JP2006273277A - Duct structure and manufacturing method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a duct structure and a manufacturing method thereof capable of suppressing manufacturing costs from increasing. <P>SOLUTION: A first duct member 31 constituting a part of a duct structure is manufactured by injection molding. The first duct member 31 is injection-molded by connecting a first wall 31a with a second wall 31b via a hinge into a mold-releasing state in the same direction as a mold-releasing direction. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a duct structure disposed inside an instrument panel of a vehicle and a manufacturing method thereof.

Conventionally, this type of duct structure has been configured by combining a plurality of ducts (for example, a center duct, a center defroster duct, a side vent duct, and a side defroster duct) formed by blow molding. However, when manufacturing such a duct structure, since each individual manufacturing process is required for each of a plurality of ducts, there has been a problem that it takes time and effort. Therefore, in order to avoid such inconvenience, for example, in the duct structure shown in Patent Document 1, the plurality of ducts are integrally formed by blow molding. That is, this duct structure is formed by integrally connecting the end portions of the defroster duct portion and the air-conditioner duct portion to each other through a thin hinge and integrally forming a predetermined shape by blow molding. The defroster duct portion includes a front defroster duct and a side defroster duct. Further, the air-conditioner duct portion includes a center vent duct and a side vent duct. And this duct structure is made into the shape which agree | coincides with the assembly | attachment shape to a vehicle by relatively moving a defroster duct part and an air-conditioner duct part centering on a thin hinge.
JP 11-123923 A

  However, such blow molding is suitable for molding a hollow object such as a duct, but it is not suitable for blow molding itself by integrally molding a thin plate-like member such as a thin hinge with a duct. That is, if the thin hinge is connected to the duct by integral molding by blow molding as in the conventional case, the mold configuration is inevitably complicated. Further, in a duct structure formed by blow molding, an excess portion is necessarily formed at the end of the duct. Therefore, after blow molding, a process of removing such unnecessary surplus portions by trimming is required. Thus, in the said conventional duct structure, possibility that a manufacturing cost will increase with the complexity of a metal mold | die structure and the necessity of the process of removing the said excess part becomes high.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a conventional situation, and an object thereof is to provide a duct structure that can suppress an increase in manufacturing cost and a manufacturing method thereof.

  In order to achieve the above object, a duct structure according to a first aspect of the present invention includes a center duct for sending conditioned air supplied from a vehicle air conditioner to a central portion of a vehicle interior, and the air conditioner. A duct structure comprising a center defroster duct for sending air to a front window, wherein the center duct and the center defroster duct are each composed of an injection molding part in which at least a part thereof is molded by injection molding. These injection-molded parts are connected to each other via a hinge for integral molding, and in the injection molding, the die-cutting state is set to the same direction as each other. The gist of the invention is that they are folded together at the center to be in an assembled state.

  According to the duct structure having the above-described configuration, the center defroster duct and the center duct are formed such that after the injection-molded portions constituting at least a part of the center defroster duct and the center duct are injection-molded, the injection-molded portions are bent with respect to each other about the hinge. As a result, the assembled state enabling the assembly to the vehicle is obtained. In addition, this "assembly state" shows a state when each duct or the injection molding part of each duct is arrange | positioned in the positional relationship corresponding to the assembly | attachment shape to a vehicle. The center defroster duct and the injection molding portions of the center duct are integrally molded by being connected to each other via a hinge. For this reason, it is possible to simplify the molding and reduce the surplus part, rather than molding each injection molding part individually. Furthermore, injection molding has fewer surplus parts that occur during molding than, for example, blow molding. For this reason, the removal of the surplus portion is easy, the molding can be simplified, and the amount of material used can be reduced. Moreover, when forming a hinge, a metal mold | die structure can be simplified in injection molding compared with blow molding, for example. Furthermore, since each injection-molded part is in a die-cut state in which the die-cutting directions of the molds are the same as each other during injection molding, it is possible to prevent the mold configuration from becoming complicated. Therefore, according to the present invention, the molding is simple and the mold configuration is not complicated, so that an increase in manufacturing cost can be suppressed.

  A duct structure according to a second aspect of the present invention is the duct structure according to the first aspect of the present invention, wherein the center duct and the center defroster duct are arranged when the respective injection-molded parts are in the assembled state. The gist of the present invention is that each has position holding means for holding the attached state.

  According to the duct structure having the above-described configuration, the center defroster duct and the center duct are assembled to the vehicle with the injection molding portions fixed in the assembled state by the position holding means. For this reason, in the process of assembling the duct structure to the vehicle, it is possible to suppress relative rotation of each injection molded part such as, for example, each injection molded part returning to the die-cut state. Accordingly, since the center defroster duct and the center duct are stably held in the assembled state, the duct structure can be easily and quickly assembled at a predetermined position of the vehicle.

  A duct structure according to a third aspect of the present invention is the duct structure according to the second aspect of the present invention, wherein the position holding means includes an engagement portion projecting from one of the injection molding portions, and the engagement. Each of the injection-molded parts is in the assembled state due to the engagement relationship between the engaging part and the engaged part. The gist is to be retained.

  According to the duct structure having the above-described configuration, each injection molding part is brought into a position in an assembled state in a state of being fixed to each other by engaging the engaging part with the engaged part. For this reason, the center defroster duct and the center duct are stably held in the assembled state via the engagement relationship between the engagement portion and the engaged portion in each injection molding portion. And when assembling a duct structure to a vehicle, position shift of a center defroster duct and a center duct can be controlled, and improvement of those position accuracy is aimed at. Therefore, the duct structure can be easily and quickly assembled at a predetermined location of the vehicle.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a duct structure manufacturing method including a center duct for sending conditioned air supplied from an air conditioner for a vehicle to a central portion of a vehicle interior, and sending the conditioned air to a front window. A method for manufacturing a duct structure comprising a center defroster duct for connecting at least a part of each of the center duct and the center defroster duct as an injection molded part and connecting the injection molded parts to each other via a hinge At the same time, injection molding is performed so that the die-cutting directions are the same as each other, and after each injection-molded portion is die-cut, the hinges are bent around each other to obtain an assembly state for assembly to the vehicle. Is the gist.

  According to the said structure, since the shaping | molding is simple and does not cause complication of a metal mold | die structure similarly to the said Claim 1, the raise of manufacturing cost can be suppressed now.

  According to the duct structure of the present invention and the manufacturing method thereof, an increase in manufacturing cost can be suppressed.

Hereinafter, an embodiment embodying a duct structure of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
First, a schematic configuration of the duct structure will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, the duct structure 10 includes a center defroster duct 11 and a center duct 12. The center defroster duct 11 and the center duct 12 are integrally connected via a hinge 13. The center defroster duct 11 and the center duct 12 are connected to the air conditioner 21 on the inner side of the instrument panel 20 of the vehicle, thereby sending conditioned air supplied from the air conditioner 21 into the vehicle interior. (See FIG. 3). That is, the center duct 12 is for sending the conditioned air to the central portion of the vehicle compartment via a pair of center vents 22 provided in the central portion of the instrument panel 20. The center defroster duct 11 is for sending conditioned air to the front window 23 through a center defroster grill 24 provided opposite to the front window 23 at the front end of the instrument panel 20 (see FIG. 2).

  Next, the detailed configuration of the center defroster duct 11 and the center duct 12 will be described. In the following description, unless otherwise specified, the traveling direction (forward direction) of the vehicle is defined as the front, and the vertical direction coincides with the vertical direction in the vehicle traveling direction.

  First, the center defroster duct 11 will be described. As shown in FIG. 3, a first introduction port 11 a is opened at the lower part of the center defroster duct 11, and a first discharge port 11 b is opened at the upper part of the center defroster duct 11. A duct (not shown) extending from the air conditioner 21 is connected to the first introduction port 11a. The first discharge port 11 b is disposed opposite to the center defroster grill 24 and connected to the center defroster grill 24. For this reason, the conditioned air led from the air conditioner 21 to the first discharge port 11 b of the center defroster duct 11 is discharged into the vehicle interior through the center defroster grill 24.

  As shown in FIG. 1, cylindrical first attachment portions 14 extending in the vehicle width direction are respectively provided on both side portions of the center defroster duct 11. One end of a side defroster duct 15 is attached to each first attachment portion 14. Further, the inside of each first mounting portion 14 is communicated with the inside of the side defroster duct 15. For this reason, the conditioned air guided from the air conditioner 21 to the first mounting portion 14 is discharged into the vehicle compartment through the side defroster 26.

  Next, the center duct 12 will be described. A second introduction port 12a is opened at the lower portion of the center duct 12, and a pair of second discharge ports 12b are opened at the rear portion (see FIGS. 1 and 3). A duct (not shown) extending from the air conditioner 21 is connected to the second introduction port 12a. The pair of second discharge ports 12 b are arranged to face the center vent 22 and are connected to the center vent 22. For this reason, the conditioned air guided from the air conditioner 21 to the second discharge port 12 b of the center duct 12 is discharged into the vehicle compartment through the center vent 22.

  On both side portions of the center duct 12, cylindrical second mounting portions 16 extending in the vehicle width direction are provided. One end of a side vent duct 17 is attached to each second attachment portion 16. Further, the inside of each second mounting portion 16 is communicated with the inside of the center duct 12. For this reason, the conditioned air guided from the air conditioner 21 to the second mounting portion 16 is discharged into the vehicle interior through the side register 27.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the center defroster duct 11 and the center duct 12 are formed of three duct members, a first duct member 31, a second duct member 32, and a third duct member 33. The first duct member 31 forms a portion (upper part and side part) other than the rear part of the center defroster duct 11 and the bottom part of the center duct 12. The second duct member 32 forms the front part of the center defroster duct 11. The third duct member 33 forms the bottom of the center duct 12.

  Each of the first to third duct members 31, 32, 33 is molded by injection molding using a predetermined molding material. In addition, the 1st duct member 31 comprises these 1st-3rd duct members 31, 32, and 33 in the injection molding part of this embodiment. The molding material is a flexible material, for example, synthetic resin such as polyethylene, polypropylene, polyester, polystyrene, polyamide, AS resin, ABS resin, polyacetal, silicon resin, fluororesin, polycarbonate, and their synthesis. Examples include modified resins and alloys.

  The first duct member 31 includes a first wall portion 31 a that forms the rear portion of the center defroster duct 11 and a second wall portion 31 b that forms the upper portion and the side portion of the center duct 12. The first wall portion 31 a and the second wall portion 31 b are connected via the hinge 13. More specifically, the lower end of the first wall portion 31 a and the lower end of the second wall portion 31 b facing the lower end are connected via the hinge 13. The hinge 13 has predetermined deformability (flexibility, elasticity, and plasticity). Then, by utilizing the deformation (flexibility) of the hinge 13, the first wall portion 31 a and the second wall portion 31 b are relatively rotated around the hinge 13.

  An engaging protrusion 35 as an engaging portion protrudes from a lower portion of the front wall of the second wall portion 31b, that is, a lower portion of the second wall portion 31b opposite to the first wall portion 31a. . The engagement protrusion 35 is extended toward the front (the first wall 31a side). A plurality of the engaging protrusions 35 are provided at a predetermined interval along the vehicle width direction (direction orthogonal to the paper surface of FIG. 3). In addition, as shown in FIG. 4, engagement protrusions 35 a protrude from both side surfaces at the tip of the engagement protrusion 35.

  A pair of protrusions 37 project from the rear (on the side of the second wall 31b) at locations facing the engagement protrusion 35 in the first wall 31a. The pair of protrusions 37 are provided to face each other along the vehicle width direction A. Note that the pair of protrusions 37 constitutes an engaged portion of the present embodiment. In addition, engagement holes 37 a are respectively provided at the distal ends of the pair of protrusions 37. These engagement holes 37 a are provided so as to have a positional relationship corresponding to the engagement protrusions 35 a provided in the engagement protrusion 35.

  When the center defroster duct 11 and the center duct 12 (first duct member 31) are arranged in a positional relationship that matches the assembled shape to the vehicle, that is, in an assembled state, between the pair of protrusions 37. The engagement protrusion 35 is engaged with the first projection. Further, when the pair of protrusions 37 and the engagement protrusion 35 are engaged, the engagement protrusion 35a is disposed inside the engagement hole 37a and is engaged with the peripheral edge of the engagement hole 37a. It has become. Thereby, the center defroster duct 11 and the center duct 12 are each held in the assembled state shown in FIG. That is, in this embodiment, the pair of protrusions 37, the engagement protrusions 35, the engagement protrusions 35a, and the engagement holes 37a constitute position holding means for holding the center defroster duct 11 and the center duct 12 in the assembled state. ing.

  In the pair of protrusions 37 and the engaging protrusions 35, the interval p between the tip ends of the pair of protrusions 37 is preferably smaller than the width q of the tip ends of the engagement protrusions 35. In this way, by making the interval p smaller than the width q, the engagement protrusion 35 is sandwiched between the pair of protrusions 37, and assembly is performed by the engagement relationship between the pair of protrusions 37 and the engagement protrusion 35. The state can be reliably maintained.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the center defroster duct 11 is formed in a cylindrical shape by combining a second duct member 32 and a first duct member 31 (first wall portion 31a). The first mounting portion 14 is formed by combining half-cylinder portions 14a and 14b that protrude from the first wall portion 31a and the second duct member 32, respectively. The center duct 12 is formed in a cylindrical shape by combining the third duct member 33 and the first duct member 31 (second wall portion 31b). The second introduction port 12 a is formed by a long hole 33 a drilled in the center of the third duct member 33. The first to third duct members 31, 32, 33 are fixed to each other by a method such as concavity and convexity, adhesion, ultrasonic adhesion, and heat welding.

Next, a method for manufacturing the duct structure 10 will be described.
The duct structure 10 is manufactured by manufacturing the first to third duct members 31, 32, and 33 by injection molding, and then assembling and fixing the duct members 31, 32, and 33 to each other.

  First, in the injection molding, the first duct member 31 is molded by injecting a molding material into the cavity 43 of the molds 41 and 42 having a predetermined shape shown in FIG. 5, and curing and cooling the molding material. The At this time, the first wall portion 31 a (a part of the center defroster duct 11) and the second wall portion 31 b (a part of the center duct 12) are connected via the hinge 13. Further, in the present embodiment, the first wall portion 31a is molded in a state where the first wall portion 31a is developed by about 90 ° with respect to the second wall portion 31b, that is, in a die-cut state in which the die-cutting directions are the same direction. Therefore, when the molds 41 and 42 are punched after the injection molding, the punching can be performed in one direction indicated by an arrow B in FIG. For this reason, the shape of the cavity is not complicated, and the mold configuration can be simplified. Note that the same effect (simplification of the mold configuration) can be obtained with respect to the molding of the second duct member 32 and the third duct member 33 having a simpler shape than the first duct member 31.

  Moreover, in this embodiment, since the 1st duct member 31 is shape | molded by injection molding, the high dimensional accuracy about a molded article (1st duct member 31) is obtained. Therefore, integral molding of thin plate-like parts such as the hinge 13 is facilitated. In addition, in this embodiment, an extra step of removing the surplus portion as in the case of employing blow molding is not required. Therefore, according to the duct structure 10 of the present embodiment, the manufacturing cost can be reduced from the viewpoint of simplifying the mold configuration and reducing the number of steps required for manufacturing.

  Next, in assembling the duct structure 10, first, in the first duct member 31, the first wall portion 31 a and the second wall portion 31 b are bent with respect to each other around the hinge 13 to form a pair of protrusions. 37 and the engaging protrusion 35 are engaged. Then, the second duct member 32 and the third duct member 33 are fixed to the first duct member 31, respectively. As a result, the center defroster duct 11 and the center duct 12 are integrally formed via the hinge 13, and the both ducts 11 and 12 are brought into the assembled state. In assembling the duct structure 10, the first duct member 31 may be bent around the hinge 13 after the second duct member 32 and the third duct member 33 are fixed to the first duct member 31.

  In this assembled state, the first wall portion 31a constituting the center defroster duct 11 is attached in a direction away from the second wall portion 31b by the elastic force of the hinge 13. That is, the first wall portion 31a tries to return to the original position (die-cut state) at the time of molding based on the elastic force of the hinge 13. Therefore, in the process of assembling the duct structure 10 in the assembled state to the vehicle, the center defroster duct 11 may rotate relative to the center duct 12 and both may spread. However, in this embodiment, unnecessary rotation of the center defroster duct 11 with respect to the center duct 12 is restricted by the engagement relationship between the pair of protrusions 37 and the engagement protrusions 35. Accordingly, both the center defroster duct 11 and the center duct 12 can be stably disposed at predetermined positions of the vehicle.

The effects exhibited by the above embodiment will be described below.
(1) The 1st-3rd duct members 31, 32, and 33 which constitute a part of duct structure 10 are manufactured by injection molding, respectively. Among these, the first duct member 31 is injection-molded with the first wall portion 31a and the second wall portion 31b in a die-cut state so that the die-cutting direction is the same direction. For this reason, the shape of the cavity of a metal mold | die is not complicated like the case where the duct which has the hinge 13 is shape | molded by blow molding, for example. In addition, an extra step of removing the excess portion is not necessary. Therefore, in this embodiment, it is possible to reduce the manufacturing cost from the viewpoints of both simplification of the mold configuration and reduction of extra manufacturing steps.

  (2) The first duct member 31 as the injection molding part is manufactured by injection molding in a state where the first wall part 31 a and the second wall part 31 b are connected via the hinge 13. Injection molding can obtain a higher dimensional accuracy than, for example, blow molding, so that a thin plate-like member such as a hinge can be easily molded. In addition, since it is possible to reduce the thickness of the entire molded product (first duct member 31), it is easy to reduce the weight of the duct structure 10. Moreover, since the 2nd duct member 32 and the 3rd duct member 33 are also manufactured by injection molding, the thickness of both the duct members 32 and 33 can be made thin. Therefore, in addition to the first duct member 31, the second and third duct members 32 and 33 also contribute to weight reduction of the duct structure 10. In addition, by manufacturing the 1st duct member 31 by injection molding, the thickness of the hinge 13 can be made thicker or thinner, and it can also be set as a desired shape.

  (3) The center defroster duct 11 and the center duct 12 are assembled in a predetermined location of the vehicle in a state of being integrated via the hinge 13. Therefore, in this embodiment, the number of parts of the duct structure 10 can be reduced as compared with a configuration in which the center defroster duct 11 and the center duct 12 are separately assembled to the vehicle. Moreover, the assembly | attachment to a vehicle can also be facilitated.

  (4) The engagement protrusion 35 provided in the center duct 12 is engaged between the pair of protrusions provided in the center defroster duct 11 so that the center defroster duct 11 and the center duct 12 are assembled to the vehicle. Assembling state that enables Further, each projection 37 is provided with an engagement hole 37a, and the engagement projection 35 is provided with an engagement projection 35a that engages with the engagement hole 37a. Engagement with the portion 35 is made more reliable. Therefore, the problem that the center defroster duct 11 rotates relative to the center duct 12 based on the elastic force of the hinge 13 is solved in the process of assembling the duct structure 10 to the vehicle. Therefore, since the center defroster duct 11 and the center duct 12 are stably held at the normal positions, the duct structure 10 can be easily and quickly assembled to a predetermined portion of the vehicle.

(5) The distance p between the pair of protrusions 37 is set to be smaller than the width q of the front end of the engaging protrusion 35. For this reason, the front-end | tip part of the engagement protrusion 35 will be pinched | interposed by the front-end | tip part of a pair of protrusion 37 urged | biased in the direction which mutually approaches, and both engagement state will be maintained suitably. . Therefore, it becomes easy to stably hold the center defroster duct 11 and the center duct 12 at the normal positions.
(Modification)
In addition, this embodiment can also be changed and embodied as follows.

  In the present embodiment, the center defroster duct 11 is provided with a pair of protrusions 37 and the center duct 12 is provided with an engaging protrusion 35. However, the pair of protrusions 37 and the engaging protrusion 35 are provided oppositely between the two. Also good. That is, the engagement protrusion 35 may be provided on the center defroster duct 11 and the pair of protrusions 37 may be provided on the center duct 12.

  The engagement hole 37a provided in the protrusion 37 and the engagement protrusion 35a provided in the engagement protrusion 35 may be omitted. Even in this case, the distance p between the pair of protrusions 37 is made smaller than the width q of the engagement protrusion 35 as shown in the present embodiment, thereby engaging the pair of protrusions 37. The engaged state of the protrusion 35 can be suitably maintained.

  A configuration is adopted in which the tip of the engaging projection 35 on the second wall 31b (center duct 12) side is joined to the pair of protrusions 37 on the first wall 31a (center defroster duct 11) by joining means. May be. As this kind of joining means, there are conventionally known adhesives, ultrasonic welding using ultrasonic vibration, high-frequency welding using high-frequency dielectric heating method, friction welding such as vibration welding and spin welding, and hot plate welding. And heat welding.

The engagement protrusion 35 and the pair of protrusions 37 may be omitted. In this case, a configuration in which the surfaces of the first wall portion 31a and the second wall portion 31b are joined by the joining means may be employed.
-For example, a pin is installed between the protrusions 37, and the engaging protrusion 35 is engaged with the protrusion 37 by providing a locking hole for locking the engaging protrusion 35 to the pin. The engagement with the mating protrusion 35 may be ensured. Further, the position holding means is not limited to the protrusion 37, the engagement protrusion 35, and the like of the embodiment. For example, if the center defroster duct 11 and the center duct 12 can be held in the assembled state, the position holding means is inserted into the cylinder and the cylinder, for example. Any configuration such as a pillar may be used.

Further, the technical idea that can be grasped from the embodiment will be described below.
An engaging protrusion is provided in the engaging portion, an engaging hole is provided in the engaged portion, and the engaging hole is engaged when the engaging portion and the engaged portion are engaged. The duct structure according to claim 3, wherein the engaging protrusion is engaged with the duct structure. When it is set as such a structure, engagement of an engaging part and an engaged part can be made reliable.

  The duct structure according to claim 3, wherein the engaged portion includes a pair of protrusions, and the interval between the protrusions is set smaller than the width of the engaging protrusion. When it is set as such a structure, engagement of an engaging part and a to-be-engaged part can be made still more reliable.

The perspective view which shows the duct structure of this embodiment. The perspective view which shows an instrument panel. FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line 3-3 in FIG. 1. FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line 4-4 of FIG. Schematic which shows the manufacturing method of a 1st duct member.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 ... Center defroster duct, 12 ... Center duct, 13 ... Hinge, 21 ... Air conditioning apparatus, 23 ... Front window, 31 ... 1st duct member as an injection molding part, 35 ... Engagement protrusion, 35a ... Engagement protrusion 37 ... projections, 37a ... engagement holes.

Claims (4)

A duct structure comprising a center duct for sending conditioned air supplied from an air conditioner for a vehicle to the center of the vehicle interior, and a center defroster duct for sending the conditioned air to a front window,
The center duct and the center defroster duct are each composed of an injection molding part in which at least a part of each is molded by injection molding,
These injection-molded parts are connected to each other via hinges for integral molding, and in the injection molding, the die-cutting states are set so that the die-cutting directions are the same as each other. A duct structure characterized in that the duct structure is bent and assembled. The center duct and the center defroster duct each have position holding means for holding the assembled state when each of the injection molded parts is in the assembled state. Item 2. The duct structure according to Item 1. The position holding means includes an engaging portion protruding from one of the injection molding portions and an engaged portion protruding to the other so as to be in a position corresponding to the engaging portion. The duct structure according to claim 2, wherein each of the injection-molded parts is held in the assembled state by an engagement relationship between the engaging part and the engaged part. A manufacturing method of a duct structure comprising a center duct for sending conditioned air supplied from a vehicle air conditioner to a central portion of a vehicle interior and a center defroster duct for sending the conditioned air to a front window. And
At least a part of each of the center duct and the center defroster duct is used as an injection molding part, and each injection molding part is connected to each other via a hinge and injection molded so that the die cutting directions are the same as each other. A method for manufacturing a duct structure, characterized in that, after each injection-molded part is die-cut, the hinges are bent together so as to be in an assembled state when assembled to a vehicle.

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