Instrument panel structure

Abstract

To provide an instrument panel structure that is able to efficiently transmit a load into a cleavage portion from an airbag that is being inflated and deployed even when the cleavage portion is formed at a position apart from a bent portion that project toward a cabin side, in a cross-sectional view viewed from a vehicle width direction.SOLUTION: An instrument panel structure 10 includes an instrument panel 12 having a cleavage portion 16 that is cleaved by transmission of a load from an airbag that is being inflated and deployed. The instrument panel 12 includes: a bent portion 14 that projects toward a cabin side, and is formed apart from the cleavage portion 16 in a vehicle longitudinal direction in a cross-sectional view viewed from a vehicle width direction and; and a guide portion 20 that is provided inside the bent portion 14 and guides, into the cleavage portion 16, the airbag that is being inflated and deployed.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an instrument panel structure. [Background technology]

[0002] Instrument panels having a tear portion (a linear thin portion extending in the vehicle width direction) that tears when a load is transmitted from an inflating and deploying airbag have been known for some time (see, for example, Patent Document 1). This tear portion is formed in a bent portion that protrudes toward the passenger compartment in a cross-sectional view seen from the vehicle width direction. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2013-123974 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] As described above, when the instrument panel is formed with a bent portion that is convex toward the passenger compartment in a cross-sectional view seen from the vehicle width direction, a wide space is provided between the airbag before inflation and the bent portion. Therefore, when the airbag starts to inflate and deploy, it tries to inflate and deploy toward the space (bent portion) that does not hinder the inflation and deployment, but if the tear portion is not formed at the bent portion, in other words, if the tear portion is formed at a position away from the bent portion, the load required for the airbag to tear is not efficiently transmitted from the inflating airbag to the tear portion.

[0005] Therefore, the present invention aims to obtain an instrument panel structure in which the load from an airbag that inflates and deploys to a tear portion is efficiently transmitted to the tear portion even if the tear portion is formed at a position away from a bend that convexly extends toward the passenger compartment when viewed in a cross-sectional view from the vehicle width direction. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the instrument panel structure of a first aspect of the present invention comprises an instrument panel having a tear portion that tears when a load is transmitted from an inflating and deploying airbag, and the instrument panel has, in a cross-sectional view seen from the vehicle width direction, a bent portion that is formed away from the tear portion in the vehicle fore-and-aft direction and convex toward the passenger compartment, and a guide portion that is provided inside the bent portion and guides the inflating and deploying airbag to the tear portion.

[0007] According to the first aspect of the invention, in a cross-sectional view seen from the vehicle width direction, a bent portion that protrudes toward the passenger compartment is formed on the instrument panel at a distance from the tearing portion in the vehicle longitudinal direction, and a guide portion that guides the inflating and deploying airbag to the tearing portion is provided inside the bent portion. Therefore, the airbag that inflates and deploys toward the bent portion is guided to the tearing portion by the guide portion. This allows the load from the inflating and deploying airbag to be efficiently transmitted to the tearing portion.

[0008] In addition, the instrument panel structure of the second aspect of the present invention is the instrument panel structure of the first aspect, wherein the guide portion is integrally formed inside the bend portion with the vehicle width direction as the normal direction, and is composed of a plurality of flat plate portions whose one end in the vehicle fore-and-aft direction is located at the cleavage portion.

[0009] According to the second aspect of the invention, the guide portion is composed of a plurality of flat plate portions integrally formed inside the bent portion with the vehicle width direction as a normal direction, and the vehicle front-rear direction one end of the plurality of flat plate portions is located in the tear portion. Therefore, the airbag that inflates and deploys toward the bent portion is smoothly guided toward the tear portion, and the manufacturing cost is reduced compared to when the guide portion is not integrally formed with the instrument panel.

[0010] In addition, the instrument panel structure of a third aspect of the present invention is the instrument panel structure of the second aspect, wherein the other end of the flat plate portion in the vehicle fore-and-aft direction is located at a hinge portion that rotatably supports one side of the instrument panel having the bent portion that is split open from the split portion.

[0011] According to the third aspect of the invention, the other end of the flat plate in the vehicle longitudinal direction is located at a hinge portion that rotatably supports one side of the instrument panel having the bent portion torn from the tearing portion, and therefore the rigidity of the one side of the instrument panel having the bent portion is more effectively ensured than when the other end of the flat plate in the vehicle longitudinal direction is not located at the hinge portion.

[0012] In addition, an instrument panel structure of a fourth aspect of the present invention is the instrument panel structure of the second or third aspect, wherein the flat portion is formed into an obtuse triangle shape with the bent portion as a vertex when viewed from the vehicle width direction.

[0013] According to the fourth aspect of the invention, the flat plate portion is formed in an obtuse triangle shape with the bent portion as the apex when viewed from the vehicle width direction. Therefore, the airbag that inflates and deploys toward the bent portion is guided toward the tearing portion more smoothly than when the flat plate portion is not formed in an obtuse triangle shape with the bent portion as the apex. Note that the "obtuse triangle shape" in the present invention also includes an approximately obtuse triangle shape that is not an exact obtuse triangle shape.

[0014] An instrument panel structure of a fifth aspect of the present invention is an instrument panel structure of any one of the second to fourth aspects, wherein one end of the flat plate portion in the vehicle fore-and-aft direction is formed thicker than the other end of the flat plate portion in the vehicle fore-and-aft direction.

[0015] According to the fifth aspect of the invention, one end of the flat plate portion in the vehicle front-rear direction is formed to be thicker than the other end of the flat plate portion in the vehicle front-rear direction. Therefore, the load from the inflating and deploying airbag is more efficiently transmitted to the rupture portion than when the one end of the flat plate portion in the vehicle front-rear direction is formed to be the same thickness as the other end of the flat plate portion in the vehicle front-rear direction.

[0016] In addition, the instrument panel structure of a sixth aspect of the present invention is an instrument panel structure of any one of the first to fifth aspects, and has a plurality of protrusions formed integrally with the vehicle width direction as a normal direction on the inside of the other side of the instrument panel that does not have the bent portion, the side being split from the split portion, and one end in the vehicle fore-and-aft direction being located at the split portion.

[0017] According to the sixth aspect of the invention, a plurality of protrusions, the one end of which in the vehicle longitudinal direction is located at the tearing portion, are integrally formed on the inside of the other side of the instrument panel not having the bent portion, with the vehicle width direction as the normal direction, on the inside of the other side of the instrument panel not having the bent portion, which is torn from the tearing portion. Therefore, the rigidity of the other side of the instrument panel not having the bent portion is effectively ensured compared to a case in which a plurality of protrusions are not formed on the inside of the other side of the instrument panel not having the bent portion. Effect of the Invention

[0018] As described above, according to the present invention, even if the tear portion is formed at a position away from the bend that convexly faces the passenger compartment when viewed in a cross-sectional view from the vehicle width direction, the load from the airbag that inflates and deploys can be efficiently transmitted to the tear portion. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0019] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic perspective view showing an instrument panel according to an embodiment of the present invention as viewed from the vehicle interior side. [Diagram 2] 1 is a schematic perspective view showing an instrument panel structure according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a schematic bottom view showing the instrument panel structure according to the embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along line XX in FIG. [Diagram 5] FIG. 11 is a schematic bottom view showing a modified example of the instrument panel structure according to the embodiment. [Figure 6]5 is a schematic cross-sectional view corresponding to FIG. 4 and showing an instrument panel structure according to a comparative example. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0020] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. For convenience of explanation, the arrow UP shown in each drawing indicates the vehicle upward direction, the arrow FR indicates the vehicle forward direction, the arrow RE indicates the vehicle rearward direction, and the arrow RH indicates the vehicle rightward direction. Therefore, in the following explanation, when the directions such as up / down, front / rear, and left / right are described without special mention, they refer to up / down, front / rear, and left / right on the vehicle. In addition, the left / right direction is synonymous with the vehicle width direction.

[0021] 1, a resin instrument panel (hereinafter, may be abbreviated as "instrument panel") 12 having an instrument panel structure 10 according to this embodiment is an instrument panel on the passenger seat side, and has a bent portion 14 that is convex toward the passenger compartment when viewed in the vehicle width direction. This bent portion 14 is formed on the upper side of the instrument panel 12 so as to extend along the vehicle width direction.

[0022] 2 to 4, the tearing portion 16 in the instrument panel 12 is formed at a position separated in the front-rear direction (a position shifted forward) from the bent portion 14. The tearing portion 16 is a linear thin-walled portion that is torn when a load is transmitted from an inflating and deploying airbag 34 (described later), and is composed of a main tearing portion 16A extending along the vehicle width direction and a secondary tearing portion 16B extending obliquely from the main tearing portion 16A.

[0023] The main cleavage portion 16A is formed to be aligned at a predetermined interval approximately parallel to the bent portion 14. The secondary cleavage portion 16B extends a predetermined length from both ends of the main cleavage portion 16A in the extending direction obliquely forward and backward, respectively, and is formed to be approximately "Y" shaped with the main cleavage portion 16A (see Figs. 2 and 3).

[0024] A plurality of (six in the illustrated example) flat plate portions, i.e., flat ribs 20, are integrally formed on the inside of the bent portion 14 with the vehicle width direction as the normal direction, as guide portions for guiding the inflating and deploying airbag 34 (described below) to the rupture portion 16. When viewed from the vehicle width direction, each rib 20 is formed in a substantially obtuse triangle shape with the bent portion 14 as the apex.

[0025] A front end (one end in the front-rear direction) 22 of each rib 20 is located in the cleavage portion 16 (main cleavage portion 16A), and a rear end (the other end in the front-rear direction) 24 of each rib 20 is located in a hinge portion 18 that rotatably supports the lower portion 12A (one side having the bent portion 14) of the instrument panel 12 cleaved from the cleavage portion 16. In other words, the tip of the front end 22 of each rib 20 faces the cleavage portion 16 (main cleavage portion 16A), and the tip of the rear end 24 of each rib 20 faces the hinge portion 18 (see FIG. 4).

[0026] Furthermore, on the inside of the upper portion 12B (the other side not having the bent portion 14) of the instrument panel 12 split at the split portion 16, a plurality of (four in the illustrated example) flat plate-like protrusions 26 are integrally formed with the vehicle width direction as the normal direction. When viewed from the vehicle width direction, each protrusion 26 is formed in a long and narrow, generally rectangular shape with a height lower than the height (the length of the perpendicular line drawn from the apex to the base) of the rib 20 forming a generally obtuse triangle shape.

[0027] A rear end (one end in the front-rear direction) 28 of each protrusion 26 is located in the cleavage portion 16 (main cleavage portion 16A), and a front end (the other end in the front-rear direction) 27 of each protrusion 26 is located in the hinge portion 17 that rotatably supports the upper portion 12B of the instrument panel 12. In other words, the tip of the rear end 28 of each protrusion 26 faces the cleavage portion 16 (main cleavage portion 16A), and the tip of the front end 27 of each protrusion 26 faces the hinge portion 17 (see Figs. 2 to 4).

[0028] The front ends 27 of the two protrusions 26 on the left and right sides are located at the left and right side ends of the hinge portion 17. In order to effectively ensure the rigidity of the instrument panel 12 (lower portion 12A and upper portion 12B), it is preferable that the ribs 20 and the protrusions 26 are provided continuously in the front-rear direction. Therefore, in the illustrated example, the two ribs 20 on the left-right central side and the two protrusions 26 on the left-right central side are formed to be continuous in the front-rear direction (see Figs. 2 and 3).

[0029] In addition, each rib 20 and each protrusion 26 is formed so that the instrument panel 12 side (upper side) is thicker than the side (lower side) away from the instrument panel 12. In other words, each rib 20 and each protrusion 26 is formed so as to become gradually thinner from the instrument panel 12 side to the airbag 34 side (lower side) described later (see FIG. 3).

[0030] For example, in the case of each rib 20, the maximum thickness on the instrument panel 12 side is about 4.5 mm, and the minimum thickness on the side away from the instrument panel 12 is about 2.5 mm, forming a so-called draft angle, which makes it easier to remove the instrument panel 12, which has been molded in a die (not shown), from the die.

[0031] 4, an airbag module 30 is disposed inside (on the back side) of the instrument panel 12. The airbag module 30 includes an inflator 32 and an airbag 34 to which gas is supplied from the inflator 32. The inflator 32 is a gas generating device that is configured to be activated when a vehicle collision is detected or predicted (hereinafter referred to as "at the time of collision") and to instantly eject gas.

[0032] The airbag 34 is formed into a single bag shape by sewing together the outer peripheral edges of two pieces of base fabric, and is provided in a folded state on the inside (back side) of the instrument panel 12. When the vehicle crashes, gas ejected from the inflator 32 is supplied to the inside of the airbag 34, causing the airbag 34 to rupture (break) the rupture portion 16 of the instrument panel 12, and to inflate and deploy toward an occupant (not shown) seated in the passenger seat.

[0033] Next, the operation of the instrument panel structure 10 according to this embodiment configured as above will be described.

[0034] First, an instrument panel structure 100 according to a comparative example will be described. As shown in Fig. 6, in the instrument panel structure 100 according to the comparative example, the rib 20 is not formed on the inside of the bent portion 104 of the instrument panel 102. Therefore, in a cross-sectional view seen from the vehicle width direction, a wide space S is formed between the airbag 34 in a folded state before inflation and deployment and the bent portion 104.

[0035] Therefore, when the vehicle crashes, the airbag 34 begins to inflate and deploy, and tries to inflate and deploy toward the space S (bent portion 104) that does not impede the airbag's expansion and deployment, but the rupture portion 106 of the instrument panel 102 is formed at a position away from the bent portion 104 in the front-rear direction (a position shifted forward). Therefore, the load required for the airbag 34 to rupture is not efficiently transmitted from the inflating airbag 34 to the rupture portion 106.

[0036] 2 to 4, in the instrument panel structure 10 according to this embodiment, a plurality of ribs 20 serving as guides for guiding the airbag 34 to the tearing portion 16 are integrally formed on the inside of the bent portion 14 of the instrument panel 12 with the vehicle width direction as the normal direction, and the front end portion 22 of each rib 20 is located in the tearing portion 16. Therefore, in a cross-sectional view seen from the vehicle width direction, a space S as large as that shown in the comparative example of FIG. 6 is not formed between the airbag 34 in a folded state before inflation and deployment and the bent portion 14.

[0037] Therefore, even if the airbag 34 that has begun to inflate and deploy attempts to inflate toward the bent portion 14 during a vehicle collision, the airbag 34 is smoothly guided by each of the ribs 20 toward the rupture portion 16. This allows the load from the inflating airbag 34 to be efficiently transmitted to the rupture portion 16, and the rupture portion 16 is quickly ruptured (broken) by the inflating airbag 34. In other words, during a vehicle collision, the airbag 34 is quickly inflated and deployed to the desired position, and the occupant seated in the passenger seat can be effectively restrained.

[0038] Furthermore, since the guide portion is composed of a plurality of ribs 20 formed integrally with the instrument panel 12, the increase in weight of the instrument panel 12 can be suppressed and the manufacturing costs can be reduced compared to a case in which the guide portion is not formed integrally with the instrument panel 12, for example, a rectangular flat panel member (not shown) is joined so as to straddle the bent portion 14 with the normal direction being approximately the vertical direction, and the airbag 34 is guided to the tearing portion 16 by the flat surface facing downward of the panel member.

[0039] Furthermore, because each rib 20 is formed in an approximately obtuse triangular shape with the bend 14 as its apex when viewed from the vehicle width direction, the airbag 34, which inflates and deploys toward the bend 14, can be guided more smoothly toward the tearing portion 16 than if each rib 20 were not formed in an approximately obtuse triangular shape with the bend 14 as its apex, for example, if the portion corresponding to the base of the approximately obtuse triangular shape is formed in an approximately arc-shaped notch that is concave upward.

[0040] In addition, the rear end portion 24 of each rib 20 is located at the hinge portion 18 that rotatably supports the lower portion 12A of the instrument panel 12. Therefore, compared to a case in which the rear end portion 24 of each rib 20 is not located at the hinge portion 18, the rigidity of the lower portion 12A of the instrument panel 12 can be effectively ensured.

[0041] Furthermore, a plurality of protrusions 26, whose rear ends 28 are located at the cleavage portion 16, are integrally formed on the inside of the upper portion 12B of the instrument panel 12 with the vehicle width direction as the normal direction. Therefore, the rigidity of the upper portion 12B of the instrument panel 12 can be effectively ensured compared to a case in which a plurality of protrusions 26 are not formed on the inside of the upper portion 12B of the instrument panel 12.

[0042] 5, each rib 20 may be formed so that the front end 22 located at the cleavage portion 16 (main cleavage portion 16A) is thicker than the rear end 24 located at the hinge portion 18. This makes it possible to increase the rigidity of the front end 22 of each rib 20 compared to a case in which the front end 22 of each rib 20 is formed to the same thickness as the rear end 24.

[0043] Therefore, the load from the inflating airbag 34 can be more efficiently transmitted to the rupture portion 16 (main rupture portion 16A) via, particularly, the front end portion 22 of each rib 20. In other words, with this configuration, the rupture portion 16 is ruptured (broken) more quickly by the inflating airbag 34, and the airbag 34 is inflated and deployed more quickly at the desired position.

[0044] Although the instrument panel structure 10 according to the present embodiment has been described above with reference to the drawings, the instrument panel structure 10 according to the present embodiment is not limited to the one shown in the drawings, and the design can be appropriately modified within the scope of the present invention. For example, the guide portion is not limited to one constituted by a plurality of ribs 20.

[0045] In addition, a plurality of bent portions 14 may be formed, and in this case, a guide portion (a plurality of ribs 20) is formed inside each bent portion 14. The number of ribs 20 is preferably as large as possible, and is not limited to six as shown in the figure. The shape of each rib 20 is not limited to a substantially obtuse triangle with the bent portion 14 as the apex, and may be any shape that can effectively guide the airbag 34 that has begun to inflate and deploy toward the rupture portion 16.

[0046] However, if each rib 20 is formed into an approximately obtuse triangle shape with the bend 14 as the apex, then compared to a case in which, for example, when viewed from the vehicle width direction, the portion corresponding to the base is formed into an approximately pentagonal shape with an approximately rectangular shape extending toward the airbag module 30, the amount of resin material used in manufacturing the instrument panel 12 can be reduced (the amount of resin material can be minimized), which is preferable because it is possible to suppress the increase in weight of the instrument panel 12 and the increase in manufacturing costs that would otherwise be associated with an increase in resin material. [Explanation of symbols]

[0047] 10. Instrument panel structure 12. Instrument Panel 14 Bend 16 Cleavage 18 Hinge part 20 Rib (flat part / guide part) 22 Front end (one end in the front-rear direction) 24 Rear end (other end in front-rear direction) 26 Projection part 28 Rear end (one end in the front-rear direction) 34 Airbag

Claims

1. The instrument panel has a tearing portion that tears when a load is transmitted from an inflating and deploying airbag, The instrument panel includes: A bent portion that is formed away from the tear portion in a vehicle front-rear direction in a cross-sectional view seen from the vehicle width direction and that is convex toward the vehicle interior side; a guide portion provided on the inside of the bent portion and configured to guide the inflated and deployed airbag to the tearing portion; An instrument panel structure having:

2. The guide portion is 2. The instrument panel structure according to claim 1, wherein the instrument panel structure is composed of a plurality of flat plate portions integrally formed on the inside of the bent portion with the vehicle width direction as a normal direction, and one end in the vehicle front-rear direction is located in the split portion.

3. 3. The instrument panel structure according to claim 2, wherein the other end of the flat plate in the vehicle longitudinal direction is located at a hinge portion that rotatably supports one side of the instrument panel having the bent portion split apart from the split portion.

4. 4. The instrument panel structure according to claim 3, wherein the flat portion is formed in an obtuse triangle shape with the bent portion as a vertex when viewed in the vehicle width direction.

5. 5. The instrument panel structure according to claim 4, wherein one end of the flat plate portion in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle is formed to be thicker than the other end of the flat plate portion in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle.

6. The instrument panel structure according to any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising a plurality of protrusions formed integrally with the vehicle width direction as a normal direction on the inside of the other side of the instrument panel not having the bent portion, the protrusions having one end in the vehicle front-rear direction located at the tear portion.

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