JP5239274B2 - Knee airbag device for vehicle - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle knee airbag device that restrains an occupant's knees by inflating and deploying a knee airbag at the time of a collision.

In recent years, from the viewpoint of improving occupant protection performance at the time of a collision, a knee airbag device for a vehicle that restrains the occupant's knee by inflating and deploying a knee airbag at the time of a collision is being installed. Patent Documents 1 and 2 below disclose an example of this type of vehicle knee airbag device. Briefly described, in the prior art disclosed in these patent documents, a knee airbag device is built in a grab door of a grab box provided in an instrument panel.
DE 4209604 US Pat. No. 6,276,713

  Here, the grab door is provided with an operation knob. However, in the case of an operation knob that releases the door lock by inserting a finger from the lower side of the operation knob and pulling the operation knob toward you, the knee airbag is installed in the grab door. It is conceivable that a part of the arm enters a groove for inserting a finger into the operation knob. In this case, it may be possible that the knee airbag does not expand into the initial shape within a predetermined time and the restraint of the occupant on the knee is reduced, so it is desirable to take preventive measures beforehand.

  In consideration of the above facts, the present invention prevents or suppresses a part of the knee airbag from entering the groove of the operation knob of the grab door when the knee airbag is inflated and deployed from inside the grab door. It is an object to obtain a knee airbag device for a vehicle that can satisfactorily maintain knee restraint performance.

The invention of claim 1 includes an airbag module configured to include a knee airbag that is folded when not colliding and inflated and deployed to the occupant's knee side when colliding,
The glove box body provided at a predetermined position of the instrument panel is opened and closed, and the airbag module is accommodated therein. In the groove on the back side of the operation knob provided on the design surface side of the grab door outer and provided for the door lock release, including the grab door outer including the airbag door to be deployed. And a control means for preventing or suppressing a part of the knee airbag from entering, and the operation knob is disposed on the upper edge side of the grab door and swingable around the support shaft on the lower end side. a supported further finger from the knob upper side are the type of knob structure to operate by inserting into the groove, and the knee airbag lower side of the operation knob Has an upper air bag door deployment toward Luo upper side, further the door vertical length during expansion of the upper air bag door is at the arrangement position of the operation knob upper portion upon deployment The length is set so as not to be applied, and the knob structure also constitutes the restricting means.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the grab box body is provided at a predetermined position of the instrument panel, and the grab box body can be opened and closed by the grab door.

  The knee airbag is stored in a folded state in the grab door at the time of non-collision, but is inflated and deployed to the occupant's knee side at the time of collision. Specifically, when the knee airbag in a folded state is inflated and a predetermined bag inflation pressure is applied to the grab door outer, the grab door outer is broken along the breaking portion provided in the grab door outer. The door is unfolded. As a result, the knee airbag is inflated and deployed toward the occupant's knee.

By the way, an operation knob for unlocking the door is provided on the design surface side of the grab door outer. When opening the grab door, a finger is put in the groove on the back side of the operation knob and the operation knob is pulled. That's fine.

  Here, in the present invention, since the restricting means is provided, a part of the knee airbag is prevented from entering the groove on the back side of the operation knob at the initial stage when the airbag door is deployed and the knee airbag is inflated and deployed. Or suppressed. Therefore, the deployed shape of the knee airbag is as planned, and the bag inflation pressure of the knee airbag is also as intended.

According to the present invention , the operation knob is arranged on the upper edge side of the design surface of the grab door, and has a knob structure of a type that is operated by inserting a finger into the groove from above the knob. Further, the knee airbag has a portion that expands from the lower side to the upper side of the operation knob. Accordingly, a part of the knee airbag that is deployed from the airbag door to the upper side of the grab door and the groove are in a positional relationship that does not face each other. Therefore, part of the knee airbag does not enter the groove in the first place. In other words, in the present invention, the restricting means is established by turning the operation knob upside down.

  As described above, in the knee airbag device for a vehicle according to the first aspect of the present invention, when the knee airbag is inflated and deployed from inside the grab door, a part of the knee airbag enters the groove of the operation knob of the grab door. This has the excellent effect that the restraining performance of the occupant's knee by the knee airbag can be maintained satisfactorily.

Moreover, the knee airbag device for a vehicle according to the first aspect of the present invention prevents or suppresses a part of the knee airbag from entering the groove when the airbag door is deployed without using any special additional parts. It has an excellent effect of being able to.

Hereinafter, with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4, a description will be given of a first embodiment of the vehicle dual knee air bag device. This first embodiment is a reference example. In these drawings, an arrow FR appropriately shown indicates the vehicle front side, an arrow UP indicates the vehicle upper side, and an arrow IN indicates the vehicle width direction inner side.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the position facing the passenger's knee on the passenger seat side of the instrument panel 10 (more precisely, the upper part of the instrument panel lower 12 constituting the lower part of the instrument panel 10), A grab box 14 is provided for storing small items. As shown in FIG. 1, the grab box 14 includes a resin-made grab box body 16 formed in a box shape, and a grab door 20 that opens and closes an opening 18 of the grab box body 16. The grab box body 16 is arranged so that the opening 18 faces the vehicle rear side (vehicle compartment side).

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the grab door 20 that closes the opening 18 of the above-described grab box body 16 includes a resin-made grab door outer 24 that is arranged on the vehicle interior side and forms a design surface. A resin grab door inner 26 that is disposed on the vehicle front side of the grab door outer 24 and integrated with the grab door outer 24 forms an outer shell.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the grab door outer 24 is formed in a substantially rectangular tray shape. The grab door outer general part 24A having a substantially rectangular flat plate shape constituting the design surface, and the grab door outer general part 24A. And a grab door outer peripheral wall portion 24 </ b> B raised from the outer peripheral four sides.

  On the other hand, the grab door inner 26 is also formed in a tray shape having a size that can be fitted to the grab door outer 24. Accordingly, the grab door inner 26, like the grab door outer 24, has a generally rectangular flat plate-shaped grab door inner general part (not shown) disposed substantially parallel to the grab door outer general part 24A, and the grab door outer. And a grab door inner peripheral wall portion 26B raised from the outer peripheral four sides of the inner general portion. Note that the bottom of the grab door inner 26 is formed deeper than the grab door outer 24.

  A plurality of vertical ribs and horizontal ribs (not shown) formed integrally with the grab door inner 26 are formed inside the above-described grab door inner 26. Both the vertical ribs and the horizontal ribs are made of resin, and the leading ends of the vertical ribs and the horizontal ribs are thermally welded to the front surface of the grab door outer 24 so that the grab door outer 24 and the grab The door inner 26 is integrated. The grab door outer 24 and the grab door inner 26 are also thermally welded to the grab door outer peripheral wall portion 24B and the grab door inner peripheral wall portion 26B. However, the welding method is not limited to this, and vibration welding, ultrasonic welding, or the like may be used.

  The above-described grab door 20 accommodates an airbag module 42 of a knee airbag device 40 with a built-in grab door. The glove door built-in type knee airbag device 40 includes an airbag door 52 and an airbag module 42 which will be described later.

  The airbag module 42 is disposed at a substantially center of the airbag case, a resin airbag case (not shown) formed in a box shape, a knee airbag 46 stored in a folded state in the airbag case, and the airbag case. The formed cylindrical inflator 48 is configured as a main part. The knee airbag 46 may be folded by roll folding, may be folded by bellows folding, or may be folded in combination. In the knee airbag device 40 with a built-in grab door, the inflator 48, which is an element grasped as a gas generating means in a broad sense, is arranged at the approximate center in the airbag case. May be arranged so as to be shifted to the upper end side or the lower end side in the airbag case, and further, the inflator is installed outside the grab door so that the inflator and the knee airbag 46 communicate with each other by a tube or the like. Also good.

  Note that the end of the peripheral wall portion of the airbag case on the open side is thermally welded to the surface of the grab door outer 24 on the vehicle front side. However, the welding method is not limited to this, and vibration welding, ultrasonic welding, or the like may be used.

  Here, on the back side of the grab door outer general part 24A in the above-described grab door outer 24 (surface on the vehicle front side facing the grab door inner 26), a predetermined shape configured as a thin part (in this embodiment, A fracture portion (tier line) 50 having an H shape in front view is formed. The breakage portion 50 includes a linear lateral breakage portion 50A extending along the vehicle width direction, and a pair of left and right straight longitudinal breakage portions 50B passing through the longitudinal ends of the transverse breakage portion 50A. 50C.

  Thus, when the bag deployment pressure acting on the breaking portion 50 reaches a predetermined value, the grab door outer general portion 24A breaks along the breaking portion 50, and the two airbag doors 52 (the upper airbag door 52A and the lower airbag door 52A) The side airbag doors 52B) are deployed in directions away from each other (grab door vertical direction).

  An operation knob 54 is disposed at a position that overlaps the upper airbag door 52A when the upper airbag door 52A is deployed to the upper side of the grab door (in this embodiment, the upper edge side of the grab door outer 24). . As shown in FIG. 2, the operation knob 54 is formed in a substantially L shape that is upside down in a side view, and is accommodated in a recess 56 formed in the upper corner of the grab door outer general portion 24A. ing.

  The concave portion 56 has a depth that can accommodate the operation knob 54, and includes a bottom wall portion 56A, an upper wall portion 56B, and a pair of left and right side wall portions 56C. The bottom wall portion 56A includes a flat surface portion 56A1 arranged in parallel with the grab door outer general portion 24A, and an arcuate curved surface portion 56A2 continuously extending from the lower end side of the flat surface portion 56A1. ing.

  The operation knob 54 includes an oscillating portion 54A disposed at the short side position on the upper side, and a hook portion 54B disposed at the long side position on the lower side and bent and suspended from the oscillating portion 54A. The operation knob 54 is held so as to be swingable about a support shaft 58 disposed at a position where the swinging portion 54A and the hooking portion 54B intersect. Both end portions of the support shaft 58 are supported by a pair of left and right side wall portions 56 </ b> C of the recess 56. Further, a torsion coil spring (not shown) corresponding to the urging means is wound around the support shaft 58. One end of the torsion coil spring is locked to the side wall portion 56C of the recess 56, and the other end is locked to the swinging portion 54A or the hooking portion 54B of the operation knob 54. Accordingly, the torsion coil spring urges the operation knob 54 to rotate clockwise around the support shaft 58 (in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 2 and also in the locking direction). Note that other biasing means (such as a leaf spring) other than the torsion coil spring may be used as the biasing means for biasing the operation knob 54 in the locking direction.

  On the other hand, apart from the torsion coil spring, biasing means for biasing the grab door 20 in the opening direction is also provided on the lower end side of the grab door 20. 1 shows the rotation center P of the grab door 20, but the grab door 20 is twisted around the rotation center axis provided on the rotation center P by a coil spring or the like (in the direction of arrow B in FIG. 1). ) Is always urged to rotate.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a finger is placed between the end portion of the curved wall portion 56 </ b> A <b> 2 of the bottom wall portion 56 </ b> A of the concave portion 56 and the front end portion of the hook portion 54 </ b> B of the operation knob 54. The gap 60 is formed to such an extent that can be formed. A groove 62 is formed across the entire length of the bottom wall portion 56A between the bottom wall portion 56A of the recess 56 and the operation knob 54 adjacent to the gap 60. The groove 62 communicates with the gap 60 and plays a role of ensuring a swing locus of the swing portion 54A of the operation knob 54. In that sense, the gap 60 can be said to be a groove inlet of the groove 62 and constitutes a part of the “groove” in the present invention.

  In the state when the upper airbag door 52 is deployed, the groove 62 and the gap 60 are closed by the upper end portion of the upper airbag door 52A. The above-mentioned “position where the upper airbag door 52A overlaps with the upper airbag door 52A when the upper airbag door 52A is deployed upward” refers to at least the groove 62 and the gap 60 when the upper airbag door 52A is deployed. Need only be covered to the extent that they are closed by the upper airbag door 52A, and it is not always necessary to cover the entire operation knob 54. Conversely, the door vertical length when the upper airbag door 52A is deployed may be in a positional relationship covering the entire recess 56.

(Operation and effect of this embodiment)
Next, the operation and effect of this embodiment will be described.

  The grab box 14 is held in a state where the grab door 20 is closed when not in use. When the grab door 20 is opened from this state, it is only necessary to insert a finger into the groove 62 from the gap 60 provided on the lower edge side of the operation knob 54, hook the finger on the hook portion 54B, and pull it forward. Thereby, the operation knob 54 is swung in the direction opposite to the arrow A direction in FIG. 2 against the urging force of the torsion coil spring, and the locked state is released. When the locked state is released, the grab door 20 is rotated in the direction of arrow B in FIG. 1 about the rotation center P by the urging force of the urging means provided on the lower end side thereof. As a result, the grab box 14 is opened, and small items such as an owner's manual stored in the grab box body 16 can be taken out. In the case of closing the grab door 20, if the grab door 20 is pushed to the closing position by hand as it is, the locked state is again established.

  Here, when a vehicle equipped with the above-configured glove door built-in type knee airbag device 40 collides with the front, the state is detected by a collision detection means (not shown), and a detection signal is output to the airbag ECU. When the airbag ECU determines that the airbag is activated, various airbag devices on the driver's seat side are activated, and the knee airbag device 40 with a built-in grab door on the passenger seat side is also activated. That is, a predetermined current is applied to the squib of the inflator 48 of the airbag module 42 built in the grab door 20 to operate the inflator 48. Thereby, gas is generated from the inflator 48, and the gas is supplied into the knee airbag 46 stored in the grab door 20 in a folded state, and is inflated.

  Since the open end of the peripheral wall portion of the airbag case is thermally welded to the front surface of the grab door outer 24, the inflation pressure of the knee airbag 46 acts on the grab door outer 24 without loss. The door outer general portion 24A is quickly broken along the H-shaped broken portion 50 in a front view. As a result, as shown in FIG. 1, the airbag door 52 is expanded vertically, and the knee airbag 46 is inflated and deployed between the instrument panel 10 and the knees of the occupant. Both knees are restrained and protected.

  At this time, if the vertical dimension is set short like the upper airbag door 64 shown in FIG. 4 (or the upper knob door 52A is used, the position of the operation knob 54 is When the upper airbag door 52A is set so as not to overlap the upper airbag door 52A), the upper end 64A of the upper airbag door 64 is positioned below the gap 60 and the groove 62 of the operation knob 54. In this case, since the gap 60 and the groove 62 are not closed by the upper airbag door 54, when the knee airbag 46 starts to expand, a part thereof (more specifically, from the lower side of the operation knob 54 to the upper side) 46A (a part of the vehicle upper side of the bag upper portion 46B, which is a portion that expands toward the side) may enter the groove 62 from the gap 60.

  However, in the present embodiment, when the upper airbag door 52 is deployed, the gap 60 and the groove 62 are closed by the upper end portion of the upper airbag door 52, so that a part of the knee airbag 46 extends from the gap 60 into the groove 62. There is no intrusion. Accordingly, the deployed shape of the knee airbag 46 is as planned, and the bag inflation pressure of the knee airbag 46 is also as intended. As a result, according to the present embodiment, when the knee airbag 46 is inflated and deployed from within the grab door 20, a portion 46A of the knee airbag 46 is prevented from entering the gap 60 and the groove 62 of the operation knob 54 of the grab door 20. Alternatively, the restraint performance of the occupant's knee by the knee airbag 46 can be maintained well.

  In addition, since the upper airbag door 52 that is deployed is used to close the gap 60 and the groove 62 on the lower edge side of the operation knob 54, no special additional parts are used. Therefore, the number of parts does not increase and the above effect can be obtained, which can contribute to cost reduction.

[Second Embodiment]
Next, a second embodiment of the vehicle knee airbag device according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6. In addition, about the same component as 1st Embodiment mentioned above, the same number is attached | subjected and the description is abbreviate | omitted.

  As shown in these drawings, in the second embodiment, the upper and lower airbag doors 70A and 70B constituting the airbag door 70 have a shorter door vertical dimension than the first embodiment described above. Is set. The arrangement position of the operation knob 72 is disposed slightly outside the case of the first embodiment described above. As described above, in the second embodiment, since the length in the vertical direction of the door when the upper airbag door 70 is deployed is short, the upper end portion of the upper airbag door 70 </ b> A is connected to the operation knob 72 when the airbag door 70 is deployed. The positional relationship does not affect the arrangement position.

  Therefore, in the second embodiment, the arrangement is changed without changing the shape of the operation knob 72 itself. That is, the L-shaped operation knob 72 provided with the swinging part 72A and the hooking part 72B in a side view is supported on the left and right side wall parts 56C of the concave part 56 so as to be swingable around the support shaft 58 on the lower end side. Has been. A gap 74 is set on the upper edge side of the hook portion 72B. Accordingly, the groove 76 communicating with the gap 74 is formed from the vicinity of the flat surface portion 56A1 of the bottom wall portion 56A of the recess 56 to the upper wall 56B. Note that the rotation urging direction of the operation knob 72 is the opposite direction to that of the first embodiment, and is the direction of arrow C in FIG.

(Action / Effect)
According to the above configuration, when the grab door 20 is opened, if a finger is inserted into the groove 76 from the gap 74 provided on the upper edge side of the operation knob 72, the finger is hooked on the hook portion 72B, and pulled forward. Good. Thereby, the operation knob 72 is swung in the direction opposite to the arrow C direction in FIG. 6 against the biasing force of the torsion coil spring, and the locked state is released. Thereby, the grab door 20 can be opened. The subsequent operations are the same as those in the first embodiment described above.

  Here, when a vehicle equipped with the above-configured glove door built-in type knee airbag device 40 collides with the front and the inflator 48 is activated, bag inflation pressure acts on the airbag door 70, and the airbag door 70 is deployed vertically. Is done.

  At this time, since the upper airbag door 70A of the airbag door 70 of the present embodiment is shorter in the vertical direction of the grab door than the upper airbag door 52A of the first embodiment, even if the airbag door 70 is deployed, the upper airbag The recess 56 is not covered by the door 70A.

  However, since the operation knob 72 is disposed upside down and the gap 74 and the groove 76 are provided on the upper edge side of the hook portion 72B, a part 46A of the knee airbag 46 enters the groove 76 from the gap 74. There is little or no. That is, the knee airbag 46 is inflated from the deployed airbag door 70, and the bag upper portion 46B is deployed to the upper side of the grab door. Therefore, a gap 74 and a groove 76 exist on the upper edge side of the hook portion 72B of the operation knob 72. It is unlikely that part 46A will enter the minute. Therefore, by adopting the above-described configuration, also in the present embodiment, as in the first embodiment described above, when the knee airbag 46 is inflated and deployed from within the grab door 20, a portion 46A of the knee airbag 46 becomes part of the grab door 20. It is possible to prevent or suppress the clearance of the operation knob 72 from entering the gap 74 and the groove 76, and to maintain the restraint performance of the occupant's knee by the knee airbag 46 favorably.

  In addition, since the operation knob 72 is arranged upside down so that the finger is hooked on the hook portion 72B from above, no special additional parts are used. Therefore, the number of parts does not increase and the above effect can be obtained, which can contribute to cost reduction.

[Supplementary explanation of the above embodiment]
(1) In the first and second embodiments described above, it has been described that the knee airbag device 40 with a built-in grab door is activated at the time of a frontal collision. If a collision is predicted by the collision predicting means, a knee airbag device with a built-in grab door may be operated. In other words, “at the time of collision” described in claim 1 includes not only actual collision time but also collision prediction time.

  (2) Supplementing the term “built-in” in the case of the built-in grab door knee airbag device 40 according to the first and second embodiments, all the main components of the knee airbag device are contained in the grab door 20. It is not necessary to be disposed, and at least the knee airbag is included in “built-in” if it is disposed inside the grab door. Therefore, as described above, after connecting the inflator and the knee airbag with a communication means such as a hose, the inflator is provided on the grab box body 16 side, the instrument panel 10 side, the body such as instrument panel reinforcement, etc. Or may be provided in equipment such as an air conditioner unit.

  (3) In the first and second embodiments, the airbag doors 52 and 70 are divided into upper and lower parts, but the present invention can be applied if at least the upper airbag door exists, and the upper side of the grab door. An airbag door that opens halfway may be used. Further, the airbag door may be divided into four or six, and the airbag door may be deployed vertically and horizontally.

  (4) In the first and second embodiments, the operation knobs 54 and 72 are set at the upper right corner of the grab door 20, and it is also common to set the operation knob on the upper edge side of the grab door in this way. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and an operation knob may be set near the outer periphery of the grab door and on the instrument panel side. Even in such a case, if the first embodiment is taken as an example, the present invention is applicable as long as the knee airbag and the groove of the operation knob overlap in front view.

It is a perspective view in the state where a knee airbag was developed in a knee airbag device with a built-in grab door according to the first embodiment. It is the longitudinal cross-sectional view (2-2 sectional drawing of FIG. 1) which expanded the structure of the principal part of the knee airbag apparatus with a built-in grab door shown by FIG. It is an external appearance front view of an instrument panel in which a knee airbag device with a built-in grab door is mounted. FIG. 6 is an explanatory view for explaining the effect of the first embodiment, and is a longitudinal sectional view corresponding to FIG. 2 showing an example of a deployed state of the knee airbag in the case of comparison without the configuration of the first embodiment. is there. It is a perspective view in the state where a knee airbag was developed in a knee airbag device with a built-in grab door according to a second embodiment. FIG. 6 is an enlarged vertical cross-sectional view (cross-sectional view taken along line 6-6 in FIG. 5) of a main part of the glove door built-in type knee airbag device shown in FIG. It is.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Instrument panel 14 Grab box 16 Grab box main body 20 Grab door 24 Grab door outer 40 Grab door built-in type knee airbag device (vehicle knee airbag device)
42 air bag module 50 breaks
58 spindle 70 upper airbag door 72 operation knob (regulating means)
74 Clearance (groove)
76 groove

Claims (1)

An airbag module configured to include a knee airbag that is folded during non-collision and inflated and deployed to the occupant's knee during collision;
The glove box body provided at a predetermined position of the instrument panel is opened and closed, and the airbag module is accommodated therein. A grab door configured to include an outer grab door with a deploying airbag door;
A restricting means for preventing or suppressing a part of the knee airbag from entering the groove on the back side of the operation knob provided for door lock release while being provided on the design surface side of the grab door outer,
Have
The operation knob is disposed on the upper edge side of the grab door and is supported so as to be swingable around the support shaft on the lower end side, and is further operated by inserting a finger into the groove from above the knob. And
The knee airbag has an upper airbag door that is deployed from the lower side to the upper side of the operation knob, and the length in the vertical direction of the door when the upper airbag door is deployed is as follows. The upper end is set to a length that does not cover the position of the operation knob,
Furthermore, the knob structure also constitutes the regulating means,
A knee airbag device for a vehicle.

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