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EP-4527697-B1 - TRIM ELEMENT COMPRISING A GUIDING DEVICE FOR AN AIRBAG, SAID GUIDING DEVICE COMPRISING AN OVERMOLDED STRUCTURE

EP4527697B1EP 4527697 B1EP4527697 B1EP 4527697B1EP-4527697-B1

Inventors

  • DIESTRE, Angel
  • MACIAS, Ferran
  • OLMEDO HERNANDEZ, Miguel
  • ONORATO ESTEVEZ, David
  • ASENSIO, David

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20230921

Claims (10)

  1. -Trim element (1) for a vehicle, comprising a body (2), defining an outer face (6), intended to be turned towards the vehicle interior, and an inner face (8), opposite the outer face, and at least one guiding device (4) for the deployment of a vehicle airbag, said guiding device (4) being integral with the body (2) and comprising at least one transversal wall (10) protruding from the inner face (8) of the body (2), said transversal wall (10) delimiting at least part of an inner volume (16) for receiving an airbag during its deployment and defining at least part of an upper opening (20) for the passage of the deployed airbag, said guiding device (4) further comprising at least one flap (12) connected to the transversal wall (10) by a hinge (14), said flap (12) being movable relative to said transversal wall (10) between a closed position, wherein the flap (12) closes at least a part of the upper opening (20), and an opened position, wherein the flap (12) frees at least a part of the passage for the deployed airbag, characterized in that the guiding device (4) comprises an overmolded structure (32) comprising at least one transversal wall portion (34) extending in the thickness of at least part of the transversal wall (10) and at least one flap portion (36) extending in the thickness of at least part of the flap (12), said overmolded structure (32) being overmolded by the material of the body (2), the guiding device (4) further comprising at least one net (22), comprising one end (24) overmolded by at least part of the transversal wall portion (34) of the overmolded structure (32) and one central portion overmolded by at least part of the flap portion (36) of the overmolded structure (32),a portion of the net (22) extending between the end (24) of the net (22) and the central portion of the net (22) forming the hinge (14) of the guiding device (4).
  2. - Trim element according to claim 1, wherein the guiding device (4) comprises two transversal walls (10) extending on either side of the inner volume (16), the overmolded structure (32) comprising two transversal wall portions (34), each transversal wall portion (34) extending in the thickness of one of the two transversal walls (10) of the guiding device (4).
  3. - Trim element according to claim 2, wherein the guiding device (4) comprises two flaps (12), closing together the upper opening (20) in the closed position and freeing together the passage for the deployed airbag in the opened position, each flap (12) being connected to one of the transversal walls (10) by a hinge (14), the flap portion (36) of the overmolded structure (32) extending in the thickness of the two flaps (12).
  4. - Trim element according to claim 3, wherein two opposite ends (24) of the net (22) are overmolded by at least part of the transversal wall portions (34) of the overmolded structure (32), the portion of the net (22) extending between the ends (24) and the central portion forming the two hinges (14) between the transversal walls (10) and the flaps (12) of the guiding device (4), the flaps (12) being connected by a tearable portion (28), the central portion of the net (22) and the tearable portion (28) being arranged to break during the deployment of the airbag to allow the two flaps (12) to move between the closed position and the opened position.
  5. - Trim element according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein the guiding device (4) comprises at least two longitudinal walls (18) extending between ends of the transversal walls (10) and delimiting, with said transversal walls (10), the inner volume, the overmolded structure (32) comprising at least two longitudinal wall portions (38), each extending the thickness of at least part of one of the longitudinal walls (18).
  6. - Trim element according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the thickness of the transversal wall (10) of the guiding device (4) is substantially equal to the thickness of the body (2) between the inner face (8) and the outer face (6).
  7. - Trim element according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the material of the overmolded structure (32) is the same material as the material forming the body (2).
  8. - Trim element according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the guiding device (4) comprises at least one screwing shaft (30) for attaching an airbag module to the guiding device (4), the overmolded structure (32) comprising at least one screwing shaft portion (40) forming said screwing shaft (30) and being overmolded at least in part by the material of the body (2).
  9. - Method for producing a trim element according to any one of claims 1 to 8, comprising at least the following steps: - molding an overmolded structure (32) in a first molding cavity having the shape of the overmolded structure, a net (22) being placed in said first molding cavity such that the net (22) is overmolded by the overmolded structure (32) during the molding of the overmolded structure (32), - molding a body (2) in a second molding cavity having the shape of the body (2), the overmolded structure (32) being placed in said second molding cavity such that the overmolded structure (32) is overmolded by the body (2) during the molding of the body (2).
  10. - Method according to claim 9, wherein the first molding cavity and the second molding cavity are parts of the same molding tool, an overmolded structure (32) for a subsequent trim element (1) being produced together with a trim element (1) comprising a previously produced overmolded structure (32).

Description

The present invention relates to a trim element for a vehicle, of the type, comprising a body, defining an outer face, intended to be turned towards the vehicle interior, and an inner face, opposite the outer face, and at least one guiding device for the deployment of a vehicle airbag, said guiding device being integral with the body and comprising at least one transversal wall protruding from the inner face of the body, said transversal wall delimiting at least part of an inner volume for receiving an airbag during its deployment and defining at least part of an upper opening for the passage of the deployed airbag, said guiding device further comprising at least one flap connected to the transversal wall by a hinge, said flap being movable relative to said transversal wall between a closed position, wherein the flap closes at least a part of the upper opening and an opened position, wherein the flap frees at least a part of the passage for the deployed airbag. The invention also relates to a method for producing such a trim element. It is known to provide a trim element for a vehicle interior, such as a dashboard, with a guiding device, also known as a firing channel, arranged to guide the airbag towards the vehicle interior through the body of the trim element when the airbag is inflated and deployed. In order to do so, the guiding device comprises a housing receiving the airbag and forming a channel for guiding the deployment of the airbag trough an upper opening of the housing. The upper opening is closed by one or two flaps which are moved by the airbag towards an opened position when the airbag is deployed. The flaps are therefore hinged to walls of the housing to be movable relative to the housing between the closed position and the opened position. US 2014 375 029 A1 discloses a trim element according to the preamble of claim 1. It is known to produce the body of the trim element and the guiding device in a single part, meaning that the body and the guiding device are integral and made of the same material, for example by injection molding in a molding cavity having the shape of the body and of the guiding device. In this case, the flaps are part of the body and the walls of the housing of the guiding device protrude from an inner face of the body around the flaps. The walls each have a thickness, which is substantially equal or close to the thickness of the body. However, in this case, the injection of material in the molding cavity causes the appearance of sink marks on the outer face of the body opposite the location of the walls on the inner face. These sink marks are particularly problematic when the outer face of the body forms the visible surface of the trim element or when the outer face is directly covered by a skin, for example via a thermocovering process during which the skin adopts the shape of the outer face of the body, i.e. when no foam padding is arranged on the outer face of the body. Indeed, in these cases, the sink marks are clearly visible for the passengers of the vehicle and the aesthetic of the trim element is not satisfactory. One of the aims of the invention is to overcome this drawback by proposing a trim element comprising a guiding device integral with the body of the trim element and having a satisfactory visual appearance. To this end, the invention relates to a trim element of the aforementioned type, wherein the guiding device comprises an overmolded structure comprising at least one transversal wall portion extending in the thickness of at least part of the transversal wall and at least one flap portion extending in the thickness of at least part of the flap, said overmolded structure being overmolded by the material of the body, the guiding device further comprising at least one net, comprising one end overmolded by at least part of the transversal wall portion of the overmolded structure and one central portion overmolded by at least part of the flap portion of the overmolded structure, a portion of the net extending between the end of the net and the central portion of the net forming the hinge of the guiding device. By providing an overmolded structure comprising a transversal wall portion extending in the thickness of the transversal wall of the guiding device, the thickness of the material forming the body and the guiding device is reduced around the transversal wall portion of the overmolded structure. Such a reduction of thickness prevents the formation of sink marks on the outer face of the body opposite the location of the transversal wall. Consequently, the outer face of the body of the trim element according to the invention presents a satisfactory visual appearance and the trim element can be used as such or with a skin directly applied on the outer face of the body to be visible from the vehicle compartment. Furthermore, the overmolded structure facilitates the integration of the net forming the hinge of the flap into the trim element. The trim element