Patent Document

FIELD  
       [0001]     The present disclosure relates to a method and apparatus for a golf car, light weight utility vehicles, and cargo vehicles.  
       BACKGROUND  
       [0002]     The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.  
         [0003]     Golf car instrument panels can be provided with a splash guard. Splash guards can serve a number of purposes, such as to prevent water and other foreign materials from passing through the instrument panel into the passenger area of the golf car. While conventional splash guards are suitable for their intended uses, they are subject to improvement.  
       SUMMARY  
       [0004]     The present teachings provide for a golf car splash guard including: a base portion; a locking flange protruding from the base portion, the locking flange having a locking detail; a wall extending from the base portion at an angle relative to the base portion; a first wire retention device extending from the base portion; and a second wire retention device extending from the wall.  
         [0005]     The present teachings further provide for an instrument panel for a golf car including: a main body; an extension portion extending from the main body; a splash guard mounted to the main body; and a flange extending from the splash guard, the flange having a retention detail. The retention detail cooperates with the extension portion to secure the splash guard to the main body.  
         [0006]     The present teachings also provide for a golf car including: a front end and a front body at the front end; a rear end and a rear body at the rear end; a seat assembly mounted to the rear body; an instrument panel mounted to the front body, the instrument panel including a main body and a splash guard; a center support mounted to the main body; an extension portion extending from the main body; a flange extending from the splash guard, the flange having a retention detail; and a wall extending from the splash guard, the wall extending from a side of the splash guard proximate the rear end. The retention detail cooperates with the extension portion to secure the splash guard to the main body. The wall is seated within the center support.  
         [0007]     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  
       [0008]     The drawings described herein are for illustration purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure in any way.  
         [0009]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a golf car according to various embodiments;  
         [0010]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of an instrument panel of the golf car;  
         [0011]      FIG. 3  is a perspective rear view of a splash guard showing its relationship to the instrument panel;  
         [0012]      FIG. 4  is a perspective front view of the splash guard mounted to the instrument panel;  
         [0013]      FIG. 5  is an exploded view of  FIG. 3 ;  
         [0014]      FIG. 6  is perspective rear view of the splash guard;  
         [0015]      FIG. 7  is a perspective front view of the splash guard;  
         [0016]      FIG. 8A  is close-up view of cooperation between the instrument panel and the splash guard; and  
         [0017]      FIG. 8B  is a close-up view of the cooperation between the instrument panel and the splash guard. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0018]     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.  
         [0019]     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 be opposite to the rear end  14 . The front end  12  can include a front body  16  and the rear end  14  can include a rear body  18 . A main seat assembly  20  can be mounted to the rear body  18 .  
         [0020]     With additional reference to  FIGS. 2-4 , the front body  16  can include an instrument panel  22  and a steering wheel  24  extending from the instrument panel  22 . The instrument panel  22  can include an instrument panel main body  26 , an instrument panel splash guard  28 , an ignition switch  30 , a center console  32  that can include a cup holder  34  and at least one golf ball retention device  36 A and  36 B, and an instrument panel trim portion  38 .  
         [0021]     With additional reference to  FIGS. 4-7 , the splash guard  28  can include: a base  40 ; at least one retention flange, such as a first retention flange  42 A and a second retention flange  42 B; a wall portion  44 ; a wire harness flange  46 ; a plurality of retention devices, such as hooks  48 ; one or more retention apertures, such as a first retention aperture  50 A and a second retention aperture  50 B; and a flap  52  seated within an opening  54 .  
         [0022]     The base  40  can be a generally planar base. The first and the second retention flanges  42 A and  42 B can vertically extend from the base  40  at about a right angle to the base, or any other suitable angle. The first and the second retention flanges  42 A and  42 B can include retention details  56 A and  56 B respectively that can protrude from the first and the second retention flanges  42 A and  42 B. The first and the second retention flanges  42 A and  42 B can be positioned at opposite ends of the base  40 .  
         [0023]     The wall portion  44  can extend from the base  40  and can be about perpendicular to the base  40 , or positioned at any other suitable angle relative to the base  40 . The wall portion  44  can be at a general mid-point of the base  40  and can be between the first and the second retention flanges  42 A and  42 B. The wall portion  44  can be at an edge of the base  40  that is generally toward the rear end  14  of the car  10  when the car  10  is fully assembled.  
         [0024]     The wire harness flange  46  can be mounted to the wall  44  and can extend from the wall  44  at about a right angle to the wall, or at any other suitable angle. The wire harness flange  46  can include one or more apertures  58 , such as apertures  58 A,  58 B, and  58 C. The apertures  58 A- 58 C can be any suitable retention device, such as a device for retaining a wire harness.  
         [0025]     The hooks  48  can be located generally at a center portion of the base  40 , or at any other suitable location on the base  40 . The hooks  48  can extend from the base  40  and can be any suitable retention device for retaining, for example, wiring for the golf car  10 . As illustrated, the hooks  48  are generally arranged in three groups of hooks  48 , such as a first group  48 A, a second group  48 B, and a third group  48 C. The first, second, and third groups  48 A,  48 B, and  48 C can generally be arranged in the shape of a “Y”, or any other suitable configuration. Each group  48 A,  48 B, and  48 C can include three hooks  48 . The neighboring hooks  48  of each group  48 A,  48 B, and  48 C can be orientated in opposite directions.  
         [0026]     The opening  54  can be proximate to the hooks  48 . The opening  54  can extend through the base  40 . The opening  54  can be defined by a cut-out in the base  40 . A portion of the base  40 , such as the flap  52 , can extend within the opening  54 . The flap  52  can be a flexible flap that can be flexed out of the opening  54  to permit access to the opening  54  and can be flexed to be in position within the opening  54  to at least substantially deny access to the opening  54 .  
         [0027]     The retention apertures  50 A and  50 B can extend from a perimeter edge of the base  40 , such as at an edge of the base  40  proximate to the rear end  14  of the car  10 . The apertures  50 A and  50 B can be any suitable retention device operable to receive a fastening device. The apertures  50 A and  50 B can also take the form of any suitable device operable to mount the instrument panel splash guard  28  to the instrument panel main body  26 .  
         [0028]     The instrument panel splash guard  28  can further include at least one angled surface of the base  40 , such as a first angled surface  60 A and a second angled surface  60 B. The first angled surface  60 A can be offset from the remainder of the base  40  and can be angled relative to the remainder of the base. The first angled surface  60 A can be angled such that the first angled surface  60 A is most offset from the remainder of the base  40  at a side of the base nearest the front end  12  of the golf car  10  when fully assembled. The second angled surface  60 B can be similar to the first angled surface  60 A. Therefore, the description of the first angled surface  60 A can also apply to the second angled surface  60 B.  
         [0029]     As illustrated in  FIG. 7 , the instrument panel splash guard  28  can further include at least one lower flange  62 , such as a first lower flange  62 A and a second lower flange  62 B. The first flange  62 A and the second flange  62 B can extend from an undersurface of the base  40  as illustrated. The first and the second flanges  62 A and  62 B can be any suitable flange or fastening device to facilitate the mounting of the splash guard  28  at the front end  12  of the car  10 .  
         [0030]     With continued reference to  FIGS. 3, 4 , and  8 , the instrument panel main body  26  can include a front side  66  proximate to the front end  12  of the car  10  and a rear side  68  that can be opposite to the front side  66 . The instrument panel main body  26  can include a frame  70  and a nose portion  72  that can extend from the frame  70 . The nose portion  72  can extend to the front side  66  of the main body  26  and the frame  70  can be proximate to the rear side  68  of the main body  26  when the car  10  is assembled.  
         [0031]     As illustrated in  FIGS. 4, 8A , and  8 B, the nose portion  72  can include at least one extension portion, such as a first extension portion  74 A and a second extension portion  74 B. The extension portions  74 A and  74 B can extend from opposite ends of the nose portion  72 . The extension portions  74 A and  74 B can also be any suitable fastening device for securing the main body  26  to the first and the second side flanges  42 .  
         [0032]     As illustrated in  FIG. 3 , the instrument panel main body  26  can further include a center support  76 . The center support  76  can be any suitable support device for supporting the center console  32 . The center support  76  can also be sized and shaped to support the wall  44  and the wire harness  46  of the instrument panel splash guard  28 . As illustrated in  FIG. 3 , the center support  76  can be a well or a basin that extends from the nose portion  72  toward the rear end  14  of the car  10 . The instrument panel splash guard  28  can include any suitable material. For example, the splash guard  28  can include fiberglass, sheet metal, moldable plastic, plastic composite, and impact molded polypropylene.  
         [0033]     Mounting of the instrument panel splash guard  28  to the instrument panel main body  26  will now be described. The instrument panel splash guard  28  can be positioned such that the wall portion  44  is positioned within the center support  76  and extends from one end of the center support  76  to another end, as illustrated in  FIG. 3 . The splash guard  28  can be mounted to the front side  66  of the main body  26  through cooperation between the extension portions  74 A and  74 B and the side flanges  42 A and  42 B respectively. Specifically, the first extension portion  74 A can be slid into cooperation with the retention details  56 A of the first side flange  42 A. The second extension portion  74 A can be slid into cooperation with the retention details  56 B of the second side flange  42 B. The splash guard  28  can be further mounted to the main body  26  using suitable fasteners inserted through the first and second apertures  50 A and  50 B respectively and into cooperation with the main body  26 .  
         [0034]     The splash guard  28  can be used for a variety of different purposes. For example, the wall portion  44  can be used to prevent the passage of water and other unwanted foreign materials through the instrument panel  22 . The wire harness flange  46  can be used to mount a wire harness for wiring used in the instrument panel  22 . Wiring of the instrument panel  22  can also be wrapped around the hooks  48  to secure the wiring. The wiring can be inserted through the aperture  54  to permit passage of the wiring through the splash guard  28 .  
         [0035]     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.

Technology Category: 7