Vehicle interior panel and vehicle airbag device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9821748-B2
Application number	US-201514966191-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 11, 2015
Priority date	Oct 22, 2012
Publication date	Nov 21, 2017
Grant date	Nov 21, 2017

Abstract

An instrument panel of an automobile includes a base and a covering bonded to a surface of the base. A cleavage groove is formed on the back of the base. When the base is cleaved by inflation pressure of an airbag, the cleavage groove serves as a starting point of the cleavage. The covering is formed by a ground fabric layer made of knitted fabric and a covering layer bonded the surface of the ground fabric layer. The ground fabric layer is formed of an original fabric in which the tensile strength in directions along its surface is anisotropic. The cleavage groove includes a first groove section, which is cleaved first. The covering is oriented with respect to the base such that the direction of the smallest tensile strength of the ground fabric layer matches with a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the first groove section extends.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A vehicle interior panel that is configured to be cleaved by an inflation pressure of an airbag, the panel comprising:
a base having a surface and a back;
a covering bonded to the surface of the base,
a cleavage groove formed on the back of the base, wherein, when the base is cleaved by inflation pressure of the airbag, the cleavage groove serves as a starting point of the cleavage,
wherein the covering includes a ground fabric layer and a covering layer bonded to a surface of the ground fabric layer, the ground fabric layer being formed of an original fabric, in which the tensile strength of the original fabric in directions along its surface is anisotropic, and the tensile strength is set to be the smallest in a first direction along the surface of the original fabric and is set to be the greatest in a second direction, which is perpendicular to the first direction,
wherein the cleavage groove includes a first groove section that is first cleaved when the cleavage groove is cleaved, and the covering is bonded to the base such that the first direction of the smallest tensile strength of the ground fabric layer of the covering matches with a direction perpendicular to a direction in which the first groove section extends,
wherein there is no cleavage groove formed on the ground fabric layer,
wherein the covering includes a cushion layer bonded to a back of the ground fabric layer, the cushion layer being made of an original fabric of raschel knitted fabric in which the tensile strength in directions along its surface is anisotropic.

2. The vehicle interior panel according to claim 1 , wherein the interior panel is an instrument panel.

3. A vehicle airbag device formed by combining the interior panel according to claim 1 and an airbag module, wherein
the interior panel includes a retainer on a back thereof, and
the airbag module is formed by
the airbag retained, in a folded state, by the retainer,
an inflator that generates an inflation gas and supplies the gas to the airbag, and
the retainer.

4. The vehicle interior panel according to claim 1 , wherein a direction, in which the tensile strength of the cushion layer of the covering is the smallest, is aligned with the first direction, in which the tensile strength of the ground fabric layer is the smallest.

Assignees

• Toyoda Gosei Kk

Inventors

• Takahashi Kenji
• Totani Chiharu
• Nagata Takeshi
• Fujita Junichi
• Toda Minoru

Classifications

• B60R21/205

  in dashboards · CPC title

• B60R21/2165 Primary

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