Patent ID: 8585107

Claim:
A push bumper and mounting system for use on a vehicle having a grille fascia and a bumper connected to the vehicle to define an inner portion facing toward the vehicle and an outer portion facing away from the vehicle, the push bumper and mounting system comprising: a first mounting bracket comprised of a one-piece body having a first bumper portion configured to be connectable to the bumper and complimentary to the outer portion of the bumper and configured to only partially circumscribe the bumper when connected thereto; a second mounting bracket comprised of a one-piece body having a second bumper portion configured to be connectable to the bumper and complimentary to the outer portion of the bumper and configured to only partially circumscribe the bumper when connected thereto; and a push bumper connected to the first and second mounting brackets and comprising: a first push bumper member coupled to the first mounting bracket, the first push bumper being disposed generally in front of the vehicle when the first mounting bracket is coupled to the bumper; a second push bumper member coupled to the second mounting bracket, the second push bumper being disposed generally in front of the vehicle when the second mounting bracket is coupled to the bumper; and an elongate grille guard connected to the first and second push bumper members adjacent opposed ends of the grille guard, the grille guard having: an inner face configured to face toward the vehicle; and an opposing outer face configured to face away from the vehicle; the inner face extending toward the outer face at an intermediate portion of the grille guard to define a cutout at an approximate midpoint of the grille guard and configured to allow the grille guard to be at least partially extendable about the grille fascia; the grille guard defining a depth as the distance between the outer face and inner face along an axis that is perpendicular to the outer face, the depth being variable along the grille guard, the minimum depth being located at the cutout, the grille guard being configured such that the depth does not decrease between the cutout and the opposed ends of the grille guard; the first and second mounting brackets being configured to support the entire weight of the push bumper when the first and second mounting brackets are connected to the bumper.