JP2013208923A - Knee air bag device for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a knee air bag device for a vehicle having advantages of ensuring freedom of layout around an instrument panel and reducing production cost of a knee bag while shortening time in which gas reaches a tip of the knee bag.SOLUTION: A knee bag body 5 includes: a main air chamber 6 formed in a bag shape by joining respective outer peripheral parts 10 of an occupant facing surface side panel 8 and an instrument panel facing surface side panel 9; and a sub air chamber 7 having a binding part 12 that is supported by the instrument panel facing surface side panel 9 and communicates with a gas flowing in part 19 of the main air chamber 6, and matches a lower corner part 2d of an instrument panel 2 when the knee bag body 5 is expanded.

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle knee airbag device for protecting a leg of an occupant sitting on a seat, particularly a knee, at the time of collision of a vehicle such as an automobile, an aircraft, a ship, and a vehicle.

  As a conventional vehicle knee airbag device, for example, it has a knee bag body that can be deployed in front of an occupant leg, and an inflator that can inject gas for inflating the knee bag body. The knee bag body and the inflator are A glove box (also referred to as a grab box) arranged under the glove box (Patent Document 1) and the knee bag body first expand toward the lower side of the instrument panel, and then toward the front of the occupant's knee. As a related art, a technique that interposes a means for changing the direction so as to expand and deploy (Patent Document 2) is known.

Japanese Patent No. 4424048 US Published Patent No. 2011/0109070

  However, in the related art shown in Patent Document 1, the means for inflating the knee bag main body occupies the lower side of the glove box, which compresses the foot space and impairs the comfortability. There is a risk of losing the degree of freedom of layout, for example, when it is desired to set a pocket on the lower side of a glove box, which is often found in automobiles. Moreover, since the related art shown by patent document 2 is equipped with the air chamber in the middle of a knee bag as a means to change the direction of an expansion | deployment expansion direction so that it may expand | deploy ahead of a passenger | crew's knee, the gas for expansion | swelling is the knee bag itself. It takes a lot of time to fill the air chamber that changes its direction to reach the tip of the bag, and the knee bag itself is complicated to manufacture and the folding method becomes complicated, which may increase the manufacturing cost. .

  In order to solve the above problems, the present invention ensures the freedom of layout around the instrument panel, shortens the gas arrival time at the tip of the knee bag, and reduces the manufacturing cost of the knee bag. There is provided a knee airbag device for a vehicle having the following.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, a vehicle knee airbag device according to claim 1 of the present invention is provided with an inflator disposed at a lower portion of an instrument panel and capable of injecting gas when the vehicle detects a collision. A knee airbag device for a vehicle comprising at least a knee bag body that is inflated by gas being press-fitted from the inflator and is inflatable and deployable along a lower portion of the instrument panel, and the knee bag body includes: A main air chamber formed by joining the outer peripheral portions of the occupant facing surface side panel and the instrument panel facing surface side panel to form a bag, and supported by the instrument panel facing surface side panel and of the main air chamber. Communicates with the gas inlet and matches the lower corner of the instrument panel when the knee bag body is inflated and deployed That enclose unit, characterized by comprising the further configured with additional air chamber having.

  Further, in the vehicle knee airbag device according to claim 2 of the present invention, the auxiliary air chamber according to claim 1 is arranged in parallel in a direction straddling the lower corner portion of the instrument panel. Features.

  In the knee airbag device for a vehicle according to claim 3 of the present invention, the occupant-facing surface side panel according to claim 1 or 2 is made of a base fabric that is easily stretched when the main air chamber is inflated and deployed. The instrument panel-opposing surface side panel is made of a base fabric that is difficult to stretch when the main air chamber is inflated and deployed.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the knee bag body includes a main air chamber formed in a bag shape by joining the outer peripheral portions of the occupant facing surface side panel and the instrument panel facing surface side panel, and the instrument. An auxiliary air chamber having a constricted portion that is supported by the instrument panel facing surface side panel and communicates with the gas inflow portion of the main air chamber and matches the lower corner portion of the instrument panel when the knee bag body is inflated and deployed. Therefore, the layout around the lower portion of the instrument panel is expanded and expanded from the initial inflating direction by changing the orientation along the lower portion of the instrument panel by the constricted portion that matches the lower corner portion of the instrument panel. Can be secured. In addition, since there is nothing in the main air chamber that becomes a resistance at the time of gas inflow, the time for reaching the gas to the tip of the knee bag body is short, and occupant protection is more reliable. Furthermore, since it is only necessary to support the auxiliary air chamber on the instrument panel facing surface side panel, the manufacturing cost of the knee bag body can be reduced.

  According to the invention of claim 2, since the auxiliary air chamber is arranged in parallel in a direction straddling the lower corner portion of the instrument panel, the lower corner portion is in a state where the knee bag body is inflated. In addition, there is an effect that the sub air chamber is positioned at the position where the sub air chamber is straddled, and that the upper surface of the knee bag body is dragged by the sub air chamber, so that the tip of the knee bag body rises upward.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, the occupant-facing surface side panel is made of a base fabric that is easily stretched when the main air chamber is inflated and deployed, and the instrument panel facing surface-side panel is formed of the main air chamber. Since it is made of a base fabric that does not easily stretch when inflated and deployed, there is an effect that the instrument panel facing surface side panel of the knee bag main body is dragged, and as a result, the tip of the knee bag main body rises upward.

Sectional drawing which shows the state which the knee airbag apparatus which concerns on Example 1 of this invention expanded | deployed. Sectional drawing which shows the principal part of the knee airbag apparatus of FIG. The top view of the knee bag main body which concerns on the arrow A of FIG. The bottom view of the knee bag main body which concerns on the arrow B of FIG. Sectional drawing which follows the SC-SC line of FIG. Sectional drawing which follows the SD-SD line of FIG. The front view of the 1st tether shown in FIG.5 and FIG.6. The perspective view shown in the partial cross section of the 1st tether shown in FIG. 5 thru | or FIG. FIG. 4 is a partially broken perspective view of the knee bag body shown in FIG. 3. FIG. 3 is a top view corresponding to FIG. 3 of a knee bag body of a knee airbag device according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. Sectional drawing which follows the SF-SF line | wire of FIG. Sectional drawing which follows the SG-SG line | wire of FIG. Sectional drawing which shows the state which the knee airbag apparatus of FIG. 10 expanded and deployed.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail. In the present invention, a vehicle knee airbag device having effects such as ensuring the freedom of layout around the instrument panel, shortening the gas arrival time at the tip of the knee bag, and reducing the manufacturing cost of the knee bag. For the purpose of providing the knee bag body, a main air chamber formed by joining the outer peripheries of the occupant facing surface side panel and the instrument panel facing surface side panel into a bag shape, and the instrument panel facing surface side panel And a secondary air chamber that communicates with the gas inlet portion of the main air chamber and has a constricted portion that matches the lower corner portion of the instrument panel when the knee bag body is inflated and deployed. Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  A structure according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. As an example of a vehicle, a knee airbag device 1 arranged in a lower portion 2b of an automobile instrument panel 2 below a front wind panel 15 ejects gas when a sensor (not shown) detects a collision of the own vehicle. The inflator 4 that can be used, and a knee bag main body 5 that can expand along the opposing surface 2c of the occupant M by being inflated from the lower part 2b of the instrument panel 2 when gas is press-fitted from the inflator 4. It becomes. Reference numeral 2 a is an upper portion of the instrument panel 2.

  The knee bag body 5 is inflated along the facing surface 2c of the instrument panel 2, and the occupant facing surface side panel 8 facing the occupant M is in the same inflated state as the instrument panel 2, particularly the facing surface. A main air chamber 6 in which an outer peripheral portion 10 of each instrument panel facing surface side panel 9 facing 2c is formed in a bag shape by a joint portion 11 by sewing, and the instrument panel facing surface side panel 9 is sewn. The auxiliary air chamber having a constricted portion 12 supported by the joint portion 11 and communicating with the gas inflow portion 19 of the main air chamber 6 and coincides with the lower corner portion 2d of the instrument panel 2 when the knee bag body 5 is inflated and deployed. 7. 1 shows an adult seated in a well-known seat (not shown), and does not ask for gender. The expression “facing the occupant M” means that it is not in the direction of the instrument panel 2, and is synonymous with “facing the room”.

  Further, the auxiliary air chamber 7 is disposed in parallel to the direction straddling the lower corner portion 2d of the instrument panel 2, that is, in the front-rear direction, that is, the front side FR and the rear side RR as shown in FIGS. The first chamber 7a and the second chamber 7b are configured. Reference numeral 7c is a vent hole that connects the first chamber 7a and the second chamber 7b. The auxiliary air chamber panel 16 forming the auxiliary air chamber 7 is joined to the FIGS. 5 and 6 by sewing. Reference numeral 11 in FIGS. 5 and 6 is the same joint portion as the joint portion 11 formed by sewing the outer peripheral portion 10.

  The occupant-facing surface side panel 8 is formed of a base fabric made of a bias weave that is easily stretched when the main air chamber 6 is inflated and deployed. The instrument panel facing surface side panel 9 is formed of a base fabric made of parallel weaving that is difficult to stretch when the main air chamber 6 is inflated and deployed. The marks shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 are shown for easy understanding of the bias weave and the parallel weave, and such a pattern is not shown in the knee bag body 5.

  Reference numeral 13 denotes a first tether disposed in the gas inflow portion 19 shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, and a communication portion 13 a communicating with the main air chamber 6 and a communication communicating with the first chamber 7 a of the sub air chamber 7. It consists of part 13b. Reference numeral 14 denotes a second tether that is sutured and supported in the main air chamber 6 as shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, and an air passage 17 is formed between the second tethers 14. Reference numeral 18 in FIG. 3 is a stud bolt small hole formed in the mounting panel 9a of the knee bag body 5 through which the stud bolt 20 that supports the inflator 4 to the instrument panel 2 is passed. Reference numeral 4 a in FIG. 3 is a fixing portion formed on the mounting panel 9 a so as to penetrate the inflator 4.

  Reference numeral 3 denotes a storage portion provided in the lower portion 2b of the instrument panel 2, and stores the inflator 4 and the folded knee bag body 5.

  First, the vehicle knee airbag device 1 is not composed of the inflator 4 and the knee bag main body 5, but “is composed at least”. In addition, the inflator is provided with impact detection means. This is because the knee bag body 5 may be provided with a vent hole with a lid in some cases, which means that the minimum configuration is shown because both are well known. Further, the joint portion 11 is indicated by a broken line for sewing in the first embodiment. For this reason, for example, the second tether of reference numeral 14 in FIG. 9 is also indicated by a broken line, so that a broken line meaning sewing and a broken line meaning article are mixed, but When the thickness is shown, it is shown only by the solid line, so we are confident that it will not hinder understanding.

  Therefore, according to the first embodiment, the knee bag main body 5 is formed in a bag shape by joining the outer peripheral portions 10 of the occupant facing surface side panel 8 and the instrument panel facing surface side panel 9 respectively. 6, supported by the instrument panel facing surface side panel 9, communicates with the gas inflow portion 19 of the main air chamber 6, and matches the lower corner portion 2 d of the instrument panel 2 when the knee bag body 5 is inflated and deployed. Since the auxiliary air chamber 7 having the constricted portion 12 is configured, the confronting portion of the lower portion 2b of the instrument panel 2 is opposed to the occupant by the constricted portion 12 that matches the lower corner portion 2d of the instrument panel 2 from the initial expansion direction. Since the direction is changed so as to extend along the surface 2c, it is inflated and deployed, so the freedom of layout around the lower part 2b of the instrument panel 2 It can be secured.

  In addition, since there is nothing in the main air chamber 6 that becomes a resistance at the time of gas inflow, the gas arrival time to the front end portion 6a of the main air chamber 6 of the knee bag body 5 can be shortened, and occupant protection is more reliable. Furthermore, since it is only necessary to support the auxiliary air chamber panel 16 on the instrument panel facing surface side panel 9, the manufacturing cost of the knee bag body 5 can be reduced.

  Further, since the auxiliary air chamber 7 is arranged in parallel in a direction straddling the lower corner portion 2d of the instrument panel 2, the auxiliary air chamber 7 is formed in the lower corner portion 2d in a state where the knee bag body 5 is inflated. The position that crosses is determined. Furthermore, the auxiliary air chamber 7 acts to pull the instrument panel facing surface side panel 9 which is the upper surface of the knee bag main body 5 so that the front end portion 6a of the knee bag main body 5 rises upward. There is an effect. The white arrow shown in FIG. 2 indicates the direction when the knee bag body 5 stands up.

  Further, the occupant-facing surface side panel 8 is made of a base fabric that is easily stretched when the main air chamber 6 is inflated and deployed, and the instrument panel-facing surface side panel 9 is a base that is difficult to stretch when the main air chamber 6 is inflated and deployed. Since it consists of cloth, the effect | action in which the instrument panel opposing surface side panel 9 of the knee bag main body 5 is dragged works, As a result, there exists an effect that the front-end | tip part 6a of the knee bag main body 5 comes to rise upwards.

  A structure according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The same components as those described in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals and redundant description is omitted. Reference numeral 20 shown in FIG. 13 is the knee airbag device of the second embodiment. The inflator 4 is a surface that is inflated from the lower part of the instrument panel when gas is press-fitted from the inflator 4 and faces the occupant. It is comprised from the knee bag main body 21 which becomes possible to follow.

  The knee bag body 21 is inflated along the facing surface of the instrument panel, and the occupant facing surface side panel 8 facing the occupant, and the instrument facing the instrument panel facing the facing surface in the same inflated state The panel facing surface side panel 9, the main air chamber 6 in which the outer peripheral portion 10 is formed in a bag shape by the joint portion 11 by sewing, and the joint portion 11 by sewing to the instrument panel facing surface side panel 9 The auxiliary air chamber 7 has a constricted portion 12 that is supported and communicates with the gas inflow portion 19 of the main air chamber 6 and matches the lower corner portion of the instrument panel when the knee bag body 21 is inflated and deployed. Become.

  Further, the auxiliary air chamber 7 is parallel to the front-rear direction, that is, the front side FR and the rear side RR, which is the same as the definition of the direction across the lower corner portion of the instrument panel, that is, the direction shown in FIGS. It comprises a first chamber 7a and a second chamber 7b which are arranged in the above. The auxiliary air chamber panel 16 forming the auxiliary air chamber 7 is joined by stitching so as to straddle the mounting panel 9a and the instrument panel facing surface side panel 9.

  Reference numeral 22 denotes a first tether disposed in the gas inflow portion 19 shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, and includes a communication portion 22 a communicating with the main air chamber 6 and a communication portion 22 c communicating with the sub air chamber 7. . Reference numeral 14 denotes a second tether that is sutured and supported in the main air chamber 6, and an air passage 17 is formed between the second tethers 14. Reference numeral 22b is not fixed immediately below as shown in FIG. 5, but protrudes toward the gas inflow portion 19 in an oblique direction of about 45 degrees. Reference numeral 22d denotes a first tether provided at a position overlapping the sub air chamber 7 of the main air chamber 6, and the first tether 22d has a length having an extra length as shown in FIG.

  Therefore, according to the second embodiment, the knee bag main body 21 is formed in a bag shape by joining the outer peripheral portions 10 of the occupant facing surface side panel 8 and the instrument panel facing surface side panel 9 respectively. 6 and a constricted portion that is supported by the instrument panel facing surface side panel 9 and communicates with the gas inflow portion 19 of the main air chamber 6 and matches the lower corner portion of the instrument panel when the knee bag body 21 is inflated and deployed. And the auxiliary air chamber 7 having the direction of the occupant facing surface of the lower portion of the instrument panel by the constricted portion 12 that matches the lower corner portion of the instrument panel from the initial expansion direction. Is expanded and deployed, so that the freedom of layout around the lower part of the instrument panel can be secured, It bulges downwardly as shown at 23, so that the Nibakku body 21 rises better. Since the first tether 22b protrudes to the gas inflow portion 19 side, when it is tensioned by expansion, the occupant facing surface side panel 8 corresponding to the lower corner portion of the instrument panel is placed on the bag base side, that is, the inflator 4 side. Rush to. Further, since the length of the first tether 22d is set to be long, the movement of the occupant-facing surface-side panel 8 is facilitated due to the first tether 22b protruding to the gas inflow portion 19 side.

  In addition, since there is nothing in the main air chamber 6 that becomes a resistance at the time of gas inflow, the gas arrival time to the front end portion 6a of the main air chamber 6 of the knee bag body 21 can be shortened, and occupant protection is more reliable. Furthermore, since it is only necessary to support the auxiliary air chamber panel 16 on the instrument panel facing surface side panel 9, the manufacturing cost of the knee bag body 21 can be reduced.

  Further, since the auxiliary air chamber 7 is arranged in parallel in a direction straddling the lower corner portion 2d of the instrument panel 2, the auxiliary air chamber 7 is formed in the lower corner portion 2d in a state where the knee bag body 21 is inflated. The position that crosses is determined. Further, the auxiliary air chamber 7 acts to pull the instrument panel facing surface side panel 9 which is the upper surface of the knee bag main body 21 so that the front end portion 6a of the knee bag main body 21 rises upward. There is an effect.

  In the first and second embodiments, the case where the vehicle is disposed as a vehicle has been described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the vehicle may be disposed in a vehicle such as an airplane, a ship, and a railway vehicle. Moreover, although the joint part 11 was demonstrated taking the case of stitching as an example, it is not limited to this, and adhesion or vibration welding may be used.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1,20 Vehicle knee airbag apparatus 2 Instrument panel 2b Lower part of instrument panel 2d Lower corner part of instrument panel 4 Inflator 5, 21 Knee airbag body 6 Main air chamber 6a Front end portion of knee bag body 7 Sub air chamber 8 Occupant facing surface side panel 9 Instrument panel facing surface side panel 10 Outer peripheral part of knee bag body 12 Narrow part 19 Gas inflow part

Claims (3)

An inflator that is arranged at the bottom of the instrument panel and can eject gas when the vehicle detects a collision, and can be inflated and expanded along the bottom of the instrument panel by injecting gas from the inflator A knee airbag device for a vehicle comprising at least a knee bag body comprising:
The knee bag body is supported by the main air chamber formed in a bag shape by joining the outer peripheries of the passenger facing surface side panel and the instrument panel facing surface side panel, and the instrument panel facing surface side panel, and A vehicle having a sub air chamber that communicates with a gas inflow portion of the main air chamber and has a constricted portion that matches a lower corner portion of the instrument panel when the knee bag body is inflated and deployed. Knee airbag device. The vehicle knee airbag device according to claim 1,
The vehicle knee airbag device, wherein the auxiliary air chambers are arranged in parallel in a direction straddling the lower corner portion of the instrument panel. The vehicle knee airbag device according to claim 1 or 2,
The occupant facing surface side panel is made of a base fabric that is easy to extend when the main air chamber is inflated and deployed, and the instrument panel facing surface side panel is made of a base fabric that is difficult to stretch when the main air chamber is inflated and deployed. A knee airbag device for vehicles.

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