JP2006232168A - Vehicle instrument panel - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To eliminate the use of a steering hanger beam, to effectively use the inner space of the instrument panel and to improve the external appearance quality in the vicinity of the airbag storage part from the vehicle interior side. I will provide a.
SOLUTION: A plate-like upper surface member 51 extending in the vehicle width direction and extending substantially horizontally, and a front member 52 bent on the vehicle interior side of the upper surface member 51 and extending substantially downward in the vertical direction. An instrument panel structure 50 made of light metal that is formed in an open cross section and connected to the left and right front pillars, and a lid member 35 that closes the opening 25 for airbag deployment of the instrument panel structure 50; A soft resin layer 15 covering at least the lid member 35, and the arrangement of the perforation 75 provided in the lid member 35 and the tear line 18 provided on the back surface of the soft resin layer 15 is matched. To do.
[Selection] Figure 4

Description

  The present invention relates to an instrument panel of a vehicle such as an automobile.

Some instrument panels of vehicles such as automobiles are provided with a storage portion for storing a passenger seat airbag module in front of the passenger seat. Some of the storage units store an airbag module, but the upper part of the storage unit of the airbag module is usually covered with a lid member arranged inside the instrument panel, and the upper part of the storage unit is The rigidity of the instrument panel is secured.
And in this lid member, an easily breakable portion is formed in order to facilitate the deployment of the airbag, and at the same time, a similar easily breakable portion is provided in the instrument panel so that the lid member and The instrument panel is broken to ensure that the airbag is deployed (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-211985

However, in the above-described instrument panel, for example, a perforation as an easily breakable portion is formed on the skin of the instrument panel, so that there is a problem that the perforation is noticed from the vehicle interior side and the appearance quality is impaired.
Generally, in addition to the airbag unit, devices such as various meters and audio devices are installed on a vehicle instrument panel. In order to increase the rigidity of the vehicle body, a steering hanger beam extending in the entire width direction of the vehicle is provided in front of the instrument panel, and a steering column is attached to the steering hanger beam. In recent years, a technique for eliminating the steering hanger beam and effectively using the internal space of the instrument panel has been studied.

  Therefore, the present invention eliminates the steering hanger beam so that the inner space of the instrument panel can be effectively used, and the appearance quality in the vicinity of the airbag storage portion from the vehicle interior side can be improved. An instrument panel is provided.

In order to solve the above problems, the invention described in claim 1 is a plate-like upper surface member (for example, the upper surface member 51 in the embodiment) extending in the vehicle width direction and extending substantially in the horizontal direction. It is formed in an open cross section composed of a front member (for example, the front member 52 in the embodiment) that is bent on the vehicle interior side of the upper surface member and extends substantially downward in the vertical direction, and left and right front pillars (for example, in the embodiment). An instrument panel substrate made of light metal (for example, the instrument panel structure 50 in the embodiment) connected to the front pillars 100a and 100b), and an opening (for example, an airbag deployment of the instrument panel substrate) A lid member (for example, the lid member 35 in the embodiment) that closes the opening 25) in the embodiment, and at least the lid A skin member (for example, the soft resin layer 15 in the embodiment) covering the material, and an easily breakable portion (for example, perforation 75 in the embodiment) provided in the lid member, and provided on the back surface of the skin member The arrangement position with the easily breakable portion (for example, the tear line 18 in the embodiment) is matched.
By configuring in this way, the mechanical strength of the instrument panel substrate made of light metal is increased, and the left and right front pillars are connected by this instrument panel substrate. Even if it is not provided, sufficient vehicle body rigidity can be obtained. In addition, since the steering hanger beam can be abolished, the weight can be reduced and the instrument panel base material is formed in an open cross section, so various devices can be stored inside the instrument panel base material. This makes it easy to use the space effectively. Further, while ensuring the rigidity of the upper portion of the opening for airbag deployment by the lid member, for example, when the airbag is deployed, the easily breakable portion of the lid member and the easily breakable portion of the skin member can be easily and reliably secured by the pressure of the airbag. Can be broken.
Furthermore, in the said skin member, an easily breakable part can be formed only in the back surface which cannot be seen from the vehicle interior side, and it can prevent that an easily breakable part is exposed on the surface of a skin member.

According to the invention described in claim 1, since the left and right front pillars are connected by the light metal instrument panel base material having high mechanical strength, sufficient vehicle body rigidity can be obtained without providing a steering hanger beam. The steering hanger beam can be abolished, and the weight can be reduced. Moreover, since the instrument panel base material has an open cross section, various devices can be easily accommodated inside the instrument panel base material, and the space can be effectively used.
Further, since the airbag is deployed from the opening provided in the light metal instrument panel base material, the airbag does not affect the light metal instrument panel when the airbag is deployed. Further, while ensuring the rigidity of the upper portion of the opening for airbag deployment by the lid member, for example, when the airbag is deployed, the easily breakable portion of the lid member and the easily breakable portion of the skin member can be easily and reliably applied by the pressure of the airbag. Therefore, the reliability can be improved.
Further, in the skin member, since the easily breakable portion can be formed only on the rear surface that is not visible from the vehicle interior side, and the easily breakable portion can be prevented from being exposed on the surface of the skin member, the airbag storage portion There is an effect that the appearance quality in the vicinity can be improved.

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In this embodiment, a left-hand drive vehicle in which a driver's seat is disposed on the left side and a passenger seat is disposed on the right side in the traveling direction will be described as an example.
As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the instrument panel 1 is on the vehicle interior side adjacent to the front windshield of the vehicle, and is disposed in the full width along the vehicle width direction in front of the driver seat and the passenger seat. The left and right end portions are fixed to the lower portions of the front pillars 100a and 100b with bolts 41 to 44, respectively.

  The instrument panel 1 includes an instrument panel structure (instrument panel base material) 50 integrally formed by die casting using a magnesium alloy that is a light alloy as a raw material, and the instrument panel structure 50 includes a meter. A unit 2, an airbag module 3, an audio & heater control unit (hereinafter simply referred to as an audio unit) 4, a steering column 9, a glove box 13 and the like are mounted.

  The instrument panel structure 50 extends along the vehicle width direction and extends substantially in the horizontal direction, and is bent substantially vertically downward by bending on the vehicle interior side of the upper surface member 51 behind the vehicle. Therefore, various devices can be easily accommodated inside the instrument panel structure 50, and the space can be effectively used. A stepped portion 53 that bulges upward is formed in the upper surface member 51 over the entire width along the vehicle width direction, and a front defroster blower is formed on the lower stepped portion 51a located on the vehicle front side of the stepped portion 53. The outlet 54 is elongated in a part of the region along the vehicle width direction. Further, the upper step portion 51b located on the vehicle rear side with respect to the upper surface member 51 has a predetermined curved cross-sectional shape.

  The left end portion of the front member 52 is provided with a side wall member 56 whose rear edge is formed in a substantially arc shape, a bracket 57 extending forward, and a bracket 58 extending outward in the vehicle width direction. At the right end portion of 52, a side wall member 59 whose rear edge is formed in a substantially arc shape and a bracket 60 extending outward in the vehicle width direction are provided. As shown in FIG. 1, the left brackets 57 and 58 are fixed to the left front pillar 100a by bolts 41 and 42, and the right side wall member 59 and the bracket 60 are fixed to the right front pillar 100b by bolts 43 and 44. .

  An air outlet 61 is open toward the rear of the vehicle substantially at the center upper portion of the front member 52 in the vehicle width direction, a meter storage recess 62 is formed on the left side of the air outlet 61, and the air is on the right side of the air outlet 61. An airbag storage portion 63 for storing the bag module 3 is formed with the upper portion opened. Further, in the front member 52, air outlets 64 and 65 are provided at the upper part on the left side of the meter storage recess 62 and the upper part on the right side of the airbag storage part 63, respectively.

  In the front member 52, a steering column support table 66 is formed at a predetermined angle below the meter storage recess 62, and an audio unit mounting frame 67 is vertically below the air outlet 61. The stay 68 extends vertically downward from the left end of the audio unit mounting frame 67. The lower end of the stay 68 is fixed to a support portion 101 provided on a body frame (not shown) by bolts 45 and 45. That is, the instrument panel structure 50 is connected to the front pillars 100a and 100b at the left and right ends, and is connected to the vehicle body frame at the lower center.

The meter storage recess 62 of the instrument panel structure 50 stores and fixes the meter unit 2 including a speedometer and the like, the airbag module 3 is stored and fixed in the airbag storage portion 63, and the audio unit mounting frame portion 67 is fixed. The audio unit 4 is attached.
In addition, a predetermined surface on the vehicle interior side of the front member 52 of the instrument panel structure 50 is covered with the instrument panel pad 5.

  The instrument panel pad 5 has a U-shaped portion 28 that forms a part of the right grille opening 30 (see FIG. 1) at the right end, and further extends from the U-shaped portion 28 in the vehicle width direction. The shock absorbing portion 10 is integrally formed over the center. The shock absorbing portion 10 is disposed at the front position of the passenger seat, and the upper edge forms a part of the airbag storage portion 63 on the vehicle rear side, and the lower edge is the upper wall of the glove box 13. Is forming. Further, a center panel opening (substantially the entire circumference) 31 is integrally formed on the left side of the shock absorbing portion 10, and the knee bolster is supported from the lower left portion of the center panel opening 31 toward the left side of the vehicle. The part 32 extends. The left end portion of the knee bolster support portion 32 has an L-shaped portion 29 that forms a lower corner portion of the left grille opening 33, and the left and right lower portions of the knee bolster support portion 32 face vertically downward. An extending knee bolster 34 is integrally formed.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, a resin lid member 35 that covers the airbag module 3 is attached to the opening 25 of the airbag storage portion 63 of the instrument panel structure 50. The lid member 35 includes an upper wall 70 that is formed continuously with the upper step portion 51b of the upper surface member 51, and a rear wall 71 that is bent vertically downward on the vehicle interior side of the upper wall 70. The instrument panel structure 50 is fixed by a front claw 26 and a rear bolt 47 so as to surround the opening 25 of the airbag storage 63 of the instrument panel structure 50.

  Specifically, as shown in FIG. 6, the lid member 35 is provided with a flange portion 37 at the lower edge of the rear wall 71, and the three mounting holes 38 that are long holes formed in the flange portion 37 are formed in the above-described manner. The bolt 47 is inserted and attached to the instrument panel structure 50. On the other hand, the above-described three claws 26 are formed on the front edge side of the lid member 35, and the claws 26 are inserted into the locking holes K of the instrument panel structure 50 and locked. On the upper wall 70 of the lid member 35, a perforation (easy breakable portion) 75 penetrating the upper wall 70 is formed by a laser processing machine 73 described later. The perforation 75 has a rectangular portion 75 a surrounding the periphery, The rectangular portion is composed of a horizontal portion 75b that divides the rectangular portion in the front-rear direction.

  The upper surface of the hinge bracket 27 provided on the airbag module 3 is fixed to the back surface of the lid member 35 by ultrasonic welding. On the upper surface portion of the hinge bracket 27, mechanical hinge portions 76, 76 bent in the front-rear direction and directed in the vehicle width direction are formed, and a slit 77 is formed between the mechanical hinge portions 76, 76 in the vehicle width direction. Is formed. The slit 77 has both ends of the slit 77 extending to the ends of the mechanical hinge portions 76 and 76 described above. Therefore, the upper surface of the hinge bracket 27 has two open / close doors 78 and 78 that open up and down. It will be formed before and after.

  The hinge bracket 27 includes an upper surface portion welded to the back surface of the lid member 35 and an extending piece 79 extending downward from the back surface of the upper surface portion. The extension piece 79 is composed of four extension pieces, that is, an extension piece 79a on the front and rear sides and a left and right extension piece 79b. The extension pieces 79a on the front and rear sides have a plurality of locking holes 80 (this embodiment). In the form of 5). The above-described airbag module 3 is attached to the locking holes 80 of the front and rear extension pieces 79a in a state of being hooked.

  Specifically, a plurality of tongue portions 81 facing downward are formed on the front and rear walls of the airbag module 3, and each tongue portion 81 extends from the lower side of the hinge bracket 27 to a locking hole 80 for the extending piece 79 a. The air bag module 3 is supported by being inserted into the air bag. Further, two mounting brackets 82 are formed on the rear side of the lower portion of the airbag module 3 so as to extend rearward of the vehicle, and the mounting brackets 82 are fixed to the back side of the front member 52 described above by bolts 46.

A soft resin layer 15 made of a soft resin (for example, soft urethane) is covered over the upper surface of the upper wall 70 of the lid member 35 and the vehicle interior side surface of the upper surface member 51 of the instrument panel structure 50. In addition, a skin layer 17 is formed on a portion of the soft resin layer 15 on the vehicle interior side.
As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the soft resin layer 15 has a portion corresponding to the slit 77 of the hinge bracket 27 described above from the inside to the front of the side surface of the skin layer 17 of the skin layer 17 by the laser processing machine 73. An edge 19 that is notched is provided. As shown in FIG. 7, the edge portion 19 is intermittently changed in depth by the laser processing machine 73 from the back side of the soft resin layer 15 to a position corresponding to each peripheral edge of the door 78 of the hinge bracket 27 described above. Thus, a tear line (easy break portion) 18 is formed.

  When the soft resin layer 15 is processed by the laser processing machine 73, laser light is emitted from the irradiation nozzle 85 of the laser transmitter 84 based on a signal from the controller 83, and laser light transmitted through the soft resin layer 15 is emitted. Feedback is performed while being detected by the light receiving unit 86. At this time, the controller 83 alternately controls a deep notch with the focal position d1 with respect to the soft resin layer 15 having a depth d and a shallow notch with the focal position d2 with the laser beam irradiation position suppressed. Thus, intermittent notches with a pitch p are formed in the region shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the instrument panel pad 5 is disposed on the vehicle rear side of the lid member 35. The pad main body 36 of the instrument panel pad 5 is formed of a hard resin (for example, hard urethane) having high shock absorption, and the vehicle interior side is formed in a curved shape that decreases toward the front side.

  Further, on the upper side of the pad main body 36, that is, on the lid member 35 side, a vehicle interior discharge duct 22E is embedded in the pad main body 36 in the vehicle width direction from the center panel opening 31 of the instrument panel 1 to the grill opening 30. ing. A vertical wall 72 on the vehicle front side of the pad main body 36 abuts against the rear wall 71 of the lid member 35 and a part of the front member 52 of the instrument panel 1, and the lower front portion of the pad main body 36 is It is supported by the upper surface member 51 of the instrument panel structure 50.

  A front defroster duct 21, vehicle interior discharge ducts 22 </ b> A to 22 </ b> C, a harness 23, and the like are housed inside the instrument panel structure 50, that is, below the upper surface member 51 and on the vehicle front side of the front member 52. ing. Air outlets 21 a and 21 a of the front defroster duct 21 are connected to front defroster outlets 54 and 54 of the instrument panel structure 50. Air treated by an air conditioning unit (not shown) can be supplied to the front defroster duct 21 and the vehicle interior discharge ducts 22A to 22E. In this embodiment, the front defroster duct 21 and the vehicle interior discharge ducts 22A to 22E constitute a part of the air conditioner.

  The central outlets 22a and 22a of the vehicle interior discharge duct 22A are disposed at the air outlet 61 of the instrument panel structure 50, and the air outlet 22b of the vehicle interior discharge duct 22B is the air outlet of the instrument panel structure 50. 64. Further, the vehicle interior discharge duct 22C is connected to one joint portion 39 of the vehicle interior discharge duct 22E, and the vehicle interior discharge duct 22D is connected to the other joint portion 39 of the vehicle interior discharge duct 22E. The air outlet 22 d of the vehicle interior discharge duct 22 </ b> D is disposed at the air outlet 65 of the instrument panel structure 50.

  A meter visor 6 is inserted and fixed in the meter storage recess 62 so that the meter unit 2 can be seen through the meter visor 6. The center panel 7 is inserted into and fixed to the center panel opening 31, the operation surface of the audio unit 4 is fitted into the opening 7 a of the center panel 7, and the air of the instrument panel structure 50 is inserted into the grilles 7 b and 7 b of the center panel 7. The blower outlet 61 is connected. Grills 8 a and 8 b are fixed to the grill openings 30 and 33.

The steering column 9 is fixed to the steering column support table 66 of the instrument panel structure 50.
In the instrument panel structure 50, the driver seat lower cover 11 is attached to the lower part of the steering column support table 66, and the center lower cover 12 is attached to the lower part of the audio unit mounting frame portion 67.
In the instrument panel structure 50, the glove box 13 is rotatably attached to the lower portion of the airbag storage portion 63 of the front member 52, and the glove box frame 14 is attached.
The instrument panel side covers 16 and 16 are attached to the left and right side wall members 56 and 59 of the front member 52.

  Therefore, according to the above-described embodiment, the mechanical strength can be increased by integrally molding the instrument panel structure 50 with light metal, and the instrument panel structure 50 is connected to the left and right front pillars 100a and 100b. By doing so, sufficient vehicle body rigidity can be ensured even if the steering hanger beam that has been conventionally required is omitted.

Further, by fixing the steering column 9 directly to the steering column support table 66 of the instrument panel structure 50, the steering hanger beam can be eliminated, the weight can be reduced, and the instrument panel structure 50 can be reduced. Various devices can be easily stored in the internal space, and the space can be effectively used. As described above, since the instrument panel structure 50 has high mechanical strength, there is no problem in supporting the steering column 9.
Further, since it is possible to deploy the airbag to the instrument panel structure 50 through the opening 25, the airbag deployment force does not act on the integrally formed instrument panel structure 50. Will not affect.

  Furthermore, the continuity of the exposed surface of the instrument panel pad 5 and the instrument panel structure 50 is ensured by uniformly covering the surface exposed to the vehicle interior side of the instrument panel 1 with the soft resin layer 15. In addition, the surface on the vehicle interior side of the instrument panel 1 can be made soft, and as a result, the texture of the instrument panel 1 can be improved.

  When the lid member 35 is attached to the instrument panel structure 50, the claws 26 of the lid member 35 need only be inserted into the locking holes K and the flange portion 37 is fixed with the bolts 47. The number of man-hours can be reduced to reduce the burden on the operator, and the opening 25 of the air bag storage 63 can be closed by the lid member 35 to ensure rigidity.

  Further, since the arrangement of the perforation 75 of the lid member 35 and the tear line 18 of the soft resin layer 15 is matched, the opening / closing door 78 of the hinge bracket 27 can be opened by the pressure from the airbag when the airbag is deployed. Then, since the pressure from the airbag can be efficiently applied to the perforation 75 of the lid member 35 and the tear line 18 of the soft resin layer 15 corresponding to the position of the slit 77 of the open / close door 78, the lid member 35 and the perforation 75 of the soft resin layer 15 and the tear line 18 can be easily broken, and as a result, the door 78 can be opened immediately.

In the soft resin layer 15, since the intermittent edge portion 19 is formed as the tear line 18 on the back surface side, the tear line 18 is not visible from the vehicle interior side, and the airbag in the instrument panel 1. The appearance quality in the vicinity of the storage unit 63 can be improved. Further, since the breaking limit value of the tear line 18 can be freely changed simply by changing the pitch p of the intermittent edge portion 19, the degree of freedom in design can be improved.
In addition, since the laser beam machine 73 can change the focal length of the laser beam while performing feedback control by the light receiving unit 86, the intermittent edge portion 19 can be formed, so that the soft resin layer 15 is not penetrated. The tear line 18 can be formed easily and reliably.

  In addition, this invention is not restricted to embodiment mentioned above, For example, you may provide a tear line by forming an intermittent edge part with respect to a lid member other than a soft resin layer.

It is an assembly perspective view of the instrument panel in an embodiment of the invention. It is the external appearance perspective view which looked at the instrument panel in embodiment of this invention from the right side. It is a disassembled perspective view of the instrument panel in embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing which follows the AA line of FIG. 1 in embodiment of this invention. It is an assembly perspective view of an air bag module in an embodiment of the invention. It is a perspective view of a lid member in an embodiment of the invention. It is explanatory drawing of the tear line of the soft resin layer in embodiment of this invention. It is detailed explanatory drawing of the tear line of the soft resin layer in embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

15 Soft resin layer (skin member)
18 tear line (easy break)
25 Opening 35 Lid member 51 Upper surface member 52 Front member 50 Instrument panel structure (instrument panel base material)
75 perforation (easy break)
100a, 100b Front pillar

Claims (1)

A plate-shaped upper surface member extending in the vehicle width direction and extending substantially in the horizontal direction, and formed in an open cross section consisting of a front surface member bent on the vehicle interior side of the upper surface member and extending substantially vertically downward, A light metal instrument panel base material connected to the left and right front pillars, a lid member for closing an opening for airbag deployment of the instrument panel base material, and a skin member covering at least the lid member An instrument panel for a vehicle, wherein the arrangement positions of the easily breakable portion provided on the lid member and the easily breakable portion provided on the back surface of the skin member are aligned.

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