Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha

Hitoshi Matsushima

Osamu Fukawatase

Kazuhiro Kawachi

Yasushi Itou

Tomoko Kurata

A knee airbag device for a vehicle, configured in such a manner that, when a knee airbag is inflated and expanded with the knees of a vehicle occupant located close to an airbag door, a load to the lower legs is reduced. A first tear section () for expanding a first airbag door () in the vehicle's top-bottom direction and a second tear section () for expanding a second airbag door () in the vehicle's lateral direction are formed on the rear surface side of a glove-box-door outer member (). The first tear section () is composed of a left and right pair of vertical tear sections () and a first horizontal tear section (). The second tear section () is composed of second lateral tear sections ().

Knee airbag device for vehicle

A knee airbag is provided to the lower part of a glove box door, and an airbag door provided to the glove box door opens in both upward and downward directions when the knee airbag expands. As the knee airbag expands, the rigidity of the lower part of the glove box door decreases, and this causes a relatively small reaction force, which corresponds to a relatively small load generated when the knees of an occupant having a relatively small body build make contact with the lower part, to be generated on the lower part of the glove box door. On the other hand, because the knee airbag is not provided to the upper part of the glove box door, the upper part can generate a relatively large reaction force which corresponds to a relatively large load generated when the knees of an occupant having a relatively large body build make contact with the upper part via the knee airbag.

Knee airbag for vehicle

A load on the shins when a knee airbag is deployed by inflating in a state in which the knees of an occupant are proximate to an airbag door or suchlike is moderated. Inside a knee airbag, an upper tether and a lower tether are disposed to sandwich an inflator from above and below. First opening portions and second opening portions for letting gas flow through up and down are alternatingly formed in the upper tether and the lower tether. The second opening portions are formed as circular holes with smaller diameters than the first opening portions. The second opening portions are disposed at positions opposing the knees of a small occupant in a sitting state.

A casingis coupled to an air bag door, and an air bag reaction force is loaded on the air bag doorvia the casing. Since the general portionof the air bag dooris fixed to the tear line outer portionof the glove door outer memberat the cabin-side surfaceand is fixed to the glove door inner memberat the opposite cabin-side surface, the reaction force of the air bag loaded on the air bag doorcan be borne by not only the fixing strength between the general portionof the air bag doorand the tear line outer portionof the glove door outer memberbut also the glove door inner memberuntil the air bagexpands to break the tear portion. As a result, the fixing portion between the general portionof the air bag doorand the tear line outer portionof the glove door outer memberis prevented from being broken.

Air bag apparatus for a vehicle

In a glove door-installed knee air bag apparatus, a stud bolt of an inflator is fixed to an inflator supporting member in a state that the stud bolt is inclined in a vertical direction relative to a general plane of a glove door inner member. Due to the structure, a thickness Wof an air bag module measured at the inflator installing portion is made small. The inflator supporting member includes a first portion and a second portion. In a case where a hook portion is formed in the first portion, the number of parts can be reduced. In a case where the inflator is located at a lower portion of a housing space, a handling force for opening and closing the glove door is light. In a case where the first portion comprises a bottom wall of the air bag casing and the second portion comprises a side wall of the air bag casing, the number of parts is reduced.

Glove door-installed knee air bag apparatus

An air bag door is developed quickly even if the clearance between the grab door outer and the knee of a crew or passenger is narrow when a tier type air bag door is employed in a knee air bag device for vehicle. A fracture portion () consisting of a lateral fracture portion (A) and longitudinal fracture portions (B,C) is formed in the grab door outer general portion (A). Thus, an air bag door () consisting of total six doors, i.e. an upper central air bag door (A), an upper left side air bag door (B), an upper right side air bag door (C), a lower central air bag door (D), a lower left side air bag door (E), and a lower right side air bag door (F), is formed. Even if both knees of the crewman or passenger of a small-sized build are arranged in proximity to or in contact with the lower left side air bag door (E) and the lower right side air bag door (F), the lower central air bag door (D) opens smoothly between both the knees in addition to the upper side air bag doors in the initial stage of development of the air bag door ().

Knee air bag device for vehicle

A knee airbag device for a vehicle is provided that is capable of effectively protecting both knees of a seat occupant, regardless of position, shape or the like of an airbag door relative to the seat. In a passenger seat knee airbag device, a tear line of an airbag door retainer is broken and airbag doors are deployed upward and downward by deployment force of a knee airbag that receives a gas supply from an inflator. Thus, the knee airbag is deployed toward the knees of the occupant through an aperture portion formed in the airbag door retainer. A tear line of a form that is non-symmetrical between left and right is formed in a retaining sheet that is for retaining the knee airbag in a folded state. Thus, timings of deployment of the airbag doors by inflation pressure of the knee airbag are caused to differ between a left side portion and a right side portion.

Knee airbag device for a vehicle

In a knee airbag device for a vehicle, which has upper and lower tethers that extend in a vehicle width direction and regulate a bag thickness of an airbag, and in which gas from an inflator is supplied between the upper and lower tethers, it is aimed to make a flow of the gas toward an upper portion and a lower portion from between the upper and lower tethers at the inside of the knee airbag smoother, and to improve deployability of the knee airbag in a vehicle vertical direction. Upper and lower tethersandare arranged to be separated from each other in the vehicle vertical direction and are formed so that a vertical clearance therebetween increases approaching both vehicle width direction end portionsA andA thereof. When the gas is supplied between the upper and lower tethersand, the gas spreads to both vehicle width direction sides along the tethersandand smoothly moves around into an upper portionA and a lower portionB of a knee airbagfrom both of the end portionsA andA of the tethersand

Growing community of inventors

Aichi, Japan

Hitoshi Matsushima