A knee airbag for vehicles is provided. The knee airbag includes a lower crash pad that has a panel shape to block a steering column to prevent exposure of the steering column to an indoor space of a vehicle, and includes a housing unit having recesses dented toward the steering column such that the housing unit is spaced apart from the steering column by a designated distance. An airbag module of the knee airbag includes an inflator and a cushion and contained in the housing unit of the lower crash pad to deploy the cushion toward a driver's knee outside the lower crash pad when the cushion is deployed by explosion of the inflator.

An assembly includes a front console having a panel. The assembly includes a torsion bar fixed relative to the front console. The assembly includes a gear fixed to the torsion bar. The assembly includes a rack including teeth meshed with the gear, the rack extending toward the panel.

A knee airbag apparatus includes an airbag that is configured to be accommodated in a holder arranged in an instrument panel of a vehicle. The airbag includes an upper inflation portion and a lower inflation portion. The upper inflation portion is configured to be deployed and inflated from the holder along a rear surface of the instrument panel in a rear upward direction to protect a knee of a lea of the occupant. The lower inflation portion is configured to be deployed and inflated from the holder in a downward direction or a diagonally rear downward direction such that a lower end of the lower inflation portion reaches a position where the lower end contacts an instep of a foot of the leg of the occupant or a position lower than the instep to protect the foot of the occupant.

A restraint system for helping to protect an occupant of a vehicle having a roof and a cabin with a seat for the occupant includes an airbag having a stored condition within a base of the vehicle seat and being inflatable to deploy upwards in the cabin and between legs of the occupant to a deployed condition in front of the occupant. The airbag including a lower end having a pair of projections spaced apart in a forward-rearward direction of the vehicle. The airbag being configured to utilize the vehicle seat as a reaction surface for restraining the movement of the airbag in response to occupant penetration into the airbag.

Driver-side knee airbags, for vehicles, are described herein. One airbag has at least one cushion pack. Each cushion pack has an airbag cushion to be deployed. The airbag has an inflator. The inflator is outside of and coupled to the cushion pack, and is for inflating the airbag cushion. The cushion pack is dimensioned to be positioned below the steering column of the vehicle. Another airbag has a single cushion pack. The single cushion pack has a single airbag cushion to deploy. An inflator is inside the single airbag cushion. The single cushion pack is dimensioned to mount in a vertical orientation offset to one side of the steering column of the vehicle. In multiple versions of the airbag, an inflator is dimensioned to mount offset to one side of the steering column of the vehicle.

A vehicle comprises: a knee bolster; a movable obstruction disposed forward of the knee bolster; a seating assembly rearward of the knee bolster; a sensor that generates output; and a controller in communication with the sensor that (a) determines the attribute of the passenger from the output that the sensor generates, and (b) either (i) causes the movable obstruction to obstruct forward movement of the knee bolster based on the determined attribute of the passenger, or (ii) causes the movable obstruction not to obstruct the forward movement of the knee bolster based on the determined attribute of the passenger. The attribute of the passenger can be the weight of the passenger. The controller can cause the movable obstruction to obstruct forward movement of the knee bolster because the weight of the passenger is greater than a predetermined threshold weight.

An assembly includes a steering wheel having a hub rotatable about a rotational axis and a rim spaced radially from the hub. The assembly includes a first airbag supported by the hub and inflatable from an uninflated position to an inflated position. The assembly includes a second airbag inflatable from an uninflated position to an inflated position. The second airbag extending annularly around the rotational axis. The first airbag and the second airbag being spaced from each other along the rotational axis when the first airbag and the second airbag are in the uninflated position. The rim being between the first airbag and the second airbag when the first airbag and the second airbag are in the inflated position.

An airbag system for restraining a lower body of a vehicle occupant during a collision event and a method for deploying the same are disclosed. The airbag system includes a panel and a restraining airbag. The panel defines a support surface that is adapted to be deployed from a first configuration to a second configuration responsive to the collision event. In the first configuration, the panel forms part of an instrument panel of a vehicle and, in the second configuration, the panel is at least partially separated from the instrument panel of the vehicle. The restraining airbag is adapted to be deployed adjacent to the support surface of the panel between the support surface and the lower body of the vehicle occupant responsive to the collision event.

A vehicle body structure has: a front plate portion that faces in a vehicle front-rear direction; an inclined portion that obliquely descends rearward from a lower end of the front plate portion and is coupled to a floor panel making up a floor surface of a cabin; an arch-shaped portion located at outer end portions in a vehicle width direction of the front plate portion and the inclined portion and makes up a wheel arch-shaped rear portion of a tire house; a front side frame located inward of the arch-shaped portion in the vehicle width direction and extends from the front plate portion to the inclined portion in the vehicle front-rear direction; and a reinforcement panel placed over the arch-shaped portion. The reinforcement panel is disposed outward in the vehicle width direction of an innermost portion in the vehicle width direction in the arch-shaped portion.

A knee airbag device includes: an airbag case disposed at a lower face part of an instrument panel; a knee airbag accommodated within the airbag case in a folded state, the knee airbag inflating and deploying toward a vehicle rear side and a vehicle upper side upon being supplied with gas; and an airbag door part disposed at a vehicle lower side of the airbag case, the airbag door part having a substantially U-shaped rupture target part, the rupture target part is open toward a vehicle front side as seen in a plan view, at a portion, of a bottom wall part configuring a vehicle lower side face of the airbag door part, disposed rearward of an intermediate part of the airbag door part in a vehicle front-rear direction, and the portion of the bottom wall part disposed rearward of the intermediate part opening toward a vehicle lower side upon rupture of the rupture target part caused by inflation pressure of the knee airbag.