JP2010163015A - Pedestrian protective airbag device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve a problem wherein the collision of a vehicle front part with a leg of a pedestrian, in other words, the protection of the leg of the pedestrian, has not been taken into consideration although a device for preventing a leg from being caught under a vehicle has been known. <P>SOLUTION: A pedestrian protective airbag device has an inflator 2 mounted on a bumper reinforcement 1, an airbag 4 connected to the inflator 2 via an air gas introducing pipe 3, and a sensor for sensing the collision with a pedestrian. The airbag 4 consists of a plurality of foldable bag-shaped bodies 40. Each bag-shaped body 40 forms a cylindrical body which is long in the width direction of a vehicle body by introducing air gas. The plurality of bag-shaped bodies 40 are juxtaposed in the vertical direction. Further, the bag-shaped bodies 40 are communicated by an air gas communicating unit 41. A non-return valve 42 is provided on the air gas communicating unit 41, which prevents any movement of air gas from the lower side to the upper side. Further, a vent hole 43 is formed in the highest bag-shaped body 40a. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a pedestrian protection airbag device that is provided in the vicinity of a front bumper of an automobile or the like and prevents a pedestrian, particularly a pedestrian's leg, from being caught under the front bumper at the time of collision with a pedestrian.

Conventionally, as a pedestrian protection airbag device, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2002-542110 (conventional technology 1) “at least a mounting bar (10), particularly a vehicle horizontal bar (10) by an energy absorption module (11). A safety shock absorber for a motor vehicle, in particular a passenger car, comprising a shock absorber base body (4) with a shock absorber bar (5), above the attachment (11) An energy-absorbing element (17, 20; 38, 46; 64) is attached below the energy-absorbing element (9; 32, 33, 39, 41; 52, 60) and / or the attachment (11). They are adjustable by means of the shock sensor (6), and after actuation by the shock sensor (6), the shock absorber base (4) above and / or below the shock absorber base (4) There is a disclosure of a "safety shock absorber characterized by forming a continuous contour with the front side of the".

  According to the description of the prior art 2, the prior art 1 is “a safety that allows the airbag attached below the bumper reinforcement (horizontal bar) to be deployed forward of the vehicle and obliquely downward of the vehicle when colliding with a pedestrian. A shock absorber is known, and in the event of a collision with a pedestrian, the airbag is deployed in front of the vehicle and diagonally downward to prevent the pedestrian's legs from getting caught under the front bumper. It is a safety device.

  According to the description of the prior art 2, the vehicle has a so-called approach angle, which is an angle formed by a line connecting the ground point of the front wheel and the lower end and front end (or rear end) of the front bumper and the horizontal line. For example, when driving on a road with large unevenness (running on rough roads), in order to avoid contact between the under cover below the front bumper and the unevenness of the road, the position of the front bumper is raised and the approach angle is set. On the other hand, if the approach angle is set high, the pedestrian's legs may be easily caught under the front bumper when the pedestrian collides with the front bumper. " However, in the prior art 1, "In order to prevent the entrainment, the airbag is deployed forward and obliquely downward of the vehicle, but the airbag is simply attached below the bumper reinforcement, As described above, it cannot be said that setting an appropriate approach angle is considered.

  In order to solve the problems of the prior art 1, Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2008-37246 (conventional technique 2) has been proposed. An undercover that is disposed below the front bumper in the vehicle and forms an approach angle; an inflator that generates gas; and an airbag that introduces and deploys the gas into the interior; and An airbag module attached to a bumper reinforcement or a side member along an under cover, and when the vehicle collides with a pedestrian, the airbag is deployed forward of the vehicle and obliquely downward of the vehicle. A pedestrian protection airbag device that features a proper approach angle and allows the pedestrian's legs to be involved. A main object is to stop "is disclosed inventions.

Japanese translation of PCT publication No. 2002-542110 (prior art 1) JP 2008-37246 A (Prior Art 2)

  However, although the related art 2 can “prevent the pedestrian's leg from getting caught in the lower part of the front bumper”, “the collision between the front of the vehicle and the pedestrian's leg, that is, against the pedestrian's leg” There were issues that were not taken into account for “protection”. An object of the present invention is to provide an airbag device that can protect a pedestrian's legs against the front of the vehicle.

In order to solve the above problems, an inflator attached to a bumper reinforcement, an airbag connected by an inflator and an air gas introduction pipe, and a collision with a pedestrian at the time of vehicle traveling at a constant speed or more were detected immediately before. A sensor for introducing air gas from the inflator into the airbag
The airbag is composed of a plurality of foldable bag-like bodies, each bag-like body is a bag-like body that becomes a cylindrical body that is long in the vehicle body width direction by introduction of air gas, and a plurality of bag-like bodies are connected to each other vertically. And the bag-like bodies communicate with each other through the air gas communication portion, and air gas is introduced from the upper bag-like body to the lower bag-like body sequentially,
A check valve for preventing air gas movement from below to above is provided at the air gas communication part,
In addition, a pedestrian protection airbag device is proposed in which a vent hole is provided in the uppermost bag-like body.

  Further, when the plurality of bag-like bodies of the airbag are inflated to form a cylindrical body by the introduction of air gas, the cylindrical diameter of the bag-like body at the uppermost position is at the other lower position. The pedestrian protection airbag apparatus described in the 0008 column, which is formed to be larger than the cylindrical diameter, is proposed.

  Furthermore, when the plurality of bag-like bodies of the airbag are inflated by the introduction of air gas into a cylindrical body, the air bag has a relatively high gas internal pressure of the bag-like body at the lowermost position. A pedestrian protection airbag device described in column 0009 is proposed.

  According to the present invention, when a collision with a pedestrian is detected immediately before traveling at a certain speed or more, the sensor detects that and from the inflator until the collision between the front part of the vehicle and the pedestrian leg. By introducing air gas into the air bag, direct collision between the front part of the vehicle and the pedestrian leg is prevented, and the collision energy to the leg is generated by the air bag that is inflated in parallel and becomes a cylindrical body. Can be relaxed.

  According to the invention of claim 2, since the cylindrical diameter is larger when the uppermost bag-like body becomes a cylindrical body than the other bag-like bodies, the same function as that of the conventional foamed material is provided on the upper surface. The vent hole has a cushioning function, reducing the impact on the pedestrian's legs.

  Furthermore, according to the third aspect, when the bag-like body is inflated as a cylindrical body, the cylindrical body located at the lowermost position has a relatively high gas internal pressure, so that the leg is prevented from being caught in the lower part of the vehicle.

The pedestrian protection airbag device according to the embodiment of the present invention is viewed from the front side of the vehicle body. Similarly, a plan view of the airbag device Side explanatory drawing which similarly shows the state before deployment of an airbag device Side explanatory drawing which similarly shows the state after deployment of an airbag device

  FIG. 1 is a view of a pedestrian protection airbag device according to an embodiment of the present invention as viewed from an oblique front of the vehicle body, FIG. 2 is a plan explanatory view of the airbag device, and is also before deployment of the airbag device. Description will be made based on FIG. 3 which is a side explanatory view showing the state, and FIG. 4 which is also a side explanatory view showing the state after unfolding.

  The airbag device for pedestrian protection according to the embodiment of the present invention is connected by an inflator 2 attached to a lower portion of a bumper reinforcement 1 provided inside a bumper cover 5 of an automobile, an inflator 2 and an air gas introduction pipe 3. And a sensor (not shown) for introducing air gas from the inflator 2 to the airbag 4 when a collision with a pedestrian is detected immediately before the vehicle travels at a certain speed or higher.

  A sensor (not shown) is set so that the inflator 2 is activated when a pedestrian located in front of the vehicle at a certain speed or higher is detected. The inflator 2 is a cylindrical body and is attached to the lower part of the bumper reinforcement 1 in the horizontal direction. The inflator 2 has a boundary at the center of the cylindrical body and is divided into two left and right chambers. The air gas introduction pipe 3 communicates with the uppermost bag-like body 40 a of the airbag 4.

  The airbag 4 includes a plurality of foldable bag-like bodies 40 that are connected to each other in the bumper cover 5 and arranged in parallel. The bag-like bodies 40a, 40b--40n are inflated in the vehicle body width direction by introduction of air gas. A cylindrical body that extends in the vehicle width direction and can cover the entire surface of the vehicle width. In this embodiment, the number of the bag-like bodies 40 of the airbag 4 is five. Further, the upper and lower bag-like bodies 40a, 40b--40n of the airbag 4 are communicated with each other by an air gas communication portion 41, and air gas is sequentially introduced from the upper bag-like body 40a to the lower bag-like body 40b. Each air gas communication portion 41 is provided with a check valve 42 for preventing air gas movement from the lower side to the upper side.

  Further, as an embodiment, when the plurality of bag-like bodies 40a, 40b--40n of the airbag 4 are inflated by introduction of air gas into a cylindrical body, the cylindrical diameter of the bag-like body 40a at the uppermost position is larger. The bag-like body 40b--40e at the other lower position is formed larger than the cylindrical diameter.

  Further, a plurality of vent holes 43 are provided on the upper surface side of the uppermost bag-like body 40 a of the airbag 4.

  Further, in this embodiment, when the plurality of bag-like bodies 40 of the airbag 4 are inflated into a cylindrical body by the introduction of the air gas, the gas internal pressures of the bag-like bodies 40d and 40e at the lowermost positions are relative to each other. Therefore, it is configured to be higher than the other bag-like bodies 40a to 40c.

The operation of the pedestrian protection airbag apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described. If the sensor senses a pedestrian that may collide forward when the vehicle is traveling at a certain speed or higher, the air gas instantaneously passes through the air gas introduction pipes 3 at the left and right ends of the inflator 2 and the uppermost position of the airbag 4 Is filled into the bag-like body 40a.

  When the air gas filled in the bag-like body 40a at the uppermost position of the airbag 4 is sequentially filled into the bag-like body 40b in the lower position through the air gas communication portion 41, and the bag-like body 40b is filled with air gas, The next lower bag-like body 40c is sequentially filled through the air gas communication portion 41.

  Air gas is filled in the bag-like body 40 located sequentially below, and the air-gas is filled up to the bag-like body 40e in the lowermost position in this embodiment, and each bag-like body 40a-40e has a long vehicle width. It swells into a cylindrical body while stretching. The air gas sequentially moves from the bag-like body 40 at the upper position to the bag-like body 40 at the lower position. However, the check valve 42 provided in the air gas communication portion 41 causes the air gas to move upward from the bag-like body 40 at the lower position. There is no backflow to the bag-like body 40.

  The entire airbag 4 instantly swells in the vehicle width direction and downwards as the bag-like body 40 breaks the bumper cover 5 within an instant after the sensor senses it.

  Further, the lowermost bag-like body 40e or a plurality of lower bag-like bodies 40e and 40d including the bag-like body of the lowermost bag-like body 40e are "for moving a leg part of a pedestrian forward of the vehicle. The internal pressure of the air gas as an air bag is higher than other bag-like bodies. Therefore, since it contacts the ground by the air gas pressure of the lowermost bag-like body 40e, it becomes a wall shape, and it is possible to prevent the pedestrian from being caught downward.

  The present invention is provided in the vicinity of a front bumper of an automobile or the like, and is used as a pedestrian protection airbag device that prevents a pedestrian, in particular, a pedestrian's leg from being caught under the front bumper at the time of a collision with a pedestrian. Is done.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Bumper reinforcement 2 Inflator 3 Air gas introduction pipe 4 Air bag 40 Bag-shaped body 41 Air gas communication part 42 Check valve 43 Vent hole 5 Bumper cover

Claims (3)

Inflator attached to bumper reinforcement, air bag connected by inflator and air gas introduction pipe, and air bag from inflator when a collision with a pedestrian is detected immediately before driving at a certain speed or higher And a sensor to be introduced to
The airbag is composed of a plurality of foldable bag-like bodies, each bag-like body is a bag-like body that becomes a cylindrical body that is long in the vehicle body width direction by introduction of air gas, and a plurality of bag-like bodies are connected to each other vertically. And the bag-like bodies communicate with each other through the air gas communication portion, and air gas is introduced from the upper bag-like body to the lower bag-like body sequentially,
A check valve for preventing air gas movement from below to above is provided at the air gas communication part,
A pedestrian-protecting airbag device, wherein a vent hole is provided in the uppermost bag-like body. When a plurality of bag-like bodies of an airbag are inflated to form a cylindrical body by introduction of air gas, the cylindrical diameter of the bag-like body at the uppermost position is the cylinder of the bag-like body at the other lower position The airbag device for protecting pedestrians according to claim 1, wherein the airbag device is formed larger than the diameter. The airbag according to claim 1 or 2, wherein when the plurality of bag-like bodies of the airbag are inflated by introduction of air gas to become a cylindrical body, the gas internal pressure of the bag-like body at the lowest position is relatively high. The pedestrian protection airbag apparatus according to claim 2.

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