JP2023028080A - instrument panel - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an instrument panel 10, which is configured so that a panel surface which is easily visible from a driver is suppressed from being scratched due to contact of the panel surface with an opening for a door when the panel is assembled to a vehicle body.SOLUTION: An instrument panel 10 is arranged at a front part of a vehicle, and includes a first area 13 extending in a vehicle width direction on an upper surface at a front side of the vehicle and inclining downward toward a front side, and a second area 15 extending in the vehicle width direction behind the first area 13, having a design surface, and whose front end part inclines downward toward the front side. A downward inclination angle θ1 of an upper surface of the first area 13 is larger than a downward inclination angle θ2 of an upper surface of the front end part of the second area 15. Between the first area 13 and the front end part of the second area 15 is formed a protrusion 20 extending along a front edge of the front end part of the second area 15 and protruding beyond the first area 13 and the front end part of the second area 15.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an instrument panel arranged in the front part of a vehicle, and relates to suppressing scratches on the surface of the instrument panel due to contact with a door opening during assembly to the vehicle body.

Patent Literature 1 describes an instrument panel having an inclined surface that is inclined forward and downward at the front end portion. A front end portion of the upper surface of the instrument panel is inclined so as to substantially match the inclination of the side surface of the windshield in the passenger compartment.

JP 2005-035325 A

The instrument panel is inserted into the inside of the vehicle body through the door opening using an instrument panel transporter during assembly to the vehicle body. At this time, if the length of the instrument panel in the front-rear direction increases, when the instrument panel is inserted into the door opening, the upper end of the inclined surface at the front end of the instrument panel may be bent due to run-out of the instrument panel or manufacturing errors. The rear edge of the door opening and the forwardly downwardly sloping upper front edge of the perimeter of the door opening can be quite close. Then, the rear edge of the inclined surface of the instrument panel comes into contact with the upper front edge of the door opening and is crushed. The flat or curved panel surface, which is the upper surface on the rear side of the rear edge of the inclined surface and is easily visible to the occupant, may be damaged.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to prevent the surface of an instrument panel, which is easily visible to an occupant, from being damaged due to contact with a door opening during assembly to a vehicle body.

An instrument panel according to the present invention is an instrument panel arranged in a front portion of a vehicle, and includes a first region extending in a vehicle width direction on the front side of the vehicle and inclined downward toward the front; a second region that spreads in the vehicle width direction on the rear side of the first region, has a design surface, and has a front end portion that slopes downward toward the front; is larger than the downward inclination angle of the upper surface of the front end of the second region, and between the first region and the front end of the second region is an instrument panel provided with a ridge that extends along the front edge of the front end portion and rises from the first region and the front end portion;

According to the instrument panel according to the present invention, when the instrument panel is assembled to the vehicle body, when the instrument panel is inserted into the inside of the vehicle body through the door opening of the vehicle body, the upper front side portion of the instrument panel is aligned with the upper front edge of the door opening. This upper front edge is approached by the ridge before the second region, even when approaching the ridge. As a result, even if the front part of the top surface of the instrument panel contacts the front edge of the door opening, the ridges may press the front edge of the upper part, or the ridges may be crushed to prevent the instrument panel from colliding. Absorbing the load prevents the second region from contacting and marring the upper front edge. For this reason, it is possible to suppress scratches on the surface of the instrument panel that is easily visible to the occupant. At this time, even if the upper end of the ridge touches and is damaged by contact with the upper front edge of the door opening, the upper end of the ridge is in a higher position on the front side than the front end of the second region, Since the front-to-rear width of the upper end can be reduced, the scratches are less noticeable to the occupants. Also, even if the first region contacts the upper front edge and is damaged, the first region is likely to be blocked by the ridges, making it difficult for the passenger to see the damage. As a result, damage to the surface of the instrument panel, which is easily visible to the occupant, can be suppressed.

It is a side view which shows the state in the middle of assembly|attachment to the vehicle body of the instrument panel of embodiment of this invention. It is a sectional view showing the state after attachment to the body of the instrument panel of the embodiment. It is the perspective view which looked at the front side part of the instrument panel from the top. 4 is a top view of the front portion of the instrument panel; FIG. FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of part A in FIG. 1 when the door opening of the vehicle body and the instrument panel are closest to each other while the instrument panel is being assembled to the vehicle body in the embodiment; FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of part B in FIG. 2 showing the relationship between the windshield and the instrument panel after the instrument panel is assembled; FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing the relationship between the upper tangent of the driver's eye range at the 99th percentile and the upper surface of the front portion of the instrument panel, in an embodiment. 6 is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 5 in another example of the embodiment; FIG.

An instrument panel according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below. In this description, specific shapes, materials, arrangement positions, etc. are examples for facilitating understanding of the present invention, and can be appropriately changed according to specifications. Further, Fr, Up, and Lh shown in each figure indicate the front direction, upward direction, and left direction of the vehicle, respectively. The opposite directions of Fr, Up, and Lh mean the rearward direction, downward direction, and rightward direction of the vehicle, respectively.

FIGS. 1 and 2 show a state in which the instrument panel 10 of the embodiment is being assembled to a vehicle body 80 and a state after the assembly, respectively. 3 is a perspective view of the front portion of the instrument panel 10 viewed from above, and FIG. 4 is a top view of the front portion of the instrument panel 10. FIG.

The instrument panel 10 is fixed to the vehicle body 80 in a state of being arranged in the front part of the passenger compartment, which is the front part of the vehicle. The instrument panel 10 is hereinafter referred to as an instrument panel 10 . The instrument panel 10 is assembled to the front part of the passenger compartment using an instrument panel transporter (not shown) when the vehicle is manufactured. The instrument panel 10 includes a resin upper panel 12 provided on the top, and a resin lower panel 30 coupled to the rear end portion of the upper panel 12 and extending substantially downward. The upper panel 12 extends from the front end toward the rear of the vehicle, and has an opening (not shown) formed on the driver's seat side of the rear end for viewing gauges such as a vehicle speed meter mounted inside. The lower panel 30 extends downward from the rear end portion of the upper panel 12, and both left and right portions face the feet of the occupants in the driver's seat and the passenger's seat. An upper side panel portion 24 and a lower side panel portion 32, which are wall portions, are formed at the left and right ends of the rear end portion of the upper panel 12 and the lower panel 30, respectively.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the front portion of the upper panel 12 has a front edge 12a that is gently curved arcuately convex forward so as to follow the curved shape of the lower end of the windshield 92 when viewed from above. It is a thin plate-like part of the shape.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of part A in FIG. 1 when the door opening 85 of the vehicle body 80 and the instrument panel 10 are closest to each other while the instrument panel 10 is being assembled to the vehicle body 80 . As shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, the front portion of the upper panel 12 is formed with a first region 13 and a second region 15 provided behind the first region 13 . The first region 13 is a narrow belt-like region extending in the vehicle width direction at the vehicle front side of the instrument panel 10, more specifically at the front end portion of the upper panel 12, and inclined downward toward the front. The second region 15 is a wide belt-like region extending in the vehicle width direction behind the first region 13 on the vehicle front side of the upper panel 12 . A narrow front end 16 of the second region 15 slopes downward toward the front. A wide main region 18 that continues rearward from the front end portion 16 of the second region extends substantially horizontally. Also, the second region 15 has a design surface in part or in its entirety. Hereinafter, the front end portion 16 of the second region 15 that is inclined downward toward the front is referred to as an inclined front end portion 16 . As shown in FIG. 5, the downward inclination angle θ ₁ of the upper surface of the first region 13 is larger than the downward inclination angle θ ₂ of the upper surface of the inclined front end portion 16 of the second region 15 .

Between the inclined front end portions 16 of the first region 13 and the second region 15, a ridge extending along the front edge of the inclined front end portion 16 and raised from the first region 13 and the inclined front end portion 16 20 are provided. The ridge 20 has, for example, a chevron whose cross-sectional shape perpendicular to the longitudinal direction is an arcuate cross-section. The cross-sectional shape of the ridge 20 is not limited to this, and may be a triangular mountain shape or the like in cross section. The thickness of the upper panel 12 at the position of the protrusion 20 is larger than the thickness of the other portions of the front end portion. As a result, the rigidity at the position of the ridge 20 is greater than the rigidity at the other portions of the front end portion. As will be described later, the ridges 20 can prevent the panel surface of the instrument panel 10 from being damaged due to contact with the door opening 85 when assembled to the vehicle body 80 .

For the design surface provided in the second region 15, for example, in the material forming the upper panel 12, the surface exposed to the passenger compartment may be subjected to processing such as texturing to enhance the design.

A sealing member 94 extending substantially in the left-right direction is fixed to the upper surface of the front end portion of the first region 13 of the upper panel 12 by adhesion or the like. The seal member 94 is an elastic member having a rectangular cross section and extending along the front edge 12 a of the instrument panel 10 . The sealing material 94 is made of EPDM rubber foam, for example. After the instrument panel 10 is assembled to the vehicle body 80 as shown in FIG. seal between

The instrument panel 10 is integrated with accessory parts such as an instrument panel reinforcement 40, a steering column (not shown), an air conditioner 90, etc., as shown in FIG. is formed, it is transported into the vehicle body 80 using an instrument panel transporter (not shown). The instrument panel reinforcement 40 has a substantially cylindrical shape made of metal and extends in the left-right direction, and has fixing members such as a plurality of mounting brackets (not shown) and columnar floor braces 42 extending substantially downward at a plurality of positions in the longitudinal direction. is fixed by welding, electromagnetic caulking, or the like. Some mounting brackets are fixed to the instrument panel 10, the steering column, or the air conditioner 90 directly or via other parts. A lower end portion of floor brace 42 is fixed to a floor panel (not shown) when instrument panel 10 is assembled to vehicle body 80 . Both left and right ends of the instrument panel reinforcement 40 protrude outward from the outer surface of the lower side panel portion 32, and coupling brackets (not shown) for fixing to the vehicle body are fixed to these portions.

The instrument panel transporter is suspended from the vicinity of the ceiling outside the vehicle body 80 and is movable in the left-right direction, the up-down direction, and the front-rear direction along the guide portion. The instrument panel transporter may be configured to automatically move by the operation of the actuator according to the movement route previously stored in the storage unit of the control device. may be An instrument panel reinforcement 40 is fixed to the instrument panel transporter. The instrument panel module 100 is assembled inside the vehicle body 80 by driving the instrument panel transporter. At this time, the instrument panel module 100 is moved in the left-right direction from a state in which the instrument panel module 100 is arranged outside one of the two door openings 85 provided at both the left and right ends of the front side of the vehicle body 80. It is inserted inside the vehicle body 80 through one of the door openings 85 .

The left and right door openings 85 of the vehicle body 80 are openings that are opened and closed by the left and right front doors. In the vehicle body 80, the door opening 85 includes a front pillar 82 inclined forward and downward, a front pillar lower panel 81 extending downward from the lower end of the front pillar 82, a side sill 83 extending rearward from the lower end of the front pillar lower panel 81, and It is surrounded by a center pillar 84 extending substantially vertically so as to connect the rear end of the front pillar 82 and the rear end of the side sill 83 . An upper front edge portion 86 that is inclined forward and downward along with the inclination of the front pillar 82 is positioned on the upper front side of the door opening 85 .

Next, as shown in FIG. 2, the instrument panel module 100 is moved forward by the instrument panel carrier to the vicinity of the cowl panel 88 inside the vehicle body 80, and then downwardly until the lower end of the floor brace 42 reaches the vicinity of the floor panel. be moved. At this time, the front end portion of the upper panel 12 of the instrument panel 10 is placed on the upper end of the cowl panel 88 in the vicinity of the lower end of the portion where the windshield 92 of the vehicle body 80 is to be mounted. The windshield 92 is attached to the vehicle body 80 after the instrument panel module 100 is assembled to the vehicle body 80 . In this state, joint brackets (not shown) fixed to both ends of the instrument panel reinforcement 40 are fixed to the front pillar lower panel 81 of the vehicle body 80 by an operator or an assembly robot. Also, the lower end of the floor brace 42 is fixed to the floor panel. The instrument panel 10 is thereby fixed to the vehicle body 80 .

On the other hand, when the instrument panel 10 is assembled to the vehicle body 80, the upper surface of the front end portion of the instrument panel 10 and the upper front edge portion 86 of the door opening 85 may be misaligned due to vibration when the instrument panel module is pushed into the vehicle body 80 and manufacturing errors. may come very close. In particular, when the instrument panel 10 is elongated in the front-rear direction, the front end of the instrument panel 10 is more likely to approach the upper front edge 86 of the door opening 85 . In this embodiment, even in such a case, when the upper surface of the front end portion of the instrument panel 10 and the upper front edge portion 86 come into contact with each other, the panel surface of the upper panel 12 that is easily visible to the occupant is prevented from being damaged. As shown, the front end portion of the instrument panel 10 is provided with a raised ridge 20 .

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 5, when the instrument panel 10 is assembled to the vehicle body 80 and the instrument panel 10 is inserted inside the vehicle body 80 through the door opening 85 of the vehicle body 80 as described above, the instrument panel 10 is mounted on the vehicle body 80. Even when the front portion of the top surface approaches the upper front edge 86 of the door opening 85 , the ridge 20 approaches the upper front edge 86 before the second region 15 . As a result, even when the front portion of the upper surface of the instrument panel 10 contacts the upper front edge 86, the protrusion 20 presses the upper front edge 86, or the crush of the protrusion 20 reduces the load of the instrument panel 10 upon collision. The absorption prevents the second region 15 from contacting and scratching the upper front edge 86 . Therefore, in the instrument panel 10, damage to the panel surface that is easily visible to the passenger can be suppressed. At this time, even if the upper end of the ridge 20 contacts and is damaged by the upper front edge 86, the upper end of the ridge 20 is positioned higher on the front side than the front end of the second region 15, and the ridge 20 Since the front-to-rear width of the upper end of the cover can be reduced, the scratches are less noticeable to the occupant. Also, even if the first region 13 contacts the upper front edge portion 86 and is damaged, the first region 13 is easily blocked by the ridges 20 and is difficult to see from the occupant, so the damage is less visible. As a result, damage to the panel surface of the instrument panel 10, which is easily visible to the occupant, can be suppressed.

A sealing material 94 is provided at the front end of the upper surface of the first region 13. When this sealing material 94 is pushed by the upper front edge of the door opening 85, it shrinks considerably in the height direction. The sealing material 94 alone cannot prevent the second region 15 from being damaged.

Also _, in this example, as _shown in FIG. The inclination angle θg of 86 with respect to the horizontal direction satisfies the relationship θ ₁ >θg>θ ₂ . Therefore, the slope of the upper surface of the second region 15 is gentler than the slope of the upper front edge portion 86 , and the further the second region 15 goes rearward, that is, the farther away it is from the ridge 20 , the more the door opening 85 is inclined. It is spaced from the upper front edge 86 . Therefore, if the protrusion 20 can prevent the front end of the second region 15 from contacting the upper front edge 86 , the entire second region 15 can be prevented from contacting the upper front edge 86 .

FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of part B in FIG. 2 showing the relationship between the windshield 92 and the instrument panel 10 after the instrument panel 10 has been assembled. As shown in FIG. 6, in a vehicle equipped with the instrument panel 10 of the present embodiment, in the vicinity of the lower surface of the lower end of the windshield 92, a position facing the upper end of the ridge 20 in top view and a portion in front of the position. A light-impermeable or semi-light-transmissive ridge blind portion 93 may be provided in a belt-shaped portion extending in the left-right direction along the windshield 92 . The ridge blinding portion 93 is formed, for example, by a black ceramic baking printed portion provided on a glass transparent base material. The ridge blindfold portion 93 may be formed by the lower end edge portion of a black ceramic baking print portion provided in a frame shape on the outer peripheral portion of the windshield 92 . Even if the ridge 20 is damaged by contact with the door opening 85 when the instrument panel 10 is assembled to the vehicle body 80, the ridge blindfold part 93 makes it difficult to see the damaged part from above and from the front of the vehicle outside. .

Further, in a vehicle equipped with the instrument panel 10 of this example, the upper end position of the ridge 20 may be restricted in relation to the eye range representing the driver's viewpoint range. FIG. 7 shows the relationship between the upper tangent line L of the 99th percentile driver's eye range 96 and the upper surface of the front portion of the instrument panel 10 in the embodiment. In the example shown in FIG. 7, when viewed in the left-right direction of the vehicle, the upper tangent line L of an elliptical eye range 96 representing the driver's viewpoint range of the 99th percentile specified in JISD0021 and passing through the upper surface of the instrument panel 10. A tangent line L contacts the upper surface of the instrument panel 10 at a position P behind the upper end of the ridge 20 . Further, the position of the protrusion 20 is regulated such that the upper end of the protrusion 20 is positioned on the upper tangent line L or below the upper tangent line L. In FIG. 6 above, the upper tangent line is indicated by the chain double-dashed line L. In FIG. As a result, even when most drivers corresponding to the 99th percentile look at the most front visible position P on the upper surface of the instrument panel 10 from the top while sitting in the driver's seat, the front side of the front side of the position P can be seen. The ridge 20 is blocked by the upper surface of the instrument panel 10 at the position P. Therefore, the driver cannot see the first region 13 and the upper end of the projection 20 cannot be seen by the driver. Therefore, even if one or both of the first region 13 and the upper end of the ridge 20 contact the door opening 85 and are damaged, the damage is even less visible to the driver.

FIG. 8 is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 5 in another example of the embodiment. In the configuration of this example, the inclination angles θ ₁ and θ ₂ of the upper surface of the first region 13 and the upper surface of the second region 15 of the instrument panel 10 with respect to the horizontal direction, and the horizontal direction of the upper front edge 86 of the door opening 85 satisfies the relationship of θg>θ ₁ >θ ₂ . Therefore, the inclination angle θg of the upper front edge portion 86 of the door opening 85 is larger than the inclination angle θ ₁ of the first region 13 . Further, in the configuration of this example, no sealing material is provided above the front end portion of the first region 13 . Therefore, as shown in FIG. 8, when the instrument panel 10 is passed through the door opening 85 while the instrument panel 10 is being mounted on the vehicle body 80, the upper front edge 86 of the door opening 85 is positioned at the first position. The front end of region 13 is approached before ridge 20 and may contact upper front edge 86 . Since the front end portion of the instrument panel 10 including the first region 13 is thin, it is easily deformed downward (in the direction of the arrow α in FIG. 8), and then the upper end of the ridge 20 is deformed before the second region 15 is formed. approach. As a result, the second region 15 comes into contact with the upper front edge 86 as the protrusion 20 presses the upper front edge 86 or absorbs the impact load of the instrument panel 10 due to the collapse of the protrusion 20 . and easy to prevent damage.

As in _this example, with respect to the configuration of FIG. Even if it is different, by providing the ridges 20 , it is possible to prevent the instrument panel 10 from scratching the panel surface, which is easily visible to the occupant, due to contact with the door opening 85 when assembled to the vehicle body 80 . In this example, other configurations and actions are the same as the configurations in FIGS. 1 to 7. FIG.

10 instrument panel (instrument panel), 12 upper panel, 12a front edge, 13 first region, 15 second region, 16 front end (inclined front end), 18 main region, 20 ridge, 24 upper side panel portion, 30 lower panel, 32 lower side panel part, 40 instrument panel reinforcement, 42 floor brace, 80 body, 81 front pillar lower panel, 82 front pillar, 83 side sill, 84 center pillar, 85 door opening, 86 upper front edge, 88 Cowl panel, 90 air conditioner, 92 windshield, 93 ridge blindfold part, 94 sealing material, 96 eye range, 100 instrument panel module.

Claims (1)

An instrument panel arranged in the front part of a vehicle,
a first region extending in the vehicle width direction on the front side of the vehicle and inclined downward toward the front;
a second region that extends in the vehicle width direction on the rear side of the first region, has a design surface, and has a front end portion that slopes downward toward the front;
The downward inclination angle of the upper surface of the first region is larger than the downward inclination angle of the upper surface of the front end portion of the second region,
Between the first region and the front end portion of the second region, a ridge extending along the front edge of the front end portion and raised from the first region and the front end portion is provided. there is
instrument panel.

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