JP2003212074A - Instrument panel - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent cracking of a panel body of an instrument panel by having an airbag unit easily deployed and always broken first from a prescribed slit. <P>SOLUTION: When the airbag unit 10 is inflated, the airbag is brought into contact with lid brackets 12A and 12B to press the instrument panel body 2. At this time, a cross slit 15B at the center which is thinner than each of the other cross slits 15A and 15C and longitudinal slits 16A and 16B are broken first, then a lid starts to open with the cross slits 15A and 15C as hinges. Accordingly, the front of the airbag device 6 in the instrument panel body 2 is completely cut with the lid brackets 12A and 12B functioning as hinges and the lid being attached to the lid brackets 12A and 12B, so that the lid is prevented from flying away. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an instrument panel in which an airbag device is incorporated in a passenger seat of an automobile. In particular, the present invention relates to an instrument panel in which the surface of a portion incorporating an airbag device is seamless.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an instrument panel in which a conventional air bag device has a seamless surface, the panel body is designed to be broken so that a hinge portion is left when the air bag device is deployed. Form a thin slit.

[0003]

However, since the slits formed on the back surface of the panel body have the same wall thickness, it becomes different where the air bag device is broken when the airbag device is deployed. When the slit of No. 1 was broken, there was a problem that the panel body was cracked.

Therefore, in view of the above points, the present invention aims to facilitate the deployment of the airbag device and to make sure that the panel body is not cracked by always breaking first from a predetermined slit. And

[0005]

Therefore, the first invention is
In an instrument panel in which an airbag device is installed in a passenger seat of an automobile, a lid bracket is vertically fixed to a front portion of the airbag device of a panel body, and a lateral slit extending horizontally is vertically provided on a back surface of the panel body. It is characterized in that three vertical slits are formed and extend vertically and are respectively connected to both ends of the horizontal slit, and two vertical slits are formed on the right and left sides.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in an instrument panel in which an airbag device is incorporated in a passenger seat of an automobile, a lid bracket is vertically fixed to a front portion of the airbag device of the panel body, and the panel is provided. On the back surface of the main body, three lateral slits extending in the left and right direction are formed, and two vertical slits extending in the vertical direction and respectively connected to both ends of the lateral slit are formed. Is characterized by being thinner than the others.

[0007]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. First, FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of an instrument panel 1. This instrument panel 1 is formed by injection molding of a filler-filled polypropylene resin filled with short fibers and is directly attached to a vehicle body. And a console 3 fixed to the instrument panel main body 2 and the like,
It is composed of a car navigation system and a meter cluster 4 arranged in front of various meters. A glove box lid 5 is provided on the passenger seat side.

Then, the airbag device 6 includes the mounting member 7
And a pair of upper and lower lid brackets 12A and 12B made of, for example, an iron plate having a thickness of 0.6 mm. The airbag bracket 8 includes a retracted airbag unit 10 and the airbag unit 10. A device (not shown) for explosively expanding the bag unit 10 is housed.

The outer surfaces of the upper and lower ends 8A and 8B of the airbag bracket 8 are fixed to the instrument panel body 2 of the instrument panel 1 by vibration welding, and the lid brackets 12A and 12B are provided in the vicinity thereof with screws. It is fixed by 11. And the instrument panel body 2
An anti-scattering process is applied to the front part of the airbag device 6 on the back surface so that no fragments are generated, that is, the back surface of the instrument panel body 2 is coated with an adhesive or the like.

Further, a lateral slit 15 extending in the left-right direction is provided in the front portion of the airbag device 6 on the back surface of the instrument panel body 2.
A, 15B, 15C are formed, and vertical slits 16A, 16B that extend vertically and are connected to both ends of the horizontal slits 15A, 15B, 15C are formed on the left and right,
The horizontal slit 15B and the vertical slit 16A, 1 in the middle
6B is formed thinner than the other slits 15A and 15C by high frequency induction heating.

That is, the thickness of the instrument panel body 2 is 2.5 to
Assuming that the width is 3.5 mm (millimeters), the remaining thickness of the lateral slits 15A and 15C is 1.0 to 1.8 mm,
For example, the thickness is set to 1.5 mm, and the residual thickness of the horizontal slit 15B portion and the vertical slits 16A and 16B in the middle is formed to 0.5 to 1.2 mm, for example, 0.7 mm.

The intermediate portions 17A and 17B of the lid brackets 12A and 12B are fixed to the rear surface of the instrument panel body 2 by heat staking (painted in black). That is, the end portion of the lid bracket 12A is fixed to the upper end portion 8A of the airbag bracket 8 with the screw 11, and the portion corresponding to the lateral slit 15A is curved inward.
The intermediate portion 17A is fixed to the back surface of the instrument panel body 2 by heat staking, and similarly, the end portion of the lid bracket 12B is screwed to the lower end portion 8B of the airbag bracket 8.
1, the portion corresponding to the lateral slit 15C is curved inwardly, and the intermediate portion 17B is the instrument panel body 2
Secured by heat staking to the back side, lid bracket 12A
And 12B, the lateral slit 15B is positioned and fixed so as to be located.

With the above construction, the air bag unit 10 housed in the air bag bracket 8 in a contracted state by the device for explosively expanding the air bag unit 10 when a shock at the time of collision of the automobile is sensed. But,
It develops as shown in FIG.

That is, when the airbag unit 10 is inflated, it comes into contact with the lid brackets 12A and 12B and pushes the instrument panel body 2. At this time, first, another horizontal slit 15A
And the lateral slit 1 in the middle where the residual thickness is thinner than the 15C part
5B part and vertical slits 16A, 16B parts are cut,
The lid starts to open with the lateral slits 15A and 15C as hinges. Therefore, the front part of the airbag device 6 of the instrument panel body 2 is completely cut off, the lid brackets 12A and 12B serve as hinges respectively, the lid remains attached to the lid brackets 12A and 12B, and the lid scatters. Is prevented.

As described above, the horizontal slits 15A, 15B, 15C extending horizontally are formed vertically on the back surface of the instrument panel body 2 and the vertical slits 16A extending vertically and connecting to both ends of the horizontal slit 16A, respectively. 16B are formed on the left and right, and the slit 15B in the middle of the horizontal slits and the vertical slits 16A and 16B are the other slits 15A and 1A.
Since it is thinner than 5C, the horizontal slit 15 in the middle is sure
B (and the vertical slits 16A and 16B) are cut, and the lid brackets 12A and 12B serve as hinges, respectively, so that the instrument panel body 2 is unlikely to be cracked.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, various alternatives, modifications, and variations can be made by those skilled in the art based on the above description, and the present invention can be carried out in various ways described above without departing from the spirit of the invention. It is intended to cover alternatives, modifications or variations.

[0017]

As described above, according to the present invention, the airbag device can be easily deployed and the panel body can be prevented from cracking by always breaking first from the predetermined slit. .

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an instrument panel.

FIG. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional side view of the airbag device before deployment.

FIG. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional side view of the airbag device when deployed.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Instrument panel 2 Instrument panel body 6 Airbag device 8 airbag bracket 10 Airbag unit 12A, 12B lid bracket 15A, 15B, 15C Horizontal slit 16A, 16B Vertical slit

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. An instrument panel in which an airbag device is incorporated in a passenger seat of an automobile, wherein a lid bracket is vertically fixed to a front portion of the airbag device of a panel body, and a back side of the panel body is laterally fixed. Three horizontal slits extending vertically are formed, and two vertical slits extending vertically and connecting to both ends of the horizontal slit are formed left and right, and the middle one of the horizontal slits is thinner than the others. Instrument panel featuring. 2. An instrument panel in which an air bag device is incorporated in a passenger seat of a vehicle, wherein a lid bracket is fixed to a front portion of the air bag device of a panel body, and a lid bracket is fixed to a back surface of the panel body. Three horizontal slits extending in the left and right direction are formed, and two vertical slits extending in the vertical direction and respectively connected to both end portions of the horizontal slit are formed in the left and right sides. An instrument panel characterized by being thin.