Vehicle fenders – Buffer or bumper type – With grille or radiator guard
Reexamination Certificate
1999-12-15
2001-03-27
Pape, Joseph D. (Department: 3612)
Vehicle fenders
Buffer or bumper type
With grille or radiator guard
C052S660000, C052S799100, C180S068600
Reexamination Certificate
active
06206438
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Different types of grills for vehicle front ends currently exist, including those made from a thin plate incorporating multiple perforations which give the appearance of a grill or mesh manufactured of injected plastic material or another manufacturing system.
Other grills consist of a mesh of woven metallic threads which are joined to a perimetral frame. These metallic mesh grills are aesthetically pleasing from an appearance standpoint, and have long been used to cover the radiator of the corresponding vehicle, allowing air to enter for the cooling thereof, at the same time that metallic mesh creates a pleasing appearance. Unfortunately, metallic mesh automotive grills are costly to manufacture, thereby rendering the final product more expensive than would be otherwise desired.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
The present invention, as is stated in the body of this description, refers to a grill for vehicle front ends designed to be installed in the front part of the corresponding vehicle, directly or otherwise in front of the radiator included in any vehicle. The grill is installed on a frame.
A purpose of the invention is to allow the manufacturing of an injected plastic or polymer-based grill that has the appearance of woven metallic mesh.
Another purpose of the invention is to achieve cost reduction with respect to a woven welded metallic mesh.
A grill in accordance with an embodiment of this invention has a grid structure or appearance that hides the internal areas of the automobile. This grid structure may be made with a thermoplastic injection technique and comprises a set of longitudinal and transversal threads molded in one single piece to provide a form in appearance similar in all aspects to a woven metallic grid or grill.
Generally speaking, this invention fulfills any or all of the above described objects
eeds by providing an injection molded automotive grill for vehicle front ends comprising:
a longitudinal set of thread members (
1
) and a transversal set of thread members (
2
) which are joined to each other at several intersection points, with the grill being formed by injection molding; and
wherein said threads (
1
and
2
) follow a gently winding path whose joint points or intersections correspond to inflection areas of said threads (
1
and
2
).
This invention further fulfills any or all of the above described needs in the art by providing a grill for an automotive vehicle comprising:
a plastic mesh section within a perimetric frame, said mesh section comprising a first group of first thread members extending approximately in a first direction and a second group of second thread members extending approximately in a second direction, wherein said first and second directions are approximately perpendicular to one another when viewed from a front of the grill;
wherein intersections between first thread members and second thread members are provided in said mesh section; and
wherein at a first group of said intersections an upper surface of the intersection's first thread member is at an elevation below an elevation of an upper surface of the intersection's second thread member, and at a second group of said intersections an upper surface of the intersection's second thread member is at an elevation below an elevation of an upper surface of the intersection's first thread member.
In certain preferred embodiments, the plastic includes a thermoplastic, and the grill is formed by injection molding.
This invention will now be described with respect to certain embodiments thereof, along with reference to the accompanying illustrations.
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Lab. Radio. S.A.
Nixon & Vanderhye P.C.
Pape Joseph D.
Patel Kiran
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