EXTERIOR TRIM PART FOR A MOTOR VEHICLE

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to an exterior trim part for a motor vehicle, with a bumper cladding element having a visible side and an inner side opposite the visible side, and a reinforcing element which stiffens the bumper cladding element and is connected to the inner side of the bumper cladding element, and a decorative panel which is arranged in the bumper cladding element or above the bumper cladding element, wherein the decorative panel consists of a partially translucent front panel which forms the visible side of the decorative panel and a cover element which closes off the front panel at the rear, wherein the front panel and the cover element together enclose a space in which a lighting element can be accommodated.

[0002] A generic exterior trim part for a motor vehicle is known as prior use in the form of the Skoda Enyaq. The disadvantage of such an exterior trim part is that the decorative panel has a relatively high weight of several kilograms. Furthermore, the assembly of the decorative panel and its installation into or over the bumper trim element is very time-consuming. A comparable exterior trim part is disclosed in DE 10 2016 014 605 A1.

[0003] The invention therefore has the object of improving a generic exterior trim part for a motor vehicle in such a way that both the assembly is simplified and the weight of the exterior trim part is reduced.

[0004] This object is achieved according to the invention by an outer trim part for a motor vehicle with the features of claim 1, with a bumper trim element having a visible side and an inner side opposite the visible side, and with a reinforcement element stiffening the bumper trim element, which is connected to the inner side of the bumper trim element, and with a decorative panel which is arranged in the bumper trim element or above the bumper trim element, wherein the decorative panel consists of a partially or completely translucent front panel forming the visible side of the decorative panel and a cover element closing the front panel at the rear, wherein the front panel and the cover element together enclose a space in which a lighting element can be accommodated, wherein the cover element is formed as a part of the reinforcing element and integrally therewith.

[0005] The inventive design of the exterior trim part replaces a previously separate cover element with a portion of the reinforcement element. This not only saves the weight of this no longer required separate cover element, but also eliminates the assembly step of assembling this separate cover element with the front panel or the assembly step of the separate cover element to the bumper trim element or the reinforcement element.

[0006] The front panel is preferably bowl-shaped. This provides sufficient space to accommodate a lighting element.

[0007] The front panel is preferably made of a transparent or translucent polymer material. The transparent or translucent polymer material can, in particular, comprise polycarbonate, polymethyl methacrylate, polystyrene (e.g., PS, ABS, ASA), thermoplastic polyester (e.g., PET, PBT), or a biopolymer (e.g., cellulose acetate, polyhydroxybutyrate, polylactic acid, polyhydroxyalkanoate).

[0008] The decorative panel and the bumper trim element are preferably elongated and the length of the decorative panel is at least a quarter, in particular at least a third of the length of the bumper trim element.

[0009] The reinforcing element has several reinforcing ribs and / or stiffening beads.

[0010] The front panel and the cover element are firmly bonded together. This bond can be, in particular, an adhesive bond or a welded joint.

[0011] To facilitate subsequent maintenance or replacement of a lighting element installed in the room, the front panel and the cover element are alternatively detachably connected to each other. For this case, a preferred embodiment provides a seal or sealing means between the edge areas of the front panel and the cover element.

[0012] The bumper trim element may preferably consist of a polymer material, in particular of a polymer material comprising polypropylene (PP) or polypropylene + ethylene-propylene-diene rubber (PP-EPDM).

[0013] The reinforcing element may preferably consist of a further polymer material, wherein the further polymer material comprises in particular a polycarbonate (PC), acrylate-styrene-acrylonitrile (ASA), acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) or combinations of the aforementioned polymer materials.

[0014] Both the bumper trim element and the reinforcement element can preferably be manufactured by means of an injection molding process or a generative manufacturing process.

[0015] A further part of the invention is a system comprising an exterior cladding part as described above and a lighting element accommodated in the space.

[0016] In a preferred embodiment, the lighting element is connected to the reinforcement element and held in position by it. The connection can, in particular, be realized in a form-fitting manner. Examples of implementation

[0017] The invention is explained below using drawings illustrating exemplary embodiments. They show schematically: Fig. 1 shows a front view of an exterior trim part; Fig. 2 shows a front view of the exterior trim part with an activated lighting element behind the front panel; Fig. 3 shows a cross-sectional view through an exterior trim part of the prior art; Fig. 4 shows a cross-sectional view through an exterior trim part according to the invention.

[0018] In the figures, identical or functionally identical elements are provided with the same reference symbols.

[0019] The Fig. 1shows a front view of a generic exterior trim part for a motor vehicle with a bumper trim element 1 having a visible side A and an inner side B opposite the visible side A. The exterior trim part further comprises a reinforcing element 2 that stiffens the bumper trim element 1 and is connected to the inner side B of the bumper trim element 1. The connection can preferably be made by means of a plurality of snap-in connections. Furthermore, the exterior trim part comprises a decorative panel 3 that is arranged above the bumper trim element 1.

[0020] The decorative panel 3 consists of a partially translucent front panel 4 forming the visible side a of the decorative panel 3 and a cover element 5 closing the rear of the front panel 4. The front panel 4 and the cover element 5 together enclose a space 6 in which a lighting element 7 can be accommodated (cf. Fig. 4 ).

[0021] In the Fig. 2 A frontal view of a system consisting of an exterior cladding component and a lighting element 7 accommodated in the space 6 is shown. The lighting element 7 is activated here, and due to the partially translucent front panel 4, a symbol and lettering become visible that are not visible when the lighting element 7 is deactivated.

[0022] In Fig. 31 shows a cross-sectional view of an exterior trim part according to the prior art. The decorative panel 3, which is arranged above the bumper trim element 1 and consists of a partially or fully translucent front panel 4 forming the visible side a of the decorative panel 3, and a cover element 5 closing the rear of the front panel 4, likewise has a space 6 which is enclosed by the front panel 4 and the cover element 5 together and in which a lighting element 7 can be accommodated. The cover element 5 according to the prior art is designed as a separate component. In addition, cover panels 8 and a support part 9 for receiving the engine compartment cover can be seen.

[0023] In contrast, Fig. 41 shows a cross-sectional view of an exterior trim part for a motor vehicle according to the invention, comprising a bumper trim element 1 having a visible side A and an inner side B opposite the visible side A, and comprising a reinforcing element 2 which stiffens the bumper trim element 1 and is connected to the inner side B of the bumper trim element 1, and comprising a decorative panel 3 which is arranged above the bumper trim element 1, wherein the decorative panel 3 consists of a translucent front panel 4 forming the visible side a of the decorative panel 3 and a cover element 5 which closes off the front panel 4 at the rear, wherein the front panel 4 and the cover element 5 together enclose a space 6 in which a lighting element 7 can be accommodated, wherein the cover element 5 is formed as part of the reinforcing element 2 and in one piece with the reinforcing element 2.

[0024] The front panel 4 is shell-shaped. The reinforcement element 2 has several reinforcing ribs.

[0025] The front panel 4 and the cover element 5 are integrally connected to each other.

[0026] Alternatively, the front panel 4 and the cover element 5 could be detachably connected to each other. In this case, a seal or sealing agent should be provided between the edge areas of the front panel 4 and the cover element 5.

[0027] The bumper trim element 1 may consist of a polymer material, in particular of a polymer material comprising polypropylene (PP) or polypropylene + ethylene-propylene-diene rubber (PP-EPDM).

[0028] The reinforcing element 2 can consist of a further polymer material, wherein the further polymer material comprises in particular a polycarbonate (PC), acrylate-styrene-acrylonitrile (ASA), acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) or combinations of the aforementioned polymer materials.

[0029] In the Fig. 4 Additionally, a system comprising an exterior cladding part described above and a lighting element 7 accommodated in the space 6 is shown. The lighting element 7 can be connected to the reinforcement element 2 and held in position by it (details not shown in detail).

Claims

1. Exterior panelling part for a motor vehicle, having - a bumper panelling element (1) having a visible side (A) and an inner side (B) opposite the visible side (A), and - a reinforcing element (2) stiffening the bumper panelling element (1), which reinforcing element is connected to the inner side (B) of the bumper panelling element (1), and - a decorative panel (3) that is arranged in the bumper panelling element (1) or is arranged above the bumper panelling element (1), wherein the decorative panel (3) consists of a partially or completely translucent front panel (4) forming the visible side (a) of the decorative panel (3) and a cover element (5) closing off the front panel (4) on the rear side, wherein the front panel (4) and the cover element (5) together enclose a space (6) in which a lighting element (7) can be accommodated, characterised in that the cover element (5) is formed as a part of the reinforcing element (2) and in one piece with the latter, wherein the reinforcing element (2) has a plurality of reinforcing ribs and / or stiffening beads and wherein the front bumper (4) and the cover element (5) are connected to each other in a materially bonded or detachable manner.

2. Exterior panelling part according to claim 1, characterised in that the front panel (4) is shell-shaped.

3. Exterior panelling part according to claim 1 or 2, characterised in that the front panel (4) and the cover element (5) are detachably connected to one another and a seal or a sealant is provided between the edge areas of the front panel (4) and the cover element (5).

4. Exterior panelling part according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the bumper panelling element (1) consists of a polymer material, in particular a polymer material that comprises polypropylene (PP) or polypropylene + ethylene propylene diene monomer rubber (PP-EPDM).

5. Exterior panelling part according to the preceding claim, characterised in that the reinforcing element (2) consists of a further polymer material, wherein the further polymer material in particular comprises a polycarbonate (PC), acrylonitrile styrene acrylate (ASA), acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) or combinations of the aforementioned polymer materials.

6. System consisting of an exterior panelling part according to any one of the preceding claims and a lighting element (7) accommodated in the space (6).

7. System according to claim 6, characterised in that the lighting element (7) is connected to the reinforcing element (2) and held in position by the latter.