VEHICLE STRUCTURE HAVING A WHEEL-WELL

CARROSSERIE DE VEHICULE A LOGEMENT DE ROUE

English Abstract

Abstract of the Disclosure
A vehicle structure which comprises a wheel-well
produced by an outer body-part (e.g. a fender), an inner
panel and a wheel-cover made of a synthetic material which is
secured detachably to an edge-area of the outer body part
facing the wheel, and extends thence towards the inner panel
which is characterized in that the wheel-cover extends as far
as the inner panel to which it is also secured detachably,
whereas a downwardly-projecting portion of the said wheel-
cover adjoins outwardly the edge-area of the outer body part.

Claims

The embodiments of the invention in which an
exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined
as follows:-
1. A structure for a vehicle assembly, said
structure being disposed in the wheel area of said vehicle
assembly, said structure comprising a wheel well consisting
of an outer body part and an inner panel which form between them
a cavity located above a wheel of the vehicle, said cavity
having an opening adjacent said wheel, a plastic wheel
cover detachably secured to an edge of said outer body part,
which edge faces said wheel, said wheel cover extending later-
ally across the cavity opening from said outer body part and
towards said inner panel to thereby close said cavity opening,
characterized in that said wheel cover extends right up to said
inner panel to which it is also detachably secured, and in that
said wheel cover further includes a portion extending from
said edge of said outer body part obliquely outwardly toward
the axle of said vehicle.
2. A vehicle structure according to claim 1, character-
ized in that the wheel-cover bears from below against an in-
wardly-directed flange constituting the edge of the outer body
part, to which it is secured.
3. A vehicle structure according to claim 2, character-
ized in that the wheel-cover overlaps outwardly the edge-
area of the outer body part.
4. A vehicle structure according to one of claims 1
to 3, characterized in that clamping means, for areas of the
inner edge of the wheel-cover, are provided on the inner
panel for attaching the said wheel-cover thereto.

Description

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Thè invention relates to a vehicle structure.
A structure of this kind is known from German Utility Model
75 30 300, B62d 25/16, in which an inwardly directed pro-
tective cover, made of fibre-glass laminates, is arranged
at the edge of the lateral part - also known as the fender,
the said protective cover terminating in front of the
wheel-well panel, to avoid forming an enclosed cavity between
it and the said lateral part. As the name indicates, there-
fore, this is merely a corrosion-proof protective cover
designed to eliminate the "sand-blasting" produced by the
rotating wheels which leads to corrosion when metal parts
are used.
In contrast to this, it is the purpose of the
present invention to design a structure, in such a manner
that it can be adapted, in the vicinity of the wheel, to
- various tyre sizes, with no need for changes in the actual
bodywork, especially the sides of the body. At the same
time, there is to be no interference with the shape of the body
i.e. the solution according to the invention is to be sub-
ordinate to the shape governed by other factors, for in-
stance styling or drag. This also distinguishes the invention
from the whole fender made entirely of foam-material des-
cribed in German Utility Model 69 09 843, 63c, 80 which has
bolts incorporated into its inner edge and is used almost
entirely for trucks.
In accordance with a particular embodiment of the
' invention there is provided a structure for a vehicle
assembly, said structure being disposed in the wheel area of
said vehicle assembly, said structure comprising a wheel well
consisting of an outer body part and an-inner panel which form
between them a cavity located above a wheel of the vehicle,
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said cavity having an opening adjacent said wheel, a plastic -
wheel cover detachably secured to an edge of said outer body
part, which edge faces said wheel, said wheel cover extending
laterally across the cavity opening from said outer body part
and towards said inner panel to thereby close said cavity
opening characterized in that said wheel cover extends right
up to said inner panel to which it is also detachably secured,
and in that said wheel cover further includes a portion extend-
ing from said edge of said outer body part obliquely outwardly
toward the axle of said vehicle.
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The essential characteristics of the invention
is therefore that the wheel-cover extends, from its
attachment to the edge of the lateral part, transversely
of the vehicle, both inwardly and outwardly, the said cover
extending inwardly to the wheel-well panel, so that it may
be secured thereto, whereas the outer part points more or
less obliquely downwards (in cross-section through the
structure), the lower edge being approximately on a level
with the periphery of the wheel.
Having thus generally described the nature of
the invention, reference will now be made to the accompanying
drawings, showing by way of illustration, a preferred
embodiment thereof, and in which:
Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the left front
part of a body of a passenger vehicle, and
Fig. 2 is a section along the line ~I-II in Fig. 1.
The only parts of the body shown are the engine-
hood 1, the door 2, and the lateral part, or fender or outer
body part 3. The actual wheel-well comprises a cavity 6
formed by lateral part 3 and wheel-well panel or inner
panel 4 spot-welded thereto at 5.
. The lower edge of lateral part 3, facing wheel
7, has an inwardly-directed flange 8 which is used to
secure the plastic wheel-cover, generally marked 9 and made
of plastic, with a suitable number of self-tapping screws
10. As can be seen, the cover 9 extends across the cavity
opening adjacent wheel 7.
As may be gathered more particularly from Fig. 2,
wheel-cover 9 comprises, in cross-section, two areas running
in opposite directions from attachments 10 to lateral
part 3. Inwardly-directed part 11 extends as
far as a bend in wheel-well panel 4 to which it is
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detachably secured at that point. This connection is
provided by local clamping means 12 which are outwardly
open. The procedure for assembling wheel-cover 9 is
as follows: the inner left-hand edge in Fig. 2 is
first fitted into clamping means 12 until flange 13 and
projection 14 of the said wheel-cover bear against
wheel-well panel 4 and lateral part 3 respectively. Screws
10 are then fitted and may be secured by tabs.
~heel-cover 9 has another area which runs
obliquely downwards approximately to the level of the
` periphery of wheel 7. This part, which is visible from
the outside, may be designed to harmonize with the
vehicle as a whole.
The invention has the advantage of making the
most highly stressed part of the wheel-well interchangeable,
and also simplifies adaptation to different tyre widths,
as shown at 9'. The lower edge of 9' need not necessarily
be at the same height as that of 9.