JP2008290471A - Curtain airbag device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a curtain airbag device in which the possibility of coming out of an inflatable bag in deployed state to the outside of a window is reduced. <P>SOLUTION: This curtain airbag device comprises: the inflatable airbag stored at the upper edge of the window of a vehicle in a compressed state and inflated and deployed toward the inside of the vehicle during the operation; and a gas supply means for supplying an expansion gas into the inflatable bag during the operation. The inflatable bag comprises: a plurality of vertical chambers deployed vertically downward by the expansion gas; and a lateral chamber positioned on the vehicle outer side of the vertical chamber and deployed in the horizontal direction. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

The present invention relates to a curtain airbag device that protects an occupant by deploying an airbag (bag body) in a curtain shape inside a window when a vehicle emergency (rollover, side collision, rollover, etc.) occurs.

  Generally, an inner panel (body panel) covered with a head lining (roof) is provided on the upper part of the window glass on the side of the passenger compartment. The space formed by the head lining and the inner panel accommodates a folded bag body of the curtain airbag (Patent Document 1, Patent Document 2). During operation of such a curtain airbag device, the bag body is inflated by the gas supplied from the inflator, and the lower edge of the head lining is expanded to be deployed in the vehicle.

JP 2001-219807 A JP 2002-187518 A

  However, the conventional curtain airbag device has a problem that after the inflatable bag is deployed, the lower edge portion of the bag tends to come out of the window when the occupant collides with the bag.

The present invention has been made in view of the above situation, and an object of the present invention is to provide a curtain airbag device that can reduce the risk that an inflatable bag in an unfolded state will come out of a window.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a curtain airbag device according to the present invention is accommodated in an inflatable bag that is accommodated in a compressed state at an upper edge of a window of a vehicle and inflates and deploys toward the inside of the vehicle during operation; Gas supply means for supplying inflation gas to the bag. The inflatable bag includes a plurality of vertical chambers that are deployed vertically downward by the inflation gas; and a lateral chamber that is located outside the longitudinal chamber and is deployed in the horizontal direction.

  According to the curtain airbag device of the present invention configured as described above, the vertical chamber is pulled by the expansion and deployment of the horizontal chamber, and the vertical chamber thus has an arcuate shape protruding toward the inside of the vehicle. For this reason, after the inflatable bag is deployed, it is possible to avoid a situation in which the lower edge portion of the bag slips out of the window when the occupant collides with the bag.

  Preferably, the inflatable bag extends in a horizontal direction and distributes the inflation gas to the longitudinal chamber; and is located at a downstream end of the duct portion and is filled with the inflation gas behind the longitudinal chamber. And a connection chamber. And the said horizontal chamber is set as the structure expand | deployed with the said expansion | swelling gas supplied via the said duct part and the said connection chamber.

  With such a configuration, the vertical chamber is first developed during operation to ensure the shape of the entire inflatable bag and cover the vehicle window. Subsequently, when the horizontal chamber is developed and the vertical chamber is bowed, it is possible to avoid a situation where the lower edge portion of the bag slips out of the window when an occupant collides with the bag. In this aspect, it is possible to quickly prevent the passenger from being released from the vehicle by early deployment of the vertical chamber.

In addition, it is preferable to change suitably the position and number of a horizontal chamber according to the magnitude | size of a vertical chamber or a horizontal chamber.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a passenger compartment provided with a curtain airbag device 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, for example, in a passenger vehicle type vehicle, an inner panel covered with a head lining is provided on an upper portion of a window glass on the side of the passenger compartment. The curtain airbag device 10 is fixed to the inner panel with a bolt using a bracket.

  The curtain airbag device 10 is accommodated in a state covered with a head lining disposed at the upper edge of the window of the vehicle, and is inflated and deployed downward from the gap between the head lining and the inner panel during operation. An inflatable bag 12 for protecting an occupant; and a gas supply device (inflator) 14 for supplying inflation gas to the inflatable bag 12.

  The inflatable bag 12 is a bag in which a plurality of (for example, three) sheets are overlapped and formed into a bag shape by stitching, bonding or welding, or a bag portion is formed by weaving one sheet. The method of folding the inflatable bag 12 is not particularly limited, and various methods such as so-called “bellows folding” and “roll” can be employed.

  When an emergency such as rollover, side collision, or rollover occurs while the vehicle is running, the sensor installed in the vehicle catches the abnormal vibration, and an inflator (gas) that does not show an ignition signal based on that signal. Generator 14). Inside the inflator 14 is provided a propellant that receives the ignition signal from the sensor and drives the inflator 14. By the operation of the inflator 14, the inflatable bag 12 is expanded so that the inflation gas is filled in the inflatable bag 12 and the headlining is pushed (splashed). The side surface of the window glass is covered with the inflatable bag 12 that is deployed, and the passengers in the vehicle are protected.

  FIG. 2 (A) is an explanatory view (plan view) of the structure of the main part of the inflatable bag 12 used in the curtain airbag device 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention as seen from the outside of the vehicle. Is the same side view. FIG. 3A is an explanatory view (plan view) of the structure of the main part of the inflatable bag 12 used in the curtain airbag device 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention as seen from the vehicle interior side, and FIG. Is the same side view.

  The inflatable bag 12 according to the present embodiment includes a plurality of vertical chambers 18 that are expanded vertically downward by inflation gas; and two horizontal chambers 20 that are positioned outside the vertical chamber 18 and that are expanded horizontally. ing. The inflatable bag 12 further includes a duct portion 16 that extends in the horizontal direction and distributes the inflation gas to the longitudinal chamber 18; a connected chamber that is located at the downstream end of the duct portion 16 and is filled with the inflation gas behind the longitudinal chamber 18. 22. Then, the expansion gas is finally supplied into the horizontal chamber 20 through the duct portion 16 and the connection chamber 22.

  In manufacturing the inflatable bag 12 having a plurality of chambers as described above, a three-layer one-piece wobbin (OPW) structure is adopted instead of the conventional two-layer one-piece wobbin (OPW). In this embodiment, the vertical chamber 18, the duct portion 16, and the connecting chamber 22 are formed by a two-layer one-piece wobbin (OPW), and the horizontal chamber 20 is formed by a third layer.

  The lateral cross section (area) when the horizontal chamber 20 is expanded is preferably larger than the lateral cross section (area) when the vertical chamber 18 is expanded. By adopting such a structure, the vertical chamber 18 is easily pulled into the horizontal chamber 20 and becomes arcuate. The size of the cross section of the horizontal chamber 20 can be changed according to the number of the horizontal chambers 20. For example, when three or more horizontal chambers 20 are provided, the cross section of the horizontal chamber 20 can be made smaller than in the case of one or two. The cross section of the horizontal chamber 20 is shown in FIG.

  Next, the flow of the expansion gas supplied from the inflator 14 will be described. The inflation gas is first supplied into the longitudinal chamber 18 through the duct portion 16. Subsequently, the inflation gas flows into the connection chamber 22 located at the downstream end of the duct portion 16. Thereafter, the expansion gas flows into the horizontal chamber 20 through the connection chamber 22. Here, the timing at which the gas flows into the lateral chamber 20 can be adjusted by adjusting the passage width (size) of the boundary portion 22 a between the connection chamber 22 and the duct portion 16.

  4A and 4B are explanatory views showing the operation of the curtain airbag device according to the embodiment of the present invention. In the curtain airbag device 10 according to the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4A, the vertical chamber 18 is first deployed during operation to ensure the shape of the entire inflatable bag 12 and cover the vehicle window 32. It becomes.

  Thereafter, as shown in FIG. (B), the horizontal chamber 20 expands in a substantially cylindrical shape, and the vertical chamber 18 is deformed into an arcuate shape so as to be pulled near the center by the horizontal chamber 20. As a result, even when the occupant collides with the inflatable bag 12 (vertical chamber 18), the lower edge portion of the bag 12 is caught by the window frame (upper door) 34, the bag comes out of the window 32, and the occupant is released outside the vehicle. Can be avoided.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various design changes can be made without departing from the technical idea described in the claims. . Needless to say, the curtain airbag device according to the present invention can be applied not only to a passenger vehicle type vehicle but also to various types of vehicles such as a one-box type vehicle.

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a passenger compartment provided with a curtain airbag device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2A is an explanatory view (plan view) of the structure of the main part of the inflatable bag used in the curtain airbag device according to the embodiment of the present invention as seen from the outside of the vehicle, and FIG. It is a side view. FIG. 3A is an explanatory view (plan view) of the structure of the main part of the inflatable bag used in the curtain airbag device according to the embodiment of the present invention as seen from the inside of the vehicle, and FIG. It is a side view. 4A and 4B are explanatory views showing the operation of the curtain airbag device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Curtain airbag apparatus 12 Inflatable bag 14 Inflator 16 Duct part 18 Vertical chamber 20 Horizontal chamber 22 Connection chamber 32 Vehicle window

Claims (5)

An inflatable bag accommodated in a compressed state on the upper edge of the vehicle window and inflated and deployed into the vehicle when activated;
Gas supply means for supplying inflation gas to the inflatable bag during operation,
The inflatable bag includes a plurality of vertical chambers that are deployed vertically downward by the inflation gas; and a lateral chamber that is located outside the longitudinal chamber and that is deployed horizontally. apparatus. The inflatable bag extends in a horizontal direction and distributes the inflation gas to the longitudinal chamber; a connection chamber located at a downstream end of the duct portion and filled with the inflation gas behind the longitudinal chamber; Further comprising
The curtain airbag device according to claim 1, wherein the horizontal chamber is configured to be deployed by the inflation gas supplied through the duct portion and the connection chamber.   The curtain airbag device according to claim 1, wherein the horizontal chamber has a substantially cylindrical shape when deployed.   4. The curtain airbag device according to claim 1, wherein a transverse section when the horizontal chamber is deployed is larger than a transverse section when the longitudinal chamber is deployed. 5.   The curtain airbag device according to claim 1, 2, 3, or 4, wherein a plurality of the lateral chambers are provided.

Images