CN114771454A

CN114771454A - Airbag structure and vehicle

Info

Publication number: CN114771454A
Application number: CN202210509068.7A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 张晗
Original assignee: Weilai Automobile Technology Anhui Co Ltd
Current assignee: Weilai Automobile Technology Anhui Co Ltd
Priority date: 2022-05-11
Filing date: 2022-05-11
Publication date: 2022-07-22

Abstract

The invention provides an airbag structure and a vehicle, the airbag structure comprises an airbag assembly and a mounting frame for fixing the airbag assembly on a vehicle trim, wherein the airbag assembly is provided with a bag and a gas generator for inflating the bag, the body of the mounting frame encloses a mounting frame outlet, a tearable bag ejecting area is arranged on the region of the vehicle trim corresponding to the mounting frame outlet, the airbag structure is further provided with a cloth wrapping structure, the cloth wrapping structure is fixed on the mounting frame and is provided with a first folding edge which extends from the body of the mounting frame to protrude into the mounting frame outlet in an assembling state, and the first folding edge is turned towards the vehicle trim by gas pressure in the bag during inflation of the bag. By arranging the wrapping cloth structure, the airbag structure can protect the bag from being scratched in the process of popping the bag.

Description

Airbag structure and vehicle

Technical Field

The present invention relates to an airbag structure and a vehicle having such an airbag structure.

Background

As an important component for passive safety of vehicles, airbag systems are generally constructed as a frontal impact airbag arranged in front of the driver, in particular on the steering wheel, or as a side airbag arranged to the side of the driver or other passenger. For example, the airbag module can be arranged on the dashboard of a motor vehicle, the weakened region on the dashboard being torn open during the inflation process by the action of the gas pressure in the airbag (which may be referred to simply as the airbag gas pressure) and forming an ejection opening for ejecting the airbag. The weakened area of the instrument panel here has a weakening line in the form of a line groove (also referred to as a tear edge) in order to be able to break at a necessary point in time for the pouch to pop out.

During ejection of the pouch, the pouch may be scratched due to burrs and punctures that may be present at the tear edge and thereby impede the build-up of pressure within the pouch, which is dangerous for the vehicle occupant. This is more common, for example, in side airbags, which are designed to be larger in size to meet the requirements of small offset crashes and have less space available for the ejection of the airbag on account of their arrangement in the seat.

Disclosure of Invention

According to various aspects, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved airbag structure and vehicle, wherein the airbag structure enables a better protection of the airbag during ejection of the airbag.

Furthermore, the present invention is also directed to solve or alleviate other technical problems occurring in the prior art.

The present invention solves the above-mentioned problems, and more particularly, it includes an airbag module and a mounting frame for fixing the airbag module to a vehicle trim, wherein the airbag module has a bag and a gas generator for inflating the bag, a body of the mounting frame encloses a mounting frame outlet and a bag ejection region that is tearable is provided on a region of the vehicle trim corresponding to the mounting frame outlet, wherein the airbag structure further has a cloth wrapping structure fixed at the mounting frame and having a first folded edge that extends from the body of the mounting frame to protrude into the mounting frame outlet in an assembled state, the first folded edge being turned toward the vehicle by gas pressure in the bag during inflation of the bag.

According to one aspect of the invention, the airbag structure is provided with a bag ejection area, which comprises a first edge and a second edge, wherein the second edge is designed as a weakening line and tears during inflation by the gas pressure in the bag in order to form a bag ejection opening through which the bag can pass.

According to the airbag structure of one aspect of the present invention, the number of the first folded edges of the fabric cover is equal to the number of the second edges of the pocket pop-up areas, and the first folded edges are turned toward the vehicle trim panel by the gas pressure in the pocket and cover the second edges during inflation.

According to the airbag structure provided by one aspect of the invention, the number of the first folded edges of the wrapping fabric structure is equal to the sum of the first edge and the second edge of the pocket popping area, and the first folded edges are turned towards the vehicle trim panel by gas pressure in the pocket and cover the first edge and the second edge simultaneously during inflation.

According to an aspect of the present invention, the cover structure is fixed to the mounting frame by means of a bracket, wherein the cover structure is fixed to the bracket.

According to an aspect of the present invention, the cover structure further has a second folded edge for fixing to the bracket, and the second folded edge is adhered to the bracket.

According to one aspect of the invention, an airbag structure is proposed in which a door cover is provided at the mounting frame, the door cover comprising a first door cover edge and a second door cover edge, wherein the first door cover edge is connected to the body of the mounting frame in a hinged manner, and the second door cover edge is designed as a weakening line and is torn by the gas pressure in the airbag during inflation in order to form an outlet through which the airbag can pass.

According to the airbag structure provided by one aspect of the invention, the first edge of the door cover is hinged with the body of the mounting frame by means of a fabric hinge, wherein the fabric hinge is embedded between the door cover and the body of the mounting frame.

According to an aspect of the present invention, an airbag structure is provided that can be disposed at an instrument panel of a vehicle.

By arranging the wrapping cloth structure, the airbag structure can protect the bag from being scratched in the process of popping the bag.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a vehicle having the airbag structure explained above and having the advantages explained above, which will not be described in detail.

Drawings

The above and other features of the present invention will become apparent with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which,

FIG. 1 shows an exploded view of an airbag structure according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 shows a schematic view of a cover structure derived from the airbag structure of FIG. 1;

fig. 3 shows a partial view of the airbag structure from fig. 1 from the underside;

fig. 4 shows a sectional view of the airbag structure in the assembled state.

Detailed Description

It is easily understood that, according to the technical solution of the present invention, a person skilled in the art can propose various alternative structural modes and implementation modes without changing the spirit of the present invention. Therefore, the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings are merely illustrative of the technical aspects of the present invention, and should not be construed as limiting or restricting the technical aspects of the present invention.

The directional terms upper, lower, left, right, front, rear, front, back, top, bottom and the like that are or may be mentioned in this specification are defined relative to the configurations shown in the drawings, and are relative concepts that may be changed accordingly depending on the position and the use state of the device. Therefore, these and other directional terms should not be construed as limiting terms. Furthermore, the terms "first," "second," "third," and the like are used for descriptive and descriptive purposes only and not for purposes of indication or implication as to the relative importance of the respective components.

Referring to fig. 1, which shows an airbag structure 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention and also shows an instrument panel 200 serving as a carrier of the airbag structure 100 in order to clearly show the relative positional relationship of its components, the airbag structure 100 includes an airbag module 110 and a mounting frame 120 for fixing the airbag module 110 at the instrument panel. The airbag assembly 110 comprises a bladder 111 and a gas generator (not visible in the drawings) for inflating the bladder 111 during inflation and thereby promoting the build-up of gas pressure within the bladder. In fig. 1, the pouch 111 is in a folded state, and the mounting frame 120 is not visible due to the fit on the inside of the instrument panel 200 (see fig. 3 in particular). For the sake of clarity, other elements of the airbag structure, such as the controller and possibly the sensors, are not specifically illustrated in the drawings.

It should be noted that the airbag structure is not necessarily fixed to the vehicle dashboard, but can also be arranged as a side airbag at the seat or at the vehicle body adjacent to the seat. Here, the part of the vehicle for fixing the airbag structure is summarized as a vehicle trim on which a pocket ejection area is provided for ejecting the pocket. Reference can be made to the description of the vehicle trim panel and its pocket ejection area with respect to the instrument panel.

In the central region of the mounting frame 120, a mounting frame outlet 122 is provided which is bounded by the body 121 (which may also be referred to as a wall) of the mounting frame, and correspondingly, in the region of the instrument panel which corresponds to the mounting frame outlet 122 in the assembled state, a bag ejection region is provided through which the bag is released in succession during inflation through the mounting frame outlet 122 and the bag ejection region. Here, the pouch ejection area of the instrument panel 200 may be configured in the type of a weakened area having a plurality of weakened lines which are tearable or tearable relatively early by the expanded pouch 111 and thereby form a pouch ejection opening through which the pouch is passable. That is, the non-weakened edge of the pocket pop-up area is referred to as the first edge, and in contrast, the edge that is tearable due to the weakening is referred to as the second edge. The weakening line can be realized in such a way that the material thickness is reduced, or the weakening line can be constructed in a simple manner as a cutting line for weakening the strength.

For example, the pocket ejection area of the instrument panel 200 is provided as a rectangle with four sides each configured as a line of weakness and correspondingly has four second edges. Alternatively, only three sides of the pocket ejection area are configured as weakening lines and accordingly the pocket ejection area has three second edges and a first edge in order to prevent the pocket ejection area from flying off and thereby causing secondary injuries to the vehicle occupant when the pocket 111 is ejected.

It should be noted that the pocket ejection area at the instrument panel (i.e., the vehicle trim panel for securing the airbag structure) is not limited to the form described above, but may be configured in any other manner. For example, a weakening line is provided in the center thereof and is likewise formed as a weakening line at the edge intersecting the weakening line, and the two remaining edges serve to form the first edge of the pocket ejection area, which can tear in a door-like manner and thus form the pocket ejection opening.

The airbag structure 100 according to the present invention further has a packing structure 130 fixed at the mounting frame 120 and for protecting the bladder 111 during inflation for preventing it from being scratched. Alternatively, the drape structure can be made of PA66 material. In particular, with reference to fig. 2 and 4, the wrapping structure has a first flap 131 that can freely swing and a second flap 132 for fixing at the mounting frame, wherein the first flap 131 extends from the body 121 of the mounting frame in the assembled state to protrude into the mounting frame outlet 122, i.e. the first flap 131 covers a portion of the mounting frame outlet 122. When the airbag structure 100 inflates the bag 111 in response to a vehicle collision, the first fold 131 is pressed and turned toward the vehicle instrument panel 200 by the gas pressure (i.e., the bag-in gas pressure) in the bag 111 located below the mounting frame 120 (particularly, below the drape structure), in such a manner as to cover the edge of the bag pop-up area at the instrument panel. That is, the provision of the drape structure can effectively prevent the tear of the pouch during the inflation process from causing the tearing of the pouch at the ejection area and/or the tearing of the burrs, sharp corners or protrusions of the outlet of the mounting frame, which will be described later. This is particularly advantageous when the size of the pocket is large and may also enable a reduction in the size of the ejection area of the pocket.

Alternatively, the cloth covering structure 130 can be fixed directly to the mounting frame 120, in particular, the cloth covering structure 130 can be fixed to the body 121 of the mounting frame with its second flange 132 angled (in particular at right angles) to the first flange 131. For example, the second flange is fixed at the body 121 by means of screws, or the second flange 132 is fixed at the body 121 by means of an adhesive. Of course, the wrapping structure can also be directly fixed at the wall portion of the mounting frame with the first folding edge 131 in case the fixing strength is satisfactory.

Alternatively, the clothing structure 130 can be fastened to the mounting frame 120 by means of special brackets 133, as shown in the figures, wherein the clothing structure 130 can be covered by its second flange 132 and fastened to the brackets 133, which are screwed to the mounting frame 120 by means of screws. The second fold 132 can be fixed to the support 133 by means of an adhesive.

The drape structure 130 has a plurality of drape strips (three drape strips in the drawing) which are integrally connected to each other. The plurality of strips may be separately configured and adjacent strips partially overlap for ensuring coverage of the torn pocket ejection area. Each strip has a first fold 131 and a second fold 132, wherein the number of first folds 131 may be equal to the number of second edges in the pocket ejection area, i.e. the wrapping structure 130 only covers the second edges where a burr or bulge may occur during inflation. For example, in the exemplary embodiment described above with three second edges and one first edge, the clothing structure accordingly has three clothing strips and three first folds.

Alternatively, the drape structure 130 can cover all edges of the torn pocket pop-up area during pocket pop-up, i.e. the number of first flaps 131 can be equal to the sum of the second and first edges of the pocket pop-up area. In this way the sachet is better protected against scratching.

It should be noted that the cover structure is not limited to the above-described embodiments, but can be configured to match the shape of the ejection area of the pocket and the arrangement of the second edge thereof. Furthermore, the above description of the number of first folds is not to be understood as limiting, but merely as an indication of the relationship of the drape structure to the second edge of the pocket ejection area. For example, when the pocket ejection area is circular, the first fold can likewise be configured or enclose a circle or a partial circle corresponding to its second edge.

Optionally, the mounting frame 120 of the airbag arrangement itself also has a (not visible in the drawing) door flap which is located between the mounting frame body 121 and the instrument panel 200 and can likewise be configured in the form of a weakened region. The door cover comprises a second weakened edge and a first non-weakened edge, wherein the first edge of the door cover is hinged with the body of the mounting frame. During inflation, this second edge of the door is torn by the bladder 111 and thus forms an outlet through which the bladder 111 can pass, while during this process the first edge of the door, due to its hinged connection to the body 121 of the bezel, restrains the tear at the body 121 of the bezel, so as not to fly out of the instrument panel and cause secondary injury to the passengers. Further, the manufacturing process of the instrument panel can be simplified by providing the door cover at the mounting frame 120, and for example, modification of a production mold of the vehicle instrument panel due to the ejection process of the airbag structure can be omitted.

Alternatively, the first edge of the door cover is hingedly connected to the body 121 of the mounting frame by means of a mechanical hinge, or the first edge of the door cover is hingedly connected to the body 121 of the mounting frame by means of a fabric hinge 123, wherein the fabric hinge 123 is embedded between the door cover and the body 121 of the mounting frame. The fabric hinge 123 is made up of multiple pieces of fabric having a mesh structure, which can be woven from aramid or high strength yarns. Here, the mesh structure can be in the form of an ellipse, a rectangle, a hexagon or a circle. During inflation, the fabric hinge 123 is stretched by the compression of the bladder 111 and thereby restrains the door (particularly the torn weakened region thereof) so that the torn door does not fly out of the instrument panel 200.

Furthermore, in view of the possibility of burrs or projections also being present at the second edge of the door cover, the cloth cover 130 can optionally also be designed to be adapted to the door cover in order to cover the second edge of the door cover during ejection of the pocket 111.

Finally, the invention also relates to a vehicle having such an airbag structure, wherein the airbag structure can be arranged as a main airbag at the instrument panel of the vehicle or as a side airbag at the seat or at the vehicle body adjacent to the seat. The description of the vehicle according to the invention can accordingly be referred to the above description of the airbag structure according to the invention, which is not repeated.

It should be understood that all of the above preferred embodiments are exemplary and not restrictive, and that various modifications and changes in the specific embodiments described above, which would occur to persons skilled in the art upon consideration of the above teachings, are intended to be within the scope of the invention.

Claims

1. An airbag structure, comprising an airbag module and a mounting frame for fixing the airbag module to a vehicle trim, wherein the airbag module has a bag and a gas generator for inflating the bag, and a body of the mounting frame encloses a mounting frame outlet and is provided with a bag ejection area which can be torn on a region of the vehicle trim corresponding to the mounting frame outlet, wherein the airbag structure further has a cloth covering structure which is fixed to the mounting frame and has a first flap which extends from the body of the mounting frame in an assembled state and projects into the mounting frame outlet, the first flap being turned toward the vehicle trim by a bag gas pressure during inflation of the bag.

2. The airbag structure according to claim 1, wherein the bladder ejection area comprises a first edge and a second edge, wherein the second edge is configured as a line of weakness and tears during inflation by gas pressure within the bladder for forming a bladder ejection opening through which the bladder can pass.

3. The airbag structure of claim 2, wherein the number of first flaps of the drape structure is equal to the number of second edges of the pocket pop-up area, the first flaps being turned toward the vehicle trim panel and covering the second edges by the pressure of the gas inside the pocket during inflation.

4. The airbag structure according to claim 2, wherein the number of the first folded edges of the cover structure is equal to the sum of the first edge and the second edge of the pocket pop-up area, and the first folded edges are turned toward the vehicle trim panel by the in-pocket gas pressure and cover the first edge and the second edge at the same time during inflation.

5. The airbag structure according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the cloth coating structure is fixed at the mounting frame by means of a bracket, wherein the cloth coating structure is fixed on the bracket.

6. The airbag structure of claim 5, wherein the cloth covering structure further has a second flange for securing to the bracket, the second flange being adhered to the bracket.

7. The airbag structure according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that a door cover is provided at the mounting frame, the door cover including a door cover first edge and a door cover second edge, wherein the door cover first edge is hingedly connected to the body of the mounting frame, and the door cover second edge is configured as a weakening line and is torn by the gas pressure in the bag during inflation for forming an outlet through which the bag can pass.

8. The airbag structure of claim 6, wherein the door cover first edge is hingedly connected to the body of the mounting frame by means of a fabric hinge, wherein the fabric hinge is embedded between the door cover and the body of the mounting frame.

9. The airbag structure according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the airbag structure is arranged at a vehicle instrument panel.

10. A vehicle characterized by having an airbag structure according to any one of claims 1 to 9.