Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
  • B60R—VEHICLES, VEHICLE FITTINGS, OR VEHICLE PARTS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • B60R21/00—Arrangements or fittings on vehicles for protecting or preventing injuries to occupants or pedestrians in case of accidents or other traffic risks
  • B60R21/02—Occupant safety arrangements or fittings, e.g. crash pads
  • B60R21/16—Inflatable occupant restraints or confinements designed to inflate upon impact or impending impact, e.g. air bags
  • B60R21/20—Arrangements for storing inflatable members in their non-use or deflated condition; Arrangement or mounting of air bag modules or components
  • B60R21/215—Arrangements for storing inflatable members in their non-use or deflated condition; Arrangement or mounting of air bag modules or components characterised by the covers for the inflatable member
  • B60R21/216—Arrangements for storing inflatable members in their non-use or deflated condition; Arrangement or mounting of air bag modules or components characterised by the covers for the inflatable member comprising tether means for limitation of cover motion during deployment
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
  • B60R—VEHICLES, VEHICLE FITTINGS, OR VEHICLE PARTS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • B60R21/00—Arrangements or fittings on vehicles for protecting or preventing injuries to occupants or pedestrians in case of accidents or other traffic risks
  • B60R21/02—Occupant safety arrangements or fittings, e.g. crash pads
  • B60R21/16—Inflatable occupant restraints or confinements designed to inflate upon impact or impending impact, e.g. air bags
  • B60R21/20—Arrangements for storing inflatable members in their non-use or deflated condition; Arrangement or mounting of air bag modules or components
  • B60R21/205—Arrangements for storing inflatable members in their non-use or deflated condition; Arrangement or mounting of air bag modules or components in dashboards

Definitions

• the invention relates to an airbag arrangement fitted to a motor vehicle dashboard positioned for example to protect the passenger installed next to the driver of the vehicle.
• Such an arrangement comprises a flap integral with the dashboard body having its generally rectangular contour delimited by a precut made on the underside of the dashboard body, so that this flap is not visible to an occupant of the dashboard. vehicle.
• An airbag module is attached to the underside of the dashboard body, at the flap, so that when the inflation of the cushion is triggered, this cushion exerts a pressure on the underside of the flap to cause the inflation of the airbag. opening of this component by breaking the precut. The opening of the shutter then allows the safety cushion to deploy to the passenger compartment of the vehicle to protect the corresponding occupant.
• Such a flap typically has a rectangular outline, and is articulated relative to the rest of the body of the dashboard at the transverse edge of its contour which is closest to the windshield of the vehicle.
• This or these links protrude opposite edges of the outline of the flap which are oriented in the direction of advance of the vehicle, and they are secured to a fixed part of the assembly while being relatively loose between this fixed part and the shutter.
• the opening of the flap is limited by the length of the link or ties that are then stretched when the flap reaches a certain degree of opening.
• the object of the invention is to propose a solution to remedy this drawback.
• the subject of the invention is an arrangement for a motor vehicle airbag comprising a flap covering an airbag module, this flap comprising a flap body to which a reinforcing plate is attached and being articulated by relative to a fixed part to open on inflation of the cushion, and comprising a linear link comprising a central portion secured to the flap and two lateral portions protruding from two opposite edges of the flap to be secured to a fixed part in order to limit the opening of the flap during inflation of the cushion, the linear link having its central portion; attached to the shutter being taken between the shutter body and the reinforcement plate fixed on the lower face of this shutter body, characterized in that the shutter comprises a reinforcing rod along the contour of this shutter at least in the regions where the link extends beyond opposite edges of this flap, the link being located between the reinforcing rod and the flap body in areas where this link protrudes from opposite edges of this flap.
• the risk of rupture of the reinforcement plate and / or the shutter during the sudden powering of the links is virtually canceled because the mechanical forces exerted by the link on the reinforcing plate are transferred to this plate through the rod which thus distributes these forces along the edge of the reinforcing plate.
• the risk of breakage of the shutter is thus substantially canceled.
• the invention also relates to an arrangement as defined above, wherein the reinforcing rod is interposed between the reinforcing plate and the link in regions where this link protrudes from the opposite edges of the shutter.
• the invention also relates to an arrangement as defined above, wherein the reinforcing rod is overmolded in the reinforcing plate.
• the invention also relates to an arrangement as defined above, wherein the reinforcing rod is metallic.
• the invention also relates to an arrangement as defined above, in which the metal rod runs along the entire contour of the shutter.
• the invention also relates to an arrangement as defined above, wherein the reinforcing rod is fitted at ribs of the reinforcing plate by which this plate is fixed to the shutter body.
• the invention also relates to an arrangement as defined above, in which the ribs of the reinforcing plate are oriented perpendicularly to the opposite edges of the flap over which the link extends, and in which each rib has a notch for receiving the reinforcing rod. .
• Figure 1 is a schematic representation partially showing the arrangement according to the invention in accordance with a vertical sectional plane oriented in the direction of advance of the vehicle;
• Figure 2 is a partial schematic representation of the arrangement according to the invention in accordance with a transverse cutting plane with respect to the direction of travel of the vehicle.
• the idea underlying the invention is to provide a rod along the contour of the flap at the level where the link protrudes from this component so that the mechanical stress exerted by the link when it is stretched is distributed throughout the stem on the reinforcement plate.
• a dashboard body 2 which here has a convex shape, comprises a flap 3 capable of pivoting about a transverse axis marked by 4 corresponding to the edge transverse front of this flap 3, this axis 4 extending in a plane normal to Figure 1.
• This component 3 comprises a shutter body 5 integral part of the dashboard body 2 being delimited on the one hand by the axis 4, and secondly by a U-shaped precut.
• This precut defines the two opposite side edges of the flaps 3, identified by 7 and 8 in Figure 2, which extend parallel to the direction of travel of the vehicle represented by the arrow A of Figure 1, and the rear transverse edge of the flap body 5 which is indicated by 6 in the figure 1.
• a firing channel generally indicated by 9 is attached to the lower face 11 of the dashboard, being positioned to surround the outline of the flap.
• This firing channel 9 has a general shape of pipe portion, oriented in a direction normal to the dashboard body 2.
• the upper end of this channel 9 matches the curve of the lower face 11, and its lower end defines the opposite a flat face marked by 12 which is intended to receive an airbag module not shown.
• the shutter 3 is formed by the shutter body 5 stiffened by a reinforcing plate 13 attached to its lower face, and on which the safety cushion exerts its pressure to cause the opening of the shutter by breaking the precut during deployment.
• This reinforcing plate 13 is made of plastic or the like, being formed of a main wall 14 provided with a set of ribs, here six ribs marked 16 to 21.
• the main wall 14 is oriented parallel to the flap body 5, and the ribs 16-21 protrude from the upper face of the main wall extending transversely to the direction of advance AT.
• the reinforcement plate is attached to the face lower part of the shutter body 5 for example with an ultrasonic welding process, whereby the upper edges of the ribs 16-21 are secured to the underside of the shutter body 5.
• the main wall 14 is separated from the shutter body 5 by a distance corresponding to the height of the ribs to define a space partitioned by these ribs.
• the flap 3 also comprises a reinforcing rod 22 folded to have a rectangular shape corresponding to that of the contour of the flap while having dimensions substantially smaller than those of the contour.
• This reinforcing rod 22 may be a metal rod, but it may also be made of another material such as a plastics material having greater rigidity than the reinforcing plate 13.
• This reinforcing rod may thus be made of polyamide or of polypropylene incorporating glass fibers.
• This rod 22 is engaged at the ribs of the reinforcing plate 13 to occupy a position in which it is substantially resting on the upper face of the main wall 14 and in which it runs along the periphery of the shutter body 5 and the reinforcing plate 13.
• Each transverse rib 16-21 is for this purpose provided at each of its ends with a notch oriented perpendicularly to the main wall 14 and opening into the upper edge this rib.
• the two notches of the rib 21 are shown in FIG. 2, where they are indicated by 23 and 24.
• the retaining link of the shutter 3, indicated by 26 in the figures, is a linear link comprising a central portion 27 which is engaged between the two ribs contiguous 20 and 21 which are closest to the transverse edge 6, being superimposed on the reinforcing rod 22 which is thus interposed between the link 26 and the main wall 14.
• the central portion 27 of the link 26 is extended by two lateral portions marked by 28 and 29 and which respectively protrude from the lateral edges 7 and 8 of the flap 3, each of these portions being attached to a fixed part, not shown, such as for example a flap attached to the firing channel, or to the dashboard body 2, or to the cushion module.
• the safety cushion During inflation of the safety cushion, it first deploys in the firing channel 9 to be pressed against the wall 14 of the shutter 3 by exerting a pressure on it causing the tearing of the board edge along the pre-cut 6, and thereby the opening of the flap.
• the opening of the shutter 3 suddenly causes the tensioning of the portions 28 and 29 of the link which then exert a mechanical force on the wall 14 by means of the reinforcing rod 22 interposed between this link and the wall 14. Thanks to this reinforcing rod 22, the force exerted by the severely tensioned link is distributed all along the rod 22, thereby reducing the mechanical stress experienced by the reinforcement plate when the shutter is immobilized in the open position.
• the assembly of the shutter of the arrangement according to the invention can advantageously be made by firstly fitting the reinforcing rod 22 on the reinforcing plate 13, then placing the central portion 27 of the link 26 between the ribs 20 and 21, and by fixing the reinforcing plate equipped with these two elements, to the lower face of the shutter body 5, by welding ultrasound or other.
• the reinforcing rod is fitted on the reinforcing plate, but it can also be provided that it is totally or partially overmolded in this reinforcing plate.

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• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Air Bags (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=42371400

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (5)

Family Cites Families (12)

• 2010
  • 2010-03-24 FR FR1052134A patent/FR2957870B1/fr not_active Expired - Fee Related
• 2011
  • 2011-03-23 WO PCT/EP2011/001443 patent/WO2011116949A1/fr active Application Filing
  • 2011-03-23 US US13/636,681 patent/US8789844B2/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 2011-03-23 EP EP11711279A patent/EP2550184A1/de not_active Withdrawn
  • 2011-03-23 CN CN201180015080.2A patent/CN102892640B/zh not_active Expired - Fee Related

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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