CZ2004703A3 - Airbag cover in instrument panel - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an independent airbag cover (1) in an instrument panel that is reinforced with a solid and tough stiffener (3) being fixedly joined with the cover (1), whereby a portion (3b) of the stiffener forming the cover (1) hinge is extended and the ends (4a, 4b) thereof are bent to the form of a hook and hooked engaged a clearance (5) with the stationary portion (2a) of the instrument panel carrier (2) so that after activation of the airbag a shift of the complete cover (1) along with the stiffener is enabled upwards above the level of the instrument panel outer surface until the hook-shaped ends (4a, 4b) engage with the stationary portion (2a) of the instrument panel carrier (2) and prevent the cover (1) further movement, whereupon the airbag pressure along with the cover (1) inertial movement causes tilting of the cover (1) out of the path of the airbag penetrating into a passenger compartment.

Description

The present invention relates to the interior of motor vehicles and to a passenger restraint system in the front seat of a motor vehicle.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Airbags are an essential part of comprehensive protection for motor vehicle occupants. An airbag intended to protect a passenger in the front seat is usually placed in the instrument panel as close as possible to the point where the head restraint of the passenger is headed in the event of a frontal collision.

From the point of view of the function of the airbag, it is therefore absolutely essential that the lid of the airbag is reliably and easily opened, tilted and opened to the passenger compartment without damaging the airbag bag. In doing so, no parts or splinters that could injure the crew or damage the airbag must be released from the bonnet or the instrument panel. Absolute functional reliability and favorable price are required. For purely aesthetic reasons, it is also required that the airbag is not visible before use; its lid, its shape, height and surface coincide with or at least form a visually harmonious unit with the instrument panel.

The existing design of the airbag cover in the instrument panel resp. The dashboard with airbag cover can be divided into two basic concepts:

(a) The lid constitutes a completely separate part which is not part of the instrument panel support; it is only mechanically held in the opening of the airbag opening in the instrument panel, so that the lid remains only when the airbag is deployed

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-2 unlock and then fold up, move, etc. This concept usually gives a more complex solution with multiple components.

(b) The integrated bonnet is an integral part of the instrument panel support, so when the airbag is deployed from the instrument panel, most of its circumference must first be detached by the pressure of the inflatable airbag so that it can then be folded up and the airbag path released. This lid concept integrated into the instrument panel provides a simpler solution with fewer components, but entails considerable mechanical stress on the lid and its surroundings.

Separate airbag lids, that is to say, constructed according to the first concept, are opened by simply folding, sliding, sliding with folding, etc., depending on the design of the hinge of the lid and its anchoring.

The existing design of the hinges of the lid is structurally different, but the most commonly used for this purpose are the flat lid stiffeners anchored both in the lid itself and in the fixed part of the dashboard carrier, or various articulated mechanisms with arms situated between the lid and the dashboard carrier. If the hinge between the lid and the hinge anchor is intentionally crimped strongly (eg DE 979735438) in the form of a flat bellows, when the airbag is deployed by straightening the ripple, the hatch is allowed to slide all the way up above the dashboard and only then open. However, there are solutions in which the lid is (simply or more) tied to a strap from a cable or strap, so that when the airbag is deployed, it can be pushed relatively high above the instrument panel from its starting position by the inflatable airbag (USJ5496060, US ^ 5979929). is then restrained by a handcuff before he can encounter the vehicle crew.

The reinforcement and at the same time strengthening of the lid and the adjacent part of the instrument panel support may be a perforated sheet molding (see eg DE ^ 437773, US [5564733, Jj2000318557, Usj6565115), metal grid (eg expanded metal see US ^ 5382047), fabric (DE ^ .9962551,

Gd2359283), knitted fabric, netting (DEl19935625), of fibers or yarn

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Any other tenacious, tensile and rigid structure capable of engaging the lid and carrier while operating as a lid hinge.

The lid can be either one-piece and can be folded away towards the windscreen or also two-piece. the lid part folds around its own hinge to its side.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to a design of a separate airbag cover in an instrument panel, in which its shape, height and surface coincide with the instrument panel. it forms a harmonious whole with it.

The principle of the invention is that a significant part of the separate airbag cover in the dashboard, which is based on a plastic carrier, is a reinforcement) of a rigid and tough flat reinforcement, for example of sheet metal, firmly connected to the cover. at their ends, they are bent in the shape of a hook, from whose peaks to the fixed part of the instrument panel support, a play is left in the initial state, so that when the airbag is triggered, the whole lid can be moved upwards above. the level of the instrument panel's outer surface until the ends of the hook-type extended hinge lock into the fixed part of the instrument panel support, anchoring there, preventing the cover from sliding further upwards, whereupon the inflation air pressure together with outside the path of the airbag penetrating the passenger compartment.

As opposed to existing design solutions, the stiffener is therefore firmly connected only to the airbag lid, not to the dashboard carrier, prior to deploying the airbag. The elongated connecting part of the stiffener forming the hinge does not engage firmly and is anchored only after the airbag has been triggered and the lid has been separated from the carrier.

The structural arrangement of a possible two-piece lid is quite analogous, since each lid part then has its own stiffener with an elongated connecting portion forming the hinge, with the ends bent in the shape of a hook and tilting to its side around its own hinge.

The solution significantly reduces the risk of damage to the inflatable airbag against the inner surface of the cover.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

S Part 1 and with an extension part with and with an extension part, the ends of the airbag, with the part parallel

Figure 1 is a bottom view of a portion of the instrument panel support with a one-piece airbag cover together with a stiffener.

FIG. 2 shows the stiffener itself, reinforcing the lid itself, forming the lid hinge.

FIG. 3 shows the stiffener itself reinforcing the lid itself forming the lid hinge is bent into a hook shape.

Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the lid reinforcement lid, hinge connecting portion, and adjacent dashboard carrier portion of the vehicle with the longitudinal axis of the vehicle depicting the condition prior to deployment of the airbag; the hinge-forming coupling part and the adjacent dashboard carrier part, running at the end parallel to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle, showing the condition before the airbag deploys *

Fig. 6 shows a section through an already deployed airbag cover, with the lid reinforcing portion of the airbag connecting

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The part carrier of the part forming the hinge and the adjacent dashboard, guided end parallel to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle, showing the state just after the airbag deployment, when the lid is already extended above the dashboard carrier but not yet opened.

Fig. 7 is a cross-sectional view of an already deployed airbag lid, with a lid reinforcement portion, a hinge connecting portion, and an adjacent dashboard support portion, extending end parallel to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle, depicting the airbag deployment condition when the cover is extended over the dashboard boards and tilted.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The dashboard carrier 2 with the one-piece airbag cover 1 is made of a PP-based thermoplastic material. The outer upper surface of the instrument panel and the cover 1 is covered with a cover layer 6.

A substantial part of the lid 11 is reinforced from below with a rigid and tough sheet metal reinforcement, while the edges of the lid 11 are perforated. The immediate vicinity of the lid 1 in the carrier 2 is reinforced by a solid fixed edge 2a and ribs. The stiffener 3 is a one-piece sheet metal molding having an elongated portion 3b that forms a hinge of the lid 11 on the dashboard carrier 2. The openings in part 3a of the reinforcement 3 serve to mechanically secure the reinforcement 3 to the lid 1.

Before deploying the airbag, the stiffener 3 is rigidly connected to the lid only by its part 3a, while its extended hinge part 3b loosely lies in contact with the surrounding edge of the lid on the fixed part 2a of the dashboard carrier 2, bent between its ends 4a, 4b. a hook 5 and a fixed part of the dashboard carrier 2 retains a clearance 5, which allows the whole lid 3 to be moved upwards with the whole stiffener 3 after the airbag is triggered.

In this embodiment, the bent hinge ends 4a, 4b are of two kinds - the wider ends 4a and the narrower ends 4b, so that the load of the rigid part 2a of the dashboard carrier 2 is better distributed.

After deployment of the airbag, the cover 1 extends all the way from the carrier 2 over the upper surface of the carrier 2 until the ends 4a, 4b of the extension 3b of the reinforcement 3 engage the fixed part 2a of the dashboard carrier 2, anchoring there and preventing the cover 1 in a further upward movement and around the hinge, it pivots towards the windshield of the vehicle, away from the path of the inflating airbag.

Industrial applicability

The invention is intended for the production of plastic interior parts of passenger cars, equipped with an occupant restraint system in the form of an airbag.

Claims (4)

An airbag cover (1) in a dashboard based on a plastic carrier (2), characterized in that a portion (3a) of a flat stiffener (3) of rigid, tough material which is rigidly connected to the cover (1) reinforces the cover (1), while the hinge forming part (3b) of the reinforcement (3) is extended and its ends (4a, 4b) are bent in the form of hooks engaging with play (5) behind the fixed part (2a) of the carrier (2) boards. Airbag lid (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the ends (4a, 4b) of the hinge forming part (3b) of the stiffener (3) are at least of two shapes. Airbag lid (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that all the ends (3b) of the hinge forming part (3b) are of the same shape as the ends (4a). Airbag lid (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that all the ends (3b) of the hinge forming part (3b) are of the same shape as the ends (4b).