JP2013203317A - Automobile occupant protection structure - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an automobile occupant protection structure capable of reducing axial force and bending moment exerted to an ankle of the occupant upon front collision of the automobile even when there is an accommodated item in a glove box.SOLUTION: An occupant protection structure of an automobile 1 is arranged in a lid 30 of a glove box 10 placed in a front position of a knee region N of an occupant H sitting on a seat inside an automobile cabin 3. The lid 30 has an inner panel 31 cloaking a front part 10e of the glove box 10 and an outer panel 33 arranged in the automobile cabin 3 side and arranged facing the inner panel 31. The outer panel 33 has an upper side outer panel 33a, supported free to turn forward around an axial part 35a as a center placed in a lower position than the knee region N of the occupant H, and a lower side outer panel 33b extending in the lower direction than the axial part 35a. A strength of the lower side outer panel 33b is larger than a strength of the upper side outer panel 33a. An energy absorption member 39 is arranged between the upper side outer panel 33a and an upper side inner panel 31b.

Description

  The present invention relates to an automobile occupant protection structure in which a panel is provided at a front position of a knee part of an occupant sitting on a seat in a vehicle interior.

  There has been proposed an occupant protection structure that reduces an impact load that acts when an occupant's knee collides with a glove box as a vault for a vehicle when the occupant rides forward (see Patent Document 1). . The occupant protection structure described in Patent Document 1 includes a pair of side walls that connect the widthwise sides of the front wall portion facing the occupant side of the glove box and the rear wall portion disposed on the back side of the glove box. The strength of the part is set to be weaker than that of the front wall part and the rear wall part. For this reason, when a passenger | crew's knee collides with the front wall part of a glove box at the time of the front collision of a motor vehicle, a side wall part deform | transforms initially and it can absorb the impact energy which acts on a knee part.

JP 2009-101985 A

  However, since the front wall portion of this conventional glove box is inclined upward as it extends toward the vehicle interior side, the front wall portion is deformed when the knee collides with the front wall portion during a frontal collision of the automobile. While the upward movement of the knee portion is restrained by the deformed front wall portion, the knee portion tries to move downward along the front wall portion of the glove box, and is applied to the ankle through the lower limb extending downward from the knee portion. There is a risk that an axial force in the compression direction acts. Furthermore, if the knee moves forward while deforming the front wall, a bending moment may act on the ankle of the lower limb. In addition, since the side wall portion of the glove box is deformed first, if there is an object in the glove box, it is difficult to deform the side wall portion and the impact energy cannot be absorbed.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and an automobile capable of reducing axial force and bending moment acting on an ankle of an occupant at the time of a frontal collision of the automobile even if there is an object in the glove box. The purpose is to provide an occupant protection structure.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an occupant protection structure for an automobile in which a panel (the lid 30 in the embodiment) is provided at a front position of a knee part of an occupant sitting on a seat in a vehicle interior. The upper part of the panel (upper outer panel 33 in the embodiment) is pivotally supported forward about a shaft part that is disposed below the knee part of the occupant and extends in the width direction of the passenger compartment. The lower part of the panel at the lower position (lower outer panel 33 in the embodiment) has a higher strength than the upper part of the panel (Claim 1).

  Further, the lower part of the panel of the present invention suppresses the forward movement of the lower limbs of the occupant during a frontal collision of the automobile, and the upper part of the panel is inclined forward with the shaft part as the center to be above the knee part of the occupant. The movement is free (claim 2).

  Further, an energy absorbing member is provided on the side of the upper part of the panel of the present invention opposite to the vehicle interior side (Claim 3).

  Further, the panel of the present invention is a lid of a glow box provided at a seat front position in the passenger compartment (claim 4).

  As described above, according to the vehicle occupant protection structure of the present invention, the shaft that acts on the occupant's ankle at the time of frontal collision of the vehicle, even if there is an object in the glove box, has the above characteristics. An automobile occupant protection structure capable of reducing force and bending moment can be provided.

1 is a perspective view of a front side of a passenger compartment side of a vehicle provided with a vehicle occupant protection structure according to an embodiment of the present invention. Side surface explanatory drawing for demonstrating the positional relationship of the passenger | crew's lower leg seated in the passenger seat and the glove box is shown. The explanatory view explaining the state before and after a passenger's knee collides with a glove box at the time of frontal collision of a car is shown, and the figure (a) is an explanatory view in the case of a glove box without an occupant protection structure used as a comparison object. FIG. 5B is an explanatory diagram of the glove box having the occupant protection structure of the present application. FIG. 4A shows the change in the axial force acting on the ankle with respect to the elapsed time at the time of the front collision of the automobile, and FIG. 5B shows the change in the moment acting on the ankle with respect to the elapsed time at the time of the automobile front collision. Show.

  Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of an automobile occupant protection structure of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. First, with reference to FIG. 1, FIG. 2, FIG. 3, the front side of a passenger compartment provided with an occupant protection structure for an automobile will be outlined.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the front side of the passenger compartment 3 on the passenger seat side of the automobile 1. As shown in FIG. 1, an instrument panel 4 is provided on the front side of the passenger compartment 3 so as to extend in the passenger compartment width direction. A glove box that can accommodate small items is located in front of the passenger seat of the instrument panel 4. 10 and a lid 30 are provided.

  FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a cross section of the glove box 10 cut in the vertical direction and describing a side surface side of the lower limb L of the occupant H sitting on the passenger seat. As shown in FIG. 2, the glove box 10 is disposed at a position away from the occupant H, a plate-like upper surface portion 10 a extending in the front-rear direction, a lower surface portion 10 b disposed below the upper surface portion 10 a and extending in the front-rear direction. A rear surface portion 10c provided, a pair of side surface portions 10d connected to both widthwise sides of the upper surface portion 10a and the lower surface portion 10b and extending in the front-rear direction, and a front surface portion 10e disposed so as to face the occupant H side. It has a box shape. An opening (not shown) of the glove box 10 that opens into the passenger compartment 3 is provided in the front surface portion 10e. This opening is opened and closed by the lid 30. The front surface portion 10e is connected to the lower front surface portion 10e1 that inclines rearward as it extends upward in a side view and the upper end portion of the lower front surface portion 10e1 and extends upward to the rear side of the lower front surface portion 10e1. And an upper front surface portion 10e2 having a small inclination angle.

  A steering support beam 6 extending in the vehicle width direction is disposed in front of the instrument panel 4, and a glove box 10 is fixed to the steering support beam 6 via a bracket.

  Next, the lid 30 having the occupant protection structure of the present invention will be described. The lid 30 includes an inner panel 31 disposed so as to cover the front surface portion 10e side of the glove box 10 and an outer panel 33 disposed on the vehicle compartment 3 side and disposed opposite to the inner panel 31. . A sliding portion (not shown) is formed below the lid 30. The sliding portion engages with a shaft portion (not shown) provided on the lower surface portion 10b of the glove box 10 to form a main hinge portion. For this reason, the lid 30 is supported so as to be rotatable in the front-rear direction around the shaft portion of the main hinge portion.

  A locking projection (not shown) is provided on the front side of the upper portion of the lid 30, and a clip (not shown) capable of locking the locking projection is provided on the lower portion of the instrument panel 4, so that the upper portion of the lid 30 is locked. It is possible.

  The inner panel 31 has a lower inner panel 31a that extends along the lower front surface portion 10e1 and an upper inner panel 31b that extends along the upper front surface portion 10e2 in a state where the upper portion of the lid 30 is locked to the clip. Do it.

  The outer panel 33 includes a lower outer panel 33a that extends along the lower inner panel 31a of the inner panel 31, and an upper outer panel 33b that extends along the upper inner panel 31b. The upper part 33b1 of the upper outer panel 33b is bent so that the inclination angle θ with respect to the horizontal plane is larger than the lower part 33b2 of the upper outer panel 33b. In the drawing, the inclination angle θ of the upper portion 33b1 of the upper outer panel is about 70 ° to about 90 °.

  A sub hinge portion 35 is provided between the upper outer panel 33b and the lower outer panel 33a. The sub hinge portion 35 includes a sliding portion (not shown) provided at the lower portion of the upper outer panel 33b and a shaft portion 35a provided at the upper portion of the lower outer panel 33a, and the sliding portion with respect to the shaft portion 35a. The upper outer panel 33b can be rotated in the direction of arrow A (front side).

  The vertical position of the sub hinge 35 is disposed below the vertical position of the knee N of the lower limb L of the occupant H sitting in the passenger seat. For this reason, when the automobile 1 has a front impact, when the knee N of the occupant H collides with the lid 30, the knee N can collide with the upper outer panel 33 b of the lid 30. The lower leg Ld can be brought into contact with the lower outer panel 33a. Details of the deformation of the lid 30 when the knee N of the occupant H and the lower limb Ld collide with the lid 30 will be described later.

  The upper outer panel 33b extends in a direction away from the upper inner panel 31b as it extends upward in a side view, and a gap 37 is formed between the upper inner panel 31b and the upper outer panel 33b. The gap 37 is provided with an energy absorbing member 39 capable of absorbing impact energy.

  The strength of the lower outer panel 33a is formed to be greater than the strength of the upper outer panel 33b. As a means for varying the strength, for example, materials having different strengths may be selected, the thickness may be changed using the same material, or a rib may be provided on the front side of the lower outer panel 33a to improve the strength.

  Next, the operation of the lid 30 having the occupant protection structure when the automobile 1 collides forward will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 (a) and 3 (b). 3A is an explanatory diagram for explaining the operation of the lid 50 that does not have an occupant protection structure to be compared with the present invention, and FIG. 3B has an occupant protection structure according to the present invention. 6 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the operation of the lid 30. FIG. The lid 50 to be compared is formed so that its strength is substantially constant regardless of the vertical position, and the inclination angle of the lid 50 in a side view is substantially the same as that of the lid 30 of the present application. ing. 3 (a) and 3 (b) show the deformation of the lower limbs L and the lids 30 and 50 of the occupant H after a predetermined time has elapsed since the time when the automobile 1 collided. First, the operation of the lid 50 having no occupant protection structure as a comparison target will be described.

  When the automobile 1 collides forward, as shown in the left diagram of FIG. 3A, the occupant H sitting in the passenger seat moves relative to the front side with respect to the passenger compartment 3. When a predetermined time elapses from the time of the frontal collision of the automobile 1, as shown in the central view of FIG. The lid 50 is deformed toward the front side. When the time further elapses, the knee N is moved downward along the lid 50 while the upward movement of the knee N is restrained by the deformed lid 50 as shown in the right diagram of FIG. Moving. Further, the lower limb Ld below the knee N is moved forward, and the lid 50 is further deformed forward.

  For this reason, an axial force F directed diagonally forward and downward acts on the lower limb Ld extending downward from the knee N, and this axial force F acts on the ankle Ln. Further, the knee portion N is restrained from moving upward and moves forward. For this reason, the bending moment M acts on the ankle Ln of the occupant H. Accordingly, the injury value of the occupant H is deteriorated.

  On the other hand, in the case of the lid 30 having the occupant protection structure of the present invention, when the automobile 1 collides, the occupant H sitting in the passenger seat is shown in the passenger compartment 3 as shown in the left diagram of FIG. Relative to the front side. Then, when a predetermined time has elapsed since the frontal collision of the automobile 1, the knee portion N of the lower limb L of the occupant H collides with the upper outer panel 33b as shown in the central view of FIG. The lower leg Ld below collides with the lower outer panel 33a. When the time further elapses, the lower outer panel 33a having a high strength is restrained from moving forward relative to the lower outer panel 33a of the lower limb Ld without being deformed. At the same time, the knee portion N rotates the upper outer panel 33b forward with the shaft portion 35a of the sub hinge portion 35 as a center in accordance with the collision with the upper outer panel 33b. For this reason, since the upper part of the upper outer panel 33b moves in a direction away from the knee part N to the front side, the knee part N is free to move upward. Therefore, the collision energy of the knee N is absorbed by the energy absorbing member 39 provided between the upper outer panel 33b and the upper inner panel 31b.

  Further, since the knee portion N is in a state of being free to move upward, the movement of the knee portion N can be suppressed so as to move downward along the lid 30. For this reason, the magnitude | size of the axial force of the compression direction which acts on the ankle Ln via the lower leg Ld extended below from the knee part N can be reduced. Further, since the lower limb Ld extending downward from the knee portion N is restrained from moving forward by the lower outer panel 33a having high strength, the forward movement of the lower limb Ld is suppressed, and the bending moment acting on the ankle Ln is suppressed. The size can be reduced.

  4A shows a change in the axial force F acting on the ankle Ln with respect to the elapsed time T at the time of the front collision of the automobile 1, and FIG. 4B shows the change with respect to the elapsed time T at the time of the front collision of the automobile 1. A change in the moment M acting on the ankle Ln is shown. As shown in FIG. 4A, the peak axial force F in the case of the present invention having the occupant protection structure indicated by the solid line may be smaller than the peak axial force F of the comparison target indicated by the broken line. I understand.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 4B, it can be seen that the peak moment M in the case of the present invention indicated by the solid line is smaller than the peak moment M of the comparison target without the passenger protection structure indicated by the broken line. .

  As described above, the present invention can reduce the axial force and the bending moment acting on the ankle Ln of the occupant H placed on the passenger seat as described above when the automobile 1 has a front collision, and the injury value of the occupant H can be reduced. Can be reduced.

  Further, when the lower limb L of the occupant H collides with the lid 30 during the frontal collision of the automobile 1, the lower limb Ld below the knee N is restrained from moving forward by the lower outer panel 33a having higher strength. The knee N is movable forward, so that the collision energy of the knee N is absorbed by the energy absorbing member 39. For this reason, most of the energy when the lower limb L of the occupant H collides with the lid 30 is absorbed by the energy absorbing member 39. The passenger protection structure is provided in the lid 30. Therefore, there is no possibility that the glove box 10 is deformed and the capacity is reduced.

  In the above-described embodiment, an example is shown in which the occupant protection structure is provided on the lid 30 that covers the front side of the glove box 10 in front of the passenger seat, but the occupant protection structure is provided on the front panel of the driver seat. Also good. In addition, the knee bracket, which is provided at a position facing the knee N of the passenger H sitting in the passenger seat and the driver's seat in the passenger compartment and can be deformed while restraining the knee at the time of a front collision to absorb impact energy, protects the passenger A structure may be provided.

1 automobile 3 compartment 30 lid (panel)
33a Lower outer panel (bottom of panel)
33b Upper outer panel (upper part of panel)
35a Shaft 39 Energy absorbing member H Crew N Knee

Claims (4)

An automobile occupant protection structure in which a panel is provided at a position in front of a knee of an occupant sitting on a seat in a vehicle interior,
The upper part of the panel is pivotally supported forward about a shaft part that is disposed at a position below the knee part of the occupant of the panel and extends in the vehicle compartment width direction,
An automobile occupant protection structure characterized in that the lower portion of the panel at a position below the shaft portion is stronger than the upper portion of the panel. The lower part of the panel suppresses the forward movement of the lower limbs of the occupant during a frontal collision of the automobile,
The occupant protection structure for an automobile according to claim 1, wherein an upper portion of the panel is inclined forward with the shaft portion as a center to freely move the occupant above the knee portion. The vehicle occupant protection structure according to claim 1 or 2, wherein an energy absorbing member is provided on a side of the upper portion of the panel opposite to the vehicle interior side. The occupant protection structure for an automobile according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the panel is a lid of a glow box provided at a seat front position of the passenger compartment.

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