Selective closing of at least one vehicle opening at a front portion of a vehicle
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A vehicle comprising:
- a grille comprising a plurality of spaced apart grille bars that have air flow gaps therebetween, the grille having a front side and a rear side, the rear side being nearer to an engine compartment of the vehicle than the front side;
an air flow regulator slidably coupled to the vehicle in a position located to the rear of the grille, the air flow regulator being movable between at least one first air flow restricting position and at least one second air flow open position, the air flow regulator comprising a plurality of spaced apart air flow control slats, wherein when the air flow regulator is in a second air flow open position, at least a plurality of the air flow control slats are at least partially positioned behind respective grille bars so as to at least partially open spaces between grille bars, and wherein when the air flow regulator is in a first air flow restriction position, at least a plurality of the air flow control slats are positioned to a greater extent in the air flow gaps between the grille bars to thereby restrict air flow through the air flow gaps; and
an air regulator actuator operable to selectively shift the air flow regulator between first and second positions.
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Abstract
Mechanisms are described for selectively closing grille and/or bumper openings. These mechanisms may be operated in response to one or more vehicle parameters. Closure mechanism control signals may be delivered to such mechanisms along a vehicle databus. In addition, vehicle parameters used in determining the control of such mechanisms may be sensed and provided along the databus to a controller which then processes the parameter information for determining whether to open or close the vehicle grille closing mechanism and/or the vehicle bumper opening closing mechanism.
119 Citations
29 Claims
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1. A vehicle comprising:
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a grille comprising a plurality of spaced apart grille bars that have air flow gaps therebetween, the grille having a front side and a rear side, the rear side being nearer to an engine compartment of the vehicle than the front side;
an air flow regulator slidably coupled to the vehicle in a position located to the rear of the grille, the air flow regulator being movable between at least one first air flow restricting position and at least one second air flow open position, the air flow regulator comprising a plurality of spaced apart air flow control slats, wherein when the air flow regulator is in a second air flow open position, at least a plurality of the air flow control slats are at least partially positioned behind respective grille bars so as to at least partially open spaces between grille bars, and wherein when the air flow regulator is in a first air flow restriction position, at least a plurality of the air flow control slats are positioned to a greater extent in the air flow gaps between the grille bars to thereby restrict air flow through the air flow gaps; and
an air regulator actuator operable to selectively shift the air flow regulator between first and second positions. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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24. A vehicle comprising:
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a bumper with at least one bumper air flow opening passing through the bumper;
a bumper closure member supported by the vehicle and operable to shift between at least one first air flow restricting position wherein the closure member at least partially restricts the air flow through the bumper opening and at least one second bumper open position, wherein when in a second position the closure member restricts the flow of air through the bumper opening to a lesser extent than when in the first position;
a bumper closure member actuator operable to selectively shift the bumper closure member between first and second positions; and
a closure member actuator controller operable to control the closure member actuator and thereby the position of the closure member in response to at least one vehicle operating condition and at least one environmental condition. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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Specification