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EP-4574571-B1 - ILLUMINATED GRILLE FOR A VEHICLE AND RELATED VEHICLE

EP4574571B1EP 4574571 B1EP4574571 B1EP 4574571B1EP-4574571-B1

Inventors

  • STAWINOGA, Marcin
  • OSADNIK, Adam

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20231222

Claims (20)

  1. An illuminated grille (4) for vehicles, comprising - a grille body (8) provided with a plurality of windows (12) delimited by respective peripheral walls (16) interconnected so as to form a lattice, - wherein at at least one window (12), the grille body (8) comprises at least one lighting module (20), - said lighting module (20) comprising power supply means (24), at least one light source (28), powered by said power supply means (24), coupling means (32) for fixing the lighting module (20) to a coupling portion (36) of the peripheral wall (16), - said coupling means (32) orienting said lighting module (20), so that a lighting portion (52) of the peripheral wall (16) faces said at least one light source (28) of the lighting module, to be crossed by a light beam emitted by said at least one light source (28), characterized in that said grille body (8) comprises an internal lattice structure (72) onto which the power supply means (24) and the lighting module (20) are fixed, and an outer cover (76) which covers the internal lattice structure (72), said outer cover (76) being provided with openings (80) at the windows (12) delimited by the internal lattice structure (72).
  2. An illuminated grille (4) for vehicles according to claim 1, wherein the peripheral wall (16) comprises at least one light beam-permeable portion (48), positioned facing said at least one lighting source (28) so as to be crossed, at least partially, by the light beam produced by the at least one light source (28), said light beam impacting said lighting portion (52) of the peripheral wall (16), facing said at least one light source (28) and said light beam-permeable portion (48).
  3. An illuminated grille (4) for vehicles according to claim 2, wherein said light beam-permeable portion (48) is opposite to said coupling portion (36).
  4. An illuminated grille (4) for vehicles according to claim 2 or 3, wherein said light beam-permeable portion (48) comprises an undercut and/or a hole and/or a slot.
  5. An illuminated grille (4) for vehicles according to claim 4, wherein a peripheral edge of said undercut (56) and/or a hole and/or a slot is shaped to delimit and shape the light beam incident therein.
  6. An illuminated grille (4) for vehicles according to claim 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5, wherein the power supply means (24) comprise power cables (40) at least partially housed in conduits obtained on a rear wall of the grille body (8).
  7. An illuminated grille (4) for vehicles according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the coupling means (32) are configured to make a reversible mechanical connection with the coupling portion (36) of the peripheral wall (16) of the grille body (8).
  8. An illuminated grille (4) for vehicles according to claim 7, wherein the coupling portion (36) comprises a pair of cantilevered protuberances (100), projecting towards the coupling means (32).
  9. An illuminated grille (4) for vehicles according to claim 8, wherein the coupling means (32) comprise two guide grooves (92) configured to make a guide and shape coupling with said protuberances (100).
  10. An illuminated grille (4) for vehicles according to claim 9, wherein the guide grooves (92) are 'U' shaped so as to delimit a seat with a bilateral constraint for said protuberances (100).
  11. An illuminated grille (4) for vehicles according to any one of claims 7 to 10, wherein the coupling portion (36) of the peripheral wall (16) comprises a pair of through holes (104).
  12. An illuminated grille (4) for vehicles according to claim 11, wherein the coupling means (32) comprise two guide ribs (96) configured to make a reversible mechanical connection with said through holes(104) of the peripheral wall (16).
  13. An illuminated grille (4) for vehicles according to any one of claims 7 to 12, wherein the coupling portion (36) comprises a shelf (99) projecting in a cantilever manner towards the associable lighting module (20).
  14. An illuminated grille (4) for vehicles according to claim 13, wherein the coupling means (32) also comprise a front clip (98) provided with a through opening (99), adapted to make a shape coupling with said shelf (99).
  15. An illuminated grille (4) according to any one of claims 1 to 14, wherein said at least one lighting module (20) comprises a casing (60) which houses the light source (28) and a screen (64) which covers the casing (60) and intercepts the light beam produced by said light source (28).
  16. An illuminated grille (4) for vehicles according to claim 15, wherein said screen (64) is removably connected to the casing (60), by reversible connection means, such as snap-on tongues (68).
  17. An illuminated grille (4) for vehicles according to any one of claims 1 to 16, wherein in the assembly configuration, said outer cover (76) delimits, at least partially, the peripheral wall (16) of the windows (12).
  18. An illuminated grille (4) for vehicles according to any one of claims 1 to 17, wherein the outer cover (76) comprises, on an inner side facing the internal lattice structure (72), a plurality of shelves (84) projecting towards the internal lattice structure (72), so as to obtain said lighting portions (52).
  19. An illuminated grille (4) for vehicles according to any one of claims 1 to 18, wherein said coupling means (32) are configured to removably fix the lighting module (20) to said coupling portion (36) of the peripheral wall (16).
  20. An illuminated grille (4) for vehicles according to any one of claims 1 to 19, wherein the lighting portion (52) is provided with an embossing, or a satin finish, or a similar surface treatment (53), which is uniform or varies along the extension of the lighting portion (52).

Description

FIELD OF APPLICATION The present invention relates to an illuminated grille for a vehicle and to the related vehicle comprising said illuminated grille. BACKGROUND ART Vehicles, and in particular motor vehicles, are commonly provided with grilles, usually arranged at the front, between the headlights, concealing the presence of a radiator of the vehicle engine and which are often used to support the number plate and/or the brand name of the vehicle manufacturer. The grilles are perforated to allow air to pass so that it can carry out the heat exchange with the radiator crossed by the cooling liquid of the vehicle engine. In order to maximize said heat exchange, the grille must be as open as possible and have a thin structure. In recent years, the need is increasingly felt to provide front grilles of motor vehicles not only having a technical function, but also an aesthetic function. In fact, front grilles have a significant impact on the front of the motor vehicle. Therefore, it is known to provide front grilles with lighting means mainly for aesthetic purposes. However, such known solutions are not free from drawbacks and limitations. In fact, as seen, the grilles must be as open as possible or perforated, thus provided with wide windows for the passage of air, and at the same time, they must have a thin frame. This means that there is little space available for fixing and/or housing lighting means, which must obviously be concealed from outside observers when not activated. It results that the solutions of the prior art do not allow particular grille customizations and/or lightings and are also very costly to manufacture. Solutions according to prior art are disclosed by CN 112124239 A and WO 2020/006015 A1. OVERVIEW OF THE INVENTION The need is thus felt to solve the drawbacks and limitations mentioned with reference to the prior art. Such a need is met by an illuminated grille according to claim 1 and a vehicle according to claim 21. DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Further features and advantages of the present invention will become more comprehensible from the following description of preferred, non-limiting embodiments thereof, in which: Figure 1 shows a perspective diagrammatic view, in an exploded configuration, of an illuminated grille according to a possible embodiment of the present invention;figures 2-3 show perspective views, from different angles and in an assembled configuration, of the illuminated grille in figure 1;figures 4-7 show various diagrammatic perspective or section views of lighting modules of an illuminated grille according to possible embodiments of the present invention;figures 8-9 show assembly details of the lighting modules on a grille body according to possible embodiments of the present invention;figures 10-11 show diagrammatic plan and perspective views, from different angles, of a lighting module casing according to embodiments of the present invention;figures 12-14 show diagrammatic perspective and plan views of a snap insertion sequence of a lighting module on a peripheral grille body wall according to an embodiment of the present invention;figure 15 shows a diagrammatic perspective view of a grille portion according to a constructional variant of the present invention;figure 16 shows the enlarged detail XVI indicated in figure 15. The elements or parts of elements common to the embodiments described below will be indicated by the same reference numerals. DETAILED DESCRIPTION With reference to the aforesaid figures, reference numeral 4 indicates, as a whole, an overall diagrammatic view of an illuminated grille for vehicles. For the purposes of the present invention, it does not show the type and/or position of the grille, which can commonly be at the front and outside, however it can also be positioned in other points of the vehicle, e.g., outside, at the back, or inside. Moreover, for the purposes of the present invention, it does not show the type of vehicle, which can comprise motor vehicles, motorcycles, cycles, industrial vehicles of any size and any power or propulsion. The illuminated grille 4 for vehicles comprises a grille body 8 provided with a plurality of windows 12 delimited by respective peripheral walls 16, which are interconnected so as to form a lattice. At at least one window 12, the illuminated grille 4 comprises at least one lighting module 20. Said lighting module 20 comprises power supply means 24, at least one light source 28, powered by said power supply means 24, coupling means 32 for removably fixing the lighting module 20 to a coupling portion 36 of the peripheral wall 16. The power supply means 24 comprise at least one power cable 40 and a power source (not shown). The power cable 40 is preferably fixed to the grille body 8 by means of hooks 44, e.g., snap-on hooks, of the reversible type. According to a possible embodiment, the power cables 40 are at least partially housed in conduits obtained on a rear wall of the grille body 8. The coupling