Abstract:
The present teachings can provide for a golf car including: a front body; a rear body; a roof suspended above at least a portion of each of the front body and the rear body; an instrument panel mounted to the front body, the instrument panel having an outer surface facing the roof; a aperture in the outer surface of the instrument panel; and a roof strut extending from the roof and passing through the aperture.

Description:
FIELD 
     The present disclosure relates to a method and apparatus for a golf car. 
     BACKGROUND 
     The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art. 
     Golf cars can be provided with a roof that can cover a portion of the golf car to shelter passengers from rain, sun, etc. The roof can include roof struts mounted to a front body of the car and to a rear body of the car to support the roof. The roof struts mounted to the front body of the car are often mounted to opposite exterior side surfaces of the front body. The roof struts protrude from the sides of the car and add to the width of the car. While such roof struts, and such a mounting configuration for the roof struts, are suitable for their intended uses, they are subject to improvement. 
     SUMMARY 
     The present teachings can provide for a golf car including: a front body; a rear body; a roof suspended above at least a portion of each of the front body and the rear body; an instrument panel mounted to the front body, the instrument panel having an outer surface facing the roof; a aperture in the outer surface of the instrument panel; and a roof strut extending from the roof and passing through the aperture. 
     The present teachings can further provide for a golf car including: an instrument panel; an opening in the instrument panel; a roof; a roof support strut extending from the roof and through the opening; and a trim collar positioned in the opening and surrounding the support strut. 
     The present teachings can also provide for a golf car including: an instrument panel; an aperture positioned within an outer surface of the instrument panel to receive a roof support strut; and a rubber trim piece seated within the aperture. 
     Further areas of applicability will become apparent from the description provided herein. It should be understood that the description and specific examples are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. 
    
    
     
       DRAWINGS 
       The drawings described herein are for illustration purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure in any way. 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a golf car according to the present teachings; 
         FIG. 2  is a close-up perspective view of a front body of the golf car illustrating an instrument panel having an aperture and a first trim piece in the aperture; 
         FIG. 3  is a top perspective view of the first trim piece; 
         FIG. 4  is bottom perspective view of the first trim piece; 
         FIG. 5  is a close-up view of the front body of the golf car illustrating a second trim piece completely covering the aperture; 
         FIG. 6  is a top perspective view of the second trim piece of  FIG. 5 ; and 
         FIG. 7  is a side perspective view of the second trim piece of  FIG. 5 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The following description is merely exemplary in nature and is in no way intended to limit the present disclosure, application, or uses. Throughout this specification, like reference numerals will be used to refer to like elements. 
     A golf car according to the present teachings is illustrated in  FIG. 1  at reference numeral  10 . The golf car  10  can include a front end  12  and a rear end  14 . The front end  12  can include a front body  16  and the rear end  14  can include a rear body  18 . The car  10  can further include a roof  20 . 
     With continued reference to  FIG. 1  and additional reference to  FIG. 2 , the front body  16  can include an instrument panel  22 . The instrument panel  22  can include a first aperture  24 , a second aperture  26 , and an instrument panel (IP) trim portion  28  ( FIG. 2 ), which can include an outer surface  29  that can face the roof  20 . The first aperture  24  can be located within the outer surface  29  of the instrument panel  22  at a driver&#39;s side of the car  10 . The second aperture  26  can be located within the outer surface  29  of the instrument panel  22  at a passenger&#39;s side of the car  10 . 
     The first aperture  24  and the second aperture  26  can be at least substantially identical. The portions of the outer surface  29  of the instrument panel  22  that the first and the second apertures  24  and  26  can be formed in can be curved. The first and the second apertures  24  and  26  can have a generally square or generally parallelogram shape. 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 2 , the IP trim portion  28  can extend along a portion of the instrument panel  22  that faces the rear end  14  of the car  10 . The IP trim  28  can also extend to the outer surface  29  of the instrument panel  22 . The IP trim  28  can be made of any suitable material, such as a suitable polymer. 
     The roof  20  can include a number of supports or struts to support the roof  20 . Specifically, the roof  20  can include a first front strut  30 , a second front strut  32 , and two rear struts  34  (a single rear strut  34  is illustrated). The first front strut  30  extends between the roof  20  and the driver&#39;s side of the instrument panel  22 . The first strut  30  extends through the first aperture  24  and can be mounted within the front body  16 . The second strut  32  extends between the roof  20  and the passenger&#39;s side of the instrument panel  22 . The second strut  32  extends through the second aperture  26  and can be mounted within the front body  16 . The rear struts  34  are mounted to the rear body  18  in any suitable manner known in the art. 
     A first trim piece or grommet  36  can be seated within the first aperture  24  and a second trim piece or grommet  38  can be seated within the second aperture  26 . The first grommet  36  can be substantially similar to the second grommet  38 . Therefore, the below description of the first grommet  36  can equally apply to the second grommet  38 . 
     With additional reference to  FIGS. 3 and 4 , the first grommet  36  can include an upper surface  40 , a lower surface  42 , an opening  44 , a lower flange  46 , and a lip  48 . The upper surface  40  can be opposite the lower surface  42 . The opening  44  can extend from the upper surface  40  to the lower surface  42 . The lower flange  46  can extend from the lower surface  42 . The lower flange  46  can extend around the opening  44  and the opening  44  can extend through the lower flange  46 . The lip  48  can be planar with the upper surface  40  and can be spaced apart from the lower surface  42  such that the distance from the upper surface  40  to the lower surface  42  can be greater than the thickness of the lip  48 . 
     The first grommet  36  can be made of any suitable material. For example, the first grommet  36  can be made from a rubber material, such as ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM) rubber, styrene butadiene rubber (SBR), natural rubber, and rubberized polymers. The first grommet  36  can also be made of silicone. The first grommet  36  can be of any suitable size or shape that permits it to be inserted within the first aperture  24 . For example, the first grommet  36  can generally be a collar having a generally square or parallelogram shape. 
     With renewed reference to  FIG. 2 , the first grommet  36  can be seated within the first aperture  24  such that the upper surface  40  is exposed at the outer surface  29  of the instrument panel  22  and the lower surface  42  is recessed within the first aperture  24 . The lower flange  46  can also extend within the first aperture  24 . The lip  48  can be seated on the outer surface  29  of the instrument panel  22 . The first grommet  36  can be orientated so that the lip  48  is positioned between the first aperture  24  and the IP trim portion  28 . The lip  48  can serve as a handle to facilitate insertion and removal of the first grommet  36  from within the first aperture  24 . 
     The first front strut  30  extends through the opening  44  of the first grommet  36  when the first grommet  36  is seated within the first aperture  24 . The first grommet  36  can completely surround the first front strut  30 . The first grommet  36  can be secured to the first front strut  30  through a friction fit between the opening  44  and the first front strut  30 . The friction fit between the opening  44  and the strut  30  can also maintain the first grommet  36  in the first aperture. The first grommet  36  can also engage the first aperture  24  via a friction fit to further secure the first grommet  36  in the first aperture  24 . 
     The second grommet  38  can be mounted to the second strut  32  and within the second aperture  26  in the same way that the first grommet  36  is mounted to the first strut  30  and within the first aperture  24 . 
     With additional reference to  FIG. 5 , in some applications the roof  20  of the golf car  10  can be removed along with the front and rear support struts  30 ,  32 , and  34  and the first and second grommets  36  and  38 . In such applications, the first aperture  24  can be covered with a second trim piece or cover  50 . The second aperture  26  can also be covered with a cover (not shown) that can be similar to the cover  50 . 
     With additional reference to  FIGS. 6 and 7 , the cover  50  can include a top surface  52  and a bottom surface  54 . The top surface  52  can be opposite to the bottom surface  54 . The top surface  52  can include one or more ridges  56  that can extend across the top surface  52 . The bottom surface  54  can include a cover flange  58  that can extend from the bottom surface  54 . The cover flange  58  can include a rim  60  that can be spaced apart from the bottom surface  54 . The rim  60  can be an annular rim that can extend around a circumference of the cover flange  58 . 
     The cover  50  can be any suitable shape and size operable to cover the first aperture  24 . The cover  50  can be made of any suitable material, such as EPDM rubber. 
     The cover  50  can be secured within the first aperture  24  to provide the first aperture  24  with a cover or lid. The cover  50  can be positioned within the aperture  24  such that the cover flange  58  is seated within the first aperture  24  and the bottom surface  54  rests on the outer surface  29  of the instrument panel  22 . The cover  50  can be further positioned so that a perimeter edge of the first aperture  24  can be between the bottom surface  54  and the rim  60  of the cover flange  58  to secure the cover  50  within the first aperture  24 . In applications where the cover  50  is made of rubber, the cover flange  58  can be easily compressed to allow the cover  50  to be inserted in and removed from the first aperture  24 . 
     Mounting the front struts  30  and  32  within the first and second apertures  24  and  26  increases the usable width of the golf car  10  as compared to conventional golf cars in which the front struts  30  and  32  are mounted to the exterior sides of the car. For example, golf cars are often made to an optimum overall width to facilitate storage and transportation, which for conventional golf cars includes width added by roof struts that protrude from the sides of the car  10 . The width added by the struts is not desirable because it cannot be used by the operator or passenger of the car. By moving the struts  30  and  32  inboard so that they extend through the apertures  24  and  26  respectively, the present teachings permit the usable width of the car  10  to be increased by the width of the struts without increasing the overall width of the car  10  as compared to conventional cars. 
     The description herein is merely exemplary in nature and, thus, variations that do not depart from the gist of that which is described are intended to be within the scope of the disclosure. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the disclosure.