FORM 2
THE PATENTS ACT, 1970
(39 of 1970)
AND
THE PATENTS RULES, 2003
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION
(See section 10; rule 13)
TITLE OF THE INVENTION
“AIR INLET GRILLE ASSEMBLY, VEHICLE AND VEHICLE COOLING
SYSTEM COMPRISING THE SAME, METHOD OF CONTROLLING ADMISSION OF AIR TO A VEHICLE COOLING SYSTEM, AND CONTROLLER FOR AN AIR INLET GRILLE ASSEMBLY
APPLICANT
i) Tata Motors Limited Of Bombay House, 24 Homi Mody Street, Mumbai 400001,
Maharashtra, India; An Indian Company; ii ) Tata Motors European Technical Centre
Plc Of 18 Grosvenor Place, London, Sw1x 7hs,, London, United Kingdom; United
Kingdom
The following specification particularly describes the invention and the manner
in which it is to be performed

FIELD OF INVENTION
The present disclosure relates to an air inlet grille assembly for a vehicle cooling system, a vehicle cooling system comprising such an air inlet grille assembly, a vehicle comprising such an air inlet grille assembly or such a vehicle cooling system, a method of controlling admission of air to a vehicle cooling system, a non-transitory computer readable medium bearing a computer program product or program code for executing such a method, and a controller for an air inlet grille assembly.
BACKGROUND OF INVENTION
A vehicle cooling system typically comprises, but is not limited to, a cooling pack for at least one of an engine, transmission and hydraulics of the vehicle, a condenser of an air conditioning unit of the vehicle, and a charge/induction-air heat exchanger, such as an intercooler. Typically, at least some of the elements of the vehicle cooling system are located near a front of the vehicle, behind an air inlet grille assembly, which contains one or more apertures, so that when the vehicle is moving forwards, the apertures encounter atmospheric air striking the front of the vehicle, and when the vehicle is motionless, the apertures are nonetheless in contact with ambient atmospheric air. The atmospheric air can therefore be used to provide cooling to some or all of the elements of the vehicle cooling system.
In order to control the amount of air admitted to the vehicle cooling system, it is known to occlude the one or more apertures of such an air inlet grille assembly, for example, by means of a sliding or rotating inlet cover. Some examples of such inlet covers are described in EP 2 441 612 A, DE 10 2008 006020 A and DE 10 2012 204431. In general, the sliding inlet covers described in these documents operate in a similar fashion to a roller blind for a window, which, in order to be drawn from a fully open to a fully closed position, must be moved all the way across the air inlet grille. Whereas this allows the total amount of atmospheric air admitted to the vehicle cooling system to be varied, it gives no control over the direction in which the air is sent. On the other hand, the rotating inlet covers described in these documents operate in a similar fashion to a Venetian blind for a window, in which a plurality of slats are rotated in parallel with each other in order to be moved from a fully open to a fully closed position. Whereas this also allows the total amount of atmospheric air

admitted to the vehicle cooling system to be varied, it causes the air to be sent in different directions according to the degree of closure of the slats, for example only upwardly when the slats are nearly closed or only straight on when the slats are fully open. This does not allow the air to be directed towards specific elements of the vehicle cooling system without also affecting the total amount of air admitted. In both cases, therefore, there is very little control over where atmospheric air enters the vehicle cooling system, and different amounts of air cannot be directed at different elements of the vehicle cooling system in different degrees according to requirements. This has a detrimental effect on the energy efficiency of the vehicle.
Embodiments of the present invention have been conceived against this background.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Aspects and embodiments of the invention provide an air inlet grille assembly for a vehicle cooling system, a vehicle cooling system comprising such an air inlet grille assembly, a vehicle comprising such an air inlet grille assembly or such a vehicle cooling system, a method of controlling admission of air to a vehicle cooling system, a non-transitory computer readable medium bearing a computer program product or program code for executing such a method, and a controller for an air inlet grille assembly as claimed in the appended claims.
According to an aspect of the invention, there is provided an air inlet grille assembly for a vehicle cooling system. The air inlet grille assembly comprises a frame comprising an aperture for admitting air to the vehicle cooling system, and an air inlet cover, which is movable relative to the frame to open or close the aperture. At least a part of the frame is movable relative to the rest of the frame to reorient at least a part of the air inlet cover relative to the aperture independently of the degree of closure of the aperture by the air inlet cover.
Such an arrangement therefore allows both the amount of air admitted to the vehicle cooling system and the direction of the air admitted to the vehicle cooling system to be varied independently of each other. Thus by precise control of both the direction and the amount of the air admitted to the vehicle cooling system, the degree of cooling provided to different

elements of the vehicle cooling system can also be varied, which therefore improves the energy efficiency of the vehicle.
In one possible embodiment, the air inlet cover may be slidably movable relative to the frame and the part of the air inlet cover may be reoriented relative to the aperture by rotational movement of the part of the frame relative to the rest of the frame about an axis lying in a plane containing the aperture.
The air inlet cover may be at least partially segmented in the manner of a tambour door. This gives the air inlet cover a degree of flexibility, which allows the part of the air inlet cover to be reoriented relative to the aperture with ease.
The air inlet cover may have a cross-section comprising an aerodynamic profile. This has the advantage of ensuring that air entering the vehicle cooling system when the air inlet cover is in either the partially closed position or the fully open position does not encounter a sharp trailing edge, which would otherwise be liable to create turbulence and disturb the flow of air as intended.
A majority of the air inlet cover may be formed from a substantially rigid plastics material.
In some embodiments, the frame may comprise a plurality of such apertures and the assembly may comprise a plurality of such air inlet covers each movable relative to the frame to open or close a respective one of the plurality of apertures. This allows specific elements of the vehicle cooling system to be targeted with cooling air according to requirements.
If so, the part of the frame may be movable to reorient at least a part of each air inlet cover relative to its respective aperture in substantially the same direction as each other.
Alternatively, the part of the frame may be movable to reorient at least a part of two or more air inlet covers relative to their respective apertures in substantially different directions from each other.

The plurality of apertures may be elongate apertures each comprising a pair of opposing edges, with the apertures arranged with at least one of the opposing edges of each aperture alongside one of the opposing edges of an adjacent such aperture. In general, however, at least one of the shape, size and position of the apertures formed in the frame may be different from each other and the inlet covers designed to match their respective apertures in shape, size and position.
In a possible embodiment, at least one of the plurality of apertures may be opened and closed by a respective one of the plurality of air inlet covers independently of other ones of the plurality of apertures being opened and closed by respective ones of the plurality of air inlet covers. This has the advantage of allowing different apertures to be aligned with different elements of the vehicle cooling system.
For example, at least one of the plurality of apertures may be configured to be at least partially aligned with a charge air cooler or condenser of the vehicle cooling system.
The air inlet grille assembly may also comprise a motor, a first transmission operable by the motor to move the air inlet cover or covers relative to the frame, and a second transmission operable by the motor to move the part of the frame relative to the rest of the frame.
If so, the motor and the first transmission may be adapted to overcome a first force sticking the air inlet cover or covers to the frame before moving the air inlet cover or covers relative to the frame, and the motor and the second transmission may be adapted to overcome a second force resisting movement of the part of the frame relative to the rest of the frame. Such forces may arise, for example, as a result of ingress of dust or dirt into the air inlet grille assembly, formation of ice during sub-zero temperatures and/or static friction.
The assembly may comprise a heating element arranged to heat at least one of the frame and the air inlet cover or covers. Such a heating element is advantageous in the removal of ice formed in sub-zero temperatures, to enable correct movement of the inlet cover or covers relative to the frame.

In some embodiments, the assembly may comprise a sealing element associated with the aperture or with each respective one of the plurality of apertures, for sealing the respective air inlet cover to the frame, thereby preventing flow of air between the respective air inlet cover and the frame, when the respective aperture is closed by the respective air inlet cover. This has the advantages of preventing leakage of air when the apertures are closed, as well as ensuring that if the apertures are at least partially open, the air is directed as desired.
In another aspect, the invention also provides a vehicle cooling system comprising an air inlet grille assembly as described herein.
In a further aspect, the invention also provides a vehicle comprising an air inlet grille assembly as described herein or a vehicle cooling system as described herein.
According to yet another aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of controlling admission of air to a vehicle cooling system. The method comprises arranging an air inlet grille assembly as described herein between the vehicle cooling system and atmospheric air, moving the air inlet cover or at least one of the plurality of air inlet covers relative to the frame to open or close the respective aperture, and moving at least a part of the frame relative to the rest of the frame to reorient at least a part of the air inlet cover or at least a part of the at least one of the plurality of air inlet covers relative to the respective aperture independently of the degree of closure of the respective aperture by the respective air inlet cover.
The method may comprise opening or closing the respective aperture by sliding the respective air inlet cover relative to the frame, and reorienting the respective air inlet cover by rotating the part of the frame about an axis lying in a plane containing the respective aperture.
In some embodiments, if the frame comprises a plurality of such apertures and the assembly comprises a plurality of such air inlet covers, the method may comprise reorienting at least a part of each air inlet cover in substantially the same direction as each other.
Alternatively, if the frame comprises a plurality of such apertures and the assembly comprises a plurality of such air inlet covers, the method may comprise reorienting at least a part of two or more air inlet covers in substantially different directions from each other.

In some embodiments, if the frame comprises a plurality of such apertures and the assembly comprises a plurality of such air inlet covers, the method may comprise opening or closing at least one of the plurality of apertures by a respective one of the plurality of air inlet covers independently of opening or closing other ones of the plurality of apertures with respective ones of the plurality of air inlet covers.
In a further aspect, the invention also provides a controller for an air inlet grille assembly, wherein the air inlet grille assembly comprises a frame having an aperture for admitting air, and an air inlet cover movable relative to the frame to open or close the aperture, wherein at least a part of the air inlet cover can be reoriented relative to the aperture independently of the degree of closure of the aperture by the air inlet cover, by movement of at least a part of the frame relative to the rest of the frame. The controller comprises an input for receiving a cooling requirement of a vehicle cooling system, a first output for transmitting a first control signal to control movement of the air inlet cover, a second output for transmitting a second control signal to control movement of the part of the frame, and a processor. The processor is configured to determine, in response to a cooling requirement of the vehicle cooling system received at the input, a degree of closure of the aperture by the air inlet cover and an orientation of the part of the air inlet cover relative to the aperture, and to transmit first and second control signals in accordance therewith from the first and second outputs, respectively.
Another aspect of the invention also provides a non-transitory computer readable medium bearing a computer program product or program code for executing a method as described herein.
Within the scope of this application it is expressly intended that the various aspects, embodiments, examples and alternatives set out in the preceding paragraphs, in the claims and/or in the following description and drawings, and in particular the individual features thereof, may be taken independently or in any combination. That is, all embodiments and/or features of any embodiment can be combined in any way and/or combination, unless such features are incompatible. The applicant reserves the right to change any originally filed claim or file any new claim accordingly, including the right to amend any originally filed

claim to depend from and/or incorporate any feature of any other claim although not originally claimed in that manner.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
One or more embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
Fig. 1 is a partial front elevational view of an example of a vehicle;
Fig. 2A is a schematic cross-sectional side view of an embodiment of an air inlet grille assembly in a first configuration;
Fig. 2B is a schematic cross-sectional side view of the air inlet grille assembly of Fig. 2A in a second configuration;
Fig. 2C is a schematic cross-sectional side view of the air inlet grille assembly of Figs. 2A and 2B in a third configuration;
Fig. 2D is a schematic cross-sectional side view of the air inlet grille assembly of Fig. 2A to 2C in a fourth configuration;
Fig. 2E is a schematic cross-sectional side view of the air inlet grille assembly of Fig. 2A to 2D in a fifth configuration;
Fig. 2F is a schematic cross-sectional side view of the air inlet grille assembly of Fig. 2A to 2E in a sixth configuration;
Fig. 3A is a schematic front view of elements of another embodiment of an air inlet grille assembly;
Fig. 3B is a schematic front view of further elements of the air inlet grille assembly of Fig. 3A;
Fig. 4A is a schematic cross-sectional side view of a further embodiment of an air inlet grille assembly in a first configuration;
Fig. 4B is a schematic cross-sectional side view of the air inlet grille assembly of Fig. 4A in a second configuration;
Fig. 4C is a schematic cross-sectional side view of the air inlet grille assembly of Figs. 4A and 4B in a third configuration;

Fig. 4D is a schematic cross-sectional side view of the air inlet grille assembly of Figs. 4A to 4C in a fourth configuration; and
Fig. 5 is a schematic flow diagram of an embodiment of a method of controlling admission of air to a vehicle cooling system.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION
Fig. 1 shows an example of a vehicle 100, which in this case, is a light commercial vehicle. The vehicle 100 comprises a vehicle cooling system, which typically includes, but is not limited to, at least one of an engine, transmission and hydraulics cooling pack, an air conditioning condenser, and a charge/induction-air heat exchanger. The vehicle 100 also comprises an air inlet grille assembly of a type which will be described in greater detail below. A part of this air inlet grille assembly which is visible in Fig. 1 is a frame 2, which has a plurality of apertures 4 formed therein, with the apertures 4 arranged in rows. The frame 2 is fixed in position relative to the vehicle cooling system. When the vehicle 100 is moving forwards, the apertures 4 encounter atmospheric air striking the front elevation of the vehicle 100. When the vehicle 100 is motionless, the apertures 4 are nonetheless in contact with ambient atmospheric air.
Figs. 2A to 2F show an embodiment of an air inlet grille assembly 1 in various different configurations. Referring firstly to Fig. 2A, the air inlet grille comprises a frame 2, which comprises an aperture 4 for admitting atmospheric air 26 to the vehicle cooling system, and an air inlet cover 6, which is movable relative to the frame 2 to open or close the aperture 4. In Fig. 2A, the air inlet cover 6 is shown in a closed position, so that none of the air 26 can enter the vehicle cooling system. The air inlet grille assembly 1 also comprises a plurality of sealing elements 16 associated with the aperture 4 for sealing the air inlet cover 6 to the frame 2, thereby preventing flow of air between the air inlet cover 6 and the frame 2, when the aperture 4 is closed by the air inlet cover 2. In the illustrated embodiment, the sealing elements 16 each take the form of a strip of resilient material, such as rubber, and are each mounted on the movable air inlet cover 6, so that they move with the air inlet cover 6. However, in alternative embodiments, they may instead be mounted on the frame 2.

The air inlet cover 6 is segmented in the manner of a tambour door and is slidably movable relative to the frame 2 in the directions indicated by the straight double-headed arrow in Fig. 2A. A part 25 of the frame 2 is movable relative to the rest of the frame 2 to reorient a part 65 of the air inlet cover 6 relative to the aperture 4 independently of the degree of closure of the aperture 4 by the air inlet cover 2, in a manner which will be described below with reference to Figs. 2D and 2E. The part 65 of the air inlet cover 6 can be reoriented relative to the aperture 4 by rotational movement of the part 25 of the frame 2 relative to the rest of the frame 2 about an axis 40, which lies in a plane containing the aperture 4, in the directions indicated in Fig. 2A by the curved double-headed arrow.
Figs. 2B and 2C respectively show the air inlet cover 6 in a partially closed position, so that some of the air 26 can enter the vehicle cooling system, and in a fully open position, to increase the amount of air which can enter the vehicle cooling system. In each of Figs. 2B and 2C, the part 25 of the frame 2 has not moved from its position shown in Fig. 2A, so that the part 65 of the air inlet cover 6 projects substantially normal to the plane containing the aperture 4. This helps to direct the flow of air into the vehicle cooling system as intended. As may be seen, the part 65 of the air inlet cover 6 has a cross-section comprising an aerodynamic profile, so that the air 26 entering the vehicle cooling system when the air inlet cover 6 is in either the partially closed position or the fully open position does not encounter a sharp trailing edge, which would otherwise be liable to create turbulence and disturb the flow of air as intended.
Figs. 2D and 2E both show how the part 25 of the frame 2 can be moved relative to the rest of the frame 2 to reorient the part 65 of the air inlet cover 6 relative to the aperture 4. In Fig. 2D, the part 25 of the frame 2 has been moved to reorient the part 65 of the air inlet cover 6 in an upward direction, whereas in Fig. 2E, the part 25 of the frame 2 has been moved to reorient the part 65 of the air inlet cover 6 in a downward direction. Thus the flow of air 26 entering the vehicle cooling system can be redirected in other, different directions than just substantially normal to the plane containing the aperture 4.
Fig. 2F demonstrates how the part 25 of the frame 2 can be moved relative to the rest of the frame 2 to reorient the part 65 of the air inlet cover 6 relative to the aperture 4 independently of the degree of closure of the aperture 4 by the air inlet cover 2. As may be seen by

comparing Fig. 2F with Fig. 2E, the orientation of the part 25 of the frame 2 is the same in each case, so that the flow of air 26 entering the vehicle cooling system is sent in the same direction. However, in Fig. 2E, the air inlet cover 6 is in the fully open position, whereas in Fig. 2F, the air inlet cover 6 is in the partially closed position. Thus the amount of air 26 entering the vehicle cooling system can be varied independently of the orientation of the part 65 of the air inlet cover 6, and vice versa, as may be seen by comparing Fig. 2F with Fig. 2B.
Figs. 3A and 3B show another embodiment of an air inlet grille assembly, in which Fig. 3A illustrates the structure and functioning of the air inlet cover 6 in greater detail, and Fig. 3B illustrates the structure of the frame 2 in greater detail. In this embodiment, the air inlet cover 6 comprises a plurality of elongate segments 8, each of which is made of a substantially rigid plastics material, and which are connected to each other, in the manner of a tambour door. At each end of each of the elongate segments 8 is a sprocket hole 12, which can engage with a plurality of sprocket wheels 10, in the manner of a cine film. One of the sprocket wheels 10 can be driven to rotate by a motor 30 of the air inlet grille assembly, to move the air inlet cover 6 relative to the frame 2. As may be seen in Fig. 3A, the air inlet grille assembly comprises the motor 30, a first transmission 32, which is operable by the motor 30 to move the air inlet cover 6 relative to the frame 2, and a second transmission 34, which is operable by the motor 30 to move the part 25 of the frame 2 relative to the rest of the frame 2.
As may be seen in Fig. 3A, in this embodiment, the air inlet grille assembly 1 also comprises a heating element 18 arranged to heat the inlet cover 6. The heating element 18 is in the form of a flexible resistive wire bonded to the inlet cover 6, which becomes warm when an electrical current is passed through it. This can be used to unfreeze the air inlet grille assembly 1 in the event that the vehicle is being operated in sub-zero temperatures, causing any mechanical components of the assembly 1 to seize up. Nonetheless, the motor 30 and the first transmission 32 are adapted to overcome a first force sticking the air inlet cover 6 to the frame 2 before moving the air inlet cover 6 relative to the frame 2, and the motor 30 and the second transmission 34 are also adapted to overcome a second force resisting movement of the part 25 of the frame 2 relative to the rest of the frame 2. The first transmission 32 and the second transmission 34 may be suitably geared to increase the torque the motor 30 can apply to the sprocket wheel 10 and to the movable part 25 of the frame 2, in order to achieve this.

As may also be seen in Fig. 3A, in this embodiment, the motor 30 is under control of a controller 20. The controller 20 comprises an input 21 for receiving a cooling requirement of the vehicle cooling system, a first output 22a for transmitting a first control signal to control movement of the air inlet cover 6, a second output 22b for transmitting a second control signal to control movement of the movable part 25 of the frame 2, and a processor 23. The processor 23 is communicably coupled to a computer readable storage medium 24, for example a computer memory, having stored thereon a set of instructions which when executed by the processor 23 implement the functionality described herein. The computer readable storage medium 24 may comprise part of the controller 20. The processor 23 is configured to determine, in response to a cooling requirement of the vehicle cooling system received at the input 21, a degree of closure of the aperture 4 by the air inlet cover 6 and an orientation of the movable part 65 of the air inlet cover 6 relative to the aperture 4, and to transmit first and second control signals in accordance therewith from the first and second outputs, 22a, 22b, respectively.
Fig. 3B shows the frame 2 in greater detail. The frame 2 comprises a plurality of apertures 4. The air inlet grille assembly of this embodiment comprises a plurality of air inlet covers 6 of the type shown in Fig. 3A, each of which is associated with a respective one of the plurality of apertures 4 of the frame 2. Each of the plurality of air inlet covers 6 is movable relative to the frame 2 to open or close a respective one of the plurality of apertures 4. The plurality of apertures 4 are elongate apertures, each of which comprises a pair of opposing edges 14, and the apertures 4 are arranged with at least one of the opposing edges 14 of each aperture 4 alongside one of the opposing edges 14 of an adjacent such aperture 4. One of the plurality of apertures 4 is configured to be at least partially aligned with a charge air cooler of the vehicle cooling system, and another one of the plurality of apertures 4 is configured to be at least partially aligned with a condenser of the vehicle cooling system. This allows these specific elements of the vehicle cooling system to be targeted with cooling air according to requirements.
Figs. 4A to 4D illustrate the operation of a further embodiment of an air inlet grille assembly. Figs. 4A to 4D are schematic cross-sectional side views of this air inlet grille assembly, in which only the plurality of air inlet covers 6 have been shown, and the frame 2 has been omitted for the purposes of improved clarity of illustration. As may be seen, this air inlet

grille assembly comprises five such air inlet covers 6, each of which has associated with it a respective aperture 4, which can be opened or closed by the respective cover 6. In Fig. 4A, the five air inlet covers 6 are all in the partially closed position and the parts 65 of each of the five air inlet covers 6 are all oriented substantially normal to the plane containing the apertures 4. Thus the incoming air 26 is directed by the parts 65 as is indicated in Fig. 4A by the large arrows.
In Fig. 4B, the movable part 25 of the frame 2 is moved to reorient the part 65 of each air inlet cover 6 relative to its respective aperture 4 in substantially the same direction as each other. In contrast, in Fig. 4C, the movable part 25 of the frame 2 is moved to reorient the part 65 of two or more air inlet covers relative to their respective apertures 4 in substantially different directions from each other. Thus the part 65 of two of the air inlet covers 6 direct the incoming air 26 in a different direction from the part 65 of the other three of the air inlet covers 6, as indicated in Fig. 4C by the large arrows. Fig. 4D shows how at least one of the plurality of apertures 4 can be opened and closed by a respective one of the plurality of air inlet covers 6 independently of other ones of the plurality of apertures 4 being opened and closed by respective ones of the plurality of air inlet covers 6. Thus two of the air inlet covers 6 in Fig. 4D are more fully open than the other three of the air inlet covers 6. This leads to increased airflow through these two more fully open inlet covers 6 than the other three, as represented in Fig. 4D by the different relative sizes of the large arrows.
Furthermore, although not shown explicitly in Figs. 4A to 4D, the movable part 25 of the frame 2 can be moved to reorient the part 65 of two or more air inlet covers relative to their respective apertures 4 in substantially different directions from each other, as shown in Fig. 4C, at the same time as different ones of the plurality of air inlet covers 6 may effect different degrees of closure of their respective apertures 4, as shown in Fig. 4D.
Fig. 5 shows an embodiment of a method 50 of controlling admission of air to a vehicle cooling system. In Fig. 5, box 51 represents arranging an air inlet grille assembly of a type described herein between the vehicle cooling system and atmospheric air, wherein the frame 2 comprises a plurality of apertures 4 and the assembly comprises a plurality of air inlet covers 6. Box 52 represents slidably moving at least one of a plurality of air inlet covers 6 relative to the frame 2 to open or close the respective aperture 4 independently of opening or

closing other ones of the plurality of apertures 4 with respective ones of the plurality of air inlet covers 6. Box 53 represents rotating a part 25 of the frame 2 relative to the rest of the frame 2 about an axis 40 lying in a plane containing the respective aperture 4, to reorient a part 65 of the at least one of the plurality of air inlet covers 6 relative to its respective aperture 4, independently of the degree of closure of the respective aperture 4 by the respective air inlet cover 6. Boxes 54 and 55 represent two different options. Box 54 represents reorienting at least a part of each air inlet cover 6 in substantially the same direction as each other. Box 55 represents reorienting at least a part of two or more air inlet covers 6 in substantially different directions from each other instead.
For the purposes of this disclosure, it is to be understood that the control systems described herein can each comprise a control unit or computational device having one or more electronic processors. A vehicle and/or a system thereof may comprise a single control unit or electronic controller or alternatively different functions of the controllers may be embodied in, or hosted in, different control units or controllers. A set of instructions could be provided which, when executed, cause said controllers or control units to implement the control techniques described herein, including the described methods. The set of instructions may be embedded in one or more electronic processors, or alternatively, the set of instructions could be provided as software to be executed by one or more electronic processors. For example, a first controller may be implemented in software run on one or more electronic processors, and one or more other controllers may also be implemented in software run on or more electronic processors, optionally the same one or more processors as the first controller. It will be appreciated, however, that other arrangements are also useful, and therefore, the present disclosure is not intended to be limited to any particular arrangement. In any event, the set of instructions described above may be embedded in a computer-readable storage medium (e.g., a non-transitory storage medium) that may comprise any mechanism for storing information in a form readable by a machine or electronic processors/computational device, including, without limitation: a magnetic storage medium (e.g., floppy diskette); optical storage medium (e.g., CD-ROM); magneto optical storage medium; read only memory (ROM); random access memory (RAM); erasable programmable memory (e.g., EPROM ad EEPROM); flash memory; or electrical or other types of medium for storing such information/instructions.

The boxes illustrated in Fig. 5 may represent steps in a method and/or sections of code in a computer program. The illustration of a particular order to the blocks does not necessarily imply that there is a required or preferred order for the blocks and the order and arrangement of the block may be varied. Furthermore, it may be possible for some steps to be omitted.
Although embodiments of the present invention have been described in the preceding paragraphs with reference to various examples, it should be appreciated that modifications to the examples given can be made without departing from the scope of the invention as claimed.
Features described in the preceding description may be used in combinations other than the combinations explicitly described.
Although functions have been described with reference to certain features, those functions may be performable by other features, whether described or not.
Although features have been described with reference to certain embodiments, those features may also be present in other embodiments whether described or not.
Whilst endeavouring in the foregoing specification to draw attention to those features of the invention believed to be of particular importance, it should be understood that the Applicant claims protection in respect of any patentable feature or combination of features hereinbefore referred to and/or shown in the drawings, whether or not particular emphasis has been placed thereon.

WE CLAIM
1. An air inlet grille assembly for a vehicle cooling system, the assembly comprising:
a frame comprising an aperture for admitting air to the vehicle cooling system; and
an air inlet cover movable relative to the frame to open or close the aperture;
wherein at least a part of the frame is movable relative to the rest of the frame to
reorient at least a part of the air inlet cover relative to the aperture independently of the degree of closure of the aperture by the air inlet cover.
2. An air inlet grille assembly according to claim 1, wherein the air inlet cover is slidably movable relative to the frame and the part of the air inlet cover can be reoriented relative to the aperture by rotational movement of the part of the frame relative to the rest of the frame about an axis lying in a plane containing the aperture.
3. An air inlet grille assembly according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the air inlet cover is at least partially segmented in the manner of a tambour door.
4. An air inlet grille assembly according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the air inlet cover has a cross-section comprising an aerodynamic profile.
5. An air inlet grille assembly according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein a majority of the air inlet cover is formed from a substantially rigid plastics material.
6. An air inlet grille assembly according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the frame comprises a plurality of such apertures and the assembly comprises a plurality of such air inlet covers each movable relative to the frame to open or close a respective one of the plurality of apertures.
7. An air inlet grille assembly according to claim 6, wherein the part of the frame is movable to reorient at least a part of each air inlet cover relative to its respective aperture in substantially the same direction as each other.

8. An air inlet grille assembly according to claim 6, wherein the part of the frame is movable to reorient at least a part of two or more air inlet covers relative to their respective apertures in substantially different directions from each other.
9. An air inlet grille assembly according to any one of claims 6 to 8, wherein the plurality of apertures are elongate apertures each comprising a pair of opposing edges and the apertures are arranged with at least one of the opposing edges of each aperture alongside one of the opposing edges of an adjacent such aperture.
10. An air inlet grille assembly according to any one of claims 6 to 9, wherein at least one of the plurality of apertures can be opened and closed by a respective one of the plurality of air inlet covers independently of other ones of the plurality of apertures being opened and closed by respective ones of the plurality of air inlet covers.
11. An air inlet grille assembly according to any one of claims 6 to 10, wherein at least one of the plurality of apertures is configured to be at least partially aligned with a charge air cooler or condenser of the vehicle cooling system.
12. An air inlet grille assembly according to any one of the preceding claims, comprising:
a motor;
a first transmission operable by the motor to move the air inlet cover or covers relative to the frame; and
a second transmission operable by the motor to move the part of the frame relative to the rest of the frame.
13. An air inlet grille assembly according to claim 12, wherein the motor and the first transmission are adapted to overcome a first force sticking the air inlet cover or covers to the frame before moving the air inlet cover or covers relative to the frame, and the motor and the second transmission are adapted to overcome a second force resisting movement of the part of the frame relative to the rest of the frame.
14. An air inlet grille assembly according to any one of the preceding claims, comprising a heating element arranged to heat at least one of the frame and the air inlet cover or covers.

15. An air inlet grille assembly according to any one of the preceding claims, comprising a sealing element associated with the aperture or with each respective one of the plurality of apertures, for sealing the respective air inlet cover to the frame, thereby preventing flow of air between the respective air inlet cover and the frame, when the respective aperture is closed by the respective air inlet cover.
16. A vehicle cooling system comprising an air inlet grille assembly according to any one of the preceding claims.
17. A vehicle comprising an air inlet grille assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 15 or a vehicle cooling system according to claim 16.
18. A method of controlling admission of air to a vehicle cooling system, the method comprising:
arranging an air inlet grille assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 15 between the vehicle cooling system and atmospheric air;
moving the air inlet cover or at least one of the plurality of air inlet covers relative to the frame to open or close the respective aperture; and
moving at least a part of the frame relative to the rest of the frame to reorient at least a part of the air inlet cover or at least a part of the at least one of the plurality of air inlet covers relative to the respective aperture independently of the degree of closure of the respective aperture by the respective air inlet cover.
19. A method of controlling admission of air to a vehicle cooling system according to
claim 18, the method comprising:
opening or closing the respective aperture by sliding the respective air inlet cover relative to the frame; and
reorienting the respective air inlet cover by rotating the part of the frame about an axis lying in a plane containing the respective aperture.
20. A method of controlling admission of air to a vehicle cooling system according to
claim 18 or claim 19, wherein the frame comprises a plurality of such apertures and the

assembly comprises a plurality of such air inlet covers, and the method comprises reorienting at least a part of each air inlet cover in substantially the same direction as each other.
21. A method of controlling admission of air to a vehicle cooling system according to claim 18 or claim 19, wherein the frame comprises a plurality of such apertures and the assembly comprises a plurality of such air inlet covers, and the method comprises reorienting at least a part of two or more air inlet covers in substantially different directions from each other.
22. A method of controlling admission of air to a vehicle cooling system according to any one of claims 18 to 21, wherein the frame comprises a plurality of such apertures and the assembly comprises a plurality of such air inlet covers, and the method comprises opening or closing at least one of the plurality of apertures by a respective one of the plurality of air inlet covers independently of opening or closing other ones of the plurality of apertures with respective ones of the plurality of air inlet covers.
23. A controller for an air inlet grille assembly, wherein the air inlet grille assembly comprises a frame having an aperture for admitting air, and an air inlet cover movable relative to the frame to open or close the aperture, wherein at least a part of the air inlet cover can be reoriented relative to the aperture independently of the degree of closure of the aperture by the air inlet cover, by movement of at least a part of the frame relative to the rest of the frame, the controller comprising:
an input for receiving a cooling requirement of a vehicle cooling system;
a first output for transmitting a first control signal to control movement of the air inlet cover;
a second output for transmitting a second control signal to control movement of the part of the frame; and
a processor configured to determine, in response to a cooling requirement of the vehicle cooling system received at the input, a degree of closure of the aperture by the air inlet cover and an orientation of the part of the air inlet cover relative to the aperture, and to transmit first and second control signals in accordance therewith from the first and second outputs, respectively.

24. A non-transitory computer readable medium bearing a computer program product or
program code for executing a method according to any one of claims 18 to 22.