JP2008068685A - Side airbag device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent interference with an interior article of a side airbag expanding/deploying along a door window of a vehicle side surface, and to certainly expand/deploy the side airbag at the time of side surface collision or turning over to lie on side of an automobile. <P>SOLUTION: The side airbag device comprises the side airbag 11 folded to be stored in a vehicle door structure 2, and expanded/deployed upward along the door window by gas led in from an inflator 5 actuated by receiving an action signal when detecting or estimating the collision of the vehicle; and a supporting tube 20 folded along a side surface upper edge in a vehicular cabin 1 to be stored, and expanded/deployed along a longitudinal direction of the vehicular cabin 1 near an upper end of the door window W and between the side airbag 11 and the door window W, by gas led in from the inflator 5 actuated by receiving the action signal. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a side airbag device, and more particularly to a cylinder in which a side airbag that is inflated and deployed upward from a door side along a door window or the like on a side surface of a vehicle is expanded from a roof side in the event of a side collision or rollover of an automobile. The present invention relates to a side airbag device that is supported by a tubular tube.

  Conventionally, in order to effectively restrain an occupant when a vehicle receives a side collision or rolls over, or when the occurrence of these accidents is predicted by the operation of a collision prediction sensor (hereinafter simply referred to as prediction time), Curtain side airbag devices have been developed. This type of curtain-side airbag device is housed in a cover molding or the like at the upper part of the side of the passenger compartment, folded in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, and supplied to a door window or the like in the passenger compartment by supplying gas from a gas source. It can expand | deploy in a curtain shape toward the downward direction, and can restrain that a passenger | crew moves to a side surface direction. At this time, the restraining reaction force acting on the airbag is borne by the roof-side airbag upper end support portion and the glass surface of the door window with which the bag lower end abuts.

  In addition, because the upper end of the bag cannot be supported on the roof side in models such as convertibles, a side airbag device is also proposed in which the restraint reaction force of the occupant is borne by a part of the door frame and the A pillar. The side airbag device includes an internal expansion chamber that restrains an occupant and an outer peripheral expansion chamber that is formed so as to surround the outer periphery of the expansion chamber. At the time of inflating and deploying the airbag, a part of the outer peripheral expansion chamber is inflated so as to overlap a part of the door frame and the A pillar. As a result, the restraint reaction force of the occupant supported by the internal expansion chamber is supported by a part of the door frame and the A pillar via the outer expansion chamber.

US Pat. No. 6,540,253

  By the way, in the side airbag device that is deployed along the side surface of the passenger compartment, it is important that the airbag does not interfere with various interior components that protrude from the side surface of the passenger compartment when the airbag is inflated and deployed. Moreover, when restraining a passenger | crew, it is also preferable in order to heighten a restraint effect to enable it to bear reaction force in a part of vehicle interior structure in which the edge part of an airbag is located. In Patent Document 1, the outer peripheral expansion chamber serving as a support portion has a higher pressure than the internal expansion chamber due to a reaction force load at the time of occupant restraint. In this case, it is necessary to perform pressure supply using a separate system. In addition, the number of restraint devices to be equipped by functioning the chest restraint airbag and the waist restraint airbag that have been incorporated on the seat seat side in the past with the side airbag device that is inflated and deployed from the door side. Cost reduction due to reduction can be achieved. Therefore, an object of the present invention is a side airbag device that has a simple airbag configuration, can be smoothly inflated and deployed without interfering with interior parts at the time of a side collision or rollover, and can effectively restrain an occupant. Is to provide.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention folds and accommodates in a vehicle door structure and moves along a door window by a gas introduced from an inflator that operates in response to an operation signal at the time of vehicle collision detection or prediction. In the vicinity of the upper end of the door window, a side airbag that inflates and deploys upward and a gas introduced from an inflator that is folded and accommodated along the upper side edge of the vehicle interior and that operates in response to the operation signal. A support tube that is inflated and deployed along the longitudinal direction of the passenger compartment is provided between the side airbag and the door window.

  The side airbag is preferably housed in each door structure of the front seat and the rear seat.

  The support tube is preferably housed in a side roof above the doors of the front and rear seats. At this time, the support tube for the front seat and the support tube for the rear seat are independently accommodated in the side roof above each door, or one support tube is accommodated in the side roof above the door. It is preferable to make it.

  It is preferable to connect one inflator for supplying gas to the front seat support tube and the rear seat support tube, or to connect the inflators independently.

  As a structure of the airbag module, the side airbag is folded from a half fold to a bellows so as to have a predetermined width and the upper and lower ends are matched, or folded from a half fold to a roll to be gathered, and the door It is preferable to accommodate in the structure.

  In addition, it is preferable that the chest restraint airbag together with the side airbag is folded and accommodated in the vehicle door structure and inflated and deployed by the gas introduced from the inflator.

  Further, the chest restraint airbag and the waist restraint airbag may be folded and accommodated in the vehicle door structure together with the side airbag, and inflated and deployed by the gas introduced from the inflator.

  According to the present invention, at the time of a side collision or rollover, the side airbag can be deployed without receiving interference from the interior parts, and effective occupant restraint performance can be exhibited.

  Hereinafter, as the best mode for carrying out the side airbag device of the present invention, the following embodiments will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  Hereinafter, for the configuration of the side airbag device 10 (when distinguishing between the front seat and the rear seat, hereinafter referred to as the front seat side airbag 11F and the rear seat side airbag 11R), refer to FIGS. To explain. FIG. 1 is an airbag deployment state diagram showing one embodiment of a side airbag device 10 of the present invention deployed along the right side surface portion in the passenger compartment 1. FIG. 1 schematically shows inflated states of the front seat side airbag 11F, the rear seat side airbag 11R, and the support tubes 20F and 20R. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the inflated state of the front seat side airbag 11F shown in FIG. 1 so that the relationship among the side airbag 11F, the support tube 20F, and the occupant P can be understood. FIG. 3 shows the bag storage time (normal time) before inflating and deploying shown in FIG. FIG. 4 is a normal sectional view corresponding to FIG.

[Configuration of side airbag]
The side airbag device 10 of the present embodiment is provided in the front seat door 2 and the rear seat door 3 on both the left and right sides in the vehicle interior. Moreover, the expansion | swelling shape changes according to the shape and dimension of the front seat door 2 and the rear seat door 3, as shown in FIG. However, the normal accommodation state of each airbag and the mechanism of inflation and deployment are the same for both the front seat and the rear seat. Therefore, hereinafter, the configuration and operation of the side airbag device 10 will be described by taking the front seat side airbag 11F as an example.

  The side airbag device 10 accommodated in the door structure 2 has a bag opening communicated with an inflator 5 as a gas supply source and a gas outlet of the inflator 5, as in a known driver's seat airbag device. The side airbag 11 is folded into a predetermined folded shape, and the airbag module 13 is entirely wrapped with a base cloth 12. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the side airbag device 10 includes the door structure 2 such that the upper surface of the folded airbag module 13 is positioned directly below the interior plate of the upper surface 2 a of the door structure 2. Is fixed to a support frame 7 (not shown) in the inner space via a fixing band 8. At this time, a lid 4 that also serves as a design molding is formed at the window opening of the interior plate of the resin-molded door structure 2 (see FIG. 4). The lid 4 is formed with a cleaving portion (not shown) that is not visible from the outside, and this cleaving portion is not separated when the occupant usually puts on an elbow, puts on the weight, or pushes it from the outside. When the bag is inflated and deployed, it is designed to have such strength and shape that it can be pushed open by its internal pressure.

The side airbag device 10 is similar to the known airbag device in that an inflator is detected when an acceleration greater than a threshold value is detected by an in-vehicle acceleration sensor (not shown) at the time of a side collision or prediction of the vehicle. 5 is introduced into the airbag. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the side airbag 11 inflates by tearing a tear line of the base fabric 12 enclosing the module 13 and pushing the lid 4 on the upper surface of the door structure 2. The door 2 is inflated and deployed in a shape that closes the space between the door window W 2 of the door ₂ and the head of the passenger P. As shown in FIG. 1, the side airbag 11 includes several sewing lines 14 (in the present embodiment, four front seats, three rear seats) that are formed in a substantially radial shape when the bag-like base fabric is sewn. The plurality of parallel cells 15 partitioned in this manner are expanded almost simultaneously. As shown in FIG. 1, the overall inflated shape is such that the front seat side airbag 11F covers the front seat door window W ₂ and the rear seat side airbag 11R covers the rear seat door window W ₃ as viewed from the side. Having an area of As for the dimension D in the thickness direction of the airbag, the maximum upper dimension is about 15 cm (see FIG. 2).

[Configuration of support tube]
The upper ends of the front seat side airbag 11F and the rear seat side airbag 11R are supported by the front seat support tube 20F and the rear seat support tube 20R, as shown in FIG. Front seat support tube 20F expands from the front pillar A (A-pillar) to the center pillar B (B-pillar) to the front seat door window W ₂ the upper end in a cylindrical shape, the front support an upper end of the seat side air bag 11F. Rear seat support tube 20R are inflated tubular seats door window W ₃ upper after the center pillar B to the rear pillar C, and supports the upper end of the rear seat side airbag 11R. These two support tubes 20F and 20R can be expanded simultaneously by one inflator 5 accommodated in the roof above the center pillar B.

  FIG. 3 shows the storage state of the support tube 20. The support tube 20 has an elongated shape with respect to the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, and can be stored compactly in a state in which the bag-like support tube base fabric 21 is folded. As shown in FIG. 3, the support tube base fabric 21 has a roof side rail (extended between a front pillar A and a rear pillar C) via a plurality of mounting tabs 22 formed at the upper edge in the longitudinal direction. Bolts are fixed to anchor portions (not shown). At the time of storage, the roof side rails are covered, and the vehicle is covered with a longitudinal lid (not shown) that functions as a design as a partition molding between the vehicle ceiling and the side surface.

[Inflating action of side airbag and support tube]
Here, the inflating operation of the side airbag 11 and the support tube 20 configured as described above will be briefly described.
In general, all airbag devices installed in a vehicle can restrain an occupant by operating an inflator and inflating and deploying an airbag when a corresponding collision detection sensor detects or predicts a target accident. That is, based on collision detection signals transmitted from a plurality of collision detection sensors (not shown) installed at predetermined positions of the vehicle body to the ECU (electronic control unit), the ECU determines the accident mode, for example, a side collision of the vehicle. The operation signal of the drug ignition device of the inflator is output so as to inflate and deploy the optimal airbag device for occupant restraint.

  In the present invention, among the collision detection sensors (not shown), when a vehicle side collision or a rollover accident form is detected by detection signals from a plurality of side collision sensors, the medicine in each inflator 5 is ignited, As the jet gas generated in each inflator 5 is introduced into the side airbag 11 and the support tube 20, each expands. Further, as a premise, it is possible to control to inflate a specific side airbag by grasping the seating pattern of the occupant by a seat sensor or the like.

  When inflated, the side airbag 11 pushes open the lid 4 facing the opening of the door window of the door structure 2 and inflates and deploys so as to cover substantially the entire inner surface of the door window W. At the same time, the inflator 5 of the support tube 20 is also activated, and the support tube 20 starts to be inflated simultaneously with the side airbag 11. However, since the expansion volume of the support tube 20 is significantly smaller than that of the side airbag 11, the support tube 20 is completely inflated earlier than the side airbag 11. For this reason, when the support tube 20 is inflated along the upper end of the door window W, the side airbag 11 is inflated from below, so that the inflating direction is slightly changed to the passenger side and inflated by the support tube 20 ( (See FIG. 2). In the present embodiment, since the side airbag 11 is deployed away from the door window W by the support tube 20, it is possible to avoid interference with interior parts equipped on the roof periphery, center pillar, or the like. Thus, in the state where the side airbag 11 is fully inflated, the support tube 20 is sandwiched between the side airbag 11 and the door window W, and as shown in FIG. When restraining, the support tube 20 serves as a cushion between the side airbag 11 and the door window W, and an EA (Energy Absorption) effect is also obtained.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, since the entire opening of the door window W in which the upper end of the side airbag 11 is held by the support tube 20 is covered with the side airbag 11 and the support tube 20, the roll The ability to prevent occupants from releasing the vehicle when over is improved.

Another embodiment of the support tube 20 will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 5 shows an embodiment in which inflators 5F and 5R for supplying gas to the front seat support tube 20F and the rear seat support tube 20R are provided independently. FIG. 5 shows a state in which the front seat side airbag 11F is supported by the front seat support tube 20F. When the side airbag 11 is supported by the support tube 20 of this type, for example, a seat sensor (not shown) provided on the seat seat detects the seating state of the passenger, and there is no passenger in the passenger seat or the rear seat. In this case, as illustrated, only the driver side airbag 11F and the support tube 20F can be inflated.

  FIG. 6 shows an embodiment in which one support tube 20 is used from the front seat to the rear seat when the area of the rear seat door window is small, such as a three-door compact car. In this case as well, it is needless to say that the side airbag 11F only for the driver's seat can be controlled to be inflated and deployed by the detection of the seat sensor, as shown in the figure.

  FIG. 7 shows, as another embodiment of the side airbag device, in addition to the side airbag 11 that restrains the occupant's head during a side collision or rollover, two types of airbags that restrain the occupant's chest and waist. The side airbag apparatus 10 provided with this is shown. In the present embodiment, the chest restraint airbag 31, the waist restraint airbag 41, and the side airbag 11 are connected to a single inflator jet (not shown). Therefore, when the inflator 5 is actuated at the time of a side collision or the like, these three airbags 11, 31, 41 are inflated and deployed simultaneously. As a result, as shown in FIG. 8, the head, chest, and waist of the occupant who moves laterally while being restrained by the seat belt at the time of a collision or the like can be restrained from the door side almost simultaneously.

  As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the chest restraint airbag 31 is inflated and deployed near the upper side of the door-side armrest 9. The bag has a horizontally long shape so as to correspond to the seating position of the occupant, inflates between the door interior surface and the occupant, and restrains the occupant's chest from the side. The sewing portion 32 of the bag is not sealed, and the vent hole 33 is provided at a predetermined position, so that the EA effect can be exhibited when the occupant is received. Thereby, there exists an effect that the rib position of passenger | crew P (FIG. 8) can be received softly.

  As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the waist restraining airbag 41 is inflated into a thin bag shape from the position of the inflator 5 to the seat seat surface (not shown) along the door interior surface below the door side armrest 9. . The purpose of the waist restraint airbag 41 is to restrain the upper body from moving greatly from the head of the occupant P by restraining the lumbar of the occupant P at an early stage when a collision occurs, as shown in FIG. is there. Therefore, a wide gas inlet is secured from the inflator 5 so as to expand and expand to a width that closes the gap S between the door interior surface and the waist of the occupant P immediately after the collision. Further, a check valve (not shown) is provided at the gas inlet for maintaining the internal pressure after inflation, and a sealing process 43 for preventing leakage is applied to the sewing portion 42 on the outer peripheral edge of the airbag. Yes.

  In the embodiment shown in FIG. 7, the waist restraint airbag is not provided in the rear seat. Thus, unlike the side airbag 11, the chest restraint airbag 31 and the waist restraint airbag 41 can be attached as optional equipment depending on the vehicle type. When the number and type of airbags appropriate for the vehicle type are determined, the performance of the inflator capable of supplying gas to them and the structure of the gas communication portion are appropriately set. Thereby, a jet gas is supplied to each airbag with good balance.

[Configuration of side airbag module]
As described above, the side airbag 11 is manufactured in such a shape that the parallel cells 15 are inflated simultaneously by the plurality of sewing lines 14 formed on the surface of the two-layer bag-like base fabric. The side airbag 11 is wrapped with the base fabric 12 in a folded state and handled as a module 13 so that the side airbag 11 can be efficiently assembled at a fixed position and can be smoothly deployed during inflation and deployment. Hereinafter, the procedure for folding the side airbag will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 9A is a front view of the side airbag 11 before being folded. The side airbag 11 has a substantially fan shape as a whole, and a gas introduction port 11a and an opening reinforcing portion 11b at the periphery thereof are formed at the lower end. In order to fold the side airbag 11, first, as shown in FIG. 9 (a), the fan-shaped end portion is folded so as to be parallel straight edges, and further, as shown in FIG. 9 (b), Then, it is folded inward (see FIG. 9C). Thereafter, it is folded into a bellows shape with a predetermined width or folded into a roll shape (see FIGS. 9D, 9A, and 9B). ). Or folding by the combination of a bellows shape and a roll shape is possible. The airbag folded in a bellows shape has a high deployment speed when inflated, and when it is rolled into a roll and bent, there is movement at the time of inflation, so that it can be inflated without interfering with obstacles such as interior parts.

  In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, the airbag module 13 is wrapped with the base fabric 12 on which a tear line or the like is formed and is attached to the inflator 5 in a state of being folded in the above-described bellows shape. . With this base fabric type, the manufacturing cost can be reduced. In addition, it can also be accommodated in a resin cover with a lid and installed in the door structure 2. In the type accommodated in the resin cover, there is an effect that, when inflated, the airbag can be smoothly deployed outward so as to slide out along the inner surface of the cleaved resin cover.

The schematic front view which showed the structure of the Example of the side airbag apparatus (at the time of expansion | deployment deployment) of this invention. The schematic sectional drawing which showed the side airbag apparatus shown in FIG. 1 by the II-II sectional line. The schematic front view which showed the structure of the Example of the side airbag apparatus (at the time of accommodation) of this invention. FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the side airbag device shown in FIG. 3 taken along the line IV-IV. The schematic front view which showed the structure of the other Example of a side airbag apparatus. The schematic front view which showed the structure of the other modification of a side airbag apparatus. The schematic front view which showed the structure of the Example of the side airbag apparatus (the waist part restraint airbag, the chest part restraint airbag example). The schematic sectional drawing which showed the side airbag apparatus shown in FIG. 7 with the VIII-VIII sectional line. Explanatory drawing which showed the folding procedure of the side airbag.

Explanation of symbols

1 Car compartment 2 Front seat door (door structure)
3 Rear seat door (door structure)
4 Lid 5 Inflator 10 Side airbag device 11 Side airbag 11F Front seat side airbag 11R Rear seat side airbag 12 Base fabric 13 Airbag module 20 Support tube 20F Front seat support tube 20R Rear seat support tube 31 Chest restraint airbag 41 Lumbar restraint airbag P Passenger W Door window W ₂ Front seat door window W ₃ Rear seat door window

Claims (11)

A side airbag that is folded and accommodated in a vehicle door structure and is inflated and deployed upward along the door window by gas introduced from an inflator that operates in response to an operation signal at the time of vehicle collision detection or prediction When,
In the vicinity of the upper end of the door window, between the side airbag and the door window, the gas is introduced from the inflator that is folded and accommodated along the upper side edge of the vehicle interior and receives the operation signal. A side airbag device comprising a support tube that inflates and deploys along a longitudinal direction of a vehicle compartment.   The side airbag device according to claim 1, wherein the side airbag is accommodated in each door structure of a front seat and a rear seat.   The side airbag device according to claim 1, wherein the support tube is housed in a side roof above the doors of the front seat and the rear seat.   The side airbag device according to claim 3, wherein the front seat support tube and the rear seat support tube are independently housed in a side roof above each door.   4. The side airbag device according to claim 3, wherein one support tube is accommodated in a side roof above the door in a range from the front seat to the rear seat.   The side airbag device according to claim 4, wherein one inflator for supplying gas to the front seat support tube and the rear seat support tube is connected.   The side airbag device according to claim 4, wherein an inflator is independently connected to the front seat support tube and the rear seat support tube.   3. The side according to claim 2, wherein the side airbag has a predetermined width and is half-folded so as to match the upper and lower ends, and is further folded into a bellows shape and accommodated in the door structure. Airbag device.   The side airbag according to claim 2, wherein the side airbag is half-folded so as to have a predetermined width and the upper and lower ends are aligned, and is further folded into a roll to be collected and accommodated in the door structure. Side airbag device.   The side airbag device according to claim 1, wherein a chest restraint airbag together with the side airbag is folded and accommodated in a vehicle door structure, and is inflated and deployed by a gas introduced from the inflator.   The chest restraint airbag and the waist restraint airbag, together with the side airbag, are folded and accommodated in a vehicle door structure and inflated and deployed by gas introduced from the inflator. Side airbag device.

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