JP2005153598A - Knee bolster structure - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a knee bolster structure surely operated or enhancing sureness of an operation as much as possible. <P>SOLUTION: In this structure, a knee receiving member 3 to receive a knee input is mounted on a vehicle body side member 2 via an impact absorbing part 6 to absorb the knee input of a front seat occupant and a knee receiving member moving part 7 to move the knee receiving member 3 to a knee receiving position of the front seat occupant. The knee receiving member moving part 7 is provided with fixed side arm 27 and movable side arm 28 having upper ends openably/closably connected by a hinge 26 and an operating lever 30 to open the movable side arm 28 in relation to the fixed side arm 27. The movable side arm 28 and the operating lever 30 are connected by slide fitting of an oblong hole 33 and an action shaft 34. In the structure, an impact relaxing means 50 to relax impact force generated in the action shaft 34 is provided. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a knee bolster structure.

In vehicles such as automobiles, in order to protect the knees of front seat occupants when a load is input, it is considered to install a knee bolster (also referred to as a knee protector) in the passenger compartment, and development thereof is underway (for example, Patent Document 1).
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-032195

  However, the knee bolster needs to be reliably operated, or the reliability of the operation needs to be increased as much as possible.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, in the invention described in claim 1, the vehicle body side member has an impact absorbing portion that absorbs knee input of the front seat occupant and a knee support that is moved to the knee support position of the front seat occupant. A knee bolster structure in which a knee receiving member for receiving knee input is attached via a member moving portion, wherein the knee receiving member moving portion is movable and fixedly connected to the upper end by a hinge so as to be opened and closed. A movable arm that opens the movable arm with respect to the fixed arm, the movable arm and the operating lever are connected by sliding fitting between the elongated hole and the working shaft, and the working shaft It is characterized by a knee bolster structure provided with impact mitigation means for mitigating the impact force generated in the.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, the impact mitigating means is a stopper portion provided on the fixed side arm, on which the operating lever hits before the operating shaft reaches the open end of the elongated hole. 1 is characterized by a knee bolster structure.

  The invention described in claim 3 is characterized by the knee bolster structure according to claim 1, wherein the impact mitigating means is a speed reducing portion provided at the open end portion of the elongated hole to decelerate the action shaft.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the shock relief means can relieve the impact force generated on the action shaft, thereby preventing damage around the action shaft and improving the reliability of the operation. The design freedom can be increased with a smaller diameter.

  According to the invention of claim 2, the impact force acting on the action shaft is reduced by the operation lever hitting the stopper provided on the fixed side arm before the action shaft reaches the open end of the long hole. Can do.

  According to the invention of claim 3, the speed reducing portion provided at the open end of the elongated hole can reduce the impact force acting on the action shaft by decelerating the action shaft.

  The purpose of increasing the certainty of operation is realized by means of providing an impact mitigation means for mitigating the impact force generated on the action shaft.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below together with illustrated examples.

  1 to 6 show an embodiment of the present invention.

  First, the configuration will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, a vehicle such as an automobile is provided with an instrument panel 1 in the front part of the vehicle interior. A vehicle body side member 2 such as a steering support member is provided inside the instrument panel 1. The steering support member is a strength member that extends substantially horizontally in the vehicle width direction and is connected between the left and right side frames of the vehicle body. A steering column (not shown) is attached to the driver seat side of the steering support member.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a knee support member 3 for receiving knee input from a front seat occupant is attached to the vehicle body side member 2 as described later. The knee support member 3 is inclined and disposed at a portion constituting the foot space of the front seat occupant at the lower part of the instrument panel 1 so as to be lowered forward. The knee support member 3 is provided on at least one or both of the driver seat side and the passenger seat side. The knee support member 3 has a substantially plate shape so that knee input can be received over a wide area (so that both knees of the front seat occupant can be received simultaneously).

  The knee receiving member 3 includes an impact absorbing portion 6 that absorbs knee input of the front seat occupant and a knee receiving member moving portion 7 that moves the knee receiving member 3 to the knee receiving position. So that it can be installed indirectly. Then, the shock absorbing unit 6 and the knee receiving member moving unit 7 are structurally divided according to function, and the shock absorbing unit 6 and the knee receiving member moving unit 7 are configured to be freely combined.

  More specifically, the shock absorber 6 includes an upper shock absorber 11 that can absorb the knee input of a front occupant having an average physique, and a lower shock absorber 12 that can absorb the knee input of a small front occupant. It is divided into two and installed up and down. The upper impact absorbing portion 11 is configured to receive a knee input mainly to the upper portion of the knee receiving member 3. Further, the lower impact absorbing portion 12 is configured to receive knee input mainly to the lower portion of the knee receiving member 3.

  Then, a difference in strength is provided between the upper impact absorbing portion 11 and the lower impact absorbing portion 12 so that the receiving strength is increased and the receiving strength of the lower impact absorbing portion 12 is decreased. For this purpose, the strength difference is set by the difference in length between the upper shock absorber 11 and the lower shock absorber 12 by shortening the total size. Alternatively, the upper impact absorbing portion 11 may be thick and the lower impact absorbing portion 12 may be thin, and the strength difference may be set according to the thickness difference. Alternatively, the cross-sectional shape of the upper impact absorbing portion 11 may be increased, the cross-sectional shape of the lower impact absorbing portion 12 may be reduced, and the strength difference may be set according to the area difference. Further, the intensity difference may be set by adopting means other than those described above. Alternatively, these may be combined.

  The upper impact absorbing portion 11 has a base end connected to the vehicle rear side of the vehicle body side member 2 and a bent portion 13 for absorbing the knee input of a front seat occupant having an average physique at an intermediate portion. It has a substantially square shape in side view. The lower impact absorbing portion 12 has a base end connected to the vehicle front side of the vehicle body side member 2 and a plurality of bent portions 14 for absorbing a knee input of a small front seat occupant in the middle portion. It has locations (three locations in FIG. 1) and has a substantially letter shape in side view. In other words, the upper impact absorbing portion 11 and the lower impact absorbing portion 12 have an ability to absorb knee input depending on the number of bent portions 13 and 14. And the front-end | tip of the upper shock absorption part 11 is connected to the back surface side (upper surface side) near the front-end | tip of the lower shock absorption part 12 routed from the vehicle front to the vehicle rear.

  On the other hand, the knee support member moving part 7 is configured to displace the lower part of the knee support member 3 rearward (occupant side) so that the knee input of a small front seat occupant can be received at a faster time. As shown in FIG. 3, the knee receiving member moving unit 7 includes a moving mechanism 21, an operating mechanism 22 that operates the moving mechanism 21, and a holding mechanism 23 that holds the moving mechanism 21 in an operating state.

  The moving mechanism 21 includes a fixed side arm 27 and a movable side arm 28 that are connected to each other by a hinge 26 between the upper ends and can be opened and closed at the lower end side. The operation mechanism 22 includes an operation lever 30 that opens the movable arm 28 with respect to the fixed arm 27, and an arm drive mechanism 31 that drives the operation lever 30. The holding mechanism 23 is for holding the movable arm 28 in an open state, and is mainly provided in a portion of the movable arm 28 as will be described later.

  Here, the fixed arm 27 has a substantially downward U-shaped cross-sectional shape. The movable arm 28 has a substantially upward U-shaped cross-sectional shape. The movable side arm 28 has a cross-sectional shape that is slightly smaller than the fixed side arm 27 and is fitted into the fixed side arm 27. Further, the operation lever 30 is supported by the intermediate side surface of the fixed side arm 27 on the intermediate side surface of the fixed side arm 27 using the support shaft 32, and the distal end side surface is formed on the intermediate side surface of the movable arm 28. The hole 33 is slidably supported by the action shaft 34. The elongated hole 33 is extended relatively long in a substantially straight line with respect to the approximately longitudinal direction of the movable arm 28. The operating lever 30 has a substantially downward U-shape that is slightly smaller than the movable arm 28, and the distal end portion between the support shaft 32 and the action shaft 34 when closed is the movable arm 28 and the fixed arm. 27.

  For the arm drive mechanism 31, for example, an actuator such as an explosive cylinder that is extended by an explosive force of explosives is used. The rod tip of an explosive cylinder as the arm drive mechanism 31 is slidably connected to an elongated hole 36 formed in the base end side surface of the operation lever 30 using an input shaft 35. The long hole 36 is for adjusting a shift in movement between the linear motion of the rod of the explosion type cylinder and the rotational motion of the operation lever 30 and is formed relatively short.

  Then, a notch 38 is formed in a substantially downward U-shaped upper surface portion on the lower end side of the portion in which the movable arm 28 of the fixed arm 27 is fitted, and a mounting bracket 39 is provided above the notch 38. Attach the arm drive mechanism 31. The mounting bracket 39 has a halved shape, and has a structure in which the arm drive mechanism 31 is sandwiched between two halves and fastened and fixed with bolts. The operation lever 30 is disposed in a state in which a base end portion between the support shaft 32 and the input shaft 35 protrudes upward from the notch 38 to the fixed side arm 27.

  Further, the holding mechanism 23 here is constituted by a bent portion 41 for detent formed on the lower end side (open side end portion) of the long hole 33. The bent portion 41 is made to function by optimizing the angle with respect to the long hole 33. Although not particularly illustrated, a detent mechanism as a holding mechanism can be provided between the main body of the explosion type cylinder as the arm drive mechanism 31 and the rod.

  The structurally divided impact absorbing portion 6 and knee receiving member moving portion 7 are connected by attaching a fixed arm 27 to the lower surface of the lower impact absorbing portion 12. Attachment of the lower impact absorbing portion 12 and the fixed arm 27 is, for example, bolted spot welding (spot welded portion 42). The knee receiving member moving unit 7 has a strength that does not collapse before the shock absorbing unit 6.

  In this embodiment, an impact mitigating means 50 for mitigating the impact force generated on the action shaft 34 is further provided.

  As the impact relaxation means 50, for example, a stopper 51 is provided on the fixed arm 27 so that the operation lever 30 hits immediately before the operating shaft 34 reaches the open end of the long hole 33. More specifically, the stopper portion 51 is formed by appropriately extending the portion of the notch 38 in the middle portion of the fixed side arm 27 and bending it sideways.

  Further, as the impact mitigating means 50, as shown in FIG. 4, a speed reducing portion 52 that decelerates the action shaft 34 is provided at the open end of the long hole 33. More specifically, the detent bent portion 41 is tapered so that the action shaft 34 can receive a frictional resistance and decelerate.

  The shock absorbing unit 6 and the knee receiving member moving unit 7 are provided in a pair on the left and right with respect to the knee receiving member 3 so as to correspond to the knees of the front seat occupant. Therefore, the knee support member 3 is attached so as to connect the movable arms 28 of the left and right knee support member moving parts 7. When the knee support member 3 is provided on the driver's seat side, in order to avoid interference with the steering column or the like, a column that extends in the substantially vertical direction at the center thereof and protrudes rearward of the vehicle as necessary. A detour portion may be formed. A decorative member or the like may be attached to the surface of the knee support member 3.

  Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, when not operating, the fixed arm 27 and the movable arm 28 of the moving mechanism 21 in the knee receiving member moving portion 7 are closed.

  When the load is input, the explosive cylinder as the arm drive mechanism 31 extends and the rod of the explosive cylinder pushes the input shaft 35, thereby rotating the operation lever 30 about the support shaft 32. As a result, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the action shaft 34 at the tip of the operation lever 30 slides along the long hole 33 formed in the movable arm 28, and the movable arm 28 and the knee are centered on the hinge 26. The lower part of the receiving member 3 is displaced to the rear knee receiving position, and the fixed side arm 27 and the movable side arm 28 are opened.

  Further, the action shaft 34 at the tip of the operation lever 30 enters the bent portion 41 of the long hole 33. As a result, a holding function or a detent function by the holding mechanism 23 is exhibited, and the operation lever 30 is stretched so that the knee receiving member 3 does not return.

  At this time, in this embodiment, the impact relaxation means 50 can relieve the impact force generated on the action shaft 34, thereby preventing damage around the action shaft 34 and improving the reliability of the operation. The design freedom can be increased by making the shaft 34 smaller in diameter. That is, since the action shaft 34 is slidably fitted into a relatively long elongated hole 33 formed on the side surface of the movable arm 28, it is difficult to obtain strength, but an impact mitigating means 50 is provided. As a result, it is possible to prevent damage around the operating shaft 34 almost certainly.

  For example, the impact force acting on the action shaft 34 can be reduced by the operation lever 30 hitting the stopper 51 provided on the fixed side arm 27 before the action shaft 34 reaches the open end of the long hole 33. it can.

  Further, the speed reducing portion 52 provided at the open end of the long hole 33 decelerates the action shaft 34, whereby the impact force acting on the action shaft 34 can be reduced. That is, the bent portion 41 for detent formed at the open end of the long hole 33 is tapered so as to become the speed reducing portion 52, so that the working shaft 34 entering the bent portion 41 receives a frictional resistance. Decelerated and the impact force acting on the action shaft 34 is reduced.

  The knee of the front seat occupant having an average physique abuts on the upper portion of the knee support member 3, and the knee of the small front seat occupant abuts on the lower portion of the knee support member 3. Thus, the lower part of the knee support member 3 is displaced, so that the knee input of the small front seat occupant can be received at a faster time.

  Thereafter, the shock absorbing unit 6 functions, and the knee input of the front seat occupant having an average physique is absorbed by the upper shock absorbing unit 11 mainly deforming. Further, the knee input of the small front seat occupant is absorbed by the lower impact absorbing portion 12 mainly deforming.

  As described above, the upper impact absorbing portion 11 and the lower impact absorbing portion 12 are divided into two parts and installed vertically so that the receiving strength of the upper impact absorbing portion 11 is increased and the receiving strength of the lower impact absorbing portion 12 is decreased. By setting a difference in strength between the two, the upper shock absorber 11 appropriately absorbs the knee input of the front occupant having an average physique, and the lower shock absorber 12 appropriately absorbs the knee input of the small front occupant. Since it will be absorbed, it will be possible to change the receiving strength according to the physique difference between the front seat occupant of average physique and the small front seat occupant, and it will be possible to have functions corresponding to both .

  In addition, the shock absorbing unit 6 and the knee receiving member moving unit 7 are divided into different structures according to their functions so that they can be freely combined to prepare several types of shock absorbing units 6 and knee receiving member moving units 7 in advance. By combining these, it becomes possible to correspond to many vehicle types. Or, for cars with similar specifications around the instrument panel 1, a simple use of a common part for either the shock absorbing part 6 or the knee support member moving part 7 and a slightly different dimensional relationship for the other If corrected parts are used, the parts can be shared and easily adapted. Therefore, it is possible to reduce costs and shorten the development period.

  Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail with reference to the drawings, the embodiments are only examples of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to the configurations of the embodiments. Needless to say, design changes and the like within a range not departing from the gist of the invention are included in the present invention.

It is a whole side view of the closed state of the example of the present invention. It is the fragmentary perspective view which looked at FIG. 1 from the vehicle front. FIG. 3 is a partial side view of FIG. 2. FIG. 4 is a partially enlarged view of FIG. 3. It is the fragmentary perspective view seen from the vehicle front as the state which opened FIG. FIG. 6 is a partial side view of FIG. 5.

Explanation of symbols

2 Car body side member 3 Knee support member 6 Shock absorbing part 7 Knee support member moving part 26 Hinge 27 Fixed side arm 28 Movable side arm 30 Operating lever 33 Long hole 34 Acting shaft 30 Impact mitigating means 50 Impact mitigating means 51 Stopper part 52 Deceleration Part

Claims (3)

A knee support member for receiving knee input is provided on the vehicle body side member via an impact absorbing portion that absorbs knee input of the front seat occupant and a knee support member moving portion that moves to the knee support position of the front seat occupant. An installed knee bolster structure,
The knee support member moving part includes a fixed side arm and a movable side arm that are connected to each other by a hinge between upper ends, and an operation lever that opens the movable side arm with respect to the fixed side arm. The operation lever is connected by a slide fit between the long hole and the action shaft,
Further, a knee bolster structure characterized in that an impact mitigating means for mitigating an impact force generated on the action shaft is provided.   2. The knee bolster structure according to claim 1, wherein the impact relaxation means is a stopper portion provided on the fixed arm, on which the operating lever hits before the operating shaft reaches the open end of the elongated hole. . 2. The knee bolster structure according to claim 1, wherein the impact relaxation means is a speed reducing portion provided at an open side end portion of the elongated hole to decelerate a working shaft.