JP2011073516A - Airbag - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a resin airbag in a novel configuration incorporated into an airbag device which can easily secure stability and quickness in further deployment and inflation. <P>SOLUTION: The resin airbag is incorporated into the airbag device mounted to a vehicle, and the airbag has an inflation portion 12 forming an occupant constraint cushion B between an occupant and a vehicle interior wall when filled with gas and expanded. The inflation portion 12 is formed by shaping a soft resin material into a gas-filled expanded shape. The inflation portion 12 is flexible to be foldable, and the gas-filled expanded shape is an angled (curved) shape in a vertical cross section to be expanded to the occupant side to form a lightening space S in the occupant constraint cushion B. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an airbag that is mounted on a vehicle and incorporated in an airbag device to form an occupant restraint buffer portion between the occupant and the vehicle inner wall when the gas is fully expanded.

  Here, a case where the airbag is incorporated in a head protection airbag device will be described as an example. The head airbag device is housed and mounted on the roof side rail portion, and the airbag is deployed and inflated downward from the housing portion in a curtain shape to protect the passenger's head.

  The present invention is not limited to the head protection airbag device, but can be applied to other airbag devices as described below.

  For example, it can be applied to side airbag devices that are housed in seats to protect the occupant's torso, as well as steering wheel airbag devices and passenger seat airbag devices that are built into steering wheels, instrument panels, etc. It is.

  Various airbag devices for protecting passengers are mounted on automobiles (vehicles). Conventionally, an airbag to be incorporated into various airbag devices is usually sewn one or more coated base fabrics (for example, nylon woven fabric) coated with rubber or silicone resin on the inside as appropriate ( It was made of cloth manufactured by bag weaving (Patent Document 1, paragraph 0035, etc.).

  In recent years, there has been an increasing demand for stable deployment and inflation of airbags to a predetermined inflation shape and rapid (high-speed) performance of the deployment and inflation from the standpoint of raising the level of passenger protection standards. ing.

  Therefore, in order to increase the speed of deployment and expansion of the airbag, it is necessary to form the airbag with a high-density base fabric with as little gas escape as possible. However, when trying to increase the air density of the base fabric forming the airbag, the amount of rubber and the like applied increases, leading to an increase in weight, and further, the flexibility (flexibility) of the base fabric decreases. Thus, the unfolding / smoothing smoothness is hindered and the foldability is also reduced (see Patent Document 2, paragraph 0011).

  On the other hand, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems in fabric production, that is, to meet the demand for improvement in productivity and high air density, it is possible to blow-mold an airbag with a soft synthetic resin such as thermoplastic polyurethane or polyvinyl chloride. It has been proposed (see Patent Document 3, Claim 1, Paragraph 0006, Patent Document 4, Paragraph 0045).

  Although not affecting the patentability of the present invention, a method for manufacturing an inflator bag having the following configuration has been proposed (Patent Document 5, Claim 1).

  “To make a tube-shaped polyfoam with a closed end by injection molding the resin, then place the preform warmed to the softening temperature into the mold and introduce compressed air into the preform. Thus, the preform is blow-molded along the inner surface of the mold while being stretched, and then the opening into which the compressed air is introduced is closed to obtain an inflator bag having a sealed structure.

JP 2008-30738 A JP 2009-97134 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 4-26544 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-34179 JP 2006-27285 A

  In view of the above, the present invention is a resin-made airbag incorporated in an airbag device, and it is easy to ensure further stability and quickness at the time of deployment and inflation, and has a novel configuration not described in the prior art documents. It is an object of the present invention to provide a bag and a head protecting airbag device incorporating the airbag.

  The airbag of the present invention solves the above problem (object) by the following configuration.

In a resin airbag that is incorporated in an airbag device mounted on a vehicle and includes an inflating portion that forms an occupant restraint buffer portion between the occupant and the vehicle inner wall when the gas is fully expanded,
The inflatable portion is formed by being molded into a gas-filled inflatable shape with a soft resin material, and has a foldable flexibility,
The gas-filled expansion shape includes a recess and / or a protrusion so that a meat stealing space can be formed in the occupant restraint buffer.

  In the airbag of the present invention, since the airbag is formed in a gas-filled inflated shape, the shape design at the time of occupant protection is facilitated, and stability during further deployment and inflation is easily secured.

  In addition, since the occupant restraint buffer portion formed at the time of gas filling and inflation has a meat stealing space, the gas filling requirement is relatively small, in combination with the lack of air permeability like a woven fabric airbag. . As a result, it is easy to ensure the rapidity of deployment and inflation of the airbag.

  Furthermore, the following effects similar to those of a conventional soft resin airbag are achieved.

  Blow molding, film cutting, heat welding, and the like do not go through a sewing process like a woven airbag, and therefore can be manufactured with higher productivity than a woven airbag.

  In the airbag having the above configuration, the gas-filled inflated vertical cross-sectional shape can be formed into a mountain shape (curved shape) that bulges toward the occupant side or a cross shape so that a stretched portion can be formed on the vehicle interior wall surface. It can be. It is possible to form a stable occupant restraint buffer portion by a strut portion that easily secures a meat stealing space and has an appropriate form holding force with internal pressure.

  The airbag is usually a blow molded article. The blow-molded product can have a multilayer structure or a structure having an insert connection port that can be connected to a gas outlet of a gas conduit. In the former case, the degree of freedom of material selection increases, and in the latter case, productivity increases.

The film thickness of the expanded portion is 0.3 to 1.5 mm, and the 100% tensile modulus is M ₁₀₀ (JIS K 7311) 3 to 30 MPa.

  The airbag having each configuration described above can be a head protection airbag device having the following configuration.

  Each of the plurality of airbags is connected to a gas distribution port (gas outlet) of a gas conduit capable of gas distribution, and an inflator is connected to the gas conduit so as to be able to supply gas, and is further folded to each airbag. It is characterized by being incorporated.

  Since the airbag has a small capacity configuration and gas is individually distributed to each airbag and the inflatable portion is deployed and inflated, a predetermined gas-filled inflated shape can be stably obtained. In addition, it is possible to replace the airbag as appropriate, and it is possible to handle various assembly of the airbag apparatus.

  Furthermore, in the above configuration, it is desirable to connect the expanding portions with a connecting member. The protection area of the occupant restraint buffer portion formed by each airbag can be continuous.

1 is a schematic front view showing a state in which a head protection airbag device incorporating an airbag according to an embodiment of the present invention is mounted on a two-row seat type vehicle. It is an AA arrow schematic sectional drawing of FIG. FIG. 2 is a plan view of an airbag assembly comprising a split-type gas conduit incorporated in the head protection airbag device of FIG. 1 and a plurality of airbags (before folding) coupled to the gas conduit. It is an enlarged partial sectional top view of an airbag. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line B-B in FIG. 4. FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the head protection airbag device of FIG. 1 when the airbag is filled with gas (in FIG. 1A-A). It is a schematic sectional drawing which shows another aspect of FIG. 4 of the airbag of this invention (FIG. 4B-B line part). 1 is a schematic front view showing a state in which a head protection airbag device incorporating an airbag according to an embodiment of the present invention is mounted on a three-row seat type vehicle. FIG. 9 is a plan view of an airbag assembly including a split connection type gas conduit incorporated in the head protection airbag device of FIG. 8 and a plurality of airbags (before folding) connected to the gas conduit.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the head airbag device M <b> 1 that is an embodiment of the present invention is arranged on the roof side rail portion RR, and the inflating portion 12 of the airbag 10 is curtained downward from the storage portion H. The head of the occupant P is protected by unfolding.

  The airbag apparatus M1 basically includes a plurality of airbags 10, a gas conduit 13 that distributes and flows gas into each airbag 10, and an inflator 15 that supplies the gas to the gas conduit 13.

  And the airbag apparatus M1 is accommodated in the accommodating part H of the airbag apparatus formed in the roof side rail part RR in the state in which the airbag 10 was folded (roll folding in FIG. 2). The storage portion H is formed by a vehicle body inner panel 17 and a roof lining 19 that covers the inner panel 17, and a deployment outlet portion of the inflatable portion 12 of the airbag 10 of the roof lining 19 is a bag cover 21. In the illustrated example, the gas conduit 13 and the inflator 15 are attached to the inner panel 1. Specifically, the inflator 15 is screwed through the mounting bracket 16. The gas conduit 13 is clipped via a plurality of mounting clips 23.

  When the gas conduit 13 is made of synthetic resin, the mounting clip 23 can be integrally formed at the time of injection molding or can be inserted and integrated at the time of injection molding. As the synthetic resin, a hard or semi-rigid synthetic resin (ABS, polyamide, polyester, PP, or the like) is adopted in consideration of screw connection with the airbag 10 or clip integral molding.

  The gas conduit 13 may be made of metal or a soft synthetic resin similar to the airbag 10.

  A plurality of airbags 10 pass from the upper edge side of the front pillar portion FP to the lower edge side of the roof side rail portion RR including the upper side of the center pillar portion CP on the upper edge side of the side windows W1 and W2 on the inner side of the vehicle. In the range up to the upper side of the rear pillar part RP, it is folded and stored. Here, normally, the folding form is a roll fold (roll) as shown in the drawing in consideration of the deployability of the airbag.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the inflator 15 is a substantially cylindrical cylinder type and is connected to the gas conduit 13.

  That is, the gas conduit 13 includes an inflator connecting gas conduit element 28 having an L-shaped joint portion 26 connected to the inflator 15 and two front and rear gas conduit elements corresponding to the airbag 10. 30 and 30 (FIGS. 1 and 3). The gas conduit 13 may be an integrally molded type. By using the split connection type as described above, various vehicle specifications can be supported. The front and rear gas conduit elements 30 and 30 are normally closed with plugs or the like in order to be compatible with the middle gas conduit element 30 so as to be interchanged. Further, the gas conduit element 30 at the front end is bent and deformed along the shape of the front pillar portion FP.

  Each gas conduit element 30 can be connected to each airbag 10. Specifically, a female screw is formed at the gas outlet (gas distribution port) 31 of each gas conduit element 30, and an insert male screw 11 a protruding from the gas inlet 11 of the airbag 10 is screwed into the female screw. Thus, the gas conduit element 30 and each airbag 10 can be screw-connected.

  The relationship between the female screw and the male screw can be reversed.

  Moreover, the connection aspect of each gas conduit | pipe 13 and the airbag 10 is not restricted to this, You may use a one-touch fitting and the fastening ring after fitting. In this case, the distribution port of the gas conduit 13 is protruded, and the attachment portion of the airbag 10 is externally fitted and fastened with a tightening ring. At this time, if the protruding distribution port is formed of a hard material (insert), the fastening ring can be fastened.

  In the present embodiment, the inflatable portion 12 of the airbag 10 is formed by being molded into a gas-filled inflated shape with a soft resin material, and has a foldable flexibility, and further has a gas-filled bulge. The shape at the time is provided with a concave portion and / or a convex portion so that the meat stealing space S can be formed in the occupant restraint buffer portion B.

  Specifically, the inflatable portion 12 is formed continuously from the gas inlet 11 serving also as a mounting portion having a male screw, and the vertical cross-sectional shape of the gas-filled inflated shape is inflated toward the occupant side as shown in FIGS. It has a protruding mountain shape (curved shape), and it is possible to form projecting portions 12a and 12b on the upper and lower sides of the vehicle inner wall surface w. At this time, the angle of bending α of the chevron differs depending on the support strength required for the occupant restraint buffer during operation. For example, when a certain degree of stretchability is required with respect to the inner surface of the vehicle, α: 30 to 120 °, preferably 45 to 90 °. When the angle is small, the capacity of the meat stealing space S is small, and when the bending angle α is large, it is difficult to ensure the stretchability at the upper and lower support portions of the chevron cross section.

  Here, the shape specification (1) and the material specification (2) of the airbag 10 are, for example, as follows.

(1) Shape specification:
As shown in FIG. 4, when the non-inflated deployed shape (planar shape) is rectangular, the planar size varies depending on the vehicle, but the length L in the longitudinal direction (gas inflow direction) is 25 to 60 cm, and the length in the width direction. B: 20 to 50 cm. The amount of gas required for the gas filled expansion, i.e., expansion unit Contents during gas filled expansion, and 0.04~0.20dm ^3/1 pieces. Then, when four airbags are arranged as shown in the figure, the total required gas amount is 0.16 to 0.80 dm ³ .

On the other hand, in the case of the conventional head airbag device, the volume of the inflated portion necessary for gas-filled inflation of the airbag disposed at the same site was 0.3 to 1.6 dm ³ as in the present invention. In the case of this embodiment, it can be seen that the amount of gas required for expansion and expansion is relatively small.

  The thickness of the inflatable portion 12 of the airbag varies depending on the bending rigidity of the soft resin to be adopted, 100% tensile modulus, etc., and the internal pressure applied to the film thickness portion, but is usually 0.3 to 1.5 mm, preferably 0.5 to It sets suitably from the range of 1.0mm. If it is thick, problems are likely to occur in foldability and storage, and if it is thin, it is difficult to ensure the required pressure resistance and form stability during expansion.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 to 5, the gas inlet 11 is preferably formed through the inflatable portion 12 and the neck portion 11 b from the viewpoint of bag deployment and inflatability. The length of the neck portion 11b is slightly shorter than the distance from the connection position with the gas conduit 13 to the bag cover 21.

(2) Material specifications:
The material is a soft resin and usually has a tensile modulus of 70 MPa or less (as defined in ASTM D883), preferably 50 MPa or less. The lower limit is limited by the following balance of tensile stress.

  If a hard resin material exceeding the limit of the soft resin is used, it becomes difficult to secure the foldable flexibility.

And from the viewpoint of the shape stability at the time of gas-filled expansion, the 100% tensile modulus (M ₁₀₀ ) (JIS K 7311) is 3 to 30 MPa, preferably 5 to 20 MPa. When M ₁₀₀ is too large it is difficult to obtain those of the tensile modulus in the range fall within the definition of the soft resin.

  As material characteristics other than the above, the durometer hardness (JIS K 7215: Type A) is 90 or less, preferably 80 or less.

  As the soft resin satisfying the above characteristics, various general-purpose soft resins (for example, polyethylene, polypropylene, PVC, etc.) can be used, but thermoplastic elastomers such as polyurethane, polyolefin, and polyester can be suitably used. In particular, a polyurethane system (TPU) that can select one having a high tensile strength (JIS K 7311) from commercially available products is desirable. Naturally, the silicone-modified one described in Patent Document 4 can also be used.

  The gas expansion filling shape is not limited to a mountain shape (curved shape). Depending on the required characteristics of the occupant restraint cushioning section, the cross-sectional shape shown in FIG. It is good also as what can form a projecting part in the left-right direction and a ring-shaped projecting part in a mountain shape (curved shape). These airbags 10A and the like have the same configuration as that shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 and are attached to the gas conduit 13 and housed and used in the roof side rail portion RR of the vehicle. When the cross-sectional shape is a cross shape shown in FIG. 7, 12d is a stretched portion and 12e is an occupant protection portion.

  Depending on the location of use (for example, for a steering wheel or for a passenger seat), a radial petal shape or a bamboo leaf shape is optional.

  Next, a method for manufacturing the airbag 10 will be described.

  Although it can be manufactured by injection molding, it is desirable to manufacture by injection blow molding. This is because, by injection molding of the parison, the screw portion (connection) which is the connection portion as described above can be simultaneously formed at the time of injection molding. In addition, you may form a connection part with the insert (hard material) which is a screw member.

  Moreover, the freedom degree of material selectivity spreads by using the parison used at the time of blow molding as a multilayer parison, and making an airbag into a multilayer structure. That is, strength and flexibility can be secured by appropriately combining materials.

  Next, how the airbag is used will be described.

  1 to 3, the plurality of airbags 10, 10... Are connected to the gas outlet (gas distribution outlet) 31 of the gas conduit 13 through which gas can be distributed and rolls. It is folded into a shape and incorporated. In addition, it is desirable to connect the inflatable portions 12 of the airbags 10 via the connecting means 33 before folding. The connecting means 33 may be integrally formed at the time of blow molding or the like. In the illustrated example, the connecting means 33 is formed by welding (bonding) or pin-bonding fins (connecting members) 12c, 12c projected from the bulging portion 12 during blow molding as shown in the figure. This is because the protection area in the vehicle front-rear direction of the occupant restraint buffer B formed by each airbag 10 can be continuous. In other words, the gap c between the inflatable portions 12 of the airbag 10 does not open, and a protective area missing portion does not occur.

  An inflator 15 is connected to the gas conduit 13 so that gas can be supplied, and gas generated by the operation of the inflator is distributed to the airbags 10 through the gas conduit 13. Then, the inflating part 12 of each airbag 10 expand | deploys, pushes and opens the bag cover 21, and protrudes to the vehicle inner side (occupant side). And as shown in FIGS. 1-2, the expansion part 12 of each airbag 10 expand | swells further, it becomes a gas filling expansion | swelling shape of a vertical cross-sectional mountain shape, and the roof over the rear pillar part RP from the front pillar part PR. An occupant restraint buffer portion B is formed so as to cover the inner side of the front and rear side windows W1, W2 on the lower side of the side rail portion RR.

  Here, the expansion part 12 of the airbag 10 comes to have a predetermined rigidity (form holding force) by gas pressure. And by the said form retention force, as shown in the figure, the gas-filled and expanded shape forms the protruding portions 12a and 12b vertically with respect to the vehicle interior wall surface w (see FIG. 6).

  As a result, a meat stealing space S is formed in the occupant restraint buffer B, and coupled with the lack of air permeability like a conventional woven fabric, the occupant restraint buffer B can be formed with a small amount of gas. In this way, the head of the occupant P is restrained and protected in a state where the impact is reduced by the elastic deformation or plastic deformation of the inflatable portion 12.

  The head protection airbag device M1 of the above embodiment is applied to a vehicle having two front and rear rows of seats. The head airbag device of the present invention is not limited to this, and is also applicable to a front and rear three-row seat vehicle (see FIGS. 8 and 9), a multi-row seat such as a bus, and a single-row seat vehicle such as a truck. The number of gas conduit elements and airbags can be increased or decreased.

  FIGS. 8 and 9 are a schematic front view showing a state in which the head protection airbag device is mounted on a three-row seat type vehicle, a split connection type gas conduit incorporated in the head protection airbag device, and a connection to the gas conduit. The top view of the airbag assembly which consists of several airbags (before folding) to do is shown.

  The head airbag device M2 according to this embodiment is different from the one applied to the front and rear two-row seat vehicle described above in that the number of airbags 10 and the number of gas conduit elements 30 in the gas conduit 13 are different. The inflator connecting gas conduit element 28A provided with the L-shaped joint portion 28a includes gas outlets (distribution ports) 31 connected to the airbag 10 at both side positions of the L-shaped joint portion 28a. In addition, the connection means 33 of the airbags 10 and 10 is indispensable between the 2nd and 3rd airbags 10 and 10 before the head of the passenger | crew P is located. Since other configurations are the same as those in the case of the two-row sheet, the same reference numerals are given and description thereof is omitted.

10 ... Airbag 11 ... Airbag gas inlet (connection port)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 12 ... Inflatable part of airbag 13 ... Gas conduit 15 ... Inflator M1, M2 ... Head protection airbag apparatus B ... Passenger restraint buffer part S ... Meat stealing space

Claims (9)

In a resin airbag that is incorporated in an airbag device mounted on a vehicle and includes an inflating portion that forms an occupant restraint buffer portion between the occupant and the vehicle inner wall when the gas is fully expanded,
The inflatable portion is formed by being molded into a gas-filled inflatable shape with a soft resin material, and has a foldable flexibility,
The gas-filled expansion shape includes a concave portion and / or a convex portion so that a meat stealing space can be formed in the occupant restraint buffer portion.
An airbag characterized by that.   The vertical cross-sectional shape of the gas-filled expansion shape is a mountain shape (curved shape) that bulges toward the occupant side, and a protruding portion can be formed vertically with respect to the vehicle inner wall. The described airbag.   The airbag according to claim 1, wherein the gas-filled inflated vertical cross-sectional shape is a cross shape, and a projecting portion can be formed on the inner wall of the vehicle.   The airbag according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the airbag is a blow molded article.   The airbag according to claim 4, wherein the blow molded article has a multilayer structure.   The airbag according to claim 4, wherein the blow molded body has an insert connection port connectable with a gas outlet of a gas conduit. The airbag according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the inflatable portion has a thickness of 0.3 to 1.5 mm and a 100% tensile modulus of M ₁₀₀ (JIS K 7311) 3 to 30 MPa. . A head protection airbag device in which a plurality of airbags according to any one of claims 1 to 7 are incorporated,
Each of the airbags is connected to a gas distribution port (gas outlet) of a gas conduit capable of gas distribution, and an inflator is connected to the gas conduit so as to supply gas, and is further folded. Part protection airbag device.   9. The head protecting airbag device according to claim 8, wherein the inflation parts of the airbags are appropriately connected by a connecting member.

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