JP3386211B2 - Knee protector - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a knee protector provided in an automobile or the like for protecting the lower limbs of an occupant during a collision.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an automobile or the like, at the time of a collision or an abrupt stop, an occupant sitting on a front seat is projected forward,
It is very likely that you hit your knees on the dash upper panel. Therefore, recently, a knee protector that protects the lower limbs of an occupant is being adopted.

Examples of the knee protector include those disclosed in JP-A-62-18354 and JP-A-5-105012.

In the structure disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 62-18354, a frame member extending in the vehicle width direction is fixed to the vehicle body panel or the like at both ends via brackets, and a knee pad is attached to this frame member. Is equipped with a structure. With such a structure, when the occupant moves forward due to inertia such as at the time of a collision, the knee hits the knee pad and is received. Moreover, since the knee pad is supported with high rigidity through the frame member and the bracket, it is possible to sufficiently support the knee.

The structure disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-105012 has a structure in which substantially U-shaped knee protector members are fixed to the reinforcing frames on the left and right sides of the steering support bracket. In such a structure, when the knee of the occupant hits the knee protector member,
The knee protector member is deformed to absorb the impact force acting on the knee.

[0006]

However, JP-A-62-62
In the knee protector disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 18354, when the knee hits the knee pad, the load received by the knee protector from the knee protector does not change much with time and is substantially flat.

Further, in the knee protector structure disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 5-105012, when a knee hits the knee protector member, deformation occurs near the lower end of the U-shaped knee protector member. With such a structure, the knee protector member, which hits the knee in the initial stage of the collision, has a large displacement at the upper end portion but a small displacement at the lower end portion. Therefore, the contact position of the knee with the knee protector member moves toward the lower end portion due to the inertia at the time of collision, so that the load that the knee receives from the knee protector tends to increase with time.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and provides a knee protector having a structure in which the load received by the knee protector from the knee protector gradually decreases from the time of contact of the knee protector with the knee. Is intended.

[0009]

The knee protector of the present invention takes the following means in order to solve the above problems.

That is, the knee protector of claim 1 is
A knee support member that has a knee support surface that faces in the front-rear direction of the vehicle body and that receives the occupant's knees in the event of a collision and absorbs the impact force applied to the knees; Element
And the knee support member so that it can be displaced at the other side edge.
A second support member fixed to the first support member,
However, the rigidity is higher than that of the second support member.
A member, a lateral support portion extending laterally from the knee support member, and
A front and rear support portion that extends from the side support portion substantially in the front and rear direction of the vehicle body.
And is fixed to the vehicle body at the ends of the front and rear support parts.
When the knee comes into contact with the knee support member, it deforms and
While rotating around the side edge of the
The edge is characterized in that it comprises a deforming means to affix to the first support member above.

The knee protector of claim 2 is the knee protector of claim 1, wherein the first support member is a column cover.
Support the vehicle and can move to the front of the vehicle during a collision.
It is characterized by being high in proximity to the tearing shaft.

A knee protector according to a third aspect is the knee protector according to the second aspect, wherein the first support member is the second support portion.
It is characterized in that it is bent to the material side .

A knee protector according to a fourth aspect is the knee protector according to the first aspect, wherein the front and rear support portions are the front and rear support portions.
The front part of the door trim is controlled so that the deformation to the side of the vehicle body is restricted.
It is characterized in that it is arranged in the vicinity of the restriction means which is a stepped portion provided in the .

[0014]

In the structure of claim 1, the knee receiving member rotates about the side edge by the deformation of the deforming means when the knee abuts. Since the knee receiving member rotates as the knee moves forward of the vehicle body, the inclination of the knee receiving member with respect to the vehicle body front-rear direction gradually increases. As a result, the knee gradually slides on the knee receiving member, and the characteristic that the load received by the knee from the knee receiving member is attenuated with time is obtained. Further, the movement stroke of the knee is increased, and the load received by the knee can be reduced.

Further , since the knee support member is fixed to the vehicle body by the second support member so as to be displaceable, in the initial state where the knee support member starts to rotate with respect to the first support member by the deforming means, The load on the knee is the highest. After that, as the rotation of the knee support member progresses, the load received by the knee gradually decreases.

Further, the first support member, since a high stiffness than the second support member, the support strength of the knee receiving member is ensured by the first support member. This allows the knee support member to be stably supported even during rotation.

[0017] Then, when the knee-receiving member is rotated relative to the first support member by abutment of the knee, it is received here knee moves laterally supporting portion of the second support member. Also, the second
In the support member, since the knee is held by the side support portion, the load is supported by the front and rear support portions extending from the side support portion in the vehicle front-rear direction. As described above, since the side support portion has both the function of supporting the knee receiving member and the function of holding the knee, it is not necessary to separately provide a member for receiving the knee other than the knee receiving member.

According to the second aspect of the invention, since the first support member having high rigidity is arranged close to the steering shaft, it is difficult for the first support member to be deformed even when the load of the knee is received.
Therefore, it is possible to avoid the inconvenience that the column cover supported by the steering shaft is damaged due to the deformation of the first support member, and the movement of the steering shaft during a collision is hindered.

In the structure of claim 3 , the first support member is the second
Since the first support member is bent toward the support member side, the first support member is easily bent toward the second support member side when an excessive impact is applied. Therefore, the first support member does not bend to the steering shaft side and damage the column cover.

In the structure of claim 4 , since the front and rear support portions are arranged close to the restricting means, the deformation of the front and rear support portions is restricted by the restricting means when an excessive load which deforms the front and rear support portions is applied. Regulated by Accordingly, it is possible to avoid the inconvenience that the load cannot be supported due to the deformation of the front and rear support portions.

[0021]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The following will describe one embodiment of the present invention with reference to FIGS.

As shown in FIG. 2, in the passenger compartment of an automobile,
A cylindrical rod-shaped steering support member 1 along the vehicle width direction
Is installed horizontally. A support bracket 3 for attaching the steering column 2 is attached to the steering support member 1. The steering column 2 is arranged in the instrument panel 4, is covered by a column cover 5 that is provided so as to bulge on the instrument panel 4, and the steering shaft 6 is projected from the column cover 5. The steering shaft 6 supports the column cover 5, and the steering 7 is attached to the end portion.

The above steering column 2 has a steering wheel 7 when the dummy D moves forward of the vehicle body due to a collision.
Has a so-called collapsible structure in which when is pushed by the chest of the dummy D, it is pushed forward of the vehicle body. As a result, the impact force that the chest receives is reduced.

As shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, the steering support member 1 is fixed to a hinge pillar (not shown) via a fixing bracket 8. Fixed bracket 8
Is attached to the end of the steering support member 1 by welding, and has an upper bracket 9 extending upward and a lower bracket 10 extending downward. The upper bracket 9 and the lower bracket 10 respectively have holes 9a and 10a for inserting fixing screws and the like, and have flange portions 9b and 9c and a flange portion 1 at both end edges.
It has 0b and 10c.

A stay 11 is provided on the flange portion 10b.
Are attached by welding. The stay 11 as the second support member includes a vertical portion 11a as a front and rear support portion that extends substantially perpendicularly to the steering support member 1 from the flange portion 10b, and a support bracket 3 from the end of the vertical portion 11a.
It has a bent portion 11b that bends to the side and a parallel portion 11c that serves as a lateral support portion that extends from the end of the bent portion 11b toward the support bracket 3 side substantially in parallel with the steering support member 1. The end of the parallel portion 11c is slightly bent toward the steering support member 1 side, and the knee pad 12 is attached by welding.

The stay 11 is formed of a thin metal plate, and is relatively easily deformed when the knee portion K (see FIG. 1) to be described later is projected. The stay 11 is provided so as to be gently inclined upward from the fixed end of the vertical portion 11a to the flange portion 10b to the boundary portion between the bent portion 11b and the parallel portion 11c. With such a structure, the stay 11 does not cover the air conditioning duct 14 provided in the dash upper panel (not shown).

On the other hand, a stay 13 is fixed to the steering support member 1 near the support bracket 3 by welding. The stay 13 as the first support member is the stay 11
It is slightly bent in the substantially central portion so that it can be easily bent to the side, and a knee pad 12 is attached to the tip. The stay 13 is provided so as to be gently inclined downward from the fixed end of the steering support member 1. Further, the stay 13 is made of a metal plate having a thickness larger than that of the stay 11 so that the stay 13 has higher rigidity than the stay 11, and is not easily bent.

The knee pad 12 as a knee receiving member is composed of an abutting portion 12a as a knee receiving surface with which the knee portion K abuts, and an upper portion 12b warped with respect to the abutting portion 12a. The knee pad 12 is fixed to the end of the parallel portion 11c at one side edge of the contact portion 12a.
It is fixed to the end of the stay 13 via the connecting portion 16 at the other side edge thereof. In addition, the knee pad 12 has the contact portion 12
It is arranged so that a is directed downward and slightly inclined with respect to the vertical direction.

The connecting portion 16 is a welded portion for fixing the side edge of the knee pad 12 to the stay 13. This connection 16
The knee portion K is easily deformed when the knee portion K abuts on the knee pad 12 to rotate the knee pad 12 around the side edge, and has a function as a deforming means.

In the above structure, when the dummy D is pushed forward due to the impact of a collision or the like, the knee portion K of the dummy D is pushed.
When is moved forward, the knee portion K strongly hits the contact portion 12a. As a result, as shown in FIG.
The knee pad 12 rotates to the stay 13 side due to the deformation of the connecting portion 16, and the knee portion K moves to the slide stay 11 side along the knee pad 12 shown by a virtual line in the drawing.

Further, as shown in FIG. 1 (b), when the knee portion K reaches the parallel portion 11c of the stay 11, the knee portion K is advanced while being held here. For this reason, the knee pad 12 further rotates and approaches the stay 13, while the stay 11 is largely deformed in the horizontal direction (front of the vehicle body) toward the steering support member 1 side. In addition, the vertical portion 11a is provided on the front portion of the door trim 15.
By being provided along 5a, the vertical portion 11a is not deformed laterally of the vehicle body when the stay 11 is deformed as described above.

As described above, by rotating the knee pad 12 and deforming the stay 11, it is possible to secure a large movement stroke of the knee portion K from the contact position of the knee portion K on the knee pad 12 to the vicinity of the steering support member 1.
By increasing the stroke in this way, the knee K
As shown in FIG. 6, the load received by the knee can be set to be almost maximum in the initial state where the knee portion K is in contact with the knee pad 12, and thereafter, the load can be gradually attenuated. Such characteristics are mainly obtained by the structure in which the knee pad 12 rotates. As a result, the burden on the knees K and the waist can be reduced.

Further, when the stay 13 is bent to the side of the stay 11 so as to be easily bent, and the impact force applied to the knee portion K is excessive and the stay 13 is bent, the stay 13 is bent. Turn to the side. Therefore, the stay 13 does not bend toward the steering column 2 side to deform the column cover 5, and it is possible to avoid the movement of the steering column 2 and the collapsing operation of the steering wheel 7 during a collision.

Further, since the knee portion K is held by the stay 11, it is not necessary to separately provide a member for protecting the knee portion K other than the knee pad 12. This allows
It is possible to simplify the structure.

Further, since the deformation of the vertical portion 11a of the stay 11 is restricted by the step portion 15a, the parallel portion 1 is mainly used.
1c will be deformed. As a result, the vertical portion 11a can secure the supporting rigidity for the stay 11 to receive the knee portion K.

[0036]

As described above, the knee protector according to claim 1 of the present invention has the knee receiving surface facing the front-back direction of the vehicle body, and receives the knee of the occupant at the time of a collision and absorbs the impact force applied to the knee. Since the knee receiving member is deformed when the knee comes into contact with the knee receiving member and the deforming means rotates the knee receiving member around its side edge, the knee receiving member can be largely displaced. As a result, it is possible to obtain a characteristic that the load that the knee receives from the knee receiving member is temporally attenuated, a large movement stroke of the knee is ensured, and the load that the knee receives can be reduced. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the burden on the knees and the waist due to the collision.

A first support member for fixing the knee support member to the vehicle body at one side end, and a second support member for fixing the knee support member to the vehicle body at the other side end so as to be freely displaceable. Since the knee receiving member is connected to the first supporting member via the deforming means, the load applied to the knee in the initial state in which the knee receiving member starts to rotate with respect to the first supporting member. The load becomes the largest, and thereafter, the load applied to the knee gradually decreases as the rotation of the knee support member progresses. Therefore, similar to the knee protector according to the first aspect, it is possible to further reduce the burden on the knee.

Further , since the first support member has a rigidity higher than that of the second support member, the support strength of the knee support member is secured by the first support member. Therefore,
The knee receiving member can be stably supported even when the knee receiving member is rotated.

The second support member is located on the side from the knee support member.
A side support part that extends toward the side, and from this side support part
It has a front-rear support part that extends in the front-rear direction.
Since it is fixed to the car body at the end of the part,
The function of supporting the knee support member and the function of holding the knee
On the other hand, the load is supported by the front and rear support parts.
become. Therefore, it is necessary to receive a knee separately from the knee receiving member.
There is no need to install a member for the knee protector.
This has the effect of simplifying production.

The knee protector according to claim 2 of the present invention is a knee protector according to claim 1, the first support member, in proximity to the steering shaft can move forward of the vehicle body during a collision to support the column cover Since the first support member is arranged, it is difficult for the first support member to be deformed even when the load of the knee is received. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the column cover supported by the steering shaft from being damaged by the deformation of the first support member. Therefore, it is possible to avoid an inconvenience that hinders the movement of the steering shaft during a collision.

A knee protector according to a third aspect of the present invention is the knee protector according to the second aspect , wherein the first support member is formed so as to be bent toward the second support member side. Even if the member bends due to an excessive impact, the member easily bends toward the second support member and does not bend toward the steering shaft. Therefore,
It is possible to reliably avoid an inconvenience that hinders the movement of the steering shaft during a collision.

The knee protector according to claim 4 of the present invention is a knee protector according to claim 1, as the front and rear support portion, to restrict deformation towards the vehicle body side of the front and rear support portions, Doatori
Since it is arranged close to the regulation means that is the stepped portion provided on the front part of the frame, the deformation of the front and rear support parts is regulated when an excessive load that deforms the front and rear support parts is received. Regulated by means. Accordingly, it is possible to avoid the inconvenience that the load cannot be supported due to the deformation of the front and rear support portions. Therefore, it is possible to improve the reliability of the knee protector.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a state where a dummy knee abuts a knee protector according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a state of a steering system and a dummy under normal conditions and during a collision.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the knee protector shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a front view showing the configuration of the knee protector of FIG.

5 is a side view showing the configuration of the knee protector of FIG. 1. FIG.

FIG. 6 is a characteristic diagram showing changes in the load applied to the knee by the knee protector of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Steering support member 5 column cover 6 steering shaft 11 Stay (second support member) 11a Vertical part (front and rear support part) 11c Parallel part (side support part) 12 Knee pad (Knee support member) 12a Abutting part (knee receiving surface) 13 stay (first support member) 15a Step portion (regulating means) 16 Connection part (deformation means)

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. A knee receiving member having a knee receiving surface facing in the front-rear direction of the vehicle body, which receives an occupant's knee in a collision and absorbs an impact force applied to the knee, and the knee receiving member with respect to the vehicle body at one side end. First support part to be fixed
Material and knee support member so that they can be displaced at the other side edge.
A second support member that is fixed to the body, and the first support member has a higher rigidity than the second support member.
Ri, the second support member, the side support portion extending laterally from the knee receiving member
And the front and rear extending from this side support in the front-back direction of the vehicle
It has a support part and is fixed to the vehicle body at the ends of the front and rear support parts.
When the knee comes into contact with the knee receiving member, the knee receiving member is deformed to rotate the knee receiving member around its side edge, and the side edge of the knee receiving member is moved.
A knee protector comprising: a deforming unit that is fixed to the first support member . 2. A first support member supports a column cover.
Along with the
Knee protector according to claim 1, characterized in that it is high in proximity to Yafuto. 3. The first support member is bent toward the second support member.
The knee protector according to claim 2, wherein the knee protector is formed as follows. 4. The front and rear support portions are provided on the side of the vehicle body of the front and rear support portions.
Provided at the front of the door trim to control deformation
The knee protector according to claim 1 , wherein the knee protector is arranged in the vicinity of the regulating means that is a step portion .