Vehicle interior panel with reinforcing layer and related method
AssigneeFaurecia Interior Systems USA Holdings, LLC
InventorCarlos Gerardo Lopez Martinez
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A vehicle interior panel for use over an airbag includes a reinforcing layer overmolded with a molding material during a substrate molding operation. The substrate molding tool includes an extendable and retractable slide configured to clamp opposing edge portions of the reinforcing layer to a clamping surface of the tool to secure the reinforcing layer in a cavity of the molding tool to prevent unwanted movement of the layer when subjected to high pressure and high viscosity molding material when the mold cavity is filled. The opposing edge portions of the reinforcing layer are provided along separate pieces of the layer and/or along one or more openings formed through the layer.
Claims20
A vehicle interior panel for use over an airbag, comprising:
- a panel substrate formed from a molding material;
- a tear seam along which the panel splits during deployment of an underlying airbag, the tear seam having an areal extent that defines an airbag door region of the panel;
- and
- a flexible reinforcing layer, wherein a portion of the reinforcing layer is overmolded with the molding material and embedded in the airbag door region of the panel, and
- wherein opposing edge portions of the flexible reinforcing layer are devoid of the molding material.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.