Vehicle interior structure, interior member used therefor, method for producing the same, and method for producing polarizing member

Abstract

Provided are a vehicle interior structure in which a burden for passengers caused by reflected light generated due to a mirror phenomenon and the like can be reduced while at the same time the design can be enhanced, an interior member used therefor, a method for producing the same, and a method for producing a polarizing member. An instrument panel as an interior member includes a glossy portion and a polarizing layer formed on the surface of the glossy portion, the glossy portion being adapted to reflect light coming through a windshield and the polarizing layer being adapted to absorb optical oscillation components in the vehicle width direction.

Claims

1. A method for producing an interior member, the interior member being adapted to be arranged at a position overlapping glass of a vehicle in a vertical direction, comprising: preparing an interior member with a glossy portion, the glossy portion configured to reflect light coming through the glass; humidifying and swelling a film so as to plasticize the film; uniaxially stretching the plasticized film so as to provide the film with a polarizing property to absorb optical oscillation components in the uniaxial direction; attaching the film to the glossy portion of the interior member while shaping the film to conform with a surface shape of the glossy portion by using vacuum decompression or air-pressure pressing; drying the attached film after being attached to the glossy portion of the interior member; and forming a coating layer on a surface of the dried film attached to the glossy portion, wherein the coating layer is configured to protect the polarizing property of the dried film.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a schematic configuration of an embodiment of a vehicle interior structure in accordance with the present disclosure;

(2) FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the primary portion in FIG. 1; and

(3) FIG. 3 is a view illustrating a method for producing the instrument panel illustrated in FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(4) Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings.

(5) [Vehicle Interior Structure and Configuration of Instrument Panel as Interior Member Thereof]

(6) FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a schematic configuration of an embodiment of a vehicle interior structure in accordance with the present disclosure as seen from the interior side of the vehicle.

(7) In a vehicle 1 of an embodiment illustrated in the drawing, an instrument panel 10 produced from polypropylene (PP) resin or the like is disposed below a windshield 5, which is provided in an inclined manner in the front part of the vehicle 1, in the vertical direction (at a position where the instrument panel 10 overlaps the windshield 5 in the vertical direction) in the front part of the vehicle 1 ahead of the driver seat and the front passenger seat. In addition, a glossy portion 11 that reflects light coming through the windshield 5 is provided on an upper surface of the instrument panel 10. It is obvious that the position, size, shape, and range of the glossy portion 11 are not limited to those illustrated in the drawing and can be changed as appropriate.

(8) Examples of the glossy portion 11 herein include a highly reflective decorative layer, such as a metal, metal-like, or metallic member including plating, an aluminum decorative plate, a metal-deposited film, or the like; and a material that emits strong light, such as an instrument panel with lighting and a monitor display.

(9) In addition, in this example, as can be clearly seen from FIG. 2, a polarizing layer 12 that absorbs optical oscillation components in the vehicle width direction is provided on the surface of the glossy portion 11, and further, a coating layer 13 as an antireflective and protective layer is provided on the surface of the polarizing layer 12 for purposes of protecting the polarizing layer 12, preventing scratching thereon, and preventing surface reflection, for example.

(10) The polarizing layer 12 is formed by uniaxially stretching a film and attaching it to the surface of the glossy portion 11 (which will be described in detail later). As the film for forming the polarizing layer 12, a resin film, such as polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), polyvinyl acetal, or polyvinyl butyral (PVB), is used, for example.

(11) The coating layer 13 is desirably formed using a material with as small optical anisotropy as possible, and is preferably formed using, for example, resin with a low photoelastic coefficient including cellulose acetate such as cellulose triacetate or cellulose diacetate; propyl cellulose such as tripropyl cellulose or dipropyl cellulose; polymethyl methacrylate; resin having a hydrocarbon on its main chain, such as an adamantane ring or a cyclopentane ring; polyamide; or polyurethane. Among them, acyl cellulose-based resin, such as cellulose acetate or propyl cellulose, which is inexpensive, is preferably used.

(12) In the vehicle 1 with such a configuration, the polarizing layer 12 provided on the surface of the glossy portion 11 absorbs s-polarized light (optical oscillation components of the incident sunlight in the vehicle width direction), and passes p-polarized light therethrough as illustrated in FIG. 2. Therefore, the glossy portion 11 reflects only p-polarized light. Since the p-polarized light (optical oscillation components of the incident sunlight in the vehicle length direction) is the optical oscillation components perpendicular to the windshield 5, the Brewster's angle at which no reflection occurs can be provided by adjusting the inclination of the windshield 5, and thus reflection can be reduced.

(13) [Method for Producing Instrument Panel as Interior Member]

(14) FIG. 3 is a view illustrating a method for producing the instrument panel 10 illustrated in FIG. 1.

(15) As illustrated in FIG. 3, first, a film 14 with a predetermined shape made of the aforementioned material is prepared. Then, the film 14 is doped with an iodine stain (crosslinking) solution (iodine doping) or dichromatic dye (dye doping) so that the film is humidified and swelled to be plasticized (S1: plasticization step through humidification and swelling).

(16) Although the stain (crosslinking) solution doping for providing a polarizing property to the film 14 that combines the process of humidifying and swelling the film 14 is performed taking the production efficiency into consideration, such doping may be performed after the film 14 is shaped if color unevenness caused by the shaping is not tolerable.

(17) Next, the film 14 plasticized in S1 is stretched uniaxially (specifically, in the vehicle width direction and in the oscillating direction of light to be absorbed) so that the film 14 is shaped in conformity with the surface shape of a product (specifically, the surface shape of the glossy portion 11 of the instrument panel 10 prepared in advance) through vacuum decompression, air-pressure pressing, or the like while at the same time the film 14 is provided with a polarizing property for absorbing optical oscillation components in the uniaxial direction, and the film 14 being stretched is attached to the surface of the product (S2: uniaxial stretching and shaping step).

(18) Herein, to attach the film 14 to the surface of the product, a bonding layer may be provided on the film 14 in advance, or a bonding layer (agent) may be formed on the surface of the product through coating or the like.

(19) Next, the instrument panel 10 having the film 14 attached thereto is put in a drying furnace or the like so that the attached film 14 is dried and fixed (S3: drying step).

(20) Then, a coating layer 13 for protecting the polarizing layer 12, preventing scratching thereon, and preventing surface reflection, for example, is formed on the surface of the dried film 14 (that is, the polarizing layer 12) through spray coating or the like (S4: coating layer forming step), and the instrument panel 10 having the coating layer 13 formed thereon is put in a drying furnace or the like so that the coating layer 13 is dried and fixed (S5: drying step).

(21) Through the aforementioned steps, the instrument panel 10 is produced that has formed on the surface of the glossy portion 11 the polarizing layer 12 for absorbing optical oscillation components in the vehicle width direction and the coating layer 13 for protecting the polarizing layer 12, for example.

(22) With the conventional production method, it has been difficult to provide a polarizing property to a member having a complex shape with a number of projections and recesses, such as an automobile component (that is, the flexibility in shape has been low). In contrast, according to the production method of this example, since the film 14 can be deformed in keeping with the shape of a target member, the film 14 can be provided with a polarizing property even when the member has a complex shape (that is, the film 14 can be formed as a polarizing member), and thus the flexibility in shape can be significantly improved.

(23) As described above, in this embodiment, the polarizing layer 12 provided on the surface of the glossy portion 11 absorbs s-polarized light (optical oscillation components of the incident sunlight in the vehicle width direction), and passes p-polarized light therethrough. Therefore, the glossy portion 11 reflects only p-polarized light. Since the p-polarized light (optical oscillation components of the incident sunlight in the vehicle length direction) is the optical oscillation components perpendicular to the windshield 5, the Brewster's angle at which no reflection occurs is present, and thus reflection can be reduced (if s-polarized light is present, there will be no Brewster's angle, and thus reflection tends to become stronger). Therefore, light coming through the windshield 5 and reflected by the glossy portion 11 is not reflected much by the inner surface of the windshield, which can reduce a feeling of discomfort to passengers, such as a driver. Therefore, a burden for the passengers caused by reflected light generated due to a mirror phenomenon and the like can be reduced while at the same time the design can be enhanced.

(24) It should be noted that the aforementioned embodiment has mainly illustrated an example in which, in the vehicle 1 having the instrument panel 10, which is an interior member arranged in the front part of the vehicle 1, and the windshield 5 with a portion overlapping the instrument panel 10 in the vertical direction, the polarizing layer 12 is provided on the surface of the glossy portion 11 on the instrument panel 10, whereby reflection by the windshield 5 (or the inner surface thereof) (mirror-like reflection or reflection in the window) is suppressed. However, it is needless to mention that the present disclosure is also applicable to, in a vehicle having a rear window, a roof window, and the like, an interior member provided at a position overlapping the rear window, the roof window, or the like in the vertical direction.

(25) Although the embodiments of the present disclosure have been described in detail with reference to the drawings, a specific configuration is not limited thereto, and any design changes that are within the spirit and scope of the present disclosure are all included in the present disclosure.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS

(26) 1 Vehicle 5 Windshield (glass) 10 Instrument panel (interior member, polarizing member) 11 Glossy portion 12 Polarizing layer 13 Coating layer 14 Film