JP2004075015A - Occupant restraint system for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a vehicle occupant restraint system for reducing the burden on a human body during the restraint by almost uniformly distributing the deformation of a restricted body part. <P>SOLUTION: A chest-fit member 10 is provided on a restraining means 3 to restrain at least a chest of an occupant seated on a seat, and a rigidity changing means A according to the rigidity distribution of the occupant chest is provided on the chest-fit member 10. When a forward inertia force is applied to the occupant by a head-on collision or the like of the vehicle, and the occupant chest is restrained by the restraining member 3, the bodily deformation to the chest-fit member 10 is almost uniformly distributed to reduce the burden on the body. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an occupant restraint system for a vehicle that prevents an occupant sitting on a seat from moving forward when the vehicle suddenly decelerates due to a frontal collision or the like.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In an automobile, when a frontal collision occurs, an occupant seated in a seat moves forward due to inertial force, and an occupant restraint device such as a seat belt is required to prevent the occupant from moving forward.
[0003]
As a conventional occupant restraint device, for example, there is a device disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-25546. In this occupant restraint device, a bag body that is inflated by high-pressure gas is provided separately from a seatbelt main body, so that a vehicle collision can be prevented. The function of restraining the occupant's body is assigned to the seat belt body, and the bag is used to reduce the impact.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
Such a conventional occupant restraint system has a feature that in the physical restraint by the seat belt main body, it is easy to fit without being affected by the occupant's posture and the unevenness of the physical surface shape. There is a feature that the load can be evenly distributed on the surface.
[0005]
For this reason, by combining the seat belt body and the bag, there is an advantage that the restraining force for the occupant can be uniformly distributed in a portion where the bag contacts, but since the strength of the body is not necessarily uniform, When the load is evenly distributed, there is a concern that the deformation amount becomes large in a relatively rigid part of the body.
[0006]
In view of the above, the present invention provides a vehicle occupant restraint device configured to distribute the body deformation of a restrained portion substantially uniformly so as to reduce the burden on the body during restraint.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
According to the present invention, when the vehicle suddenly decelerates, a means for restraining at least the chest of the occupant seated on the seat is provided, and the restraining means prevents forward movement of the occupant. In the vehicle occupant restraint system, the rigidity of a portion of the restraint means that comes into contact with the occupant chest is changed according to the rigidity distribution of the occupant chest.
[0008]
【The invention's effect】
According to the present invention, when an occupant seated on a seat due to a frontal collision of a vehicle acts on the occupant's chest by restraining the occupant's chest by forward inertial force, the rigidity of the portion of the restraining means that comes into contact with the occupant's chest is improved. Changes according to the stiffness distribution of the occupant's chest, which makes it possible to distribute the body deformation to the portion that comes into contact with the occupant's chest substantially uniformly, thereby reducing the burden on the body during restraint. Can be.
[0009]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
[0010]
1 to 6 show a first embodiment of a vehicle occupant restraint device according to the present invention, FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a main part of the occupant restraint device, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an entire configuration of the occupant restraint device. , FIG. 3 is a perspective view from the inside of a chest pad member used in the occupant restraint device, FIG. 4 is a front view showing a skeletal structure of a human chest, FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a restraining operation state by the occupant restraint device, FIGS. 6A and 6B are explanatory diagrams sequentially showing the restraint state of the occupant's chest by the chest abutment member by FIGS.
[0011]
The seat belt device 1 as an occupant restraint device according to the first embodiment is configured by providing a chest belt member 10 shown in FIG. 1 on a shoulder belt 3 as restraint means as shown in FIG. When a large deceleration due to a collision or sudden braking is applied, the chest member 10 restrains the chest Mb of the occupant M (see FIG. 5) to prevent the occupant from moving forward.
[0012]
As shown in FIG. 2, the seat belt device 1 is configured as a three-point seat belt including a waist belt 2 and a shoulder belt 3, and the waist belt 2 has one end 2a fixed to the vehicle body side and the other end. After inserting the portion 2b through the tongue 4 and continuing to one end 3a of the shoulder belt 3, the other end 3b of the shoulder belt 3 is inserted into a shoulder anchor 6 provided at the upper end of the center pillar 5, and then the center pillar 5 The guide is guided to a retractor 7 installed at the lower end of the vehicle.
[0013]
In order to wear the seat belt device 1, the waist belt 2 supports the occupant Mw (see FIG. 5) of the occupant M, and the shoulder belt 3 supports the chest Mb obliquely from one shoulder of the occupant M. The tongue 4 is inserted into a buckle 8 fixed to the side of the seat cushion Sa of the seat S.
[0014]
The chest member 10 is provided at a portion corresponding to the occupant chest Mb of the shoulder belt 3 as shown in FIG. 1, and the occupant chest Mb is restrained by the chest member 10 at the time of a frontal collision. A rigidity changing means A is provided on the breastrest member 10, and the rigidity is changed according to the rigidity distribution of the occupant's chest Mb.
[0015]
The general structure of the human thoracic skeleton 100 includes 12 pairs of left and right first to twelfth ribs 101 to 112 as shown in FIG. 4, and these first to twelfth ribs 101 to 112 form an arc from the spine 113. The drawing extends anteriorly, with the upper ten pairs of first to tenth ribs 101 to 110 converging at the sternum 114 to form a rib cage, and the lower two pairs of eleventh and twelfth ribs 111. , 112 are open in an inverted V-shape without closing in front.
[0016]
The upper ten pairs of first to tenth ribs 101 to 110 have a larger radius of an arc drawn in order from the first rib 101 to the sixth rib 106, and the radius of the arc of the seventh rib 107 to the tenth rib 110 is larger. Although slightly reduced, the tenth rib 110 is the longest since the sternum 114 is only as high as the sixth rib 106, and the clavicle 115 extends from the upper end of the sternum 114 toward the shoulder joint 116. ing.
[0017]
Due to such structural features, the rigidity of the thoracic skeleton 100 greatly differs in the height direction. In the region (a) from the first rib 101 to the third rib 103 including the collarbone 115, the rigidity is high. The region (c) from the seventh rib 107 to the tenth rib 110 located below the lowermost end has low rigidity, and the region (b) from the middle fourth rib 104 to the sixth rib 106 has the aforementioned rigidity. It has a rigidity intermediate between the two regions (a) and (c).
[0018]
Since the front surface of the region below the region (c) is not covered with the ribs, its rigidity is further lower than that of the region (c).
[0019]
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the chest pad member 10 is formed in a rectangular shape having a two-layer structure in a thickness direction, and a metal plate material 11 that is curved substantially along the surface shape of the chest Mb on the outside. In addition, the inside in contact with the occupant's chest Mb is made of a pad material 12 formed of a high-molecular synthetic resin and having a rigidity close to that of the human chest.
[0020]
Then, the thickness t of the pad material 12 is gradually increased from the upper end 12a to the lower end 12b, and the rigidity changing means A is constituted by a shape change due to the change of the thickness t, and the human chest Mb shown in FIG. (A) to (c).
[0021]
Further, by continuously changing the thickness t of the pad material 12, the rigidity is continuously reduced from above to below.
[0022]
The deformation of the pad material 12 is substantially matched with the deformation of the occupant's chest Mb in the range from the collarbone 115 to the tenth rib 110.
[0023]
The chest member 10 of the present embodiment has a length L of about 30 to 40 cm to substantially cover the front of the chest skeleton 100, and the width W of the chest member 10 is greater than the width w of the shoulder belt 3. It is slightly wider.
[0024]
A pair of belt through holes 11a and 11b are provided outside both ends in the length L direction of the metal plate material 11, and the shoulder belt 3 is inserted into these belt through holes 11a and 11b, while one belt through hole 11a is provided. Is suspended on the attachment portion of the shoulder anchor 6 by a flexible arm 13 as a positioning means adjusted to a predetermined length, so that the chest abutment member 10 is positioned on the chest Mb of the occupant M.
[0025]
In the first embodiment with the above configuration, when a large inertial force acts on the occupant M seated on the seat S as shown in FIG. 5 due to a frontal collision or sudden braking, the occupant M The seat belt device 1 is placed in a forward lean state, and tension is applied to the seat belt device 1. Then, the occupant M is restrained by the seat belt device 1 while the pullout of the retractor 7 is stopped, thereby preventing forward movement. In this case, in a vehicle model equipped with a pretensioner, the belt is retracted by the operation of the pretensioner.
[0026]
When the occupant M who moves forward is restrained by the seat belt device 1 in this manner, a pushing force is exerted when the occupant M is restrained on the chest abutment member 10, but the inside of the chest abutment member 10 is applied to the human chest. Since the pad material 12 is formed of the pad material 12 having close rigidity, not only the chest Mb but also the pad material 12 is deformed.
[0027]
At this time, since the thickness t of the pad material 12 gradually increases from the upper end 12a to the lower end 12b, even when the vicinity of the upper end 12a reaches the allowable compression amount, a crushing margin is left on the lower end 12b side. As a result, the load acting on the chest Mb from the pad material 12 is large on the upper end 12a side of the pad material 12 and is small on the lower end 12b side.
[0028]
Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4, the rigidity of the chest skeleton 100 is large in the upper region (a) and small in the lower region (c). It can be distributed substantially uniformly throughout the entire vehicle, and the burden on the body can be further reduced when the occupant M is restrained by the seat belt device 1.
[0029]
Further, since the thickness t of the pad material 12 is continuously changed and its rigidity is continuously reduced from the upper side to the lower side, the local deformation of the chest Mb is suppressed and the chest Mb is continuously deformed. be able to.
[0030]
Furthermore, the pad material 12 can be made to more accurately follow the deformation of the chest Mb by making its deformation substantially coincide with the deformation in the range from the collarbone 115 to the tenth rib 110 of the occupant's chest Mb.
[0031]
By the way, in the first embodiment, since the inside of the chest member 10 is constituted by the pad material 12 formed of a high-molecular synthetic resin, the feeling of discomfort when the chest member 10 contacts the occupant's chest Mb is reduced. can do.
[0032]
FIG. 7 shows a second embodiment of the present invention, in which the same components as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and a duplicate description will be omitted.
[0033]
FIG. 7 is a perspective view seen from the inside of the chest member 10a. The chest member 10a of the second embodiment has a metal plate 11 provided on the outside and a pad material 12 provided on the inside similarly to the first embodiment. After the pad material 12 has a two-layer structure and the thickness t of the pad material 12 is made constant over the entirety, a plurality of holes 20 are formed in the pad material 12, and a change in shape due to the holes 20 changes the shape of the chest member 10 a. The rigidity is changed (rigidity changing means A).
[0034]
That is, the plurality of holes 20 decrease in hole diameter toward the upper end 12a of the pad material 12 and decrease the number thereof (the occupation ratio of the hole per unit area), while decreasing toward the lower end 12b of the pad material 12. By increasing the diameter and increasing the number thereof (the occupation ratio of the holes per unit area), the rigidity is reduced stepwise from above to below, as shown in FIG. 4 as in the first embodiment. The rigidity of the thoracic skeleton 100 is adjusted to be larger in the upper region (a) and smaller in the lower region (c).
[0035]
Therefore, even in the seat belt device of the second embodiment, the chest deformation of the portion restrained by the chest abutment member 10a can be substantially uniformly distributed over the entirety, similarly to the first embodiment. The burden on the body when M is restrained can be further reduced.
[0036]
Further, in the second embodiment, since the rigidity is changed by the hole 20 without changing the thickness t of the pad material 12, it is possible to reduce a sense of discomfort in mounting.
[0037]
FIG. 8 shows a third embodiment of the present invention, in which the same components as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description will be omitted.
[0038]
FIG. 8 is a perspective view seen from the inside of the chest member 10b. The chest member 10b of the third embodiment has a metal plate 11 provided on the outside and a pad material 12 provided on the inside similarly to the first embodiment. The pad material 12 is formed of a plurality of materials after the thickness t of the pad material 12 is made constant over the entire structure, and the chest member 10b of the chest member 10b is formed by a material change due to the plurality of materials. The rigidity is reduced stepwise from above (stiffness changing means A).
[0039]
That is, a material having relatively high rigidity is used in the upper region 12c corresponding to the upper third of the pad material 12, while a material having relatively low rigidity is used in the lower region 12e corresponding to the lower third. In the intermediate range 12d corresponding to one third of the above, a material having intermediate rigidity between the upper and lower ranges 12c and 12e is used so as to match the rigidity change of the chest skeleton 100 shown in FIG. .
[0040]
Therefore, even in the seatbelt device of the third embodiment, the chest deformation of the portion restrained by the chest abutment member 10b can be substantially uniformly distributed over the entirety, similarly to the first embodiment. The burden on the body when M is restrained can be further reduced.
[0041]
Further, in the third embodiment, since the rigidity change is realized only by the material of the pad material 12 without changing the outer shape and the thickness t of the pad material 12, not only the tactile sensation but also the unpleasant appearance is reduced. can do.
[0042]
FIGS. 9 to 12 show a fourth embodiment of the present invention, in which the same components as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description will be omitted.
[0043]
9 is an exploded perspective view from the inside of the chest abutment, FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing a main part of the occupant restraint device, and FIG. 11 is a side view showing the operating state of the chest abutment by (a) to (c). FIG. 12 is a side view showing the relationship between the chest member and the occupant's chest by (a) and (b).
[0044]
As shown in FIG. 9, the chest member 10c according to the fourth embodiment is formed of a high molecular resin and is arranged outside the rectangular chest body 14, and is arranged inside the chest body 14. And a rib-shaped projection 14a as a bending rigidity changing means A having a predetermined height and extending in the length direction L is provided at the center of the chest abutment body 14 in the width w direction. In addition, the pad material 15 is provided inside the chest abutment body 14 in direct contact with the occupant's chest Mb.
[0045]
The pad material 15 is formed to have a uniform thickness as a whole as shown in FIG. 9, and a concave portion 15a for fitting the rib-like projection 14a is formed at the center in the width direction.
[0046]
The rib-like projections 14a are formed so as to be capable of changing the curvature along the front surface of the occupant's chest Mb by being divided in the length direction by a plurality of slits 14b. 14a, the bending rigidity in the direction in which the curvature of the chest member 10c is increased is uniformly increased, while the interval p between the slits 14b is increased toward the upper end 14c and decreased toward the lower end 14d. The bending stiffness in the direction in which the curvature becomes smaller is reduced from above to below.
[0047]
That is, as shown in FIG. 11, the chest pad 10c has a natural state in FIG. 11A, a state in which a load is applied in a direction in which the curvature increases in FIG. 11B, and a small curvature in FIG. In the case where the curvature is increased in (b), the space between the slits 14b of the rib-shaped protrusion 14a is compressed to generate a large resistance force, so that the rigidity is increased uniformly. In the case where the curvature of (c) becomes small, the rigidity becomes small due to the deformation of the rib-shaped projections 14a in the direction in which the slits 14b open, and the rigidity is reduced by the change in the interval p between the slits 14b as described above. Has anisotropy that decreases from above to below.
[0048]
As shown in FIG. 9, a through hole 14 e having a rectangular cross section penetrating from the upper end 14 c to the lower end 14 d is formed in the inside of the breastplate main body 14, and as shown in FIG. With the member 15 attached, the shoulder strap 10c is attached by inserting a shoulder belt through the through hole 14e, and the chest strap 10c is suspended and positioned by the flexible arm 13 as in the first embodiment. It has become.
[0049]
Therefore, in the seatbelt device of the fourth embodiment, as shown in FIG. 12A, the occupant M moves forward from the normal running state of FIG. 12A due to the frontal collision of the vehicle as shown in FIG. When an inertial force acts on the chest pad 10c and pushes the chest pad 10c forward, the tension of the shoulder belt 3 causes a tensile force inclined rearward to act on both ends 14c and 14d of the chest pad main body 14. In the initial stage of the collision, Then, a force acts in a direction to increase the curvature of the chest member 10c, and the deformation is slight due to the feature shown in FIG. 11B, and the chest member 10c does not locally strongly press the occupant's chest Mb. Contact in a substantially initial state.
[0050]
Next, by compressing the occupant's chest Mb as a whole, the convex curved surface of the front of the chest Mb changes in a flattening direction, which is a direction in which the curvature of the chest abutment member 10c is reduced. Due to the characteristic shown in FIG. 11 (c), the deformation of the chest abutment member 10c is small at the upper end 14c side and large at the lower end 14d side, so that the chest abutment member 10c prevents local compression of the chest Mb. Can be.
[0051]
In this manner, the chest deformation of the portion restrained by the chest abutment member 10c can be distributed substantially uniformly throughout the entire body, and the burden on the body when the occupant M is restrained by the seat belt device 1 is further reduced. be able to.
[0052]
In addition, in the fourth embodiment, not only the pad material 15 but also the chest body 14 is formed using a polymer resin, so that the weight and cost of the chest member 10c can be reduced. it can.
[0053]
FIGS. 13 to 17 show a fifth embodiment of the present invention, in which the same components as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description will be omitted.
[0054]
13 is a perspective view of the chest member viewed from the inside, FIG. 14 is an exploded perspective view of the chest member viewed from the inside, and FIG. 16, FIG. 16 is a side view showing the operation state of the chest abutment member by (a) to (c), and FIG. 17 is an enlarged sectional view showing part A and part B in FIG. 16 respectively in (a) and (b). .
[0055]
The chest abutment member 10d of the fifth embodiment has a simple structure and obtains rigid anisotropy similarly to the fourth embodiment. As shown in FIGS. The main body 16 is composed mainly of the breast pad 16a, and the first and second adhesive tapes 17 and 17a are attached to both sides of the breast pad body 16 to connect a plurality of pads 16a. In this state, the chest abutment member 10d is entirely curved along the front surface of the chest Mb.
[0056]
As shown in FIG. 15, the pad unit 16a is formed of a high molecular resin so as to surround the shoulder belt 3 and has a rectangular cross section, and a hard resin tube 16b for inserting the shoulder belt 3 is provided at the center thereof. It is formed.
[0057]
The length L1 of the pad unit 16a differs in the length direction L of the chest member 10d. The length L1 is longer toward the upper end 16c of the chest body 16 and is shorter toward the lower end 16d. Of the first and second adhesive tapes 17 and 17a, a material that easily stretches is used for the inner first adhesive tape 17 and a material that hardly expands is used for the outer second adhesive tape 17a. Is configured.
[0058]
That is, as shown in FIG. 16, the chest pad 10d has a natural state in FIG. 16A, a state in which a load is applied in a direction of increasing the curvature in FIG. 16B, and a small curvature in FIG. Each shows a state where a load is applied in a certain direction.
[0059]
In the case where the curvature of (b) becomes large, as shown in FIG. 17 (a), a tensile force acts on the second adhesive tape 17a side. However, the inner hard resin tube 16b is slightly deformed because it generates resistance.
[0060]
On the other hand, when the curvature of (c) becomes small, as shown in FIG. 17 (b), a tensile force acts on the first adhesive tape 17, and this easily expands, so that the gap between the individual pads 16a increases. At this time, the length L1 of the pad unit 16a becomes smaller as it is closer to the lower end 16d, so that the pad is easily deformed.
[0061]
That is, the chest member 10d has anisotropy such that the bending composition is uniformly high in the direction in which the curvature increases, and the bending rigidity decreases from the upper side to the lower side in the direction in which the curvature decreases.
[0062]
Therefore, in the seat belt device of the fifth embodiment, as in the fourth embodiment, in the early stage of the frontal collision of the vehicle, a force acts in a direction to increase the curvature of the breastplate main body 16, and FIG. Due to the feature shown in FIG. 16B, the deformation is slight, and then the occupant's chest Mb is compressed in its entirety, so that the curvature is reduced for the breastplate member 10c, as shown in FIG. Due to the characteristics shown, the deformation of the chest member 10d is small at the upper end 16c and large at the lower end 16d, so that the chest member 10d can prevent the chest Mb from being locally compressed.
[0063]
In this manner, the chest deformation of the portion restrained by the chest abutment member 10d can be distributed substantially uniformly throughout the entire body, and thus the burden on the body when the occupant M is restrained by the seat belt device 1 is further reduced. be able to.
[0064]
FIGS. 18 to 21 show a sixth embodiment of the present invention, in which the same components as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description will be omitted.
[0065]
18 is a perspective view showing a restraint state by the occupant restraint device, FIG. 19 is a perspective view of the chest abutment member viewed from the outside, FIG. 20 is an explanatory view showing a restraint operation state by the occupant restraint device, and FIG. It is a side view which shows the relationship with an occupant's chest by (a) and (b).
[0066]
In the sixth embodiment, as shown in FIG. 18, a stopper 30 with a movable arm is used as a vehicle occupant restraining device, and a front arm 33 as a restraining means of the stopper 30 with a movable arm is attached to a chest pad shown in FIG. The chest member 10e is provided with a V-shaped notch 18a as rigidity changing means corresponding to the rigidity distribution of the occupant chest Mb.
[0067]
The movable arm-equipped stopper 30 is rotatably supported by buckles 31 provided on both sides of the seat S, extends forward, and has a pair of movable arms 32 fixed at the front of the chest Mb of the occupant M when mounted. The front arm 33 connects the front end of the movable arm 32.
[0068]
The movable arm 32 is fixed so as not to move easily during traveling, but when an excessive load is applied, a slight movement is allowed, and the impact acting on the occupant M can be reduced. I have.
[0069]
As shown in FIG. 19, the breastplate member 10e of this embodiment includes a breastplate body 18 formed of a polymer resin material and a pad material 19 installed inside the breastplate body 18 in contact with the chest Mb. The rigidity of the chest abutment body 18 is set to a value close to the human body chest Mb.
[0070]
The outer shape of the breastplate main body 18 has a width w in the left-right direction of about 30 cm and a length L in the up-down direction of 30 to 40 cm, and is large enough to substantially cover the occupant's chest Mb. A V-shaped notch 18a that is cut out to a substantially middle portion of L is formed.
[0071]
An attachment portion 18b through which the front arm 33 is inserted is formed outside the upper end portion of the chest abutment body 18. The angle at which the front arm 33 is inserted through the attachment portion 18b and the front surface of the pad material 19 abuts the occupant chest Mb. It is fixed with.
[0072]
The pad material 19 is formed so as to have a uniform thickness throughout, and has a size substantially matching the outer shape of the chest pad body 18 excluding the V-shaped notch 18a.
[0073]
Therefore, in the occupant restraint device of the sixth embodiment, when the occupant M moves forward and presses the chest abutment member 10e forward during a frontal collision or sudden braking of the vehicle, the movable arm 33 is tilted forward. When a force acts and the movable arm 33 stops, a restraining force acts on the occupant's chest Mb from the chest pad 10e.
[0074]
The chest member 10e has a stiffness close to that of the human chest, and the rigidity gradually decreases from the upper end 18c to the lower end 18d due to the provision of the V-shaped notch 18a. The load applied to Mb is large on the upper end 18c side of the breastplate main body 18 and becomes smaller on the lower end 18d side.
[0075]
Therefore, as in the first embodiment, the rigidity of the thoracic skeleton 100 shown in FIG. 4 is large in the upper region (a) and small in the lower region (c). The chest deformation of the constrained portion can be distributed substantially uniformly throughout the entire body, and the burden on the body can be further reduced when the occupant M is constrained by the stopper 30 with the movable arm.
[0076]
In this embodiment, since the seat belt is not used, the force acting on the chest member 10e is only the vertical contact force with the occupant's chest Mb, and the chest member 10e does not need anisotropy and has rigidity. Only the stiffness change that decreases from above to below should be provided.
[0077]
By the way, the vehicle occupant restraint system of the present invention has been described by taking the first to sixth embodiments as examples, but it is needless to say that the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and various other implementations may be made without departing from the gist of the present invention. A form can be adopted.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a main part of an occupant restraint system according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the entire configuration of the occupant restraint device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the occupant restraint device used in the occupant restraint device according to the first embodiment of the present invention, as viewed from the inside.
FIG. 4 is a front view showing a skeleton structure of a human chest in the first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is an explanatory view showing a restraining operation state by the occupant restraint device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
FIGS. 6A and 6B are explanatory diagrams sequentially showing the restraint state of the occupant's chest by the chest abutment member according to the first embodiment of the present invention by FIGS.
FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a chest pad according to a second embodiment of the present invention, as seen from the inside.
FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a chest pad according to a third embodiment of the present invention as viewed from the inside.
FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view of a chest member according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention as viewed from the inside.
FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing a main part of an occupant restraint device according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.
FIGS. 11A to 11C are side views showing an operation state of a chest member according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.
FIGS. 12A and 12B are side views showing a relationship between a chest member and an occupant's chest according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 13 is a perspective view of a chest pad according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention as viewed from the inside.
FIG. 14 is an exploded perspective view of a chest member according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention as viewed from the inside.
FIG. 15 is a perspective view showing a part of a single pad constituting a breastplate main body according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention in a cutaway manner.
FIGS. 16A to 16C are side views showing an operation state of a chest pad according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 17 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing a portion A and a portion B in FIG. 16 as (a) and (b), respectively.
FIG. 18 is a perspective view showing a restrained state by an occupant restraint device according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 19 is a perspective view of a breastplate according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention as viewed from the outside.
FIG. 20 is an explanatory diagram showing a restraining operation state by the occupant restraint device according to the sixth embodiment of the present invention.
FIGS. 21A and 21B are side views showing a relationship between a chest member and an occupant's chest in a sixth embodiment of the present invention by FIGS.
[Explanation of symbols]
1 Seat belt device (vehicle occupant restraint device)
3 shoulder belt (restraint means)
10, 10a, 10b, 10c, 10d, 10e Chest member
12 pad material
13 Flexible arm (positioning means)
14 Chest body
14a Rib-shaped protrusion (bending rigidity changing means)
16 Chest body
16a Pad alone (means for changing bending rigidity)
17, 17a Adhesive tape (bending rigidity changing means)
18 Chest body
18a V-shaped notch (rigidity changing means)
30 Stopper with movable arm (occupant restraint system for vehicles)
33 front arm (restraint means)
A Stiffness changing means
M crew
Mb chest

Claims (10)

A vehicle occupant restraint device comprising means for restraining at least the chest of an occupant seated on a seat when the vehicle suddenly decelerates, wherein the restraint means prevents forward movement of the occupant,
An occupant restraint system for a vehicle, wherein the rigidity of a portion of the restraining means that contacts the occupant chest is changed in accordance with the rigidity distribution of the occupant chest. The restraint means is a seatbelt, and a chest member is provided in a portion of the seatbelt corresponding to the occupant's chest, and rigidity changing means is provided in the chest member in accordance with the rigidity distribution of the occupant's chest. The vehicle occupant restraint device according to claim 1. The chest abutment member is formed so as to be capable of changing the curvature along the front surface of the occupant's chest, and the stiffness changing means uniformly increases the bending rigidity in the direction in which the curvature of the chest abutment increases, and in the direction in which the curvature decreases. 3. The vehicle occupant restraint device according to claim 2, wherein the bending stiffness changing means decreases bending stiffness from above to below. The restraining means is a stopper with a movable arm that pivots forward of the occupant, and a portion of the stopper with the movable arm that corresponds to the occupant's chest is provided with a chest abutment member. The vehicle occupant restraint device according to claim 1, further comprising a rigidity changing unit. The vehicle according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein the rigidity changing means is a pad material that forms a part of the chest member in the thickness direction and changes the rigidity by changing its shape. Occupant restraint. The vehicle according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein the rigidity changing means is a pad material that forms a part of the chest member in the thickness direction and changes the rigidity by changing the material. Occupant restraint. 7. The vehicle occupant restraint system according to claim 5, wherein the pad material has its rigidity reduced stepwise from above to below. 7. The vehicle occupant restraint system according to claim 5, wherein the pad material has its rigidity reduced continuously from above to below. 9. The vehicle occupant restraint system according to claim 5, wherein the deformation of the pad material substantially coincides with the deformation of the occupant's chest from the collarbone to the tenth rib. The vehicle occupant restraint device according to any one of claims 2 to 9, wherein the chest member has positioning means for positioning the member on the occupant's chest.

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