JP2005186840A - Instrument panel reinforcing member - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a lightweight and inexpensive instrument panel reinforcing member having sufficient strength which is abutted on an instrument panel over a wide area, and connected to a lower structural member. <P>SOLUTION: An upper wall 21 and a lower wall 23 are joined with each other by flange parts 232 at four peripheral ends to form a hollow body 25 inside. A reinforcing member 20 with a hollow leg part 27 extending downwardly in a diagonal direction from right and left rear ends of the hollow body 25 is formed by blow-molding, fastened to a boss part 13 provided on a lower surface 12 of an instrument panel 10 at an upper mounting part 271 above the leg part 27, and connected to a lower end part of the instrument panel 10 fastened to a structural member 30 of a vehicle body by a lower tightening part 275 below the leg part to reinforce the instrument panel 10. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a reinforcing member for an instrument panel, and more particularly, to a reinforcing member that is lightweight and has sufficient rigidity.

An automotive instrument panel is a resin-molded interior material that connects the lower end of the windshield and the upper end of the instrument panel in the front-rear direction and has a large area that extends across the entire width of the interior of the automobile.
In recent years, in order to improve safety and comfort, the number of automobiles arranged so as to expand the indoor space around the driver's seat to the front of the vehicle has increased. For this reason, the area of the instrument panel increases, and the rigidity decreases as the flat area increases.
In particular, as shown in FIG. 1, the instrument panel 10 of a minivan vehicle has a large length L from the front end (the lower end of the front window not shown) to the rear end toward the indoor side. When the upper surface 11 of the ment panel 10 is manually pressed, bending occurs.
As measures for suppressing the occurrence of this bending, the instrument panel 10 that is resin-molded is made thicker or a reinforcing member is attached to the lower surface 12 of the instrument panel 10.

However, if the thickness of the upper part of the instrument panel having a large area is increased, the weight increases, the weight of the vehicle is reduced, and the cost increases, which is difficult to adopt.
Therefore, a reinforcing member is attached to the lower surface with the plate thickness unchanged, and a structure as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 has been adopted as a conventional example of the structure.
That is, in the structure shown in FIG. 4 (hereinafter, referred to as “conventional example 1”), a reinforcing member 200 of a resin molded product having a corrugated cross section is attached to a part of the lower surface of the instrument panel 100. Thus, the rigidity of the instrument panel 100 is improved.
In the structure of this conventional example 1, since the reinforcing member 200 is an injection molded product of resin, the cost is high, and since the reinforcing member 200 is welded to the lower surface of the instrument panel 100, a welding facility or the like is required. It was a factor that increased the manufacturing cost.

Further, the structure shown in FIG. 5 (hereinafter referred to as “conventional example 2”) has an upper end 2710 of a metal bracket 270 attached to a mounting portion 130 provided on the lower surface of the instrument panel 110. The lower end 2750 is connected to the lower structural member 300 of the instrument panel 110 to improve the mounting strength of the instrument panel 110.
In the structure of Conventional Example 2, since the bracket 270 is made of metal, the weight is large, and abnormal noise due to interference with wirings disposed under the instrument panel 110 is likely to occur. It was necessary to provide a cover in order to prevent the damage of the like, and the cost was high.

On the other hand, there is a technique described in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. Hei 6-39416 (hereinafter referred to as “Patent Document 1”) as a technique for connecting the instrument panel and the lower structural member with a resin blow molded product.
The “blow-molded product” described in Patent Document 1 has a different meaning from the present invention, but as shown in FIG. 1, the upper portion of the hollow duct 13 that is a blow-molded product is formed on the instrument panel 1. The lower end is connected to the differential grill 11 and is fastened by screwing a bolt 25 into a screw hole 23a provided in a boss 23 projecting from the base material 5 of the instrument panel 1 to the back side. (Refer to "0010" 4th to 8th lines and "0011" in Patent Document 1 and FIG. 1)
Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 6-39416

  However, the hollow duct 13 is a duct for sending warm air or the like to the differential grill 11, and the upper end is directly connected to the differential grill 11 provided near the front end of the instrument panel 1, and the lower end is the instrument panel 1. The duct 13 is attached to the instrument panel 1 by attaching to the boss 23 projecting from the base material 5 on the back side. Therefore, a structure for reinforcing the instrument panel 1 is not disclosed.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an inexpensive instrument panel reinforcing member that is in contact with an instrument panel over a wide area and is connected to a lower structural member and is light and has sufficient strength.

The reinforcing member of the instrument panel according to claim 1 of the present invention is attached to the lower surface of the instrument panel of the vehicle, and reinforces the instrument panel so as to support a load from above the instrument panel. An upper wall having a required length extending in the vehicle width direction along the lower surface of the instrument panel, and the upper wall is separated from the upper wall and joined to the upper wall at a flange portion at the four circumferential ends thereof A hollow body formed by a lower wall, and a leg portion that extends downward from the left and right rear ends of the hollow body and is formed hollow by the upper wall and the lower wall. The upper end of the leg is fastened to the lower surface of the instrument panel, and the lower end of the leg is fastened to the lower end of the instrument panel fastened to the lower structural member of the instrument panel. And butterflies.
Therefore, a hollow body is formed by the upper wall and the lower wall, and the leg portion extending downward from the hollow body is fastened to the lower surface of the instrument panel at the upper end and to the lower structural member of the instrument at the lower end. Since the load from above the instrument panel is supported by the hollow body and the leg portion, it is possible to support the upper portion of the instrument panel with a large area and reduce the number of parts. It is possible to reduce the number of assembling steps to the instrument panel.

Further, the reinforcing member of the instrument panel according to claim 2 according to the present invention is the reinforcing member of the instrument panel according to claim 1, wherein the upper wall of the hollow body is adjacent to the lower surface of the instrument panel. And at least one recess is formed.
Therefore, the formation of the concave portion on the upper wall of the hollow body increases the section modulus of the reinforcing member, improves the reinforcing strength of the instrument panel, and the portion along the lower surface of the instrument panel is a surface other than the concave portion. Therefore, the shape of the reinforcing member is simplified and the molding becomes easy.

Moreover, the reinforcing member of the instrument panel of Claim 3 which concerns on this invention is a reinforcing member of the instrument panel of Claim 1, and shape | molds the said hollow body and the said leg part integrally by blow molding. It is characterized by that.
Therefore, the number of parts can be reduced by integration molding, the number of molding processes and assembly processes can be reduced, and the weight can be reduced and the cost can be reduced by using all resin.

  According to the present invention, the reinforcing member of the instrument panel includes the upper wall of a required length extending in the vehicle width direction along the lower surface of the instrument panel, and the flange portion at the four circumferential ends thereof that is separated from the upper wall. A hollow body formed by a lower wall joined to the upper wall, and the upper wall and the lower wall are extended downward from the left and right rear ends of the hollow body, and the upper wall and the lower wall are formed hollow. Since the upper end of the leg is fastened to the lower surface of the instrument panel and the lower end of the leg is fastened to the lower part of the instrument panel, the reinforcement of the entire instrument panel and the upper surface of the instrument panel The rigidity against the pressing can be improved with a single component, and the number of components, assembly man-hours and costs can be reduced, and the appearance of the instrument panel can be improved.

An embodiment of a reinforcing member for an instrument panel according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The reinforcing member of the instrument panel of the present embodiment is applied to a so-called minivan type vehicle.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the instrument panel of the present embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the instrument panel and the reinforcing member along the line II-II in FIG.
In addition, the code | symbol used by description of this Embodiment is unrelated to the code | symbol used by description of the above-mentioned patent document 1. FIG.

(Structure) The structure of the instrument panel and its reinforcing member of the present embodiment will be described. First, as shown in FIG. 2, the instrument panel 10 has a flat main part, and an air outlet 18 to which a defroster nozzle is connected is provided in the vicinity of the front end (left end in FIG. 2). 2 is bent so as to be bent downward and connected to an unillustrated meter case, glove box or the like.
Boss portions 13 that are obliquely forward and downward are formed at a plurality of positions on the lower surface 12 of the instrument panel 10 in a substantially intermediate portion in the front-rear direction and in the left-right direction.
Moreover, the lower part to which the said meter case, glove box, etc. of the instrument panel 10 are attached is fastened to the pipe 31 of the structural member 30 with both ends connected to the left and right pillars of the vehicle body.

As shown in the perspective view of FIG. 3, the reinforcing member 20, which is the main part of the present invention, is joined to the upper wall 21 by the upper wall 21 and the flange portion 232 at the four circumferential ends apart from the upper wall 21. The lower wall 23 is formed in a gate shape and includes leg portions 27 extending obliquely downward from both left and right rear portions of both walls 21 and 23.
The upper wall 21 has a required length 211 extending in the vehicle width direction along the lower surface 12 of the front part from the boss part 13 of the instrument panel 10 and a required width from both left and right ends of the rear part of the adjacent part 211. The upper leg portion 217 extends obliquely downward.
A recess 212 that is V-shaped in section and recessed downward from the general surface of the proximity section 211 is formed in the proximity section 211 along the left-right direction of the vehicle to increase the section coefficient of the upper wall 21.

The lower wall 23 is the same as the upper leg portion 217 of the upper wall 21 from the left and right ends of the rear portion of the bottom portion 231 and the bottom portion 231 joined to the lower surface of the proximity portion 211 of the upper wall 21 by the flange portion 232 at the four circumferential ends. The upper leg portion 217 has a width and is composed of a lower leg portion 237 joined at the periphery and extending obliquely downward.
The bottom portion 231 of the lower wall 23 is separated from the proximity portion 211 of the upper wall 21 to form a hollow body 25.
The leg portion 27 forms an upper attachment portion 271 in which the upper wall 21 and the lower wall 23 are joined at the upper portion, and forms a lower fastening portion 275 in which the upper wall 21 and the lower wall 23 are joined in the lower portion. An intermediate portion between the lower fastening portion 275 and the upper leg portion 217 and the lower leg portion 237 is formed hollow.

The reinforcing member 20 configured as described above is tightened with screws while the upper mounting portion 271 is applied to the boss portion 13 provided on the lower surface 12 of the instrument panel 10 from the front of the vehicle, and the lower fastening portion 275 at the lower end of the leg portion 27. Is fastened to the lower end of the instrument panel 10 with screws.
When the leg portion 27 is tightened, the upper surface of the proximity portion 211 of the upper wall 21 is not in contact with the lower surface 12 of the instrument panel 10 and is only close to the top surface.
In addition, 50 shown with a dashed-two dotted line in FIG. 2 is an air-conditioning duct.

(Operation) The reinforcing member 20 configured as described above forms the hollow portions of the hollow body 25 and the leg portions 27 by blow molding. That is, although illustration is omitted, the left and right molding dies that match the outer shapes of the hollow body 25 and the legs 27 and 27 are opened with the vehicle width direction of the reinforcing member 20 being the vertical direction, and are provided above the left and right molds. When the molten resin drips from the parison into a cylindrical shape and the molten resin passes through the lower end of the mold, the mold is closed and at the same time, compressed air is blown into the cylindrical resin to push the resin onto the inner wall of the mold. The hollow part is formed by contact.
Thereafter, the resin overlapping portion between the leg portions 27 and 27 is deleted to obtain the gate-shaped reinforcing member 20.

When the reinforcing member 20 is attached to the instrument panel 10 and a load is applied to the upper surface 11 of the instrument panel 10 from the direction of the arrow P, the instrument panel 10 is bent even if the instrument panel 10 is bent by the load. The lower surface 12 of the panel 10 comes into contact with the proximity portion 211 of the reinforcing member 20 and no further deformation occurs, and the same effect can be obtained when the rigidity of the instrument panel 10 itself is increased.
Further, the fact that the lower surface 12 of the instrument panel 10 and the upper surface of the adjacent portion 211 of the reinforcing member 20 are merely brought close to each other without being bonded does not cause distortion due to bonding on the upper surface 11 of the instrument panel 10, and There is no need to match the surface of the instrument panel 10 and the surface of the proximity portion 211, and both can be easily molded.

  As described above, according to the reinforcing member 20 of the instrument panel 10 of the present embodiment, the upper wall 21 and the lower wall 23 are joined by the flange portion 232 at the four circumferential ends thereof to form the hollow body 25, The reinforcing member 20 in which the hollow leg portion 27 extends obliquely downward from the left and right rear ends of the hollow body 25 is formed by blow molding, and the upper mounting portion 271 of the upper portion of the leg portion 27 is attached to the lower surface 12 of the instrument panel 10. The instrument panel 10 is reinforced by being fastened to the boss 13 provided and connected to the lower end of the instrument panel 10 attached to the structural member 30 of the vehicle body by the lower fastening part 275 of the lower portion. Even if a pressing force from the load is applied, the proximity portion 211 of the reinforcing member 20 receives the pressure, and the deformation of the instrument panel can be minimized.

The reinforcing member of the instrument panel of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications are possible.
For example, in the present embodiment, the two leg portions are extended from the left and right ends of the hollow body, but may be provided in the middle to be three.
Moreover, although the hollow body formed by the upper wall and the lower wall is a simple hollow body, it can be connected to an air conditioning duct or the like and used as a part of the air conditioning duct.

  The reinforcing member of the instrument panel according to the present invention includes an upper wall having a required length extending in the vehicle width direction along the lower surface of the instrument panel, and the upper wall at a flange portion at a four-circumferential end apart from the upper wall. A leg formed by a hollow body formed by a lower wall joined to the lower wall, and the upper wall and the lower wall extending downward from the left and right rear ends of the hollow body, and the upper wall and the lower wall being hollow The upper end of the leg part is fastened to the lower surface of the instrument panel, and the lower end of the leg part is fastened to the lower part of the instrument panel. Therefore, the reinforcement of the entire instrument panel and the upper surface of the instrument panel The rigidity against the pressing can be improved with a single component, and the number of components, assembly man-hours and costs can be reduced, and the appearance of the instrument panel can be improved.

It is a perspective view of the instrument panel which concerns on this invention. It is sectional drawing which follows the II-II line | wire of FIG. 1 of the instrument panel and reinforcement member which concern on this invention. It is a perspective view of the reinforcement member of the instrument panel which concerns on this invention. It is sectional drawing which shows one example of the reinforcement member of the conventional instrument panel. It is sectional drawing which shows the other example of the reinforcement member of the conventional instrument panel.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Instrument panel 13 Boss part 20 Reinforcement member 21 Upper wall 212 Recessed part 23 Lower wall 25 Hollow body 27 Leg part 271 Upper attachment part 275 Lower fastening part 30 Structural member

Claims (3)

A reinforcing member that is attached to the lower surface of the instrument panel of the vehicle and reinforces the instrument panel to support a load from above the instrument panel,
An upper wall having a required length extending in the vehicle width direction along the lower surface of the instrument panel, and a lower wall that is separated from the upper wall and is joined to the upper wall at a flange portion at the four circumferential ends thereof. A hollow body,
The upper wall and the lower wall are extended downward from the left and right rear ends of the hollow body, and are formed of leg portions formed hollow in the upper wall and the lower wall,
An instrument comprising: an upper end of the leg portion fastened to a lower surface of the instrument panel; and a lower end of the leg portion fastened to a lower end portion of the instrument panel fastened to a lower structural member of the instrument panel. Panel reinforcement. The reinforcing member for an instrument panel according to claim 1, wherein the upper wall of the hollow body is close to the lower surface of the instrument panel and at least one recess is formed. Reinforcement member of the ment panel. The reinforcing member for an instrument panel according to claim 1, wherein the hollow body and the leg portion are integrally formed by blow molding.

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