JPS631210B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a reinforcing structure for an instrument panel, and particularly to a reinforcing structure for an instrument panel in which reinforcement of the upper front end of the instrument panel is improved.

Examples of conventional reinforcing structures for this portion of the instrument panel include those shown in FIGS. 1 to 3. This reinforcing structure is formed by integrally molding upper and lower reinforcing flanges 3 and 4 on the upper front end 2 of the instrument panel 1. The upper and lower flanges 3 and 4 face each other via a connecting portion 5, and usually an appropriate number of shape-retaining ribs 6 are vertically provided between the upper and lower flanges 3 and 4 to further strengthen the structure. .

The instrument panel 1 reinforced in this manner is fixed to a bracket 7a provided on the dash upper panel 7 and other vehicle body side panels with screws 8 at several locations.

In the figure, 9 is a windshield, and 10 is an air box.

However, with regard to such a conventional reinforcement structure for the instrument panel 1, most of the instrument panels 1 today are made of synthetic resin, and they are attached to the vehicle body using screws at several locations. In addition to this, there is a risk that parts other than the screwed parts may become deformed or curved due to the heat of direct sunlight in summer, and it is still difficult to say that they are sufficient in terms of maintaining strength and appearance. It was hot.

Although these problems can be solved to some extent by increasing the number of screw-fastening points on the car body, this creates the additional problem of having to do more screw-fastening work, which is relatively troublesome, and leading to increased costs. be.

This invention was made by focusing on such conventional problems, and aims to further strengthen the instrument panel itself, and provides a rational and simple reinforcing structure using a band-shaped reinforcing plate. The purpose is to eliminate the above-mentioned problems.

For this purpose, the present invention is characterized in that a strip-shaped reinforcing plate is inserted between the upper and lower flanges and is substantially perpendicular to these flanges.

The details will be explained below based on the illustrated embodiment.

FIGS. 4 to 7 are diagrams showing an embodiment of the present invention. First, the configuration will be explained. Upper and lower flanges 3 and 4 are integrally molded on the upper front end 2 of the instrument panel 1. 20 is a linear belt-shaped reinforcing plate such as an iron plate, and 21 is a rib body. The rib body 21 is formed by integrally molding a shape-retaining rib 6 and a pair of protrusions 22H and 22L extending forward from the upper and lower positions of the shape-retaining rib 6, and the shape-retaining rib 6 is similar to the conventional one. and a pair of protrusions 22
H, 22L connects the strip reinforcing plate 20 to the upper and lower flanges 3,
4 and a function of absorbing an error between the height h of the strip-shaped reinforcing plate 20 and the distance between the upper and lower flanges 3 and 4. Protrusion 22
The reinforcing plates H and 22L are formed in a state in which they are slightly expanded toward the front to support the reinforcing plates 22H and 22L, and when the reinforcing plates 20 are inserted and engaged, the reinforcing plates 22H and 22L are slightly bent and the reinforcing plates 22H and 22L are bent slightly when the reinforcing plates 20 are inserted and engaged. Insert the reinforcing plate 20. Furthermore, the height X of the projection 22H on the upper flange 3 and the height Y of the projection 22L on the lower flange 4 are different in the vehicle width direction, and a line connecting the lower end of the projection 22H and the upper end of the projection 22L extends in the vehicle width direction. The heights X and Y are set to form a straight line. 2
Reference numeral 3 denotes a locking screw, which is used as an aid to securely connect the band-shaped reinforcing plate 20 to the instrument panel 1. Therefore, this screw fixing is not necessarily required.

By having the above-mentioned protrusion configuration, the band-shaped reinforcing plate 20 can be a linear flat plate, and does not particularly need to be formed along the curves of the upper and lower flanges 3 and 4 of the instrument panel 1.

To install the strip-shaped reinforcing plate 20, insert it into the upper and lower flanges 3 and 4 in an upright state, and then insert it into the protrusion 2 as it is.
2H and 22L are pressed to the extent that they bend, and the band-shaped reinforcing plate 20
All that is required is to support the upper and lower flanges 3 and 4 in a bent state along the shapes of the upper and lower flanges 3 and 4. When the curvature of the upper and lower flanges 3 and 4 is small, auxiliary locking may be performed using screws 23 as appropriate. In this case, the band-shaped reinforcing plate 20 may be divided at the screw 23 as shown in the figure, or it may be drilled only at the corresponding portion of the screw 23, or it may be cut out from either the upper or lower side edge. You can also do this.

FIG. 8 shows another embodiment of the invention. In this embodiment, the slopes of the pair of protrusions 24H and 24L are reversed from those in the previous embodiment. Band-shaped reinforcing plate 2
When the bending due to the insertion of 0 is appropriate, the protrusions 24H, 2 should be formed in a so-called undercut shape like this.
Forming 4L may provide more reliable support. It should be noted that other parts are the same as those in the previous embodiment, and therefore redundant explanation will be omitted.

As explained above, according to the present invention, since the instrument panel is constructed as described above, the instrument panel can be further reinforced by the band-shaped reinforcing plate, and moreover, the band-shaped reinforcing plate can be supported in an upright state. Therefore, in combination with the presence of the upper and lower flanges, the most rational reinforcement can be achieved. In addition, since the band-shaped reinforcing plate can be bent to any desired curvature, there is no need to shape it in advance to match the curvature of the front edges of the upper and lower flanges.
Therefore, not only can costs be reduced, but also there is no problem that the molding curvatures of the two parts do not match during installation.

If the band-shaped reinforcing plate is held between the projections formed on the upper and lower flanges, the entire instrument panel can be reinforced by one-touch installation of the band-shaped reinforcing plate, without increasing the work required to fasten screws to the vehicle body panel. In particular, it has a great reinforcing effect against "deflection" and "twisting" caused by heat, impact, etc., and has the effect of maintaining the good appearance of the instrument panel over a long period of time.

Furthermore, as in the example, the height of the protrusion extending from the upper and lower flanges so as to contact the side edge of the band-shaped reinforcing plate is varied in the axial direction, so that the line connecting the end surfaces in the vehicle width direction becomes a parallel straight line. If this is done, the shape of the belt-shaped reinforcing plate can be made into a simple linear flat plate, so that the reinforcing plate can be formed easily, and the yield can be improved, resulting in an inexpensive reinforcing structure.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figure 1 is a perspective view showing a conventional example of a reinforcing structure for an instrument panel, Figure 2 is a sectional view taken along the line in Figure 1, and Figure 3 shows a part of the upper front end of the instrument panel viewed from the front of the vehicle. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along the line of FIG. 4, FIG. 6 is an enlarged sectional view of the portion in FIG. 5, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view taken from a position corresponding to FIG. 3, and FIG. 8 is an enlarged sectional view corresponding to FIG. 6 showing another embodiment of the present invention. 1... Instrument panel, 2... Upper front end,
3... Upper flange, 4... Lower flange, 20... Band-shaped reinforcing plate, 22H, 22L, 24H, 24L... Projection.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. Upper and lower flanges extending substantially parallel to the vehicle width direction are integrally molded at the upper front end of the instrument panel, and a strip-shaped reinforcing plate that is substantially orthogonal to these flanges is inserted and fixed between the upper and lower flanges. Features a reinforced structure for the instrument panel. 2 At least one of the upper and lower flanges is
The reinforcing structure for an instrument panel according to claim 1, further comprising a protrusion that abuts a side edge of the strip-shaped reinforcing plate.