JP2003063334A - Airbag device to protect pedestrian - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve failsafe reliability and to extend a range to protect pedestrian by an air bag. SOLUTION: The air bag 26 stored along with vehicle cross direction in a cowl box 12A of a car body 12 starts to inflate to upward of the cowl box 12A from inside of the cowl box 12A, and inflates and develops stretching from the upper face of a rear end 23A of a food 23 to a upper face of a front end 28A of a front window shield glass 28. And an inflated and developed shape of the air bag 26 is divided into multiple long tubes 30 along the car body, and a center part of the car body of the air bag 26 is a channel of gas 31 penetrating in a vehicle cross direction.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a pedestrian protection airbag device, and more particularly to a pedestrian protection airbag device provided with an airbag bag body at a front portion of a vehicle such as an automobile.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an example of a pedestrian protection air bag device in which an air bag body is provided in a front portion of a vehicle such as an automobile is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-264146.

As shown in FIG. 15, in this pedestrian protection airbag device, a front bumper 10 of a vehicle body 100 is provided.
The pedestrian collision detection means 104 provided in 2 for detecting a collision with a pedestrian activates the airbag device, and the deployment force of the airbag bag body 106 lifts the rear portion of the hood 108 by a predetermined amount and activates the hood holding means. Thus, the hood 108 is held in the lifted position, and the hood 108 forms a deformation area for absorbing a shock. Further, the pillar airbag 112 is inflated and deployed on the pillar 110, and the laceration preventive film 116 is inflated and deployed on the windshield glass 114.

[0004]

However, in this pedestrian protection airbag device, the rear portion of the hood 108 is lifted by a predetermined amount when the airbag bag body 106 is inflated and deployed. As a result, in order to reliably deploy the airbag bag body 106, the airbag bag body 10
6 must be reliably developed, the rear part of the hood 108 must be reliably lifted, and both of these must be reliably performed, which is a disadvantageous configuration in terms of fail-safe reliability. Further, in this pedestrian protection airbag device, the airbag bag 106 inflates and deploys only from the rear portion of the hood 108, which is the storage location, to the rear of the vehicle, so the pedestrian protection range of the airbag bag 106 is narrowed. .

In view of the above facts, it is an object of the present invention to obtain a pedestrian protection airbag device capable of improving the fail-safe reliability and widening the pedestrian protection range by the airbag body.

[0006]

An airbag device for protecting a pedestrian according to the present invention as set forth in claim 1 is arranged in a cowl box of a vehicle, and starts to inflate toward the upper side of the cowl box. The airbag bag body is inflated and deployed across the hood rear end upper surface and the front windshield glass front end upper surface, and the airbag bag body has a plurality of inflated and expanded shapes which are long in the vehicle front-rear direction. It is characterized by being divided into tubular parts.

Therefore, the air bag body arranged in the cowl box of the vehicle starts to expand toward the upper side of the cowl box, and expands and expands across the upper surface of the rear end of the hood and the upper surface of the front end of the front windshield glass. Because
It is not necessary to lift the rear end of the hood upward when deploying the airbag body. As a result, it is only necessary to ensure that the airbag bag is surely inflated and deployed. For this reason, the configuration is advantageous in terms of fail-safe reliability as compared with the conventional technology in which it is necessary to ensure both that the airbag bag is reliably deployed and that the hood rear end portion is reliably lifted. The reliability can be improved. Moreover, since the airbag bag expands and deploys across the hood rear end upper surface and the front windshield glass front end upper surface, the pedestrian protection range of the airbag bag can be widened. Further, since the inflated and expanded shape of the airbag bag is divided into a plurality of tubular portions that are long in the vehicle front-rear direction, a force that swells upward in the center portion of the airbag bag in the front-rear direction and tends to be straight in the front-rear direction. The air bag body comes into close contact with the hood rear end upper surface and the front windshield glass front end upper surface.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the pedestrian protection airbag device according to the first aspect, the folded shape of the airbag bag body is such that a portion developed on the upper surface of the hood rear end portion is a tip in a deployment direction. The front side of the front windshield glass has a bellows-like shape, or the front side of the front windshield glass has a roll shape in which the front end side is rolled up toward the vehicle upper side. And

Therefore, in addition to the contents described in claim 1,
The part that deploys on the upper surface of the rear end of the hood has a roll shape in which the front end side in the deployment direction is wound toward the lower side of the vehicle. expand. Therefore, the airbag bag is surely inflated and deployed between the upper surface of the rear end of the hood and the head of the pedestrian. In addition, since the part that deploys on the upper surface of the front end portion of the front windshield glass has a bellows shape or a roll shape in which the tip end side in the deploying direction is rolled up toward the upper side of the vehicle, this part is relatively separated when the airbag bag is deployed. From the position, unfold it so that it covers the front edge of the front windshield glass. For this reason, it is possible to prevent the airbag bag from being caught by the wiper arm and becoming an inflated shape.

The present invention according to claim 3 provides the pedestrian protection airbag device according to any one of claims 1 and 2.
The folded airbag bag is housed in a case whose upper part is open, and the case is covered with a cover.

Therefore, in addition to the contents described in any one of claims 1 and 2, by storing the folded airbag bag in a case whose upper part is opened, the water accumulated in the cowl box is removed. It is possible to prevent intrusion into the case from the side portion and the lower portion of the case. In addition, by covering the case with the cover, it is possible to prevent water from entering the case from the upper part of the case.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the pedestrian protection airbag device according to the third aspect, the fragile portion which is formed in the cover and which is broken when the airbag bag is deployed is from the upper end portion of the case. It is characterized by being set downward.

Therefore, in addition to the contents of claim 3,
Even if a fragile part that is formed on the cover and ruptures when the airbag is deployed is cracked due to aging, water can be prevented from entering from the crack on the side wall of the case. Can be improved.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the pedestrian protection airbag apparatus according to the fourth aspect, the cover deploys a vehicle rear side portion as a hinge portion, and
The fragile portion is formed at a portion on the vehicle front side and the vehicle lower side.

Therefore, in addition to the contents described in claim 4,
When the cover is deployed, the fragile portion formed in the vehicle front side and the vehicle lower side portion is broken, and the vehicle rear side portion is deployed as a hinge portion. As a result, the expansion portion becomes longer toward the rear of the vehicle, and the upper surface of the front end portion of the front windshield glass can be widely covered. Therefore, the airbag bag body is not caught on the wiper arm and is smoothly deployed.

The present invention according to claim 6 provides the invention according to claims 3 to 5.
In the pedestrian protection airbag apparatus according to any one of the above 1 to 3, a seal member is disposed between the cover and the hood rear end portion upper surface.

Therefore, in addition to the contents according to any one of claims 3 to 5, the seal member provided between the cover and the upper surface of the rear end of the hood can prevent rainwater from hitting the cover, resulting in waterproof performance. Is further improved.

The present invention according to claim 7 is any of claims 3 to 5.
The pedestrian protection airbag device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein a garnish panel that covers the cover and is detached when the airbag bag is deployed is provided at a rear end portion of the hood.

Therefore, in addition to the contents according to any one of claims 3 to 5, by covering the cover with a garnish panel provided at the rear end of the hood, it is possible to prevent rainwater from hitting the cover and to improve the waterproof performance. Further improve.

[0020]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION A first embodiment of a pedestrian protection airbag device according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

In the figure, arrow FR indicates the vehicle front direction, arrow UP indicates the vehicle upward direction, and arrow IN indicates the vehicle width inner direction.

As shown in FIG. 2, in the present embodiment, the airbag module 24 in the pedestrian protection airbag device 10 is extended in the cowl box 12A of the vehicle body 12 along the vehicle width direction. In addition, the pedestrian protection airbag device 10 includes a sensor 16 incorporated near the surface of the front bumper 14, and the sensor 16 detects deformation when the front bumper 14 comes into contact with a leg of a pedestrian or the like. It is supposed to do. The sensor 16 is connected to the control device 18, and the control device 18 supplies an operating current to the inflator 20 when the output signal from the sensor 16 and the vehicle speed signal are combined and it is determined that the accident is during traveling. It is like this.

When an operating current flows, the inflator 20 is ignited to generate gas, and the gas passes through the pipe 22 and is stored in the airbag module 24 in a folded state. It is designed to be sent to the bag.

As shown in FIG. 1, the airbag bag body 26.
Is inflated and expanded by the gas from the inflator across the upper surface of the rear end portion 23A of the hood 23 and the upper surface of the front end portion 28A of the front windshield glass 28. In addition, the inflated and expanded shape of the airbag bag body 26 is such that the joining portion 2 formed in the vehicle front-rear direction, such as sewing and bonding.
9, the plurality of tubular portions 3 that are long in the vehicle front-rear direction
The shape is divided into 0, and the airbag bag body 26
The central portion in the front-rear direction of the gas passage 31 communicates in the vehicle width direction
Has become.

In the portion 26A on the driver's seat side of the airbag 26, the rearward length of the tubular portion 30 is shorter than the rearward length of the tubular portion 30 in the passenger seat portion 26B. As a result, the driver's field of view can be kept to a minimum and the pedestrian protection range on the passenger side can be widened.

As shown in FIG. 3, the airbag bag body 26.
Is folded and formed into a long shape along the vehicle width direction, and is housed in a metal case 32, and the case 32 has a U-shaped side cross section with only the upper portion opened. Also,
A plurality of bolts 34 are welded to the lower surface of the bottom portion 32D of the case 32 along the vehicle width direction at predetermined intervals. These bolts 34 and nuts 36 screwed onto the respective bolts 34 are welded.
As a result, the case 32 becomes the cowl upper panel 38.
And is fixed to a resin cowl louver panel 40 disposed on the cowl upper panel 38. The cowl louver panel 40 is fixed to the cowl upper panel 38 with bolts or the like (not shown).

The case 32 has a resin cover 4 from above.
2, the opening-side end portions 42A and 42B formed in the lower portion of the cover 42 are the bottom portion 3 of the case 32, respectively.
It is sandwiched between the 2D and the cowl louver panel 40. Further, the lower portion of the front wall portion 32A of the case 32 (a portion below a fragile portion 44 described below) and the front wall portion 42 of the cover 42.
The rear wall portion 32B of C and the case 32 and the rear wall portion 42D of the cover 42 are fixed by an adhesive that also serves as a sealing.

On the other hand, a portion of the front wall portion 42C of the cover 42, which is below the upper end portion 32C of the front wall portion 32A of the case 32, is a fragile portion 44 in which a concave portion having a triangular cross section is formed from the vehicle rear side. ing. When the airbag bag body 26 is inflated and deployed, the fragile portion 44 formed in the cover 42 is broken by the inflation pressure of the airbag bag body 26 as shown in FIG. Therefore, the cover 42 uses the upper end portion 42E of the rear wall portion 42D as a hinge portion and the upper wall portion 42F.
And the upper portion 42G of the front wall portion 42C is adapted to be deployed rearward of the vehicle. By forming the fragile portion 44 of the cover 42 at a portion below the upper end portion 32C of the front wall portion 32A of the case 32, the range of expansion of the cover 42 to the rear of the vehicle is widened, and the cover 42 is deformed with time or the like. Even when a crack is generated in the fragile portion 44 formed in the above, water can be prevented from entering from the crack by the front wall portion 32A of the case 32.

As shown in FIG. 3, the upper end portion 32C of the front wall portion 32A of the case 32 is in contact with the upper wall portion 42F of the cover 42, and when a load is applied from above the cover 42, this load is applied. Since the front wall portion 32A of the case 32 receives the fragile portion, the fragile portion 44 of the cover 42 is broken and rainwater and the like are prevented from entering.

Further, the front end portion 4 of the cowl louver panel 40 is
0A extends from the front wall portion 38A of the cowl upper panel 38 toward the front of the vehicle, and the hood toe cowl shield 46 is provided above the front end portion 40A of the cowl louver panel 40.
Is provided. The hood toe cowl shield 46 is in contact with a hood inner panel 48 that constitutes the hood 23, and the air in the engine room 50 passes between the hood inner panel 48 and the front end portion 40A of the cowl louver panel 40 and is inside the vehicle interior. To prevent it from flowing into. In addition,
In order to improve waterproofness in the case where the fragile portion 44 of the cover 42 is broken, a hood toe cowl shield 52 as a seal member is also provided at the rear end portion 23A of the hood 23 as shown by a chain double-dashed line in FIG. However, it may be configured to prevent rainwater from hitting the cover 42.

As shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, in the folded shape of the air bag body 26, a portion 26C which is developed on the upper surface of the rear end portion 23A of the hood 23 has a tip side 26D in the developing direction (see FIGS. 4 and 5). ) Is rolled up toward the lower side of the vehicle (in the direction of arrow A in the figure), and a portion 26E that is developed on the upper surface of the front end portion 28A of the front windshield glass 28 stored on this portion 26C has a bellows. (Or a roll shape in which the front end side in the unfolding direction, not shown) is wound around the vehicle upper side.

Therefore, when the air bag body is deployed, the air bag body 26 has the roll-shaped portion 28C in the hood 2.
3 is developed so as to crawl along the upper surface of the rear end portion 23A, and the bellows-shaped portion 26E is developed so as to cover the upper surface of the front end portion 28A of the front windshield glass 28 from a relatively distant position. Has become.

The inflated and expanded shape of the air bag body 26 is divided into a plurality of tubular portions 30 which are long in the vehicle front-rear direction, as shown in FIG. For this reason, as shown in FIG. 6, the inflated and expanded airbag bag 26 is inflated upward as shown by an arrow B in FIG. The air bag body 26 is adapted to be in close contact with the upper surface of the rear end portion 23A of the hood 23 and the upper surface of the front end portion 28A of the front windshield glass 28.

As shown in FIG. 7, the pipe 22 extending from the inflator 20 passes through the notch 54 formed in the front wall portion 32A of the airbag case 32, and the pipe 2
A ring 56 is arranged between 2 and the notch 54.
Further, the portion of the airbag case 32 where the notch 54 is formed is covered with the bulging portion 58 that is formed to project from the front wall portion 42C of the cover 42, so that water does not enter the case 32. There is.

As shown in FIG. 8, the ring 56 seals between the pipe 22 and the airbag case 32 and between the pipe 22 and the cover 42. In addition, the cover 42
The bulging portion 58 of the hood is covered with a rear portion 46A of the hood toe cowl shield 46 so that water does not reach the inflator 20 through a pipe passage hole 62 formed in the front end portion 40A of the cowl louver panel 40.

The cylindrical inflator 20 is arranged along the vehicle width direction, and two fixing bands 60 are wound around the outer periphery of the inflator 20. The bands 60 are fastened by bolts 66 to nuts 64 welded to the lower surface of the tip of a flange 38B formed toward the front of the vehicle at the lower end of the front wall portion 38A of the cowl upper panel 38.

As shown in FIG. 6, a separate cloth 70 may be provided at a portion of the inflated air bag body 26 on the vehicle rear side of the lower surface 26F. The lower edge 70A of the separate cloth 70 is coupled to the lower side of the airbag bag body 26, and the upper end edge 70B of the separate cloth 70 is above the wiper arm 72 in the storage position. Is coupled to the lower surface 26F of the. In addition, the airbag body 2
When the separate cloth 70 is caught on the wiper arm 72 when the airbag 6 is deployed, the separate cloth 70 is easily separated from the airbag bag body 26.
The wiper arm 72 is not directly caught by the wiper arm 6.

As shown in FIG. 9, the air bag body 26
Folds a piece of cloth 74 into a T-shape in cross section, and sewes the outer peripheral portion with a sewing thread 76. The connecting portion 29 (see FIG. 1) forming the plurality of tubular portions 30 is, for example, the sewing thread 7
8 sewn, gas from inflator (arrow W)
Is performed through a gas flow path 31 formed in the center of the airbag bag body 26 in the front-rear direction.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described.

In this embodiment, the pedestrian collision detection sensor 1
When 6 detects a collision of a pedestrian, the inflator 20 operates and the gas flows into the airbag bag body 26, so that the airbag bag body 26 is caused by the gas flowing from the inflator 20 as shown in FIG. , Cowl box 12
The expansion starts from inside A toward the upper side of the cowl box 12A, and as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the upper surface of the rear end portion 23A of the hood 23 and the front windshield glass 2
8 is inflated and deployed across the upper surface of the front end portion 28A of No. 8.

As a result, in this embodiment, unlike the prior art shown in FIG. 15, it is not necessary to lift the rear end of the hood upward when deploying the air bag body. For this reason, it is only necessary to ensure that the airbag bag body 26 inflates and deploys reliably, so that both the airbag bag body 26 is reliably deployed and the rear portion of the hood is reliably lifted. The fail-safe reliability is improved as compared with the related art that needs to be performed, and the fail-safe reliability can be improved.

Further, in the present embodiment, the airbag bag body 2
6 expands and deploys over the upper surface of the rear end portion 23A of the hood 23 and the upper surface of the front end portion 28A of the front windshield glass 28, so that the pedestrian protection range by the airbag bag body 26 can be widened.

Further, since the inflated and expanded shape of the air bag body 26 is a shape divided into a plurality of tubular portions 30 which are long in the vehicle front-rear direction, the airbag bag body 26 has a central portion in the front-rear direction. As indicated by arrow B in FIG. 6, a force that bulges upward and becomes straight in the vehicle front-rear direction acts. As a result, the airbag bag body 26 is attached to the upper surface of the rear end portion 23A of the hood 23 and the front windshield glass 2
The pedestrian protection performance is improved by closely adhering to the upper surface of the front end portion 28A of No. 8.

Further, in this embodiment, the folded shape of the portion 26C of the airbag bag 26 that is deployed on the upper surface of the rear end portion 23A of the hood 23 is such that the front end side 26D in the deployment direction is below the vehicle (direction of arrow A in the figure). It is in the form of a roll wound on the side, and the roll-shaped portion 28C spreads along the upper surface of the rear end portion 23A of the hood 23 so as to crawl. As a result, the region 26C of the airbag bag 26 inflates and deploys between the upper surface of the rear end portion 23A of the hood 23 and the head of the pedestrian. Therefore, the airbag bag 26 can be easily and surely interposed between the upper surface of the rear end portion 23A of the hood 23 and the pedestrian, and the impact of the pedestrian can be mitigated.

The front windshield glass 2
8. Air bag body 26 that is deployed on the upper surface of the front end portion 28A of FIG.
The folded shape of the portion 26 </ b> E is a bellows shape (or a roll shape in which the tip end side in the deployment direction is rolled up toward the vehicle upper side). Therefore, when the airbag bag body is deployed, the portion 26E of the airbag bag body 26 is deployed so as to cover the upper surface of the front end portion 28A of the front windshield glass 28 from a relatively distant position. As a result, it is possible to prevent the airbag bag body 26 from being caught by the wiper arm 72 and having an insufficiently expanded shape.

Further, in this embodiment, the folded airbag bag body 26 is stored in the case 32 whose upper part is open, so that the water accumulated in the cowl box 12A is stored in the side part and the lower part of the case 32. It is possible to prevent intrusion from the. Further, since the case 32 is covered with the cover 42,
Water can be prevented from entering from the upper part of the case 32.

Further, in the present embodiment, the fragile portion 44 formed on the cover 42 is set in the front wall portion 32A of the case 32 below the upper end portion 32C.
Even when a crack is generated in the fragile portion 44 of the cover 42 due to time-dependent deformation or the like, the intrusion of water from this crack can be prevented from occurring.
Since it can be prevented by the second front wall portion 32A, the waterproof performance can be improved.

Further, in the present embodiment, the upper end portion 32C of the front wall portion 32A of the case 32 has the upper wall portion 42F of the cover 42.
Is in contact with. As a result, when a load is applied from above the cover 42, this load is applied to the front wall portion 32 of the case 32.
Since it can be received by A, the fragile portion 44 of the cover 42
Can be prevented from breaking and rainwater and the like can be prevented from entering, so that the waterproof performance is improved.

Further, in this embodiment, the upper wall portion 42F of the cover 42 and the upper portion 42G of the front wall portion 42C are deployed to the rear of the vehicle with the upper end portion 42E of the rear wall portion 42D serving as a hinge portion during deployment, and are fragile. The portion 44 is formed on the vehicle lower side of the upper portion 42G of the front wall portion 42C. As a result, the length of the unfolded portion, that is, the portion where the upper wall portion 42F of the cover 42 and the upper portion 42G of the front wall portion 42C are combined becomes longer toward the rear of the vehicle, and the front end portion 28A of the front windshield glass 28 becomes longer. The upper surface can be widely covered. Therefore, the airbag bag body 26 is smoothly deployed without being caught by the wiper arm 72.

Next, a second embodiment of the pedestrian protection airbag device of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

The same members as those in the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted.

As shown in FIG. 10, in this embodiment,
The garnish panel 80 is connected to the rear end portion 23A of the hood 23.
Covering 2. Further, a plurality of locking pins 80A as mounting portions are formed at a predetermined interval in the vehicle width direction on the lower front end of the garnish panel 80, and these locking pins 80A are formed on the hood 23. Locking hole 82
Are locked respectively. Therefore, when the airbag bag body 26 is expanded, the locking pin 80 is disengaged from the locking hole 82 by the expansion of the cover 42, the garnish panel 80 is disengaged upward, and the airbag bag body 26 is released.
3 can be expanded and deployed across the upper surface of the rear end portion 23A of the third windshield 3 and the upper surface of the front end portion 28A of the front windshield glass 28.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described.

The present embodiment has the same effects as those of the first embodiment, and by covering the cover 42 with the garnish panel 80 provided at the rear end portion 23A of the hood 23, it is possible to prevent rainwater from hitting the cover. , The waterproof performance is further improved.

Next, a third embodiment of the pedestrian protection airbag device of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

The same members as those in the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted.

As shown in FIG. 11, in the present embodiment,
An inner pipe 8 arranged in the airbag body 26 along a vehicle width direction on a pipe 22 extending from the inflator 20.
2 is connected. The inner pipe 82 has a plurality of gas outlets 84 at predetermined intervals along the vehicle width direction.
Are formed.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described.

The present embodiment has the same effects as the first embodiment, and at the time of deploying the airbag bag, the inner pipe 82 instantly supplies gas to both ends of the airbag bag 26 in the vehicle width direction. Then, the air bag body 26 is inflated and deployed by the gas blown out from the gas blowing port 84. As a result, it is possible to shorten the time when the expansion and deployment of the airbag bag 26 at both ends in the vehicle width direction is delayed from the center in the vehicle width direction. Therefore, the time from sensor detection to completion of deployment of the airbag bag 26 can be shortened.

In the above, the present invention has been described in detail with respect to specific embodiments, but the present invention is not limited to such embodiments, and various other embodiments within the scope of the present invention. It is obvious to a person skilled in the art that For example, in each of the above-described embodiments, as shown in FIG. 9, the gas (arrow W) from the inflator is configured to pass through the gas flow passage 31 formed in the center of the airbag bag 26 in the front-rear direction. Instead of the above, as shown in FIG. 12, a gas is caused to flow into a pipe portion 90 extending along the vehicle width direction at the lower portion of the airbag bag body 26 having a T-shaped cross section, and the gas is sent to each tubular portion 30. The gas amount is configured to be adjusted by the opening area of the opening 92 that communicates the pipe portion 90 and the tubular portion 30. The opening area of the opening 92 is narrow at the central portion in the vehicle width direction, and the opening portion is provided outside on the vehicle width direction. By expanding the opening area of 92, the airbag bag 26 may be uniformly deployed in the vehicle width direction.

Further, in each of the above embodiments, as shown in FIG. 9, the air bag body 26 is composed of one piece of cloth 74. Instead of this, as shown in FIG. 13, the air bag body is constructed. 26 may be formed of two pieces of cloth, the cloth forming the main bag 94 and the cloth forming the sub bag 95. In this case, holes 96 that serve as gas flow rate adjusting gates are formed on the lower surface side of the main bag 94 that is folded in two.
The sub-bag 95 is joined by sewing so as to surround 6. As a result, as shown in FIG. 14, when the airbag bag is deployed, the pipe-shaped space 9 formed by the sub-bag 95 is formed.
The gas flows in the vehicle width direction along the vehicle width direction, so that the gas flow in the vehicle width direction is improved, and the deployment completion time of the airbag bag body 26 can be shortened. The amount of each gas sent to each tubular portion 30 is adjusted by the opening area of the hole 96, and for example,
The opening area of the hole 96 is narrowed in the center portion in the vehicle width direction, and the opening area of the hole 96 is widened outside in the vehicle width direction so that the airbag bag 26 can be uniformly deployed in the vehicle width direction. good.

[0062]

The airbag device for protecting a pedestrian according to the first aspect of the present invention is arranged in a cowl box of a vehicle.
It has an airbag bag body that starts to expand toward the upper side of the cowl box, and the airbag bag body expands and deploys across the upper surface of the rear end of the hood and the upper surface of the front end of the front windshield glass, and at the same time, the airbag bag. Since the inflated and expanded shape of the body is divided into a plurality of tubular portions that are long in the vehicle front-rear direction, it has an excellent effect that the fail-safe reliability can be improved and the pedestrian protection range of the airbag bag can be widened. Further, it has an excellent effect that the airbag body is brought into close contact with the upper surface of the rear end portion of the hood and the upper surface of the front end portion of the front windshield glass.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the pedestrian protection airbag apparatus according to the first aspect, the folded shape of the airbag bag is such that a portion developed on the upper surface of the rear end portion of the hood is on the leading end side in the deployment direction. Is in a roll shape in which the front side of the front windshield glass is expanded into a bellows shape or a roll shape in which the front end side in the expansion direction is wound into the vehicle upper side. In addition to the effect described in 1, the airbag bag is easily deployed between the upper surface of the hood rear end and the head of the pedestrian, and the airbag bag is caught by the wiper arm and has an insufficiently expanded shape. It has an excellent effect of preventing

The present invention according to claim 3 provides the pedestrian protection airbag device according to any one of claims 1 and 2.
The folded airbag bag is housed in a case whose upper part is open, and the case is covered with a cover. Therefore, in addition to the effect according to claim 1, It has an excellent effect that water can be prevented from entering.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the pedestrian protection airbag apparatus according to the third aspect, the fragile portion formed in the cover and broken when the airbag bag is deployed is located below the upper end of the case. Since it is set, in addition to the effect described in claim 3, it has an excellent effect that the waterproof performance can be improved.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the pedestrian protection airbag apparatus according to the fourth aspect, the cover deploys the vehicle rear side portion as a hinge portion, and the fragile portion is on the vehicle front side. Further, since it is formed at the site on the vehicle lower side, in addition to the effect described in claim 4, it has an excellent effect that the airbag bag is not easily caught by the wiper arm and is smoothly deployed.

The present invention according to claim 6 is any of claims 3 to 5.
In the pedestrian protection airbag device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, the seal member is provided between the cover and the upper surface of the hood rear end portion. Therefore, in addition to the effect according to any one of claims 3 to 5, waterproofing is provided. It has an excellent effect that the performance is further improved.

The present invention according to claim 7 is any of claims 3 to 5.
In the pedestrian protection airbag device according to any one of the above, since the garnish panel that covers the cover at the rear end of the hood and comes off when the airbag bag is deployed has an excellent effect that the waterproof performance is further improved. .

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a pedestrian protection airbag apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention, showing an airbag bag deployed state as seen obliquely from the front of the vehicle body.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the pedestrian protection airbag apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention, showing a state in which the airbag bag is stored, as seen obliquely from the front of the vehicle body.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along line 3-3 of FIG.

FIG. 4 is an operation explanatory view of the pedestrian protection airbag device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an operation explanatory view of the pedestrian protection airbag device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

6 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along line 6-6 of FIG.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the airbag unit of the pedestrian protection airbag apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention, as seen from the diagonally front inside of the vehicle body.

8 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line 8-8 of FIG.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing a part of the airbag bag body of the pedestrian protection airbag device according to the first embodiment of the present invention, as seen from the diagonally front outside of the vehicle body.

FIG. 10 is a sectional view of a pedestrian protection airbag device according to a second embodiment of the present invention, corresponding to FIG.

FIG. 11 is a sectional view of a pedestrian protection airbag device according to a third embodiment of the present invention, which corresponds to FIG. 8.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view showing a part of an airbag bag body of a pedestrian protection airbag device according to another embodiment of the present invention, as seen from the diagonally front outside of the vehicle body.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing a part of an airbag bag body of a pedestrian protection airbag device according to another embodiment of the present invention, as seen from the diagonally front outside of the vehicle body.

FIG. 14 is a sectional view of a pedestrian protection airbag device according to another embodiment of the present invention, corresponding to FIG. 6.

FIG. 15 is a perspective view showing a conventional pedestrian protection airbag device.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 Pedestrian protection airbag device 12 body 12A body cowl box 23 Hood 26 Air bag body 28 Front windshield glass 30 Airbag bag tubular part 32 cases 42 cover 52 Hood Cowl Shield (Seal member) 80 garnish panel

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. An airbag bag body, which is disposed in a cowl box of a vehicle and starts to expand toward an upper portion of the cowl box, the airbag bag body including a hood rear end upper surface and a front windshield. An airbag device for pedestrian protection, characterized in that the airbag bag is inflated and deployed across the upper surface of the front end portion of the glass, and the inflated and expanded shape of the airbag bag is divided into a plurality of tubular portions that are long in the vehicle front-rear direction. . 2. The folding shape of the airbag bag is
The part that develops on the upper surface of the rear end of the hood is in a roll shape with the tip side in the expanding direction being wound toward the lower side of the vehicle. The pedestrian protection airbag device according to claim 1, wherein the airbag device is in the form of a roll that is rolled up to the side. 3. The folded airbag bag is housed in a case whose upper part is open, and the case is covered with a cover. Airbag device for pedestrian protection. 4. The pedestrian protection air according to claim 3, wherein a fragile portion formed on the cover and broken when the airbag bag is deployed is set below an upper end portion of the case. Bag device. 5. The cover according to claim 4, wherein a rear portion of the vehicle is deployed as a hinge portion, and the fragile portion is formed at a front portion of the vehicle and a lower portion of the vehicle. The pedestrian protection airbag device described. 6. The pedestrian protection airbag apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising a seal member disposed between the cover and the upper surface of the rear end of the hood. 7. The pedestrian protection air according to claim 3, further comprising a garnish panel provided on a rear end portion of the hood to cover the cover and be removed when the airbag bag is deployed. Bag device.