Locator assembly

This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/700,424, filed Jan. 31, 2007, which is a continuation of PCT/US2006/038630 filed Sep. 29, 2006, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/722,273 filed Sep. 30, 2005. The disclosures of the above applications are incorporated herein by reference.

The present invention relates to a locator assembly, in more particularly, to a locator assembly for temporarily aligning a front module with a body structure.

In the automotive industry, one of the assembly steps is the necessity of attaching the front end module having various components onto a body structure. Typically, an assembly person requires a lift-assist to align the components and thereafter fasteners need to be positioned and fastened for securing the assembly of the front end module or other modules to the body structure. Because the rate of production is so high in many cases, this portion of the assembly process is more time consuming than the allotted time allowed for the operation. Therefore, there remains a need in the art to provide a better method for allowing alignment of the body structure with a front end or other module to allow ample time and more efficient fastening of the front end module to the body structure.

In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a locating pin and a retention clip. The locating pin and the retention clip allow alignment of the front end module with the body structure and the retention clip secures the two assemblies in place which allows alignment of fastener holes. This conserves time in the assembly line and allows more accurate and rapid assembly of the front end module on the body structure reducing the time necessary for assembly.

Further areas of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description provided hereinafter. It should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating the preferred embodiment of the invention, are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.

The present invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description and the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a front end module and body structure in which the present invention is used;

FIG. 2 is a detailed perspective view of the locator assembly of the present invention prior to location;

FIG. 3 is a perspective partially assembled view of the locator assembly of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a perspective partially assembled view of another locator assembly of the present invention.

The following description of the preferred embodiment(s) is merely exemplary in nature and is in no way intended to limit the invention, its application, or uses.

Referring now to FIGS. 1-3 , a locator assembly 10 is generally shown. The locator assembly is used for locating and affixing the body structure 12 to the front end module 14 . As shown in FIG. 1 , front end module 14 includes various fixtures attached and is assembled in an assembly line to the body structure 12 . Typically, an operator uses a lift-assist type arrangement to align a number of mounting holes 16 and 18 between the front end module and the body structure. Then the module is attached via holes as they are kept aligned until.

In the present invention, the locator assembly includes a locator pin 20 and a retention clip 22 . As shown in FIG. 3 , the front end module connected locator pin 20 is elongated and inserted through a location hole 24 . This brings the body 12 and module 14 in alignment. As the parts are assembled toward one another, the retention clip 22 is inserted in the retention hole 26 of the structure member which secures the front end module 14 with the body structure 12 to allow enough time for efficient insertion of the fasteners into the holes 16 and 18 for fastening the assemblies together.

In the present case, the clip 22 and locator pin 20 are typically made of a plastic material, however, other materials which will allow retention of the assembly until fastening is complete such as metal, composite materials, or the like, can also be advantageously used in the subject invention. The assembly can be a one piece clip which is inserted through the outside of the front end module. Alternatively, these features could be integrally formed with a module overmolded into the module or placed into apertures of the front end module at the respective locations with quick attach assemblies. While the locator assembly is shown as attached to the front end module, it is also within the scope of the present invention to have these features either alone or in combination attached to the support structure as shown in FIG. 4 noted as items 51 and 53 . Similarly, a clip could be attached to the support structure with the pin attached to the module or vice versa.

The description of the invention is merely exemplary in nature and, thus, variations that do not depart from the gist of the invention are intended to be within the scope of the invention. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention.