JP2007038981A - Occupant crash protection device for instrument panel - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an occupant crash protection device for an instrument panel capable of abutting the knee of the occupant on a proper position of a knee bolster without deviating an instrument panel body interposed between the knee bolster and the knee part of the occupant in application of impact load and also enhancing impact absorption effect. <P>SOLUTION: In the occupant crash protection device for the instrument panel, the knee bolster 4a for absorbing the impact load is arranged in the instrument panel body 10 constituting the instrument panel 1. A mounting member 5 for connecting the knee bolster 4a and a lower part of the instrument panel body 10 is provided and a fragile mechanism for absorbing the impact load is provided on the mounting member 5. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an occupant protection device for an instrument panel in which a knee bolster that absorbs an impact load is disposed inside an instrument panel of a vehicle.

For example, Patent Literature 1 is provided as an occupant protection device in which a knee bolster that absorbs an impact load on an occupant's knee when an impact is applied from the outside is disposed inside an instrument panel.
The technique of the above-mentioned patent document 1 is an occupant protection device for an instrument panel of a vehicle in which a knee bolster that absorbs an impact load is disposed inside the instrument panel body, and a pair of energy absorptions that support a plate to which a foam member is attached. In a knee bolster comprising a bracket, a bent portion that is bent outward when an impact is applied is provided in the middle of the pair of energy absorbing brackets, thereby controlling the deformation direction of the bracket.
JP-A-6-183306

In this way, in the occupant protection device in which the knee bolster is arranged inside the instrument panel, the impact absorbing effect of the knee bolster itself is enhanced in the process of applying the impact when the impact load is applied, and the knee bolster and the passenger's knee It is necessary that the occupant's knees be placed in the correct position of the knee bolster without shifting the instrument panel body interposed between them.
However, the conventional occupant protection device described above has an energy absorption unit for a knee bolster by providing a bent portion that bends outward when subjected to an impact in the middle of a pair of energy absorbing brackets constituting the knee bolster. This is a technology to improve the effect, and the knee bolster and the instrument panel body are not displaced when the impact bolster is applied due to the interaction between the knee bolster and the instrument panel body that covers the knee bolster. In addition, the means for enhancing the impact absorbing effect was not considered.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a situation, and the purpose of the present invention is to remove the occupant's knee without shifting the instrument panel body interposed between the knee bolster and the occupant's knee when an impact load is applied. An object of the present invention is to provide an occupant protection device for an instrument panel which can be applied to a correct position of a knee bolster and can also enhance an impact absorbing effect.

  In order to solve the above-described problems of the prior art, the present invention provides an instrument panel occupant protection device in which a knee bolster that absorbs an impact load is disposed inside an instrument panel body constituting the instrument panel. An attachment member for connecting the bolster and the lower part of the instrument panel main body is provided, and a fragile mechanism for absorbing the impact load is provided on the attachment member.

In the present invention, two knee bolsters are juxtaposed in the vehicle width direction corresponding to the occupant's knees, and at least one of the knee bolsters near the center in the vehicle width direction has the fragile mechanism. Is provided.
In the present invention, the fragile mechanism includes a seat erected from the back surface of the instrument panel main body, and is configured by attaching the instrument panel main body to the knee bolster via the seat. .

Specifically, in the present invention, the following configuration is preferable.
(1) A boss having a sectional area smaller than the area of the mounting surface is erected on the mounting surface of the seat portion on the knee bolster side, and the sectional area changes between the mounting surface and the boss. The instrument panel main body is attached to the knee bolster via the boss and the seat.
(2) On the mounting surface of the seat portion, a pin portion whose tip is formed longer than the tip of the boss is erected in parallel with the boss, and the boss is attached to the knee bolster side. A pin hole for inserting the pin portion in parallel with the hole is provided.

  In the present invention, the weak mechanism includes a mounting surface that extends from a lower end portion of the knee bolster and is bent at a predetermined angle with respect to an impact receiving surface of the knee bolster, and the mounting surface is provided through the mounting surface. The instrument panel main body is configured to be attached to a knee bolster.

  As described above, the occupant protection device for an instrument panel according to the present invention is provided with an attachment member for connecting the knee bolster and the lower portion of the instrument panel body, and provided with a weak mechanism for absorbing an impact load on the attachment member. Since the knee bolster and the instrument panel body are attached via a weak mechanism, it is possible for the weak mechanism to absorb the slight impact before the knee bolster is deformed when an impact load is applied. The effect of mitigating the impact on the knee can be improved.

In addition, according to the present invention, by providing the attachment member that connects the knee bolster and the lower part of the instrument panel body, it is possible to increase the number of places where the instrument panel body is fixed to the vehicle body, which is disadvantageous in terms of rigidity. Therefore, the rigidity of the lower end of the instrument panel can be improved, and the shape of the lower end of the instrument panel can be maintained.
Further, according to the present invention, when the impact load is applied, the impact is first absorbed by the fragile mechanism, and after the fragile mechanism is broken, the impact is further absorbed by the deformation of the knee bolster. The section can guide the deformation of the knee bolster while maintaining the positional relationship with the knee bolster, and it is possible to prevent the position of the occupant's knee and the knee bolster from being changed due to the displacement of the instrument panel.

Further, according to the present invention, two knee bolsters are juxtaposed in the vehicle width direction corresponding to both knees of an occupant, and at least one of the knee bolsters on the side closer to the center in the vehicle width direction. Is equipped with a fragile mechanism, so in the case of an offset collision that has a high incidence with respect to a frontal collision, there is a possibility that many impacts will be applied to the knee near the center in the vehicle width direction due to the rotation of the vehicle at the time of the collision Therefore, the impact absorbing effect in the case of an offset collision can be enhanced by providing a fragile mechanism in the knee bolster arranged at least on the side closer to the vehicle width center among the knee bolsters.
Moreover, operation systems such as audio and air conditioning are often arranged on the instrument panel near the center of the vehicle, and the burden on the load surface of the instrument panel body is large, so it is closer to the center in the vehicle width direction. By using the arranged knee bolster, it is possible to increase the number of places for holding the instrument panel body on the vehicle body.

And according to this invention, the said weak mechanism is comprised by providing the seat part erected from the back surface of the said instrument panel main body, and attaching the said instrument panel main body to the said knee bolster via this seat part. Therefore, the impact can be absorbed by the deformation of the seat portion when the impact load is applied.
In addition, since the attachment member can be formed integrally with the instrument panel main body that is generally manufactured by resin molding, the productivity of the instrument panel with the attachment member can be easily maintained.

  According to the present invention, a boss having a cross-sectional area smaller than the area of the mounting surface is erected on the mounting surface on the knee bolster side of the seat portion, and the mounting surface and the boss are interposed between the mounting surface and the boss. Is provided with a step portion having a variable cross-sectional area, and the instrument panel body is attached to the knee bolster via the boss and the seat portion. In addition to the deformation, the boss is damaged at the step portion between the base of the boss and the mounting surface, so that a further impact absorbing effect can be exhibited.

Further, according to the present invention, the mounting surface of the seat portion is provided with a pin portion whose tip is formed longer than the tip of the boss in parallel with the boss, and on the knee bolster side, Since a pin hole (preferably a long hole) for inserting the pin portion is provided in parallel with the mounting hole for attaching the boss, the boss can be aligned with the mounting hole after the pin portion is inserted into the pin hole. It becomes possible, and positioning with respect to the attachment hole of a boss | hub can be performed easily.
In addition, since the impact is absorbed when the pin portion is broken when the impact load is applied, the impact absorbability can be further improved.

Further, according to the present invention, the weak mechanism includes a mounting surface provided at a lower end portion of the knee bolster by being bent at a certain angle with respect to an impact receiving surface of the knee bolster, and the knee bolster is interposed through the mounting surface. Since the instrument panel body is configured to be attached to the bolster, the impact can be absorbed by the stress being concentrated and deformed at the bent portion of the lower end portion of the knee bolster when the impact load is applied.
In addition, since the attachment surface is formed by extending and bending a part of the knee bolster, a fragile mechanism can be easily formed.

  In short, according to the present invention, in the occupant protection device in which the knee bolster that absorbs the impact load to the occupant's knee at the time of impact action is disposed inside the instrument panel, between the lower part of the instrument panel body and the knee bolster By installing a mounting member on the knee bolster, the instrument panel body interposed between the knee bolster and the occupant's knee is not displaced in the process of impact being applied to the occupant when the impact load is applied. It can be applied to the position, and the impact absorbing effect can be further enhanced.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on illustrated embodiments.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the vicinity of an occupant protection device mounting portion of an instrument panel of a vehicle on which an occupant protection device for an instrument panel according to an embodiment of the present invention is mounted. 2 is a side sectional view of the boss portion of the knee bolster and the mounting member in the embodiment, and FIG. 3 is a side sectional view of the pin portion of the knee bolster and the mounting member in the embodiment. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the knee bolster from the passenger compartment side. FIG. 5 is an enlarged perspective view of the vicinity of the coupling portion between the mounting member and the knee bolster as viewed from the back side of the instrument panel body, and FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the mounting member.

As shown in FIG. 1, an instrument panel 1 disposed on the front surface of a vehicle interior includes an instrument panel body 10 mainly made of resin or the like, and a steering wheel (not shown) is provided inside the instrument panel body 10. A steering member 3 which is a structural member for holding the vehicle is installed along the vehicle width direction. An instrument panel main body 10 is attached to the steering member 3 via various brackets.
A pair of left and right knee bolsters 4a and 4b are disposed in the instrument panel 1 at positions corresponding to the left and right knees of the occupant. The pair of left and right knee bolsters 4a and 4b are attached by fixing their roots to the outer peripheral surface of the steering member 3 by welding as shown in FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 1, the knee bolster 4 may be provided on the left and right separate bodies (4a, 4b) corresponding to the left and right knees of the occupant, or at positions corresponding to both occupant knees. One unit may be provided corresponding to both knees.

The knee bolster 4 is configured as follows. The following description will be made on the knee bolster 4a on one side (center side in the vehicle width direction), but the explanation on the knee bolster 4b on the other side is the same as the knee bolster 4a on the one side, and will not be repeated.
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the knee bolster 4a is formed in a loop shape mainly from two members, that is, a bent member 4a4 and a flat plate member 4a5. The bent member 4a4 is formed in a shape in which a plurality of portions are bent toward the front of the vehicle in accordance with the shape of the back surface of the instrument panel body 10, and a root portion at one end is welded and joined to the steering member 3. A piece-like attachment surface 4a3 for attaching the attachment member 5 described later by bending the tip toward the instrument panel main body 10 side at a substantially right angle is formed at the end (see FIG. 5).
On the other hand, the flat plate-like member 4a5 has a base portion at one end welded to the steering member 3 and a connection portion 4a7 at the other end welded to the impact receiving surface 42 of the bent member 4a4.

As shown in FIG. 4, the bent member 4a4 and the flat plate member 4a5 of the knee bolster 4a are formed in a U-shaped cross section having an impact receiving surface 42 and a side wall 4a8 in a range where a loop shape is formed. By providing a plurality of cuts 41 at appropriate positions on the side wall 4a8, the direction of deformation when an impact is applied can be controlled.
Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the mounting surface 4a3 extends from the end of the bent member 4a4, and bends a half-shape with the side wall 4a8 removed at a substantially right angle with respect to the impact receiving surface 42. The instrument panel body 10 is configured to be attached to the knee bolster 4a via the attachment surface 4a3. Therefore, a mounting hole 4a1 for mounting a boss, which will be described later, and a horizontally long pin hole 4a2 for inserting a pin, which will be described later, are formed in the mounting surface 4a3 at intervals in the vehicle width direction.
In this way, when the impact load is applied by forming the attachment surface 4a3 by bending the shape of the end of the bent member 4a4 at a substantially right angle to form the mounting surface 4a3, FIG. As shown, it can be easily deformed by the bent portion 4a9 of the mounting surface 4a3. The mounting surface 4a3 is bent so as to have an angle substantially equal to the surface direction of the impact receiving surface 42 of the flat plate-shaped member 4a5. Easy to use.

On the other hand, in the protection device of the embodiment of the present invention, there is provided an attachment member 5 that is interposed between the knee bolster 4a and the instrument panel body 10 and connects the knee bolster 4a and the lower portion of the instrument panel body 10. It has been.
As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the attachment member 5 includes a seat portion 5 a, and the seat portion 5 a is a seat surface (attachment surface) 5 a 1 erected integrally from the back surface of the instrument panel body 10. And a pair of left and right side walls 5a2 erected in a direction perpendicular to the seating surface 5a1 to form a hollow, substantially box shape. In addition, in the shape maintenance of the instrument panel main body 10, when only the seat surface 5a1 is sufficient, or when making the attachment member 5 easier to deform | transform, the side wall 5a2 can be abbreviate | omitted.

Further, a cylindrical boss 5b having a cross-sectional area smaller than the area of the seat surface 5a1 is erected on the seat surface 5a1 of the seat portion 5a, and a boss is interposed between the seat surface 5a1 and the boss 5b. In a cross-sectional shape passing through the central axis of 5b, a step portion 5b1 whose cross-sectional area changes is provided. The attachment member 5 is attached to the attachment hole 4a1 of the attachment surface 4a3 of the knee bolster 4a via a boss 5b with a fastening member 43 such as a screw.
Further, the mounting member 5 includes a pin (pin portion) 5c erected in parallel with the boss 5b from the seat surface 5a1 of the seat portion 5a. As shown in FIG. 6, the tip of the pin 5c has a length protruding by L from the tip of the boss 5b, and can be inserted into the pin hole 4a2 of the mounting surface 4a3 of the knee bolster 4a.
That is, the fragile mechanism of the attachment member 5 according to the present embodiment is mainly composed of a seat portion 5a provided on the instrument panel body 10 side and an attachment surface 4a3 of the bent member 4a4 provided on the knee bolster 4a side. ing.

According to the embodiment of the present invention, by providing the mounting member 5 that connects the knee bolster 4a and the lower part of the instrument panel main body 10 between the instrument panel main body 10 and the knee bolster 4a, the collision of the vehicle is achieved. At times, the occupant's knees can be placed in the correct position of the knee bolster 4.
That is, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, since some space S is usually formed between the instrument panel body 10 and the knee bolster 4a, the instrument panel body 10 made of resin is However, when the passenger's knee collides with the instrument panel 1, the instrument panel body 10 first covers the knee bolster 4 a when the passenger's knee collides with the instrument panel 1. The instrument panel body 10 begins to deform toward the front of the vehicle due to the contact.

When the mounting member 5 of the present embodiment is not provided, the instrument panel body 10 is displaced downward while being deformed, so that the occupant's knee is also displaced downward due to being guided in the deformation direction of the instrument panel body 10. There is a risk that the knee may hit the lower side of the contact position of the planned knee bolster 4a.
On the other hand, in the embodiment of the present invention, since the attachment member 5 that connects the knee bolster 4a and the lower part of the instrument panel body 10 is provided, the instrument panel body 10 is deformed by contact with the knee. During this time, it is possible to prevent the knee from shifting downward due to the cooperation of the mounting member 5 and the knee bolster 4a, so that the occupant's knee is brought into contact with the correct position of the knee bolster 4a. Can do.

Moreover, since the lower end part of the instrument panel main body 10 has a thin plate thickness and extends long in the vehicle width direction, the instrument panel main body 10 is provided with a portion that can support the lower end part of the instrument panel main body 10 such as the attachment member 5. A desirable effect can be obtained from the surface of holding the shape of the ment panel 1 in a required shape.
In particular, as shown in FIG. 1, the lower end portion of the instrument panel body 10 on the side close to the operation system panel 6 for audio and air conditioning is a place where the shape change to the operation system panel 6 is large. Providing the mounting member 5 on the knee bolster 4a on the side close to the position is also effective from the aspect of maintaining the shape of the instrument panel 10. For example, even when the operation panel 6 is removed during maintenance, the instrument panel Excessive deformation of the main body 10 can be prevented.

Furthermore, in the embodiment of the present invention, the knee bolster 4a and the attachment member 5 are provided with the following weak mechanism, so that the occupant's knee can be more reliably guided to the correct location of the knee bolster 4a. Become.
That is, as shown in FIG. 5, the fragile mechanism is mainly composed of a seat 5a of the mounting member 5 provided on the instrument panel body 10 side and a mounting surface 4a3 of the bent member 4a4 provided on the knee bolster 4a side. The seat portion 5a is formed in a hollow, substantially box shape by a seat surface 5a1 erected from the back surface of the instrument panel body 10 and a pair of left and right side walls 5a2 erected in a direction perpendicular to the seat surface 5a1. Therefore, when the occupant's knees collide, the box shape is gradually crushed to absorb the initial impact.

  In this embodiment, the cylindrical boss 5b is erected from the seat surface 5a1 of the seat portion 5a, and the fastening member 43 is attached to the attachment hole 4a1 of the attachment surface 4a3 of the knee bolster 4a via the boss 5b. Thus, in the cross-sectional shape passing through the central axis of the boss 5b, it becomes possible to form the stepped portion 5b1 from the seat portion 5a to the boss 5b as shown in FIG. 6, so that when the impact load is applied, the root of the boss 5b is formed. When the boss 5b is deformed or broken at the step portion 5b1, the initial impact can be further absorbed.

  Further, in such an embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, a pin 5c is provided in parallel with the boss 5b, and the tip of the pin 5c is formed with a length protruding by L from the tip of the boss 5b. Since it can be inserted into the pin hole 4a2 of the mounting surface 4a3 of the bolster 4a, when the mounting member 5 is fixed, the pin 5c is first inserted into the pin hole 4a2, thereby automatically positioning the boss 5b and the mounting hole 4a1. It is possible to fasten both easily. In addition, when an impact load is applied, the pin 5c is also deformed at the base, so that the effect of further improving the shock absorption can be obtained.

As for the fragile mechanism provided on the knee bolster 4a side, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the knee bolster 4a is formed in a loop shape from two members of a bent member 4a4 and a flat plate member 4a5. At the same time, the bent member 4a4 has a shape in which a plurality of portions are bent in accordance with the shape of the back surface of the instrument panel body 10, one end is joined to the steering member 3, and the other mounting surface 4a3 is connected to the bent member 4a4. The bent member 4a4 can be easily deformed when an impact load is applied, since it is formed by bending at a substantially right angle in a single shape in which the lower end portion is extended and the side wall is eliminated.
Further, since the mounting surface 4a3 is bent so as to have an angle substantially equal to the surface direction of the impact receiving surface 42 of the flat plate-shaped member 4a5, it is easy to be deformed in the same direction with respect to the impact by the occupant's knee. Become.

  As described above, according to the embodiment of the present invention, when the occupant's knee collides with the instrument panel 1, the instrument panel is connected by the mounting member 5 that connects the knee bolster 4 a and the lower part of the instrument panel body 10. While the main body 10 is prevented from shifting downward and the knee position relative to the knee bolster 4a is maintained, the instrument panel main body 10 is deformed by the space S (see FIGS. 2 and 3), and the instrument panel main body 10 After contacting the knee bolster 4a, the seating surface 5a1, the boss 5b, the pin 5c of the mounting member 5 and the bent portion 4a9 of the mounting surface 4a3 are provided by a weak mechanism provided between the mounting member 5 and the knee bolster 4a. Due to the deformation, it is possible to enhance the impact absorption effect.

  While the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications and changes can be made based on the technical idea of the present invention.

It is a perspective view which shows the vicinity of the passenger | crew protection apparatus mounting part of the instrument panel in the vehicle with which the passenger | crew protection apparatus of the instrument panel which concerns on embodiment of this invention is mounted | worn. It is sectional drawing which shows the boss | hub part side of the knee bolster and the attachment member in the said embodiment. It is sectional drawing which shows the pin part side of the knee bolster and the attachment member in the said embodiment. It is a perspective view from the compartment side of a knee bolster in the above-mentioned embodiment. It is an expansion perspective view of the coupling | bond part vicinity of the attachment member and knee bolster seen from the back surface side of the instrument panel main body in the said embodiment. It is sectional drawing which shows the attachment member in the said embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Instrument panel 3 Steering member 4, 4a, 4b Knee bolster 4a1 Mounting hole 4a2 Pin hole 4a3 Mounting surface of knee bolster 4a4 Bending member 4a5 Flat plate member 4a8 Side wall 4a9 Bending part 5 Mounting member 5a Seat part 5a1 Seat surface Mounting surface)
5a2 Side wall 5b Boss 5b1 Stepped part 5c Pin 6 Operation system panel 10 Instrument panel body 41 Notch 42 Impact receiving surface

Claims (6)

  In an instrument panel occupant protection device in which a knee bolster that absorbs an impact load is disposed inside an instrument panel main body constituting an instrument panel, an attachment member that connects the knee bolster and a lower portion of the instrument panel main body is provided. An instrument panel occupant protection device comprising: a mounting mechanism and a weak mechanism for absorbing the impact load.   Two knee bolsters are juxtaposed in the vehicle width direction corresponding to the knees of the occupant, and at least one of the knee bolsters near the center in the vehicle width direction is provided with the fragile mechanism. The occupant protection device for an instrument panel according to claim 1.   The fragile mechanism includes a seat portion erected from a back surface of the instrument panel main body, and is configured by attaching the instrument panel main body to the knee bolster via the seat portion. Item 3. An occupant protection device for an instrument panel according to any one of Items 1 and 2.   A boss having a cross-sectional area smaller than the area of the mounting surface is erected on the mounting surface of the seat portion on the knee bolster side, and a step portion whose cross-sectional area changes between the mounting surface and the boss. The instrument panel occupant protection device according to claim 3, wherein the instrument panel main body is attached to the knee bolster via the boss and the seat portion.   On the mounting surface of the seat portion, a pin portion whose tip is formed longer than the tip of the boss is erected in parallel with the boss, and on the knee bolster side, in parallel with a mounting hole for mounting the boss. The instrument panel occupant protection device according to claim 4, further comprising a pin hole into which the pin portion is inserted.   The weak mechanism includes a mounting surface that extends from a lower end portion of the knee bolster and is bent at a certain angle with respect to an impact receiving surface of the knee bolster, and the instrument is mounted on the knee bolster via the mounting surface. The occupant protection device for an instrument panel according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the panel main body is attached.

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