JP2001294110A - Air bag device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an air bag capable of sufficiently protecting an occupant even with a low-output inflator without being influenced by the inflator output. SOLUTION: A strap 8 having both ends joined to the air bag 4 is led around the rear side of a retainer 3. When the inflator 5 spouts gas in conjunction with the collision of an automobile, the air bag 4 pushes and opens a lid 5 and the strap 8 is stretched (a restricted developed form). Firstly, the abdomen of the occupant butts on and received by the air bag lower part 4L. Butting of the abdomen on the air bag lower part 4L retreats the strap lower part 4L to the retainer 3 side to move the strap 8 from the lower side to the upper side. As a result, the upper part 4U of the air bag 4 is further more inflated and the inflated air bag upper part 4U receives the chest and the head of the occupant.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an airbag device installed on a high-speed moving body such as an automobile, and more particularly, to an airbag device having a strap for regulating a deployed shape of the airbag.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As is well known, an airbag device installed in an automobile or the like includes a folded airbag, a retainer to which the airbag is attached, an inflator for inflating and deploying the airbag, and an airbag. Is provided.

[0003] In the event of a vehicle collision or the like, the inflator blows out gas, and the airbag pushes open the cover to deploy it near the occupant, and receives and protects the occupant.

Some of such airbag devices have a strap for regulating the deployment shape of the airbag. In addition, the strap is provided with a notch, a slit, an opening, and the like, and the strap is broken by an increase in strap tension due to an increase in the internal pressure of the airbag when the occupant enters the airbag, and the airbag is further inflated. Some are configured to absorb occupant impact.

[0005] In order to absorb the occupant impact, a part of the airbag is sewn together by a tear seam (a severable suturing system), and the tear seam is broken with an increase in the internal pressure of the airbag to further inflate the airbag. Some have done it.

[0006]

As described above, in the airbag apparatus of the type in which the strap or the tear seam is broken, the breakage is affected by the output (the generated gas pressure and the gas amount) of the inflator.

[0007] An object of the present invention is to provide an airbag device that can sufficiently protect an occupant even with a low-output inflator without being affected by the output of the inflator.

[0008]

An airbag device according to the present invention comprises a folded airbag, a retainer to which the airbag is attached, an inflator for inflating and deploying the airbag, and an airbag. An airbag device having a strap for regulating the deployed shape of the airbag, wherein the strap is routed on the rear side of the retainer, and the deployed airbag is pressed by an occupant to be deformed by the occupant. It moves in the longitudinal direction of the strap along the retainer.

In such an airbag apparatus, when the inflator is operated, first, the strap is inflated and deployed until the strap is in a taut state (regulated deployment state).

When the occupant enters one side of the deployed airbag, the occupant pushes the airbag and retreats, and the strap also tends to loosen on one side. Then, the other side of the strap is moved toward the other side by being pulled by the airbag. As a result, the other side of the airbag inflates to a greater extent than in the regulated deployment state.

The airbag device is applied to, for example, a passenger airbag device. In this case, the strap is pulled up and down. Then, the abdomen of the occupant hits the lower part of the airbag in the regulated and deployed state, the lower part of the airbag retreats, and the upper part of the airbag is inflated to a greater extent instead.

In the present invention, it is preferable that both ends in the longitudinal direction of the strap are respectively joined to the airbag.

In the present invention, it is preferable that a means is provided for allowing the strap to slide only in one direction in the longitudinal direction.

This means is provided, for example, on a retainer insertion portion provided on the retainer and on the strap.
A stopper which cannot pass through the retainer insertion portion.

[0015]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of the vicinity of an instrument panel of an automobile equipped with an airbag device according to an embodiment, FIGS. 2 and 3 are operation diagrams of the airbag device,
FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view of the rear part of the retainer.

A passenger airbag device 2 is installed on an instrument panel 1 of an automobile. In the passenger seat airbag device 2, an airbag 4 housed in a retainer 3 is deployed by gas ejected from an inflator 5. Reference numeral 6 denotes a lid that covers the retainer 3, and is pushed by the deploying airbag 4 to open like a door as shown in FIGS. Reference numeral 7 denotes a windshield.

One end of the strap 8 is joined to the upper portion of the airbag 4 by sewing or the like, and the other end of the strap 8 is joined to the lower portion of the airbag 4 by sewing or the like.
The strap 8 is routed outside the retainer 3. That is, in a state before the operation of the inflator 5, the strap 8 is drawn out of the retainer 3 from the front edge of the retainer 3 and goes around the rear side of the retainer 3.

As shown in FIG. 4, a projecting piece 9 projects from the rear of the retainer 3, and the projecting piece 9 is inserted into the insertion portion 1 of the strap 8.
0 is provided. The strap 8 is connected to the insertion portion 10
Has been routed through. The strap 8 is provided with a stopper 11 that cannot pass through the insertion portion 10 above the insertion portion 10, and the strap 8 moves in the insertion portion 10 only from the lower side to the upper side in the drawing. And cannot move in the opposite direction. Strap 8
Is incorporated in the airbag device in a state where the stopper 11 is pulled down most so as to abut the protruding piece 9.

In the airbag apparatus constructed as described above, when the inflator 5 performs a gas ejection operation in accordance with the collision of the automobile, the airbag 4 pushes the lid 5 open, and the second
The strap 8 shown in the figure is in a taut state (regulated deployment shape). In this state, the lower portion 4L of the airbag 4 is inflated sufficiently large, but the upper portion 4U of the airbag 4 is restrained from being deployed by the strap 8 and is not fully inflated.

First, the abdomen of the occupant has a lower portion of the airbag 4.
L is hit. This abdomen is the lower part of the airbag 4
L, as shown in FIG.
Retreats to the retainer 3 side, and accordingly, the strap 8 moves from the lower side to the upper side as shown by the arrow A in FIG. As a result, the upper portion 4U of the airbag 4 is further inflated, and the inflated upper portion 4U receives the occupant's chest and head.

As described above, the initial deployment shape of the airbag 4 is regulated by the strap 8, and the lower portion 4 of the airbag 4 is
L is inflated in advance, and the abdomen of the occupant is first received by the lower part 4L of the airbag 4, and then the upper part of the occupant is received by the upper part 4U of the airbag. A low output that is enough to make it suffice.

The airbag having the restricted deployment shape shown in FIG. 2 is in a state in which it is already deployed to a large extent in front of the occupant, and can protect the occupant's abdomen at an early stage. Generally, in the event of a car collision, the upper body of the passenger seat occupant moves forward in the vehicle as a whole, and the upper part of the upper body falls forward in the vehicle slightly later. Therefore, when the lower part 4L of the airbag 4 is deployed as shown in the regulated deployment shape of FIG. 2, the abdomen of the occupant is protected, and then the upper part 4U of the airbag 4 is deployed to obtain the final deployment shape. The upper part of the occupant (chest and head) can be sufficiently protected.

As described above, the lower portion 4L of the airbag 4 may be deployed earlier and the upper portion 4U may be deployed later, so that even if the output of the inflator is reduced,
The airbag can be deployed so that the occupant can be sufficiently protected.

In the above embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the lower portion 4L of the airbag in the regulated deployment shape has a final deployment shape that is tight, but the airbag device 2A shown in FIG. As described above, the airbag lower portion 4L may have some allowance in the regulated deployment shape.

In the above embodiment, the strap 8
Are arranged only outside the airbag 4, but as shown in the airbag apparatus 2B of FIG.
And the strap 8 may be routed inside the airbag 4 through the opening 13.

The left side of FIGS. 5 and 6 shows the restricted deployment shape, and the right side shows a state in which the occupant is received.

The above embodiments relate to an airbag device for a passenger seat, but the present invention relates to an airbag device for a driver's seat, an airbag device for a rear seat, an airbag device for a side, a side airbag device for protecting a head. The present invention can be applied to an airbag device and other various airbag devices.

[0028]

As described above, in the airbag apparatus of the present invention, after the airbag is deployed to the regulated deployment shape whose shape is regulated by the strap, the strap is moved to further inflate the airbag. It is deployed so that the occupants can be protected early. According to the present invention, even if the output of the inflator is reduced, the occupant can be sufficiently protected by the airbag. In addition, the size of the inflator can be reduced to reduce the volume of the entire airbag device.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the vicinity of an instrument panel of an automobile provided with an airbag device according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is an operation diagram of the airbag device of FIG.

FIG. 3 is an operation diagram of the airbag device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view showing a main part of the apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram of an airbag device according to another embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a configuration diagram of an airbag device according to still another embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Instrument panel 2 Airbag device 3 Retainer 4 Airbag 5 Inflator 6 Lid 8 Strap 9 Protrusion piece 10 Strap insertion part 11 Stopper

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. An airbag comprising: a folded airbag; a retainer to which the airbag is attached; an inflator for inflating and deploying the airbag; and a strap for regulating a deployed shape of the airbag. In the airbag device, the strap is routed behind the retainer,
An airbag device, wherein the strap is moved in the longitudinal direction of the strap along the retainer when the deployed airbag is pressed and deformed by an occupant. 2. The airbag device according to claim 1, wherein both ends of the strap in the longitudinal direction are joined to the airbag. 3. An airbag device according to claim 1, further comprising means for allowing the strap to slide only in one direction in a longitudinal direction thereof. 4. The device according to claim 3, wherein the means comprises a retainer insertion portion provided on the retainer, and a stopper provided on the strap and having a size that cannot pass through the retainer insertion portion. An airbag device characterized by the above. 5. The airbag device according to claim 1, wherein the airbag device is disposed in front of a seat.
The strap is pulled up and down, and the abdomen of the occupant of the seat first contacts the lower part of the deployed airbag, whereby the lower part of the airbag retreats to the retainer side and the strap moves upward from below. And an upper portion of the airbag expands greatly.