Adjustable front fascia for vehicles
AssigneeFord Global Technologies, LLC
InventorsCharles Edward Farrington, Dale Travis Huggan, James Francis Briggs
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An adjustable front fascia for vehicles includes a second vehicle structure that is fixed to a first vehicle structure at a location that is predefined relative to a hood of the vehicle. During assembly, the front fascia is movably supported on the second vehicle structure utilizing a temporary retaining mechanism that prevents unintended fore-aft movement of the front fascia unless a force exceeding a predefined release force is applied to the fascia. The front fascia can be fixed at a location providing a predefined gap relative to a front edge of the hood. The vertical position of the fascia relative to the hood can also be adjusted during assembly.
Claims17
A method of attaching a front fascia to a vehicle having a hood;
- the method comprising:
- providing the front fascia;
- providing a first vehicle structure;
- fixing a second vehicle structure to the first vehicle structure at a location that is predefined relative to the hood of the vehicle;
- movably supporting the front fascia on the second vehicle structure utilizing a temporary retaining mechanism that prevents rearward movement of the front fascia towards a front edge of the hood unless a rearward force exceeding a first release force of the mechanism is applied to the front fascia, the temporary retaining mechanism preventing forward movement of the front fascia away from the front edge of the hood unless a forward force exceeding a second release force of the mechanism is applied to front the fascia;
- shifting the front fascia towards a front edge of the hood until the front fascia is located at a desired fore-aft position;
- wherein, a desired gap having a predetermined magnitude is defined between the front fascia and the front edge of the hood;
- and fixing the front fascia at the desired fore-aft position;
- wherein the temporary retaining mechanism comprises a downwardly facing first engagement surface on the front fascia, and an upwardly facing second engagement surface on the second vehicle structure;
- and the method including causing the first and second engagement surfaces to engage one another.
A method of mounting a front fascia to a first vehicle structure, comprising:
- fixing a second structure to the first vehicle structure at a vertical location that is predefined relative to a hood of the vehicle;
- movably supporting the front fascia on the second structure;
- adjusting vertical and horizontal positions of the front fascia relative to the hood of the vehicle;
- fixing the front fascia to the second structure;
- the front fascia has a first connector having a tab having a plurality of first teeth on a lower surface thereof and the second structure has a second connector having a plurality of second teeth and having a guide structure that receives the tab;
- the front fascia is movably supported on the second structure by the first and second connectors;
- and
- the plurality of first and second teeth engage one another to prevent fore-aft movement of the fascia unless a horizontal force exceeding a predefined magnitude is applied to the front fascia;
- and the method including:
- moving the front fascia rearwardly by applying a force to the front fascia while it is movably supported on the second structure.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.