JP2005225463A - Leg-protection device for vehicle occupant - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a leg-protection device for a vehicle occupant for preventing a key holder or the like from interfering with an airbag inflating and deploying under a steering column. <P>SOLUTION: A key hole 4 is disposed in the left side surface of a steering column cover 2. A key holder 6 is attached in a suspended state to a key 5 having been inserted into the key hole 4. The airbag 12 is provided with a flap 14 as a protrusion projecting upward from the upper edge of the airbag 12 when the airbag 12 inflates. When the airbag 12 inflates and deploys along a bottom surface of the steering column cover 2, the flap 14 contacts with the key holder 6 to press and remove the key holder 6 upward before the key holder 6 contacts with the airbag 12. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an occupant leg protection device for protecting an occupant's leg at the time of an automobile collision, and more particularly to a leg protection device for a driver's occupant.

  As a passenger leg protection device at the time of a car collision, a case provided on the back side of an interior panel in front of a seat, an airbag housed in the case, and a gas generator for inflating the airbag I have something. At the time of the collision of the automobile, the gas generator operates to eject gas, and the ejected gas is supplied to the airbag so that the airbag is inflated and deployed between the interior panel and the lower leg of the occupant. Be protected.

  Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-226215 describes a configuration in which this type of passenger leg protection device is installed below a steering column.

In the occupant leg protection device disclosed in the publication, the airbag is inflated and deployed along the lower surface of the steering column cover in the event of a car collision, and the driver's occupant legs are protected by the inflated airbag. It becomes like this.
JP 2003-226215 A

  As shown in FIG. 1 of the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-226215, a key insertion port is often provided on the side surface of the steering column cover. Therefore, if a key holder or the like (accessory or a key different from the key) is attached to the key inserted into the key insertion slot, the key holder or the like is attached to the steering column cover. There is a risk that the key holder or the like may interfere with an airbag that hangs downward and expands and deploys under the steering column cover.

  It is an object of the present invention to provide an occupant leg protection device in which a key holder or the like is prevented from interfering with an airbag that is inflated and deployed under a steering column (steering column cover).

  The occupant leg protection device of the present invention (Claim 1) is disposed below the steering column, and has an airbag that is inflatable upward along the vicinity of the lower surface of the steering column cover. The airbag is provided with a protruding portion that protrudes from the distal end portion of the airbag in the inflating direction when the airbag is inflated, and the protruding portion is separated from the airbag. It is characterized by being comprised.

  The occupant leg protection device according to claim 2 is the occupant leg protection device according to claim 1, wherein the projecting portion is a piece, the base end side is attached to the upper part of the occupant side surface of the airbag, and the distal end side is The air bag is routed to the side opposite to the passenger side through the upper part of the airbag.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, the occupant leg protection device according to the second aspect is characterized in that the cover cloth covering the folded projection is disposed on the side opposite to the occupant side.

  The occupant leg protection device according to claim 4 is the occupant leg protection device according to claim 1, wherein the projecting portion is a piece, and a base end side is attached to a surface opposite to the occupant side of the airbag. Is routed to the occupant side through the upper side of the airbag.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the occupant leg protection device according to the fourth aspect is characterized in that a cover cloth covering the folded protrusion is disposed on the occupant side.

  The occupant leg protection device according to claim 6 is the occupant leg protection device according to any one of claims 2 to 5, wherein an upper side portion of the airbag is folded inward so as to be folded into the airbag, and the piece-like protrusion is formed. The part is routed over the upper part of the folded airbag, and the folding of the projecting part is a combination of bellows folding, roll folding, or both. To do.

  In the occupant leg protection device of the present invention, when the airbag is inflated, there is provided a protruding portion that protrudes in the inflating direction from the leading end of the airbag in the inflating direction. When the key holder or the like hangs downward from the steering column cover, the projecting portion is attached to the key holder or the like before the key holder or the like comes into contact with the airbag. The key holder and the like can be pushed away. This prevents a key holder or the like that hangs downward from the steering column cover from interfering with an airbag that inflates and deploys along the lower surface of the steering column cover.

  In the present invention, since the protrusion is configured separately from the airbag (by a member different from a panel such as a base fabric constituting the airbag), the protrusion can be attached at an arbitrary position. .

  In one aspect of the present invention, the projecting portion is in the form of a piece, the base end side is attached to the passenger side surface (preferably the upper part of the end surface) of the airbag, and the distal end side is the upper side of the airbag It is routed to the opposite side of the occupant side through the upper part. In this case, when folding the airbag, it is preferable to fold the airbag in a roll shape from the upper side to the lower side so that the surface on the side opposite to the occupant of the airbag becomes the entrainment center side. .

  When the airbag is folded in this manner, when the airbag is inflated, the roll-shaped airbag folded body is deployed upward while rotating from the opposite side to the occupant when viewed from above. Then, when the winding is unwound to the upper part of the airbag by this rotation, the upper side portion of the airbag is deployed upward while turning from the side opposite to the occupant to the occupant side. At this time, the front end side of the projecting portion protrudes upward from the upper side portion of the airbag so as to project upward from the upper side portion of the airbag.

  When the airbag is folded in the form of a roll from the upper side to the lower side so that the surface opposite to the occupant of the airbag is on the winding side, the airbag is folded. When the air bag inflates, the roll-shaped airbag folding body is unrolled so that it rolls along the front of the occupant's legs, so that the airbag can be smoothly deployed without being caught on the front of the occupants' legs. To come.

  In the above aspect in which the piece-like protrusion is drawn from the occupant side to the opposite side of the airbag, a cover cloth covering the folded protrusion may be attached to the surface opposite to the occupant side. When the cover cloth is provided in this manner, the folding of the projecting portion is not broken, the assembly of the airbag device is facilitated, and the folded shape of the airbag is easily maintained in the airbag device. Further, when the airbag is inflated, the protrusion is covered with a cover cloth until the airbag approaches the final deployed shape, and the protrusion is flipped up so that the protrusion is flipped upward at the final stage of inflation, such as a key holder. Can be pushed away.

  In another aspect of the present invention, the projecting portion is in the form of a piece, the base end side is attached to the surface opposite to the occupant side of the airbag, and the distal end side is the airbag upper side portion. Is routed to the occupant side.

  Also in this case, a cover cloth that covers the folded protrusion may be attached to the surface on the occupant side so that the protrusion is folded.

  In the present invention, in any of the above aspects, when the airbag is folded, the airbag may be folded inward so that the upper side portion of the airbag is folded inside the airbag. In this way, when the upper portion of the airbag is inflated, the inwardly folded portion that is folded inside the airbag is discharged upward from the upper side portion of the airbag so as to be discharged outward, and the protruding portion To jump up.

  The folding of the projecting portion drawn through the upper part of the airbag may be any of roll folding, bellows folding, and a combination of both.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 (a) is a front view of an airbag of an occupant leg protection device according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1 (b) is a sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. Fig. 2 (a) is a front view of the airbag in the middle of folding, Fig. 2 (b) is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB of Fig. 2 (a), and Fig. 2 (c) is folding of a flap as a protruding portion. FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 are longitudinal sectional views showing an inflating and deploying process of the airbag. In the following description, the left-right direction is the vehicle body width direction, which means the left-right direction in FIG.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a steering column (not shown) projects from an instrument panel (instrument panel) 1 in front of the driver's seat of the automobile, and the steering column is surrounded by a steering column cover 2. A steering wheel 3 is fixed to a steering shaft (not shown) protruding from the steering column.

  In this embodiment, a key insertion port 4 is provided on the left side surface of the steering column cover 2 (left side as viewed from the driver's seat occupant). A key holder 6 (shown as a key different from the key 5 in FIGS. 3 and 4) is attached to the key 5 inserted into the key insertion port 4 in a suspended manner. As shown in FIG. 3, the key holder 6 hangs down below the lower surface of the steering column cover 2 in a normal state (a state where the key holder 6 is not pushed up by a flap 14 as a protruding portion described later).

  An occupant leg protection device 10 is installed below the steering column cover 2.

  The occupant leg protection device 10 includes a container-shaped case 11 having an opening (reference number omitted) on the front surface (occupant side surface), an airbag 12 connected in the case 11, and the airbag 12. And a gas generator 13 for expansion.

  The case 11 is disposed in an airbag inflation opening 7 provided in a region of the instrument panel 1 below the steering column cover 2. In normal times, the airbag 12 is folded and accommodated in the case 11, and a lid (not shown) is attached to the front opening of the case 11 so as to cover the folded body of the airbag 12. The lid is configured to be pressed and opened by the airbag 12 when the airbag 12 is inflated to open the airbag inflation opening 7.

  The airbag 12 is inflated by the gas from the gas generator 13, and as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the airbag 12 is inflated to the front side of the instrument panel 1 through the airbag inflation opening 7, and then the instrument panel is inflated. The steering column cover 2 can be developed from the bottom to the top along the lower surface of the steering column cover 2 that continues from the lower region of the steering column cover 2.

  In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1A, the airbag 12 has a shape in which the lateral width (width in the vehicle body width direction) increases from the lower side to the upper side. The left and right width of the upper portion of 12 is larger than the left and right width of the steering column cover 2. In a state where the airbag 12 is inflated along the lower surface of the steering column cover 2, the left and right intermediate portion of the upper portion of the airbag 12 faces the lower surface of the steering column cover 2, and the left side portion and The right side portion extends beyond the left and right side portions of the steering column cover 2 to the side.

  The airbag 12 is attached with a flap 14 that constitutes a protruding portion that protrudes upward from the upper side of the airbag 12 (the distal end portion in the inflation direction of the airbag 12) when the airbag 12 is inflated. ing. In this embodiment, the flap 14 is disposed on the left side portion of the upper portion of the airbag 12.

  In this embodiment, the airbag 12 has an outer shell composed of two panels, a front panel 15 on the passenger side and a rear panel 16 on the instrument panel 1 (steering column cover 2). The front panel 15 and the rear panel 16 are formed into a bag shape by sewing their peripheral portions together. Reference numeral 17 denotes a seam of this stitching.

  The flap 14 is a strip-like piece configured separately from the front panel 15 and the rear panel 16, and as shown in FIG. 1 (b), one end side (base end side) of the front panel 15 It is sewn near the upper side, and the other end side (tip side) is routed to the rear panel 16 side through the upper side of the airbag 12. Reference numeral 14 s denotes a seam in which the base end side of the flap 14 is sewn to the front panel 15. As shown in the figure, the front end side of the flap 14 is a free end (a free state with respect to the rear panel 16).

  In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1 (b), a tether 19 is provided inside the airbag 12 to connect the front panel 15 and the rear panel 16 to regulate the expansion thickness of the airbag 12. ing. Reference numeral 20 denotes a seam in which both ends of the tether 19 in the airbag thickness direction are stitched to the front panel 15 and the rear panel 16 respectively. In this embodiment, the tether 19 extends continuously in the left-right direction, and is provided in upper and lower multi-stages (two stages in this embodiment). Both left and right ends of each tether 19 are separated from the left and right sides of the airbag 12, and a ventilation space is formed between them.

  In FIGS. 3 and 4, these tethers 19 are not shown for easy viewing.

  The gas generator 13 is disposed in the airbag 12. A stud bolt 13a projects from a holder (not shown) holding the gas generator 13. The stud bolt 13a passes through the rear panel 16 near the lower end of the airbag 12 and the rear surface of the case 11, and a nut 13b It is tightened. By tightening the nut, the gas generator 13 is fixed to the case 11, and the rear panel 16 near the lower end of the airbag 12 is sandwiched between the holder of the gas generator 13 and the rear surface of the case 11. .

  In this embodiment, when the airbag 12 is folded, the airbag 12 is first pulled out from the case 11 and flattened, and then, as shown in FIGS. 2 (a) and 2 (b). The left and right side portions 12L and 12R of the airbag 12 are folded back toward the rear panel 16 along the vertical folding lines 21 and 21, respectively. Next, as shown in FIG. 2 (c), the front end side of the flap 14 is folded back to the rear panel 16 side of the airbag 12, and is overlapped on the left side portion 12L that has been folded back. Thereafter, the airbag 12 is folded in a roll shape from the upper side to the lower side, and the roll-shaped folded body of the airbag 12 is accommodated in the case 11. This roll folding is performed so that the rear panel 16 is closer to the center of the winding than the front panel 15.

  After accommodating the folded body of the airbag 12 in the case 11, the occupant leg protection device 10 is configured by attaching a lid to the case 11.

  When an automobile equipped with the occupant leg protection device 10 configured as described above collides, the gas generator 13 performs a gas ejection operation, and the airbag 12 starts to inflate. The airbag 12 first inflates to the front side of the instrument panel 1 through the airbag inflation opening 7 while pushing the lid open, and then expands upward along the front surface of the instrument panel 1.

  The roll-like folded body of the airbag 12 is deployed upward while rotating from the instrument panel 1 side to the passenger side as viewed from above. When the upper part of the airbag 12 is unwound by this rotation, the upper side portion of the airbag 12 is deployed upward while turning from the instrument panel 1 side to the passenger side as shown in FIGS. To do. At this time, the front end side of the flap 14 protrudes upward from the upper side portion such that the upper side portion of the airbag 12 is projected upward.

  In this embodiment, when the roll fold is released to the upper part of the airbag 12, the left and right side portions 12L and 12R of the airbag 12 that have been folded back to the rear panel 16 turn around the vertical folding line 21, respectively. Expand to turn sideways as the center. Therefore, by the development of the left side portion 12L, the flap 14 that has overlapped on the left side portion 12L is flipped upward, and the upward movement of the flap 14 is promoted.

  Thus, when the flap 14 protrudes upward from the upper side portion of the airbag 12, the key holder 6 extends below the steering column cover 2 when the airbag 12 is deployed along the lower surface of the steering column cover 2. Even when the air bag hangs down, before the key holder 6 contacts the airbag 12, the flap 14 comes into contact with the key holder 6 so that the key holder 6 can be pushed upward. This prevents the key holder 6 from interfering with the airbag 12 that is deployed on the lower side of the steering column cover 2.

  Thus, when the flap 14 pushes up the key holder 6 prior to the inflating airbag 12, the moving speed of the key holder 6 becomes slower than when the inflating airbag 12 directly pushes up the key holder 6. Further, when the flap 14 comes into contact with the key holder 6, a reaction force in the direction opposite to the inflating and deploying direction is applied to the airbag 12 via the flap 14. Therefore, the inflation speed of the airbag 12 immediately before the completion of the inflation is also increased. It will be relatively loose.

  In this embodiment, when the airbag 12 is folded, the airbag 12 is folded in a roll shape from the upper side to the lower side so that the rear panel 16 is on the winding center side. When inflating, the roll-like folded body is unwound so as to roll along the front surface of the occupant's leg. As a result, the airbag 12 is smoothly deployed without being caught on the front surface of the occupant's legs.

  In the above embodiment, the base end side of the flap 14 is attached to the vicinity of the upper side of the front panel 15 of the airbag 12, and the front end side of the flap 14 is routed to the rear panel 16 side. It is not limited to. In the present invention, for example, the base end side of the flap may be attached to the rear panel of the airbag, and the front end side of the flap may be routed to the front panel side.

  The method of folding the airbag is not limited to the above method.

  Fig. 5 (a) is a front view showing another folding method of the airbag, and Fig. 5 (b) is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB of Fig. 5 (a).

  In this embodiment, when the airbag 12 is folded, after the airbag 12 is spread flat, a portion of the upper side portion of the airbag 12 that is higher than the base end portion (the seam 14s) of the flap 14 Is folded along the left-right fold line 22 so as to be squeezed into the airbag 12 to form the pleat portion 12T. The front end side of the flap 14 is folded back to the rear panel 16 side through the pleated portion 12T.

  In this embodiment, the airbag 12 is folded in the same manner as in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 4 except that the pleat portion 12T including the upper side portion of the airbag is thus formed.

  When the folded body of the airbag 12 in which the pleat portion 12T including the upper side portion of the airbag is thus inflated and deployed, when the upper portion of the airbag 12 is inflated, the pleat portion 12T is caused by the gas pressure inside the airbag. Deploy straight up so that it is exhaled outside the airbag. And by the expansion | deployment of this pleat part 12T above, the front end side of the flap 14 is pressed upwards, it protrudes upwards from the upper side part of this airbag 12, and comes to flip up the flap 14. As shown in FIG.

  FIG. 6 (a) is a front view of the airbag 12A in which the cover cloth 30 covering the folded flap (projecting portion) 14 is provided on the rear panel 16 in the embodiment of FIG. 5, and FIG. FIG. 7A is a sectional view showing the folding structure of the flap 14.

  The cover cloth 30 has a substantially rectangular shape, and at least a bottom portion thereof is sewn to the rear panel 16 by a seam 31. In addition, you may attach by heat sealing, adhesion | attachment, etc. instead of sewing. The folded flap 14 is disposed between the cover cloth 30 and the rear panel 16 and is covered with the cover cloth 30.

  The cover cloth 30 may be sewn to the rear panel only at the bottom, or may be sewn to the rear panel at least one of the bottom and the left and right sides.

  Thus, by covering the flap 14 folded by the cover cloth 30, the folded shape of the flap 14 can be maintained.

  The flap 14 may be accordion folded as shown in FIG. 7 (a), rolled as shown in FIG. 7 (b), or a combination of both (not shown).

  In any of the above-described embodiments, the flap 14 is attached to the front panel 15 and the upper side of the airbag is routed to the rear panel 16 side, but the flap 14 is attached to the rear panel 16 as shown in FIG. You may draw around from the upper side to the front panel 15 side. In FIG. 8, a cover cloth 30 is attached to the front panel 15 with a seam 31 to cover the folded body of the flap 14. The folding of the flap 14 may be a bellows fold as shown in FIG. 8 (a), a roll fold as shown in FIG. 8 (b), or a combination of both (not shown).

  FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of an airbag according to still another embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, a loop portion 14 a is formed in the middle of the flap 14. Reference numeral 14b indicates a seam that is sewn at the base of the loop portion 14a. The loop portion 14 a is disposed on the upper side of the flap 14 when the flap 14 is drawn on the upper side of the airbag 12.

  The flap 14 provided with the loop portion 14a comes into soft contact with a key holder or the like when the airbag 12 is inflated.

  That is, if the loop portion 14a is formed in the middle of the flap 14, the thickness of the flap 14 increases, and the contact surface between the flap 14 and the key holder becomes wider. As a result, the key holder or the like can be easily brought into contact with the flap 14, and the key holder or the like can be easily pushed away by hitting the loop portion 14 a first, and interference with the key holder of the airbag is prevented. The seam 14b may be cut when a key holder or the like hits, or may not be cut.

  Two or more loop portions 14a may be provided. Although the flap 14 is attached to the front panel 15 in FIG. 9, it may be attached to the rear panel 16.

  In FIG. 2 (c), the front end side of the flap 14 is overlaid on the left side portion 12L. However, the flap 14 is connected to the left side portion 12L and the main body side of the rear panel 16 as shown in FIG. You may make it pinch | interpose between.

  This form is suitable for attaching the cover cloth 30 as shown in FIGS. 6 to 8 and forming the pleat portion 12T by folding the upper side portion of the airbag inward. In this case, the upper part of the airbag is folded inward, the flap 14 is folded back to the side opposite to the attachment surface, and then folded and covered with the cover cloth 30. And the side part of an airbag is folded, and the whole is folded finally.

  Each of the above embodiments is an example of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to each of the above embodiments. Although the present invention is not particularly limited, as shown in FIG. 11, it is preferable that the dimension from the maximum thickness portion on the front and back of the uppermost chamber of the airbag 12 to the upper end is about 80 mm.

It is a block diagram of the airbag of the passenger | crew leg part protection apparatus which concerns on embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows the folding procedure of the airbag of FIG. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the process at the time of airbag expansion | deployment of the passenger | crew leg part protection apparatus of FIG. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the process at the time of airbag expansion | deployment of the passenger | crew leg part protection apparatus of FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows another folding method of an airbag. (A) A figure is a front view which shows the airbag of the passenger | crew leg part protection apparatus which concerns on another embodiment, (b) A figure is the BB sectional drawing of (a) figure. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the airbag upper part which shows the folding structure of a protrusion part (flap). It is explanatory drawing which shows another folding method of an airbag. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the airbag upper part which shows the folding structure of a protrusion part (flap). It is explanatory drawing which shows another folding method of an airbag. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the airbag of the passenger | crew leg part protection apparatus which concerns on different embodiment. It is a fragmentary perspective view of the airbag which concerns on another embodiment. It is sectional drawing explaining the dimension of the airbag which concerns on embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Instrument panel 2 Steering column cover 3 Steering wheel 4 Key insertion port 5 Key 6 Key holder 10 Passenger leg protection device 12, 12A, 12B Air bag 13 Gas generator 14 Flap (protrusion part)
15 Front panel 16 Rear panel 30 Cover cloth

Claims (6)

In the occupant leg protection device having an airbag that is disposed below the steering column and that is inflatable upward along the vicinity of the lower surface of the steering column cover,
The airbag is provided with a protruding portion that protrudes from the distal end portion of the airbag in the inflation direction when the airbag is inflated,
The occupant leg protection device, wherein the protrusion is configured separately from the airbag.   In Claim 1, this protrusion part is a piece-like thing, The base end side is attached to the passenger | crew side surface of the said airbag, The front end side passes above the airbag upper edge part, and this passenger | crew side An occupant leg protection device characterized by being routed to the opposite side.   The occupant leg protecting device according to claim 2, wherein a cover cloth covering the folded protruding portion is disposed on the side opposite to the occupant side.   In Claim 1, this protrusion part is a piece-like thing, The base end side is attached to the surface on the opposite side to the passenger | crew side of the said airbag, and the front end side passes above the upper side part of an airbag. An occupant leg protecting device characterized by being drawn around the occupant side.   The occupant leg protection device according to claim 4, wherein a cover cloth that covers the folded protrusion is disposed on the occupant side. 6. The airbag according to claim 2, wherein an upper side portion of the airbag is folded inward so as to be folded inside the airbag, and the piece-like projecting portion is formed by the folded airbag. Routed through the top,
The occupant leg protection device according to claim 1, wherein the protrusion is folded by bellows folding, roll folding, or a combination of both.

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