extend from the attachment surface  52  of the trim panel  16  forward of the projection  56  to an inboard surface of the projection  56 , as shown in  FIGS.  10 ,  12  and  18   . The plurality of ribs  62  have a non-contacting relationship with the front edge portion  22  of the fender  20 . 
     Further, the trim panel  16  includes at least one second rib  64  that extends from a rearward end  52   b  of the attachment surface  52  of the trim panel  16  to an outboard surface the projection  56  such that the at least one second rib  64  contacts the front edge portion  22  of the fender  20 , as shown in  FIGS.  15 - 17   . 
     The projection  56  servers several purposes. First, with the fender  20  retained within the gap G, the headlamp assembly  14  is more securely retained in position. Consequently, ability of the fit and finish of the vehicle  10  is improved because the alignment between the headlamp assembly  14  and the fender  20  is reliably maintained. Further, over time as the vehicle  10  ages, rattles and/or vibrations that might otherwise occur between the fender  20  and the headlamp assembly  14  are prevented. 
     The vehicle structures (other than the fender  20 , the headlamp assembly  14  and the trim panel  16 ) are conventional components that are well known in the art. Since such vehicle structures are well known in the art, these structures will not be discussed or illustrated in detail herein. Rather, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure that the components can be any type of structure and/or programming that can be used to carry out the present invention. 
     In understanding the scope of the present invention, the term “comprising” and its derivatives, as used herein, are intended to be open ended terms that specify the presence of the stated features, elements, components, groups, integers, and/or steps, but do not exclude the presence of other unstated features, elements, components, groups, integers and/or steps. The foregoing also applies to words having similar meanings such as the terms, “including”, “having” and their derivatives. Also, the terms “part,” “section,” “portion,” “member” or “element” when used in the singular can have the dual meaning of a single part or a plurality of parts. Also as used herein to describe the above embodiments, the following directional terms “forward”, “rearward”, “above”, “downward”, “vertical”, “horizontal”, “below” and “transverse” as well as any other similar directional terms refer to those directions of a vehicle equipped with the vehicle front end structure. Accordingly, these terms, as utilized to describe the present invention should be interpreted relative to a vehicle equipped with the vehicle front end structure. 
     The terms of degree such as “substantially”, “about” and “approximately” as used herein mean a reasonable amount of deviation of the modified term such that the end result is not significantly changed. 
     While only selected embodiments have been chosen to illustrate the present invention, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure that various changes and modifications can be made herein without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims. For example, the size, shape, location or orientation of the various components can be changed as needed and/or desired. Components that are shown directly connected or contacting each other can have intermediate structures disposed between them. The functions of one element can be performed by two, and vice versa. The structures and functions of one embodiment can be adopted in another embodiment. It is not necessary for all advantages to be present in a particular embodiment at the same time. Every feature which is unique from the prior art, alone or in combination with other features, also should be considered a separate description of further inventions by the applicant, including the structural and/or functional concepts embodied by such features. Thus, the foregoing descriptions of the embodiments according to the present invention are provided for illustration only, and not for the purpose of limiting the invention as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.