JPH06293245A - Air bag device for front passenger seat - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To efficiently absorb an instrument panel shock by providing an inner member of high strength for surrounding an inflater in a retainer, and mounting the rear end of an air bag on the inner member. CONSTITUTION:An air bag 14 is folded to be stored in a container 12, and an inflater 18 is inserted to a rear part of the container 12 from an opening. A rear end of the air bag 14 is connected to an inner member 26 of high strength arranged so as to surround the inflater 18, to fix the inner member 26 and the container 12 to a bracket 36 in a car body side. Thus in the case of applying an instrument panel shock against the container 12, it is sufficiently deformed to efficiently absorb the instrument panel shock. Since the air bag 14 is mounted on the inner member 26, it enough resists against an air bag inflating shock.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an airbag device for a passenger seat, which is provided on an instrument panel of a vehicle and which deploys the airbag in the event of a vehicle collision to protect an occupant in the passenger seat.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In this type of passenger airbag device, a folded airbag and an inflator are attached to a container-shaped container, and a lid is attached so as to cover the airbag. In the event of a vehicle collision, the inflator is activated and the airbag is greatly expanded toward the interior of the vehicle, thus protecting the occupant.

[0003] The instrument panel is stipulated by law in such a manner that the instrument panel is capable of absorbing the impact when the vehicle is bumped into the instrument panel. The passenger airbag device also needs to pass this instrument panel impact regulation.

[0004]

The container of the passenger airbag device is required to have a deformable characteristic so as to satisfy the instrument panel impact regulation, but it firmly holds the rear end of the airbag which is being deployed. Strength is also required. Therefore, simply making the container fragile in order to clear the instrument panel impact regulation is unsuitable as an airbag device.

That is, if the container is made fragile, the absorption characteristic of the instrument panel impact can be improved, but it is sufficient for the impact applied to the container from the deploying airbag (hereinafter, sometimes referred to as airbag deploying impact). In order to firmly attach the airbag device to the vehicle body-side member so as to withstand the above, it is necessary to make the container have a high strength to some extent.

The present invention provides an airbag device for a passenger seat, which has a sufficient strength for mounting a container on a vehicle body and an air bag deployment impact resistance, and which is quickly deformed when a large instrument panel impact is applied. With the goal.

[0007]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a passenger-side airbag device, a box-shaped container having an open front surface, an airbag folded and accommodated in the container, and the container. In an airbag device for a passenger seat, which comprises an inflator attached to a container and a lid covering the front surface of the container, a high-strength inner member surrounding the inflator is provided in the retainer, and the inner member is provided with the air bag. The feature is that the back end of the bag is attached.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided the passenger side airbag apparatus according to the first aspect, wherein the inner member and the container are connected by a bolt, and the tip of the bolt connects the passenger side airbag apparatus to the vehicle body. It is characterized in that it is projected from the container so that it can be fixed to the member with the bolt.

[0009]

In the passenger airbag device of the present invention,
The rear end of the airbag is attached to the high-strength inner member. Therefore, by connecting this inner member to the vehicle body side member for mounting the passenger airbag device,
The airbag deployment impact is transmitted to the vehicle body side member via the inner member, and the airbag deployment impact is hardly applied to the container. Therefore, the container can be configured to be fragile or low in strength so as to sufficiently absorb the impact on the instrument panel.

Further, by mounting the inner member to the vehicle body side member in this way, the strength of mounting the container to the vehicle body side member becomes sufficiently high.

According to the airbag device for a passenger seat of claim 2,
The inner member can be connected to the vehicle body side member by the bolt.

[0012]

EXAMPLES Examples will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of an apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention (a sectional view taken along line I-I in FIG. 2), FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line II-II in FIG. 1, and FIG. FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view showing the assembly of the airbag and the inner member, and FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the embodiment apparatus.

In the passenger airbag apparatus 10 according to this embodiment, an airbag 14 is folded and accommodated inside a container 12, and a front opening of the container 12 is covered with a lid 16.
And the inflator 18 is installed at the rear of the container 12. An inflator insertion hole (hereinafter referred to as an opening) 20 is formed on one side surface of the rear portion of the container 12.
And a cylindrical inflator 18 is provided with an opening 20.
It is inserted into the container 12 through. The bolt 18a at the tip of the inflator 18 projects outward from the small opening 22 on the other side surface of the container 12, and the nut 24 is tightened, whereby the inflator 18 is fixed to the container 12.

An inner member 26 is provided so as to surround the inflator 18. This inner member 26
Is a structure in which a steel plate is wound into a rectangular tube shape and has high strength and high rigidity. A slit 28 is provided on the front surface of the inner member 26 for allowing the gas ejected from the inflator 18 to pass therethrough.

The back surface of the inner member 26 and the container 12
Bolt holes 30 and 32 are coaxially provided on the back surface of the, and a bolt 34 is inserted therethrough. The bolt 34 is attached to a nut 38 with respect to the tip of a bracket 36 for connecting to a member on the vehicle body side.
It is fixed at. The rear end of the bracket 36 is fixed to the vehicle body side member 39.

As shown in FIG. 3, a rectangular gas introduction port 40 is opened at the rear of the airbag 14, and flaps 42, 42 are provided along the longitudinal side of the gas introduction port 40. A flap 4 along the short side of the inlet 40
4, 44 are provided. These flaps 42,44
Is formed, for example, by impregnating the base cloth of the airbag 14 with a synthetic resin. Each flap 42,44 has
Rivet holes 42a and 44a are formed.

Rivet holes 46 are formed in the upper and lower surfaces of the inner member 26, the flaps 42 are superposed on the upper and lower surfaces, and the plates 50 are superposed so as to press the flaps 42. The rivet 52 is driven through the rivet hole 50a of the plate 50 and the rivet holes 42a and 46, whereby the flap 4 is inserted.
2 is fixed to the inner member 26. In addition, flap 4
The ridge 4 containing the wire 42b (Fig. 1) at the tip edge of 2
2c is provided. Then, the protrusion 42c protrudes from the side edge of the plate 50, so that the flap 42
Are prevented from coming out between the plate 50 and the inner member 26.

The flap 44 is brought into contact with the front surface of the inner member 26. The plate 54 is applied to the flap 44, and the rivet 58 is driven through the rivet hole 54a of the plate 54, the rivet hole 44a of the flap 44 and the rivet hole 56 of the inner member.
The flap 44 is firmly fixed to the inner member 26.

From the rear surface of the lid 16, a mounting portion 60 which covers the upper surface of the container 12 and a mounting portion 62 which covers the lower surface of the container 12 are provided so as to project. These mounting parts 60, 6
2 is fixed to the container 12 by bolts 64 and 66. A rivet may be used instead of the bolt. The mounting portion 62 is provided with a groove.

The airbag device 10 is attached to an instrument panel in front of the passenger seat. When a vehicle collides, the inflator 18 is actuated, and the airbag 14 is deployed by the ejected gas. The lid 16 is pushed forward by the airbag 14 to be deployed, the attachment portion 62 is torn at the groove portion, and the lid 16 is opened around the attachment portion 60 as a rotation center as shown by an arrow A in FIG.
As a result, the airbag 14 is largely deployed in the vehicle compartment. When the airbag 14 is deployed, the airbag 14 pulls the inner member 26 strongly forward,
The inner member 26 has a high strength and the bolt 3
Since the inner member 26 is not deformed at all and is not moved forward, the flaps 42 and 44 at the rear end of the airbag 14 are firmly connected to the vehicle body-side member 39 by the nuts 38 and the bracket 36. Hold firmly.

By the way, when a large load is applied from the front to the passenger airbag device 10 mounted on the instrument panel of the automobile, the container 12 is deformed so as to be compressed from the front portion toward the rear portion. .
That is, the rear portion of the airbag device 10 is firmly fixed to the vehicle body-side member 39 via the inner member 26 and the bracket 36, and the rear portion of the container 12 does not retract, so the container 12 is compressed in the front-rear direction.

In the present invention, the airbag 14 is connected to the inner member 26, so that the container 12 is not subjected to the airbag deployment shock. Therefore, the container 12 only needs to have a function of accommodating the folded airbag 14, and is configured to be fragile so as to sufficiently absorb the instrument panel impact. Therefore, when the instrument panel impact is applied, the deformation of the container 12 progresses rapidly, and the instrument panel impact is sufficiently absorbed.

In the present invention, as described above, the container can be of low strength. An example of such a container is a molded product of synthetic resin. As another container, as shown in FIG. 5, a container 8 formed by punching, pressing and slightly drawing a metal plate.
0 is exemplified. Reference numeral 82 in FIG. 5 indicates a spot welding spot. In this container 80, a large number of openings 84, 86, 88 ... Are provided in order to make it easy to be deformed by an instrument panel impact. Although these openings are only partially shown in FIG. 5, they are actually provided in a wider area (eg the entire area) of the container. This opening may have various shapes such as a circular opening 84, an elliptical opening 86, and a rhombic opening 88.

In the present invention, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, a hook portion 90 is provided on the inner member 26 by cutting and raising, and an opening 92 provided in the airbag 14 is hooked on the hook portion 90. Therefore, the removal of the airbag 14 may be prevented. The rest of the configuration in FIG. 6 is the same as that in FIG. 1, and the same reference numerals indicate the same parts.

[0025]

As described above, in the passenger airbag device of the present invention, when the instrument panel impact is applied to the container, the container is sufficiently deformed and the instrument panel impact is efficiently absorbed. become.

In the present invention, since the airbag is attached to the inner member, the airbag deployment impact is sufficiently counteracted by the inner member.

The apparatus according to claim 2 is extremely easy to mount on the vehicle body side member. Further, the inner member can be firmly connected to the vehicle body side member.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional view of an apparatus according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the apparatus of the embodiment taken along the line II-II in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an airbag and an inner member.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the apparatus of the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing an example of a container of the embodiment apparatus.

FIG. 6 is a vertical cross-sectional view of another embodiment device.

7 is an exploded cross-sectional view of main parts of the apparatus of the embodiment shown in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 Airbag device for passenger seat 12,80 Container 14 Airbag 16 Lid 18 Inflator 26 Inner member 34 Bolt 36 Bracket 39 Body side member

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A box-shaped container having an open front surface, an airbag folded and stored in the container, an inflator attached to the container, and a lid covering the front surface of the container. An airbag apparatus for a passenger seat, comprising: a high-strength inner member surrounding the inflator, provided inside the retainer, and a rear end of the airbag being attached to the inner member. 2. The inner member and the container according to claim 1, wherein the inner member and the container are connected by a bolt, and the tip of the bolt enables the passenger side airbag apparatus to be fixed to the vehicle body connecting member by the bolt. An airbag device for a passenger seat, characterized in that it is projected from the container.