Patent Application
20060186681
This invention relates to after market accessories for vehicles. Specifically, this invention relates to a universal grille accessory or trim attachment for attaching an after market decorative design or logo to various makes and models of vehicle grills.
It has become popular in recent years to decorate one's vehicle with after market trim attachments. Many of these after market trim attachments can be attached using double sided tape. However, using double sided tape does not allow the trim attachment to be removed easily.
Generally, the OEM logo 12 is attached to a grille 10 with posts or lugs which mount through the OEM logo mounting holes 14. Therefore, many times when an OEM logo 12 is removed in order to replace with an after market trim attachment, the OEM logo mounting holes 14 are used to attach the new after market trim attachment to the grille 10.
The problem with using the OEM logo mounting holes 14 to mount an after market trim attachment piece to a manufacturer's grille 10 is that the various makes and models of vehicles have the OEM logo mounting holes 14 located in different positions or locations relative to the grille 10. Thus, the trim accessory must be manufactured in various forms to match the non-universal mounting holes of the vehicles. Therefore, it is desirable to have a universal after market trim attachment piece which can attach to any vehicle grille 10 in the place of an OEM logo 12 on multiple makes and models of vehicles with regards to the varying locations of OEM logo mounting holes 14, without having to mold separate after market attachments for each specific make and model of vehicle in which the attachment can be used on.
The primary objective of the present invention is to provide a universal grille accessory or attachment for attaching to grilles of multiple makes and models of vehicles.
Another objective of the present invention is a method of attaching an after market decorative design or logo accessory to the grille of any vehicle make or model.
Another objective of the present invention is a method allowing one to remove the after market decorative design or logo accessory and reattach the original OEM logo.
A further objective of the present invention is the provision of a grille accessory which is economical to manufacture, durable in use and efficient in operation.
These and other objects of the invention will be apparent from the specification and claims that follow.
The foregoing objects may be achieved by a universal grille accessory adapted for replacing differently configured original vehicle grille logos which have mounting holes positioned differently for different original logos, depending on make and model of vehicle. The accessory comprises a body with opposite first and second sides, a design member or logo on the first side, a plurality of mounting apertures on the second side configured to adapt the grille insert for mounting. The plurality of mounting apertures include at least a first set of mounting apertures for mounting to a first make and model of vehicle grille, and a second set of mounting apertures for mounting to a second make and model of vehicle grille.
Another feature of the present invention involves a grille accessory having a body with mounting apertures configured to receive mounting studs.
Another feature of the present invention involves a grille accessory having a body with mounting studs extending from one or more mounting apertures and aligning with one or more original logo mounting holes in the vehicle grille.
A further feature of the present invention involves a grille accessory having a body with mounting studs secured to a vehicle grille through one or more of the original logo mounting holes in the vehicle grille.
Yet another feature of the present invention involves a grille accessory having a body configured so that the accessory can be removed from a vehicle grille and the original vehicle logo can be reattached to the grille.
The foregoing objects may also be achieved by a decorative vehicle grille accessory for attaching to an automotive grille in place of an original vehicle's grille logo comprising a body with a first side and an opposite second side, the first side configured with a decorative design member or logo, the second side configured with a plurality of mounting holes for connecting the accessory body to a vehicle grille, and the number and placement of mounting holes are defined to accommodate differently configured vehicle grilles, such that each of the differently configured vehicle grilles uses a set of holes from a plurality of mounting holes.
The foregoing objects may additionally be achieved by a method of applying a universal grille accessory to a vehicle grille comprising the steps of removing an original vehicle logo from the grille of a vehicle, providing a decorative grille accessory which is configured with a plurality of universal mounting holes on a backside of the accessory, wherein the holes are located so as to align with one or more original mounting holes in the vehicle's grille of at least two different makes and models of vehicles, attaching mounting studs in one or more of the mounting holes of the accessory so that the studs project from the accessory and align with the one or more original mounting holes of the vehicle's grille, inserting the mounting studs through the mounting holes of grille, and securing the accessory to the grille via the mounting studs.
A further feature of the present invention involves a decorative grille accessory which is removable from a vehicle grille in order to reattach the original vehicle logo to the vehicle grille.
The decorative design members or elements referred to for this invention can refer to decorative designs that are either generic, which do not refer to specific entities, or are logos which specifically identify certain entities such as, but not limited to, colleges or universities, sports teams, name brands, and the like.
The apertures referred to for this invention can be holes, openings, or other similar indentions. Alternatively, the apertures can be replaced with prongs, pegs, bars and other like extensions.
This invention provides a universal grille accessory having a decorative design or logo which can be mounted to many different vehicle grilles.
The decorative design or logo accessory 20 shown in
Referring to
Referring to
It is preferred, but not necessary, that the mounting studs 24 are threaded and able to screw into one or more of the universal mounting apertures or holes 22A-E on the back of the accessory 20. In addition, it is preferred that a washer 28 or a bracket 30 be used on the mounting studs 24, which are each secured by a nut 26. However, the use of threaded mounting studs 24 which thread into the universal mounting apertures 22 on the accessory 20 are only exemplary, and any securing method capable of locating to universal mounting apertures 22A-E are acceptable, such as molded studs which can be broken off if not used. Additionally, the universal mounting apertures 22 can be replaced with any type of universal mounting locator capable of allowing the accessory 20 to affix to multiple makes and models of vehicle grille 10.
The universal mounting apertures 22 or universal mounting locators allow for one accessory 20 to be manufactured which will mount to multiple makes and models of vehicle grille 10. For instance, as shown in
The invention has been shown and described above with the preferred embodiments, and it is understood that many modifications, substitutions, and additions may be made which are within the intended spirit and scope of the invention. From the foregoing, it can be seen that the present invention accomplishes at least all of its stated objectives.
