Selective closing of at least one vehicle opening at a front portion of a vehicle
First Claim
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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;
an air regulator actuator operable to selectively shift the air flow regulator between first and second positions; and
an air regulator actuator controller operable to control the air regulator actuator and thereby the position of the air regulator in response to at least one vehicle operating condition and at least one environmental condition, wherein the at least one vehicle operating condition comprises at least one of an air compressor output pressure and a turbo charger output temperature.
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Accused Products
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.
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Citations
27 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; an air regulator actuator operable to selectively shift the air flow regulator between first and second positions; and an air regulator actuator controller operable to control the air regulator actuator and thereby the position of the air regulator in response to at least one vehicle operating condition and at least one environmental condition, wherein the at least one vehicle operating condition comprises at least one of an air compressor output pressure and a turbo charger output temperature. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 5, 9, 10)
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4. 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; an air regulator actuator operable to selectively shift the air flow regulator between first and second positions; wherein the grille bars are transverse and wherein the air regulator actuator is operable to slide the air flow regulator upwardly and downwardly between the first and second positions; and wherein each of a plurality of air flow control slats is positioned at least partially behind an associated grille bar when the air flow regulator is in a second open air flow position, wherein each of the plurality of air flow slats is slid to a first position further into the air flow gap between the associated grille bar and an adjacent grille bar when the air flow regulator is slid from a second position to the first position, wherein the height of each of the plurality of slats is less than the height of the air flow gap between the associated grille bar and an adjacent grille bar such that, when the air flow regulator is positioned in a most closed position, each of said plurality of air flow control slats only partially blocks the air flow gap between the associated grille bar and the adjacent grille bar, and wherein the height of each of the plurality of slats is no greater than the height of the associated grille bar such that, when the air flow regulator is positioned in a most open position, the plurality of air flow control slats are each entirely hidden in the wind shadow of the associated grille bar.
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6. 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; an air regulator actuator operable to selectively shift the air flow regulator between first and second positions; wherein the grille bars are transverse and wherein the air regulator actuator is operable to slide the air flow regulator upwardly and downwardly between the first and second positions; and wherein the air flow regulator is moved vertically by the air regulator actuator between first and second positions, the air flow regulator comprising plural vertically oriented slide slots, a respective slide being positioned in each slide slot and coupled to the vehicle, the slides and slide slots guiding the motion of the air flow regulator between the first and second positions. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8)
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11. 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; an air regulator actuator operable to selectively shift the air flow regulator between first and second positions; and comprising an air regulator actuator controller operable to control the air regulator actuator, wherein the vehicle comprises a fan, and wherein the air regulator actuator controller is responsive to whether the fan is on or off with the air regulator actuator controller being operable to control the air regulator actuator to position the air flow regulator in a second air flow open position during at least a majority of the time that the engine fan is on.
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12. 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; an air regulator actuator operable to selectively shift the air flow regulator between first and second positions; and comprising an air regulator controller operable to control the air regulator actuator to selectively move the air flow regulator so as to limit the length of time that the air flow regulator is continuously maintained at any one position to be less than a selected maximum time tmax.
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13. 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; an air regulator actuator operable to selectively shift the air flow regulator between first and second positions; 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 closure member position wherein the bumper closure member at least partially restricts the air flow through the bumper opening and at least one second closure member position wherein the bumper closure member restricts air flow through the bumper opening to a lesser extent than the restriction on air flow when the bumper closure member is in the first closure member position; a bumper closure member actuator operable to selectively shift the bumper closure member between first and second closure member positions; and an air regulator controller operable to control the air regulator actuator and thereby the position of the air regulator in response to at least one vehicle operating condition and at least one environmental condition in which the vehicle is being operated, wherein the at least one vehicle operating condition comprises at least one of an air compressor output pressure and a turbo charger output temperature. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. 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; an air regulator actuator operable to selectively shift the air flow regulator between first and second positions; 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 closure member position wherein the bumper closure member at least partially restricts the air flow through the bumper opening and at least one second closure member position wherein the bumper closure member restricts air flow through the bumper opening to a lesser extent than the restriction on air flow when the bumper closure member is in the first closure member position; a bumper closure member actuator operable to selectively shift the bumper closure member between first and second closure member positions; and comprising a closure member actuator controller operable to control the closure member actuator, wherein the vehicle comprises a fan, and wherein the bumper closure member actuator controller is responsive to whether the fan is on or off with the bumper closure member being in a second air flow open position during at least a majority of the time that the engine fan is on.
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22. 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; an air regulator actuator operable to selectively shift the air flow regulator between first and second positions; 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 closure member position wherein the bumper closure member at least partially restricts the air flow through the bumper opening and at least one second closure member position wherein the bumper closure member restricts air flow through the bumper opening to a lesser extent than the restriction on air flow when the bumper closure member is in the first closure member position; a bumper closure member actuator operable to selectively shift the bumper closure member between first and second closure member positions; a closure member actuator controller operable to control the bumper closure member actuator and thereby the position of the bumper closure member in response to at least one vehicle operating condition and at least one environmental condition; an air regulator controller operable to control the air regulator actuator and thereby the position of the air regulator in response to at least one vehicle operating condition and at least one environmental condition in which the vehicle is being operated, the air regulator actuator controller and closure member actuator controller being a common controller; and wherein the common controller is operable to selectively control the bumper closure member actuator independently of the air regulator actuator such that the bumper closure member can be positioned in a first position while the air flow regulator is in a second position.
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23. 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 bumper 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 bumper 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 bumper closure member actuator and thereby the position of the bumper closure member in response to at least one vehicle operating condition and at least one environmental condition, wherein the at least one vehicle operating condition comprises at least one of an air compressor output pressure and a turbo charger output temperature, wherein the bumper closure member actuator is controlled to selectively move the bumper closure member so as to limit the length of time that the bumper closure member is continuously maintained in any one position to a time that is less than a selected maximum time tmax. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26)
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27. 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 bumper 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 bumper 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; a closure member actuator controller operable to control the bumper closure member actuator and thereby the position of the bumper closure member in response to at least one vehicle operating condition and at least one environmental condition; and wherein the vehicle comprises a fan and wherein the closure member actuator controller is responsive to whether the fan is on or off with the bumper closure member being controlled to be in a second position for at least a majority of time that the engine fan is on.
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Specification