KNEE AIRBAG DEVICE FOR AN AUTOMOBILE

摘要

Axial forces on the shins of small-bodied occupants and medium-bodied occupants may be suppressed or prevented, and protective performance of the knee areas of large-bodied occupants is assured. A vehicle knee airbag device is equipped with a knee airbag main body portion that is formed in a thin bag shape and that inflates and expands from below to above along a design surface of an instrument panel floor when gas is supplied thereto. A protection portion of the knee airbag main body portion has a size capable of covering both knees of an occupant, from small-bodied occupants to large-bodied occupants. A U-shaped lower tether is disposed in an upper portion of the interior of the protection portion; vertical direction dividing portions of the lower tether extend to the upward side from portions that correspond with both knees of medium-bodied occupants.

主权项

1. A knee airbag device for a vehicle, comprising:
a gas generation portion that, at least one of when a frontal collision occurs or when a frontal collision is predicted, operates and generates gas; a knee airbag main body portion that is formed in a thin bag shape and that is inflated and expanded along a lower portion design surface of an instrument panel by gas being supplied from the gas generation portion, a size of the knee airbag main body portion being capable of covering both knee areas of an occupant, from small-bodied occupants to large-bodied occupants; and vertical direction dividing portions that are disposed inside the knee airbag main body portion, join an occupant side base cloth portion with an instrument panel side base cloth portion in a vehicle front-and-rear direction, and extend to a vehicle upward side from portions that correspond with both knee areas of a medium-bodied occupant, wherein the gas is supplied from the gas generation portion to the interior of a root portion of the knee airbag main body portion and hence flows along outer sides of left and right the vertical direction dividing portions.