[1]Patented Oct. 15, 1940 29217 838 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,217,838 FENDER SHIELD ANI) ASSEMBLY Arthur P. Fergueson, Detroit, Mich., assignor to Houdaille-Hershey Corporation, Detroit, Tweh., a corporation of Michigan Application December 24, 1938, Serial No. 247,580 12CIaims. (Cl.280-153) This invention relates tG fender shields and fender shield assemblies, and more particularly to a fender shield assembly of the type in which a fender shield is progressively 'flexed @or wrapped i4@o i@la6e as it is mounted on the vehicle fender. This inventibn als6 relates to a novel supporting and mounting meaiis for detachably securing the fender shield in desired position on a, vehicle fender. FLtrthermore, as the term "fender" shall .10 hereinafter be employed, it refers to any form of whe6l fender in its br6ad sense, whether such fender be separate from the vehicle body part, partially separate from the vehicle body, or actually an integral part of the vehicle body, and 15 whether or not it i)roiects outwardly away from the principal body liortion of the vehicle. In the vehicle industry, and particularly in the automobile industry, various means have been utilized to improve the appearance of vehicle 20 fenders. The usual vehicle fender is provided with an opening which affords access to the vehicle wheel, and wwch permits the ready removal of the wheel in an axial direbtion. Sinee this opening inherently presents an unattractive out25 Ward appearance, detachable fender shields have been empl6yed to substantially cover this opening. As the term "fender shield" shall hereinafter be employed, it refers to any member which is adapted to be secured to a fender or other por30 tion of a vehicle body for the purpose of covering the opening in -the fender or vehicle body which is,])rovid6d for decess to or removal of a vehicle wheel. It is an obibet of the present invention to pro35 vide'a novel fender and fender shield assembly. It is a further object of this invention to provide a novel fendet shield including supporting and latching rheans which is economical to manufacture and which is rugged and reliable in use. 40 It is a still further object of this invention to provi 'de a novel combination of fender shield and fender. Another and further object of this invention is to provide a novel fender and fender shield as45' sembly in which the fender shield is supported on a molding or inturned portion of the fender. Another and still further object of this invention is to provide a novel combination of fender and fender shield in which the fender is prgvided 6o with a recessed portion adjacent the wheel aceess opening into which the fender shield fits, thereby providing a substantially flush fitting of the fender shield on the vehicle fender. The novel features which I believe to be char5;i acteristic of my@inventiori are set.forth with p4rticularity in the appended claims. Mv invention itself,' however, bbth as to its organization and manner of construction, together with further objects and advantages thereof, may best be understood by reference to the followirig description taken in connection with the accompanying dratings, in which: ngure 1 is a front elevational view of a fender shield and feilder assembly illustrating one embodimen t 6f the present inv6ntion; 10 Flgure 2 i@ an enlarg6d rear elevational view of the f6nder and fender shield assembly shown m FUtire 1, Figure : 3 is a cross-sectioiial view of the fender and f6nder shield assembly taken along line 15 III-M of Mgure 2; Mgur e 4 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view of the adjustable clamping bracket or flange at the' liawer edge of the fender shield,, Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view of the fender 20 shi6ld and fender assembly taken along the line v --- @v df ngu@e 5; aiid, Flgtire 6 is a fragmentary elevational view of the rear pdrtion of a modified form of fender shield. 25, Refer ring now to the various figures of the. drawing s, there is illustrated therein a veliiele fender 10 of the high-crown type which is cammonly employed bn motor vehicles of the present day. Moiihted on aiid detachably secured t6 the 30 fender IO is a fender shield I I which is prefer@bly streamlixied in shape and designed to harmonize with the vehicle fender I 0. The vehicle fender 10 is provided with a substintially semieirculi@ r opening 12 in its otiter depending side 35 wall which aff6rds access to the vehicle wheel and permits removal 6f the wheel (n6t shown) therethrough. As shown in the drawings, the outer curved edge 13 df the fender shield I I is not designed nor shaped to cianform to the shape of 40 the wheel access openi g 12 of the fender 10. n The fender 10'is also shown as being provided with a molding 14 along the lower base edges thereof which is preferably integral with the material fokming the main body of the fender IO.- 45 The fender shield I I is provided with a, similar i@iolding 15 along - it lower edge which will harmoni@e with and give the appearance of being a substantially continuous molding with the molding 14 oi the fender I 0. 50 In order to permit the fender shield I i to be mounted so I - that its outer face is flush v@ith the oute,r face of the fender 10, the fender 10 is recessed ,is at 16. (See Mgures 2 and 5 of drawirigs.) This recessed panel portion I
[2]2,217,838 shaped and dimensioned to snugly receive the fender shield I 1. It will be observed that the molding 14 which extends along the base edges of the fender 10 continues along the recessed portion I 6, the only difference being that the upper edge 17 Gf the molding 14 extends further back in a rearwardly projecting ledge. As will presently be pointed out in detail, that portion of the molding 14 which extends along the lower edges of the recessed portion 16 is taken advantage of to provide a support for the fender sliield I 1. The fender shield I I comprises a panel portion 18 which is provided with a rearwardly bent lr) flange I 9 around its curved edge 13. A strip of cushioning material, such for example as rubber, is secured over the end of the rearwardly bent flange 19, and is preferably of such shape;and, dimension that it will just sit within the recessed, 20 portion I 6 of the fender I 0, as may be seen best in Mgure 3. The molding 15, which is formed along the lower edge of the fender shield I 1, is shaped to be 25 nested over the molding 14 of the fender IC. The lower edge of the molding 15 merges into a rearwardly extending flange 21 which extends beneath the base of the fender IO. Adjustably secured to the rearwardly extending flange 21 is, an 30 adjustable angle bar or bracket 22. One leg 23 of the angle bar overlaps the flange@ 21 while the o.ther leg 24 extends udwardly behind the rear edge 25 of the fender 10. The angle bar or bracket 22 preferably extends entirely across the 35 fender shield, as may b,e seen best in Figure 2, and is adjustably mounted by means of a bolt and slot arrangement 26, as is shov),n in Figure 4@ of the dra-vvings. The upstanding leg 24 of the bracket 22 should be so positioned that it snugly and tightly engages the rear edge 25 of the fender 40 i 0 when the molding 15 is in snug nesting relationship with the molding 14. It will thus be understood tlaat the angle bar or bracket 22 inconjunction with the molding 15 provides a means for preventing lateral displacement of the lower 45 edge of the fender shield i I with respect to the fender I 0. The latching means for holding the top of the fender shield II in place on the fender IO co.mprises a latching arm 27, which is pivotally 50 mounted as at 28 on a reinforcing bracket 29 which extends substantially vertically across.the rear f ace of the panel 18 of the @ f ender shield I I and is welded or otherwise suitably secured thereto. As is clearly shown in Mgures 2 and 3 of the -5-5 drawings, the reinforcing bracket 29 includes @a raised or pressed-out portion 30 in the nature (yf a rib @,vhich carries the latching,arm 27. The latel-iing arm 27 includes an outwardly and upwardly curved latching portion 31 . which is 60 arranged to engage the underturned margina.1 portion 32 which defines the edge 12 of the fender IO. The latching portion 31 is so shaped that as it is angled into position behind the@underturned portion 3 2, the cushioning bead 2 0 is cammed into 65 tight engagement with the fender IO. The oppo7 site end of the latching arm 27 is shaped to provide a handle 33 which may be grasped by the operator by reaching under the fender shield I 1. The lower end of the handle 33 is arranged to be position'ed inside of the upstanding arm 24 of the angle bar or bracket 22, the arm preferably being sufficiertly resilient to maintain a tight contact at that point and prevent rattling. As is shown in Figure 5, the fender shield I I is shaped so that in an unflexed position it is not possible to seat the fender shield I I on the fender IO. More specifically, the fender shield II and particularly the curved edge 13 of the fender shield 11 flares slightly outwardly from its two lower corners away from the fender I 0. It is thus 5 necessary, as the fender shield I I is moved into position on the fender IO, to progressively flex or wrap the fender shield upwardly from its two lower corners t6 the top, where it is clamped into place by the latching arm 27. It has been found 1( that a fender shield constructed and mounted in tMs manner provides a much tighter fit with the fender upon which it is mounted and is less subject to vibrations and rattling. The manner in which the fender shield II is I mounted on the fender I 0 may be best understood by an inspection of Mgure 5. The upstanding arm 24 of the angle bar or bracket 22 is hooked behind the lower inner edge 2 5 of the fender I 0 as is shown by the dotted lines in Figure 5. The 20 fender shield I I is.thereafter rocked in a counterclockwise directigri as viewed in Mgure 5 until the molding 15 of the fender shield I I is snugly iiested ov@r the molding 14 of the fender IC, as is 2 shown by the fWl lines in Figure 5. The counterclockwise movement of the upper portion of fender shield I I is thereafter continued, thereby causing P. progressive flexing or wrapping of the curved edge 13 of the fender I I from its two low 30 er corners upwardly around its curved edge towards the top of the fender shield. The top of the fender shl:eld is pulled into tight engagement with the fender 10 by rotating the latching arm 2 7, into ep gagement with the underturned portion 315 3 2 of the fender IC. The lower end of the latching arm 27 is then snapped over the upstanding arm 24 of the angle bar 22 and dropped into,place therebehind. To remove the fender shield, it is simply necessary to rotate the latching arm 27 out of engagement with the underturned portion 40 32 of the fender 10, and the fender shield may then be lifted off of the fender I 0. In Figure 6 of the drawings I have illustrated a modified form of the present invention wherein the angle bar or bracket is eliminated and in 45 its place the rearward edge portion 34 of the rearwardly extending flange 2 i of the fender shield I I is bent upwardly to engage the rear edge 25 of the lower edge of the fender 10. While th.is form of the invention provides a, more eco- 5( nomical fender shield to manufacture, it of course does not have the advantage of an adjustable flange or angle bar such as that des.cribed in connection with the Preferred embodiment of my invention. However, where the fender shield r) 5 is being manufactured for a vehicle which itself is manufactured to close tolerances, it has been found that a fender sliield having a lower edge such as that illustrated in Figure 6 may be employed with extremely good results. co While I have shown particular embodiments of my invention, it will, of course, be understood, that I do not wish to be limited thereto, since many modifications r@iay be made, and I, therefore, contemplate by the appended claims to cov- 65 er all such modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of my invention. I
