Patent ID: 6962367

Claim:
In a vehicle safety device for protecting a passenger's legs in the event of a vehicle collision including an impact sheet, swivel levers each having a first end and a second end, pivotally connected at their second ends to the impact sheet at spaced locations, and at their first ends to fixed vehicle structure so that the swivel levers control the movement of the impact sheet from a retracted position away from the legs of the passenger to a protracted position toward the legs of the passenger in the event of a collision to protect the passenger, and a device responsive to a collision to activate the swivel levers into the protracted position, the improvement comprising a bearing fixed to the vehicle structure, an elongated load absorber having a first end and a second end, with the first end pivotally attached at an angle to the impact sheet and the second end containing a slot slidably and pivotally mounted relative to the bearing fixed to the vehicle structure, the slot in said load absorber having a configuration to function as a reverse lock, and the load absorber containing a permanently deformable section that will deform permanently to provide an optimum absorbency and deceleration of the passenger's kinetic energy in the event of a vehicle collision.