JP2013112300A - Airbag - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an airbag capable of further quickly deploying a restricting part, and improving restricting performance by efficiently using inflation gas.SOLUTION: One end side of a cylindrical conduit part 25 for guiding the inflation gas, is positioned in an upper part of a cabin 21 of an automobile 11, and is installed in a vehicle body 14. A bag-shaped restricting part 26 is arranged for inflating and deploying between an occupant D and an instrument panel part 12 by the inflation gas guided by the conduit part 25 by communicating with the another end side of the conduit part 25. A check valve 27 is arranged in the conduit part 25. The check valve 27 allows the inflow of the inflation gas to the restricting part 26 from the conduit part 25, and checks a backflow of the inflation gas to the conduit part 25 side from the restricting part 26.

Description

  The present invention relates to an airbag that is attached to a vehicle body at a position that does not face an object to be protected in a vehicle compartment.

  In recent years, in a vehicle such as an automobile, the height of the instrument panel portion may be relatively lowered in order to take a larger space in the passenger compartment, that is, to achieve luminance. In such a case, for example, it is not easy to sufficiently take the storage space of the bag-shaped airbag in the instrument panel portion. Therefore, by storing the airbag in the ceiling (roof portion) of the vehicle, for example, A configuration that secures space is known. In this configuration, in the event of a car collision, the inflation gas is supplied from the inflator so that the airbag main body is inflated and deployed downward from the ceiling in front of the occupant so as to alleviate the impact applied to the occupant. (For example, refer to Patent Documents 1 and 2).

JP-T-2002-534321 (page 16-19, FIG. 2) JP 2005-527413 A (page 11, FIG. 1B)

  In the case of a frontal collision of the vehicle, the occupant bends forward, so in the case of an airbag suspended from the ceiling, the position where such an occupant is restrained is a place separated from the base part by a considerable distance downward. is there. Further, the pressure receiving surface (support surface) of such an airbag is not a ceiling but an instrument panel portion or a steering wheel (handle) relatively below the vehicle body.

  Therefore, in the case of such an airbag, the relationship between the position where the occupant is restrained (restraint part) and the position where the occupant is attached to the ceiling (attachment part) moves the inflation gas toward the attachment part when the occupant is restrained. Therefore, if the upper restraint part is thinned and the lower restraint part side is thin, suitable restraint performance cannot be obtained.

  Moreover, although the attachment part has the function of supplying the inflation gas to the restraint part and the function of supporting (the ceiling and the pressure-receiving surface serve as a part that supports the airbag), an extra part other than the function is not necessary, It is important not to consume the inflation gas as long as these functions are satisfied. In other words, the attachment portion needs a transportation ability to instantaneously send a large amount of the inflation gas to the restraint portion, but if it is inflated, the inflation gas is wasted.

  The present invention has been made in view of these points, and an object of the present invention is to provide an airbag in which the restraint portion can be deployed more quickly and the restraint performance is improved by efficiently using the inflation gas.

  The air bag according to claim 1, wherein one end side is attached to a vehicle body in a vehicle interior of the vehicle, is located at a position not facing the object to be protected, and is a cylindrical conduit portion that guides inflation gas from one end side to the other end side. And a bag-like restraining portion that communicates with the other end side of the conduit portion, and expands and expands between the object to be protected and the structure in front of the object to be protected by the inflating gas guided by the conduit portion, Gas flow regulating means is provided that allows inflow of the expansion gas from the conduit portion to the restraint portion and prevents backflow of the expansion gas from the restraint portion to the conduit portion side.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the airbag according to the first aspect, the conduit portion is attached to the vehicle body at one end on the upper side of the passenger compartment, and the restraining portion is lowered by the inflation gas guided by the conduit portion. It expands and expands.

  The airbag according to claim 3 is the airbag according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a plurality of conduit portions are provided, and the gas flow regulating means is provided corresponding to each of the conduit portions. .

  According to the airbag of the first aspect, the inflation gas is guided to the bag-like restraint portion by the tubular conduit portion located at a position not facing the object to be protected, thereby restraining the inflation gas by increasing the flow rate of the inflation gas. The expansion gas that has flowed into the restraining portion is prevented from flowing back to the conduit portion by the gas flow restricting means, so that the expansion gas can expand the conduit portion that does not restrain the object to be protected. Therefore, the restraint performance can be improved by efficiently using the inflation gas for the expansion and deployment of the restraint portion.

  According to the airbag of the second aspect, in addition to the effect of the airbag of the first aspect, the one end side of the conduit portion is attached to the vehicle body at the upper part of the passenger compartment, and the restraint portion is guided by the conduit portion. By inflating and deploying downward, the space above the object to be protected can be used effectively and the space in the vehicle compartment can be increased.

  According to the airbag according to claim 3, in addition to the effect of the airbag according to claim 1 or 2, a plurality of conduit portions are provided, and the gas flow regulating means is provided corresponding to each of the conduit portions, thereby inflating. The gas can be guided to the restraint portion more quickly, and more stable and quick deployment can be achieved, and the gas can be more firmly fixed to the vehicle body.

It is a side view which shows typically the deployment state of one embodiment of the airbag of the present invention. It is a side view which shows typically the restraint state of the to-be-protected object of an airbag same as the above. It is a perspective view which shows an airbag same as the above typically. It is explanatory drawing which shows typically the deployment behavior of an airbag same as the above in order of (a) thru | or (c). It is a perspective view which shows the non-return valve of an airbag same as the above, (a) shows the state which accept | permits inflow of the expansion gas to a restraint part, (b) shows the state which blocked | prevented the backflow of the expansion gas to a conduit | pipe part. Show. It is a perspective view which shows typically other embodiment of the airbag of this invention.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of an airbag according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  1 to 5, reference numeral 10 denotes an airbag device, and the airbag device 10 is a structure located in front of an occupant D as an object to be protected of, for example, a passenger seat S of an automobile 11 as a vehicle that is a moving body. The air bag device 10 for the passenger on the passenger seat is arranged inside the roof portion 15 as the installation portion of the vehicle body 14 located through the windshield 13 that is a windshield above the instrument panel portion 12 as doing. Hereinafter, the front-rear direction, the both-side direction, and the up-down direction will be described based on the straight-ahead direction of the automobile with the airbag device 10 attached to the automobile.

  The airbag device 10 can also be referred to as an airbag module. For example, an airbag 19 composed of a single fabric or a plurality of base fabrics such as a nylon fabric, and gas is supplied to the airbag 19 (not shown) An inflator, an attachment member (not shown) that holds the airbag 19 and the inflator and is attached to the vehicle body 14 side, a control unit (not shown) that controls the operation of the inflator, and the like are provided. Further, the airbag device 10 is configured to be attached to a roof portion 15 that constitutes a ceiling that is an upper portion of a cabin 21 of the automobile 11, and is electrically connected to a control device that includes a sensor and the like.

  The attachment member is formed in a substantially box shape, the lower side is a rectangular projecting opening that is an opening, and the inner side is an airbag storage portion that stores the folded airbag 19. The mounting member is covered with an interior panel (not shown) that is an interior member on the vehicle body 14 side in a normal state in which the airbag 19 is housed.

  The inflator can have various shapes, but the igniter and the medicine are housed inside, and the igniter burns the medicine by an electrical signal transmitted from a control means transmitted through a connector (not shown). The expansion gas is rapidly supplied from the gas injection port. Furthermore, these inflators can supply inflation gas from the gas injection port to the inside of the airbag 19.

  The airbag 19 is formed by joining the base fabric by sewing, bonding, welding, or the like, and has a cylindrical conduit portion 25 attached to the roof portion 15 at the upper end side, which is one end side, at the upper end portion. As a gas flow restricting means provided at the lower end portion of the conduit portion 25 and a bag-like restraint portion 26 that extends downward from the conduit portion 25 in the deployed state and is positioned between the instrument panel portion 12 and the occupant D. The check valve 27 is integrally provided.

  The conduit portion 25 can be called a non-contact portion, a non-inflatable portion, a non-protection portion, or the like, and is formed in a long cylindrical shape. The conduit portion 25 has a cross-sectional area, that is, an area in a direction intersecting (orthogonal to) the vertical direction that is the passage direction of the expansion gas, set smaller than that of the restraining portion 26. In other words, the conduit portion 25 is formed narrower in the front-rear and left-right directions than the restraining portion 26. Further, the lower end portion of the conduit portion 25 is inserted and protruded into the restraining portion 26 and communicates with the inside of the restraining portion 26. Further, the conduit portion 25 is configured to expand into a predetermined cylindrical shape when the expansion gas passes through, but does not expand further after becoming the predetermined cylindrical shape. And this conduit | pipe part 25 is the position above the passenger | crew's D head H, ie, the position which does not oppose the passenger | crew D, in other words, between the passenger | crew D and the instrument panel part 12 in the deployment state of the airbag 19. It protrudes into the interior of the passenger compartment 21 at a position that is not located at, and is linear along the vertical direction.

  The restraining portion 26 can also be called an airbag main body portion, a main portion, an inflating portion, or a protection portion. For example, the restraining portion 26 is raised upward from a rectangular bottom surface 31 and four sides of the bottom surface 31. It is formed in a bag shape having the restraining surface 32, the opposing surface 33 and the side surfaces 34, 34, and the top surface 35 facing above the bottom surface 31. The top surface 35 is formed in, for example, a rectangular shape having a larger area than the cross-sectional area of the bottom surface 31 and the conduit portion 25, and the conduit portion 25 is inserted and connected to the central portion in the front-rear and left-right directions. Therefore, the side surfaces 34 and 34 of the restricting portion 26 are inclined so that the width dimension gradually decreases from the upper side to the lower side. The restraining portion 26 has a capacity larger than that of the conduit portion 25 and has a size that bulges in the front-rear and left-right directions with respect to the conduit portion 25 in the unfolded state. The facing surface 33 faces the instrument panel portion 12 and the windshield 13.

  Further, the check valve 27 opens to the restraining portion 26 side by the pressure of the expansion gas passing through the conduit portion 25, and is pressed against the lower end portion of the conduit portion 25 by the internal pressure of the restraining portion 26, thereby lowering the lower end of the conduit portion 25. The part is closed. Therefore, the check valve 27 is configured to prevent the backflow of the inflation gas from the restraint portion 26 to the conduit portion 25 side while allowing the inflation gas to flow from the conduit portion 25 to the restraint portion 26. Yes. The check valve 27 can be arbitrarily configured. For example, a bridge portion 27a provided at the end (downstream end) of the conduit portion 25 can be used. The bridge portion 27a is provided in a band shape that connects both sides of the conduit portion 25. Therefore, openings 27b and 27b through which the expanded gas that has passed through the conduit portion 25 flows into the restraint portion 26 are formed on the side of the bridge portion 27a.

  Next, the deployment behavior of the airbag device 10 will be described.

  As an outline of the operation of the airbag device 10, when the control device operates the inflator and injects the inflation gas from the inflator at the time of a collision of the automobile 11, the inflation gas is in the folded pipe portion 25. The constraining part 26 of the airbag 19 accommodated in the airbag accommodating part in a folded state by the inflation gas that has been introduced into the cylinder part and expanded in a cylindrical shape and has passed through the conduit part 25 and the check valve 27. The internal pressure increases and expands and expands (FIGS. 4A to 4C). Specifically, in the check valve 27, the pressure of the expansion gas that has passed through the conduit portion 25 is pressed so that the bridge portion 27a protrudes into the restricting portion 26, and the openings 27b and 27b are opened to open the restricting portion. The inflow of the expansion gas into 26 is allowed (FIG. 5A). And since the conduit portion 25 is formed in a thin tubular shape, the flow rate of the expansion gas flowing from the conduit portion 25 into the restraint portion 26 via the check valve 27 (openings 27b, 27b) is relatively high, The airbag 19 is quickly deployed at the initial stage. The deployed airbag 19 projects so as to hang downward from the ceiling, and is positioned in front of the occupant D.

  At this time, as shown in FIG. 1, the conduit portion 25 protrudes into the passenger compartment 21 above the head H of the occupant D and does not face the occupant D. In the restraining portion 26, the restraining surface 32 faces the front of the abdomen A or the head H of the occupant D, and the facing surface 33 contacts or faces the instrument panel portion 12 and the windshield 13. Further, when the restraint portion 26 completes the expansion, the internal pressure of the restraint portion 26 is increased by the inflowing expansion gas, so that the check valve 27 closes the lower end portion of the conduit portion 25, and the restraint portion 26 moves to the conduit portion 25 side. Prevents the backflow of the expansion gas. Specifically, in the check valve 27, the bridge portion 27a is inverted to the inside of the conduit portion 25, and the openings 27b and 27b are narrowed to prevent the backflow of the expansion gas to the conduit portion 25 (FIG. 5 ( b)).

  Therefore, as shown in FIG. 2, the airbag 19 restrains the occupant D, which has moved forward due to the impact, by restraining the restraint portion 26 by applying a reaction force while tilting toward the windshield 13 side. ease. In the airbag 19, the lower portion of the facing surface 33 of the restraining portion 26 is supported by the instrument panel portion 12 to form a pressure receiving surface, so that the position of the airbag 19 is determined and preferable restraint is performed.

  Although not shown in the figure, when the occupant D is restrained, a vent hole that allows the inflation gas to be discharged from the restraint portion 26 to the outside of the airbag 19 is provided so that the occupant D is restrained and pushed back (bounces back). Therefore, the occupant D can be received more suitably. Since the vent hole only needs to cut the pressure peak in the airbag 19 when the occupant D is restrained, the vent hole has an opening area that is very small compared to the gas flow path cross-sectional area of the conduit portion 25.

  Thus, according to the present embodiment, the flow rate of the inflation gas is increased by guiding the inflation gas to the bag-like restraint portion 26 by the thin tubular conduit portion 25 located at a position not facing the occupant D. Thus, the restraint portion 26 can be deployed more quickly, and the inflation gas flowing into the restraint portion 26 is prevented from flowing back into the conduit portion 25 by the check valve 27, so that the inflation gas does not face the occupant D. The inflating of the conduit portion 25 that does not restrain the occupant D, that is, the conduit portion 25 does not constitute a part of the capacity of the airbag 19, and the inflation gas is not wasted in the conduit portion 25, so The air bag device 10 is lightweight because the gas can be efficiently used for inflating and deploying the restraining portion 26 to improve the restraining performance, and the overall capacity of the air bag 19 can be suppressed, and there is no need to increase the output of the inflator. And cost reduction That.

  In addition, the conduit portion 25 is connected to the restraint portion 26 in a straight tube shape from the roof portion 15 where the inflator is disposed, thereby providing, for example, a conduit portion in the pillar to supply inflation gas to the airbag in the roof portion. Compared to a configuration in which the airbag is deployed like a curtain airbag, the distance from the inflator to the airbag 19 can be suppressed, and the initial deployment of the airbag 19 and the initial restraint of the occupant D can be accelerated.

  Furthermore, one end side of the conduit part 25 is attached to the vehicle body 14 at the upper part of the passenger compartment 21, and the restraint part 26 is inflated and deployed downward by the inflation gas guided by the conduit part 25, so that the space above the occupant D is increased. Can be used effectively, and the space of the vehicle compartment 21 can be widened such that the instrument panel portion 12 can be lowered.

  The airbag 19 is suspended from the roof portion 15 by the conduit portion 25 in the deployed state, and the shape after deployment can be stabilized without making the conduit portion 25 harder than necessary. The degree of freedom of movement in the front-rear direction, such as restraining the occupant D, is high, and the occupant D can be restrained with an appropriate reaction force while reducing the impact on the occupant D.

  In the above-described embodiment, as in the other embodiment shown in FIG. 6, a plurality of conduit portions 25 are provided with respect to the restraining portion 26, for example, a pair of symmetrical portions, and each of the conduit portions 25 is provided. A check valve 27 may be provided. In this case, the inflation gas can be more quickly guided to the restraining portion 26 from the plurality of conduit portions 25, and more stable and quick deployment is possible. It can be fixed more firmly.

  Further, in each of the above-described embodiments, the airbag 19 is connected to one end side of the conduit portion 25, for example, on a side door of the occupant D, a console box, or the like, and the conduit portion 25 does not face the occupant D. The restraint portion 26 may be configured to be inflated and deployed at a position facing the occupant D, in other words, between the occupant D and a structure such as the instrument panel portion 12.

  Further, in each of the above-described embodiments, the airbag 19 can be used as, for example, an airbag for a driver's seat occupant or an airbag for a rear occupant.

  The present invention can be suitably used, for example, as an airbag for a passenger on a passenger seat attached to a roof portion.

11 Vehicles as vehicles
12 Instrument panel as a structure
14 body
19 Airbag
21 compartment
25 Conduit section
26 Restraint
27 Check valve as a means of regulating gas flow D Crew as protected object

Claims (3)

One end side is attached to the vehicle body of the vehicle interior, located in a position not facing the object to be protected, a tubular conduit portion that guides the expansion gas from one end side to the other end side;
A bag-like restraining portion that communicates with the other end side of the conduit portion and expands and deploys between the object to be protected and the structure in front of the object to be protected by the inflation gas guided by the conduit portion;
An air bag comprising: a gas flow restricting means that allows inflow of inflation gas from the conduit portion to the restraint portion and prevents backflow of the inflation gas from the restraint portion to the conduit portion side. . One end of the conduit is attached to the vehicle body at the top of the passenger compartment.
The airbag according to claim 1, wherein the restraining portion is inflated and deployed downward by the inflation gas guided by the conduit portion. A plurality of conduit portions are provided,
The airflow according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the gas flow regulating means is provided corresponding to each of the conduit portions.

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