JP2002205528A - Duct structure of instrument panel - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce cost and to prevent dew formation by forming an air flow passage using a duct wall part integrally stood and formed on the back side of a panel base material made of urethane foam. SOLUTION: The air flow passage 28 comprises the panel base material 22 made of hard urethane foam, rib-like duct wall parts 30 and 30 stood and formed on the back side of the panel base material 22, and a cover member 32 fixed so as to cover edges of the duct wall parts 30 and 30. The air flow passage 28 comprising the panel base material 22, the duct wall parts 30 and 30, and the cover member 32 connects an air conditioner unit 60 installed inside the panel base material 22 to an air outlet 62 disposed in the panel base material 22.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an instrument panel provided in a passenger compartment of a vehicle, the instrument panel being provided on the back side thereof.
The present invention relates to a duct structure for connecting and connecting an air conditioner unit and an air outlet.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An instrument panel on which various in-vehicle devices such as an instrument panel, an air-conditioning operation panel, and an audio device are installed in front of a passenger compartment of a vehicle such as a passenger car. In addition, an air conditioner unit that is operated and controlled by the air conditioning operation panel is installed in front of the passenger compartment in a state where the air conditioning unit is covered by the instrument panel,
The temperature-controlled air adjusted to a predetermined temperature by the air conditioner unit is blown into the passenger compartment from an air outlet provided in the instrument panel or the like. That is, an air duct is provided inside the instrument panel for communicating the air outlet and the air outlet of the air conditioner unit and guiding the conditioned air.

[0003] A conventional general duct structure mainly comprises an air duct formed separately from a panel base material constituting the instrument panel, and this air duct is provided on the back side of the panel base material in a later step. It was designed to be assembled. That is, the air duct is a hollow body whose cross section in the direction intersecting the flow direction of the temperature-controlled air is cylindrical or other irregular shape, and is an integrally molded product obtained by blow molding a hollow parison made of a material such as high-density polyethylene. It was considered mainstream. Such an air duct made of blow molding has an advantage that it can be molded to be lightweight while having appropriate rigidity.However, since it is designed to be attached to the back side of the instrument panel using a screw or the like, the air duct is assembled. There is an inherent problem that the number of man-hours is increased and the cost is increased.

Therefore, recently, as shown in FIG. 8, for example, a duct member 14 formed in a gutter shape opened upward is fixedly mounted on the back surface of a panel base material 12 constituting the instrument panel 10. The air flow passage 1 is formed by a part of the panel base material 12 and the duct member 14.
6 is being proposed and is being implemented.
In such a duct structure, the panel base material 12 and the duct member 14 can be automatically joined to each other using a technique such as vibration welding or ultrasonic welding, and the number of assembling steps can be reduced by omitting screw fastening work and the like. At the same time, there is an advantage that the cost can be reduced since the amount of material used is reduced. There is also an advantage that the instrument panel 10 can be reinforced.

[0005]

However, in the duct structure shown in FIG. 8, the panel base material 12 and the duct member 14 are both integrally molded products made of synthetic resin by using an injection molding technique. To be
There is a problem that the heat insulation performance is reduced due to good thermal conductivity. For this reason, if the temperature difference between the inside of the air flow passage 16 and the outside of the air flow passage 16 is large, dew condensation easily occurs on the front and back surfaces of the panel base material 12 and the inner and outer surfaces of the duct member 14, It was necessary to take special measures to prevent condensation. That is, in the panel base material 12, the air flow path 16
Heat insulating sheet material 1 made of urethane or the like on the back surface facing
8, the cost increases due to the addition of the material cost of the heat insulating sheet material 18. In some cases, it is necessary to additionally attach a heat insulating sheet material to the outer surface of the duct member 14, which further increases material costs and man-hours, thereby further increasing costs.

On the other hand, for example, if the duct wall constituting the air flow passage 16 is integrally erected on the back surface of the panel base material 12 (the vertical walls 14a, 1 in the duct member 14).
(If the portion corresponding to 4a is integrally formed on the back surface side of the panel base material 12), a large-sized molded member having a complicated shape such as the duct member 14 is not required, and a simple plate-shaped cover member can be used. Therefore, further reduction in molding cost is expected. However, in the case of the panel base material 12 made by injection molding, when the above-described duct wall is integrally formed on the back surface, the concave sink mark is formed on the front side of the panel base 12 corresponding to the duct wall. There is a problem that a portion is formed and the texture of the instrument panel 10 itself is deteriorated.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been proposed to suitably solve the above-mentioned problems. By forming a panel base material from foamed hard urethane foam, an air flow is provided on the back side of the panel base material. Provided is a duct structure of an instrument panel configured so that a duct wall constituting a road is integrally erected and formed so as to reduce costs, while at the same time preventing condensation by the heat insulating performance of the urethane foam. The purpose is to:

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above-mentioned problems and to achieve the intended object, the present invention comprises a rigid urethane foam which is foamed and molded into a required shape, and has an air flow path for air conditioning on the back surface. A panel base material to be installed, a duct wall portion which is opposed to the rear surface of the panel base material in the form of a rib, and constitutes both walls of the air flow passage, and an edge of each of the duct wall portions. A cover member fixed to cover and constituting a lid of the air flow passage, and the inside of the panel base material by the air flow passage constituted by the panel base material, the duct wall and the cover member. And an air outlet provided on the panel substrate is connected to the air conditioner unit installed on the panel base material.

[0009]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an instrument panel according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 1 is a side sectional view schematically showing an instrument panel according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, cut away at a required position on a passenger seat side. The instrument panel 20 is formed of a panel base material 22 formed of hard urethane foam and a skin 24 formed of urethane foam and covering the outer surface of the panel base material 22, and is basically the same. It is made of all urethane.

(About the panel substrate) The panel substrate 22
Is formed into a desired design from a foamed solid type urethane foam which is of a two-liquid reaction type and has no elasticity after curing, and is mixed with glass fibers in order to improve rigidity. And the overall thickness is 10mm
It has sufficient strength and rigidity as a base material of the instrument panel 20 on which heavy objects such as various in-vehicle devices and in-vehicle components are mounted.

(Skin) The skin 24 is formed of, for example, a foamed soft urethane foam colored in a required color, and has a uniform thickness of about 1 mm at any part. It has elasticity. Further, on the outer surface, a skin layer-like coating film 2 having a thickness of about 10 to 15 μm formed from a transparent or translucent paint is used.
6 are formed to improve the texture and the durability of the outer surface.

(Duct Structure) In the instrument panel 20 of this embodiment, an air outlet 62 provided on the panel base 22 is provided on the back surface of the panel base 22.
And an air flow path 28 for air conditioning which communicates with an air conditioner unit 60 mounted in the passenger compartment while being covered with the panel base material 22. That is, in the duct structure of the embodiment, the panel base member 22 having the wall portion 22a partially constituting the air flow passage 28 is opposed to the panel base member 22 by being provided in a rib-like shape on the back surface thereof. Duct walls 30, 30 forming both walls of the flow passage 28, and a cover member fixed to cover the edges of the duct walls 30, 30 and forming a lid of the air flow passage 28 32.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the duct walls 30, 30 are formed integrally with the panel base 22 when the panel base 22 is formed. It is formed of a rigid solid type urethane foam, and extends substantially parallel from the near side to the far side in FIG. The front side of each duct wall 30, 30 faces the air outlet 62 or the vicinity of the air inlet of the air outlet (not shown), while the duct wall 3
The rear side of 0, 30 faces the vicinity of an air delivery unit (not shown) of the air conditioner unit 60.

The cover member 32 is made of a synthetic resin such as urethane foam or polypropylene.
As shown in FIG. 2, the belt-shaped material is set to have a width dimension on the premise of the interval between the duct walls 30, 30. However, in consideration of heat insulation performance, recyclability, and the like, it is desirable to form the panel base material 22 from urethane foam of the same material.

As shown in FIG. 2, the cover member 32 is formed by using an appropriate engaging member, an adhesive, or the like.
Both side edges in the width direction are tightly joined and fixed along the edge portions of the duct walls 30, 30. For example, FIG. 2 (a) shows that the engaging projections 34, 34 as first engaging portions are provided on both side edges of the cover member 32, while the engaging edges 34, 34 are provided on the edges of the respective duct wall portions 30, 30. Protruding piece 34,
Engagement holes 36, 36 as second engagement portions with which the
Are provided, and each of the engagement protrusions 34, 34 is connected to the corresponding one of the engagement holes 36,
36, the cover member 32 is fixed to the duct walls 30, 30 by rush engagement with the cover member 36. FIG. 2B shows that the cover member 32 is attached to the duct walls 30, 30 with an adhesive 38 such as hot melt applied to the edges of the duct walls 30, 30.
1 is an example of an assembling mode in which the fixing is performed.

As described above, the duct structure of the embodiment includes the wall portion 22a of the foamed panel base material 22 and the panel base material 2
2. Duct walls 30, 30 integrally foamed on the back of
The air flow passage 28 which functions as an air duct is defined by the cover member 32 fixed to the edges of the duct walls 30, 30. When the instrument panel 20 is installed in the passenger compartment, the opening at one end of the air flow passage 28 is joined to the air delivery unit of the air conditioner unit 60, and the other end is connected to the panel base material 22. The air conditioner unit 60 is connected to the air inlet of the air outlet 62 mounted on the air outlet, and spatially connects the air conditioner unit 60 and the air outlet 62 to each other. Thereby, the temperature-controlled air sent from the air conditioner unit 60 is
The air is guided to the side of the air outlet 62 through the air passage 28.

(Molding of Panel Base Material) Next, a molding process of the instrument panel 20 employing the duct structure of the embodiment configured as described above will be schematically described with reference to FIGS. explain. The instrument panel 20
Is molded by a mold coat molding method using a molding die 40 shown in FIG. 7, so that the molding of the skin 24 and the molding of the panel substrate 22 can be continuously performed by the molding die 40. .

FIG. 4 shows, as a first molding step, a mold coating step of molding the coating film 26 of the instrument panel 20. The molding step is performed by setting a heating means (not shown) at about 60 to 75 ° C. in advance. A transparent or translucent paint 50 is applied to the molding surface 42a of the first molding die 42 of the mold 40 with a paint spray gun 48 to form the coating film 26 having a thickness of about 10 to 15 μm and exhibiting a skin layer shape. I do. Assuming that the paint 50 has various conditions such as good adhesion to the skin 24 and does not impair the elasticity of the skin 24, for example, a urethane-based paint or the like is preferably used. Will be implemented. Since the paint 50 applied to the molding surface 42a is kept at the above-mentioned temperature, the drying is promoted immediately after the application, and the molding of the coating film 26 is completed in a short time.

FIG. 5 shows the coating film 2 as a second molding step.
6 shows a spray urethane spraying step performed after the completion of the molding of No. 6;
Urethane material 5 with urethane spray gun 52
4, the outer skin 24 having a thickness of about 1 mm is sprayed.
Is molded. As the urethane material 54, there are a non-foamed solid type and a foamed soft type which are colored in a required color, and a soft foamed type which is rich in flexibility is used assuming a skin material. When using a non-colored urethane material, it is necessary to apply a paint of a required color to the back surface of the coating film 26 before performing the second molding step. The urethane material 54 applied to the back surface of the coating film 26 in this manner has the molding surface 42a of the molding die 40 kept at a predetermined temperature, so that the curing is promoted immediately after the application, and the skin is covered in a short time. 24 is completed.

FIG. 6 is a view showing a third molding step,
This shows the step of forming the panel base material performed after the completion of the molding of No. 4. First, a hard type urethane material 58 is injected into the back surface of the skin 24 by a urethane injection nozzle 56. Next, when the injection operation of the urethane material 58 is completed, FIG.
As shown in FIG. 3, the second mold 44 provided with the groove-shaped concave portion 44a for forming the duct wall portions 30,
The mold is closed from above with respect to the mold 42, and the urethane material 58 is foamed in the cavity 46 defined thereby. The panel base 22 and the duct wall 3
When the molding of 0,30 is completed, the second molding die 44 is released from the first molding die 42 and removed, so that the duct wall 3
Instrument panel 20 integrally provided with 0, 30
Is completed.

In the instrument panel 20 formed by such a series of forming steps, the urethane material 58 injected into the cavity 46 of the forming die 40 is foamed / formed.
In order to inflate and integrally mold the panel base material 22 and the duct walls 30, 30 under an appropriate foaming pressure, a concave sink portion is formed on the outer surface side of the panel base material 22 corresponding to the bases of both duct walls 30, 30. Are not formed at all. Therefore, the thickness of the panel base member 22 and the thickness of the duct wall portions 30 and 30 can be increased, and the height of the duct wall portions 30 and 30 can be set while considering strength and the like. Air flow passage 2
8 can be easily enlarged. Further, the duct walls 30, 3
By increasing the thickness of the base portion of the duct 0 and forming a curved corner at the junction with the panel base material 22, the strength of the duct wall portion 30 can be improved, and the temperature-controlled air flowing through the air flow passage 28 can be improved. Can be reduced. In addition, since the characteristics of the urethane foam are reflected as they are, it is possible to expect a reduction in weight compared to a conventional injection molded product.

Further, in the duct structure of the embodiment, as described above, at least the wall 22a of the panel base member 22 and both duct walls 30, 30 are formed of a foamed solid type urethane foam. As compared with the conventional duct structure shown in FIG. 8, the characteristics of the urethane foam are reflected, and the heat insulation performance is greatly improved. Therefore, there is no need for any heat insulating sheet material or the like to be provided on the back surface of the panel base material 22 or the like, so that it is necessary to take special measures for preventing dew condensation, while contributing to cost reduction. Further, if the cover member 32 is formed of urethane foam, further improvement of the heat insulation performance of the air flow passage 28 can be expected. Further, since the urethane foam exhibits an excellent effect as a sound absorbing material, for example, the operation sound of the air conditioner unit 60 is suitably absorbed, and the operation sound leaks into the passenger compartment via the air outlet 62. Also prevent.

[0024]

As described above, according to the instrument panel duct structure of the present invention, the panel material and the back surface of the panel material are provided on the assumption that the panel base material is formed of hard urethane foam. By forming the air flow passage from a duct wall formed integrally with the cover member and a cover member fixed so as to cover the edge of the duct wall, the heat insulating property of the urethane foam is suitably reflected. Thus, the heat insulation performance of the air flow passage is improved. Therefore, there is an advantage that the dew condensation can be prevented without using a heat insulating sheet material or the like, and the cost can be reduced by reducing the material cost and the number of assembly steps. If the cover member is formed of a urethane foam molding material, all of the members constituting the air flow passage are made of urethane foam,
Further improvement of heat insulation performance and improvement of recyclability can be expected. Further, not only the above-described heat insulation performance can be improved, but also the weight can be reduced, and the improvement of the sound absorbing effect of absorbing the operation sound of the air conditioner unit can be expected. The fixing of the cover member to the edge of the duct wall portion can be easily and reliably performed by utilizing the engagement between the engaging portions provided on both sides and the bonding with an appropriate adhesive.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional side view showing an instrument panel provided with a duct structure according to an embodiment, which is broken at an appropriate position in front of a passenger seat.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which a cover member is attached to an end edge of each duct wall portion in the duct structure according to the embodiment, and FIG. 2 (a) shows an engagement protrusion provided on the cover member and a duct wall portion; Fig. 4 shows an assembly form using the provided engaging pieces, and Fig. 7 (b) illustrates an assembly form using an adhesive.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which an air flow passage is formed inside by attaching a cover member to a duct wall in each of the assembly forms of FIGS. 2 (a) and (b).

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a first forming step of forming an instrument panel, and shows a state in which a coating film is formed by applying a paint to a forming surface of a forming die.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a second forming step of forming an instrument panel, in which a skin is formed by applying a foam type urethane material to the back surface of a coating film formed on a forming surface of a forming die. Is shown.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing a third molding step of molding the instrument panel, showing a state where a urethane material for forming a base material is injected into the back surface of the molded skin.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing a third molding step of molding the instrument panel, in which a molding die is closed, a urethane material is foamed in a cavity defined, and a panel base material and a duct wall are removed. This shows a state of molding.

FIG. 8 is a side sectional view showing a conventional instrument panel provided with a duct structure, which is cut away at an appropriate position in front of a passenger seat.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 22 Panel base material 28 Air flow passage 30 Duct wall 32 Cover member 34 Engagement projection (first engagement part) 36 Engagement hole (second engagement part) 38 Adhesive 60 Air conditioner unit 62 Air outlet

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A panel base material (22) made of a rigid urethane foam foamed and formed into a required shape, having a back surface along which an air flow path (28) for air conditioning is provided, and a back surface of the panel base material (22). Standing in a rib shape and facing each other,
Duct wall portions (30, 30) constituting both walls of the airflow passage (28)
A cover member (32) fixed to cover the edge of each of the duct wall portions (30, 30) and constituting a lid portion of the air flow passage (28), The air flow passage (28) composed of the panel base material (22), the duct wall portions (30, 30), and the cover member (32) allows the air conditioning unit (6) installed inside the panel base material (22).
0) and an air outlet (62) provided on the panel base material (22) in communication with each other. 2. The instrument panel duct structure according to claim 1, wherein said cover member (32) is formed of a suitable urethane foam. 3. A first engaging portion (34) is provided on the cover member (32), and the first engaging portion (34) can be engaged with an edge of the duct wall portion (30, 30). By providing a second engaging portion (36) and engaging the first engaging portion (34) with the second engaging portion (36), the cover member (32) is attached to the duct wall portion ( 3. The instrument panel duct structure according to claim 1, wherein the duct structure is fixed to an edge of the instrument panel. 4. The cover member (32) is attached to an appropriate adhesive (3
3. A duct structure for an instrument panel according to claim 1, wherein said duct structure is fixed to an edge of said duct wall portion by utilizing (8).