JP2006151087A - Knee guard member - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To correspond to both knees of an occupant by one member, and to reduce the parts count and weight of a vehicle. <P>SOLUTION: The knee guard member 6 is arranged between a steering support beam 5 and an instrument panel to protect the knees of the occupant at the time of vehicular collision. The knee guard member comprises a left side energy absorbing portion 12 formed on a left end side to absorb shock of a left knee of the occupant at the time of vehicular collision, and a right side energy absorbing portion 13 formed on a right end side to absorb shock of a right knee of the occupant at the time of vehicular collision which are formed so as to extend in right and left directions along the steering support beam. The shock of both knees is absorbed by one member. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a knee guard member that is disposed between a steering support beam and an instrument panel and protects an occupant's knee in the event of a vehicle collision.

  In an automobile vehicle, a knee guard member that receives an occupant's knee that moves forward in the event of a vehicle collision is disposed on the back side of the instrument panel. As this type of knee guard member, a sheet metal member that is installed in a pair of left and right steering support beams so as to correspond to both occupants' knees is generally used (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Each knee guard member described in Patent Document 1 has a double structure consisting of an outer frame and an inner frame. When both knees of an occupant move forward during a vehicle collision, the outer frame is plastically deformed and then the inner frame is plastically deformed. It is supposed to be. In addition, as another knee guard member, a plurality of closed cross-section portions are formed continuously in front and back, and when both occupants' knees move forward at the time of a vehicle collision, they are crushed sequentially from the closed cross-section portion on the rear side. It has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 2). Any knee guard member generally has different specifications for the right knee and the left knee, and each knee guard member corresponds to both occupants' knees.
JP 2000-43661 A JP-A-5-238338

  However, in any of the knee guard structures described above, there is a problem that the number of parts and the weight of the vehicle increase because separate knee guard members are provided corresponding to each knee of the occupant.

  This invention is made | formed in view of the said situation, The place made into the objective is providing the knee guard member which can reduce the number of parts and weight of a vehicle.

  To achieve the above object, according to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a knee guard member disposed between a steering support beam and an instrument panel for protecting a passenger's knee at the time of a vehicle collision, the steering support. A left-side energy absorber that is formed to extend left and right along the beam and absorbs the impact of the left knee of the occupant during a vehicle collision, and the impact of the right knee of the occupant during a vehicle collision formed at the right end And a right-side energy absorbing portion that absorbs water.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the collision energy is absorbed by receiving both the knees of the occupant at the time of the vehicle collision and being crushed between the steering support beam and the both knees. Here, the impact of the left knee of the occupant is absorbed on the left end side, and the impact of the right knee of the occupant is absorbed on the right end side, so that one member can correspond to both knees of the occupant. .
Thereby, the knee guard member for protecting both knees of the occupant can be reduced from the conventional two to one, and the number of parts and weight of the vehicle can be reduced. Moreover, since it is composed of one member, there is no possibility that the knee guard members for the left knee and the right knee will be mistakenly assembled when the vehicle is manufactured.
In addition, by adopting a shape extending in the left-right direction, a predetermined energy absorption amount can be ensured even if it is formed flatter in the left-right direction than the conventional one. Therefore, a knee guard member can be arranged along the steering support beam to secure a large space on the back side of the instrument panel and to improve the degree of freedom of the layout and shape of other components. That is, for example, the capacity of the glove box can be increased.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the knee guard member according to the first aspect, the left energy absorbing portion and the right energy absorbing portion are configured to have different strengths.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the action of the first aspect, the left energy absorbing portion and the right energy absorbing portion have different strengths. Depending on the arrangement state of the components, the relationship between the stroke amount and the energy absorption amount in the left energy absorption unit and the right energy absorption unit can be set independently.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the knee guard member according to the first or second aspect, each of the left energy absorbing portion and the right energy absorbing portion has a plurality of energy absorbing portions that sequentially absorb energy in the event of a vehicle collision. It is characterized by that.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, in addition to the action of the first or second aspect, in the event of a vehicle collision, the energy absorbing parts are sequentially crushed by the left energy absorbing part and the right energy absorbing part, thereby absorbing energy. Is planned. Thereby, the exact reaction force according to stroke amount can be provided to a passenger | crew's both knees.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the knee guard member according to the third aspect, each of the energy absorbing portions includes a first occupant absorbing portion and a first occupant absorbing portion formed corresponding to the first occupant and the second occupant having different physiques. It includes two occupant absorption parts.

  According to the invention described in claim 4, in addition to the action described in claim 3, for an occupant having a large physique, both the first occupant absorption part and the second occupant absorption part are crushed at the time of a vehicle collision to absorb energy. In the case of an occupant with a small physique, the stroke amount and the energy absorption amount corresponding to the occupants of a plurality of physiques are obtained by collapsing one of the first occupant absorption part and the second occupant absorption part at the time of a vehicle collision. Can be set.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the knee guard member according to the fourth aspect, the first occupant is a male and the second occupant is a female.

  According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the action of the fourth aspect, males and females can be individually adapted to comply with laws and regulations, which is extremely advantageous in practical use.

  As described above, according to the knee guard member of the present invention, one member can correspond to both knees of the occupant, and the number of parts and weight of the vehicle can be reduced.

  1 to 5 show an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of an instrument panel, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is assembled to a steering support beam. FIG. 4 is an external perspective view of the knee guard member in a state, FIG. 4 is an external perspective view of the knee guard member in a state where the reinforcing portion of the instrument panel is connected, and FIG. 5 is a top view of the knee guard member.

  As shown in FIG. 1, an instrument panel 1 (hereinafter referred to as an instrument panel 1) is disposed at a front portion in a vehicle compartment, and an air outlet 2 is formed. The discharge ports 2 are formed on the left and right end sides and the left and right center side of the instrument panel 1. At the upper part of the instrument panel 1 on the passenger seat side, an airbag device 3 for the passenger seat is provided. An openable / closable glove box 4 is disposed on the rear surface of the instrument panel 1 on the passenger seat side.

  As shown in FIG. 2, on the back side of the instrument panel 1, a steering support beam 5 that connects the left and right front pillars of the vehicle body and supports the steering column is installed. In the present embodiment, the steering support beam 5 is made of metal and has substantially the same cross-sectional shape on the left and right as shown in FIG. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, the steering support beam 5 has a cross-sectional shape with a semicircular cross section at the front end and the rear end, the front end is formed with a larger radius than the rear end, and the front end and the rear end are formed. The semicircular portions at the ends are connected by inclined surfaces that form an upper surface and a lower surface. A knee guard member 6 is disposed between the steering support beam 5 and the instrument panel 1 to protect an occupant's knee in the event of a vehicle collision. In the present embodiment, the knee guard member 6 on the passenger seat side is configured to correspond to both occupants' knees with a single member. Further, on the back side of the instrument panel 1, an air conditioning duct 7 that guides the air exchanged by the cooling unit or the heater unit of the air conditioner to each discharge port 2 is disposed.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the knee guard member 6 is formed so as to extend left and right along the steering support beam 5, and the front portion is assembled to a bracket 5 a attached to the steering support beam 5 by a bolt 8. Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the rear portion of the knee guard member 6 is connected to a reinforcing portion 10 that protrudes from the skin portion 9 of the instrument panel 1 to the back side by a plurality of screws 11. As shown in FIG. 4, the knee guard member 6 is formed by bending a plate member made of aluminum and having a predetermined width in the vertical direction.

  Specifically, the knee guard member 6 includes a mounting portion 6a that is attached to the steering support beam 5 and is formed in a flat plate shape that extends in the left and right directions, and an outer frame portion 6b that is formed continuously with the mounting portion 6a and corresponds to a female occupant. An inner frame portion 6c that is formed continuously with the attachment portion 6a and corresponds to a male occupant having a different physique from the female occupant. In the present embodiment, the attachment portion 6a is divided into a left attachment portion 6a1 and a right attachment portion 6a2, and bolt holes for fastening and fixing to the upper and lower cylindrical portions of the steering support beam 5 are arranged vertically. It is formed.

  The outer frame portion 6b includes a left first energy absorption portion 6b1 extending from the left attachment portion 6a1 toward the instrument panel 1, a right first energy absorption portion 6b2 extending from the right attachment portion 6a2 toward the instrument panel 1, and 1 energy absorption part 6b1, 6b2 is connected, and it has the left-right extension part 6b3 extended substantially left and right. The inner frame portion 6c includes a left second energy absorption portion 6c1 extending from the right side of the base end portion of the left first energy absorption portion 6b1 in the left attachment portion 6a1 toward the instrument panel 1 side, and a right side second in the right attachment portion 6a2. A right-side second energy absorption portion 6c2 extending from the left side of the base end portion of the first energy absorption portion 6b2 toward the instrument panel 1, and a left-right extension portion 6c3 connecting the second energy absorption portions 6c1 and 6c2 and extending substantially to the left and right Have. That is, each first energy absorbing portion 6b1, 6b2 is a first occupant absorbing portion formed corresponding to a female occupant, and each second energy absorbing portion 6c1, 6c2 is formed corresponding to a male occupant. The occupant absorption part.

  As shown in FIG. 5, each second energy absorbing portion 6c1, 6c2 is formed shorter than each first energy absorbing portion 6b1, 6b2. The left first energy absorbing portion 6b1 and the left second energy absorbing portion 6c1 are formed on the left end side of the knee guard member 6 to form a left energy absorbing portion 12 that absorbs the impact of the left knee of the occupant during a vehicle collision. The first energy absorbing portion 6b2 and the right second energy absorbing portion 6c2 form the right energy absorbing portion 13 that is formed on the right end side of the knee guard member 6 and absorbs the impact of the occupant's right knee during a vehicle collision. As described above, the outer frame portion 6b and the inner frame portion 6c are formed at a predetermined interval. In this embodiment, the knee guard member 6 has a double structure of the outer frame portion 6b and the inner frame portion 6c. It is symmetrical.

  The first energy absorbing portions 6b1 and 6b2 of the outer frame portion 6b are inclined leftward and rightwardly outward from the attachment portion 6a and extended rearward, and inclined to the leftward and rightward inner sides of the bent portion 6b4 at the front and rear center and extended rearwardly. Connected to the extended portion 6b3. Similarly, the second energy absorbing portions 6c1 and 6c2 of the inner frame portion 6c also incline toward the left and right outside from the mounting portion 6a and extend rearward, and incline to the left and right inside with the bent portion 6c4 at the front and rear center as a boundary. And is connected to the left and right extending portion 6c3. Thus, the first energy absorbing portions 6b1 and 6b2 and the second energy absorbing portions 6c1 and 6c2 are plastically deformed in a mode in which the bent portions 6b4 and 6c4 bend when a load in the front-rear direction, that is, a load in the compression direction is applied, respectively. To absorb energy.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 5, the left first energy absorbing portion 6b1 and the right first energy absorbing portion 6b2 of the outer frame portion 6b are formed to have different plate thicknesses. In this embodiment, the plate | board thickness of the right side 1st energy absorption part 6b2 is thick compared with the left side 1st energy absorption part 6b1. The left second energy absorbing portion 6c1 and the right second energy absorbing portion 6c2 of the inner frame portion 6c are also formed so as to have different plate thicknesses. In the present embodiment, the plate thickness of the right second energy absorbing portion 6c2 is thicker than that of the left second energy absorbing portion 6c1. That is, the left side energy absorption unit 12 and the right side energy absorption unit 13 are configured such that the left and right energy absorption units 12 have different section coefficients and have different strengths.

  In the knee guard member 6 configured as described above, both the knees of the occupant are received when the vehicle collides, and the collision energy is absorbed by being sandwiched between the steering support beam 5 and both knees and crushed. Here, the impact of the left knee of the occupant is absorbed on the left end side, and the impact of the right knee of the occupant is absorbed on the right end side, so that one member can correspond to both knees of the occupant. .

  Thereby, the knee guard member 6 for protecting both knees of the occupant can be reduced from the conventional two to one, and the number of parts and weight of the vehicle can be reduced. Moreover, since it is composed of one member, there is no possibility that the knee guard members for the left knee and the right knee will be mistakenly assembled when the vehicle is manufactured.

  In addition, by adopting a shape extending in the left-right direction, a predetermined energy absorption amount can be ensured even if it is formed flatter in the left-right direction than the conventional one. Therefore, the knee guard member 6 can be arranged along the steering support beam 5 to ensure a large space on the back side of the instrument panel 1 and to improve the degree of freedom of the layout and shape of other components. In this embodiment, the capacity of the glove box 4 on the passenger seat side can be increased.

  Further, according to the knee guard member 6 of the present embodiment, since the left energy absorbing portion 12 and the right energy absorbing portion 13 have different strengths, the relationship between the stroke amount and the energy absorption amount in the left energy absorbing portion 12 and the right energy absorbing portion 13. Can be set independently. In the present embodiment, the arrangement state of other surrounding parts is different on the left and right, and the movements of the left and right knees at the time of a frontal collision are different, but the same applies to the left energy absorbing unit 12 and the right energy absorbing unit 13 at the time of a vehicle collision. The crushing state can be realized.

  Further, according to the knee guard member 6 of the present embodiment, the energy absorbing portions 6b1, 6b2, 6c1, 6c2 are sequentially crushed by the left energy absorbing portion 12 and the right energy absorbing portion 13 in the event of a vehicle collision. Can be absorbed. Thereby, the exact reaction force according to stroke amount can be provided to a passenger | crew's both knees.

Specifically, when both occupants' knees move forward, the outer frame portion 6b first absorbs energy while being crushed. At this time, when the occupant is a female physique, the energy is almost absorbed by the crushing of the outer frame portion 6b. When the occupant's physique is a male physique, the inner frame portion 6c is also crushed following the outer frame portion 6b to absorb energy.
As described above, for a male occupant having a large physique, the first energy absorbing portions 6b1 and 6b2 and the second energy absorbing portions 6c1 and 6c2 are both crushed in the event of a vehicle collision so as to absorb energy. By collapsing only the first energy absorbing portions 6b1 and 6b2 without crushing the second energy absorbing portions 6c1 and 6c2 at the time of a vehicle collision, the amount of stroke corresponding to the occupants of both men and women can be obtained. Energy absorption amount can be set. This makes it possible for males and females to respond separately to comply with laws and regulations, which is extremely advantageous in practical use.

  In the embodiment described above, the present invention is applied to the passenger seat side. However, it is a matter of course that the present invention can also be applied to the driver seat side if there is no problem in the layout of the vehicle interior.

Moreover, in the said embodiment, although what was set as the double structure which consists of the outer frame part 6b and the inner frame part 6c was shown, as shown in FIG. 6, for example, it may be set as the shape which put closed cross-section 106a, 106b back and forth. Good. 6 extends left and right along the steering support beam 5, the closed cross section 106a on the steering support beam 5 side corresponds to a female occupant, and the closed cross section 106b on the instrument panel 1 side corresponds to a male occupant. . That is, the closed cross section 106a on the front side forms a first occupant absorption portion, and the closed cross section 106b on the rear side forms a second occupant absorption portion. When the vehicle collides, the front closed section 106a is crushed to absorb energy, and when the amount of energy absorption is insufficient, the rear closed section 106b is crushed. Therefore, when the occupant is a woman or during a light collision, the skin portion 9 of the instrument panel 1 is not deformed. The knee guard member 106 forms a left energy absorbing portion that absorbs the impact of the left knee of the occupant at the left wall of each closed cross-section 106a, 106b, and absorbs the impact of the occupant's right knee at the right wall of each closed cross-section 106a, 106b. It forms the right energy absorption part.
As shown in FIG. 6, the knee guard member 106 is formed by bending a plate member having a predetermined width in the vertical direction as in the above-described embodiment, and the front and rear closed cross-sections 106a and 106b have similar shapes. . Further, the plate thickness of the knee guard member 106 decreases in the order of the right wall of the rear closed section 106b, the left wall of the rear closed section 106b, the right wall of the front closed section 106a, and the left wall of the front closed section 106a. It is formed to become.

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, although what corresponded to the physique of a man and the physique of a woman was shown, for example, you may make it correspond to the physique of an adult and the physique of a child, and a physique of a Japanese and a Western person You may make it correspond to a physique. Moreover, the occupant's physique to be set may be three or more, and in this case, an energy absorbing portion is formed for each physique to be set.

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the bending part 6b4, 6c4 showed what the energy absorption was achieved by bending, the energy absorption part may be formed in the shape of a bellows, or a bead may be formed. Further, the knee guard member may not be formed of a metal plate member, but may be formed of, for example, a resin such as a urethane material, and other specific detailed structures can be appropriately changed. Of course.

It is an external appearance perspective view of the instrument panel which shows one Embodiment of this invention. It is AA sectional drawing of FIG. It is an external appearance perspective view of the knee guard member in the state assembled | attached to the steering support beam. It is an external appearance perspective view of the knee guard member in the state where the reinforcement part of the instrument panel was connected. It is a top view of a knee guard member. It is a top view of the knee guard member which shows a modification.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Instrument panel 5 Steering support beam 6 Knee guard member 6b1 Left side 1st energy absorption part 6b2 Right side 1st energy absorption part 6c1 Left side 2nd energy absorption part 6c2 Right side 2nd energy absorption part 12 Left side energy absorption part 13 Right side energy absorption part 106 Energy absorbing member 106a Closed section 106b Closed section

Claims (5)

A knee guard member disposed between the steering support beam and the instrument panel for protecting the occupant's knees in the event of a vehicle collision,
Formed to extend left and right along the steering support beam,
A left-side energy absorber that is formed on the left end side and absorbs the impact of the left knee of the occupant during a vehicle collision;
A knee guard member, comprising: a right-side energy absorbing portion that is formed on the right end side and absorbs an impact on a passenger's right knee at the time of a vehicle collision.   The knee guard member according to claim 1, wherein the left energy absorbing portion and the right energy absorbing portion are configured to have different strengths.   3. The knee guard member according to claim 1, wherein each of the left energy absorbing portion and the right energy absorbing portion includes a plurality of energy absorbing portions that sequentially absorb energy in the event of a vehicle collision.   4. The knee guard member according to claim 3, wherein each of the energy absorbing portions includes a first occupant absorbing portion and a second occupant absorbing portion formed corresponding to the first occupant and the second occupant having different physiques. .   The knee guard member according to claim 4, wherein the first occupant is a male and the second occupant is a female.

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