JP2009051315A - Knee collision protection device for automobile - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a knee collision protection device for a vehicle capable of surely absorbing knee load generated by a collision of the knee parts of an occupant with a glove box in a collision of the vehicle and surely protecting the lower limbs including the knee parts from the collision load to the glove box. <P>SOLUTION: A pair of supporting members 15 supporting the glove box 12 to be put in/out of an instrument panel 11 is constituted by including knee load absorbing parts 151. When the knee load F1 generated due to the collision of the knee parts of the occupant with a design surface plate 122 of the glove box 12 becomes a fixed value or more in the head-on collision of the vehicle, the knee load absorbing parts 151 of the supporting members 15 are plastically deformed, and at the same time, the knee load is absorbed by moving the whole of the glove box 12 including the supporting members 15 in parallel in the knee collision direction according to the plastic deformation. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle knee collision protection device that protects a lower limb including an occupant's knee at the time of a vehicle collision such as an automobile. More specifically, the present invention relates to an occupant's impact from a shock caused by a vehicle collision using a support mechanism of a glove box. The present invention relates to a vehicle knee collision protection device that can protect a knee.

The glove box for automobiles is configured so that a space for storing vehicle verification documents, owner's manuals, CDs, etc. is secured inside, and it can be key-locked to store valuables such as wallets. In general, it is designed to be practically used so as to function as a storage box.
Recently, however, a knee collision protection device has been developed that protects the lower limbs, including the occupant's knee, in the event of a vehicle collision by providing a knee absorber (shock absorbing member) at the location facing the occupant's knee in the driver's seat and passenger seat. It has been installed in vehicles including passenger cars.

Conventionally, as disclosed in Patent Document 1, such a knee collision protection device is a pair of knee absorbers made of a metal plate disposed on the back side of a glove box that is attached to an instrument panel so as to be openable and closable. This knee absorber absorbs the knee load caused by a secondary collision with the occupant's glove box when the vehicle collides, and one end of each knee absorber is fixed to a deck cross member fixed to the vehicle body. The other end of each knee absorber is brought into contact with the back of the glove box via a glove box insert for transmitting the knee load applied during the secondary collision to the glove box of the occupant to each knee absorber. It is configured.
Therefore, when the frontal collision of the vehicle occurs, for example, when the passenger's knee collides with the glove box due to the inertial movement of the passenger in the front passenger seat to the front of the glove box, the collision load is transmitted through the glove box insert. The knee absorber is deformed according to the impact load on the glove box at the knee, and the knee load applied to the knee is absorbed, and the lower limb including the occupant's knee collides with the glove box. Protects against load.
JP-A-2005-75137

  The glove box generally has a support mechanism for swingably supporting it so that it can be inserted into and removed from an opening provided in the instrument panel. For this reason, when the glove box having the conventional knee collision protection device as described above is swingably supported by the instrument panel by the support mechanism, the support mechanism itself has a knee load absorption amount (deformation stroke) of the knee absorber. ) Will be limited. As a result, the amount of movement of the glove box that is moved in the load direction as the knee absorber is deformed is also limited by the support mechanism. For this reason, when the amount of movement in the knee collision direction caused by the inertial force of the occupant during a frontal collision of the vehicle exceeds the deformation stroke of the knee absorber, the knee of the occupant is moved by moving beyond this deformation stroke. The knee load when it collides with the glove box is received by the glove box itself, and as a result, the knee load on the glove box acts directly on the occupant's knee as a reaction force, so an excessive load is applied to the knee. There has been a problem that it becomes impossible to protect the lower limbs including the knee from a collision load to the glove box.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described conventional problems, such as a support mechanism that supports the glove box so that it can be inserted into and removed from the instrument panel, and a knee collision direction due to the inertial force of the occupant during a vehicle collision. Regardless of the amount of movement, the knee load generated by the collision of the occupant's knee with the glove box at the time of the collision of the vehicle is reliably absorbed, and the lower limb including the occupant's knee is reliably detected from the collision load on the glove box. An object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle knee collision protection device that can protect the vehicle.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a vehicle knee collision protection device for protecting a lower limb including a knee part of an occupant during a vehicle collision, and extends to the instrument panel in the left-right direction of the instrument panel. A glove box that can be inserted into and removed from the instrument panel through the opening formed in the instrument panel and is opposed to the occupant's knee, and extends in the left-right direction of the instrument panel inside the instrument panel. And a support member disposed between the deck cross member and the glove box, and one end of the support member is fixed to the deck cross member. The glove box is pivotally attached to an end so that the glove box can be inserted into and removed from the instrument panel through the opening. The support member is plastically deformed when a knee load generated by a passenger's knee colliding with the glove box in a vehicle collision exceeds a certain value, and at the same time, the glove box is moved in the knee collision direction along with the plastic deformation. And a knee load absorbing portion that absorbs the knee load.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the vehicle knee collision protection device according to the first aspect, the support member has a pair, and the pair of support members are parallel to each other in the left-right direction of the instrument panel. One end of the pair of support members is fixed to the deck cross member, and the other end of the pair of support members is a lateral side of the glove box, a bottom of the glove box in the lateral direction, or the The glove box is pivotally attached to any one of the back portions of the glove box so that the glove box can be inserted into and removed from the instrument panel through the opening.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the knee collision protection device for the vehicle according to the first aspect, the guide member provided on the deck cross member so as to extend from the deck cross member toward the glove box, and the glove A striker for holding the box in a closed state; and a lock mechanism provided in the glove box and detachably engaged with the striker and locking the glove box in the closed state. The member is provided so as to be movable in the same direction as the movement direction of the glove box, and the glove box at the time of a vehicle collision is configured to be moved while being guided by the guide member via the striker. To do.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the knee collision protection device for a vehicle according to the first aspect, the support member is made of a metal having a length extending between the deck cross member and a lateral side of the glove box. The knee load absorbing portion is orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the support member at one or two or more locations including a location close to the fixing portion of the support member to the deck cross member. And a plurality of slits formed at regular intervals in the longitudinal direction of the support member.
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the vehicle knee collision protection device according to the first aspect, the support member is any one of a metal square bar material, a round bar material, a hollow material, a sheet metal molded product, or a metal cast product. It is characterized by being configured.

  According to the vehicle knee collision protection device of the present invention, the support member that supports the glove box so that it can be inserted into and removed from the instrument panel includes the knee load absorbing portion, and the knee portion of the occupant is the glove box when the vehicle collides. When the knee load generated by collision with the arm exceeds a certain value, the knee load absorbing portion of the support member is plastically deformed, and at the same time, the glove box is moved in the knee collision direction to absorb the knee load along with the plastic deformation. As a result, the support mechanism that supports the glove box so that it can be inserted into and removed from the instrument panel and the amount of movement in the knee collision direction due to the inertial force of the passenger at the time of the vehicle collision are not affected by The knee load generated by the collision with the glove box is securely absorbed, and the lower limb including the occupant's knee is reliably detected from the collision load on the glove box. It can be protected in.

Further, according to the present invention, the striker on which the lock mechanism is detachably locked is provided on the guide member so as to be movable in the same direction as the movement direction of the glove box, and the glove box at the time of the vehicle collision is interposed via the striker. Therefore, the movement of the glove box in the load direction along with the plastic deformation of the knee load absorbing part is smooth, and the occupant's knee part can be moved from the collision load to the glove box. , Can protect more reliably.
Further, according to the present invention, since the knee load absorbing portion is composed of a plurality of slits formed in the vicinity of the fixing portion of the support member to the deck cross member, the slit of the slit formed in the knee load absorbing portion is formed. By changing the number, the knee load that can be absorbed by the knee load absorbing portion can be arbitrarily adjusted, and the knee load absorbing portion can be formed on the support member at low cost.

(Embodiment 1)
Next, an embodiment of a vehicle knee collision protection device according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the vehicle knee collision protection device of the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described below.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an instrument panel portion for an automobile using a glove box having a vehicle knee collision protection device according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along line 2-2 of FIG. 1, and FIG. 2 is a front view of the glove box viewed from the direction of arrow 3 in FIG. 2, FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the glove box in the first embodiment, and FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the glove box in the first embodiment as viewed from the back. 6 is a perspective view of the guide member portion of the glove box according to the first embodiment. FIG. 7 is an enlarged perspective view of the main part showing a configuration example of the knee load absorbing portion of the support member according to the first embodiment. FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing the relationship between the glove box and the occupant knee in the first embodiment, and FIG. 9 is a characteristic diagram showing the relationship between the load of the support member and the deformation stroke in the first embodiment. is there.

  As shown in FIG. 1, an instrument panel 11 extends in the left-right direction at the front of the passenger compartment, and there are small items and the like at a position facing the passenger seat at the bottom of the instrument panel 11. A glove box 12 for storing the articles is provided.

As shown in FIGS. 2 to 5, the glove box 12 can be inserted into and removed from the instrument panel 11 through an opening 11 a formed in the instrument panel 11 so as to extend in the left-right direction of the instrument panel 11. A box main body 121 having a V-shaped cross section as a lateral surface and a design face plate 122 provided integrally on the front surface of the box main body 121 are provided. A recess 123 is formed near the upper end of the design face plate 122, and the lock mechanism 13 is provided in the recess 123. The lock claw 13a of the lock mechanism 13 penetrates the design face plate 122 and protrudes from the back surface of the design face plate 122. The lock claw 13a is configured to be detachably locked to a striker 18 described later.
In addition, a pair of pivot portions 14 for supporting the box body 121 so as to be swingable are provided in the vicinity of the lower portions of the left and right side portions of the box body 121 so that the axes coincide with each other. Is rotatably coupled to the lower ends of a pair of support members 15 described later.

As shown in FIGS. 2 to 5, a deck cross member 16 extending in the left-right direction of the instrument panel 11 is disposed near the inner upper side of the instrument panel 11. The pair of support members 15 described above are disposed so as to extend between the pivot support portions 14 on the left and right sides of the box body 121.
As shown in FIGS. 2 to 5, the pair of support members 15 is configured by bending a metal hollow round bar into a substantially L shape, and the upper ends of the pair of support members 15. Is fixed to the deck cross member 16 by welding or other fixing means in a state of being pressed flat. A pair of pivot portions 14 of the box body 121 are coupled to the lower ends of the pair of support members 15 so as to be rotatable. As a result, the box body 121 including the design face plate 122 can be taken in and out of the instrument panel 11 through the opening 11a with the pivot 14 as a fulcrum.

As shown in FIG. 7, the pair of support members 15 are plastically deformed when the knee load generated when the occupant's knee collides with the design face plate 122 of the glove box 12 when the vehicle collides becomes a certain value or more. At the same time, the entire glove box 12 is moved in the knee collision direction (the direction indicated by the arrow F1 in FIG. 8) along with the plastic deformation to include the knee load absorbing portion 151 that absorbs the knee load.
As shown in FIG. 7, the knee load absorbing portion 151 is orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the support member 15 at a location close to the fixing portion of the support member 15 to the deck cross member 16, and in the longitudinal direction of the support member 15. It consists of a plurality of slits 151a formed at regular intervals. Further, by changing the number of slits formed in the knee load absorbing portion 151, the knee load that can be absorbed by the knee load absorbing portion can be arbitrarily adjusted.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 6, a base portion of a guide member 17 that extends from the deck cross member 16 toward the glove box 12 is fixed to the deck cross member 16. A pair of guide elongated holes 171 extending from the distal end to the distal end are formed along the longitudinal direction of the guide member 17. The pair of guide elongated holes 171 is formed in the above-described striker bent into a substantially U shape. Both ends of 18 are engaged so that they can move along the guide slot 171 from below the guide member 17. The striker 18 is engaged with the lock claw 13a of the lock mechanism 13 so as to be detachable.

  In the glove box 12 including the knee collision protection device configured as described above, the passenger in the passenger seat is forcibly moved in the direction of approaching the instrument panel 11 by its own inertia force at the time of a frontal collision of the vehicle. 8, the occupant's knee 30 collides with the design face plate 122 of the glove box 12. The resulting knee load is transmitted to the knee load absorbing portion 151 via the glove box 12 and the pair of support members 15, and the knee load absorbing portion 151 is applied to the impact load acting on the glove box 12 from the knee portion 30. To deform. That is, when the knee load F1 applied to the glove box 12 becomes a value exceeding 525.08 [N] as shown in FIG. 9, for example, the knee load absorbing portion 151 of the pair of support members 15 is plastically deformed, As this plastic deformation occurs, the entire glove box 12 including the support member 15 is translated in the knee collision direction indicated by the arrow, as indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. As a result, the knee load applied to the knee during a frontal collision of the vehicle is absorbed. At this time, since the lock claw 13a of the lock mechanism 13 is locked to the striker 18, the glove box 12 is guided by the guide member 17 through the striker 18 while being locked by the lock mechanism 13, and is shown by the solid line in FIG. Will be translated from the state shown in FIG.

  FIG. 9 is a characteristic diagram when a round bar having a diameter of 10 mm is used for the support member 15, and a knee load F1 exceeding 525.08 [N] is applied to the glove box 12 supported by the support member 15. The stroke accompanying the plastic deformation of the support member 15 is 118.45 mm.

According to the present embodiment, the pair of support members 15 that support the glove box 12 so as to be able to be inserted into and removed from the instrument panel 11 include the knee load absorbing portion 151, and the occupant's front collision occurs. When the knee load F1 generated when the knee 30 collides with the design face plate 122 of the glove box 12 becomes a certain value or more, the knee load absorbing portion 151 of the support member 15 is plastically deformed, and at the same time, the support member 15 is deformed. The entire glove box 12 including the glide box 12 is translated in the knee collision direction to absorb the knee load. Therefore, the glove box 12 is supported by a support mechanism that supports the glove box so that it can be inserted into and removed from the instrument panel and the inertial force of the occupant during the vehicle collision. The collision of the occupant's knee to the glove box is not affected by the amount of movement in the knee collision direction. Ri reliably absorb the knee load generated, it is possible to reliably protect the lower limb including the occupant's knee from the collision load to the glove box.
Moreover, since the support member 15 itself of the glove box 12 has the knee load absorbing portion 151, the support member 15 does not limit the absorption of the knee load as in the prior art, and the characteristic diagram shown in FIG. As is apparent from the above, there is an effect that the deformation stroke of the knee load absorbing portion 151 can be increased.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, the striker 18 on which the lock mechanism 13 is detachably locked is provided on the guide member 17 so as to be movable in the same direction as the movement direction of the glove box 12 when the knee is loaded. Therefore, the glove box 12 at the time of the vehicle collision can be translated while being guided by the guide member 17 via the striker 18, and thereby the glove box 12 in the load direction accompanying the plastic deformation of the knee load absorbing portion 151. Thus, the occupant's knee can be more reliably protected from the collision load on the glove box 12.

  In addition, according to the present embodiment, the knee load absorbing portion 151 is configured by the plurality of slits 151 a formed in the vicinity of the fixing portion of the support member 15 to the deck cross member 16. By changing the number of slits 151a formed in the portion 151, the knee load that can be absorbed by the knee load absorbing portion 151 can be arbitrarily adjusted, and the knee load absorbing portion 151 is formed on the support member 15 at low cost. can do.

(Embodiment 2)
Next, another embodiment of the glove box using the support member of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
In FIG. 10, the same reference numerals are given to the same components as those in FIG. 5, and the description of the configurations is omitted, and different parts from FIG. 5 will be described. It exists in the place which couple | bonded the lower end of a pair of support member 15 so that rotation was possible via the pivotal support part 14a in two corresponding locations.
Also in the glove box 12 having such a support structure, the same operational effects as those of the first embodiment can be exhibited.

(Embodiment 3)
Next, still another embodiment of the glove box using the support member of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
In FIG. 11, the same components as those in FIG. 5 are denoted by the same reference numerals and description of the components is omitted, and different parts from FIG. 5 will be described. The lower end of the pair of support members 15 is pivotally coupled to the place via the pivot 14b.
Also in the glove box 12 having such a support structure, the same operational effects as those of the first embodiment can be exhibited.

The support member 15 according to the present invention is not limited to the one formed from the hollow round bar as shown in the above embodiment, but is a hollow square bar, a solid round bar, a hollow, and a sheet metal. It may be composed of a molded product or a metal casting.
Further, the knee load absorbing portion 151 according to the present invention is not limited to the slit structure as shown in the above embodiment, and for example, the knee load absorbing portion is configured by cutting the outer periphery of a metal round bar. In addition, the location of the knee load absorbing portion 151 provided on the support member 15 is not limited to one location, and may be two or more locations including locations close to the portion where the support member 15 is fixed to the deck cross member. A knee load absorbing portion 151 may be provided.
In addition, the present invention can be carried out in other various forms with respect to specific configurations, functions, and effects without departing from the spirit of the sample storage container described in the claims.

It is a perspective view of the instrument panel part for motor vehicles using the glove box which comprises the knee collision protection device for vehicles concerning the present invention. It is an expanded sectional view which follows the 2-2 line of FIG. It is a front view of the glove box seen from the arrow 3 direction of FIG. It is a perspective view of the glove box in this Embodiment 1. FIG. It is a perspective view when the glove box in this Embodiment 1 is seen from the back. It is a perspective view of the guide member part of the glove box in this Embodiment 1. FIG. It is an expansion perspective view of the principal part which shows the structural example of the knee load absorption part of the support member in this Embodiment 1. It is explanatory drawing which shows the relationship when a passenger | crew knee part collides with the glove box in this Embodiment 1. FIG. It is a characteristic view which shows the relationship between the load of the supporting member in this Embodiment 1, and a deformation | transformation stroke. It is a perspective view when the glove box in Embodiment 2 of this invention is seen from the back surface. It is a perspective view when the glove box in Embodiment 3 of this invention is seen from the back surface.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Instrument panel 11a Opening part 12 Glove box 121 Box main body 122 Design face plate 13 Lock mechanism 14 Pivot part 14a Pivot part 14b Pivot part 15 Support member 151 Knee load absorption part 151a Slit 16 Deck cross member 17 Guide member 171 Guide slot 18 Striker

Claims (5)

A vehicle knee collision protection device for protecting a lower limb including an occupant's knee during a vehicle collision,
A glove box disposed on the instrument panel so as to be able to be taken in and out of the instrument panel through an opening formed extending in the left-right direction of the instrument panel and facing the knee of the occupant;
A deck cross member arranged extending in the left-right direction of the instrument panel on the inside of the instrument panel and a support member arranged extending between the glove box, and
One end of the support member is fixed to the deck cross member, and the other end of the support member is pivotally attached to the other end of the support member so that the glove box can be inserted and removed through the opening in the instrument panel.
The support member is plastically deformed when a knee load generated by a passenger's knee colliding with the glove box in a vehicle collision exceeds a certain value, and at the same time, the glove box is moved in the knee collision direction along with the plastic deformation. A knee load absorbing part configured to absorb the knee load,
A knee collision protection device for a vehicle.   The support members have a pair, and the pair of support members are arranged in parallel in the left-right direction of the instrument panel at a certain interval, and one end of the pair of support members is fixed to the deck cross member, At the other end of the pair of support members, the glove box passes through the opening to the instrument panel through either the lateral side of the glove box, the bottom of the glove box, or the back of the glove box. The knee collision protection device for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the knee collision protection device is swingably pivoted so as to be inserted into and withdrawn from the vehicle.   A guide member provided on the deck cross member so as to extend from the deck cross member toward the glove box, a striker for holding the glove box in a closed state, and the striker provided on the glove box And a lock mechanism that locks the glove box in a closed state, and the striker is provided on the guide member so as to be movable in the same direction as the movement direction of the glove box. The vehicle knee collision protection device according to claim 1, wherein the glove box at the time of collision is configured to be moved while being guided by the guide member via the striker.   The support member is composed of a metal bar member having a length extending between the deck cross member and a lateral side of the glove box, and the knee load absorbing portion includes the deck of the support member. A plurality of slits formed at a certain interval in the longitudinal direction of the support member at one or two or more locations including a location close to the fixing portion to the cross member and in the longitudinal direction of the support member The knee collision protection device for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the knee collision protection device is configured.   2. The knee collision protection device for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the support member is made of any one of a metal square bar material, a round bar material, a hollow material, a sheet metal molded product, and a metal cast product.