Knee airbag device for vehicle

• US 20080106080A1
• Filed: 11/05/2007
• Published: 05/08/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 11/07/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Moro, Tomoyuki, Sanada, Akiyoshi, Imamura, Kenji, Fukawatase, Osamu
• Granted Patent: US 7,744,117 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 280/730.1
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2021/23169 specially adapted for knee protection
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2021/23316 Inner seams, e.g. creating separate compartments or used as tethering means
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2021/23382 Internal tether means
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/231 characterised by their shape, construction or spatial configuration
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/2338 Tethers

Abstract

A knee airbag device for a vehicle includes a gas generation portion that is operated to generate gas; a knee airbag that is disposed in a folded state at a predetermined position in a vehicle, wherein when the knee airbag receives the gas, the knee airbag is inflated and deployed toward an area below a steering column so that the knee airbag is disposed between knees of an occupant and a lower portion of an instrument panel; and a thickness regulation member that is provided in the knee airbag at a position in a contact portion that contacts each of the knees of the occupant, and that regulates the thickness of the knee airbag such that the thickness of the knee airbag at the position in the contact portion is smaller than the thickness of the knee airbag in a portion other than the contact portion.

Claims

1. A knee airbag device for a vehicle, comprising:

a gas generation portion that is disposed in a vehicle, and that is operated to generate gas;

a knee airbag that is stored in a folded state at a predetermined position in the vehicle, wherein when the knee airbag receives the gas, the knee airbag is inflated and deployed toward an area below a steering column so that the knee airbag is disposed between knees of an occupant and a lower portion of an instrument panel; and

a thickness regulation member that is provided in the knee airbag at a position in a contact portion that contacts each of the knees of the occupant, and that regulates a thickness of the knee airbag such that the thickness of the knee airbag at the position in the contact portion is smaller than the thickness of the knee airbag at a portion other than the contact portion.

2. The knee airbag device according to claim 1, wherein:

the knee airbag further includes an instrument panel-side foundation cloth positioned close to an instrument panel, and an occupant-side foundation cloth positioned close to the occupant; and

the thickness regulation member is a pinched portion formed by joining together the instrument panel-side foundation cloth and the occupant-side foundation cloth at the position in the contact portion.

3. The knee airbag device according to claim 2, wherein:

the knee airbag is formed by sewing together the instrument panel-side foundation cloth and the occupant-side foundation cloth at a peripheral portion; and

when the instrument panel-side foundation cloth and the occupant-side foundation cloth are sewn together at the peripheral portion, the pinched portion is formed by sewing the instrument panel-side foundation cloth and the occupant-side foundation cloth toward an inside of the knee airbag at the position in the contact portion.

4. The knee airbag device according to claim 1, wherein:

the knee airbag further includes an instrument panel-side foundation cloth positioned close to an instrument panel, and an occupant-side foundation cloth positioned close to the occupant; and

the thickness regulation member is a connection member made of cloth, which connects the instrument panel-side foundation cloth and the occupant-side foundation cloth in a direction of the thickness of the knee airbag, and which restricts the thickness of the knee airbag at the position in the contact portion.

5. The knee airbag device according to claim 1, wherein:

the knee airbag further includes an instrument panel-side foundation cloth positioned close to an instrument panel, and an occupant-side foundation cloth positioned close to the occupant; and

the thickness regulation member is an indentation which is formed in a peripheral portion of the knee airbag at the position in the contact portion, and which is indented toward an inside of the knee airbag, wherein the peripheral portion of the knee airbag is formed by joining the instrument panel-side foundation cloth and the occupant-side foundation cloth at each periphery of the instrument panel-side foundation cloth and the occupant-side foundation cloth.

6. The knee airbag device according to claim 5, wherein:

the indentation is formed by sewing together the instrument panel-side foundation cloth and the occupant-side foundation cloth, each of which has a shape indented toward the inside of the knee airbag at the position in the contact portion.

7. The knee airbag device according to claim 1, wherein the knee airbag is stored in the folded state inside a column cover for the steering column.