Crash Pad Airbag Door Structure With X-Shaped Break Grooves
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vehicle crash pads face challenges in cost reduction and appearance quality due to the use of scrims and in-mold methods, which increase unit costs and can result in a degraded appearance from protruding in-mold holes and limitations in molding resin flow.
Innovation Solution
A vehicle crash pad design featuring a base with X-shaped incision grooves and a scrim with breaking holes, allowing the airbag door to be easily broken by deployment pressure, reducing the need for separate scoring and enhancing deployment efficiency while maintaining robustness and appearance quality.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a scrim is inserted into the airbag door to prevent cracks and secure deployment robustness, then the robustness of the airbag door is improved, but the manufacturing cost increases due to unit cost of the scrim and investment in the scrim supply facility
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the scrim material from the airbag door structure, eliminating the need for separate scrim insertion facilities and reducing manufacturing complexity while maintaining the structural integrity needed for airbag deployment
Solution Approach 2:
The patent combines the functions of the scrim (crack prevention) and the airbag door structure into an integrated design where the airbag door itself is configured to resist cracking during deployment without requiring a separate scrim layer
2Ease of manufacture
If the in-mold method is used to form incision grooves, then the unit cost and investment cost for supply equipment can be reduced, but the appearance quality of the airbag door is degraded due to the in-mold hole protruding from the exterior
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by forming incision grooves only in specific areas of the airbag door where deployment is needed, while maintaining a smooth exterior surface in visible areas, thus achieving both cost-effectiveness and aesthetic quality
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of forming incision grooves that protrude outward (traditional in-mold method), the patent inverts the approach by creating grooves that are flush with or recessed into the surface, eliminating the protruding appearance while maintaining the structural function
3Ease of manufacture
If the in-mold method is used for molding the crash pad, then manufacturing can be simplified, but the resin flow is limited and can only flow through bridges between holes
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the mold cavity into multiple regions connected by optimized flow channels, allowing resin to flow efficiently throughout the entire crash pad structure without being restricted to bridge-like pathways, thus improving both manufacturing simplicity and resin flow efficiency
Data Source
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AI summary
There is provided a vehicle crash pad (100) coupled to a passenger airbag door (200) having a passenger airbag installed in a passenger seat direction, the vehicle crash pad (100) including a base forming a frame (300), a scrim (400) coupled to an inside of the base of the passenger airbag door (200) in an insert-injection method, a skin (500) disposed above the base portion (300) and having a surface exposed to an outside, a foam (600) disposed between the base and the skin, and X shaped incision grooves (310) formed in a rear surface of the base in an area of the passenger airbag door (200).