JP2003160019A - Airbag - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To smoothly and downwardly deploy an airbag covering a window of an automobile. <P>SOLUTION: When this airbag 1 is folded, a conductor portion 65 and a gathering portion 66 are provided. The gathering portion 66 is wound up in a roll from a lower end. The conductor portion 65 is provided with a ventilating position B communicating from a front end portion to a rear end portion, and shaped in a cross extending arms from the ventilating position B. When gas is led to the airbag 1, first, the conductor portion 65 is expanded deployed to guide and downwardly press the gathering portion 66. Next, the gathering portion 66 is expanded deployed along a window. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an airbag for protecting an occupant in the event of a vehicle collision.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Heretofore, a so-called curtain airbag which is deployed along a side window portion of an automobile has been known as an airbag which is inflated by introducing gas. For example, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-52907, in a curtain airbag which is folded and elongated along a roof side rail of an automobile, the roof side rail side is flat and the headlining, that is, the occupant side is bellows. It is known that it is folded into a shape.

[0003]

The curtain airbag as described above is arranged to be slenderly folded along the roof side rail of an automobile and smoothly introduces gas introduced from one end to the other end. There is a demand for a structure that can be introduced into the vehicle and that can be stably deployed along the window.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object thereof is to provide an airbag that can be smoothly deployed.

[0005]

The airbag according to claim 1 has a ventilation position communicating from one end to the other end where gas is introduced, and communicates with this ventilation position along the longitudinal direction. It is provided with a conduit part that is folded by providing a plurality of arms that extend radially from the ventilation position, and a collecting part that is connected to the conduit part along the longitudinal direction and is folded.

In this configuration, when gas is introduced into the airbag, the gas is supplied from one end to the other end along the ventilation position of the conduit portion, and further, from this ventilation position, the collecting portion is introduced. The entire airbag is inflated and deployed. Since the conduit portion is provided with the arm portion along the longitudinal direction at the ventilation position, the ventilation position is secured even in the folded state. Therefore, even a long airbag having a large longitudinal dimension from one end to the other end can be smoothly deployed with a small time difference between the front and rear in the longitudinal direction.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the airbag according to the first aspect, the collecting portion is arranged along the lower side of the ventilation position of the conduit portion.

With this structure, when gas is introduced into the airbag, the expanding conduit portion pushes the collecting portion downward, so that the airbag smoothly expands downward.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the airbag according to the first or second aspect, the conduit portion has a tubular shape as a whole and is folded into a flat shape having a smaller thickness toward the collecting portion. It was the one.

Further, in this structure, when gas is introduced into the airbag, the conduit portion deploys so as to push the collecting portion, and the airbag deploys smoothly in a predetermined direction.

An airbag according to a fourth aspect is the airbag according to any of the first to third aspects, in which the arm portion of the conduit portion is folded so as to surround a part of the collecting portion.

Further, in this structure, the conduit portion restricts the deploying direction of the collecting portion, and the airbag is smoothly deployed in the predetermined direction.

An airbag according to a fifth aspect is the airbag according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, in which mutually opposing surfaces of the respective arm portions are formed of different panels, and the conduit portion comprises:
These panels are fixed to each other.

In this structure, by using different panels, a shape having a plurality of arms extending radially from the ventilation position is easily formed, the folding process is facilitated, and the manufacturing cost is reduced. .

An airbag according to claim 6 is the airbag according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the collecting portion is
It is folded into a roll.

Further, in this structure, the collecting portion smoothly develops along the predetermined surface.

[0017]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION An embodiment of an airbag of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

In FIG. 2, reference numeral 1 denotes an airbag, and an airbag device 2 provided with this airbag 1 is arranged on a roof side portion 5 of a vehicle compartment 4 of an automobile 3 as a vehicle. The airbag 1 is also referred to as a curtain airbag, a side collision airbag, a side airbag, an inflatable curtain type, or a head protection airbag, and when it receives a shock such as a side collision, The occupant is deployed laterally to protect the occupant A who is the object to be protected.

The vehicle 3 has a passenger A in a passenger compartment 4.
Is provided with a front seat and a rear seat that can be seated, and a door 7 having a window portion (side window) 6 that can be opened at the top is provided corresponding to the front seat and the rear seat. Also,
As shown in FIG. 5 and the like, A pillars, B pillars 12, and C pillars are provided in order from the front side on both sides of the vehicle compartment 4, and ceiling panels 15 are provided above the pillars 12 via roof side rails 14. Is supported. Further, a pillar garnish 16 is attached to the vehicle compartment 4 side of each pillar 12, and a head that is a soft or deformable ceiling plate is provided on the vehicle compartment 4 side of a portion extending from the ceiling panel 15 to the roof side rail 14. A lining 17 is attached, and a packing body 19 with which the doors 7 are closely attached is attached at a position where the upper portions of the doors 7 abut. Further, each seat is provided with a seat belt 20, and the pillar 12 is provided with a support portion that supports these seat belts 20.

The airbag device 2 is a so-called airbag for front and rear seats capable of protecting occupants in front and rear seats, and is elongated in the roof side portion 5 surrounded by the roof side rails 14 and the headlining 17. It is equipped with an airbag 1 that is folded and stored, an inflator that is stored above the vehicle body of a passenger in the rear seat and supplies gas to the airbag 1, and is attached to a roof side rail 14 via a bracket 23.

As shown in FIG. 3 etc., the airbag 1 is provided with an airbag body 31 formed by combining a plurality of base fabrics into a flat bag shape. A tension strap, which is a string-like base cloth, is attached to the front end of the airbag body 31.

The airbag body 31 has an outer base cloth 35 arranged on the outer side which is the vehicle body side and an inner base cloth 36 arranged on the vehicle compartment 4 side, which are overlapped with each other to form a predetermined sewing portion which is a joint portion. A bag-shaped inflatable part that is sewn at 37 and expands when gas flows in.
38, a gas introduction port 39 as one end located at the rear upper part of the airbag body 31, which is behind the vehicle body, for communicating the inflating part 38 to the outside, and a sheet-like non-injecting gas that does not inflate and expand. An inflatable section 41 is provided. Further, the expansion section 38 is
An air chamber that is a hollow portion, and a communication portion 43 that is located at the upper part of the central portion in the longitudinal direction that is the front-back direction of the airbag body 31,
A front seat expansion chamber 44 as a front seat protection part (front seat protection area) communicating with the front side of the communication part 43 and a rear seat protection part (rear seat protection area) communicating with the rear side of the communication part 43. The rear seat expansion chamber 45 is provided.

The sewn portion 37 includes an outer peripheral sewn portion 51, which is an outer peripheral connecting portion for sewing the outer periphery of the inflatable portion 38, and the expansion chambers 44, 45.
And a restriction portion 52 for restricting the width dimension when the product is expanded.
The restricting portion 52 is located at one place or a plurality of places on the inflating portion 38, and is formed integrally with or separately from the outer peripheral sewing portion 51. In the present embodiment, the restriction unit 52
In the front-seat expansion chamber 44, the first restricting portion continuous with the outer peripheral sewing portion 51.
54, a second restricting portion 55 independent of the outer peripheral sewing portion 51, and a third restricting portion 56 continuous with the outer peripheral sewing portion 51 are formed, and a fourth and a fourth continuous portion with the outer peripheral sewing portion 51 are formed in the rear seat expansion chamber 45. Fifth regulatory department
57 and 58 are formed. Further, a protective portion 59 for protecting these terminal portions is formed at the terminal portions of the respective regulation portions 54 to 58.

Further, a plurality of mounting pieces 62, which are mounting portions for mounting to the bracket 23, are formed at predetermined intervals on the upper edge of the airbag body 31, and each mounting piece 62 is mounted with a screw or the like. A through hole 62a to which the means is attached is formed.

The airbag 1 is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, it is mainly folded into a shape having a conduit portion 65 and a collecting portion 66. The conduit portion 65 includes the communication portion 43, and the gas introduction port 39 located at the rear end of the expansion portion 38 to the front end portion 67 as the other end portion located at the front end.
Up to, that is, the ventilation position B which communicates in a straight line over substantially the entire length of the airbag 1 is provided, and the ventilation position B is formed in a cylindrical shape with its center as a center. And this conduit part 65
Is folded so as to be flatly crushed from above and below, and an arm portion 68 extending radially from the ventilation position B is formed. Further, these arm portions 68 are bent in a substantially U shape so as to surround the collecting portion 66 located below the conduit portion 65. On the other hand, the collecting portion 66 is mainly a portion of the front seat expansion chamber 44 and the rear seat expansion chamber 45, directly communicates with the lower side of the ventilation position B of the conduit portion 65, and is wound in a predetermined direction from the lower end portion. That is, it is folded into a roll shape, and is folded into a parasol shape as a whole. The predetermined direction here means the gathering unit 66.
Is a direction along the window portion 6 when being unwound. For example, the airbag 1 attached to the left side when viewed from the front is wound leftward from the lower end as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. There is.

5 to 9 show the vehicle viewed from the rear side.

In the case of a side collision of the automobile 3, the occupant A moves outward (in the direction of arrow C in FIG. 2), and the door 7 and the roof side rail 14 are affected by the collision object. The airbag device 2 moves inward (in the direction of arrow D in FIG. 2) and the distance between the vehicle body and the occupant A becomes smaller. However, when the airbag device 2 receives a shock such as a side collision, it is controlled by a control device (not shown). The inflator is actuated, the gas injected from the inflator is introduced into the airbag 1 from the gas introduction port 39, and the expansion chambers 44, 45 of the collecting portion 66 are advanced while advancing the ventilation position B of the conduit portion 65 to the front end portion 67. The airbag 1 is inflated and deployed, and the head lining 17 and the like are deformed to rapidly protrude downward from the roof side portion 5,
The front and rear windows 6 are covered in a curtain shape, and are deployed so as to protect the heads and chests of the front and rear passengers.

Further, the expansion of the airbag 1 will be described in detail. The gathering portion 66 folded in a roll shape has a larger gas flow resistance at the time of deployment than the conduit portion 65 folded simply to be crushed. Therefore, the gas supplied from the inflator first expands the conduit portion 65 from the state shown in FIGS. 1A and 5 as shown in FIG. At this time, since the conduit portion 65 is folded so as to be crushed vertically, the expansion of the conduit portion 65 causes the headlining 17
Is pushed to secure the projecting opening of the airbag 1, and the conduit portion 65 pushes the vehicle body surface with a reaction force to collect the portion 66.
Moves to the passenger compartment 4 side.

Further, when the conduit portion 65 expands, FIG. 1 (b)
As shown in FIG. 7 and FIG.
66 is pushed downward and guided by the arm portion 68 of the conduit portion 65, and is stably pushed downward.
After this, gas is supplied from the conduit portion 65 to the collecting portion 66, and
As shown in (c) and FIG. 8, the gathering portion 66 expands downward so as to roll along each window portion 6 or each pillar 12, and protects the head of the occupant A as shown in FIG. .

As described above, according to the present embodiment, in the airbag 1 which is deployed from the roof side rail 14 side along the inner side surface of the window portion 6 and protects the head and the like of the occupant A, the airbag 1 is swift and smooth. Can be inflated and deployed in place.

That is, the airbag 1 is provided with a ventilation position B that folds the conduit portion 65 to a minimum and has a low deployment resistance, that is, a ventilation position B communicating with the entire length in the longitudinal direction. Since it is a parasol fold that is not easy to secure B, gas is efficiently and quickly supplied over the entire length of the long airbag 1, and further gas is supplied from this conduit part 65 to the collecting part 66 which is an occupant protection area, The airbag 1 can be rapidly deployed before and after the longitudinal direction without a time difference.

Further, while the conduit portion 65 expands and deploys rapidly, the roll-shaped collecting portion 66 expands after the conduit portion 65, so that the collecting portion 66 does not expand unstablely in the roof side portion 5. , And can be stably deployed downward in a predetermined direction.

Further, since the conduit portion 65 is rapidly inflated and deployed, while the roll-shaped collecting portion 66 is deployed after the conduit portion 65, the upper portion of the airbag 1 is tubularly folded and flattened. At the time of deployment, the head lining 17 or the like is pushed to form the projecting port of the airbag 1, and the roll-shaped collecting portion 66 can be stably deployed downward in a predetermined direction.

Further, the conduit portion 65 is substantially bilaterally symmetrical with respect to the deployment locus line of the airbag 1, that is, the front and back sides are symmetrical, and the roll-shaped collecting portion 66 can be stably deployed downward in a predetermined direction. .

Further, since the conduit portion 65 is flatly folded and the arm portions 68 are provided so as to wrap both sides of the collecting portion 66,
When these arms 68 are deployed, a projecting port of the collecting portion 66 is secured to guide the projecting direction of the collecting portion 66, and it is possible to stably deploy the roll-shaped collecting portion 66 downward in a predetermined direction. it can.

Further, since the conduit portion 65 is provided on the upper side of the collecting portion 66, the collecting portion 66 can be rapidly and stably expanded downward and fed between the vehicle body such as the door trim and the occupant A.

As described above, since the protruding direction of the airbag 1, that is, the deployment behavior can be stabilized, the interference between the airbag 1 and each pillar 12, the seat belt 20, the occupant A or the like can be suppressed.

Further, since the gathering portion 66 is folded in a roll shape facing the passenger compartment 4, the gathering portion 66 should be unraveled so as not to interfere with the pillar garnish 16, the glass of the window portion 6, the occupant A and the like. Can be deployed.

The airbag 1 has a roll-shaped collecting portion.
If only 66, the resistance when the gas flows becomes large,
Although the load applied to the base fabric of the airbag 1 becomes large, the load applied to the base fabric of the airbag 1 can be suppressed because the conduit portion 65 is combined with the roll-shaped collecting portion 66.

Further, the heat resistant temperature of the base fabric is improved, and
When the temperature of the gas generated from the inflator is lowered, the base cloth is not adversely affected by heat, so there is no need to arrange a separate inner pipe inside the airbag body 31, and the number of parts is reduced. As a result, the manufacturing cost can be reduced and the airbag 1 can be folded small.

The conduit portion 65 and the collecting portion 66 are not limited to those in the above-mentioned embodiment, but can have various shapes.

For example, as shown in FIG. 10, the gathering portion 66 can be folded into a bellows shape instead of a roll shape. Further, as shown in FIG. 11, a portion folded into a roll shape and a bellows shape can be folded. It can also be combined with the body part. As for the conduit portion 65, the arm portion 68 may be folded back to be doubled as shown in FIG. 12, or the conduit portion 65 may be folded back to the inner side, that is, the collecting portion 66 side to be doubled as shown in FIG. Further, the tip portions of the arm portions 68 may be overlapped on the lower side of the collecting portion 66 to form a double layer.
Further, the configurations described in FIGS. 10 to 14 can be combined appropriately.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the airbag body 31 of the airbag 1 is constructed by stacking the outer base cloth 35 and the inner base cloth 36, but it may be constructed by folding one base cloth. It can also be formed by joining three or more base fabrics, and an appropriate reinforcing fabric or the like can be joined in order to improve heat resistance and strength.

Further, by setting the position of joining of these base cloths, the airbag 1 can be shaped to facilitate folding of the airbag 1 capable of ensuring a smooth gas flow and reduce the manufacturing cost. it can.

For example, as in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 15 to 17, the base cloth constituting the lower part of the air bag body 31, the lower part of the conduit section 65 and the collecting section 66 is one base cloth. A conduit panel in which the main panel 71 is formed by folding back and the upper part of the airbag body 31 that constitutes the upper part of the conduit part 65 is a panel that is two separate base fabrics.
72, the edges of these conduit panels 72 are joined together, and the edges of these conduit panels 72 and both edges of the main panel 71 are joined together by stitching, etc. 31
Can also be formed.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 15 to 17, the conduit portion 65 can be formed in a substantially cruciform shape in advance, and the airbag 31 in which the ventilation position B of the conduit portion 65 is secured is folded. The tatami work can be done easily.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 15 to 17, the tension strap 80 attached to the front end of the airbag body 31 is shown. Further, in the front seat expansion chamber 44, first and second restricting portions 81, 82 independent of the outer peripheral sewing portion 51 are formed. Further, in this embodiment, the outer peripheral sewing portion 51 and the respective restricting portions 57, 58, 81, 82.
A seal portion 84 is formed along the edge of the air bag 1 to enhance the airtightness of the airbag 1.

Further, the shapes of the conduit portion 65 and the collecting portion 66, and the combined shape of the panel which is the base cloth, can be appropriately configured. For example, as shown in FIG. 18, the collecting portion 66 can be folded into a bellows shape instead of a roll shape.
As shown in FIG. 19, the collecting portion 66 can be configured by combining a bellows-shaped portion and a roll-shaped portion. Further, as shown in FIG. 19 or FIG. 20, the conduit panel 72 may be formed of a single continuous plate on both sides, and the conduit portion 65 may be formed in a substantially T-shape in advance.

Further, the arm portions of the conduit portion 65 are not limited to two directions, but may be radially provided in three or more directions.

Further, the airbag of the present invention is not limited to the structure of covering the side window portion of the automobile, but can be applied to an appropriate airbag device which needs to be inflated and deployed in a planar shape.

[0051]

According to the airbag of claim 1, when gas is introduced into the airbag, the gas is supplied from one end to the other end along the ventilation position of the conduit portion, and further, From this ventilation position, the air bag is supplied to the collecting portion, and the entire airbag can be inflated and deployed. Since the conduit portion is provided with the arm portion along the longitudinal direction at the ventilation position, the ventilation position can be secured even in the folded state. Therefore, even a long airbag having a large longitudinal dimension from one end to the other end can be smoothly deployed with a small time difference between the front and rear in the longitudinal direction.

According to the airbag of the second aspect, in addition to the effect of the first aspect, since the collecting portion is arranged below the ventilation position of the conduit portion, when gas is introduced into the airbag, The deploying conduit portion pushes the collecting portion downward, and the airbag can be smoothly deployed downward.

According to the airbag of the third aspect, in addition to the effect of the first or second aspect, the conduit portion has a tubular shape as a whole, and has a flattened shape having a smaller thickness toward the collecting portion. Since the air bag is folded, the conduit portion is deployed so as to push the collecting portion when the gas is introduced into the airbag, and the airbag can be smoothly deployed in a predetermined direction.

According to the airbag of the fourth aspect, in addition to the effect of any of the first to third aspects, since the arm portion of the conduit portion is folded so as to surround a part of the collecting portion, the conduit portion is assembled. By restricting the deployment direction of the portion, the airbag can be deployed smoothly in a predetermined direction.

According to the airbag of claim 5, in addition to the effect of any one of claims 1 to 4, by using different panels, it is easy to form a shape in which a plurality of arms extending radially from the ventilation position are provided. Can be formed, the folding process can be facilitated, and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

According to the airbag of claim 6, in addition to the effect of any one of claims 1 to 5, since the gathering portion is folded in a roll shape, the gathering portion can be smoothly deployed along a predetermined surface. .

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an embodiment of an airbag of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of a process of developing the position corresponding to I-I in FIG.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory view showing a state in which the same airbag is attached to a vehicle.

FIG. 3 is a side view of the same airbag.

FIG. 4 is a side view of the same airbag in a folded state.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a process of deploying the airbag when the collision is started.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram following FIG. 5 of the above.

7 is an explanatory diagram following FIG. 6 of the above.

8 is an explanatory diagram following FIG. 7 of the above.

9 is an explanatory diagram following FIG. 8 of the above.

10 is a cross-sectional view showing another embodiment of the airbag of the present invention at a position corresponding to II in FIG.

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line II of FIG. 4 showing still another embodiment of the airbag of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line II of FIG. 4 showing still another embodiment of the airbag of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line II of FIG. 4 showing yet another embodiment of the airbag of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line II of FIG. 4 showing still another embodiment of the airbag of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line II-II in FIG. 16 showing still another embodiment of the airbag of the present invention.

FIG. 16 is a side view of the same airbag.

FIG. 17 is a cross-sectional view of the same airbag in a folded state.

FIG. 18 is a sectional view taken along the line II-II in FIG. 16 showing still another embodiment of the airbag of the present invention.

FIG. 19 is a sectional view taken along the line II-II in FIG. 16 showing still another embodiment of the airbag of the present invention.

FIG. 20 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line II-II in FIG. 16 showing still another embodiment of the airbag of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 airbag 39 Gas inlet as one end 65 conduit 66 Assembly Department 67 Front end as the other end 68 Arm 72 Conduit panel as panel B ventilation position

Continued front page    (72) Inventor Norihito Mochizuki             218 Aoshima-cho, Fuji City, Shizuoka Prefecture Japan Plus             Inside the corporation F-term (reference) 3D054 AA02 AA03 AA04 AA06 AA07                       AA16 AA18 AA20 BB30 CC08                       CC11 CC29 CC34 CC42 EE20                       FF17 FF20

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A ventilation position communicating from one end to the other end where gas is introduced, and a plurality of arm portions communicating with the ventilation position along the longitudinal direction and extending radially from the ventilation position are provided. An airbag comprising: a folded conduit portion; and a gathering portion that is connected to the conduit portion along a longitudinal direction and is folded. 2. The airbag according to claim 1, wherein the collecting portion is arranged along a lower side of the ventilation position of the conduit portion. 3. The airbag according to claim 1, wherein the conduit portion has a tubular shape as a whole and is folded in a flat shape having a small thickness toward the collecting portion. 4. The airbag according to claim 1, wherein the arm portion of the conduit portion is folded so as to surround a part of the collecting portion. 5. The air according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the facing surfaces of the respective arm portions are formed of different panels, and the conduit portion is formed by fixing these panels to each other. bag. 6. The airbag according to claim 1, wherein the collecting portion is folded in a roll shape.