JP2008100621A - Energy absorbing member for protecting occupant in automobile - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an energy absorbing member for protecting an occupant in an automobile having excellent impact energy absorbing characteristic and formed of an aluminum alloy hollow extruded shape having the sectional shape capable of ensuring a surplus space in an instrument panel and realizing the ratio of the initial peak load/average load to be equal to or less than 1.0. <P>SOLUTION: The energy absorbing member is formed of an aluminum alloy hollow extruded shape, and composed of a fitting part partitioned by a partition wall and an energy absorption part. The fitting part is formed of an outwardly opened section member, and the energy absorbing member is formed of a closed section member having an L-shaped recess. When an impact load is applied to the energy absorbing member, the walls forming the recess are deformed in a contact manner with each other to prevent degradation of the sustainable load. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an energy absorbing member for protecting an automobile occupant, and more particularly to an energy absorbing member made of an aluminum alloy hollow extruded member that is attached to the inside of an instrument panel of a vehicle body in order to ensure the safety of the occupant when the automobile collides. .

  When a passenger collides with the vehicle body due to the inertial force at the time of the collision of the automobile, it is necessary to gradually absorb the impact energy to protect the passenger. As one of the methods for absorbing energy, there is a method of mounting an energy absorbing member (referred to as a knee guard) inside the instrument panel of the vehicle body. Knee guards are required to gradually absorb impact energy when the knee receives a compressive load from the lower side due to the impact of the collision with the vehicle body. It becomes possible to absorb energy.

  If the initial peak load in the compression load-displacement diagram is too high, the occupant's knee will be damaged, and if the average load is too low, the impact energy cannot be absorbed. It will cause damage. Figure 14 shows the initial peak load and average load in the compression load-displacement diagram. The closer the initial peak load / average load ratio is to 1.0, the better the characteristics of the knee guard. As the initial peak load / average load ratio increases, the knee guard is not preferable.

  Depending on the type of vehicle, energy may be absorbed by both the knee contact part (for example, a glove box) and the knee guard in the initial stage of the collision, and energy may be absorbed only by the knee guard in the latter half of the deformation due to the collision. In such a case, it is preferable that the load increases in the latter half of the deformation as the collision characteristics of the knee guard alone. This means that the initial peak load / average load ratio is less than 1.0.

  In recent years, reduction of automobile body weight has been proposed due to environmental problems, and the use of aluminum extruded profiles has also been studied for knee guards. As an example of a knee guard using an aluminum alloy extruded profile, it consists of a front flange and a rear flange provided in parallel, and left and right webs that are provided substantially parallel to connect the flanges, and the webs are curved outward. The thing of the cross-sectional shape which has been proposed (refer patent document 1) and the cross-sectional shape which connected the said thing to 2 steps | paragraphs are also proposed (refer patent document 2).

In the above proposal, the web connecting the flanges provided in parallel tries to adjust the ratio of average load / maximum load by curving outward, but as shown in FIG. Considering that the knee collides obliquely from below, if it is attached so that the flange is perpendicular to the collision direction, there is a problem that the extra space in the instrument panel becomes small. Further, although it is possible to make the initial peak load / average load ratio close to 1.0, the initial peak load / average load ratio cannot be made smaller than 1.0, that is, after the initial load is generated. The load cannot be increased again.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-090910 JP 2005-053437 A

  In the energy absorption member for automobile occupant protection, it is most desirable to make the ratio of the initial peak load / average load smaller than 1.0, and the demand for weight reduction is becoming stricter. There is a demand for an energy absorbing member for automobiles made of aluminum alloy having excellent characteristics.

  The present invention has been made in order to meet the above-mentioned demands. The purpose of the present invention is to secure an excess space in the instrument panel and to set the initial peak load / average load ratio to 1.0 or 1.0. An object of the present invention is to provide an energy absorbing member for protecting an automobile occupant that is excellent in impact energy absorption characteristics, and is made of an aluminum alloy hollow extruded shape having a cross-sectional shape that can be made small.

  In order to achieve the above object, an energy absorbing member for protecting an automobile occupant according to claim 1 is made of an aluminum alloy hollow extruded shape, and includes an energy absorbing portion composed of an attachment portion and an energy absorbing portion partitioned by a partition wall. The mounting portion is made of an open cross-sectional shape opening outward, the energy absorbing member is made of a closed cross-sectional shape having an L-shaped recess, and when an impact load is applied to the energy absorbing member, It is configured to deform so that the walls forming the recesses come into contact with each other to prevent a decrease in load.

  The energy absorbing member for protecting an automobile occupant according to claim 2 is the energy absorbing member according to claim 1, wherein the energy absorbing member is formed continuously from the partition wall, the upper and lower walls juxtaposed to the partition wall, and the upper wall. An L-shaped concave portion, a vertical wall and a horizontal wall constituting the concave portion, and a load-loading wall extending diagonally downward at an acute angle with the horizontal wall by connecting the horizontal wall and the lower wall of the concave portion. When the impact load is applied to the load-loading wall, the vertical wall and the horizontal wall constituting the concave part come into contact with each other, and the corner and the lower part of the concave part where the vertical wall and the horizontal wall intersect with each other It is configured to prevent the load from decreasing by contacting the wall.

  An energy absorption member for protecting an automobile occupant according to claim 3 is the vehicle according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the mounting portion made of the open cross-sectional shape opened to the outside is attached so as to sandwich the member in the automobile instrument panel. It is characterized by absorbing energy when the occupant's knee collides with the dashboard.

  According to the present invention, an excess space in an instrument panel is ensured, and the ratio of the initial peak load / average load is 1.0, or an aluminum alloy having a cross-sectional shape that can be made smaller than 1.0. An energy absorbing member for protecting an automobile occupant having excellent impact energy absorbing characteristics made of a hollow extruded shape is provided. Further, according to the present invention, the degree of freedom in designing the cross-sectional shape is high, and the outer dimensions and thickness can be adjusted depending on the vehicle type.

  The automobile occupant protection energy absorbing member of the present invention is a tempered heat-treated aluminum alloy hollow extruded shape, for example, after extrusion, T5 treatment, T6 treatment Al-Zn-Mg (7000 series), Al- It consists of a hollow extruded shape of Mg-Si (6000) aluminum alloy.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the vehicle occupant protection energy absorbing member SA of the present invention is composed of an attachment portion A and an energy absorption portion B partitioned by a partition wall 2, and the attachment portion A is an opening that opens to the outside. As shown in FIG. 3, the energy absorbing member SA is attached as a knee guard by sandwiching a beam or the like in the instrument panel with the sandwiching walls 1 and 1.

  The energy absorbing member B is made of a closed cross-sectional shape member having an L-shaped recess, and when an impact load is applied to the energy absorbing member B, as shown in FIG. 2) It is configured to be deformed so as to be in contact with each other and prevent a decrease in load.

  As a preferred embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the energy absorbing member B is formed continuously from the partition wall 2, the upper wall 3 and the lower wall 7 arranged in parallel to the partition wall 2, and the upper wall 3. The L-shaped concave portion, the vertical wall 4 and the horizontal wall 5 constituting the concave portion, and the horizontal wall 5 and the lower wall 7 of the concave portion are connected to each other and extend obliquely downward with an acute angle with the horizontal wall 5 ( When the impact load is applied to the load load wall 6, as shown in FIG. 11, the vertical wall constituting the recess is formed. The configuration is such that the lower wall 7 comes into contact with the corner 45 of the concave portion where the vertical wall 4 and the horizontal wall 5 intersect with the lower wall 7 while the vertical wall 4 and the horizontal wall 5 are in contact with each other. Is done.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the energy absorbing member SA for protecting an automobile occupant of the present invention sandwiches a beam in an automobile instrument panel by holding walls 1 and 1 of an attachment section A made of an open cross-sectional shape that opens outward. It is attached by absorbing the energy when the occupant's knee hits the dashboard.

  The energy absorbing part B is composed of a load-bearing wall 6 to which an impact load is applied, an initially deforming wall (horizontal wall 5, lower wall 7), and a later deforming wall (upper wall 3, vertical wall 4). Then, the wall (horizontal wall 5) deformed in the early stage of the collision and the wall (vertical wall 4) deformed in the late stage of the collision are brought into contact with each other, and the corner portion 45 and the lower wall 7 are brought into contact with each other. By providing the partition wall 2 that partitions the attachment portion A and the energy absorbing portion B, the region that deforms in the energy absorbing member is reduced. Specifically, the upper wall 3 and the lower wall 7 are supported by the partition wall 2. Increased restraint raises the overall load. Furthermore, when it is necessary to raise the load again in the second half of the deformation, the thickness of the walls (upper wall 3 and vertical wall 4) that affect the load in the second half of the deformation may be made thicker than the other walls.

  The load wall 6 to which the impact load is applied is provided so as to be substantially perpendicular to the collision direction from obliquely below, and the horizontal wall 5 deformed in the early stage of the collision and the vertical wall 4 deformed in the late stage of the collision. By designing the cross-sectional shape of the profile so that the formed angle is approximately 90 °, the walls can be brought into good contact with each other during deformation, and a reduction in load can be prevented.

  The energy absorbing member SA of the present invention is attached to the main beam in the instrument panel so that the lower wall 7 is in the horizontal direction of the vehicle body (FIG. 3). In the energy absorbing member SA of the present invention, unlike the conventional energy absorbing member, the space below the main beam can be used effectively, and for example, the storage space of the glove box can be expanded.

  The energy absorbing member SA of the present invention is attached to the main beam in the instrument panel, for example, one between the passenger's knees or one in front of the knees. In this case, the energy absorbing member SA is used after being cut to a length of about 50 to 150 mm. When the length is shorter than 50 mm, the energy absorption characteristic is likely to be lowered when the position where the knee collides is shifted in the left-right direction of the vehicle body. If the length is larger than 150 mm, the weight increases and the merit of using a lightweight aluminum hollow shape for the energy absorbing member is reduced.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 to 5, the shape of the energy absorbing member SA of the present invention is such that the spacing b <b> 2 between the clamping walls 1, 1 of the mounting portion A, the thickness t <b> 1 of the clamping walls 1, 1, t2, inclination angle θ1 of partition wall 2, length a3 of upper wall 3, thickness t3, length b1 of vertical wall 4, thickness t4, length a4 of horizontal wall 5, thickness t5, load load Specify the thickness t6 of the wall 6, the angle θ2 formed by the weighted load wall 6 and the lower wall 7, the horizontal distance a2 between the upper and lower ends of the weighted load wall 6, the length a1 of the lower wall 7, and the thickness t7. Determined by.

  Examples of the present invention will be described below in comparison with comparative examples to demonstrate the effects. These examples show one embodiment of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited thereto.

Example, Comparative Example 6063 alloy hollow extruded shape (tempered) of the shape shown in FIG. 6 (Example 1), FIG. 7 (Example 2), FIG. 8 (Comparative Example 1), and FIG. 9 (Comparative Example 2) : T5) were prepared and evaluated as energy absorbing members for knee guards. The evaluation method is as follows.

  As shown in FIG. 10, the mounting portion of the above-described knee guard energy absorbing member is fixed to a fixing jig (simulating the main beam in the instrument panel) with a bolt, and forced displacement is performed obliquely from below by a pressure platen. The compression load applied to the pressure plate and the compression load-displacement diagram due to the displacement of the pressure plate were evaluated. Evaluation was carried out by computer simulation. Specifically, commercial software MARC, which is general-purpose FEM analysis software, was used. The length of the energy absorbing member for knee guard was set to 100 mm, and the value of a general 6000 series aluminum alloy was input as the material characteristics. Table 1 shows values of initial peak load, average load, and initial peak load / average load. FIG. 11 shows a modification of Example 1, FIG. 12 shows a modification of Comparative Example 1, and FIG. 13 shows a load-displacement diagram of the Example and the Comparative Example.

Example 1
As seen in FIGS. 11 and 13, the load decreased after the initial peak load occurred. When the displacement further progressed, the load increased again due to the contact between the vertical wall 4 and the horizontal wall 5 of the energy absorbing portion and the corner 45 and the lower wall 7. As shown in Table 1, the initial peak load / average load value was 1.23, indicating excellent characteristics.

Example 2
As seen in FIG. 13, the load decreased after the initial peak load was generated. When the displacement further proceeds, the load rises again due to the contact between the vertical wall 4 and the horizontal wall 5 of the energy absorbing portion and between the corner portion 45 and the lower wall 7, and the increased load is more than the initial peak load. It was a big value. At that time, since the wall 3 and the wall 4 were thicker than those in the first embodiment, the amount of increase in the load was larger than that in the first embodiment. As shown in Table 1, the value of the initial peak load / average load was 0.83, indicating further excellent characteristics. The wall thickness of the walls 3 and 4 can be adjusted according to the required average load.

Comparative Example 1
As shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, after the initial peak load was generated, the load continued to decrease. As shown in Table 1, the value of the initial peak load / average load was 2.30, and the characteristics were inferior.

Comparative Example 2
As shown in FIG. 13, the load continued to decrease after the initial peak load was generated. As shown in Table 1, the initial peak load / average load value was 2.38, and the characteristics were inferior.

It is sectional drawing of the energy absorption member for motor vehicle passenger protection. It is sectional drawing of the energy absorption member for motor vehicle passenger protection. It is a figure which shows the example of attachment of an energy absorption member. It is sectional drawing for determining the shape and dimension of an energy absorption member. It is sectional drawing for determining the shape and dimension of an energy absorption member. 1 is a cross-sectional view of an energy absorbing member of Example 1. FIG. It is sectional drawing of the energy absorption member of Example 2. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of an energy absorbing member of Comparative Example 1. FIG. It is sectional drawing of the energy absorption member of the comparative example 2. It is a figure which shows the evaluation test method of an energy absorption member. It is a figure which shows the modification of Example 1. FIG. It is a figure which shows the modification of the comparative example 1. It is a compression load-displacement diagram of an Example and a comparative example when the initial peak load of Comparative Example 1 is 1.00. It is a compressive load-displacement diagram of an energy absorbing member. It is a figure which shows the example of attachment of the conventional energy absorption member.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Holding wall 2 Partition wall 3 Upper wall 4 Vertical wall 5 Horizontal wall 6 Load load wall 7 Lower wall 45 Corner | angular part A Mounting part B Energy absorption part SA Energy absorption member

Claims (3)

  An energy absorbing member made of an aluminum alloy hollow extruded section and composed of a mounting section and an energy absorbing section partitioned by a partition wall, and the mounting section is made of an open cross-section section that opens to the outside and absorbs energy. The member is formed of a closed cross-sectional shape member having an L-shaped recess, and when an impact load is applied to the energy absorbing member, the member is deformed so that the walls forming the recess come into contact with each other to prevent a decrease in the load. An energy absorbing member for protecting an automobile occupant characterized by being made.   The energy absorbing member includes a partition wall, an upper wall and a lower wall arranged in parallel with the partition wall, an L-shaped recess formed continuously on the upper wall, a vertical wall that forms the recess, and a lateral wall And a load wall extending diagonally downward at an acute angle with the horizontal wall. When an impact load is applied to the load load wall, the The vertical wall and the horizontal wall are in contact with each other, and the corners of the recess where the vertical wall and the horizontal wall intersect with the lower wall are in contact with each other to prevent a decrease in load. 2. The energy absorbing member for protecting an automobile occupant according to claim 1.   The mounting portion made of the open cross-sectional shape that opens to the outside is attached so as to sandwich a member in the automobile instrument panel, so that the energy when the automobile occupant's knee collides with the dashboard is absorbed. The energy absorbing member for protecting an automobile occupant according to claim 1 or 2.

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