JPH0825425B2 - Car knee protector structure - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to an automobile knee protector structure.

[Prior Art] As is well known, when a knee of a front occupant collides with an instrument panel or the like in a front portion of a vehicle compartment during a vehicle collision,
It is common practice to provide a knee protector at the front of the passenger compartment to reduce the impact load applied to the knees.
In the Japanese Patent Publication No. 61-36434, a knee protector composed of two left and right members arranged on both sides of a steering column and a central member connecting these left and right members is supported by a member on the vehicle body side. It is disclosed.

In a vehicle equipped with such a knee protector, at the time of a vehicle collision, the knee of the occupant who has once collided with the knee protector crosses over the knee protector after the collision and collides with an instrument panel or the like above the knee protector, a so-called submarine. Phenomena may occur.

That is, when a vehicle collides head-on, the feet of the occupant are moved rearward due to the retraction of the dash panel due to the retraction of the engine, while the lumbar region of the occupant is moved forward by the action of inertial force. The knees are lifted diagonally upward and forward, so that the knees of the occupant once collide with the knee protector through the instrument panel and then move upwards, and the instrument panel above the knee protector, etc. May collide with. And when this submarine phenomenon occurs,
This means that the knee protector, which protects the knee by effectively absorbing the impact load applied to the knee of the occupant, cannot be fully exerted.

In particular, in recent years, the instrument panel has been slimmed for the purpose of improving the habitability and design of the vehicle interior, and the cross-sectional shape of the instrument panel surface on the vehicle interior side has a gentle circle with less protrusion than before. The knee protector is formed in an arc shape, and the knee protector tends to be formed in a gentle arc shape accordingly. In this case, the knees of the occupant colliding with the knee protector are easily moved upward by being guided by the gentle knee protector, and thus the submarine phenomenon is more likely to occur.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] In order to prevent the submarine phenomenon, for example,
As shown in the figure, it is conceivable to provide a stopper portion 81 for restricting the upward movement of an occupant's knee portion Mn ′ on the front side of the upper portion of the knee protector 80. Since it projects to the room side, there is a drawback that the slimming down of the instrument panel 82 is hindered.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a knee protector structure for an automobile that can achieve both prevention of the submarine phenomenon and slimming down of the instrument panel.

[Means for Solving the Problem] Therefore, according to the first invention of the present application, a protector member for protecting a knee portion of an occupant at the time of a vehicle collision, and a protector member disposed above the protector member are provided above the knee portion. A stopper member for restricting the movement of the protector member and the stopper member are arranged so that the vehicle compartment side surface is generally flush along the inner surface shape of the instrument panel, The protector member is supported by a vehicle body-side member so as to be movable forward by a predetermined amount when the knee portion collides.

Further, a second invention of the present application is the same as the first invention, wherein the stopper member is supported by a vehicle body side member via a stopper support member, while the protector member is supported by the protector support member. The support rigidity of the protector support member is set lower than the support rigidity of the stopper support member.

Further, a third invention of the present application comprises a first protector member and a second protector member arranged below the first protector member, and the first and second protector members are provided.
Normally, the protector member has a surface on the passenger compartment side that is substantially flush with the inner surface shape of the instrument panel, and is spaced at a predetermined interval so that the occupant's knees can enter between the two in the event of a vehicle collision. And the first protector member is supported by the vehicle body side member via the first support member, while the second protector member is supported by the vehicle body side member via the second support member. The support rigidity of the second support member is set lower than the support rigidity of the first support member.

Furthermore, a fourth invention of the present application is the plate-shaped structure according to the third invention, wherein the rigidity is set lower than that of the second protector member between the first protector member and the second protector member. The members are arranged so as to be extended.

[Effect of the Invention] According to the first invention of the present application, the stopper member is provided above the protector member so that the protector member can move forward by a predetermined amount when the knees of the occupant collide. Therefore, at the time of a collision, the knee portion enters below the stopper member and is prevented from moving upward. Therefore, the submarine phenomenon can be reliably prevented, and the occupant protection performance of the knee protector can be improved.
Further, since the protector member and the stopper member are arranged so that the vehicle compartment side surface is generally flush with the inner surface shape of the instrument panel during normal operation, the degree of freedom in designing the instrument panel is ensured. Slimming can be achieved.

Further, according to the second invention of the present application, the supporting rigidity of the protector supporting member that supports the protector member is set lower than the supporting rigidity of the stopper supporting member that supports the stopper member. The amount of movement to the front can be made larger than the amount of movement of the stopper member to the front, and the same effect as the first aspect of the invention can be obtained.

Further, according to the third invention of the present application, the first and second protector members are arranged vertically at a predetermined interval so that the knees of the occupant can enter, so that when the vehicle collides, When the knee part moves forward, the knee part can be received between the two protector members.
The protector member can prevent the knee from moving upward and can reliably prevent the submarine phenomenon. In addition, since the first and second protector members are arranged so that the vehicle compartment side surface is generally flush with the inner surface shape of the instrument panel, the flexibility of designing the instrument panel is ensured. It is possible to realize slimming down.

Further, since the first and second protector members are respectively supported by the first and second support members, and the support rigidity of the second support member is set lower than the support rigidity of the first support member, At the time of a collision, the amount of forward movement of the second protector member can be made larger than the amount of forward movement of the first protector member, and the submarine phenomenon can be prevented more reliably.

Furthermore, according to the fourth invention of the present application, in the third invention, since the plate-shaped member is provided so as to extend between the first and second protector members, the first and second protectors are provided at the time of collision.
Excessive vertical opening of the first and second protector members when the knee parts are received between the protector members is suppressed, and the knee load can be more reliably absorbed, and the knee parts are formed only by the first and second protector members. The pressure receiving area can be increased as compared with the case of receiving the pressure, and in addition to the effect of the third or fourth aspect of the invention, the performance of protecting the occupant by the knee protector can be further improved.

EXAMPLES Examples of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, a dash lower panel 5 that is joined to a front end portion of a floor panel 4 that forms a floor surface of a passenger compartment 2 and rises upward is provided at a front portion of a vehicle 1 according to this embodiment. The dash lower panel 5 partitions the engine compartment 3 and the vehicle compartment 2 which are opened and closed by the hood 6. Above the dash lower panel 5, a cowl box 7 having a closed cross section extending in the vehicle width direction is provided, and an instrument set 9 having various meters is attached to the upper surface of the cowl box 7. The front end of the ment panel 11 and the lower end of the windshield 8 are supported.

The steering column 16 that rotatably supports the steering shaft 15 is supported by a pipe-shaped steering support member 21 extending in the vehicle width direction via mounting brackets 22 and 23. Both ends are fixed to the cowl side panels 13 and 13 extending forward from the left and right front door opening ends 12 and 12 via the brackets 2 and 24, respectively. Further, a substantially middle portion of the steering support member 21 is connected to a tunnel portion 4a of the floor panel 4 via a reinforcing stay 26.

A steering wheel 17 is attached to the upper end of the steering shaft 15 and
An air bag device is attached to the central portion of 17. As is well known, the airbag 18 is normally folded and stored in the central portion of the steering wheel 17, and when the collision detection sensor (not shown) detects a collision, the first As shown by the chain double-dashed line in the figure, the gas is filled inside and instantly inflates and expands, thereby restricting the forward movement of the upper body Mb of the occupant M from collision with the windshield 8 and the steering shaft 15. The occupant M can be protected.

Further, the vehicle 1 has a knee portion of the occupant M at the time of a vehicle collision.
A knee protector 30 is provided on the inner surface side of the instrument panel 11 to reduce the impact load applied to the knee Mn when the Mn collides with the instrument panel 11.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the knee protector 30 includes a plate-shaped protector member 32 for receiving and protecting the knee Mn of the occupant M when the knee Mn moves forward, and the protector 32. It is provided above the member 32 and is provided with a pipe-shaped stopper member 31 that restricts the upward movement of the knee portion Mn. The protector member 32 and the stopper member 31 are the inner surface side of the instrument panel 11. In FIG. 1, they are arranged so as to be substantially flush with the inner shape of the instrument panel 11 (see FIG. 1).

The protector members 32 are left and right protector members 32a arranged on both sides of the steering column 16.
32b and a central portion 32c that is integrally formed with the left protector member 32a and connects the left and right protector members 32a, 32b, for example, and the stopper member 31 is provided on both sides of the steering column 16. And left and right stopper members 31a and 31b respectively arranged in the. The left protector member 32a and the stopper member 3
One end (left end) of 1a is fixed to a bracket 24 fixed to the left end of the steering support member 21, while one end (right end) of the right protector member 32b and the stopper member 31b is fixed to a side surface of the reinforcing stay 26. .

The other ends of the left and right stopper members 31a, 31b (on the side of the steering column 16) are fixed to and supported by one ends of the left and right arm members 33a, 33b formed in a substantially V shape. The other ends of the left and right arm members 33a and 33b are fixed to the steering support member 21. That is, the stopper members 31a, 31b are the arm members 33a, 33b.
Is supported by the steering support member 21 (vehicle-body-side member) through the arm members 33a, 33b.
Constitutes the stopper support member described in the second invention of the present application.

Further, the protector members 32a and 32b will be described by taking the left one as an example, as shown in FIG.
At the time of a collision, it is supported by the arm member 33a via a buffer member 35 for absorbing an impact load applied to the knee Mn of the occupant M.

That is, the buffer member 35 constitutes the protector support member described in the second invention of the present application.

As shown in detail in FIG. 6, the cushioning member 35 is composed of, for example, two press-molded bodies 36 and 37 formed by bending a steel plate by press working, and protects the protector member 32a from the protector member 32a. When an impact load in the perpendicular direction is applied, the press-molded bodies 36, 37 are compressed and deformed to absorb impact energy, and the impact load acting on the knee Mn of the occupant M can be effectively relieved. It is like this. The upper surface side of one press-molded body 36 of the buffer member 35 is welded and fixed to the arm member 33a, and the protector member 32a is fastened and fixed to the lower surface of the buffer member 35 by a bolt 38. The left protector member 32a is
It is fastened and fixed to the right arm member 33b by a bolt 39.

In the above configuration, when the knee Mn of the occupant M is moved forward and collides with the knee protector 30 during a vehicle collision, as shown in FIGS. 7a, 7b, and 7c, the cushioning is performed. As a result of the member 35 being compressed and the protector member 32a being moved forward by a predetermined amount, the knee part Mn will enter below the stopper member 31a while absorbing the impact load applied to the knee part Mn. The upward movement is prevented by the member 31a.

Further, at the time of collision, the arm member 33a is also bent and deformed, and this deformation can more effectively absorb the impact load applied to the knee portion Mn. The arm member 33a includes
More preferably, a reinforcing bead is formed along the longitudinal direction (see FIG. 3), and the stopper member 31a of the arm member 33a is formed.
The supporting rigidity with respect to is set to be higher than the supporting rigidity of the buffer member 35 with respect to the protector member 32a. That is, the cushioning member 35 is set to have a lower supporting rigidity than the arm member 33a, and at the time of a collision, the cushioning member 35 is first compressed and deformed by a predetermined amount, and then the arm member 33a is deformed. Therefore, the amount of forward movement of the protector member 32a is larger than the amount of forward movement of the stopper member 31a, and accordingly, the knee portion Mn of the occupant M is
Is adapted to be inserted below the stopper member 31a so as to reliably prevent the upward movement.

Although the above description is for the left side portion of the knee protector 30, the right side portion is also configured and operates in the same manner as the above left side portion.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the stopper members 31a and 31b are provided above the protector members 32a and 32b,
When the knees Mn of the occupant M collide with each other, the protector members 32a and 32b can move forward by a predetermined amount due to the compressive deformation of the cushioning member 35. Mn enters below the stopper members 31a and 31b and is prevented from moving upward. Therefore, the submarine phenomenon can be reliably prevented, and the occupant protection performance of the knee protector 30 can be improved. In addition, the protector members 32a and 32b and the stopper member 31
Normally, the a and 31b are arranged so that the surface on the passenger compartment side is substantially flush with the inner surface shape of the instrument panel 11, so the degree of freedom in designing the instrument panel 11 is secured and the instrument panel 11 is made slim. Can be realized.

Further, since the support rigidity of the cushioning member 35 supporting the protector members 32a, 32b is set lower than the support rigidity of the arm members 33a, 33b supporting the stopper members 31a, 31b, the protector members 32a, 32b have The amount of forward movement can be made larger than the amount of forward movement of the stopper members 31a, 31b, and the bending load of the arm members 33a, 33b is used to more effectively apply an impact load to the knee Mn. It can be absorbed and the submarine phenomenon can be reliably prevented.

In the above-described embodiment (hereinafter referred to as the first embodiment), the flat protector member 32 and the pipe-shaped stopper member 31 prevent the submarine phenomenon at the time of collision. With the two pipe-shaped protector members arranged at the same position, the same effect as the first embodiment can be obtained.

The second embodiment of the present invention will be described below. In the following description, the same components as those in the first embodiment will be designated by the same reference numerals, and further description will be omitted.

As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the knee protector 40 according to the present embodiment includes pipe-shaped left and right first protector members 41a and 4a arranged on both sides of the steering column 16.
1b and second pipe-shaped left and right parts arranged substantially parallel to each other below the first protector members 41a and 41b.
It has protector members 42a and 42b.

The first and second protector members 41a and 4 on the left side
One end (left end) of 2a is fixed to the bracket 24 of the steering column 16, while one end (right end) of the first and second protector members 41b and 42b on the right side is fixed to the side surface of the reinforcing stay 26. The other end side (the steering column 16 side) of the first protector members 41a, 41b has a first end fixed to the upper portion of the steering support member 21.
It is fixedly supported by the support members 43a and 43b, while
The other end side (the steering column 16 side) of the second protector members 42a, 42b is fixedly supported at its one end to the second support members 44a, 44b fixed to the lower portion of the steering support member 21.

Further, more preferably, each protector member 41a,
A thin plate-shaped cover 45, which has a rigidity lower than that of the second protector members 42a and 42b, is joined to the vehicle-cabin-side surfaces of the 41b, 42a, and 42b. By disposing the cover 45 so as to extend between the first protector members 41a, 41b and the second protector members 42a, 42b, it is possible to prevent the knee portion Mn from being caught between the first and second protector members at the time of collision. Excessive vertical opening of the protector member can be suppressed to more reliably absorb the impact load applied to the knee Mn, and the pressure receiving area when the knee Mn collides can be increased. The protection function of the knee protector 40 against can be further improved.

The distance between the first protector member 41a, 41b and the second protector member 42a, 42b is left and right on the knee portion Mn of the occupant M.
Has been properly configured to allow
For example, taking the right one as an example, as shown in FIGS. 11a and 11b, when the knee Mn moves forward during a vehicle collision, the knee Mn is moved to the first protector member.
The space between 41b and the second protector member 42b is fitted in, and the first protector member 41b prevents the knee Mn from moving upward, so that the submarine phenomenon can be reliably prevented.

Further, as shown in detail in FIG. 10, more preferably,
The first support members 43a, 43b (only the right side is shown in FIG. 10) are provided with, for example, three reinforcing beads 46, and the second support members 44a, 44b are provided with no beads.
Is set to have a lower support rigidity than the first support members 43a, 43b, and when the knee Mn of the occupant M collides, the second protector members 42a, 42b move forward. The amount is larger than the amount of forward movement of the first protector members 41a and 41b, so that the submarine phenomenon can be prevented more reliably.

In the second embodiment, the support rigidity of the first support members 43a, 43b and the second support members 44a, 44b is different depending on the presence or absence of the reinforcing beads 46. By setting the plate thickness of the support member thinner than the plate thickness of the first support member, the support rigidity of the second support member can be set lower than the support rigidity of the first support member.

Further, by devising the layout of both the supporting members, the supporting rigidity of the both can be made different. That is, as shown in FIG. 12, while the first support member 53 and the second support member 54 form a substantially right angle in the longitudinal direction,
The second protector member of the second support member 54 when the knee portion collides is arranged by arranging the first support member 53 so that the longitudinal direction of the first support member 53 substantially coincides with the intruding direction of the knee portion (see the arrow in FIG. 12). The supporting rigidity with respect to 42 can be set lower than the supporting rigidity with respect to the first protector member 41 of the first supporting member 53.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a vertical cross-sectional explanatory view of a vehicle compartment front portion of an automobile according to a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the vehicle compartment front portion of the automobile, and FIG. 3 is related to the first embodiment. An exploded perspective view of the knee protector, FIG. 4 is a front explanatory view of the knee protector,
5 is a cross-sectional explanatory view in the AA direction of FIG. 4, FIG. 6 is a vertical cross-sectional explanatory view of the cushioning member in the BB direction of FIG.
7a, 7b and 7c are a series of cross-sectional explanatory views for explaining the deformed state of the knee protector according to the first embodiment, and FIG. 8 is a knee protector according to the second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 9 is a perspective view, FIG. 9 is a front view of the knee protector according to the second embodiment, FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the first and second support members according to the second embodiment, and FIGS. 11a and 11b are Sectional explanatory drawing for demonstrating the deformation | transformation state of the knee protector which concerns on 2nd Example, FIG. 12 is sectional explanatory drawing of the knee protector which concerns on the modification of 2nd Example, FIG. 13 is a knee protector which concerns on a prior art example. FIG. 1 …… Car, 11 …… Instrument panel, 21 ……
Steering support member (body side member), 30,40 ... Knee protector, 31,31a, 31b ... Stopper member, 32,32
a, 32b …… Protector member, 33a, 33b …… Arm member,
35 …… Cushioning member, 41, 41a, 41b …… First protector, 4
2,42a, 42b ... Second protector, 43a, 43b ... First support member, 44a, 44b ... Second support member, 45 ... Cover, 46 ...
... reinforcing beads.

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A protector member, comprising: a protector member for protecting a knee portion of an occupant in a vehicle collision; and a stopper member arranged above the protector member for restricting upward movement of the knee portion. Normally, the stopper member is arranged so that the vehicle compartment side surface is substantially flush with the inner surface shape of the instrument panel, and the protector member is a predetermined amount when the knee portion collides. A knee protector structure for an automobile, which is supported by a vehicle body side member so as to be movable forward. 2. The stopper member is supported by a member on the vehicle body side through a stopper support member, while the protector member is supported by the stopper support member through a protector support member, and the support of the protector support member is provided. The knee protector structure for an automobile according to claim 1, wherein the rigidity is set lower than the supporting rigidity of the stopper supporting member. 3. A first protector member and a second protector member arranged below the first protector member, wherein the first and second protector members are normally on the passenger compartment side. The surface is substantially flush with the inner shape of the instrument panel, and is arranged at a predetermined interval so that the occupant's knees can enter between the two in the event of a vehicle collision. The protector member is supported by the vehicle body side member via the first support member, while the second protector member is supported by the vehicle body side member via the second support member and supports the second support member. A knee protector structure for an automobile, wherein the rigidity is set lower than the support rigidity of the first support member. 4. A plate-shaped member having a rigidity lower than that of the second protector member is provided between the first protector member and the second protector member. The knee protector structure for an automobile according to claim 3.