JP2016188025A - Knee protector structure - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To generate reaction required for protecting a knee of an occupant with an allowance.SOLUTION: In a knee protector structure, a knee load absorbing bracket 4 for generating rection by receiving a knee input load of an occupant, is installed in a vehicle body strength member 2 extending in the vehicle width direction, and a plurality of load absorbing parts 8 and 9 for absorbing the knee input load of the occupant by bending, are provided in this knee load absorbing bracket 4 so that strength becomes different, and the plurality of load absorbing parts 8 and 9 different in the strength are bent in order from the weak side, and dropping-in of the generating rection is restrained, and the knee load absorbing bracket 4 is installed to a support bracket 21 extending downward from the vehicle body strength member 2, and the load absorbing part 8 nearest to the vehicle body strength member 2 is formed as a vehicle body strength member abutting part 22 for abutting on the vehicle body strength member 2 by the bending.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to a knee protector structure.

  In vehicles such as automobiles, an instrument panel is installed in the front part of the passenger compartment. Inside the instrument panel, a metal body strength member is provided that extends in the vehicle width direction and connects the left and right body panels.

  And a knee protector is attached to this vehicle body strength member (for example, refer patent document 1). This knee protector is designed to generate a reaction force necessary to protect the occupant's knees in response to an occupant's knee input load in an emergency by means of a knee load absorbing bracket attached to the vehicle body strength member.

  In Patent Document 1, a plurality of load absorbing portions that absorb the knee input load of the occupant by bending are provided on the knee load absorbing bracket so as to be different in strength, and a plurality of load absorbing portions having different strengths are provided from the weaker side. The bending of the reaction force is suppressed by bending in order.

JP 2006-341808 A

  However, since the knee protector described in Patent Document 1 generates a reaction force by bending the knee load absorbing bracket, the knee protector can generate a reaction force greater than the rigidity of the knee load absorbing bracket. There wasn't.

  Accordingly, the main object of the present invention is to solve the above-described problems.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides:
Attach the knee load absorbing bracket that generates reaction force to the vehicle body strength member that extends in the vehicle width direction and receives the knee input load of the occupant,
By providing a plurality of load absorbing portions that absorb the knee input load of the occupant by bending in the knee load absorbing bracket so that the strength is different, and bending the plurality of load absorbing portions having different strengths in order from the weaker A knee protector structure that suppresses the drop in the reaction force that occurs,
The bracket for absorbing the knee load is attached to a support bracket extending downward from the vehicle body strength member,
The load absorbing portion closest to the vehicle body strength member is a vehicle body strength member contact portion that contacts the vehicle body strength member by bending.

  According to the present invention, with the above configuration, the reaction force necessary for protecting the passenger's knees can be generated with a margin.

It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the instrument panel which shows the knee protector structure concerning this Embodiment. It is an enlarged side view of the knee protector of FIG. It is an enlarged side view which shows the state after a deformation | transformation of the knee protector of FIG. It is a graph which shows the mode of the reaction force which the knee protector of FIG. 2 generate | occur | produces (a horizontal axis | shaft: movement amount, a vertical axis | shaft: load). It is a graph which shows the mode of the reaction force which the existing knee protector generate | occur | produces (a horizontal axis | shaft: movement amount, a vertical axis | shaft: load). It is an enlarged side view which shows the modification of FIG. It is an enlarged side view which shows another modification of FIG.

Hereinafter, the present embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
1 to 7 are for explaining this embodiment.

<Configuration> The configuration of this embodiment will be described below.
A vehicle such as an automobile is provided with an instrument panel 1 as shown in FIG. Inside the instrument panel 1 is provided a metal vehicle body strength member 2 that extends substantially in the vehicle width direction (a direction orthogonal to the plane of the drawing) and connects the left and right vehicle body panels.

  Then, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the knee protector 3 is attached to the vehicle body strength member 2. The knee protector 3 is constituted by a knee load absorbing bracket 4 attached to the vehicle body strength member 2, and the knee load absorbing bracket 4 is deformed in response to an occupant's knee input load in an emergency, thereby protecting the occupant's knee. The reaction forces 6 and 7 (see FIG. 4) required for the above are generated.

  The knee load absorbing bracket 4 is provided with a plurality of load absorbing portions 8 and 9 for absorbing the knee input load of the occupant by bending so that the strength is different, and the plurality of load absorbing portions 8 and 9 having different strengths are provided. Is bent in order from the weaker side to suppress the drop of the reaction forces 6 and 7 generated as shown in FIG.

  Here, the knee load absorbing bracket 4 extends from the vehicle body strength member 2 toward the occupant side. The knee load absorbing bracket 4 can be used for a driver's seat occupant or a passenger's seat occupant. In this case, the knee load absorbing bracket 4 is provided at the position of the side portion of the glove box 10 (see FIG. 1) installed at the lower part of the position on the passenger seat side of the instrument panel 1. Note that it is preferable to provide a pair of left and right knee load absorbing brackets 4 and to connect the distal ends of the knee load absorbing brackets 4 with connecting members so that both knees of the occupant can be received simultaneously. As the connecting member, the instrument panel 1, the reinforcing plate attached to the back side of the instrument panel 1, the lid portion of the glove box 10, the main body of the glove box 10, and the like can be used. It is also possible to use a dedicated connecting member that has been cut off.

  The knee load absorbing bracket 4 is formed, for example, by bending a single metal plate to form a lateral surface portion 11 and flange portions 12 extending downward from both side portions of the lateral surface portion 11. And so on. However, the knee load absorbing bracket 4 may have an upward U-shaped cross section, a lateral U-shaped cross section, a rectangular cross section, or the like.

  The load absorbing portions 8 and 9 are formed in the knee load absorbing bracket 4 by forming a partial notch 13 without the lateral surface portion 11, forming a bent portion 14, or the flange portion 12 of the knee load absorbing bracket 4. It is formed as appropriate by partially changing the length of the film to shorten it (cut shape portion 15).

  In this case, the load absorbing portion 8 whose strength is weakened by the notch portion 13 and the notched shape portion 15 is provided on the side closer to the vehicle body strength member 2, and the bent portion 14 is provided on the side away from the vehicle body strength member 2. And the load absorption part 9 which strengthened strength with the cut shape part 15 is provided. However, the positions and structures of the load absorbing portions 8 and 9 are not limited to the above.

  In contrast to the basic configuration as described above, this embodiment has the following configuration.

(1) The knee load absorbing bracket 4 is attached to the support bracket 21 extending downward from the vehicle body strength member 2.
The load absorbing portion 8 that is closest to the vehicle body strength member 2 is a vehicle body strength member contact portion 22 that contacts the vehicle body strength member 2 by bending.

  Here, the support bracket 21 supports an intermediate portion of the vehicle body strength member 2 on the floor panel of the vehicle body, and has intermediate rigidity between the vehicle body strength member 2 and the knee load absorbing bracket 4. In this case, the existing support bracket 21 can be used, or the support bracket 21 newly provided for attaching the knee load absorbing bracket 4 can be used. The knee load absorbing bracket 4 is fixed to the upper end side of the support bracket 21 at the end on the vehicle front side. The vehicle body strength member contact portion 22 is literally a portion that directly contacts the vehicle body strength member 2.

  (2) The vehicle body strength member abutting portion 22 abuts on the vehicle body strength member 2 when the rear portion 31 of the vehicle body is bent upward and forward of the vehicle.

  Here, the vehicle rear side portion 31 of the vehicle body strength member abutting portion 22 in the load absorbing portion 8 includes the lateral surface portion 11 and the relatively long flange portion 12, so that it is compared in the knee load absorbing bracket 4. It is a part with high mechanical rigidity.

  (3) The reaction force (reaction force from reaction force 6 to reaction force 7) obtained when the vehicle body strength member contact portion 22 contacts the vehicle body strength member 2 at the upper end of the support bracket 21 is reduced. A reaction force relaxation portion 41 is provided.

  Here, immediately before the vehicle body strength member contact portion 22 contacts the vehicle body strength member 2, the reaction force relaxation portion 41 contacts the vehicle body strength member contact portion 22 of the knee load absorbing bracket 4 and its peripheral portion. The position is provided to be deformed.

  In this case, the support bracket 21 is formed by bending a single metal plate to form a vertical surface portion 21a and a flange portion 21b extending from both side portions of the vertical surface portion 21a toward the front of the vehicle. It has a U-shaped cross section (U shape) as seen. And the reaction force relaxation part 41 shall be extended by extending the upper end part of the vertical surface part 21a of the support bracket 21 to the rear side surface of the vehicle body strength member 2, and the like.

  (4) If necessary, as shown in FIG. 6 or FIG. 7, both the vehicle body strength member abutting portion 22 of the knee load absorbing bracket 4 and the vehicle body strength member 2 You may provide the bridge part 51 which connects.

  Here, the bridge portion 51 can be provided integrally with or separately from the knee load absorbing bracket 4. The bridge portion 51 is fixed to both the knee load absorbing bracket 4 and the vehicle body strength member 2.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 6, the bridge portion 51 may be integrally extended from the knee load absorbing bracket 4 (the lateral surface portion 11 thereof) (extension portion 51a). In this case, the front end portion of the bridge portion 51 is fixed to the vehicle body strength member 2 by welding or the like.

  Further, for example, as shown in FIG. 7, the bridge portion 51 may be provided separately from the knee load absorbing bracket 4. In this case, the bridge portion 51 is a laterally short tubular member 51b, and circumferential portions thereof are welded and fixed to the knee load absorbing bracket 4 and the vehicle body strength member 2, respectively. The separate bridge portion 51 may be other than the short tubular member 51b.

<Effect> According to this embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.
The knee load absorbing bracket 4 protects the occupant's knees by receiving an occupant's knee input load in an emergency and generating appropriate reaction forces 6 and 7 (see FIG. 4).

  At this time, the plurality of load absorbing portions 8 and 9 are provided on the knee load absorbing bracket 4 so as to be different in strength, and the plurality of load absorbing portions 8 and 9 having different strengths are bent in order from the weaker one. The reaction forces 6 and 7 are prevented from decreasing, and the reaction forces 6 and 7 are maintained for a long time.

  (Effect 1) In the above, the knee load absorbing bracket 4 is attached to the support bracket 21, and the load absorbing portion 8 closest to the vehicle body strength member 2 is used as the vehicle body strength member contact portion 22. The vehicle body strength member contact portion 22 is brought into contact with the vehicle body strength member 2. As a result, the reaction force 6 generated by the bending of the load absorbing portion 8 is sustained without causing a drop using the contact with the rigid vehicle body strength member 2, and the load absorbing portion 9 is bent. It is possible to connect to the generated reaction force 7, and the reaction force 6, 7 necessary to protect the occupant's knee is not limited by the rigidity of the knee load absorbing bracket 4 alone, with a margin. Can be generated. As a result, it is possible to increase the reaction forces 6 and 7 generated with respect to the input of the knee input load, thereby improving the performance of the knee protector 3.

  (Operation Effect 2) The vehicle body strength member abutting portion 22 is brought into contact with the vehicle body strength member 2 when the vehicle rear portion 31 is bent upward and forward of the vehicle. As a result, the vehicle body strength member abutting portion 22 can be easily provided on the knee load absorbing bracket 4, and the reaction forces 6 and 7 using the vehicle body strength member 2 can be effectively generated. Can do.

  Further, when the vehicle rear side portion 31 of the vehicle body strength member contact portion 22 is brought into contact with the vehicle body strength member 2, the load absorption portion 9 on the vehicle rear side relative to the vehicle body strength member contact portion 22 is bent. Also when the reaction force 7 is generated, the reaction force 7 can be raised using the vehicle body strength member 2.

  (Effect 3) As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a reaction force relaxation portion 41 is provided at the upper end portion of the support bracket 21. As a result, the reaction force (reaction force from reaction force 6 to reaction force 7) obtained by the vehicle body strength member contact portion 22 coming into contact with the highly rigid vehicle body strength member 2 is reduced by deformation of the reaction force relaxation portion 41. Can be made. As a result, the reaction force generated by the contact with the vehicle body strength member 2 (reaction force from reaction force 6 to reaction force 7) can be suppressed and optimized so as not to become excessively large.

  (Operation Effect 4) As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, a bridge portion 51 is provided between the vicinity of the vehicle body strength member contact portion 22 and the vehicle body strength member 2. Thereby, it becomes possible to adjust the reaction force 6 generated between the bending of the vehicle body strength member contact portion 22 and the contact with the vehicle body strength member 2 by the deformation of the bridge portion 51. For example, the bridge portion 51 adjusts the reaction force 6 when the vehicle body strength member contact portion 22 starts to bend, or the reaction force 6 when the vehicle body strength member contact portion 22 contacts the vehicle body strength member 2. It can be effectively used for adjustment and adjustment of the reaction force 6 generated during the above.

  Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail with reference to the drawings, the embodiments are only examples of the present invention. Therefore, the present invention is not limited to the configuration of the embodiment, and it is a matter of course that the present invention includes any design change within a range not departing from the gist of the present invention. Further, for example, when each embodiment includes a plurality of configurations, it is a matter of course that possible combinations of these configurations are included even if not specifically described. Further, when a plurality of embodiments and modified examples are disclosed as those of the present invention, it is a matter of course that possible combinations of configurations extending over these are included even if not specifically described. It is. Further, the configuration depicted in the drawings is of course included even if not particularly described. Further, when there is a term of “etc.”, it is used in the sense that the equivalent is included. In addition, when there are terms such as “almost”, “about”, “degree”, etc., they are used in the sense that they include those in the range and accuracy recognized by common sense.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 2 Body strength member 3 Knee protector 4 Knee load absorption bracket 6 Reaction force 7 Reaction force 8 Load absorption part 9 Load absorption part 21 Support bracket 22 Vehicle body strength member contact part 31 Vehicle rear side part 41 Reaction force relaxation part 51 Bridge Part

Claims (4)

Attach the knee load absorbing bracket that generates reaction force to the vehicle body strength member that extends in the vehicle width direction and receives the knee input load of the occupant,
By providing a plurality of load absorbing portions that absorb the knee input load of the occupant by bending in the knee load absorbing bracket so that the strength is different, and bending the plurality of load absorbing portions having different strengths in order from the weaker A knee protector structure that suppresses the drop in the reaction force that occurs,
The bracket for absorbing the knee load is attached to a support bracket extending downward from the vehicle body strength member,
A knee protector structure characterized in that the load absorbing portion closest to the vehicle body strength member is a vehicle body strength member contact portion that contacts the vehicle body strength member by bending. The knee protector structure according to claim 1,
The knee protector structure in which the vehicle body strength member abutting portion is in contact with the vehicle body strength member by bending a portion on the vehicle rear side upward and toward the vehicle front. The knee protector structure according to claim 1 or 2,
A knee protector structure characterized in that a reaction force relaxation portion is provided at an upper end portion of the support bracket to relieve a reaction force obtained when the vehicle body strength member contact portion comes into contact with the vehicle body strength member. The knee protector structure according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
A knee protector structure characterized in that a bridge portion is provided between the vicinity of the vehicle body strength member abutting portion of the knee load absorbing bracket and the vehicle body strength member.