Vehicle interior panel with reinforcing layer and related method
AssigneeFaurecia Interior Systems, Inc.
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 method of making a vehicle interior panel for use over an airbag, the method comprising:
- filling a mold cavity of a molding tool with a molding material to form a panel substrate while opposing edge portions of a flexible reinforcing layer are clamped in the molding tool, wherein a portion of the reinforcing layer is overmolded with the molding material and embedded in an airbag door region of the panel.
A vehicle interior panel for use over an airbag, comprising:
- a panel substrate formed from a molding material;
- and
- a flexible reinforcing layer, wherein a portion of the reinforcing layer is overmolded with the molding material and embedded in an airbag door region of the panel, and
- wherein opposing edges portions of the flexible reinforcing layer are devoid of the molding material.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.