Source: http://www.google.com/patents/US7597377?dq=5958006
Timestamp: 2017-07-25 19:22:16
Document Index: 168362449

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 2', 'art 2', 'arts 3', 'art 4', 'art 2', 'art 4', 'art 4', 'art 5']

Patent US7597377 - Instrument panel - Google PatentsSearch Images Maps Play YouTube News Gmail Drive More »Sign inPatentsThere is provided an instrument panel capable of uniformly brightening the interior of a storage part without special provision of a light source. In the instrument panel including an operation part (2) having an operation panel (3) for controlling a vehicle; a light source (6) for illuminating the operation...http://www.google.com/patents/US7597377?utm_source=gb-gplus-sharePatent US7597377 - Instrument panelAdvanced Patent SearchTry the new Google Patents, with machine-classified Google Scholar results, and Japanese and South Korean patents.Publication numberUS7597377 B2Publication typeGrantApplication numberUS 12/139,052Publication dateOct 6, 2009Filing dateJun 13, 2008Priority dateJun 21, 2007Fee statusLapsedAlso published asDE102008001462A1, DE102008001462B4, US20080315610, US20090146446Publication number12139052, 139052, US 7597377 B2, US 7597377B2, US-B2-7597377, US7597377 B2, US7597377B2InventorsMitsuru Sutou, Keiichi Masada, Toshiyuki YamadaOriginal AssigneeSuzuki Motor CorporationExport CitationBiBTeX, EndNote, RefManPatent Citations (18), Referenced by (9), Classifications (7), Legal Events (4) External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, EspacenetInstrument panel
US 7597377 B2Abstract
There is provided an instrument panel capable of uniformly brightening the interior of a storage part without special provision of a light source. In the instrument panel including an operation part (2) having an operation panel (3) for controlling a vehicle; a light source (6) for illuminating the operation panel (3), which the light source (6) is provided in the operation part (2); and the storage part (4) arranged adjacent to the operation part (2), an opening (7) is provided between the operation part (2) and the storage part (4); a tray (8) is provided between the opening (7) and the storage part (4) as a wall surface; and the tray (8) is formed of a material capable of transmitting the light of the light source (6), which is transmitted via the opening (7).
The present invention relates to an instrument panel provided with a storage part adjacent to an operation part. More particularly, it relates to an instrument panel capable of illuminating the interior of the storage part without special provision of a light source.
An instrument panel for a vehicle is provided with various operation parts capable of controlling vehicular equipment. In many cases, the passenger touches an operation panel provided in the operation part to control the vehicular equipment. Examples of equipment having such an operation part may include an air conditioner unit, audio equipment, and the like. Also, some instrument panels are provided with a storage part for storing small articles and the like. Both the operation part and the storage part are provided with a light source, and the instrument panel has a function of illuminating the operation panel and the interior of the storage panel by means of the respective light sources so that the passenger can see in the dark, for example, at night.
However, in the instrument panel described in Japanese Patent Provisional Publication No. 2005-297765, the light source is provided for the storage part only, so that to illuminate the operation panel, a separate light source is necessary. Therefore, the number of parts increases, the manpower for assembling parts increases, and part control becomes more difficult, resulting in an increase in costs. Also, to provide a plurality of light sources, a space is further needed, so that the storage space of the storage part decreases with the increase in space for arranging the light sources.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view schematically showing the whole of an instrument panel in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 1 shows the whole of an instrument panel 1 in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention. In this figure, the vehicle front direction is denoted by F. In the first embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 1, the instrument panel 1 is provided with a body 1 a. In the central portion in the vehicle width direction of the instrument panel 1, an air conditioner unit operation part 2 for controlling an air conditioner is provided. On the vehicle rear side of the operation part 2, an operation panel 3 is arranged. The operation panel 3, which is generally called a heater control panel, is configured as a part of the surface of the instrument panel 1. The operation panel 3 is provided with operating members such as dials 3 a. Display parts 3 b each manufactured of a material capable of transmitting light are provided so as to surround the peripheries of the dials 3 a. A storage part 4 is provided adjacent to the upper side of the operation part 2 in the instrument panel 1. The storage part 4 is formed so as to have a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shaped space. On the vehicle rear side of the storage part 4, an opening end part 5 is provided.
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