US-20260125018-A1 - FASCIA INTEGRATED AGS

Abstract

A fascia for a vehicle includes a main body having a fascia opening and multiple attachment or alignment structures, and an active shutter assembly including a bracket attached directly to the fascia via the attachment or alignment structures. The active shutter assembly also includes an actuator coupled to the bracket and a vane that is coupled to the bracket and to the actuator. The vane is located in or adjacent to the fascia opening and the actuator is operable to move the vane relative to the main body between a first position and a second position in which greater airflow is permitted through the fascia opening than when the vane is in the first position.

Inventors

• Jeffrey Caraway
• Martin R. Matthews
• Jeffrey B. Manhire
• Sean E. Granger
• Tyler D. Hamilton
• Brandon Flis

Assignees

• MAGNA EXTERIORS INC.

Dates

Publication Date

20260507

Application Date

20251104

Claims (19)

1. 1 . A fascia for a vehicle, comprising: a main body including a fascia opening and multiple attachment or alignment structures; and an active shutter assembly including a bracket attached directly to the fascia via the multiple attachment or alignment structures, the active shutter assembly also including an actuator coupled to the bracket and a vane that is coupled to the bracket and to the actuator, and wherein the vane is located in or adjacent to the fascia opening and the actuator is operable to move the vane relative to the main body between a first position and a second position in which greater airflow is permitted through the fascia opening than when the vane is in the first position.
2. 2 . The fascia of claim 1 wherein the bracket is made of the same material as the main body.
3. 3 . The fascia of claim 2 wherein the main body has an outer surface that is adapted to define part of an exterior of a vehicle and an inner surface on an opposite side of the main body from the outer surface, and wherein the bracket is welded to the inner surface of the main body.
4. 4 . The fascia of claim 1 wherein the bracket and the main body include mating connection features that provide a snap-fit or interference fit connection by which the bracket is at least partially retained to the main body.
5. 5 . The fascia of claim 4 wherein the bracket is welded to the main body at locations spaced from the mating connection features.
6. 6 . The fascia of claim 1 wherein a doghouse is formed on one of the main body or the bracket and a cooperating structure is formed on the other of the main body or the bracket, and a fastener is used at the doghouse to connect the bracket to the main body.
7. 7 . The fascia of claim 1 wherein the main body and the bracket include overlapped flanges and the overlapped flanges are connected together via welding, an adhesive or a fastener.
8. 8 . The fascia of claim 1 wherein the bracket includes a bracket opening aligned with the fascia opening, and the vane is pivotally connected to the bracket at the bracket opening so that an outer surface of the vane is visible through the fascia opening at least when the vane is in the first position.
9. 9 . The fascia of claim 8 wherein the actuator is coupled to the vane by a drive mechanism including a drive shaft and a linkage, and wherein the vane is coupled to one link of the linkage and the actuator is coupled to the drive shaft which is coupled to another link of the linkage so that, upon rotation of the drive shaft by the actuator, the linkage is driven to move the vane to and between the first position and second position.
10. 10 . The fascia of claim 9 wherein the fascia opening is a first fascia opening and the main body includes a second fascia opening spaced from the first fascia opening, the vane is a first vane and the active shutter assembly includes a second vane coupled to the bracket, the first vane is arranged at the first fascia opening and the second vane is arranged at the second fascia opening, and the drive mechanism includes two linkages that are each coupled to the drive shaft and driven by the drive shaft as the drive shaft is rotated to move both the first vane and the second vane relative to the bracket and the main body.
11. 11 . The fascia of claim 1 wherein the bracket includes a main wall received against an inner surface of the main body, the main wall includes a bracket opening that is aligned with the fascia opening such that the main wall surrounds the fascia opening, and wherein the vane overlaps the bracket opening and the vane is visible through the fascia opening.
12. 12 . The fascia of claim 11 wherein the bracket includes a base flange extending away from the main wall and a portion of the main body that is overlapped by the main wall, and wherein the main body includes flange oriented in the same direction as the base flange and wherein the base flange is connected to the flange of the fascia.
13. 13 . The fascia of claim 9 wherein the linkage includes a driven arm connected to the drive shaft at a first location and to a second arm at a second location that is spaced from the first location, and wherein the second arm is connected to the vane at a third location, and wherein the driven arm and second arm are arranged so that, in the first position of the vane, the driven arm and second arm are substantially parallel to one another and arranged to resist movement of the vane away from the first position in the absence of rotation of the drive shaft by the actuator 14 . The fascia of claim 1 which also includes an electrically operated sensor coupled to the bracket and arranged between part of the bracket and an inner surface of the main body.
14. 15 . The fascia of claim 1 wherein the actuator is coupled to the vane by a drive mechanism including a drive shaft and a four-bar linkage mechanism in which the vane defines one bar of the mechanism and wherein two other bars of the mechanism are connected to the vane.
15. 16 . The fascia of claim 1 wherein the main body includes a section in which the fascia openings are located, the section extends vertically above and below the fascia openings and across an entire cross-car extent of the main body and the section is formed in a single, continuous piece.
16. 17 . A fascia for a vehicle, comprising: a main body including multiple fascia openings and multiple attachment or alignment structures; and an active shutter assembly including a bracket attached directly to the fascia via the multiple attachment or alignment structures, the active shutter assembly also including one or more than one actuator, each of the one or more than one actuator being coupled to the bracket, and multiple vanes coupled to the bracket and to at least one of the one or more than one actuator, and wherein one or more of the multiple vanes are separately located in or adjacent to each of the multiple fascia openings, and one or more than one actuator is operable to move the multiple vanes relative to the main body between a first position and a second position in which greater airflow is permitted through the fascia opening than when the vane is in the first position.
17. 18 . The fascia of claim 17 wherein the bracket includes multiple bracket openings defined in a main wall of the bracket and with each bracket opening aligned with a respective one of the multiple fascia openings and with the main wall surrounding each of the multiple fascia openings.
18. 19 . The fascia of claim 16 wherein the bracket is made of the same material as an inner surface of the main body, the inner surface is opposite to an outer surface of the main body that is adapted to define part of an exterior of the vehicle, and the bracket is welded to the inner surface.
19. 20 . The fascia of claim 16 wherein the bracket and the main body include mating connection features that provide a snap-fit or interference fit connection by which the bracket is at least partially retained to the main body, and wherein the bracket is welded to the main body at locations spaced from the mating connection features.

Description

REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 63/717,111 filed on Nov. 6, 2024 the content of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. TECHNICAL FIELD The present disclosure relates to a fascia with an integrated active vane. BACKGROUND Vehicles include active shutter assemblies that prevent or allow airflow through a fascia of the vehicle to provide a desired aerodynamic effect or provide cooling air flow to components behind the fascia. The active shutter assemblies are carried on portions of the fascia that are separate from other portions and that define part of the outer surface of the fascia such that the fascia in the area of the active shutter assemblies is formed by multiple parts that define separate portions of the exterior of the fascia. So arranged, each part defining part of the exterior needs to have a class-A finish, the appearance of the different parts can negatively affect the fascia's overall appearance, and connection of the larger fascia parts to each other can be difficult and require significant framework. SUMMARY In at least some implementations, a fascia for a vehicle includes a main body having a fascia opening and multiple attachment or alignment structures, and an active shutter assembly including a bracket attached directly to the fascia via the attachment or alignment structures. The active shutter assembly also includes an actuator coupled to the bracket and a vane that is coupled to the bracket and to the actuator. The vane is located in or adjacent to the fascia opening and the actuator is operable to move the vane relative to the main body between a first position and a second position in which greater airflow is permitted through the fascia opening than when the vane is in the first position. In at least some implementations, the bracket is made of the same material as the main body, and the main body has an outer surface that is adapted to define part of an exterior of a vehicle and an inner surface on an opposite side of the main body from the outer surface, and wherein the bracket is welded to the inner surface of the main body. In at least some implementations, the bracket and the main body include mating connection features that provide a snap-fit or interference fit connection by which the bracket is at least partially retained to the main body. The bracket may be welded to the main body at locations spaced from the mating connection features. In at least some implementations, a doghouse is formed on one of the main body or the bracket and a cooperating structure is formed on the other of the main body or the bracket, and a fastener is used at the doghouse to connect the bracket to the main body. In at least some implementations, the main body and the bracket include overlapped flanges and the overlapped flanges are connected together via welding, an adhesive or a fastener. In at least some implementations, the bracket includes a bracket opening aligned with the fascia opening, and the vane is pivotally connected to the bracket at the bracket opening so that an outer surface of the vane is visible through the fascia opening at least when the vane is in the first position. In at least some implementations, the actuator is coupled to the vane by a drive mechanism including a drive shaft and a linkage, and wherein the vane is coupled to one link of the linkage and the actuator is coupled to the drive shaft which is coupled to another link of the linkage so that, upon rotation of the drive shaft by the actuator, the linkage is driven to move the vane to and between the first position and second position. In at least some implementations, the fascia opening is a first fascia opening and the main body includes a second fascia opening spaced from the first fascia opening, the vane is a first vane and the active shutter assembly includes a second vane coupled to the bracket, the first vane is arranged at the first fascia opening and the second vane is arranged at the second fascia opening, and the drive mechanism includes two linkages that are each coupled to the drive shaft and driven by the drive shaft as the drive shaft is rotated to move both the first vane and the second vane relative to the bracket and the main body. In at least some implementations, the bracket includes a main wall received against an inner surface of the main body, the main wall includes a bracket opening that is aligned with the fascia opening such that the main wall surrounds the fascia opening, and wherein the vane overlaps the bracket opening and the vane is visible through the fascia opening. In at least some implementations, the bracket includes a base flange extending away from the main wall and a portion of the main body that is overlapped by the main wall, and wherein the main body includes flange oriented in the same direction as the base flange and wherein the base flange is connected to the flange of the f