Kabushiki Kaisha Tokai Rika Denki Seisakusho

Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha

Mitsubishi Jidosha Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha

Shinji Hara

Yuki Sato

Takayuki Aoki

Masahiro Kato

Nobuyuki Ishigure

Ryusuke Ohta

Toshihiko Kosugi

Tadashi Usuya

Shinji Matsubara

Akio Nishiyama

Mutsuo Muramatsu

Mikiharu Shimoda

Toshiaki Isogai

Yohei Mabashi

Toyoaki Kato

Shigeyuki Nozumi

Tsunenori Kishimoto

A lever operation device includes an operation lever which rotates integrally with a steering wheel of a vehicle and receives operations at least in upward and downward directions and around which a predetermined region is set so as to prevent the operation lever from contacting with a leg of a user seated in a driver's seat when the steering wheel is rotated to a maximum steering angle, and an operation portion that is arranged on the operation lever so as not to be located out of the region and includes plural operating positions each assigned an executable function.

Lever operation device

A switch device includes a switch body, which is attached to and rotated integrally with an irregularly-shaped steering unit, and a lever unit, which is held pivotally about a switch body. The lever unit includes a lever shaft including a base, which extends in a direction intersecting the steering shaft, and an arm, which is formed integrally with the base and extends in a direction that differs from the direction in which the base extends. The lever unit also includes a lever head at the distal end of the lever shaft, and the lever head extends from the lever shaft in the width direction, which intersects an axial direction.

Switch device

A switch device includes a switch body, which is arranged at the back side of a steering unit, and a lever unit, which is attached to the switch body to allow for switching by a pivotal operation about a first axis, which extends in the axial direction of a steering shaft. The lever unit includes a lever shaft, which extends in a direction intersecting the first axis of the pivotal operation, a lever head, which is arranged at the distal end of the lever shaft and has a larger dimension than the diameter of the lever shaft, and a push operation unit, which allows for switching by a push operation. The push operation unit is arranged so that the operation direction of the push operation is directed toward the first axis.

A knee bolster whose load receiving parts absorb load from the knees of seated occupants of various physical sizes is provided. An upper knee bolster and a lower knee bolster are each provided with a load receiving part that receives load from the knees of a seated occupant who moves forward in the direction of vehicle length in the event of a vehicle head-on collision, and a deforming part that moves the load receiving part, which has been deformed by the load, forward in the direction of vehicle length.

Knee bolster

The present invention comprises a column support fixed to a deck cross member extending along a width of a vehicle; a steering column supported by the column support; a column bracket disposed about an axis of the steering column in such a manner as to widen toward a front part of the vehicle, both ends of the column bracket being fixed to a body of the vehicle; and knee absorbers disposed at both sides of the column bracket, each of the knee absorbers having a base end fixed to the deck cross member and a front end facing the knees of an occupant, the front end coming into contact with the knees of the occupant. When the vehicle crashes, the occupant and his or her knees move forward to collide with the column bracket. The column bracket, however, is not displaced since both ends of the column bracket are fixed to the body of the vehicle. The knees of the occupant are guided forward along the surface of the column bracket to the right and left knee absorbers. This prevents the deformation of the steering column, and prevents the disturbance of the contracting function of a steering system for absorbing the impact energy. Moreover, the knee absorbers buckle and deform when the knees collide with them, and this results in the absorption of the impact energy to reduce the load that is applied to the knees. It is therefore possible to protect the knees of the occupant.

Occupant's knee protection system

Growing community of inventors

Aichi, Japan

Shinji Hara