JP4504764B2 - Instrument panel connector mounting structure and instrument panel assembly method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a connector mounting structure for joining wire harnesses in an instrument panel, and an instrument panel assembling method.

  In general, meters, illumination lamps, airbag unit inflators, and the like are mounted on an instrument panel, and a wire harness is connected to these components (for example, see Patent Document 1).

Conventionally, when assembling such an instrument panel, a wire harness connected to an inflator and a wire harness connected to a control circuit that controls the operation of the inflator are coupled together by a connector. In general, the wire harness is routed behind the instrument panel so that it cannot be seen from the vehicle interior side, and the work of connecting each wire harness is performed when assembling various parts on the back side of the instrument panel. Yes.
JP-A-9-58373

  By the way, in the above conventional technique, the work of connecting the wire harness connected to the inflator and the wire harness connected to the control circuit with the connector is not performed at the end of the assembly work of the instrument panel. Even after the connection with the connector is completed, various parts are assembled to the instrument panel.

  However, after the connection with the connector is completed in this way, if there is an operation of assembling various parts to the instrument panel, an electrical signal for testing or the like is flowing, and if the electrical signal is mistakenly wired When input to the harness, the inflator of the airbag unit may malfunction (expand).

  An object of the present invention is to provide a connector mounting structure for an instrument panel that can prevent malfunction of an inflator of an air bag unit during assembly of the instrument panel, and an instrument having such a connector mounting structure. To provide a method for assembling a panel.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the invention according to claim 1 is characterized in that an opening is formed in the instrument panel body, and a pocket portion that protrudes toward the dash panel side and accommodates small items is provided on the front side of the instrument panel body. Inserted into the opening, and the pocket is disposed above the glove box, the instrument panel body is provided with an airbag unit, and a wire harness connected to an inflator of the airbag unit, A wire harness connected to a control circuit for controlling the inflator is coupled by a connector, and the connector is attached to the back surface of the pocket portion.

  According to the above configuration, when the instrument panel is assembled, the wire harness connected to the inflator and the wire harness connected to the control circuit are pulled out to the front side of the instrument panel from the opening where the pocket portion is inserted. At the end of the assembly work, the wire harnesses are connected to each other with a connector. Furthermore, the connector which couple | bonded wire harnesses is attached to the back surface of a pocket part, the pocket part is inserted and fixed to an opening part from the front side of an instrument panel. Thereby, a signal is not input into a wire harness accidentally at the time of an instrument panel assembly operation, and the inflator of an airbag unit does not cause malfunction (inflation).

  The invention described in claim 2 is characterized in that, in claim 1, a bracket is provided on the back surface of the pocket portion, and the connector is attached to the bracket.

Claims 1 and 2 are inventions related to a connector mounting structure, but the following claim 3 is an invention related to an instrument panel assembling method.

That is, the invention described in claim 3 is connected to the inflator when assembling an instrument panel body provided with a pocket portion that protrudes toward the dash panel and accommodates small items inside and an inflator of the airbag unit. The wire harness connected to the control circuit that controls the inflator is pulled out to the front side of the instrument panel from the opening where the pocket portion is inserted, and the assembly of the instrument panel is completed. In addition, the two wire harnesses are electrically connected by a connector, and the connected connector is attached to the back surface of the pocket portion, and then the pocket portion is inserted into the opening from the front side of the instrument panel. It is characterized by fixing.

  According to the present invention, when an instrument panel is assembled, a signal is not erroneously input to the wire harness, and the inflator of the airbag unit can be prevented from malfunctioning.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  An instrument panel is provided in a front part of a vehicle such as an automobile. 1 and 2 show a connector mounting structure for an instrument panel according to the present invention. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the instrument panel as seen from the back side, and FIG. 2 is a view of FIG. FIG. A dash panel (not shown) that separates the engine room and the vehicle interior is located on the vehicle front side of the instrument panel. In this embodiment, an instrument panel for a left-hand drive vehicle will be described.

  1 and 2, reference numeral 1 denotes an instrument panel. The instrument panel 1 is provided with a glove box 2 on the right side when viewed from the vehicle interior side. The glove box 2 is opened on the vehicle interior side, and the outside (back side) of the glove box 2 is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. At the upper part of the glove box 2, a pocket portion 3 protruding toward the dash panel side is provided.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the instrument panel main body 4 is formed with a substantially rectangular opening 5, and the pocket 3 is formed in the opening 5 from the front side (vehicle interior side) of the instrument panel main body 4. Inserted and fixed.

  As shown in FIG. 5 (left side of the figure), the pocket portion 3 has a box shape and is provided with a container 6 that can accommodate small items from the opening 3A (see also FIG. 2) on the vehicle interior side, and around the opening 3A. And a flange 7 provided. The pocket portion 3 is entirely formed of a synthetic resin.

  Locking claws 6 </ b> A and 6 </ b> B are provided on the left and right sides of the upper surface of the container 6, respectively. These locking claws 6A and 6B have elasticity, and are buried from the upper surface of the container 6 when pressed downward, but project upward from the upper surface of the container 6 when the pressure is released. To do. The flange 7 has three claws 7A, 7B, and 7C protruding from the upper part of the back surface (the surface opposite to the vehicle interior side).

  On the other hand, the opening 5 formed in the instrument panel body 4 is provided with a ridge 8 at the upper edge thereof, and further, three through holes 9A, 9B, 9C are formed above the ridge 8. ing.

  Further, two plate-like protrusions 10A and 10B are provided in parallel in the vehicle front-rear direction on the upper surface of the upper wall 2A of the glove box 2. The plate-like protrusions 10A and 10B are trapezoidal, and when the pocket portion 3 is inserted from the opening 5 as shown by the arrow B in the figure, the upper side of the plate-like protrusions 10A and 10B is placed on the bottom wall surface of the pocket portion 3. It abuts and maintains the posture of the pocket portion 3 stably.

  In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, connectors 11 </ b> A and 11 </ b> B are fixed to the back surface of the pocket portion 3. That is, the bracket 12 is attached to the back surface 3B of the pocket portion 3, and the connectors 11A and 11B are fixed on the bracket 12. The bracket 12 may be integrally formed with the pocket portion 3.

  One end of a wire harness 13 is connected to the connector 11A, and the other end of the wire harness 13 is connected to a control circuit (not shown). One end of the wire harness 14 is connected to the connector 11B, and the other end of the wire harness 14 is connected to an inflator (not shown) of the airbag unit.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the bracket 12 includes a rectangular flat plate 12A fixed to the back surface 3B of the pocket portion 3, and three triangular ribs 12B disposed below the flat plate 12A and supporting the flat plate 12A from below. , 12C, 12D. The ribs 12B, 12C, and 12D are also fixed to the back surface 3B of the pocket portion 3. Further, two small circular through holes 12E and 12F are formed in the flat plate 12A.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the connectors 11A and 11B are attached to the bracket 12 via a fixing member 15 fixed to the connectors 11A and 11B. The fixing member 15 includes a drop prevention clip 15A and a columnar protrusion 15B at the bottom. The slip prevention clip 15A is inserted into a through hole 12E formed in the flat plate 12A of the bracket 12, and the protrusion 15B is fitted into the through hole 12F.

  When the slip-off preventing clip 15A is inserted into the through hole 12E, the tip end portion of the clip is prevented from being pulled out. Further, when the protrusion 15B is fitted into the through-hole 12F, no gap is formed between the outer periphery of the protrusion 15B and the inner periphery of the through-hole 12F, so that there is no backlash. Thus, the connectors 11A and 11B can be firmly attached to the bracket 12.

  Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described.

  First, when assembling the instrument panel 1 by assembling various parts, as shown in FIG. 4, the wire harnesses 13 and 14 are pulled out to the front side (vehicle interior side) of the instrument panel body 4 through the opening 5. . At this time, the connectors 11A and 11B attached to the end portions of the wire harnesses 13 and 14 are not coupled and are not electrically connected to each other. The other end of the wire harness 13 is connected to the control circuit, and the other end of the wire harness 14 is connected to the inflator. The other ends of the wire harnesses 13 and 14 are routed on the back side of the instrument panel body 4. ing.

  Next, when the assembly of the parts to the instrument panel main body 4 is completed, finally, the connector 11A and the connector 11B are coupled, and the wire harnesses 13 and 14 are electrically connected to each other. Then, the connectors 11A and 11B are attached to the bracket 12 provided on the back surface 3B of the pocket portion 3. At this time, the removal preventing clip 15A is inserted into the through hole 12E of the bracket 12, and the protrusion 15B is fitted into the through hole 12F.

  When the connectors 11A and 11B are attached to the back surface 3B of the pocket 3, the entire pocket portion 3 is inserted into the opening 5. When the pocket 3 is inserted deeply, the three protrusions 7A, 7B, 7C provided on the flange 7 of the pocket portion 3 are inserted into the through holes 9A, 9B, 9C formed above the opening 5, respectively. Thus, the pocket portion 3 is positioned.

  Further, when the pocket 3 is inserted deeply, the locking claws 6A and 6B on the upper wall surface of the pocket portion 3 have elasticity, so when passing below the ridge 8 on the upper edge portion of the opening portion 5, Although pushed by the ridge 8 and buried from the upper wall surface of the pocket portion 3, after passing below the ridge 8, it protrudes upward from the upper wall surface of the pocket portion 3 by its own elastic force, and is engaged with the ridge 8. Stopped. At the same time, the bottom wall surface of the pocket portion 3 comes into contact with the upper sides of the plate-like protrusions 10A and 10B. Thereby, the pocket part 3 is firmly fixed to the opening part 5.

  According to the present embodiment, since the connector 11A and the connector 11B are coupled at the end of the assembly of the parts to the instrument panel body 4, the test panel 1 is assembled during the assembly operation of the instrument panel 1. Even if an electrical signal for the purpose is flowing, the electrical signal is not erroneously input to the wire harness 14, and the inflator of the airbag unit can be prevented from malfunctioning (inflating).

It is a perspective view which shows the connector attachment structure of the instrument panel which concerns on this invention. It is a side view when FIG. 1 is seen from the arrow A direction. It is a figure which shows the opening part provided in the instrument panel main body. It is the figure explaining having pulled out a wire harness from an opening part and not connecting a connector at this time. It is a figure which shows a mode that a connector is attached to a pocket part back surface, and is inserted in an opening part. It is a figure which shows the structure of the bracket of a pocket part back surface. It is a figure which shows the fixing member which fixes a connector to a bracket.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Instrument panel 2 Glove box 3 Pocket part 3A Opening of pocket part 3B Back surface of pocket part 4 Instrument panel main body 5 Opening part 11A, 11B Connector 12 Bracket 13, 14 Wire harness

Claims (3)

An opening is formed in the instrument panel body, a pocket portion that protrudes toward the dash panel side and accommodates small items is inserted into the opening portion from the front side of the instrument panel body, and the pocket portion is located above the glove box. Placed in
The instrument panel body is provided with an airbag unit, and a wire harness connected to an inflator of the airbag unit and a wire harness connected to a control circuit for controlling the inflator are coupled by a connector,
The connector mounting structure for an instrument panel, wherein the connector is attached to a back surface of the pocket portion.   The instrument panel connector mounting structure according to claim 1, wherein a bracket is provided on a back surface of the pocket portion, and the connector is mounted on the bracket. When assembling an instrument panel body that protrudes toward the dash panel and accommodates small items inside, and an inflator for the airbag unit,
The wire harness connected to the inflator and the wire harness connected to a control circuit that controls the inflator are pulled out from the opening into which the pocket portion is inserted to the front side of the instrument panel,
At the end of the assembly of the instrument panel, the two wire harnesses are electrically connected by a connector, and the connected connector is attached to the back surface of the pocket portion, and then the pocket portion is attached to the front side of the instrument panel. An instrument panel assembling method, wherein the instrument panel is inserted into and fixed to the opening.

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