JPH11245748A - Protecting cover structure of occupant protective device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide the protecting cover structure of an occupant protective device which effectively absorbs any impact energy during the action of external force at a car crash or the like, while during action of the external force of more than the supposition, prevents any crack from occurring on a surface of the protecting cover of soft material, thereby making improvements in the safety of occupants aboard. SOLUTION: A protecting cover 2 to be installed at the occupant side of an occupant protective device comprises a curved plate part 3 two flange part 4 and 4 being bent and formed at both the sides, and made up from soft material. Each groove 6 is formed in these flange parts 4 and 4, and a notch 5 is formed in an end edge of the flange part 4 of the groove 6. In this connection, both these flange parts 4 and 4 are formed into being tapered each. With the above mentioned structure, when in the action of external force, the flange part 4 is opened with the notch 5 as the base point and thereby any crack of a contact position with a lap of a lower half part 7 of the curved plate part 3 is prevented from occurring.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a protective cover structure of an occupant protection device for protecting an occupant's knee or the like when an external force is applied such as when a vehicle collides.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Seat belts and airbags are used as means for protecting a driver in the event of a collision or the like.
Of course, these protectors effectively protect the driver in the event of a collision, but are insufficient for protecting the driver's knees.

As shown in FIG. 14, a brake master back 35 and a clutch master back 36 are arranged behind a front panel 34 supporting a windshield and the like.
A brake master cylinder 37 and a clutch master cylinder 31 are connected to the rear ends of the brake master back 35 and the clutch master back 36.

On the other hand, the instrument panel 12 shown in FIG. 7 is connected to the front panel 34 side. The meter cluster panel 13 is connected to the opening 42 of the instrument panel 12. The instrument panel 12 is reinforced by a reinforcement 43 shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 7, the meter cluster panel 13 has a space 16 formed in the center thereof, and a decorative panel 14 and a mounting portion 15 are formed with the space 16 interposed therebetween. The panel 40 is attached as shown in FIG. The space 16 is a space through which a steering cowl 39, a steering column shaft (not shown), and the like pass.

As shown in FIG. 14, a rear end face 38 of a brake master cylinder 37 is disposed substantially in front of the decorative panel 14, and a rear end face 32 of the clutch master cylinder 31 is disposed on the front side of the panel 40. Are arranged opposite to each other. As shown in FIG. 14, the knees 33 of the occupant 41 are disposed substantially opposite to each other behind the decorative panel 14 and the panel 40.

At the time of a collision or the like, the front panel 34 is retracted, and as shown in FIG.
1 and the like are pressed backward. On the other hand, the occupant 41 moves forward by inertial force, and its knee 33 hits the rear end face 32 of the clutch master cylinder 31 via the panel 40.

Various means have been conventionally devised as protection means for preventing the interference between the knee 33 and the clutch master cylinder 31 as described above. However, a simple structure which sufficiently protects the occupant's knees and the like is known. Few.

[0009]

Therefore, the applicant of the present invention, which will be described in detail later, has devised an occupant protection device 1 shown in FIGS. 8 to 12 and the like to completely protect the occupant when external force acts. However, we believe that the structure of the protective cover that directly contacts the knees and the like requires another contrivance to improve the occupant protection function, and the protective cover sufficiently absorbs impact energy when an external force is applied. At the same time, when the external force is applied, the surface of the protective cover at the contact portion with the knee or the like is reliably prevented from forming a crack on the surface of the protective cover and adversely affecting the knee or the like, thereby further improving safety. It is.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 7-61307 discloses a known technique relating to a "knee bolster" similar to a protective cover. This "knee bolster" has a hollow auxiliary rib on the back surface of a front plate of a shock absorber made of a synthetic resin. The reinforcing rib functions as a reinforcing member and also functions as a cushion in a gap between the ribs. The knee bolster can retain the impact force and absorb the impact energy when the knee or the like comes into contact with the knee bolster.However, there is a possibility that a crack or the like may be generated on the surface of the impact absorber when an external force is applied. May have adverse effects.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and is capable of sufficiently absorbing impact energy when an external force is applied, and has no cracks or the like on a contact surface of a knee or the like, which has an adverse effect on occupants. It is an object of the present invention to provide a protective cover structure of an occupant protection device which does not give a risk of giving a passenger.

[0011]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to achieve the above objects, the present invention is directed to mounting a panel such as a meter cluster panel which is disposed substantially opposite to solid objects such as a clutch master cylinder and a brake master cylinder. The knees and the like of the occupant are formed so as to prevent the knees and the like from directly interfering with the solid matter and to absorb the impact energy when an external force is applied. The protective cover structure in an occupant protection device comprising a reinforcing protection member integrally attached to the occupant protection device, wherein the protection cover has a curved plate portion bulging to the knee side and both edges thereof on the solid material side. An occupant having a flange portion bent toward the inside, a groove having an appropriate depth is formed in the inner surface of the flange portion, and a notch is formed at an edge of the flange portion of the groove. It constitutes a protective cover structure protection device. Further, the flange portion is tapered from a base portion connected to the curved plate portion to an edge thereof.

The entire occupant protection device including the protection cover and the reinforcing protection member absorbs impact energy when an external force is applied such as at the time of a collision. On the other hand, when an external force acts on the occupant protection device and the knee or the like strongly hits the protection cover, the protection cover opens along the groove starting from the notch of the flange portion, and the pulling force acting on the surface of the protection cover is reduced. For this reason, cracks and the like do not occur on the surface of the protective cover, and do not adversely affect the occupant's knees or the like in contact with the surface.

[0013]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an occupant protection system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
First, an outline of the overall structure of the occupant protection device according to the present invention before the protective cover is improved will be described. The occupant protection device,
As shown in FIG. 8, it is attached to the attachment part 15 of the meter cluster panel 13, and is formed by combining the protective cover 2a and the reinforcing protective member 8 therewith. Of course, the occupant protection device 1 may be mounted on the decorative panel 14 side, but in this example, a case where the occupant protection device 1 is mounted on the mounting portion 15 will be described.

As will be described later in detail, the protective cover 2a is made of a soft material, for example, a plastic material, and is formed by integrally forming the curved plate portion 3 and the flange portions 4 and 4 formed on both sides thereof. On the other hand, the reinforcing protective member 8 is made of a hard material, for example, an iron material, and is assembled in contact with the back surface of the protective cover 2a to reinforce the protective cover 2a. As shown in FIGS. It comprises a member 9, a second reinforcing member 10, and a third reinforcing member 11.

The first reinforcing member 9 has a curved surface portion 18 which is in close contact with the back surface of the curved plate portion 3 of the protective cover 2a, and a flange portion 19 formed on both sides thereof by bending. The second reinforcing member 10 includes a base plate portion 20, a contact portion 21, and flange portions 22 and 23 bent from both sides thereof.
The edges of the flanges 22 and 23 have a shape that is in close contact with the curved surface 18 of the first reinforcing member. Also, the third reinforcing member 1
1 is an upper plate 25, a side plate 24, and mounting seat plates 26 and 27.
The contact plate 28 is fixed to the mounting seat plate 26. The contact plate 28 has a contact portion 29 with which a rear end surface 32 (shown in FIG. 12 and the like) of the clutch master cylinder 31 contacts, and a mounting plate portion 30 is formed by bending.

As shown in FIGS. 8 and 12, etc., the first to third reinforcing members 9, 10, and 11 having the above-described structure are integrally assembled, have appropriate rigidity, and are capable of absorbing impact energy such as external force. It also functions as an absorbing member, and is fixed to a predetermined place on the meter cluster panel 13 as shown in FIG. 12 in a state where it is assembled with the protective cover 2a. In this mounting position, as shown in FIG. 12, the knee 33 of the occupant 41 is disposed at a position opposite to a portion corresponding to the lower half of the curved plate portion 3 of the protective cover 2a. The contact portion 29 of the third reinforcing member is disposed at a position facing the rear end face 32 of the clutch master cylinder 31. The stopper surface 17 of the upper plate 25 of the third reinforcing member is disposed at a position facing the lower surface of the reinforcement 43 with an appropriate gap therebetween.

Next, the protective cover 2 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. As described above, the protective cover 2 includes the curved surface plate portion 3 having a substantially central portion protruding toward the occupant 41 (FIG. 12), and the flange portions 4 and 4 formed on both sides thereof. In this example, it is assumed that the knee 33 comes into contact with the lower half portion 7 (shown by hatching in FIG. 1) of the curved plate portion 3.

FIG. 4 shows a cross section taken along line CC of FIG. The curved plate portion 3 has a substantially constant thickness over the entire width, while the flange portions 4 and 4 have a tapered shape tapering from a base connected to the curved plate portion 3 to the tip. The reason why the flange portion 4 is formed to be tapered is to more surely open the mouth with the notch 5 as a base point. On the other hand, even if the taper is formed, the flange 4
Hardly deteriorates as a reinforcing member. Also, the taper can improve the formability. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, a groove 6 is provided substantially at the center of the flange portions 4, 4. Notches 5 are formed at the edges of the flanges 4 and 4 connected to the groove 6. Although the notch 5 and the groove 6 are formed in a sharp triangular shape in the drawing, the shape, the groove depth, and the like are appropriately set. The number of the grooves 6 is one in this example, and the groove width is constant, but the present invention is not limited to this.

Next, the operation of the occupant protection device 1 when an external force acts on a vehicle provided with the occupant protection device 1 of the present invention will be described. First, when an external force or the like acts on the vehicle normally held at the related position shown in FIG. 12, for example, the occupant 41 moves forward due to inertial force, and the knee 33 moves from the solid line state to the dotted line position, and This corresponds to (2a). On the other hand, the clutch master cylinder 31 also comes to the rear end, and the rear end face 32 approaches the contact portion 29. When the knee 33 hits the lower half 7 of the protective cover 2, the occupant protection device 1 is lifted as a whole, and the stopper surface 17 abuts on the lower surface of the reinforce 43 to restrain further movement. In this state, the rear end face 32 of the clutch master cylinder 31 hits the contact portion 29, and the occupant protection device 1 is sandwiched between the rear end face 32 and the knee 33 and receives a pressing force. Therefore, the protective cover 2 (2a) and the reinforcing protective member 8 are deformed, thereby retaining the impact force due to the external force, absorbing the impact energy, and protecting the occupant 41. Although the above description has been given of the case where the occupant protection device 1 is sandwiched between the rear end surface 31 of the clutch master cylinder 31 and the knee 33, the occupant protection device 1 is also applicable to a vehicle that does not use a clutch function such as an automatic vehicle. Functions as a knee bolster and becomes an absorber that absorbs impact energy in substantially the same manner as described above.

Since the protective cover 2 is made of a soft material, it has a function of effectively absorbing impact energy. On the other hand, the contact portion of the curved plate 3 with the knee 33, that is, the lower half 7 There is a possibility that cracks may occur at the touch. The groove 6 and the notch 5 of the protective cover 2 of the present invention effectively prevent the crack from occurring. That is, as shown in FIG. 5, when an external force acts on the protective cover 2, the flange portion 4 of the protective cover 2
Open mouth along. This acts to reduce the impact force, and reduces the surface pulling force acting on the surface of the curved plate portion. Thereby, the occurrence of cracks in the curved plate portion 3 is prevented. As described above, the deformation of the occupant protection device 1 as a whole and the opening of the flange portion of the protection cover 2 enable further protection of the knees 33 and the like of the occupant 41, thereby improving safety.

[0021]

1) According to the protective cover structure of the occupant protection device according to the first aspect of the present invention, the provision of the groove and the notch in the occupant protection device, particularly the protection cover, allows the protection cover and the knee or the like to be connected. The occurrence of cracks at the contact portion is reliably prevented, and the safety of the occupant can be improved. 2) According to the protective cover structure of the occupant protection device according to the second aspect of the present invention, the relatively rigid flange portion is tapered to open the opening without substantially reducing the strength as a reinforcing member. It can be performed more reliably.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a protection cover of an occupant protection device of the present invention provided with grooves and notches.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line BB of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line CC of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing a deformation state of the protective cover of the present invention when an external force is applied.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing the entire structure of a conventional reinforce.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a conventional instrument panel and meter cluster panel.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing an occupant protection device to which the protection cover of the present invention is applied, and the shape of a meter cluster panel to which the occupant protection device is attached.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing a first reinforcing member of the occupant protection device of FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing a second reinforcing member of the occupant protection device of FIG. 8;

11 is a perspective view showing a third reinforcing member of the occupant protection device of FIG.

FIG. 12 is a side view showing an attached state of the occupant protection device of FIG. 8 and a relative position of the occupant's knee and a solid material clutch master cylinder and a reinforcement in that state;

FIG. 13 is a side view showing a contact state between the occupant protection device and a knee, a clutch master cylinder, or the like when an external force is applied.

FIG. 14 is a plan view showing a related position of a conventional meter cluster panel, a clutch master cylinder and the like and a knee and the like.

FIG. 15 is a side view showing the state of movement of an occupant and its knees and the state of interference with a solid object when a conventional external force acts.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Occupant protection device 2 Protective cover 2a Protective cover 3 Curved plate part 4 Flange part 5 Notch 6 Groove 7 Lower half part 8 Reinforcement protection member 9 First reinforcement member 10 Second reinforcement member 11 Third reinforcement member 12 Instrument Mentor panel 13 Meter cluster panel 14 Decorative panel 15 Attachment part 16 Opening 17 Stopper surface 18 Curved surface part 19 Flange part 20 Base plate part 21 Contact part 22 Flange part 23 Flange part 24 Side plate 25 Top plate 26 Mounting seat plate 27 Mounting seat 27 Plate 28 Contact plate 29 Contact part 30 Mounting plate part 31 Clutch master cylinder 32 Rear end face 33 Knee 40 Panel 41 Passenger

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Shigeru Saito 8 Fujisawa, Fujisawa City, Kanagawa Prefecture Isuzu Motors Fujisawa Plant

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A panel, such as a meter cluster panel, disposed substantially opposite to a solid object such as a clutch master cylinder or a brake master cylinder to prevent a passenger's knee or the like from directly interfering with the solid object. It is formed to absorb impact energy at the time of external force action,
The protective cover structure in an occupant protection device including a protective cover made of a soft material with which the knee or the like abuts and a reinforcing protection member that abuts on the rear surface side and is integrally assembled. A curved plate portion bulging to the side and a flange portion bent at both edges thereof toward the solid material side, and a groove having an appropriate depth is recessed on an inner surface of the flange portion. A notch is formed at an edge of the flange portion of the occupant protection device. 2. The protection cover structure for an occupant protection device according to claim 1, wherein the flange portion is formed so as to be tapered from a base portion connected to the curved surface plate portion to an edge thereof.