JP4548151B2 - Airbag device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an airbag device applied to, for example, a pedestrian airbag device or the like that protects an object to be protected such as a pedestrian from an automobile collision accident.

  Conventionally, a pedestrian protection airbag device that protects a pedestrian when a car collides with a pedestrian or the like is installed between the rear end of an engine hood that covers the upper surface of the engine compartment and a cowl cover. When the detection means detects a collision with a pedestrian or the like, the rear end of the engine hood is flipped up by the hood jumping means and the airbag is inflated and deployed in the direction of the front pillar, so that the pedestrian has a secondary collision with the front pillar or the like. By preventing this, the object to be protected is protected.

  Moreover, as this kind of pedestrian protection airbag apparatus, what was described, for example in patent document 1 is well-known.

  In the “vehicle airbag device” described in Patent Document 1, when the collision detection unit detects the danger of a collision with a pedestrian, the hood jumping unit is activated to jump the rear end of the engine hood, The gap between the windshield and the front windshield is enlarged and the airbag is inflated from the gap to inflate and deploy the entire area from the base to the upper end on both sides of the front pillar.

Further, in order to prevent the airbag from coming into contact with the stay portion of the hood flip-up means when the airbag is inflated, the stay portion is covered with a cylindrical cover made of a stretchable elastic member. .
JP 2002-36986 A

  However, as in the pedestrian protection airbag described in Patent Document 1, the stay cover of the hood flip-up means is covered with a cylindrical cover formed in a bellows shape by an elastic member. Since it is necessary to manufacture a certain cylindrical cover, the number of manufacturing steps and the number of parts are increased, and the operation of assembling the cylindrical cover into the stay portion is required, which increases the manufacturing cost and the assembly cost.

  Also, the cover that covers the stay part of the hood flip-up means is always compressed when the engine hood is closed. Even if the engine hood is flipped up by the hood jumping means when it collides with a pedestrian, the cover covering the stay part may not extend following this, so it is ensured that the airbag contacts the stay part. It is difficult to prevent it.

  In order to prevent this, the cover may be made of a high-grade material with little deterioration due to aging. However, since such a material is expensive, the cost of parts will increase further.

  In view of this point, the present invention has an object to provide an airbag device that can prevent the airbag from coming into contact with the support means of the hood without requiring a separate part.

The airbag apparatus according to the present invention has a rear end portion of a hood pivotally attached to a front portion of a vehicle body via a support means, and an airbag that is folded below the rear end portion of the hood and stored in a cover body is attached. The airbag apparatus is configured to inflate and deploy the airbag to the front windshield side by an inflating gas ejected from an inflator when the automobile collides with the object to be protected, thereby reducing the impact received by the object to be protected. A tear line formed in the cover body by an inflation pressure of the airbag to inflate the airbag, and a hinge portion formed along the vehicle width direction of the cover body; provided a hinge portion formed in the end portion in the width direction, and is opened upward around the hinge portion formed in the vehicle width direction end portion, the airbag and the support means of said hood Located between, said a protective cover to expand to cover the support means, it is characterized in.

  With the above-described configuration, when the automobile collides with a protected object such as a pedestrian, the airbag is inflated and deployed so as to cover the front windshield or the like, and the airbag is subjected to a secondary collision with the front windshield or the like. In addition, when the airbag is inflated and deployed from within the airbag storage case, the protective cover covers the hood support means, so that the airbag does not directly contact the hood support means.

  Further, since the protective cover is deployed by the inflation pressure of the airbag, the hood support means can be surely covered in conjunction with the inflation of the airbag, so that high reliability is obtained. In addition, since it is not necessary to provide a separate part to cover the hood support means, it is possible to reduce manufacturing costs and assembly costs.

Further, with the above configuration, the opened protective cover is formed integrally with the cover body, and is opened toward the support means around the hinge portion at the side end of the cover body , so that the airbag deployment direction is guided in a predetermined direction. Therefore, the airbag can be reliably deployed in the direction of the front windshield.

  According to the airbag device of the present invention, since the protective cover that is opened when the airbag is inflated and deployed from within the airbag storage case covers the support means of the hood, the airbag does not require a separate part. Since the protective cover is deployed by the inflation pressure of the airbag, the hood support means is reliably covered in conjunction with the inflation of the airbag. As a result, high reliability can be obtained, and it is not necessary to provide a separate part to cover the support means of the hood, so that manufacturing costs and assembly costs can be reduced.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a front portion of an automobile adopting a pedestrian protection airbag device as an airbag device, FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a pedestrian protection air FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the airbag storage case of the airbag device for protecting pedestrians, FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line BB of FIG. 4, and FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line C-C of FIG. 1 during operation of the means, and FIG. 7 is a perspective view depicting the air bag deployment of the pedestrian protection airbag device.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the automobile J equipped with the pedestrian protection airbag device has an engine hood 3 covering the upper surface of the engine compartment 2 provided at the front of the vehicle body 1.

  The engine hood 3 is pivotally attached to the rear end portion by a hinge 5, and the front end side of the engine hood 3 can be opened and closed in the vertical direction. Locking means (not shown) for locking to is provided.

  A pair of left and right front windshields 4 rising from the vehicle body 1 are formed on both sides of the rear end portion of the engine hood 3. The upper end sides of the front windshields 4 are roof sides provided on both sides of the roof panel 1b. It is connected to the rail 1c.

  A cowl cover 1d for connecting the left and right front windshields 4 is provided below the rear end of the engine hood 3. The front windshield is formed in a frame formed by the left and right front windshields 4, the roof panel 1b, and the cowl cover 1d. A shield 4 is fitted, and a pedestrian protection airbag device main body (hereinafter simply referred to as the device main body) 10 is mounted on the upper surface of the cowl cover 1d, and a hood such as an engine hood 3 on both sides of the rear end portion. In the vicinity of the hinge 5, a hood flip-up means 6 is installed as a hood support means.

  When the automobile J collides with a pedestrian, the hood flip-up means 6 jumps up the hinge 5 pivotally supporting the rear end of the engine hood 3 to a predetermined height, so that the rear end edge of the engine hood 3 and the cowl cover 1d. A gap for forming an air bag 15 to be inflated later is formed between the link mechanism 7 and a spring operated by a signal from a collision detection means (not shown), a hydraulic or electromagnetic actuator, or the like. And a lifter (not shown).

  The link mechanism 7 is composed of a pair of links 7b and 7c pivoted at one end by a pin 7a. The other end of one link 7b is pivoted at the pin 5a of the hinge 5 and the other link 7c. The other end side of the apparatus is pivotally attached to the vehicle body 1 by pins 7d on both end sides of the apparatus main body 10, and a lifter is connected to one link 7b.

  On the other hand, the apparatus main body 10 installed on the cowl cover 1d has a rectangular airbag-like storage case 11 elongated in the vehicle width direction as shown in FIGS.

  The airbag storage case 11 is integrally formed of synthetic resin, and the apparatus main body 10 is stored therein.

  The apparatus main body 10 has a retainer 12 formed of a metal plate as shown in FIG. 5, and a cylindrical inflator 13 for injecting high-pressure gas in response to a signal from a collision detection means is provided in the retainer 12 in the vehicle width. The retainer 12 is fixed to the cowl cover 1 d by a fixing tool 14 provided so as to penetrate the bottom wall of the airbag storage case 11.

The airbag 15 folded and placed on the upper surface of the retainer 12 in a roll shape and a bellows shape is formed so as to expand in an approximately oval shape so as to cover the front of the front windshield 4 when deployed as shown in FIG. The air inlet of the airbag 15 is connected to a gas outlet (both not shown) of the inflator 13, and a lapping cloth 16 is provided around the airbag 15 so that the folded state does not collapse. It is covered and breaks when the airbag 15 is inflated.

On the upper surface of the airbag storage case 11 storing the apparatus main body 10, as shown in FIG. 4, an upper surface plate constituting a cover body of the airbag 15 in a folded state with the upper corner portion on the front windshield 4 side. The tear lines 11b, 11c, and 11d that are cleaved by the inflation pressure of the airbag 15 are formed at both ends in the vehicle width direction of 11a.

Corners extending in the vehicle widthwise direction on the opposite side of the corner tear line 11b is formed extending in the vehicle widthwise direction, in advance thin so as to be hinged portion 11e when the upper plate 11a is opened upward Is formed.

  Of the tear lines 11c and 11d formed on both ends of the upper surface plate 11a, the tear line 11c is formed at a distance L from the both ends of the airbag storage case 11 toward the center and in a direction perpendicular to the tear line 11b. L is set to be substantially the same as the amount by which the engine hood 3 is flipped up.

Further, the tear line 11d is formed on both ends of the hinge portion 11e, and both end portions of the upper surface plate 11a surrounded by the tear lines 11b, 11c, and 11d serve as a protective cover 11f. When the tear lines 11b, 11c, and 11d are cleaved by the expansion pressure of the hood, the hood is lifted upward by opening the hinge portion 11g formed at the corner portion (that is, the end portion in the vehicle width direction) parallel to the tear line 11c. The inside of the link mechanism 7 and the lifter of the means 6, that is, the surface facing the airbag 15 is covered.

In addition, the wrapping cloth 16 regulates the deployment direction of the airbag 15 so that the airbag 15 does not deploy to the hood flip-up means 6 side, and further forms another protective cover inside the protective cover 11f. It has a double protective structure.

  Next, the operation of the thus constructed pedestrian protection airbag device will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the airbag 15 constituting the apparatus main body 10 is stored in a folded state on a retainer 12 in which an inflator 13 is stored. The upper surface of the airbag storage case 11 is an upper surface plate 11a. Covered.

  Further, the engine hood 3 covering the upper surface of the engine chamber 2 is in a closed state as shown in FIG. 2, and therefore, a gap between the rear edge of the engine hood 3 and the upper surface of the cowl cover 1d is small, and the engine hood 3 is externally provided. Foreign matter or the like is prevented from entering the chamber 2.

  On the other hand, when the collision detection means detects that the automobile J has collided with a pedestrian while traveling, a lifter (not shown) of the hood flip-up means 6 pivotally supports the rear end portion of the engine hood 3 by a signal from the collision detection means. The hinge 5 portion is flipped up to a predetermined height via the link mechanism 7 as shown in FIG.

  At the same time, the inflator 13 of the apparatus body 10 injects high-pressure gas into the airbag 15 and inflates the folded airbag 15, so that the upper surface plate 11 a of the airbag storage case 11 is pushed upward, The tear lines 11b, 11c, 11d formed on the face plate 11a are cleaved by the inflation pressure of the airbag 15.

  Thereafter, the upper surface plate 11a is developed toward the front windshield 4 around the hinge portion 11e, and the protective covers 11f formed at both ends of the upper surface plate 1a are linked to the link mechanism 7 of the hood flip-up means 6 around the hinge portion 11g. The protective cover 11f covers the airbag 15 side of the link mechanism 7 as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, and the airbag 15 inflated and deployed from within the airbag storage case 11 is And the cowl cover 1d, the front windshield 4 is unfolded toward the front windshield 4 as shown in FIG. 6, and the front windshield 4 and the front windshield 4 are located on both sides of the front windshield 4 as shown in FIG. Cover a part of.

  As a result, the airbag 15 prevents a pedestrian who collides with the automobile J from colliding with the front windshield 4 and the like, and when the airbag 15 is inflated and deployed from within the airbag storage case 11, the airbag 15. Since the protective cover 11f prevents the hood flipping-up means 6 from coming into contact with the link mechanism 7 and the lifter, the airbag 15 can be prevented from being damaged by the hood jumping-up means 6.

  Further, since the deployed protective cover 11f guides the deployment direction of the airbag 15 toward the front windshield 4, the airbag 15 can be reliably deployed in front of the front windshield 4.

  FIG. 8 shows a modified example of the apparatus main body 10. In this modified example, a protective cloth 15a is disposed on a portion of the airbag 15 that contacts the protective cover 11f of the wrapping cloth 16, and the protective cloth 15a is The protective cover 11f is sufficiently larger than the protective cover 11f, for example, in an approximately elliptical shape, and is folded and stored on the folded airbag 15.

  As a result, when the airbag 15 is inflated, the protective cloth 15a is interposed between the airbag 15 and the protective cover 11f so that the airbag 15 does not directly contact the protective cover 11f, and the protective cover 11f and the protective cloth. Since it is possible to prevent the airbag 15 from coming into contact with the hood flip-up means 6 by 15a, the reliability is further improved.

  The protective cover may be a sub door provided on the cover body. From the rear surface of the airbag storage case toward the lower surface side of the airbag storage case, the tear line 11c provided on the rear surface of the upper surface of the airbag storage case divided into the cover body 11a and the protective cover 11f A protrusion (rib) may be provided.

  The airbag device of the present invention covers the support means of the protective cover that is opened when the airbag is inflated and deployed from within the airbag storage case, so that it does not require a separate part and contacts the support means of the airbag. In addition, since the protective cover is deployed by the inflation pressure of the airbag, the hood support means can be reliably covered in conjunction with the inflation of the airbag. Because of this, high reliability is obtained and there is no need to provide a separate part to cover the hood support means, so manufacturing costs and assembly costs can be reduced. It is most suitable for an airbag device applied to, for example, a pedestrian airbag device or the like for protecting a protected object such as a person.

1 is a perspective view of an automobile adopting a pedestrian protection airbag apparatus as an airbag apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is sectional drawing which follows the AA line of FIG. It is a perspective view of the airbag storage case of the airbag apparatus for pedestrian protection which becomes embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view before operation | movement of the airbag apparatus for pedestrian protection which becomes embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing which follows the BB line of FIG. It is CC sectional drawing of FIG. 1 at the time of the action | operation of the hood flip-up means which becomes embodiment of this invention. It is the perspective view which drawn the time of inflation deployment of the airbag of the airbag apparatus for pedestrian protection which becomes embodiment of this invention. It is the perspective view which drawn the time of the airbag expansion | deployment in the modification of the airbag apparatus for pedestrian protection which becomes embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Car body 1a Front pillar 3 Engine hood 6 Hood raising means 11 Air bag storage cover 11a Top plate 11b Tear line 11c Tear line 11d Tear line 11f Protective cover 11g Hinge part 13 Inflator 15 Air bag 15a Protective cloth J Automobile

Claims (1)

The front body as well as pivotably mounted through a support means rear end of the hood, the airbag housed in the rear portion is folded beneath the cover of the hood is attached, the airbag, automobile An airbag device that relaxes the impact received by the protected object by inflating and deploying to the front windshield side by the inflation gas ejected from the inflator when it collides with the protected object,
In the cover body,
A tear line that is opened by the inflation pressure of the airbag to form an inflation opening through which the airbag is inflated, a hinge portion that is formed along the vehicle width direction of the cover body, and a vehicle width direction end portion. Hinged portion,
And is opened upward around the wheel the hinge portions formed in the width direction end portion, positioned between the airbag and the support means of said hood, expanded to cover the said support means Provided a protective cover,
An airbag device characterized by that.

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