CN115339410A

CN115339410A - Air bag and vehicle

Info

Publication number: CN115339410A
Application number: CN202110524046.3A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 王挺; 孟强
Original assignee: Autoliv Development AB
Current assignee: Autoliv Development AB
Priority date: 2021-05-13
Filing date: 2021-05-13
Publication date: 2022-11-15
Also published as: WO2022237290A1

Abstract

The invention relates to an airbag and a vehicle. The airbag includes: an air bag having a deployed state and a stowed state, the air bag when in the deployed state comprising a first side flap, a second side flap and a lower portion connected together to define a recess, and the recess for receiving a head of an occupant; wherein at least a portion of both the first side flap and the second side flap are formed from a first sheet of fabric.

Description

Air bag and vehicle

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a safety device in a vehicle, in particular to an airbag, and also to a vehicle comprising the airbag.

Background

Among the traffic accidents that actually occur, the accident of collision of two vehicles is very common. Therefore, an airbag has been widely used as a safety device for protecting an occupant in a conventional vehicle. The airbag includes, for example, an airbag disposed in a steering wheel, an airbag disposed in an instrument panel, and an overhead airbag disposed in a roof of a vehicle. When a vehicle is collided or impacted, a gas generator of the airbag receives a signal transmitted through a wire harness connected to the gas generator, and thus, a explosion occurs. The gas generated by the explosion will then rapidly inflate the folded bag of the airbag, and the inflated bag expands to protect the occupant from injury from impact.

However, statistics show that the probability of a frontal collision of two vehicles is low, and the probability of an oblique collision, i.e., an oblique collision, occurring at the front surface of the vehicle is high. During an oblique collision, the head and the chest of the occupant may slide away from the airbag of the airbag and thus no longer lie within the protective region of the airbag's airbag and instead strike other structures in the vehicle interior and get injured. Therefore, the related art airbags are low in reliability and safety due to difficulty in ensuring that the occupant is located within the protected area of the airbag during a collision.

Therefore, an airbag having high reliability and safety is desired.

Disclosure of Invention

The invention aims to provide an airbag with high reliability and safety. Moreover, the safety airbag of the invention can realize the purposes of simple structure and low manufacturing cost.

An aspect of the present invention provides an airbag including:

an air bag having an expanded state and a stored state,

the airbag, when in a deployed state, includes a first side flap, a second side flap, and a lower portion connected together to define a recess, and the recess is for receiving a head of an occupant;

wherein the content of the first and second substances,

at least a portion of both the first side flap and the second side flap are formed from a first sheet of fabric.

According to an embodiment of the invention, the first side flap, the second side flap and the lower extension are formed by only the first and second pieces of fabric.

According to an embodiment of the invention, the first side flap comprises a first inner side face for forming the recess, the second side flap comprises a second inner side face for forming the recess, and the first inner side face and the second inner side face are arranged adjacent to each other.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the lower extension portion serves to protect an abdomen of the passenger, and includes a first front face facing the passenger, the first front face being disposed adjacent to the first inner side face and the second inner side face, respectively.

According to an embodiment of the invention, the first and second flanks are configured to form a first and a second lobe, respectively, when in the deployed state.

According to an embodiment of the invention, the second piece of fabric is configured as a strip and is located at least on the front side of the airbag in the deployed state.

According to an embodiment of the invention, the second piece of fabric is located on a front side, a lower side and a rear side of the airbag in a deployed state.

According to an embodiment of the invention, the first front face of the lower extension is formed by the first piece of fabric.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, further comprising a draw tape provided inside the airbag, one end of the draw tape being configured to be connected to a front side of the airbag, and the other end of the draw tape being configured to be connected between the first side wing and the second side wing.

Another aspect of the invention provides a vehicle that includes any of the above airbags, and the airbag is configured to be installed in an instrument panel of the vehicle.

Drawings

Features, advantages and technical effects of exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, like numbering represents like elements, and wherein:

fig. 1 (a) and 1 (b) schematically show an airbag according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 shows a method for manufacturing an airbag according to a first embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 3 (a) and 3 (b) show an airbag according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 4 shows a method for manufacturing an airbag according to a second embodiment of the invention.

Detailed Description

Hereinafter, specific embodiments of an airbag and a vehicle according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. The following detailed description and drawings are provided to illustrate the principles of the invention, which is not limited to the preferred embodiments described, but rather can be used alone or in any combination thereof, the scope of the invention being defined by the appended claims.

In addition, spatially relative terms (such as "upper," "lower," "left," and "right," etc.) are used to describe one element's relative positional relationship with another element as illustrated in the figures. Spatially relative terms may therefore apply in other orientations than those illustrated in the figures, when used. It will be apparent that although for ease of illustration all of these spatially relative terms refer to the orientation shown in the drawings, those skilled in the art will appreciate that orientations other than those shown in the drawings may be used.

Fig. 1 (a) and 1 (b) schematically show an airbag according to a first embodiment of the present invention. An airbag according to an embodiment of the present invention is described below with reference to fig. 1 (a) and 1 (b).

Fig. 1 (a) and 1 (b) are schematic views of an airbag according to a first embodiment of the present invention, respectively, as viewed from different orientations. As shown in fig. 1 (a) and 1 (b), an airbag according to an embodiment of the present invention includes an airbag 10 and a gas generator (not shown). The airbag 10 has a deployed state and a stored state, and the gas generator is used to inflate the airbag 10 into the deployed state. In order to clearly see the structure of the airbag 10, the airbag 10 is shown in a deployed state in fig. 1 (a) and 1 (b), and the right front side of the airbag 10 shown in fig. 1 (a) and the front side of the airbag 10 shown in fig. 1 (b) will face the occupant in use.

With continued reference to fig. 1 (a) and 1 (b), it can be clearly seen that, with the air bag 10 shown in fig. 1 (a) and 1 (b) in the deployed state, the air bag 10 includes a first side flap 100, a second side flap 200, and a lower extension 300. The first side wing 100, the second side wing 200, and the lower part 300 are connected together to define a recess 400, and the recess 400 serves to receive the head of the passenger. Specifically, as shown in fig. 1 (a) and 1 (b), with respect to the passenger, both the first side wing 100 and the second side wing 200 include a side facing the passenger and a side facing away from the passenger, in other words, the first side wing 100 includes a first inner side face 100A for forming the recess 400, the second side wing 200 includes a second inner side face 200A for forming the recess 400, and the first inner side face 100A and the second inner side face 200A are disposed adjacent to each other. For example, in the first embodiment shown in fig. 1 (a) and 1 (b), the lower portions of the adjacent sides of first medial side 100A and second medial side 200A are joined together via, for example, a second stitch S2, and the upper portions of the adjacent sides are integral and folded to some extent at this location to form a depression 400. Further, the lower extension portion 300 serves to protect the abdomen of the passenger, and includes a first front surface facing the passenger (i.e., a surface facing the passenger in fig. 1 (b)) disposed adjacent to the first and second

inner side surfaces

100A and 200A, respectively. In the first embodiment according to the present invention, there is no clear demarcation between the first front face of the lower portion 300 and the first inner side face 100A and the second inner side face 200A, which can be understood from the position of the airbag 10 with respect to the occupant, i.e., the portion of the airbag 10 capable of protecting the abdomen of the occupant is regarded as the lower portion 400, and the side of the lower portion 400 facing the occupant is regarded as the first front face.

Further, as shown in fig. 1 (a), the first and

second wings

100 and 200 are configured to form first and second lobes, respectively, when in a deployed state. Also, at least a portion of both the first and

second side flaps

100 and 200 are formed from a first piece of fabric W1, as will be described in more detail below with reference to fig. 2.

When the above airbag is installed in, for example, an instrument panel to protect a front passenger, the head of the passenger moves substantially in synchronization with the vehicle before a collision event occurs; during a collision event, the direction of travel and speed of the vehicle may change dramatically and abruptly. When such a collision triggers the airbag to deploy the airbag, the airbag is accelerated in a specific direction of the vehicle, that is, deployed rearward from the instrument panel. Because the crash event itself has changed the direction of travel of the vehicle, the occupant may no longer move in synchronization with the vehicle, even if restricted by a modern three-point seat belt. Furthermore, the occupant may be damaged to some extent when impacting the bag of the airbag. For example, the head of an occupant may rotationally accelerate relative to the spine due to air pockets impacting the airbag. Such rotational acceleration or deceleration may cause injury to the occupant. In other words, when an occupant impacts the airbag of the airbag, significant rotation or twisting of the occupant's head may occur, which may cause injury. For example, when a front-seat occupant moves in a forward direction during a crash event and impacts the air bag of an airbag, the occupant's head may rotate about the longitudinal axis of the head with considerable force. Therefore, there is a need for an airbag having the function of reducing the rotational speed of the occupant's head during a collision event to reduce the risk of traumatic head/brain injury caused by rapid rotation of the occupant's head. The airbag of the present invention has the above-described functions, which will be described in detail below.

As shown in fig. 1 (a) and 1 (b), in the airbag 10 of the airbag of the present invention, a low fabric tension region and a high fabric tension region are generated in the recess 400. Specifically, the low fabric tension region is located at a portion where the first and second inner side faces 100A and 200A of the airbag 10 are adjacent to each other, and the high fabric tension region is opposite to the portion where the two inner side faces are adjacent, in other words, the high fabric tension region is located at an end (e.g., a tip portion of a convex corner) where the first and second side flaps 100 and 200 are distant from each other. The low fabric tension region may reduce the likelihood of the airbag 10 causing the head of the occupant to rotate. The high fabric tension region provides support to prevent or limit an occupant from rushing out of the first side wing 100 or the second side wing 200. Thus, in the airbag of the present invention, the recess formed between the first and second side wings can receive the head of an occupant and provide support to the sides of the head to counteract forces on the head that could cause the head to rotate clockwise or counterclockwise about the longitudinal axis of the head.

Therefore, the airbag of the present invention can ensure that the occupant is positioned within the protection area of the airbag during a collision, and can reduce the risk of traumatic head/brain injury due to rapid rotation of the occupant's head, thereby having high reliability and safety. Meanwhile, the first side flap, the second side flap and the lower extension are connected together to define the recess, and at least a portion of both the first side flap and the second side flap is formed of the first piece of fabric, so that the airbag of the present invention has the characteristics of simple structure and low manufacturing cost.

Fig. 2 shows a method for manufacturing an airbag according to a first embodiment of the invention. A method of manufacturing an airbag according to a first embodiment of the invention is described below with reference to fig. 2.

As shown in fig. 2, three pieces of fabric, i.e., a first piece of fabric W1, a second piece of fabric W2, and a third piece of fabric W3, are provided. The first piece of fabric W1 in the unfolded state is configured to include a left portion to be used for forming the first side wing 100 and a right portion to be used for forming the second side wing 200. Further, the second piece of fabric W2 is configured to form a front side, which can be understood as the side facing the windshield of the vehicle, i.e., the side of the air bag 10 shown in fig. 1 (b) that is not visible; and the third piece of fabric W3 is configured to form a drawstring inside the airbag 10.

The method of manufacturing the airbag of the first embodiment of the present invention is as follows:

providing a first piece of fabric W1, and marking six characteristic points A1, A2, A3, B1, B2 and B3 on the upper side edge of the first piece of fabric W1, wherein the point A3 and the point B1 are coincident;

marking seven characteristic points C1, C2, C3, C4, C5, C6 and C7 on the lower side edge of the first piece of fabric W1;

providing a second piece of fabric W2, the second piece of fabric W2 being configured in an elongated shape and being located at least on the front side of the airbag in a deployed state; marking six feature points of D1, D2, D3, D4, D5 and D6 on the second piece of fabric W2;

coinciding the point A1 and the point A3, folding the border A1A2 in half to overlap the border A2A3, and then connecting (e.g., sewing or bonding) the border A1A2 and the border A2A3 together; and, the connection is represented by dashed line S1 in fig. 1 (a) and 1 (b);

coinciding the point B1 and the point B3, folding the border B2B3 in half to overlap the border B1B2, and then connecting (e.g., sewing or bonding) the line B1B2 and the border B2B3 together; and, the connection is represented by dashed line S1 in fig. 1 (a) and 1 (b);

providing a third piece of fabric W3, connecting one end of the third piece of fabric W3 near W1, for example near a characteristic point A3/B1 of W1;

joining (e.g., sewing or bonding) border A1C1 and border B3C7 together; and, this connection is represented by dashed line S2 in fig. 1 (a) and 1 (b);

connecting (e.g., sewing or bonding) the curve C1C2C3C4 and the curve D1D2D3D4 together, connecting the other end of the third piece of fabric W3 to, e.g., a middle portion of the second piece of fabric W2, and connecting (e.g., sewing or bonding) the curve C4C5C6C7 and the curve D1D6D5D4 together; and, this connection is schematically represented by the dashed line S3 in fig. 1 (a) and 1 (b).

It is to be noted that the above-described method for manufacturing an airbag of the present invention is merely an example, and those skilled in the art can modify or even delete the order of the steps of the above method according to actual circumstances. And, the front side in the invention refers to the front side in the front-rear direction of the vehicle.

Referring to fig. 1 (a), 1 (b) and 2, in the first embodiment according to the present invention, the first side flap 100, the second side flap 200 and the lower extension 300 are formed only by the first and second sheets of fabric W1 and W2. Therefore, the airbag 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention uses a small number of fabric sheets, has a simple structure, and is easy to manufacture.

And, the first front face of the lower extension 300 is formed by the first sheet of web W1. Further, the second piece of fabric W2 is located on the front side and the lower side of the airbag in the deployed state. Of course this is only an example and a person skilled in the art may design the second fabric differently depending on the shape of the air pockets required and one example of a different design of the second fabric will be given below.

Fig. 3 (a) and 3 (b) show an airbag according to a second embodiment of the present invention. An airbag according to a second embodiment of the present invention is shown below with reference to fig. 3 (a) and 3 (b). It should be noted that the following description is only directed to the differences from the first embodiment, and the same points are not described again to avoid redundancy.

As shown in fig. 3 (a) and 3 (b), in the second embodiment according to the present invention, two imaginary lines S3 are connected with the imaginary line S1 at both ends of the imaginary line S1, so that in the deployed state, the second piece of fabric is connected to the front side, the lower side, and the entire rear side of the airbag 10' via the imaginary line S3, and accordingly, the first front surface of the lower portion 300 is partially formed of the second fabric. It can be clearly observed that by designing the development shapes of the second fabric and the first fabric differently, airbags having different development shapes can be obtained.

Fig. 4 shows a method for manufacturing an airbag according to a second embodiment of the invention. A method of manufacturing an airbag according to a second embodiment of the invention is described below with reference to fig. 4.

As shown in fig. 4, three pieces of fabric, i.e., a first piece of fabric W1', a second piece of fabric W2', and a third piece of fabric W3', are provided. The first piece of fabric W1' in the unfolded state is configured to include a left portion to be used to form the first side flap 100' and a right portion to be used to form the second side flap 200'. Furthermore, the second piece of fabric W2' is configured to form a front side, which can be understood as the side facing the vehicle windscreen; and, the third piece of fabric W3 'is configured to form a drawstring inside the airbag 10'.

A method of manufacturing an airbag of a second embodiment of the present invention is as follows:

providing a first piece of fabric W1', marking six characteristic points A1, A2, A3, B1, B2 and B3 on the upper side edge of the first piece of fabric W1', wherein the point A3 and the point B1 are coincident;

marking five feature points A6, A7, A8, B7 and B6 on the lower side of the first piece of fabric W1', two feature points A4 and A5 on the left side and two feature points B5 and B4 on the right side;

providing a second piece of fabric W2', the second piece of fabric W2' being configured in an elongated shape and being located at least on the front side of the airbag in a deployed state; marking eight feature points C1, C2, C3, C4, C5, C6, C7 and C8 on the second piece of fabric W2';

coinciding the point A1 and the point A3, folding the border A1A2 in half to overlap the border A2A3, and then connecting (e.g., sewing or bonding) the border A1A2 and the border A2A3 together; and, this connection is represented by dashed line S1 (specifically, a part of S1) in fig. 3 (a) and 3 (b);

coinciding the point B1 and the point B3, folding the border B2B3 in half to overlap the border B1B2, and then connecting (e.g., sewing or bonding) the line B1B2 and the border B2B3 together; and, the connection is represented by dashed line S1 (specifically, a portion of S1) in fig. 3 (a) and 3 (b);

providing a third piece of fabric W3', connecting one end of the third piece of fabric W3' to W1', for example in the vicinity of characteristic point A3/B1 of W1';

joining (e.g., stitching or bonding) border line A1A4 and border line B3B5 together; and, the connection is represented by dashed line S2 in fig. 3 (a) and 3 (b);

aligning the feature points A4, B5 with C1, and thereafter, joining (e.g., sewing or bonding) the curve C1C2C3C4C5 and the curve B5B4B6B7A8 together, joining the other end of the third piece of fabric W3 'to, e.g., a middle portion of the second piece of fabric W2', and joining (e.g., sewing or bonding) the curve C1C8C7C6C5 and the curve A4A5A6A7A8 together; and, this connection is schematically represented by the dashed line S3 in fig. 3 (a) and 3 (b).

It is to be noted that the above-described method for manufacturing an airbag of the present invention is merely an example, and those skilled in the art can modify or even delete the order of the steps of the above method according to actual circumstances. And, the front side in the present invention means the front side in the front-rear direction of the vehicle.

Another aspect of the invention also provides a vehicle that includes any of the above airbags, and the airbag is configured to be installed in an instrument panel of the vehicle. It is noted that the above advantages that apply to the airbag according to the invention apply equally to a vehicle according to the invention comprising such an airbag.

As described above, although the exemplary embodiments of the present invention have been described in the description with reference to the drawings, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and the scope of the present invention should be defined by the claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. An airbag, comprising:

an air bag (10, 10') having a deployed state and a stowed state,

the airbag (10, 10 '), when in a deployed state, comprises a first side wing (100, 100'), a second side wing (200, 200 '), and a lower leg (300, 300') connected together to define a recess (400), and the recess (400) is for receiving a head of a passenger;

it is characterized in that the preparation method is characterized in that,

at least a portion of both the first and second side flaps (100, 200') is formed from a first piece of fabric (W1).

2. The airbag according to claim 1, wherein the first side flap (100, 100 '), the second side flap (200, 200 '), and the lower portion (300, 300 ') are formed by only the first and second pieces of fabric (W1, W2).

3. The airbag according to claim 2, wherein the first side flap (100) includes a first inner side face (100A) for forming the recess (400), the second side flap (200) includes a second inner side face (200A) for forming the recess (400), and the first inner side face (100A) and the second inner side face (200A) are disposed adjacent to each other.

4. The airbag according to claim 3, wherein the lower portion (300) is for protecting an abdomen of the passenger, and includes a first front face facing the passenger, the first front face being disposed adjacent to the first inner side face (100A), the second inner side face (200A), respectively.

5. The airbag of claim 4 wherein the first and second wings (100, 200) are configured to form first and second lobes, respectively, when in a deployed state.

6. The airbag according to claim 2, wherein the second piece of fabric (W2) is configured in an elongated shape and is located at least at a front side of the airbag in a deployed state.

7. The airbag according to claim 6, wherein the second piece of fabric (W2) is located on a front side, a lower side, and a rear side of the airbag in a deployed state.

8. The airbag according to claim 2, wherein the first front face of the lower portion (300) is formed by the first piece of fabric (W1).

9. The airbag of claim 1 further comprising a drawstring disposed within the airbag, one end of the drawstring configured to be connected to a front side of the airbag and another end of the drawstring configured to be connected between the first side wing (100) and the second side wing (200).

10. A vehicle comprising an airbag according to any of claims 1 to 9 and configured to be mounted in an instrument panel of the vehicle.