JP2011068159A - Curtain airbag device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a curtain airbag device capable of regulating an expansion direction of an airbag. <P>SOLUTION: The curtain airbag device includes: a gas generator for generating expansion gas; and an airbag which is compressed in a sheet shape in a storage state and is expanded by gas supplied by the gas generator. The airbag includes: an airbag body for blowing out with the gas; and a plurality of mounting tabs which are provided at the upper edge of the airbag body, and fixed to a vehicle. The mounting tab includes: a first end fixed to the vehicle; a second end connected to the airbag body; and a folded part folded between the first end and the second end. The folded part is temporarily fixed. Temporary fixture is canceled accompanying expansion of the airbag body. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a so-called curtain airbag device that protects an occupant by deploying between a vehicle body side wall and an occupant in the event of a vehicle collision.

  The airbag device is arranged inside a driver airbag device housed inside the steering wheel, a curtain airbag device arranged along the upper edge of the window frame, or an instrument panel (instrument panel). There are various types such as an airbag device for a passenger seat.

  In general, a curtain airbag device includes a gas generator that generates inflation gas; and an airbag that is folded into a long shape in an accommodated state and is deployed by gas supplied from the gas generator. The airbag includes an airbag main body portion that is inflated by gas; and a plurality of attachment tabs that are provided on an upper edge portion of the airbag main body portion and are fixed to the vehicle.

  In the curtain airbag device having the above-described structure, if the mounting tab is short, the airbag is deployed not on the lower side along the window but on the inside of the vehicle in the initial stage of airbag deployment, thereby damaging peripheral structural components. Giving or damaging interior parts such as assist grips. On the other hand, when the mounting tab is long, there are variations in the mounting position of the airbag device, causing problems such as unstable deployment direction. Furthermore, the upper part of the tab made of normal fabric hangs down, making it difficult to attach the airbag.

Patent Document 1 discloses an example of a conventional airbag device.
JP 2009-83552 A

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described conventional problems, and a first object thereof is to provide a curtain airbag device capable of regulating the deployment direction of an airbag.

  It is a second object of the present invention to provide a curtain airbag device that can suppress variations in the mounting position of the airbag device.

Furthermore, it is a third object to provide a curtain airbag device that contributes to an improvement in mounting workability to a vehicle.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, a curtain airbag device according to the present invention includes a gas generator that generates an inflation gas; and is folded in a long shape in a housed state and deployed by gas supplied from the gas generator. An airbag. The airbag includes an airbag body portion that is inflated by the gas; and a plurality of attachment tabs that are provided on an upper edge portion of the airbag body portion and are fixed to the vehicle. The mounting tab includes a first end fixed to the vehicle; a second end connected to the airbag main body; and between the first end and the second end. And a folded portion to be folded. And the said folding part is temporarily fastened and temporary fastening is cancelled | released with the expansion | swelling of the said airbag main-body part.

  For the temporary fastening of the folded portion, any of sewing, welding, locking with a mechanical fastener, joining with a double-sided tape, and adhesion with an adhesive can be employed.

  Preferably, the mounting tab has a structure that exhibits the shortest length in the vertical direction when the temporary fastening is applied, and has the maximum length in the vertical direction when the temporary fastening is released.

  Furthermore, it is preferable that the tab having the folded portion has a structure capable of self-supporting.

Note that the number of times of folding of the folded portion, the direction of folding, and the amount of folding (overlap amount) are optimally set in consideration of the mounting conditions including the tab length, width, rigidity, and the space (environment) of the mounting location.

  According to the airbag device of the present invention, since the folding portion is provided on the mounting tab, the length of the hourly mounting tab is optimal (short) in the mounted state before the operation, and the mounting posture is stabilized. .

  In addition, since the mounting tab is provided with a folding part, the rigidity of the mounting tab is increased in the mounted state before operation, and the mounting tab can be made independent (maintains its own posture), and does not hang down. , Mounting workability is improved.

Furthermore, since the folded portion of the tab is temporarily sewn and the temporary sewn portion breaks as the airbag body expands, the tab extends and becomes long at the initial stage of airbag deployment. It becomes possible to develop well on the lower side along the window instead of the passenger compartment side. As a result, the peripheral structural parts are not damaged, and the interior parts such as the assist grip are not damaged.

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a passenger compartment of a vehicle equipped with a curtain airbag device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the structure (deployed state / unfolded state) of the airbag used in the curtain airbag device according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is an explanatory view showing the structure (folded / folded state) of the airbag used in the curtain airbag device according to the embodiment of the present invention. 4A to 4C are explanatory views showing the structure of the mounting tab for an airbag according to the embodiment of the present invention. 5A and 5B are cross-sectional views showing the operation of the curtain airbag device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

10: Curtain airbag device 12: Airbag body 14: Mounting tab 14a: Bolt hole 16: Inflator 30: Folding part

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a passenger compartment of an automobile equipped with a curtain airbag device 10 according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, an inner panel (32: FIG. 5) covered with a head lining (36: FIG. 5) is provided on the upper part of the window glass on the side of the passenger compartment. The curtain airbag device 10 is fixed to the inner panel with bolts using the mounting tabs 14.

  2 and 3 are plan views showing the structure of the curtain airbag device 10 according to the present invention, and show a deployed state (a state before folding) and a folded state (a state just before installation), respectively. The curtain airbag device 10 is accommodated in a state of being covered by a head lining (36: FIG. 5) disposed on the upper edge of the window of the vehicle, and from the gap between the head lining and the inner panel (32: FIG. 5) during operation. An airbag 12 that protects passengers in the vehicle by inflating and deploying downward is provided; and a gas supply device (inflator) 16 that supplies inflation gas to the airbag 12.

  The airbag includes an airbag main body 12 that is inflated by gas; and a plurality of attachment tabs 14 that are provided on the upper edge of the airbag main body 12 and are fixed to the vehicle. The tab 14 has a first end (upper end) fixed to the vehicle; a second end (lower end) connected to the airbag body 12; and between the first end and the second end. Can be distinguished from the folded portion 30 that is folded at least twice. The folding portion 30 is temporarily sewn by sewing, and is broken as the airbag main body portion 12 is inflated. A hole 14 a through which the bolt (34) passes is formed at the upper end (first end) of the mounting tab 14.

  In addition, the folding part 30 can be temporarily fixed by welding, a mechanical fastener, a double-sided tape, an adhesive, etc. other than sewing. What is important in the folding unit 30 is that the folded state is maintained before the airbag device is operated, and the temporary fastening is released at the initial stage of airbag deployment.

  The airbag main body 12 is a bag formed by stacking a plurality of sheets (for example, two or three sheets) and stitching, adhering or welding, or a bag woven with a single weave. Can be adopted. The air bag body 12 includes a gas introduction pipe 24 that guides the gas supplied from the inflator 16 to the inside; a plurality of chambers 20 that are expanded by the gas; and a duct that guides the gas introduced from the gas introduction pipe 24 to each chamber 20. 18. Chamber 20 is defined by a non-inflatable region 22.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the airbag main body 12 is wound into a roll shape when accommodated to form a substantially rod-shaped roll body. The folding method of the airbag 12 can employ a method such as a bellows (accordion) in addition to a roll. In this embodiment, the case where one inflator is used is taken as an example, but it goes without saying that the present invention can also be applied to the case where two inflators are used.

  Here, the mounting tab 14 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. Prior to installing the airbag device 10 in the vehicle, the attachment tab 14 is temporarily sewn in accordance with the procedure shown in FIGS. First, as shown in FIG. (B), the upper end portion is folded downward, and then folded back again as shown in FIG. (C). And the folding part 30 is formed by sewing simultaneously the overlapped part (three sheets).

  FIG. 5A shows an attached state of the airbag apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment. When installing the airbag apparatus 10 assembled as shown in FIG. 3, the air bag device 10 is fixed to the inner panel 32 through the bolt 34 in the hole 14 a of the mounting tab 14. Here, the tab 14 having the folded portion 30 can be self-supporting in the vertical direction, and the position of the hole 14a can be regulated without the upper end portion hanging down from the funa and the mounting workability is improved. In the attached state shown in FIG. 5A, the attachment tab 14 has the shortest length in the vertical direction due to the temporary sewing portion.

  Next, the operation of the airbag apparatus according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 (A), 5 (B) and FIG. When an emergency such as rollover, side collision, or rollover occurs while the vehicle is running, a sensor provided in the vehicle catches the abnormal vibration, and based on the signal, an ignition signal is sent to the inflator 16 (not shown). send. Inside the inflator 16 is provided a propellant that receives the ignition signal from the sensor and drives the inflator.

  By the operation of the inflator 16, the inflation gas flows into the duct 18 of the airbag body 12 through the gas introduction pipe 24. At this time, the temporary sewing thread of the folding portion 30 of the mounting tab 14 is broken and extends to the maximum in the vertical direction as shown in FIG. At this time, the airbag main body 12 moves and inflates downward along the window, not along the passenger compartment. As a result, the peripheral structural parts are not damaged, and the interior parts such as the assist grip 38 are not damaged.

  When the gas flows into the chamber 20 from the duct 18, the airbag main body 12 is deployed so that the headlining 36 is pushed out (bounced off). The side surface of the window glass is covered with the deployed airbag main body 12 to protect the passengers in the vehicle (FIG. 1).

  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 and the like can be made without departing from the technical idea described in the claims. is there. Needless to say, the curtain airbag device according to the present invention can be applied to various types of vehicles such as a two-row passenger car type vehicle in addition to a three-row SUV type or wagon type vehicle.

Claims (4)

In the curtain airbag device that is deployed in a curtain shape at the side of the vehicle and protects the passenger in the vehicle,
A gas generator for generating inflation gas;
An airbag that is folded into a long shape in the accommodated state and deployed by the gas supplied from the gas generator;
The airbag includes an airbag main body portion that is inflated by the gas; and a plurality of attachment tabs that are provided on an upper edge portion of the airbag main body portion and are fixed to the vehicle.
The mounting tab is folded between a first end fixed to the vehicle; a second end connected to the airbag main body; and the first end and the second end Including a folding part,
The curtain airbag device according to claim 1, wherein the folding portion is temporarily fastened and the temporary fastening is released as the airbag main body is inflated.   The curtain airbag device according to claim 1, wherein the temporary fastening of the folded portion is performed by any one of sewing, welding, locking by a mechanical fastener, joining by a double-sided tape, and adhesion by an adhesive. .   The said tab shows the shortest length in the up-down direction in the state in which the said temporary fastening is given, and shows the maximum length in the up-down direction when the said temporary fastening is cancelled | released. The curtain airbag device described in 1.   The curtain airbag device according to claim 1, wherein the tab having the folded portion is capable of self-supporting.

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