Hybrid Composite Instrument Panel with Segregated Carbon and Glass Fibers
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Solution Overview
Problem
There is a need for lighter-weight vehicular components with improved or comparable mechanical performance to conventional components, while minimizing the use of expensive reinforcing materials and maximizing mechanical property enhancements in specific regions, as current lightweight materials often lack mechanical integrity and have high manufacturing costs.
Innovation Solution
A vehicular instrument panel design featuring chopped carbon and glass fibers segregated within respective driver-side and passenger-side portions, with a boundary region containing a mixture of both fiber types within a nylon resin, allowing for tailored mechanical properties and cost-effective reinforcement where needed.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Weight of moving object
If lighter weight materials are used to substitute conventional materials, then weight reduction is achieved, but mechanical integrity deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs hybrid composite materials combining carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) and glass fiber reinforced plastic (GFRP) within a single instrument panel component. This allows the structure to achieve both weight reduction and maintained mechanical integrity by utilizing the complementary properties of different fiber materials in regions where they are most effective.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements spatially varying material composition with carbon fiber concentrated in driver-side regions requiring higher strength and glass fiber in passenger-side regions. This local differentiation optimizes mechanical properties where needed while minimizing weight, resolving the contradiction between overall weight reduction and localized strength requirements.
2Strength
If stronger composite materials are used to improve mechanical performance, then strength is enhanced, but manufacturing cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies expensive high-strength carbon fiber only in specific regions where mechanical performance is critical (driver-side areas), while using less expensive glass fiber in regions with lower strength requirements. This localized material distribution maintains necessary mechanical performance while significantly reducing overall manufacturing cost compared to using carbon fiber throughout the entire component.
Solution Approach 2:
The hybrid composite approach combines expensive carbon fiber with more economical glass fiber, creating a cost-effective material system that achieves the required mechanical performance through strategic material selection rather than uniform use of premium materials throughout the structure.
3Ease of manufacture
If uniform material composition is used throughout the component, then manufacturing simplicity is maintained, but mechanical properties cannot be optimized in specific regions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent achieves region-specific mechanical property optimization through a single-mold injection process that automatically segregates carbon and glass fibers to appropriate locations. The driver-side region receives carbon fiber for enhanced strength, while the passenger-side region receives glass fiber, all within one continuously manufactured component, maintaining manufacturing simplicity despite material heterogeneity.
Solution Approach 2:
The instrument panel is functionally segmented into regions with different mechanical requirements, with the material composition automatically differentiated during manufacturing. This segmentation is achieved through the injection molding process that directs appropriate fiber types to appropriate regions, optimizing mechanical properties without requiring post-manufacturing assembly operations.
Data Source
AI summary
A vehicular instrument panel having a reinforcement that includes a plurality of chopped carbon fibers within a nylon resin, and a substrate coupled to the reinforcement comprising a plurality of chopped carbon and chopped glass fibers within a nylon resin. The plurality of chopped carbon and glass fibers in the substrate are segregated such that the carbon fibers and the glass fibers are each substantially concentrated within respective driver-side and passenger-side portions of the substrate. The substrate can also include a boundary region such that the plurality of chopped carbon and glass fibers in the substrate are substantially mixed in the boundary region.