JP2009067330A - Airbag - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an airbag capable of inflating the airbag in order to suppress the movement of an occupant to a collision side by impact of a side surface collision and reducing a damage value even in the OOP (out of position) state in the side surface collision. <P>SOLUTION: In the airbag 11 for restricting movement to a collision side of a body of an occupant P sitting on a seat at an opposite side to collision at side surface collision, the airbag 11 is constituted such that a profile in a vertical cross section along a vehicle width direction in the inflated state forms a lozenge shape or a hexagonal shape such that a neighborhood to a center in a height direction is projected to both sides in the vehicle width direction. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an airbag apparatus for protecting an occupant of an automobile, and more particularly to an airbag for restricting the movement of an occupant seated on a seat on the opposite side during a side collision to the collision side.

  As a protective device for mitigating the impact on an occupant at the time of a frontal collision of an automobile, an airbag device is widely spread. A conventional airbag device is installed in a steering device or an instrument panel, and the airbag is inflated in front of the driver's seat and front passenger seat at the time of a frontal collision of an automobile. Restrict movement of passengers ahead. This effectively protects the driver's and passenger's occupants during a frontal collision of the automobile.

  In recent years, occupant protection at the time of a side collision of an automobile has been regarded as important, and so-called side airbag devices and curtain shield airbag devices are mounted on vehicles. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 6, for example, on the passenger seat side of the automobile 1, the curtain shield airbag device 2 is configured to inflate near the inside of the glass at the top of the front door 1 a, The side airbag device 3 is configured to inflate near the inside of the lower portion of the front door 1a. In FIG. 6, the curtain shield airbag device 2 and the side airbag device 3 are shown only on the passenger seat side, but are actually installed on the driver seat side.

  As shown by an arrow X in FIG. 6, when another vehicle 4 collides from the side, the curtain shield airbag device 2 and the side airbag device 3 are respectively located near the inside of the front door 1a, that is, outside the front passenger seat. The body of the passenger in the passenger seat is protected from directly contacting the front door 1a.

On the other hand, Patent Document 1 discloses an airbag device that is attached in a passenger compartment ceiling and is inflated downward toward the front of an occupant in the event of a frontal collision of an automobile.
In Patent Document 2, it is installed in the console between the driver's seat and the passenger seat, and expands between the driver's seat back and the passenger seat back in the event of a side collision of the automobile. An airbag device is disclosed.

  In Patent Document 3, for example, a panel member that is mounted in an instrument panel in front of a passenger seat and inflates to the front side of the passenger in the passenger seat at the time of a frontal collision of an automobile and is provided near the ceiling. An airbag apparatus is disclosed in which the rearward movement of the airbag bag body in the vicinity of the ceiling of the airbag bag body that is rotated downward is restricted in the vehicle interior side.

  In Patent Document 4, for example, a main airbag bag body that is attached in an instrument panel in front of a passenger seat and that is divided into left and right at the time of a frontal collision of an automobile is inflated to the front side of the passenger in the passenger seat, and A ceiling airbag bag body provided near the ceiling of the main airbag is inflated downward and engages with a space between the divided left and right portions of the main airbag bag body inflated toward the interior of the vehicle interior. An airbag device is disclosed in which the lateral displacement of the bag is restricted so that the main airbag does not expand in an unexpected direction.

  However, in the curtain shield airbag device 2 and the side airbag device 3 shown in FIG. 6, the occupant on the side opposite to the side on which the side collision occurred at the time of the side collision, As shown by the arrow Y, the impact jumps toward the collision side and may collide with interior parts exposed between the curtain shield airbag device 2 and the side airbag device 3 or a passenger on the passenger seat. .

  On the other hand, in the airbag device according to Patent Document 1, the airbag is inflated from the ceiling to the front side of the occupant so as to protect the occupant in the rear seat at the time of the frontal collision, but to protect the occupant at the time of the side collision. Not configured.

  Further, in the airbag device according to Patent Document 2, the load applied to the driver seat or the passenger seat due to the impact of the side collision is caused to pass through the seat back by inflating between the seat back of the driver seat and the passenger seat at the time of a side collision. Thus, it is dispersed while being transmitted to the seat back of the passenger seat or the driver seat, and the driver seat or the passenger seat is prevented from falling to the side opposite to the side where the side collision has occurred. Therefore, the airbag device of Patent Document 2 is not intended to protect adjacent passengers at the time of a side collision or the like.

  Furthermore, the airbag devices according to Patent Document 3 and Patent Document 4 are also intended to protect the occupant at the time of a frontal collision, and are not configured to protect the occupant at the time of a side collision.

In recent years, therefore, a center airbag device has been proposed in which an airbag is inflated between two seats in order to prevent the body of an occupant seated on the seat on the opposite side during a side collision from moving to the collision side. . This type of center airbag device is disclosed in Patent Document 5.
JP 2000-185618 A JP 2004-217109 A Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2005-067272 JP 2005-145225 A Japanese Patent Application No. 2006-299698

  By the way, the airbag is adjusted in an inflated state so as not to hit the occupant directly in a normal seated state. If the airbag is inflated in a state of OPP), a so-called side effect may occur in which an occupant is injured by the impact of the airbag inflation. In particular, in an airbag that inflates between seats, since the inflated airbag is likely to hit the occupant's head and neck, the distance between the inflated airbag and the occupant's head and neck decreases. The injury value increases in inverse proportion to this distance.

  In view of the above, the present invention reduces the injury value even in an OOP state by inflating an airbag in order to suppress movement of the occupant to the collision side due to the impact of the side collision in a side collision. An object of the present invention is to provide an airbag that can be used.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an airbag for restricting movement of an occupant seated on a seat on the opposite side of a collision to a collision side in a side collision, in an inflated state in a vehicle width direction. The contour in the vertical section along the line forms a polygon in which the vicinity of the center in the height direction protrudes on both sides in the vehicle width direction. The number of corners of this polygon is preferably an even number of 4 or more.

  The airbag according to the present invention preferably has a three-dimensional shape including left and right side surfaces protruding in a convex shape on the front, back, top, bottom, and both sides in the vehicle width direction when inflated.

  The airbag according to the present invention is preferably configured in a planar manner from two left and right flat woven fabrics.

  According to the above configuration, the airbag is inflated in the center region in the vehicle width direction of the vehicle in the vehicle interior during a side collision. As a result, a load is applied to the occupant on the collision side due to the impact of the collision, and when the body of the occupant on the opposite side of the collision moves toward the collision side and presses the airbag toward the collision side, the collision is caused by the airbag. The movement force of the body of the opposite occupant is absorbed, and the occupant on the opposite side of the collision is protected. In this case, since the side surface of the airbag is formed so as to protrude on both sides in the vehicle width direction in the vicinity of the center in the height direction, a space is secured between the head and neck of the occupant and the side surface of the airbag. Thereby, even if the occupant's body on the opposite side of the collision is tilted or in an OOP state deviated from the seating position, the amount of lap at which the inflated airbag side surface interferes with the occupant's head and neck is reduced. Therefore, the side effect can be reduced and the injury value of the occupant can be reduced.

  In the case where the flat woven fabric is composed of two flat left and right woven fabrics, the airbag itself has a planar shape, so that the airbag itself can be easily manufactured and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

  Thus, according to the present invention, the airbag is inflated to suppress the movement of the occupant toward the collision side due to the impact of the side collision at the time of the side collision, and the injury value is reduced even in the OOP state. Can be reliably protected.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on the embodiments shown in the drawings. In the drawing, Fr indicates the front of the vehicle, Up indicates the upper side of the vehicle, and LH indicates the left side in the vehicle width direction.
1 and 2 show a use state (inflated state) of an embodiment of an airbag apparatus according to the present invention. When the airbag apparatus 10 collides with another vehicle 40 from the side with respect to the vehicle 30 in which two seats 20L and 20R are arranged side by side in the vehicle width direction, the other vehicle 40 is placed on the right side of the vehicle in the illustrated example. The airbag 11 is inflated in the region between the two seats 20L and 20R in order to restrict the body of the passenger P seated on the seat 20L on the opposite side of the collision from moving to the collision side It is.

  For this reason, the airbag apparatus 10 is provided between the seat backs of the two seats 20L and 20R. The airbag device 10 includes an inflator 12 that injects gas into the airbag 11 in order to inflate the airbag 11 described above.

  Although not shown, the airbag 11 is accommodated in a case 13 in a normally folded state before a collision. The case 13 is, for example, a passenger compartment floor between the seat backs of two seats 20L and 20R. When a partition material (not shown) standing up from is installed, it is attached to the partition material. The inflator 12 is similarly disposed in the case 13.

  At the time of a side collision, a sensor (not shown) attached to the vehicle body of the automobile detects an impact, and the airbag 11 is inflated by injecting gas into the airbag 11 using the detection as a trigger.

Next, the shape of the airbag 11 when it is most inflated (hereinafter referred to as “when inflated”) will be described.
As shown in FIG. 3, the airbag 11 is formed of a woven fabric in a bag shape, and its upper end 11 a comes into contact with the vehicle compartment ceiling 35 and its lower end 11 b comes into contact with the vehicle compartment lower side 36 when inflated. When various devices are provided on the passenger compartment ceiling 35, the upper end of the airbag 11 comes into contact with the passenger compartment ceiling 35 via these various devices when inflated. Further, the vehicle compartment lower side 36 with which the lower end 11b of the airbag 11 contacts when inflated is a center console in the illustrated case, but may be a vehicle compartment floor, a seat cushion or the like depending on the structure of the automobile.

  Here, the airbag 11 is formed so that both side surfaces 11c and 11d in the vicinity of the middle in the height direction protrude to both sides in the vehicle width direction when inflated. In the case of illustration, the airbag 11 is formed so that both side surfaces 11c and 11d have a cross-sectional shape projecting from the left and right occupants when inflated, that is, a rhombus or hexagonal cross-sectional shape as a whole. ing. The airbag 11 has a front surface 11e and a back surface 11f formed flat.

  By the way, when the airbag is formed in a trapezoidal shape or an inverted triangular shape having a cross section in the vehicle width direction and having an upper side larger than the lower side as in the prior art, the airbag has three woven fabrics 11C, 11D and 11E are three-dimensionally configured. In this case, with respect to the central woven fabric 11C, the edges (shown by chain line arrows) of the woven fabrics 11D and 11E that are symmetric with respect to the center line O are sewn together to form a bag-like airbag. It is formed. For this reason, the production process of the airbag becomes complicated, and it takes time and cost, and the distance between the head and neck of the occupant on the opposite side of the collision and the side surface of the airbag is shortened at the time of inflation. It is not preferable.

  Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4, the airbag 11 is configured in a plane from two flat woven fabrics 11 </ b> A and 11 </ b> B. In these woven fabrics 11A and 11B, edges (shown by chain line arrows) located symmetrically with respect to the center line O in the drawing are stitched together to form a bag-like airbag 11.

When the airbag 11 is inflated, the airbag 11 has a maximum inflation distance in the vertical direction so that the upper end 11a and the lower end 11b of the airbag 11 abut against the vehicle compartment ceiling 35 and the vehicle compartment lower side 36 with a predetermined pressure. H2 is set to exceed the distance between the vehicle compartment ceiling 35 and the vehicle compartment lower side 36 (vehicle compartment height H1). That is, at the time of inflation, the upper end 11a and the lower end 11b of the airbag 11 are formed so as to have an inflation allowance α and an inflation allowance β, respectively.
Thus, the airbag 11 is inflated to the vehicle interior ceiling 35 and the vehicle compartment lower side 36 with a predetermined pressing force so as to inflate to the maximum expansion distance H2 even after contacting the vehicle compartment ceiling 35 and the vehicle compartment lower side 36 at the time of inflation. In addition to the contact, the areas W1 and W2 where the upper end 11a and the lower end 11b are in contact with the vehicle interior ceiling 35 and the vehicle interior lower side 36 are widened, and a strong frictional force is generated.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the airbag 11 is inflated from the attachment position of the case 13 between the seat backs toward the front side. Therefore, when viewed from the side, the contact position A of the upper end 11a of the airbag 11 with the vehicle interior ceiling 35, the contact position B of the lower end 11b with the vehicle interior lower side 36, and the mounting position C of the airbag 11 Forms a triangle ABC, and the load center M of the occupant P is accommodated in the inner region of the triangle ABC.

The airbag apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment is configured as described above. Normally, the airbag 11 is stored in the case 13 when the airbag 11 is not inflated.
From this state, for example, as indicated by an arrow X in FIG. 1, when another vehicle 40 collides from the right side, a sensor (not shown) detects the impact, and the inflator 12 in the airbag 11 is triggered by this detection. Inject gas into Thereby, as shown in FIG.1 and FIG.2, the airbag 11 expand | swells and expand | swells between the two sheet | seats 20L and 20R. At this time, the upper end 11a and the lower end 11b of the airbag 11 are surely brought into contact with the vehicle interior ceiling 35 and the vehicle interior lower side 36 by the bulging allowances α and β, respectively, and generate friction.

  Further, as the airbag 11 is inflated, its both side surfaces 11c and 11d project to both sides in the vehicle width direction in the vicinity of the middle in the height direction. Therefore, in FIG. 1, the occupant on the opposite side (opposite side of collision), that is, the occupant P seated on the passenger seat 20L, is shown on the collision side as indicated by the arrow Y due to the impact of the side collision. Even when a load toward the vehicle is received, the airbag 11 applies a reaction force to the passenger P when the body of the passenger P hits the airbag 11 that has already been inflated. Accordingly, the movement of the occupant P toward the collision side of the body is reliably suppressed.

  Here, since both side surfaces 11c and 11d of the airbag 11 are projected on both sides in the vehicle width direction in the vicinity of the middle in the height direction, the body of the occupant P hits the side surface 11c of the airbag 11 inflated at the side collision. When this occurs, a sufficient space S1 in the vehicle width direction of the internal space of the airbag 11 for absorbing the impact is secured. Therefore, the occupant load due to the impact of the side collision is reliably absorbed, and the occupant P is protected.

Further, as shown in FIG. 1, since both side surfaces 11c and 11d of the airbag 11 project on both sides in the vehicle width direction near the middle in the height direction, the side surface 11c of the inflated airbag 11 and the head of the passenger P A space S2 between the head and the neck is ensured. As a result, as shown in FIG. 5, even when the occupant P is in the OOP state by shifting from the seating position of the seat 20 </ b> L, the side surface 11 c of the inflated airbag 11 interferes with the head of the occupant P. The wrap amount D1 is significantly reduced as compared to the wrap amount D2 of the side surface 11c (shown by the dotted line in FIG. 5) when the airbag 11 is made of the woven fabric shown in FIG.
Therefore, even when the occupant P is in the OOP state, the injury value of the occupant P when the occupant P on the opposite side of the collision at the side collision moves to the collision side of the body becomes small, and the side effect is reduced. And the passenger P is reliably protected.

  Further, when the body of the occupant P on the opposite side of the collision hits the side surface 11c of the inflated airbag 11 in a side collision, the upper end 11a and the lower end 11b of the airbag 11 are brought into contact with the vehicle interior ceiling 35 and the vehicle interior lower side 36. Since the load center M of the occupant P acts in the inner region of the triangle ABC composed of the positions A and B and the attachment position C of the airbag 11, the region near the load center M of the body of the occupant P is the area of the airbag 11. It will be wrapped by the side surface 11c. Therefore, the occupant P is reliably protected without causing the body of the occupant P on the opposite side of the collision to be displaced from the airbag 11 at the time of a side collision.

The present invention can be implemented in various forms without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, the shape of the airbag is not limited to the above embodiment. Specifically, the cross-sectional shape of the airbag at the time of inflation is not limited to a rhombus or a hexagon, and may be any one that is a right and left object and that both side surfaces in the vicinity of the middle in the height direction protrude on both sides in the vehicle width direction. What is provided is that provided with the above even-numbered corners. The both side surfaces are formed so as to have a mountain-shaped cross-sectional shape. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the both side surfaces may have an arc-shaped cross-sectional shape in which the vicinity of the middle in the height direction protrudes on both sides.
As a structure for attaching the airbag device 10 to a partition member such as the airbag 11 or the inflator 12, a conventionally known attachment structure in an airbag device may be employed. Furthermore, when the seat backs of the left and right seats are integrally formed continuously, the airbag device 10 may be attached to the upper part of the seat back in the region between the vehicle width center or the seating position. Good.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case where the airbag 11 is inflated mainly between the front seats, that is, the passengers in the driver's seat and the passenger seat has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the rear seats or a plurality of rows such as three rows. When seats are provided, the seats in each row, and when the bench seats or three or more seats where three or more passengers are seated side by side are arranged in close contact with the left and right The airbag may be configured to be inflated in each seating position or in an area between the seats.

  Moreover, although what was called a passenger car was demonstrated in embodiment mentioned above, it is not restricted to this, For example, in large vehicles, such as a bus and a truck, it is possible to provide the airbag apparatus by this invention.

  As described above, according to the present invention, the airbag is inflated to suppress the movement of the occupant to the collision side due to the impact of the side collision at the time of the side collision, thereby reducing the injury value even in the OOP state. An extremely excellent airbag device that can be provided is provided.

It is a schematic front view which shows the structure in the use condition of one Embodiment of the airbag apparatus provided with the airbag by this invention. It is a schematic side view of the airbag of FIG. It is an enlarged front view of the airbag of FIG. FIG. 2 is a development view of a woven fabric constituting the airbag of FIG. 1. It is a schematic front view which shows the use condition of the airbag of FIG. 1 when a passenger | crew has shifted | deviated from the seating position. It is a schematic rear view which shows the structure of an example of the conventional airbag apparatus. It is an expanded view of the woven fabric which comprises the airbag of another shape.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Airbag apparatus 11 Airbag 11A, 11B Woven cloth 12 Inflator 13 Case 20L, 20R Seat 30 Vehicle 35 Car room ceiling 36 Car room lower side 40 Other vehicles

Claims (4)

An airbag for restricting movement of a passenger seated on a seat on the opposite side during a side collision to the collision side of the body,
The airbag according to claim 1, wherein the contour in a vertical cross section along the vehicle width direction in an inflated state forms a polygon in which the vicinity of the center in the height direction protrudes on both sides in the vehicle width direction.   The airbag according to claim 1, wherein the number of corners of the polygon is an even number of 4 or more.   3. The airbag according to claim 1, wherein the airbag has a three-dimensional shape formed of a front surface, a rear surface, an upper surface, a lower surface, and left and right side surfaces protruding in a convex shape on both sides in the vehicle width direction when inflated.   The airbag according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the airbag is planarly formed from two left and right flat woven fabrics.