JP2014019395A - Airbag device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an airbag device which is firmly retained in a retainer of a module cover by a simple construction even at an airbag expansion time.SOLUTION: A 12 o'clock side of a module cover is retained in a retainer 10 by inserting an extension piece 43 having a claw portion 44 into an opening 21 and by deforming a stopper piece 23 plastically into engagement with a retaining face 44a of the claw portion 44. A six o'clock side is retained on the retainer 10 by bringing the retained portion into engagement with the opening and by holding a bridge portion with the bent portion of a restriction piece.

Description

  The present invention relates to an airbag device provided in a vehicle, and more particularly, to a connection structure between a module cover and a retainer of the airbag device.

  As a driver's seat airbag device, a wide variety of airbag devices include an airbag, an inflator for inflating the airbag, a retainer to which the airbag and the inflator are attached, and a module cover that covers the airbag. It is used. As a connecting structure between the module cover and the retainer, in Patent Document 1, an extension piece of the module cover is inserted into an opening provided in the retainer, and a claw portion of the extension piece is locked to an edge portion of the retainer opening. The structure made is described (FIG. 3 of patent document 1).

JP2011-131753A

  In the airbag device disclosed in Patent Document 1, the direction of the force acting on the claw when the airbag is inflated is the direction in which the claw is separated from the edge of the retainer opening. At times, a mechanism for preventing the claw portion from being detached from the opening edge portion has to be strengthened or the height of the claw portion has to be increased.

  It is an object of the present invention to provide an airbag device that has a simple structure and is firmly locked to a retainer of a module cover even when the airbag is inflated.

  An airbag apparatus according to a first aspect of the present invention includes an airbag, an inflator for inflating the airbag, a retainer to which the airbag and the inflator are attached, and a module cover that covers the airbag. In an airbag device in which an extension piece extending from the module cover is inserted and locked in an opening provided in the hook, a claw protruding toward the center side of the retainer at the distal end side of the extension piece The extension piece is raised by the stopper piece that is raised from the edge of the retainer at the center side of the opening and engaged with the claw, and is opposite to the stopper piece across the opening. On the side, a support piece along the extending piece is provided.

  In the first invention, it is preferable that after the extension piece is inserted into the opening, the stopper piece is plastically deformed to engage the stopper piece with the claw portion.

  An airbag device according to a second aspect of the present invention includes an airbag, an inflator for inflating the airbag, a retainer to which the airbag and the inflator are attached, and a module cover that covers the airbag. The cover includes a canopy portion that covers the passenger side of the airbag, and a side wall portion that is continuous with the canopy portion and covers the side of the airbag, and an opening is provided in the side wall portion, and the retainer In the airbag device in which an upright piece along the outer side surface of the side wall portion is provided on the peripheral portion of the side wall portion, and an engaging portion that enters the opening is provided on the upright piece, the retainer is provided with the module cover. A restraining piece that rises along the inner surface of the side wall is provided, and a bent part that enters the opening and restrains the side wall is provided at the top of the restraining piece. A.

  In the second invention, it is preferable that the restraint piece be plastically deformed so as to restrain the side wall portion after the locking portion is engaged with the opening.

  In the state attached to the steering wheel, the 12 o'clock side of the module cover may be connected to the retainer by the structure of the first invention, and the 6 o'clock side may be connected to the retainer by the structure of the second invention.

  In the airbag device according to the first aspect of the invention, the extension piece of the module cover is inserted into the opening of the retainer, and the stopper piece is engaged with the claw portion of the extension piece from the center side of the retainer. When this airbag device operates, a force acts in a direction in which the airbag device is pressed against the stopper piece against the extension piece, so that the extension piece is firmly locked.

  By providing a support piece on the opposite side of the stopper piece across the opening and supporting the extended piece by this support piece, the stopper piece can be firmly engaged with the claw portion. When the extension piece is inserted into the opening and then the stopper piece is plastically deformed to engage the stopper piece with the claw portion, the stopper piece can be engaged with the base end side of the claw portion.

  In the airbag device according to the second aspect of the present invention, the locking portion of the standing piece of the retainer enters from the outside of the side wall portion with respect to the opening of the side wall portion of the module cover.

  The lower end part of the side wall part is restrained from the retainer center side of the side wall part by the restraining piece. Therefore, since the force pressed against the restraining piece acts on the lower end portion of the module cover side wall portion when the air bag device is operated, the side wall portion is firmly locked.

  After the locking portion is engaged with the opening, the side wall can be firmly restrained by plastically deforming the restraining piece and entering the opening to restrain the side wall.

It is a perspective view from the lower and 6 o'clock side of the airbag apparatus according to the embodiment. It is a side view of the 9 o'clock side of the airbag device. It is a side view of the 6 o'clock side of the airbag device. It is the IV-IV sectional view taken on the line of FIG. FIG. 5 is an exploded view of the structure of FIG. 4. It is the VI-VI sectional view taken on the line of FIG. FIG. 7 is an exploded view of the structure of FIG. 6. It is a schematic sectional drawing at the time of airbag expansion | swelling of the airbag apparatus attached to the steering.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the following description, the 12 o'clock side and the 6 o'clock side of the driver's airbag indicate the upper side and the lower side when the steering wheel is viewed from the front (from the direction of extension of the steering shaft to the passenger), and 3 o'clock. Side shows right side, 9 o'clock side shows left side.

  The airbag device 1 includes an airbag 2 (FIG. 8), an inflator 3 (FIG. 8) for inflating the airbag 2, a retainer 10 to which the airbag 2 and the inflator 3 are attached, an airbag A module cover 40 and the like mounted on the occupant side of the retainer 10 are provided so as to cover the two folded bodies. The retainer 10 is made of metal such as iron, and the module cover 40 is made of synthetic resin.

  As clearly shown in FIG. 1, the retainer 10 has a main plate portion 11 that is disposed facing the passenger side of the hub portion of the steering 5. An inflator opening 12 into which the inflator 3 is fitted is provided in the vicinity of the center of the main plate part 11, and the airbag 2 and the inflator 3 are fixed to the main plate part 11 at the peripheral part of the inflator opening 12. A bolt insertion hole 13 is provided through which a bolt (not shown) is inserted. In this embodiment, connecting pieces 14 for connecting the airbag device 1 to the steering hub portion are projected downward from FIG. 1 from the 3 o'clock side and the 9 o'clock side of the main plate portion 11, respectively.

  In this embodiment, the module cover 40 includes a canopy portion 41 that covers the occupant side of the folded body of the airbag 2 and a side wall portion 42 that protrudes from the canopy portion 41 toward the occupant side. . The side wall portion 42 has a frame shape surrounding the entire circumference of the folded body of the airbag 2.

  A first mounting portion 20 for attaching the 12 o'clock side of the module cover 40 to the retainer 10 is provided on the 12 o'clock side of the retainer 10, and the 6 o'clock side of the module cover 40 is attached to the retainer 10 on the 6 o'clock side. A second attachment portion 30 is provided. In this embodiment, the first mounting portion 20 has the configuration of the first invention, and the second mounting portion 30 has the configuration of the second invention.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, in the first mounting portion 20, a support piece 22 is erected from the edge portion of the retainer main plate portion 11 on the 12 o'clock side on the side opposite to the occupant (opposite to the occupant). The support piece 22 continuously extends from the left end side to the right end side of the 12 o'clock side edge portion of the retainer main plate portion 11. A plurality (four in this embodiment) of openings 21 are provided in the main plate portion 11 at intervals along the support piece 22. The support piece 22 stands from the edge of the opening 21 on the retainer outer edge side. A stopper piece 23 is erected from the edge of each opening 21 on the center side of the retainer.

  An extension piece 43 is erected on the side opposite to the occupant from the edge on the side opposite to the occupant of the side wall portion 42 on the 12 o'clock side of the module cover 40. A claw portion 44 is provided on the distal end side of the extension piece 43 on the side opposite to the occupant. The claw portion 44 protrudes from the extending piece 43 toward the center side (inflator 3 side) of the retainer 10. A locking surface 44 a is formed in the middle of the extending direction of the extending piece 43. The locking surface 44 a is a surface on the passenger side of the claw portion 44. The locking surface 44 a is substantially perpendicular to the standing direction of the extending piece 43.

  The tip of the stopper piece 23 is engaged with a corner where the locking surface 44a and the extending piece 43 intersect. The support piece 22 and the extension piece 43 overlap.

In order to engage the 12 o'clock side of the module cover 40 with the 12 o'clock side of the retainer 10 in this way, the stopper piece 23 is kept perpendicular to the main plate surface 11 and the extension piece 43 is opened to the opening 21 as shown in FIG. as shown by the arrow a ₁ is inserted from the passenger side. Then, by pressing as tilted to the extending piece 43 side to plastically deform as the stopper pieces 23 arrows A ₂ (performing a so-called caulking). Thereby, the 1st attaching part 20 shown in FIG. 4 is formed.

  In the 2nd attachment part 30, the standing piece 31 is standingly arranged by the passenger | crew side from the edge part of the 6 o'clock side of the main board part 11 as FIG. The standing piece 31 is provided with a locking portion 33 that protrudes toward the center of the retainer 10. The locking portion 33 has a quadrant shell shape cut and raised from the standing piece 31. An opening 32 is formed in the standing piece 31 by this cutting and raising. As for the latching | locking part 33, the protruding height is large, so that the base end side (main plate part 11 side) of the standing piece 31 is. A restraint piece 34 is erected on the occupant side from the main plate portion 11. The front end side of the restraining piece 34 is a bent portion 34a that is bent toward the standing piece 31 side.

  On the 6 o'clock side of the side wall portion 42 of the module cover 40, an opening 45 into which the locking portion 33 is inserted is provided. A bridge portion 46 is formed between the opening 45 and the edge of the side wall portion 42. The bent portion 34 a of the restraining piece 34 enters the opening 45 and presses the bridge portion 46 from the opening 45 side.

In order to engage the 6 o'clock side of the module cover 40 with the 6 o'clock side of the retainer 10 in this way, as shown in FIG. 7, the restraint piece 34 is placed in an inclined standing state inclined to the side away from the standing piece 31, and the arrow The side wall part 42 is moved along the inner side surface of the upright piece 31 as shown in B ₁ , and the locking part 33 is inserted into the opening 45. Then, after the leading end of the side wall portion 42 is in contact with the main plate portion 11, the restraint piece 34 is raised rotated in the arrow B ₂ direction by plastically deforming (caulking), allowed to enter the bent portion 34a into the opening 45, The bridge portion 46 is pressed from the opening 45 side.

  The airbag apparatus 1 configured as described above is attached to the center portion of the steering as shown in FIG.

  When the inflator 3 performs gas ejection operation in the event of a vehicle emergency, the airbag 2 is inflated, the canopy 41 of the module cover 40 is cleaved, and the airbag 2 is deployed forward of the upper body of the occupant P as shown in FIG. to bound.

If the module cover canopy portion 41 is cleaved, as arrow U ₁ of 12 o'clock side of the canopy portion 2, out opening upward as viewed from the occupant, 6 o'clock side of the canopy portion 41 downwardly as indicated by arrow D ₁ Open.

In the first mounting portion 20, along with the out opening of the U ₁ direction of the canopy portion 41, the force of U ₂ direction in FIG. 4 with respect to the side wall portion 42 (the retainer outwardly) is added, extending the claw portion 44 side of the piece 43 the force of the arrow U ₃ direction (the retainer central direction) is applied. The power of the extending piece 43 with respect to the applied U ₃ directions are the directions that deeper engagement between the claw portion 44 and the stopper piece 23, the pawl portion 44 is locked firmly engaged by the stopper 23 .

In the second mounting portion 30, when the module cover canopy portion 41 opens in the direction D ₁ , the occupant side of the side wall portion 42 is pulled by the canopy portion 41, and a force D ₂ directed outward from the retainer is applied. is, the bridge portion 46, the retainer central force D ₃ Conversely added. This force D _3, so acts to submerge the bridge portion 46 on the lower side of the bent portion 34a (main plate 11 side), engagement of the bridge portion 46 is firmly.

Note that by the side wall portion 42 is pulled by the force of the D ₂ direction, the bridge portion 46 is also deformed so as to extend to the occupant side along the standing piece 31, the bridge portion 46 is engaged with the engaging portion 33 This prevents further deformation and movement.

  The above-described embodiment is an example of the present invention, and the present invention may be configured other than illustrated. For example, both the first attachment portion and the second attachment portion may have the structure of the first invention, and both the first attachment portion and the second attachment portion may have the structure of the second invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Airbag apparatus 2 Airbag 3 Inflator 10 Retainer 11 Main plate part 20 1st attaching part 21 Opening 22 Supporting piece 23 Stopper piece 30 2nd attaching part 31 Standing piece 33 Locking part 34 Restraining piece 34a Bending part 40 Module cover 41 Canopy part 42 Side wall part 43 Extension piece 44 Claw part 44a Locking surface 45 Opening 46 Bridge part

Claims (5)

An airbag, an inflator for inflating the airbag, a retainer to which the airbag and the inflator are attached, and a module cover that covers the airbag;
In the airbag apparatus in which an extending piece extending from the module cover is inserted and locked into an opening provided in the retainer,
A claw portion that protrudes toward the center side of the retainer is provided on the distal end side in the extending direction of the extending piece,
The extending piece is locked by a stopper piece that is raised from the edge of the retainer at the center side of the opening and engaged with the claw part,
An airbag device comprising a support piece along the extended piece on the opposite side of the stopper piece across the opening.   The airbag apparatus according to claim 1, wherein after the extension piece is inserted into the opening, the stopper piece is plastically deformed to engage the stopper piece with the claw portion. An airbag, an inflator for inflating the airbag, a retainer to which the airbag and the inflator are attached, and a module cover that covers the airbag;
The module cover has a canopy portion that covers the passenger side of the airbag, and a side wall portion that is continuous with the canopy portion and covers the side of the airbag.
An opening is provided in the side wall,
Standing pieces along the outer surface of the side wall are provided at the peripheral edge of the retainer,
In the airbag device in which the upright piece is provided with a locking portion that enters the opening,
The retainer is provided with a restraining piece that rises along the inner surface of the side wall of the module cover,
An airbag device, wherein a bent portion that enters the opening and restrains the side wall portion is provided on an upper portion of the restraining piece.   4. The airbag device according to claim 3, wherein the restraining piece is plastically deformed so as to restrain the side wall portion after the locking portion is engaged with the opening. An airbag device for a driver's seat comprising an airbag, an inflator for inflating the airbag, a retainer to which the airbag and the inflator are attached, and a module cover that covers the airbag,
When mounted on the steering wheel, the 12 o'clock side of the module cover is connected to the retainer by the structure of the airbag device according to claim 1 or 2, and the 6 o'clock side is connected to the retainer by the structure of the airbag device of claim 3 or 4. An airbag device characterized by comprising:

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