U.S. patent application number 16/173338 was filed with the patent office on 2020-04-30 for vehicle grille drawer.
The applicant listed for this patent is FORD GLOBAL TECHNOLOGIES, LLC. Invention is credited to Paul Kenneth Dellock, David Brian Glickman, Stuart C. Salter, Mark A. Wisneski.
Application Number | 20200130751 16/173338 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 68725125 |
Filed Date | 2020-04-30 |
United States Patent
Application |
20200130751 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Salter; Stuart C. ; et
al. |
April 30, 2020 |
VEHICLE GRILLE DRAWER
Abstract
A vehicle and method of operating that includes a body structure
having hood and front bumper, a grille, mounted between the hood
and front bumper, including an opening, and a drawer mounted in the
opening, slidable forward to an open position in front of the
vehicle and rearward to a closed position within the vehicle. A
controller may receive various inputs for controlling the operation
of the drawer.
Inventors: |
Salter; Stuart C.; (White
Lake, MI) ; Glickman; David Brian; (Southfield,
MI) ; Wisneski; Mark A.; (Dearborn, MI) ;
Dellock; Paul Kenneth; (Northville, MI) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
FORD GLOBAL TECHNOLOGIES, LLC |
DEARBORN |
MI |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
68725125 |
Appl. No.: |
16/173338 |
Filed: |
October 29, 2018 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B60R 5/02 20130101; B60R
11/0235 20130101; B60R 25/23 20130101; B62D 25/12 20130101; E05Y
2900/536 20130101; E05Y 2900/548 20130101; B60R 19/52 20130101;
E05F 15/662 20150115; B60K 11/00 20130101; B60R 2019/525 20130101;
B60Q 3/30 20170201; B60K 1/00 20130101; B60R 9/065 20130101 |
International
Class: |
B62D 25/12 20060101
B62D025/12; E05F 15/662 20060101 E05F015/662; B60R 9/06 20060101
B60R009/06; B60Q 3/30 20060101 B60Q003/30; B60R 11/02 20060101
B60R011/02 |
Claims
1. A vehicle comprising: a body structure including hood and front
bumper; a grille, mounted between the hood and front bumper,
including an opening; and a drawer mounted in the opening, slidable
forward to an open position in front of the vehicle and rearward to
a closed position within the vehicle.
2. The vehicle of claim 1 further including an actuator configured
to slide the drawer.
3. The vehicle of claim 1 further including a video display
pivotally mounted relative to the drawer.
4. The vehicle of claim 1 further including a lighting system
mounted to the drawer.
5. The vehicle of claim 4 wherein the lighting system is configured
to change color of light when the drawer is sliding in or out of
the grille.
6. The vehicle of claim 1 wherein the drawer includes a user
interface device mounted to a front surface thereof and configured
to activate the drawer to move between the open and closed
positions.
7. The vehicle of claim 1 further including a user interface device
mounted to the body structure and configured to activate the drawer
to move between the open and closed positions.
8. The vehicle of claim 1 further including a vehicle mounted
camera configured to take a picture of one standing in front of the
drawer when in the open position.
9. The vehicle of claim 1 further including vehicle mounted sensors
configured to move the drawer to the closed position when no motion
is detected in front of the vehicle for a predetermined time.
10. The vehicle of claim 1 further including a wireless device in
communication with a vehicle controller and configured to move the
drawer to the closed position when the wireless device moves more
than a predetermined distance from the vehicle for greater than a
predetermined amount of time.
11. A method for operating a vehicle comprising: receiving a user
input requesting opening of a drawer mounted in a grille at a front
of the vehicle; and after receiving the request, automatically
sliding the drawer forward through an opening in the grille.
12. The method of claim 11 further including: automatically
pivoting a video display upward from the drawer when the drawer is
in an open position.
13. The method of claim 11 further including: automatically
activating a lighting system mounted to the drawer as the drawer
moves from a closed position behind the grille to an open position
extending forward from the grille.
14. The method of claim 13 wherein the lighting system changes
color of the light when the drawer is moving between the open and
closed positions.
15. The method of claim 11 wherein the user input is mounted to a
front surface of the drawer.
16. The method of claim 11 further including: taking a picture with
a vehicle mounted camera of a user standing in front of the drawer
when the drawer is in an open position.
17. The method of claim 11 further including: automatically closing
the drawer after detecting no motion in front of the vehicle for a
predetermined time.
18. The method of claim 11 further including: automatically closing
the drawer after detecting that a wireless device moves more than a
predetermined distance from the vehicle for greater than a
predetermined time.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to a vehicle having a front
trunk, with a grille in front of the trunk and more particularly to
user access to items supported by the grille.
[0002] Some vehicles include a front trunk, which may be due to the
engine being located other than under a hood at the front of the
vehicle, or due to the vehicle operating as a battery electric, in
which case there is no engine under the hood.
[0003] In particular vehicle models, there may be customer options
for an engine-based powertrain (gasoline, diesel, etc.), a hybrid
electric powertrain or a pure battery electric powertrain. Due to
cost efficiency, esthetics and functionality, the overall shape of
the vehicle front end and structure may be maintained for all of
the various powertrain options. For such vehicles, a hood and
engine compartment is needed to receive and support the engine for
the engine driven configuration of the vehicle. However, for the
battery electric powertrain, then, the area where the engine is
typically located may act as a front trunk for storage since no
engine is present. Ease of access to this front trunk area is
desirable, as well as employing the grille, which no longer is
located in front of an engine.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0004] An embodiment contemplates a vehicle having a body structure
including hood and front bumper, a grille, mounted between the hood
and front bumper, including an opening, and a drawer mounted in the
opening, slidable forward to an open position in front of the
vehicle and rearward to a closed position within the vehicle.
[0005] An embodiment contemplates a method for operating a vehicle
comprising: receiving a user input requesting opening of a drawer
mounted in a grille at the front of the vehicle; and after
receiving the request, automatically sliding the drawer forward
through an opening in the grille.
[0006] An advantage of an embodiment is that essentially the same
vehicle structure and front end look may be employed for various
drivetrain configurations of a vehicle, while providing ease of
access to a front trunk for a battery electric powertrain
configuration of the vehicle. The ease of access to the front trunk
is provided while also providing features that add to the
functionality of the front vehicle area, particularly the grille
mounted between the hood and front bumper.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0007] FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a front end of a
vehicle showing a grille between a hood and front bumper.
[0008] FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view similar to FIG. 1 but
with a drawer extending forward from the grille.
[0009] FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view of the grille with
the drawing extending forward from the grille.
[0010] FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view similar to FIG. 1 but
with a drawer extending forward from the grille and a video display
extending above the drawer.
[0011] FIG. 5 is a schematic side view of an actuator and drawer
mounted on the grille.
[0012] FIG. 6 is a schematic view illustrating inputs/outputs for a
controller.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0013] FIGS. 1-6 illustrate a vehicle 10 having front fenders 12, a
front bumper 14, headlights 16, a hood 18 and a grille 20. The
vehicle 10 may be a pickup truck, although it may be a different
type of vehicle if so desired.
[0014] The grille 20 may be sized and shaped to match a grille in
an engine driven model of this vehicle in order to maintain the
same look and allow for essentially the same front end vehicle body
structure for both models. While the grille 20 may be configured to
look the same as other models from outside of the vehicle 10, it
may have a generally solid inner surface in order to keep water out
of a front trunk 22 (shown in broken away view of FIG. 1) and
provide other functionality. The solid inner surface may be
feasible in this battery electric vehicle 10, rather than having
perforations or openings, since no air flow is needed for engine
cooling. The hood 18 may lift up to provide one means of access to
the front trunk 22.
[0015] The grille 20 includes an opening 24 through which a drawer
26 slides forward to an open position (FIGS. 2-4) to provide access
to the drawer 26 outside of the vehicle 10 and slides rearward into
the front trunk 22 into a closed position (FIG. 1), in order to
provide security and protection from the elements for the contents
of the drawer 26. Optionally, the drawer 26, when closed, may have
a front surface that is designed to blend into the grille 20 so as
to not be noticeable to a casual passer-by.
[0016] The drawer 26 may include a keypad 28 mounted on the front
of the drawer 26. This may be, for example, a capacitive keypad
that can sense a particular motion of a person, a keypad that
allows for input of a sequence of numbers or other type of security
feature that limits access to the drawer 26 opening. The motion
activation (gesture) for closing the drawer 26 may be desirable for
someone who does not wish to touch a front grille area that may be
dirty. A body mounted touch screen or keypad 30 may be employed to
allow for access, in addition to or alternatively to the drawer
mounted keypad 28. Additionally, actuation of the drawer 26 may be
via a button or touchscreen 38 internal to the vehicle 10, or
through wireless means 56 such as for example a smart phone or a
key fob.
[0017] A video display 58 may be mounted on top of the drawer 26,
being folded down for retraction of the drawer 26 into its closed
position and pivoted to a generally vertical position when the
drawer 26 is open. The video display, when pivoted upward may allow
access to a keyboard. Optionally, the video display 58 may be
configured to provide for automatic deployment as drawer 26
opens.
[0018] The keypads 28, 30, video display 58 (and other actuators)
may be in communication with a controller 32. The controller 32 may
be a separate control module or may be incorporated into a
different vehicle controller such as, for example, a body control
module, if so desired.
[0019] The controller 32 may include various inputs, such as for
example ultrasonic sensors 34 mounted on the front of the vehicle
10, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) antennas 36 on the vehicle 10, a
touch screen 38 in the vehicle interior, a forward looking camera
40, a remote wireless device 56 (such as a key fob or smart phone),
the drawer keypad 28, and the body keypad 30. Advantageously, the
ultrasonic sensors 34, BLE antennas 36, touch screen 38 and forward
looking camera 40 may already be employed for other vehicle uses,
thus no additional hardware would be needed to add the
functionality provided by these devices to drawer opening/closing
functions.
[0020] The output of the controller 32 may include an actuator 42
that selectively activates for moving the drawer 26 between open
and closed positions. The actuator 42 may include, for example, a
gear 44 mounted along an underside of the drawer 26 mating with a
gear 46 mounted to an actuator housing 48 within the front trunk
22. The gear 46 may be driven by a motor 50 that is activated via
the controller 32 for opening/closing the drawer 26. Another
example of the actuator 42 may include a direct-drive type of screw
jack, if so desired.
[0021] The output of the controller 32 may also include controlling
a lighting system 52 mounted to the drawer 26 or adjacent to the
drawer, if so desired. The lighting system 52 may include, for
example, a light pipe 54 surrounding a portion of the drawer's
periphery. The output of the controller 32 may also be in
communication with the video display 58, although the video display
may operate separately from and not be in communication with the
controller 32, if so desired.
[0022] The combination of the movable drawer 26 and controller 32,
with the vehicle inputs, then, provides for various types of
convenience and security functions associated with the drawer 26.
For example, the touch screen 38 may be employed to provide a
one-time use code allowing someone to open the drawer 26 one time
before that particular code expires, or may be employed to
authorize particular BLE devices to operate the drawer 26.
[0023] Another example, may be the use of the camera 40 where, when
sensing someone standing at the drawer 26 when open, the camera 40
may take a picture and store this image for a later security check,
if so desired.
[0024] The lighting system 52 may be controlled by the controller
32 to provide convenience functions. The lighting system 52 may be
automatically activated when the drawer 26 is moved to an open
position. Additionally, the lighting system 52 may flash a
particular color while the drawer 26 is opening/closing in order to
indicate to a user that the motion is about to or is occurring.
Also, the lighting system 52 may be employed to illuminate the
keypad 28 in order to assist a user in operating the keypad 28, if
so desired.
[0025] Other convenience functionality may include various ways of
detecting when to automatically close the drawer 26. For example,
the drawer 26 may automatically close when a person pushes on
drawer 26 in the closing direction, a particular gesture is made by
a person in front of the keypad 28, when a particular wireless
device 56 (e.g., key fob or smart phone) moves more than a
predetermined distance from the drawer 26 for longer than a
predetermined time, or if no motion is detected by sensors (e.g.,
ultrasonic sensors 34) in front of the drawer 26 for a
predetermined amount of time.
[0026] While certain embodiments of the present invention have been
described in detail, those familiar with the art to which this
invention relates will recognize various alternative designs and
embodiments for practicing the invention as defined by the
following claims.
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