JPS5918921Y2 - Car knee protector - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Technical Field] The present invention relates to a knee protector that is provided at the lower part of an instrument panel in an automobile interior, facing the knees and legs of an occupant.

[Prior art]

During a frontal collision of a car, the occupant suddenly moves forward in the vehicle interior due to inertia, causing the occupant's knees and legs to collide with the lower part of the instrument panel. This system absorbs the energy of the collision when the knees and legs of the occupant collide. Knee protectors have been developed to protect the knees and legs of passengers.

As a conventional knee protector, Utility Model 51-1561
The one described in Publication No. 33 is known.

Since this is simply a thin steel plate formed into a rectangular cylindrical shape, if the passenger's knee collides with it, it immediately collapses and hits the bottom, and an excessive load is applied to the passenger's knee, making it impossible to provide effective cushioning. There were no drawbacks.

In addition, in the conventional example in which a thin steel plate is stretched between the instrument panel and the body member between the instrument and the body floor, it is not sufficient in terms of energy absorption, as shown by the waveform x in the graph of Figure 4. However, there was a drawback that it was not possible to provide effective buffering.

Furthermore, all conventional knee protectors use iron plates, which is a negative factor in reducing the overall weight of the vehicle body.

Other conventional examples include those described in Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 52-43234 and those described in Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 52-137444.

The former knee protector has a hollow part formed between the outer panel and the inner panel, but the side shape is roughly shaped like a letter.The upper end of the knee protector is connected to the instrument panel via two brackets. The lower end is fixed to the partition wall between the engine room and the engine room.

In one embodiment, a reinforcing plate is provided in the hollow portion between the outer panel and the inner panel in the vertical direction.

In this way, in a case where the hollow space between the outer panel and the inner panel is divided into multiple rooms by reinforcing plates, if the kneecap hits the reinforcing plates directly, the outer panel is extremely difficult to deform and absorbs the impact force. There is a risk that this may cause temporary injury to the kneecap.

Even if the kneecap hits the hollow area between the reinforcing plates, the hollow area alone will not be crushed, and the entire outer panel will be deformed, and due to the presence of the reinforcing plates, the kneecap will not be crushed. The outer panel becomes less likely to deform, and as a result, impact force is temporarily applied to the kneecap.

In addition, the lower ends of the outer and inner panels extend to the body floor and are fixed to the bulkhead between the seat and engine compartment, so in the event of a collision, the lower half of the leg will enter the bulkhead, causing deformation of the knee protector due to a collision with the kneecap. There is a risk that the lower half of the leg will be pierced.

Furthermore, if the ankle or the like is thrown forward and collides with the bulkhead, there is a risk of fracture due to the highly rigid bulkhead.

Knee protector of the latter (Utility Model No. 52-137444)
The cylinder is formed into a semi-cylindrical shape facing the direction of travel of the passenger's legs, and a recess or a recess and a through hole are provided in the wall surface of the cylinder.

The central portion of the cylindrical wall surface has a camphor board shape in which concave portions and convex portions are alternately present.

In this conventional example, the impact force spreads to the entire panel that makes up the cylindrical wall surface, and at that time, the uneven part that exists in the center of the panel contributes to increasing the strength of the entire panel and reduces the overall deformation. It acts as a deterrent.

The protrusions on the wall surface of the cylinder in this conventional example do not collapse themselves in the event of a collision to cushion the impact, but rather are uneven parts for improving the strength of the entire panel.
The panel itself is difficult to deform with relatively small amounts of energy.

When the central part of the panel that has this uneven part begins to deform, the flat upper and lower ends of the panel are weaker than the central part in terms of strength, so deformation occurs at the same time or first when the central part starts deforming. If the top and bottom ends of the panel deform before the central part of the panel begins to deform, the bond between either the top or bottom ends and the bracket may break, and the occupant may end up with an unexpected hole. .

Alternatively, there is a possibility that the flat portions at the upper and lower ends of the panel may be damaged before the fixation is broken.

In this conventional example, the means for preventing impact force from temporarily reaching the occupant is achieved by the presence of through holes rather than by the presence of uneven portions.

Furthermore, in this conventional example, the lower end of the quenelle is attached to the bulkhead of the engine room, and the lower half of the leg is thrown toward the bulkhead in the event of a collision.
As with the prior art example, there is a strong possibility that the lower half of the leg will be drilled.

In the above two conventional examples, the bracket that connects the upper end of the panel and the lower part of the instrument panel does not have an active buffering effect.

Both are intended to provide cushioning only in the panel portion.

Furthermore, neither of them has any intention of making good use of the energy characteristics of resin and metal.

Therefore, there is a demand for a knee protector that has even better impact function and can sufficiently protect the lower half of the leg.

〔the purpose〕

The present invention was devised in view of the above circumstances, and effectively protects not only the knees but also the legs below the knees of occupants in the event of a frontal collision of an automobile, and provides an excellent cushioning function for automobile knees. The purpose is to provide a protector.

〔composition〕

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a knee protector for automobiles that is installed at the bottom of an instrument in a vehicle interior, facing the knees and legs of an occupant, in which the surface has continuous longitudinal unevenness extending from the top to the bottom. It is formed in the shape of a corrugated plate, with convex parts,
An instrument bracket consisting of a main panel that has an inner 67, hollow space and is entirely molded from synthetic resin material, and a single thin iron plate that is fixed to the upper end of this main panel and attached to the instrument panel. It consists of a steel plate body member that is fixed to the lower end of the main panel and attached to the body floor.

〔Example〕

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be discussed below with reference to the drawings.

The illustrated knee protector 1 is provided at a lower part of an instrument panel 2 so as to face the knees and legs of an occupant.

In the figure, reference numeral 3 is a vehicle body panel serving as a partition wall of the engine room, and reference numeral 4 is a body floor.

As shown in FIG. 2, the knee protector 1 has an instrument bracket 5 made of a thin iron plate fixed to the upper end of a main panel 6ρ, and a body member 7 made of an iron plate fixed to the lower end of the main panel 6. ing.

The main panel 6 is formed in the shape of a corrugated plate with vertically long unevenness continuous over the top and bottom ends, has a hollow part 8 in the convex part 6C, and is entirely molded from a synthetic resin material.

It is fixed to the instrument bracket 5 and the body member 7 at the upper and lower ends of the recess 6d.

However, the fixed location does not necessarily have to be the recess 6d.

As the synthetic resin material constituting the main panel 6, for example, ABS resin or the like is used.

The main panel 6 shown in FIG. 2 is connected to the main panel 6 shown in FIG.
Consisting of two resin plates 6a and 6b, one resin plate 6a (
The front surface side) is formed into a corrugated plate shape, and a hollow portion 8 is formed at the location of the convex portion 6C.

The instrument bracket 5 is attached to the instrument panel 2, and the body member 7 is attached to the body floor 4.
Attach to.

A soft pad (not shown) is attached to the side of the main panel 6 facing the knees and legs of the passenger. It can also serve as a core material, and by forming it in this way, it is possible to prevent warping of the product.

When molding the convex portion 6C, its thickness, shape,
Alternatively, the degree of collapse of the convex portion 6C and the rigidity of the entire panel can be easily adjusted by designing the volume of the hollow portion 8 formed inside.

When an impact is applied to the knee protector 1 of the present invention constructed in this way, the convex portion 6C of the synthetic resin type main panel 6 is reliably crushed and absorbs the first energy.
Next, plastic deformation of the instrument panel 5 occurs from one thin steel plate, followed by or simultaneously deformation of the entire main panel 6, and finally plastic deformation of the body member 7.

That is, it exhibits an energy absorption characteristic that is a combination of the crushing and overall bending characteristics of the convex portion 6C of the main panel 6 made of a synthetic resin material and the plastic deformation of the instrument panel 5 and the body member 7 caused by the steel plate.

What is shown by the waveform Y in the graph of FIG. 4 is the energy absorption characteristic of the embodiment of the present invention. Alternatively, the entire main panel is bent simultaneously or subsequently, and then the body member 7 is bent.
Bending of itself occurs.

〔effect〕

As explained above, according to the present invention, not only the knees but also the legs of the occupant collide with the main panel in a frontal collision of a car, first the convex part of the main panel is crushed, and then the instrument bracket is bent or The waveform load curve indicated by Y in Figure 4 shows the bending of the entire main panel simultaneously or successively, and finally the plastic deformation of the body members, and the plastic deformation of the steel plate and the bending characteristics of the synthetic resin are Together, the amount of displacement is larger than that of the conventional technology, the impact on the occupant can be reduced, and stable energy absorption characteristics can be exhibited from the initial stage of energy absorption to the end.

Furthermore, as mentioned above, in the present invention, the lower end of the main panel extends to the body floor, so not only the kneecap but also the entire leg below the knee is protected.

In other words, in the event of a collision, the legs below the knees will definitely hit the convex part of the main panel, crushing this convexity and bending the instrument bracket, deforming the entire main panel, and causing the impact to the legs at once. This avoids the addition of

Furthermore, when a collision occurs, the knees and legs may hit the main panel once and then again, resulting in a convex part on the main panel that is different from the convex part that was crushed in the first collision. Or, even if it is the same convex part, there is a high probability of colliding with another part that has not been crushed, and the rebound knee or leg has a high probability of colliding with a convex part that has not yet been crushed (even if it is the same convex part because it is a vertically long convex part) (They may collide by changing the vertical position), and subsequent collisions can be reliably buffered.

Furthermore, since the main panel of the present invention is provided from the bottom of the instrument panel to the body floor, the area of the main panel becomes large as it acts as a shock absorber for receiving the entire area below the knees of the passenger. The area of the soft pad is also larger, and there is no fear that the entire leg below the knee will collide with anything other than the main panel and cause a hole.

Moreover, since the amount of deflection of the entire main panel increases, the buffering force also increases.

Furthermore, if the force that causes the aforementioned convex part to collapse is effectively designed, the entire leg including the kneecap can be gently received by the convex part's collapse, and energy is absorbed continuously and smoothly. This can reliably prevent impact force from acting on the legs at once.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a partial cross-sectional perspective view schematically showing the front part of the vehicle interior, Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the knee protector, Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken along line III-III in Fig. 2, and Fig. 4 is a conventional example. It is a graph showing the energy absorption characteristics at the time of a collision with the present invention. 1...Knee protector-12...Instrument panel, 4...Body floor, 5
...Instrument bracket, 6...
・・Main panel, 6C・・Protrusion, 6d・・・・
... recess, 7 ... body member 8 ...
...Hollow part.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claim for Utility Model Registration] An automobile knee protector provided at the bottom of an instrument panel in a vehicle interior facing the knees and legs of an occupant, the corrugated plate having a continuous vertically uneven surface extending from top to bottom. The main panel has a hollow part formed in the shape of a convex part and is entirely molded from synthetic resin material, and a thin iron plate that is fixed to the upper end of the main panel and attached to the instrument panel. An automobile knee protector consisting of an instrument bracket and a steel plate body member that is fixed to the lower end of the main panel and attached to the body floor.