Land vehicles: bodies and tops – Bodies – Dashboards
Reexamination Certificate
2006-06-20
2006-06-20
Pape, Joseph D. (Department: 3612)
Land vehicles: bodies and tops
Bodies
Dashboards
C296S074000
Reexamination Certificate
active
07063369
ABSTRACT:
An instrument panel for an automobile that eliminates the gaps between the lateral ends of the instrument panel and adjacent door panels, when the doors of the automobile are in their closed positions. In one embodiment, the instrument panel includes a rigid substrate and a pliable cover layer that extends beyond lateral ends of the substrate to form flexible flanges. The flexible flanges contact the door panels when the doors are closed, and deform toward the substrate so as not to interfere with the closing of the doors. In another embodiment, the substrate includes central and lateral sections connected by the pliable cover layer. As the doors of the automobile are closed, the lateral substrate sections contact the door panels and are deformed toward to central substrate section.
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Cowelchuk Glenn A.
DePue Todd L.
Lear Corporation
Pape Joseph D.
Wood Herron & Evans LLP
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