JP2001246922A - Cross member with air conditioning duct for automobile - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] The present invention relates to a cross member, and an object of the present invention is to increase the efficiency of use of the space behind an instrument panel while ensuring the original function of the cross member. A plastic pipe (34A, 34B) as an air conditioning duct is inserted into a pipe-shaped portion of a metal cross member (12) behind an instrument panel of a vehicle. Air outlets 38A-1 and 38B-1 to the right and left parts of the cabin
Are attached to the cross member 12 and the plastic adapters 38A and 38B constituting the air outlets 40-3A and 40-3B to the center of the vehicle compartment.
The conditioned air enters the center outlet adapter 40, a part of which is blown out from the air outlets 40-3A, 40-3B to the vehicle interior to the center, and the rest are pipes 34A, 3 coaxial with the cross member 12.
After passing through 4B, it is blown out to both sides of the cabin from the air outlets 38A-1 and 38B-1.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to the supply of air-conditioned air from the front of a vehicle compartment to the interior cavity of a cross member, which is a metal hollow pipe, provided on the back of an instrument panel of a vehicle for the purpose of reinforcing the width of the vehicle body. And a structure in which a duct is integrally provided.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A cross member as a hollow pipe made of metal is provided in the width direction of a vehicle body on the back side of a plastic instrument panel provided on a front surface of a vehicle compartment of an automobile. The cross member is connected to the vehicle body at both ends thereof by fastening means such as bolts to reinforce the vehicle body. The cross member also serves as a support member for devices such as a steering wheel and an audio device in front of a driver's seat. A plastic air-conditioning duct is also provided on the back side of the instrument panel, from the duct, the center of the cabin,
The air outlets that open to the left and right are branched. Normally, metal cross members and plastic air-conditioning ducts are installed separately and side by side, so the room behind the narrow instrument panel was originally lost, which caused deterioration in assembly. Was.

[0003] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-192972 discloses that the utilization efficiency of the space behind the instrument panel is improved.
The publication proposes that not only the air-conditioning duct but also the cross member be made of plastic and integrated therewith. Also disclosed is a concentric structure in which an air conditioning duct is disposed inside the cross member.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H11-1929
In the technology of No. 72, the air conditioning duct is integrated with the cross member by making the cross member plastic in addition to the air conditioning duct. The cross member extends in the width direction of the vehicle body, and serves as a reinforcing part of the vehicle body and a part to which the steering shaft is attached. Therefore, the cross member needs to have high bending rigidity. If the rigidity is insufficient, there is a possibility that a problem such as resonance of the steering wheel may occur. Therefore, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-192972 discloses a structure in which the cross member is formed of a hard resin and the inside of the cross member is filled with a hard foam. However, even though hard plastic is used, its Young's modulus is 1/30 compared to steel.
Even if the inside of the cross member is filled with a hard foam, it is practically impossible to obtain the same rigidity as a steel material.

Further, if the cross member is made of resin, a problem due to its thermal expansion is easily expected. That is, when the material of the cross member is polypropylene as described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-192972, its thermal expansion coefficient is approximately 5 × 10 −5 / ° C., while it is left in the sun during the midsummer day. Assuming the highest temperature conditions, the temperature inside the car may rise to as high as 100 to 120 ° C, while the temperature inside the car may reach -10 ° C in mid-winter, and the temperature difference throughout the season is the largest. It can reach as high as 120 ° C. Then, when the total length of the cross member is 1300 mm, the change in the length of the cross member corresponding to a temperature difference of 120 ° C. is almost 8 mm. Such a large difference in thermal expansion throughout the season can be said to be unacceptable as a cross member. That is, assuming that the cross-sectional area of the cross member is S, the Young's modulus is E, and the strain generated in the cross member is ε, the axial load F generated in the cross member is F = S × E × ε. To 100 mm × 10
Assuming 0 mm and Young's modulus E of 500 kgf / mm2, the strain ε is 8
/ 1300, the calculated value of the axial load F is F =
30,770 kgf. It is easy to see that if this load is to be received by the bolt fastening structure of the cross member, stress concentration in the hole may occur or the hole may be damaged by repeated stress.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems of the known art, and has as its object to increase the efficiency of using the space behind the instrument panel while maintaining the original function of the cross member. And

[0007]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, a metal hollow pipe-shaped cross member extending in the width direction of a vehicle and a duct for air-conditioning air are provided on a back surface of an instrument panel of the vehicle. In the structure described above, the space itself inside the metal hollow pipe constituting the cross member constitutes an air conditioning duct, and an end of the air conditioning duct is connected to an air outlet for air conditioning air to the passenger compartment. A cross member with an air conditioning duct for automobiles is provided.

To explain the function and effect of the first invention, the space inside the metal hollow pipe-shaped cross member itself constitutes a duct for air conditioning air, and the cross member is originally formed of a metal pipe. Although it has a space inside, but this space is functioning as an air conditioning duct, the space behind the instrument panel, which was conventionally occupied by a dedicated air conditioning duct, can be made free. As a result, the degree of freedom in design can be increased, such as by increasing the outer diameter of the cross member, and the mechanical strength required for the cross member is not sacrificed at all, but there is sufficient space behind the instrument panel. Since the diameter can be easily expanded, the strength can be increased and the weight can be reduced.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a structure comprising a metal hollow pipe-shaped cross member extending in the width direction of the vehicle and a duct for air-conditioning air at the back surface of the instrument panel of the vehicle. A plastic pipe constituting an air conditioning duct is inserted into a metal hollow pipe constituting the air conditioner, and an end of the plastic pipe is connected to an air-conditioning air outlet to a vehicle compartment. A cross member with an air conditioning duct is provided.

The operation and effect of the second invention will be described.
By inserting a plastic pipe into the metal hollow pipe-shaped cross member, the space inside the cross member can be configured as an air-conditioning duct, and the same operation and effect as those of the first invention can be obtained. In addition, since a duct through which the air for air conditioning passes is formed by inserting a plastic pipe into the cross member, high-temperature air for air conditioning does not directly contact the metal cross member, and the plastic has a heat insulating effect. Even when the room temperature is low, it is possible to prevent condensation from occurring on the surface of the cross member.

In the second invention, a projection is provided on the outer periphery of the plastic pipe constituting the air conditioning duct, and the projection is in contact with the inner periphery of the metal hollow pipe constituting the cross member. A gap can be provided between the metal pipe and the plastic pipe.
With this configuration, direct contact between the plastic pipe and the metal pipe can be avoided, and the heat insulating effect of the air layer therebetween can be obtained. In addition, the provision of the protruding portion can fix the plastic pipe.

According to the third aspect of the invention, the cross member is formed in a structure including a metal hollow pipe-shaped cross member extending in the width direction of the vehicle and a duct for air-conditioning air on the back surface of the instrument panel of the vehicle. A coating of a plastic material is formed on the inner periphery of the hollow pipe to be formed, and the space inside the coating constitutes an air conditioning duct, and the end of the air conditioning duct is connected to an air outlet for air conditioning air to the passenger compartment. The present invention provides a cross member with an air conditioning duct for an automobile.

As a function and effect of the third invention, similarly to the first invention, the air-conditioning air is passed through the internal cavity of the metal hollow pipe-shaped cross member, thereby increasing the utilization efficiency of the space behind the instrument panel. At the same time, a reinforcing function required as a cross member can be exhibited, and at the same time, a heat insulating function can be achieved by coating a plastic material on the inner surface of the metal pipe.

In the first to third aspects of the present invention, the air outlet for air-conditioning into the vehicle compartment is formed as a separate plastic adapter mounted on the cross member.
The structure for connecting the cross member as the air conditioning duct to the internal cavity can be simplified, and the assemblability as a product can be improved.

[0015]

FIG. 1 shows a steering shaft 10, a metal pipe-shaped cross member 12, an air-conditioning duct 14, and one air outlet 16 for air-conditioning air (see FIG. 3). Air outlet 40-3A in the center of the cabin,
40-3B or the compartment side outlets 38A-1 and 38B-1) and the instrument panel 18 in a schematic manner.

A steering wheel 19 is attached to the steering shaft 10 in front of the instrument panel 18. The steering shaft 10 is attached to a bracket 20 that is fixed by welding to a metal pipe-shaped cross member 12. As is well known, the cross member 12 extends along the entire width of the vehicle compartment, and both ends thereof are fixed to the vehicle body on both sides thereof by bolts or the like.

The conditioned air outlets 16 are formed of plastic, and are provided in a plurality in such a manner as to be opened at the center and both right and left sides in the front part of the passenger compartment. In the prior art, a plastic duct for conditioned air to each of the air outlets 16 is provided on the rear surface of the instrument panel 18 so as to extend in the vehicle compartment width direction along with the cross member 12. As a result, the space behind the instrument panel, which was not originally wide, was complicated, and the assembly was troublesome, the degree of freedom in designing was lost, and the number of parts was increased, resulting in high cost. In the present invention, the free space behind the instrument panel 18 is expanded by using the internal cavity of the cross member 12 as a metal pipe as the duct 14 for air conditioning.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the cross member. The cross member is generally formed in a pipe shape made of steel, and various brackets for mounting are fixed by welding. Further, in the present invention, the cavity inside the cross member functions as a duct for air-conditioning air, and is provided with an opening for connection to the air blowing portion. First, from the brackets, the bracket 20 near one end of the cross member 12 is for mounting the steering shaft 10 as described with reference to FIG. Cross member 1
Brackets 22A and 22B fixed to both ends of the vehicle body 2 are for fixing the cross member 12 to both sides of the vehicle body. A pair of brackets 24 in the middle of the cross member 12 are used for fixing an audio device or connecting to a stay for fixing a vehicle body floor.

Next, the opening of the cross member 12 will be described. The cross member 12 is formed in a pipe shape.
Both ends are open, and plastic pipes (34A, 34B in FIG. 3) constituting the air conditioning duct are inserted from both ends of the opening. The openings at both ends are notches
30A and 30B are provided, and plastic adapters (38A, 38B and 40 in FIG. 3) which form air outlets to the left and right of the vehicle compartment are attached to openings at both ends of the cross member 12 as described later. A pair of notches 32A and 32B are formed in the middle portion of the cross member 12 so that the outer diameter of the pipe extends to the middle, and the notches 32A and 32B are formed of a plastic material forming an outlet to the center of the vehicle compartment as described later. Adapter (40 in FIG. 3)
Is to be mounted.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of plastic components constituting a duct of an air conditioner attached to the cross member. These plastic components are a pair of plastic components to be inserted into the hollow pipe of the cross member 12. It is composed of pipes 34A and 34B, plastic adapters 38A and 38B to be attached to the right and left ends of the cross member 12, and a plastic adapter 40 to be attached to the center of the cross member 12. . The plastic pipes 34A and 34B have ribs 36 (protrusions of the present invention) formed on the outer peripheral surface which are spaced apart by 90 degrees in the circumferential direction and extend in the longitudinal direction. These ribs 36 connect pipes 34A and 34B to cross member 1
2 when inserted into the cross member 1
It functions to form a heat insulating gap for preventing contact with the second metal surface.

The right outlet adapter 38A is a molded plastic product and has a right outlet 38A-1 to the vehicle compartment and an insertion portion 38A-2 at one end of the cross member 12. Similarly,
The left outlet adapter 38B is a plastic molded product,
An outlet 38B-1 to the left of the vehicle compartment and an insertion portion 38B-2 to the other end of the cross member 12 are provided. Central outlet adapter 4
Similarly, reference numeral 0 denotes a plastic molded product. As shown in FIG. 4, an inlet 40-1 for receiving conditioned air sent from an unillustrated conditioned air pump, and a pipe connection 40-2.
A, 40-2B and outlets 40-3A, 40-3B at the center of the cabin
And

FIG. 5 shows a state in which the air conditioning duct components shown in FIG. 4 are assembled to the cross member 12, and the central outlet adapter 40 is connected to the pipe connection portion 40-2.
A, 40-2B are inserted into the notches 32A, 32B of the cross member 12. Next, the plastic pipes 34A and 34B are inserted into the pipe-shaped portion of the cross member 12 from both ends thereof.
0 are respectively inserted into the pipe connection sections 40-2A and 40-2B. Next, the right outlet adapter 38A is the cross member 1
2 is inserted into the cutout 30A at the right end, and the tip of the pipe-shaped insertion portion 38A-2 is inserted into the plastic pipe 34A inserted into the pipe-shaped hole of the cross member 12. At this time, the outlet 38 of the right outlet adapter 38A
A-1 protrudes from the cross member 12 (see FIG. 6), and the conditioned air can be blown into the vehicle from the air outlet when the cross member 12 is properly attached to the vehicle body. Similarly, the left outlet adapter 38B is inserted into the cutout 30B at the left end of the cross member 12, and the tip of the pipe-shaped insertion portion 38B-2 is inserted into the plastic pipe 34B inserted into the pipe-shaped hole of the cross member 12. Inserted.

FIG. 9 shows a state in which the plastic pipes 34A and 34B are inserted into the pipe-shaped holes of the cross member 12. The ribs 36 on the outer periphery of the plastic pipes 34A and 34B (see also FIG. 4) contact the inner periphery of the cross member 12. for that reason,
Outer circumference of plastic pipes 34A and 34B and cross member 12
A gap is formed between the inside of the duct and the gap S. The gap S functions as an insulating air layer that blocks the plastic pipes 34A and 34B as ducts for the conditioned air from the cross member 12, and high-temperature air passes through the ducts. In this case, even if the outside air is cold, it is possible to achieve a function of preventing the air-conditioning air duct from directly contacting the cold outside air and the accompanying dew condensation.

Air-conditioning air from a pump (not shown) enters the central outlet adapter 40 through the central receiving port 40-1, and a part of the air is blown into the vehicle cabin through the outlets 40-3A and 40-3B. Part of the remaining air-conditioning air enters the right pipe 34A in the cross member 12 from the pipe connection part 40-2A, enters the right outlet adapter 38A via the pipe-shaped insertion part 38A-2, and enters the right outlet 38A-. 1 is blown out to the right side of the cabin, and the remainder is introduced into the left pipe 34B in the cross member 12 from the pipe connection part 40-2B, and the left outlet adapter 38A
Through the pipe-shaped insertion part 38B-2, and the left outlet 38B-1
It is blown more to the left side of the cabin.

According to the present invention, the space itself inside the metal hollow pipe constituting the cross member 12 is
A-1, 38B-1, 40-3A, 40-3B constitutes a duct for air conditioning air. For this reason, the cross member 12
The use efficiency of the space behind the instrument panel can be improved as compared with the case where the air conditioner and the air conditioning air duct are separately provided in parallel. Therefore, the degree of freedom in design can be increased. For example, conventionally, the separate cross member 12 and the air-conditioning duct have to coexist behind the instrument panel 18, so it is difficult to increase the diameter of the cross member 12 to increase the rigidity. However, in the present invention, the plastic air-conditioning duct is housed inside the metal cross member 12, and the restriction on the outer diameter of the cross member 12 is small, so that the area can be relatively increased. Lightening can be achieved while maintaining strength. For example, in the conventional case where the cross member and the air conditioning duct are separate bodies,
For a small car of about 0cc, the outer diameter of the cross member is φ60.5 (m
m) It was difficult to make it larger. On the other hand, in the concentric structure of the cross member and the air-conditioning duct of the present invention, there is no difficulty in designing to increase the outer diameter of the cross member to φ89.1 (mm). In each case, the wall thickness, cross-sectional area, second moment of area (MI2), and weight (the length of the cross member is 1318) for two design examples
mm).

Pipe diameter Thickness Cross-sectional area MI2 Weight (mm) (mm) (mm ² ) (mm ⁴ ) (g) Invention Example 1 89.1 1.2 331 32.0 × 10 ⁴ 4220 g ^{* 1} Invention Example 2 1.4 385 37.1 × 10 ⁴ 3988g ^{* 2} Conventional example 1 60.5 2.3 420 16.6 × 10 ⁴ 4345g Conventional example 2 2.6 475 14.4 × 10 ⁴ 4914g * 1: Weight including 4 parts fixed to the cross member * 2: Fixed to the cross member Weight including three parts

In the above design example, the pipe diameter can be made larger by the present invention, so that the wall thickness is small and the cross-sectional area is small, but the second moment of area (MI
The value of 2) can be somewhat larger than before,
In addition, it can be seen that weight reduction is realized. Moreover, since there is no plastic duct separately provided in parallel in the prior art, the space behind the instrument panel can have a margin.

FIG. 10 shows another embodiment of the formation of the air conditioning duct inside the cross member 12. In this embodiment, instead of inserting a separate plastic pipe into the cross member as in the first embodiment, FIG. And cross member 1
2, a heat-resistant plastic resin layer 50 (for example, polyurethane foam) is formed by coating. Since the inner peripheral surface of the cross member 12 is coated with the heat-resistant resin layer 50, the heat-insulating effect of the heat-resistant resin layer 50 can be obtained even when the outside air is cold. Condensation on the outer periphery of the contacting cross member 12 is prevented.

In the embodiment described above, the cross member 1 is formed so as to form a duct for passing the conditioned air.
2, a plastic pipe 34A, 34B is inserted, or the inner peripheral surface of the cross member 12 is coated with a heat insulating resin 50.
However, the air for air-conditioning can be directly introduced into the metal pipe constituting the cross member 12 without inserting the plastic pipes 34A and 34B or forming the coating 50 of the heat insulating resin. In this case, the insertion portion 3 of each of the outlet adapters 38A, 38B, 40 into the cross member 12
It goes without saying that the 8A-2, 38B-2, 40-2A, 40-2B are designed to be tightly inserted without leakage.
If there is no plastic pipe or thermal insulation coating, there is a risk of dew condensation when the outside air is cold. There could be no problems.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic explanatory view showing a positional relationship among a cross member, an air outlet, an instrument panel, and a steering wheel shaft.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a cross member of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a pipe, a right outlet adapter, a left outlet adapter, and a center outlet adapter which are plastic parts constituting the air conditioning duct.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the central outlet adapter shown in FIG. 3 as viewed from below.

FIG. 5 is a front view showing a state where the plastic parts of FIG. 3 are assembled to the cross member of FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is a view taken along the line VI-VI of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along the line VII-VII of FIG. 5;

FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along line VIII-VIII in FIG. 5;

FIG. 9 is a sectional view taken along the line IX-IX in FIG. 5;

FIG. 10 is a view similar to FIG. 9, but showing another embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Steering axis 12 ... Cross member 14 ... Air conditioning duct 16 ... Air outlet 18 ... Instrument panel 19 ... Steering wheel 30A, 30B, 32A, 32B ... Notch 34A, 34B ... Pipe 36 ... Rib 38A, 38B ... Right, left Adapter 38A-1, 38B-1… Right, left outlet 40… Central outlet adapter 40-2A, 40-2B… Pipe connection 40-3A, 40-3B… Center outlet

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Fujio Aoki 19-1 Gomishima, Fuji City, Shizuoka Prefecture Inside Unipres Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Masato Kurokawa 19-1 Gomishima, Fuji City, Shizuoka Prefecture Inside Unipres Corporation F term (reference) 3D003 AA01 AA04 AA18 BB01 CA05 CA06 DA09 DA11 3L011 BL00 BL01

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A structure comprising a metal hollow pipe-shaped cross member extending in the width direction of a vehicle and a duct for air-conditioning air at a back surface of an instrument panel of the vehicle, wherein the metal hollow constituting the cross member is provided. A cross-section with an air-conditioning duct for automobiles, characterized in that the space inside the pipe itself forms an air-conditioning duct, and an end of the air-conditioning duct is connected to an outlet for air-conditioning air to a passenger compartment. member. 2. A structure comprising a metal hollow pipe-shaped cross member extending in the width direction of the vehicle and a duct for air-conditioning air on a back surface of an instrument panel of the vehicle, wherein the metal hollow constituting the cross member is provided. A plastic pipe constituting an air conditioning duct is inserted into the pipe, and an end of the plastic pipe is connected to an air outlet of air conditioning air to a vehicle compartment. . 3. The invention according to claim 2, wherein a projection is provided on an outer periphery of a plastic pipe constituting the air conditioning duct,
The protrusion is in contact with the inner periphery of a metal hollow pipe constituting the cross member, and a gap is provided between the metal hollow pipe and the plastic pipe. . 4. A structure comprising a metal hollow pipe-shaped cross member extending in the width direction of a vehicle and a duct for air-conditioning air on a back surface of an instrument panel of the vehicle. A coating of a plastic material is formed on the inner periphery, and the space inside the coating constitutes the air conditioning duct,
An outlet of the air-conditioning duct is connected to an outlet of air-conditioning air to a vehicle compartment. 5. A cross member with an air conditioning duct for an automobile according to claim 1, wherein the outlet is configured as a plastic adapter mounted on the cross member.