GB2308340A - Vehicle interior trim panel assembly with collapsible fixing means - Google Patents

Vehicle interior trim panel assembly with collapsible fixing means Download PDF

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Publication number
GB2308340A
GB2308340A GB9624807A GB9624807A GB2308340A GB 2308340 A GB2308340 A GB 2308340A GB 9624807 A GB9624807 A GB 9624807A GB 9624807 A GB9624807 A GB 9624807A GB 2308340 A GB2308340 A GB 2308340A
Authority
GB
United Kingdom
Prior art keywords
trim panel
panel assembly
fixing means
elongate member
body part
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Granted
Application number
GB9624807A
Other versions
GB9624807D0 (en
GB2308340B (en
Inventor
Anthony Cornforth
Michael Mellor
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
MG Rover Group Ltd
Original Assignee
MG Rover Group Ltd
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Priority claimed from GBGB9525939.6A external-priority patent/GB9525939D0/en
Application filed by MG Rover Group Ltd filed Critical MG Rover Group Ltd
Priority to GB9624807A priority Critical patent/GB2308340B/en
Publication of GB9624807D0 publication Critical patent/GB9624807D0/en
Publication of GB2308340A publication Critical patent/GB2308340A/en
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of GB2308340B publication Critical patent/GB2308340B/en
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Expired - Lifetime legal-status Critical Current

Links

Classifications

    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60R—VEHICLES, VEHICLE FITTINGS, OR VEHICLE PARTS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • B60R13/00—Elements for body-finishing, identifying, or decorating; Arrangements or adaptations for advertising purposes
    • B60R13/02—Internal Trim mouldings ; Internal Ledges; Wall liners for passenger compartments; Roof liners
    • B60R13/0206—Arrangements of fasteners and clips specially adapted for attaching inner vehicle liners or mouldings
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60R—VEHICLES, VEHICLE FITTINGS, OR VEHICLE PARTS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • B60R13/00—Elements for body-finishing, identifying, or decorating; Arrangements or adaptations for advertising purposes
    • B60R13/02—Internal Trim mouldings ; Internal Ledges; Wall liners for passenger compartments; Roof liners
    • B60R13/0237—Side or rear panels
    • B60R13/025—Pillars; Roof rails
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60R—VEHICLES, VEHICLE FITTINGS, OR VEHICLE PARTS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • B60R21/00—Arrangements or fittings on vehicles for protecting or preventing injuries to occupants or pedestrians in case of accidents or other traffic risks
    • B60R21/02—Occupant safety arrangements or fittings, e.g. crash pads
    • B60R21/04—Padded linings for the vehicle interior ; Energy absorbing structures associated with padded or non-padded linings
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60R—VEHICLES, VEHICLE FITTINGS, OR VEHICLE PARTS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • B60R13/00—Elements for body-finishing, identifying, or decorating; Arrangements or adaptations for advertising purposes
    • B60R13/06—Sealing strips
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60R—VEHICLES, VEHICLE FITTINGS, OR VEHICLE PARTS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • B60R13/00—Elements for body-finishing, identifying, or decorating; Arrangements or adaptations for advertising purposes
    • B60R13/02—Internal Trim mouldings ; Internal Ledges; Wall liners for passenger compartments; Roof liners
    • B60R2013/0287—Internal Trim mouldings ; Internal Ledges; Wall liners for passenger compartments; Roof liners integrating other functions or accessories
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60R—VEHICLES, VEHICLE FITTINGS, OR VEHICLE PARTS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • B60R21/00—Arrangements or fittings on vehicles for protecting or preventing injuries to occupants or pedestrians in case of accidents or other traffic risks
    • B60R21/02—Occupant safety arrangements or fittings, e.g. crash pads
    • B60R21/04—Padded linings for the vehicle interior ; Energy absorbing structures associated with padded or non-padded linings
    • B60R2021/0435—Padded linings for the vehicle interior ; Energy absorbing structures associated with padded or non-padded linings associated with the side or roof pillars

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Vehicle Interior And Exterior Ornaments, Soundproofing, And Insulation (AREA)

Abstract

A trim panel 20 is connected to a part 10 of the body structure, eg the A-pillar, of the vehicle by a collapsible fixing means 30. An energy absorbing material 16, eg polypropylene or polyurethane foam, is interposed between the trim panel 20 and the body part 10 to absorb energy in the event of a severe impact between a part of a passenger of the vehicle and the trim panel 20. In the event of such an impact in the region of the fixing means 30, the fixing means 30 collapses thereby allowing the energy absorbing material 16 to absorb some of the energy of the impact and reduce deceleration of the human body part. The fixing means may be in the form of a plastics fir tree fastener which is forced into an aperture 11 in the A-pillar 10.

Description

A VEHICLE TRIM PANEL ASSEMBLY The invention relates to a vehicle trim panel assembly.
Interior trim panels on vehicles are frequently mounted on robust body parts to provide a desired interior finish.
In order to absorb energy when, for example, the head of passenger travelling in the vehicle strikes the trim, an energy absorbing material may be disposed between the robust part of the body and the trim panel. In such a case, the trim panel may have a main section overlying the energy absorbing material and side sections which extend around the energy absorbing material and are directed towards the body part.
Even though the trim panel itself is designed to yield so that energy can be absorbed by the energy absorbing material, the fixing means used to attach the trim panel to the body part tend to act as struts when the panel is subjected to impact. Therefore some of the impact force is transmitted directly to the body part through the fixing means.
An object of this invention is to provide an improved form of trim panel which will yield more easily in the event of impact.
According to the invention there is provided a vehicle interior trim panel assembly for covering part of the body structure of a vehicle, the trim panel assembly comprising of a resilient trim panel for overlying the body part to be covered, an energy absorbing material interposed between the trim panel and the body part and one or more fixing means to attach the trim panel to the body part wherein at least one of the or each fixing means is a collapsible fixing means arranged to hold the trim panel in position during normal use but upon the application of an impact load at or near to said fixing means allows the trim panel to by urged towards the body part thereby compressing the energy absorbing material.
The or each collapsible fixing means may be an elongate member extending from a rear surface of the trim panel for engagement with interference in an aperture in the body part.
The elongate member may have a number of serrations thereon.
The elongate member may be releasably connected to the rear surface of the trim panel.
A slotted plate may be attached to the rear surface of the trim panel for co-operation with the elongate member, in which case the slotted plate may advantageously be formed as an integral part of the trim panel.
The elongate member may have a shank portion and a head portion, in which case the shank portion is engageable with the slot in the slotted plate so that the head portion is trapped between the slotted plate and the trim panel thereby to connect the elongate member to the trim panel.
The elongate member may be a plastic fir tree fastener.
A vehicle trim panel assembly in accordance with the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawing in which: Fig.l is a transverse cross-section through a Prior Art trim panel assembly connected to a door post of a vehicle; Fig.la is a scrap pictorial view of the fixing means shown in Fig. 1; Fig.2 is a view similar to Fig 1 but showing a trim panel assembly in accordance with the invention; Fig.2a is a view along the line II-II on Fig.2 of part of a trim panel according to the invention; Fig 3 is a simplified view similar to Fig 2 showing the trim panel assembly in a normal in use state; Fig.4 is a view similar to Fig 3 but showing the trim panel assembly after it has been subjected to an impact; and Fig.S is a pictorial view of a vehicle door post with a trim panel assembly according to the invention in place.
With reference to Figs.l and la there is shown a vehicle door post 10 (known in the art as an "A" post) having edges formed as flanges 12A, 12B. One of the flanges 12A supports an elongate elastomeric door seal 18 used to provide a seal between the door post 10 and a door of the vehicle (not shown).
A channel-shaped plastics trim panel 20 for covering the post 10 comprises a main section 22 for overlying the post 10 and side sections 24 which extend towards the flanges 12A, 12B. The trim panel 20 is held in position by a spring clip 23 which engages with a tongue 25 extending from the end of a mounting post 26 through an aperture 11 in the post 10.
The mounting post 26 formed as part of the trim panel 20 and is cross-shaped in cross-section having two end faces 27A, 27B for abutment with the post 10.
A length of energy absorbing material 16, such as a closed cell polymer material, is interposed between the post 10 and the trim panel 20 to provide a means of absorbing energy if the trim panel is subjected to an impact by a body part of a passenger such as a head impact.
If the main section 22 of the trim panel 20 is subjected to an impact in a region away from the positions where the trim panel 20 is connected to the post 10 by the mounting posts 26 then the trim panel is able to resiliently distort to allow compression of the impact absorbing material 16 to occur. However, if the main section 22 of the trim panel 20 is subjected to an impact in a region adjacent to the positions where the trim panel 20 is attached to the post 10 by the mounting posts 26 then the trim panel 20 cannot be readily distorted because the mounting posts 26 form a substantially rigid strut between the trim panel 20 and the post 10. The impact absorbing material 16 therefore has very little beneficial effect in the case where an impact is adjacent to a position of attachment.
In Fig 2, parts corresponding to parts shown in Fig 1 carry the same reference numerals and are not described in detail.
It will be seen in Figs.2, 2a, 3 and 4 that the resilient plastic trim panel 20 is attached to the post 10 by a collapsible fixing means and an energy absorbing material 16. such as expanded polypropylene or polyurethane foam is interposed between the trim panel 20 and the post 10.
The collapsible fixing means is in the form of an elongate member 30 which is engaged with the aperture 11 in the post 10.
The elongate member 30 has a serrated shank portion 31 and a head portion 32 and is commonly referred to as a fir tree fastener. The shank 31 of the fastener 30 is an interference fit in the aperture 11 in that the width of the serrations is greater than the width of the aperture but the width of the shank at the base of the serrations is less than the width of the aperture 11. Therefore once engaged with the aperture 11 it is difficult to retract the shank 31 from the aperture 11 but it is not rigidly connected to the post 10 in that the application of more than a pre-determined force will cause the shank 31 to be pushed further into the post 10 or extracted.
The fastener 30 is connected to the trim panel 20 by means of a slotted plate 40 which is formed as part of the trim panel 20. The plate 40 has an open ended slot 41 therein of that allows the shank 31 to be pushed into engagement thereby trapping the head portion 32 between the slotted plate 40 and the rear surface of the trim panel 20.
A pair of ribs 45 are formed on the rear surface of the trim panel 20 for engagement with the head portion 32. The dimensions of the ribs 45 are such that they provide a light interference with the head 32 thereby holding the fastener 30 in position during assembly of the trim panel 20 to the post 10.
In the event of an impact in the region of the fastener 30 the trim panel 20 is able to move towards the post 10 thereby compressing the impact absorbing material 16 as the fastener 30 is merely pushed into the aperture 11 by the applied force. In this way the impact absorbing material 16 is able to absorb some of the impact energy and thus reduce the deceleration of a human body part impacting the trim panel 20 in this region compared to a rigid connection.
The trim panel assembly according to this invention thereby provides in a simple and cost effective manner a way of reducing the damage inflicted to a sensitive human body part such as a head impacting the trim panel in the region of the fixing means.
A trim panel assembly according to this invention can therefore be used to totally replace the Prior Art type of fixing or selectively replace the Prior Art type of fixing in those parts of the trim panel liable to be impacted by a sensitive body part, for example at positions A & B on Fig.5 but not at position C.
Although the invention has been described with reference to a specific embodiment it will be appreciated by the person skilled in the art that it is not so limited and other forms of fastener that allow relative movement between the trim panel and the post could be used.

Claims (10)

1. A vehicle interior trim panel assembly for covering part of the body structure of a vehicle, the trim panel assembly comprising of a resilient trim panel for overlying the body part to be covered, an energy absorbing material interposed between the trim panel and the body part and one or more fixing means to attach the trim panel to the body part wherein at least one of the or each fixing means is a collapsible fixing means arranged to hold the trim panel in position during normal use but upon the application of an impact load at or near to said fixing means allows the trim panel to by urged towards the body part thereby compressing the energy absorbing material.
2. A panel assembly as claimed in Claim 1 in which each collapsible fixing means is an elongate member extending from a rear surface of the trim panel for engagement with interference in an aperture in the body part.
3. A panel assembly as claimed in Claim 2 in which the elongate member has a number of serrations thereon.
4. A panel assembly as claimed in Claim 2 or in Claim 3 in which the elongate member is releasably connected to the rear surface of the trim panel.
5. A panel assembly as claimed in Claim 4 in which a slotted plate is attached to the rear surface of the trim panel for co-operation with the elongate member.
6. A panel assembly as claimed in Claim 5 in which the slotted plate is formed as an integral part of the trim panel.
7. A panel assembly as claimed in Claim 5 or in Claim 6 in which the elongate member has a shank portion and a head portion, the shank portion being engageable with the slot in the slotted plate so that the head portion is trapped between the slotted plate and the trim panel thereby to connect the elongate member to the trim panel.
8. A panel assembly as claimed in any of claims 2 to 7 in which the elongate member is a plastic fir tree fastener.
9. A vehicle trim panel assembly constructed and arranged substantially as described herein with reference to Figs 2 to 5 of the accompanying drawing.
10. A motor vehicle having at least one vehicle trim panel assembly according to any preceding Claim.
GB9624807A 1995-12-19 1996-11-29 A vehicle trim panel assembly Expired - Lifetime GB2308340B (en)

Priority Applications (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
GB9624807A GB2308340B (en) 1995-12-19 1996-11-29 A vehicle trim panel assembly

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
GBGB9525939.6A GB9525939D0 (en) 1995-12-19 1995-12-19 A vehicle trim panel assembly
GB9624807A GB2308340B (en) 1995-12-19 1996-11-29 A vehicle trim panel assembly

Publications (3)

Publication Number Publication Date
GB9624807D0 GB9624807D0 (en) 1997-01-15
GB2308340A true GB2308340A (en) 1997-06-25
GB2308340B GB2308340B (en) 2000-02-16

Family

ID=26308329

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
GB9624807A Expired - Lifetime GB2308340B (en) 1995-12-19 1996-11-29 A vehicle trim panel assembly

Country Status (1)

Country Link
GB (1) GB2308340B (en)

Cited By (11)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB2321688A (en) * 1997-01-29 1998-08-05 Rak Gard International Limited Protective jackets for storage racks
EP0896908A2 (en) * 1997-08-13 1999-02-17 Dr.Ing.h.c. F. Porsche Aktiengesellschaft Energy absorbing pad covering a pillar of an automotive vehicle
GB2335171A (en) * 1998-03-13 1999-09-15 Rover Group Impact absorbing trim member with retaining means
GB2318551B (en) * 1996-10-25 2001-04-18 Nissan Motor Interior material for automotive vehicle
EP1145937A2 (en) * 2000-04-12 2001-10-17 Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha Vehicle window member support structure
EP0974495A3 (en) * 1998-07-22 2001-10-31 Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha Impact energy absorbing structure in upper vehicle body portion, and impact energy absorbing component
EP1157891A3 (en) * 2000-05-23 2002-04-10 Selmat Automotive S.R.L. Covering member for a structural member of a vehicle
WO2002070304A1 (en) * 2001-03-07 2002-09-12 Steyr-Daimler-Puch Fastening element for part of a trim inside a motor vehicle
WO2005063529A1 (en) * 2003-12-22 2005-07-14 Leoni Bordnetz-Systeme Gmbh & Co Kg Occupant protection device for a motor vehicle
WO2011133613A1 (en) * 2010-04-20 2011-10-27 Johnson Controls Technology Company Plastic vehicle-interior-part with an impact module
DE102011051157A1 (en) * 2011-06-17 2012-12-20 Dr. Ing. H.C. F. Porsche Aktiengesellschaft Arrangement for structural column of vehicle body and interior trim of structural column, has interior trim, which is releasably connected to structural column through one attaching medium, and is connected to energy retaining element

Citations (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
JPS60239189A (en) * 1984-05-12 1985-11-28 Kubota Ltd Method for separating and identifying object
US5169204A (en) * 1992-04-08 1992-12-08 Davidson Textron Inc. Energy absorbing inner door panel with fasteners to absorb body impact energy
US5362102A (en) * 1992-09-14 1994-11-08 Volkswagen Ag Support arrangement for supporting a trim member from a structural member of a vehicle
US5419606A (en) * 1993-12-27 1995-05-30 Ford Motor Company Trim panel attaching pin with water seal

Patent Citations (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
JPS60239189A (en) * 1984-05-12 1985-11-28 Kubota Ltd Method for separating and identifying object
US5169204A (en) * 1992-04-08 1992-12-08 Davidson Textron Inc. Energy absorbing inner door panel with fasteners to absorb body impact energy
US5362102A (en) * 1992-09-14 1994-11-08 Volkswagen Ag Support arrangement for supporting a trim member from a structural member of a vehicle
US5419606A (en) * 1993-12-27 1995-05-30 Ford Motor Company Trim panel attaching pin with water seal

Cited By (21)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB2318551B (en) * 1996-10-25 2001-04-18 Nissan Motor Interior material for automotive vehicle
GB2321688B (en) * 1997-01-29 2001-03-14 Rak Gard Internat Ltd Improvements relating to protective jackets for storage racks
GB2321688A (en) * 1997-01-29 1998-08-05 Rak Gard International Limited Protective jackets for storage racks
EP0896908A2 (en) * 1997-08-13 1999-02-17 Dr.Ing.h.c. F. Porsche Aktiengesellschaft Energy absorbing pad covering a pillar of an automotive vehicle
EP0896908A3 (en) * 1997-08-13 1999-11-17 Dr.Ing.h.c. F. Porsche Aktiengesellschaft Energy absorbing pad covering a pillar of an automotive vehicle
US6095593A (en) * 1997-08-13 2000-08-01 Dr. Ing. H.C.F. Porsche Ag Energy-absorbing covering for a vehicle body column of a motor vehicle
GB2335171A (en) * 1998-03-13 1999-09-15 Rover Group Impact absorbing trim member with retaining means
US6554350B2 (en) 1998-07-22 2003-04-29 Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha Impact energy absorbing structure in upper vehicle body portion, and impact energy absorbing component
EP0974495A3 (en) * 1998-07-22 2001-10-31 Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha Impact energy absorbing structure in upper vehicle body portion, and impact energy absorbing component
EP1145937A2 (en) * 2000-04-12 2001-10-17 Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha Vehicle window member support structure
EP1145937A3 (en) * 2000-04-12 2003-01-29 Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha Vehicle window member support structure
EP1157891A3 (en) * 2000-05-23 2002-04-10 Selmat Automotive S.R.L. Covering member for a structural member of a vehicle
WO2002070304A1 (en) * 2001-03-07 2002-09-12 Steyr-Daimler-Puch Fastening element for part of a trim inside a motor vehicle
WO2005063529A1 (en) * 2003-12-22 2005-07-14 Leoni Bordnetz-Systeme Gmbh & Co Kg Occupant protection device for a motor vehicle
WO2011133613A1 (en) * 2010-04-20 2011-10-27 Johnson Controls Technology Company Plastic vehicle-interior-part with an impact module
CN102858597A (en) * 2010-04-20 2013-01-02 约翰逊控制技术公司 Plastic vehicle-interior-part with an impact module
JP2013525183A (en) * 2010-04-20 2013-06-20 ジョンソン コントロールズ テクノロジー カンパニー Plastic vehicle interior parts with impact module
US8757702B2 (en) 2010-04-20 2014-06-24 Johnson Controls Technology Company Plastic vehicle-interior-part with an impact module
CN102858597B (en) * 2010-04-20 2016-03-16 约翰逊控制技术公司 There is the Plastic vehicle inner-decoration component clashing into module
DE102011051157A1 (en) * 2011-06-17 2012-12-20 Dr. Ing. H.C. F. Porsche Aktiengesellschaft Arrangement for structural column of vehicle body and interior trim of structural column, has interior trim, which is releasably connected to structural column through one attaching medium, and is connected to energy retaining element
DE102011051157B4 (en) * 2011-06-17 2021-06-02 Dr. Ing. H.C. F. Porsche Aktiengesellschaft Arrangement of a mounting column and an interior lining of the mounting column

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
GB9624807D0 (en) 1997-01-15
GB2308340B (en) 2000-02-16

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732E Amendments to the register in respect of changes of name or changes affecting rights (sect. 32/1977)
746 Register noted 'licences of right' (sect. 46/1977)

Effective date: 20050706

732E Amendments to the register in respect of changes of name or changes affecting rights (sect. 32/1977)
732E Amendments to the register in respect of changes of name or changes affecting rights (sect. 32/1977)

Free format text: REGISTERED BETWEEN 20131128 AND 20131204

PE20 Patent expired after termination of 20 years

Expiry date: 20161128