Assembly For A Vehicle

Abstract

An assembly for a vehicle comprising a crossmember, which is provided for connecting to two pillars lying opposite each other with respect to the x-y plane of the vehicle; a mounting that is connected to the crossmember, protrudes therefrom in the radial direction, and has two mounts, which are mutually spaced in the y direction, and end-face connection means; and a panel-shaped instrument which is connected to the connection means of the mounting at a distance to the upper closure thereof and which is held such that the operating surface of the instrument faces the passenger compartment of the vehicle in the x direction. Each of the two mounts is designed in the form of a half shell which are arranged such that the opening side thereof faces in the y direction, wherein the two limbs of the mounts designed as half shells are arranged on the x-y plane, the web connecting said limbs is arranged on the y-z plane, and each of the mounts has at least one predetermined bending point, which is provided by the geometry of the mount, between the two connection points of the mount, said mounts bending at the predetermined bending point in the z and/or y direction in the event of a load (x direction).

Claims

1-13. (canceled)

14. An assembly for a vehicle, comprising: a crossmember for connecting to two pillars lying opposite each other with respect to the x-z plane of the vehicle, a mounting connected to the crossmember and protruding therefrom in a radial direction, the mounting comprising two mounts, which are spaced apart from one another in the y direction, and end-face connection means, and a panel-shaped instrument connected to the connection means of the mounting at a distance from an upper end of the panel-shaped instrument, wherein the panel-shaped instrument is mounted such that a user interface of the instrument faces in the x direction into a passenger compartment of the vehicle, wherein each of the two mounts is designed in the form of a half shell which are arranged such that an opening side thereof faces in the y direction, wherein each half shell has two limbs connected by a web, with the two limbs arranged on the x-y plane and the web arranged on the y-z plane, and wherein each of the mounts has at least one predetermined bending point, which is provided by a geometry of the mount, between the two connection sections of the mount, the mounts configured to bend at the predetermined bending point in the z and/or y direction in the event of a load in the x direction.

15. The assembly of claim 14, wherein the mounts each have a predetermined bending point at which the mounts bend in the z direction under load in the x direction.

16. The assembly of claim 14, wherein the mounts each have a predetermined bending point at which the mounts bend in the y direction under load in the x direction.

17. The assembly of claim 16, wherein the mounts in a projection thereof in the x-y plane have a flexure pointing in the y direction with an offset such that two mount sections offset from one another by the flexure do not overlap in the alignment of their longitudinal extension in the y direction.

18. The assembly of claim 17, wherein the mount sections carrying the connection means for the panel-shaped instrument are inclined against the offset direction of the flexure.

19. The assembly of claim 18, wherein the angle of inclination is between 12° and 18°.

20. The assembly of claim 14, wherein, to form a predetermined bending point at which a mount bends in the z direction in the event of load in the x direction, the mount has a section that is concave in the direction of its longitudinal extension with an apex axis which extends in the y direction.

21. The assembly of claim 14, wherein, due to the geometry in the design of the mounts, the mounts have a higher flexural rigidity at a distance from the at least one predetermined bending point in the direction of their crossmember connection than in a region of a predetermined bending point.

22. The assembly of claim 21, wherein, to increase the flexural rigidity of the mounts, a width of the limbs located in the x-y plane increases in the direction of the crossmember connection.

23. The assembly of claim 14, wherein a height of the web connecting the limbs of the half shell is reduced adjacent the two connection sections of the mounts in comparison to mount sections located therebetween.

24. The assembly of claim 23, wherein the height of the web is reduced by a flexure of the upper limb of the mounts introduced in the y-z plane.

25. The assembly of claim 14, wherein the lower limbs of the mounts located in the x-y plane each carry a press-in nut on an outside thereof as connection means for fixing a fastening bolt, and a shaft of the fastening bolt extends through a passage in the upper limb located in the x-y plane and a connecting part of the panel-shaped instrument arranged between the upper and lower limbs of the mount located in the x-y plane.

26. The assembly of claim 14, wherein the mounts are produced as stamped and bent parts from a steel plate.

27. The assembly of claim 14, wherein the panel-shaped instrument is a display.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0022] The present disclosure is described hereinafter on the basis of an example embodiment with reference to the appended figures, wherein:

[0023] FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of an assembly for a vehicle comprising a crossmember and a display connected thereon by means of a mounting,

[0024] FIG. 2 shows a side view of the left mount of the mounting in FIG. 1,

[0025] FIG. 3 shows a top view of the mount of FIG. 2,

[0026] FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of the mount of the preceding figures, and

[0027] FIG. 5 shows a perspective view of the mount of the preceding figures from a different perspective.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0028] An assembly 1 for a vehicle comprises a dashboard crossmember 2, only a portion of which is shown in FIG. 1. For the sake of simplicity, the crossmember 2 is embodied as a tube in the figure. It can also have other cross-sectional geometries, and can also be assembled from, for example, two shells to create the hollow chamber profile desired for such a crossmember. In addition to the crossmember 2, the assembly 1 includes a mounting 3. This has two mounts 4, 4.1. The two mounts 4, 4.1 are formed mirror-symmetrical to the y-z plane. The mounts 4, 4.1 are connected at one end to the crossmember 2, specifically by a welded bond. The welded bond follows the contour of the mount 4, 4.1 on the outside. Both the crossmember 2 and the mounts 4, 4.1 are steel parts. The mounts 4, 4.1 are arranged at a distance from one another in the y direction. At their end opposite to the crossmember 2, the mounts 4, 4.1 of the mounting 3 are connected to the rear side of a display 5 as an example of a panel-shaped instrument. As can be seen in FIG. 1, the mounts 4, 4.1 are connected to the display 5 in its lower half at a small distance from the lower end. The display 5 is thus connected to the mounting 3 off-center in the vertical direction (z direction). The distance of the mounts 4, 4.1 in the z direction from the upper end 6 of the display 5 is significantly greater than the distance of the mounts 4, 4.1 from its lower end 7.

[0029] As explained below with reference to the mount 4, the mounts 4, 4.1 have predetermined bending points so that when an acceleration acts on the upper end 6 of the display 5, for example due to the impact of the head of an occupant, the display 5 bends with its upper end 6 in the direction of the crossmember 2 to avoid or reduce a risk of injury. If an impact on the display 5 from the direction of the passenger compartment, in which its user interface faces, acts less as a tilting load, which couples a bending moment into the respective mount, but more as a load in the x direction over the height of the display 5, the mounts 4, 4.1 bend, due to which the distance between the display 5 and the crossmember 2 is reduced. The mounts 4, 4.1 are thus used for energy absorption and are designed so that they do not break in case of bending.

[0030] The mounts 4, 4.1 are spaced apart relatively far apart from one another in the y direction with respect to the extension of the display 5 in this direction and are only connected to the lateral end of the display 5 facing in the y direction at a small distance from this lateral end. The mounts 4, 4.1 protrude from the crossmember 2 in the x direction.

[0031] The following explanations, in which the mount 4 is described, apply equally to the mount 4.1, which is mirror-symmetrical to the mount 4.

[0032] The mount 4 is designed as a half shell and has an upper limb 8 and a lower limb 9 spaced apart from this in the z direction. The two limbs 8, 9 are connected to one another by a web 10. In the illustrated example embodiment, no passages are introduced into the web 10. The two limbs 8, 9 are located in the x-y plane. The web 10 connecting the limbs 8, 9 is located in the y-z plane. The limbs 8, 9 border on the web 10, forming a radius. The radius is a result of the production process of the mount 4, which is manufactured as a stamped and bent part produced from a steel plate. The horizontally lying limbs 8, 9 are widened in their end section on the connection side 10 to which the display 5 is connected (see FIGS. 3 and 4) so that they can be equipped with connection means in order to be able to connect the display 5 thereon. In the example embodiment shown, these connecting means are circular passages 12, 12.1 for passing through a screw fastener (not shown in the figures). As can be seen from FIG. 5, a press-in nut 13 is connected to the lower side of the relevant widening of the lower limb 9, in the internal thread of which a screw fastener can be fixed, wherein the shaft thereof reaches through the passage 12 of the upper limb 8 and a connection part 14 of the display 5.

[0033] The geometry of the mount 4 is designed so that it has a first predetermined bending point S.sub.1 through which the mount 4 bends in the z direction when an accident-related acceleration acts on the upper end 6 of the display 5, as indicated by the arrow in FIG. 2. The predetermined bending point S.sub.1 is provided by a concave section 15 of the course of its upper limb 8. The concave design can be seen in the side view of FIG. 2 by the spatial position of the upper limb 8 changing in the x direction. When the mount 4 bends, the crossmember 2 lying behind the predetermined bending point S.sub.1 in the x direction with respect to the direction of impact acts as a buttress. In the mount section providing the crossmember connection 16, the limbs 8, 9 have a greater width (see FIGS. 3 and 4), which width decreases in the direction of the predetermined bending point S.sub.1 along a curved contour. Due to the increased width of the limbs 8, 9, the joint surface for joining the mount 4 to the crossmember 2 is enlarged on the one hand. At the same time, this increases the higher flexural rigidity of the mount 4 in the region of its crossmember connection 16 to define the predetermined bending point S.sub.1, at which the connection-side mount section bends in or out in relation to the other mount section for energy absorption. The concave section 15 of the mount 4 in its upper limb 8, in the apex of which the predetermined bending point S.sub.1 is located, is provided in the illustrated example embodiment by a transition of the inclination of the mount 4 in its section having the crossmember connection 16 in comparison to the inclination of the mount section having the connection side 11. As can be seen from the side view in FIG. 2, these two mount sections are arranged in a V-shape relative to one another, due to which the bending direction is predetermined upwards in the z direction. In this respect, this geometry of the mount 4 provides a specification with regard to the definition of the bending direction (z direction). The bending axis of the predetermined bending point S.sub.1 extends in the y direction.

[0034] As can be seen from the top view in FIG. 3, the mount 4 is curved in an S-shape in the x-y plane, as a result of which a flexure is formed. The offset of the flexure faces in the y direction. In the alignment (x direction) of the mount sections offset in relation to one another by the flexure, they do not overlap. This geometry provides a predetermined bending point S.sub.2 in the mount 4, in which the mount 4 bends in the y direction when the display 5 is subjected to a corresponding force in the x direction toward the crossbeam 2. The bending axis of this predetermined bending point S.sub.2 extends in the z direction.

[0035] The crossmember connection-side mount section adjoins the crossmember 2 at right angles in the y-z plane. The connection-side mount section spaced apart from this mount section by the predetermined bending point S.sub.2 is inclined in relation to this connection direction, specifically in the example embodiment shown at an angle α of approximately 14°. This inclination, which is provided against the offset direction of the flexure, is used as a specification for activating the predetermined bending point S.sub.2.

[0036] The mount 4 thus has predetermined bending points S.sub.1, S.sub.2, by means of which it can bend in two directions for energy absorption.

[0037] In the case of the mount 4, the height of the web 10 is reduced in the transition to the end sections which are widened with respect to its limbs 8, 9 (see in particular FIG. 2). In the example embodiment shown, this reduction in height takes place exclusively in the region of the upper limb 8 of the mount 4 in the form of a flexure. This flexure, which is executed on a short distance, has a stiffening effect, so that the force coupled into the mount 4 via the display 5 is passed on to the predetermined bending points S.sub.1, S.sub.2. In the region of the crossmember connection 16, this flexure, which is designed in the manner of a cranked portion, also has the effect of displacing the actual buttress in the direction toward the predetermined bending points S.sub.1, S.sub.2.

[0038] The mount 4 divided into its two mount sections by the two predetermined bending points S.sub.1, S.sub.2 is designed such that the mount section having the crossmember connection 16 is the shorter mount section. As a result, the lever exerted on the predetermined bending points S.sub.1, S.sub.2 by the instrument connection-side mount section is correspondingly greater.

[0039] With this concept, the forces required for bending can be adjusted to the respective vehicle-related application, for example by appropriate adaptation of the width of the limbs 8, 9, the specification provided by the flexure, or the height of the web 10, to name only the major influencing variables. Therefore, the mounts 4, 4.1 of the mounting 3 can be adjusted very exactly to the forces to be absorbed in case of an accident. The use of two mounts 4, 4.1 also allows them to be designed differently in terms of their crash performance, for example because the driver-side mount is located behind the steering wheel in the x direction and a different crash performance is therefore desired on this side of the display than that on the passenger end of the display.

[0040] The mounts 4, 4.1 of the assembly 1 have a relatively small height on the instrument connection side. In conjunction with the connection of the mounts 4, 4.1 in the region of the lower end 7 of the display 5, this provides a relatively large lever, using which the display 5 is adjusted in the region of its upper end 6 in the event of an accident-related acceleration load.

[0041] The above-described design of the mounts 4, 4.1 of the mounting 3 makes it clear that a tensile force acting on the upper end 6 of the display 5 does not result in a deformation of the mounts 4, 4.1, at least not with a force which is coupled into the displayed 5 in the event of a misuse by using the upper end 6 of the display 5 as a handle to stand up.

[0042] The mounts described in the example embodiment with reference to the figures are produced from a steel plate. It is obvious that other materials, such as aluminum alloys, can also be used instead of this material. The use of non-metallic materials is of course also possible.

[0043] The invention has been described on the basis of an example embodiment with reference to the figures. Without departing the scope of the claims, numerous further design options result for a person skilled in the art, without having to explain or show them in greater detail in the context of this disclosure.

LIST OF REFERENCE SIGNS

[0044] 1 assembly [0045] 2 dashboard crossmember [0046] 3 mounting [0047] 4, 4.1 mount [0048] 5 display [0049] 6 upper end [0050] 7 lower end [0051] 8 upper limb [0052] 9 lower limb [0053] 10 web [0054] 11 connection side [0055] 12, 12.1 passage [0056] 13 press-in nut [0057] 14 connection part [0058] 15 concave section [0059] 16 crossmember connection [0060] α angle