JP2003089333A - Hood air bag system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent lowering of ventilation performance at the inside and outside of a cabin to be performed through a cowl part. SOLUTION: An air bag case 34 stored with an air bag body 12 in a folded state therein is disposed on a lower surface 16B side (engine room 18 side) at a rear end part 16A in a hood 16 of a vehicle body 14. An upper wall part 34A of the air bag case 34 is abutted on the lower surface 16B at the rear end part 16A in the hood 16. In the vicinity of a rear end in the upper wall part 34A of the air bag case 34, a recessed part having a triangular shape in cross section is formed from a lower side of the vehicle and is made as a breaking part 76 when inflating/the air bag body 12.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a hood airbag device, and more particularly to a hood airbag device having an airbag bag body that inflates and deploys on a hood of a vehicle such as an automobile.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an example of a hood airbag apparatus having an airbag bag body which is inflated and deployed on a hood of a vehicle such as an automobile is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 108903/1995.

As shown in FIG. 9, in this hood airbag device, a pedestrian collision detection sensor 102 attached to the front bumper 100, and when the pedestrian collision detection sensor 102 detects a collision with a pedestrian, An airbag bag body 106 that inflates and deploys on the rear portion 104A of the hood 104.

[0004]

However, in this hood airbag device, as shown in FIG. 10, an airbag device 112 having a backup plate 108 for accommodating the airbag bag body 106 and an inflator 110 is provided. The spacer 114 is arranged in the lower portion and is arranged in the cowl portion 116 of the vehicle body. Therefore,
The air bag device 112 and the spacer 114 obstruct the air flow inside the cowl portion 116, and the ventilation performance inside and outside the vehicle through the cowl portion 116 is reduced.

In view of the above facts, an object of the present invention is to obtain a hood airbag device which can prevent the deterioration of the ventilation performance inside and outside the vehicle, which is performed through the cowl portion.

[0006]

A hood airbag apparatus according to the present invention as set forth in claim 1 has an airbag case which accommodates an airbag bag and is disposed on the engine room side at the rear end of the hood. It is characterized by

Therefore, the air bag case accommodating the air bag body is arranged on the engine room side at the rear end of the hood, so that it is not necessary to dispose the air bag case in the cowl portion. As a result, it is possible to prevent a decrease in ventilation performance inside and outside the vehicle, which is caused by disposing the airbag case in the cowl portion and is performed through the cowl portion. Further, since the airbag case can be hidden at the rear end portion of the hood, the appearance quality is improved.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the hood airbag apparatus according to the first aspect, the airbag case is formed at a position where a rupture portion that breaks when the airbag bag is deployed is covered by the hood. It is characterized by

Therefore, in addition to the contents described in claim 1,
Since the broken portion of the airbag case that breaks when the airbag body is deployed is formed at the position covered by the hood, the hood itself serves as a shielding material that covers the broken portion of the airbag case. As a result, the fractured portion of the airbag case is not directly exposed to rainwater or sunlight, and it is possible to prevent cracks or the like from occurring at the fractured portion of the airbag case due to deterioration of the material, and the waterproof performance is improved.

[0010]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION A first embodiment of a hood airbag device according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

In the figure, an arrow FR indicates a vehicle front direction, an arrow UP indicates a vehicle upward direction, and an arrow IN indicates a vehicle width inner direction.

As shown in FIG. 2, in the present embodiment, the airbag bag body 12 of the hood airbag apparatus (also referred to as a pedestrian protection airbag apparatus) 10 is folded inside a resin-made airbag case 34. And is disposed on the engine room 18 side of the rear end portion 16A of the hood 16 of the vehicle body 14. Further, the hood airbag device 10 includes a sensor 22 incorporated near the surface of the front bumper 20, and the sensor 22 detects the deformation when the front bumper 20 comes into contact with a leg or the like of a pedestrian. It has become.

The sensor 22 is connected to the control device 24, and the control device 24 combines the output signal from the sensor 22 and the vehicle speed signal, and when it is judged that the accident is a running hood airbag device. An operating current is supplied to 10. When an operating current flows through the hood airbag device 10, the inflator 30 of the hood airbag device 10 is ignited to generate gas,
This gas is sent to the airbag bag 12.

The airbag bag 12 includes an inflator 30.
The gas from the upper surface of the rear end portion 16A of the hood 16 and the front end portion 36 of the front windshield glass 36.
It is designed to expand and spread across the upper surface of A. Further, the inflated and expanded shape of the airbag 12 is determined by the connecting portion 38 formed in the vehicle front-rear direction by sewing, adhesion or the like.
The air bag 12 is divided into a plurality of tubular portions 40 that are long in the vehicle front-rear direction, and the center portion of the airbag bag 12 in the front-rear direction forms a gas flow passage 42 that communicates in the vehicle width direction.

The driver's seat side portion 1 of the air bag body 12
In 2A, the rearward length of the tubular portion 40 is shorter than the rearward length of the tubular portion 40 in the passenger seat side portion 12B, so that the driver's field of view can be ensured to the minimum and the passenger seat side can be secured. The pedestrian protection range can be expanded.

As shown in FIG. 1, the hood 16 is composed of a hood outer panel 52 and a hood inner panel 54. The hood outer panel 52 is attached to a flange 54A formed at the rear end edge of the hood inner panel 54.
The vehicle rear end edge portion 52A is fixed by hemming. In addition, the upper wall portion 34A of the airbag case 34
Is in contact with the lower surface 16B of the rear end portion 16A of the hood 16.

As shown in FIG. 3, the air bag case 3
Reference numeral 4 denotes a box-shaped upper airbag case 56 that extends downward in the vehicle width direction, and a bottom portion 58 that closes the lower opening of the upper airbag case 56. The bag case 56 and the bottom portion 58 are connected to each other at their rear edge portions to form an integral structure. Further, after the folded airbag bag body 12 is housed in the airbag case 34, the periphery of the upper airbag case 56 and the periphery of the bottom portion 58, that is, the joint portion 34G on the side surface of the airbag case 34 and the joint portion on the front side. 34H are respectively joined and sealed by an adhesive, and the front joint portion 3
As shown in FIG. 1, 4H is below the hood 16 and in front of the hood toe cowl shield 80, that is, on the seal side with respect to rainwater.

The attachment flange 56A formed on the front end edge of the upper airbag case 56 and the attachment flange 58A formed on the front end edge of the bottom portion 58, which are joined to each other and sealed by an adhesive, are sealed. 34, a mounting flange 34B is formed, and a plurality of mounting holes 60 are formed in the mounting flange 34B along the vehicle width direction. A well-known inflator 30 is arranged along the vehicle width direction on the vehicle front side of the mounting flange 34B of the airbag case 34. Also, the inflator 3
The pipe 32 extending from 0 passes through the connecting portion 86 formed on the flange 34B of the airbag case 34,
Airbag bag body 1 stored in the airbag case 34
It is connected to 2. The inflator 30 is fixed to the hood inner panel 5 shown in FIG.
It is fixed at 4.

As shown in FIG. 1, the airbag case 3
4 in the mounting hole 60 formed in the mounting flange 34B,
A bolt 64 is inserted from below, and this bolt 64
Is screwed into a weld nut 68 fixed to the upper surface side of the hood inner panel 54 through a mounting hole 66 formed in the hood inner panel 54. Therefore, the airbag case 34 is fixed by the bolt 64 and the weld nut 68.
It is attached to the lower surface side of the hood inner panel 54.

A cowl louver panel 74 made of resin is fixed on a cowl upper panel 72 constituting the upper portion of the cowl portion 70 of the vehicle by bolts or the like (not shown). In the vicinity of the rear end of the upper wall portion 34A of the airbag case 34, a recessed portion having a triangular cross section is formed from the vehicle lower side to form a broken portion 76.
It faces the lower surface 16B at the rear end portion 16A of the hood 16.

Therefore, the broken portion 76 is formed in the airbag bag body 1.
When the air bag 2 is inflated and deployed, as shown in FIG. 4, it is ruptured by the inflation pressure of the air bag body 12, and the air bag case 34 has the rear wall portion 3 shown in FIG.
Using the lower end 34D of 4C as a hinge, the rear portion 34F and the rear wall portion 34C of the upper wall portion 34A expand rearward of the vehicle, and the lower wall portion 34F rotates downward around the boundary with the flange 34B. Has become.

Since the rupture portion 76 is formed at a portion of the upper wall portion 34A of the airbag case 34 facing the lower surface 16B side of the rear end portion 16A of the hood 16, the rupture portion 76 is cracked due to time-dependent deformation or the like. Even in the case of occurrence of water, the rear end portion 16A of the hood 16 can prevent water from entering through the cracks.

A rear wall portion 34 of the airbag case 34 is also provided.
The upper end of C is the lower surface 16B of the rear end 16A of the hood 16.
When a load is applied to the airbag case 34 from below, the load is received by the rear wall portion 34C of the airbag case 34, so that the break portion 76 of the airbag case 34 is broken and rainwater, etc. Can be prevented from entering.

Front end portion 74A of the cowl louver panel 74
Is extended from the front wall portion 72A of the cowl upper panel 72 toward the front of the vehicle, and the hood toe cowl shield 80 is disposed above the front end portion 74A of the cowl louver panel 74. The hood toe cowl shield 80 is in contact with the lower wall portion 34F of the airbag case 34, so that the air in the engine room 18 passes between the airbag case 34 and the front end portion 74A of the cowl louver panel 74 and the passenger compartment. It is prevented from flowing into 84. The airbag case 34 is located above an opening 75 formed in the cowl louver panel 74 and the cowl upper panel 72.

The folded shape of the air bag body 12 is such that the fold 16 is located on the upper surface of the rear end portion 16A of the hood 16.
The front end portion 36A of the front windshield glass 36 that is housed behind the portion 12D has a roll shape in which the front end side of the deployment direction 2D is wound around the lower side of the vehicle.
The folded shape of the portion 12E that is deployed on the upper surface of the is a bellows shape (or a roll shape in which the leading end side in the unfolding direction, which is not shown, is wound around the vehicle upper side).

Therefore, when the airbag bag body is deployed, the rolled portion 12D of the airbag bag body 12 has the hood 1.
6 so as to crawl along the upper surface of the rear end portion 16A, so that the bellows-shaped portion 12E extends so as to cover the upper surface of the front end portion 36A of the front windshield glass 36 from a relatively distant position. Has become.

Further, the inflated and expanded shape of the air bag body 12 is divided into a plurality of tubular portions 40 which are long in the vehicle front-rear direction, as indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. As a result, as shown in FIG. 4, a force is exerted on the inflated and expanded air bag body 12 to inflate upward in the central portion in the front-rear direction as shown by arrow A in FIG. The airbag bag body 12 has a rear end portion 16A of the hood 16.
And the upper surface of the front end portion 36A of the front windshield glass 36.

As shown in FIG. 5, the air bag body 12
Folds a piece of cloth 88 into a T-shape in cross section and sewes the outer peripheral portion with sewing thread 90. The connecting portion 38 (see FIG. 2) forming the plurality of tubular portions 40 is, for example, the sewing thread 9
2 is sewn and the gas from the inflator is formed in the central portion of the airbag bag 12 in the front-rear direction.
It is supposed to be done through.

In the driver's seat side portion 12A of the airbag 12 and the central portion 12C corresponding to the vicinity of the wiper pipepot in the center in the vehicle width direction, the sewing thread 92 has a front end edge portion of the airbag 12 and a sewing thread 92. A gap 93 through which gas passes does not reach the rear edge portion. Further, at the root of the tubular portion 40 of the driver's seat side portion 12A and the central portion 12C of the airbag bag 12, the gas flow is blocked at the initial stage of the airbag bag deployment, and then the tear sewing 94 is cut. Has been applied.

Therefore, the gas sent from the pipe 32 flows as shown by the arrow W in FIG. 5, and at the initial stage of inflation of the airbag bag 12, the tear seam 94 is used to sew the driver's seat side portion 12.
Gas is prevented from entering A and the central portion 12C.

As a result, as shown in FIG. 6, the driver's seat side portion 12A and the central portion 12C are not inflated at the initial stage of inflation of the airbag bag 12, and as the periphery 12F of these portions is inflated. The airbag bag body 12 is a hood 16
The narrow gap between the wiper pipette 96 and the wiper pot 96 is pulled out, and then the tear sewing 94 is cut off and the airbag bag 12 is inflated and expanded into a predetermined shape.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described.

In this embodiment, the pedestrian collision detection sensor 2
When 2 detects a collision of a pedestrian, the control device 24 operates the inflator 30 to inflate and deploy the airbag bag 12 by the gas flowing from the inflator 30. As a result, as shown in FIG. 6, the rear end portion 16 of the hood 16 is
The breaking portion 76 of the airbag case 34 disposed on the lower surface 16B of A is broken, and the airbag case 34 is
While using the lower end portion 34D of C as a hinge portion, the rear portion 34F and the rear wall portion 34C of the upper wall portion 34A are deployed rearward of the vehicle,
The lower wall portion 34F rotates downward around the boundary with the flange 34B. For this reason, the airbag body 12 starts to inflate upward from the rear of the airbag case 34 and, as shown in FIG. 4, the upper surface of the rear end portion 16A of the hood 16 and the front windshield glass 36. Front end 36
It expands and spreads over the upper surface of A.

As described above, in this embodiment, the air bag case 34 accommodating the air bag body 12 is attached to the hood 16.
Since the air bag case 34 is disposed on the lower surface 16B side (engine room 18 side) of the rear end portion 16A, it is not necessary to dispose the air bag case 34 in the cowl portion 70 of the vehicle as in the conventional technique. It is possible to prevent the deterioration of the ventilation performance inside and outside the vehicle, which is caused through the inside of the cowl portion 70 and is caused by the disposition inside the portion 70. Further, at the rear end portion 16A of the hood 16, the airbag case 34
Since it can be hidden, the appearance quality is improved and
It can be applied to the semi-conshield type wiper, and the appearance of the design is improved.

Further, in the present embodiment, since the broken portion 76 of the airbag case 34, which breaks when the airbag body is deployed, is formed at a position covered by the rear end portion 16A of the hood 16, the hood 16 itself is It serves as a shielding material that covers the broken portion 76 of the airbag case 34. As a result, the fractured portion 76 of the airbag case 34 is not directly exposed to rainwater or sunlight, and it is possible to prevent the fractured portion 76 of the airbag case 34 from being cracked due to deterioration of the material.

Further, in this embodiment, the upper end portion of the rear wall portion 34C of the airbag case 34 is the rear end portion 1 of the hood 16.
6A, when a load is applied to the airbag case 34 from below, this load is applied to the airbag case 3
Since it is received by the rear wall portion 34C of No. 4, the airbag case 34
It is possible to prevent breakage of the breakage part 76 and intrusion of rainwater or the like.

Further, in this embodiment, since the airbag case 34 is located above the opening 75 formed in the cowl louver panel 74 and the cowl upper panel 72,
It is unlikely that the airbag case 34 will be submerged in rainwater collected on the cowl louver panel 74, and the waterproofness against rainwater is also excellent.

Further, in this embodiment, the joint portion 34G on the side surface of the airbag case 34 and the joint portion 34H on the front side are joined and sealed by an adhesive, and the joint portion 3 on the front side is formed.
4H is below the hood 16 and in front of the hood toe cowl shield 80, that is, on the seal side with respect to rainwater, and is not exposed to rainwater. As a result, only the joint portion 34G on the side surface of the airbag case 34 having a short length is exposed to rainwater, and the waterproof performance against rainwater is further improved.

Further, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, the driver's seat side portion 12A and the central portion 12C of the airbag bag body 12 are not inflated at the initial stage of the airbag bag deployment, and these portions are not expanded. As the periphery 12F of the air bag 12 inflates, the air bag body 12 moves toward the hood 16 and the wiper pot 96.
After that, the tear sewing 94 breaks and expands into a predetermined shape. As a result, the airbag bag 12 can be smoothly deployed without being caught by the wiper pot 96, and the positional relationship between the hood 16, the wiper pot 96, and the front windshield glass 36 can be given a degree of freedom, which improves the design. Can contribute to.

Further, in this embodiment, the airbag case 34 has the rear portion 34F of the upper wall portion 34A and the rear wall portion 34C deployed rearward of the vehicle with the lower end portion 34D of the rear wall portion 34C as a hinge portion. As a result, as shown in FIG. 6, the rear portion 34F of the upper wall portion 34A of the airbag case 34 serves as a guide to guide the airbag bag 12 upward. Therefore, the airbag bag 12 is smoothly deployed without being caught by the wiper pipette 96.

Next, a second embodiment of the hood airbag device of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

The same members as those in the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted.

As shown in FIG. 7, in this embodiment, as in the first embodiment, the airbag bag 12 is made of a single piece of cloth 8.
8 is folded into a T-shape in side cross section, and the outer peripheral portion is sewn with a sewing thread 90. The connecting portion 38 (see FIG. 2) forming the plurality of tubular portions 40 is sewn with, for example, a sewing thread 92, and gas from the inflator is formed in the center portion of the airbag bag 12 in the front-rear direction. It is designed to be carried out through the gas flow channel 42.

Further, in the driver's seat side portion 12A of the airbag bag 12 and in the central portion 12C corresponding to the vicinity of the wiper pipepot at the center in the vehicle width direction, the sewing thread 92 has the front end edge portion of the airbag bag 12 and the sewing thread 92. Has not reached the rear edge,
A gap 93 through which gas passes is formed.

In addition, in the driver's seat side portion 12A and the central portion 12C of the air bag body 12, the gas flow passages are provided near the connecting portion of the gas flow passages 42 with the tubular portion 40 at the initial stage of the air bag construction. Tear stitching 98 is applied to block the flow of gas from 42 to the tubular portion 40 and then cut. Further, in the driver's seat side portion 12A of the airbag bag 12, the tubular portion 40 from the gas channel 42 is also provided on the upstream side of each gas channel 42 at the initial stage of the airbag bag deployment.
Tear sewing 9 that blocks the flow of gas to and then cuts
8 has been given.

Therefore, the gas fed from the pipe 32 flows as shown by the arrow W in FIG. 7, and at the initial stage of inflation of the airbag body 12, the tear stitching 98 is used to drive the driver's seat 12A.
The gas is prevented from entering the central portion 12C.

As a result, as shown in FIG. 8, in the initial stage of inflation of the airbag 12, the driver's seat side portion 12A and the central portion 12C are not inflated, and the periphery 12F of these portions is reduced.
As the air bag inflates, the air bag body 12 moves toward the hood 1.
The narrow gap between the wiper 6 and the wiper pot 96 is pulled out, and after that, the tear stitch 98 is cut and the airbag bag 12 is inflated and expanded into a predetermined shape.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described.

The present embodiment has the same effects as the first embodiment and, as shown in FIG. 8, the driver's seat side portion 12A and the central portion of the airbag bag 12 at the initial stage of the airbag bag deployment. 12C is not inflated, and the airbag bag body 1 is inflated as the area 12F around these parts is inflated.
In No. 2, the narrow gap between the hood 16 and the wiper pot 96 is pulled out, and then the tear sewing 98 is cut and the airbag bag body 12 is inflated and expanded into a predetermined shape.

As a result, the air bag body 12 is smoothly caught without being caught by the wiper pipette 96, and
The positional relationship between the hood 16, the wiper pot 96, and the front windshield glass 36 can be given a degree of freedom, which contributes to the improvement of the design.

In the above, the present invention has been described in detail with respect to specific embodiments, but the present invention is not limited to such embodiments, and various other embodiments within the scope of the present invention. It is obvious to a person skilled in the art that For example, in each of the above-described embodiments, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 7, the airbag bag 12 is made of one piece of cloth 88. Instead of this, the airbag bag 12 is made of a plurality of pieces of cloth. You may comprise.

[0052]

According to the hood airbag apparatus of the present invention as set forth in claim 1, since the airbag bag is housed and has the airbag case disposed on the engine room side of the rear end portion of the hood, the inside of the cowl portion is provided. It has an excellent effect that the deterioration of the ventilation performance inside and outside the vehicle, which is carried out through the vehicle, can be prevented and the appearance quality is improved.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the hood airbag apparatus according to the first aspect, the airbag case is formed at a position where a rupture portion that breaks when the airbag bag is deployed is covered by the hood. Therefore, in addition to the effect described in claim 1, it has an excellent effect that the waterproof performance is improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

1 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along line 1-1 of FIG.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the front part of the vehicle body to which the hood airbag device according to the first embodiment of the present invention is applied, as seen obliquely from the front of the vehicle body.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a part of the hood airbag apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention as seen from the diagonally front outside of the vehicle body.

FIG. 4 is a side sectional view showing an airbag bag deployed state of the hood airbag device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an airbag bag body of the hood airbag device according to the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention, as viewed obliquely from the front of the vehicle body.

FIG. 6 is a side sectional view showing a state of the hood airbag apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention in an initial stage of airbag bag deployment.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing an airbag bag body of a hood airbag device according to a second embodiment of the present invention, as viewed from diagonally front of the vehicle body.

FIG. 8 is a side sectional view showing the initial state of the airbag bag body deployment of the hood airbag apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing a vehicle body to which a conventional hood airbag device is applied.

FIG. 10 is a side sectional view showing a conventional hood airbag device.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 Hood airbag device 12 Air bag body 16 hood 18 engine room 34 airbag case 36 Front windshield glass 76 Broken part of the airbag case 84 passenger compartment

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A hood airbag device, comprising: an airbag case which accommodates an airbag bag and is disposed at a rear end portion of the hood on the engine room side. 2. The hood airbag apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the airbag case is formed at a position where a rupture portion that ruptures when the airbag body is deployed is covered by the hood.