JP6064612B2 - Instrument panel structure - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an instrument panel structure.

  A structure is disclosed in which an extension portion extending downward is integrally formed at a joint portion of the instrument panel and the steering column cover, and a weak portion that is broken when the column cover hits is provided around the extension portion (patent) Reference 1).

JP-A-7-246858

  Depending on the type of vehicle, the meter is provided with a steering column, a meter hood extending toward the vehicle front side of the meter is provided, and an instrument panel is disposed on the vehicle front side of the meter hood. In such a vehicle, when a design in which the gap between the meter hood and the instrument panel is small is adopted, it is considered that the meter hood interferes with the instrument panel when the steering column strokes to absorb the impact.

  In view of the above facts, an object of the present invention is to ensure a shock absorbing stroke of a steering column in a vehicle having a meter attached to the steering column.

The invention according to claim 1 is arranged on a column cover that covers the steering column, and extends from the meter provided on the column cover to the front side of the vehicle, and the meter hood at a portion of the meter hood on the front side of the vehicle. An instrument panel provided with an opening having a size that allows the front end of the instrument panel to enter, and a cover that is provided so as to cover the opening and is attached to the back side of the instrument panel by claw fitting. Have.

  In the instrument panel structure according to the first aspect, when the steering column is stroked to absorb the impact, the meter hood mainly hits the cover, so that interference between the meter hood and the instrument panel is suppressed. For this reason, in a vehicle in which the meter is provided with a steering column, it is possible to ensure a shock absorbing stroke of the steering column.

Further , when the steering column strokes to absorb the impact and the meter hood hits the cover, the claw fitting between the instrument panel and the cover is released, and the cover is easily detached from the instrument panel. Thereby, the opening part of an instrument panel appears. When the meter hood enters the opening, interference between the meter hood and the instrument panel is suppressed. For this reason, more shock absorbing strokes of the steering column can be secured.

The invention of claim 2 is the instrument panel of claim 1, the meter hood, fragile portion for buckling the front end of the meter hood is provided.

In this instrument panel structure, when the meter hood comes into contact with an instrument panel or the like in the vicinity of the opening, the fragile portion provided in the meter hood is easily buckled and deformed. For this reason, the shock absorption stroke of the steering column can be further secured.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a meter hood that is disposed on a column cover that covers the steering column, extends from the meter provided on the column cover to the front side of the vehicle, and the meter hood at a portion of the meter hood on the front side of the vehicle. An instrument panel provided with an opening of a size that allows the front end of the instrument to enter, and a cover provided to cover the opening, and the meter hood includes a front end of the meter hood. A fragile part for buckling is provided.

  As described above, according to the instrument panel structure of the first aspect, in a vehicle in which the meter is attached to the steering column, the excellent effect that the shock absorbing stroke of the steering column can be secured is obtained. can get.

According to the instrument panel structure of the second aspect , it is possible to obtain an excellent effect that the shock absorbing stroke of the steering column can be further secured.

It is a perspective view which shows an instrument panel structure. It is a perspective view which shows a meter hood. It is a perspective view which shows the state in which the cover was attached to the opening part of an instrument panel. It is a disassembled perspective view which shows an instrument panel and a cover. It is a partially broken side view showing a state where the cover is detached from the instrument panel and the meter hood enters the opening when the steering column strokes to absorb the impact. It is a cross-sectional view which shows a deformation | transformation of the weak part of a meter hood. It is a disassembled perspective view which shows the meter hood by which the weak part was comprised by elastic members, such as rubber | gum. It is a perspective view which shows the meter hood by which the weak part was comprised as a thin part. (A) It is a 9A-9A arrow expanded sectional view of FIG. 8 which shows the thin part of the meter hood at the normal time. (B) It is an expanded sectional view which shows the state which the thin part fractured | ruptured. It is a partially broken perspective view which shows the meter hood comprised by the grid | lattice-like resin frame | skeleton and skin. It is a 11-11 arrow expanded sectional view in FIG. 10 which shows a meter hood. It is a perspective view which shows the cover integrated with the instrument panel via the integral hinge.

  Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In FIG. 1, an instrument panel structure S according to the present embodiment includes a meter hood 12, an instrument panel 14, and a cover 16.

  1 and 2, the meter hood 12 is disposed on a column cover 22 attached to and covering the steering column 10, and extends from the meter 18 provided on the column cover 22 to the front side of the vehicle. The meter 18 is a combination of various display units with a speedometer, for example. As shown in FIG. 2, the meter hood 12 is formed, for example, in an inverted U shape when viewed from the vehicle front-rear direction. In other words, the meter hood 12 has a shape in which the upper ends of a pair of vertical wall portions 12A that are separated in the vehicle width direction are connected by the upper portion 12B having a substantially semicylindrical shape. The upper portion 12B extends to the vehicle front side from the vertical wall portion 12A. The front end portion 12F of the meter hood 12 is a front end of the upper portion 12B, and is located on the vehicle front side with respect to the front end 12D of the vertical wall portion 12A.

  The meter hood 12 is provided with a fragile portion 20 for buckling the front end 12D of the meter hood 12. The fragile portion 20 is configured by providing a plurality of streaky thin portions 12C on the vertical wall portions 12A on both sides. For example, four thin wall portions 12C are provided for each vertical wall portion 12A. Each thin portion 12C extends from the lower end of the vertical wall portion 12A to the vehicle upper side, then curves and extends forward of the vehicle, and reaches the front end 12D of the vertical wall portion 12A. The thin portion 12C is formed by providing a narrow groove on the outer surface of the vertical wall portion 12A. The narrow groove may be provided on the inner surface of the vertical wall portion 12A. In addition, the weak part 20 is not restricted to the thin part 12C, A slit and a hole may be sufficient. When the hole is used as the fragile portion 20, the meter hood 12 is preferably covered with a skin (see the skin 34 in FIG. 11).

  1, 3, and 4, an instrument panel 14 is provided around the steering column 10. In addition, the instrument panel 14 drawn in these drawings corresponds to an upper instrument panel among an upper instrument panel and a lower instrument panel (not shown) divided vertically in the vicinity of the upper surface of the column cover 22. It is a part to do.

  An opening 24 having a size that allows the front end portion 12F of the meter hood 12 to enter is provided in a portion of the instrument panel 14 on the vehicle front side of the meter hood 12. The opening 24 is a through-hole formed in a substantially inverted U shape in accordance with the shape of the meter hood 12, and has a size that allows part or the whole of the meter hood 12 to enter. In the present embodiment, the height of the opening 24 is such that the height from the front end 12F of the meter hood 12 (the front end of the upper portion 12B) to a part of the fragile portion 20 can enter. It is about half the size. The width dimension of the opening 24 is set to be slightly larger than the width dimension of the outer shape of the meter hood 12.

  The opening 24 does not open in the lower edge 14D of the instrument panel 14. In other words, the lower portion 14 </ b> C of the instrument panel 14 exists in the vehicle lower portion of the opening 24. As shown in FIG. 5, the fragile portion 20 of the meter hood 12 is disposed on the vehicle rear side of the lower portion 14 </ b> C. An instrument panel reinforcement 26 is provided on the vehicle front side of the lower portion 14C. The instrument panel reinforcement 26 is, for example, a metal pipe extending in the vehicle width direction and having both ends connected to a vehicle body side portion (not shown). The opening 24 is not limited to the through hole, and may be opened in a notch shape on the lower edge 14D of the instrument panel 14. In this case, the lower part 14C shown in FIG. 3 does not exist.

  1 and 3 to 5, the cover 16 is provided so as to cover the opening 24. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 4, the cover 16 is attached to the back side of the instrument panel 14 by claw fitting. A plurality of claws 28 are integrally provided around the opening 24 on the back side of the instrument panel 14. On the other hand, through holes 16A that engage with the claws 28 are formed in the flange portions 16F formed on the outer periphery of the cover 16, respectively. As shown in FIG. 3, an inverted U-shaped convex portion 30 is formed across the lower portion 14 </ b> C of the instrument panel 14 and the cover 16. The convex part 30 is a reinforcing part for increasing the section modulus of the cover 16 and the lower part 14C to increase the surface rigidity, and is convexly formed on the vehicle rear side, for example. As shown in FIG. 3, the convex portion 30 is almost entirely covered with the meter hood 12 so that it does not stand out in appearance. In addition, you may provide in the cover 16 side nail | claw and provide the through-hole engaged with this nail | claw on the instrument panel 14 side.

(Function)
This embodiment is configured as described above, and the operation thereof will be described below. In FIG. 1, in the instrument panel structure S according to the present embodiment, a cover 16 is provided in the opening 24 of the instrument panel 14. For this reason, it is not necessary to ensure a large gap between the meter hood 12 and the instrument panel 14, and the appearance is good.

  As shown in FIG. 5, when the steering column 10 strokes toward the front side of the vehicle (in the direction of arrow F) for absorbing the impact, the meter hood 12 mainly hits the cover 16. Then, the claw fitting between the instrument panel 14 and the cover 16 is released, and the cover 16 is easily detached from the instrument panel 14. The cover 16 does not have to be completely detached from the instrument panel 14, but if it is completely detached, the cover 16 falls off to the back side of the instrument panel 14. Thereby, the opening part 24 of the instrument panel 14 appears. When the front end portion 12F of the meter hood 12 enters the opening 24, interference between the meter hood 12 and the instrument panel 14 is suppressed.

  Furthermore, when the meter hood 12 comes into contact with the instrument panel 14 or the like in the vicinity of the opening 24, the fragile portion 20 provided in the meter hood 12 is easily deformed. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 6, when the front end 12 </ b> D of the vertical wall portion 12 </ b> A of the meter hood 12 contacts the lower portion 14 </ b> C of the instrument panel 14, the fragile portion 20 is, for example, outside in the vehicle width direction (arrow A Deforms to bend in the direction). Here, the deformation direction of the fragile portion 20 may be the inside in the vehicle width direction. Moreover, the weak part 20 may shrink | contract in the bellows shape at the vehicle front-back direction at the time of a deformation | transformation. An instrument panel reinforcement 26 is provided on the vehicle front side of the lower portion 14 </ b> C. However, the fragile portion 20 can be easily deformed to promote the advancement of the meter hood 12. In this embodiment, the shock absorbing stroke of the steering column 10 can be ensured in this way.

  The cover 16 may be configured to secure the shock absorbing stroke of the steering column 10 by being deformed or broken without being detached from the instrument panel 14. Specifically, a configuration in which the cover 16 is provided with a fragile portion or a planned fracture portion, or the cover 16 is an elastic member such as a rubber film is conceivable.

[Other Embodiments]
In FIG. 7, you may comprise the weak part 20 of the meter hood 12 by elastic members, such as rubber | gum and an elastomer. The fragile portion 20 is integrated with the meter hood 12 by, for example, welding or two-color molding. Of these, the two-color molding is less costly than welding and is advantageous in terms of cost. According to the meter hood 12, when the steering column 10 contracts to absorb the impact (see FIG. 5), when the meter hood 12 comes into contact with the instrument panel 14, the force is smaller than that in the above embodiment. The fragile portion 20 can be deformed. Thereby, the shock absorption stroke of the steering column 10 can be ensured.

  8 and 9A, the meter hood 12 may have a configuration in which the front half part 12G and the rear half part 12H are connected by a thin part 12J. The meter hood 12 is made of a soft resin such as polypropylene. Since the meter hood 12 can be composed of a uniform material, it is inexpensive. The thin portion 12J is provided intermittently at the boundary between the front half 12G and the rear half 12H. A space between adjacent thin portions 12J is, for example, a through hole 12K. Further, the thin portion 12J is configured to be thinner than the front half portion 12G and the rear half portion 12H.

  As shown in FIG. 9B, in the meter hood 12, when the steering column 10 contracts to absorb the impact (see FIG. 5), the front end 12D is the lower portion 14C of the instrument panel 14 (see FIG. 5). The thin portion 12J is broken by the reaction force B from the lower portion 14C. Since the latter half 12H of the meter hood 12 moves further forward, the total length of the meter hood 12 is shortened. Thereby, the shock absorption stroke of the steering column 10 can be ensured. Note that the front half 12G after the thin-walled portion 12J is broken enters the inside of the rear half 12H.

  10 and 11, the meter hood 12 may have a configuration in which a lattice-shaped resin skeleton 32 is covered with an outer skin 34. The lattice of the resin skeleton 32 is inclined with respect to the vehicle front-rear direction, and is configured to be easily deformed in the vehicle front-rear direction. Thereby, the meter hood 12 is made into the weak part 20 as a whole. According to the meter hood 12, even if a part of the lattice-like resin skeleton 32 is broken, the influence can be suppressed by the skin 34.

  In FIG. 12, the cover 16 may be integrated with the instrument panel 14 via the integral hinge 36. Thus, by integrating the cover 16 with the instrument panel 14, the number of parts can be reduced and the cost can be reduced. The integral hinge 36 is provided on the lower edge 14D of the instrument panel 14, for example. By bending the integral hinge 36 forward of the vehicle (in the direction of arrow C), the through holes 16A of the cover 16 can be locked to the claws 28 of the instrument panel 14, respectively. During the stroke of the steering column 10, the cover 16 rotates in the direction of arrow D about the integral hinge 36 when it is detached from the instrument panel 14. The state where the cover 16 is connected to the instrument panel 14 is maintained as it is.

  Note that the above embodiments can be used in appropriate combination.

10 Steering column 12 Meter hood 12C Thin part (fragile part)
12F Front end 12J Thin part (fragile part)
14 Instrument panel 16 Cover 18 Meter 20 Fragile part 22 Column cover 24 Opening 32 Resin skeleton (fragile part)
S instrument panel structure

Claims (3)

A meter hood that is disposed on a column cover that covers the steering column and that extends from the meter provided on the column cover to the vehicle front side;
An instrument panel provided with an opening of a size that allows the front end of the meter hood to enter a portion of the meter hood on the vehicle front side;
A cover provided to cover the opening, and attached to the back side of the instrument panel by claw fitting ;
Instrument panel structure with The instrument panel structure according to claim 1, wherein the meter hood is provided with a weak portion for buckling a front end of the meter hood. A meter hood that is disposed on a column cover that covers the steering column and that extends from the meter provided on the column cover to the vehicle front side;
An instrument panel provided with an opening of a size that allows the front end of the meter hood to enter a portion of the meter hood on the vehicle front side;
A cover provided to cover the opening,
An instrument panel structure in which the meter hood is provided with a weakened portion for buckling the front end of the meter hood.

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