Automotive vehicle front bumper outer skin

Abstract

The invention relates to an outer skin of a front bumper comprising a main body having in its upper central part a cutout opening at its top and intended to accommodate a grille, said skin also comprising a closing strip intended to cover said grille from above by connecting by its two lateral end portions (121) to two respective docking zones (Za) formed on said main body, each lateral end portion (121) comprising an upper wall (123) whose external lateral edge is intended to come flush along a joining line with the internal edge of a corresponding upper return (113) formed on said main body,each lateral end portion (121) comprising a finger (125) forming with the rear portion of its upper wall (123) a fork defining a mortise (126) intended to cooperate by embedding with a respective tenon (117) which comprises the corresponding docking zone (Za). Figure to be published with the abstract: Fig. 4,

Description

Title of the invention: Outer skin of a front bumper of a motor vehicle Technical field

[0001] The present invention relates generally to the front bumper skins of motor vehicles.

[0002] It relates in particular to such a front bumper skin comprising a main body having in its upper central part a cutout opening at its top and intended to accommodate the grille of said vehicle, said skin also comprising a closing strip provided to cover said grille from above by connecting by its two lateral end portions to two respective docking zones provided on said main body on either side of this cutout. Prior art

[0003] The front bumpers of motor vehicles conventionally comprise an outer skin made from one or more parts, each molded from a thermoplastic material.

[0004] The main body of this outer skin is generally provided in the upper central part with a cutout on which a grille is mounted.

[0005] Playing an essential role in the cooling system of thermal or hybrid vehicles equipped with an internal combustion engine, such a grille conventionally has a mesh structure defining openings allowing outside air to circulate towards the radiator to ensure cooling of the engine and avoid any risk of overheating of the latter which could damage it.

[0006] The grille also constitutes an essential element of the visual identity of motor vehicles so that it is also found in most electrically powered vehicles which do not, however, have the same cooling requirements.

[0007] In these electrically powered vehicles, these grilles are therefore not constrained to have a mesh structure, which offers greater freedom of style for designers.

[0008] Thus, more and more electrically powered vehicles are now equipped with a so-called "illuminated" grille, incorporating one or more functional and / or aesthetic lighting devices, the latter being able, for example, to be arranged in different ways to generate a distinctive light signature creating a unique and recognizable visual identity of the vehicle, day and night.

[0009] Some of these illuminated grilles may be equipped with dynamic lighting devices that change color, flash, or adjust based on various conditions, such as vehicle speed, turn signals, or other signals.

[0010] Still for reasons of style, the grilles of these electric vehicles tend to extend in height almost to the upper limit of the front bumper skin of the vehicle, so as to be visually in continuity with the front hood of this vehicle.

[0011] In such a case, the strip of the outer skin surmounting the upper edge of the cutout for receiving the grille extends over a very low height, which does not allow, in particular for reasons of stability during demolding, to produce it in a single piece by molding with the main body of this outer skin.

[0012] This strip, commonly referred to as a "plastron", must thus be manufactured independently by molding, then mounted on the top part of the main body so as to cover the top of the grille while being connected by its two lateral end portions to two respective docking zones provided at the internal upper ends of the upper lateral portions of this main body located on either side of the cutout.

[0013] Each lateral end portion of this strip comprises an upper wall whose external lateral edge is intended to come flush along a joining line with the internal edge of a corresponding upper return provided on the main body.

[0014] Contributing to the aesthetics of the front face of the vehicle, the management of clearances and flushnesses at these joining lines proves to be particularly delicate, in particular at the rear portions of the lateral end portions of the strip. Statement of the invention

[0015] The present invention therefore aims to improve the situation.

[0016] To this end, it proposes an outer skin for a front bumper of a motor vehicle comprising a main body having in its upper central part a cutout opening at its top and intended to accommodate the grille of said vehicle, said skin also comprising a closing strip provided to cover said grille from above by connecting by its two lateral end portions to two respective docking zones provided on said main body on either side of said cutout, each lateral end portion of said strip comprising an upper wall whose external lateral edge is intended to come flush along a joining line with the internal edge of a corresponding upper return provided on said main body; characterized in that each lateral end portion of said strip comprises a finger forming with the rear portion of its upper wall a two-pronged fork defining between them a mortise intended to cooperate by embedding, when said strip is put in place, with a respective tenon which comprises the corresponding docking zone of said main body.

[0017] Such cooperation by embedding thus makes it possible to guarantee an optimal flush fit without vertical play between the rear portion of the upper wall of each lateral end portion of the strip and a corresponding upper return of the main body along their joint line.

[0018] According to preferred characteristics of said outer front bumper skin according to the invention: - the mortise of each said fork and the tenon of the corresponding docking zone each have, in cross-section, a profile widening from front to back at a predetermined angle; - said predetermined angle is between 2 and 5°; - each tenon consists of a lower parietal base surmounted in its front portion by a stressing rib; - each docking zone of said main body comprises a support step making it possible to ensure the sliding guidance of the finger of the corresponding lateral end portion of said strip when it is put in place, so that the mortise automatically fits into the tenon of the corresponding docking zone of said main body; - each lateral end portion of said strip comprises a stop surface intended, at the end of the installation of this strip, to cooperate in abutment with at least one element of the corresponding docking zone of said main body so as to limit the sinking of this strip; - the stop surface of each lateral end portion of said strip is constituted by a portion of the rear end edge of a cheek forming the external lateral limit of this end portion; and / or - the finger of each lateral end portion of said strip takes root from the internal face of the rear portion of its cheek and extends substantially longitudinally towards the rear, laterally set back from the latter.

[0019] The invention also aims, in a second aspect, at a front bumper of a motor vehicle comprising such an outer skin.

[0020] Finally, the invention aims, in a third aspect, at a motor vehicle comprising such a front bumper. Brief description of the drawings

[0021] The description of the invention will now be continued by the detailed description of an exemplary embodiment, given below for illustrative but non-limiting purposes, with reference to the appended drawings, in which: - [Fig.l] represents a three-quarter front perspective view of an outer skin of a front bumper of a motor vehicle according to the invention comprising a main body and a closing strip; - [Fig.2] is a three-quarter front perspective view of one of the docking areas of the lateral end portions of the strip on the main body; - [Fig.3] represents a three-quarter rear perspective view of one of the lateral end portions of the strip intended to cooperate with the docking zone of [Fig.2]; - [Fig.4] is a perspective sectional view along a vertical longitudinal plane of the docking zone of [Fig.2], taken at the moment of straddling a lateral end portion of the strip; - [Fig.5] represents a perspective sectional view along a horizontal longitudinal plane of the docking zone of [Fig.2], taken after the crossing of this lateral end portion of the strip; and - [Fig.6] a three-quarter rear perspective view illustrating the approach phase of a lateral end portion of the strip to the docking zone of [Fig.2]. Description of the embodiments

[0022] [Fig.l] represents a three-quarter front view of a front bumper 1 of an electrically powered motor vehicle comprising an outer skin 100 and a grille 200, fixedly mounted in a reception window provided in the upper central part of this bumper skin 100.

[0023] In the description which follows and by convention, an orthogonal reference frame XYZ comprising three axes perpendicular two by two is defined with respect to the front bumper 1, namely: - an X axis, defining a longitudinal, horizontal direction, - a Y axis, defining a transverse, horizontal direction, which with the X axis defines a horizontal XY plane, and - a Z axis, defining a vertical direction, perpendicular to the horizontal XY plane.

[0024] In the remainder of the description and with reference to the reference frame defined above, the terms "Longitudinal" or "longitudinally" will refer to a direction parallel to the X axis, "Transverse" or "Transversely" will refer to a direction parallel to the Y axis, and "Vertical" or "Vertical" will refer to a direction parallel to the Z axis.

[0025] On the other hand, the terms "front" and "rear" will be used to specify the longitudinal positioning of certain elements relative to the orientation of the X axis. Similarly, the terms "upper" and "lower" will be used to specify the relative position of certain elements relative to the orientation of the Z axis.

[0026] The terms “external” and “internal” will be used to define the relative position of an element with reference to the median vertical longitudinal plane of the bumper 1. The element closest to this plane will thus be described as internal as opposed to the other element further away from this same plane which will be described as external.

[0027] Finally, the term "substantially" will indicate that a slight deviation is permitted from a predetermined nominal position or arrangement, while remaining included within the scope of the invention. For example, "substantially vertical" indicates that a deviation of the order of 15 to 20° from a strictly vertical orientation is permitted within the scope of the invention.

[0028] Not having to provide any particular cooling function, the grille 200 integrates several functional and / or aesthetic lighting devices 210 generating a distinctive light signature creating a unique and recognizable visual identity of the vehicle, day and night.

[0029] As can be seen in this [Fig.l], this grille 200 extends vertically in height almost to the upper limit of the outer skin 100, so as to be visually in the continuity of the front hood of this vehicle.

[0030] This outer skin 100 comprises a main body 110 advantageously molded in one piece from a thermoplastic polymer such as Polypropylene (PP), Polyethylene (PE), polyamide (PA), Acrylonitrile Styrene Acrylate (ASA) or Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene / Polycarbonate (ABS / PC), possibly reinforced with natural and / or synthetic fibers.

[0031] This main body 110 of the outer skin 100 has in its upper central part a cutout 111 in the form of a crenel opening at its top and in which the grille 200 is housed.

[0032] The outer skin 100 also includes a closure strip 120, advantageously molded in one piece from a thermoplastic polymer advantageously identical to that constituting the main body 110.

[0033] Commonly referred to as a “front panel”, this closing strip 120 covers the top of the grille 200 by being connected by its two lateral end portions 121 to two respective docking zones Za (see [Fig.2]) provided at the internal upper ends of the lateral portions 112 of the main body 110 located on either side of the cutout 111.

[0034] These two lateral portions 112 of the main body 110 each further have an upper return 113 extending substantially horizontally towards the rear from and along their upper edge, except at the level of their respective docking zone Za,

[0035] As can be seen in this [Fig.2], each of the docking zones Za comprises a substantially horizontal support step 115 connected to the rest of the respective lateral portion 112 by means of a corresponding lateral edge 114 extending substantially vertically downwards from and along the internal end edge of the return 113. Each support step 115 opens at its front end onto a riser 116 extending substantially vertically downwards and also being connected to the corresponding lateral edge 114.

[0036] Each docking zone Za also comprises at its rear end a tenon 117 extending in a substantially transverse orientation from the external face of the corresponding lateral edge 114.

[0037] This rear end of each docking zone Za also comprises a supporting pilaster 118 leaning against the external face of this corresponding lateral edge 114 and extending vertically between the support step 115 and the tenon 117, so as to improve the mechanical resistance of this tenon 117.

[0038] With reference to [Fig. 3], each of the two lateral end portions 121 of the strip 120 comprises a front wall 122 extending substantially vertically over a limited height (typically of the order of a centimeter) and the lower and external edges of which are intended to come flush with the front facade of the main body 110 at the docking zones Za.

[0039] Each lateral end portion 121 of the strip 120 also comprises an upper wall 123 extending substantially horizontally towards the rear from the upper edge of this front wall 122 and the external lateral edge of which is intended to come flush along a substantially longitudinal joining line L (see [Fig. 1]) with the internal edge of the upper return 113 of the corresponding lateral portion 112 of the main body 110.

[0040] Still with reference to [Fig. 3], each lateral end portion 121 of the strip 120 further comprises a cheek 124 forming its external lateral limit and extending substantially vertically, this cheek 124 having a stepped lower edge provided to cooperate by correspondence of shape with the step 115 and the riser 116 of the corresponding docking zone Za.

[0041] Each of the lateral end portions 121 of this strip 120 further comprises a finger 125 taking root from the internal face of the rear portion of its cheek 124 and extending substantially longitudinally towards the rear in a recessed manner. laterally of the latter, this finger 125 being intended, as illustrated by [Fig.4], to slide on the support step 115 of the corresponding docking zone Za.

[0042] As can be seen in [Fig. 4], each finger 125 forms, with the rear portion of the corresponding upper wall 123 of the strip 120, a two-pronged fork defining between them a mortise 126 provided to cooperate by embedding, when this strip 120 is put in place following a longitudinal sliding movement oriented from front to rear, with the tenon 117 of a corresponding docking zone Za of the main body 110.

[0043] Such cooperation by embedding thus makes it possible to guarantee optimal flushness without vertical play between the rear portion of the upper wall 123 of each lateral end portion 121 of the strip 120 and the upper return 113 of the corresponding lateral portion 112 of the main body 110 along the joining line L.

[0044] In order to ensure a tight fit with stressing of the two parts, the tenon 117 and the mortise 126 each advantageously have, in cross section, a profile which widens from front to back by an angle 0 preferably between 2 and 5°.

[0045] As illustrated by this [Fig.4], each tenon 117 is made up of a lower parietal base 117A surmounted in its front portion by a stressing rib 117B whose height can be easily adjusted by removing or adding material in the injection mold used to manufacture the main body 110 of the outer bumper skin 100, so as to finely adjust the height and / or the flare angle of these tenons 117.

[0046] Again with reference to [Fig. 3], the upper portion of the rear end edge 124A of the cheek 124 of each lateral end portion 121 constitutes a stop surface intended, at the end of the positioning of the strip 120 and as illustrated by [Fig. 5], to cooperate in abutment with the proximal portion of the tenon 117 and with the pilaster 118 so as to limit the longitudinal depression of this strip 120.

[0047] Finally and as illustrated by [Fig.6], the support step 115 of each docking zone Za makes it possible to ensure the sliding guidance of the finger 125 of the corresponding lateral end portion 121 of the strip 120 during its installation, so that the mortise 126 automatically fits into the tenon 117 of the corresponding docking zone Za of the main body 110.

[0048] Numerous variant embodiments are conceivable and it is recalled in this regard that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described and shown, but also encompasses all variant embodiments within the reach of those skilled in the art.

Claims

Claims

1. Outer skin (100) of a front bumper (1) of a motor vehicle comprising a main body (110) having in its upper central part a cutout (111) opening at its top and intended to accommodate the grille (200) of said vehicle, said skin (100) also comprising a closing strip (120) intended to cover from above said grille (200) by connecting by its two lateral end portions (121) to two respective docking zones (Za) formed on said main body (110) on either side of said cutout (111), each lateral end portion (121) of said strip (120) comprising an upper wall (123) whose external lateral edge is intended to come flush along a joining line (L) with the internal edge of a corresponding upper return (113) formed on said main body (110);characterized in that each lateral end portion (121) of said strip (120) comprises a finger (125) forming with the rear portion of its upper wall (123) a two-pronged fork defining between them a mortise (126) intended to cooperate by embedding, when said strip (120) is put in place, with a respective tenon (117) which comprises the corresponding docking zone (Za) of said main body (110).;

2. Outer skin (100) of front bumper (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the mortise (126) of each said fork and the tenon (117) of the corresponding docking zone (Za) each have, in cross section, a profile widening from front to rear at a predetermined angle (0).

3. Outer skin (100) of front bumper (1) according to claim 2, characterized in that said predetermined angle (0) is between 2 and 5°.

4. Outer skin (100) of front bumper (1) according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that each tenon (117) consists of a lower parietal base (117A) surmounted in its front portion by a stressing rib (117B).

5. Outer skin (100) of front bumper (1) according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that each docking zone (Za) of said main body (110) comprises a support step (115) allowing the guiding by sliding of the finger (125) of the corresponding lateral end portion (121) of said strip (120) during its installation, so that the mortise (126) automatically fits into the tenon (117) of the corresponding docking zone (Za) of said main body (110).

6. Outer skin (100) of front bumper (1) according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that each lateral end portion (121) of said strip (120) comprises a stop surface (124A) intended, at the end of positioning of this strip (120), to cooperate in abutment with at least one element (117, 118) of the corresponding docking zone (Za) of said main body (110) so as to limit the sinking of this strip (120).

7. Outer skin (100) of front bumper (1) according to claim 6, characterized in that the stop surface of each lateral end portion (121) of said strip (120) is constituted by a portion (124A) of the rear end edge of a cheek (124) forming the external lateral limit of this lateral end portion (121).

8. Outer skin (100) of front bumper (1) according to claim 6, characterized in that the finger (125) of each lateral end portion (121) of said strip (120) takes root from the internal face of the rear portion of its cheek (124) and extends substantially longitudinally towards the rear, laterally set back from the latter.

9. Front bumper (1) of a motor vehicle comprising an outer skin (100) according to one of claims 1 to 8.

10. Motor vehicle comprising a front bumper (1) according to claim 9.

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