JPH11235953A - Audio unit mounting bezel device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To fit a unit easily at a low cost while attaining harmony with a design around different unit mounting positions per car model. SOLUTION: This is an audio unit mounting bezel which is used to mount, in a cabin, an on-vehicle audio unit whose operation part and unit body are separated. The operation part 8 is mounted at a different position from a unit body 4. Bezels 6a, 6b are mounted on the front side of the unit body 4. The bezels 6a, 6b form a bezel surface in harmony with the appearance or tactile sense of a vehicle body section fitting the unit body 4.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a bezel for mounting an audio unit such as a video / audio device for a vehicle on a vehicle body, and more particularly to a bezel which can be easily mounted while harmonizing with a design of a different unit mounting position for each vehicle type. About the bezel.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An audio unit disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 4-271938 is an example of an audio-related device such as an in-vehicle video / audio device in which an operation unit and a unit body are divided. . This audio unit has a unit body 61 as shown in FIG.
And an operation unit 62 in which operation switches and the like are arranged. The operation unit 62 is easily detachable from the unit main body 61 as shown in FIG. 6B. The operation unit 62 has a shaft on one end side serving as a rotation support fulcrum with the unit body, and a hook 6 fixed to the unit body on the other end side.
The operation unit 62 is detached from the unit body by disengaging the hook 63 and rotating the operation unit 62 forward. The operation unit 6
The second operation surface 62a has a planar shape as a whole, and is arranged substantially parallel to the front surface 61a of the unit main body when the unit is mounted, irrespective of the design of the body part to which the unit is mounted.

[0003]

However, in such a conventional audio unit, the unit is actually mounted at a mounting position of a vehicle-mounted audio unit such as a dashboard or a center console (hereinafter referred to as a unit mounting position). At the time of attachment, the following inconvenience may occur. First, the outer shape around the unit mounting position is not parallel to the front of the unit body,
When the operation unit 62 is detached from the unit main body 61 when the operation unit 62 is inclined or rounded, a part (for example, the end 62b) of the operation unit 62 may hit the dashboard and become unremovable.

[0004] In addition, when the unit mounting position is inclined or curved due to a design peculiar to each vehicle type, the appearance around the operation unit after the unit is mounted has a shape in which the inclination or the curved surface is discontinuous due to the design. . In particular, the operation part exposed on the surface does not harmonize with the angled design, which rather deteriorates the appearance. Therefore, it is only necessary to design the shape of the operation part of the unit according to the design of the vehicle body to be attached, but designing the operation part one by one in a different shape for each vehicle type greatly increases the manufacturing cost It is not a good idea.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of such a conventional problem, and it is possible to easily mount a unit at low cost while harmonizing with a design around a unit mounting position which differs for each vehicle type. An object of the present invention is to provide a bezel for mounting an audio unit.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object,
The present invention is an audio unit mounting bezel for mounting an in-vehicle audio unit in which a control unit and a unit main body are configured separately from each other, and mounting the operation unit at a different position from the unit main body.
The bezel is mounted on the front side of the unit body. Thereby, the operation unit can be attached to a position with high operability and traveling safety, for example, and the unit body can be attached with a bezel attached to the front surface, so that it can be harmonized with the design of the unit attachment position.

It is preferable that the bezel has a bezel surface formed in accordance with the appearance or the feel of the vehicle body to which the unit body is attached. Specifically, the bezel surface is inclined in accordance with the inclination of the vehicle body to which the unit body is attached. It is preferable to form them. The bezel may be provided with an insertion port through which a medium used in the unit to be attached can be inserted into and removed from the unit from outside. Thereby, the surface of the bezel can be made to have an appearance continuous with the shape around the unit attachment position, and the appearance around the attachment position can be set more aesthetically and functionally. By inserting and removing a medium such as an audio tape from the unit body via the bezel, the medium can be exchanged from the bezel surface side.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG.
This will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing a mounting state of an audio unit 1 (hereinafter simply referred to as a unit), which is an in-vehicle video / audio device according to the present invention, on a vehicle body. FIG. 2 shows a first embodiment of the present invention. It is an assembly configuration diagram of such a unit. Unit 1 in the present embodiment
Is used by being attached to the unit arrangement portion of the instrument panel of the vehicle body shown in FIG. 1. The unit body and the operation unit are formed as separate bodies, and are attached to different positions 2 and 3, respectively. That is, the unit main body is housed inside the instrument panel, and the operation section is arranged so as to be exposed substantially flush with the front surface 3 of the instrument panel.

FIG. 2 shows the details of the mounting portion of this unit. As shown in FIG. 2, the unit main body 4 is provided with a mounting portion 5 of a mounting frame 5 stored inside the instrument panel.
a. The unit body 4 is composed of, for example, a CD (Compact Disk) player 4a and an audio tape player 4b. Bezels 6a and 6b as decorative plates are attached to the front of each unit by screwing or the like. The outside is covered by the instrument panel side bezel. On the other hand, the operation unit 8 is attached separately from the unit body 4 at an inclined position 5 b corresponding to the operation unit attachment position 3 of the attachment frame 5. The operation unit 8 includes information from the unit body 4 in addition to operation switches for controlling the connected unit 4.
For example, a display unit capable of displaying a reproduction state of a CD or a tape is provided. The operation unit 8 is electrically connected to the unit main body 4 by a cable (not shown), so that the operation unit 8 and the unit main body 4 can communicate bidirectionally.
Of course, wireless type communication may be used.

As described above, since the operating section 8 is completely independent of the unit main body 4 and is mounted at a position different from the unit main body 4, it is not necessary to detach the operating section 8 from the unit main body 4, so that the conventional method is used. The collision with the instrument panel at the time of attachment / detachment of the operation unit 8, which may possibly occur, does not occur. Further, since the volume of the operation unit 8 is sufficiently smaller than the volume of the unit main body 4, the degree of freedom in mounting the operation unit 8 is improved, and the operation unit 8 can be mounted at a position with higher operability. For example, when the driver is provided with the operation unit 8 above the instrument panel, the frequency and degree of losing his / her gaze when performing an operation during driving is greatly reduced. However, there is not enough space above the instrument panel to install the unit. Therefore, it is difficult to actually attach the operation unit to the unit in which the unit body is integrated. In this regard, the operation unit 8 independent of the unit main body 4 can be easily mounted above the instrument panel due to its compactness. As described above, by improving the degree of freedom in mounting the operation unit 8, it is possible to avoid a situation in which the operation unit 8 is required to be mounted at a position where it is difficult to secure safety in driving the vehicle body.

Next, the bezel will be described. The bezels 6a and 6b shown in FIG. 2 are attached by appropriately selecting those whose appearance properties, tactile sensation and the like match the surface properties of the instrument panel side bezel 7. That is, the bezel is selectively extracted and attached from bezels previously manufactured in various shapes that differ depending on the design of the interior of the vehicle body.
Specifically, when mounting the unit, the inclination of the mounting position of the instrument panel etc. of the vehicle body, various shapes such as curved surfaces, unique designs, etc., the surface finish state such as color, glossiness and pattern, the elasticity of the material, etc. For the tactile state of
Bezels with different properties are prepared in advance. Then, a bezel having the most appropriate shape is selected from the prepared bezels, and the selected bezel is attached to the front surface of the unit main body to install the unit on the vehicle body. For this reason, because the design around the instrument panel differs for each model, despite the different properties such as shape and color, attaching the bezel of the appropriate property to the unit body does not impair the beauty of the design, The appearance can be made more natural and in harmony with the design.

Further, since the operation unit is separated from the unit body, it is not necessary to change the design of the operation unit one by one so as to conform to a different design for each vehicle type. Can be adapted to For this reason, the unit can be easily attached to another vehicle type only by replacing the bezel, the versatility of the attachment is improved, and the cost of the unit itself can be reduced. In addition, by giving the end user the right to select the bezel properties, the design of the instrument panel can be partially changed according to the end user's preference, and the appearance around the instrument panel, which was previously uniquely determined, can be freely adjusted. Can be changed.

Further, since the bezel itself has a simple shape, it is extremely easy to mass-produce it by, for example, an injection molding method. Once a mold for molding is manufactured, various bezels are supplied in large quantities and at low cost. can do. Therefore, the end user can select from among a wide variety of inexpensive bezels prepared in advance according to different designs for each vehicle type, the one most suitable for the design around the instrument panel on which the unit is to be mounted, or the end user's preference. Any suitable one can be freely selected and attached. An insertion slot 6c for inserting a CD is provided on the surface of the bezel 6a in FIG. 2, and an insertion slot 6d for an audio tape is provided on the surface of the bezel 6b. In this way, by preparing a bezel whose shape is appropriately changed according to the type of the unit to be mounted, for example, a unit using another medium such as an MD (Mini Disk) or a DVD (Digital Video Disk) can be used. , It is only necessary to select a suitable bezel and attach it to the front of the unit body.

Next, a description will be given of a second embodiment showing a bezel used when the appearance of the instrument panel is inclined. FIG. 3 shows an assembly configuration of the instrument panel side bezel 9, the unit main body 4, and the bezels 10a and 10b attached to the unit main body 4. The instrument panel-side bezel 9 in the present embodiment is configured such that the instrument panel portion shown in FIG.
It is used for a vehicle body having a design that is gently inclined toward the position. In accordance with the inclination, the surfaces of the bezels 10a and 10b are respectively inclined by the inclination angle θ, and the height H from the unit body mounting surface of the bezels 10a and 10b to the surface is set to be a surface with a continuous inclination. Thus, the appearance around the instrument panel after the instrument panel side bezel 9 is assembled is made to be flush with the surface.

The shapes of these bezels 10a, 10b are as follows:
In addition to the shape shown in FIG. 3, for example, the shape of the bezel shown in FIG. 4 can be considered according to the shape of the instrument panel side bezel. FIG.
(A) is a type in which the height gradually increases to one side, and the bezel surface is inclined toward the operator (for example, the driver) side of the unit, so that the operation of replacing the media becomes easier. . (B) is a type having a vertical inclination in addition to the shape of (a), and (c) is a type formed on a curved surface having a convex front side. Each shape is formed according to the shape of the instrument panel-side bezel that differs for each vehicle type.

Further, the bezel may have a structure in which a medium insertion opening can be easily formed only by making a hole in the bezel surface so as to correspond to each medium, assuming a medium to be used in advance. As shown in FIG. 5, an audio tape insertion port 51 and a CD insertion port 52 are installed so as to be openable, assuming that they are attached to an audio tape or CD player. Specifically, the thin portions for opening 51a, 52a are indistinguishable from the bezel surface side.
For example, when the unit is a CD player, the CD insertion opening is formed by cutting the thin portion 52a for CD opening and removing the inside thereof. In this case, the insertion opening wall surface 52 is provided inside the bezel.
It is formed in advance so that c is provided. With such a configuration, the versatility of the bezel can be further improved.

Although several embodiments of the bezel shape have been described above by way of example, the present invention is not limited to the bezel shape of the above-described embodiment, but can be variously modified according to the shape of the instrument panel and the type of the unit. The bezel can be set to a proper bezel property, and the bezel and the instrument panel-side bezel can be easily and freely combined.

[0018]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the operation unit is mounted at a position different from the unit main body, and the bezel is mounted on the front side of the unit main body. In this case, by simply selecting a bezel adapted to a different design for each vehicle type and attaching the adapted bezel to the unit body, the unit can be easily attached to the vehicle body in harmony with the design around the mounting position. Thus, attachment to another vehicle type can be performed very easily by replacing the bezel. Therefore, it is not necessary to change the shape of the operation unit, and the cost of the unit can be reduced. Also,
Since the bezel structure has a shape suitable for mass production, it can be supplied in large quantities and at low cost, and a mounting method with excellent cost performance can be obtained. Further, by independently attaching the operation unit to a position different from the unit main body, the degree of freedom of the attachment position of the operation unit is improved, and it is possible to install the operation unit at an attachment position with higher operability and safety. .

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the bezel is formed in accordance with the appearance and tactile sensation of the vehicle body to which the unit main body is attached, so that the unit can be mounted while harmonizing with the interior design which differs for each vehicle type. And the bezel can be selected and exchanged appropriately according to the end user's preference.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, by forming the bezel surface to be inclined in accordance with the inclination of the vehicle body portion to which the unit main body is attached, a more natural appearance with less steps can be achieved.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the bezel is provided with an insertion port through which the media used in the unit can be inserted and removed from the outside of the unit, so that the object to which the bezel can be attached is expanded and the versatility is further improved. be able to.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing a mounting state of an audio unit on a vehicle body.

FIG. 2 is an assembly configuration diagram of a unit according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an assembly configuration diagram of a unit according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an external perspective view showing another bezel shape.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a bezel structure provided with a CD insertion slot and an audio tape insertion slot.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a unit in which a conventional control unit is separated.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Unit 2 Unit main unit mounting position 3 Control unit mounting position 4 Unit main unit 4a CD player 4b Audio tape player 4c CD insertion slot 4d Audio tape insertion opening 6a, 6b Bezel 7 Instrument panel bezel 8 Control unit 9 Instrument panel bezel 10a, 10b Bezel

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An audio unit mounting bezel for mounting an in-vehicle audio unit, in which an operation unit and a unit main body are divided, into an interior of a vehicle body, wherein the operation unit is mounted at a different position from the unit main body. A bezel for mounting an audio unit, wherein the bezel is mounted on the front side of the unit body. 2. The audio unit mounting bezel according to claim 1, wherein the bezel is formed with a bezel surface in accordance with the appearance or tactile sensation of a vehicle body portion to which the unit main body is mounted. 3. The audio unit mounting bezel according to claim 1, wherein said bezel is formed by inclining a bezel surface in accordance with an inclination of a vehicle body portion to which said unit body is attached. 4. The audio unit according to claim 1, wherein the bezel has an insertion slot through which a medium used in a unit to be attached can be inserted into and removed from the unit from outside. Mounting bezel.