JP2002347563A - Protecting device for vehicle occupant - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a protecting device for a vehicle occupant which can extremely smoothly develop an air bag for protecting an occupant leg part to the center front position of a seat. SOLUTION: When an automobile provided with the protecting device for the vehicle occupant collides, an inflator 13 operates gas generation and the air bag 12 starts to expand. A door part 14 is opened out by being pushed by the expanding air bag 12 and the air bag 12 starts to develop inside a vehicle cabin. In the end, the air bag 12 expands until to cover from a knee bag device 10 to the whole of a glove door 7. At this time, the air bag 12 is guided by a guide rail 15 and a slider 16.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vehicle occupant protection system, and more particularly to a vehicle occupant leg protection system called a knee bag system.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A protection device for a vehicle occupant having an airbag (knee bag) deployed in front of a leg portion of the occupant sitting on a vehicle seat is described in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 47-24110. By expanding this knee bag,
The occupant's legs can be protected.

[0003] In the vehicle occupant protection device known in the above publication, an airbag device is disposed in the front center of a seat. For this reason, the arrangement is restricted due to the location of the console box and the like. In the driver's seat, the steering column is located near the front of the center of the seat, and it is more difficult to arrange the airbag device.

Accordingly, the applicant of the present invention has disclosed a technique disclosed in
No. 48, in the front of the seat, and deployed in a region of the height including the vicinity of the height of the seat surface of the seat, a case containing the folded airbag, In a vehicle occupant protection device having a gas generator provided in the case, the case is disposed at a position shifted to one of left and right from the front center of the seat, and the airbag can be spread to the other of the left and right. A vehicle occupant protection device is proposed. In addition, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-213144
Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. H11-15083 proposes a protection device for a vehicle occupant in which an airbag for protecting a leg is disposed in a console box and deployed to the front of the occupant.

[0005] In such a vehicle occupant protection device, since the vehicle occupant protection device is provided at a position shifted left and right from the front center of the seat, the degree of freedom of arrangement of the vehicle occupant protection device is high.

[0006]

In the vehicle occupant protection device in which the leg protection airbag is disposed so as to be displaced from the front center of the seat as described above, the airbag is spread so as to spread to the front center position of the seat. It is necessary to devise how to fold the gas generator and to select the gas ejection direction of the gas generator, and there are many restrictions on the structure of the device and the assembly process.

[0007] The present invention provides a vehicle occupant protection device in which an airbag arranged vertically or horizontally shifted from the center front of the seat spreads quickly along the vehicle interior member in front of the seat. Aim.

[0008]

According to the present invention, there is provided a vehicle occupant protection system comprising: an airbag which is deployed in a region in front of a seat and including a height near a seating surface of the seat; A case for a vehicle occupant having a case containing a bag and a gas generator provided in the case,
In a vehicle occupant protection device in which the case is arranged at a position shifted left and right or up and down from the front center of the seat, and the airbag is sized to be able to spread to the front center of the seat, the airbag is inflated when the airbag is inflated. The vehicle interior member is provided with a guide member for guiding the seat so as to spread along the vehicle interior member in front of the seat.

[0009] In such a vehicle occupant protection device, when the airbag is inflated, the airbag is smoothly spread along the vehicle interior member to the center front position of the seat by the guide member.
By providing this guide member, restrictions on the structure of the vehicle occupant protection device or the airbag folding step are eliminated.

In the present invention, it is preferable that a guide rail is provided on the vehicle interior member as the guide member, and a slider that moves along the guide rail is provided on the airbag. According to the guide mechanism including the guide rail and the slider, the airbag can be reliably inflated toward the front center of the seat. Further, since the slider does not separate from the guide rail, the airbag is not separated or separated from the vehicle interior member.

[0011]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a passenger seat of an automobile provided with a vehicle occupant protection device according to an embodiment, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line II-II of FIG. 1, and FIG. III
FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line III, and FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the same portion as FIG. 3 when the airbag is inflated.

A passenger seat 2 is installed in a passenger seat space on the left side of a console box 1 in the center of a front seat of an automobile. An instrument panel 3 as an interior member is installed in front of the seat 2, and a passenger airbag device 4 is installed on an upper surface of the instrument panel 3. A glove box 6 is installed below the instrument panel 3, and a glove door 7 is installed at the entrance of the glove box 6 so as to be openable and closable.

A knee bag device 10 is installed below the glove box 6. This knee bag device 10
It has a casing 11, an airbag 12 that is folded and accommodated in the casing 11, and an inflator (gas generator) 13 that inflates the airbag 12.

The inflator 13 has a flange protruding from the side peripheral surface thereof fixed to the casing 11. In the airbag 12, the edge of the gas inlet is sandwiched between the casing 11 and the flange (or the airbag mounting ring). The front surface of the casing 11 is a door portion 14 that can be opened.

Along the left and right sides of the door portion 14,
A guide rail 15 extending in the vertical direction is provided. A slider 16 is slidably fitted on the guide rail 15 so that it can move smoothly from the lower end to the upper end of the guide rail 15. This slider 1
6 and the airbag 12 are connected by a connecting member 17.

This guide rail 15 is arranged on the back side of the interior panel. This interior panel may be integral with the instrument panel 3 or may be separate. A groove 18 is formed on the back surface of the panel facing the guide rail 15. When the slider 16 moves along the guide rail 15, the slider 16 moves upward while cutting the groove 18.

When an automobile equipped with the vehicle occupant protection device configured as described above collides, the inflator 13 operates to generate gas, and the airbag 12 starts inflating. The door portion 14 is pushed out by the inflating airbag 12 to open as shown by a two-dot chain line 14 'in FIG. 2, and the airbag 12 starts to be deployed in the vehicle interior. The airbag 12 eventually inflates from the knee bag device 10 to cover the entire glove door 7 as shown by a two-dot chain line 12 'in FIG.

During the inflation, the slider 16 connected to the airbag 12 moves upward along the guide rail 15. At this time, the slider 16 moves upward while tearing the groove 18 as shown in FIG.

As described above, since the airbag 12 is inflated while being guided by the guide rail 15 and the slider 16, the airbag 12 is inflated smoothly upward without being separated from the glove door 7 and the instrument panel 3. Then, the seat 2 is deployed forward in the center.

In this embodiment, the knee bag device 10
Are arranged in the lower part and the guide rails 15 are arranged in the vertical direction. However, when the knee bag device 10 is arranged to be shifted left or right from the center front of the seat 2, the guide rails 15 are arranged in the horizontal direction. Arrange. In this case, the airbag is inflated from the left or right toward the center front position of the seat 2.
The knee bag device may be provided in the console box 1. When the knee bag device is arranged at a higher position, the guide rails are arranged vertically, and the airbag inflates downward from above.

The present invention can be applied not only to a passenger seat but also to a driver's seat and a rear seat occupant leg protection device.

[0022]

As described above, according to the present invention, the airbags for protecting the occupant's legs arranged vertically or horizontally can be deployed very smoothly to the front center position of the seat.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a passenger seat of an automobile including a vehicle occupant protection device according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line II-II of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line III-III of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the same portion as FIG. 3 when the airbag is inflated.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Console box 2 Seat 3 Instrument panel 6 Glove box 7 Glove door 10 Knee bag device 11 Casing 12 Airbag 13 Inflator 15 Guide rail 16 Slider

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. An airbag that is deployed in a region in front of a seat and at a height including the vicinity of the seat surface of the seat, a case that stores the folded airbag, and a case that is provided in the case. A vehicle occupant protection device having a gas generator, wherein the case is disposed at a position shifted left and right or up and down from the front center of the seat, and the airbag is sized to be able to spread to the front center of the seat. An occupant protection device, wherein a guide member is provided on the vehicle interior member for guiding the airbag to spread along the vehicle interior member in front of the seat when the airbag is inflated. Protection device. 2. The vehicle occupant protection according to claim 1, wherein the guide member is a guide rail and a slider that moves along the guide rail, and the slider and the airbag are connected. apparatus.