US2007716A - Grid-type grille - Google Patents

Description

L. B. GREEN GRID TYPE GRILLE July 9,' 1935.

Filed June 21, 1934 2 Sheets-$118M l fave 1 [lee 61 zmmw Jufly W35. L. B. GREEN GRID TYPE GRILLE Filed June 21, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Jul 9, 1935 2, 0?,716 a GRID-TYPE GRILLE i Lee Green, Lakewood, Ohio, assignor' to The Globe Machinet Stamping Company, Cleveland, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio V c Application June 21,

. invention relates to metal =grillesof' the general type. in *which. relativelytransverse sets of blades and cross-bars are first slidably interengaged with each other to prevent a shifting of ah the blades with respect to the cross-bars in the general plane of the grille, and in which-the blades are Lthereafter fastened to' the "cross-bars so as topreventthe blades fromsliding out of their .slidable engagement with thecross-bars.

V In my copending application #723,948, filed Maya. l93 ion a Grid type metal grille, I dis- 1 closeda grid-jtype grille of this general class, in which each blade-presents loop portions behind the common rear surface of the cross-bars, and in whch eachblade isanchored'to the cross-bars by .an anchoringrod extending through the said' loop'portio'ns of the blade. 1

7 While the grid-type grille of my said applicationlends itself admirably to the manufacturing 2O of automobile" radiator grilles presenting orna- .mentalappearances' of varying designs; I have found rn'y there disclosed constructionto have the following limitations the overcoming of which is among the :main objects of my presentinvenftionfl (1)" The cost of l the anchoring rod associated with eachblade of l the": grille, together with the laborrequiredforinserting this rod add 'undesir ably to themanufaoturing cost of the grille.

(ZVWhenablade iS to be anchored to the cross-bars by. an anchcring'member which exterfds behind the cross-bars, the l blade usually must be'coiisid'e'rably wider than the cross-bar, thereby requiring more'metal'for the blade than might otherwise be, needed.

(3) When each blade is of a uniform width throughout its length, as iscommercially desir able; and the cross bars areto present their forward e'dges a't a uniform-distance rearward of the forward ed'ges of the blades (as is desirable,

for' thesake oflappeara'nc'e), the blades must be of a uniform width throughout their length unless the cross-bars adjacent towider blade portions are indent-ed at theirrear to such an extent as to weakenthem. Consequently-the grille construction of my an 'a dequate concealing of theap'ron underhang- 50 mg thelo'w'er portion of anautomobile radiator grille is so .far 'belowthe eyes. of an observer that mud collected. on 'the's'aid apron can readily be seen Z through "the grille unless the cross-bars in I "Fig; 3 isa fragmentary horizontal section tak'en grille inzwhi'ch ithe lower portions ofl the blades slope forward downwardly, since this .part'of the the lower 'partoi ithegrille have a considerably 1934, Serial were:

. fiClaims. relics-s2) i greater width" than; hat requiredf'in' the higher partshf the grille.

' (4) The rearwardlylooped blade con'structio'n needed for the grilles disclosediinimy said copending applicationpreferably requires..the"-.use 3 of resilient metal for 'theblade'in order that the resiliency of "the metal will insure the firmness of the anchoring of thesesblades'to the cross-arms; 'andin' practice such alooped bladedesirablyhas to" be. formed from axtstrip pf,tm etalibent about its medial line, which strip of metal must initially be of morethan double the width of thefihished blade. Consequently, my 'saidprior construction doesnot readily len'ditself to itheiise'of blades consi'stingof generall'y'fiat strips such as could be manufactured much more cheaply.

Illustrative of the manner in which "my-ahere presented invention overcomes the above'r'eeited grille; A

Fig; lis a perspective :viewiof aportion of a grille embodying" my invention, including crossbars of varying widths and single-tl'iickness blades anchored to the cross-arms by the ornamenting tubes which ar'e slid over the forward portions of limitations of my previously disclosed type the blades; j l

Fig.2 is an enlarged perspective view of por- :tions o'f twoof the cross-bars of Fig. land of a part ofIa blade slidably interlocked with these cross-bars, as they appearbefore the slitted ornamenting-tube (of which afragment is also shown in Fig.2) isslid over the forward portions of the blade to anchor it to the cross-bars.

along'the line 3-3 of Fig; 1.

Figf l is a section allied to Fig. 3, showing the use of a a similarly constructed blade and 'anchoring tube 'in' conhection'with a cross-bar having a frontal recess' which affords 'a'wider bearing for the said. tube.

Fig. his a section allied-to- Fig-J l; showing a different crosssecti'on of the anchoring tube and bithe'frontal recess in the cross-bar.

Fig; 6 is :a section alliedtoFig." 3, showing the use of a'blade formed. of a metal stripdoublecl along its longitudinal center line. prior application does'notreadily lend itself to Fig. 1 section, also allied to Fig. .3, showing the'rearward half ofthe blade as corrugated, so j 'as' tofins'ure itsbearlng against both sidewalls Fig. 8 is'afragmentary perspective View of a grille in which c'ertain'blades are clamped to the cross-bars byorna'mentingtubes after the man ner ofFigs; l and 3, and in which intervening I operate with the recited and relatively narrower blades are clamped to the cross-bars by lugs each of which is formed from a rear-edge portion of a cross-bar and engages the reared ge of one of the narrowerblades.

Fig. 9 is an enlarged and fragmentary horizontal section, taken along the upper face of the upper cross-bar of Fig. 8, showingthe anchoring lug which clamps one of the narrower blades to this upper cross-bar.

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary perspective view in which every other blade is generally U-sectioned and anchored to forwardly recessed portions of the cross-bars by an ornamenting tube, and in which each alternate blade is anchored after the manner shown in Fig. 9.

Fig. 11 is an enlarged side elevation of the grille part shown in Fig. 10, taken from the right-hand side of Fig. 10. 7

Fig. 12 is an enlarged horizontal section taken along the line IZ IZ of Fig. 10.

Figs. 13 and 14 are enlarged perspective views of portions of the two types of blades shown in Figs. 10 to 12.

In the parallel bladed embodiment of Figs. 1 to 3, each horizontal cross-bar C has parallel and spaced slots S extending forwardly into it, desirably across somewhat more than half of the width of the cross-bar, each of which slots preferably is of a width closely corresponding to the thickness of the strip of metalfrom which a blade. of a grille is formed. 1

Each of the upright blades B has horizontal slots 8 extending rearwardly into it and corresponding closely in thickness to'the thickness of the cross-bars C, the depths of these slots .9 being such that when the blades are slidably assembled with the cross-bars (after the manner of the'partitioning strips in an egg carton or a candy box) the bladeswill project forwardly beyond the common frontal surface of the forward edges C of the cross-bars. The forwardly projecting blade portions between consecutive cross-bars are bent (alternately in opposite directions) so asto constitute forwardly diverging fingers B and after the blades and cross-barsi have thus been assembled into a grid, with the. bottoms of the slots S in the cross bars bearing'against the bottoms of the slots s in blades, I slide over the said diverging black fingers B a rearwardly longitudinally slitted tube T of such a size as to bear rearwardly against the adjacent forward edges C of the cross-bars. and forwardly against portions of the said blade fingers. a

Each tube T preferably is formed of resilient metal, thereby permitting it to expand sufficiently tocompensate forthe slightirregularities which ocour in the commercial manufacture of-the slotted blades and cross-bars,thereby drawing the cor responding blade, forward .to' press the bottoms of the slots in the blade against'the bottoms of the. slots'in the cross-bars, sothat the tubes coproportioning of the said slot widths to hold the blades rigidly assembled to 'thejcros's-bars Without requiring auxiliary fasteningmeans.

Each such tube'T may be of a bright metal cone.

trasting with both the blades and the cross-bars. as for example. of chromeplated steel or stainless steel-so as toenhance the ornamental appearance'of thegrillep 3' In assembling such'a grille, the initial slidable interfitting of the blades with the'cross-arm is a simple and speedy operation, and each ornamenting tube can quickly-be slidforcibly over the frontalflngers on a blade even when this .blade has its forward edge curved as shown in Fig. 1. Moreover, the firmness of the resulting assembly is not affected by considerable variations in the Width of the cross-bars, so that in the forwardly curving lower part of a grille the lower cross-bars C may (for example) be wider than the upper cross-bars C, as shown in Fig. 1.

With each tube T adequately resilient, a mere engagement of the slit edges in the tube with the forward edges C of the cross-bars, as shown in Fig. 3, has been found suihcient to insure the rigidity of the grille, particularly when the slots in the cross-bars correspond closely in widthto the thickness of the rearward portions of the blade. 7

However, in the commercial manufacture of such grilles, I desirably provide each cross-bar at its forward edge with recesses R alining axially with the medial planes P (Fig. 4) of the slots in the cross-bar, so that each tube will have portions of considerable width (at respectively opposite sides of its slit) bearing against parts of such a recess, thereby insuring the desired rigidity even if the blade fits the adjacent slit in the cross-bar rather loosely. 1

. Moreover, the (horizontal) cross-sectional shape of each recess R may be varied so long as the cross-section of the tube adapts the tube to bear adequately against the wall of the recess, as shown for example by the semi-hexagonal section of the recess R in Fig. 5 and the shaping of the tube T which presents two portions bearing flatwise against portions of the wall of this recess. 7

However, instead of using longitudinally spaced portions of each blade to afford the diverging fingers, the blade may have its frontal portion doubled back on itself and then bent at right angles to the major portion of the blade,.so as to present a T-head 3 as shown in Fig. 7 straddled by the anchoring tube. And if the metal of the blade is so thin as to make it diflicult to form slots of a closely corresponding width in the crossbars, the rearward part of the blade may be longitudinally corrugated, as shown at 4 in Fig. 7 so as to bear against both side walls of the slots.

So also, the same principle of looking a blade to the cross-bars by a slitted tube which straddled a widened blade portion spaced forwardly from the cross-bars may be employed (as in Fig. 6) with a blade 5 formed of a quite thin strip of metal folded along its medial longitudinal line and. having the free edges of the strip bent away from each other, to present diverging fingers 6. This figure also shows still another cross-section of the anchoring tube T Moreover, it is not essential to my invention to have every blade project forwardly beyond the cross-bars and clamped to the cross-bars by an ornamenting tube, since the heretofore described assembly may be used only in connection with certain blades of the grille.

For example, Fig. 8 shows a fragment of a grille in which only two blades B are clamped to the cross-bars C by slitted tubes T after the manner of Figs. 1 and 3. The intervening two blades 6 present their forward edges flush with the forward edges of the cross-bars, each of these blades 6 being clamped to each cross-bar by deforming a rearward part of that cross-bar to project into a slot of that cross-bar and to engage the rear edge of this cross-bar as shown on an enlarged scale in Fig. 9, thus changing the appearance of the grille considerably from that of Fig. 1 and considerably reducing the cost of the grille.

blades;

by a slitted tube T as shown in Fig. 12, so that the anchoring is on the same principle as shown in Fig. 4. Figs. 10 and 12 also show the use of intervening narrower and entirely fiat blades 9 (formed as in Fig. 14) anchored by lugs C on the cross-bars, thus contrasting all the more from the shape and appearance of the wider blade members, each of which comprises a blade 1 and an anchoring tubeT. Thus may invention readily lends itself to the construction of a large variety of grille designs, in addition to eliminating the cost of the anchoring rods required for the grilles disclosed inmy said copending application #723,948.

However, while I have heretofore described my invention in connection with grilles having upright blades and horizontal cross-bars, itwill be obvious that the directions in which these relatively transverse members extend is immaterial. So also, the spacings between the blades, and between the cross-bars canbe greatly varied, as shown for example by a comparison of Fig. 9 with Fig. 1 or Fig. 10.

Moreover, while I have heretofore described my invention in connection with embodiments including numerous desirable details of construction and arrangement, it should be obvious that these could be varied in many respects without departing either from the spirit of my invention or from the appended claims.

I claim as myinvention;

1. .An upright grille comprising a set of spaced upright blades each provided at its forward edge with forwardly diverging fingers and each having slots extending rearwardly into it; a set of spaced horizontal cross-members each'having slots, corresponding in their spacing to that of the blades extending forwardly into it, the said cross-members being slidably interfitted with the blade members so that each slot in the cross-member houses a portion of ablade contiguous to the bottom of a slot in that blade; and a set of longitudinally slitted tubular ornamenting members extending in front of the cross-members and each straddling the diverging fingers on one of the the tubular members having portions thereof bearing against the members of one of the said sets to clamp the bottoms of the slots in r the cross-members against the bottoms of the slots in the blades.

2. An upright grille comprising spaced upright blades each provided at its forward edge with forwardly diverging fingers and each having slots extending rearwardly into it; spaced horizontal cross-bars each having slots, corresponding in their spacing to that of the blades, extending forwardly into it, each cross-bar having its forward edge provided with recesses alining with the slots in it; the cross-bars being slidably interfitted with the blades so that each slot inacross-bar houses a portion of a blade which is behind the bottom of a slot in that blade; and a set of longitudinally slitted tubular ornamenting members extending in front of the crossbars and each hooked over the diverging fingers on one of the blades, each tube bearing rearwardly against recessed edge portions of the cross-bars so as to clamp the bottoms of the slots in the cross-bars against the bottoms of the slots in the blades.

3. An upright grille comprising upright blades each having spaced horizontal slots extending rearwardly into it, horizontal cross-bars each having spaced upright slots extending forwardly into it, the said blades and cross-bars being slidably assembled with the bottoms of the slots in the blades bearing against the bottoms of the slots in the cross-bars, each blade being formed so that the parts thereof which extend between consecutive slots in that blade afford forwardly diverging fingers spaced forwardly from the forward edge portions of the cross-bars adjacent to that blade; and rearwardly longitudinally slitted tubes each straddling the said fingers on one of the blades, each such tube having portions bearing forwardly against the fingers straddled by it and rearwardly against thecross-bars, so as to interlock the blades rigidly with the cross-bars.

4. A grille as per claim 1, in which the consecutive fingers on each blade extend alternately in opposite horizontal directions.

5. A grille as per claim 1, in which each of the said fingers reaches from one slot in the blade to the next slot, and in which the said fingers parallel and generally fiat blades each having slots extending rearwardly into it; spaced horizontal cross-bars each having slots extending forwardly into it, the said slots corresponding in their spacing to that of the blades and in width to the over-all effective thickness of the blade parts behind the slots in the blades; the crossbars being slidably interfitted with the blades so that each slot in the cross-arm houses a portion of a blade behind the bottom of a slot in that blade member, the depths of the slots in the said blades and cross-bars being such that each blade has its frontal part projecting forwardly beyond the surface in which the forward edgeportions of all cross-bars which are adjacent to the blades are disposed, and each such frontal part of a blade being of greater thickness than the width of a rear'blade part; anda set of rearwardly longitudinally slitted tubular ornamenting members extending in front of the cross-bars and each having rearward portions thereof bearing forwardly'against the said frontal parts of a blade and rearwardly against clamp the bottoms of the slots in the cross-bars against the bottoms 'of the slots in the blades.

' '7. A grille as per claim 1, in which each blade is formed of a strip of metal bent to a generally U shaped cross-section and presenting the U- back at the rear of the blade, and in which the said diverging fingers are respectively formed from forward portions of the two U-shanks of the blade.

LEE B. GREEN.

the cross-bars, so as to,

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