TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The present disclosure, in general, relates to trim panel structures, and, more particularly, to a quarter lower trim having a flap cover for reducing the visibility of body panels at rear seat striker area.
BACKGROUND
[0002] Background description includes information that may be useful in understanding the present disclosure. It is not an admission that any of the information provided herein is prior art or relevant to the presently claimed subject matter, or that any publication specifically or implicitly referenced is prior art.
[0003] Interior trims are employed as interior components on motor vehicles. One of the purposes of such interior trims is to present an aesthetically pleasing appearance in a passenger compartment of the motor vehicle. These trims are typically mounted to structural support members of the motor vehicle. For example, trims are mounted to a quarter lower body panel (sheet metal part) of the motor vehicle.
[0004] While mounting a trim on a lower quarter body panel of the motor vehicle, first, one lateral end of the trim is snap-fitted with a rear edge of a vehicle door slot formed on the body while making an angle of about 45 degrees between the trim and the lower quarter body panel, and thereafter the trim is moved towards the lower quarter body panel so as to fix it with the lower quarter body panel. While moving the trim towards the lower quarter body panel, the trim requires a cut-portion in the region of a rear seat striker to pass through the rear seat striker protruding out of the body panel. Such cut-portion is typically formed with a length greater than the length of the rear seat striker in the longitudinal direction of the trim, so that the trim can easily assemble without hitting the protruded rear seat striker.
[0005] However, forming a cut-portion with a length greater than that of the rear seat striker makes the underlying metal sheet visible to the passengers of the motor vehicle, which defies the primary purpose of the trim.
[0006] Accordingly, it will be apparent to the skilled artisan that there exists a need in the art for an improved quarter lower trim for reducing the visibility of body panels in the region of the rear seat striker.
OBJECTS OF THE DISCLOSURE
[0007] Some of the objects of the present disclosure, which at least one embodiment herein satisfy, are listed hereinbelow.
[0008] It is a general object of the present disclosure to provide a quarter lower trim for reducing the visibility of body panel at a rear seat striker area.
[0009] It is another object of the present disclosure to provide a quarter lower trim having a flap cover for the rear seat striker area.
[0010] It is another object of the present disclosure to provide a flap cover connected with a live hinge in the cut-portion of the quarter lower trim.
[0011] It is another object of the present disclosure to provide a quarter lower trim with a live-hinge flap cover in the rear seat striker area, wherein the flap cover is operable with the help of the live-hinge.
[0012] These and other objects and advantages will become more apparent when reference is made to the following description and accompanying drawings.
SUMMARY
[0013] This summary is provided to introduce concepts related to a quarter lower trim for reducing the visibility of body panels at rear seat striker area. 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.
[0014] In an embodiment, the present disclosure relates to a quarter lower trim having a cut-portion formed in an area of a rear seat striker. The cut-portion includes a flap cover which, from its base edge, is attached to an end edge of the cut-portion with the help of a live hinge; a snap formed against each of two lateral sides of the flap cover to lock and hold the flap cover in a closed position inside the cut-portion; and a stopper formed against corners of a top edge of the flap cover to restrict further movement of the flap cover inside the cut-portion.
[0015] In an aspect, the flap cover is having a shape of isosceles trapezoid.
[0016] In an aspect, the flap cover is maintained in an open position during installation of the quarter lower trim on a quarter lower body panel of a motor vehicle, and is moved in the closed position by rotating the flap cover about a rotational axis of the live hinge.
[0017] 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 THE DRAWINGS
[0018] The illustrated embodiments of the subject matter 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 methods that are consistent with the subject matter as claimed herein, wherein:
[0019] FIG. 1A illustrates a perspective view of a conventional quarter lower trim;
[0020] FIG 1B illustrates a through hole cut-portion of a conventional quarter lower trim;
[0021] FIGS. 2A and 2B illustrate perspective views of a flap cover in cut-portion of a quarter lower trim in an unassembled condition, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure; and
[0022] FIG. 3A and 3B illustrate perspective views of the flap cover in the cut-portion of the quarter lower trim in an assembled condition, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0023] The detailed description of various exemplary embodiments of the disclosure is described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be noted that the embodiments are described herein in such details as to clearly communicate the disclosure. However, the amount of details provided herein is not intended to limit the anticipated variations of embodiments; on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the present disclosure as defined by the appended claims.
[0024] It is also to be understood that various arrangements may be devised that, although not explicitly described or shown herein, embody the principles of the present disclosure. Moreover, all statements herein reciting principles, aspects, and embodiments of the present disclosure, as well as specific examples, are intended to encompass equivalents thereof.
[0025] The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of example embodiments. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises”, “comprising”, “includes” and/or “including,” when used herein, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components and/or groups thereof.
[0026] It should also be noted that in some alternative implementations, the functions/acts noted may occur out of the order noted in the figures. For example, two figures shown in succession may, in fact, be executed concurrently or may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon the functionality/acts involved.
[0027] Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which example embodiments belong. It will be further understood that terms, e.g., those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein.
[0028] Embodiments explained herein pertain to a quarter lower trim for reducing the visibility of body panels at rear seat striker area. FIG. 1A shows a conventional quarter lower trim 102. As mentioned above, in the quarter lower panel of a motor vehicle, a rear seat striker 104 formed from a cylindrical shaft-shaped member into a U-shape is attached. On the rear seat striker 104, a claw mounted on the rear seat of the motor vehicle is hooked to fix the rear seat. Because of the rear seat striker 104, the quarter lower trim 102 requires a cut-portion 106 to pass through the shaft portions of a rear seat striker 104.
[0029] A detailed cross-sectional view of the through-hole cut-portion 106 is shown in FIG. 1B. As can be seen from FIG. 1B, the through-hole cut-portion 106 is required to have a length greater than the length of the rear seat striker 104 in the longitudinal direction of the trim panel, so that the quarter lower trim 102 can wrap around the rear seat striker 104 with ease.
[0030] However, an issue with the greater length of the through-hole cut-portion 106 is that this through-hole cut-portion 106 makes the underlying metal sheet visible to the passengers of the motor vehicle, which is not the underlying principle of mounting the trim panel.
[0031] Various approaches have been proposed in the state of the art to resolve this issue. One approach proposes forming of a pair of longitudinal flaps in an area not covered by the rear seat striker 104. However, notches of these longitudinal flaps tend to break during the installation of the quarter lower trim 102 on the body of the motor vehicle. Also, since the longitudinal flaps are formed with a thickness less than that of the entire quarter lower trim 102, the longitudinal flaps may bend towards inside or outside over a time period due to heat transfer between the motor vehicle body and the quarter lower trim 102.
[0032] To this end, the present disclosure proposes a quarter lower trim 102 and a flap cover 202, for reducing the visibility of vehicle body panels, in a region of a through-hole cut-portion 204 (FIGS. 2A and 2B) formed in an area of the rear seat striker 104. As can be seen from FIG. 2A, the flap cover is having a shape of isosceles trapezoid. Isosceles trapezoid is having two parallel opposite side bases with different lengths and two opposite side legs connecting the edges of the bases. Also, in isosceles trapezoid, side legs have equal length and form same angle with their respective base.
[0033] The flap cover 202 is a part of the quarter lower trim 102 and is attached to the quarter lower trim 102 with the help of live hinge 206 from its longer side base. In an aspect, during and after the injection moulding of the flap cover 202 on the quarter lower trim 102, the flap cover 202 is maintained in an open condition. Also, the flap cover 202 is maintained in an open position during installation of the quarter lower trim 102 on a quarter lower body panel of a motor vehicle. An exemplary open condition of the flap cover 202 is shown in FIG. 2A.
[0034] In addition to the flap cover 202, the quarter lower trim 102 includes a pair of snaps 208 and a pair of stoppers 210 in the region of the through-hole cut-portion 204. In an aspect, a snap 208 is formed against each of two lateral sides of the flap cover 202 to lock and hold the flap cover 202 in a closed position in the cut-portion 204. In another aspect, a stopper 210 is formed against corners of a top edge of the flap cover 202 to restrict further movement of the flap cover 202 inside the cut-portion 204.
[0035] In operation, the flap cover 202 is maintained in the open position during installation of the quarter lower trim 102 on the quarter lower body panel of a motor vehicle, and is moved in the closed position by rotating the flap cover 202 about a rotational axis of the live hinge 206, as shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B.
[0036] TECHNICAL ADVANTAGES
[0037] The present disclosure provides a flap cover in the region of cut portion to reduce the visibility of body panels at rear seat striker area.
[0038] The present disclosure provides a flap cover with live hinge attached to the quarter lower trim, wherein with the implementation of the live hinge, no plastic defect would be observed while opening or closing of the flap cover in long run.
[0039] The present disclosure provides a flap cover, in the cut-portion, with a shape of isosceles trapezoid so as to provide a structural strength to the live hinge attached to the quarter lower trim.
[0040] The present disclosure provides a cut-portion in the quarter lower portion with stoppers and snaps to hold and lock the flap cover in a desired position in an assembled condition.
[0041] The present disclosure provides a cut-portion in the quarter lower trim with diverging sides beside the rear seat striker area to provide extra space in vertical direction of quarter lower trim for the operator to easily pass over the protruded rear seat striker.
[0042] While the foregoing describes various embodiments of the present disclosure, other and further embodiments of the present disclosure may be devised without departing from the basic scope thereof. The scope of the invention is determined by the claims that follow. The present disclosure is not limited to the described embodiments, versions or examples, which are included to enable a person having ordinary skill in the art to make and use the present disclosure when combined with information and knowledge available to the person having ordinary skill in the art.

We claim:
1. A quarter lower trim (102) comprising:
a cut-portion (204) formed in an area of the rear seat striker (104), wherein the cut-portion (204) comprises:
a flap cover (202), from its base edge, attached to an end edge of the cut-portion (204) with the help of a live hinge (206);
a snap (208) formed against each of two lateral sides of the flap cover (202) to lock and hold the flap cover (202) in a closed position in the cut-portion (204); and
a stopper (210) formed against corners of a top edge of the flap cover (202) to restrict further movement of the flap cover (202) inside the cut-portion (204).
2. The quarter lower trim (102) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the flap cover (202) is having a shape of isosceles trapezoid.
3. The quarter lower trim (102) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the flap cover (202) is maintained in an open position during installation of the quarter lower trim (102) on a quarter lower body panel of a motor vehicle, and is moved in the closed position by rotating the flap cover (202) about a rotational axis of the live hinge (206).