Patent Publication Number: US-2015078861-A1

Title: Removable Vehicular Registration Plate Fastener

Description:
The current application claims a priority to the U.S. Provisional Patent application Ser. No. 61/879,294 filed on Sep. 18, 2013. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates generally to registration plates for automotive vehicles. More specifically, the present invention is a mounting system for temporarily, yet securely, attaching a front registration plate to a vehicle. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Conventional methods of mounting a vehicle registration plate often result in damage and loss of value of the vehicle. It is often necessary to drill holes for mounting brackets and fasteners utilized to hold a vehicle registration plate in place. The holes are drilled into the vehicle bumper or the body of the vehicle itself in order to accommodate the fasteners. This is unacceptable to vehicle owners who wish to maintain the condition and value of their vehicles and who may find drilled holes aesthetically unpleasing. The problem is exacerbated if a vehicle owner frequently removes and reattaches a front vehicle registration plate. This is common when a vehicle owner prefers to keep the front of a vehicle bare, within the legal requirements of the local municipality. However, because laws often vary based on the jurisdictions of local, provincial, and/or national governing powers, a vehicle owner may be required to reattach a front vehicle registration plate when required by law. This can result in further damage to the vehicle. Additionally, mounting a vehicle registration plate to a bracket using fasteners such as screws is time-consuming and inefficient as additional tools are required. Furthermore, it is often difficult to maintain consistent alignment, positioning, and orientation of a vehicle registration plate when constantly removing and reattaching the plate. The present invention seeks to address the aforementioned issues and provide a straightforward and consistent means of temporarily, but securely, attaching a front registration plate to a vehicle. 
     The present invention is a mounting system for a front vehicle registration plate that allows temporary, but secure, attachment of a registration plate to a vehicle. The present invention provides a straightforward means for a user to repeatedly remove and reattach the front vehicle registration plate without the use of additional tools or damage to the vehicle. In its preferred embodiment, the present invention comprises a hitch assembly and a hitch receiver assembly and is primarily designed for use in conjunction with various style grills found on many vehicles, including but not limited to honeycomb style grill openings, square openings, or circular openings. When mounting a vehicle registration plate to the honeycomb grill of a vehicle, two hitches and two hitch receivers are used. The two hitches are secured to the front grill of a vehicle and serve as two metallic mounting points. This configuration is intended for displaying the registration plate when the vehicle is not in motion. Four hitches and four hitch receivers are used for driving situations in order to provide enhanced stability. 
     The objective of the present invention is to facilitate efficient removal and reattachment of a front vehicle registration plate without the use of additional tools and without resulting in damage to the vehicle. The present invention maintains consistency in terms of alignment, positioning, and orientation of the vehicle registration plate, particularly when the user frequently removes and reattaches the plate. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a side view of one hitch and one hitch receiver separated from each other. 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view of one hitch and one hitch receiver separated from each other. 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective exploded view of one hitch and one hitch receiver separated from each other. 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective exploded view of a second embodiment. 
         FIG. 5  is a side sectional view of the second embodiment. 
         FIG. 6  is a perspective view of the configuration used to secure a registration plate when the vehicle is not in motion. 
         FIG. 7  is a rear perspective view of the configuration used to secure a registration plate when the vehicle is in motion. 
     
    
    
     DETAIL DESCRIPTIONS OF THE INVENTION 
     All illustrations of the drawings are for the purpose of describing selected versions of the present invention and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. The present invention is to be described in detail and is provided in a manner that establishes a thorough understanding of the present invention. There may be aspects of the present invention that may be practiced without the implementation of some features as they are described. It should be understood that some details have not been described in detail in order to not unnecessarily obscure focus of the invention. 
     The present invention is a mounting system for temporarily, but securely, attaching a registration plate to the front of a vehicle. In its preferred embodiment, the present invention comprises a plurality of hitches  1  and a plurality of hitch receivers  2 . The hitches  1  are affixed to the front of the vehicle, preferably traversing through a front grill of the vehicle. The hitch receivers  2  are affixed to the registration plate. The hitches  1  may be removably attached within a hitch receiving cavity  22  of one of the hitch receivers  2  by a fastener  23  of the hitch receiver. The hitch receivers  2  are easily and quickly able to be engaged and disengaged from the hitches  1  so that affixing the registration plate to the vehicle is also easy and quick. The preferred embodiment of the present invention is primarily intended for use in conjunction with honeycomb-style vehicle grills such as the grill of the Tesla Model S. Alternate embodiments of the present invention may be used with many other vehicle makes, such as, but not limited to, BMW, Mercedes, Audi, and other vehicles. Additionally, the present invention may be used with other grill styles, such as, but not limited to, grills with square openings, round openings, rhomboidal openings, or other opening shapes. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 1-2 , each of the plurality of hitches  1  comprises a flange  11 , a flange screw  13 , a hitch washer  14  and a standoff  15 . In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the flange  11  is rectangular in shape and a flange connecting protrusion  12  is connected perpendicularly to the flange  11 . The flange connecting protrusion  12  is preferably cylindrical but this is not absolutely necessary and may be another shape such as being rectangular in shape. The flange screw  13  is axially connected to the flange  11  protrusion opposite the flange  11 . The flange screw  13  may be threadedly engaged within an internal thread within the flange  11  protrusion, but in the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the flange  11 , flange connecting protrusion  12 , and the flange screw  13  are machined as a singular piece of precision machined stainless steel. 
     The standoff  15  is an elongated piece of hardware typically used to connect screw threaded fasteners to each other. In the preferred embodiment, the standoff  15  is a female-female standoff  15  comprising a first internal screw thread  151  and a second internal screw thread  152  which are positioned axially with each other and opposite each other within the standoff  15 , as can be seen in  FIG. 3 . The flange screw  13  is threadedly engaged into the first internal screw thread  151  of the standoff  15 . Thus the standoff  15  is oriented perpendicular to the flange  11 . The hitch washer  14  is positioned concentrically around the flange screw  13 , between the flange connecting protrusion  12  and the standoff  15 . Therefore, the flange screw  13  is connected to the standoff  15  through the hitch washer  14 . When the hitch is attached to the vehicle&#39;s grill, the material of the grill is gripped between the flange  11  and the hitch washer  14 . An additional rubber washer should also be positioned concentrically around the flange screw  13 , between the hitch washer  14  and the flange connecting protrusion  12 . The rubber washer protects the vehicle&#39;s grill from damage by providing a soft cushion between the grill and the metal washer, in addition to providing a form fitting friction fit which prevents displacement of the hitch. Alternatively, the hitch washer  14  may be encapsulated in a rubber coating, providing the same functionality as utilizing two washers, or the hitch washer  14  may be made of a material that has sufficient strength, non-abrasiveness and friction to provide the same functionality. 
     In an alternate embodiment, the flange  11  is a commonly known piece of hardware known as a T-nut. In this embodiment, the flange screw  13  is another commonly known piece of hardware known as a set screw, which is a cylindrical extrusion with external screw threads. A first end of the set screw is threadedly engaged within, or screwed into, an internally threaded hole located centrally on the T-nut, and is secured within said internally threaded hole of the T-nut with thread locker gel. A second end of the set screw opposite the first end is threadedly engaged into the first internal screw thread  151  of the standoff  15 . 
     The standoff  15  is able to press against the hitch washer  14 . In order to affix one of the hitches  1  to the grill, the flange  11  is inserted through an opening of the grill by aligning the long sides of the flange  11  to corresponding openings of the grill. It is assumed that the honeycombed openings of the grill are also generally rectangular, and that the long dimension of the flange  11  is longer than the short dimension of the honeycombed openings. After the flange  11  is inserted through the correct grill opening, the hitch is rotated at an angle such that the flange  11  is blocked from coming out of the grill by the grill opening border, since the long dimension of the flange  11  is longer than the short dimension of the grill openings. In grills with substantially rectangular openings, the flange  11  should be secured at 90 degrees. An angle less than 90 degrees may be sufficient, but not ideal. The standoff  15  is then rotated relative to the set screw in the direction that moves the standoff  15  closer to the flange  11 , thereby pressing on the washer with the standoff  15 , and compressing the grill between the washer and the flange  11 . This holds the hitch in place on the grill. 
     In a first preferred embodiment of the present invention, each of the hitches  1  further comprises a hitch cap  16  which is connected to the standoff  15  opposite the flange  11 . More particularly, the hitch cap  16  comprises a hitch cap head  161  and a hitch cap screw  162 , which are both cylindrical and connected axially adjacent with each other. The hitch cap  16  comprises a ferromagnetic material. More specifically, the hitch cap head  161  is made of ferromagnetic material in order to facilitate the hitches  1  being removably attached within the hitch receivers  2 . The hitch cap screw  162  of the hitch cap  16  is removably and threadedly engaged within the second internal screw thread  152  of the standoff  15 . 
     In the first embodiment of the present invention, each of the plurality of hitch receivers  2  comprises a receiver body  21 , a hitch receiving cavity  22 , a fastener  23 , and a receiver internal screw thread  24 . The hitch receiving cavity  22  axially traverses partially into the receiver body  21 . The internal diameter of the hitch receiving cavity  22  should be slightly larger than the external diameter of the hitch cap  16  and the standoff  15 . In the first embodiment, the fastener  23  is a magnet  231  which attracts the ferromagnetic material of the hitch cap  16 . The magnet  231  should have a sufficient enough magnetic field to securely hold the hitches  1  and hitch assemblies together while not being too strong for a user to remove. In the preferred embodiment, the magnetic bond between the magnet  231  and the ferromagnetic material requires five pounds of force to separate. However, magnets of varying strengths may be used. The magnet  231  is positioned within the hitch receiving cavity  22  opposite an opening of the hitch receiving cavity  22 . The receiver internal screw thread  24  is positioned opposite the hitch receiving cavity  22  on the receiver body  21 . The receiver internal screw thread  24  and the hitch receiving cavity  22  are concentrically positioned with each other. 
     In the first embodiment, each of the hitch receivers  2  further comprises a plate attachment cap  25  comprising a plate attachment screw  251 . The plate attachment screw  251  is removably and threadedly engaged within the receiver internal screw thread  24 , wherein a registration plate may be held between the plate attachment cap  25  and the receiver body  21  when the plate attachment cap  25  is engaged within the receiver internal screw thread  24 . 
     The plate attachment cap  25  comprises a hexagonal flange  252  which is oriented perpendicular to the plate attachment screw  251 , and is connected axially adjacent to the plate attachment screw  251 . The hexagonal flange  252  provides a means for a user to tighten the plate attachment cap  25  relative to the receiver body  21 . The plate attachment cap  25  additionally comprises an end cap protrusion  253  connected axially adjacent to the hexagonal flange  252  opposite the plate attachment screw  251 . The end cap protrusion serves as a storage area for a protective cap when the registration plate is mounted on the vehicle utilizing the present invention. 
     In order to secure one of the hitch receivers  2  to one of the hitches  1 , the hitch receiving cavity  22  is placed over the hitch cap  16  and standoff  15  until the magnet  231  engages the hitch cap  16 , so that a magnetic bond is formed between the magnet  231  and the standoff  15 . The magnetic bond secures the vehicle registration plate to the front of the vehicle grill and allows a user to quickly remove and reattach the plate as needed without the need for additional tools or causing damage to the vehicle. The vehicle registration plate may be removed by pulling the plate away from the vehicle grill until the magnetic bond between the hitch receivers  2  and the hitches  1  is broken. 
     In a second preferred embodiment shown in  FIGS. 4-5 , the receiver body  21  is simply a hollow cylinder; therefore, the hitch receiving cavity  22  of each of the hitch receivers  2  axially traverses fully through the receiver body  21 . In this second embodiment, the fastener  23  of each of the hitch receivers  2  is an elongated screw  232 . The elongated screw  232  comprises a screw head  233 . A plate attachment washer  234  is concentrically positioned around the elongated screw  232 , between the screw head  233  and the receiver body  21  in order to prevent the screw head  233  from moving into the hitch receiving category upon tightening the elongated screw  232 . 
     To attach one of the hitch receivers  2  to one of the hitches  1 , the receiver body  21  is concentrically positioned around the standoff  15 . The elongated screw  232  is inserted through a fastener  23  hole on the registration plate and subsequently into the hitch receiving cavity  22 . The elongated screw  232  is then threadedly engaged within the second internal screw thread  152  of the standoff  15 , instead of the hitch cap  16  as comprised in the first embodiment. The registration plate is therefore affixed between the screw cap and the receiver body  21 . 
     In one embodiment of the present invention shown in  FIG. 6 , the plurality of hitches  1  comprises a first hitch  101  and a second hitch  102 , and the plurality of hitch receivers  2  comprises a first hitch receiver  201  and a second hitch receiver  202 . The first hitch  101  is removably attached within the first hitch receiver  201 ; likewise, the second hitch  102  is removably attached within the second hitch receiver  202 . The first hitch  101  and the second hitch  102  are installed onto the front end of a vehicle in a horizontal arrangement. The first hitch receiver  201  and the second hitch receiver  202  are installed onto the registration plate on the upper fastener holes of the registration plate. This embodiment is primarily intended for use when the vehicle is parked. 
     In another embodiment of the present invention shown in  FIG. 7 , the plurality of hitches  1  comprises a first upper hitch  110 , a second upper hitch  111 , a first lower hitch  112  and a second lower hitch  113 , and the plurality of hitch receivers  2  comprises a first upper hitch receiver  210 , a second upper hitch receiver  211 , a first lower hitch receiver  212  and a second lower hitch receiver  213 . Each of the plurality of hitches  1  is affixed to the front end of the vehicle in a rectangular arrangement that matches the arrangement of the four fastener holes of the registration plate. Each of the plurality of hitch receivers  2  are installed into the four fastener holes of the registration plate. The first upper hitch  110  is removably attached within the first upper hitch receiver  210  and the second upper hitch  111  is removably attached within the second upper hitch receiver  211 . The first lower hitch  112  is removably attached within the first lower hitch receiver  212  and the second lower hitch  113  is removably attached within the second lower hitch receiver  213 . This provides a more secure attachment, particularly when the vehicle is in motion. 
     Preferably, the receiver body  21  of the first lower hitch receiver  212  and the second lower hitch receiver  213  are each longer than the receiver body  21  of the first upper hitch receiver  210  and the second upper hitch receiver  211 . Grills of many vehicles are shaped so that the lower portion of the grill to which the first lower hitch  112  and the second lower hitch  113  are attached is positioned slightly to the rear of the upper portion of the grill, where the first upper hitch  110  and the second upper hitch  111  are attached. Various grill shapes may have varying projection depths, and so the components of the present invention, preferably the receiver body  21  of the hitch receivers  2 , may vary in length to accommodate said variations. The result is that if the lower hitches  1  and the upper hitches  1  were the same length, the registration plate would be angled offset from vertical. This is undesirable for aesthetic and practical reasons; therefore, the lower hitches  1  should generally be longer than the upper hitches  1 . It is contemplated that some vehicle grills may have a projection depth that requires the upper hitches  1  to be longer than the lower hitches  1 . This may be accomplished by any useful means. The receiver bodies of the lower hitch receivers  2  may simply be manufactured to be longer than the receiver bodies of the upper hitch receivers  2 . However in the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the lower hitch receivers  2  comprise a body extension portion, which is simply axially attached to the receiver body  21 , preferably by a screw threaded connection. Additionally, it is contemplated that some embodiments of the present invention may comprise means to adjust the length of various components in order to provide a universally applicable device. For example, the receiver body  21  may be able to extend through a twisting or telescoping mechanism. 
     The present invention may be used in conjunction with a rubberized plate protector. The rubberized plate protector envelops the rear surface of the vehicle registration plate and the edges of the plate as well. In this configuration, a magnet is affixed to the rubber backing of the plate protector or to the vehicle registration plate. This allows a user to attach a magnetic ribbon with a reminder message to remove the vehicle registration plate if desired. The rubberized plate protector allows a user to store removable end caps for the hitches  1 . This allows the user to cover the exposed ends of the hitches  1  when the vehicle registration plate is not mounted to the vehicle grill. In addition to being aesthetically more pleasing, covering the exposed ends of the hitches  1  allows a user to preserve the exterior surface finish of the hitches  1 , particularly in the wintertime when sand, salt, and other roadside elements may potentially damage the finish. 
     In a further alternative embodiment of the present invention, the mounting system for the present invention may be utilized in conjunction with a camera mounting bracket. The camera mounting bracket comprises two mounting holes for attachment to two additional hitch receivers  2 . The camera mounting bracket comprises a mounting point corresponding to the mounting point of a camera. Similarly, the mounting system may be utilized in conjunction with an electronic toll-collection pass and system. The user may mount an electronic toll-collection pass to a vehicle in various configurations utilizing the mounting system. The pass alone may be mounted directly and permanently to the female standoffs  15  of the mounting system. Alternatively, the pass may be affixed to the hitch receivers  2  and attached magnetically to the hitches  1 . Finally, the pass may be secured to the vehicle registration plate itself and affixed magnetically to the hitch receivers  2 . 
     Although the invention has been explained in relation to its preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that many other possible modifications and variations can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed.