JP2000318490A - Module structure of instrument panel - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To establish free selectability of a wire harness installing path with respect to a reinforcement of an instrument panel. SOLUTION: A module structure of an instrument panel is such that an instrument panel 10 is together with other components supported by a reinforcement 20 attached to a car body, wherein the reinforcement 20 is made in a panel form, and an installing path for wire harness 40 (wiring groove 30) is formed in the plane of this reinforcement 20.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a modular structure of an instrument panel for mounting a wire harness on a reinforcement in which an instrument panel, a steering column and other related parts are supported.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a module structure of this kind, a technique disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-310002 is known. In this technique, a reinforcement formed in a predetermined shape by a round pipe material is used, and a concave portion for arranging a wire harness is formed continuously or discontinuously on the outer periphery of the pipe material. A wire harness is installed along the recess, and the wire harness is fixed to the reinforcement by a belt-type clamp or the like.

The wire harness is used to electrically connect electrical components such as meters, various switches and sensors, radios, audios, and air conditioners assembled to an instrument panel. Are bundled together.
Therefore, the shape of the wire harness varies from one item to another, and the thickness, shape, location of the branch line, the shape of the connector, and the like also differ depending on the vehicle type.

[0004]

According to the technique disclosed in the above publication, a wire harness is installed in a concave portion formed on the outer periphery of a pipe material constituting a reinforcement, so that the entire shape of the concave portion is formed. Is determined by the shape of the reinforcement. Therefore, it is almost impossible to select the entire shape of the concave portion according to the difference in the shape of the wire harness, and it is also difficult to process the concave portion on the pipe material.

An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems, and one object of the present invention is to allow a wiring path of a wire harness to a reinforcement of an instrument panel to be freely selected. Another object of the present invention is to secure the installation path of the wire harness without reducing the rigidity of the reinforcement and by simple processing. Another object of the present invention is to enable a wire harness to be installed linearly along a continuous plane,
The aim is to improve the workability.

[0006] Still another object of the present invention is to make the installation route of the wire harness useful for increasing the rigidity of the reinforcement. Another object of the present invention is to enable the holding of the wire harness by the installation route itself of the wire harness. Another object of the present invention is to prevent the outer periphery of the wire harness from protruding from the surface of the reinforcement, thereby enabling protection of the wire harness and maintenance of a proper space for assembling other components.

[0007]

According to the present invention, there is provided an instrument in which an instrument panel is supported by a reinforcement mounted on a vehicle body side together with other parts. The reinforcement panel has a modular structure, and the reinforcement has a panel shape, and an installation path for installing a wire harness is formed in a plane of the reinforcement. Thereby, the installation path can be freely selected within the plane of the reinforcement according to the shape and thickness of the wire harness, the location of the branch line, the shape of the connector, and the like.For example, for the reinforcement between different vehicle types, Common use becomes possible.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided the instrument panel module structure according to the first aspect, wherein an installation path of the wire harness is set in a groove shape in which the reinforcement is continuously recessed. By forming the installation path in a groove shape in this way, the installation path can be secured without reducing the rigidity of the reinforcement. In addition, since this installation path is formed in a panel-shaped reinforcement, when a steel plate or an aluminum plate is used for the reinforcement, the installation path can be easily formed by press working or the like.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided an instrument panel module structure according to the second aspect, wherein a harness mounting surface in a groove forming an installation path is formed in a flat shape. Therefore, the wire harness is installed linearly along the mounting surface that is continuous in a plane, and unlike the conventional installation of the wire harness on the outer periphery of the uneven reinforcement, workability is improved, and the wire harness is improved. The installation state of the harness is also stable.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the instrument panel module structure according to the second aspect, wherein the groove-shaped installation path is formed continuously near the outer periphery of the reinforcement. According to this configuration, the installation route of the wire harness exists as a kind of bead for the reinforcement, and the rigidity of the reinforcement is increased.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the instrument panel module structure according to the second aspect, wherein a rib for holding a wire harness is formed in a groove forming an installation path. For this reason, the wire harness can be held by the installation path itself, and no additional parts such as clamps and clips for holding the wire harness are required.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the module structure of the instrument panel according to the second aspect, the depth of the groove forming the installation path is such that the outer periphery of the installed wire harness is the reinforcement. The dimensions are set so as not to protrude from the surface. By fitting the wire harness deeper than the surface of the reinforcement as described above, the wire harness is in a protected state, and the corrugated tube and the protector made of resin become unnecessary. In addition, the wiring harness does not protrude into the space for assembling other parts, and the situation that hinders the assembling of these parts is solved.

[0013]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below. Embodiment 1 FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an instrument panel (hereinafter abbreviated as “instrument panel”) and instrument panel reinforcement in a separated state. The instrument panel 10 is an integrally molded product made of a resin material, and has openings for assembling a large number of components such as meters, clusters for radio and audio, and grab boxes. The reinforcement 20 has a panel shape from the conventional pipe shape,
It is made by molding using a resin containing glass fiber (such as polypropylene) or press molding using a metal plate such as steel, aluminum or magnesium.

Brackets 22 are formed on both sides of the reinforcement 20, respectively, and these brackets 22 are individually fixed to the vehicle body on the driver's seat side and the passenger's seat side. A pair of braces 24 fixed to the floor of the vehicle body are formed at a substantially middle lower portion of the reinforcement 20. Reinforcement 20
The number of beads 26 in the plane of
Are formed. A wiring groove (installation path) 30 for a wire harness is formed continuously in the upper part of the plane of the reinforcement 20 and near the outer periphery of both sides. A wire harness 40 is provided along the wiring groove 30.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing the location of the wiring groove 30. As is clear from this drawing, the wiring groove 30 has a structure in which the flat portion of the reinforcement 20 is continuously recessed from the front side to the rear side. This wiring groove 30
, That is, the attachment surface 32 to which the wire harness 40 is attached is formed in a planar shape. Mounting surface 32
In FIG. 2, a plurality of holes 33 as shown in FIG. The wire harness 40 is held on the mounting surface 32 by inserting the leg portion 52 of the belt-type clamp 50 previously connected to the outer periphery of the wire harness 40 into the hole 33. The depth of the wiring groove 30 depends on the wire harness 4 installed inside the wiring groove 30.
The outer circumference of 0 is set to a dimension that does not protrude from the surface of the reinforcement 20.

The wire harness 40 is formed by bundling a large number of electric wires by tape winding as described above, and connectors 42 for connecting the respective electric wires to predetermined electrical components are provided at both ends. (FIG. 1). The wire harness 40 has branch lines 44 at predetermined positions other than both ends thereof.
Is naturally provided. The bead 26 is interrupted at a position corresponding to each branch line 44 in the reinforcement 20, so that the branch line 44 can be easily led out of the wiring groove 30.

In the above-mentioned module structure, the following three kinds of assembling procedures can be selectively adopted. 1. After attaching the reinforcement 20 to the vehicle body side, the wire harness 40 is installed in the wiring groove 30, and the instrument panel 10 and other parts are attached to the reinforcement 20. 2. The reinforcement 20 with the wire harness 40 installed in the wiring groove 30 in advance is attached to the vehicle body, and the instrument panel 10 and other parts are attached to the reinforcement 20. 3. The reinforcement 20 in which the wire harness 40 is installed in the wiring groove 30 and the instrument panel 10 and other components are supported is mounted on the vehicle body side.

According to the above configuration, since the wiring groove 30 is formed in the plane of the panel-shaped reinforcement 20, the shape and thickness of the wire harness 40, the number and location of the branch lines 44, etc. Wiring groove 3
The shape of 0 can be freely selected. When the reinforcement 20 is press-formed using a steel plate or an aluminum plate, the wiring groove 30 can be easily formed at the same time as the forming. Moreover, the wiring groove 30 is a kind of bead, which is formed continuously near the outer periphery of the reinforcement 20, so that the rigidity required for the reinforcement 20 is secured together with the bead 26.

Since the wire harness 40 in the wiring groove 30 is installed linearly along the mounting surface 32 which is continuous in a plane, the workability in arranging the wire harness 40 is good, and the wiring harness for the wiring groove 30 is The installation state of 40 is also stable. Since the depth of the wiring groove 30 is set as described above, the wiring harness 40
Is stored deeper than the surface of the reinforcement 20 (FIG. 2). For this reason, the wire harness 40 is
This eliminates the need for corrugated tubes and resin protectors. Also, the wire harness 40 does not protrude into the space where other instrument panel parts are assembled,
The ease of assembling these instrument panel components is also improved.

Second Embodiment FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing the structure of the second embodiment in correspondence with FIG. 2, and FIG. 4 is a right side view of FIG. In this embodiment, the cross-sectional shape of the wiring groove 34 for installing the wire harness 40 is inclined upward from the mounting surface 36 (rear side) to the front opening side of the reinforcement 20. By setting the depth side of the wiring groove 34 lower than the front side, the installation state of the wire harness 40 is stabilized. Further, ribs 38 are formed on the inner upper surface of the wiring groove 34 at predetermined intervals along the length direction of the groove. These ribs 38 are configured such that the inner upper surfaces of the wiring grooves 34 partially protrude downward.

According to this embodiment, when the wire harness 40 is installed along the wiring groove 34, each of the ribs 3
8, the outer periphery of the wire harness 40 is
8 and the lower surface in the groove. Therefore, even without using the clamp 50 shown in FIG.
The wire harness 40 can be properly held by 4 itself. In addition, since the reinforcement 20 in the present embodiment has the ribs 38 inside the wiring grooves 34, resin molding is suitable.
The wiring groove 34 is divided into a front side and a rear side, and is cut out along the inclination of the wiring groove 34. The various functions described in the first embodiment are also exerted in the second embodiment.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an instrument panel and instrument panel reinforcement.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing a location of a wiring groove.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing a structure of the second embodiment in correspondence with FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a right side view of FIG. 3;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Instrument panel 20 Reinforcement 30, 34 Wiring groove (installation route) 32, 36 Mounting surface 40 Wire harness

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A module structure of an instrument panel in which an instrument panel is supported together with other parts on a reinforcement attached to a vehicle body, wherein the reinforcement has a panel shape, and a wire is provided in a plane of the reinforcement. Instrument panel module structure with installation paths for installing harnesses. 2. The module structure of the instrument panel according to claim 1, wherein an installation path of the wire harness is set in a groove shape in which the reinforcement is continuously recessed. 3. The module structure of an instrument panel according to claim 2, wherein a harness mounting surface in a groove forming an installation path is formed in a plane. 4. The module structure of the instrument panel according to claim 2, wherein the groove-shaped installation path is formed continuously near the outer periphery of the reinforcement. 5. The module structure of an instrument panel according to claim 2, wherein a rib for holding a wire harness is formed in a groove forming an installation path. 6. The module structure of an instrument panel according to claim 2, wherein the depth of the groove forming the installation path is such that the outer periphery of the installed wire harness does not protrude from the surface of the reinforcement. Instrument panel module structure set to.