JP4556900B2 - Knee restraint device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a knee restraint device that restrains an occupant's knee when a vehicle collides.

  A knee restraint device may be provided in order to limit the forward movement of the occupant during a vehicle collision (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In such a knee restraint device, a pad made of urethane foam or the like is fixed to the instrument panel in order to catch the occupant's knee during a collision.

However, in this conventional knee restraint device, when the movement speed of the occupant at the time of the collision is high, it is difficult to limit the movement of the occupant while absorbing a large load.
JP 2004-123035 A

  In view of the above-described facts, an object of the present invention is to provide a knee restraint device that can reliably limit the movement of an occupant while absorbing a large load during a vehicle collision.

The knee restraint device according to the first aspect of the present invention is a block-shaped knee bolster that is formed of a foam material and is disposed in front of a vehicle seat and restrains a knee portion of an occupant seated on the vehicle seat at the time of a vehicle collision. When the embedded in the knee bolster, possess a cylindrical core having one end in the axial direction is directed to the vehicle seat side, wherein the core is the other end in the axial direction is opposed to the bracket And being supported by the vehicle body via the bracket .

In the knee restraint device according to the first aspect of the present invention, a cylindrical core is embedded in the knee bolster, and the axial end of the core faces the vehicle seat side. When the knee of the occupant presses the knee bolster at the time of the collision, the foam material in the core is held in the core and is not easily scattered. For this reason, the impact resistance is improved, and at the time of a vehicle collision, the inertial movement of the occupant is limited while absorbing a large load. In addition, since the other end of the core is disposed opposite to the bracket and supported by the vehicle body via the bracket, the load from the occupant's knee at the time of the vehicle collision is not limited to the core. Since it is also supported by the vehicle body and finally supported by the vehicle body via the bracket, the impact resistance is further improved.

  The knee restraint device according to a second aspect of the present invention is characterized in that, in the configuration of the first aspect, the core is formed of a material harder than the foam material forming the knee bolster. .

  According to the knee restraint device of the present invention as set forth in claim 2, since the core is formed of a material harder than the foam material forming the knee bolster, the knee bolster embedded with the core is It is difficult to compress and deform against the load from the knee of the occupant. Thereby, impact resistance further improves.

  As described above, according to the knee restraint device of the first aspect of the present invention, the foamed material in the core is not scattered at the time of the vehicle collision, so that the occupant can absorb the heavy load at the time of the vehicle collision. It has the outstanding effect that an inertial movement can be restrict | limited reliably.

  According to the knee restraint device according to claim 2, the impact resistance is further improved by increasing the strength by the hard core, and the excellent effect that the inertial movement of the occupant can be more reliably restricted. Have.

(Configuration of the embodiment)
An embodiment of a knee restraint device according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the figure, the arrow UP indicates the upward direction of the vehicle, and the arrow FR indicates the forward direction of the vehicle.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a front seat 12 as a vehicle seat on which an occupant P is seated is disposed in the front portion of the vehicle compartment 10, and a seat for restraining the occupant P on the front seat 12. A belt device 14 is provided.

  The front seat 12 includes a seat cushion 12A and a seat back 12B. The seat cushion 12A has an upper surface portion as a seating portion for the occupant P, and is slidable in the vehicle front-rear direction by a slide mechanism (not shown). A seat back 12B for holding the back of the seated occupant P is disposed above the rear end of the seat cushion 12A to constitute the seat rear. The tilt angle of the seat back 12B can be changed by a reclining mechanism (not shown) provided at a connecting portion with the seat cushion 12A.

  The seat belt device 14 is a three-point type in the present embodiment, and includes a webbing 14A for restraining an occupant, a webbing take-up device 14B that winds one end of the webbing 14A in a layered manner around a take-up shaft, and a webbing An anchor plate 14C to which the other end of 14A is locked, a shoulder anchor 14D that is supported and folded back by an intermediate portion of webbing 14A, and a tongue plate that is movably inserted and supported by an intermediate portion of webbing 14A. (Not shown) and a buckle device (not shown) erected on the side of the seat cushion 12A.

  An instrument panel 16 is disposed in front of the front seat 12. A knee restraint device 20 is disposed in the instrument panel 16, and the knee restraint device 20 restrains the knee P <b> 1 in the lower limb of the occupant P seated on the front seat 12 from the front of the vehicle. The knee restraint device 20 includes a block-shaped knee bolster 22 disposed in front of the front seat 12, a cylindrical resin core 24 embedded in the knee bolster 22, a knee panel 26 to which the knee bolster 22 is attached, and a knee panel 26. And a knee bracket 28 to be attached.

  The knee bracket 28 is fixed to an instrument panel reinforcement 30 as a part of a vehicle body disposed in the instrument panel 16 by welding or the like. The instrument panel reinforcement 30 is a high-strength and high-rigidity pipe-like member, and is disposed between the left and right attachment portions (not shown) of the vehicle body with the vehicle width direction as the longitudinal direction. The knee bracket 28 is formed of a high-strength and high-rigidity metal material (for example, steel) and is a pair of upper and lower plate members in this embodiment (see FIG. 2), and the knee portion of the seated occupant P It extends in a direction toward the vicinity of the assumed position (substantially the same direction as the direction from the instrument panel reinforcement 30 in the vehicle side view toward the front end upper portion 112A of the seat cushion 12A).

  A plate-like knee panel 26 joined to the end of the knee bracket 28 on the vehicle compartment 10 side is joined to a surface perpendicular to the extending direction of the knee bracket 28. A knee bolster 22 is disposed on the knee panel 26 on the vehicle compartment 10 side, and the knee bolster 22 is attached to the knee panel 26 with a clip (not shown).

  The knee bolster 22 is a pad of a foam molded body formed of rigid urethane as a foam material set to a predetermined hardness, and restrains the knee portion P1 of the occupant P seated on the front seat 12 at the time of a vehicle collision. ing. Here, the knee bolster 22 is compressed as the knee portion P1 moves in a state where the knee bolster 22 is pressed by the knee portion P1 of the occupant P with a very large force from the vehicle compartment 10 side toward the front of the vehicle. Yes. In the present embodiment, the knee bolster 22 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape (see FIG. 2), and is disposed in a range including the front of the assumed knee position of the seated occupant P.

  The resin core 24 embedded in the knee bolster 22 by insert molding is formed of a material harder than the foam material forming the knee bolster 22 (in this embodiment, a resin such as PP (polypropylene) or PE (polyethylene)). ing. By making the resin core 24 made of PP (polypropylene) or PE (polyethylene), a predetermined rigidity can be secured at a low cost. As shown in FIG. 2, the resin core 24 is a rectangular cylindrical hollow body formed of these resins and having an equal thickness, and the resin core 24 is closed in a cylindrical shape of an internal cavity. By doing, the merit that strength can be raised with few materials (light weight) is acquired.

  The resin core 24 is disposed substantially coaxially with the knee bracket 28, and both ends of the resin core 24 in the axial direction (arrow 24X direction) have the same opening diameter in this embodiment. Here, one end 24B of the resin core 24 in the axial direction (in the direction of the arrow 24X) is covered with the hard urethane of the knee bolster 22, and is directed toward the front seat 12 as shown in FIG. It arrange | positions ahead of P knee part P1 (plate part). On the other hand, the other end 24A of the resin core 24 in the axial direction (in the direction of the arrow 24X) is opposed to the knee bracket 28 via the knee panel 26 and supported by the instrument panel reinforcement 30 via the knee panel 26 and the knee bracket 28. Yes.

  When the knee bolster 22 in which the resin core 24 is embedded is pressed from the vehicle interior 10 side toward the front of the vehicle, the deformation stroke is performed with the same pressing force as compared with a conventional knee bolster in which the resin core 24 is not embedded. Becomes smaller. The rigidity characteristic of the resin core 24 is set by the relationship between the load acting in the axial direction of the resin core 24 (in the direction of the arrow 24X) and the deformation stroke of the axial compression deformation of the resin core 24. It is preferable that an excessive load is not applied to the part P1 and that the movement of the occupant P can be stopped. The resin core 24 is tuned (adjusted) by changing the thickness and diameter of the resin core 24 so that the rigidity characteristics are within the above-mentioned range. In this embodiment, it is set so that the resin core 24 hardly undergoes axial compression deformation with respect to a certain impact load, and the resin core 24 undergoes axial compression deformation (crushing) only by a large impact load. In FIG. 3, a state where the resin core 24 is slightly axially compressed and deformed is indicated by a two-dot chain line.

(Operation and effect of the embodiment)
Next, the operation and effect of the above embodiment will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 1, at the time of a vehicle collision (for example, at the time of a frontal collision), a secondary reaction toward the front side of the vehicle with respect to an occupant P seated on the front seat 12 due to a reaction during the collision The collision load F2 acts. At this time, in a state where the occupant P is restrained by the seat belt device 14, the knee portion P <b> 1 of the occupant P presses the knee bolster 22 through the instrument panel 16.

  Here, the end of the resin core 24 on the vehicle compartment 10 side (one end 24B in the axial direction (arrow 24X direction)) is covered with the hard urethane of the knee bolster 22, so that the knee P1 of the occupant P is instrumented. The resin core 24 is pressed through the panel 16 and the hard urethane. At this time, since the hard urethane covering the resin core 24 is first deformed, the impact of the occupant P on the knee portion P1 is reduced.

  In a state where the hard urethane covering the vehicle interior 10 side of the resin core 24 is completely compressed, the secondary collision load F2 further acts on the knee portion P1 of the occupant P. The knee restraint device 20 causes the inertia of the knee portion P1. Movement is restricted. Here, a cylindrical resin core 24 is embedded in the knee bolster 22, and the resin core 24 has one end 24B in the axial direction (in the direction of the arrow 24X) facing toward the front seat 12, so that it can be used in the event of a vehicle collision. When the knee P1 of the occupant P presses the knee bolster 22, the hard urethane in the resin core 24 is held in the resin core 24 and is not easily scattered. Further, since the resin core 24 is made of a material harder than the hard urethane forming the knee bolster 22 (in this embodiment, a resin such as PP (polypropylene) or PE (polyethylene)), the resin core 24 is formed. The embedded knee bolster 22 is difficult to compressively deform against the load from the knee portion P1 of the occupant P at the time of a vehicle collision (strength increase). As a result, the impact resistance is improved, and the inertial movement of the occupant P is restricted while a large load is absorbed in a vehicle collision.

  The resin core 24 has the other end 24A in the axial direction (arrow 24X direction) opposed to the knee bracket 28 via the knee panel 26 and supported by the instrument panel reinforcement 30 via the knee panel 26 and knee bracket 28. Therefore, the load from the knee portion P1 of the occupant P at the time of the vehicle collision is surely supported not only by the resin core 24 but also by the knee bracket 28, and finally supported by the instrument panel reinforcement 30 via the knee bracket 28. Is done. Even when the resin core 24 is axially compressed and deformed by a large impact load, the movement amount of the occupant P is reliably limited by the resin core 24 that is axially compressed and deformed.

(Supplementary explanation of the embodiment)
In the above embodiment, the resin core 24 has a square cylindrical shape, but the core material may be another core formed in a cylindrical shape, a triangular cylindrical shape, a hexagonal cylindrical shape, or the like. Good. Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the opening diameter in the both ends of the axial direction (arrow 24X direction) of the resin core 24 is equal, a core is compared with the opening diameter of the one end side of an axial direction, for example. A core with a small opening diameter on the other end side (or vice versa) may be used.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case where the core is the resin core 24 is specifically described as an example. However, the core is a cylindrical core or mesh made of metal (for example, aluminum alloy). It may be a core formed of another material, such as a cloth-made cylindrical core. Even when the core is a cylindrical core made of mesh cloth, the foam material in the core is held in the core when the knee of the occupant presses the knee bolster during a vehicle collision. Impact resistance can be improved.

  Moreover, although the said embodiment demonstrated the case where the position of the knee restraint apparatus 20 was constant, for example, the position detection sensor for detecting the position of a passenger | crew knee part was provided, and the passenger | crew knee part which this position detection sensor detected The position of the knee restraint device may be changed according to the position.

  Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the knee bolster 22 is attached to the knee panel 26 with a clip (not shown). However, the knee bolster 22 may be attached to the knee panel 26 by other methods such as an adhesive or a double-sided adhesive tape. The attachment means may be applied, or a part of the resin core 24 may be applied as the attachment means.

  Furthermore, in the said embodiment, although hard urethane is used as a foaming material which forms the knee bolster 22, the foaming material may be another compressible hard foaming material, for example.

  In the above embodiment, the knee bracket 28 is a pair of upper and lower plate-like members. However, the bracket is, for example, a cylindrical shape that is disposed to face the core so as to be substantially coaxial with the core. Other brackets such as brackets may be used.

It is a sectional side view which shows the positional relationship of the knee restraint apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention, and a seated passenger | crew. It is an expansion perspective view which shows the knee restraint apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing which shows the principal part of the knee restraint apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention (it is the 3-3 sectional view taken on the line of FIG. 2).

Explanation of symbols

12 Front seat (vehicle seat)
20 Knee restraint device 22 Knee bolster 24 Resin core (core)
24A Other end 24B One end 24X Axial direction 28 Knee bracket (bracket)
30 Instrument panel reinforcement
P Crew P1 Knee

Claims (2)

A block-shaped knee bolster that is formed of a foam material and is disposed in front of the vehicle seat and restrains a knee portion of an occupant seated on the vehicle seat at the time of a vehicle collision;
A cylindrical core embedded in the knee bolster and having one end in the axial direction facing the vehicle seat;
Have a, the core is a knee restraint system and the other end in the axial direction is supported to the vehicle body via the bracket while being opposed to the bracket.   The knee restraint device according to claim 1, wherein the core is made of a material harder than the foam material forming the knee bolster.

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