Motor vehicle and reflector for a motor vehicle

Abstract

A motor vehicle has a body with an opening that can be closed by a preferably pivotable cover and a box-shaped metallic reflector that is open towards the opening for receiving an HPEM source and that is reversibly insertable into the opening. The reflector is connected to the body by an earth connection following insertion of the reflector. The earth connection is implemented by a brush strip containing fibers of a conductive material that connects the box-shaped reflector to the body circumferentially on all sides in the region of the opening.

Claims

1. A motor vehicle, comprising: a body having an opening formed; a pivotable cover; a box-shaped metallic reflector being open towards said opening for receiving an HPEM source and being reversibly inserted into said opening, wherein following insertion of said box-shaped metallic reflector, said box-shaped metallic reflector being connected to said body by means of an earth connection, said pivitoable cover with said box-shaped metallic reflector closing said opening; and a brush strip implementing the earth connection, said brush strip having fibers made of a conductive material, which connects said box-shaped reflector to said body circumferentially on all sides in a region of said opening.

2. The motor vehicle according to claim 1, wherein said brush strip is disposed on said body in said region of the opening, and being soldered or welded, wherein said fibers protruding into said opening contact on an outer side of said box-shaped metallic reflector inserted in said opening.

3. The motor vehicle according to claim 1, wherein said brush strip is disposed on said box-shaped metallic reflector, by one of soldering or welding, wherein said fibers protruding laterally from said box-shaped metallic reflector contact said body on contact surfaces provided in said region of said opening following insertion of said box-shaped metallic reflector.

4. The motor vehicle according to claim 1, wherein said box-shaped metallic reflector is dimensioned such that said box-shaped metallic reflector ends in said region of said opening and said opening can be closed by means of said cover with said box-shaped metallic reflector inserted.

5. The motor vehicle according to claim 1, wherein said fibers have a length of at least 50 mm.

6. The motor vehicle according to claim 1, wherein said fibers have a thickness being ≦1 mm.

7. The motor vehicle according to claim 1, wherein said fibers have a fiber packing density selected such that an air exchange between an interior of said box-shaped metallic reflector and an interior of the motor vehicle is reduced.

8. The motor vehicle according to claim 1, wherein said fibers are made of metal.

9. The motor vehicle according to claim 1, wherein said opening being closed by means of said cover being a tailgate.

10. The motor vehicle according to claim 1, wherein said fibers have a length of at least 100 mm.

11. The motor vehicle according to claim 1, wherein said fibers are made from stainless steel.

12. The motor vehicle according to claim 1, wherein said fibers have a thickness being ≦0.5 mm.

13. A reflector for a motor vehicle, comprising: a box-shaped reflector body being closed except for one open side; and a circumferential brush strip containing fibers of a conductive material disposed in a region of said open side and in electrical contact with said box-shaped reflector body.

14. The reflector according to claim 13, wherein said brush strip is soldered or welded to said box-shaped reflector body.

15. The reflector according to claim 13, wherein said fibers have a length of at least 50 mm.

16. The reflector according to claim 13, wherein said fibers have a length of at least 100 mm.

17. The reflector according to claim 13, wherein said fibers have a fiber thickness being ≦1 mm.

18. The reflector according to claim 13, wherein said fibers have a fiber thickness being ≦0.5 mm.

19. The reflector according to claim 13, wherein said fibers are made from metal.

20. The reflector according to claim 13, wherein said fibers are made from stainless steel.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING

(1) FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic, perspective view of a motor vehicle with a reflector not yet inserted according to the invention;

(2) FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic, section view of a connecting region of fiber brush strips to the body without the reflector inserted;

(3) FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a fiber profile with an the reflector inserted;

(4) FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the motor vehicle of FIG. 1 with the reflector inserted therein; and

(5) FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of the reflector with its circumferentially disposed brush strip.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

(6) Referring now to the figures of the drawings in detail and first, particularly to FIG. 1 thereof, there is shown a motor vehicle 1 according to the invention, having an opening 2 at a rear that can be closed by a tailgate 3 in a conventional manner. The motor vehicle 1 is for example an SUV. However, it can also be a commercial vehicle, a transporter or an estate car, for example.

(7) In the opening 2, i.e. the luggage compartment, a reflector 4 is to be inserted that forms a metallic housing for an HPEM source 5, which is only indicated here. The reflector 4 is closed on all sides apart from the front, via which the HPEM source 5 or a different electromagnetic source (radio transmitter, UWB, jammer, etc.) is inserted and which faces the opening 2 in the insertion position.

(8) In order to connect the reflector 4 by use of an earth connection to a body 6 of the vehicle (equipotential bonding), in the exemplary embodiment shown, there is a brush strip 7 fixed to the body, which—see for example FIG. 2—contains a strip mounting 8, by which it is for example soldered or welded to the body 6. A plurality of fibers 9 are accommodated in the strip mounting 8, being electrically conductively connected to the body 6 by the arrangement of the brush strip 7 on the body 6. The fibers 9 are metallic conductive fibers, for example stainless steel or copper fibers or for example fibers of conductive plastic. The fibers, which preferably have a fiber thickness of ≦0.5 mm, have a length of for example 8 to 10 cm. They protrude into the interior of the opening 2, as FIG. 1 clearly shows. The brush strip 7 is fully circumferentially disposed about the opening 2 and is electrically conductively connected to the body 6, so that consequently a circumferential earthing fiber band results, as FIG. 1 shows. In this case the reflector 4 can not only be used in a vehicle, but for example also in a stationary system.

(9) If the reflector 4 is now inserted into the opening 2, then it is already forced against the fibers 9 that are protruding inwards into the opening 2 starting with the insertion, because the spacing of the fibers from one side to the opposite side or from the top to the bottom is smaller than the distances of respective surfaces of the reflector 4 from each other. This now inevitably means that the fibers 9 are folded, as shown by way of example in the schematic diagram according to FIG. 3. The fibers 9 thus bend and contact the exterior 10 of the reflector 4 or the respective reflector wall. Sufficient contact length results, so that in combination with the fiber length there is always a sufficient contact length even if the distance from the reflector wall to the brush strip is not the same throughout.

(10) Because the brush strip 7 and hence the fiber band completely encircles the opening 2, a circumferential earth connection between the reflector 4 and the body 6 inevitably results, being automatically achieved on insertion of the reflector 4 into the opening 2. On reaching the end position, the earth connection is consequently made. Because of the overlap length of the fibers, the earth connection itself is then permanently ensured when the vehicle is travelling, because any relative displacements of the reflector to the body can be readily compensated. More importantly, operational capability is ensured even after a lengthy journey because the earth connection is made in all cases.

(11) FIG. 4 shows the reflector 4 as it is inserted into the opening 2 in the form of a schematic diagram. It is apparent that the fibers 7 are bent on all sides so that the earth connection is made on all sides.

(12) With the previously described exemplary embodiment, the brush strip 7 is soldered or welded to the body and is thus a fixed component of the motor vehicle. FIG. 5 shows an alternative embodiment, in which the brush strip 7 is disposed on the reflector 4. The brush strip 7 is in this case again soldered or welded to the metallic reflector 4 by a suitable conductive brush mounting 8, so that the fibers 9 are suitably contacted. The brush strip 7 also extends completely around the opening of the reflector, so that again a circumferential contact is possible with the insertion of the reflector 4 into the opening 2 of the motor vehicle 1. The brush strip 7 is located near the opening 11 of the reflector 4 in this case, because it has to again ensure the earth connection to the body 6 in the region of the opening 2 of the motor vehicle 1 in the insertion end position. Suitable contact surfaces are provided on the body for this, being contacted over a suitable contact length by the fibers 9, which are bent in this case too. The fibers 9 are, however, folded in the opposite direction here compared to the illustration according to FIG. 3, since the reflector 4 is inserted into the opening 2 and in this case the fibers 9 lie against the body 6.

(13) It is apparent that when using the brush strip with the conductive fibers, it is possible to ensure a flexible, continuous and low-impedance earth connection of the reflector to be earthed, even if large spacings are to be covered and particularly if the spacings vary because of the geometry of the contact surfaces to be connected, which do not necessarily extend parallel to each other, as is the case in the exemplary embodiment shown with the motor vehicle opening having a complex geometry. Thus a separation of the radiation region and the adjacent protection region is achieved in a particularly efficient manner.

(14) The following is a summary list of reference numerals and the corresponding structure used in the above description of the invention:

(15) 1 motor vehicle

(16) 2 opening

(17) 3 tailgate

(18) 4 reflector

(19) 5 HPEM source

(20) 6 body

(21) 7 brush tip

(22) 8 strip mounting

(23) 9 fiber

(24) 10 exterior

(25) 11 opening