Land vehicles: bodies and tops – Bodies – Dashboards
Reexamination Certificate
2000-01-28
2002-10-15
Patel, Kiran B. (Department: 3612)
Land vehicles: bodies and tops
Bodies
Dashboards
C296S180400, C280S728300
Reexamination Certificate
active
06464280
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an instrument panel of a synthetic resin for a car.
The present application is based on Japanese Patent Application No. Hei. 11-81350.
2. Description of the Related Art
Heretofore, a passenger seat air bag unit to be installed in an instrument panel in front of a passenger seat was constituted by a folded air bag, an inflator for supplying an inflating gas to the air bag, and a casing in which the air bag and the inflator were received. Further, a door portion was disposed in the instrument panel so as to be ruptured and opened when the air bag was inflated (see Japanese Patent Publication No. Hei. 9-156400, and so on).
The casing, however, required strength because the casing had a function of receiving both the air bag and the inflator and a function of guiding the inflating gas of the inflator to the air bag and guiding the deployment of the air bag when the air bag was inflated. In the background art, the casing was made from a sheet metal. Hence, the passenger seat air bag unit was heavy in weight.
Further, in the background art, each junction box (hereinafter merely abbreviated as “box”) in which wire harness extending from a meter, or the like, disposed in the instrument panel was connected was inserted vertically into between a portion of a body on a lateral lower side of the instrument panel and the instrument panel and screwed down horizontally to the body so as to be attached and fixed to the instrument panel.
The work of attaching the box was, however, difficult because the instrument panel disturbed it. Further, the direction of screwing down the box was horizontal. Attachment holes provided in both the box and the body for screwing down the box to the body were positioned vertically in the direction of insertion of the box. Hence, the positioning was difficult because the attachment holes of the body were hidden behind the box. The work of attaching the box was made more difficult.
Still further, in the background art, each register to be disposed in the instrument panel was screwed down from the back side of the instrument panel. Hence, there was still room for improvement in efficiency in the attaching work.
Still further, instrument panels of the type constituted by an upper panel disposed on the front side and a core panel disposed on the rear side of the upper panel were known in the background art (see Japanese Utility Model Publication No. Sho. 56-4928, Japanese Patent Publication No. Hei. 1-190551, Japanese Patent Publication No. Hei. 5-77659, and so on).
Further, in those instrument panels, circumferential walls of air-conditioner ducts were formed from the upper panel and the core panel.
In the background art, however, a sealing material provided separately was assembled with regions of formation of the ducts so that the regions were kept airtight when the upper panel and the core panel were connected to each other. Hence, the number of constituent parts of the instrument panel was increased and the work of assembling the upper panel with the core panel took a great deal of labor.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A first object of the present invention is to provide an instrument panel in which a passenger seat air bag unit is lightened in weight to thereby solve the aforementioned problem.
A second object of the present invention is to provide an instrument panel in which the work of attaching a box is simplified to thereby solve the aforementioned problem.
A third object of the present invention is to provide an instrument panel in which the work of attaching registers is simplified to thereby solve the aforementioned problem.
A fourth object of the present invention is to provide an instrument panel in which regions of air-conditioner ducts can be kept airtight easily while the number of constituent parts is suppressed from increasing to thereby solve the aforementioned problem.
According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an instrument panel comprising an upper panel of a synthetic resin disposed on the front side, and a core panel of a synthetic resin connected to the rear side of the upper panel and having a shape retentive property; the core panel including a casing portion having an opening portion opened in an air bag-protruding direction, the casing portion receiving a folded air bag of an air bag unit for a passenger seat and an inflator for supplying an inflating gas to the air bag; the upper panel including door portions which cover the casing portion so that the door portions are pressed and opened by the air bag when the air bag is inflated.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an instrument panel comprising an upper panel of a synthetic resin disposed on the front side, and a core panel of a synthetic resin disposed on the rear side of the upper panel and having a shape retentive property; the upper panel and the core panel being provided with connection portions which can be connected to each other; the core panel including fixation cavity portions each having an opening portion opened upward for attachment, the fixation cavity portions being provided so that junction boxes are inserted in the fixation cavity portions and attached and fixed to the fixation cavity portions respectively.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided an instrument panel comprising an upper panel of a synthetic resin disposed on the front side, and a core panel of a synthetic resin disposed on the rear side of the upper panel and having a shape retentive property; the upper panel and the core panel being provided with connection portions which can be connected to each other; the upper panel including a cover portion which constitutes an upper wall in circumferential walls of air-conditioner ducts communicating with registers; the core panel including a circumferential wall portion which constitutes walls other than the upper wall in the circumferential walls of the ducts; the core panel further including receiving cavity portions in regions of arrangement of the registers, the receiving cavity portions having opening portions opened upward for receiving the registers respectively so that the registers are inserted and received in the receiving cavity portions respectively; the upper panel further including holding portions in regions of arrangement of the registers, the holding portions being capable of sandwiching and holding the registers between the upper panel and the core panel when the upper panel and the core panel are connected to each other.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an instrument panel comprising an upper panel of a synthetic resin disposed on the front side, and a core panel of a synthetic resin disposed on the rear side of the upper panel and having a shape retentive property; the upper panel and the core panel being provided with connection portions which can be connected to each other; the upper panel including a cover portion which constitutes an upper wall in circumferential walls of air-conditioner ducts; the core panel including a circumferential wall portion which constitutes walls other than the upper wall in the circumferential walls of the ducts; flexible thin lip portions are formed at upper ends of the circumferential wall portion or lower ends of the cover portion integrally with the core panel or the upper panel so that the lip portions come into pressure contact with the cover portion of the upper panel or the circumferential wall portion of the core panel to keep airtightness when the upper panel and the core panel are connected to each other.
In the instrument panel according to the first aspect of the present invention, the core panel has a casing portion which has an opening portion opened in an air bag-protruding direction and which receives a folded air bag of a passenger seat air bag unit and an inflator for supplying an inflating gas to the air bag. A casing for the passenger seat air bag unit is formed in the
Ido Masaru
Katagiri Katuhiro
Kuriyama Yuji
Nagano Akiyoshi
Shibata Monoru
Patel Kiran B.
Pillsbury & Winthrop LLP
Toyoda Gosei Co,., Ltd.
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