Manufacturer's emblem and the product bearing it

Abstract

A manufacturer's emblem (4) for affixing to a product, in particular a motor vehicle, comprises graphic elements (5, 6, 7) arranged in a substrate plane (18) so that they are visible undistorted from a first side of the substrate plane (18) in a direction perpendicular to the substrate plane (18) and are foreshortened in a solid angle region around the perpendicular direction. A mounting base (11) extends in a mounting plane (19) intersecting the substrate plane (18) at a non-zero angle (α) between a proximal end connected to the graphic elements (5, 6, 7) and an end facing away from the graphic elements (5, 6, 7), wherein the angle (α) between the substrate plane (18) and the mounting plane (19) is chosen such that, viewed from a portion of the solid angle region, one of the substrate elements (6) extends in front of the mounting base (11).

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a manufacturer's emblem for attachment to a product and to a product provided with such an emblem, in particular a motor vehicle.

[0002] Three-dimensional manufacturer emblems such as hood ornaments, which attracted the viewer's attention through their prominent placement on a vehicle body, have largely fallen into disuse. They increase the vehicle's aerodynamic drag and are difficult to comply with newer legal requirements for pedestrian protection. Newer manufacturer emblems therefore usually take the form of medallions that protrude slightly beyond the contours of the bodywork at best, and thus, due to their placement, are unlikely to attract much attention.

[0003] Designers have therefore looked for new ways to design manufacturer emblems so that they involuntarily catch the viewer's eye and are remembered, for example through astonishing optical effects that seem to contradict everyday perception and thus demand attention. US 11 485 276 B2, for example, describes a medallion with an essentially flat surface and graphic elements such as lettering that, as a result of interference effects, appears to be in front of or behind the surface. The use of such a medallion, however, raises practical problems, since the graphic elements are only visible against the background of the medallion's surface. When viewed from a direction perpendicular to the surface, the graphic elements are completely visible, but the apparent offset is not.This becomes more and more obvious the further the viewing direction deviates from the surface normal, but at the same time the part of the surface in front of which the graphic elements are visible becomes smaller and smaller.

[0004] An object of the invention is to provide a manufacturer's emblem which is capable of attracting the attention of a viewer and which at the same time is clearly and completely recognizable from a wide range of angles.

[0005] According to one aspect of the invention, the object is achieved in that, in a manufacturer's emblem for attachment to a product, in particular a motor vehicle, with graphic elements which are arranged in a substrate plane in order to be visible from a first side of the substrate plane in a direction perpendicular to the substrate plane without distortion and in a solid angle range around the perpendicular direction in a perspectively shortened manner, a fastening foot extends in a fastening plane crossing the substrate plane at a non-zero angle between a proximal end connected to the graphic elements and an end facing away from the graphic elements, wherein the intersection angle between the substrate plane and the fastening plane is selected such that, viewed from a partial area of ​​the solid angle range, one of the substrate elements extends in front of the fastening foot.By obscuring the mounting base, at least largely, from the viewer's view by the graphic element in front of it, the illusion is created that the graphic elements float unconnected in front of the product. Since this characteristic seems to contradict everyday experience, it is likely to involuntarily draw the viewer's attention to the emblem.

[0006] To further enhance this illusion, it is advantageous if the emblem is held in place by the mounting base in front of a recess in an outer surface of the product. By shading the interior of the recess by the graphic elements and / or surrounding parts of the outer surface, parts of the mounting base that are not directly obscured by the graphic element are also in the dark and not immediately noticeable.

[0007] To enhance the illusion of floating, openwork or at least transparent areas can be provided in the substrate plane between the graphic elements.

[0008] In order to discreetly conceal the mounting foot, one of the graphic elements is preferably elongated like the mounting foot and extends in the same direction as the mounting foot when viewed from the sub-area.

[0009] If the graphic elements form a frame, the elongated element can be part of the frame. If the frame is circular, the elongated graphic element concealing the mounting base can, in particular, be a circular arc.

[0010] The graphic elements can each comprise a conspicuously designed visible body facing the first side and a less conspicuous carrier body facing the second side, wherein carrier bodies of the graphic elements are connected to one another and to the fastening base in order to be able to mount the emblem in one piece.

[0011] The eye-catching design of the visible body can consist of a lighter color than the carrier body, a metallic surface finish, or illumination by integrated light sources, typically LEDs. The carrier body, on the other hand, can be made more inconspicuous by a dark color or color that matches the background, transparency, a matte surface finish, or impermeability to the light of the integrated light source.

[0012] Electrical conductors for supplying the lamps can be integrated into the mounting base. The conductors can be conveniently arranged to establish electrical contact with the product's power supply by attaching the mounting base to the product.

[0013] The product should have a support surface aligned in the direction of the mounting plane to which the mounting foot can be attached, in particular inserted into a socket.

[0014] The support surface may be part of a niche of the product, as mentioned above.

[0015] Further features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description of exemplary embodiments with reference to the accompanying figures. They show: Fig. 1 the manufacturer's emblem mounted on a vehicle in perspective view; Fig. 2 the front section of the vehicle, partly in section and partly in perspective view; and Fig. 3 a longitudinal section through the front section and the emblem.

[0016] Fig. Figure 1 shows a perspective view of part of the front section of an electric motor vehicle. A recess 1 extends across the front section and can extend from one headlight (not shown in the figure) to the other. An upper side of the recess 1 is formed here by a hood lock support 2. A lower side of the recess 1 is formed by a forward-sloping surface, which serves as a support surface 3 for a manufacturer's emblem 4.

[0017] The manufacturer's emblem 4 is a two-dimensional arrangement of graphic elements, in the case considered here, two concentric circular arcs 5, 6, which complement each other to form a circular frame, and two horizontally elongated quadrilaterals 7. The graphic elements 5, 6, 7 extend—with minor deviations—in a common plane, referred to here as the substrate plane, since, if the graphic elements were printed on a common substrate, this would be the plane in which this substrate would extend and in which an unbiased observer of the vehicle would initially expect to see an underlay of the graphic elements 5, 6, 7. The substrate plane is essentially vertically oriented and flush with the front panel 2.

[0018] However, the expected base of the graphic elements 5, 6, 7 in the substrate plane is not present; to the right and left of the emblem 4, the observer only sees the support surface 3, which runs at a distance behind the emblem 4 and is inclined towards the substrate plane. The spaces 8 between the graphic elements 5, 6, 7 are also empty, so that nothing else can be seen in them other than the support surface 3 behind them.

[0019] The graphic elements 5, 6, 7 each comprise an outward-facing viewing body 9 and a support body 10 facing inward, into the niche 1. The support body 10 is formed from a plastic whose color is selected to create the least possible contrast with the underlying support surface 3 from the perspective of an observer. The viewing bodies 9, on the other hand, have a contrasting color, a shiny metallic surface finish, or, according to a preferred embodiment, they are matt translucent and house light-emitting diodes inside, which are arranged to allow the viewing bodies 9 to illuminate evenly over their entire extent.

[0020] The support bodies 10 of the various graphic elements 5, 6, 7 are connected to each other and to a mounting base 11 in one piece. The support bodies 10 contain one or more circuit boards on which the LEDs are mounted, and supply lines for them. The supply lines also extend into the mounting base 11 to establish contact with the vehicle's electrical system via the mounting base 11 and a socket on the support surface 3, into which the mounting base 11 is plugged.

[0021] For a viewer who looks from the perspective of Fig. 1 at the emblem 4, the mounting base 11 is largely hidden behind the lower circular arc 6 and is therefore difficult to recognize. Due to its round shape, the circular arc 6 does not cover the mounting base 11 over its entire length, but the coverage is at least good enough that an imaginary plane 25, which is in Fig. 1 extends centrally in the longitudinal direction of the fastening foot 11 and in the direction of view of the observer, intersects the circular arc 6 at two points, once at the level of its connection to the fastening foot 11 and once at the level of its end facing the quadrilateral 7.

[0022] Furthermore, the fastening foot 11 is dimensioned in such a way that, when plugged into the socket, its surface facing the graphic elements is flush with the surrounding support surface 3. By matching its color to the support surface 3 and by continuously continuating decorative elements of the support surface 3, such as ribs or stripes 12, on the fastening foot 11, the fastening foot 11 is so well camouflaged on the support surface 3 that it Fig. 1 would be virtually unrecognizable unless its edges 14 were highlighted as thick lines in the figure.

[0023] Niche 1 could be open at the front of the vehicle, e.g. to supply cooling air to an inlet in a rear area of ​​the niche. In the case considered here and as in Fig. As can be seen in Figure 2, the recess 1 is covered by a transparent shield 15 to protect the emblem 4 from damage and improve the drag coefficient of the body. The emblem 4 and the shield 15 are spaced apart to avoid giving the observer the impression that the emblem is attached to the shield. Because the recess 1 and the shield 15 extend along an edge of the body where a substantially horizontal or at most slightly sloping hood top 16 and a substantially vertical front end 17 meet, good visibility of the emblem 4 is ensured.

[0024] A vehicle's on-board computer can be programmed to acknowledge, for example, the user's actuation of a button on a transponder key when the vehicle is stationary by temporarily illuminating the emblem 4. If different-colored LEDs are installed, the color in which the emblem 4 illuminates can also provide the user with information about vehicle operating parameters, such as the battery charge level.

[0025] Fig.Figure 3 shows the emblem 4 and its surroundings in a section along the vehicle's longitudinal direction. The substrate plane, in which the visible body 9 and the support body 10 of the circular arcs 5, 6 abut, is designated 18 here, and a fastening plane tangential to the fastening base 11 and the support surface 3 is designated 19. Both planes 18, 19 intersect adjacent to a proximal end of the fastening base 11, where it connects to the circular arc 6. The intersection angle α spanned by them is 45° to 60°, here approximately 55°.

[0026] Electrical conductors 20 run between contacts 21 on the mounting base 11 and LEDs 22 through the carrier bodies 10 in order to connect the LEDs 22 to the vehicle's electrical system.

[0027] The shield 15 has an upper side which is flush with a trim element 23 of the hood lock carrier (not shown in the figure), and a front side to which an end wall 24 of the engine compartment is flush. Reference symbol 1 niche 2 hood lock carriers 3 Support surface 4 Manufacturer emblem 5 circular arcs 6 circular arcs 7 Rectangle 8 gap 9 visual bodies 10 carrier bodies 11 Mounting foot 12 ribs 13 Continuation 14 edge 15 Shield 16 Hood top 17 Front side 18 Substrate level 19 Mounting level 20 ladders 21 Contact 22 LED 23 Cladding element 24 front wall 25 Level QUOTES CONTAINED IN THE DESCRIPTION

[0000] This list of documents submitted by the applicant was generated automatically and is included solely for the convenience of the reader. This list is not part of the German patent or utility model application. The DPMA assumes no liability for any errors or omissions. Cited patent literature

[0000] US 11 485 276 B2

[0003]

Claims

[1] Manufacturer emblem (4) for attachment to a product, in particular a motor vehicle, with graphic elements (5, 6, 7) which are arranged in a substrate plane (18) in order to be visible from a first side of the substrate plane (18) in a direction perpendicular to the substrate plane (18) without distortion and in a perspectively shortened manner in a solid angle range around the perpendicular direction, characterized by in that a fastening foot (11) extends in a fastening plane (19) which crosses the substrate plane (18) at a non-vanishing angle (α) between a proximal end connected to the graphic elements (5, 6, 7) and an end facing away from the graphic elements (5, 6, 7), wherein the angle (α) between the substrate plane (18) and the fastening plane (19) is selected such that, viewed from a partial area of ​​the solid angle range, one of the substrate elements (6) extends in front of the fastening foot (11). [2] Manufacturer emblem according to claim 1, which has openwork or transparent areas (8) in the substrate plane (18) between the graphic elements (5, 6, 7). [3] Manufacturer emblem according to claim 1 or 2, wherein one of the graphic elements (6) is elongated and extends in the same direction as the fastening foot (11) when viewed from the partial area. [4] Manufacturer emblem according to claim 3, wherein the graphic elements form a frame (5, 6) and the elongated element (6) is part of the frame (5, 6) and wherein optionally the frame (5, 6) is circular and the elongated element (6) is a circular arc. [5] Manufacturer emblem according to one of the preceding claims, in which the graphic elements (5, 6, 7) each comprise a visible body (9) facing the first side and a carrier body (10) facing the second side, and in which carrier bodies (10) of the graphic elements (5, 6, 7) are connected to one another and to the fastening foot (11). [6] Manufacturer emblem according to claim 5, wherein the visible body (9) can be illuminated by integrated lighting means (22). [7] Manufacturer emblem according to claim 6, wherein the fastening base (11) is provided with electrical conductors (20) for the power supply of the lighting means (22). [8] Product with a manufacturer's emblem according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the product has a support surface (3) aligned in the direction of the fastening plane (19), to which the fastening foot (11) is fastened, in particular inserted. [9] Product according to claim 8, wherein the support surface (3) is part of a niche (1) on an outer side of the product. [10] Product according to claim 8 or 9, comprising a transparent shield (15) covering the emblem (4).

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