CN112622801A

CN112622801A - Seat side airbag and bag folding method

Info

Publication number: CN112622801A
Application number: CN202011539455.2A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 郑俊杰; 杨丽丽
Original assignee: Ningbo Junsheng Automobile Safety System Co ltd
Current assignee: Ningbo Junsheng Automobile Safety System Co ltd
Priority date: 2020-12-23
Filing date: 2020-12-23
Publication date: 2021-04-09
Anticipated expiration: 2040-12-23
Also published as: CN112622801B

Abstract

The invention discloses a seat side airbag and a bag folding method, and relates to the field of vehicle safety. The specific embodiment of the seat side airbag includes: the inflatable bag and the gas generator for inflating the bag are installed on one side, close to the side portion of the vehicle, of the seat, the bag comprises an inner cavity facing towards an occupant and an outer cavity facing towards the side portion of the vehicle, the inner cavity and the outer cavity are communicated with each other, the gas generator is installed in the outer cavity, the position of the outer cavity is higher relative to the inner cavity, and the gas generator is exploded and inflated to enable the outer cavity to be abutted against the side portion of the vehicle. The embodiment can effectively protect the chest of the passenger and meet the requirement of column collision at the same time.

Description

Seat side airbag and bag folding method

Technical Field

The invention relates to the field of vehicle safety, in particular to a seat side airbag and a bag folding method.

Background

With the rapid development of the automobile industry, the whole market puts higher requirements on the passive safety of automobiles, namely C-NCAP2021(C-NCAP refers to Chinese New vehicle evaluation regulations, namely China-New Car Association Program) which is to be implemented clearly stipulates that the side barrier test is still kept for the traditional fuel oil vehicle, but for the electric vehicle, the front pillar collision test is forcibly carried out, and the challenge on the chest injury protection of passengers is more serious if the C-NCAP2021 score is reached. Through real-vehicle end-touching tests, the situation that even if the seat side airbag meeting the national standard column-touching requirement in the market at present is found, on the check item of chest pressure of a passenger, the defect still exists, because the rigidity of the airbag meeting the column-touching requirement is relatively high, but the secondary injury can be undoubtedly caused to the passenger by the high-rigidity internal pressure of the airbag. Therefore, the existing seat side air bag can not meet the requirement of column collision or can not effectively protect the chest of a passenger from being injured.

Disclosure of Invention

In view of this, embodiments of the present invention provide a seat side airbag and a bag folding method, which can effectively protect the chest of an occupant and meet the requirement of a column collision, and enable a bag to be rapidly and smoothly unfolded during inflation based on a new bag folding method.

To achieve the above object, according to one aspect of the present invention, a seat side airbag is provided.

The side airbag of the embodiment of the present invention may include: the inflatable bag and the gas generator for inflating the bag are installed on one side, close to the side portion of the vehicle, of the seat, the bag comprises an inner cavity facing towards an occupant and an outer cavity facing towards the side portion of the vehicle, the inner cavity and the outer cavity are communicated with each other, the gas generator is installed in the outer cavity, the position of the outer cavity is higher relative to the inner cavity, and the gas generator is exploded and inflated to enable the outer cavity to be abutted against the side portion of the vehicle.

Optionally, the outer lumen has a stiffness greater than a stiffness of the inner lumen.

Optionally, the inner chamber has a larger volume than the outer chamber, and the length of the inner chamber in the front-rear direction is larger than the length of the outer chamber in the front-rear direction.

Optionally, the seat comprises armrests, the internal cavity abutting the armrests and extending to rib areas of the occupant upon inflation of the bladder.

Optionally, the inner cavity and the outer cavity are separated by a layer of cloth, and the middle-lower part of the cloth is provided with an exhaust hole.

Optionally, the vent is a self-pressure-relief vent, the inflator is ignited and inflated to enable the outer cavity pressure to reach a certain threshold, and the self-pressure-relief vent is opened to enable gas to flow from the outer cavity into the inner cavity.

To achieve the above objects, according to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a pouch folding method.

The method for folding the bag of the embodiment of the invention comprises the following steps: step one, the tail end of the bag far away from the gas generator is recessed and folded towards the interior of the bag; folding the upper end and/or the lower end of the bag towards the center of the bag at least once to reach the design height of the folded bag; thirdly, transversely folding the concave folding area towards the direction close to the gas generator; and step four, carrying out U-shaped folding on the transverse folding area.

Optionally, the pushing away direction corresponding to the U-shaped fold is a door direction.

According to the technical scheme of the invention, the embodiment of the invention has the following advantages or beneficial effects: the bag is designed into an inner-outer double-cavity type, namely the bag after inflation forms two cavities, namely an outer cavity at the side of a vehicle door and an inner cavity at the side of a passenger, wherein the volume of the outer cavity is smaller than that of the inner cavity, the rigidity of the outer cavity (namely the rigidity generated by air pressure after inflation) is larger than that of the inner cavity, the middle part of the inner cavity is flush with an armrest of a vehicle seat, the outer cavity and the inner cavity are separated by a partition layer, and the partition layer is provided with exhaust. The outer chamber is directly inflated by the gas generator arranged therein, and the inner chamber is inflated in a manner of outer chamber gas conduction through the above-mentioned exhaust holes. Through the arrangement, the outer cavity with higher rigidity can fully resist the invasion of energy from the outside, so that the side air bag meets the column collision requirement, and meanwhile, the inner cavity with lower rigidity can effectively protect the head, the chest and/or the abdomen of a passenger, thereby avoiding secondary damage to the passenger caused by higher air bag internal pressure. In addition, as the joint of the door plate and the B column interior is most prone to generate large deformation when the side column is collided, the outer cavity can be designed to be higher than the inner cavity in the vertical direction, and meanwhile, the upper part of the outer cavity is inclined backwards, so that effective protection can be carried out at the position where the intrusion deformation of the vehicle body is the most serious.

Further effects of the above-mentioned non-conventional alternatives will be described below in connection with the embodiments.

Drawings

The drawings are included to provide a better understanding of the invention and are not to be construed as unduly limiting the invention. Wherein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic external view of a side airbag in an embodiment of the present invention when it is not deployed;

FIG. 2 is a schematic structural view at one viewing angle of the side airbag in the embodiment of the present invention when deployed;

FIG. 3 is a schematic structural view of a side airbag at another viewing angle when the side airbag is deployed in the embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a schematic view showing the application of a side airbag in the embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 5 is a schematic view of a first step of a method of folding a pouch in an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 6 is a schematic diagram of a second step of a method of folding a pouch in an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 7 is a schematic view of a third step of the method of folding the pouch in the embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 8 is a schematic diagram of a fourth step in the method of folding a pouch in an embodiment of the present invention.

Description of reference numerals:

10	side airbag	14	Gas generator
				11	Outer cavity	15	Support frame
12	Inner cavity	131	Air vent
				13	Interlayer

Detailed Description

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention are described below with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which various details of embodiments of the invention are included to assist understanding, and which are to be considered as merely exemplary. Accordingly, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that various changes and modifications of the embodiments described herein can be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. Also, descriptions of well-known functions and constructions are omitted in the following description for clarity and conciseness.

It should be noted that "set", "mounted" and "connected" in the following description may refer to a fixed fit between two objects, and may also refer to a non-fixed fit (e.g., a sliding connection); may represent a removable fit (e.g., a bolt and nut connection) or may represent a non-removable fit (e.g., a weld); the term "directly" or "indirectly" means a combination of the two or more. Furthermore, the embodiments of the present invention and the technical features in the embodiments may be combined with each other without conflict.

In embodiments of the invention, some expressions indicating orientations will be used. Specifically, the up-down direction, i.e., the Z-axis direction, refers to the up-down direction within a three-dimensional space in which a vehicle in a normal state (e.g., a vehicle that is stationary or travels on a horizontal or approximately horizontal ground through a plurality of wheels) is located, as defined in terms of a vehicle body environment; the left-right direction is the Y-axis direction and refers to the connecting line direction between the main driving and the auxiliary driving; the front-back direction is the direction of the X axis, and refers to the direction of the connecting line between the vehicle head and the vehicle tail.

FIG. 1 is a schematic external view of a side airbag in an embodiment of the invention when it is not deployed; FIG. 2 is a schematic structural view at one viewing angle (YOZ viewing angle) when the side airbag is deployed in the embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 3 is a schematic structural view of a side airbag at another view angle (XOZ-axis view angle) when the side airbag is deployed in the embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 4 is a schematic view of a side airbag applied to a vehicle in an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in fig. 1 to 4, a side airbag 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention may include: an inflatable bladder and a gas generator 14 for inflating the bladder; the bag and the gas generator 14 are arranged on one side of the seat close to the side of the vehicle, the bag forms two communicating cavities of an outer cavity 11 and an inner cavity 12 after being inflated, the outer cavity 11 faces the side of the vehicle, and the gas generator 14 is exploded and inflated to enable the outer cavity 11 to be abutted against the side of the vehicle and can resist the attack of energy from the outside; the interior chamber 12 faces the occupant for protecting the head, chest and/or abdomen of the occupant. In practice, a barrier layer 13 may be provided inside the pouch to separate the outer chamber 11 from the inner chamber 12, and the barrier layer 13 may be a cloth sheet.

In one embodiment, the bladder structure can be designed to make the outer chamber 11 smaller than the inner chamber 12, and the gas generators can be disposed in the inner chamber 12 and the outer chamber 11 respectively. When two gas generators are simultaneously ignited, the outer chamber 11 has a smaller volume, and the rigidity is higher than that of the inner chamber 12 in a short time at the initial stage of ignition, so that the outer chamber 11 with higher rigidity receives external impact, and the inner chamber 12 with lower rigidity protects passengers.

In a more preferred embodiment, the bladder structure can be designed to make the volume of the outer chamber 11 smaller than that of the inner chamber 12, and the inflator 14 can be disposed only in the outer chamber 11, and at least one vent 131 is disposed on the barrier layer 13 (the vent 131 can be disposed in the middle lower portion of the barrier layer 13), and the vent 131 can be a self-venting vent. Thus, when the gas generator 14 is ignited, the outer chamber 11 is first inflated, and when the pressure of the outer chamber 11 reaches a certain threshold, the gas in the outer chamber 11 is conducted to the inner chamber 12 through the vent holes 131 in the partition 13, so that the inner chamber 12 is inflated. Through the inflation mode and the structural design that the volume of the inner cavity 12 is larger than that of the outer cavity 11, the inner cavity 12 and the outer cavity 11 can be effectively ensured to have proper rigidity, and meanwhile, the rigidity of the inner cavity 12 is smaller than that of the outer cavity 11.

Preferably, the bladder is inflated such that the interior chamber 12 abuts the seat arm rest and extends to the rib region of the occupant. Thus, the inner cavity 12 can be completely attached to the arms of the passenger during the inflation and expansion process, and as the intrusion amount of the vehicle body increases, the height position of the armrest is just supported by the thickest part (generally, the middle part of the inner cavity 12) of the inner cavity 12, so that the arms of the passenger can be effectively lifted to protect the chest and abdomen of the passenger, the larger and softer inner cavity 12 can fully cover the chest and abdomen of the passenger, the compression deformation amount of the chest and abdomen is reduced, and the air bag is prevented from generating secondary injury to the passenger. Further, the deployed length of the inner chamber 12 in the front-rear direction may be designed to be larger than the deployed length of the outer chamber 11 in the front-rear direction, which enables the bag to fit the occupant better.

According to the characteristic that the door panel and the B column interior trim are most prone to large deformation by simulating the collision of the vehicle side column, the outer cavity 11 can be designed to be higher than the inner cavity 12 in the vertical direction (the inner cavity 12 is in a lower position for protecting passengers), and the upper part of the outer cavity 11 can also be designed to be of a backward inclined structure, so that a reliable protective barrier can be established at the position where the vehicle body is seriously invaded and deformed to fully resist the invasion of energy from the outside. It is understood that in practical application, the outer cavity 11 may be designed to be higher than the inner cavity 12 in the up-down direction, and the upper part of the outer cavity 11 may be inclined backwards.

Since the side airbag 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention has an increased volume and a lengthened left-right direction profile, and the airbag is slowly unfolded as in the conventional folding method, the present invention solves the above problems by the following four-step airbag folding method.

Fig. 5 is a schematic view of a first step of a method of folding a pouch in an embodiment of the present invention; fig. 6 is a schematic diagram of a second step of a method of folding a pouch in an embodiment of the present invention; fig. 7 is a schematic view of a third step of the method of folding the pouch in the embodiment of the present invention; fig. 8 is a schematic diagram of a fourth step in the method of folding a pouch in an embodiment of the present invention. It will be understood that the dashed lines and partial solid lines in fig. 5-8 indicate pocket creases, and that fig. 5-8 include two views, left and right, in each of fig. 5-8, the left view being a schematic representation of an actual fold and the right view being a schematic representation; the arrow in the right drawing of fig. 8 indicates the push-away direction corresponding to the U-fold. In the following description, the description is given in terms of a scenario in which the capsular bag lies in the XOZ plane (defined in terms of the vehicle body environment).

As shown in fig. 5 to 8, step one, the end of the pouch remote from the gas generator is folded concavely towards the interior of the pouch; folding the upper end and/or the lower end of the bag towards the center of the bag at least once to reach the design height of the folded bag; thirdly, transversely folding the concave folding area towards the direction close to the gas generator; and step four, carrying out U-shaped folding on the transverse folding area. In the steps, a brand-new combination of X-direction internal concave (tuck in) folding, Z-shaped folding and U-shaped folding is adopted, the air bag is firstly pushed out through the Z-shaped folding and the U-shaped folding, then the folding is tucked, and the unfolding process can be more smooth, so that double-acceleration unfolding is realized, the unfolding speed of the air bag in the X direction is effectively improved, the unfolding stability is ensured, and the situation that the air bag is clamped on the handrail due to too fast automobile body intrusion is avoided.

It should be understood by those skilled in the art that the above-described embodiments described in the specification are preferred embodiments and that the components and modules referred to are not necessarily required to practice the invention.

According to the technical scheme of the embodiment of the invention, the bag is designed into an inner cavity and an outer cavity, namely the bag after inflation forms two cavities, namely an outer cavity on the side of a vehicle door and an inner cavity on the side of a passenger, wherein the volume of the outer cavity is smaller than that of the inner cavity, the rigidity of the outer cavity is higher than that of the inner cavity, the middle part of the inner cavity is flush with an armrest of a vehicle seat, the outer cavity and the inner cavity are separated by an interlayer, and the interlayer is provided with an. The outer chamber is directly inflated by the gas generator arranged therein, and the inner chamber is inflated in a manner of outer chamber gas conduction through the above-mentioned exhaust holes. Through the arrangement, the outer cavity with higher rigidity can fully resist the invasion of energy from the outside, so that the side air bag meets the column collision requirement, and meanwhile, the inner cavity with lower rigidity can effectively protect the head, the chest and/or the abdomen of a passenger, thereby avoiding secondary damage to the passenger caused by higher air bag internal pressure. In addition, as the joint of the door plate and the B column interior is most prone to generate large deformation when the side column is collided, the outer cavity can be designed to be higher than the inner cavity in the vertical direction, and meanwhile, the upper part of the outer cavity is inclined backwards, so that effective protection can be carried out at the position where the intrusion deformation of the vehicle body is the most serious.

The above-described embodiments should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications, combinations, sub-combinations, and substitutions can occur, depending on design requirements and other factors. Any modification, equivalent replacement, and improvement made within the spirit and principle of the present invention should be included in the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A seat side airbag comprising: an inflatable bladder and a gas generator for inflating said bladder, said bladder and said gas generator being mounted on a side of a seat adjacent a vehicle side, said bladder comprising an inner chamber facing an occupant and an outer chamber facing said vehicle side, said inner chamber and said outer chamber being in communication, said gas generator being mounted in said outer chamber, characterized in that said outer chamber is positioned higher relative to said inner chamber, and said gas generator is burst inflated to bring said outer chamber into abutment with said vehicle side.

2. The seat side airbag of claim 1, wherein a stiffness of the outer chamber is greater than a stiffness of the inner chamber.

3. The seat side airbag according to claim 1, wherein the inner chamber has a larger volume than the outer chamber, and a deployment length of the inner chamber in the front-rear direction is larger than a deployment length of the outer chamber in the front-rear direction.

4. The seat side airbag of claim 3, wherein the seat includes armrests, the bladder being inflated such that the internal cavity abuts the armrests and extends to rib areas of the occupant.

5. The seat side airbag according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the inner chamber and the outer chamber are separated by a cloth sheet, and a vent hole is provided at a middle-lower portion of the cloth sheet.

6. The seat side airbag of claim 5, wherein said vent is a self-venting vent, said inflator detonating inflates to reach a threshold outer chamber pressure, said self-venting vent opens to allow gas to flow from said outer chamber to said inner chamber.

7. A method of folding a bag for a seat side airbag according to any one of claims 1 to 6, comprising the steps of:

step one, the tail end of the bag far away from the gas generator is recessed and folded towards the interior of the bag;

folding the upper end and/or the lower end of the bag towards the center of the bag at least once to reach the design height of the folded bag;

thirdly, transversely folding the concave folding area towards the direction close to the gas generator;

and step four, carrying out U-shaped folding on the transverse folding area.

8. The method of folding a bag for a seat side airbag according to claim 7, wherein a push-away direction corresponding to the U-fold is a door direction.