Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha

Toyoda Gosei Co., Ltd.

Autoliv Development Ab

Toyota Gosei Co., Ltd.

Toyota Jidosha Kabuhsiki Kaisha

Akiyoshi Sanada

Osamu Fukawatase

Kenji Imamura

Kazuaki Bito

Yuichi Adachi

Tomoyuki Moro

Tetsu Mitsuo

Shuji Yamada

Hideaki Tanaka

Shigeru Hoshino

Yasushi Itou

Yasuhiko Fukuzumi

Tomotaka Kuroda

Naoki Tamura

Koji Usui

Eiji Nishikawa

Tetsu Matsuo

Kentaro Nakashima

Kazuhiro Nakayama

A connecting structure includes: a molding having a fixed portion that is fixed on an inner surface of a lower edge of a windshield glass, and a fitting portion that receives an engagement rib that protrudes downward from a location near an upper edge of a cowl louver, wherein the engagement rib and the fitting portion include slip-out prevention projections that prevent the engagement rib from slipping out. On both sides of the engagement rib are provided elastic lips and that are supported by the fitting portion, and these elastic lips extend in the extending direction of the engagement rib and press on the engagement rib at a side closer to a tip of the engagement rib than the slip-out prevention projections, these elastic lips press each other in opposite directions.

Connecting structure for windshield glass and cowl louver, molding for connecting structure for windshield glass and cowl louver, and combination structure for connecting structure

A passenger seat airbag apparatus includes: an airbag which is housed in a folded state inside an instrument panel, and which inflates toward a passenger with a supply of gas during a frontal collision of a vehicle, and which has a vent hole that can be opened and closed; a tether whose first end is linked to a periphery of the vent hole in the airbag, and which closes the vent hole due to tension that is caused when the airbag inflates; an actuator which has a first hole that a second end of the tether is passed through, and which discontinues a linked state of the tether by cutting the tether if a predetermined condition is satisfied; and a protective member that is attached to the actuator so as to cover at least an edge portion of the first hole, and that is interposed between the edge portion and the tether.

Passenger seat airbag apparatus

A knee airbag device includes a column cover that covers a rear end portion of a steering column from below; and an airbag module. The airbag module is disposed in a column lower cover and includes a gas generation portion that generates gas and a knee airbag that is housed in the airbag module in a folded state, and is inflated and deployed by the gas supplied by the gas generation portion. The airbag module is connected to the steering column by a snap-fit action.

Knee airbag device and connecting method thereof

A column-mounted knee airbag device in which a knee airbag can be correctly deployed even when the position of a steering column has changed due to a telescopic function. The column-mounted knee airbag device is equipped with a knee airbag folded inside a column cover covering a steering column main body having a telescopic function, and an inflator that generates gas when a vehicle impact is detected or predicted. The knee airbag opens an airbag door of a column cover by deployment pressure when supplied with gas, and deploys between an instrument panel and the knees of a driver. Gas ejection holes that supply gas from the inflator to the knee airbag are disposed, when viewed from the side with the steering column in a state positioned furthest to the front due to a telescopic function, further to the rear than the instrument panel in the vehicle front-rear direction.

Column-mounted knee airbag device

When a steering column contracts in order to absorb shock, interference between a column cover and a lock apparatus is suppressed, and a shock-absorbing stroke of the steering column is obtained. When a steering column contracts in order to absorb shock as a result of an input load equal to or greater than a predetermined value, a column cover that covers a rear end side of steering column, performs a stroke, together with a movable side region, relative to an outer tube (a fixed side region) of steering column, to which is fixed a lock apparatus. At this time, a side wall portion of column cover, which is positioned further to a vehicle rear than lock apparatus, enters between lock apparatus and outer tube of steering column, thereby suppressing interference between column cover and lock apparatus.

Steering column cover structure

A knee airbag device and a drive motor for an electric power steering device are mounted to a steering column so as to achieve improved mass balance about an instrument panel reinforcement member. A drive motor for an electric power steering device is mounted at a position at the vehicle front direction side with respect to an instrument panel reinforcement member, the opposite side to the side of a knee airbag device. Namely, the knee airbag device is mounted at the vehicle rear direction side with respect to the instrument panel reinforcement member, and the electric power steering device is mounted at the vehicle front direction side of the instrument panel reinforcement member.

Mounting structure of knee airbag device and electric power steering drive motor

In a knee airbag device mounted on a steering column, an opening that provides a workspace when a wire harness connector that extends from the steering column is connected to a wiring connector provided at one end portion of an inflator is formed in a side wall of a lower cover (or column cover) opposite the connector of the inflator. By using the opening, the connector of the wire harness may be easily connected to the connector of the inflator, which is mounted transversely with respect to the axial direction of the steering column. The opening is closed by a lid.

Steering column mounted knee airbag device

Rapidly constraining the knees of a driver, even for a steering column structure with plural obstructions projecting below the rear end side of the steering column, while also suppressing or preventing any detriment to column collapse operation during a frontal collision; the steering column is fixed to the vehicle body side with a lower bracket, an upper bracket and a housing, and a combination switch is disposed at the rear end side of an inner tube; lower portions are disposed in a state so as to protrude below a column tube and face each other, so that an airbag module is installed in an installation space between the two portions; a module case is manufactured from a fabric, and the airbag module is attached at a position in the vicinity of the combination switch through a rear attachment bracket.

The invention has the object of increasing workability of an attachment operation of a knee airbag module of a column-mounted knee airbag device. When fixing a knee airbag module to a lower portion outer peripheral surface of a steering column, it is possible to perform the fixing from a vehicle upper side and a vehicle rear side of the steering column, using a space between an instrument panel (interior member) at a vehicle upper side of the steering column and a combination switch provided at a rear end side of the steering column. Accordingly, when performing an attachment operation of the knee airbag module to the steering column, an operator does not have to enter from a lower side of the steering column.

A knee airbag device includes an airbag module and an airbag door. The airbag module, which is provided inside a column cover that covers the rear end portion of a steering column, includes a gas generation device that generates gas when a collision occurs, and a knee airbag that is inflated and deployed from a folded state when the knee airbag receives the gas from the gas generation device. The airbag door, which is provided in the lower portion of the column cover, is opened when the inflation pressure of the knee airbag is equal to or higher than a predetermined value. When the knee airbag is deployed, at least a portion of the airbag door is positioned between an interfering object that is positioned in an area on the side of the column cover, and at least a portion of the knee airbag.

Knee airbag device

The knee-protecting airbag apparatus includes an airbag folded and housed in a lower area inside the column cover. The airbag pushes and opens a door section on the column cover upon deployment. When the door section is thus opened, a door of the door section blocks off an allowance gap formed between an outer circumference of the column cover subjected to position adjustment and a lower area of a peripheral region of an installation opening on a dashboard for installing the column cover by locating a rear edge region of the door to abut on a rear side of the dashboard or the lower area of the peripheral region of the installation opening on the rear side of the dashboard.

Knee-protecting airbag apparatus

An airbag device includes: a bag body that is deployed by internal pressure rising as a gas is supplied into the bag body; and a gas pressure adjustment portion that is provided on the bag body so as to be able to release the gas from the inside of the bag body during a deployed state of the bag body, and that is set so that the amount of the gas released from the bag body in the deployed state to an inward side in a vehicle width direction is larger than the amount of the gas released from the bag body in the deployed state to an outward side in the vehicle width direction.

Airbag device

A knee airbag device mounted on a steering column has an inner case in which a folded knee airbag is housed, and an outer case that is placed over the inner case. The outer case is fixed to a lower side of a vehicle-rear-side portion of a steering column that moves relative to a vehicle-front-side portion when a load equal to or greater than a threshold load is applied to the steering column in a direction of the axis of the steering column, and has a rigidity with which the shape of the folded knee airbag is maintained under normal conditions. The outer case has an opening formed in a region where the outer case would interfere with the vehicle-front-side portion when the vehicle-rear-side portion moves relative to the vehicle-front-side portion.

A vehicle airbag device includes: an airbag which is housed in a folded state when a gas generation portion is not activated, and which inflates and deploys by receiving gas when the gas generation portion is activated, and whose two side portions are provided with gas outlet vent holes; and a tether that includes pair of left and right side portions extending along internal side surfaces of the two side portions of the airbag, and an intermediate portion interconnecting occupant-side end portions of the pair of left and right side portions. The airbag devices closes the vent holes by moving the pair of left and right side portions relative to the internal side surfaces of the two side portions of the airbag when the pressing force on the intermediate portion of the tether is greater than or equal to a predetermined value.

Growing community of inventors

Nishikamo-gun, Japan

Akiyoshi Sanada