Instrument panel reinforcement structure

Abstract

We propose a reinforcement structure for instrument panels that improves space efficiency and reduces design constraints on instrument panels. [Solution] This reinforcement structure comprises an embedded portion into which a wire harness is embedded, and a cover portion that surrounds the wire harness together with the embedded portion. The embedded portion comprises a first rib extending along the longitudinal direction of the wire harness, a second rib extending along the longitudinal direction and substantially parallel to the first rib, a third rib extending along the longitudinal direction and positioned substantially perpendicular to the first and second ribs, and an intermediate rib intersecting the third rib and positioned substantially parallel to the first and second ribs, with a width shorter from the third rib than the first and second ribs. The wire harness is fixed between the intermediate rib and the cover portion.

Description

Technical Field

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[0001] The present disclosure relates to a reinforcement structure for an instrument panel.

Background Art

[0002] In vehicles such as automobiles, an instrument panel is attached in front of the driver's seat in the front of the passenger compartment. The instrument panel is formed of a synthetic resin material and is attached to the vehicle structure and reinforcement.

[0003] In addition, the vehicle is provided with a wire harness that constitutes wiring for connecting electrical devices. The wire harness is disposed on the back side of the instrument panel together with the reinforcement.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] Since the conventional reinforcement is formed of a metal material, the embedding portion of the wire harness is a pipe-shaped embedding portion having a round cross section. Therefore, the wire harness becomes a design constraint, the design of the instrument panel is restricted, the in-panel surface rises, and the mass of the entire panel also increases.

[0006] The present disclosure proposes a reinforcement structure for an instrument panel that can improve space efficiency and reduce design constraints on the instrument panel.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0007] A reinforcement structure for an instrument panel according to one aspect of the present disclosure comprises an embedded portion into which a wire harness is embedded, and a cover portion that surrounds the wire harness together with the embedded portion. The embedded portion comprises a first rib extending along the longitudinal direction of the wire harness, a second rib extending along the longitudinal direction and substantially parallel to the first rib, a third rib extending along the longitudinal direction and arranged substantially perpendicular to the first and second ribs, and an intermediate rib intersecting the third rib and arranged substantially parallel to the first and second ribs, with a width shorter from the third rib than the first and second ribs. The wire harness is fixed between the intermediate rib and the cover portion.

[0008] According to this embodiment, the cross-sectional shape of the embedded portion becomes roughly king-shaped due to the first rib, second rib, third rib, and intermediate rib, and since such a cross-section extends along the longitudinal direction of the wire harness, the wire harness can be embedded with high space efficiency without creating unnecessary cross-sectional space, thereby reducing design constraints on the instrument panel.

[0009] In this reinforcement structure, the first rib and the second rib may have recesses that engage with the lid.

[0010] Furthermore, in this reinforcement structure, it is preferable that the embedded portion has a curved shape that curves in the front-to-back direction along the longitudinal direction of the instrument panel. This further reduces wasted space in the instrument panel and minimizes design constraints. [Effects of the Invention]

[0011] According to this disclosure, it is possible to provide an instrument panel reinforcement structure that can improve space efficiency and reduce design constraints on the instrument panel. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0012] [Figure 1] This is a schematic diagram illustrating a vehicle instrument panel 10 according to one embodiment. [Figure 2] This is a perspective view illustrating the structure of a reinforcement 30 as a reinforcing member of a vehicle instrument panel 10, and a wire harness 40 embedded in the reinforcement 30. [Figure 3] This is a perspective view illustrating the structure of a reinforcement 30 as a reinforcing member of the vehicle instrument panel 10 and a wire harness 40 embedded in the reinforcement 30, according to one embodiment of a vehicle instrument panel 10. [Figure 4] These are a front view and a cross-sectional view illustrating the embedded portion 33 of the reinforcement 30 of a vehicle instrument panel 10 according to one embodiment. [Figure 5] This is a perspective view illustrating the structure of the lid 50 and the reinforcement 30 to which the lid 50 is connected. [Figure 6] These are perspective views and cross-sectional views illustrating the structure of the lid 50 and the reinforcement 30 to which the lid 50 is connected. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0013] This embodiment will be described below with reference to the attached drawings. In the attached drawings, functionally identical elements may be indicated by the same number. The attached drawings show embodiments and implementation examples in accordance with the principles of this disclosure, but they are for the purpose of understanding this disclosure and are not to be used in any way to restrict the interpretation of this disclosure. The descriptions in this specification are merely typical examples and do not limit the claims or applications of this disclosure in any way.

[0014] While this embodiment is described in sufficient detail for those skilled in the art to implement the disclosure, it is important to understand that other implementations and forms are possible, and that the configuration and structure can be modified and various elements replaced without departing from the scope and spirit of the technical idea of ​​this disclosure. Therefore, the following description should not be construed as limiting to this.

[0015] Hereinafter, with reference to FIG. 1, a vehicle instrument panel 10 according to an embodiment (hereinafter referred to as "vehicle in - panel 10") will be described. The arrows FR, UP, and LR appropriately shown in each figure indicate the front side, upper side, and left - right direction (width direction) of a vehicle equipped with the vehicle in - panel 10, respectively.

[0016] As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle in - panel 10 extends in a substantially vehicle width direction at the front part of the vehicle interior in the vehicle. A steering wheel 14 is provided on the rear side of the vehicle in - panel 10. In FIG. 1, the steering wheel 14 is provided on the left side of the vehicle as an example (left - hand drive). The vehicle is not limited to a left - hand drive vehicle, and may be a right - hand drive vehicle with the driver's seat set on the right side.

[0017] The vehicle in - panel 10 is disposed below the windshield glass 16 of the vehicle. The windshield glass 16 is inclined downward toward the front side of the vehicle, and partitions the interior of the vehicle compartment from the exterior of the vehicle compartment.

[0018] The left - hand end of the windshield glass 16 is fixed to the inner side in the vehicle width direction of the front pillar 18 on the left side of the vehicle that extends substantially in the vertical direction. Further, on the rear side of the front pillar 18 in the vehicle, a front side glass 20 provided on the left side of the vehicle 12 is provided. Similarly, the right - hand end of the windshield glass 16 is fixed to the front pillar 22 on the right side of the vehicle, and a front side glass (not shown similarly) is provided on the rear side of the front pillar 22. A meter display 24 is provided in front of the vehicle of the driver's seat and above the in - panel 10. Also, in the in - panel 10, a center display 26 is provided at the center in the vehicle width direction.

[0019] Referring to Figure 2, the structure of the reinforcement 30 as a reinforcing member for the vehicle instrument panel 10, and the wire harness 40 embedded in the reinforcement 30 will be described. The reinforcement 30 is fixed to the dash panel of the vehicle body (not shown) to reinforce the vehicle instrument panel 10 and supports the vehicle instrument panel 10. The reinforcement 30 in this embodiment can be made of a synthetic resin material such as polypropylene, polyethylene, or ABS, and as an example, it comprises a bracket 31 that supports the vehicle instrument panel 10, a fixing part 32 that is fixed to the dash panel, and an embedding part 33 for embedding the wire harness 40.

[0020] The fixing portion 32 has bolt holes (not shown in Figure 2), and the reinforcement 30 can be fixed to the vehicle body by screwing bolts into the bolt holes. The embedded portion 33 provides a space for embedding the wire harness 40, and by connecting the cover portion 50 (described later), the wire harness 40 can be enclosed by the embedded portion 33 and the cover portion and embedded inside the space.

[0021] The wire harness 40 is a housing that holds electric wires connected to various electrical components within a vehicle, and has a wire section 41, a branching section 42, a connector 43, etc. The wire section 41 is formed by bundling a plurality of electric wires with a bundling member. The branching section 42 is formed by electric wires branching from the wire section 41. The connector 43 is a connection section for connecting various electric wires to various electrical components (not shown). The wire harness 40 configured as shown in FIG. 2 is embedded in an embedding section 33 having a curved shape that curves in the front-rear direction in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle instrument panel 10 along the curved shape of the wire section 41 of the wire harness 40 (see FIG. 3), and is fixed to the embedding section 33 by attaching a lid section 50, which will be described later, in part. In the example of FIG. 2, while a center display 26 is arranged at the center of the vehicle instrument panel 10, and a steering wheel 14 is arranged on the left side, the reinforcement 20 also curves forward (toward the vehicle front end side) at the portion corresponding to the steering wheel 14, and conversely curves backward (toward the passenger compartment side) at the portion corresponding to the center display 26. The embedding section 33 curves in accordance with the shape of the wire harness 40 and has a shape that will be described later, thereby improving space efficiency and accommodating the wire harness 40 so as to reduce the design constraints of the vehicle instrument panel 10.

[0022] The structure of the embedding section 33 of the reinforcement 30 will be described with reference to FIG. 4. FIG. 4(A) is a front view of the embedding section 33 of the reinforcement 30 as viewed from the front, and FIG. 4(B) is a cross-sectional view of the embedding section 33. The reinforcement 30 can be formed using, for example, a 3D printer or the like with synthetic resin as the material. The embedding section 33 includes, as an example, a first rib 331, a second rib 332, a third rib 333, and an intermediate rib 334.

[0023] The first rib 331 and the second rib 332 form the upper wall and the lower wall of the embedding section 33, are plate-like members that are substantially parallel to each other, and extend along the longitudinal direction of the wire harness 40. Since the wire harness 40 has a curved shape, the first rib 331 and the second rib 332 also have a similar curved shape at corresponding locations.

[0024] The third rib 333 is a plate-shaped member that constitutes the rear wall of the embedded portion 33, and, like the first rib 331 and the second rib 3323, extends along the longitudinal direction of the wire harness 40. However, the third rib 333 is positioned so as to have a wall surface that is substantially perpendicular to the first rib 331 and the second rib 332. Preferably, the third rib 333 is positioned slightly towards the front of the vehicle, rather than near the midpoint between the first rib 331 and the second rib 332.

[0025] The intermediate rib 334 intersects with the third rib 333 and is formed to be approximately parallel to the first rib 331 and the second rib 332. As shown in Figure 4(B), the position of the front end of the intermediate rib 334 is further back than the position of the front ends of the first rib 331 and the second rib 332 (i.e., the width of the intermediate rib 334 from the third rib 333 is shorter than that of the first rib 331 and the second rib 332). This allows the embedded portion 33 to embed the wire portion 41 of the wire harness 40 in the space formed by the difference in width.

[0026] As shown in Figure 4(A), the embedded portion 33 includes, in addition to the first ribs 331 to the third ribs 333 and the intermediate rib 334, reinforcing ribs 335 arranged in a zigzag pattern when viewed from the front, intersecting the intermediate rib 334. The horizontal width of the reinforcing rib 335 is greater than that of the intermediate rib 334.

[0027] Referring to Figure 5, the structure of the lid portion 50 and the reinforcement 30 to which the lid portion 50 is connected will be described. Figure 5(A) is a perspective view illustrating the structure of the lid portion 50 and the reinforcement 30, Figure 5(B) is an enlarged perspective view of the lid portion 50, and Figure 5(C) is a cross-sectional view. The reinforcement 30 has a notch 34 (recess) in a part of the embedded portion 33 for fitting the lid portion 50. As shown in Figure 5, the notch 34 is a portion where the ends of the first rib 331 and the second rib 332 are recessed horizontally. Although not shown, fitting claws are formed on the surfaces of the first rib 331 and the second rib 332 near the top of the notch 34 for fitting the fitting holes of the fitting portion described later to fix the lid portion 50.

[0028] The cover portion 50, as an example, comprises a main body portion 51, a fitting portion 52 extending substantially perpendicular to the main body portion 51, a fitting hole 53 formed near the tip of the fitting portion 52, and a fixing hole 54 for fixing the connector 43. The cover portion 50 can be fixed to the embedded portion 33 of the reinforcement 30 by the fitting hole 54 engaging with the aforementioned fitting claws. Furthermore, as shown in Figure 5(C), the connector 43 can be connected via the fixing hole 54 and fixed to the reinforcement 30. As shown in Figure 6, the cover portion 50 can be used in combination with a cover portion having a fixing hole 54 for fixing the connector 43 and a cover portion without a fixing hole 54. It is preferable that the branch portions 42 of the wire harness 40 be concentrated in parts other than the cover portion 50 and the embedded portion 33.

[0029] As described above, according to this embodiment, the embedded portion 33 for embedding the wire harness 40 of the reinforcement 30 has a king-like shape consisting of first to third ribs and an intermediate rib, thereby improving the space efficiency of the wire harness 40 housing and providing an instrument panel reinforcement structure that reduces design constraints on the instrument panel. Since protectors and protective materials are not required, costs can be reduced and the overall mass of the panel can also be reduced.

[0030] [others] The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and various modifications are included. For example, the embodiments described above are described in detail to make the present invention easier to understand, and are not necessarily limited to those having all the configurations described. Furthermore, it is possible to replace parts of the configuration of one embodiment with the configuration of another embodiment, and it is also possible to add configurations from other embodiments to the configuration of one embodiment. In addition, it is possible to add, delete, or replace parts of the configuration of each embodiment with other configurations. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0031] 10... Vehicle instrument panel 30…Reinforcement 40…Wire harness 50...Lid part 331...First rib 332...2nd rib 333...Third Rib 334...Intermediate Rib 335…Reinforcement ribs

Claims

1. Reinforcement structure of an instrument panel, The embedding section where the wire harness is embedded, The cover portion surrounds the wire harness together with the aforementioned embedded portion. Equipped with, The embedded portion comprises a first rib extending along the longitudinal direction of the wire harness, a second rib extending along the longitudinal direction and substantially parallel to the first rib, a third rib extending along the longitudinal direction and arranged substantially perpendicular to the first and second ribs, and an intermediate rib intersecting the third rib and substantially parallel to the first and second ribs, with a width shorter from the third rib than that of the first and second ribs. The wire harness is fixed between the intermediate rib and the lid. Reinforcement structure of the instrument panel.

2. The reinforcement structure according to claim 1, wherein the first rib and the second rib have recesses that engage with the lid.

3. The reinforcement structure according to claim 1, wherein the embedded portion has a curved shape that curves in the front-rear direction in the longitudinal direction of the instrument panel.

4. The reinforcement structure according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the cover portion is configured to securely fasten the connector of the wire harness.

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