Headliner assembly for a vehicle and a vehicle system using the same

• US 10,137,854 B2
• Filed: 03/01/2017
• Issued: 11/27/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 04/07/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC (Ford Motor Company)
• Original Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC (Ford Motor Company)
• Inventors: Shen, Kevin, Liu, Alvin, Forgette, Paul Alan, Jin, Xuezhi
• Primary Examiner(s): Condra, Darlene P
• Application Number:
  US15/446,257
• Publication Number:
  US 20170291568A1
• Time in Patent Office: 636 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 13/0212 Roof or head liners movable head-liners B60J7/0007
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2013/0287 integrating other functions or accessories
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/214 in roof panels
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/23138 specially adapted for side protection B60R21/23184, B60R21/232 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/232 Curtain-type airbags deploying mainly in a vertical direction from their top edge

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a headliner assembly for a vehicle. The headliner assembly includes a base panel and a cover layer disposed below the base panel. The base panel includes an edge in a length direction of the vehicle and a portion adjacent to the edge and having a plurality of notches. The cover layer has an edge extending beyond the edge of the base panel.

Claims

1. A headliner assembly for a vehicle, comprising:

a base panel having an edge in a length direction of the vehicle and a portion adjacent to the edge and having a plurality of notches, wherein the portion is configured such that the plurality of notches are partially overlapped with a side trim of the vehicle at an assembled position in the vehicle; and

a cover layer disposed below the base panel in a height direction of the vehicle, wherein the cover layer has an edge extending beyond the edge of the base panel.

2. The headliner assembly of claim 1, wherein the edge of the cover layer extends beyond the edge of the base panel by a distance of about 1 mm to about 3 mm in a width direction of the vehicle.

3. The headliner assembly of claim 1, wherein one of the notches has a shape selected from one of V-shape, rectangle, semi-circle, trapezoid, and any combinations thereof.

4. The headliner assembly of claim 1, wherein one of the notches has a depth of about 2 mm to about 8 mm.

5. The headliner assembly of claim 1, wherein the cover layer is attached to a bottom surface of the base panel via adhesives.

6. The headliner assembly of claim 1, wherein the base panel is formed with polymer foam material and the cover layer is formed with fabric.

7. A vehicle system comprising:

a base panel disposed on a top of a vehicle, wherein the base panel includes an edge in a length direction of the vehicle and a first portion adjacent to the edge and having a plurality of notches;

a cover layer disposed below the base panel in a height direction of the vehicle and having an edge extending beyond the edge of the base panel in a width direction of the vehicle; and

a first side trim has an upper end corresponding to the first portion of the base panel and contacting a bottom surface of the cover layer to form interference fit with the base panel and the cover layer,

wherein the upper end of the first side trim at least partially overlaps with the notches of the base panel in the width direction.

8. The vehicle system of claim 7, wherein the first portion of the base panel has a length substantially smaller than, equal to, or greater than that of the first side trim in the length direction.

9. The vehicle system of claim 7, wherein a distance between an outer edge of the upper end of the first side trim and an outer edge of the cover layer is about 3 mm to about 10 mm.

10. The vehicle system of claim 7, wherein the upper end of the first side trim has a greater surface roughness than remaining portions of the first side trim.

11. The vehicle system of claim 7, furthering comprising an airbag disposed above the base panel in the height direction and adjacent to the edge of the base panel, and the airbag is configured to be inflated in a working state and deployed from a gap formed between the edge of the base panel and the upper end of the first side trim upon a side impact collision.

12. The vehicle system of claim 11, wherein the airbag is a curtain airbag.

13. The vehicle system of claim 7, wherein the first side trim is a front or rear pillar trim of the vehicle.

14. The vehicle system of claim 13, further comprising a second side trim of the vehicle, wherein the base panel further has a second portion adjacent to the edge in the length direction and having a plurality of notches, the second side trim has an upper end corresponding to the second portion of the base panel and contacting the bottom surface of the cover layer to form interference fit with the base panel and the cover layer, and wherein the second side trim is a middle pillar trim of the vehicle.

15. A method for preparing a headliner assembly for a vehicle, comprising:

providing a base panel and a cover layer;

cutting an edge of the base panel to form a new edge such that the cover layer has an edge extending beyond the new edge of the base panel; and

forming a plurality of notches in a portion of the new edge of the base panel, wherein the plurality of notches are in the portion corresponding to a side trim of the vehicle.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein

forming the plurality of notches includes cutting the new edge of the base panel to form the plurality of notches.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein cutting the edge of the base panel and cutting the new edge of the base panel to form the plurality of notches are performed with one single cutting step.

18. The method of claim 15, wherein the cutting is performed by a water cutting process.

19. The method of claim 15, wherein providing the cover layer comprises attaching the cover layer to a surface of the base panel via adhesives or connecting the base panel and the cover layer together via press molding.