JP2003341465A - Vehicular arm rest with side air bag device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a vehicular arm rest with a side air bag device allowing quick motion of inflating and developing an air bag. <P>SOLUTION: The side air bag device 19 is mounted on a hip residing portion 14 of a seat 13 mounted on a body frame 11. The arm rest 18 provided on a side wall portion 16a of a side door 16 closeably mounted on the body frame 11 has a guide slope 18a on the side face, which is displaced to the indoor side gradually as extending from the lower end to the upper end. The air bag 22 of the side air bag device 19 is inflated and developed upward to a space between a waist Ph of an occupant P seated on the hip residing portion 14 and the side wall portion 16a of the side door 16 when an accident happens to the vehicle, to protect the occupant. The air bag 22, when inflated, is developed upward with its upper end being guided along the guide slope 18a of the arm rest 18, and so quick motion in development is achieved. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an armrest of a vehicle equipped with a side airbag device for cushioning a side impact of the vehicle, and more specifically, an inflated side airbag when an accident occurs. The present invention relates to a vehicle armrest capable of smoothly performing a deploying operation in a process.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As shown in FIG. 6, a side airbag device includes an occupant P seated on a rear end portion 14 of a seat mounted on an upper surface of a vehicle body frame 11 and a side wall portion 16a of a side door 16.
An air bag 22 that is inflated and deployed from below to above is provided between and. And this airbag 22
When an impact greater than a predetermined amount is applied to the side door 16 from the side of the vehicle, the sensor is activated to activate the inflator 2
1 is activated, and gas is supplied to the inside of the airbag 22. As a result, the airbag 22 is instantly inflated and deployed, and as a result, the impact of the impact on the occupant is alleviated.

On the other hand, the side wall portion 16a of the side door 16
An armrest 18 is provided for mounting an arm of an occupant and opening and closing the side door 16.

[0004]

However, since the lower part of the conventional armrest 18 is formed in the shape of a quarter arc, there are the following problems. When the airbag 22 is inflated and deployed, the upper end portion of the airbag 22 is easily caught on the lower surface of the armrest 18 as shown by the chain double-dashed line in FIG. 6, and therefore the airbag 22 is extended to the final deployed state shown by the solid line in FIG. There was a problem that it hindered the speed of deployment. If the deployment speed of the airbag 22 becomes slow, the protection against the impact of the occupant P's chest Pc becomes insufficient.

An object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle armrest provided with a side airbag device capable of quickly inflating and deploying an airbag by solving the above problems existing in the prior art.

[0006]

In order to solve the above problems, the invention according to claim 1 is directed to a side wall portion of a vehicle body and a passenger compartment when an impact more than a predetermined amount is applied to the body. An airbag that inflates and deploys to a position corresponding to the occupant's waist and chest between the occupant seated in the seat disposed on the vehicle, and gas ejection means for ejecting inflation gas for inflating and deploying the airbag. In the vehicle including the side airbag device including the above, it is a gist to provide a resistance reducing unit that reduces a resistance when the airbag is inflated and deployed with respect to an armrest protruding from a side wall portion of the body.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the resistance when the airbag is inflated and deployed is mitigated by the resistance reducing means provided in the armrest, so that the airbag can be inflated and deployed quickly.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the airbag is inflated and deployed from the lower side to the upper side of the seat, and the resistance reducing means has a lower end with respect to a side surface of the armrest. It is a gist that the guide slope is formed so as to be more distant from the side wall of the body as it goes to the upper end.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, when the airbag is inflated and deployed from the lower side to the upper side of the seat, the airbag can be rapidly deployed by the guide slope provided on the side surface of the armrest.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the airbag is inflated and deployed from a side portion of a backrest portion of the seat toward a front side in a vehicle traveling direction, and the resistance reducing means is provided. The gist of the present invention is that the armrest is a guide slope formed so as to be more distant from the side wall portion of the body toward the front end with respect to the rear end portion in the vehicle traveling direction.

According to the third aspect of the invention, when the airbag is inflated and deployed from the side portion of the backrest portion of the seat toward the front in the vehicle traveling direction, the airbag is deployed by the guide slope provided at the rear end portion of the armrest. The action is quick.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the resistance reducing means is equipped with an armrest capable of switching the position between the use position and the retracted position with respect to the body, and the biasing means is always provided. The gist of the present invention is that the armrest is pressed and urged to the use position and is moved to the retracted position when the airbag is inflated and deployed.

According to a fourth aspect of the invention, when the airbag is inflated and deployed, the armrest is switched from the use position to the retracted position against the force of the urging means, so that the airbag can be deployed quickly. Done.

The invention according to claim 5 is the invention according to claim 2 or 3.
In the above, the gist is that a sliding resistance reducing layer is formed on the guide slope. According to the invention described in claim 5, the sliding resistance between the guide slope and the airbag can be relaxed, and the expanding operation of the airbag can be performed more quickly.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, when a vehicle body of a vehicle is impacted by a predetermined amount or more, a side wall portion of the vehicle body and an occupant seated in a seat arranged in the vehicle compartment are
In an armrest of a vehicle equipped with a side airbag device including an airbag that inflates and deploys to a position corresponding to the waist and chest of the occupant, and a gas ejection unit that ejects inflation gas for inflating and deploying the airbag, The gist is that the armrest is formed in a concave shape with respect to the side wall portion of the body to reduce the resistance when the airbag is inflated and deployed.

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, since the armrest is formed in a concave shape on the side wall portion of the body, the armrest does not hinder the deploying operation when the airbag is inflating and deploying, so that the airbag can be installed. The unfolding operation is performed quickly.

[0017]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION An embodiment of a vehicle armrest equipped with a side airbag device embodying the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.

A guide rail 12 is laid on the upper surface of a vehicle body frame 11 of a vehicle, and a seat 13 is mounted on the guide rail 12 so that the position of the seat 13 can be adjusted in the vehicle traveling direction (the direction orthogonal to the paper surface of FIG. 1). The seat 13 is attached to the hip rest portion 14 on which the waist Ph of the occupant P is placed, and the rear end portion of the hip rest portion 14,
Moreover, the backrest 15 supports the chest Pc of the occupant P. A side door 16 forming a part of the body is openably and closably attached to the opening of the body frame 11. The side door 16 includes a glass 17 for opening and closing an opening of a door frame (not shown). An armrest 18 is integrally provided on a side wall portion 16a inside the side door 16. A guide slope 18a is formed on the side surface of the armrest 18 as a resistance reducing means that is displaced inward from the lower end toward the upper end. A sliding resistance reducing layer 18b made of a coating layer of silicone or the like for reducing sliding resistance is formed on the guide slope 18a.

A side air bag device 19 is attached to the rear end portion 14. The side airbag device 19 is
Case 20 arranged horizontally in the traveling direction of the vehicle
And an inflator 21 as a gas ejecting means for generating gas contained in the case 20. In addition, the side airbag device 19 includes the case 20.
The airbag 22 is housed inside and is inflated and deployed by the inflator 21. The airbag 22 is basically formed into a bag shape by sewing a pair of base fabrics made of, for example, a flameproof woven fabric. When gas is supplied from the inflator 21 to the airbag 22, as shown in FIG. 1, the gas is inflated and deployed from the lower side to the upper side.

The seat 13 is provided with a sensor (not shown) for detecting an impact applied to the side door 16. This sensor is connected to the inflator 21 via a control circuit (not shown).

The airbag 22, which is inflated and deployed in the shape shown in FIG. 1, is folded in the case 2 in a folded state.
It is housed in 0. The shape of the airbag 22 is
The occupant P is seated on the seat 13 when inflated and deployed, and is formed at a position on the side of the vehicle on the side of the vehicle and at a position corresponding to an upper side of the vehicle than the seating surface of the hip rest portion 14. Further, the airbag 22 is formed in such a shape that when inflated and deployed, the airbag 22 is deployed at a position corresponding to a portion extending from the waist Ph of the occupant P to the chest Pc. The airbag 2
In order to secure a predetermined thickness in the vehicle width direction in the expansion, the front and back integrated portion 23 is partially formed at the intermediate height position by the knob sewing process.

In the side airbag device 19 configured as described above, when the sensor detects a predetermined impact or more, an operation signal is output to the inflator 21 via the control circuit. Then, the inflator 21 instantaneously ejects gas into the airbag 22 based on the operation signal. The air bag 22 is instantly inflated and deployed by this gas.

According to the armrest of the vehicle equipped with the side airbag device of the above embodiment, the following features can be obtained. (1) In the above embodiment, the guide slope 18a is provided for the armrest 18. Therefore, when the airbag 22 is inflated and deployed, the upward movement of the airbag 22 is guided by the guide slope 18a.
The operation can be smoothly performed by a and the unfolding operation can be performed quickly.

(2) In the above embodiment, the guide slope 18a
Since the sliding resistance reducing layer 18b for reducing the sliding resistance with the airbag 22 is provided in the above, the sliding resistance with the airbag 22 can be relaxed and the inflation and deployment operation of the airbag 22 can be performed more quickly. You can

The above embodiment may be modified as follows. Another example shown in FIG. 3 is the side wall portion 16 a of the side door 16.
On the other hand, the armrest 16b is formed in a concave shape. In this another example, the armrest 16b has the side wall portion 1
Since it does not project from 6a, the expanding operation of the airbag 22 can be performed more quickly than in the above embodiment.
In this another example, the armrest 1 is
6b may be formed so as to slightly project.

As shown in FIG. 4, the armrest 18 is attached to the side wall portion 16 a of the side door 16 by the connecting shaft 25 so as to be reciprocally rotatable within a predetermined angle range, and the winding spring 26 as a biasing means is always provided. By armrest 18
May be biased to the use position. In this another example, when the airbag 22 is inflated and deployed, the armrest 18 is rotated counterclockwise around the connecting shaft 25 against the force of the spring 26 and displaced to the retracted position.
The airbag 22 can be inflated and deployed quickly.

As shown in the plan sectional view of FIG. 5, a side airbag device 19 is attached to a side portion of the backrest portion 15,
A guide slope 18a is provided at the rear end of the armrest 18 of the vehicle in which the airbag 22 is inflated and deployed forward in the vehicle traveling direction.
May be formed. The guide slope 18a is formed so as to be gradually displaced from the side wall portion 16a from the rear end toward the front.

As a means for reducing the resistance of the armrest,
An armrest is mounted on the body such as the side door 16 so that the position can be switched between a use position and a retreat position, and the armrest is always pressed and urged by the urging means to the use position so that the airbag is inflated and retracted. It may be configured to be moved to.

[0029]

As described above in detail, the invention according to the first aspect can quickly perform the inflation and deployment operation of the airbag.

According to the second aspect of the invention, when the airbag is inflated and deployed from the lower side to the upper side of the seat, the airbag can be rapidly deployed by the guide slope provided on the side surface of the armrest. .

According to the third aspect of the present invention, when the airbag is inflated and deployed from the side portion of the seat back portion toward the front in the vehicle traveling direction, the airbag is deployed by the guide slope provided at the rear end portion of the armrest. The operation can be performed quickly.

According to the fourth aspect of the invention, when the airbag is inflated and deployed, the armrest is switched from the use position to the retracted position against the force of the urging means, so that the airbag can be quickly deployed. It can be carried out.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the sliding resistance between the guide slope and the airbag can be alleviated, and the airbag can be deployed more quickly. According to the invention described in claim 6, when the airbag is inflated and deployed, the armrest does not hinder the deployment operation, and the airbag can be deployed quickly.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partial sectional view of a vehicle including a side airbag device embodying the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a backrest portion, side doors, and a side airbag device.

FIG. 3 is a partial vertical sectional view showing another example of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a partial vertical sectional view showing another example of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a partial plan sectional view showing another example of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a partial vertical cross-sectional view of a vehicle including a conventional side airbag device.

[Explanation of symbols]

P ... Crew, Pc ... Chest, Ph ... Waist, 13 ... Seat, 1
5 ... Backrest part, 16a ... Side wall part, 16b, 18 ... Armrest, 18a ... Guide slope, 18b ... Sliding resistance reduction layer, 19 ... Side airbag device, 22 ... Airbag.

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. When the body of a vehicle is subjected to an impact greater than a predetermined level, the body and the occupant seated in a seat disposed in the passenger compartment are supported by the waist and chest of the occupant. In a vehicle provided with a side airbag device including an airbag that inflates and deploys to a position where the airbag is inflated and a gas ejection unit that ejects inflation gas for inflating and deploying the airbag, the vehicle is provided on a side wall portion of the body. An armrest for a vehicle equipped with a side airbag device provided with resistance reducing means for reducing resistance when the airbag is inflated and deployed with respect to the armrest. 2. The airbag according to claim 1, wherein the airbag is inflated and deployed from a lower side of a seat to an upper side, and the resistance reducing means extends toward the upper end of the body with respect to a side surface of an armrest. Armrest of a vehicle including a side airbag device that is a guide slope formed to be separated from a side wall portion of the vehicle. 3. The airbag according to claim 1, wherein the airbag is inflated and deployed from a side portion of a backrest portion of a seat toward a front side in a vehicle traveling direction, and the resistance reducing means includes:
An armrest for a vehicle including a side airbag device, which is a guide slope formed so as to be more distant from a side wall portion of the body toward a front end of a rear end portion of the armrest in a vehicle traveling direction. 4. The armrest according to claim 1, wherein the resistance reducing means mounts an armrest on the body so that the position can be switched between a use position and a retracted position, and the biasing means always presses the armrest to the use position. An armrest of a vehicle equipped with a side airbag device configured to be biased and moved to a retracted position when the airbag is inflated and deployed. 5. The armrest for a vehicle according to claim 2, further comprising a side airbag device in which a sliding resistance reducing layer is formed on the guide slope. 6. When a vehicle body of a vehicle is subjected to an impact greater than a predetermined level, the side wall portion of the vehicle body and an occupant seated in a seat disposed in the vehicle compartment are adapted to the waist and chest of the occupant. In an armrest of a vehicle including a side airbag device including an airbag that inflates and deploys to a position where the airbag is inflated and a gas ejecting unit that ejects inflation gas for inflating and deploying the airbag, the armrest with respect to a side wall portion of the body. An armrest for a vehicle including a side airbag device in which a concave portion is formed to reduce resistance when the airbag is inflated and deployed.