Movable Mold Member for Airbag Door Hinge Molding
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vehicle interior panels with airbag doors lack efficient methods for forming reduced thickness portions and integral hinges that securely deploy airbags without compromising structural integrity or increasing manufacturing complexity.
Innovation Solution
A method involving a substrate mold with a movable mold member that forms reduced thickness portions and integral hinges during the molding process, using a structural gas injection process to create foamed plastic substrates with embedded hinge reinforcements, allowing for secure airbag door deployment without undercuts.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a reduced thickness portion is formed at the airbag door hinge area using conventional molding, then the airbag door can deploy efficiently, but the structural integrity and strength at the hinge area are compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies composite materials by combining foamable plastic material with hinge reinforcement (such as metal inserts or fabric layers) at the reduced thickness portion. The reinforcement is embedded within the molded substrate during the molding process, creating a composite structure that maintains both reduced thickness for efficient deployment and enhanced strength for structural integrity.
2Device complexity
If integral hinges are formed in the substrate, then manufacturing complexity is reduced, but the manufacturing process becomes more complex due to the need for movable mold members and reinforcement embedding
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a movable mold member that can shift position during the molding cycle. The mold member is positioned to define the reduced thickness portion at the hinge area during initial molding, then moved away to allow mold opening and part ejection. This dynamic movement enables integral hinge formation without requiring complex multi-step manufacturing processes.
Solution Approach 2:
The hinge reinforcement is pre-positioned in the mold cavity before the foamable plastic material is introduced. The movable mold member is also pre-positioned to define the reduced thickness area. These preliminary actions allow the reinforcement and hinge structure to be automatically embedded during the molding process, simplifying subsequent manufacturing steps.
3Ease of operation
If the substrate thickness is reduced at the hinge area, then airbag door deployment is facilitated, but the manufacturing precision required to maintain structural integrity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The movable mold member acts as an intermediary tool that precisely defines the reduced thickness portion geometry. By controlling the position and movement of this mold member, the manufacturing process achieves high precision in creating the thin hinge area while maintaining overall structural integrity through the embedded reinforcement.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables the production of vehicle interior panels with reduced thickness portions and integral hinges that facilitate efficient airbag deployment while maintaining structural integrity and simplifying manufacturing processes.
Implementation Method 1
introducing a molten foamable plastic material into the mold cavity
Data Source
AI summary
A method of making a vehicle interior panel substrate with a reduced thickness portion along a boundary of an airbag door includes molding the substrate using a substrate mold that includes a movable mold member. The movable mold member is part of a mold section and moves with respect to other portions of the mold section during the molding process to form the reduced thickness portion, which may include a hinge or a tear seam. The mold member moves after plastic material is introduced into the mold cavity. The plastic material is allowed to expand when substrate mold sections are moved away from each other. Plastic material expansion may be part of a structural gas injection (SGI) process. A scrim material or other hinge reinforcement may be molded into the substrate.