JP2012228986A - Side airbag device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a side airbag device capable of properly adjusting internal pressure of an airbag.SOLUTION: An inflating part 46 of the airbag 40 inflating by inflating gas is partitioned into an upstream side inflating part 47 and a downstream side inflating part 48 by a partition wall 50. The partition wall 50 is constituted of two sheet materials 56 and 57 arranged in a place to be pressed to an occupant from the side when restricting the occupant by the inflating part 46. The partition wall 50 is provided with a belt-like lap part 61 formed by mutually superposing end parts 58 and 59 of both sheet materials 56 and 57 in the longitudinal direction. The lap part 61 is provided with a pressure adjusting valve 66 having a pair of valve element parts 64 and 65 mutually contacting by being pressed by the inflating gas in the upstream side inflating part 47 before restricting the occupant when inflating the upstream side inflating part 47 and mutually separating by being deflected by external force added in response to restriction when restricting the occupant by inflating the upstream side inflating part 47.

Description

  The present invention relates to a side airbag device that protects an occupant by deploying and inflating an airbag on the side of an occupant seated on a vehicle seat and reducing an impact applied from the side of the vehicle seat.

  A side airbag device including an airbag and an inflator is widely known as a device for protecting an occupant from an impact when a vehicle is impacted from the side due to a side collision or the like. In the side airbag device, the airbag is incorporated in a seat back (backrest) of a vehicle seat together with the inflator in a folded state. In this side airbag device, when an impact is applied from the side to a member (body side portion) that constitutes a side portion of the vehicle, such as a side door, inflation gas is supplied from the inflator into the airbag. The airbag is deployed and inflated by the inflating gas and jumps out of the vehicle seat with a part left in the seat back. The airbag is deployed and inflated from the seat back toward the front of the vehicle in a narrow space between the occupant seated on the vehicle seat and the body side portion. The deployed and inflated airbag is interposed between the occupant and the body side portion that enters the vehicle, restrains the occupant, and mitigates the side impact transmitted to the occupant through the body side portion.

  By the way, in the side airbag device, the body side portion enters the vehicle interior due to an impact from the side, and the airbag is pressed against the occupant by the body side portion. Along with this pressing, the occupant receives an impact load through the airbag. This load is determined by the product of the area in which the occupant receives pressure from the airbag (the pressure receiving area on the airbag side of the occupant) and the internal pressure of the airbag. From the viewpoint of protecting the occupant from impact, this load reaches a predetermined value in a short time after the start of entry of the body side portion, and thereafter, is maintained at the predetermined value regardless of the amount of entry (stroke) of the body side portion. It is desirable.

  In this respect, in the side airbag device of the type in which the interior of the airbag is not partitioned, the internal pressure and the pressure receiving area increase as the amount of entry (stroke) of the body side portion increases, so the load that the occupant receives from the airbag is It gradually increases as the approach to the body side proceeds. The load does not reach a predetermined value until the body side part has entered to some extent. In addition, the load continues to increase after reaching the predetermined value, and eventually exceeds the predetermined value. As a result, sufficient protection of the passenger is not started until the load reaches a predetermined value. After the load reaches a predetermined value, the occupant receives a load larger than the predetermined value through the airbag.

With respect to this, various side airbag devices have been proposed in which the internal pressure of the airbag is adjusted (adjusted) to meet the above-described demand for the load.
For example, in the “side airbag” described in Patent Document 1, a pair of base fabrics overlapped with each other in the width direction of the vehicle seat are joined together at their peripheral portions to form a bag-like airbag. Has been. In the airbag, a partition portion (seam) is provided by stitching (bonding) the base fabrics in contact with each other, and the interior of the airbag is expanded upstream by the partition portion (seam). It is divided into a chamber and a sub-expansion chamber on the downstream side. A gap between both base fabrics in the partition (seam) constitutes a communication path that allows the main expansion chamber and the sub-expansion chamber to communicate with each other, and the expansion gas in the main expansion chamber passes through this communication path. To be supplied.

  Moreover, in the “vehicle airbag device” described in Patent Document 2, an airbag is formed by two base fabrics. Both end portions of each base fabric are arranged on both sides in the width direction of the vehicle seat and are overlapped with each other in the same width direction. And the edge parts of both base fabrics which were piled up mutually are couple | bonded by the coupling part extended in an up-down direction. Moreover, in each coupling | bond part, the slit-like vent hole extended in an up-down direction is formed when the coupling | bond part is cancelled | released.

  According to this vehicle airbag device, the vent hole is closed when there is no obstacle or the like on the front side in the deployment direction of the airbag. On the other hand, when the airbag comes into contact with an obstacle or the like that exists on the front side in the deployment direction, the vent hole is opened, so that the inflation gas can be discharged.

JP-A-2005-29073 JP 2010-155566 A

  However, in Patent Document 1 in which the communication path between the two base fabrics in the partition portion (seam) is the expansion gas path, the expansion gas in the main expansion chamber is reduced before the internal pressure of the main expansion chamber becomes sufficiently high. Since it flows out to the sub-expansion chamber through the communication passage, it is difficult to properly adjust the internal pressure of the airbag, and there is room for improvement.

  In addition, as described above, Patent Document 2 opens a vent hole when an airbag comes into contact with an obstacle or the like on the front side in the deployment direction. Therefore, when an impact is applied from the side of the vehicle seat, it is unclear whether the vent hole is opened and the inflation gas is discharged, so that the internal pressure of the airbag can be adjusted appropriately.

As a result, in both Patent Literature 1 and Patent Literature 2, it is difficult to make the characteristics of the load received by the occupant through the airbag the desirable characteristics as described above.
Such a problem can also occur in a side airbag device installed in a vehicle different from the vehicle.

  This invention is made | formed in view of such a situation, The objective is to provide the side airbag apparatus which can adjust the internal pressure of an airbag appropriately.

  In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 is directed to the front side of the vehicle seat by the inflation gas supplied from the inflator in response to an impact applied from the side of the vehicle seat. An airbag having an inflating portion that expands and inflates toward the upstream side, and the inflating portion is adjacent to an upstream inflating portion to which the inflating gas is supplied and a front side of the upstream inflating portion by a planar partition wall. And a side that partitions and protects an occupant seated on the vehicle seat by the inflating portion, and that is divided into a plurality of chambers including at least a downstream inflating portion to which an inflating gas is supplied via the upstream inflating portion. In the airbag device, the partition wall is composed of a plurality of sheet materials provided at locations pressed by the occupant from the side when the occupant is restrained by the inflating portion, and the partition wall includes: Adjacent to the above A belt-like lap portion is provided in which the ends of the toe members are overlapped in the front-rear direction, and the wrap portion has the upstream side when the upstream side inflated portion is inflated and before the occupant is restrained. A pair of valve body portions that are pressed by the expansion gas in the side expansion portion and contact each other, and when the upstream side expansion portion expands and restrains the occupant, they are bent and separated from each other by an external force applied along with the restraint. The gist is that a pressure regulating valve is provided.

  According to the above configuration, when an impact is applied from the side of the vehicle seat, the inflation gas is first supplied from the inflator to the upstream inflation portion of the airbag inflation portion, and the upstream inflation portion is inflated. To start. Before the occupant is restrained at the time of expansion of the upstream expansion portion, the valve body portion facing the upstream expansion portion is pressed toward the downstream expansion portion by the expansion gas in the upstream expansion portion, The pressure regulating valve closes in contact with the valve body facing the downstream expansion portion. By closing the valve, the flow of the expansion gas from the upstream expansion portion to the downstream expansion portion is restricted, and only the internal pressure of the upstream expansion portion increases.

  On the other hand, when the vehicle constituent member existing on the side of the vehicle seat enters the vehicle seat side by the impact and the airbag is pressed against the occupant, the occupant is mainly restrained by the upstream inflating portion.

  At this time, the expansion portion is pressed and deformed by an external force applied in accordance with the occupant restraint. Along with this, the partition wall is bent, the two valve body portions are separated from each other in the front-rear direction, and the pressure regulating valve is opened. In particular, since the sheet material constituting the partition wall is provided at a location pressed by the occupant from the side when the occupant is restrained by the inflating portion, an external force accompanying the occupant restraint is easily transmitted to the partition wall. Therefore, the partition wall is bent and the two valve body portions are easily separated from each other (the pressure regulating valve is easily opened). Then, the flow regulation is released by opening the pressure regulating valve, and the expansion gas can flow out from the upstream expansion portion to the downstream expansion portion.

  The internal pressure of the upstream expansion portion decreases due to the outflow of the expansion gas. Further, the downstream side expansion portion to which the expansion gas is supplied starts to expand, and accordingly, the internal pressure of the downstream side expansion portion starts to increase. The inflatable portion is pressed against the occupant in the downstream inflated portion in addition to the upstream inflatable portion, and the occupant is restrained by the upstream inflatable portion and the downstream inflatable portion.

  As described above, the pressure regulating valve is closed before the occupant is restrained, and only the internal pressure of the upstream inflating portion is increased, and when the occupant is restrained, the pressure regulating valve is opened, the internal pressure of the upstream inflating portion is reduced and the downstream side is lowered. The internal pressure of the expansion part increases. As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the internal pressures of the upstream expansion portion and the downstream expansion portion are appropriately adjusted.

  The invention according to a second aspect is the invention according to the first aspect, wherein the adjacent sheet members are coupled to each other by a plurality of coupling portions provided in the wrap portion in a state of being separated from each other. The gist of the invention is that the valve body portion is constituted by the adjacent joint portions at the end portions of the material and the peripheral portions thereof.

  According to the above configuration, the plurality of coupling portions are provided in the lap portion in a state of being separated from each other, so that the adjacent sheet materials are coupled to each other to form the partition wall, and the adjacent sheets At the end portion of the material, a valve body portion is formed between the joint portions and the peripheral portions thereof. Therefore, apart from the formation of the partition wall, it is not necessary to perform a special operation for forming the valve body portion (pressure regulating valve).

  According to the side airbag device of the present invention, the internal pressure of the airbag can be adjusted appropriately.

The side view which shows the vehicle seat equipped with the side airbag apparatus with the passenger | crew in one Embodiment which actualized this invention. In one embodiment, the plane sectional view showing the positional relation of a vehicular seat, a crew member, and a body side part. In one embodiment, the partial plane sectional view showing the air bag module built into the seat back storage part with the body side part. The side view which shows the airbag module by which the airbag was made into the non-expanding deployment state in one Embodiment. The partial expanded sectional view which shows typically sectional structure, such as a partition wall along the AA line of FIG. FIG. 4 is a partial plan cross-sectional view showing a state in which the airbag has left a part in the seat back and has been deployed and inflated from the vehicle seat from the state of FIG. 3. The fragmentary sectional side view which shows the airbag module by which the airbag of the non-expanded deployment state of FIG. 4 was cut | disconnected by the center part of the vehicle width direction with a vehicle seat and a passenger | crew. Sectional drawing which shows the state seen from the upstream expansion part side about the internal structure of the airbag module which the airbag of one Embodiment expanded and the partition wall was tense. It is a figure which shows one Embodiment, and is a fragmentary perspective view which shows the vicinity part of the pressure regulation valve in a partition wall. (A), (B) is a fragmentary sectional side view which shows typically operation | movement of the pressure regulation valve of one Embodiment. (A), (B) is a partial plane sectional view showing typically operation of a pressure regulation valve of one embodiment. The characteristic view which shows each change aspect of the internal pressure at the time of an airbag being pressed on a passenger | crew by the body side part which approachs into a vehicle inside in one Embodiment, a pressure receiving area, and a load. It is a figure which shows another example of a side airbag apparatus, and is sectional drawing which shows the state seen from the upstream expansion part side about the internal structure of the airbag module which the airbag expanded and the partition wall was tense. It is a figure which shows the other example of a side airbag apparatus, and is a fragmentary perspective view which shows the vicinity part of the pressure regulation valve in a partition wall. It is a figure which shows another example of a pressure regulation valve, (A)-(C) is a partial plane sectional view which shows typically operation | movement of a pressure regulation valve.

Hereinafter, an embodiment in which the present invention is embodied in a vehicle side airbag device will be described with reference to FIGS.
In the following description, the forward direction of the vehicle will be described as the front, and the reverse direction of the vehicle will be described as the rear. In the following description, the vertical direction means the vertical direction of the vehicle. Furthermore, with the center in the vehicle width direction (vehicle width direction) as a reference, the side approaching the center is defined as “inside”, and the side away from the center is defined as “outside”.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a vehicle seat 12 is disposed in the vicinity of the vehicle inner side (upper side in FIG. 2) of the body side portion 11 in the vehicle 10. Here, the body side part 11 refers to a vehicle constituent member arranged on the side part of the vehicle 10, and mainly corresponds to a door, a pillar, and the like. For example, the body side part 11 corresponding to the front seat is a front door, a center pillar (B pillar), or the like. The body side portion 11 corresponding to the rear seat is a rear portion of a side door (rear door), a C pillar, a front portion of a tire house, a rear quarter, and the like.

  The vehicle seat 12 includes a seat cushion (seat portion) 13 and a seat back (backrest) 14 that stands up from the rear side of the seat cushion 13 and whose inclination angle is adjusted by an inclination adjustment mechanism (not shown). Configured. The vehicle seat 12 is disposed on the vehicle 10 with the seat back 14 facing forward. The width direction of the vehicle seat 12 arranged in this way matches the vehicle width direction.

Next, the internal structure of the side portion outside the vehicle in the seat back 14 will be described.
A seat frame that forms the skeleton is disposed in the seat back 14. As shown in FIG. 3, a part of the seat frame is disposed on the vehicle outer side (lower side in FIG. 3) in the seat back 14, and this part (hereinafter referred to as “side frame part 15”) is made of metal. It is formed by bending a plate. A seat pad 16 made of an elastic material such as urethane foam is disposed on the front side of the seat frame including the side frame portion 15. A hard backboard 17 made of synthetic resin or the like is disposed on the rear side of the seat frame. The seat pad 16 is covered with a skin, but the skin is not shown in FIG. The same applies to FIG. 6 described later.

  In the seat pad 16, a storage portion 18 is provided in the vicinity of the vehicle exterior side of the side frame portion 15. An air bag module AM that forms the main part of the side air bag device is incorporated in the storage portion 18.

  A slit 19 extends from a corner on the vehicle outer side and front side of the storage unit 18 toward the diagonal front vehicle outer side. A portion sandwiched between the corner 16C on the front side of the seat pad 16 and the slit 19 (a portion surrounded by a two-dot chain line frame in FIG. 3) constitutes a planned breaking portion 21 to be broken by the airbag 40 described later. ing.

The airbag module AM incorporated in the seat back 14 includes an inflator assembly 30 and an airbag 40 as main components.
Next, each of these structural members will be described. Here, in the present embodiment, when the airbag module AM and its constituent members are referred to as “vertical direction” and “front-rear direction”, as shown in FIG. 1, the seat back 14 of the vehicle seat 12 is used as a reference. The direction in which the seat back 14 stands is the “vertical direction”, and the thickness direction of the seat back 14 is the “front-rear direction”. Usually, since the seat back 14 is used in a state of being slightly inclined rearward, the “vertical direction” is not strictly a vertical direction but is slightly inclined. Similarly, the “front-rear direction” is not strictly a horizontal direction but is slightly inclined.

<Inflator assembly 30>
As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the inflator assembly 30 includes an inflator 31 as a gas generation source and a retainer 32 attached to the outside of the inflator 31. In the present embodiment, a type called a pyro type is employed as the inflator 31. The inflator 31 has a substantially cylindrical shape, and a gas generating agent (not shown) that generates an expansion gas is accommodated therein. A harness (not shown) serving as an input wiring for an operation signal to the inflator 31 is connected to one end (the lower end in the present embodiment) of the inflator 31 in the length direction.

  As the inflator 31, a type (hybrid type) that breaks the partition wall of a high-pressure gas cylinder filled with a high-pressure gas with an explosive or the like instead of the pyro-type using the gas generating agent (hybrid type) is used. Also good.

  On the other hand, the retainer 32 is a member that functions as a diffuser and has a function of fastening the inflator 31 to the side frame portion 15 together with the airbag 40. Most of the retainer 32 is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape by bending a plate material such as a metal plate. The retainer 32 is provided with a window 33, and most of the expansion gas G (see FIG. 1) ejected from the inflator 31 is ejected to the outside of the retainer 32 through the window 33.

  A plurality of bolts 34 are fixed to the retainer 32 as a locking member for attaching the retainer 32 to the side frame portion 15. In other words, the plurality of bolts 34 are indirectly fixed to the inflator 31 via the retainer 32.

The inflator assembly 30 may be one in which the inflator 31 and the retainer 32 are integrated.
<Airbag 40>
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the airbag 40 supplies the inflation gas G from the inflator 31 when an impact is applied to the body side portion 11 from the side due to a side collision or the like while the vehicle 10 is traveling. receive. The airbag 40 that has received the supply of the inflation gas G jumps out substantially forward from the storage portion 18 in a state where a part (rear portion) of the airbag 40 is left in the storage portion 18 to the vehicle seat 12. By expanding and inflating between the upper body of the seated occupant P and the body side portion 11, the upper body of the occupant P is protected from the impact of the side collision.

  FIG. 4 shows the airbag module AM in a state where the airbag 40 is deployed in a plane without being filled with the inflation gas G (hereinafter referred to as “non-inflated and deployed state”). 7 shows the airbag module AM in which the airbag 40 in the non-inflated and deployed state of FIG. 4 is cut at the center in the vehicle width direction to show the internal structure of the airbag module AM. It is shown together with the passenger P.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 7, the airbag 40 is a vehicle in which a single piece of cloth 41 (also called a base cloth, panel cloth, etc.) is folded in two along a fold line 42 set at the center thereof. It is formed by overlapping in the width direction and joining the overlapped portions in a bag shape. Here, in order to distinguish the two overlapped portions of the airbag 40, the one located on the inside of the vehicle is referred to as the cloth portion 43 (see FIG. 7), and the one located on the outside of the vehicle is referred to as the cloth portion 44 ( (See FIG. 4).

  In this embodiment, the cloth piece 41 is folded in two so that the folding line 42 is positioned at the front end of the airbag 40, but the folding line 42 is positioned at the other end, for example, the rear end. The cloth piece 41 may be folded in half. The airbag 40 may be composed of two pieces of cloth divided along the fold line 42. In this case, the airbag 40 is formed by superimposing two pieces of cloth in the vehicle width direction and connecting the two pieces of cloth so as to form a bag shape. Further, the airbag 40 may be composed of three or more pieces of cloth.

  In the airbag 40, the outer shapes of the cloth portions 43 and 44 are in a line-symmetric relationship with each other with the folding line 42 as the axis of symmetry. The shape and size of the cloth portions 43 and 44 correspond to the upper body of the occupant P seated on the vehicle seat 12 when the airbag 40 is deployed and inflated between the vehicle seat 12 and the body side portion 11. It is set so that it can occupy the area to be.

  As the cloth parts 43 and 44, a woven cloth formed using a material having high strength and flexibility and can be easily folded, for example, polyester yarn, polyamide yarn or the like is suitable.

  The above-described connection between the cloth parts 43 and 44 is performed at a peripheral connection part 45 provided at the peripheral part thereof. In the present embodiment, the peripheral edge coupling portion 45 sews (sews with a sewing thread) the portions of the peripheral portions of the cloth portions 43 and 44 except for the rear lower end portion and the front end portion (the vicinity of the folding line 42). It is formed by. This also applies to outer coupling portions 54 and 55 and inner coupling portions 63 and 81 described later.

  Regarding the above sewing, in FIGS. 4, 7 to 9, and further, FIGS. 13 and 14, the sewing portion is expressed by two line types. One line type is a line (a kind of broken line) expressed by arranging thick lines of a certain length intermittently (this is a kind of broken line), which is outside the cloth parts 43 and 44 to be stitched (between the cloth parts 43 and 44). No) is shown (see FIG. 4 etc.). The other line type is a line (a type of broken line) in which points are arranged at regular intervals, and this indicates the state of the sewing thread between the cloth portions 43 and 44 to be sewn (FIG. 7 and the like). reference). That is, the drawing in which the sewing is expressed in the latter manner shows a cross-sectional structure along a cross section passing through the sewing portion.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 7, the space between the cloth portions 43 and 44 and surrounded by the peripheral edge coupling portion 45 is outside the upper half of the occupant P by the inflation gas G (see FIG. 1 and the like). By expanding in the vicinity, it becomes an expanding portion 46 for protecting the same upper body from an impact.

  In addition, the periphery coupling | bond part 45 may be formed by the means different from the sewing using the said sewing thread, for example, adhesion | attachment using an adhesive agent. This also applies to outer coupling portions 54 and 55 and inner coupling portions 63 and 81 described later.

  The inflator assembly 30 is disposed in the lower portion of the rear end in the airbag 40 in a posture inclined so as to become lower toward the front side. And the bolt 34 of the retainer 32 is penetrated by the cloth part 43 inside a vehicle (refer FIG. 3). By such insertion, the inflator assembly 30 is locked in a state of being positioned with respect to the airbag 40. The rear lower end of the airbag 40 is fastened to the lower end of the inflator assembly 30 in an airtight state by an annular fastener 37 (see the two-dot chain lines in FIGS. 4 and 7).

  The inflatable portion 46 of the airbag 40 is partitioned into a plurality of chambers by a planar partition wall 50. In the present embodiment, the plurality of chambers are adjacent to the upstream side expansion portion 47 to which the expansion gas G from the inflator 31 is first supplied, the front side of the upstream side expansion portion 47, and pass through the upstream side expansion portion 47. And a downstream side expansion portion 48 to which the expansion gas G is supplied. The partition wall 50 has the same configuration as that generally called a tether, and is formed using the same material as the cloth portions 43 and 44 of the airbag 40.

  FIG. 5 shows a cross-sectional structure along the line AA in FIG. In FIG. 5, each member is drawn with the thickness omitted, and each inner coupling portion 63 is drawn in a zigzag shape. This also applies to FIGS. 11A and 11B described later and FIGS. 15A to 15C. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 7, when the airbag 40 is in a non-inflated and deployed state, the partition wall 50 is folded back along a fold line 51 extending substantially in the vertical direction, thereby facing each other. It is made into the two-fold state which made the parts 52 and 53 approach. The half-folded partition wall 50 is disposed in the inflatable portion 46 with the fold line 51 positioned upstream of the opposing end portions 52 and 53. In addition, illustration of the partition wall 50 is abbreviate | omitted in FIG.

  As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the partition wall 50 is longer in a direction along the fold line 51 than in a direction perpendicular to the fold line 51 when the partition wall 50 is tensioned as the expansion portion 46 expands. It has a shape. The partition wall 50 is coupled to both the cloth portions 43 and 44 of the airbag 40 by outer coupling portions 54 and 55 extending substantially in the vertical direction at each of the opposing end portions 52 and 53. Both outer coupling portions 54 and 55 are located on the sides of the middle portion in the front-rear direction of the upper body of the occupant P when the inflating portion 46 is inflated. It couple | bonds with the corresponding cloth parts 43 and 44 (refer FIG. 2).

  In this manner, the partition wall 50 is bridged between the cloth portion 43 on the inside of the vehicle and the cloth portion 44 on the outside of the vehicle in the airbag 40. The partition wall 50 is folded in two when the airbag 40 is in a non-inflated and deployed state (see FIGS. 5 and 7). Moreover, when the expansion part 46 expand | swells, the partition wall 50 will be in the state strained in the vehicle width direction (refer FIG. 8, FIG. 9), and regulates the thickness of the vehicle expansion direction of the expansion part 46. FIG.

  Further, the two-folded partition wall 50 is coupled to the airbag 40 at both ends in the direction along the fold line 51. That is, the upper end portion and the lower end portion of the partition wall 50 are coupled (sewed together) to the upper end portion and the lower end portion of both the cloth portions 43 and 44 of the airbag 40 by the peripheral edge coupling portion 45 (see FIG. 7). .

  In this embodiment, the partition wall 50 is comprised by the two sheet | seat materials 56 and 57 arranged in the substantially up-down direction which is a direction along the fold line 51, as shown in FIGS. Both the sheet members 56 and 57 are provided in the inflatable portion 46 at a location on the side of the intermediate portion in the front-rear direction of the upper body of the occupant P when the inflatable portion 46 is inflated. This location is a location that is pressed from the side by the occupant P (intermediate portion of the upper body in the front-rear direction) when the occupant P is restrained by the inflatable portion 46.

  The lower end portion 58 of the sheet material 56 and the upper end portion 59 of the sheet material 57 are overlapped with each other in the front-rear direction. In this superposed state, the end portions 58 and 59 are in contact with or close to each other at any location. In this way, a portion where the both end portions 58 and 59 are overlapped constitutes a wrap portion 61 extending in a band shape in a direction perpendicular to the fold line 51. In the present embodiment, the end portion 59 is overlapped with the end portion 58 from the upstream side, but may be overlapped from the downstream side instead.

  The two sheet members 56 and 57 are coupled to each other by a plurality (two in the present embodiment) of inner coupling portions 63 provided in a state of being separated from each other in a direction orthogonal to the folding line 51. In the present embodiment, both sheet materials 56 and 57 are provided on the same line of the lap portion 61. The both inner coupling portions 63 correspond to “coupling portions” in the claims. The both inner coupling portions 63 are provided in the middle between the lower edge 58E of the sheet material 56 and the upper edge 59E of the sheet material 57 in the direction along the fold line 51. It extends in a direction orthogonal to the line 51. In the present embodiment, both inner coupling portions 63 are provided at the center between both end edges 58E and 59E in the direction along the fold line 51.

  The ends 58 and 59 of the both sheet materials 56 and 57 are released from the coupling between the inner coupling portions 63. In this embodiment, the portion where the coupling is released is located in a portion straddling the folding line 51. In the upper sheet material 56, the valve body 64 is constituted by the adjacent inner coupling portions 63 (locations where the coupling is released) and the peripheral portions (both side portions in the direction along the folding line 51). . In addition, the valve body portion 65 is formed between the adjacent inner coupling portions 63 (locations where the coupling is released) in the lower sheet material 57 and peripheral portions thereof (both side portions in the direction along the folding line 51). It is configured. These valve body parts 64 and 65 constitute a pressure regulating valve 66 that adjusts (regulates) the internal pressure of the expansion part 46 (the upstream expansion part 47 and the downstream expansion part 48). When the airbag 40 is in a non-inflated and deployed state, the valve body portions 64 and 65 are in contact with or close to each other as shown in FIG.

  In the pressure regulating valve 66, the flow of the expansion gas G between the valve body portions 64 and 65 is restricted by the valve body portions 64 and 65 coming into contact with each other (FIG. 10A, FIG. 11). A)). Further, the valve body portion 64 and the valve body portion 65 are separated from each other in the front-rear direction, whereby the expansion gas G can be circulated between the valve body portions 64 and 65 (FIG. 10B). 11 (B)). 10 (A) and 10 (B) schematically show the operation of the pressure regulating valve 66 as viewed from the side. FIGS. 11A and 11B schematically show the operation of the pressure regulating valve 66 as viewed from above.

  As shown in FIGS. 5 and 7, both end portions in the width direction of the wrap portion 61 and the inner coupling portion 63 are connected to the corresponding fabric portions 43 and 44 of the airbag 40 by the outer coupling portions 54 and 55 described above. The sheet members 56 and 57 are joined (co-sewn) together with the end portions in the width direction (opposing end portions 52 and 53 of the partition wall 50).

  By the way, as shown in FIG. 3, the airbag module AM having the inflator assembly 30 and the airbag 40 as main components is compact by folding the airbag 40 (see FIG. 4) in a non-inflated and deployed state. (Hereinafter referred to as “storage form”). This is because the airbag module AM is suitable for storage with respect to the storage unit 18 having a limited size in the seat back 14.

  The airbag module AM in the storage configuration is disposed in the storage portion 18 of the seatback 14 with the inflator assembly 30 positioned on the rear side and most of the airbag 40 positioned on the front side. Yes. As described above, the bolt 34 extending from the retainer 32 and inserted into the airbag 40 (cloth portion 43) is inserted into the side frame portion 15 and is tightened by the nut 36. By this tightening, the inflator assembly 30 is fixed to the side frame portion 15 together with the airbag 40.

The inflator assembly 30 may be fixed to the vehicle 10 (side frame portion 15) by means different from the bolts 34 and nuts 36 described above.
As shown in FIG. 1, the side airbag device includes an impact sensor 71 and a control device 72 in addition to the airbag module AM described above. The impact sensor 71 is composed of an acceleration sensor or the like, and is provided on the body side portion 11 (see FIGS. 2 and 3) of the vehicle 10, and detects an impact applied to the body side portion 11 from the side. The control device 72 controls the operation of the inflator 31 based on the detection signal from the impact sensor 71.

  As described above, the side airbag device of the present embodiment is configured. Next, as an operation of the side airbag device, a typical mode of operation (mode) will be described with reference to FIGS. 10 (A) and 10 (B) and FIGS. 11 (A) and 11 (B). FIGS. 10A and 10B and FIGS. 11A and 11B schematically show how the configuration of the pressure regulating valve 66 and the like change with time after the supply of the expansion gas G starts. The details are omitted or simplified. 12 shows the pressure (internal pressure) of the inflation gas G in the upstream and downstream expansion portions 47, 48, the pressure receiving area of the passenger P on the expansion portions 47, 48 side, It shows how the load received from the bag 40 changes according to the amount of entry (stroke) of the body side portion 11 that enters the vehicle interior due to impact. The load is determined by the product of the internal pressure and the pressure receiving area.

  In the side airbag device, when no impact is applied to the vehicle 10 from the side due to a side collision or the like, an operation signal is not output from the control device 72 to the inflator 31, and the inflation gas G is sent from the inflator 31 to the inflating portion 46 ( It is not supplied to the upstream expansion part 47). The airbag 40 continues to be stored in the storage portion 18 together with the inflator assembly 30 in the storage form (see FIG. 3). At this time, in the airbag 40, both the cloth parts 43 and 44 are approaching each other. The partition wall 50 is folded in half, and both valve body portions 64 and 65 are close to or in contact with each other. The approach amount (stroke) of the body side portion 11 is “0”. The internal pressures of the expanding portions 47 and 48 are both low (substantially atmospheric pressure), and the pressure receiving area and the load are both “0”.

  On the other hand, when the vehicle 10 is traveling, an impact of a predetermined value or more is applied from the side to the body side portion 11 due to a side collision or the like. An operation signal is output from the control device 72 to the inflator 31. The amount of entry (stroke) of the body side portion 11 at this time is S0. In response to this operation signal, in the inflator 31, the gas generating agent generates a high-temperature and high-pressure expansion gas G. The expansion gas G is first supplied to the upstream expansion portion 47, and the upstream expansion portion 47 starts to expand.

  In the inflatable portion 46, the two-folded partition wall 50 is coupled to the corresponding fabric portions 43 and 44 of the airbag 40 by the outer coupling portions 54 and 55 at each of the opposing end portions 52 and 53 ( (See FIG. 5). Moreover, the partition wall 50 is couple | bonded with both the cloth parts 43 and 44 by the periphery coupling | bond part 45 in each of the both ends (upper end part and lower end part) of the direction along the fold line 51 (refer FIG. 7). For this reason, when the upstream side expansion portion 47 starts to expand as described above, the half-folded partition wall 50 is pulled. Tension is applied to the partition wall 50 in a direction along the fold line 51 or in a direction orthogonal thereto, and the partition wall 50 tends to be in a planar state (see FIG. 8).

  At this time, the internal pressure of the upstream expansion portion 47 is applied to the valve body portion 65 facing the upstream expansion portion 47 as shown in FIGS. 10 (A) and 11 (A). The valve body portion 65 is pressed toward the downstream side expansion portion 48 by the expansion gas G in the upstream side expansion portion 47 and comes into contact (contact) with the valve body portion 64 facing the downstream side expansion portion 48. Due to this contact, the pressure regulating valve 66 is closed, and the expansion gas G in the upstream expansion portion 47 is restricted from flowing out between the valve body portions 64 and 65 to the downstream expansion portion 48. .

Due to the above restriction, the expansion gas G accumulates in the upstream expansion portion 47, and only the internal pressure of the upstream expansion portion 47 starts to increase after the approach amount (stroke) S0.
In this embodiment, since the expansion portion 46 is partitioned by the partition wall 50 toward the downstream expansion portion 48 into the upstream expansion portion 47 and the downstream expansion portion 48, the volume of the upstream expansion portion 47 is the expansion portion. When 46 is not partitioned (hereinafter referred to as “comparative example”), the volume of the expansion portion is smaller. For this reason, the internal pressure of the upstream inflating portion 47 starts to rise earlier than when the inflating portion 46 is not partitioned (comparative example), and becomes higher. In particular, the expansion gas G in the upstream expansion portion 47 is allowed to flow only between the valve body portions 64 and 65, and flows out to the downstream expansion portion 48 without passing between the valve body portions 64 and 65. Never do. Therefore, the increase rate of the internal pressure of the upstream side expansion portion 47 does not decrease due to the outflow of the expansion gas G.

  In addition, the present embodiment is greatly different from Patent Document 1 in which the communication path between both base fabrics in the partition (seam) is used as an expansion gas path in the above points. In Patent Document 1, before the internal pressure of the main expansion chamber becomes sufficiently high, the expansion gas in the main expansion chamber flows out to the sub expansion chamber through the communication path. In this embodiment, this corresponds to the communication path. There is no place, and the pressure regulating valve 66 is closed. While the pressure regulating valve 66 is closed, the expansion gas G in the upstream side expansion portion 47 does not flow out to the downstream side expansion portion 48 or only a small amount.

At this time, the airbag 40 (inflatable portion 46) is not yet in contact with the occupant P. Therefore, both the pressure receiving area and the load are still “0”.
And by the said expansion | swelling of the upstream expansion part 47, it tries to eliminate a folding state in the reverse order to the order in which the upstream expansion part 47 was folded. When the upstream inflating portion 47 is inflated while canceling (deploying) the folded state, the seat pad 16 of the seat back 14 is pressed by the airbag 40 and broken at the planned breaking portion 21 (see FIG. 3). . As shown in FIG. 6, the airbag 40 jumps out of the seat back 14 through the broken portion in a state where a part (the vicinity of the inflator assembly 30) remains in the seat back 14.

  Thereafter, the upstream inflating portion 47 to which the inflating gas G is supplied cancels the folded state forward between the body side portion 11 and the rear half of the upper half of the occupant P seated on the vehicle seat 12. While expanding.

  The approach amount (stroke) of the body side portion 11 becomes S1, and the inflatable portion 46 is pressed against the upper body of the occupant P by the body side portion 11, and the restraint of the occupant P by the airbag 40 starts. Since only the upstream inflatable portion 47 is inflated in the inflatable portion 46, the only place where the occupant P contacts while receiving the pressure of the inflatable portion 46 is the upstream inflatable portion 47. Therefore, the area of the surface where the occupant P receives the pressure of the expansion part 46 (pressure receiving area on the expansion part 46 side) is the area of the surface receiving pressure from the upstream expansion part 47 (pressure reception area on the upstream expansion part 47 side). Same and small. However, the pressure receiving area on the upstream expansion portion 47 side increases as the approach to the vehicle inner side of the body side portion 11 in accordance with the impact of the side collision proceeds (the amount of entry (stroke) increases).

  The impact load that the occupant P receives through the inflating portion 46 also increases as the pressure receiving area and the internal pressure increase. As described above, since the internal pressure of the upstream-side expansion portion 47 starts to rise quickly, the approach amount (stroke) S1 at which the load starts increasing increases when the expansion portion 46 is not partitioned (comparative example). The load becomes smaller than the approach amount (stroke) S10 at which the increase starts. In other words, the load begins to increase at an earlier timing than when the inflatable portion 46 is not partitioned (comparative example), and reaches a predetermined value α for protecting the upper body of the occupant P from an impact earlier. (See FIG. 12).

  From the middle of the supply period of the inflation gas G to the inflatable portion 46, the inflatable portion 46 is pressed and deformed by an external force accompanying the restraint of the occupant P. Along with this, the partition wall 50 is bent, and as shown in FIGS. 10B and 11B, both valve body portions 64 and 65 are separated from each other in the front-rear direction. In particular, since the sheet members 56 and 57 constituting the partition wall 50 are provided at a location pressed by the occupant P from the side when the occupant P is restrained by the inflating portion 46, the external force accompanying the restraint of the occupant P is provided. Is easily transmitted to the partition wall 50. Therefore, the partition wall 50 is bent and the two valve body portions 64 and 65 are easily separated from each other. In this regard, the present embodiment only opens the vent hole when the airbag comes into contact with an obstacle on the front side in the deployment direction, and whether the vent hole opens when an impact is applied from the side. It is significantly different from the unknown Patent Document 2.

  When the approach amount (stroke) becomes S2, the pressure regulating valve 66 is opened, and the expansion gas G in the upstream expansion portion 47 passes between both valve body portions 64 and 65, and the downstream expansion portion 48. It is possible to flow out to

  Due to the outflow of the expansion gas G, the internal pressure of the upstream expansion portion 47 changes from increasing to decreasing. However, since the body side portion 11 continues to enter the vehicle inner side and the inflating portion 46 is pressed against the occupant P in the upstream inflating portion 47, the pressure receiving area on the upstream inflating portion 47 side of the occupant P continues to increase. .

  Further, after the approach amount (stroke) S2, the downstream side expansion portion 48 starts to expand due to the expansion gas G, and accordingly, the internal pressure of the downstream side expansion portion 48 starts to increase. Further, when the approach amount (stroke) becomes S3 with a slight delay from the start of the increase of the internal pressure, the downstream side inflating part 48 is in addition to the upstream side inflating part 47 by the body side part 11 entering the vehicle inside. The area of the surface on which the passenger P receives the pressure of the downstream expansion portion 48 (pressure receiving area on the downstream expansion portion 48 side) starts to increase.

Note that the internal pressure of the upstream expansion portion 47 and the internal pressure of the downstream expansion portion 48 become equal after the approach amount (stroke) S4.
As described above, after the pressure regulating valve 66 is opened (entrance amount (stroke) S2), the internal pressure of the upstream side expansion portion 47 decreases and the internal pressure of the downstream side expansion portion 48 increases. Further, the pressure receiving area on the upstream expansion portion 47 side and the pressure receiving area on the downstream expansion portion 48 side of the occupant P increase with a time difference. Therefore, after the approach amount (stroke) S2, the load that the occupant P receives from the entire inflating portion 46, that is, the sum of the load that is received from the upstream inflating portion 47 and the load that is received from the downstream inflating portion 48 is simply air The bag is constituted by a single inflating part and is maintained at a substantially constant value (predetermined value α) which is lower than the maximum value when the pressure regulating valve is not provided (comparative example).

  Due to the expansion of the downstream expansion portion 48, the folded state tends to be eliminated in the reverse order of the order in which the downstream expansion portion 48 is folded. As shown in FIG. 2, the downstream inflatable part 48 is deployed between the body side part 11 and the front half (chest part PT) of the upper half of the occupant P while eliminating (expanding) the folded state. To do.

  In this way, the airbag 40 is interposed between the upper body of the occupant P and the body side portion 11 entering the vehicle interior. The upper body is pressed and restrained by the airbag 40 inward in the vehicle width direction. And the impact from the side transmitted to the upper body through the body side part 11 is relieved by the airbag 40, and the upper body is protected.

  Here, the impact resistance when an impact is applied from the side to the upper body of the occupant P is generally superior to the front half (chest PT) in the rear half. This is because the rear half has a spine and the rib is connected to the spine at the rear part, whereas the front part of the rib is not connected to the spine having the strength as described above. Therefore, it is desirable that the internal pressure of the inflating portion 46 acting on the upper body of the occupant P from the side as the airbag 40 is deployed and inflated is lower in the front half than in the rear half.

  In this regard, in the present embodiment, the inflating portion 46 inflates so that the partition wall 50 is located in the vicinity of the boundary portion between the front half and the rear half of the upper body in the front-rear direction. When the inflatable portion 46 of the airbag 40 is deployed and inflated, the upstream inflatable portion 47 is positioned near the side of the rear half of the upper body, and the downstream inflatable portion 48 is located near the side of the front half (chest PT). Is located (see FIG. 2). Accordingly, in the initial stage of restraining the occupant P by the airbag 40, the rear half portion of the upper half of the occupant P, which has higher impact resistance than the front half (chest PT), is pressed by the upstream inflating portion 47 where the internal pressure increases quickly. Is done. Further, in the initial stage of the restraint, the front half part (chest part PT) having a relatively low impact resistance among the upper body of the occupant P is pressed by the downstream inflating part 48 whose internal pressure is not as high as that of the upstream inflating part 47.

According to the embodiment described in detail above, the following effects can be obtained.
(1) The partition wall 50 that partitions the inflatable portion 46 of the airbag 40 into the upstream inflatable portion 47 and the downstream inflatable portion 48 is placed at a location that is pressed by the occupant P from the side when the occupant P is restrained by the inflatable portion 46. The two sheet members 56 and 57 are provided. The partition wall 50 is provided with a belt-like wrap portion 61 in which the end portions 58 and 59 of both sheet members 56 and 57 are overlapped with each other in the front-rear direction, and further includes a pair of valve body portions 64 and 65. The pressure valve 66 is provided in the lap part 61 (FIG. 9).

  Therefore, before the occupant P is restrained when the upstream side inflating portion 47 is inflated, the valve body portion 65 is pressed by the inflation gas G in the upstream side inflating portion 47 to contact the valve body portion 64 ( The pressure regulating valve 66 is closed), and the expansion gas G in the upstream expansion portion 47 can be restricted from flowing out to the downstream expansion portion 48 to increase the internal pressure of the upstream expansion portion 47. On the other hand, when the upstream side inflating portion 47 is inflated to restrain the occupant P, the partition wall 50 is bent by an external force applied in association with the restraining to separate the valve body portions 64 and 65 from each other (the pressure regulating valve 66 is And the expansion gas G is allowed to flow out from the upstream expansion portion 47 to the downstream expansion portion 48 to increase the internal pressure of the downstream expansion portion 48.

  In this way, the pressure regulating valve 66 that closes before the occupant P is restrained when the upstream side inflating portion 47 is inflated, and opens when the restraint P is restrained to perform appropriate pressure regulation, while having a simple and inexpensive structure. Can be established. Then, by the operation of the pressure regulating valve 66, the characteristics of the load received by the upper body of the occupant P through the airbag 40 reach the predetermined value α in a short time, and thereafter maintain the predetermined value α. Therefore, it is possible to obtain suitable characteristics for protection by restraining.

  (2) The two sheet members 56 and 57 are coupled to each other by the two inner coupling portions 63 provided on the lap portion 61 while being separated from each other. And the valve body parts 64 and 65 are comprised by the edge part 58 and 59 of each sheet | seat materials 56 and 57 between the adjacent inner coupling parts 63, and its peripheral location (FIG. 9).

  For this reason, not only can the two wall members 56 and 57 be coupled to each other to form the partition wall 50 by simply performing the operation of providing the two inner coupling portions 63 in the lap portion 61, The valve body parts 64 and 65 can be formed. Apart from the formation of the partition wall 50, it is not necessary to perform a special operation for forming the valve body portions 64 and 65 (pressure regulating valve 66).

  In particular, both valve body portions 64 and 65 are integrated with the partition wall 50. Therefore, compared with the case where both valve body parts 64 and 65 consist of parts different from the partition wall 50, a number of parts can be decreased. Moreover, it is not necessary to perform the operation | work which connects the valve body parts 64 and 65 to the partition wall 50. FIG.

Note that the present invention can be embodied in another embodiment described below.
<About the partition wall 50>
-The partition wall 50 may be comprised by the two sheet | seat materials 75 and 76 arranged in the direction orthogonal to the fold line 51, as shown in FIG.13 and FIG.14.

  In this case, the end portion 77 of the sheet material 75 and the end portion 78 of the sheet material 76 are overlapped with each other in the front-rear direction. In this manner, a band-shaped wrap portion 79 extending in the direction along the fold line 51 (substantially up and down direction) is configured by the portion where both end portions 77 and 78 are overlapped.

  The two sheet members 75 and 76 are coupled to each other by a plurality (two in FIGS. 13 and 14) of inner coupling portions 81 provided on the lap portion 79 while being separated from each other. The inner coupling portion 81 corresponds to the “coupling portion” in the scope of the claims, like the inner coupling portion 63 described above. The both inner coupling portions 81 are provided in the middle of the end edge 77E of the sheet material 75 and the end edge 78E of the sheet material 76 in the direction orthogonal to the fold line 51, for example, in the center. It extends in the direction along.

  The two sheet members 75 and 76 are released from the connection between the inner connecting portions 81. The location where the coupling is released is provided on the folding line 51, for example. In one sheet material 75, the valve body portion 82 is constituted by the adjacent inner coupling portions 81 (locations where the coupling is released) and the peripheral locations (both sides in the direction perpendicular to the folding line 51). Further, the valve body 83 is constituted by the adjacent inner coupling portions 81 (locations where the coupling is released) in the other sheet material 76 and the peripheral portions (both sides in the direction orthogonal to the folding line 51). Is done. These valve body portions 82 and 83 constitute a pressure regulating valve 84 that adjusts (regulates) the internal pressure of the expansion portion 46 (the upstream expansion portion 47 and the downstream expansion portion 48).

  In the pressure regulating valve 84, the valve body portion that faces the upstream inflating portion 47 by the inflation gas G in the upstream inflating portion 47 before the occupant P is restrained when the upstream inflating portion 47 is inflated. The flow of the expansion gas G between the valve body portions 82 and 83 is regulated by contacting the valve body portion 83 facing the downstream side expansion portion 48. Further, when the upstream inflating portion 47 is inflated to restrain the occupant P, the partition wall 50 is bent by an external force applied in association with the restraining, and the both valve body portions 82 and 83 are separated from each other in the front-rear direction, so that both valves The inflation gas G can be circulated between the body parts 82 and 83.

In FIG. 13 and FIG. 14, the end 77 is overlapped with the end 78 from the upstream side, but may be overlapped from the downstream instead.
The partition wall 50 may be composed of three or more sheet materials. In this case, adjacent sheet materials are bonded to each other. There are a plurality of places to be combined.

The wrap portions 61 and 79 and the pressure regulating valves 66 and 84 may be provided at all the locations to be combined, or may be provided only at some locations.
Moreover, the pressure regulating valves 66 and 84 may be provided in all the lap parts 61 and 79, or may be provided only in some of the lap parts 61 and 79.

  The opposed end portion 52 of the partition wall 50 may be coupled to the cloth portion 43 of the airbag 40 within the upstream inflating portion 47 or within the downstream inflating portion 48. Similarly, the facing end portion 53 of the partition wall 50 may be coupled to the cloth portion 44 of the airbag 40 in the upstream inflating portion 47 or in the downstream inflating portion 48.

Further, one of the opposed end portions 52 and 53 may be coupled within the upstream expansion portion 47 and the other may be coupled within the downstream expansion portion 48.
-The fold line 51 in the partition wall 50 in a folded state may be slightly inclined with respect to the vertical direction.

  In the above embodiment and the other example shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, when the airbag 40 is in a non-inflated and deployed state, the partition wall 50 in a folded state has a folding line 51 with both opposing ends. It may be located downstream of 52 and 53.

<Regulating valve 66>
FIGS. 15A to 15C schematically show the operation of the pressure regulating valve 66 of a type different from that of the above embodiment as viewed from above.

  FIG. 15A shows the state of the pressure regulating valve 66 when the airbag 40 is brought into the non-inflated and deployed state. At this time, as the valve body portion 65 facing the upstream expansion portion 47, a valve body portion wider than the valve body portion 64 facing the downstream expansion portion 48 is used. Then, the end portions 58 and 59 of the both sheet materials 56 and 57 are coupled by the inner coupling portion 63 in a state where the valve body portion 65 is separated from the valve body portion 64 to the upstream side. By doing so, when the airbag 40 is in a non-inflated and deployed state, the pressure regulating valve 66 is in a state in which the valve body portion 65 is separated from the valve body portion 64, that is, in a valve open state. In this configuration, a sheet material 57 that is wider in the width direction than the sheet material 56 is used, and the inner coupling portions 63 are provided in a state where both side edges of the sheet material 57 are aligned with both side edges of the sheet material 56. It is feasible.

  With this change, the internal pressure of the upstream inflatable portion 47 is applied to the valve body 65 before the occupant P is restrained when the upstream inflatable portion 47 is inflated, as shown in FIG. As described above, it is possible to close the pressure regulating valve 66 by pressing the valve body portion 65 and bringing it into contact with the valve body portion 64.

  Further, when the upstream inflating portion 47 is inflated to restrain the occupant P, the partition wall 50 is bent by an external force applied along with the restraint, and as shown in FIG. Can be separated from each other (the pressure regulating valve 66 is opened). At this time, since the valve body portion 65 is wider than the valve body portion 64, it is easily separated from the valve body portion 64 by applying an external force, and the pressure regulating valve 66 is easily opened.

<Inner coupling parts 63 and 81>
In the above embodiment, the inner coupling portion 63 is not limited to extending in the direction orthogonal to the fold line 51 of the partition wall 50, and may extend in a direction intersecting obliquely.

  Moreover, in another example shown by FIG.13 and FIG.14, the inner coupling | bond part 81 is not restricted to extending in parallel with respect to the fold line 51 of the partition wall 50, You may extend in the inclination direction.

In the above embodiment, the portion where the coupling between the inner coupling portions 63 is released may be provided at a location deviating from the fold line 51 in a direction perpendicular to the fold line 51.
Moreover, in another example shown by FIG.13 and FIG.14, the location where the coupling | bonding between the both inner coupling parts 81 is cancelled | released may be provided in the location remove | deviated from the center of the fold line 51. FIG.

-In the said embodiment, the location where the coupling | bonding between the both inner coupling parts 63 is cancelled | released may be provided with two or more.
Moreover, in another example shown by FIG.13 and FIG.14, the location where the coupling | bonding between both the inner coupling parts 81 is cancelled | released may be provided with two or more.

-Adjacent inner coupling parts 63 and 81 may be provided in the place which is not on the same line of lap parts 61 and 79.
-In the above-mentioned embodiment, both the inner joint parts 63 may be provided in the place which deviated from the center of end edge 58E and end edge 59E about the direction which meets fold line 51.

  Further, in another example shown in FIG. 13 and FIG. 14, both inner coupling portions 81 may be provided at a location deviated from the center between the end edge 77 </ b> E and the end edge 78 </ b> E in the direction orthogonal to the fold line 51. .

<About the lap parts 61 and 79>
-In the wrap part 61 (79), the two valve element parts 64, 65 (82, 83) function between the adjacent inner coupling parts 63 (81) in the two sheet members 56, 57 (75, 76). And the surrounding area. For this reason, in the wrap portion 61 (79), the connection mode of the end portions 58 and 59 (77 and 78) is between the adjacent inner connection portions 63 (81) and the portion (non-near vicinity portion) that is not the peripheral portion. It may be changed. For example, the non-near part may be coupled by another coupling part in addition to the inner coupling part 63 (81). As a means for this connection, stitching or adhesion may be used. By being changed in this way, the lap portion 61 (79) is operated as both valve body portions 64, 65 (82, 83) only between the adjacent inner coupling portions 63 (81) and its peripheral portions. It is possible to suppress a phenomenon in which other portions move unnecessarily, for example, a flickering phenomenon.

In addition, a notch may be formed in at least a part of the non-near part of the wrap parts 61 and 79.
<About inflating part 46>
The airbag 40 may be substantially entirely composed of the inflating portion 46 (the above-mentioned embodiment corresponds to this), but the non-inflating portion that is not inflated without being supplied with the inflating gas G. You may have in part.

  -The expansion part 46 may be partitioned into three or more chambers by a partition wall. In this case, of the two chambers adjacent to each other in the flow direction of the expansion gas G across the partition wall in the expansion portion 46, the one located on the upstream side is the upstream expansion portion, and the one located on the downstream side is the downstream side It is an inflatable part. And the pressure regulation valve is provided in the partition wall between these upstream expansion parts and downstream expansion parts.

<About Inflator Assembly 30>
The inflator assembly 30 may be provided outside the airbag 40. In this case, the inflator 31 and the upstream side expansion part 47 may be connected by a pipe, and the expansion gas G from the inflator 31 may be supplied to the upstream side expansion part 47 via this pipe.

<About the storage unit 18 of the airbag module AM>
In place of the seat back 14 of the vehicle seat 12, the housing side 18 may be provided in the body side portion 11, and the airbag module AM may be provided here.

<Protection target of side airbag device>
In the above embodiment, the side airbag device that mainly protects the chest part PT of the occupant P has been described as an example. However, the present invention can be applied to other parts of the occupant P, for example, the part over the chest PT to the head, the waist part, The present invention can also be applied to a side airbag device that protects various parts such as a part over the chest (shoulder) and a part over the waist and head from a shock such as a side collision.

<Others>
In the vehicle in which the vehicle seat 12 is arranged in a posture in which the seatback 14 is different from the front of the vehicle, for example, in a lateral direction, the present invention is lateral to the vehicle seat 12 (front-rear direction of the vehicle). When a shock is applied from the side, it can also be applied to a side airbag device that protects the passenger P from the shock.

-Vehicles to which the side airbag device of the present invention is applied include not only private vehicles but also various industrial vehicles.
The present invention is not limited to vehicles, and can also be applied to side airbag devices that are installed in other vehicles such as aircraft and ships.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 12 ... Vehicle seat (vehicle seat), 31 ... Inflator, 40 ... Air bag, 46 ... Expansion part, 47 ... Upstream side expansion part, 48 ... Downstream side expansion part, 50 ... Partition wall, 56, 57, 75, 76 ... sheet material, 58, 59, 77, 78 ... end, 61, 79 ... lap part, 63, 81 ... inner joint part (joint part), 64, 65, 82, 83 ... valve body part, 66, 84 ... pressure regulating valve, G ... gas for expansion, P ... passenger.

Claims (2)

An airbag having an inflating portion that expands and inflates forward on the side of the vehicle seat by an inflation gas supplied from an inflator in response to an impact applied from the side of the vehicle seat;
The inflating part is adjacent to the upstream inflating part to which the inflating gas is supplied by the planar partition wall and the front side of the upstream inflating part, and the inflating gas via the upstream inflating part Partitioning into a plurality of chambers including at least a downstream expansion portion to be supplied;
A side airbag device for restraining and protecting an occupant seated on the vehicle seat by the inflating portion;
The partition wall is composed of a plurality of sheet materials provided at locations pressed by the occupant from the side when restraining the occupant by the inflating portion,
The partition wall is provided with a band-shaped wrap portion formed by overlapping end portions of the adjacent sheet materials in the front-rear direction,
When the upstream inflating portion is inflated and before the occupant is restrained, the wrap portion is pressed by the inflating gas in the upstream inflating portion and comes into contact with each other, and the upstream inflating portion is inflated. And when restraining the said passenger | crew, the side airbag apparatus provided with the pressure regulating valve provided with a pair of valve body part which bends | curves by the external force added with the restraint, and mutually spaces apart is provided. The adjacent sheet materials are coupled to each other by a plurality of coupling portions provided in the wrap portion in a state of being separated from each other,
2. The side airbag device according to claim 1, wherein the valve body portion is configured by a portion between the adjacent joint portions at the end portion of the sheet material and its peripheral portion.

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