JP2004330872A - Occupant leg safety device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an occupant safety device with a small capacity in an upper and lower direction, for smoothly developing an air bag even if a gas generator with small output is adopted. <P>SOLUTION: Right and left width of an air bag 1 is slightly smaller than that of a case 2. After an end side 1t of the air bag 1 is folded along a folded line in right and left directions into a winding element 1R, it is accommodated in the case 2 and a lid 4 is mounted. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an occupant leg protection device, and particularly to protect an occupant leg of a high-speed moving body such as a vehicle by inflating an airbag generally called a kneeback or a knee airbag in front of a leg when a vehicle collision occurs. Device for
[0002]
[Prior art]
An airbag device is installed near the height of the occupant's lower leg of the interior member in front of the seat of the vehicle, and the airbag is inflated at the time of collision of the vehicle so as to receive the occupant's leg, particularly the knee, below the occupant's leg protection. The device is already known. The occupant leg protection device includes a folded airbag, a case accommodating the airbag, a gas generator for inflating the airbag, a lid member for covering the front of the case, and the like.
[0003]
In the conventional occupant leg protection device, the lateral width of the case is as small as less than 60% of the lateral width of the airbag. Therefore, the airbag is housed in the case after being folded plural times not only along the left-right fold line but also along the vertical fold line.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
Usually, a glove box (accessory), a steering device, and the like are provided in the interior member in front of the seat, and the occupant leg protection device is installed in a narrow space below the interior member. Therefore, it is necessary to reduce the vertical capacity of the occupant leg protection device.
[0005]
In addition, airbags folded multiple times not only along the horizontal fold line but also along the vertical fold line require a high gas pressure to inflate, and have a large output as a gas generator. Must be used.
[0006]
The present invention relates to an occupant leg protection device arranged in front of an occupant leg, which has a small vertical capacity and a smooth airbag deployment even if a small output gas generator is employed. It is an object of the present invention to provide a unit protection device.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
An occupant leg protection device according to the present invention is inflated in front of an occupant's leg to protect the leg, an airbag for storing the folded airbag, and inflating the airbag. And a gas generating means for the occupant leg portion, wherein the folded body of the airbag is formed by being folded along a lateral fold line extending in the lateral direction of the occupant. Is what you do.
[0008]
In such an occupant leg protection device of the present invention, in an emergency such as a vehicle collision, the gas generating means operates to inflate the airbag and receive the occupant leg.
[0009]
According to the present invention, since the airbag is folded along the left-right folding line extending in the left-right direction of the occupant, the folded airbag is elongated in the left-right direction. For this reason, the volume of the case for accommodating the folded airbag can be reduced in the vertical direction.
[0010]
In one aspect of the present invention, the width of the case is 60% or more of the width of the airbag. In this case, when the airbag is folded, it is sufficient to fold the airbag only once along a vertical folding line extending in the vertical direction. Therefore, even if the gas pressure generated by the gas generator is relatively low, the airbag inflates smoothly upward and / or downward and in the left-right direction.
[0011]
In another aspect of the present invention, the left-right width of the airbag is equal to or less than the left-right width of the case. In this case, when folding the airbag, it suffices to fold only along the left-right fold line. Therefore, even if the generated gas pressure of the gas generator is low, the airbag inflates smoothly upward and / or downward.
[0012]
In the present invention, the airbag preferably has a left-right width of 500 to 600 mm. With such a lateral width, the occupant's leg can be reliably received.
[0013]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings.
[0014]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the vicinity of an instrument panel provided with an occupant leg protection device according to an embodiment, and FIGS. 2 to 5 are explanatory views of an airbag folding procedure in the occupant leg protection device according to the embodiment. FIG. 4B is a sectional view taken along line BB of FIG. FIG. 5 (c) is a sectional view taken along the line CC of FIG. 5 (a). FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view of the occupant leg protection device.
[0015]
As shown in FIG. 1 (a), a grab box 30 is installed on the interior panel below the instrument panel 20 in front of the passenger seat, and an occupant leg protection device 40 is installed below the grab box 30. The lid 4 of the occupant leg protection device 40 is provided with a tear line 4a.
[0016]
The occupant leg protection device 40 includes an airbag (knee airbag) 1, a case 2 containing the folded airbag 1, an inflator 3 as a gas generator for inflating the airbag 1, and a case 2. And a lid 4 that covers the front opening of the cover. Note that the inflator 3 is disposed inside the airbag 1. A stud bolt (not shown) projects from the inflator 3 or a holder (not shown) holding the inflator 3, and the stud bolt penetrates the airbag 1 and the rear surface of the case 2, and a nut (not shown) is provided. It is tightened. By this nut tightening, the inflator 3 is fixed to the case 2, and the rear end of the airbag 1 is sandwiched between the inflator 3 or its holder and the rear surface of the case 2.
[0017]
The lateral width of the airbag 1 is slightly smaller than the lateral width of the case 2. The airbag 1 is folded back only along the left-right fold line and accommodated in the case 2.
[0018]
The folding procedure of the airbag 1 is as follows. The airbag 1 is placed on a flat workbench together with the case 2 and is flattened and then folded. The description will be made based on a state in which the occupant leg protection device is installed in a vehicle. For this reason, the airbag 1 is shown in a spread state along the vertical plane in FIGS. In FIGS. 1-4, FIGS. 5 (a), (b), and FIG. 6, the vertical direction in each figure substantially coincides with the vertical direction in a state where the occupant leg protection device is mounted on an automobile.
[0019]
The airbag 1 is first drawn out of the case 2 as shown in FIG. In this embodiment, the airbag 1 is expanded above the case 2. Next, as shown in FIG. 3, a portion separated by a required width (for example, 20 to 150 mm) from the upper side edge 1t of the airbag is folded from the occupant side 1j to the non-occupant side 1h along the left-right fold line 10.
[0020]
Next, as shown in FIG. 4, the lower portion by approximately the same width as this is folded back from the occupant side 1j to the non-occupant side 1h along the left-right fold line 11. Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the lower portion by approximately the same width as this is folded back from the occupant side 1j to the non-occupant side 1h along the left-right fold line 12. The folding direction along the folding lines 11 and 12 is the same direction, thereby forming a wound body 1R as shown in FIG. 5 (b). The wound body 1R is wound counterclockwise toward the end 1t in a longitudinal section in the vehicle front-rear direction in which the occupant is disposed on the left side.
[0021]
The wound body 1R is placed in the case 2, and then the lid 4 is attached to form the occupant leg protection device 40.
[0022]
The occupant leg protection device is installed, for example, on an interior panel in front of a seat, and a lid 4 is arranged flush with the interior panel.
[0023]
When the vehicle collides and the inflator 3 is activated and the airbag 1 of the occupant leg protection device is inflated, the lid 4 is pushed by the airbag 1 and the lid 4 is opened by tearing along the tear line 4a. The winding body 1R travels in front of the case 2. Next, as shown in FIG. 1 (b), the wound body 1R is unfolded upward. The wound body 1R, which has been wound in the counterclockwise direction, expands the front surface of the occupant's leg upward while rotating clockwise. In this case, since the wound body 1R is unwound so as to roll along the front surface of the leg, the airbag 1 hardly gets caught on the front surface of the leg when inflated. For this reason, the airbag 1 deploys very smoothly.
[0024]
Since the airbag 1 is folded only along the left-right folding line, the airbag 1 expands sufficiently quickly even if the gas pressure generated by the inflator is small. In addition, by setting the left-right width of the airbag 1 to 500 to 600 mm, both legs of the occupant can be reliably received.
[0025]
Note that the procedure for folding the airbag 1 in the occupant leg protection device of FIGS. 2 to 6 is an example of the present invention, and is not limited thereto, and may be another folding procedure.
[0026]
For example, although not shown, the airbag 1 is first set to the initial state shown in FIGS. 2 (a) and 2 (b), and then the upper portion of the airbag 1 is folded back along the left-right fold line to perform bellows folding. Alternatively, the bellows-folded portion may be folded back along the left-right fold line so as to be wrapped inside. When the airbag thus folded reaches the final stage of inflation, it inflates such that the bellows-like portion extends upward. Since the area where the bellows-like portion extends is above the kneecap, it does not rub against the occupant leg.
[0027]
In the above embodiment, the occupant leg protection device 40 is disposed below the grab box 30, and the airbag 1 is inflated from below to above. However, in the present invention, as shown in FIG. The unit protection device 40A is arranged above the grab box 30A, and the airbag 1A is configured to push open the lid 4A arranged above the grab box 30A and inflate downward from above as shown in FIG. 7 (b). May be. The folding of the airbag 1A in the occupant leg protection device 40A of FIG. 7 is vertically symmetrical to the folding of the above embodiment.
[0028]
In the present invention, the lateral width of the case may be smaller than the lateral width of the airbag. In this case, it is preferable that the lateral width of the case is 60% or more of the lateral width of the airbag. With this configuration, when the airbag is folded, along the vertical folding line extending in the vertical direction. It only needs to be folded once. The folded body of the airbag formed by being folded only once along the vertical folding line extending in the vertical direction, even when the gas pressure generated by the gas generator is relatively low, is higher and / or lower. Or, it expands smoothly downward and horizontally.
[0029]
The occupant leg protection device of the present invention can also be used as a occupant leg protection device for another seat such as a driver's seat.
[0030]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, the occupant leg protection device of the present invention is obtained by folding the airbag along the left-right fold line, so that the volume in the up-down direction can be reduced. Further, according to the present invention, the airbag can be quickly and smoothly inflated even when the gas generator has a small output.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the vicinity of an instrument panel provided with an occupant leg protection device according to an embodiment.
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a procedure for folding an airbag according to the embodiment.
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a procedure for folding an airbag according to the embodiment.
FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a procedure for folding an airbag according to the embodiment.
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a procedure for folding the airbag according to the embodiment.
FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view of the occupant leg protection device according to the embodiment.
FIG. 7 is a perspective view near an instrument panel provided with an occupant leg protection device according to another embodiment.
[Explanation of symbols]
1, 1A Airbag 1R Wound body 2 Case 3 Inflator 4, 4A Lid 10, 11, 12 Left / right fold line 20 Instrument panel 30, 30A Grab box 40, 40A Occupant leg protection device

Claims (6)

An occupant leg having an airbag inflated in front of an occupant leg to protect the leg, a case accommodating the folded airbag, and gas generating means for inflating the airbag. In the part protection device,
An occupant leg protection device, wherein a folded body of the airbag is formed by being folded along a left-right fold line extending in the left-right direction of the occupant. 2. The occupant leg protection device according to claim 1, wherein the lateral width of the case is at least 60% of the lateral width of the airbag. 3. The occupant leg protection device according to claim 2, wherein the folded body of the airbag is formed by being folded only once along a vertical folding line extending in a vertical direction. 2. The occupant leg protection device according to claim 1, wherein the left-right width of the airbag is equal to or less than the left-right width of the case. The occupant leg protection device according to claim 4, wherein the folded body of the airbag is formed by being folded only along the left-right fold line. The occupant leg protection device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the left and right width of the airbag is 500 to 600 mm.

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