JP2000238603A - Device for inspecting worked condition of tear line in lid for air bag device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To inspect a worked condition for a tear line in a lid for an air bag device within a short time, using a simple device. SOLUTION: A lid 6 made of a synthetic resin is composed of a layered body comprising a base material 16 and a skin material 17, and a fragile tear line 6 breakable at the time of expansion of an air bag is formed therein. The tear line comprises a groove-shaped prepared hole 18 formed by fusing the base material 16 with a hot blade, and a large number of pinholes 19 formed with a fixed space along the hole 18 to penetrate the skin material 17 perforatedly. An image image-picked up by an image-picking-up means 32 from an upper side of the lid 6 in a condition where the lid 6 supported on a set jig 30 is irradiated by a light source 31 from its lower side is displayed on a monitoring means 33. When the pinholes 19 penetrate correctly the lid 16, an image of the pinholes 19 is displayed on the monitoring means 33 as a dot line with a prescribed interval.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a lid for an airbag device in which a tear line is formed by arranging a large number of through holes in a line in a lid provided to cover the airbag device. The present invention relates to an apparatus for inspecting the processing state of the tear line.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 8-282420 discloses that a tear line is formed by a concave portion formed by a laser device on the back surface of a lid that covers an airbag device of an automobile. Is disclosed. The depth of the concave portion processed by the laser device, that is, the thickness of a portion corresponding to the tear line of the lid is inspected by an ultrasonic sensor.

[0003]

However, in the above-described conventional apparatus, the processing state of the tear line is inspected by an expensive ultrasonic sensor, which not only increases the equipment cost but also requires a lot of time for the inspection. There was a problem that the cycle time was long.

[0004] The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has as its object to enable the processing state of a tear line of a lid of an airbag apparatus to be inspected in a short time using a simple apparatus.

[0005]

To achieve the above object, according to the first aspect of the present invention, a large number of through holes are linearly arranged in a lid provided to cover an airbag device. Thereby, in a lid for an airbag device that forms a tear line that is broken by the pressure of an inflating airbag, a light source disposed on one side of the lid, an imaging unit disposed on the other side of the lid, and an imaging unit A processing inspection device for tear lines in an airbag device lid, comprising: a monitor for displaying a captured image of the through hole.

According to the above arrangement, if the image of the light transmitted through the through hole from the light source and captured by the image pickup means is displayed on the monitor means as a series of dots at predetermined intervals, the through hole is correctly formed in the lid. If the monitor does not display a series of dots at predetermined intervals, it can be confirmed that the through-hole is not correctly formed in the lid. In addition, a simple device consisting of a light source, an imaging unit, and a monitor unit can be used, so that not only can the equipment cost be reduced, but also the through hole status can be checked in a short time, contributing to a reduction in cycle time. can do.

[0007]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described based on embodiments of the present invention shown in the accompanying drawings.

FIGS. 1 to 9 show a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a front portion of a cabin of an automobile, FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line 2-2 of FIG. FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the lid and the airbag device, FIG.
Is an explanatory view of an operation of forming a pilot hole in the base material, FIG. 6 is an explanatory view of a processing step of the skin material, FIG. 7 is an explanatory view of an operation of forming a needle hole in the skin material, and FIG. 8 is an enlarged view of the surface of the lid. FIG. 9 and FIG. 9 are overall configuration diagrams of the processing inspection device.

As shown in FIG. 1, a driver's seat 1 and a passenger's seat 2 are provided at the front of the cabin of an automobile, and a driver's seat 1 is provided inside a steering wheel 3 disposed in front of the driver's seat 1. A seat airbag device Rd is provided, and a passenger airbag device Rp is provided inside the instrument panel 4 in front of the passenger seat 2. A lid 6 covering the passenger seat airbag device Rp is formed integrally with an instrument panel 4 made of synthetic resin.

As is apparent from FIGS. 2 and 3, support walls 7 extend downward from the back surface of the instrument panel 4 so as to surround the outer periphery of the lid 6. The passenger airbag device Rp includes an inflator 8 that generates high-pressure gas by combustion of a propellant, a container-shaped lower retainer 9 that houses the inflator 8 therein, and a lower retainer 9 that supports the lid 6 as a support wall of the lid 6. 7 are provided on the lower retainer 9 and the support walls 7.
And an airbag 13 which is housed in a folded state inside the support walls 7 of the lid 6 and whose opening is fixed to the upper opening of the lower retainer 9 with the bolts 11. Prepare. The lower retainer 9 is supported by a frame (not shown) arranged inside the instrument panel 4.

[0011] On the back surface of the lid 6, the tear line ₆₁ of the "H" type, mutually parallel two hinge line 6 _2, 6
₂ are formed (see FIG. 3). As shown in FIG. 2 in an enlarged manner, the plate-like lid 6 has a three-layer structure in which a skin layer 14, a foam layer 15, and a base material 16 are laminated from the front side to the back side. 14 and foam layer 1
5 also constitutes a skin material 17. A groove-shaped lower bore 18 the tear line ₆₁ of the "H" type to penetrate the substrate 16, a large number of needles which penetrate formed at regular intervals along the pilot holes 18 and the skin material 17 to the perforated line Holes 19 ... The two hinge lines 6 ₂ , 6 ₂ are each composed of two grooves 20, 20 penetrating the base material 16.
The needle holes 19 constitute the through holes of the present invention.

[0012] Since the grooves 20, 20 of the tear line ₆₁ of the pilot holes 18 and the hinge line 6 _2, 6 ₂ are formed on the back surface side of the substrate 16 of the lid 6, invisible from the surface side of the lid 6 It is. The tear line 6 ₁ of the needle hole 19 ...
Penetrates the skin material 17 of the lid 6, but the diameter of the opening on the surface side is very small, so that it is hardly noticeable to the naked eye.

When an acceleration sensor (not shown) detects an acceleration equal to or higher than a predetermined value at the time of a vehicle collision, the inflator 8 of the passenger seat airbag device Rp ignites to generate high-pressure gas. The supplied airbag 13
Expands. The pressure at which the airbag 13 expands is the lid 6.
Of to act on the rear surface, the tear line ₆₁ is broken to become vulnerable by pilot holes 18 and the needle hole 19 ... grooves 20, 20
Central portion of the lid 6 about the hinge line 6 _2, 6 ₂ became thinner is pushed open cabin side, the airbag 13 is deployed into the passenger compartment and from there to form an opening by.

[0014] Next, a method for manufacturing a tear line ₆₁ and the hinge line 6 ₂ of the lid 6 on the basis of FIGS. 4 to 7.

As shown in FIG. 4 and FIG.
The holder 21 has five hot blades 23 on the upper surface of the hot blade holder 22.₁,
23_Two, 23_Two, 23_Three, 23_ThreeWith attached,
Among them, three heat blades 23 arranged in an “H” shape₁, 23
_Two, 23_TwoIs Tier Line 6 ₁Pilot hole 18 (see FIG. 2)
The remaining two hot blades 23_Three, 2
3_ThreeIs the hinge line 6_Two, 6_TwoGrooves 20, 20 (see FIG. 2)
)). That is, hot blade holder
22 was approached to the back side of the lid 6 and injection molded in advance.
Five hot blades 23 heating the base material 16 of the lid 6₁, 23
_Two, 23_Two, 23_Three, 23_ThreeBy fusing at
The "H" shaped pilot hole 18 and the two grooves 20, 20 are formed simultaneously.
Is done. At this time, the surface of the lid 6
Therefore, it is supported.

When the prepared hole 18 of the tear line 6 ₁ is formed as described above, a large number of needles 25 are implanted in an “H” shape on the upper surface of the needle holder 24 as shown in FIGS. The needle holes 19 are processed by the provided needle hole processing device 26. That is, when the puncture holder 24 is moved closer to the back side of the lid 6, the puncture needles 25 having a temperature within the elastic range of the material are transferred to the base material 1.
6 is pierced into the skin material 17 through the lower hole 18, and a large number of needle holes 19 penetrating the skin material 17 are formed at the same time. Also at this time, the surface of the lid 6 is supported by the receiving jig 27.

The needle 25 has a diameter of about 1 mm, and its sharp tip slightly penetrates the skin layer 14 of the skin material 17, but the diameter of the opening of the needle holes 19 exposed on the surface of the skin layer 14 is very small. Therefore, it becomes almost invisible to the naked eye. In FIG. 8, the openings of the needle holes 19 arranged in an “H” shape are exaggeratedly shown on the surface of the skin layer 14 of the lid 6. In addition, since the piercing needles 25 pierce the skin material 17 at a temperature within the elastic range of the material without heating, the skin material 17 is melted and
9 ... do not spread, so that the needle holes 19 ...
And the appearance quality is not degraded.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the hot blade 2 can be used without using an expensive processing device such as a laser device.
3 _1, 23 _2, 23 ₂ and the puncture needle 25 ... only in the lid 6
The it is possible to form the tear line _61, can contribute to savings in machining cost and machining time.
Moreover, since the pilot hole 18 of the tear line 6 ₁ is formed in the base material 16 on the rear surface side of the lid 6 and only the fine needle holes 19 are formed in the skin material 17 on the front surface side of the lid 6. , it is possible to enhance the appearance quality by avoiding the influence of the tear line ₆₁ on the appearance of the surface side of the lid 6 that span.

Next, the structure of the inspection device 28 for inspecting whether or not the puncture needles 25 have correctly penetrated the skin material 17 of the lid 6 will be described with reference to FIG.

The inspection device 28 includes set jigs 30 for supporting the lid 6 on the base 29 in a vertically inverted posture,
A light source 31 for irradiating the lid 6 supported by the set jigs 30 and 30 from below, and a CCD for imaging the lid 6 from above
An imaging means 32 such as a camera; a monitor means 33 such as a CRT for displaying an image of the lid 6 taken by the imaging means 32;
And

If the needle holes 19 pass through correctly, the light from the light source 31 passes through the needle holes 19 and is captured by the image pickup means 32. Is displayed. If there is a needle hole 19 that does not penetrate the lid 6 due to a processing defect, a part of the dot sequence displayed on the monitor means 33 is lost because light does not pass through that portion, and as a result, the needle hole 19. Processing defects can be detected.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to accurately inspect the penetration state of the puncture needles 25 with an extremely simple apparatus without using an expensive inspection apparatus using an ultrasonic sensor. In addition, it is possible to complete the inspection of the penetrating state of the needles 25 in a short time, which can contribute to shortening of the cycle time.

In the above-described first embodiment, the needle holes 19 are formed by using the needles 25. However, as in the second embodiment shown in FIG.
May be formed.

The laser processing apparatus 41 includes slide guides 44, 4 on guide rails 43, 43 fixed to a base 42.
The X-axis table 45 is slidably supported in the X-axis direction via the X-axis table 4, and the guide rails 46, 46 fixed to the upper surface of the X-axis table 45 are connected to the Y-axis via slide guides 47, 47.
A Y-axis table 48 slidably supported in the axial direction;
A set jig 49 provided on the upper surface of the shaft table 48 to support the lid 6, a laser head 50 irradiating a laser beam to the lid 6 supported by the set jig 49, 49 to form a through hole; Is provided.

The through hole similar to the needle holes 19 shown in FIG. 8 can also be formed by the laser processing device 41, and the processing state of the through hole is determined by the inspection device 28 of the first embodiment.
Inspection can be performed with the same device.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail, various design changes can be made in the present invention without departing from the gist thereof.

For example, although the lid 6 is formed integrally with the instrument panel 4 in the embodiment, the lid 6 may be formed as a separate member from the instrument panel 4.

In the embodiment, the instrument panel 4
However, the present invention can be applied to any lid as long as it covers the airbag device.

Further, the through-hole of the present invention can be
It can be processed by any means other than the laser processing device 41.

[0030]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, an image of light transmitted through the through hole from the light source and captured by the image pickup means is displayed on the monitor means as a series of dots at predetermined intervals. Then, it can be confirmed that the through hole is correctly formed in the lid, and if the monitor means does not display a series of dots at predetermined intervals, it can be confirmed that the through hole is not correctly formed in the lid. it can. In addition, a simple device consisting of a light source, an imaging unit, and a monitor unit can be used, so that not only can the equipment cost be reduced, but also the through hole status can be checked in a short time, contributing to a reduction in cycle time. can do.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a front part of a cabin of an automobile.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of a lid and an airbag device.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a processing step of a base material.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory view of an operation of forming a pilot hole in a base material.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of a processing step of a skin material.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory view of an operation of forming a needle hole in a skin material.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged view of the surface of the lid.

FIG. 9 is an overall configuration diagram of a processing inspection device.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a second embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

6 lid 6 ₁ tear line 13 airbag 19 needle hole (through hole) 31 light source 32 imaging means 33 monitoring means Rp Airbag device for passenger seat (airbag device)

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F term (reference) 2F065 AA54 CC00 FF01 FF04 JJ03 JJ26 QQ31 SS02 3D054 AA02 AA03 AA13 AA14 BB30 FF16 FF17

Claims (1)

[Claims] A plurality of through holes (19) are arranged in a line in a lid (6) provided so as to cover an airbag device (Rp), so that the airbag (13) is broken by the pressure of an inflating airbag (13). In a lid for an airbag device having a tear line (6 ₁ ) formed therein, a light source (31) disposed on one side of the lid (6), and an imaging means (32) disposed on the other side of the lid (6). And a monitor means (33) for displaying an image of the through hole (19) picked up by the image pick-up means (32).