Reinforcement piece for a motor vehicle, and the use of such a piece as an antenna
The invention relates to a reinforcement piece ( 6 ) for reinforcing a piece of motor vehicle bodywork, the reinforcement piece comprising at least one strip ( 8, 12 ) of thermoplastic material defining at least one opening ( 10 ) in the piece ( 6 ), the piece being covered at least in part in an electrically-conductive covering ( 14 ).
1. A reinforcement piece ( 6 ) for reinforcing a piece of motor vehicle bodywork, the reinforcement piece comprising at least one strip ( 8 , 12 ) of thermoplastic material, and being characterized in that it is covered at least in part by an electrically-conductive covering ( 14 ) in such a manner that there exist at least one projection direction (D) and one projection plane (P) such that:
projecting the covering ( 14 ) onto the projection plane in said direction defines a first zone ( 16 );
the projection of the piece ( 6 ) defines a second zone ( 18 );
the first zone ( 16 ) and its complement ( 19 ) in the second zone ( 18 ) are separated by a boundary ( 20 ) that intercepts the projection of at least one strip of material ( 12 ); and
the boundary ( 20 ) extends substantially transversely to the intercepted projection.
2. A motor vehicle piece ( 6 ) according to claim 1 , comprising a plurality of strips ( 8 , 12 ) defining at least one opening ( 10 ) in the piece ( 6 ).
3. A piece according to claim 1 or claim 2 , in which the first zone ( 16 ) is connected.
4. A piece ( 6 ) according to any preceding claim, forming reinforcement ( 6 ) for an overrider ( 4 ) of a bumper ( 2 ).
5. The use of a strip ( 12 ) of thermoplastic material of a piece according to any preceding claim as an antenna.
6. The use of a strip ( 12 ) of material according to claim 5 , in which the antenna is selected from a TV antenna, a GPS antenna, an AM/FM radio antenna, an antenna for a mobile telephone, e.g. using the GSM standard, an element for remote keyless entry, or a capacitive sensor element.