Vehicle Knee Protection Bracket Crease Design
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Solution Overview
Problem
Achieving high accuracy in attaching the upper bracket to the instrument panel reinforcement in vehicle occupant knee protection apparatuses is challenging due to potential errors in welding and dimensional inaccuracies of the lower bracket, affecting the positioning and effectiveness of the knee bolster structure.
Innovation Solution
The vehicle occupant knee protection apparatus features a design where the upper bracket is fixed to the instrument panel reinforcement with multiple creases arranged in a longitudinal row, allowing for easy and accurate attachment, and includes a knee airbag module positioned near the lower bracket to manage reactive forces during deployment, reducing the bending moment on the lower bracket and enabling efficient load absorption.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If both the upper bracket and lower bracket are welded to the instrument panel reinforcement, then the knee bolster structure can be assembled, but attachment accuracy deteriorates due to cumulative welding errors and dimensional variations
Solution Approach 1:
The knee bolster structure is divided into separate upper bracket and lower bracket components that are pre-assembled as a subassembly, then collectively attached to the instrument panel reinforcement. This segmentation allows for easier manufacturing and assembly while maintaining accuracy through the subassembly approach.
Solution Approach 2:
The upper bracket and lower bracket are pre-assembled into a subassembly before being attached to the instrument panel reinforcement. This preliminary action allows for quality control and positioning adjustments to be made before final installation, ensuring high attachment accuracy while simplifying the overall manufacturing process.
2Reliability
If the upper bracket is designed with multiple creases for load absorption, then occupant knee protection performance improves, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The upper bracket incorporates multiple creases that change the structural parameters of the bracket, allowing it to deform in a controlled manner during impact. These creases create predetermined bending zones that absorb impact energy while maintaining overall structural integrity, improving knee protection without requiring complex additional components.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This design ensures high accuracy and effectiveness in attaching the upper bracket, enhances the rigidity and weight reduction of the lower bracket, and provides multi-stage bending characteristics to the upper bracket, effectively protecting the occupant's knees during collisions while maintaining structural integrity.
Implementation Method 1
the upper bracket has the multiple creases arranged in a longitudinal row. Thus, when the knees of the occupant hit against the knee panel upon a collision of the vehicle, the upper bracket bends at the multiple creases and thereby absorbs the impact on the knees
Data Source
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AI summary
A vehicle occupant knee protection apparatus is provided in which the front end of an upper bracket is fixed to an instrument panel reinforcement, and a lower bracket and a knee panel are supported by the instrument panel reinforcement via the upper bracket. Thus, the vehicle occupant knee protection apparatus may be attached to the instrument panel reinforcement by, for example, preparing a subassembly by fixing the lower bracket and the knee panel to the upper bracket, and then fixing only the front end of the upper bracket to the instrument panel reinforcement.