JPH0410138Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a windshield defroster structure that has a small number of parts and can improve the appearance of an instrument panel.

[Prior Art] In general, in vehicles such as automobiles, in order to prevent or remove fogging on the front windshield, a windshield is used that blows conditioned air supplied from an air conditioner toward the front window from below the front windshield. A defroster is provided.

The conventional windshield defroster structure is
For example, as shown in Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 57-125619,
A defroster duct that blows out conditioned air toward the front window is installed in the space at the front of the vehicle that is covered by the instrument panel. Then head towards the front window. Normally, a defroster grille with louvers is attached to this ventilation hole in order to prevent the cowl box, harness, etc. inside the instrument panel from being seen from here, and to control the direction of the air conditioned air passing through it. .

In addition, the above instrument panel is usually
It is fixed to the vehicle body using screws, and in order to improve the appearance of the instrument panel, there is a recess into which the instrument panel mounting screw is sunk from the surface of the instrument panel, and this recess is flush with the surface of the instrument panel. A cover is provided to cover the area.

In this way, in the conventional windshield defroster structure, the instrument panel and the defroster duct are formed separately from each other, and a cover is required to hide the screws for fixing the instrument panel, so there are many parts. However, there are problems with poor assembly workability. Further, there are also problems such as the appearance being degraded by the cover for hiding the instrument panel mounting screws and the like.

[Purpose of invention]

The present invention was developed in consideration of the above circumstances, and aims to provide a windshield defroster structure that has a small number of parts, is easy to assemble, and can improve the appearance of the instrument panel. That is.

[Structure of the idea]

In order to achieve the above object, the windshield defroster structure according to the present invention includes a defroster duct that blows out conditioned air supplied from an air conditioner toward the front window from below the front window. The lower edge of the front window is fixed to the upper front part of a cowl box located at the front of the vehicle interior, the defroster duct is located above the cowl box, and the defroster duct is attached to the front edge of the upper surface of the instrument panel. The front edge of the upper surface of this instrument panel is disposed so as to cover the front edge from above, extends in the vehicle width direction, has an upwardly convex shape, and is blown onto the front edge of the instrument panel. Furthermore, a supply duct for supplying conditioned air from the air conditioner to the defroster duct is arranged offset to the rear of the air outlet formed in the cover. As long as the cross-sectional shape of the cover is upwardly convex, it may be freely selected from, for example, a square shape, a square shape, etc.

〔Example〕

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.

As shown in FIG. 1, a dart panel lower 3 is provided at the front of a vehicle interior 1 to partition the vehicle interior 1 and an engine room 2, and a cowl box 4 is disposed above the vehicle interior 3. As shown in FIG. This cowl box 4 has a cowl front panel 4 raised flush with the dash panel lower 3.
a, a cowl panel lower 4b extending in an L-shape from the lower edge of the cowl front panel 4a toward the passenger compartment 1, and a portion from the rear upper edge of the cowl panel lower 4b to the upper edge of the cowl front panel 4a. The cowl panel upper 4c extends toward the cowl panel upper 4c, and the reinforcement 4d covers the lower surface of a reinforcing stepped portion formed at the front edge of the cowl panel upper 4c. The lower edge of the front window 5 is fixed to the upper surface of the reinforcing stepped portion formed at the front edge of the cowl panel upper 4c, in other words, to the upper front part of the cowl box 4 by a known method. An instrument panel 6 is fixed to the upper side of the cowl box 4 using screws 7 so as to cover the lower edge of the front window 5 from the passenger compartment side.

A stepped portion 9 that becomes lower at the rear is formed at the front edge of the upper surface 8 of the instrument panel 6, and a certain area behind this stepped portion 9 has a square cross-sectional shape, and the width of the vehicle It is covered with a cover 10 extending in the direction. An air outlet 11 is formed at the front edge of the cover 10 and extends in the vehicle width direction along the front edge. Here, the cover 10 is removably assembled to the instrument panel 6 so that its upper surface is flush with a portion of the instrument panel 6 in front of the stepped portion 9. That is, the front edge and the rear edge of the lower surface of the cover 10 are provided with outward engaging claws 12 projecting at appropriate intervals in the vehicle width direction. An engagement groove 13 is formed in which the engagement claw 12 on the front edge of the instrument panel 6 is engaged, and an engagement groove 13 on the rear edge of the cover 10 on the front edge of the instrument panel 6 is formed.
At a position corresponding to 2, an engagement hole 14 is formed into which the engagement claw 12 on the rear edge of the cover 10 is fitted and engaged.

The screws 7 that fix the front edge of the instrument panel 6 to the vehicle body are
It passes through the stepped surface 16 of the stepped portion 9 and is screwed into a washer 17 fixed to the rear surface of a reinforcing stepped portion formed at the front edge of the cowl panel upper 4c. A space 18 formed between the front edge of the instrument panel 6 and the cover 10
is communicated with an air conditioner (not shown) via an intermediate duct 19 serving as a supply duct connected to the lower surface of the instrument panel 6. As is clear from the figure, the intermediate duct 19 is arranged offset to the rear of the vehicle body from the air outlet 11 formed in the cover 10, so that the defroster duct consisting of the instrument panel 6 and the cover 10 is connected to the cowl. It is placed above box 4.

In the above configuration, on the one hand, the space defined by the instrument panel 6 and the cover 10 is communicated with the air conditioner via the intermediate gutter 19, and on the other hand, the space defined by the front window 5 is communicated with the air conditioner via the air outlet 11 of the cover 10. The instrument panel 6 and cover 10 guide the conditioned air supplied from the air conditioner to the vicinity of the lower edge of the front window 5 from the air outlet 11 located there. A defroster duct will be formed to blow out air conditioned air.

Furthermore, since the screws 7 are arranged at positions that penetrate the stepped surface 16 of the instrument panel 6 covered by the cover 10, they are hidden by the cover 10 by covering the recess 9 with the cover 10. become. As a result, it is possible to omit the recess that was conventionally formed in the front edge of the instrument panel 6 to hide the instrument panel mounting screws 7 and the cover that covers this recess.
The design of the instrument panel 6 can be improved, the number of parts can be reduced, and assembly work efficiency can be improved. Further, since the inside of the instrument panel 6 can be prevented from being seen from the air outlet 11 by the instrument panel 6, it is possible to omit the defroster grill having a louver at the air outlet, and the defroster grill can be omitted. This increases the degree of freedom in design. Furthermore, when a defroster grille having a louver is provided at the air outlet, the cover 10 and the defroster grille may be integrally molded.

[Effect of idea]

As described above, the windshield defroster structure according to the present invention is such that in a vehicle in which the lower edge of the front window is fixed to the upper front part of the cowl box, a defroster duct is arranged above the cowl box, and the front edge of the windshield defroster is Since the air-conditioned air is blown out from the air outlet installed in the cowl box, the air-conditioned air can be blown out even in vehicles where the lower edge of the front window is fixed to the upper front part of the cowl box, instead of being fixed to the rear of the cowl box as in the past. can be blown out from the vicinity of the lower edge of the front window, thereby preventing the entire front window, including the vicinity of the lower edge, from fogging up and achieving a sufficient defroster effect. Furthermore, since the supply duct for supplying conditioned air from the air conditioner to the defroster duct is arranged offset to the rear side from the air outlet, the defroster duct can be arranged above the cowl box.

In addition, since the defroster duct is placed above the cowl box rather than at the rear of the cowl box, it is possible to secure sufficient width in the front and rear of the cowl box, thereby preventing a frontal collision of the vehicle. Even if this happens, the cowl box can sufficiently prevent the front window from falling off, and the space inside the cowl box can be effectively used as a ventilation air passage or a space for installing a wiper device.

Furthermore, since the defroster duct is formed by the front edge of the upper surface of the instrument panel and the cover that covers the front edge from above, the defroster duct and the instrument panel can be integrated, reducing the number of parts. By arranging the screws for mounting the panel in the recesses, a cover for covering the recesses dedicated to hiding the screws can be omitted, and the number of parts can be further reduced. In addition, as mentioned above, as a result of reducing the number of parts,
The number of assembly steps can be reduced and assembly workability can be improved. Moreover, since the cover covering the dedicated recess for hiding the instrument panel mounting screws as described above can be omitted, the appearance of the instrument panel can be improved. Furthermore, by combining the above-mentioned covers and instrument panels with different shapes, it is possible to give various designs. For example, a relatively large instrument panel can be made common to multiple car models, and the above-mentioned covers with different shapes can be used. By doing so, it is possible to give an arbitrary appearance, such as an appearance that gives a sporty feeling or a gentle feeling.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the main parts of an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the instrument panel. In the figure, 4 is a cowl box, 5 is a front window, 6 is an instrument panel, 8 is the top surface of the instrument panel 6, 10 is a cover, and 11
is an air outlet, and 19 is an intermediate duct (supply duct).

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claim for Utility Model Registration] In a windshield defroster structure having a defroster duct that blows conditioned air supplied from an air conditioner toward the front window from below the front window, the lower edge of the front window is located in front of the passenger compartment. The defroster duct is arranged above the cowl box, and the defroster duct is connected to the front edge of the upper surface of the instrument panel and the upper front edge of the upper surface of the instrument panel. a cover disposed on the front edge so as to cover the front edge from above, extending in the vehicle width direction, having an upwardly convex shape, and having an air outlet formed in the front edge; A windshield defroster structure further characterized in that a supply duct for supplying conditioned air from the air conditioner to the defroster duct is arranged offset to the rear of the air outlet formed in the cover.