VEHICLE STORAGE SPACE COVER AND VEHICLE STORAGE SPACE COVER MANUFACTURING METHOD OF THE SAME

Abstract

A vehicle storage compartment cover comprises: a first material formed from a multitude of parts arranged side by side, a second material formed from a stretchable material and arranged on a top surface of the first material to bond the first material, and a top layer arranged on a top surface of the second material and printed with a pattern on an outwardly exposed top surface.

Description

BACKGROUND(a) Technical field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a vehicle storage compartment cover and a manufacturing process therefor, and in particular to a vehicle storage compartment cover which is able to achieve an improved appearance by applying a layer printed with various patterns, and to a manufacturing process therefor. (b) Background of the state of the art

[0002] Generally, after a long time in a vehicle, passengers feel thirsty and want something to drink. Therefore, drinks are prepared before the journey, and there is a cup holder in the center console where a cup or bottle containing a drink can be safely stored.

[0003] Preferably, the cup holder can be an open type, where the cup holder is provided in the form of a recessed groove with an open top for easy holding of beverage containers in it, such as cups, cans, bottles, etc., or it can be a closed type, where a separate cover is provided so that the cover is opened when in use and the beverage containers are stored in the cup holder provided underneath.

[0004] The enclosed cup holder generally has a flexible (bellows-like) cover or a fixed (lid-like) cover, the flexible cover having a shape in which the cover has a bend and is inserted into a compartment and stored there while moving backward along a rail, and the fixed cover having a shape in which the cover is inserted into a compartment and stored there while rotating backward.

[0005] In a narrow-type cup holder, the flexible (bellows-like) cover can be produced by a configuration that forms a coating after the double injection of the material, or by a configuration in which a separate cover is applied after the double injection of the material.

[0006] However, in the configuration where the coating forms after the double injection, problems such as peeling can occur due to the different expansion between the injected base material and the coated layer, and in the configuration where the separate cover is applied after the double injection, foreign particles can get inside the grooved structure, leading to problems such as breakage during operation. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0007] The present disclosure relates to a vehicle storage compartment cover in which a first injection material for a bellows-like cover and a second injection material made of thermoplastic material are injected between the first material and a top layer fixed in a mold, thereby achieving an excellent appearance of the cover by applying the top layer printed with various patterns, while preventing the occurrence of appearance problems of the bellows-like cover during harsh environmental operation at high and low temperatures, and a manufacturing method for it.

[0008] Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a vehicle storage compartment cover comprising: a first material formed from a plurality of adjacent parts, a second material formed from a stretchable material and arranged on an upper surface of the first material to join the first material, and a cover layer arranged on an upper surface of the second material and printed with a pattern on an outwardly facing upper surface thereof.

[0009] The second material can be formed by injection medium between the first material and the top layer.

[0010] The top layer may have a cutout to allow it to be firmly attached to a second form facing a first form to which the first material is attached.

[0011] The second form may have a sprue opening through which an injection medium is supplied for injection molding the second material, as well as a pair of retaining pins protruding from both sides of the sprue opening to fix the location of the cutouts.

[0012] The sprue opening can extend towards the first mold through a guide hole provided in the cutout.

[0013] The first form may include: an injection guide arranged to face the sprue opening, a pair of mounting grooves to accommodate the mounting pins on either side of the injection guide, and a mounting projection extending from the injection guide to support the cutout.

[0014] The cutout can be removed from the top layer.

[0015] The second material can have a bend that is formed in such a way that it bends along a predetermined curvature between the parts of the first material.

[0016] The top layer can be a layer of real wood.

[0017] Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a vehicle storage compartment cover manufacturing process comprising: injection molding of a first material formed by injecting a plurality of parts such that the parts are arranged side by side, attaching a patterned top layer to a second mold facing a first mold to which the first material is attached, and injection molding of a second material of a stretchable material between the first material and the top layer.

[0018] Securing the top layer may involve inserting a sprue opening and a fastening pin of the second mold into a cutout provided in the top layer and supporting the top layer by means of a fastening projection provided on the first mold.

[0019] The sprue opening can extend towards the first mold through a guide hole provided in the cutout.

[0020] The injection molding of the second material can include the supply of an injection medium for injection molding the second material between the first material and the top layer through an injection guide arranged in the first mold, which faces the gate opening.

[0021] The process may further include: removing the cutout from the top layer during the injection molding of the second material, so that the storage compartment cover is discarded.

[0022] In the vehicle storage compartment cover according to the present disclosure, the first material for the bellows-like cover is injected, and the second material made of thermoplastic material is injected between the first material and the top layer fixed in the mold, thereby achieving an excellent appearance of the cover by applying the top layer printed with various patterns, while at the same time preventing the occurrence of appearance problems of the bellows-like cover during harsh environmental operation at high and low temperatures.

[0023] The present disclosure also gives the appearance the effect of a refined and luxurious texture by applying the top layer of elastic real wood and preserving the original pattern of the real wood even during the operation of the storage compartment cover. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES Fig. Figure 1 is a view of a cup holder provided with a vehicle storage compartment cover according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; Fig. 2 is a view of the vehicle storage compartment cover according to the embodiment of the present disclosure; Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view along a section AA in Fig. 2 to illustrate a construction of the vehicle storage compartment cover according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; The Fig. 4 and Fig. Figure 5 are views illustrating the fastening of a cover layer in the vehicle storage compartment cover according to one embodiment of the present disclosure; Fig. 6 and Fig. Figure 7 are views illustrating the support of the top layer in the vehicle storage compartment cover according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; Fig. 8 is a view illustrating a sprue opening for the vehicle storage compartment cover according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; Fig. Figure 9 is a view illustrating the detached state of the vehicle storage compartment cover according to one embodiment of the present disclosure; and The Fig. 10A, Fig. 10B, Fig. 10C, Fig. 10D and Fig. Figure 10E are schematic views illustrating a vehicle storage compartment cover manufacturing process according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0024] Preferred embodiments of the present disclosure will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0025] The advantages and features of the present disclosure and the methods for its realization will become clear by reference to the embodiments described in detail in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0026] However, the present disclosure is not intended to be limited by the embodiments disclosed herein, but can be implemented in many different forms. These embodiments merely serve to complete the present disclosure and to give the person skilled in the art in the field to which the present disclosure belongs a complete understanding of the scope of the invention as defined by the claims.

[0027] Furthermore, if it is assumed that relevant known technologies would obscure the essentials of the present disclosure when describing the present disclosure, a detailed description of the same will be omitted.

[0028] Fig. Figure 1 is a view illustrating a cup holder attached to a vehicle storage compartment cover according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, Fig. Figure 2 is a view illustrating the vehicle storage compartment cover according to the embodiment of the present disclosure, and Fig. Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view along a section AA in Fig. 2, to illustrate a structure of the vehicle storage compartment cover according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0029] The Fig. 4 and Fig. Figure 5 shows views illustrating the attachment of a cover layer in the vehicle storage compartment cover according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, and Fig. 6 and Fig. Figure 7 are views illustrating the support of the top layer in the vehicle storage compartment cover according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0030] Fig. Figure 8 is a view illustrating a sprue opening for the vehicle storage compartment cover according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, Fig. Figure 9 is a view illustrating the detached state of the vehicle storage compartment cover according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, and the Fig. Figures 10A to 10E are conceptual views that schematically illustrate a vehicle storage compartment cover manufacturing process according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0031] Generally, various controls and amenities are placed around the driver and passenger seats in the interior of a vehicle, including the dashboard and audio deck, gearshift lever, airbags, door locks, window openers, etc. Interior trim is installed in the spaces between the outer perimeter of the controls and amenities and the interior materials to enhance the interior materials, becoming an important factor in determining the appearance of the vehicle's interior.

[0032] Since these materials have a significant influence on the aesthetics of the vehicle interior, aesthetic requirements are becoming increasingly important with the growing individualization of vehicle design.

[0033] As in Fig. As illustrated in Figure 1, the vehicle storage compartment cover 10 according to the present embodiment, e.g. a cover for shielding the open interior of a cup holder 1, consists of a bellows-like structure, so that the cover can meet the aesthetic needs of the user while also meeting functional needs such as protection against the ingress of foreign objects into the interior.

[0034] Here, the storage compartment cover 10 can comprise a first material 100, a second material 200, and a top layer 300, as in the Fig. 2 and Fig. 3 illustrated.

[0035] The first material 100 is formed from a large number of parts arranged side by side.

[0036] The first material 100 is intended to form the basic framework of the bellows-like structure and is coupled to the inside of the cup holder 1 by rails in order to selectively open the cup holder 1 during a sliding movement (see Fig. 1).

[0037] For this purpose, the multitude of parts of the first material 100 are shaped in such a way that they extend longitudinally with a length along the width direction in order to be connected to the interior of the cup holder 1 in a rail-like manner.

[0038] Preferably, the first material 100 can be formed by injection molding an injection medium between a first mold 20 and a second mold 30', as shown in Fig. Figure 10A illustrates the first material, which may preferably be formed from polycarbonate (PC) - acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABC) or polypropylene (PP) + T20 material, preferably from a material which facilitates adhesion to the second material 200.

[0039] The second material 200 is made of a stretchable material and rests on the first material 100 to connect the multitude of parts of the first material 100, as in Fig. 3 illustrated.

[0040] The second material 200 can be formed by insert injection molding between the first material 100 and the top layer 300, by attaching the top layer 300 to the second mold 30, as shown in Fig. Figure 10C illustrates where the first material 100 is fixed in the first form 20, as shown in Fig. Figure 10B illustrates this, and in this state an injection medium is injected between the first mold 20 and the second mold 30, as shown in Fig. Illustrated in 10D.

[0041] Preferably, the second material 200 can be formed from one of the following stretchable materials: thermoplastic elastomer (TPE), thermoplastic elastomer-styrene (TPS), or thermoplastic olefin (TPO). However, this is only one embodiment and is not limiting, and the second material can be formed from other materials with the same properties. The second material can also be formed from a material that facilitates adhesion to the top layer 300.

[0042] The second material 200 can be provided with a bend 210 to enable smooth operation of the storage cover 10 with the bellows-like structure.

[0043] That is, the bend 210 is designed to bend along a predetermined curvature between adjacent parts of the first material 100 (see Fig. 3).

[0044] In other words, the bend 210 allows the room cover 10 to bend during the sliding movement along the direction for opening the room cover 10, thus enabling smooth operation of the room cover 10 with the bellows-like structure.

[0045] On the other hand, the top layer 300 is applied to the upper surface of the second material 200 (see Fig. 3), and has an exposed upper surface printed with various patterns.

[0046] The top layer 300 can be formed from a material that ensures adhesion with the second material 200.

[0047] The exposed upper surface of the cover layer 300 can have a flat structure independently of the bellows-like structure of the first material 100, thereby achieving an excellent appearance quality while preventing problems such as the deterioration of operational performance due to the penetration of foreign bodies into the recessed upper surface of the conventional bellows-like storage compartment cover.

[0048] To solve the problems with the durability and operational performance of the bellows structure, the cover layer 300 can be formed from a binder layer, a layer based on thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU), a layer of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) or acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABC), and a printing and coating layer.

[0049] Preferably, the cover layer 300 can be formed in such a way that it has a light-reflecting property, so that when the first material 100 with the bellows-like structure is coupled to the interior of the cup holder 1, light from a lighting structure (not shown) installed in the interior of the cup holder 1 can be easily reflected by the light-reflecting property, which improves the appearance aesthetics caused by the lighting structure.

[0050] The top layer 300 can be attached to the second form 30, which faces the first form 20 in which the first material 100 is attached, as shown in Fig. Figure 4 illustrates where the top layer 300 can have a cutout 310 which is attached to the second form 30.

[0051] In particular, as in Fig. As illustrated in Figure 5, the second mold 30 can include a sprue opening 32, which provides a passage through which an injection medium for injection molding the second material 200 is supplied, and a pair of retaining pins 34 projecting from both sides of the sprue opening 32 to fix the position of the cutout 310. The cutout 310 thus serves to fix the location of the cover layer 300, which is attached to the second mold 30 by the sprue opening 32 and the retaining pins 34.

[0052] For this purpose, the cutout 310 can be provided with an installation guide hole H1 and through holes H2 through which the gate opening 32 and the fastening pins 34 are fitted and fastened to limit the movement of the cover layer 300 and to hold the position of the cover layer on the second mold 30, thereby preventing problems such as warping of the cover layer 300 due to the injection pressure during injection molding of the second material 200 in advance.

[0053] Here, as in Fig. Figure 7 illustrates when the second mold 30, in which the top layer 300 is attached for injecting the second material 200, is arranged such that it faces the first mold 20, in which the first material 100 is attached (see Fig. 10D), the first form 20 supports the top layer 300 with an injection guide 22, receiving grooves 24 and fastening projections 26, which correspond to the structure of the sprue opening 32 and the fastening pins 34 in the second form 20.

[0054] That is, the injection guide 22 is arranged such that it faces the sprue opening 32, the receiving grooves 24 are formed on both sides of the injection guide 22 to receive the fastening pins 34, and the fastening projections 26 protrude from the injection guide 22 to support the cutout 310.

[0055] Preferably, the fastening projections 26 protrude by a predetermined height to form a space between the bottom surface of the injection guide 22 and the cutout 310, which the projections support (see Fig. 7), and as in Fig. Figure 8 illustrates that if the sprue opening 32 extends towards the injection guide 22 through the mounting guide hole H1 formed in the cutout 310, the injection medium supplied from the sprue opening 32 can be injected into the space between the first material 100 and the cutout 310 for the injection of the second material 200.

[0056] This is because the second material 200 is made of one of the materials TPE, TPS or TPO, which, due to the nature of the material, changes into a liquid state and flows during molding, so that during injection molding of the second material 200 the injection medium for injecting the second material 200 flows into the top layer 300. To prevent defects, the gate opening 32 is designed such that it extends towards the injection guide 22 over a projection length A, for example about 2 mm, from the cutout 310 through the mounting guide hole H1 (see Fig. 8) extends to prevent the problem of defects occurring when the injection medium supplied through the sprue opening 32 flows into the top layer 300.

[0057] As in Fig. 9 illustrates that if the storage compartment cover 10 is of the first form 20 and the second form 30 (see Fig. 10E) is subtracted, the cutout 310 of the cover layer 300 along the shear line L is removed from the cover layer 300.

[0058] In this way it is possible to To complete the storage compartment cover 10 with a structure in which the top layer 300 is combined with the double injection structure of the first material 100 and the second material 200 (see Fig.3), thereby providing a storage compartment cover 10 which can offer a printed appearance with various patterns while preventing problems with the appearance of the bellows-like structure during operation under harsh environmental conditions.

[0059] On the other hand, the top layer 300 can be formed from a layer of real wood.

[0060] While in a conventional bellows structure the use of real wood material inevitably leads to problems such as cracking and splitting of the surface due to the flexibility limited by the inherent properties of wood, in this embodiment the real wood 300 top layer can be arranged on a crack-resistant structural layer formed by successive lamination of non-woven fabric, TPU, non-woven fabric and TPU in order to achieve a refined and luxurious texture in appearance through the application of the stretchable top layer 300, while the original pattern of the real wood is retained during the operation of the bellows-like structure.

[0061] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the upper surface of the top layer 300 of the real wood can be coated with a UV-resistant coating and a polyurethane (PU) coating to prevent scratches and discoloration.

[0062] In the vehicle storage compartment cover according to the present disclosure, the first material for the bellows-like cover is injected, and the second material made of thermoplastic material is injected between the first material and the top layer fixed in the mold, thereby achieving an excellent appearance of the cover by applying the top layer printed with various patterns, while at the same time preventing the occurrence of appearance problems of the bellows-like cover during harsh environmental operation at high and low temperatures.

[0063] The present disclosure also gives the appearance the effect of a refined and luxurious texture by applying the top layer of elastic real wood and preserving the original pattern of the real wood even during the operation of the storage compartment cover.

[0064] Although the present disclosure has been described with reference to the embodiment(s) illustrated in the drawings, these serve only for illustration, and those skilled in the art will understand that various modifications can be made based on them and that the embodiment(s) described above can be combined in whole or in part at will. Therefore, the true technical scope of the present disclosure should be defined by the technical ideas of the appended claims.

Claims

[1] Vehicle storage compartment cover, comprising: a first material formed from a multitude of parts arranged side by side; a second material formed from a stretchable material and arranged on an upper surface of the first material to bond the second material to the first material; and a top layer arranged on an upper surface of the second material, wherein the top layer is printed with a pattern on an outward-facing upper surface. [2] Vehicle storage compartment cover according to claim 1, wherein the second material is formed between the first material and the cover layer by insert injection molding. [3] Vehicle storage compartment cover according to claim 1, wherein the cover layer has a cutout which is configured to be firmly attached to a second form which is opposite a first form to which the first material is attached. [4] Vehicle storage compartment cover according to claim 3, wherein the second form comprises: a sprue opening through which an injection medium is supplied for injection molding the second material, the sprue opening having a first side and a second side; and a first fixing pin protruding from the first side of the sprue opening and a second fixing pin protruding from the second side of the sprue opening to fix a point of the cutout. [5] Vehicle storage compartment cover according to claim 4, wherein the sprue opening extends through an attachment guide hole arranged in the cutout in the direction of the first mold. [6] Vehicle storage compartment cover according to claim 4, wherein the first form comprises: an injection guide arranged such that it faces the sprue opening, wherein the injection guide has a first side and a second side; a first mounting groove designed to receive the first mounting pin on the first side of the injection guide, and a second mounting groove designed to receive the second mounting pin on the second side of the injection guide; and a mounting protrusion that extends from the injection guide to support the cutout. [7] Vehicle storage compartment cover according to claim 3, wherein the cutout is removed from the cover layer. [8] Vehicle storage compartment cover according to claim 1, wherein the second material has a bend which is designed to bend along a predetermined curvature between the plurality of parts of the first material. [9] Vehicle storage compartment cover according to claim 1, wherein the top layer is a layer of wood. [10] Vehicle storage compartment cover manufacturing process, comprising: Injection molding of a first material by injecting a large number of parts arranged side by side; Applying a patterned top layer to a second form facing a first form to which the first material is attached; and Injection molding of a second material by injecting a stretchable material between the first material and the top layer. [11] Method according to claim 10, wherein the application of the top layer comprises: Inserting a sprue opening and a retaining pin of the second mold into a cutout provided in the top layer; and Supporting the top layer with the aid of a fastening projection provided on the first form. [12] Method according to claim 11, wherein the sprue opening extends through an attachment guide hole provided in the cutout in the direction of the first mold. [13] The method of claim 11, wherein the injection molding of the second material comprises: Supply of an injection medium for injection molding of the second material between the first material and the top layer by means of an injection guide arranged in the first mold, which faces the sprue opening. [14] Method according to claim 11, further comprising removing the cutout from the top layer during the insert injection molding of the second material in order to discard the storage compartment cover.

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