Interior trim article-mounting structure of vehicle equipped with head protection airbag apparatus

• US 7,871,103 B2
• Filed: 09/06/2007
• Issued: 01/18/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 09/08/2006
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Torii, Nobuyuki
• Primary Examiner(s): Dickson; Paul N
• Assistant Examiner(s): ENGLISH, JAMES A
• Application Number:
  US12/280,807
• Publication Number:
  US 20090206580A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,230 Days
• Field of Search: 280/728.2, 280/730.2, 280/733, 280/728.3, 244/57, 244/58, 296/1.02, 296/214
• US Class Current: 280/728.2
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/213 in vehicle roof frames or pillars
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 7/10 for supporting hats, clothes or clothes hangers
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 24/44017 with specific mounting means for attaching to rigid or semirigid supporting structure or structure-to-be-secured

Abstract

A bezel (44) of a coat hook-equipped roof side register (42) is fixed by fastening, at the coat hook main body portion (50) side, to a mount bracket (76) on a body side by a mount bolt (72), and is elastically engaged, at a louver (84) side, with a mount bracket (108) on the body side by an engaging member (106). Furthermore, a first end portion (110A) of a strap (110) is fixed to the bezel (44) by a screw (114). A second end portion (110B) of the strap (110) is fastened together with the coat hook main body portion (50) to the mount bracket (76) by the mount bolt (72).

Claims

1. An interior trim article-mounting structure for a vehicle equipped with a head protection airbag apparatus that includes an inflator disposed at a predetermined position in the vehicle, and an airbag at least a portion of which is housed in a folded state between a roof side rail and a terminal end portion of a headliner, and which, when supplied with gas from the inflator, inflates and deploys downward of the roof side rail, pushing open the terminal end portion of the headliner toward an inner side relative to a vehicle compartment, the interior trim article-mounting structure comprising:

an interior trim article including a main body portion fixed by junction to the roof side rail, and a bezel fixed to at least one of the main body portion and the roof side rail by an engagement that uses an elastically deformable claw;

an opening portion formed in the terminal end portion of the headliner so that the interior trim article is mounted to the opening portion, wherein when the interior trim article is set in the terminal end portion of the headliner, a predetermined amount of a periphery portion of the bezel is latched on a periphery portion of the opening portion;

a linking member which links the bezel and one of the main body portion and the roof side rail, and which is elongated, and whose intermediate portion has a surplus length portion; and

a bundling member that bundles the surplus length portion, and that breaks when a load of a predetermined value or greater is input at a time of inflation and deployment of the airbag.

2. The interior trim article-mounting structure for the vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the main body portion is fixed to the roof side rail by fastening.

3. The interior trim article-mounting structure for the vehicle according to claim 1, wherein an end portion of the linking member which is opposite from a bezel side is fastened together with the main body portion of the interior trim article when the main body portion is fixed by fastening to the roof side rail.

4. The interior trim article-mounting structure for the vehicle according to claim 1, wherein an end portion of the linking member which is opposite from a bezel side is fixed to the roof side rail.

5. The interior trim article-mounting structure for the vehicle according to claim 1, wherein an end portion of the linking member which is opposite from a bezel side is fixed to the main body portion of the interior trim article.

6. The interior trim article-mounting structure for the vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the bezel and the main body portion are fixed by engagement between an engaging protrusion provided in one of the bezel and the main body portion and an engaging hole provided in another one of the bezel and the main body portion.

7. The interior trim article-mounting structure for the vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the bezel of the interior trim article and the roof side rail are fixed by engagement between an engaging member, which is provided in one of the bezel and the roof side rail and which is constructed of a leaf spring, and a bracket provided in another one of the bezel and the roof side rail.

8. The interior trim article-mounting structure for the vehicle according to claim 1, wherein an entire length of the linking member is set to be greater than a distance between a fixture position of a first end portion of the linking member and a fixture position of a second end portion of the linking member in a mounted state where the linking member is mounted on the interior trim article, and the surplus length portion is a slack portion of the linking member that occurs in the mounted state.

9. The interior trim article-mounting structure for the vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the surplus length portion is repeatedly folded at a predetermined length, and folded portions of the surplus length portion are bundled by the bundling member.

10. The interior trim article-mounting structure for the vehicle according to claim 1, wherein two end portions of the linking member are fixed to the main body portion and the bezel before the main body portion is fixed to the roof side rail.

11. The interior trim article-mounting structure for the vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the interior trim article is a coat hook-equipped roof side register.

12. The interior trim article-mounting structure for the vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the interior trim article is a coat hook.