JP2000071920A - Air bag device for front-seat passenger - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To decrease the protruded quantity of the center section in the car width direction of a deployed air bag lid by providing the air bag lid arranged on an instrument panel and depolyable against a window shield glass and a pair of nearly parallel fragile sections extending in the longitudinal direction of a vehicle on the back face. SOLUTION: The tube 350 of a strap 35 is arranged along the rib 310 of a plate section 318, and the longitudinal size is determined so that both end section vicinities exist in both eyelets 311a, 311b. Both ends of the strap 35 penetrating the eyelets 311a, 311b are welded to the outsides of both side faces in the car width direction of an air bag case and fixed by fitting tools. A pair of nearly parallel fragile section slits 36 extending in the longitudinal direction of a vehicle are formed across the center on the inside in the car width direction between the eyelets 311a, 311b. When the expansion force of a bag acts, an air bag lid is bent at the fragile section slits 36, and the protruded quantity can be decreased.

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 disposed on an instrument panel on a passenger seat side of an automobile and has an airbag grid which is deployed when an airbag is activated on the upper surface of the instrument panel.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a so-called top-mounted type airbag device for a passenger seat, an airbag grid is normally deployed in a single-opening manner toward a windshield glass side.

For this reason, it has already been proposed to use a strap in order to minimize interference between the airbag grid and the windshield glass.

[0004] For example, Japanese Patent No. 2509277 discloses a passenger seat airbag device 13 as shown in FIG.
0 is disclosed.

[0005] The airbag device 130 is provided on the upper surface of the instrument panel 2 and is supported by an airbag plate (airbag case) 132 on the vehicle body side.
It has.

The airbag plate 132 has a gas generator (inflator) 134 and a folded bag 133, and is closed by an airbag cover (airbag lid) 131.

[0007] Further, a band-shaped strap 135 connects the airbag cover 131 and the airbag plate 132 at both ends in the vehicle width direction, and serves as an opening regulating means of the airbag cover 131.

According to the above configuration, when a predetermined high load acts on the front portion of the vehicle, gas is ejected from the gas generator 134 to inflate the bag 133, and the airbag cover 131 is deployed to the windshield glass 1 side. You.

At this time, the strap 135 is extended in accordance with the deployment operation of the airbag cover 131, and the deployment angle of the airbag cover 131 is regulated. Therefore, interference between the airbag cover 131 and the windshield glass 1 can be prevented.

[0010]

However, when the bag 133 is deployed, the inflatable force of the bag 133 is applied most to the central portion in the vehicle width direction and the airbag cover 131 is bent and deformed. 1 may interfere.

When the strap is shortened so that the center portion of the curved airbag cover in the vehicle width direction does not interfere with the windshield glass, the opening area of the airbag cover becomes small, so that the deployment performance of the bag and peripheral parts are reduced. Adversely affect. Also, if the rigidity of the airbag cover is increased,
Since the inertial mass increases and the input to the windshield glass increases, another solution is expected.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above situation, and has as its object to provide a passenger airbag device capable of reducing the amount of protrusion of a deployed airbag grid at the center in the vehicle width direction. is there.

[0013]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, an airbag device for a passenger seat according to the present invention is arranged on an upper surface of an instrument panel, and can be deployed opposite to a windshield glass. Air bag grids,
An inflator that is supported by a vehicle body component and is disposed below the airbag grid and that injects gas when a predetermined high load is applied to the front of the vehicle, and that is expanded by the gas to move the airbag grid toward the windshield glass. An airbag case that houses the bag to be deployed,
In the airbag device for a passenger seat, comprising: a front end both ends of the airbag lid, the airbag case or a vehicle body component member, and a restricting means for restricting a deployment angle of the airbag lid, The rear surface of the air bag grid is provided with a pair of substantially parallel weak portions extending in the vehicle front-rear direction.

According to the present invention, when a predetermined high load acts on the front portion of the vehicle, gas is blown from the inflator to inflate the bag, and the air bag grid is deployed toward the windshield glass. With the deployment operation of the airbag grid, the regulating means is extended, and the deployment angle of the airbag grid is regulated.

At this time, since the air bag grid is bent starting from the fragile portion, the amount of protrusion of the central portion in the vehicle width direction is reduced.

[0016]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described below with reference to the illustrated embodiments.

As shown in FIG. 1, the passenger airbag device 3 is disposed on the passenger seat side of the instrument panel 2 and closes an opening 20 provided in the instrument panel 2. 31 and an airbag case 32 shown in FIG.

The airbag case 32 shown in FIG. 2 is made of metal formed in a box shape, and has brackets 314 to which weld nuts 42 are fixed at both ends on the bottom outside. Then, the weld nut 42 is screwed onto the bolt 43 to form the instrument panel reinforcement 4.
It is fixed to.

The instrument panel reinforcement 4 is a vehicle body component having high strength, which is arranged on the inner side of the instrument panel 2 with the longitudinal direction substantially in the vehicle width direction.

As shown in FIG. 3, the airbag case 32
A substantially columnar inflator 34 is disposed on the lower side inside.

Although not shown, the inflator 34 has a plurality of gas ejection holes formed in a peripheral wall portion or the like, and is disposed on both sides of the front portion of the vehicle to detect a predetermined high load acting state on the front portion of the vehicle. It has an ignition device connected to a sensor (not shown).

Further, a bag 33 is disposed above the inside of the airbag case 32 and is folded in a predetermined folding manner (for example, bellows folding or roll folding). An end of the bag 33 is fixed to the airbag case 3 by a fixing member 323.
2 is fixed to the wall.

On the other hand, the air bag grid 31 is arranged to face the windshield glass 1 and closes the opening 20 as a part of the instrument panel 2.

As shown in FIG. 3, an airbag grid 31 is formed by providing an upper layer portion 315 made of the same material as the instrument panel 2 and made of a foam layer and a skin on a support portion 316.

Then, the weld bolt 3 of the support portion 316 is formed.
12 penetrates through the mounting flange 321 of the instrument panel 2 and the airbag case 32 and is screwed together with the nut 322, so that the airbag lid 31 and the airbag case 32 are fastened to the instrument panel 2 together. .

As shown in FIG. 4, the support portion 316 is formed by pivotally connecting a frame portion 317 and a plate portion 318 with a hinge 319.

The plate portion 318 has a groove-like reinforcing rib 310 extending substantially in the vehicle width direction, and further has circular holes formed at both ends thereof.
1a and 311b are attached.

A strap 35 made of a single string is inserted through the eyelets 311a and 311b.

As shown in FIG. 5, the strap 35 is formed by forming a string 351 knitted with, for example, a polyester thread into a loop having a knot at one place, and inserted through the tube 350.

The tube 350 is formed of, for example, vinyl chloride or the like, is heat-shrinkable, and has a loop-shaped string 35.
Heat shrinkage is carried out in the state where it was arranged in the middle part of No. 1.

As shown in FIG. 4, the tube 350 of the strap 35 is arranged along the rib 310 of the plate portion 318, and its longitudinal dimension is determined so that both ends of the eyelets 311a and 311b are present near both ends. Have been.

Then, both ends of the strap 35 penetrating the eyelets 311a and 311b are connected to the fittings 3 shown in FIG.
25a and 325b.

Further, as shown in FIG.
8, a pair of substantially parallel slits 36 extending in the vehicle front-rear direction inside the eyelets 311a and 311b in the vehicle width direction.
Are formed across the center.

FIG. 6 is a front view showing the rear end of the airbag lid 31 in the vehicle longitudinal direction at the moment of deployment. An example of the position of the slit 36 will be described with reference to FIG.

When the slit 36 is not provided, it is assumed that the shape formed by the rear end of the air bag grid 31 in the vehicle longitudinal direction is a triangular acb indicated by a broken line.

When the length of the strap 35 is reduced so that the windshield glass 1 and the airbag grid 31 do not interfere with each other, the shape formed by the rear end of the airbag grid 31 in the vehicle front-rear direction is represented by a triangle gfh and is indicated by a broken line. Show.

Here, the position of the slit 36 is set so that the trapezoid adeb formed by the rear end of the airbag lid 31 in the vehicle longitudinal direction when the slit 36 is provided has the same height as the triangle gfh.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. When a predetermined high load is applied to the front portion of the vehicle, that is, when the vehicle is decelerated, a sensor (not shown) detects the vehicle deceleration state, and gas is ejected from the inflator 34 connected to the sensor. As a result, the bag 33 into which the gas has flown is inflated, and the air bag grid 31 is unfolded toward the windshield glass 1 in a one-sided manner.
Is bulged toward the passenger seat.

At this time, the strap 35 expands, restricting the deployment angle of the airbag grid 31, and as shown in FIG. 6, the airbag grid 31 bends at two places around the slit 36, forming a trapezoidal shape. . Therefore, the amount of protrusion of the air bag grid 31 at the time of deployment is reduced by Δh in FIG.

The passenger airbag device of the present invention is
It is not limited only to the above embodiment. For example, the strap may be in the form of a belt, and both ends are locked to the attachment of the airbag case. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the strap may be locked directly to the instrument panel or via a support bracket. .

The fragile portion is not limited to the slit, but may be provided with a beat. Further, the position of the fragile portion is not limited to the above embodiment, and the position and the number are not limited as long as there is at least a pair of slits across the center. As described above, it goes without saying that various changes can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

[0042]

As described above, in the passenger airbag apparatus of the present invention, when the inflation force of the bag acts, the airbag grid is bent starting from the fragile portion. Therefore, the amount of protrusion can be reduced without increasing the inertial mass and while ensuring a sufficient opening area.

In the event that the air bag grid interferes with the windshield glass, the interference will occur over a wider area than in the past, so that the input to the windshield glass can be reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view showing an instrument panel according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an airbag case and a vehicle body component according to the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged vertical sectional view of the airbag device for a passenger's seat, taken along line AA shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a single-piece plan view of the air bag grid according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a regulating unit according to the embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a front view taken along the line BB shown in FIG. 1 and shows the air bag grid of the present embodiment at the moment of deployment.

FIG. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a state before and after deployment of a passenger seat airbag device according to a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Windshield glass 2 Instrument panel 3 Passenger-seat airbag device 31 Airbag grid 32 Airbag case 33 Bag 34 Inflator 35 Strap (restriction means) 36 Slit (fragile part) 4 Instrument panel (body component)

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An airbag grid disposed on an upper surface of an instrument panel and deployable opposite to a windshield glass, a vehicle front part supported by a vehicle body component and disposed below the airbag grid. An airbag case that houses an inflator that injects gas when a predetermined high load is applied to the airbag and a bag that expands with the gas and expands the airbag grid toward the windshield glass, the airbag grid, the airbag case, or A restricting means for restricting a deployment angle of the airbag grid with a vehicle body component member, wherein the airbag grid extends at least in the vehicle front-rear direction with a center interposed therebetween. An airbag device for a passenger seat, characterized by forming a pair of fragile portions. .