JP2006298148A - Vehicular airbag device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a vehicular airbag device capable of easily allowing good mounting even if a design portion is metallic. <P>SOLUTION: A vehicular airbag device 10 is arranged in a hood 14, and an airbag door 28 is made of metal. On a rear end side of the airbag door 29, a deploying hinge portion 28D formed with a long hole 52 is formed. An airbag case 30 is securely fixed to a reinforcing member 24 by an attaching bolt 36 and a nut 44, and the airbag door 28 is attached by a clip 48 and the like in a temporary fixing state. The deploying hinge portion 38D of the airbag door 28 is coupled to the airbag case 30 through a collar 54 in a free state (a floating support state). Therefore, when the deviation of an attaching position of the deploying hinge portion 28D to the airbag case 30 is generated, the collar 54 relatively moves in the long hole 52 to absorb the deviation, allowing good mounting of the airbag door 28. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle airbag device that includes an airbag door and an airbag case and is suitable for installation outside a vehicle compartment.

Patent Document 1 below discloses a passenger seat airbag device disposed on an instrument panel. In this type of passenger airbag device, the airbag door forms part of the design of the instrument panel. Therefore, a so-called floating structure may be employed in which the airbag case is floatingly supported.
JP-A-7-117609 JP-A-5-56669

  Here, in the case of the configuration disclosed in the above prior art, since it is assumed to be applied to a passenger seat airbag device, the airbag door constituting the design portion is manufactured from a resin material. Therefore, the floating structure can be established relatively easily by setting the claw structure.

  However, in recent years when air bag devices are installed in various parts of a vehicle according to the purpose, it is sufficiently conceivable that the air bag door and the air bag case constituting the design portion need to be changed from resin to iron plate. . In that case, it is difficult in production technology to apply the conventional floating structure as it is.

  In consideration of the above facts, the present invention has an object to obtain a vehicle airbag device that can be easily constructed even when the design portion is made of metal.

  According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a vehicular airbag device, which is disposed in a temporarily fixed state in a door mounting opening formed at a predetermined position of a vehicle outer plate constituting a vehicle side design portion, and is on an airbag device side. A metal airbag case which is fixed to a metal airbag door constituting the design portion and a strength member disposed on the inner side of the vehicle outer plate, and the airbag inflation opening is closed by the airbag door. And an inflator that is accommodated in the airbag case and ejects gas when operated, and is accommodated in a folded state in the airbag case and expanded by the gas ejected from the inflator to expand the airbag door. An air bag device for a vehicle comprising an air bag that is inflated to the outside, wherein the air bag door with respect to the door mounting opening of the vehicle outer plate Of such adjustment of the mounting position is permitted, the deployment hinge portion of the air bag door comprising a connecting means for connecting relatively movable with respect to the air bag case is characterized by.

  A vehicle airbag device according to a second aspect of the present invention is the vehicle airbag device according to the first aspect, wherein the connecting means is formed at a deployment hinge portion of the airbag door, and the mounting position of the airbag door is adjusted. A position adjustment opening that is open in the direction, a shaft length that is at least equal to the plate thickness of the deployment hinge of the airbag door, and a shaft member that is inserted into the position adjustment opening, and is inserted into the shaft member. And a fastener that exerts a fastening force on the shaft member and the airbag case.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the door mounting opening is formed at a predetermined position of the vehicle outer plate constituting the vehicle side design portion, and the airbag device side design portion is provided in the door mounting opening. The metal airbag door which comprises is arrange | positioned in the temporarily fixed state. On the other hand, the airbag case containing the inflator and the airbag needs to take a reaction force when the airbag is deployed, and thus is fixed to a strength member disposed on the inner side of the vehicle outer plate.

  When the vehicle airbag device is activated, gas is first ejected from the inflator. The airbag stored in the airbag case in a folded state is inflated by the gas, and the airbag door disposed in a temporarily fixed state on the vehicle outer plate is pressed from the inside. When the bag inflation pressure reaches a predetermined value, the airbag door is deployed centering on the deployment hinge portion, and the airbag is inflated outside the vehicle compartment. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the collision body from coming into direct contact with the vehicle outer plate, and to protect the collision body.

  In the present invention, since the airbag door and the airbag case are both made of metal, the reliability of the operation is ensured even if the airbag apparatus is installed outside the vehicle compartment under a harsher environment than the vehicle interior. can do. Moreover, since both the airbag door and the vehicle outer plate are made of metal, there is no sense of incongruity in the texture of the design.

  Here, if the airbag door and the airbag case are both made of metal as described above, it is generally difficult to establish the airbag door. That is, when the airbag case is fixed to the strength member, the position of the airbag case is determined there. In this state, if the airbag door is temporarily fixed in the door mounting opening in consideration of the continuity of the design surface, the mounting position of the airbag door deployment hinge portion to the airbag case is the reference position. May deviate from.

  However, in the present invention, when the deployment hinge portion of the airbag door is coupled to the airbag case by the coupling means, the relative displacement of the deployment hinge portion of the airbag door with respect to the airbag case is allowed within a predetermined range. Even if such a shift occurs, the airbag door can be installed in a state where the shift is allowed. That is, the deviation can be absorbed by the connecting means. Therefore, the design of the airbag door and the vehicle outer plate can be maintained well, and the appearance quality of the vehicle can be improved.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, the opening hinge portion of the airbag door is formed with an opening, and the fastener is inserted through the shaft core portion of the shaft member inserted into the opening. When a fastening force is applied to the airbag case, the deployment hinge portion of the airbag door is connected to the airbag case.

  Here, since the shaft member has an axial length that is at least the plate thickness of the deployment hinge portion of the airbag door, even if the deployment hinge portion of the airbag door is fixed to the airbag case, the fastening force is the airbag. It does not reach the door deployment hinge. In addition, the shaft portion of the shaft member can be relatively moved within the opening range of the opening. For this reason, the airbag door is in a free state with respect to the airbag case, that is, in a floating supported state.

  Moreover, the fastener and the opening through which the fastener is inserted are not different from the conventional floating structure claw structure in terms of the number of parts (in the case of the claw structure, an opening for engaging the claw and the claw is necessary. Therefore, if the claw is replaced with a fastener, it means that both structures are equivalent), and the number of shaft members only increases as parts. Therefore, the construction of the metal airbag door can be established with a simple configuration, which can contribute to cost reduction and space saving.

  As described above, the vehicle airbag device according to the first aspect of the present invention has the deployment hinge so that the relative displacement of the deployment hinge portion of the airbag door with respect to the airbag case is allowed within a predetermined range. Since the connecting means for connecting the portion to the airbag case is provided, even when the design portion is made of metal, there is an excellent effect that the building can be easily established.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided the vehicle airbag apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention. The vehicle airbag device according to the first aspect includes an opening formed in the deployment hinge portion of the airbag door and at least the plate thickness of the deployment hinge portion of the airbag door. A cylindrical shaft member having the above axial length and arranged in an inserted state in the opening, and further allowing the shaft to move relative to the opening range of the opening, and the shaft core portion of the shaft member. And the fastener that exerts a fastening force on the shaft member and the airbag case to constitute the above-described connecting means, so that the metal airbag door is substantially increased by simply increasing the shaft member as compared with the conventional case. Can be floatingly supported on the metal airbag case, and as a result, the effect of the invention of claim 1 can be realized with a low-cost and space-saving configuration.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of a vehicle airbag device according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In these figures, an arrow FR indicates the vehicle front side, and an arrow UP indicates the vehicle upper side.

  FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the appearance of a vehicle 12 on which a vehicle airbag device (hood airbag device) 10 according to the present embodiment is mounted. As shown in this figure, the vehicle airbag device 10 is disposed at a substantially central portion of a hood 14 that opens and closes an engine room.

  FIG. 2 shows a longitudinal sectional view of the assembled state of the vehicle airbag device 10 taken along the vehicle front-rear direction. As shown in this figure, the hood 14 includes a hood outer panel 16 as a vehicle outer plate that constitutes a hood outer plate and a design surface of the hood 14. A rectangular door mounting opening 18 is formed in a substantially central portion of the hood outer panel 16 in a plan view with the vehicle width direction as a long side direction.

  On the back surface side of the hood outer panel 16, long inner side skeleton members 20, 22 extending in the hood width direction and having a cross-sectional shape of a hat shape are attached at predetermined intervals in the vehicle front-rear direction. Yes. A reinforcing member 24 as a strength member having a vertical cross-sectional shape of a substantially tray shape is stretched between the bottom portions of the inner side skeleton members 20 and 22. Thus, a space 26 having a predetermined depth is formed between the hood outer panel 16 and the bottom 24A of the reinforcing member 24. The vehicle airbag device 10 is disposed in the space 26.

  As shown in an enlarged view in FIG. 1, the vehicle airbag device 10 is disposed on an airbag door (lid) 28 disposed in the door mounting opening 18 and on the back side of the airbag door 28. A housing-like airbag case 30 is provided. The airbag door 28 and the airbag case 30 are both made of metal.

  Inside the airbag case 30, a substantially cylindrical inflator 32 is accommodated with the hood width direction as an axial direction, and a folded airbag 34 is accommodated. In the inflator 32, for example, a squib, an igniting agent, a heat transfer agent, a gas generating agent, a coolant, a filter, and the like are accommodated, and a plurality of gas ejection holes for ejecting gas are formed in the peripheral wall portion. Has been. Further, mounting bolts 36 as fasteners are erected on the outer peripheral portion of the inflator 32 at a plurality of axial positions (for example, two positions) so that the radial direction is the axial direction. Correspondingly, bolt insertion holes 38 and 40 through which the mounting bolts 36 are inserted are also formed in the bottom wall portion 30 </ b> A of the airbag case 30 and the reinforcing member 24. The inflator 32 is inserted into the bolt insertion holes 38 and 40 while being supported by the mounting bracket 42, and by tightening a nut 44 as a fastener from the back side of the bottom wall portion 30A of the reinforcing member 24, The reinforcing member 24 is firmly fixed.

  The airbag 34 is housed in the airbag case 30 in a folded state around the inflator 32 so that the gas ejected from the gas ejection holes of the inflator 32 described above flows into the airbag 34.

  On the other hand, the airbag door 28 is disposed in a temporarily fixed state in the door mounting opening 18 of the hood outer panel 16. More specifically, the airbag door 28 includes a door main body portion 28A that is housed in the door mounting opening 18, and a bent portion 28B that is bent inward from the outer peripheral portion of the door main body portion 28A to form an inclined surface. A plurality of leg portions 28C integrally formed at a predetermined interval on the front end portion side of the bent portion 28B, and bent and suspended substantially vertically from the front end portion of the bent end portion 28B on the rear end side to the reinforcing member 24 side. One or a plurality of deployment hinge portions 28D. A sealing material 46 made of an elastic material such as sponge having a predetermined width is attached to the peripheral surface of the bent portion 28B. Thus, rainwater and the like are prevented from entering through a gap between the door main body portion 28A of the airbag door 28 and the peripheral portion of the door mounting opening 18 of the hood outer panel 16.

  The door main body 28A is set to have substantially the same thickness as that of the hood outer panel 16, and has a shape that rises slightly toward the vehicle upper side with respect to the general surface 16A of the hood outer panel 16. The door main body 28A is a portion constituting the airbag device side design portion, and a design contrivance is applied such as applying the same coating as that of the hood outer panel 16 to the surface.

  The peripheral wall portion 18A of the door mounting opening 18 of the hood outer panel 16 is inclined by a predetermined angle toward the center of the door mounting opening 18 so as to be parallel to the bent portion 28B of the airbag door 28, Further, the tip 18B is bent so as to be substantially perpendicular to the reinforcing member 24.

  A base end portion of a substantially V-shaped clip 48 is fixed to a lower end portion of each leg portion 28 </ b> C of the airbag door 28 with a rivet 50. In addition, although the clip of the rear end side of the airbag door 28 does not appear in the longitudinal cross-sectional view of FIG. 1, the clip 48 is set in the appropriate position of the paper surface back side and near side of FIG. The tip 48A of the clip 48 is bent like a bowl and is locked to the tip 18B of the door mounting opening 18 in an elastically deformed state. Accordingly, the airbag door 28 is attached to the door mounting opening 18 of the hood outer panel 16 in a temporarily fixed state.

  Supplementally, the airbag door 28 is interposed between the bent portion 28B of the airbag door 28 and the peripheral wall portion 18A of the door mounting opening 18 of the hood outer panel 16 in a state in which the sealing material 46 is elastically deformed. 1, an elastic restoring force in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 1 (a force to lift the airbag door 28 from the door mounting opening 18) acts on the tip 48A of the clip 48. Since the elastic restoring force in the direction of arrow B in FIG. 1 is acting, the airbag door 28 is temporarily fixed in a state where the airbag door 28 is positioned at the door mounting opening 18 by both elastic restoring forces. is there.

  Here, a long hole 52 serving as an opening portion is formed in the deployment hinge portion 28D provided on the rear end side of the airbag door 28 along the vehicle vertical direction. In the elongated hole 52, a shaft portion 54A of a resin collar 54 as a shaft member comprising a cylindrical shaft portion 54A and a flange portion 54B integrally formed at the base end portion of the shaft portion 54A is disposed in an inserted state. Has been. The outer diameter of the shaft portion 54A is shorter than the left and right widths and the upper and lower widths of the long hole 52, and the shaft length of the shaft portion 54A is set to be longer than the plate thickness of the deployment hinge portion 28D. Further, the front end portion of the shaft portion 54 </ b> A is in contact with the rear wall 30 </ b> B of the airbag case 30. Therefore, when the collar 54 is inserted into the long hole 52, the collar portion 54B of the collar 54 is slightly lifted from the deployment hinge portion 28D.

  On the other hand, a rivet insertion hole 56 is formed at a position facing the long hole 52 in the rear wall 30B of the airbag case 30. The rivet insertion hole 56 and the rivet 58 are arranged coaxially, and in this state, the rivet 58 as a fastener is inserted into the rivet 58 and the tip portion thereof is caulked, whereby the collar 54 is attached to the airbag case 30. It is fixed to the rear wall 30B. However, the fastening force of the rivet 58 does not reach only the collar 54 and the rear wall 30B of the airbag case 30 and the deployment hinge portion 28D of the airbag door 28.

  As described above, when the deployment hinge portion 28D of the airbag door 28 is connected to the rear wall 30B of the airbag case 30 (attached state), the deployment hinge portion 28D of the airbag door 28 has a long hole 52. Within the opening range, it can be moved relative to the shaft portion 58A of the rivet 58 in any of the up, down, left and right, front and rear directions. That is, the airbag door 28 is connected to the airbag case 30 in a free state (floating support state) with respect to the airbag case 30.

  Next, the operation and effect of this embodiment will be described.

  A metal airbag door 28 constituting the airbag device side design portion is temporarily fixed by a plurality of clips 48 in a door mounting opening 18 formed at a predetermined position of the hood outer panel 16 constituting the vehicle side design portion. It is attached in the state that was done. On the other hand, since the airbag case 30 that houses the inflator 32 and the airbag 34 needs to take a reaction force when the airbag is deployed, the airbag member 30 is provided with a reinforcing member 24 that is a strength member disposed inside the hood outer panel 16. The nut 44 is fastened together with the inflator 32 and fixed.

  Here, if the airbag door 28 and the airbag case 30 are both made of metal as described above, it is generally difficult to establish the airbag door 28. That is, when the airbag case 30 is fixed to the reinforcing member 24 with the mounting bolts 36 and the nuts 44, the position of the airbag case 30 is determined there. In this state, when the airbag door 28 is temporarily fixed in the door mounting opening 18 in consideration of the continuity of the design surface, the airbag case 28 of the deployment hinge 28D of the airbag door 28 is moved to the airbag case 30. May be displaced from the reference position.

  However, in the vehicle airbag device 10 according to the present embodiment, the elongated hinge 52D is formed in the deployment hinge portion 28D of the airbag door 28, and the collar 54 is inserted into the elongated hole 52 to deploy the airbag door 28. Since the hinge portion 28D is fastened to the airbag case 30 with the rivet 58, even if the deployment hinge portion 28D of the airbag door 28 is fixed to the airbag case 30, the fastening force by the rivet 58 remains the airbag door 28. It does not reach the deployment hinge part 28D. Moreover, the shaft portion 54 </ b> A of the collar 54 is relatively movable within the opening range of the long hole 52. For this reason, the airbag door 28 is in a free state with respect to the airbag case 30, that is, in a floating supported state.

  As a result, according to the present embodiment, the building can be easily established even when the airbag door 28 is made of metal.

  Moreover, in the vehicle airbag device 10 according to the present embodiment, the rivet 58 and the long hole 52 itself through which the rivet 58 is inserted are not different from the conventional floating structure claw structure in terms of the number of parts (in the case of the claw structure). Since an opening for engaging the nail and the nail is required, the structure is equivalent if the nail is replaced with a fastener). Therefore, it is possible not only to establish the metal airbag door 28 with a simple configuration, but also to contribute to cost reduction and space saving.

  In the vehicle airbag device 10 disposed on the hood 14 as described above, when a frontal collision with a collision body such as a pedestrian occurs, gas is first ejected from the inflator 32. The air bag 34 stored in the air bag case 30 in a folded state is inflated by this gas, and presses the air bag door 28 disposed in a temporarily fixed state in the door mounting opening 18 from the inside. When the bag inflation pressure reaches a predetermined value, the airbag door 28 is deployed to the vehicle rear side with the deployment hinge 28D as the center, and the airbag 34 is inflated on the hood 14. Thereby, it is possible to prevent a collision body such as a pedestrian from directly contacting the hood outer panel 16 and protect the collision body.

  In addition, according to the vehicle airbag device 10 according to the present embodiment, since the airbag door 28 and the airbag case 30 are both made of metal, the vehicle airbag device is disposed outside the vehicle compartment under a harsher environment than the vehicle interior. Even if the airbag apparatus 10 is installed, the reliability of the operation can be ensured. Further, since both the airbag door 28 and the hood outer panel 16 are made of metal, there is no sense of incongruity in the texture of the design.

[Supplementary explanation of this embodiment]
In the above-described embodiment, the configuration in which the vehicle airbag device 10 is disposed in the hood 14 has been described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the present invention is applied to a predetermined portion outside the vehicle compartment other than the hood 14. A vehicle airbag device may be provided.

  In the above-described embodiment, the airbag door 28 is temporarily fixed in the door mounting opening 18 of the hood outer panel 16 using the clip 48 or the like grasped as temporary fixing means in a broad sense. However, other configurations may be adopted.

  Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the collar 54 and the rivet 58 are used as the connecting means in addition to the long hole 52. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and fasteners such as bolts, nuts, and screws are used instead of the rivet 58. May be.

  Moreover, in this embodiment mentioned above, although the collar 54 is used as a connection means, for example, if a stepped bolt etc. are used, the collar 54 can also be abolished. As described above, the configuration of the connecting means includes various configurations in addition to the configuration of the present embodiment using the collar 54 as long as it has a similar function.

It is a principal part expanded sectional view of the airbag apparatus for vehicles which concerns on this embodiment. It is the longitudinal cross-sectional view (2-2 sectional drawing of FIG. 3) which looked at the state which cut | disconnected the airbag apparatus for vehicles of the assembly | attachment state along the vehicle front-back direction. It is a perspective view which shows the external appearance of the vehicle by which the airbag apparatus for vehicles shown by FIG. 1 is mounted.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Vehicle airbag apparatus 12 Vehicle 16 Hood outer panel (vehicle outer plate)
16A General surface (vehicle side design part)
18 Door mounting opening 24 Reinforcement member (strength member)
28 Airbag door 28A Door body (airbag device side design part)
28D Deployment hinge section 30 Airbag case 32 Inflator 34 Airbag 36 Mounting bolt 44 Nut 46 Sealing material 48 Clip 52 Long hole (opening, connecting means)
54 Color (shaft member, connecting means)
54A Shaft part 58 Rivet (fastener, connecting means)

Claims (2)

A deployment hinge that is arranged in a temporarily fixed state in a door mounting opening formed at a predetermined position of a vehicle outer plate constituting the vehicle-side design portion, constitutes the airbag device-side design portion, and further serves as a deployment center during deployment A metal airbag door with a section;
A metal that is fixed to a strength member disposed on the inner side of the vehicle outer plate, accommodates a folded airbag and an inflator that generates gas, and has a bag inflation opening closed by an airbag door An airbag case made of
A vehicle airbag device comprising:
A connecting means for connecting the deployment hinge portion to the airbag case is provided so that relative displacement of the deployment hinge portion of the airbag door with respect to the airbag case is allowed within a predetermined range.
An air bag device for a vehicle characterized by the above. The connecting means includes
An opening formed in a deployment hinge portion of the airbag door;
A cylindrical shaft having at least an axial length equal to or greater than the plate thickness of the deployment hinge portion of the airbag door, being arranged in an inserted state in the opening portion, and further allowing the shaft portion to relatively move within the opening range of the opening portion. Members,
A fastener that is inserted through the shaft core portion of the shaft member and exerts a fastening force on the shaft member and the airbag case;
Composed of,
The vehicle airbag device according to claim 1.

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