JP4106603B2 - Fastening structure of knee airbag module and knee panel - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a structure in which a knee airbag module is employed as a safety measure in the event of a vehicle collision in a vehicle such as a passenger car, in particular, a knee airbag module for restraining the occupant's knees for safety, and more specifically, a knee airbag module. And fastening structure with knee panel.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In a vehicle such as a passenger car, a knee airbag module is used as an auxiliary restraint device for the seatbelt to restrain the chest injury of the occupant in the front seat in the event of a vehicle collision. It is attached to the back of the panel lower.
[0003]
When the airbag module 10 is installed on the driver's seat side, for example, as shown in FIG. 5, the airbag module 10 is disposed on the back side of the instrument panel lower 1 in front of the seat, so that the knee airbag can be used in the event of a collision. An airbag is deployed from the module 10 to restrain the occupant's knees.
[0004]
Usually, the knee airbag module 10 is disposed below the steering column 3 that is inclined in front of the driver's seat, and the opening 2 of the steering column cover 5 is opened at a position close to the upper side of the knee airbag module 10. Moreover, in this example, the knee panel 20 set in front of the occupant's knee is divided into left and right by the knee panels 20A and 20B.
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in the conventional knee airbag module mounting structure, the fastening position between the knee airbag module 10 and the knee panel 20 is set in the region of the airbag door 10a of the knee airbag module 10. For this reason, the airbag door 10a needs an opening cover 100 that opens and closes in order to tighten the fastening portions thereof. Since the opening cover 100 is provided, it is not always possible to ensure a good appearance.
In addition, there is a problem that the number of parts increases and the cost is inevitably high.
[0006]
In view of the above points, an object of the present invention is to provide a fastening structure between a knee airbag module and a knee panel that improves the appearance and effectively reduces the number of parts.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In the fastening structure of the knee airbag module and the knee panel according to the present invention, the knee airbag module and the knee panel are disposed on the back side of the instrument panel lower in front of the seat, and the steering column cover is disposed above the knee airbag module. An opening is established, and a fastening position between the knee airbag module and the knee panel is set in a position that is visible in the opening area and from the driver's seat side .
[0008]
In addition, the instrument panel lower preferably has an accommodation recess that can accommodate the knee airbag module, and the knee panel is preferably disposed above the accommodation recess .
[0009]
In the present invention, the airbag module is fastened to the knee panel via a bracket and a bolt inserted through the bracket in the vehicle front-rear direction .
[0010]
According to the present invention, it is possible to eliminate the opening cover in particular by setting the fastening position of the knee airbag module and the knee panel to a position in the opening area of the steering column cover and visible from the driver's seat side. . As a result, the appearance can be improved and the number of parts can be reduced.
[0011]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described using the same reference numerals for members that are substantially the same as or correspond to those of the conventional example, based on the drawings.
FIG. 1 shows the area around the knee airbag module mounting in the embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 shows an example of the knee airbag module mounting structure.
[0012]
1 and 2, a resin-made instrument panel lower 30 shields the interior of a switch mounting panel 31a on which various operation switches and the like are mounted, a center console panel 31b on which an air conditioner, audio, and the like are installed. And a cover panel 31c.
Between the edges of the cover panel 31c and the switch mounting panel 31a, a resin horizontal member 31d is interposed, and between the cover panel 31c and the switch mounting panel 31a. Is used as a region for accommodating the knee airbag module 10.
[0013]
For this reason, an accommodation recess 33 is formed in the instrument panel lower 30, and the accommodation recess 33 is formed in a bridge shape so as to surround the knee airbag module 10.
[0014]
The housing recess 33 is provided between the edge of the cover panel 31c and the edge of the switch mounting panel 31a, and is a side surface of the substantially rectangular knee airbag module 10 (package 11 described later), that is, an air bag. The knee airbag module 10 is housed in the housing recess 33 as indicated by the dotted line arrow. The side wall 33a, 33a, 33a surrounds the three surfaces except the bag door 10a and the bottom wall 33b located on the bottom surface. Is done.
[0015]
Next, the airbag module 10 is configured as shown in FIG. 3, for example, and an airbag door 10 a is attached to the front surface (driver's seat side) of the package 11 that is an airbag body that stores the airbag. The package 11 is formed in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, and a pair of brackets 12 and brackets 13 project from the upper and rear portions of the package 11, respectively.
[0016]
As shown in FIG. 3A, the brackets 12 and 12 have a base end portion 12a fixed to the package 11, a tip end portion 12b fastened to the knee panel 20 via a bolt or the like, and the base end portion 12a and the tip end portion. A slant piece 12c extending toward the occupant side, that is, the interior of a steering column cover 5 to be described later, is provided between the front end 12b and a hole 12d for fastening to the knee panel 20.
[0017]
Next, as shown in detail in FIG. 2, the metal knee panel 20 is directed rearward from a plate-like panel member 21 having a knee width of an occupant and an opening 22 cut out in an intermediate portal shape. And a cover 23 formed in a box shape. The cover 23 includes side wall portions 23a, 23a, 23a surrounding the side wall portion 33a of the housing recess 33 and an upper wall portion 23b positioned on the upper surface portion so as to cover the housing recess 33 from above.
Although the cover 23 has a substantially box shape, the cover 23 can be formed integrally with the knee panel 20 by pressing using a thin steel plate material or the like.
[0018]
The knee panel 20 is provided with a pair of holes 24 for fastening with the knee airbag module 10, and bolts through which the brackets 12 provided on the upper surface of the knee airbag module 10 are inserted into these holes 24, 24. The knee panel 20 and the knee airbag module 10 are connected. The knee panel 20 is arranged so that the fastening position with the knee airbag module 10 is set in the region S of the opening 2 of the steering column cover 5 as described later.
[0019]
Next, the arrangement relationship between the knee airbag module 10 and its peripheral components will be described. As shown in FIG. 4, the steering column 3 is disposed above the knee airbag module 10, and a steering handle 4 is mounted on the end of the steering column 3. The steering column 3 is covered with a steering column cover 5.
[0020]
Further, the knee airbag module 10 is fastened to the knee panel 20 via the bracket 12 in the region S of the opening 2 of the steering column cover 5, that is, inside the steering column cover 5 that can be seen from the driver's seat side. The knee panel 20 is fastened to a bracket (not shown) extending from the body side reinforcement 6.
[0021]
In this way, the knee airbag module 10 is fastened to the knee panel 20 so that it is disposed at a predetermined position in front of the occupant's knee. In this case, in the present invention, as shown in FIG. 1, the fastening position between the knee airbag module 10 and the knee panel 20, that is, the bracket 12 is set in the region S of the opening 3. For this reason, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, the fastening position is not exposed due to the appearance configuration around the knee airbag module 10, and thus the opening cover 100 (see FIG. 5) that has been conventionally required is eliminated. be able to. As a result, the appearance can be improved and the number of parts can be reduced.
[0022]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, in this type of knee airbag module mounting structure, the fastening position between the knee airbag module and the knee panel is set in the opening region of the steering column cover, so that the opening cover can be used. Abolition can improve the appearance and reduce the number of parts.
And there is an advantage that the cost can be greatly reduced by reducing the mold cost and the assembly man-hours.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a front view showing a configuration example around an airbag device in an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a mounting structure example of a knee airbag module in the embodiment of the present invention.
3A is a side view showing a configuration example of a knee airbag module according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3B is a front view.
FIG. 4 is a side sectional view showing a positional relationship between a knee airbag module and its peripheral components in the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a front view showing a configuration example around a conventional knee airbag module attachment.
[Explanation of symbols]
2 Opening portion 3 Steering column 4 Steering handle 5 Steering column cover 6 Reinforce 10 Airbag module 10a Airbag door 11 Package 12, 13 Bracket 12a Base end portion 12b Tip end portion 12c Oblique side 12d Hole 20 Knee panel 21 Panel member 22 Opening portion 23 Cover 23a Side wall portion 23b Upper wall portion 24 Hole 30 Instrument panel lower 31a Switch mounting panel 31b Center console panel 31c Cover panel 31d Horizontal member 33 Housing recess 33a Side wall portion 33b Bottom wall portion

Claims (3)

And the knee airbag module and the knee panel is disposed in an instrument panel lower rear side of the seat forward, opening of the steering column cover over the position of the knee airbag module is opened, engagement between the knee airbag module and the knee panel A fastening structure between a knee airbag module and a knee panel, characterized in that the position is set in the opening region and visible from the driver's seat side .   2. The knee airbag module according to claim 1, wherein the instrument panel lower has a housing recess capable of housing the knee airbag module, and a knee panel is disposed above the housing recess. 3. Fastening structure with knee panel. The knee airbag module and the knee panel according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the knee airbag module is fastened to the knee panel via a bracket and a bolt inserted through the bracket in the vehicle front-rear direction. Fastening structure.

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