JP7127386B2 - Vehicle louver mounting structure - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a vehicle louver mounting structure.

A louver is installed in the instrument panel of a general vehicle. A louver is a part that blows air-conditioning air, and it is possible to change the air direction by a plurality of interlocking fins. In the past, louvers were sometimes attached from the front of the vehicle with clips or screws to bosses or ribs provided on the back side of the instrument panel. In this case, in order to replace the louver, etc., it is necessary to first remove the entire instrument panel from the vehicle body. Therefore, in Patent Document 1 by the applicant of the present invention, the louver 7 is attached to the instrument panel 1 by inserting the engagement claw 20 from the front, so that the system engagement claw 20 is caught by the tool 22 from the vehicle interior side. can be released.

JP 2016-124460 A

Currently, for the purpose of improving the appearance of the interior of a vehicle, there is a demand to reduce the boundary between parts (hereinafter referred to as parting line) formed on the vehicle interior side of the instrument panel or to improve the accuracy of the parting line. In addition, there is also a demand for a configuration that allows the louver alone to be removed from the instrument panel more easily.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a louver mounting structure for a vehicle in which the louver can be easily removed from the instrument panel and the appearance of the interior of the vehicle can be improved.

In order to solve the above-described problems, a typical configuration of a vehicle louver mounting structure according to the present invention includes an instrument panel of a vehicle, an opening formed in the instrument panel, and a cylindrical louver attached to the opening from the front. In a vehicle louver mounting structure including a louver and an air duct positioned in front of the louver for sending air-conditioning air to the louver, the vehicle louver mounting structure further extends forward from the periphery of the opening of the instrument panel to extend forward from the louver. a fitting hole provided on the rib and facing the louver; a claw provided on the louver and fitted into the fitting hole; a tubular slide duct, the slide duct enclosing the front edge of the louver, and the slide duct being formed with an interference portion that interferes with the front edge of the louver when the louver moves forward. and

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a louver mounting structure for a vehicle that allows the louver to be easily removed from the instrument panel and that can improve the appearance of the interior of the vehicle.

1 is a perspective view showing an outline of a vehicle louver mounting structure according to a first embodiment of the present invention; FIG. FIG. 1B is a cross-sectional view along AA in the vicinity of the louver of the mounting structure of FIG. 1B; FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a process of removing a louver from the instrument panel of FIG. 2; FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a process of removing a louver from the instrument panel of FIG. 2; FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a process of removing a louver from the instrument panel of FIG. 2;

A vehicle louver mounting structure according to an embodiment of the present invention includes an instrument panel of a vehicle, an opening formed in the instrument panel, a tubular louver attached to the opening from the front, and a louver positioned in front of the louver. a louver mounting structure for a vehicle comprising an air duct for sending air-conditioning air to the louver, the louver mounting structure for a vehicle further comprising: a rib extending forward from the periphery of the opening of the instrument panel and surrounding the louver; a fitting hole provided in the louver and facing the louver, a claw provided in the louver and fitted in the fitting hole, and a cylindrical slide duct that connects the louver and the fan duct and can slide back and forth while being connected. The slide duct encloses the front edge of the louver, and the slide duct is formed with an interference portion that interferes with the front edge of the louver when the louver moves forward.

According to the above configuration, since the louver is attached using the ribs provided in front of the instrument panel, that is, on the back side of the instrument panel, attachment portions such as claws are not exposed to the occupant side, contributing to an improvement in appearance. can be done. Further, in the above configuration, when the louver is removed from the instrument panel, pushing the louver forward from the inside of the vehicle interior causes the slide duct to slide forward via the interfering portion. Therefore, it is possible to easily remove only the louver without removing the instrument panel from the vehicle body, thereby facilitating maintenance and the like.

The louver includes a small-diameter region formed including a front edge, a large-diameter region having an outer dimension larger than that of the small-diameter region and surrounded by ribs, and an inclined region that obliquely connects the small-diameter region and the large-diameter region. The claw is provided in the large diameter region, the tip of the rib reaches the inclined region, and when the slide duct slides backward, the trailing edge of the slide duct is guided to the inclined region and the rib should be pushed aside and the claw removed from the joint hole.

According to the above configuration, the louver can be easily removed from the instrument panel without using a special tool or the like. Also, the trailing edge of the slide duct can be used to push aside multiple ribs at the same time. Therefore, in the past, the number of connections between the louver and the instrument panel was limited in consideration of the later removal work. can be further increased. For example, it is possible to increase the number of ribs and claws to increase the mounting rigidity of the louver to the instrument panel, thereby improving the precision and appearance of the parting line around the louver.

The distance from the rear edge of the slide duct to the interfering portion is preferably longer than the distance from the front edge of the louver to the large-diameter region. That is, the slide duct preferably has a structure in which the rear edge rides on the large-diameter area along the inclined area and pushes the rib away before the interference part interferes with the front edge of the louver. With this configuration, it is possible to suitably realize the disengagement between the rib and the claw using the trailing edge of the slide duct described above.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The dimensions, materials, and other specific numerical values shown in these examples are merely examples for facilitating understanding of the invention, and do not limit the invention unless otherwise specified. In the present specification and drawings, elements having substantially the same functions and configurations are denoted by the same reference numerals to omit redundant description, and elements that are not directly related to the present invention are omitted from the drawings. do.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an outline of a vehicle louver mounting structure (mounting structure 100) according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1(a) shows an instrument panel 102 on which the mounting structure 100 is implemented. Hereinafter, in FIG. 1 and all other drawings of the present application, arrows F (Forward) and B (Backward) indicate vehicle front-rear directions, left and right arrows L (Leftward) and R (Rightward) respectively, and vertical directions of the vehicle. are exemplified by arrows U (Upward) and D (Downward), respectively.

The instrument panel 102 is a large resin-made member provided in the front part of the passenger compartment, and is equipped with various meters and a louver 104 as an air-conditioning air outlet. Below the louver 104 in the instrument panel 102, a box opening 106 to which a glove box (not shown) is attached is formed. Maintenance work and the like for the louver 104 can be performed by inserting a hand through the box opening 106 .

FIG. 1(b) is an enlarged view of the louver 104 of FIG. 1(a). The louver 104 has a cylindrical case 108 as a main body, and a plurality of horizontal plate fins 110 and vertical plate fins 112 provided inside the case 108 . Each fin can change the angle through a knob 114. - 特許庁

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view along AA near the louver 104 of the mounting structure 100 of FIG. 1(b). As shown in FIG. 2, an opening 116 is formed in the instrument panel 102, and the louver 104 is attached to the opening 116 from the front. In particular, the louver 104 is attached to the opening 116 by engagement between the claw 118 and the rib 120 on the front side of the instrument panel 102 . Therefore, in the mounting structure 100, the parting line L1 between the louver 104 and the instrument panel 102 is not exposed to the passenger compartment side, which contributes to improving the appearance of the passenger compartment.

Each component of the mounting structure 100 will be described in detail. A case 108 of the louver 104 has a cylindrical shape, and the outer size of the louver 104 decreases toward the front. Specifically, a small-diameter region 108a having a small outer dimension on the front side and a large-diameter region 108b having a larger outer dimension than the small-diameter region 108a on the rear side are formed. The large-diameter region 108b is surrounded by a plurality of ribs 120, and has a plurality of claws that fit into the fitting holes of the ribs.

A plurality of ribs 120 are provided around the opening 116 of the instrument panel 102 so as to surround the case 108 of the louver 104 and extend forward from the instrument panel 102 . A fitting hole 122 is provided in the rib 120 so as to face the large-diameter region 108 b of the case 108 . In this embodiment, the fitting hole 122 penetrates the rib 120 and has a structure in which the claw 118 is hooked.

The air duct 124 is positioned in front of the louver 104 and sends conditioned air from an air conditioner (not shown) to the louver 104 . Air duct 124 is connected to louver 104 via slide duct 126 .

The slide duct 126 is a cylindrical portion that connects the louver 104 and the air duct 124 and is provided so as to include the front edge 128 of the louver 104 and the rear edge 130 of the air duct 124 . The slide duct 126 is fixed to the fan duct 124 with a clip 132. When the clip 132 is removed, the slide duct 126 can slide back and forth while the louver 104 and the fan duct 124 are connected.

The slide duct 126 has an interference portion 136 with which the front edge 128 on the opening side of the small-diameter region 108a of the louver 104 interferes. Specifically, the inner dimension of the slide duct 126 is smaller on the blower duct 124 side than on the louver 104 side, and an interference portion 136 is formed in a stepped manner at a location where the inner dimension changes. When the louver 104 is removed forward from the opening 116, the interference portion 136 comes into contact with the front edge 128 of the forward moving louver from the front. In addition, the function of the interference portion 136 is not limited to the stepped shape, and can be achieved by an inclined surface shape, a projecting rib, or the like.

The mounting structure 100 allows the louver 104 to be easily removed from the instrument panel 102 using the slide duct 126 . As a configuration for this purpose, first, the case 108 is formed with an inclined region 108c that obliquely connects the large-diameter region 108b and the small-diameter region 108a. The tip of the rib 120 reaches the inclined region 108 c of the case 108 . A gap S1 is formed between the rib 120 and the case 108 by these configurations. When the trailing edge 138 of the slide duct 126 is pushed into the gap S1, the rib 120 is pushed away by the trailing edge 138, and the fitting between the rib 120 and the claw 118 is released.

3 and 4 are diagrams showing the process of removing the louver 104 from the instrument panel 102 of FIG. FIG. 3(a) shows how the clip 132 is removed. By removing the clip 132, the slide duct 126 is released from the air duct 124 and becomes slidable back and forth. In this state, slide duct 126 is slid to the louver side, and rear edge 138 of slide duct 126 is pushed into gap S1. The slide duct 126 can be operated by inserting a hand through the box opening 106 (see FIG. 1A).

FIG. 3B shows how the slide duct 126 is slid to the louver 104 side. Since the slide duct 126 already includes the small diameter region 108a of the louver 104 from the beginning, the trailing edge 138 enters the gap S1 simply by sliding it rearward without visual confirmation. The trailing edge 138 of the slide duct 126 spreads along the sloped region 108c and is guided by the sloped region 108c to come into contact with the rib 120 from the inside. The trailing edge 138 then rides over the large diameter region 108b along the sloping region 108c and pushes the rib 120 outwardly against the pawl 118 . This disengages the rib 120 from the claw 118 . At this time, the trailing edge 138 has a shape that opens slightly outward so that the rib 120 can be easily lifted.

FIG. 4 shows how the louver 104 of FIG. 3(b) is pushed forward from the opening 116. FIG. After the rib 120 is disengaged from the claw 118, the louver 104 can be easily removed from the instrument panel 102 by pushing the louver 104 forward through the opening 116. - 特許庁At this time, the front edge 128 of the louver 104 interferes with the interference portion 136 of the slide duct 126 . Therefore, as the louver 104 moves forward, the slide duct 126 also slides forward. By extracting the louver 104 from the slide duct 126, only the louver 104 can be taken out from the box opening 106. - 特許庁

In the flow described above, in FIG. 3B, the rear edge 138 of the slide duct 126 pushes the rib 120 aside before the front edge 128 of the louver 104 contacts the interference portion 136 . That is, as shown in FIG. 2, the distance D1 from the rear edge 138 of the slide duct 126 to the interference portion 136 is set longer than the distance D2 from the front edge 128 of the louver 104 to the large diameter region 108b. With this configuration, the rear edge 138 of the slide duct 126 rides along the inclined area 108c onto the large-diameter area 108b and pushes the rib 120 aside before the interference portion 136 interferes with the front edge 128 of the louver 104. It's becoming With this configuration, it is possible to both cancel the engagement between the rib 120 and the claw 118 and move the louver 104 and the slide duct 126 forward.

In order to prevent the louver 104 from excessively widening the trailing edge 138 of the slide duct 126, it is preferable to set the distance D1 and the distance D2 as close as possible.

As described above, with the mounting structure 100, the louver 104 can be easily removed from the instrument panel 102 by using the slide duct 126 without using a special tool or the like. Moreover, since only the louver 104 can be removed without removing the instrument panel 102 from the vehicle body, maintenance and the like can be easily performed.

In addition, the mounting structure 100 utilizes the trailing edge 138 of the slide duct 126 to allow multiple ribs 120 to be displaced simultaneously. Conventionally, the number of connections between the louver 104 and the instrument panel 102 has been limited to a relatively small number, because if the number of connections is too large, it becomes difficult to simultaneously remove them with a tool. On the other hand, with the above configuration, the removal work is simple, so it is easy to further increase the number of ribs 120 and claws 118 to increase the mounting rigidity of louver 104 .

Currently, there is a demand to form a parting line (for example, the parting line L1 in FIG. 2) between the instrument panel 102 and the louver 104 with higher accuracy for the purpose of improving the appearance of the vehicle interior. For example, the louver 104 may be attached with a drink holder or the like, and a load may be applied to the louver 104 on a daily basis. With the mounting structure 100, the engagement between each rib 120 and the claw 118 can be released simultaneously and efficiently using the slide duct 126, so there is no problem even if the number of the rib 120 and the claw 118 is increased. By increasing the mounting rigidity of the louver 104 to the instrument panel 102, it is possible to improve the accuracy and appearance of the parting line L1 around the louver 104.

In addition, in the mounting structure 100 , the louver 104 is mounted using a rib 120 provided in front of the instrument panel 102 , that is, on the back side of the instrument panel 102 . Therefore, the mounting portion such as the claw 118 is not exposed to the occupant side, and the parting line L1 is not exposed. Therefore, there is no need to use a garnish or the like to cover up the mounting portion and the parting line, which contributes to improving the appearance, reducing the number of parts, and improving the degree of freedom in designing the instrument panel 102. It has become.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing an outline of a vehicle louver mounting structure (mounting structure 200) according to a second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5(a) is a cross-sectional view of a mounting structure 200 corresponding to the cross-sectional view of the mounting structure 100 of FIG. It should be noted that components common to the mounting structure 100 of the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted.

In the mounting structure 200, the claws 204 of the louver 202 have slopes on both front and rear sides. Therefore, the louver 202 can be moved forward without operating the slide duct 126 by simply pushing it from the inside of the vehicle so that the fitting between the rib 120 and the claw 204 is released.

FIG. 5(b) illustrates how the louver 202 of FIG. 5(a) is pushed forward from the opening 116. FIG. In the mounting structure 200, by removing the clip 132, the slide duct 126 slides forward as the louver 202 moves forward. This allows only the louver 202 to be taken out from the box opening 106 . Also with this configuration, the louver 202 can be easily removed from the instrument panel 102 with little force without using a special tool or the like, and maintenance and the like can be easily performed.

Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above with reference to the accompanying drawings, it goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to such examples. It is obvious that a person skilled in the art can conceive of various modifications or modifications within the scope described in the claims, and these also belong to the technical scope of the present invention. Understood.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICATION This invention can be utilized for the louver attachment structure for vehicles.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100... Mounting structure, 102... Instrument panel, 104... Louver, 106... Box opening, 108... Case, 108a... Small diameter area, 108b... Large diameter area, 108c... Inclined area, 110... Horizontal plate fin, 112... Vertical Plate fin 114 Knob 116 Instrument panel opening 118 Claw 120 Rib 122 Fitting hole 124 Air duct 126 Slide duct 128 Front edge of louver 130 Air duct Rear edge 132 Clip 136 Interference portion 138 Rear edge of slide duct D1 Distance from rear edge of slide duct to interference portion D2 Distance from front edge of louver to large diameter region L1 Parting line S1 Gap between rib and inclined region 200 Mounting structure of second embodiment 202 Louver of second embodiment 204 Claw of second embodiment

Claims (3)

Equipped with an instrument panel of a vehicle, an opening formed in the instrument panel, a cylindrical louver attached to the opening from the front, and an air duct positioned in front of the louver and sending air-conditioning air to the louver. In the vehicle louver mounting structure,
The vehicle louver mounting structure further includes:
a rib extending forward from the perimeter of the opening in the instrument panel and surrounding the louver;
a fitting hole provided in the rib and facing the louver;
a claw provided on the louver and fitted into the fitting hole;
a cylindrical slide duct that connects the louver and the air duct and can slide back and forth while being connected,
The slide duct encloses the front edge of the louver,
A louver mounting structure for a vehicle, wherein the slide duct is formed with an interference portion that interferes with a front edge of the louver when the louver moves forward. The louver is
a reduced diameter region formed including the leading edge;
a large-diameter region surrounded by the ribs and having an outer dimension larger than that of the small-diameter region;
an inclined region that obliquely connects the small-diameter region and the large-diameter region;
The claw is provided in the large diameter region,
The tip of the rib reaches the inclined region,
2. The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein when the slide duct slides rearward, the trailing edge of the slide duct is guided by the inclined region to push aside the rib and disengage the claw from the fitting hole . Louver mounting structure. 3. The vehicle louver mounting structure according to claim 2, wherein the distance from the rear edge of the slide duct to the interference portion is longer than the distance from the front edge of the louver to the large diameter region.

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