JP2001163161A - Head protective air bag device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve inflation and development performance (in particular, performance during the inflation and development) of an air bag inflating and developing like a curtain in the side part in a cabin. SOLUTION: The head protective air bag device comprises the air bag 11 that is stored in a folded state along a roof side rail 21a of a vehicle and covered with the peripheral edge of a ceiling material (roof head lining) 31, and an inflator disposed in a roof part 21 of the vehicle for supplying gas to the air bag 11. The air bag 11 inflates and develops like the curtain in the side part in the car room by supplying gas from the inflator to the air bag 11. The air bag 11 is connected to the inflator to allow a gas guide part 11e for guiding gas from the inflator to the air bag 11 to expand, and the peripheral edge of the ceiling material 31 is pressed and opened toward the inside of the car room by the expansion of the gas guide part 11e.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a head protection airbag device mounted on a vehicle.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As one of head protection airbag devices,
An airbag that is stored in a folded state along the roof side rail portion of the vehicle, and an inflator that is disposed on the roof portion of the vehicle and supplies gas to the airbag, wherein gas is supplied from the inflator to the airbag. Is supplied, the airbag is inflated and deployed in the shape of a curtain at the side portion of the vehicle interior, and the head of the occupant is protected from the side by the inflated portion (portion inflated by gas) provided in the airbag. One example is shown in FIG. 6 of WO 96/26087. In addition, an airbag that is stored in a folded state along the roof side rail portion is generally covered with a peripheral portion of a ceiling material, and inflates and deploys while pushing the peripheral portion of the ceiling material toward a vehicle interior. It has become.

[0003]

In the head protection airbag device shown in FIG. 6 of WO 96/26087, the airbag and the inflator are connected to guide gas from the inflator to the airbag. No special consideration has been given to the gas introduction section. For this reason, the airbag is inflated and deployed from the start of its inflation and deployment while pushing the peripheral portion of the ceiling material toward the interior of the vehicle, and the inflation and deployment of the airbag may not be performed smoothly.

In addition, a gas introduction portion is provided corresponding to an intermediate pillar portion (for example, a B pillar portion) of a vehicle, and an airbag in the course of inflation and deployment is a pillar garnish assembled on the interior pillar side of the vehicle interior. May interfere with the upper end of the airbag and delay the inflation and deployment of the airbag. In order to prevent interference between the airbag during inflation and deployment and the upper end of the pillar garnish, there is an airbag in which the deployment direction regulating means is provided at the upper end or the body of the pillar garnish (for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. (See JP-A-138858 and JP-A-11-91490.) However, the structure is complicated, the production and assembly are complicated, and there is room for improvement.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and is housed in a state of being folded along a roof side rail portion of a vehicle and covered with a peripheral portion of a ceiling material. And an inflator disposed on the roof of the vehicle to supply gas to the airbag. The gas is supplied from the inflator to the airbag so that the airbag is positioned in the vehicle interior. In the head protection airbag device configured to inflate and deploy in a curtain shape at the portion, a gas introduction portion that connects the airbag and the inflator and guides gas from the inflator to the airbag is configured to be inflatable. The peripheral portion of the ceiling material is configured to be pushed open toward the interior of the vehicle by the expansion of the gas introduction portion (the invention according to claim 1). There is a feature.

In this case, the gas introducing portion is formed to be longer than a mounting interval between the airbag and the inflator, and is provided at a position above the airbag corresponding to an intermediate pillar portion of the vehicle or at a position outside the cabin. The airbag is applied to a vehicle that can be folded and stored (the invention according to claim 2) or a three-row seat, and a front intermediate pillar portion corresponding to a first seat and a rear intermediate pillar portion corresponding to a second seat are provided. It is desirable to form the gas inlet correspondingly (the invention according to claim 3). In these cases, it is desirable that the gas introduction portion is formed integrally with the airbag with the same material (the invention according to claim 4).

[0007]

In the head protection airbag device according to the present invention (the invention according to claim 1), the gas introduction portion for guiding gas from the inflator to the airbag is configured to be inflatable, and this gas introduction portion is provided. The peripheral portion of the ceiling material covering the airbag is configured to be pushed open toward the vehicle interior due to the inflation of the airbag. For this reason, when gas is supplied from the inflator to the airbag, the gas introduction portion inflates and pushes the peripheral portion of the ceiling member toward the interior of the vehicle, prior to inflation and deployment of the airbag. Therefore, the airbag can be inflated and deployed smoothly from the start of inflation and deployment, and the inflation and deployment performance of the airbag can be improved.

In implementing the above-mentioned invention, the gas introducing portion is formed to be longer than the mounting interval between the airbag and the inflator, and is provided at a position above the airbag corresponding to the intermediate pillar portion of the vehicle or at a position outside the vehicle compartment. In the case where the airbag is folded and stored (the invention according to claim 2), when gas is supplied from the inflator to the airbag, the gas introduction portion is inflated prior to inflation and deployment of the airbag to correspond to the intermediate pillar portion. Push the peripheral edge of the ceiling material to the interior of the vehicle. Therefore, the airbag can be smoothly inflated and deployed from the start of the inflation and deployment, and the inflation and deployment performance of the airbag can be improved. It is possible to effectively prevent the airbag in the middle of inflation and deployment from interfering with the upper end. In particular, when the gas introduction section is folded and stored at the position outside the cabin of the airbag, the airbag is also pushed out toward the interior of the cabin due to the expansion of the gas introduction section. Interference with the airbag in the middle can be more effectively suppressed.

Further, when the above-described invention is carried out, the airbag is applied to a vehicle having three rows of seats, and corresponds to a front intermediate pillar portion corresponding to a first seat and a rear intermediate pillar portion corresponding to a second seat. In the case where the gas introduction section is formed (the invention according to claim 3), when gas is supplied from the inflator to the airbag, the gas introduction section is inflated prior to inflation and deployment of the airbag,
The peripheral edges of the ceiling material corresponding to the two intermediate pillars are pushed open toward the passenger compartment. Therefore, the airbag can be inflated and deployed smoothly from the start of inflation and deployment, and the inflation and deployment performance of the airbag can be improved. It is possible to effectively prevent the airbag in the course of inflation and deployment from interfering with the upper end of the garnish. Also,
Since gas can be supplied from the inflator to the front and rear of the airbag through the gas introduction portion, the airbag can be inflated and deployed in a well-balanced front and rear direction.

[0010] In implementing the above-mentioned inventions, when the gas introduction portion is formed integrally with the airbag from the same material (the invention according to claim 4), the gas introduction portion is formed in the same manner as the airbag. It can be folded and stored compactly, and is formed integrally with the airbag. Therefore, it can be manufactured at a lower cost compared to a case where the gas introduction portion is formed as a separate member and assembled to the airbag. .

[0011]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIGS. 1 to 4 show a first embodiment of the present invention. In the first embodiment, a head protection airbag device 10 is inflated and deployed in a curtain shape at a side portion in a vehicle cabin, and is fastened. The occupant head H1 of the seat S1
Occupant head H2 of the second seat S2 and the third seat S
3, an airbag 11 for protecting the occupant head H3, an inflator 12 disposed on the roof 21 of the vehicle and supplying gas to the airbag 11, a tension belt 13 for providing tension to the airbag 11, and the like. .

The airbag 11, as shown in FIG.
A gas introducing portion extending toward the roof portion 21 of the vehicle at an intermediate portion, comprising a front inflating portion 11a, a central inflating portion 11b, a rear inflating portion 11c, and an auxiliary inflating portion 11d which communicate with each other at an upper portion during inflation and deployment 11e. Also, a plurality of mounting pieces 11f are provided on the upper edge portion, and a bolt and a nut (both not shown) are used at each of the mounting pieces 11f, and an A pillar portion (front pillar portion) of the vehicle is used.
22 and the roof side rail portion 21a (left and right side portions of the roof portion 21). In addition, as shown in FIG. 1, the roof head lining is housed along the roof side rail portion 21a and the A-pillar portion 22 in a state of being folded in a bellows shape as shown in FIG. (Ceiling material) 31 and its lower edge are covered with an elastically deformable A-pillar garnish 32.

The front inflatable portion 11a of the airbag 11 protects the occupant head H1 of the first seat S1 from the side, and a non-inflatable portion 11g and an auxiliary inflatable portion 11d are continuously formed in front of the front inflatable portion 11a. The auxiliary inflatable portion 11d reduces the impact when the occupant's head H1 contacts the A-pillar portion 22. The central inflatable portion 11b of the airbag 11 protects the occupant head H2 of the second seat S2 from the side, and a non-inflatable portion 11h is provided between the airbag 11 and the front inflatable portion 11a. Rear inflation part 11
c protects the occupant head H3 of the third seat S3 from the side, and a non-inflated portion 11i is provided between the third seat S3 and the central inflated portion 11b.

The gas introduction part 11e of the airbag 11
It is provided corresponding to the pillar portion (front middle pillar portion) 23, connects the front inflating portion 11a of the airbag 11 and the inflator 12, and guides the gas from the inflator 11 to the airbag 11. The airbag 11 is integrally formed of the same material. Further, the gas introducing portion 11e is formed to be longer than the mounting interval between the airbag 11 and the inflator 12, and as shown in FIG.
The airbag 11 is folded and stored at a position outside the cabin corresponding to the pillar portion 23. Also, inflator 1
When the gas is supplied to the airbag 11 from FIG.
As shown in (2), the airbag 11 is pushed out toward the passenger compartment, and the peripheral portion of the roof head lining 31 is pushed open toward the passenger compartment.

The inflator 12 injects gas toward the airbag 11 at the time of a side collision of the vehicle (detected by a sensor not shown) or the like, and uses a bracket (not shown) for the roof 21. The airbag 11 is assembled, and its distal end portion 12a is airtightly fitted into the gas introduction portion 11e of the airbag 11. Also, the inflator 12
The airbag 11 is covered with a roof head lining 31 together with the gas introduction portion 11e.

The tension belt 13 is made of a material that is easy to fold and hard to extend. One end 13a is fixed by sewing to a position below the front non-inflation portion 11g of the airbag 11, and the other end 13b is connected to the A pillar portion 22. It is fixed to the lower part using a fixing tool (not shown) such as a bolt. When the tension belt 13 is stored along the roof side rail portion 21 and the A-pillar portion 22 in a state where the airbag 11 is folded, the A-pillar portion 2
2 and is covered with the A-pillar garnish 32.

In the first embodiment configured as described above, the airbag 11 and the tension belt 13 are normally folded and stored as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. Further, when a gas is ejected from the inflator 12 at the time of a side collision of the vehicle, and the gas is supplied into the folded and stored airbag 11 via the gas introduction portion 11e of the airbag 11, the airbag 11 Pushes open the roof head lining 31 and the periphery of the A-pillar garnish 32 toward the vehicle interior, and unfolds the roof lining 31 downward.
As shown in (2), it expands and deploys in the shape of a curtain at the side in the vehicle cabin. At this time, in the airbag 11, each of the inflatable portions 11 a to 11 a is supplied by the gas supplied from the inflator 12.
d expands respectively.

Incidentally, in the first embodiment,
As shown in FIG. 2, the gas introduction portion 11 e is formed to be longer than the attachment interval between the airbag 11 and the inflator 12, and is folded at the position outside the vehicle compartment of the airbag 11 corresponding to the B pillar portion 23. Stored in. Therefore, when gas is supplied from the inflator 12 to the airbag 11, as shown in FIG. 3, prior to the inflation and deployment of the airbag 11, the gas introduction part 11 e is inflated and the B pillar part 2 is expanded.
The airbag 11 corresponding to No. 3 is pushed out toward the passenger compartment, and the peripheral portion of the roof head lining 31 corresponding to the B pillar portion 23 is pushed open toward the passenger compartment. Therefore, the airbag 11 can be inflated and deployed smoothly from the start of its inflation and deployment, and the airbag 11 can be inflated and deployed.
Can improve the expansion and deployment performance of
It is possible to effectively suppress the interference of the airbag 11 during the inflation and deployment with the upper end of the B pillar garnish 33 assembled on the vehicle interior side of the pillar portion 23.

In the first embodiment, since the gas introduction portion 11e is formed integrally with the airbag 11 using the same material, the gas introduction portion 11e can be folded and stored compactly in the same manner as the airbag 11. And the gas introduction portion 11e is formed of a separate member,
It can be manufactured at a lower cost than in the case where it is mounted on a single unit.

In the first embodiment, the gas introducing portion 11e is formed longer than the mounting interval between the airbag 11 and the inflator 12, and is folded at the position outside the cabin of the airbag 11 corresponding to the B pillar portion 23. As in the second embodiment shown in FIG. 5, the gas introducing portion 11e formed longer than the mounting interval between the airbag 11 and the inflator 12 is folded and stored at a position above the airbag. It is also possible.

In the second embodiment, when gas is supplied from the inflator 12 to the airbag 11, prior to inflation and deployment of the airbag 11, the gas introduction portion 11e is provided.
Expands and pushes the peripheral edge of the roof head lining 31 corresponding to the B pillar portion 23 toward the interior of the vehicle. Therefore, the airbag 11 can be smoothly inflated and deployed from the start of its inflation and deployment, and the inflation and deployment performance of the airbag 11 can be improved, and the airbag 11 is assembled on the vehicle interior side of the B pillar portion 23. It is possible to effectively prevent the airbag 11 in the middle of inflation and deployment from interfering with the upper end of the B pillar garnish 33.

Further, in each of the above embodiments, the gas introducing portion 11e is formed to be longer than the mounting interval between the airbag 11 and the inflator 12, and is folded and stored at a position above the airbag 11 or a position outside the vehicle compartment. However, as in the third embodiment shown in FIG.
The swellable portion 11e1 is formed in the middle of 1e, and at least the periphery of the roof head lining 31 can be pushed and opened toward the vehicle interior by the expansion of the swellable portion 11e1. . Note that this third
In the embodiment, the same operation and effect as those of the above embodiments can be obtained.

Further, in each of the above embodiments, the gas introducing portion 11e is formed corresponding to the B pillar portion 23. However, as in the fourth embodiment shown in FIG. Are formed corresponding to the B pillar portion (front middle pillar portion) 23 and the C pillar portion (rear middle pillar portion) 24. In this case, when gas is supplied from the inflator 12 to the airbag 11, prior to inflation and deployment of the airbag 11,
The gas inlet 11e expands and pushes the peripheral edge of the roof head lining 31 corresponding to both pillars 23 and 24 toward the interior of the vehicle.

Therefore, the airbag 11 can be smoothly inflated and deployed from the start of the inflation and deployment, and the inflation and deployment performance of the airbag 11 can be improved. It is possible to effectively suppress the interference of the airbag 11 in the middle of inflation and deployment with the upper end portions of the pillar garnishes 33 and 34 assembled inside. In addition, since gas can be supplied from the inflator 12 to the front and rear of the airbag 11 through the gas introduction part 11e, the airbag 11 can be inflated and deployed in a well-balanced front and rear direction.

In each of the above embodiments, the B pillar 2
3, the gas introduction unit 11e and the inflator 12 were provided.
Can be changed as appropriate as long as it is the roof portion 21 of the vehicle. Also, in a vehicle having three rows of seats, that is, a vehicle having a B pillar portion 23 and a C pillar portion 24 (two intermediate pillar portions) between an A pillar portion (front pillar portion) 22 and a D pillar portion (quarter pillar portion) 25. The present invention is applied to the airbag 11 to which the present invention is applied, and the present invention is applied to a front pillar portion (A pillar portion) and a quarter pillar portion (C pillar portion)
An airbag applied to a vehicle having one intermediate pillar portion (B pillar portion) between them can be similarly or appropriately modified. A D-pillar garnish 35 is mounted on the vehicle interior side of the D-pillar section 25.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of a head protection airbag device according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a side view schematically showing the embodiment.

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

FIG. 3 is an operation explanatory diagram when gas is supplied from the inflator shown in FIG. 1 to the airbag.

FIG. 4 is a side view showing a state where the airbag shown in FIG. 1 is inflated and deployed.

FIG. 5 shows a second embodiment of the head protection airbag device according to the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 2 showing the embodiment.

FIG. 6 shows a third embodiment of the head protection airbag device according to the present invention.
It is a side view showing an embodiment (state before assembling to a vehicle).

FIG. 7 shows a fourth embodiment of the head protection airbag device according to the present invention.
It is a side view showing an embodiment (state before assembling to a vehicle).

[Explanation of symbols]

10 ... Head protection airbag device, 11 ... Airbag, 1
1a: front inflation portion, 11b: central inflation portion, 11c: rear inflation portion, 11d: auxiliary inflation portion, 11e: gas introduction portion, 1
1e1: swellable portion, 11f: mounting piece, 12: inflator, 13: tension belt, 21: roof portion, 21
a ... roof side rail part, 22 ... A pillar part, 23 ...
B pillar portion (front middle pillar portion), 24 C pillar portion (rear middle pillar portion), 25 D pillar portion, 31 roof roof lining (ceiling material), 32 A pillar garnish, 33 B pillar Garnish, 34 ... C pillar garnish, 35 ... D pillar garnish, S1 ...
First seat, S2: second seat, S3: third seat, H1, H2, H3: passenger head.

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────の Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Takuya Otsuka 1 Toyota Town, Toyota City, Aichi Prefecture Toyota Motor Corporation F-term (reference) 3D054 AA04 AA07 AA16 AA18 AA20 BB24 BB26 BB30 CC04 CC08 CC11 CC50 EE20 FF17 FF20

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An airbag which is housed in a folded state along a roof side rail portion of a vehicle and is covered by a peripheral portion of a ceiling material, and is disposed on a roof portion of the vehicle and supplies gas to the airbag. A head protection airbag device, comprising: an inflator, wherein the gas is supplied from the inflator to the airbag so that the airbag expands and deploys in a curtain shape on a side portion of the vehicle interior. A gas introduction portion that connects an airbag and the inflator and guides gas from the inflator to the airbag is configured to be inflatable, and the peripheral portion of the ceiling material is directed toward the interior of the vehicle by expansion of the gas introduction portion. A head protection airbag device configured to be pushed open. 2. The gas introducing portion is formed to be longer than a mounting interval between the airbag and the inflator, and is folded at a position above the airbag corresponding to an intermediate pillar portion of a vehicle or a position outside the vehicle compartment. The head protection airbag device according to claim 1, wherein the headbag is housed. 3. The airbag is applied to a vehicle having three rows of seats, and the gas introduction portion is formed corresponding to a front intermediate pillar portion corresponding to a first seat and a rear intermediate pillar portion corresponding to a second seat. The head protection airbag device according to claim 1, wherein: 4. The airbag according to claim 1, wherein the gas introduction portion is formed integrally with the airbag using the same material.
Or the head protection airbag device according to item 3.