JP2006193123A - Inflater bag for occupant restraining device, and method of manufacturing the same - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an inflator bag for an occupant restraining device, and a method of manufacturing the same, capable of improving folding performance of a bag body, achieving compactness and excellent housing performance in spite of its being metal, and achieving favorable productivity. <P>SOLUTION: This inflator bag 1 for an occupant restraining device is to be developed and inflated as gas is charged for restraining an occupant in a vehicle. The bag body 4 is formed of a sleeve member 5, and a pair of end members 6 to seal both ends 5a and 5a of the sleeve member 5. Folds 7 roughly shaped like a parabola are formed between both ends 5a and 5a of the sleeve member 5 in a circumferential side surface of the sleeve member 5 at a proper interval in the circumferential direction of it, and in opposite directions alternately. Outline form of the sleeve member 5 is polygonal, and a start point 7b and a terminal point 7c of the fold 7 are set at corner parts C of the sleeve member 5. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an inflator bag for an occupant restraint device that can improve the foldability of a bag body, and is compact, excellent in capacity, and good in productivity even if it is made of metal, and a method for manufacturing the same.

Patent Document 1 is known as an inflator bag for this type of passenger restraint device. In Patent Document 1, an inflator bag for an occupant restraint device that restrains an occupant in a vehicle by inflating and developing by filling with a gas, a metal layer formed on an inner surface in contact with the gas, and an outer layer of the metal layer are laminated. A main body sheet including a reinforcing fabric layer excellent in flexibility is formed, and the main body sheet is formed into a bag shape. As a result, the foldability and the capacity of the metal sheet and the heat resistance of the fabric are solved at once.
International Publication No. 2004/069586 Pamphlet

  By the way, the inflator bag of the background art has a structure in which a metal sheet and a fabric are laminated, and has a problem that the configuration is complicated and the productivity is inferior.

  The present invention was devised in view of the above-described conventional problems, and can improve the foldability of the bag body, and even if it is made of metal, it is compact and has excellent storage properties and good productivity. An object of the present invention is to provide an inflator bag for an occupant restraint device and a method for manufacturing the same.

  An inflator bag for an occupant restraint device according to the present invention is an inflator bag for an occupant restraint device that is deployed and inflated by gas filling to restrain an occupant in a vehicle, and seals both ends of a sleeve member and the sleeve member. A bag body is formed from a pair of end members, and a substantially parabolic fold line extending between the opposite ends of the sleeve member at appropriate intervals along the circumferential direction on the circumferential side surface of the sleeve member and alternately in opposite directions. Is formed.

  When the outer contour of the sleeve member is polygonal, it is preferable that the start point and the end point of the fold are set at the corners of the sleeve member.

  An inflator bag for an occupant restraint device according to the present invention is an inflator bag for an occupant restraint device that is deployed and inflated by gas filling to restrain an occupant in a vehicle, and includes a sleeve member to which a plurality of sleeves are connected, and A bag body is formed from a pair of end members sealing both ends of the sleeve member, and the sleeves are provided at appropriate intervals along the circumferential direction on the peripheral side surfaces of the sleeves, and alternately in opposite directions. A substantially parabolic crease extending between both ends of the substrate is formed.

  When the outer contour of the sleeve member is polygonal, it is desirable that the start point and the end point of the fold of each sleeve are set at the corners of the sleeve member.

  It is desirable that the fold direction of the sleeve is set in the opposite direction between adjacent sleeves.

  An inflator bag manufacturing method for an occupant restraint device according to the present invention is a method for manufacturing an inflator bag for an occupant restraint device that is inflated and deployed by gas filling to restrain an occupant in a vehicle. Forming a substantially parabolic crease across the opposite ends of the sleeve member at appropriate intervals along the circumferential direction on the peripheral side surface, and forming end members on both ends of the sleeve member; A step of joining and forming a bag body in an unfolded state; and a step of forming the bag body in a contracted state by folding the bag body in the unfolded state at the fold.

  The inflator bag for an occupant restraint device according to the present invention can improve the foldability of the bag body, and can be compact and excellent in accommodating property even in the case of a metal material, and can also ensure good productivity. .

  Moreover, in the method for manufacturing an inflator bag for an occupant restraint device according to the present invention, the bag body can be easily produced with high shape accuracy.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of an inflator bag for an occupant restraint device and a method for manufacturing the same according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. An inflator bag 1 for an occupant restraint device according to this embodiment is applied to a waist restraint device 3 housed in a seat cushion portion 2 of a vehicle seat, for example, as shown in FIG. The inflator bag 1 is filled with gas from the inflator. By filling the gas from the inflator, the inflator bag 1 is expanded and inflated as shown by a two-dot chain line from the folded state. The expanded and inflated inflator bag 1 pushes up the seat cushion part 2 in front of the occupant's waist part P. As the seat cushion portion 2 moves up, the occupant's waist P is prevented from moving forward and the restraining performance of the occupant is ensured.

  FIG. 1 shows a developed state of the inflator bag 1 of the first embodiment. The inflator bag 1 includes a metal bag body 4. The bag body 4 is formed of a sleeve member 5 and a pair of end members 6. The sleeve member 5 in the illustrated example is formed by joining both ends in the length direction of a band-shaped metal sheet. Of course, the sleeve member 5 may be formed by cutting a seamless cylindrical metal material with appropriate dimensions. The outer contour of the sleeve member 5 in the illustrated example is rectangular. The outer contour of the sleeve member 5 is not limited to a rectangular shape, and may be other polygonal shapes or circular shapes.

  The end member 6 is formed of a metal sheet and has an outer contour that matches the outer contour of the sleeve member 5. The pair of end members 6 are airtightly joined to both ends 5a and 5a in order to seal the ends 5a and 5a of the sleeve member 5, respectively. Thereby, the box-shaped bag body 4 is formed. As a metal material forming the bag body 4, aluminum alloy, copper, copper alloy, stainless steel, etc. can be used in addition to aluminum. The thickness of the metal sheet when aluminum is used can be 1/1000 mm to 1/10 mm. Preferably, it is set to 1/1000 mm-1/100 mm.

  A crease 7 is formed on the peripheral side surface of the sleeve member 5 by pressing or the like. A plurality of creases 7 are formed on the peripheral side surface of the sleeve member 5 at appropriate intervals along the circumferential direction. These folds 7 are formed in a substantially parabolic shape extending laterally between both ends 5a, 5a of the sleeve member 5. The crease 7 is preferably formed so that the substantially parabolic convex tip 7a is positioned at the center between both ends 5a, 5a of the sleeve member 5, but it may not be at the center. Further, the creases 7 are formed alternately in opposite directions in the circumferential direction of the sleeve member 5. That is, the creases 7 adjacent to each other in the circumferential direction of the sleeve member 5 are directed in opposite directions. The folds 7 in the opposite directions are made into a pair, and as a result, an even number of folds 7 are formed on the peripheral side surface of the sleeve member 5.

  Due to these folds 7, the peripheral side surface of the sleeve member 5 has a first side surface portion S 1 that is mountain-folded outwardly of the sleeve member 5 and a second side surface portion that is valley-folded inward of the sleeve member 5. It is divided into S2. The first side surface portion S1 is a portion of the outer region of the parabola sandwiched between the tips of the protrusions 7a of the adjacent fold lines 7 (indicated by right-downward hatching in FIG. 1). Moreover, 2nd side part S2 becomes the part (it shows by the left-downward hatching in FIG. 1) of the inner area | region of the parabola over between the adjacent creases 7 and 7. FIG. The start point 7b and the end point 7c of the fold line 7 are preferably set at the corner C when the outer contour of the sleeve member 5 is polygonal, but may not be at the corner C.

  In the case of the illustrated rectangular sleeve member 5 having four surfaces by four corners C, four folds 7 are formed from each of the four corners C. The creases 7 from the adjacent corners C are opposite to each other, and therefore, a pair of creases 7 is formed only on any two faces of the four faces, and the creases 7 are formed on the other two faces. Not formed. The surface on which the crease 7 is formed is provided with a first side surface portion S1 that is mountain-folded with the crease 7 as a boundary, and a second side surface portion S2 that is valley-folded, and the crease 7 is not formed. , 7 is the second side surface S2 that is valley-folded.

  The bag body 4 configured in this manner is folded through the fold line 7. At the time of folding, the first side surface portion S1 divided by the fold line 7 is pushed outward from the sleeve member 4 and is mountain-folded, and the second side surface portion S2 is formed according to the mountain fold of the first side surface portion S1. The bag body 4 is folded so that the pair of end members 6 overlap with each other by being folded inwardly into the sleeve member 4. As shown in FIG. 4, the folded bag body 4 has one end member 6 joined to a vehicle attachment portion 8 via a joining member 9 and fixed in the seat cushion portion 2. On the other hand, when the gas from the inflator is filled, the bag body 4 is expanded and inflated through the fold line 7 on the attachment portion 8 so that the corner portion C is linear.

  In the inflator bag 1 for an occupant restraint device according to the present embodiment, the metal bag body 4 is folded by a substantially parabolic fold 7 that is a curve, and therefore includes straight and edge corners. Unlike the case where a crease breaks when it is folded or cannot be folded sufficiently to avoid it, the folding workability of the sleeve member 5 can be improved, and the bag body 4 is sufficiently and smoothly. Can be folded, and the bag body 4 in a contracted state can be made compact. Moreover, since the bag body 4 can be folded sufficiently and smoothly, mass production using a press device or the like is easy, and cost reduction can be achieved.

  As described above, in the inflator bag 1 for an occupant restraint device according to the present embodiment, the foldability of the bag body 4 can be improved, and even if it is a metal material, it is compact and excellent in accommodating property, and also good. Productivity can be secured. In the above embodiment, the metal bag main body 4 has been described as an example, but the bag main body 4 may be configured by laminating a fabric on the outside of the metal sheet. is there.

  Further, when the outer contour of the sleeve member 5 is a polygonal shape, the start point 7b and the end point 7c of the fold line 7 are set at the corner C of the sleeve member 5, so that the sleeve member 5 is formed on a general side surface. Compared to the above, it is possible to ensure stable folding and expansion / development using the behavior of the corner C.

  Next, the manufacturing method of the inflator bag 1 for passenger | crew restraint apparatuses concerning this embodiment is demonstrated. First, the crease 7 is formed on the sleeve member 5 by press working or the like. The crease 7 may be formed directly on the sleeve member 5 having a cylindrical shape, or may be formed in advance on a band-shaped metal sheet before forming the cylindrical shape. Next, the end member 6 is joined to both ends 5 a of the sleeve member 5. Thereby, the bag body 4 before being folded, that is, in an unfolded state, is formed. Thereafter, the unfolded bag body 4 is folded at a crease 7 by a press or the like. As a result, the bag body 4 that is folded and contracted is formed.

  In the method for manufacturing the inflator bag 1 for an occupant restraint device of the present embodiment, the end member 6 is joined in advance to the sleeve member 5 corresponding to the unfolded state of the bag body 4, and then the bag body 4 is folded. Since it did in this way, compared with the method of joining an edge part member after folding a sleeve member previously, the bag main body 4 can be produced easily and with high shape accuracy.

  That is, the sleeve member 5 after being bent has a lower shape accuracy due to the bending and becomes difficult to join to the end member 6. Moreover, even if it can join, the shape precision of the bag main body 4 at the time of expansion | deployment will fall, For this reason, the passenger | crew restraint performance influenced by the shape at the time of expansion | deployment of the bag main body 4 will vary. On the other hand, in the manufacturing method of the present embodiment, the sleeve member 5 and the end member 6 before being bent are joined so that the unfolded bag body 4 is obtained. And the bag main body 4 can be formed by joining with good accuracy. In addition, since the bag body 4 manufactured with high shape accuracy is then folded to the contracted state, the shape accuracy of the bag body 4 at the time of deployment and inflating can be secured high, and excellent occupant restraint performance without variation can be obtained. Can be guaranteed.

  FIG. 2 shows a second embodiment of an inflator bag 1 for an occupant restraint device according to the present invention. In the present embodiment, the sleeve member 5 is configured by connecting a plurality of sleeves 10. The pair of end members 6 are joined to sleeves 10 located at both ends, whereby both ends 5a and 5a of the sleeve member 5 are sealed. The sleeves 10 connected to each other are each formed with the fold line 7 described above. Even in the present embodiment, the start point 7 b and the end point 7 c of the fold line 7 are set at the corner C of the sleeve member 5. The arrangement of the creases 7 is the same for all the sleeves 10. Even in the second embodiment, it is a matter of course that the same operational effects as those of the first embodiment can be obtained.

  Particularly in the second embodiment, since the folds 7 are multi-staged, and thus the sleeve member 5 can be folded in multi-stages, the folded bag body 4 is compared with a sleeve member having the same height and a single-stage fold. The size of can be reduced. That is, the amount of protrusion of the first side surface portion S1 and the amount of folding of the second side surface portion S2 that become large in the case of a single-stage fold can be reduced. If the amount of folding of the second side surface portion S2 is large, the required outer diameter of the sleeve member 5 increases, but the amount of folding can be reduced, so that the outer diameter of the sleeve member 5 can be reduced. Further, if the amount of protrusion of the first side surface portion S1 is large, it is necessary to secure a corresponding storage space in the seat cushion portion 2. However, since the amount of protrusion can be reduced, the storage space of the bag body 4 can be reduced. can do.

  FIG. 3 shows a third embodiment of an inflator bag 1 for an occupant restraint device according to the present invention. This embodiment is different from the second embodiment in that the direction of the crease 7 of each sleeve 10 constituting the sleeve member 5 is set in the opposite direction between the adjacent sleeves 10. In this way, the first side surface portion S1 on the protruding side and the second side surface portion S2 on the folding side of each sleeve 10 can be staggered in the circumferential direction of the sleeve member 5, and the folded contracted state can be obtained. The thickness of the bag body 4 can be reduced.

  The inflator bag 1 for an occupant restraint device described above can be applied not only to a waist restraint device but also to a driver seat airbag device, a passenger seat airbag device, a side impact airbag device, an inflator curtain device, and a knee airbag device. Can be applied.

It is a figure explaining 1st Embodiment of the inflator bag for passenger | crew restraint apparatuses concerning this invention, and its manufacturing method. It is a perspective view which shows 2nd Embodiment of the inflator bag for passenger | crew restraint apparatuses concerning this invention. It is a perspective view which shows 3rd Embodiment of the inflator bag for passenger | crew restraint apparatuses concerning this invention. FIG. 4 is a schematic sectional side view of a vehicle seat cushion portion showing an application example of the inflator bag for the passenger restraint device shown in FIGS. 1 to 3.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Inflator bag for passenger restraint devices 4 Bag body 5 Sleeve member 5a Both ends of sleeve member 6 End member 7 Fold 7b Fold start point 7c Fold end point 10 Sleeve C Corner of sleeve member

Claims (6)

An inflator bag for an occupant restraint device that is deployed and inflated by gas filling to restrain an occupant in a vehicle,
A bag body is formed from a sleeve member and a pair of end members sealing both ends of the sleeve member,
An occupant restraint device characterized in that a substantially parabolic crease extending between both ends of the sleeve member is formed on the circumferential side surface of the sleeve member at appropriate intervals along the circumferential direction and alternately in opposite directions. Inflator bag.   2. The inflator bag for an occupant restraint device according to claim 1, wherein an outer contour of the sleeve member is a polygonal shape, and a start point and an end point of the fold are set at corners of the sleeve member. An inflator bag for an occupant restraint device that is deployed and inflated by gas filling to restrain an occupant in a vehicle,
A bag body is formed from a sleeve member in which a plurality of sleeves are connected and a pair of end members that seal both ends of the sleeve member,
An occupant restraint characterized in that a substantially parabolic crease extending between both ends of the sleeve is formed on each circumferential side surface of each sleeve at appropriate intervals along the circumferential direction and alternately in opposite directions. Inflator bag for equipment.   4. The inflator for an occupant restraint device according to claim 3, wherein the outer contour of the sleeve member is a polygonal shape, and a start point and an end point of a fold of each sleeve are set at corners of the sleeve member. bag.   The inflator bag for an occupant restraint device according to claim 4, wherein the fold direction of the sleeve is set to be opposite to each other between adjacent sleeves. A method for producing an inflator bag for an occupant restraint device that is inflated and deployed by gas filling and restrains an occupant in a vehicle,
Forming a substantially parabolic crease across the opposite ends of the sleeve member on the circumferential side surface of the sleeve member at appropriate intervals along the circumferential direction and alternately in opposite directions;
Joining the end members to both ends of the sleeve member to form a deployed bag body;
A method of manufacturing an inflator bag for an occupant restraint device, comprising: folding the bag body in an unfolded state at the fold to form the bag body in a contracted state.

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