VEHICLE FRONT CABIN STRUCTURE

Abstract

[Object] An object of the present invention is to produce a front vehicle cabin structure that facilitates maintenance on a HUD device installed in a dashboard and reduces the workload. [Means for solving the problem] The present invention relates, in one aspect, to a front vehicle cabin structure 100, comprising a dashboard 110 located at the front of a vehicle cabin, and a HUD device 140 that projects information and is housed in the dashboard 110. The front vehicle cabin structure further comprises a HUD bracket 150 that is fixed to the dashboard 110 and supports the HUD device 140.The dashboard 110 includes an upper face 112 which extends in a width direction of the vehicle, the upper face is divided, in a front-to-back direction, into a front part 120 and a rear part 130, and a fixing part 132, to which the HUD support 150 is fixed, is provided on a rear side of the rear part 130.Figure 2.

Description

Title of the invention: FRONT STRUCTURE OF A VEHICLE PASSENGER COMPARTMENT Technical field

[0001] The present invention relates to a front structure of a vehicle passenger compartment. Prior art

[0002] In recent years, the installation of head-up display devices in vehicles has become increasingly popular. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a fixing opening, for fixing a head-up display device, which is formed in an upper side of the instrument panel. According to Patent Document 1, a configuration is employed in which the head-up display device can be fixed, from above the instrument panel, via the fixing opening.

[0003] Furthermore, according to Patent Document 1, a meter opening, for installing a meter device, is formed on the rear side of the instrument panel. The dimensions of the outer shape of the removable one-piece body of the head-up display device are set to be smaller than those of the meter opening. Therefore, a configuration is employed in which the one-piece body can be removed through the meter opening in the rear side of the instrument panel when maintenance is required. List of cited documents Patent documents

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Unexamined Japanese Patent Application Publication No. JP 2018-52290A. Summary of the invention Technical problem

[0005] It is expected that in the future, head-up display devices (hereinafter "HUD devices") will project more information than they currently do. In this regard, it can also be expected that the size of the HUD device will increase and, therefore, the removal of a larger HUD device through the meter opening disclosed in Patent Document 1 may be difficult.

[0006] If the HUD device cannot be removed through the meter opening disclosed in Patent Document 1, the upper face of the instrument panel is removed and maintenance is performed on the HUD device. However, the instrument panel is a large component and, therefore, removing the instrument panel represents a large workload and thus makes maintenance more difficult.

[0007] In view of these problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle cabin front structure which facilitates the performance of maintenance on a HUD device installed in a dashboard, and reduces the workload. Technical solution

[0008] In order to solve the above problems, a vehicle cabin front structure according to one aspect of the present invention, having a typical configuration, is a vehicle cabin front structure comprising an instrument panel disposed at the front of a vehicle cabin, and a HUD device which is configured to project information and is housed in the instrument panel, the vehicle cabin front structure further comprising a HUD holder which is attached to the instrument panel and supports the HUD device. The instrument panel comprises an upper face which extends in a vehicle width direction, the upper face is divided, in a front-rear direction, into a front portion and a rear portion, and an attachment portion, to which the HUD holder is attached, is provided on a rear side of the rear portion. Benefits provided

[0009] With the present invention, it is possible to provide a vehicle cabin front structure that makes it easier to perform maintenance on a HUD device installed in a dashboard, and reduces the workload. Brief description of the drawings Fig.l

[0010] [fig.l] is a diagram illustrating a vehicle passenger compartment front structure according to the present embodiment; Fig. 2

[0011] [fig-2] is a detailed diagram of Fig. 1; Fig. 3

[0012] [fig.3] is a diagram showing a dashboard illustrated in Fig. 2, with a view to above. Description of the embodiments

[0013] A vehicle cabin front structure according to one aspect of the present invention comprising an instrument panel disposed at the front of a vehicle cabin, and a HUD device which is configured to project information and is housed in the instrument panel, the vehicle cabin front structure further comprising a HUD holder which is attached to the instrument panel and supports the HUD device. The instrument panel comprises an upper face which extends in a width direction of the vehicle, the upper face is divided, in a front-rear direction, into a front portion and a rear portion, and an attachment portion, to which the HUD holder is attached, is provided on one rear side of the rear part.

[0014] With the above-described configuration, the upper face of the instrument panel is divided into two, namely a front part and a rear part, and a fixing part, to which the HUD bracket is fixed, is provided on a rear side of the rear part. Therefore, by removing the rear part, the HUD bracket is also removed, and thus the HUD device can also be removed. Therefore, it is not necessary to remove the upper face of the instrument panel in its entirety when maintenance is to be performed on the HUD device. Thus, it is possible to facilitate the performance of maintenance on the HUD device installed in the instrument panel, and to reduce the workload.

[0015] It is preferable that a dividing line between the front portion and the rear portion of the instrument panel comprises a curved portion that is curved toward the rear of the vehicle, that the front portion comprises a region protruding toward the rear portion due to the curved portion, and an opening, through which light from the HUD device passes, formed in the region, and that a front end of the attachment portion is located forward of a rear end of the curved portion.

[0016] In the configuration described above, the front portion protrudes toward the rear portion. Therefore, the fixing portion provided on the rear portion can be located near the front portion in the front-rear direction of the vehicle. The rigidity of the region around the opening can thus be increased and it is possible to eliminate the rattling produced by the upper face of the instrument panel.

[0017] It is preferable that the fixing portion is disposed on a lateral side of the opening. Therefore, the fixing portion can be located near the opening in the width direction of the vehicle. The rigidity of the region around the opening can thus be increased and it is possible to eliminate the rattling sound produced by the upper face of the instrument panel.

[0018] It is preferable that the dividing line is formed by overlapping the front portion and the rear portion of the upper face, and that the fixing portion is placed in a position overlapping the dividing line in top view. Therefore, the front portion of the instrument panel can be supported from below by the fixing portion, and the supporting rigidity can thus be improved. Thus, the spacing of the dividing line can be kept constant, and the appearance can be improved. Method of implementation

[0019] Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The dimensions, materials and other specific numerical values ​​indicated in these embodiments do not are only examples intended to facilitate the understanding of the present invention and should not be construed as a limitation of the invention, unless otherwise indicated. It should be noted that elements performing substantially identical functions and having substantially identical configurations are designated by identical reference numerals in this description and in the drawings, and that any redundant description has therefore been omitted. In addition, illustrations of elements not directly related to the present invention have been omitted.

[0020] Fig. 1 is a diagram illustrating a vehicle passenger compartment front structure 100 according to the present embodiment, and shows the driver's seat side of an instrument panel 110 disposed at the front of the vehicle passenger compartment (complete structure not shown), as viewed from the rear side of the vehicle. Fig. 2 is a detailed diagram of Fig. 1. It should be noted that, in order to facilitate understanding, a HUD device 140 and a HUD holder 150 are not illustrated in Fig. 1.

[0021] As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the vehicle cabin front structure 100 of the present embodiment comprises the instrument panel 110, the HUD device 140 and the HUD holder 150. The instrument panel 110 shown in Fig. 1 is a panel disposed at the front of the vehicle cabin and meters (not shown) are installed therein. The HUD device 140 shown in Fig. 2 is a device that projects information onto a front window panel (not shown), and is housed in the instrument panel 110. The HUD holder 150 is fixed to the instrument panel 110 and supports the HUD device 140.

[0022] The instrument panel 110 described above comprises an upper face 112 extending lengthwise in the width direction of the vehicle. The vehicle passenger compartment front structure 100 of the present embodiment is characterized in that, as shown in Fig. 2, the upper face 112 is divided into two parts in the front-rear direction, the two parts being a front part 120 and a rear part 130, and fixing parts 132, to which the HUD bracket 150 is fixed, are provided on the rear side of the rear part 130.

[0023] According to the configuration described above, by removing the rear portion 130 from the upper face 112 of the instrument panel 110, the HUD holder 150 and the HUD device 140 can be removed together therewith. Therefore, when maintenance is to be performed on the HUD device 140, it is not necessary to remove the upper face 112 of the instrument panel 110 in its entirety. Performing maintenance on the HUD device 140 installed in the instrument panel 110 is, therefore, facilitated, and the workload can thus be reduced. In addition, the rigidity of the rear portion 130 can be improved by the provision of the fixing portions 132.

[0024] Fig. 3 is a diagram showing the instrument panel 110 illustrated in Fig. 2, in a top view. As shown in Fig. 3, a dividing line 114 between the front portion 120 and the rear portion 130 of the instrument panel 110 includes a curved portion 116 that is curved toward the rear side of the vehicle. The front portion 120 includes a region 122 protruding toward the rear portion 130 due to the curved portion 116 and an opening 124 formed in the region 122. Light projected from the HUD device 140 is projected onto the front window panel (not shown) through the opening 124.

[0025] As shown in Fig. 3, the front edges of the fixing portions 132, provided on the rear side of the rear portion 130 described above, are positioned forward with respect to a rear end 116a of the curved portion 116. Therefore, the fixing portions provided on the rear portion 130 are located near the front portion 120 in the front-rear direction of the vehicle. The rigidity of the region around the opening 124 can thus be increased and it is possible to eliminate the rattling produced by the upper face 112 of the instrument panel 110.

[0026] As shown in Fig. 3, the fixing portions 132 are arranged on lateral sides of the opening 124. Therefore, the fixing portions 132 are located near the opening 124 in the vehicle width direction. The rigidity of the region around the opening 124 can thus be further increased and it is possible to more effectively eliminate the rattling sound produced by the upper face 112 of the instrument panel 110.

[0027] Specifically, if the size of the HUD device 140 is increased in the future, a large space will be required in the instrument panel 110 for receiving the larger HUD device 140. The rigidity of the upper face 112 of the instrument panel 110 located above this space will therefore decrease if no member is present to support the upper face 112 from below. Therefore, it is likely that the upper face 112 of the instrument panel 110 will produce a rattling sound, and the aesthetic appearance will be affected. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, the rattling sound produced by the upper face 112 can be eliminated by the presence of the fixing portions 132 near the opening 124. Therefore, the deterioration of the aesthetic appearance caused by the rattling sound can be advantageously avoided.

[0028] Furthermore, in the present embodiment, as shown in Fig. 3, the dividing line 114 is formed by the rear end of the front portion 120 and the front end (indicated by a dotted line) of the rear portion 130 of the upper face 112 overlapping each other. In addition, of the two fixing portions, at least one fixing portion 132 (the fixing portion 132 shown on the right side in Fig. 3) is placed in a position overlapping the dividing line 114, when viewed from above. Therefore, since the fixing portions 132 can support the front portion 120 of the instrument panel 110 from below, the supporting rigidity of the front portion 120 is improved. Thus, the spacing of the dividing line 114 can be maintained. constant, and the appearance can be improved.

[0029] It is noted that, in the present embodiment, the dividing line is illustrated with the rear end of the front portion 120 located on the upper side and the front end of the rear portion 130 located on the lower side, but there is no limitation in this regard. On the contrary, even if a configuration is employed in which the rear end of the front portion 120 is located on the lower side and the front end of the rear portion 130 is located on the upper side, a similar effect can be achieved. If a configuration is employed in which the rear end of the front portion 120 is located on the lower side and the front end of the rear portion 130 is located on the upper side, the rear portion 130 can be easily moved to the rear of the vehicle body when maintenance is to be performed on the HUD device 140.

[0030] Although a preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described above with reference to the accompanying drawings, it will be understood that the present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above. It will be obvious to a person skilled in the art that various modifications and variations may be made within the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims, and that such modifications and variations should be considered to be included within the technical scope of the present invention. In the embodiments, the HUD device has been described primarily as a front window panel projection device, but it goes without saying that the present invention can also be applied to a HUD device comprising a combiner. Industrial application

[0031] The present invention may be employed in a vehicle passenger compartment front structure. List of reference signs

[0032] - 100: front structure of vehicle passenger compartment - 110: dashboard - 112: upper face - 114: dividing line - 116: curved part - 116a: rear end - 120: front part - 122: region - 124: opening - 130: rear part - 132: fixing part - 140: HUD device - 150: HUD support

Claims

Claims

1. A vehicle cabin front structure (100) comprising an instrument panel (110) disposed at the front of a vehicle cabin, and a HUD device (140) which is configured to project information and is housed in the instrument panel (110), the vehicle cabin front structure (100) further comprising a HUD holder (150) which is attached to the instrument panel (110) and supports the HUD device (140), wherein the instrument panel (110) comprises an upper face (112) extending in a vehicle width direction, the upper face (112) is divided in a front-rear direction into a front portion (120) and a rear portion (130), and an attachment portion (132), to which the HUD holder (150) is attached, is provided on a rear side of the rear portion (130).

2. The vehicle cabin front structure (100) according to claim 1, wherein a dividing line (114) between the front portion (120) and the rear portion (130) of the instrument panel (110) comprises a curved portion (116) which is curved toward the rear of the vehicle, the front portion (120) comprises: a region (122) protruding toward the rear portion (130) due to the curved portion (116); and an opening (124), through which light from the HUD device (140) passes, formed in the region (122), and a front end of the attachment portion (132) is located forward of a rear end (116a) of the curved portion (116).

3. A vehicle passenger compartment front structure (100) according to claim 2, wherein the fixing portion (132) is disposed on a lateral side of the opening (124).

4. A vehicle passenger compartment front structure (100) according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the dividing line (114) is formed by the front portion (120) and the rear portion (130) of the upper face (112) overlapping each other, and the fixing portion (132) is placed in a position overlapping the dividing line (114) in top view.

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