JP2011046318A - Knee air bag device for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a driver's seat lower panel capable of dealing with cracks at the expansion of a knee air bag without increasing the weight or cost, or causing deficiency such as dispersion of broken pieces or opening of a hood. <P>SOLUTION: The knee air bag device for a vehicle 1 is equipped with a resin lower panel 10 provided with a knee air bag opening 11, and has a knee air bag module arranged at the knee air bag opening 11. The lower panel 10 is provided with a weak body part 30 extended from a peripheral border of the knee air bag opening 11 in a direction away from the opening. The weak body part 30 comprises a notch with the thickness thinner than parts other than the weak body part of the lower panel. The weak body part 30 is extended downward from a corner part 11c at a hood opener lever 17 side and a lower side of the knee air bag opening 11. The cracks of the lower panel 10 are accepted and specified only at the weak body part 30 so as to solve the problems. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle knee airbag device, and particularly to a driver seat lower panel of a vehicle knee airbag device.

  Patent document 1 is disclosing the knee airbag apparatus for vehicles. In the knee airbag device, a knee airbag module is disposed on the back side of the lower panel, and is fixed to a knee panel attached to the instrument reinforcement through a bracket.

  In the conventional knee airbag device, it is conceivable that the lower panel is broken by an impact generated when the knee airbag is deployed, and the broken pieces of the lower panel are scattered on the vehicle rear side (occupant side). As countermeasures, reinforcement measures such as reinforcement by ribs, increase in panel plate thickness, and addition of sheet metal inserts are performed on the lower panel.

JP 2004-098867 A

However, the countermeasures against cracking of the lower panel by the above reinforcement have the following problems.
Measures such as adding ribs, increasing sheet thickness, or adding sheet metal inserts increase the weight, increase material costs, and increase manufacturing costs.
In addition, because the cracked part is not stable, the broken piece will scatter to the occupant side, or the crack of the lower panel will hit the hood opener part provided adjacent to the hood opener part and the cable will be pulled May cause problems such as opening the hood.

  It is an object of the present invention to prevent cracking of the lower panel when deploying a knee airbag without causing an increase in weight and cost, and preferably without causing problems such as scattering of broken pieces and opening of a hood. An object is to provide a knee airbag device for a vehicle.

  The vehicle knee airbag device of the present invention that solves the above problems or achieves the above object is as follows.

(1) The vehicle knee airbag device of the present invention is a vehicle knee airbag device including a resin lower panel provided with a knee airbag opening, and a knee airbag module disposed in the knee airbag opening. The lower panel is provided with a weak portion extending from the edge of the knee airbag opening in a direction away from the opening.

(2) In the vehicle knee airbag device according to (1), the weak body portion is formed of a notch having a thickness smaller than that of the lower panel other than the weak body portion.

(3) In the vehicle knee airbag device according to (1) or (2), the lower panel is a driver seat lower panel, and a hood opener lever is provided beside the knee airbag opening of the driver seat lower panel. The section extends downward from the edge of the knee airbag opening to the end portion of the hood opener lever side of the belt-shaped section extending in the vehicle left-right direction below the knee airbag opening of the lower panel.

According to the vehicle knee airbag device of (1) above, since the weak panel is formed on the lower panel, when the impact from the knee airbag module is applied to the peripheral edge of the knee airbag opening at the time of the vehicle collision, the lower panel Breaks at weak parts and absorbs shocks.
In the present invention, the lower panel is allowed to crack, and the means (weak body part) for causing the crack is constituted by the weak body part. Therefore, unlike the conventional case, no measures are taken to add ribs, increase the sheet thickness, or add sheet metal inserts, so that the weight and cost of the lower panel are not increased.

  According to the vehicle knee airbag device of (2) above, since the weak body portion is formed of a notch having a small thickness in the lower panel plate thickness direction, it is possible to ensure that the crack occurs in the weak body portion.

According to the vehicle knee airbag device of (3) above, the weak body portion is provided at the end portion on the hood opener lever side of the belt-like portion extending in the vehicle left-right direction below the knee airbag opening of the driver seat lower panel. Since the weak body portion extends downward from the edge of the knee airbag opening, the following effects can be obtained.
First, when the driver's seat lower panel is cut at the weak body portion when the knee airbag is deployed, the belt-like portion extending in the lateral direction (vehicle left-right direction) below the knee airbag opening in the driver seat lower panel is the weak portion of the belt-like portion. It deform | transforms so that it may bend downward in the edge part on the opposite side to the edge part in which the is formed. Therefore, the belt-like portion remains connected to a portion other than the belt-like portion of the driver seat lower panel and does not scatter toward the passenger. For example, even if the belt-like portion breaks at both the weak body portion and the end portion opposite to the side where the weak body is formed, it only falls downward and does not scatter toward the occupant.
Further, since the weak body portion extends downward, the crack does not progress toward the hood opener portion located in the vehicle left-right direction of the knee airbag opening. This prevents unexpected opening of the hood when the knee airbag is deployed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a front view of a driver seat lower panel of a vehicle knee airbag device according to one embodiment of the present invention as viewed from the front of the vehicle toward the rear (a rear view of the driver seat lower panel when viewed from the driver side). It is an enlarged front view of the A section of FIG. It is sectional drawing seen along CC line of FIG. FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the vehicle knee airbag device taken along the line B-B in FIG. 1 (a two-dot chain line indicates a deployed state of the airbag).

A vehicle knee airbag device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3 show a driver seat lower panel of the vehicle knee airbag device, and FIG. 4 shows the vehicle knee airbag device.
In the figure, “UP” indicates the upper side in the vehicle vertical direction, “OUT” indicates the vehicle lateral direction outside, and “FR” indicates the front in the vehicle longitudinal direction.

  1 and 4, a vehicle knee airbag device 1 according to the present invention includes a resin lower panel 10 provided with a knee airbag opening 11 and a knee airbag module 20 provided in the knee airbag opening 11. I have. The lower panel 10 is a driver side lower panel (hereinafter also referred to as a driver seat lower panel 10). The knee airbag opening 11 has a substantially rectangular shape in which a corner portion 11c is curved, and has a left-right side 11a extending in the left-right direction up and down and a vertical side 11b extending in the up-down direction left and right.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the knee airbag module 20 includes an airbag door 21, an airbag case 22 engaged with the airbag door 21, a knee airbag 23 and an inflator 24 held in the airbag case 22. Have. The airbag door 21 has an H-shaped groove portion 21a and upper and lower door portions 21b and 21c. The driver seat lower panel 10 and the airbag door 21 are separate bodies. The airbag door 21 is fitted in the knee airbag opening 11 and disposed in the knee airbag opening 11. On the extension of the outer surface (occupant side surface) of the driver seat lower panel 10, the outer surface (occupant side surface) of the airbag door 21 is located.

The knee airbag 23 is folded and disposed forward of the vehicle front-rear direction of the door portions 21b and 21c of the airbag door 21 before deployment. When the front collision of the vehicle is detected or predicted by the sensor, the inflator 24 is disposed. The expansion gas is supplied from the vehicle and expands and expands toward the rear and upward of the vehicle. At the time of deployment, the knee airbag 23 pushes and opens the door portions 21b and 21c of the airbag door 21 and deploys on the knee side of the occupant (driver) 40, thereby restraining the knee of the occupant 40.
In FIG. 4, a two-dot chain line indicates a state in which the knee airbag 23 is deployed.

  As the knee airbag 23 is deployed, the airbag case 22 is pushed up and down, and the vertical walls 21d and 21e of the airbag door 21 and the upper and lower portions 21f and 21g of the airbag door 21 are pushed up and down. Can be spread. When the upper and lower portions 21f and 21g of the airbag door 21 are deformed up and down, the upper and lower portions 21f and 21g of the airbag door 21 are laterally (vehicle lateral direction) above and below the knee airbag opening 11 of the driver seat lower panel 10. A vertical load is applied to the strips 12 and 13 so as to spread the upper and lower strips 12 and 13 extending upward and downward. When the knee airbag module 20 moves slightly forward of the vehicle due to the reaction force of the deployment of the knee airbag 23, the knee airbag 23 itself directly applies a vertical load to the strips 12 and 13. In either case, when the knee airbag 23 is deployed, vertical loads are applied to the strips 12 and 13.

In FIG. 1, the vertical load applied to the belt-like portions 12 and 13 is the largest at the central portion in the left-right direction of the belt-like portions 12 and 13 (reference numeral 13 c is attached to the central portion of the belt-like portion 13). Accordingly, a bending moment is generated at the left and right ends of the strips 12 and 13, and the left and right ends of the strips 12 and 13 (the ends of the strip 13 are denoted by reference numerals 13a and 13b), or The driver seat lower panel 10 may be cracked in the vicinity thereof.
In order to prevent this, conventionally, a rib is added to the driver's seat lower panel 10 (the rib is necessary to increase the out-of-plane rigidity of the driver's seat lower panel 10, but an additional rib is added to prevent cracking. However, in the present invention, the weak band portion 30 is provided in the lower belt-like portion 13 as will be described later.

As shown in FIG. 1, a recessed portion 14 that is recessed downward is formed above the knee airbag opening 11 of the driver seat lower panel 10. The recess 14 forms an opening through which the steering column 25 is inserted in cooperation with an upwardly recessed recess formed in the driver's seat upper panel.
A hood opener lever 17 for opening the hood is provided at a lateral position of the driver seat lower panel 10 on the outer side in the vehicle left-right direction of the knee airbag opening 11 (right position when viewed from the driver).

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, a flange portion 16 that is bent from a general portion 15 facing the passenger compartment of the driver seat lower panel 10 and extends to the front of the vehicle is provided around the outer periphery of the driver seat lower panel 10. . Projecting from the flange 16 on the lower side of the driver seat lower panel 10 toward the front in the vehicle front-rear direction, below the lower corner 11c of the knee airbag opening 11 in the vehicle left-right direction (and therefore on the hood opener lever 17 side). A clip seat 18 is formed. The clip seat 18 is formed with a substantially rectangular clip insertion hole 18a. An under cover 26 is provided on the lower side of the driver seat lower panel 10, and a clip 27 fixed to the under cover 26 passes through the clip insertion hole 18 a to fix the driver seat lower panel 10 to the under cover 26. .

  A rib 19 (a rib that reinforces the general portion 15 of the driver seat lower panel 10) 19 that protrudes forward from the general portion 15 is formed on the front surface of the general portion 15 of the driver seat lower panel 10 in the vehicle front-rear direction. The rib 19 extends in the vertical direction and / or the horizontal direction along the front-rear direction front surface of the general portion 15 of the driver seat lower panel 10. The ribs 19 are also formed on the upper and lower belt-like portions 12 and 13 of the knee airbag opening 11.

The driver seat lower panel 10 is formed with a weak body portion 30 extending from the peripheral edge (edge) of the knee airbag opening 11 in a direction away from the opening 11.
The weak body portion 30 has a notch 30 that is thinner than portions other than the weak body portion 30 of the driver seat lower panel 10 (the general portion 15 and the flange portion 16 of the driver seat lower panel 10). The reference numeral 30 is attached). As shown in FIG. 3, the notch 30 is a notch having a V-shaped, U-shaped, or rectangular cross section.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the weak body portion 30 is provided at the end portion 13 a on the hood opener lever 17 side of the belt-like portion 13 that extends in the vehicle left-right direction below the knee airbag opening 11 of the driver seat lower panel 10. It has been. The weak body portion 30 extends downward from the peripheral edge portion of the knee airbag opening 11 of the knee airbag opening 11. The weak body portion 30 extends to the lower flange portion 16 along the vehicle front-rear direction front surface of the lower belt-shaped portion 13, and clips the clip seat 18 forward along the upper surface of the lower flange 16 and the clip seat 18 in the vehicle front-rear direction. It extends to the insertion hole 18a. The end portion of the weak body portion 30 on the knee airbag opening 11 side is located at the lower corner portion 11c of the knee airbag opening 11 on the hood opener lever 17 side. The end of the weak body 30 opposite to the end of the knee airbag opening 11 is positioned at the peripheral edge of the clip insertion hole 18 a of the clip seat 18. It is not necessary to provide the weak body portion 30 in the extending direction of the weak body portion 30 over the entire projecting length of the clip seat 18 (the portion 18b from the clip insertion hole 18a to the projecting tip of the clip seat). Even if the weak portion 30 is not provided in the portion 18b, the clip seat 18 is cracked by the portion 18b when the breakage has progressed to the clip insertion hole 18a. However, the weak portion 30 may be provided in the portion 18b.

  The weak body portion 30 is not formed at the end 13 b of the lower belt-like portion 13 opposite to the hood opener lever 17. Therefore, when the belt-like portion 13 is cut along the weak portion 21 at the end portion 13a on the hood opener lever 17 side when the knee airbag is deployed, the belt-like portion 13 is at the end portion 13b opposite to the hood opener lever 17, It bends and hangs down (without being cut) with respect to portions other than the belt-like portion 13. In FIG. 1, the state in which the belt-like portion 13 hangs down is indicated by a two-dot chain line (a portion denoted by reference numeral 13 '). Even if the belt-like portion 13 is broken from the portion other than the belt-like portion 13 at the end portion 13b, it simply falls downward and does not scatter toward the passenger 40.

  When the weak body portion 30 crosses the rib 19 formed in the belt-like portion 13, it is not necessary to form a notch in the rib 19. When the weak body portion 30 is cracked, the progress of cracking does not stop at the rib 19 site. However, the weak body portion 30 may also be formed on the rib 19.

Next, the operation and effect of the knee airbag device 1 of the present invention will be described.
First, since the weak body portion 30 is formed in the driver seat lower panel 10, the impact load from the knee airbag module 20 is applied to the peripheral portion of the knee airbag opening 11 (particularly the central portion 13c of the lower belt-like portion 13) at the time of a vehicle collision. ), The driver's seat lower panel 10 is selectively broken at the weak body 30. And the impact applied to other parts is relieved by the impact absorption when the weak body part 30 is cracked, so that the other parts do not break.

  In this invention, even if the driver's seat lower panel 10 is cracked, it is allowed to crack at a portion where no malfunction occurs. Therefore, unlike conventional methods, measures such as adding ribs, increasing the sheet thickness, or adding sheet metal inserts to prevent cracks may be taken, leading to an increase in the weight and cost of the lower panel. Absent.

  Since the weak body part 30 consists of the notch 30 formed thinly in the thickness direction of the lower panel, it is possible to ensure that the weak body part 30 is cracked.

  The weak body portion 30 is provided at an end portion 13a on the hood opener lever 17 side of the belt-like portion 13 extending in the vehicle left-right direction below the knee airbag opening 11 of the driver seat lower panel 10, and the weak body portion 30 is provided in the knee airbag opening. Since it extends downward from the edge of 11, the following trouble prevention effect is obtained.

  First, when the driver seat lower panel 10 is cut by the weak body portion 30 when the knee airbag is deployed, the belt-like portion 13 extending in the vehicle left-right direction (lateral direction) below the knee airbag opening 11 in the driver seat lower panel 10 is a belt-like shape. At the end portion 13b opposite to the end portion 13a on the side where the weak body portion 30 of the portion 13 is formed, as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. Therefore, the belt-like portion 13 remains connected to a portion other than the belt-like portion 13 of the driver seat lower panel 10 and is not scattered toward the passenger 40. For example, even if the belt-like portion 13 breaks at both the weak body portion 30 and the end portion 13a opposite to the side where the weak body 30 is formed, the belt-like portion 13 just falls downward and scatters toward the occupant 40. There is nothing.

  Moreover, since the weak body part 30 is extended below, a crack does not progress toward the hood opener lever 17 side located beside the knee airbag opening. This prevents unexpected opening of the hood when the knee airbag is deployed.

1 Knee airbag device 10 Lower panel (driver's seat lower panel)
11 knee airbag opening 11a left and right side 11b up and down side 11c curved corner parts 12, 13 knee airbag opening upper and lower band 13a lower band part hood opener lever end 13b lower band part hood End 14 opposite to the opener lever Recess 15 General part (portion facing the passenger compartment)
16 Flange part (part which bends from the general part and extends backward)
17 Hood opener lever 18 Clip seat 18a Clip insertion hole 19 Rib 20 Knee airbag module 21 Airbag door 21a Airbag door groove 21b, 21c Upper and lower door portions 21d, 21e of the airbag door 21f, 21g Upper and lower portions of airbag door 22 Airbag case 23 Knee airbag 24 Inflator 25 Steering column 26 Under cover 27 Clip 30 Weak body 40 Crew

Claims (3)

In a vehicle knee airbag device comprising a resin lower panel provided with a knee airbag opening and having a knee airbag module disposed in the knee airbag opening,
A vehicle knee airbag device in which a weak body portion extending from an edge of the knee airbag opening toward a direction away from the opening is provided on the lower panel.   The vehicle knee airbag device according to claim 1, wherein the weak body portion is formed from a notch having a thickness smaller than a portion other than the weak body portion of the lower panel. The lower panel is a driver's seat lower panel, and a hood opener lever is provided on a side portion of the driver seat lower panel at the knee airbag opening,
The weak body portion is provided to extend downward from an edge of the knee airbag opening at an end portion on the hood opener lever side of a belt-like portion extending in the vehicle left-right direction below the knee airbag opening of the lower panel. The vehicle knee airbag device according to claim 1 or 2.

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