Resin molded article for interior of vehicle

Abstract

A resin molded article for the interior of a vehicle in which a textured pattern (2) imitating leather is applied to a surface thereof in order to reproduce the feeling of real leather, wherein a reduced pattern (22) obtained by reducing the standard pattern (21) or an enlarged pattern (23) obtained by enlarging the standard pattern (21) is imparted according to the curvature of the uneven shape of the surface. The standard pattern is further reduced in a portion where the curvature of a recess (11) in the surface of the resin molded article is relatively large compared to a portion where the curvature of the recess is relatively small. The standard pattern is further enlarged in a portion where the curvature of a convex section (12) on the surface thereof is relatively large compared to a portion where the curvature of the convex section is relatively small.

Description

Resin molded parts for vehicle interiors

[0001] The present invention relates to a resin molded article for vehicle interiors.

[0002] BACKGROUND ART It is known that the surfaces of vehicle instrument panels and door trims are subjected to a graining process to impart a three-dimensional texture, such as a leather pattern, a wood grain pattern, or a matte pattern (Patent Document 1).

[0003] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2010-215065

[0004] However, the conventional graining process described above imparts a leather-like grain in a uniform pattern regardless of the surface shape of the instrument panel or door trim, and therefore looks unnatural compared to real leather, especially in uneven areas.

[0005] The problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a resin molded article for vehicle interiors that can reproduce the feel of real leather.

[0006] The present invention solves the above problem by providing a leather-like grain pattern on the surface of a resin molded product for vehicle interiors, in which the standard grain pattern is enlarged or reduced depending on the curvature of the uneven shape of the surface.

[0007] According to the present invention, it is possible to reproduce the feel of real leather.

[0008] 2A is a front view showing an instrument panel according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2B is a front view showing a grain pattern according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2C is a cross-sectional view taken along line IIB-IIB in FIG. 2A; FIG. 2D is a front view showing an enlarged view of part III in FIG. 1; FIG. 2E is a conceptual diagram showing an example of setting a grain pattern according to the curvature of the uneven shape of the surface in an instrument panel according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2F is a cross-sectional view taken along line VV in FIG.

[0009] Hereinafter, with reference to the drawings, an embodiment of the present invention will be described. A vehicle interior resin molded product according to the present invention refers to a vehicle interior part molded from a resin material, particularly an interior part attached to a location visible to an occupant. For example, an instrument panel, a center console panel, or a door inner trim corresponds to the vehicle interior resin molded product of the present invention. In the following embodiment, the present invention will be described using an instrument panel 1 as an example of a vehicle interior resin molded product.

[0010] 1 is a front view of an instrument panel 1 showing an embodiment of a resin molded product for vehicle interior use according to the present invention. The instrument panel 1 is a resin molded product integrally formed by injection molding a resin material such as polypropylene. The instrument panel 1 is attached to a dash panel located in front of the driver's seat and passenger seat and extends laterally from the lower edge of the front windshield. The instrument panel 1 has an upper surface on which a front defroster outlet and the like are provided, a front surface on which a meter panel, a liquid crystal display, vents and the like are provided, and a lower surface on which a glove compartment and the like are provided.

[0011] The instrument panel 1 of this embodiment has a grain pattern imitating the leather pattern of real leather applied to all or part of the upper, front, and lower surfaces. Hereinafter, the grain pattern imitating the leather pattern of real leather will be referred to as a grain pattern 2. The leather pattern of real leather is a pattern of skin cells that appears on the surface of an animal's skin, and therefore, although it depends on the type of leather, it is made up of a collection of roughly elliptical unit patterns. Fig. 2A is a front view showing the grain pattern 2 according to this embodiment, and Fig. 2B is a cross-sectional view taken along line IIB-IIB in Fig. 2A.

[0012] As shown in FIG. 2A , the grain pattern 2 is not elliptical in the strict sense, but oblong grains 20 similar to an ellipse are formed to protrude from the surface of the instrument panel 1 as shown in FIG. 2B . The grain pattern is formed by randomly arranging these roughly elliptical unit patterns, the grains 20. The sizes of the grains 20 are also random. However, since leather cells are regularly arranged in real leather, the long axes of the elliptical grains 20 in the grain pattern 2 of this embodiment are also arranged along the X-axis direction shown in FIG. 3A . The X-axis direction in which the long axes of the grains 20 are oriented is also referred to as the grain flow direction. In this specification, the height between the top and base surfaces of the grains 20 shown in FIG. 2B is referred to as the grain depth.

[0013] Such a grain pattern 2 is formed by forming recesses and protrusions corresponding to the grain pattern 2 on the molding surface of an injection molding die, and then pouring a molten resin that has been heated and fluidized into the recesses and protrusions on the molding surface. A method for forming recesses and protrusions corresponding to the grain pattern 2 on the molding surface of the injection molding die can be performed by etching the molding surface. Note that instead of forming the grain pattern 2 by forming recesses and protrusions corresponding to the grain pattern 2 on the molding surface of the injection molding die, the grain pattern 2 may be formed directly on the smooth surface of the instrument panel 1 after injection molding by laser processing or the like.

[0014] The instrument panel 1 of this embodiment has the above-mentioned embossed pattern 2 on all or part of its upper, front, and lower surfaces, but these upper, front, and lower surfaces of the instrument panel 1 are not completely flat but have a slightly uneven shape. Figure 3 is an enlarged front view of part III in Figure 1. As shown in Figure 1, side vents are provided at both left and right ends of the instrument panel 1, so both left and right ends of the instrument panel 1 have an uneven shape, including recesses 11 and protrusions 12.

[0015] When applying a grain pattern 2 to such an uneven portion, using a uniform grain pattern 2 will look unnatural compared to real leather, especially in the uneven portions. That is, when real animal leather stretches, the leather pattern becomes coarse, but when it shrinks, it becomes dense, so the feel of real leather is not reproduced, which leads to an unnatural appearance. For this reason, in the instrument panel 1 of this embodiment, a grain pattern that is enlarged or reduced from the standard grain pattern 2 is applied according to the curvature of the uneven surface shape.

[0016] 4 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of setting a grain pattern according to the curvature of the uneven shape of the surface of the instrument panel 1 according to this embodiment. The grain pattern 2 applied to the instrument panel 1 according to this embodiment includes a standard pattern 21, a reduced pattern 22 obtained by reducing the standard pattern 21 in the Y-axis direction (a direction perpendicular to the grain flow direction), and an enlarged pattern 23 obtained by enlarging the standard pattern 21 in the Y-axis direction. The grain pattern of the standard pattern 21 may be arbitrarily determined in advance to have grains 20 of a desired size and depth, as shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B .

[0017] It is preferable that the reduced pattern 22 and the enlarged pattern 23 are not reduced or enlarged in the X-axis direction (grain flow direction) but are reduced or enlarged in the Y-axis direction, as this is closer to the behavior of real leather. However, this does not mean that reduction or enlargement in the X-axis direction is prohibited, and some reduction or enlargement may be permitted.

[0018] 3, a reduced pattern 22 obtained by reducing the standard pattern 21 is applied to a portion of the recess 11 having a relatively large curvature (i.e., a surface that is concave more steeply) compared to a portion of the recess 11 having a relatively small curvature (i.e., a surface that is concave more gradually). For example, as shown in FIG. 4, the reduction rate may be set to 70% for the portion of the recess 11 having a relatively large curvature, and 80% for the portion of the recess 11 having a relatively small curvature.

[0019] 3, an enlarged pattern 23 obtained by enlarging the standard pattern 21 is applied to a portion of the protrusion 12 having a relatively large curvature (i.e., a surface that protrudes steeply) compared to a portion of the protrusion 12 having a relatively small curvature (i.e., a surface that protrudes gradually). For example, as shown in FIG. 4, the enlargement ratio of the portion of the protrusion 12 having a relatively large curvature may be set to 130%, and the enlargement ratio of the portion of the protrusion 12 having a relatively small curvature may be set to 120%.

[0020] It is preferable that the enlargement or reduction of the standard pattern 21 corresponding to the curvature of the uneven surface of the instrument panel 1 be changed continuously in accordance with the change in the surface curvature. That is, it is preferable that the reduction or expansion ratio be gradually changed rather than suddenly changed at the boundary between reduced patterns 22 having different reduction ratios or at the boundary between enlarged patterns 23 having different expansion ratios.

[0021] In addition, it is more preferable to change the grain depth when reducing or enlarging the standard pattern 21. For example, as shown in Figure 4, if the standard pattern 21 has a grain depth of 100 μm and is reduced to 70%, the grain depth is deepened to 120 μm. Also, if the standard pattern 21 has a grain depth of 100 μm and is enlarged to 130%, the grain depth is shallowed to 70 μm.

[0022] Furthermore, although not shown, the embossing depth H when the standard pattern 21 is reduced to 80% is shallower than the embossing depth H of 120 μm when reduced to 70%, for example, 110 μm. Similarly, although not shown, the embossing depth H when the standard pattern 21 is enlarged to 120% is deeper than the embossing depth H of 120 μm when enlarged to 130%, for example, 80 μm.

[0023] Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VV in Figure 3. As described above, in the convex portion 12 on the left side of the cross-sectional view in Figure 5, the following embossing patterns 2 are applied from the left end: standard pattern 21 ⇒ enlarged pattern 23 ⇒ standard pattern 21. As a result, the embossing pattern 2 of the convex portion 12 of the instrument panel 1 appears to be stretched leather. In addition, in the subsequent concave portion 11, the following embossing patterns 2 are applied: standard pattern ⇒ reduced pattern 22 ⇒ standard pattern 21. As a result, the embossing pattern 2 of the concave portion 11 of the instrument panel 1 appears to be shrunk leather. As a result, the surface is visually recognized as if real leather had been applied.

[0024] As described above, according to the instrument panel 1 of this embodiment, a reduced pattern 22 obtained by reducing the standard pattern 21 or an enlarged pattern 23 obtained by enlarging the standard pattern 21 is applied depending on the curvature of the uneven surface shape, so that the leather pattern differs depending on the curvature of the uneven surface shape, thereby reproducing the feel of real leather.

[0025] Furthermore, according to the instrument panel 1 of this embodiment, the surface includes the recess 11, and in areas where the curvature of the recess 11 is relatively large, a reduced pattern 22 that is a smaller version of the standard pattern 21 is applied compared to areas where the curvature of the recess 11 is relatively small, thereby reproducing an even more realistic leather feel.

[0026] Furthermore, according to the instrument panel 1 of this embodiment, the surface includes a convex portion 12, and in areas where the curvature of the convex portion 12 is relatively large, an enlarged pattern 23 that is a more enlarged version of the standard pattern 21 is applied compared to areas where the curvature of the convex portion 12 is relatively small, thereby reproducing an even more realistic leather feel.

[0027] Furthermore, according to the instrument panel 1 of this embodiment, the reduction or expansion of the standard pattern 21 in accordance with the curvature of the uneven surface shape is continuously changed in accordance with the change in curvature, thereby reproducing an even more realistic leather feel.

[0028] Furthermore, according to the instrument panel 1 of this embodiment, the standard pattern 21 is made up of a collection of unit patterns each having an approximately elliptical shape, and the standard pattern 21 is shrunk or enlarged along the minor axis direction (Y-axis direction) of the ellipse, thereby reproducing an even more realistic leather feel.

[0029] Furthermore, according to the instrument panel 1 of this embodiment, the more the standard pattern 21 is reduced, the deeper the grain depth H becomes, and the more the standard pattern 21 is enlarged, the shallower the grain depth H becomes, so that it is possible to reproduce a more realistic leather feel.

[0030] The above-mentioned standard pattern corresponds to the standard grain pattern according to the present invention.

[0031] 1...instrument panel 11...concave portion 12...protruding portion 2...grain pattern 20...grain 21...standard pattern 22...reduced pattern 23...enlarged pattern H...grain depth

Claims

1. A resin molded product for vehicle interiors having a leather-like grain pattern applied to its surface, the standard grain pattern being reduced or enlarged according to the curvature of the uneven surface shape.

2. The resin molded product for vehicle interiors according to claim 1, wherein the surface includes a recess, and an embossing pattern is imparted to an area where the curvature of the recess is relatively large, the embossing pattern being smaller than the standard embossing pattern, compared to an area where the curvature of the recess is relatively small.

3. A resin molded product for vehicle interiors as described in claim 1 or 2, wherein the surface includes convex portions, and the standard grain pattern is enlarged in areas where the curvature of the convex portions is relatively large, compared to areas where the curvature of the convex portions is relatively small.

4. A resin molded product for vehicle interiors according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the contraction or expansion of the standard grain pattern in accordance with the curvature of the uneven surface shape is continuously changed in accordance with the change in the curvature.

5. A resin molded product for vehicle interiors according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the standard grain pattern is composed of a collection of unit patterns each having a substantially elliptical shape, and the standard grain pattern is shrunk or enlarged along the minor axis direction of the ellipse.

6. The resin molded product for vehicle interiors according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the more the standard grain pattern is reduced, the deeper the grain depth is made, and the more the standard grain pattern is enlarged, the shallower the grain depth is made.

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