JP3731493B2 - instrument panel - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
【Technical field】
The present invention relates to an instrument panel (hereinafter referred to as “instrument panel”) in which an inner surface side (back surface side) is a shape support member and an outer surface side (front surface side) is a skin member.
[0002]
[Background]
And, as an instrument panel, for example, the vertical cross section includes a base material (core material) layer and a skin layer (skin member) whose inner surface side (back surface side) is a shape support member, and a substantive foam layer formed between both layers (3) Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-300356, (2) Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-321519, (3) Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-280847, etc. The foam layer is formed between the base material layer and the skin layer mainly from the viewpoint of tactile sensation.
[0003]
In the case of the instrument panel as described above, usually 3 to 4 kg was heavy. For this reason, in the vehicle body production line, handling (handling) when a person manually assembles was not good. In addition, it contributed to an increase in the total weight of the vehicle body, which led to a relatively high fuel consumption.
[0004]
Therefore, from the viewpoint of instrument panel assembly workability and reduction in vehicle running fuel consumption, a significant weight reduction of the instrument panel has been demanded. As a means for reducing the weight, there is a means for using a material having a low specific gravity or a thin cross-sectional configuration, but there is a limit because it is necessary to ensure strength, and it has been difficult to significantly reduce the weight.
[0005]
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
In view of the above, an object of the present invention is to provide an instrument panel that can greatly reduce weight.
[0006]
In order to achieve the above object, the present inventors have come up with the present invention having the following configuration, focusing on the fact that a frame structure may be adopted in the process of earnest development.
[0007]
In the instrument panel formed by a skin member having an inner surface side having a design layer and an outer surface side having at least a design layer ,
The shape support member includes a frame and a backing portion formed in a tensioned manner on the skin member side of the frame.
[0008]
Hereinafter, the instrument panel having this configuration may be referred to as a frame structure instrument panel.
[0009]
It is desirable that the form supporting member in the frame structure instrument panel is an integrally formed body of the frame and the backing portion.
[0010]
This is because the integrally molded body is more productive than the later-described configuration in which the separately molded frame and the skin member are integrated by adhesion or welding.
[0011]
In the integrally formed form supporting member, it is desirable from the viewpoint of weight reduction that the frame is generally a hollow frame.
[0012]
As the form of this hollow frame, there are (1) a gas hollow injection molded body (air injection molded body) and (2) an insert molded body using a pipe-shaped frame core as an insert.
[0013]
When this insert molded body is used, productivity is not good as compared with the case where the backing layer of the skin member and the pipe frame are integrally formed by gas hollow injection molding. This is because the pipe frame needs to be formed separately and set in a mold. However, the material of the pipe frame is not limited, and the method of forming the pipe frame is not limited to injection molding, and the pipes can be formed by welding / bonding or the like, increasing the degree of freedom in designing the pipe frame.
[0014]
The form of the instrument panel in the integrally formed support member is as follows. (1) The skin member has a single layer structure in which it is a slush molded part or a spray molded part, and a foam molded part between the design layer and the backing part. Or (2) the skin member includes at least a design layer and a barrier layer, and the backing portion is formed in contact with the barrier layer.
[0015]
In the case of configuration (2), the skin member is usually a vacuum shaped part or a press shaped part.
[0016]
Further, as another aspect in which the shape support member is not integrally formed, the skin member having at least the design layer and the barrier layer is integrated with a frame formed separately, and the barrier layer also serves as a backing portion. A configuration is also possible.
[0017]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Each aspect of the instrument panel of the present invention will be described by taking an instrument panel 10 having an airbag cover portion 12 as shown in FIG. 1 as an example. Here, the tear line (scheduled break line) T of the airbag cover portion 12 is H-shaped assuming a double door in the illustrated example, but may be U-shaped assuming a single door.
[0018]
2 to 3 show an embodiment of an instrument panel according to the present invention.
[0019]
FIG. 2 is a cutaway arrow view with the skin member removed to show the arrangement of the pipe frames, and FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 3-3 in FIG.
[0020]
In the instrument panel of this embodiment, the inner surface side (back surface side) is basically formed by the shape support member 13 and the outer surface side (front surface side) is formed by the skin member 17. The form support member 13 includes a frame 14 and a backing portion 22 formed on the upper surface of the frame 14 in a tensioned manner.
[0021]
The form support member 13 is an integrally formed body of the frame 14 and the backing portion 22, and the frame 14 is a hollow frame.
[0022]
Furthermore, the skin member 17 has a single layer structure of the design layer 18 that is a slush molding part or a spray molding part, and a foam molding part 20 is interposed between the design layer 18 and the backing part 22. .
[0023]
This will be described in more detail below.
[0024]
From the standpoint of strength, the frame 14 is usually made up of pipes each having an outer portion (outer frame 15: shaded portion) having a large diameter and an inner portion (inner frame 16: indicated by a dotted line) each having a small diameter. (Skeleton) is formed. The reason why the outer frame (outer frame) 15 is formed of a large-diameter pipe is that the outer portion requires strength and does not need to consider interference with parts. Forming the inner frame (inner frame) 16 with a small-diameter pipe has parts that do not require strength, and it is necessary to attach various functional parts to the inside of the instrument panel, and it is necessary to secure the inner panel volume (space) as much as possible. Because there is. For example, the outer frame 15 is formed of a pipe having a diameter of 15 to 20 mm and the inner frame 16 is formed of a pipe having a diameter of 8 to 12 mm.
[0025]
Of course, since the part to which the functional part product is attached needs strength, the inner frame 16 (inner frame) is arranged slightly denser than other parts. For example, in FIG. 2, the first and second horizontal pipes C1 and C2 are arranged between the first and second vertical pipes P1 and P2 at the arrangement part (passenger seat side) of the airbag module M to be symmetrical. It is denser than the driver's seat side (right side in the figure), which is the position (see also FIG. 3).
[0026]
The foam-molded portion 20 is formed from the viewpoint of tactile sensation, that is, to make it difficult to recognize the presence of the frame due to tactile sensation.
[0027]
Here, the skin member 17 (design layer 18) is a thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) material or the like from the viewpoint of tactile sensation, and the foam layer 20 is a soft foamed plastic or the like from the viewpoint of cushioning. The backing portion 22) is formed of fiber reinforced plastic or the like from the standpoint of form retention.
[0028]
More specifically, thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) materials include olefin (TPO), styrene (SBC), ester (TPEE), urethane (TPU), amide (TPAE), vinyl chloride ( TPVC), etc., but those with relatively low surface hardness (for example, Shore A hardness of 90 or less) and low specific gravity (for example, 9.5 or less) TPO, SBC are particularly low in specific gravity. TPO having relatively high heat resistance is desirable.
[0029]
Moreover, as the soft foamed plastic, a urethane-based plastic is usually preferable because it is easy to obtain a sponge molded body, but an olefin-based plastic may also be used. When the design layer 18 and the lining part 22 are made of olefin, there is an advantage that it is easy to ensure the heat weldability of the three parties.
[0030]
Further, as the fiber reinforced plastic, an olefin-based resin reinforced with glass fiber or the like having a relatively low specific gravity of the base polymer is desirable. Specific examples include glass fiber reinforced polypropylene (G-PP).
[0031]
In addition, although the dimension specification of each said skin member 17 (design layer 18), the foaming molding part 20, and the backing part 22 is suitably set from the balance of the surface characteristic by the tactile sense side, and the request | requirement degree of weight reduction, for example as follows It shall be
[0032]
Design layer (skin layer) 18: 0.3 to 1.0 (desirably 0.4 to 0.7 mm), foam molded portion (cushion layer) 20: 1 to 5 mm (desirably 3 to 4 mm), backing portion 22 : 0.2 to 1.5 mm (desirably 0.3 to 0.8 mm).
[0033]
Here, if the thickness of the backing portion 22 is too thin, it is difficult to ensure the strength at the non-existing position of the frame 14, and if it is too thick, it is difficult to obtain a light weight effect.
[0034]
Then, as in this embodiment, by forming the pipe frame 14 and the backing portion 22 which are form supporting members as an integrally molded body, the frame 14 and the backing portion 22 can be integrated in a single molding process, and the number of molding steps for the entire instrument panel Can be reduced, and the integrity of the frame and the backing portion 22 is higher than in the case of integration after forming a separate body, and it is easy to ensure the overall strength.
[0035]
In the present embodiment, the weight of the conventional product having the following specifications and the present embodiment product having the following specifications was calculated, and the conventional product: 4050 g became the present embodiment product: 2100 g.
[0036]
Conventional product: base material layer (G-PP having a specific gravity of 1.1): 3 mm, foam layer (urethane): 8 mm, design layer: 1.0 mm,
This embodiment product: Frame / lining part integrated molding support member (molding material is the same as the conventional base material layer) Outer frame: 18 mmφ, Inner frame: 10 mmφ, Backing portion: 0.5 mm; Foam layer: Conventional Same as product, design layer: same as conventional product [0037]
Next, the manufacturing method of this embodiment is demonstrated.
The skin member 17 (design layer 18) is formed in advance by slush molding or spray molding (for example, Japanese National Patent Publication No. 10-500366). In addition, the description which forms an instrument panel skin layer by slush molding is described in Unexamined-Japanese-Patent No. 11-321519, Unexamined-Japanese-Patent No. 2000-280847, etc.
[0038]
Next, as shown in FIGS. 4 (1) and (2), a female provided with a male mold 30 for shaping the upper surface of the backing portion and frame shaping recesses 31a (for outer frame) and 31b (for inner frame). Using the mold 32, a material such as GF-PP is injected into the shape support member cavity 34 to injection-mold the shape support member 13, which is an integrally molded body of the frame 14 / backing portion 22. Although the gate position varies depending on the frame structure, in the case of FIG. 2, there are four points of the middle positions G1 and G2 near the instrument panel and the back, and the middle positions G3 and G4 near the driver seat and the passenger seat ( (See FIG. 2).
[0039]
At this time, it is necessary to prevent the hollow portion for pipe from biting into the backing portion 22. If the hollow portion bites into the backing portion 22, an easily breakable portion is formed as described in JP-A-6-270720, and the overall strength of the instrument panel is lowered.
[0040]
Further, it is conceivable to perform two-color injection molding in which the frame is gas hollow molded and the backing portion is solid molded.
[0041]
The frame 14 of the shape support member 13 is a hollow frame in this embodiment from the viewpoint of weight reduction, but may be solid.
[0042]
This hollow frame is desirably performed by hollow injection molding (also referred to as air injection molding) in which air is blown from a plurality of predetermined positions (gate positions) immediately after injection of the molding material. Details of the hollow injection molding are described in JP-A-6-270720.
[0043]
As another embodiment of the hollow frame, as shown in FIG. 4 (2), an insert molded body having a pipe body (a large-diameter pipe portion 24a and a small-diameter pipe portion 24b) formed as separate inserts, There is a mode to do. This pipe body can be prepared by cutting / bending a commercially available plastic pipe and welding it or combining them appropriately. In this case, the pipe is not limited to plastic but may be made of light metal such as aluminum. In addition, the pipe shape used for this insert molding does not ask | require an ellipse and a square (rectangle / polygon).
[0044]
Then, as shown in FIG. 5, the slush molding mold or spray molding mold with the skin member 17 (design layer 18) left is used as the female mold 33, and the mold used for molding the integral molded body is used. As the male mold 32, after the mold is closed, a soft foam molding material is injected into the foam molding section cavity 35 to form the foam molding section (foam layer) 20, and an instrument panel is manufactured.
[0045]
And these molding methods can shape | mold the metal mold | die used for formation of the skin member 17 (design layer 18) as mentioned above as a metal mold | die (usually female mold | die) for foam molding part 20 formation, and molding efficiency is high. It is good.
[0046]
Next, another shaping | molding aspect is demonstrated.
[0047]
As shown in FIG. 6, the skin member 17 having a three-layer structure formed in advance is shaped by vacuum molding or press molding and set in the female die 33. Usually, the shaping mold is a female mold.
[0048]
Then, the female die and the male die 32 having the same frame shaping recesses 31a and 31b as described above are closed, and the form supporting member 13 which is an integrally molded body of the frame / backing portion is formed by injection molding. To do.
[0049]
The integral molded body may be blow molded, pipe insert molded, or simply injection molded (solid frame) as described above.
[0050]
In the illustrated example, the skin member 17A has a three-layer structure including the design layer 18, the foam layer 20, and the barrier layer 21, but may have a two-layer structure of the design layer and the barrier layer. Usually, since the shape support member (frame / backing unit integral molded body) 13 may be attacked by the heat and pressure of the injection material, a barrier layer is inevitable. However, when there is no risk of the frame / backing unit integrated molded body 13 being attacked by the heat and pressure of the injection material due to the relationship between the foam material and the injection material, a two-layer configuration of a design layer and a foam layer may be used.
[0051]
In each of the above embodiments, the case where the frame / backing portion is an integrally formed body and the frame is a hollow or solid frame is taken as an example, but the present invention is not limited to these.
[0052]
That is, as shown in FIG. 7, the frame body 14B composed of the outer frame 15B and the inner frame 16B formed separately (molding, cutting / welding, assembling, etc.) and the skin member 17B are combined with the barrier layer 21B. It may be integrated by welding or bonding. In this case, the barrier layer 21B serves as the backing portion.
[0053]
Further, the frame is not limited to a hollow body, but may be any rigid (rigid foam), and any channel, angle, or H-shape.
[0054]
The insert molding does not have to be embedded as a whole, and may be partially embedded (planted).
[0055]
[Possibility of industrial use]
As described above, the present invention has been described based on the instrument panel provided with the airbag cover. However, the present invention is not limited to the instrument panel without the airbag cover, and other automobile interior parts are required to have strength, such as garnish and door trim. Is also applicable. Furthermore, in addition to automobile interior parts, it can also be expected to be applied to plastic molded products that require weight reduction as well as strength.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an instrument panel (instrument panel) which is an example of an automobile interior product to which the method of the present invention is applied. FIG. 2 is a top view of a state in which a skin member is removed to display the arrangement of a frame. FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along line 3-3 in FIG. 2 showing the arrangement state of the frame. FIG. 4 integrally forms the support member having the hollow frame in the above embodiment of the present invention with the backing portion. FIG. 5 is a partial mold model view when forming a foam molded part after forming a shape support member. FIG. 6 is a mold release showing yet another embodiment of the present invention. Front partial cross-sectional view [FIG. 7] Model cross-sectional view showing a mode in which a separately molded frame and a skin member are integrated later [Description of symbols]
10 Instrument panel (instrument panel)
14 Hollow frame (frame)
13, 13A Form support member 15, 15A Outer frame (outer frame)
16, 16A Inner frame (inner frame)
17, 17A, 17B Skin member 18 Design layer (skin layer)
20 Foam layer (cushion layer)
21, 21B Barrier layer 22 Backing portion 24 Insert pipe (insert)

Claims (7)

In the instrument panel formed by the skin member having the inner surface side of the shape support member and the outer surface side having at least the design layer ,
The shape support member is an integrally formed body including a frame and a backing portion formed like a tension on the skin member side of the frame , and
An instrument panel, wherein the frame is a hollow frame . The instrument panel according to claim 1, wherein the shape support member is a gas hollow injection molded body . The instrument panel according to claim 1, wherein the shape support member that is the integrally molded body is an insert molded body having a frame core material made of a pipe body as an insert . The said skin member is the design layer of the single layer structure made into the slush molding part or the spray molding part, The foaming molding part has intervened between the said design layer and the said backing part. The instrument panel according to 2 or 3 . The instrument panel according to claim 1, wherein the skin member includes at least a design layer and a barrier layer, and the backing portion is formed in contact with the barrier layer . The instrument panel according to claim 5, wherein the skin member is a vacuum shaped portion or a press shaped portion . 2. The structure according to claim 1, wherein the skin member having at least a design layer and a barrier layer is integrated with a frame formed separately, and the barrier layer also serves as the backing portion . instrument panel.

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