Pivoting instrument panel central stack structure and method for flow-through instrument panel console interface

• US 6,843,521 B1
• Filed: 02/25/2004
• Issued: 01/18/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 02/25/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: GM Global Technology Operations LLC (General Motors Company)
• Original Assignee: General Motors Corporation (General Motors Company)
• Inventors: Oana, Adrian
• Primary Examiner(s): LYJAK, LORI LYNN
• Application Number:
  US10/789,514
• Time in Patent Office: 328 Days
• Field of Search: 296/37.8, 296/37.12, 296/70, 296/73, 296/74, 180/90
• US Class Current: 296/70
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 25/145 having a crossbeam incorporated therein

Abstract

An adjustable instrument panel for a mass assembled vehicle includes a transverse upper support beam which is generally fixed with respect to the vehicle during assembly. A central stack modular structure is pivotably suspended from the upper support beam and adapted to house one or more vehicle options such as a radio, CD, and air conditioning control. The central stack modular structure is combined with a floor console as a unitary structure which has a lower support brace to adjustably connect the unitary structure with respect to the vehicle floor so that the instrument panel can accommodate floor build variations and obtain flow-through with the floor console in vehicles being mass assembled.

Claims

1. An adjustable instrument panel and floor console arrangement for a vehicle comprising:

a fixed portion of the vehicle;

a pivotable unitary portion having an option stack and floor console pivotable with respect to said fixed portion and adjustably suspendable between said fixed portion and a floor of the vehicle; and

an option package supportable on said option stack.

2. The adjustable instrument panel of claim 1, wherein said floor console has a console opening and is adjustably connectable to said vehicle floor when the pivotable unitary portion is adjustably suspended at the floor of the vehicle, and further comprising:

an automatic shifter face plate assembly including a shift rod projecting through the console opening;

an intermediary plate having a slot through which the shifter rod is projectable, said intermediary plate being laterally horizontally floatable to orient said shifter face plate assembly with respect to said console opening;

a top plate having a slot through which the shifter rod is projectable, said top plate being longitudinally horizontally floatable to orient said shifter face plate assembly with respect to said console opening; and

an eccentric cone relatively slidably and rotatably supported on the shifter rod to accommodate any offset of the top plate slot relative to the shifter rod after the plates have floated.

3. An adjustable instrument panel for a vehicle to accommodate floor build variations in vehicle assembly comprising:

fixed panel portions spaced from each other and each having an inboard side edge on a vertical longitudinal slip plane;

an instrument panel beam;

two brackets each attached to the instrument panel beam;

a central stack modular structure pivotable on said brackets with respect to the instrument panel beam and the inboard side edges of the fixed panel portions,

said central stack modular structure defining a compartment with generally parallel sides and including mounting features including holes and slots for attaching one or more of a plurality of options including at least one of a radio, CD, and air conditioning control at least partially within the compartment, wherein at least one of the plurality of options is pivotable with the central stack modular structure;

a pair of braces depending from respective sides of the central stack modular structure, each brace having an upper end adjustably positionable with respect to the central stack modular structure and a lower end adjustably positionable with respect to the floor of the vehicle; and

a floor console having a forward end sufficiently affixable to each brace and said central stack modular structure to form a pivotable unitary structure, and a rearward end of said floor console being connectable to the floor of the vehicle after the unitary structure is pivoted and the forward end of the floor console is affixed;

wherein the central stack modular structure forms a sufficient slip plane gap with respect to the inboard side edges of said fixed panel portions when the central stack modular structure is pivoted so that the gap between each inboard side edge and the central stack modular structure after the unitary structure has pivoted is sufficiently constant to aesthetically accommodate the floor build variations in vehicles being assembled.

4. The adjustable instrument panel of claim 3 including a side service access door on each side of the unitary structure along the respective slip plane gap between said forward end of the floor console base and a respective one of the inboard side edges.

5. The adjustable instrument panel of claim 4 wherein said side service access doors are snappable in place after the unitary structure is pivoted to accommodate said floor build variations and the forward end of the floor console is affixed.

6. The adjustable instrument panel of claim 3 wherein the central stack modular structure includes a trim plate at least partially enclosing at least one of said plurality of options and having a portion at least partially forming such slip plane gap.

7. A method of adjusting an instrument panel and a floor console with respect to a vehicle floor to accommodate floor build variations in vehicle assembly comprising:

forming the instrument panel into two portions;

forming one of said two portions into a unitary structure having an option portion and a floor console portion; and

sufficiently pivoting said one portion with respect to the other portion until the one portion is sufficiently oriented with respect to the vehicle floor to accommodate any variations between instrument panel and the floor of the vehicle during assembly.