Front Bumper Skin Mounting Structure for Headlight Gap Coverage

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Solution Overview

Problem

The existing front bumper designs often result in visible gaps at the corners when headlights are mounted, affecting the appearance quality of vehicles due to limitations in the demoulding process during plastic formation, leading to poor matching and reduced assembly efficiency.

Innovation Solution

A front bumper skin with a covering member along the edge of the mounting opening, specifically an L-shaped configuration covering the lower edge, and reinforcing members for structural support, along with a transverse connecting end for improved assembly, effectively shields gaps and enhances matching accuracy and assembly efficiency.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Manufacturing precision

If the front bumper skin is integrally formed with standard demoulding processes, then manufacturing efficiency is maintained, but large rounded corners or arc-shaped gaps are formed at the opening corners, resulting in visible gaps when headlights are mounted

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvegap control at mounting openingVSAvoiddemoulding process complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Manufacturing precisionVSEase of manufacture

Solution Approach 1:

The front bumper skin is divided into multiple sections: a main body portion and a covering member portion. The covering member is designed as a separate structure that can be integrally formed with the main body through injection molding, allowing the mounting opening area to be independently controlled for precise gap management while maintaining overall manufacturing efficiency

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The covering member extends along the edge of the mounting opening in a dimensional configuration that specifically addresses the corner gap issue. By adding this edge-covering structure, the design transitions from a simple opening to one with controlled peripheral coverage, eliminating visible gaps without requiring complex demoulding processes

Inventive Principle:
Principle #17Another dimension (Dimensionality change)

2Device complexity

If the covering member covers only the lower edge of the mounting opening, then assembly simplicity is maintained, but gaps at side edges remain visible

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecovering member structureVSAvoidgap coverage completeness
Core Design Contradiction:
Device complexityVSManufacturing precision

Solution Approach 1:

The covering member is designed with an asymmetric L-shaped configuration rather than a symmetric full-perimeter structure. It specifically covers the lower edge and extends along one or both side edges, providing targeted gap coverage where it is most needed for appearance quality while avoiding unnecessary structural complexity

Inventive Principle:
Principle #4Asymmetry

Data Source

PatentEP4070993B1Front bumper skin, front bumper side mounting structure and assembly method thereof
Publication Date: 2023.11.01 STELLANTIS AUTO SAS
  • EP4070993B1 patent drawingFigure 1~2
  • EP4070993B1 patent drawingFigure 3~4
  • EP4070993B1 patent drawingFigure 5~6

AI summary

The present disclosure provides a front bumper skin (10), a front bumper side mounting structure and an assembly method thereof. The front bumper skin (10) is provided with a mounting opening (11) suitable for installing headlight (50), wherein the front bumper skin (10) comprises a covering member (20) arranged along the edge of the mounting opening (11) to shield the gap at the edge of the mounting opening (11), and wherein the covering member (20) at least covers the lower edge of the mounting opening (11). The present disclosure effectively solves the problem of poor matching caused by the large gap between the front bumper skin (10) and the headlight (50) matching area and ensures the structural strength and installation accuracy.