Vehicular Instrument Panel Tear Line Design
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional vehicular instrument panels face difficulties in easy air bag inflation due to irregular cut starting points and high manufacturing costs associated with laser-formed recesses for tear lines.
Innovation Solution
A vehicular instrument panel with a tear line comprising exploding, sidewall, and hinge sections of varying recess and protrusion shapes, formed by milling, allowing sequential tearing and easy separation of the door portion upon air bag inflation, reducing manufacturing costs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If the tear line comprises sections of uniform shape formed by laser, then the door portion can be separated from the instrument panel, but the manufacturing cost increases due to expensive laser equipment
Solution Approach 1:
The tear line is divided into multiple sections (first, second, and third sections) with different shapes and tearing characteristics. Each section has recesses and protrusions designed to tear in a specific sequence, ensuring reliable door portion separation while allowing formation by conventional milling equipment rather than expensive laser equipment
Solution Approach 2:
Different sections of the tear line have different local qualities - the first section has protrusions thinner than panel thickness for easy tearing, the second section has protrusions equal to panel thickness for controlled tearing, and the third section has protrusions thicker than panel thickness for final separation. This local differentiation ensures reliable separation while using cost-effective milling processes
2Manufacturing precision
If the recesses of the tear line are formed by laser, then the tear line can be precisely formed, but the manufacturing cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces expensive laser equipment with conventional milling equipment for forming the tear line recesses and protrusions. The milling process, while less precise than laser, is significantly cheaper and sufficiently accurate when combined with the segmented tear line design that compensates for minor variations through its multi-section structure
3Ease of operation
If the door portion is integrally formed with the instrument panel, then the instrument panel structure is simplified, but the air bag inflation is hindered due to difficulty in door portion separation
Solution Approach 1:
The tear line with its segmented structure of recesses and protrusions is pre-formed in the instrument panel during manufacturing. This preliminary action creates a built-in separation mechanism that automatically tears in sequence when the air bag inflates, making door portion separation easy without adding operational complexity or requiring additional components
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed is a vehicular instrument panel, and more particularly, is a vehicular instrument panel in which a door portion can be easily cut away from an instrument panel for the inflation of an air bag upon a car collision. The vehicular instrument panel includes a door portion provided on the instrument panel at a position corresponding to an air bag, and a tear line provided on the instrument panel to define a boundary between the door portion and the instrument panel, the tear line being torn upon a car collision. The tear line includes several sections having different shapes from one another.