JP2013112323A - Retainer structure - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a retainer structure in which inflation gas can be prevented from leaking from an inflator to the outside, the inflator formed in a tubular shape can be small-sized and further, a retainer for mounting the inflator to a vehicle can be configured lightweight.SOLUTION: On a front end face of a front retainer 5, a flange 7a is formed which is bent inward. When an inflator 1 is inserted into the front retainer 5 after a tubular body 10 is inserted into the front retainer 5, a front end face 10a of the tubular body 10 is pushed by the inflator 1 and tightly contacted with the flange 7a. Then, a rear end face 10b of the tubular body 10 is tightly contacted to a terminal end face 3 at a front end side of the inflator 1. An inner diameter of the front retainer 5 at a rear end side is then reduced, thereby the inflator 1 is fixed to the front retainer 5.

Description

  The present invention relates to a retainer structure for attaching an inflator for supplying inflation gas to an air bag to a vehicle. In particular, the inflator is formed in a cylindrical shape used in a curtain air bag, a side air bag, or the like. The present invention relates to a retainer structure for fixing an inflator.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a safety device that inflates and deploys an airbag to ensure the safety of an occupant when an emergency of a vehicle or an occurrence of an emergency on the vehicle is predicted has been widely used. In order to inflate and deploy the airbag, inflation gas generated in the inflator is supplied into the airbag.

  If all the inflation gas generated by the inflator can be supplied to the airbag, the airbag can be inflated and deployed quickly. However, when a part of the inflation gas generated in the inflator leaks to the outside without being supplied to the airbag, it becomes difficult to make the function of the airbag provided at the corner be effective.

  In order to normally inflate and deploy the airbag even if leakage occurs, it is conceivable to use a large inflator. By using a large inflator, even if a part of the inflation gas generated by the large inflator leaks to the outside, the airbag can be normally inflated and deployed by the remaining most of the inflation gas.

  In particular, in an inflator formed in a cylindrical shape, a part of the inflation gas often leaks outside through the periphery of the inflator. Also in the inflator formed in a cylindrical shape, an airbag device (see Patent Document 1) with improved sealing performance has been proposed as an invention for preventing leakage of inflation gas.

  The airbag apparatus described in Patent Document 1 will be described as a conventional example in the present invention with reference to a longitudinal sectional view of a diffuser in a state where the inflator shown in FIG. 7 is housed. That is, in FIG. 7, a side view is shown as an inflator, and a longitudinal sectional view is shown as a diffuser. The inflator 40 includes an inflator main body 41 provided with a gas discharge port 43 capable of discharging inflation gas on the distal end side, and a diffuser 46 that is formed as a cylindrical body and accommodates the inflator main body 41 therein. ing. That is, the inflator main body 41 is covered with the diffuser 46 in a state where the inflator main body 41 is entirely accommodated in the cylindrical body of the diffuser 46.

  Thus, since the inflator body 41 can be covered with the diffuser 46, the inflated gas discharged from the gas discharge port 43 does not leak outside by the diffuser 46, and the gas inflow portion 51 of the airbag 50 Be guided to.

  In the distal end side portion 42 of the inflator main body 41, the entire circumference of the outer peripheral surface 44 in the portion closer to the proximal end than the gas discharge port 43 may be pressed over the entire circumference of the inner peripheral surface 47 of the diffuser 46. it can. In this pressure-contacted state, the rear end side portion 45 of the inflator body 41 is fixed to the diffuser 46 by the concave portion 48, and the pressure-contact state between the inflator body 41 and the diffuser 46 is maintained.

JP 2001-347915 A

  In the invention described in Patent Literature 1, since the outer peripheral portion of the inflator body 41 is covered with the diffuser 46, the metal diffuser 46 is configured in a large size. When the diffuser 46 is configured in a large size, the inflator 40 including the inflator body 41 and the diffuser 46 is necessarily configured as a large size, and the weight is significantly increased.

  Further, in order to install the enlarged inflator 40, the mounting space for the inflator 40 must be wide. As a result, increasing the size of the inflator 40 poses a problem for widening the living space in the vehicle interior. Furthermore, in manufacturing the inflator 40, there arises a problem that the price increases in terms of costs such as material costs and processing costs.

  The invention of the present application solves the above-described conventional problems, can prevent the expansion gas from the inflator from leaking to the outside, and can achieve downsizing of the inflator formed in a cylindrical shape. An object of the present invention is to provide a retainer structure that can reduce the weight of a retainer that attaches to a vehicle.

The object of the present invention can be achieved by the inventions described in claims 1 to 5.
That is, in the present invention, the gas blower outlet side of the inflator can be covered from the outside, and the retainer structure fixes the inflator,
A protruding portion that protrudes inward is formed on the distal end portion side of the retainer that covers the gas outlet side, and a cylindrical body that can be inserted into the retainer has a contact portion that is in close contact with the protruding portion. Have
The abutting portion of the cylindrical body inserted into the retainer is brought into close contact with the protruding portion, and the end surface on the gas outlet side of the inflator and the cylinder with respect to the inflator inserted into the retainer The main feature is that the inflator is fixed by the retainer in a state in which the rear end surface of the shaped body is in close contact.

The main feature of the present invention is that the protruding portion is a flange portion in which a part of the tip of the retainer is bent inward.
Furthermore, in the present invention, the main feature is that the protruding portion is a stepped portion formed in a radial direction at an intermediate portion in the length direction of the retainer.

Furthermore, in the present invention, the main feature is that the abutting portion is an end surface on the distal end side of the retainer.
The main feature of the present invention is that the contact portion is a stepped portion formed on the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical body.

  The retainer structure according to the present invention includes a retainer that can fix the inflator and can cover the gas outlet side of the inflator from the outside. Moreover, the projecting portion formed on the front end side of the retainer covering the gas outlet side and the abutting portion of the cylindrical body inserted into the retainer are brought into close contact with each other so that the rear end surface of the cylindrical body and the gas outlet side of the inflator By closely contacting the end face of the inflator, the periphery of the inflator on the gas outlet side can be configured to be surrounded by a cylindrical body.

  The retainer can be formed by, for example, bending a single plate-like body. Moreover, the front retainer which covers the front-end | tip part of an inflator, and the rear retainer which covers a rear-end part can also be formed in the shape which bent the plate-shaped body as a structure of each retainer. Furthermore, when fixing an inflator or the like having a long length direction, an intermediate retainer may be disposed between the front retainer and the rear retainer.

  Since it can comprise in this way, an inflator can be attached to a vehicle as a retainer, without increasing a weight. In addition, the cylindrical body surrounding the gas outlet side can prevent the expansion gas ejected from the gas outlet from leaking to the outside by the cylindrical body. It can guide without leakage.

  As described above, since the tubular body prevents the inflation gas generated in the inflator from leaking to the outside, the entire amount of the inflation gas generated in the inflator can be used for the inflation and deployment of the airbag. Since the airbag can be effectively inflated and deployed even if a small inflator is used, the inflator can be reduced in size and weight.

  As a configuration of the protruding portion formed on the retainer, a configuration in which a stepped portion is formed at an intermediate portion in the length direction of the retainer, or a configuration in which a part of the distal end portion of the retainer is bent inward is formed. You can also In addition, as a configuration of the contact portion formed on the cylindrical body, a configuration using the end surface of the cylindrical body located on the distal end side of the retainer can be used, or a stepped portion formed on the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical body can be used. It is also possible to have a configuration that suits.

  Thus, by forming the protrusion and the contact portion, the contact portion of the cylindrical body and the protrusion portion formed on the retainer can be brought into close contact with each other, and the distal end side of the cylindrical body is the protrusion portion of the retainer. The position is restricted by And since the rear end surface of the cylindrical body can be in close contact with the end surface on the gas outlet side of the inflator, the expanded gas ejected from the gas outlet does not leak outside and is surely secured by the cylindrical body. It will be supplied into the airbag.

It is a perspective view of the front retainer and the rear retainer which accommodated the cylindrical body. Example 1 It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the airbag and retainer structure in the state which accommodated the inflator. Example 1 It is a side view of the retainer structure which fixed the inflator. Example 1 FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line IV-IV in FIG. Example 1 It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the retainer structure in the state which accommodated the inflator. (Example 2) It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the airbag and retainer structure in the state which accommodated the inflator. (Explanation) It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a diffuser in the state which accommodated the inflator. (Conventional example)

  Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The retainer structure according to the present invention is not limited to the configuration described below, and various modifications are possible as long as the configuration can solve the problems of the present invention. 2, 5, and 6, a side view is shown as an inflator, and a longitudinal sectional view is shown as a retainer structure.

  The retainer structure according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. As a retainer structure, a structure including a front retainer 5 for fixing the gas blower outlet 2 side of the cylindrical inflator 1 (see FIGS. 2 and 3) and a rear retainer 13 for fixing the rear end portion 4 side of the inflator 1 is provided. explain.

  A configuration using the front retainer 5 and the rear retainer 13 as a retainer structure will be described below. However, the retainer structure in the present invention is not limited to the configuration using the front retainer and the rear retainer, and the front retainer and the rear retainer can be integrally configured. Further, a configuration in which one or more intermediate retainers are arranged between the front retainer and the rear retainer may be used.

A plurality of gas outlets 2 arranged on the front end side of the inflator 1 are formed on the outer peripheral surface on the front end side of the inflator 1.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the front retainer 5 is configured to have a curved plate-like body, and as shown in FIG. 4, which is a cross-sectional view taken along the line IV-IV in FIG. 3, The edges are configured to overlap when bent. The overlapping edges on the front end side of the front retainer 5 are welded as shown by a thick weld line 8 in FIG.

  In the case where the front retainer and the rear retainer are integrally configured, a single plate-like body can be bent to form a single retainer. Even when configured as a single retainer, a region where the edges of the folded plate-like body overlap each other at least in the vicinity of the portion where the protrusion 7 described later is formed, or the protrusion 7 is formed on the distal end side of the retainer. It is desirable to weld a region where the edges of the folded plate-like body overlap each other from the part to the tip side of the retainer.

  In addition, a pair of attachment portions 6 are erected on the rear end portion 5b side of the front retainer 5, and the surfaces of the pair of attachment portions 6 facing each other are separated from each other. In a state where the pair of mounting portions 6 are separated from each other, the inner peripheral diameter on the rear end portion 5b side of the front retainer 5 and the inner peripheral diameter in the IV-IV cross section of FIG. ing.

  An opening 9 is formed between the portion where the end edges overlap and the attachment portion 6. When the opening 9 is used to perform a deformation that narrows the distance between the opposing surfaces of the pair of attachment portions 6, the displacement in the direction in which the opposing surfaces of the pair of attachment portions 6 are in contact with each other is facilitated.

  Each mounting portion 6 is provided with a mounting hole 6a. By fixing a bolt or the like inserted into the mounting hole 6a to the vehicle, the space between the opposing surfaces of the pair of mounting portions 6 is reduced, and the front retainer 5 Can be fixed to the vehicle.

  A step is formed at the front end 5 a of the front retainer 5. When the gas inflow part 16 of the airbag is put on the tip part 5a and the covered gas inflow part 16 is fixed by the clamp band 18, the gas inflow part 16 is prevented from coming out of the front retainer 5 due to the step formed in the tip part 5a. Can be stopped.

  Further, a flange portion 7a is formed on the front end surface of the front retainer 5 by bending a part of the front retainer 5 in the inner direction. The flange portion 7a is configured as a protruding portion 7 that protrudes inward of the front retainer 5. The distal end surface 10a of the cylindrical body 10 stored in the front retainer 5 can be brought into close contact with the flange portion 7a. That is, the front end surface 10 a is configured as a contact portion formed on the cylindrical body 10.

  When the inflator 1 is inserted into the front retainer 5 after the tubular body 10 is inserted into the front retainer 5, the tubular body 10 pushed by the end portion end surface 3 on the distal end side of the inflator 1 is Is brought into close contact with the flange portion 7a formed at the front end edge of the front retainer 5. The rear end surface 10b of the cylindrical body 10 is in close contact with the end portion end surface 3 on the front end side of the inflator 1.

  In this state, as shown in FIG. 2, the inflator 1 can be fixed to the front retainer 5 by narrowing the space between the opposing surfaces of the pair of attachment portions 6 formed on the rear end side of the front retainer 5.

  The rear retainer 13 is also provided with a pair of mounting portions 14 that sandwich and fix the rear end portion 4 of the inflator 1 in the same manner as the front retainer 5. The pair of mounting portions 14 are configured so that the end surfaces facing each other in a normal state are spaced apart, and the rear ends of the inflator 1 inserted into the rear retainer 13 by narrowing the space between the facing end surfaces of the pair of mounting portions 14 The part 4 can be clamped and fixed.

  That is, when a fixing tool such as a bolt is inserted into the mounting holes 14a formed in the pair of mounting portions 14 and the rear retainer 13 is fixed to the vehicle using the inserted bolt or the like, the inflator 1 is fixed by the fixing tool such as a bolt. The rear end portion 4 can be clamped and fixed, and the rear retainer 13 can be fixed to the vehicle.

  When the inflator 1 is fixed to the vehicle by the front retainer 5 and the rear retainer 13, the tubular body 10 is held in close contact between the inflator 1 and the front retainer 5. By holding the tubular body 10 in close contact between the inflator 1 and the front retainer 5, only the distal end side of the tubular body 10 is opened around the gas outlet 2 by the tubular body 10. The expanded gas ejected from the gas outlet 2 is supplied into the gas inflow portion 16 of the airbag without leaking outside.

  Moreover, the expanded gas immediately after being blown out from the gas blowout port 2 is in a high temperature state, but since it surrounds the periphery of the gas blowout port 2 with the cylindrical body 10, it was blown out from the gas blowout port 2. The immediately following inflation gas does not directly hit the gas inlet 16 of the airbag.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 6, when the front retainer 32 is simply fixed to the front end side of the inflator 30, a gap is formed between the inflator 30 and the front retainer 32, and the gap 33 passes through the gap 33. Thus, a part of the expansion gas ejected from the gas outlet 31 leaks to the outside. Therefore, even if the gas inflow portion 34 of the airbag is tightly fixed to the front retainer 32 by the clamp band 35, all of the inflation gas ejected from the gas outlet 31 is supplied into the gas inflow portion 34 of the airbag. Can not be.

  As described above, in the present invention, since the cylindrical body 10 can be held in intimate contact between the inflator 1 and the front retainer 5, the expanded gas ejected from the gas outlet 2 is supplied to the gas inflow portion. All can be supplied within 16. The airbag can be rapidly inflated and deployed, and a small inflator can be used as the inflator 1 because there is no gas leakage.

  Further, since the front retainer 5 and the rear retainer 13 can be configured to be simple and light weight by bending, for example, a plate-like body, the retainer can be increased in size and weight as in Patent Document 1. There is no need to let them. For this reason, it is not necessary to configure a wide mounting space for mounting the inflator 1, and the degree of freedom for mounting the inflator 1 can be greatly improved.

  The other structure in the front retainer 5 is demonstrated as a structure of Example 2 in the retainer structure concerning this invention using FIG. Also in the second embodiment, a configuration in which the retainer is divided into the front retainer 5 and the rear retainer 13 will be described, but the front retainer 5 and the rear retainer 13 may be configured integrally. Further, a configuration in which one or more intermediate retainers are arranged between the front retainer 5 and the rear retainer 13 may be used.

  In the front retainer 5 according to the second embodiment, the protruding portion 7 has a configuration in which a stepped portion 7b formed in the radial direction is formed at an intermediate portion in the length direction of the front retainer 5. Further, the cylindrical body 10 is formed with a step portion 11 that is in close contact with the step portion 7b. That is, the step portion 11 is configured as an abutting portion formed on the cylindrical body 10.

  Although the configuration of the protruding portion 7 and the configuration of the contact portion are different from the configuration in the first embodiment, the other configurations have the same configuration as the configuration in the first embodiment. Then, about the structure similar to Example 1, the description about the member is abbreviate | omitted by using the member code | symbol used in Example 1. FIG.

  Although not shown in FIG. 5, the front retainer 5 includes a pair of attachment portions 6 in which attachment holes 6 a are formed, and an opening is provided on the front side of the pair of attachment portions 6. 9 is formed. The rear retainer 13 includes a pair of attachment portions 14 in which attachment holes 14a are formed.

  In the following, the configuration in which the stepped portion 11 of the cylindrical body 10 is brought into close contact with the stepped portion 7b of the front retainer 5 will be described, but the cylindrical portion in the front retainer 5 is formed without forming the stepped portion 11 in the cylindrical body 10. When the body 10 is inserted, the front end surface 10a of the cylindrical body 10 may be in close contact with the stepped portion 7b of the front retainer 5.

  That is, the inner peripheral diameter of the distal end surface 10a of the cylindrical body 10 can be configured to be larger than the inner peripheral diameter of the stepped portion 7b of the front retainer 5. The position of the distal end portion of the cylindrical body 10 can be configured to be a position on the front side of the gas outlet 2. In this case, the contact portion formed on the cylindrical body 10 becomes the distal end surface 10 a of the cylindrical body 10.

  As shown in FIG. 5, when the inflator 1 is inserted into the front retainer 5 after the cylindrical body 10 is inserted into the front retainer 5, the rear end surface 10 b of the cylindrical body 10 is the end surface on the front end side of the inflator 1. It abuts 3 and is pushed forward. Then, the stepped portion 11 of the tubular body 10 can be brought into close contact with the stepped portion 7b of the front retainer 5, and the rear end surface 10b of the tubular body 10 can be brought into close contact with the end portion end surface 3 on the front end side of the inflator 1.

  In this state, when the front retainer 5 is attached to the vehicle via a pair of attachment portions 6 (not shown), the cylindrical body 10 is formed between the stepped portion 7b of the front retainer 5 and the end face 3 on the front end side of the inflator 1. Can be held tightly. Then, the periphery of the gas outlet 2 is in a state where only the distal end side of the cylindrical body 10 is opened by the cylindrical body 10. As a result, the inflation gas ejected from the gas outlet 2 is supplied into the gas inflow portion 16 (see FIG. 2) of the airbag without leaking outside.

  The concave portion formed by the stepped portion 7b formed in the front retainer 5 may be a concave portion that prevents the gas introducing portion from coming off when the gas introducing portion of the airbag in which the front retainer 5 is inserted is fixed with a clamp band. Can function.

  In the description of each of the above embodiments, the configuration in which the rear end surface 10b of the tubular body 10 is in close contact with the end portion end surface 3 on the front end side of the inflator 1 has been described. However, even when the shape of the inflator 1 on the tip side is formed in the shape of a truncated cone that tapers toward the tip side, the cylindrical body 10 is formed on the circumferential surface of the truncated cone. The present invention can be preferably applied by bringing the rear end face 10b into close contact with each other without any gap. Therefore, the end portion end surface on the gas outlet side of the inflator in the present invention is not limited to the end portion end surface 3 shown in the drawing, and the rear end surface 10b of the cylindrical body 10 can be in close contact with no gap. It also includes the circumferential surface of the truncated cone.

  The technical idea of the present invention can be suitably applied to a retainer structure for holding and fixing another inflator.

1 ... Inflator,
3 ... end face,
4 ... rear end,
5 ... Front retainer,
7 ... protruding part,
7a ... flange part,
7b: a step,
10 ... cylindrical body,
13 ... Rear retainer,
30: Inflator,
32 ... Front retainer,
33 ... Gap,
40: Inflator,
41 ... inflator body,
46 ... Diffuser,
51 ... Gas inflow part.

Claims (5)

A retainer structure that can cover the gas outlet side of the inflator from the outside and fixes the inflator,
On the distal end side of the retainer that covers the gas outlet side, a protruding portion that protrudes inward is formed,
The cylindrical body that can be inserted into the retainer has an abutting portion that is in close contact with the protruding portion,
The abutting portion of the cylindrical body inserted into the retainer is brought into close contact with the protruding portion, and the end surface on the gas outlet side of the inflator and the cylinder with respect to the inflator inserted into the retainer A retainer structure, wherein the inflator is fixed by the retainer in a state in which the rear end surface of the cylindrical body is in close contact.   The retainer structure according to claim 1, wherein the protruding portion is a flange portion in which a part of a tip portion of the retainer is bent inward.   The retainer structure according to claim 1, wherein the protruding portion is a stepped portion formed in a radial direction at an intermediate portion in a length direction of the retainer.   The retainer structure according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the abutting portion is an end surface on a distal end side of the retainer.   The retainer structure according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the contact portion is a stepped portion formed on an outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical body.

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