Calsonic Kansei Corporation

Keigo Hayata

Tsutomu Kawashima

Nobuhiro Nagata

Yorihito Okuda

Yoshiharu Nakamura

Shin Moteki

The present invention relates to a knee protector structure for a vehicle. The present invention intends to make it possible to positively prevent an upper absorption bracket from being deformed with a tensile force exerted through a connecting bracket when a lower absorption bracket is deformed with knee input energy of a small-statured vehicle occupant. The knee protector structure for a vehicle according to the present invention comprises a lower absorption bracketable to absorb knee input energy of a small-statured vehicle occupant, an upper absorption bracketable to absorb knee input energy of a vehicle occupant of an average constitution, a connecting bracketfor connection between input-side end portionsandof the lower absorption bracketand the upper absorption bracket, and tensile force absorbing meansdisposed near the input-side end portionof the upper absorption bracketand able to absorb a tensile forceexerted from the connecting bracket

Knee protector structure for vehicle

An impact absorbing knee bolster is provided with an impact absorbing structure and a knee bolster main body plate. The impact absorbing structure includes a pair of upper brackets having a first impact deformation load threshold and a pair of lower brackets having a second impact deformation load threshold that is lower than the first impact deformation load threshold. The knee bolster main body plate includes bracket attachment parts contacting the upper and lower brackets with a prescribed gap formed between rear end parts of the upper and lower brackets. The knee bolster main body plate includes a deformation load reducing structure at a location adjacent at least one of the bracket attachment portion to reduce an impact deformation load threshold of the knee bolster main body plate so that a resulting receiving reaction force of the impact absorbing knee bolster is reduced when the lower brackets are deformed.

Growing community of inventors

Tokyo, Japan

Keigo Hayata