Vehicle interior materials

Abstract

To provide vehicle interior materials that ensure safety and aesthetic appeal during collisions while also providing assistance for occupants entering and exiting the vehicle. [Solution] The vehicle interior material 10 comprises an interior material body 11 that covers the interior side of the vehicle body frame member 20, and a pocket forming member 12 provided on the interior side of the interior material body 11, which forms a pocket P between itself and the interior material body 11 for inserting the occupant's hand.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to interior materials for vehicles, and particularly to pillar garnishes.

Background Art

[0002] In many cases, assist grips for passengers to hold and support their bodies are provided in the vehicle interior for the purpose of assisting the boarding and alighting of passengers. As such an assist grip, one provided to protrude in a U shape on the front pillar is known (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2).

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Patent Document 2

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] However, since the above-described assist grip protrudes into the vehicle interior, it is not preferable from the viewpoint of passenger protection during a collision (especially during an offset collision), and in some cases, it may also conflict with the vehicle interior protrusion regulations that define the protrusion amount of interior parts. Further, in the above-described assist grip, a sense of unity with the pillar garnish, which is an interior material provided on the vehicle interior side of the front pillar, cannot be obtained, so it is not preferable in terms of design.

[0005] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an interior material for a vehicle having a function of assisting the boarding and alighting of passengers while ensuring safety and design during a collision.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] To achieve the above-mentioned objectives, the vehicle interior material of the present invention comprises an interior material body that covers the interior side of the vehicle body frame member, and a pocket forming member provided on the interior side of the interior material body, which forms a pocket between itself and the interior material body for inserting the occupant's hand.

[0007] With this type of vehicle interior material, occupants can support themselves by inserting their hands into the pockets to assist in getting in and out of the vehicle. Furthermore, this eliminates the need for U-shaped protruding members from the main interior material, as is done in conventional designs. Consequently, the possibility of occupants being injured by contact with such protruding members during a collision can be reduced, and the overall design of the interior material can be made more integrated. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] As described above, the present invention provides a vehicle interior material that ensures safety and aesthetic appeal during collisions while also providing a function to assist occupants in getting in and out of the vehicle. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0009] [Figure 1] This is a perspective view of a pillar garnish according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] This is an exploded perspective view of the pocket-forming member that constitutes the pillar garnish of this embodiment. [Figure 3] This is a cross-sectional view of the pillar garnish of this embodiment. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0010] Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In this specification, a pillar garnish attached to the front pillar, which is a structural member on the side of the vehicle body, is given as an example of the interior material for vehicles of the present invention, but the present invention is not limited thereto. Furthermore, in this specification, the case in which the present invention is applied to the right-hand pillar garnish of a pair of left and right pillar garnishes is given as an example, but the present invention is not limited thereto and may also be applied to the left-hand pillar garnish of the vehicle.

[0011] Figure 1 is a perspective view of a pillar garnish according to one embodiment of the present invention, showing the view from inside the vehicle. Figure 2 is an exploded perspective view of the pocket forming member constituting the pillar garnish of this embodiment. Figure 3(a) is a cross-sectional view along line AA in Figure 1, Figure 3(b) is a cross-sectional view along line BB in Figure 1, and Figure 3(c) is a cross-sectional view along line CC in Figure 1, each showing a cross-section of the pillar garnish attached to the front pillar. In Figure 1, "front" and "rear" refer to the front and rear of the vehicle in the longitudinal direction, respectively.

[0012] The pillar garnish 10 is an interior material attached to the interior side of the front pillar 20, and has a garnish body 11 and a pocket forming member 12 provided on the interior side of the garnish body 11. As will be described in detail later, a pocket P is formed between the garnish body 11 and the pocket forming member 12 for the occupant to insert their hand and support their body when getting in and out of the vehicle.

[0013] The garnish body 11 is a resin molded product formed, for example, by injection molding, and is attached to the inner panel 21 of the front pillar 20 by a resin clip (not shown). As a result, the garnish body 11 functions as an interior material covering the interior side of the front pillar 20.

[0014] The pocket forming member 12 has a resin surface portion 13, a metal reinforcing portion (metal member) 14, and a pair of resin cover portions 15. The surface portion 13 is made of, for example, an olefin-based thermoplastic elastomer (TPO), and the reinforcing portion 14 is embedded (integrated) into the surface portion 13 by insert molding so that both ends are exposed from the surface portion 13. As shown in Figures 3(a) and 3(c), both ends of the reinforcing portion 14 are fixed to an assist bracket 22 attached to the inner panel 21 by fastening members 30 such as bolts. In this way, the pocket forming member 12 is fixed to the garnish body 11 by being attached to the front pillar 20 via the reinforcing portion 14 (and the assist bracket 22). The pair of cover portions 15 are made of the same resin material as the surface portion 13 and are attached to the surface portion 13 so as to cover both ends of the reinforcing portion 14 that are exposed from the surface portion 13.

[0015] As shown in Figures 1 and 3(b), the garnish body 11 has a recess 11a that extends from the inside of the vehicle interior to the outside of the vehicle interior, and the pocket forming member 12 is provided on the garnish body 11 at a position opposite to the recess 11a. As a result, a pocket P for inserting the occupant's hand is formed between the recess 11a of the garnish body 11 and the pocket forming member 12.

[0016] With this configuration, occupants can insert their hands into the pocket P formed in the pillar garnish 10 to support their bodies, thereby assisting them in getting in and out of the vehicle. Furthermore, because such an entry / exit assistance pocket P is formed in the pillar garnish 10, there is no need to provide a U-shaped protruding member from the garnish body 11 as in conventional designs. Therefore, the possibility of occupants being injured by contact with such protruding members during a collision (especially an offset collision) can be reduced. In addition, it becomes possible to create a unified design for the pillar garnish 10 as a whole. For this reason, when the pillar garnish 10 is installed on the driver's side front pillar 20, it becomes possible to provide an entry / exit assistance function for occupants without obstructing the driver's view.

[0017] The direction in which the pocket P opens is not particularly limited, but it is preferable that it opens upwards, and in the case of the garnish body 11 which extends diagonally upward toward the rear of the vehicle as in this embodiment, it is preferable that it opens diagonally upward toward the front of the vehicle. For this purpose, in this embodiment, as shown in the figure, the pocket forming member 12 is provided at a position along the rear and lower peripheral edge of the recess 11a of the garnish body 11. This makes it possible to open the pocket P in a direction that makes it easy for the occupant to insert their hand, and to secure a wider opening area of ​​the pocket P, thereby further enhancing the function of assisting the occupant in getting in and out of the vehicle.

[0018] As for how to form the pocket P in the pillar garnish 10, for example, it is conceivable to integrally mold the pocket shape when molding the garnish body 11. However, this method requires a mold with a complex structure, which not only leads to increased costs but also inevitably reduces the appearance of the product. Therefore, in order to form the pocket P in the pillar garnish 10, it is preferable to prepare a pocket forming member 12 that is separate from the garnish body 11 and attach it to the garnish body 11, as in this embodiment. Furthermore, preparing a separate pocket forming member 12 is also advantageous because it can significantly improve the mechanical strength of the pocket P for assisting entry and exit. In other words, by making the pocket forming member 12 separate from the garnish body 11, insert molding of the pocket forming member 12 becomes possible, and as a result it becomes possible to fix the pocket forming member 12 to the front pillar 20 via an integrated metal reinforcing part 14. As a result, the mechanical strength of the pocket P formed by the pocket forming member 12 can be significantly improved.

[0019] It is preferable that there is substantially no gap formed at the joint portion 16 between the garnish body 11 and the pocket forming member 12 within the pocket P. This can avoid the risk that when a passenger inserts their hand into the pocket P, their fingernails get caught in such a gap and are peeled off. Here, "substantially no gap is formed" means that even if there is a slight gap, as long as the passenger's fingernails cannot enter, it is acceptable.

[0020] However, depending on the dimensional variations during the molding of the garnish body 11 and the pocket forming member 12, unintended gaps may be formed at their joint portion 16, and there is also a risk of the above-mentioned risk occurring. Therefore, a predetermined gap of, for example, 3 mm or more may be intentionally set at the joint portion 16 between the garnish body 11 and the pocket forming member 12 within the pocket P so that the fingernails do not get caught even if they enter. In addition, in order to prevent the fingernails from getting caught at the corners of the pocket forming member 12 (skin portion 13) that constitutes the joint portion 16, the corners may be chamfered to an R shape with a radius of, for example, 3 mm. At this time, the gap is preferably a gap that opens in a direction substantially perpendicular to the direction of inserting the hand (finger) into the pocket P, and this can also suppress the entry of the fingernails into the gap.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0021] 10 Pillar garnish 11 Garnish body 11a Recess 12 Pocket forming member 13 Skin portion 14 Reinforcement portion 15 Cover portion 16 Joint portion 20 Front pillar 21 Inner panel 22 Assist bracket

Claims

1. The interior material body that covers the interior side of the vehicle body frame members, A vehicle interior material comprising a pocket-forming member provided on the interior material body on the interior side of the interior material body, which forms a pocket between itself and the interior material body for inserting the occupant's hand.

2. The interior material for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the interior material body has a recess formed therein that extends from the inside of the vehicle interior to the outside of the vehicle interior, and the pocket is formed between the recess of the interior material body and the pocket forming member.

3. The interior material body is attached to the vehicle body frame member that extends diagonally upward toward the rear of the vehicle on the side of the vehicle body. The interior material for a vehicle according to claim 2, wherein the pocket forming member is provided on the interior material body along the rear and lower peripheral edge of the recess such that the pocket opens diagonally upward toward the front of the vehicle.

4. The vehicle interior material according to claim 2 or 3, wherein there is no substantially gap formed at the joint between the interior material body and the pocket forming member in the pocket.

5. The vehicle interior material according to claim 2 or 3, wherein a predetermined gap is formed at the joint between the interior material body and the pocket forming member in the pocket.

6. The interior material for a vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the pocket forming member is attached to the vehicle body frame member via a metal member integrated by insert molding.

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