Description:AN INTEGRATED HOUSING STRUCTURE FOR AIR BAG CONTROLLER AND BCM CONTROLLER
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The present disclosure generally relates to a controller mounting structure of a vehicle. The present invention, in particular, relates to an integrated housing structure to cover an air bag controller and a body control module (BCM) together along central console area and on floor of a vehicle.
BACKGROUND
[0002] In automotive industry, car interior takes center stage as buyers focus on cabin experience. Interior structure of a vehicle in floor console region of a floor panel, is one of the most important structures that defines aesthetics of the vehicle. The floor console region is located between driver seat and front passenger seat. In the floor console region, various mechanical and electronic components are provided. In particular, the floor console region of the floor panel at least has a gear stick and an airbag controller. The gear stick is provided between driver seat and front passenger seat to facilitate shifting of gears with ease. In addition, an airbag controller is provided on the floor panel of the vehicle. In addition, an airbag controller cover is provided on the floor panel to cover the airbag controller. The airbag controller cover prevents any damage to the airbag controller.
[0003] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary housing structure provided on the floor of the vehicle in accordance with existing art. In the existing controller mounting structures, the air bag controller is provided near the console area and on the floor of the vehicle. The housing 500 has been provided to guard the air bag controller.
[0004] In the latest vehicles, because of new and stricter regulations coming in, there is requirement to incorporate the BCM (Body control module) controller in the vehicle. In new vehicles, generally the BCM and air bag controller are mounted somewhere on the dash panel inside the instrument panel. However, in order to mount both the controllers on dash panel in the existing vehicles, which are not designed for mounting the controllers on dash panel, multiple structural changes in the interior of the vehicle are required. Hence, implementing multiple structural changes can be a very difficult and costly affair in the existing vehicles. Therefore, there is a need to accommodate the controllers in such a manner that it can utilize minimum space without performing multiple structural changes in the vehicle body.
[0005] Accordingly, there is a need for a solution to provide housing cover that can accommodate both the air bag controller and BCM controller together in the vehicle.
SUMMARY
[0006] This summary is provided to introduce concepts relates to an integrated housing structure to cover an air bag controller and a body control module (BCM) together along central console area and on floor of a vehicle. The concepts are further described below in the detailed description. This summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter.
[0007] The present subject matter relates to an integrated housing structure to cover an air bag controller and a body control module (BCM) together along central console area and on floor of a vehicle. The housing structure comprises an air bag controller housing portion to cover the air bag controller. The air bag controller is positioned on the floor of the central console area of the vehicle. The housing structure further comprises a BCM controller housing portion. The BCM controller housing portion is integrated with the air bag controller housing portion to cover the BCM controller positioned on the vertical portion 106 of the floor along the central console of the vehicle.
[0008] In an aspect, the housing structure defines an inverse ‘U’ shape profile with two vertical sides and a horizontal side joining the two vertical sides. The horizontal side defines a top surface and one vertical side towards the driver side define more length than the other vertical side toward the co-driver side.
[0009] In an aspect, the air bag controller housing portion and the BCM housing portion are integrated with each other to form a single housing structure covering both the BCM controller and the air bag controller together.
[0010] In an aspect, the BCM housing portion accommodating the BCM 104 is wider than the air bag controller housing portion accommodating the air bag controller. Further, the air bag controller housing portion 202 has less height than the BCM housing portion 204.
[0011] In an aspect, the air bag controller housing portion defines less width than the BCM housing portion in order to facilitate enough space for leg movement of a driver and a co-driver and other regulatory requirements.
[0012] In an aspect, the air bag controller housing portion defines two mounting holes along two vertical sides in vehicle width direction to mount the housing structure.
[0013] In an aspect, the mounting hole is provided on the vertical side toward the driver side. The mounting hole has a ring shape structure on inner surface around the mounting hole, where thickness (t) of mounting area of the vertical side along with the ring shape structure is equal to thickness (t”) of the mounting area of the vertical side toward the co-driver side.
[0014] In an aspect, the ring shape structure around the mounting hole 300a on the vertical side toward the driver side facilitate ejection of ejector block during manufacturing.
[0015] In an aspect, the BCM housing portion is provided with two mounting portions to mount the housing structure on the horizontal portion of vertical portion of the floor.
[0016] In an aspect, the top surface is provided with two deep pocket portions where the pocket portion defined on the air bag controller housing portion has more depth than the pocket portion defined on the BCM housing portion.
[0017] To further understand the characteristics and technical contents of the present subject matter, a description relating thereto will be made with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the drawings are illustrative only but not used to limit the scope of the present subject matter.
[0018] Various objects, features, aspects, and advantages of the inventive subject matter will become more apparent from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments, along with the accompanying drawing figures in which like numerals represent like components.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF FIGURES
[0019] The illustrated embodiments of the present disclosure will be best understood by reference to the drawings, wherein like parts are designated by like numerals throughout. The following description is intended only by way of example, and simply illustrates certain selected embodiments of devices, systems, and processes that are consistent with the subject matter as claimed herein, wherein:
[0020] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary housing structure provided near the console area and on the floor of the vehicle in accordance with existing art.
[0021] FIG. 2 illustrates exploded view of an air bag controller and a body control module (BCM) fixed on floor of a vehicle, in accordance with the embodiments of the present disclosure;
[0022] FIG. 3 illustrates perspective view of the housing structure covering the air bag controller and BCM that can be utilized to implement one or more exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure;
[0023] FIG. 4 illustrates top view of the housing structure covering the air bag controller and BCM that can be utilized to implement one or more exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure;
[0024] FIG. 5 illustrates isometric view of the housing structure in accordance with exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure;
[0025] FIG. 6 illustrates bottom view of the housing structure to cover the air bag controller and BCM in accordance with exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure;
[0026] FIG. 7 illustrates side view of the housing structure with mounting holes in accordance with exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure;
[0027] FIG. 8 illustrates top view of air bag controller housing portion in accordance with exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure;
[0028] FIG. 9 illustrates inner side of mounting hole with ring shape structure in accordance with exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure;
[0029] FIG. 10 illustrates the sectional view of ring shape structure in accordance with exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure;
[0030] FIG. 11 illustrates the rear bottom view of housing structure with deep pocket portion in accordance with exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure;
[0031] The figures depict embodiments of the present subject matter for the purposes of illustration only. A person skilled in the art will easily recognize from the following description that alternative embodiments of the structures and methods illustrated herein may be employed without departing from the principles of the disclosure described herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0032] A few aspects of the present disclosure are explained in detail below with reference to the various figures. Example implementations are described to illustrate the disclosed subject matter, not to limit its scope, which is defined by the claims. Those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize a number of equivalent variations of the various features provided in the description that follows.
[0033] While the present disclosure may be embodied in various forms, there are shown in the drawings, and will hereinafter be described, some exemplary and non-limiting embodiments, with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered an exemplification of the invention and is not intended to limit the invention to the specific embodiments illustrated. Not all of the depicted components described in this disclosure may be required, however, and some implementations may include additional, different, or fewer components from those expressly described in this disclosure. Variations in the arrangement and type of the components may be made without departing from the scope of the claims as set forth herein.
[0034] In order to provide a compact placement structure of controllers, the present integrated housing structure is to be provided in order to accommodate the air bag controller and BCM controller together. The housing structure is described in more detail below.
[0035] FIG. 2 illustrates exploded view of an air bag controller and a body control module (BCM) fixed along central console area and on floor of a vehicle, that can be utilized to implement one or more exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. The central console area and floor area of the vehicle defines an air bag controller 102 and body control module 104. The air bag controller 104 is fixedly attached to the floor 107 of the console area. Whereas the body control module 104 is placed vertically along the vertical side 106 of central console area. The present invention accommodated the two controllers together in order to utilize minimum space.
[0036] FIG. 3 illustrates perspective view of the housing structure covering the air bag controller and BCM that can be utilized to implement one or more exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. The housing structure 100 is a provided to cover the air bag controller 102 and the BCM 104. The housing structure 100 comprises an air bag controller housing portion 202. The housing structure 100 further comprises a BCM housing portion 204. The air bag controller housing portion 202 is provided to cover the air bag controller 102. Further, the BCM controller housing portion 104 is provided to cover the BCM controller 104. The airbag controller housing portion 202 rests horizontally over the floor of central console area of the vehicle accommodating the air bag controller 102. Whereas the BCM controller housing portion 204 rests vertically along vertical portion 106 of the floor along the central console of the vehicle. The air bag controller housing portion 202 and the BCM housing portion 204 are integrated with each other to form a single housing structure 100 to cover both the BCM controller 104 and the air bag controller 102.
[0037] FIG. 4 illustrates top view of housing structure 100 that can be utilized to implement one or more exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. The housing structure 100 is defined in two portions. The first portion is air bag controller housing portion 202. Other portion is BCM housing portion 204. The housing structure 100 defines an inverse ‘U’ shape profile. The housing structure defined with two vertical sides 108a, 108b and a horizontal side 110. The two vertical side 108a, 108b are joined together by a horizontal side 110. The horizontal side 110 defines a top surface of the housing structure 100. The vertical side 108a of the housing structure is positioned towards driver side. The vertical side 108b of the housing structure 100 is positioned towards co-driver side. The two vertical sides 108a and 108b are of different lengths. The vertical side (108a) toward the driver side defines more length than the other vertical side (108b) toward the co-driver side.
[0038] FIG. 5 illustrates isometric view of housing structure 100 that can be utilized to implement one or more exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. The two housing portions i.e. the air bag controller housing portion 202 and BCM controller housing portion 204, are provided with different volumetric area in order to accommodate the components. The BCM housing portion 204 accommodating the BCM 104 is wider than the air bag controller housing portion 202 accommodating the air bag controller 102. The air bag controller housing portion 202 has less height than the BCM housing portion 204. The air bag controller housing portion 202 defined less width than the BCM housing portion 204. The lesser width of the air bag controller housing portion 202 is provided to facilitate enough space for leg movement of a driver and a co-driver.
[0039] FIG. 6 illustrates bottom view of housing structure 100 in accordance with exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. In the present invention the housing structure is fixedly attached with the floor 107 and the vertical portion 106 of the central console area. The mounting of the housing structure is provided with the help of plurality of mounting holes provided at different location of the housing structure 100 to facilitate the efficient mounting at the center console area of the vehicle. To facilitate the alignment, two mounting holes are provided along the two vertical sides 108a, 108b of the in vehicle width direction to mount the housing structure along with the air bag controller 102. One mounting hole is provided at the top surface 110 of the air controller housing portion 202. The two mounting holes are provided on the rear end of the BCM housing portion 204 in order to mount the the housing structure 100 on the horizontal portion 109 of the vertical portion 106 of the floor 107.
[0040] FIG. 7 and 8 illustrates the side view and top view respectively of housing structure with mounting holes in accordance with exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. The housing structure is provided with mounting hole 300a on the vertical side 108a towards the driver side. The mounting hole 300a provided on the vertical side 108a is of different configuration with respect to the mounting hole 300b provided on the vertical side 108b of the housing structure 100.
[0041] FIG. 9 illustrates front and sectional view of mounting hole with ring shape structure in accordance with exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. The mounting hole 300a provided on the vertical side 108a toward the driver side is provided with a ring shape structure 400 on inner surface around the mounting hole 300a. Whereas, the mounting hole 300b provided on the vertical side 108b toward the co-driver side is not provided with the ring shape structure.
[0042] FIG. 10 illustrates the sectional structure of ring shape structure in accordance with exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. The ring shaped structure is provided on the mounting hole 300a. The ring shaped structure is provided with height of 1.6mm. The thickness of the mounting area of the vertical side 108a, without the ring structure is less than the thickness of the mounting area 108b. The thickness (t) of mounting area of the vertical side 108a along with the ring shape structure 400 is equal to thickness (t”) of the mounting area of the vertical side 108b toward the co-driver side.
[0043] FIG. 11 illustrates the rear bottom view of housing structure with deep pocket portion in accordance with exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. In the present housing structure 100, the top surface 110 is provided with two deep pocket portions 112a, 112b. These said pocket portion may also be referred as utility pockets for customer. The pocket portion 112a is defined on the air bag controller housing portion 202 and the pocket portion 112b is defined on the BCM controller housing portion 204. The pocket portion 112a defined of the air bag controller housing portion 202 has more depth than the pocket portion 112b defined on the BCM housing portion 204. The air bag controller housing portion 202 has less height than the BCM housing portion 204.
ADVANTAGES
[0044] The proposed interior housing structure can efficiently accommodate the air bag controller and BCM controller together.
[0045] The proposed housing structure is cost efficient, as the present design of housing structure is implemented by avoiding complex structural changes, in cost effective manner.
[0046] The above description does not provide specific details of the manufacture or design of the various components. Those of skill in the art are familiar with such details, and unless departures from those techniques are set out, techniques, known, related art or later developed designs and materials should be employed. Those in the art are capable of choosing suitable manufacturing and design details.
[0047] Further, the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the disclosure. It will be appreciated that several of the above-disclosed and other features and functions, or alternatives thereof, may be combined into other systems or applications. Various presently unforeseen or unanticipated alternatives, modifications, variations, or improvements therein may subsequently be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the present disclosure as encompassed by the following claims.
[0048] The claims, as originally presented and as they may be amended, encompass variations, alternatives, modifications, improvements, equivalents, and substantial equivalents of the embodiments and teachings disclosed herein, including those that are presently unforeseen or unappreciated, and that, for example, may arise from applicants/patentees and others.
[0049] It will be appreciated that variants of the above-disclosed and other features and functions, or alternatives thereof, may be combined into many other different systems or applications. Various presently unforeseen or unanticipated alternatives, modifications, variations, or improvements therein may be subsequently made by those skilled in the art which are also intended to be encompassed by the following claims.
, Claims:We claim:
1. A housing structure (100) to cover an air bag controller (102) and a body control module (BCM) (104) along central console area and on floor of a vehicle, the housing structure (100) comprising:
an air bag controller housing portion (202) to cover the air bag controller (102) positioned on the floor (107) of the central console area of the vehicle; and
a BCM controller housing portion (204) integrated with the air bag controller housing portion (202) to cover the BCM controller (104) positioned on the vertical portion (106) of the floor along the central console of the vehicle;
2. The housing structure (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the housing structure (100) defines an inverse ‘U’ shaped profile with two vertical sides (108a, 108b) and a horizontal side (110) joining the two vertical sides, where the horizontal side (110) defines a top surface and one vertical side (108a) towards the driver side define more length than the other vertical side (108b) toward the co-driver side.
3. The housing structure (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the air bag controller housing portion (202) and the BCM housing portion (204) are integrated with each other to form a single housing structure (100) to cover both the BCM controller (104) and the air bag controller (102).
4. The housing structure (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the BCM housing portion (204) accommodating the BCM (104) is wider than the air bag controller housing portion (202) accommodating the air bag controller (102).
5. The housing structure (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the air bag controller housing portion 202 accommodating the air bag controller (102) has less height than the BCM housing portion 204 accommodating the BCM (104).
6. The housing structure (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the air bag controller housing portion (202) defines less width than the BCM housing portion (204) to facilitate space for leg movement of a driver and a co-driver.
7. The housing structure (100) as claimed in claim 2, wherein the air bag controller housing portion (202) define two mounting holes (300a, 300b) along two vertical sides (108a, 108b) in vehicle width direction to mount the housing structure.
8. The housing structure (100) as claimed in claim 2, wherein the mounting hole (300a) provided on the vertical side (108a) toward the driver side has a ring shape structure (400) on inner surface around the mounting hole (300a), where thickness (t) of mounting area of the vertical side (108a) along with the ring shape structure (400) is equal to thickness (t”) of the mounting area of the vertical side (108b) toward the co-driver side.
9. The housing structure (100) as claimed in claim 7, wherein the ring shape structure (400) around the mounting hole (300a) on the vertical side (108a) towards the driver side facilitates ejection of ejector block during manufacturing.
10. The housing structure (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the BCM housing portion (204) is provided with two mounting portions (304a, 304b) to mount the housing structure (100) on the horizontal part (109) of the vertical portion (106) of the floor (107).
11. The housing structure (100) as claimed in claim 2, wherein the top surface (110) is provided with two deep pocket portions (112a, 112b), where the pocket portion (112a) defined on the air bag controller housing portion (202) has more depth than the pocket portion (112b) defined on the BCM housing portion (204).