Knee bolster with variable resistance to forward force

A vehicle comprising:

• a support structure;
• a knee bolster comprising a first section coupled to the support structure and a second section that is not coupled to the support structure;
• an axle rotatable about an axis;
• a movable obstruction attached to the axle, the movable obstruction disposed forward of the knee bolster;
• a seating assembly rearward of the knee bolster;
• a sensor that generates output from which an attribute of a passenger of the seating assembly can be determined;
• 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 by causing the axle to rotate thereby causing the movable obstruction to move from a non-obstructing position that does not obstruct forward movement of the second section of the knee bolster to an obstructing position that obstructs forward movement of the second section of the knee bolster, or (ii) causes the movable obstruction not to obstruct the forward movement of the knee bolster based on the determined attribute of the passenger by causing the axle to rotate thereby causing the movable obstruction to move from the obstructing position that obstructs forward movement of the second section of the knee bolster to the non-obstructing position that does not obstruct forward movement of the second section of the knee bolster.

A vehicle comprising:

• an upper cross beam extending laterally across the vehicle;
• a lower cross beam extending laterally across the vehicle, the lower cross beam being horizontally below the upper cross beam;
• a pyrotechnic device attached to the lower cross beam;
• an axle projecting forward from the lower cross beam;
• a pulley attached to the axle and having an axis of rotation coincident with an axis of the axle;
• a cable including a first end attached to the pyrotechnic device and a second end attached to the pulley;
• a knee bolster including an upper end attached to the upper cross beam and a lower end proximate the lower cross beam but not attached thereto;
• a movable obstruction attached to the axle forward of the pulley, the movable obstruction having an obstructing position forward of the lower end of the knee bolster so as to resist forward movement of the lower end of the knee bolster, and a non-obstructing position that does not resist forward movement of the lower end of the knee bolster;
• a seating assembly including a weight sensor;
• an impact sensor;
• and
• a controller in communication with the weight sensor, the impact sensor, and the pyrotechnic device.