JPH0826000A - Instrument panel - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To absorb impact energy and reduce the number of parts by providing a deformation section deformable due to the action of a load equal to or above the preset value on a side wall of an instrument panel furnished in front of an occupant seat of a vehicle. CONSTITUTION:An instrument panel 1 is molded out of synthetic resin, and an instrument mounting aperture 2 and a glove box 3 are formed on the front thereof. The rear side 4 of the panel 1 is kept open throughout. The internal surface 7 of a side wall 5a at both breadthwise ends of the panel 1 is recessed over an area from an intermediate section to an end section 6 at the side 4. In this case, the thickness of the recessed section is made smaller than other area, thereby forming a deformation section 8. Also, the lower side of the side wall 5a has a mounting section 9 as integral part thereof, and jointed to a body via mounting holes 10. According to this construction, when a downward and abnormal load acts due to collision, the easily deformable and thin wall section is permanently deformed or elastically deformed, thereby absorbing impact energy via the deformation drag thereof.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an impact energy absorbing structure for an instrument panel.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, as a vehicle instrument panel, when a load of a predetermined value or more is applied to reduce the impact on a human body in a collision, the instrument panel itself is elastically deformed or the instrument panel body is There is one that absorbs impact energy due to deformation of the mounting member. For example, it is disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 1-68238, Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 3-109928, and the like.

As an example of the structure of such an instrument panel, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, an end wall 22 at the end on the passenger seat side of an instrument panel 21 made of synthetic resin.
The instrument panel bracket 24 is fastened with bolts and nuts, while the bracket 26 fixed to the member on the vehicle body 25 side by welding or the like is provided. Although the instrument panel 21 is fixed to the vehicle body 25, when an abnormally large downward load is applied to the upper portion 23 of the instrument panel 21 due to a collision of the vehicle or the like, the tip portion of the bracket 26 fixed to the vehicle body 25 side. Is Figure 5
The energy of the impact is absorbed by the drag force during the displacement in the direction of the arrow C inside.

[0004]

However, in such a structure, the mounting brackets 24 and 26 are at least two on the instrument panel 21 side and the vehicle body 25 side.
There is a problem in that the number of parts is increased, the number of parts is increased, the number of mounting steps is increased, and the cost is high. The present invention aims to solve such a conventional problem.

[0005]

The present invention provides an instrument panel provided in front of a passenger seat of a vehicle,
The instrument panel is characterized in that the side wall of the instrument panel is provided with a deformable portion that is deformed by the action of a load of a predetermined value or more.

[0006]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 is a schematic front view of a front portion of a vehicle compartment in which an instrument panel according to the present invention is arranged, FIG. 2 is a partial perspective view of the instrument panel according to the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a line AA of FIG. FIG. In the figure, reference numeral 1
The instrument panel shown by is formed of synthetic resin, and an opening 2 for incorporating instruments and a glove box 3 are formed on the front surface, and the rear portion 4 is opened over the entire surface. Then, the side walls 5a at both end portions in the vehicle width direction,
The inner surface 7 of 5b is provided with a deformed portion 8 in which the portion from the central portion to the end portion 6 on the rear surface 4 side is recessed, and the thickness of this portion is made thinner than the thickness of the instrument panel 1 other than this. ing. On the other hand, a mounting portion 9 extending from the side wall 5a is integrally formed in the lower portion of the side wall 5a, and a mounting hole 10 through which a mounting bolt is inserted is formed in the mounting portion 9, and the instrument mounted on the front portion of the vehicle compartment. Panel 1 is car body 1
It is fastened to the member on the 5 side by mounting bolts.

With such a structure, when an abnormally large downward load is applied to the upper portion 1a of the instrument panel 1 due to a vehicle collision or the like, the instrument panel 1 is set in a range indicated by H1 in FIG. That is, with respect to an impact load acting on a region where the instrument panel 1 itself is apt to be deformed to some extent from the end portion of the instrument panel 1, elastic deformation of the instrument panel 1 itself absorbs impact energy, and H outside
When it acts in the range indicated by 2, the deforming portion 8 of the side wall 5a is permanently deformed or elastically deformed to absorb the energy of impact by the drag force of the deformation.

In the present embodiment, the deforming portion 8 provided on the side wall 5a of the instrument panel 1 is described as being formed by a thin portion of the side wall 5a, but the present invention is not limited to this.
The whole a may be formed to be thin, or the periphery of the portion to be deformed may be a thin notch groove 11 as shown in FIG.
The deformed portion may be formed by enclosing with.

[0009]

According to the above structure, the instrument panel can be directly fastened directly to the member on the vehicle body side and the supporting rigidity can be secured, so that the mounting bracket is not necessary and the number of parts such as bolts and nuts can be reduced. In addition, when a load equal to or greater than a predetermined value acts downward on the upper portion of the instrument panel, such as during a vehicle collision, the deformed portion provided on the side wall is permanently deformed or elastically deformed, and the drag force of the deformation The impact energy can be absorbed by the side wall, and the side wall can absorb the energy in a larger area than the conventional mounting bracket. Therefore, the impact received from the instrument panel can be made smaller and the impact force can be surely reduced. .

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic front view of an instrument panel according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a part of the instrument panel of the embodiment according to the present invention.

3 is a sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a part of a conventional instrument panel.

5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line BB of FIG.

FIG. 6 is a partial cross-sectional view of an instrument panel of another embodiment according to the present invention.

[Explanation of Codes] 1 Instrument panel 5a Side wall 8 Deformation part

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An instrument panel provided in front of an occupant seat of a vehicle, wherein a side wall of the instrument panel is provided with a deformable portion which is deformed by an action of a load of a predetermined value or more. .