JP2002067862A - Head protecting airbag device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To shorten a time required to complete spreading of an airbag in a head protecting airbag device. SOLUTION: In this head protecting airbag device, the airbag 11 has gas leading passages P1, P2, P3 in its upper rim part, and a gas is supplied to plural inflation chambers R1-R7 provided in the airbag 11 from a gas supplier 12 through plural gas outlets 13a-13d of a gas distributing pipe 13 disposed in the gas leading passage, and thereby the airbag 11 is inflatedly spread in a curtain shape along the side wall of a vehicle room, in order to protect the head of a sitting occupant. The gas outlets 13a-13d of the gas distributing pipe 13 are provided only on prescribed inflation chambers R1 and R4, and R5 and R7.

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 type of head protection airbag device of this type, an airbag housed along a roof side rail has a gas introduction passage at an upper edge portion and is disposed in the gas introduction passage. By supplying gas from the gas supply device to the plurality of inflation chambers provided in the airbag through the gas distribution pipe, the airbag is inflated and deployed in a curtain shape along the side wall of the vehicle compartment, and the head of the seated occupant is moved. Some are protected and are shown, for example, in WO 98/22313.

[0003]

By the way, in the above-mentioned conventional head protection airbag device, gas outlets of gas distribution pipes are set corresponding to all of a plurality of inflation chambers provided in the airbag. Then, the gas flows into each inflation chamber from each gas outlet at the same time, and sufficient gas flows into all the inflation chambers, whereby the deployment of the airbag is completed. For this reason, it remains as an issue to shorten the time until the deployment of the airbag is completed, and there is room for improvement in this respect.

[0004]

According to the present invention, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, an airbag housed along a roof side rail has a gas introduction passage at an upper edge portion, and is disposed in the gas introduction passage. Gas is supplied from a gas supply device to a plurality of inflation chambers provided in the airbag through a plurality of gas outlets of the provided gas distribution pipe, so that the airbag inflates and deploys in a curtain shape along the side wall of the vehicle compartment. In the head protection airbag device designed to protect the head of a seated occupant, the gas outlet of the gas distribution pipe is set only to a predetermined inflation chamber (the invention according to claim 1). is there.

According to the present invention, in order to solve the above-mentioned problem, an airbag housed along a roof side rail has a gas introduction passage at an upper edge portion, and the gas supply device passes the gas introduction passage through the gas introduction passage. By supplying gas to a plurality of inflation chambers provided in the bag, the airbag is inflated and deployed in a curtain shape along the side wall of the vehicle compartment to protect the occupant's head. The present invention is characterized in that the gas introduction passage communicates only with a predetermined expansion chamber (the invention according to claim 2).

In carrying out each of the above-mentioned inventions, the volume of the predetermined expansion chamber is set smaller than the volume of the other expansion chamber (the invention according to claim 3), or the predetermined expansion chamber is seated on the occupant. It is desirable to set it at a part that is separated from the head of the head by the front and back (the invention according to claim 4).

[0007]

In the head protection airbag device according to the present invention (the invention according to claim 1 or 2), the gas supply device supplies the airbag inflation chamber to the airbag in the event of a side collision or rollover of the vehicle. The gas is supplied, and the airbag is inflated and deployed in a curtain shape along the side wall of the cabin. At this time, in the airbag, the gas can be supplied to only the predetermined inflation chamber from the beginning, and the predetermined inflation chamber can be inflated and deployed quickly. Therefore, the deployment of the airbag (curtain-like deployment) can be completed before sufficient gas flows into all the inflation chambers in the airbag, and the time until the deployment of the airbag is completed can be shortened. it can.

Further, in the head protection airbag device according to the present invention (the invention according to claim 3), the predetermined inflation chamber is set to have a smaller volume than the other inflation chambers. The airbag can be inflated and deployed with a small amount of gas, and the time until the deployment of the airbag is completed can be further reduced.

Further, in the head protection airbag device according to the present invention (the invention according to claim 4), the predetermined inflation chamber is set at a position separated from the head of the seated occupant back and forth, so that the occupant of the seated occupant can be set. The airbag can be deployed in a state where the inflation chamber at the site corresponding to the head is not sufficiently inflated. Therefore, even when the space between the side wall of the cabin and the head of the seated occupant is narrow, the airbag can be accurately interposed.

[0010]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIGS. 1 and 2 show a first embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, a head protection airbag device 10 is inflated and deployed in a curtain shape along a side wall of a vehicle cabin and a front seat S1 (B pillar). The head of the occupant seated on the rear seat S2 (the seat provided corresponding to the C-pillar 24) is protected from the head of the occupant seated on the seat provided corresponding to the C-pillar 24. An airbag 11, an inflator 12 as a gas supply device for supplying gas to the airbag 11, and a gas distribution pipe 13 for distributing gas supplied from the inflator 12 to each of the inflation chambers R1 to R7 of the airbag 11. Have.

The airbag 11 is formed by applying a coating for maintaining airtightness to a base cloth (woven fabric) (the airbag 11 may be implemented without a coating for maintaining airtightness).
As shown in FIG. 2, a front inflatable portion 11b and a rear seat inflatable portion 11c are provided before and after the central non-inflatable portion 11a, and a non-inflatable portion 11d is provided in front of the front seat inflatable portion 11b. And a non-inflation portion 11e behind the rear-seat expansion portion 11c. The airbag 11 is mounted on the roof side rail 21 and the A-pillar (front pillar) 22 by a plurality of attachment pieces (not shown) provided on the upper edge.

The front-seat inflating portion 11b protects the head of the front-seat occupant from the side during inflation and deployment. The four inflation chambers R1 to R4 communicate with the gas at their upper edges. It has an introduction passage P1. The rear-seat inflatable portion 11c protects the head of the rear-seat occupant from the side during inflation and deployment, and is a gas introduction passage communicating with the three inflation chambers R5 to R7 at their upper edges. P2. The rear gas introduction passage P2 is open at the rear end, and communicates with the front gas introduction passage P1 at the front end through the central gas introduction passage P3.

[0013] The airbag 11 having the above-described structure is folded in such a manner that the entire airbag 11 can be deployed by bellows folding, roll folding or the like (a combination of both folding is possible).
2 and are stored along the roof side rail 21 so that the lower edge is covered by an elastically deformable A-pillar garnish 32 and the peripheral edge of an elastically deformable roof head lining 31.

The inflator 12 is for injecting and supplying gas toward the airbag 11 at the time of a side collision or rollover of the vehicle, and is disposed along the roof side rail 21 and includes a bracket and bolts ( Each of them is assembled to the roof side rail 21 using a not-shown part, and the front end thereof is air-tightly connected to the gas distribution pipe 13. Further, the inflator 12 is covered by a peripheral edge portion of the roof head lining 31 together with a rear end portion of the gas distribution pipe 13.

The gas distribution pipe 13 is closed at the front end and hermetically connected to the inflator 12 at the rear end. Each gas introduction passage P2 extends through the rear end opening of the rear gas introduction passage P2.
1, P2, and P3, and hermetically sealed with the rear end opening of the gas introduction passage P2. Further, the gas distribution pipe 13 is connected to the front seat inflatable portion 11 b of the airbag 11.
, And gas outlets 13c and 13d provided corresponding to the rear seat inflatable portion 11c.

The gas outlets 13a and 13b are provided at the respective expansion chambers R which are set at locations separated from the head of the front seat occupant back and forth.
1 and R4, each expansion chamber R1 and R
4 open downward, and each expansion chamber R1
And R4 can be supplied with gas. In addition,
Part of the gas supplied to each of the expansion chambers R1 and R4 can be supplied to each of the expansion chambers R2 and R3 through the front gas introduction passage P1.

On the other hand, the gas outlets 13c and 13d are provided in correspondence with the respective expansion chambers R5 and R7 which are set at portions separated from the head of the rear front seat occupant back and forth. And R7 are opened downward, and gas can be supplied to each of the expansion chambers R5 and R7. A part of the gas supplied to each of the expansion chambers R5 and R7 can be supplied to the expansion chamber R6 through the rear gas introduction passage P2.

In the head protection airbag apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment configured as described above, the airbag 11 is normally stored along the A pillar 22 and the roof side rail 21 in a state of being entirely folded. And is covered by the A-pillar garnish 32 and the periphery of the roof head lining 31.

In the event of a side collision or rollover of the vehicle, gas is blown from the inflator 12 and this gas is folded through the gas distribution pipe 13 and stored in the inflation chambers R1 to R7 of the airbag 11 stored therein. When the airbag 11 is supplied to the vehicle, the airbag 11 deforms the corresponding portions of the roof head lining 31 and the A-pillar garnish 32 toward the interior of the vehicle and deploys downward, and as shown in FIG. It expands and deploys along the curtain. At this time, in the airbag 11, each inflatable portion 11b, 11
c expands and deploys toward the head protection expansion area located on the side of the head of each of the front and rear occupants.

In this embodiment, the gas outlets 13a and 13b of the gas distribution pipe 13 are
, And gas outlets 13c and 13d of the gas distribution pipe 13 are provided corresponding to the expansion chambers R5 and R7 of the airbag 11. For this reason, in the airbag 11 which inflates and deploys in a curtain shape along the side wall in the vehicle interior, predetermined inflation chambers R1, R4, and R
Only 5 and R7 can be supplied with gas from the beginning,
The predetermined expansion chambers R1 and R4 and R5 and R7 are replaced with other expansion chambers R.
2, and can be expanded and deployed more quickly than R3 and R6.

Therefore, before sufficient gas flows into all the inflation chambers R1 to R7 in the airbag 11, the deployment (curtain-like deployment) of the airbag 11 can be completed, and the deployment of the airbag 11 can be completed. The time from the start to the completion of deployment (at this point, the airbag 11 is still inflating) can be shortened.

In the present embodiment, the gas outlets 13a and 13b are provided corresponding to the respective expansion chambers R1 and R4 which are set at portions separated from the head of the front seat occupant back and forth. Each of the expansion chambers R5 and R5 whose exits 13c and 13d are set at locations separated from the head of the rear front seat occupant back and forth.
7, the airbag 11 can be deployed in a state where the inflation chambers R2, R3, and R6 at the portions corresponding to the head of the seated occupant are not sufficiently inflated. Therefore, even when the distance between the side wall of the passenger compartment and the head of the seated occupant is narrow, the airbag 11 can be accurately interposed.

In the above-described first embodiment, each of the inflation chambers R1 to R7 provided in the airbag 11 is made to have substantially the same volume. However, as in the second embodiment shown in FIG. The volumes of the expansion chambers R1 and R4 and the volumes of R5 and R7 corresponding to the thirteen gas outlets 13a to 13d can be set smaller than the volumes of the other expansion chambers R2, R3 and R6. In this case, each expansion chamber R1
And R4 and R5 and R7 can be inflated and deployed with a smaller amount of gas than in the above embodiment, and the time until the deployment of the airbag 11 is completed can be further reduced.

In each of the above embodiments, the gas outlets 13a to 13d of the gas distribution pipe 13 are set corresponding to the respective inflation chambers R1 and R4 and R5 and R7 of the airbag 11. As in the third embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the gas outlets 13a, 13b, and 13c of the gas distribution pipe 13 can be set corresponding to each of the inflation chambers R1, R3, and R6 of the airbag 11 for implementation. It is. In addition, the third in FIG.
In the embodiment, the volumes of the expansion chambers R1, R3, and R6 are set smaller than the volumes of the other expansion chambers R2, R4, and R5, R7. In the third embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the expansion chambers R1 to R4 and R5 to R7 communicate with each other at the lower ends.

In each of the above embodiments, the inflator 12 is connected to the airbag 11 through the gas distribution pipe 13 provided in the gas introduction passages P1 to P3 of the airbag 11.
The gas was supplied to each of the expansion chambers R1 to R7. However, as in the fourth embodiment shown in FIG.
1 to P3 to the airbag 11 from the inflator 12.
It is also possible to carry out the gas supply to each of the expansion chambers R1 to R7.

In the fourth embodiment shown in FIG. 5, the expansion chambers R1 and R4 communicate with the gas introduction passage P1, respectively, and the expansion chambers R5 and R7 communicate with the gas introduction passage P2. To R4 and R5 to R7 communicate with each other at the lower end. In the fourth embodiment shown in FIG. 5, the inflator 12 is hermetically assembled to the rear end of the rear gas introduction passage P3 in the airbag 11.

In each of the above embodiments, the inflator 12 is connected to the rear inflatable portion 11 of the airbag 11.
c, the inflator 12 is arranged between the front seat inflatable portion 11b and the rear seat inflatable portion 11c of the airbag 11 as in the fifth embodiment shown in FIG. It is also possible to carry out. In addition, it is also possible to eliminate the gas distribution pipe 13 from the fifth embodiment shown in FIG. In this case, each of the inflatable portions 11 b and 11 c of the airbag 11 is moved from the inflator 12.
Can be supplied substantially simultaneously and quickly, and the inflation and deployment time of both inflation portions 11b and 11c can be shortened.

[Brief description of the drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is an enlarged side view of a main part of the head protection airbag device shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 shows a second embodiment of the head protection airbag device according to the present invention.
FIG. 3 is an enlarged side view of a main part corresponding to FIG. 2 and showing an embodiment.

FIG. 4 shows a third embodiment of the head protection airbag device according to the present invention.
FIG. 3 is an enlarged side view of a main part corresponding to FIG. 2 and showing an embodiment.

FIG. 5 shows a fourth embodiment of the head protection airbag device according to the present invention.
FIG. 3 is an enlarged side view of a main part corresponding to FIG. 2 and showing an embodiment.

FIG. 6 shows a fifth embodiment of the head protection airbag device according to the present invention.
FIG. 3 is an enlarged side view of a main part corresponding to FIG. 2 and showing an embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 ... Head protection airbag device, 11 ... Airbag, 1
1a: Central non-expandable portion, 11b: Front seat inflatable portion, 11c ...
Rear seat inflatable parts, 11d, 11e ... non-inflatable parts, R1 to R7
... Expansion chamber, P1-P3 ... Gas introduction passage, 12 ... Inflator (gas supply device), 13 ... Gas distribution pipe, 13a-13
d: gas outlet, 21: roof side rail, 22: A
Pillar, 23 ... B pillar, 24 ... C pillar, 31 ... Roof head lining, 32 ... A pillar garnish.

Claims (4)

[Claims] An airbag housed along a roof side rail has a gas introduction passage at an upper edge portion, and a gas supply passage is provided through a plurality of gas outlets of a gas distribution pipe disposed in the gas introduction passage. By supplying gas to the plurality of inflation chambers provided in the airbag, the airbag is inflated and deployed in a curtain shape along the side wall of the vehicle compartment to protect the head of a seated occupant. In the airbag device, the gas outlet of the gas distribution pipe is set only in a predetermined expansion chamber. 2. An airbag stored along a roof side rail has a gas introduction passage at an upper edge portion, and gas is supplied from a gas supply to a plurality of inflation chambers provided in the airbag through the gas introduction passage. In the head protection airbag device, the airbag is inflated and deployed in a curtain shape along the side wall of the vehicle compartment to protect the occupant's head. The head protection airbag device is characterized in that only the communication is performed. 3. The head protection airbag device according to claim 1, wherein the volume of the predetermined inflation chamber is set smaller than the volume of another inflation chamber. . 4. The head-protecting airbag device according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined inflation chamber is set at a position separated from the head of the seated occupant in the front-rear direction. Bag device.