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US 8,128,161 B2Granted
Interior body trim with integrated HVAC duct
AssigneeNissan North America, Inc.
InventorsThomas Yang, Tomohito Hashikawa
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An interior body trim arrangement is basically provided with an interior body trim panel and a back closure member. The interior body trim panel has an interior facing surface and an outboard facing surface opposite the interior facing surface. The back closure member is fixed to the outboard facing surface of the interior body trim panel. The inboard facing surface of the back closure member and the outboard facing surface of the interior body trim panel define an integrated HVAC duct having a first opening end and a second open end.
Claims20
An interior body trim arrangement comprising:
- an interior body trim panel having an interior facing surface and an outboard facing surface opposite the interior facing surface;
- and
- a back closure member fixed to the outboard facing surface of the interior body trim panel with an inboard facing surface of the back closure member and the outboard facing surface of the interior body trim panel defining an integrated HVAC duct having a first opening end and a second opening end, the back closure member being independently formed as a separate piece from the interior body trim panel, the back closure member including a duct interface with a first peripheral end edge, the duct interface defining the first opening end of the integrated HVAC duct, the first peripheral end edge of the duct interface being spaced apart from the outboard facing surface of the interior body trim panel, an edge portion of the back closure member at the second opening end and an edge portion of the interior body trim panel at the second opening end forming a second peripheral end edge of the integrated HVAC duct.
A vehicle comprising:
- a vehicle body structure having a structural pillar that defines a passenger compartment of the vehicle;
- an interior body trim panel fixed to the vehicle body structure, the interior body trim panel having an interior facing surface and an outboard facing surface opposite the interior facing surface, the outboard facing surface of the interior body trim panel defining a cavity when the interior body trim panel is installed to the vehicle body structure;
- and
- a back closure member fixed to the outboard facing surface of the interior body trim panel, the back closure member spanning a portion of the outboard facing surface of the interior body trim panel such that the back closure member divides the cavity into a duct portion that is configured to direct airflow to the passenger compartment of the vehicle and a pillar portion that is configured to receive the structural pillar of the vehicle body structure when the interior body trim panel is installed to the vehicle body structure.
1 more element
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.