Instrument Panel Installation Jig and Transfer Device
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
The existing vehicle instrument panel module installation method requires forming openings in the dashboard for holding brackets, which complicates the installation process and necessitates covering these openings, making the operation cumbersome and requiring additional components.
Innovation Solution
A method involving the use of installation jigs with upwardly-extending pins and a clampable surface portion, attached to the support member, which allows for temporary mounting and fastening of the instrument panel module to the vehicle body without needing to form openings in the dashboard, utilizing a transfer device for clamping and positioning.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If holding brackets are disposed beyond the front door opening edge to enable installation without handling apparatus, then installation ease is improved, but dashboard complexity increases due to required openings and cover members
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a transfer device as an intermediary handling apparatus that temporarily holds the instrument panel module during installation. This mediator enables the module to be positioned and installed without requiring permanent structural modifications to the dashboard, thus resolving the contradiction between installation ease and dashboard complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The transfer device performs preliminary actions by pre-positioning and temporarily holding the instrument panel module in the correct location before final installation. This preliminary positioning eliminates the need for dashboard openings and cover members, achieving both installation ease and dashboard simplicity
2Ease of manufacture
If openings are formed in dashboard for holding brackets, then installation feasibility is improved, but manufacturing complexity increases due to additional covering components
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the holding function from the dashboard structure itself and relocates it to a separate transfer device. This extraction eliminates the need for dashboard openings and associated cover members, thereby improving ease of manufacture while reducing manufacturing complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The installation system is segmented into separate functional components: the transfer device handles the holding and positioning function, while the dashboard maintains its structural integrity without openings. This segmentation resolves the contradiction by separating the installation aid from the permanent vehicle structure
Data Source
AI summary
Provided is a method which comprises: an attaching step of attaching a pair of installation jigs, respectively, to right and left opposite lateral portions of a support member; a clamping step of clamping the clampable surface portion of each of the installation jigs by a clamping unit of a transfer device; a temporarily mounting step of transferring the instrument panel module to the front of the passenger compartment by the transfer device to temporarily mount each of the right and left mounting brackets to a sidewall of a vehicle body; and a fastening step of, after the temporarily mounting step, detaching the installation jigs from the support member, and fastening each of the right and left mounting brackets to the sidewall of the vehicle body in the vehicle width direction by a fastening bolt.