JP2004034989A - Airbag for front passenger seat and its folding method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a low-pressure airbag which comes into contact with a windshield upon airbag deployment. <P>SOLUTION: This airbag 1 is an airbag deployed to the front side of a front passenger seat. The airbag is stored with a loose section 5F formed only on the windshield 3 side as an anti-occupant side. Upon the airbag deployment, gas flows into the loose section 5F and the windshield side inflate in priority. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

The present invention relates to a passenger airbag for deploying in the event of a vehicle collision to protect an occupant in a passenger seat, and a folding method thereof. In particular, the present invention relates to an airbag for a front passenger seat and an improved airbag for a front passenger seat, which can stably deploy the bag and provide a sufficient restraining force to an occupant in a front passenger seat, and have been improved so that the deployment can be performed more gently.

FIG. 4 is a view showing a state of deployment of a passenger airbag folded by a conventional folding method. FIG. 4 (A) is a side view of a passenger seat airbag (hereinafter also simply referred to as a “bag”) 1 stored in an airbag case 2 as viewed from the side. Here, the right side of the figure is the windshield side, and the left side of the figure is the occupant side (anti-windshield side).

In FIG. 4A, the left and right end portions (slack portions 5G and 5F) of the bag 1 are folded in a bellows shape, and the front end portion (the winding portion 5E) is wound so that the windshield side is outside the winding. It is stored in the airbag case 2. The bag 1 is fixed to the inside of the opening of the airbag case 2 by a mounting bracket (not shown). Note that both sides of the bag 1 on the windshield side and the anti-windshield side are bellows-folded to form the above-described slack portions 5F and 5G. In the airbag case 2, an inflator 4 for generating a gas for deploying the bag is arranged. The airbag case 2 is housed in an instrument panel (reference numeral 8 in FIG. 4B) in front of the passenger seat side in the vehicle.

助 The passenger airbag shown in FIG. 4A is deployed from the upper part of the instrument panel and inflates upward. Next, a description will be given of a form at the time of deployment when the passenger airbag folded as shown in FIG. 4A is inflated upward.

FIGS. 4 (B) and 4 (C) are views showing the form of the airbag for the passenger seat folded by the conventional method shown in FIG. 4 (A) when it is deployed. In FIG. 4 (B), when gas flows from the inflator 4 disposed in the airbag case 2 into the bag 1 as indicated by an arrow, the airbag cover 9 provided on the instrument panel 8 causes the gas in the bag 1 to flow. The bag 1 is pierced by the pressure and deployed on the instrument panel 8. At this time, the gas flows into the slack portions 5F and 5G on the windshield side and the anti-windshield side where the inflow resistance is small before the entrainment portion 5E of the bag 1. That is, first, the bag 1 is deployed at the slack portions 5F and 5G, and then the wrap portion 5E is deployed and expanded.

However, according to the airbag for the passenger seat folded by the conventional method as described above, first, the bag 1 is deployed at the slack portions 5F and 5G, and the entangled portion 5E is moved to the expanded slack portions 5F and 5F. Since it is lifted by 5G, the winding part 5E goes upward with being folded.
Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4C, the winding part 5E is pushed upward (arrow A) while being folded, and the part 5E hits the windshield 3 with the winding remaining. When the bag 1 is deployed as described above, unnecessary local pressing force may be applied to the windshield 3. Therefore, the output of the inflator 4 is reduced, the mounting position of the bag 1 and the installation angle of the airbag case 2 are adjusted so as not to apply unnecessary local pressing force to the windshield 3, Measures such as increasing the strength were required. For this reason, there is a problem that the degree of freedom in designing the airbag and the instrument panel is reduced, and the cost is increased.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to address such a problem, and it is possible to stably deploy a bag and provide a sufficient restraining force to an occupant, to perform the deployment more gently, to reduce the cost, and to reduce the cost of the glass. An object of the present invention is to provide a passenger airbag and a folding method thereof that can eliminate the need to apply a necessary pressing force.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, an airbag for a passenger seat of the present invention is an airbag (1) which is deployed in front of a passenger seat, and has a slack (5F) only on a windshield (3) side which is an anti-occupant side. Here, the slack (5F) is a fold-like portion, and the inner mouth (5J) is directly opened to the space (4J) with the inflator (4). (Same in the present specification), and when deployed, gas first flows into the slack (5F), and the windshield side expands preferentially.

According to the passenger seat airbag of the present invention, when the bag is deployed, the bag is deployed from the windshield side, and the unfolded and inflated bag comes into contact with the windshield. -The force on the field is distributed and the pressure is reduced.

In order to solve the above problem, another airbag for a passenger seat of the present invention is (1) an airbag (1) which is deployed in front of a passenger seat; (2) Only the windshield (3), which is on the side opposite to the occupant, is slackened. (5F), and the front end is housed so as to be folded or wrapped around the anti-windshield side. At the time of deployment, first, gas flows into the slack (5F) and the windshield side expands preferentially, and the front end part is expanded. Are deployed above the windshield side.

According to this passenger airbag, the front end of the bag is folded or wrapped around the windshield side, so that when the bag is deployed, the bag is deployed from the windshield side and the wound or folded body of the bag is directly It does not face the windshield.

Further, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a method for folding a passenger airbag according to the present invention is a method for folding an airbag (1) deployed to the front of a passenger seat; 3) The end of only the side is folded in a bellows form, and the end has a slack (5F).

According to the passenger seat airbag folding method of the present invention, when the bag is deployed, the bag is deployed from the windshield side, and the folded and inflated bag comes into contact with the windshield. The force on the windshield is dispersed, reducing the pressure.

In order to solve the above problems, another method of folding the airbag for the front passenger seat of the present invention is a method of folding the airbag (1) deployed to the front of the front passenger seat; The end of only the shield (3) side is bellows-folded to have a slack (5F), and (1) the tip of the bag (1) is folded or wrapped around the windshield side and stored.

According to the method for folding a passenger airbag, the front end of the bag is folded or wrapped around the windshield side, so that when the bag is deployed, the bag is deployed from the windshield side and the bag is wound or folded. However, it does not face the windshield directly.

ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, while deploying a bag can provide sufficient restraint force to the occupant, deployment can be performed more gently, and it is unnecessary to apply unnecessary local pressing force to the glass without cost. It is possible to provide an airbag for a passenger seat and a folding method thereof without any problem.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Hereinafter, description will be made with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a view showing a folding procedure in a method for folding a passenger airbag according to one embodiment of the present invention. 1A is a plan view of the bag 1 as viewed from above, and FIG. 1A is a front view of the bag 1 as viewed from the windshield side. In these figures, the bag 1 is in an unfolded, unfolded state.

FIG. 1 (B right) and (B flat) show the first stage of folding. FIG. 1B is a plan view of the bag 1 as viewed from above, and FIG. 1B is a front view of the bag 1 as viewed from the windshield side. In the first stage of the folding, the substantially central portion of the bag 1 is picked up, and both side surfaces are pushed into the central portion, thereby forming vertically overlapping ends 5A and 5B. A recess 5C is formed between the ends 5A and 5B. Here, the width of the end 5A is substantially the same as the width of the end 5B.

1 (C flat) and (C flat) show the second stage of folding, (C flat) is a plan view of the bag 1 as viewed from above, and (C positive) is the bag 1 from the side opposite to the windshield. FIG. As shown in FIGS. 1 (C) and (C-flat), in the second stage of folding, the double end on the left side is further folded up and down so as to form a double bellows on the left side of the bag 1. Form 5D.

1 (D right), (D flat), and (D side) show the third stage of folding, (D flat) is a plan view of bag 1 viewed from above, and (D right) is bag 1 Is a front view seen from the side opposite to the windshield, and (D side) is a side view of the bag 1 seen from the side. In the third stage of folding, the double end on the right side of the bag 1 is further doubled up and down in the same manner as in the second stage of folding shown in FIGS. To form a bellows portion 5D on the right side. Thus, the bellows portion 5D is formed on the left and right sides of the bag 1 as shown in (D positive). The base 1c of the bag 1 is connected and fixed to the airbag case 2 as shown in (D side). At this time, the width of the bellows portion 5D is substantially equal to or smaller than the width of the airbag case 2. In the airbag case 2, an inflator 4 for generating gas for expanding the bag is arranged.

Next, FIG. 1 (E side) is a side view showing the fourth stage of folding and viewing the bag 1 from the side. Here, the right side of FIG. 1 (E side) is the windshield side. As shown in FIG. 1 (E side), in the fourth stage of the folding, the tip of the bag 1 is folded a plurality of times in a bellows shape, and a bellows folded portion 5H is formed on the upper side of the bag 1. The bellows folded portion 5H is rotated in the direction of arrow B (counterclockwise) and stored in the airbag case 2.

FIG. 1 (F side) is a side view of the bag 1 viewed from the side, showing the final stage of folding. The bag 1 is housed in the airbag case 2 by rotating the bellows-folded portion 5H once in the direction of arrow B (counterclockwise) as shown in (E side). Here, the bag 1 is fixed to the inside of the opening of the airbag case 2 by a mounting bracket (not shown). Further, the inside of the bag 1 and the inside of the airbag case 2 are substantially sealed by this mounting bracket (not shown). Here, a bellows-folded loose portion 5F is formed only on the windshield side (right side in the figure) of the bellows-folded portion 5H of the bag 1. As shown in FIG. 1 (F side), FIG. 2 (B), and FIG. 3 (A), the slack portion 5F is a fold-like portion, and the inside mouth 5J thereof. Is a portion directly opening into the space 4J where the inflator 4 is located.

Next, a modified example of the folding method of the embodiment of FIG. 1 will be described.
FIG. 2 shows a modified example of the folding method of the embodiment of FIG. 1 at the fourth stage (state of FIG. 1 (E side)) and the final stage (state of FIG. 1 (F side)). The folding method shown in FIG. 2 is the same as the method shown in FIG. 1 up to the third stage of the folding method. In the fourth stage of the folding method, as shown in FIG. 2 (A), the front end of the bag 1 is wound so that the anti-windshield side of the bag 1 is outside the winding to form a winding portion 5E. Next, in the final stage of the folding method, as shown in FIG. 2B, the entangled portion 5E of the bag 1 is stored in the airbag case 2. Here, a bellows-folded loose part 5F is formed only on the windshield side (right side in the figure) of the winding part 5E of the bag 1.

2 (C) and (D) show a modification of FIG. 2 (B). As shown in FIGS. 2 (C) and 2 (D), bellows-shaped loosened portions 5F and 5G may be formed on both sides of the windshield side and the anti-windshield side. In this case, as shown in (C), the number of slacks in the slack portion 5F on the windshield side is made larger than the number of slacks in the slack portion 5G on the anti-windshield side, or as shown in (D). In addition, the slack length of the slack portion 5F on the windshield side may be longer than the slack length of the slack portion 5G on the anti-windshield side. In the case of adjusting the slack length as shown in (D), the slack length of the slack portion 5F on the windshield side is set to about 2 times the slack length of the slack portion 5G on the anti-windshield side. It is better to double it.

Next, the configuration when the passenger airbag folded as described above is deployed will be described.
FIG. 3 is a side view of the airbag for passenger seat shown in FIG. FIG. 3A shows a state before deployment. Next, deployment of the bag 1 starts, and as shown in FIG. 3 (B), when gas flows into the bag 1 from the inflator 4 arranged in the airbag case 2, the bag 1 starts to deploy by the gas pressure. At this time, the gas easily flows into the loosened portion 5F on the windshield side, which has smaller inflow resistance than the entrained portion 5E of the bag 1 shown in FIG. This is because, as clearly shown in FIG. 3 (A), the slack portion 5F is a fold-like portion, and the inner opening 5J opens directly into the space 4J where the inflator 4 is located. Because it is the part that does. For this reason, as shown in (B), the bag 1 is deployed first from the loosened portion 5F on the windshield side.

On the other hand, the gas under development has not yet flowed into the entangled portion (core) 5E at the tip of the bag 1. Further, no slack is provided on the side opposite to the windshield. Therefore, gas flows into the bag 1 more quickly on the windshield side than on the antiwindshield side, and as shown in FIG. 3 (C), the entangled portion 5E rotates upward on the antiwindshield side. Expand (arrows C and D). In addition, it is not preferable that the leading end portion of the bag 1 is wound in the direction opposite to that of FIG. 2 because the winding portion 5E unfolds while rotating toward the windshield side.

FIG. 3D shows a state in which the bag 1 has been further expanded and a state in which the bag 1 has been completely expanded. In FIG. 3 (D), the bag 1 indicated by a solid line indicates a state shortly before the completion of the expansion, and the bag 1d indicated by a dashed line indicates a state in which the bag 1d is completely expanded. The deploying direction of the bag 1 is not upward toward the windshield 3 but toward the upper side on the side opposite to the windshield (arrow C). Therefore, the winding portion 5E does not directly hit the windshield 3 directly above. The contact portion 1b of the bag 1 with the windshield 3 is unfolded and expanded. Therefore, the force applied to the windshield 3 by the bag 1 is dispersed and the pressure is reduced, and the collision of the entangled portion (core) 5E is eliminated, so that unnecessary local pressing force on the windshield 3 can be avoided.

As described above, according to the airbag for the passenger seat of the present embodiment and the folding method thereof, when the bag 1 is stored in the airbag case 2, the slack portion 5F is provided only on the windshield side. First, gas flows into the slack portion 5F, and the windshield side expands preferentially. For this reason, at the time of deployment, the bag is deployed from the windshield side, and at the same time, the unfolded and inflated bag 1b comes into contact with the windshield 3, so that the force on the windshield 3 is dispersed. Pressure is reduced.

先端 Folding or wrapping the tip of the bag 1 on the side opposite to the windshield prevents the wrapped portion 5E or the bellows-folded portion 5H of the bag 1 from directly facing the windshield 3 when the bag 1 is deployed.

Further, since unnecessary local pressing force on the windshield 3 by the bag 1 is eliminated, the output of the inflator, adjustment of the airbag mounting position and the mounting angle of the airbag case, improvement of glass strength, etc., which have been conventionally performed, are performed. Can be reduced.

It is a figure showing the folding procedure in the airbag folding method concerning one example of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a side view showing a modification of the method of folding the airbag of the embodiment of FIG. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration of the airbag of FIG. 2 when deployed. It is a figure which shows the form at the time of deployment of the airbag folded by the conventional folding method of the airbag.

Explanation of reference numerals

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1, 1d Bag 1b Contact part 1c Base 2 Airbag case 3 Windshield 4 Inflator 5A, 5B End 5F, 5G Loose part 5C Concave part 5D Bellows part 5E Entrainment part 5H Bellows folded part 8 Instrument panel 9 Airbag door

Claims (6)

An airbag (1) deployed in front of the passenger seat;
Only the windshield (3) side, which is the anti-occupant side, is stored with a slack (5F),
Here, the slack (5F) is a fold-like portion, and the inside opening (5J) of the opening directly opens into the space (4J) where the inflator (4) is located (hereinafter, referred to as "float"). The same in the claims),
At the time of deployment, first, gas flows into the slack (5F), and the windshield side is inflated preferentially. An airbag (1) deployed in front of the passenger seat;
Only the windshield (3) side, which is the anti-occupant side, has a slack (5F), and the tip is folded or wound around the anti-occupant side,
At the time of deployment, first, gas flows into the slack (5F), the windshield side is preferentially inflated, and the front end is deployed above the windshield side. 3. The airbag for a passenger seat according to claim 2, wherein a bellows-folded portion (5H) is formed by folding the tip portion in a bellows shape. A method of folding an airbag (1) deployed in front of a passenger seat;
A method for folding an airbag for a passenger's seat, characterized in that the end of only the windshield (3) side, which is the side opposite to the occupant of the bag, is folded in a bellows shape so that the end has a slack (5F). A method of folding an airbag (1) deployed in front of a passenger seat;
The end of only the windshield (3) side, which is the anti-occupant side of the bag, is folded in a bellows form to have a slack (5F),
A method of folding an airbag for a passenger seat, characterized in that the front end of the bag (1) is folded or wrapped around the windshield side and stored. The airbag for a passenger seat according to claim 5, wherein the bellows-folded portion (5H) is formed by folding the tip portion in a bellows-like manner.

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