JP2001039252A - Air bag device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce the number of components used, manufacturing costs and product weight of air bag devices by using the diffuser as a case and mounting an inflator, air bag and door thereon. SOLUTION: A diffuser 16 is in the shape of a cylinder that encloses a cylindrical inflator 14. A door 18 that covers an air bag 12 has door walls 34 projecting from the underside thereof toward the diffuser 16. The door walls 34 are fastened to the periphery of the diffuser 16, so that that circumferential wall region of the diffuser 16 which faces the door 18, the underside of the door 18, and the door walls 34 delimit a storage space for the air bag 12: The air bag 12 is fastened to the diffuser 16 as it closes gas supply openings 24 and resides in the storage space.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an airbag device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An example of a conventional airbag device 100 will be described with reference to FIGS.

The airbag device 100 includes a case 101 that opens upward, an airbag 102 and an inflator 103 housed in the case 101, and an airbag 1.
A diffuser 104 interposed between the airbag 02 and the inflator 103 and a door 105 that covers the airbag 102 and is pushed open by the inflation pressure to inflate the airbag 102 into the vehicle interior.

The diffuser 104 is formed of a curved metal plate having a substantially semicircular cross section, and a plurality of gas supply ports 106 for supplying gas generated by the inflator 103 to the airbag 102 are provided on a wall surface thereof. . The diffuser 104 is fixed to the inner surface of the case by welding or the like so as to partition the inside of the case 101 into an inflator storage space and an airbag storage space.

[0005] The airbag 102 has a mouth portion 102a.
Is attached to the periphery of the opening of the case 101 via the retainer 107. A total of four retainers 107 are arranged corresponding to each side of the rectangular case opening. A plurality of bolts 108 are protruded from the retainer 107, and a plurality of engagement holes 109 and 110 are provided in the mouth 102 a of the airbag 102 and the opening peripheral edge of the case 101 in correspondence with the bolts 108. Have been.

The door 105 is provided with a case 101 from the back thereof.
A door wall 111 protruding toward the side is provided,
The door wall 111 is provided with an engaging hole 113 into which a nut 112 screwed with the bolt 108 of the retainer 107 is inserted.

[0007] The bolt 108 of the retainer 107 is inserted into the airbag base 102a and the engaging holes 109 and 110 in the peripheral edge of the case opening to protrude outside the case 101, and the door 105 is opened in the case 101 opening. And the engaging hole 11 of the door wall 111 is disposed.
8, the nut 112 and the bolt 108 are tightened, and the airbag 102 and the door 10 are attached to the wall of the case 101 as shown in FIG.
5 is attached via a retainer 107.

Thereafter, the inflator 103 is moved to the case 1
01 is inserted into the inflator storage space at the bottom of the case from the opening 114 provided on the side surface of the case 01 and is fixed to the case 101 while being covered with the diffuser 104.

As a structure for attaching the airbag 102 and the door 105 to the case 101, as shown in FIG. 8B, together with a bag retainer 120 for fixing the airbag opening 102 a to the case 101, Door wall 1
Door retainer 12 for fixing 11 to case 101
1, the airbag 102 and the door 105 are fixed to the case 101 by fastening the bag retainer 120 and the door retainer 121 via the rivets 122.

[0010]

However, in the above-described conventional structure, the diffuser 104 is welded or the like to the case 1.
01, and the airbag 1
02 and door 105 with retainers 107, 120, 12
1 must be fixed. Therefore, there is a problem that the number of parts is large, which leads to an increase in cost and an increase in weight of the airbag device.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to reduce the number of parts of an airbag device, to reduce the manufacturing cost, and to reduce the weight.

[0012]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an airbag apparatus, comprising: an airbag, a columnar inflator, and a gas interposed between the inflator and the airbag to generate gas generated by the inflator. An airbag apparatus comprising: a diffuser having a gas supply opening for supplying air to the airbag; and a door which covers the airbag and is pushed open by the inflation pressure to inflate the airbag into the vehicle interior. The door is provided with a door wall projecting toward the diffuser from the back surface thereof, and the door wall is attached to the diffuser, and the door side peripheral wall of the diffuser is provided on a peripheral wall of the diffuser. A gas supply opening is provided, and an airbag is formed by the peripheral wall on the door side, the back surface of the door, and the door wall. A receiving space for accommodating are formed, in which the airbag is housed in the housing space attached to the diffuser so as to cover the gas supply aperture.

In this airbag device, the inflator is housed in a diffuser, and the airbag is housed in a storage space formed by the diffuser and a door. That is, since the diffuser is treated as the conventional case described above, and the inflator, the airbag and the door are attached to the diffuser, the structure is simplified, the number of parts is reduced, the manufacturing cost and the product weight can be reduced. .

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an airbag apparatus according to the first aspect, wherein the door wall is locked by a common locking means to a mounting portion of the airbag to the diffuser. is there.

By locking the door and the airbag with the common locking means, the number of parts can be further reduced.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided the airbag apparatus according to the second aspect, wherein the diffuser is provided with a plurality of locking claws for locking the airbag and the door wall. The airbag and the door are attached to the diffuser by hooking a claw in an engagement hole provided in the airbag and the door wall.

As a result, the number of steps for assembling the airbag device can be further reduced.

[0018]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An airbag device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of an airbag device 10 according to a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the airbag device 10, and FIG. FIG. 3B is a sectional view taken along the line A-B of FIG. 2.

The airbag device 10 is a passenger seat airbag device disposed at a position corresponding to a passenger seat on an instrument panel (not shown) of an automobile, and includes an airbag 12, an inflator 14, and an inflator. A diffuser 16 is provided between the airbag 12 and the airbag 12 to diffuse gas generated by the inflator 14 and guide the gas into the airbag 12, and a door 18 that covers the airbag 12.

The inflator 14 has a cylindrical shape, and is provided with a gas ejection portion 18 for ejecting gas at one axial end thereof. A bolt 20 protruding in the axial direction is fixed to the end face on the gas ejection part 18 side.
A disk-shaped metal fitting 22 having a diameter larger than that of the end face is fixed to an end face opposite to the end face 8.

The diffuser 16 is a cylindrical metal member surrounding the entire periphery of the inflator 14. A gas supply opening 24 for supplying gas generated by the inflator 14 to the airbag 12 is provided on the peripheral wall of the diffuser 16. A plurality, three in this embodiment, are arranged in the axial direction.

The diffuser 16 is provided with a plurality of small circular engagement holes 26 at radially opposite positions, in this embodiment, four in the axial direction.

As shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the diffuser 16 has a radial dimension such that the diffuser 16 surrounds the inflator 14 with a predetermined gap provided between the diffuser 16 and the peripheral wall surface. Is set. The axial dimension is set to be slightly longer than the length of the main body of the inflator 14.

A disk-shaped end plate 42 is fixed to one end surface of the diffuser 16 in the axial direction, and an insertion port into which the bolt 20 of the inflator 14 is inserted is provided at the center of the end plate 42. 43 are provided.

The airbag 12 has a rectangular mouth portion, and a mounting portion 28 for mounting the airbag 12 to the peripheral wall of the diffuser 16 is provided at a portion on a long side opposite to the mouth portion. The mounting portion 28 includes the diffuser 16
A plurality of engagement holes 30 are provided at positions corresponding to the plurality of engagement holes 26.

The door 18 comprises a rectangular plate-shaped design surface portion 32 that covers the front surface of the folded airbag 12, and a door wall 34 that projects from the back surface of the design surface portion 32 toward the diffuser 16.

On the back surface of the design surface portion 32, the airbag 12
A fragile portion 36 that is broken by the inflation pressure of the airbag 12 is provided. When the fragile portion 36 is torn, the door 18 is pushed open and the airbag 12 inflates into the vehicle compartment.

The door wall 34 is provided so as to correspond to each side of the rectangular design surface portion 32, and adjacent walls are connected to each other so as to surround the side surface of the folded airbag 12 over the entire circumference. It is formed in a frame shape. Thereby, the door 18 is formed in the shape of a box which opens to the diffuser 16 side as a whole.

A plurality of engagement holes 38 corresponding to the plurality of engagement holes 26 of the diffuser 16 are provided on the long side door wall 34 attached to the peripheral wall of the diffuser 16 near its distal end. .

As shown in FIG. 3A, the door wall 34 and the airbag mounting portion 28 are fixed to the peripheral wall of the diffuser 16 by rivets 40. Diffuser 1
The sixth gas supply opening 24 is arranged on the door-side peripheral wall of the diffuser 16 surrounded by the door wall 34. The peripheral wall of the diffuser 16 on the door side including the gas supply opening 24 is covered with the mouth of the airbag 12. The peripheral wall on the door side of the diffuser 16 and the door 18
Of the airbag 1 by the design surface portion 32 and the door wall 34.
A storage space 39 for storing the airbag 2 is formed, and the airbag 12 is stored in the storage space 39 in a folded state.

As shown in FIG. 1, the short side door wall 34 is set shorter than the long side door wall 34.
As shown in FIG. 3 (b), the diffuser 16 terminates in a state of contacting the peripheral wall at both ends.

When assembling the airbag device 10, the airbag 12 is mounted on the peripheral wall of the diffuser 16 such that the engagement holes 26, 30, and 38 of the airbag 12 and the door 18 coincide with each other. Mounting part 28
Then, the rivet 40 is inserted through the engaging holes 26, 30, and 38 and fastened by overlapping the door wall 34 of the door 18 from above. As a result, the airbag 12 is attached to the diffuser 16.
And the door 18 are attached.

After that, the inflator 14 is
The bolt 20 is inserted from one end face of the diffuser 16 with its side as the front end, and the bolt 20 is inserted into the insertion opening 43 of the end plate 42 fixed to the end face on the opposite side of the diffuser 16, and tightened and fixed with a nut 44. As a result, the inflator 14 is mounted and fixed in the diffuser 16. In addition, by this, both end surfaces of the diffuser 16 are
The inflator 14 is closed by the disk-shaped metal fitting 22 and the end plate 42. As shown in FIG. 3B, the short side door wall 34 is set so as to fit between the disk-shaped bracket 22 of the inflator 14 and the end plate 42.

According to the airbag device 10 of the present embodiment, the inflator 14, the airbag 12, and the door 18 are attached to the diffuser 16 and the conventional case described above is eliminated. The structure is simplified. Also, the airbag 12 and the door 18
Are jointly fastened to the diffuser 16 using the common rivet 40, so that the mounting structure of the airbag 12 and the door 18 is simplified. As described above, the number of parts is reduced, and cost and weight can be reduced.

In the above embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4A, the diffuser 16 may be formed by winding a metal plate into a pipe shape, and fixing the joining portion 46 with the rivet 40.

Further, as shown in FIG. 4B, a metal plate may be wound into a pipe shape, and the joining portion 46 may be fixed by welding.

As described above, when the diffuser 16 is formed by winding a metal plate into a pipe, the gas supply opening 24 and the engagement hole 26 are punched in a flat state before being wound into a pipe. Can be easily manufactured.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the diffuser 16 in the airbag device 50 according to the second embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 6A is a sectional view of the airbag device 50, and FIG.
FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view of a main part thereof.

The airbag device 50 of the second embodiment
Differs from the first embodiment in the structure of the diffuser 16. It is to be noted that components denoted by the same reference numerals have the same configuration unless otherwise specified.

In the second embodiment, the diffuser 16
Is a first member 16a having a semicircular cross section serving as a peripheral wall on the door side having the gas supply opening 24, and a second member having a semicircular cross section serving as a peripheral wall on the side opposite to the door covering the inflator 14 together with the first member 16a. 16b is formed into a cylindrical shape by being connected with a weld 52.

The second member 16b includes the first member 1
A locking claw 54 that locks the door wall 34 is integrally provided at an edge portion facing the door 18 beyond the connecting portion 52 with the 6a. The locking claw 54 is formed by extending from the radially opposite edge of the second member 16b to the door 18 side and bending outward.
, Three in this embodiment.

The engagement hole 30 of the mounting portion 28 of the airbag 12
Has a rectangular opening at a position corresponding to the plurality of locking claws 54 of the diffuser 16 so that the locking claws 54 are inserted. The engaging hole 38 of the door wall 34 also has a rectangular opening at a position corresponding to the locking claw 54 so that the locking claw 54 is inserted.

When assembling the airbag device 50,
The engaging claw 54 of the diffuser 16 is
The airbag 12 and the door 18 are locked at radially opposed portions of the peripheral wall of the diffuser 16 by being hooked on the engaging hole 30 of the door 8 and the engaging hole 38 of the door wall 34. After that, the inflator 14 is attached to the diffuser 16 in the same manner as in the first embodiment.

In this embodiment, as in the first embodiment, the structure of the airbag device is simplified, so that the number of parts, cost and weight can be reduced.

Further, according to this embodiment, the airbag 12 and the door 18 are hooked on the diffuser 16 by using the locking claw 54 of the diffuser 16 so as to be locked on the diffuser 16. The number of assembly steps can be further reduced.

[0047]

According to the airbag device of the first aspect of the present invention, the diffuser is treated as the above-mentioned conventional case, and the inflator, the airbag and the door are attached thereto, so that the structure is simplified. Thus, the number of parts, the manufacturing cost and the product weight can be reduced.

According to the airbag device of the second aspect,
By locking the door and the airbag with a common locking means, the number of parts can be further reduced.

According to the airbag device of the third aspect,
Since the airbag and the door are attached to the diffuser by hooking the airbag and the door wall with the locking claw provided integrally with the diffuser, the number of assembling steps of the airbag device can be further reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of an airbag device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the airbag device.

3A is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG. 2, and FIG.
FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along line BB of FIG.

FIGS. 4A and 4B are cross-sectional views of an airbag device showing a modified example of the diffuser in the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a diffuser of an airbag device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6A is a cross-sectional view of the airbag device,
(B) is an enlarged view of the main part.

FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view of a conventional airbag device.

8A and 8B are enlarged cross-sectional views of a main part of a conventional airbag device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Airbag apparatus 12 ... Airbag 14 ... Inflator 16 ... Diffuser 18 ... Door 24 ... Gas supply opening 26, 30, 38 ... Engagement hole 34 ... Door wall 39 ... Storage space 40 ... Rivet 54 ... Locking claw

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Yoshinori Mihara 1-17-18 Edobori, Nishi-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka Toyo Tire & Rubber Co., Ltd. Raw Brake Industry Co., Ltd. F term (reference) 3D054 AA03 AA14 BB09 BB10 BB12 CC09 DD14 DD15 FF14 FF15 FF17

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An airbag, a cylindrical inflator,
A diffuser having a gas supply opening for supplying gas emitted from the inflator to the airbag interposed between the inflator and the airbag, and covering the airbag,
A door that is pushed open by the inflation pressure to inflate the airbag into the vehicle cabin, wherein the diffuser has a cylindrical shape surrounding the outer periphery of the inflator, and the door has a back surface from the back surface to the diffuser. A door wall projecting toward the door; the door wall is attached to the diffuser; the gas supply opening is provided in a peripheral wall on the door side of the diffuser; the peripheral wall on the door side, the back surface of the door, and the door; An airbag device, wherein a storage space for storing the airbag is formed by the wall, and the airbag is attached to the diffuser so as to cover the gas supply opening and is stored in the storage space. . 2. The airbag apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said door wall is locked by a common locking means to a mounting portion of said airbag to said diffuser. 3. The diffuser is provided with a plurality of locking claws for locking the airbag and the door wall, and the locking claws are formed in engagement holes formed in the airbag and the door wall. The airbag device according to claim 2, wherein the airbag and the door are attached to the diffuser by hooking the airbag.