JP4428982B2 - Knee protector - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a knee protection device for protecting an occupant's knee at a predetermined opportunity.

  As a knee protection device, there is a device that absorbs the impact by deforming the holding piece by receiving an impact from the occupant's knee by being moved by the movement of the holding piece held in the event of a vehicle collision (for example, Patent Document 1).

However, in this knee protection device, the holding piece absorbs the impact only by being deformed (tilted). For this reason, there exists a problem that a holding piece cannot absorb the said impact effectively and needs to enlarge the thickness of a holding piece.
Japanese Patent No. 2528403

  In view of the above facts, an object of the present invention is to obtain a knee protection device in which an impact absorbing member can effectively absorb an impact from an occupant's knee.

The knee protection device according to claim 1 is supported by the impact absorbing member having a laterally extending portion that extends to the right side or the left side of the vehicle and a longitudinally extending portion that extends to the upper side or the lower side of the vehicle, and the impact absorbing member. The impact absorbing member is deformed by receiving an impact from the knee of the occupant at a predetermined opportunity, and is disposed on the side of the laterally extending portion fixed to the vehicle body side, And an inhibiting member that inhibits the bending deformation of the laterally stretched portion at the predetermined opportunity.

  The knee protection device according to claim 2 is the knee protection device according to claim 1, wherein the laterally extending portion is disposed at a lower front portion of an occupant, the longitudinally extending portion is extended upward of the vehicle, and the A longitudinally extending portion supports the impact receiving member.

  The knee protection device according to claim 3 is the knee protection device according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a control unit that is provided in the shock absorbing member and controls an amount of shock absorption of the shock absorbing member. It is characterized by that.

  In the knee protection device according to claim 1, the impact absorbing member supports the impact receiving member, and the impact absorbing member is deformed by receiving an impact from the occupant's knee at a predetermined opportunity. To absorb the shock.

Here, the impact absorbing member has a laterally extending portion that extends to the right side or the left side of the vehicle, and a longitudinally extending portion that extends to the upper side or the lower side of the vehicle. For this reason, at a predetermined opportunity, the impact absorbing member not only absorbs the impact by being bent and deformed in at least one of the laterally stretched portion and the longitudinally stretched portion, but may be twisted and deformed in the laterally stretched portion . Absorbs the impact. Thereby, the impact absorbing member can effectively absorb the impact, and the occupant's knee can be well protected.
Moreover, the obstructing member is disposed on the side of the laterally extending portion fixed to the vehicle body side, and the obstructing member inhibits the deformation of the laterally extending portion at the predetermined opportunity. For this reason, the said laterally stretched part can be reliably twisted and deformed, and the impact absorbing member can reliably absorb the impact.

  In the knee protection device according to claim 2, the laterally extending portion is disposed at the front lower part of the occupant, the longitudinally extending portion is extended upward of the vehicle, and the longitudinally extending portion supports the impact receiving member. On the occasion, the impact absorbing member is mainly bent and deformed in the longitudinally stretched part and is mainly twisted and deformed in the laterally stretched part, thereby absorbing the impact.

  Here, when the occupant is a large person, the impact is large, but the occupant's knee hits a site away from the laterally stretched portion of the impact receiving member, so the laterally stretched portion and the longitudinally stretched portion are greatly deformed. The shock absorbing member absorbs the large shock.

  On the other hand, when the occupant is a small person, the impact is small. The absorbing member absorbs the small impact.

  For this reason, the impact absorbing member can appropriately absorb the impact according to the occupant's physique.

  In the knee protection device according to the third aspect, since the control means provided in the shock absorbing member controls the amount of shock absorption of the shock absorbing member, it is possible to better protect the occupant's knee.

  FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of an active knee bolster 10 according to an embodiment, to which the knee protection device of the present invention is applied, as seen from diagonally left rear of a vehicle 12, and FIG. The active knee bolster 10 is shown in an exploded perspective view as seen from the obliquely rear left side of the vehicle 12. Further, FIG. 3 shows a side view of the main part of the vehicle 12 configured by applying the active knee bolster 10 as viewed from the left side of the vehicle 12. In the present embodiment, the front of the vehicle 12 is called “front”, the rear of the vehicle 12 is called “rear”, the right side of the vehicle 12 is called “right”, and the left side of the vehicle 12 is “ “Left”.

  The vehicle 12 according to the present embodiment includes an instrument panel (not shown) in the passenger compartment, and the instrument panel is disposed in front of the driver seat and the passenger seat. A steering column 14 is provided on the instrument panel. The steering column 14 projects from the instrument panel to the driver's seat side (rear side), and a steering wheel 16 is provided at the projecting tip of the steering column 14. ing.

  The active knee bolster 10 according to the present embodiment includes a substantially columnar support column 18, and the support column 18 is arranged in parallel in the left-right direction at the upper part in the instrument panel. A U-shaped support frame 20 is fixed to the support column 18 at both ends (upper ends), and the steering column 14 is inserted into the support frame 20. A fixing member 22 is fixed to the lower end of the support frame 20, and the fixing member 22 is disposed in a space below the instrument panel or the steering column 14 at the front lower end of the occupant 24 (driver).

  An actuator 26 (driving means) is fixed to the fixing member 22. A drive shaft 28 is provided at the rear portion of the actuator 26. When the vehicle 12 collides (a predetermined opportunity), the actuator 26 is driven to move the drive shaft 28 rearward.

  The actuator 26 is accommodated in the moving frame 30 having a U-shaped long frame shape. A rectangular flat plate-shaped locking plate 32 is fixed to the rear end of the moving frame 30, and the rear end of the drive shaft 28 is locked to the locking plate 32. Thereby, at the time of the collision of the vehicle 12, the drive shaft 28 is moved rearward as described above, so that the moving frame 30 is moved rearward. In addition, an inhibition frame 34 (inhibition member) having a U-shaped cross section is fixed to the rear portion of the moving frame 30 on both the left and right side surfaces.

  A rear portion of the moving frame 30 is provided with a substantially L-shaped columnar frame 36 (pipe) as an impact absorbing member on both left and right side surfaces.

  Each frame 36 has a laterally extending portion 38 at the lower portion, and each laterally extending portion 38 has a proximal end fixed to the moving frame 30 and a right laterally extending portion 38 extending rightward. The left laterally extending portion 38 extends leftward. Each laterally extending portion 38 is disposed between the front wall and the rear wall of each inhibition frame 34, and each laterally extending portion 38 has a predetermined number of circular control holes 40 (notches) as control means. Is formed.

  Each frame 36 has a longitudinally extending portion 42 above each laterally extending portion 38, and each longitudinally extending portion 42 extends upward from the front end of each laterally extending portion 38 to the oblique rear side. As a result, the right longitudinally extending portion 42 is disposed in the space below the instrument panel and on the right side of the steering column 14, and the left longitudinally extending portion 42 is disposed below the instrument panel and on the left side of the steering column 14. Arranged in space. Each longitudinally extending portion 42 is fixed with a flat control plate 44 (energy absorbing disc) as a control means, and each control plate 44 is disposed on the front surface of each longitudinally extending portion 42. As a whole, the shape is widened from the top to the bottom, and the front end is formed in a waveform.

  A rectangular plate-like fixing plate 46 is fixed to each frame 36, and each fixing plate 46 is disposed behind each longitudinally extending portion 42.

  A substantially rectangular parallelepiped restraining member 48 as an impact receiving member is fixed to the rear surface of each fixing plate 46, and each restraining member 48 is made of foamed resin. Each restraint member 48 is disposed at a position away from each knee of the occupant 24 (a position indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 3), and when the vehicle 12 collides, the moving frame 30 is moved rearward as described above. Thus, each restraining frame 34 and each frame 36 (including each control plate 44 and each fixing plate 46) are moved rearward, so that each restraining member 48 is moved rearward toward each knee of the occupant 24. Thus, it is arranged immediately before each knee of the occupant 24 (the position of the solid line in FIG. 3). As a result, each restraint member 48 receives a forward impact (load) from each knee of the occupant 24 (restrains each knee of the occupant 24), whereby each frame 36 is deformed to absorb the impact. It is.

  Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described.

  In the active knee bolster 10 having the above configuration, the laterally extending portion 38 of each frame 36 fixed to the moving frame 30 is disposed at the lower front end of the occupant 24, and the longitudinally extending portion 42 of each frame 36 is connected to each fixed plate 46. The restraint members 48 are supported via the respective restraints 48, and the restraint members 48 are arranged at positions away from the knees of the occupant 24 when the vehicle is normally used.

  When the vehicle 12 collides, the actuator 26 is driven and the drive shaft 28 is moved rearward, so that the moving frame 30, each inhibition frame 34, each frame 36 (including each control plate 44 and each fixed plate 46) and Each restraint member 48 is moved rearward, and each restraint member 48 is disposed immediately before each knee of the occupant 24. Thereby, when each restraining member 48 receives a forward impact from the occupant's knee, each frame 36 is deformed to absorb the impact.

  Here, the right laterally extending portion 38 extends to the right side, the left laterally extending portion 38 extends to the left side, and each longitudinally extending portion 42 extends upward from the extending tip of each laterally extending portion 38. Yes. For this reason, when the vehicle 12 collides, each frame 36 is mainly bent and deformed forward (buckling deformation) in each longitudinally extending portion 42 to absorb the impact, and in each laterally extending portion 38. The impact is absorbed also by being mainly twisted (circumferentially deformed) by bending deformation (rotation) forward of each longitudinally extending portion 42. Thereby, each frame 36 can effectively absorb the impact, and even if the thickness of each frame 36 (especially each laterally extending portion 38) is reduced, each knee of the occupant 24 is well protected. Can do.

  In addition, since the front wall of each inhibition frame 34 fixed to the moving frame 30 inhibits the forward deformation (buckling deformation) of each laterally extending portion 38, each laterally extending portion 38 is reliably twisted and deformed. . For this reason, each flame | frame 36 can absorb the said impact effectively reliably.

  Further, when the occupant 24 is a large person (see the solid line in FIG. 3), the impact (moment) is large, but each knee of the occupant 24 is located above each restraining member 48 (away from each laterally extending portion 38). Therefore, each laterally extending portion 38 and each longitudinally extending portion 42 is greatly deformed (with a large stroke), and each frame 36 absorbs the large impact.

  On the other hand, when the occupant 24 is a small person (see the one-dot chain line in FIG. 3), the impact (moment) is small, but each knee of the occupant 24 is below each restraining member 48 (at each laterally extending portion). Since each of the laterally extending portions 38 and each of the longitudinally extending portions 42 is deformed small (with a small stroke), each frame 36 absorbs the small impact.

  For this reason, each frame 36 can absorb the said impact moderately according to the passenger | crew's 24 physique.

  Further, a predetermined number of control holes 40 provided in each laterally extending portion 38 control the amount of shock absorption of each laterally extending portion 38, and a control plate 44 provided in each longitudinally extending portion 42 includes each longitudinally extending portion 42. Therefore, each knee of the occupant 24 can be better protected. In the present embodiment, the control hole 40 is formed in the laterally extending portion 38, but the control hole (control means) may not be formed in the laterally extending portion.

  Further, the fixing member 22, the actuator 26, the moving frame 30 (including the respective inhibition frames 34), and the laterally extending portions 38 of the respective frames 36 are arranged in a space below the instrument panel or the steering column 14. Further, the longitudinally extending portions 42 (including the control plate 44 and the fixing plate 46) and the respective restraining members 48 of the respective frames 36 are disposed in the space below the instrument panel and on the right or left side of the steering column 14. . For this reason, a space can be used effectively.

  In the present embodiment, in the frame 36, the longitudinally extending portion 42 extends upward with respect to the laterally extending portion 38. However, the longitudinally extending portion extends downward with respect to the laterally extending portion. Also good.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the frame 36 is configured such that the laterally extending portion 38 is disposed on the actuator 26 side and the longitudinally extending portion 42 extends from the laterally extending portion 38, but the longitudinally extending portion is disposed on the actuator side. Thus, the laterally stretched portion may be stretched from the longitudinally stretched portion.

It is the perspective view seen from the vehicle left diagonal back which shows the active knee bolster which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is the disassembled perspective view seen from the vehicle left diagonal back which shows the active knee bolster which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is the side view seen from the vehicle left side which shows the principal part of the vehicle which concerns on embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

10 Active knee bolster (occupant restraint system)
12 Vehicle 24 Crew 36 Frame (Shock absorbing member)
38 Horizontally stretched part 40 Control hole (control means)
42 Longitudinal stretch section 44 Control plate (control means)
48 Restraint member (impact receiving member)

Claims (3)

An impact absorbing member having a laterally extending portion extending to the right side or the left side of the vehicle and a longitudinally extending portion extending to the upper side or the lower side of the vehicle;
An impact receiving member that is supported by the impact absorbing member and receives the impact from the knees of an occupant at a predetermined opportunity to deform the impact absorbing member and absorb the impact;
Is disposed on the side of the transverse stretching section fixed to a vehicle body side, and the inhibiting member that inhibits the bending deformation of the transverse stretching section in the predetermined occasion,
Knee protector with.   2. The laterally extending portion is disposed at a lower front portion of an occupant, the longitudinally extending portion is extended upward of the vehicle, and the longitudinally extending portion supports the impact receiving member. Knee protector.   The knee protection device according to claim 1, further comprising a control unit that is provided in the shock absorbing member and controls a shock absorption amount of the shock absorbing member.

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