JP2012158274A - Occupant protection airbag device for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an occupant protection airbag device for a vehicle capable of adequately carrying out the deployment action of an airbag by simplifying a structure and acting sufficient tension on the deployed airbag.SOLUTION: In the occupant protection airbag device for the vehicle which deploys the airbag 21 housed in a roof side rail 15 downward along the inner surface of side windows 16, 17, 18, the airbag 21 has an inflatable part 31 cylindrically inflated in the deployment, a non-inflatable part 32 extending belt-like with the inflation of the inflatable part 31 and a through hole 33 formed at the non-inflatable part 32 where the inflatable part 31 and the non-inflatable part 32 are formed so as to be alternately arranged in both front and rear direction and tethers are provided to be connected to each other between the lower end of a front pillar 11 and the lower end of a rear pillar 14 to penetrate the through hole 33 to be in alternately contact with the inner surface and the outer surface of the inflatable part 31 in the vehicle width direction and to be arranged along the lower edge of the airbag 21.

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle occupant protection airbag device that is designed to protect an occupant by deploying an airbag downward when an impact is applied to a vehicle side portion.

  Conventionally, a vehicle has been equipped with an occupant protection airbag device that protects the occupant's head and reduces the risk of the occupant jumping out of the vehicle at the time of impact on the side or when the vehicle rolls over. ing. In such a vehicle occupant protection airbag device, when an impact of a predetermined value or more is applied to the side of the vehicle or when it is determined that the vehicle rolls over, the airbag is folded and stored in the roof side rail. Is deployed downward along the inner surface of the side window to protect the occupant.

  Further, in order to keep the occupant in the vehicle compartment with the deployed airbag, it is necessary to sufficiently ensure the tension in the vehicle longitudinal direction in the deployed airbag. In order to achieve this, in the vehicle occupant protection airbag device described above, the deployed airbag is pulled by the tether in the vehicle front-rear direction. At this time, in order to sufficiently pull the airbag in the deployed state, it is desirable to connect the base end of the tether below the roof side rail for storing the airbag.

  However, the length of the tether must be set to the length when the airbag is stored so that the distance between the proximal end connection position and the airbag is the longest. Will occur. As a result, there is a possibility that sufficient tension cannot be applied to the deployed airbag.

  Therefore, conventionally, there has been provided a vehicle occupant protection airbag device that prevents the tether from loosening in the airbag deployment state. Such a vehicle occupant protection airbag device is disclosed in Patent Document 1, for example.

Japanese Patent No. 4476952

  In the conventional vehicle occupant protection airbag device described above, the front tether and the rear tether are connected to the front edge and rear edge of the airbag, and the front end of the front tether is connected to the lower end of the front pillar. On the other hand, the base end of the rear tether is connected along the rear pillar so as to be movable in the vehicle vertical direction.

  And the front-end | tip of a front-side tether is wound around the expansion | swelling part in the front edge part of an airbag, The expansion | swelling part of the expansion | swelling part is made to absorb the slack of a front-side tether. On the other hand, the base end side of the rear tether is bent as it moves downward along the rear pillar, and the base end side is bent at the lowest position so as to absorb the slack of the rear tether. I have to.

  However, in the above conventional vehicle occupant protection airbag device, since the slack absorbing structure of the front tether and the slack absorbing structure of the rear tether are different, the entire device is complicated. Furthermore, if the front and rear slack absorbing structures are different, naturally, the slack absorbing process in the front and rear tethers is also greatly different, and the airbag may not be appropriately deployed.

  Accordingly, the present invention solves the above-described problems, and by simplifying the configuration, the airbag can be appropriately deployed and a sufficient tension can be applied to the deployed airbag. It is an object of the present invention to provide a vehicle occupant protection airbag device that can perform the above.

An occupant protection airbag device for a vehicle according to the present invention that solves the above problems is as follows.
In a vehicle occupant protection airbag device that deploys an airbag folded and stored in a roof side rail provided above a side window in a vehicle side portion, downward along the inner surface of the side window.
The airbag includes an inflatable portion that expands in a cylindrical shape downward when deployed, a non-inflatable portion that extends in a strip shape downward as the inflatable portion expands, and a lower edge portion side of the non-inflatable portion Having the through-holes formed in, and configured to alternately arrange the inflatable portion and the non-inflatable portion in the vehicle front-rear direction,
A front pillar and a rear pillar provided at the front and rear of the side window, each upper end connecting to the roof side rail;
The lower edge of the airbag is connected between the lower end of the front pillar and the lower end of the rear pillar, passes through the through hole, and alternately contacts the inner and outer surfaces in the vehicle width direction of the inflatable portion. A tether arranged along the section,
When the airbag is deployed, the slack of the tether is absorbed by the expansion of the inflatable portion, and tension is applied to the airbag in the vehicle front-rear direction.

  Therefore, according to the vehicle occupant protection airbag device of the present invention, the tether is provided between the lower end of the front pillar and the lower end of the rear pillar so as to follow the lower edge portion of the airbag. It can be simplified. As a result, the airbag can be appropriately deployed, and sufficient tension can be applied to the airbag in the deployed state.

It is the figure which showed the airbag accommodation state in the passenger | crew protection airbag apparatus for vehicles which concerns on one Example of this invention. It is the figure which showed the airbag deployment state in the passenger | crew protection airbag apparatus for vehicles which concerns on one Example of this invention. It is AA arrow sectional drawing of FIG.

  Hereinafter, a vehicle occupant protection airbag device according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  The vehicle occupant protection airbag device according to the present invention shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 is provided on the right side of the vehicle 1. Although not shown, the vehicle occupant protection airbag device is also provided on the left side of the vehicle 1 in the same manner.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, a front pillar 11, center pillars 12 and 13, and a rear pillar 14 are erected in order from the vehicle front side to the vehicle rear side on the right side of the vehicle 1. Further, a roof side rail 15 is provided above the right side of the vehicle 1 so as to extend in the vehicle front-rear direction. The roof side rail 15 is connected to the upper ends of the pillars 11, 12, 13, and 14. ing.

  In addition, a door opening section that is defined by the pillars 11, 12, 13, and 14 and the roof side rail 15 is provided to be openable and closable, and side windows 16 and 17 are provided above the door. , 18 are arranged. An occupant can board the vehicle 2 in the vehicle compartment 2 so as to face the side windows 16 and 17 in the vehicle width direction.

  The airbag 21 can be stored in the roof side rail 15 in a state of being folded in a roll shape or a bellows shape, and the upper edge portion of the airbag 21 is located in the roof side rail 15 in the front pillar 11. It is attached to the range from the upper end of the center pillar 13 to the upper end of the center pillar 13.

  An inflator 22 is accommodated in the roof side rail 15 adjacent to the rear side of the airbag 21 in the vehicle. That is, the inflator 22 is disposed in the roof side rail 15 between the upper end of the center pillar 13 and the upper end of the rear pillar 14.

  Further, the inflator 22 can eject high-pressure gas when an impact detection signal is input, and has a hose 22a for ejecting the high-pressure gas. The hose 22a extends from the rear edge portion to the front edge portion along the upper edge portion of the airbag 21, and the injection port communicates with each inflatable portion 31 described later in an airtight state. .

  Therefore, as will be described in detail later, when the inflator 22 is actuated, high-pressure gas flows into the airbag 21, and the airbag 21 into which the high-pressure gas has flowed is folded from the side window 16, Along the inner surface of 17, it expands and develops in a curtain shape downward.

  Here, the airbag 21 is formed so that an inflated shape (deployed shape) in a side view in the vehicle width direction is a rectangular shape, and a plurality of inflatable portions 31, non-inflatable portions 32, and through holes 33 are provided. Have. Specifically, the airbag 21 is configured such that the inflating portions 31 and the non-inflating portions 32 are integrally formed alternately in the vehicle front-rear direction.

  The inflating portion 31 is a portion into which high-pressure gas flows. When high-pressure gas flows in, the inflating portion 31 expands in a cylindrical shape downward. The non-expandable portion 32 is a portion where high-pressure gas does not flow, and extends in a strip shape downward as the expandable portion 31 expands. A through hole 33 is formed on the lower edge side of the non-expandable portion 32 so as to penetrate the non-expandable portion 32 in the vehicle width direction.

  Further, a single tether (tension belt) 23 is connected between the lower end of the front pillar 11 and the lower end of the rear pillar 14. And the tether 23 is changing the penetration direction to each through-hole 33 alternately, and the airbag 21 is made to contact each expansion part 31 with those vehicle width direction inner surfaces and vehicle width direction outer surfaces alternately. It is arranged along the lower edge of.

  Thus, as shown in FIG. 1, the tether 23 in the airbag storage state is stored in the roof side rail 15 together with the airbag 21, and the front end side thereof is stored in the front pillar 11, while the rear end side thereof is It is accommodated in the rear pillar 14.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the tether 23 in the airbag deployed state is connected to the tether front end coupling position at the lower end of the front pillar 11 and the tether rear end coupling at the lower end of the rear pillar 14 as the airbag 21 is deployed. It arrange | positions horizontally so that the lower edge part of the airbag 21 may be followed between positions.

  At this time, since the inflating portion 31 of the airbag 21 is inflated in a cylindrical shape, the tether 23 is alternately pressed by the inflating inflating portion 31 to the inside in the vehicle width direction and the outside in the vehicle width direction. Accordingly, the tether 23 set to the length in the airbag storage state is disposed between the tether front end connection position at the lower end of the front pillar 11 and the tether rear end connection position at the lower end of the rear pillar 14 in the airbag deployed state. Even so, the slack of the tether 23 is absorbed and the tether 23 is pulled in the vehicle front-rear direction, so that a sufficient tension acts on the airbag 21 in the deployed state.

  In addition, what is necessary is just to adjust the length of the tether 23, the diameter of the expansion | swelling part 31, and quantity when changing the magnitude | size of the tension | tensile_strength applied with respect to the airbag 21 (slack absorption amount of the tether 23).

  Therefore, according to the above-described configuration, when an impact of a predetermined value or more is applied to the side portion of the vehicle 1 or when it is determined that the vehicle 1 rolls over, the inflator 22 is activated, and the high pressure is supplied from the hose 22a. Gas is injected. As described above, when the high pressure gas is injected, the high pressure gas flows into the inflating portion 31 of the airbag 21 from the upper edge side. And the expansion part 31 expand | swells cylindrically toward the downward direction, and the non-expansion part 32 also extends in a strip | belt shape toward this downward.

  As a result, as shown in FIG. 2, the stored airbag 21 rapidly deploys downward from within the roof side rail 15 and covers the inner surfaces of the side windows 16 and 17. In addition, the airbag 21 is deployed downward, and the tether 23 in the stored state is also pushed by the deployment of the airbag 21 downward, in the front pillar 11, in the rear pillar 14, and in the roof side rail 15. To move downward.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 3, at the same time as the deployment of the airbag 21 is completed, the expansion portion 31 expands into a cylindrical shape, so that the slack is absorbed and the tether 13 is pulled in the vehicle front-rear direction. As a result, sufficient tension acts on the airbag 21 in the deployed state, particularly on the lower edge thereof.

  Therefore, according to the vehicle occupant protection airbag device of the present invention, the airbag 21 includes the inflating portion 31, the non-inflating portion 32, and the through hole 33, the tether 23 is passed through the through hole 33, and The arrangement of the device along the lower edge of the airbag 21 can be simplified so as to alternately contact the inner surface in the vehicle width direction and the outer surface in the vehicle width direction of the inflatable portion 31.

  Thereby, since the dropping operation of the tether 23 can be simplified, the deploying operation of the airbag 21 can be appropriately performed. Moreover, since the tension | tensile_strength to the airbag 21 can be performed via the tether 23 by expansion | swelling of the expansion | swelling part 31 itself, it is efficient and sufficient with respect to the airbag 21 of a deployment state. It is possible to apply tension to the.

  Furthermore, by adjusting the length of the tether 23 and the diameter and quantity of the inflating portion 31, the magnitude of the tension applied to the airbag 21 can be easily controlled. As a result, the degree of freedom in tension setting can be increased, so that the apparatus can be easily mounted on different vehicles.

  The present invention is applicable to a vehicle occupant protection airbag device intended to reduce the size of the device.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Vehicle 2 Car interior 11 Front pillar 12, 13 Center pillar 14 Rear pillar 15 Roof side rails 16, 17, 18, Side window 21 Air bag 22 Inflator 22a Hose 23 Tether 31 Expansion part 32 Non-expansion part 33 Through-hole

Claims (1)

In a vehicle occupant protection airbag device that deploys an airbag folded and stored in a roof side rail provided above a side window in a vehicle side portion, downward along the inner surface of the side window.
The airbag includes an inflatable portion that expands in a cylindrical shape downward when deployed, a non-inflatable portion that extends in a strip shape downward as the inflatable portion expands, and a lower edge portion side of the non-inflatable portion Having the through-holes formed in, and configured to alternately arrange the inflatable portion and the non-inflatable portion in the vehicle front-rear direction,
A front pillar and a rear pillar provided at the front and rear of the side window, each upper end connecting to the roof side rail;
The lower edge of the airbag is connected between the lower end of the front pillar and the lower end of the rear pillar, passes through the through hole, and alternately contacts the inner and outer surfaces in the vehicle width direction of the inflatable portion. A tether arranged along the section,
A vehicular occupant protection airbag device characterized in that when the airbag is deployed, the slack of the tether is absorbed by the expansion of the inflatable portion, and tension is applied to the airbag in the vehicle front-rear direction.

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