JP2016120794A - Side airbag device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To constrain each part of an upper body of a passenger with an appropriate load when an upstream inflation part is deployed and inflated.SOLUTION: An airbag body 31 of an airbag device is deployed and inflated by inflation gas between an area which is at least from a chest part to a waist part PP of an upper body of a passenger P and a body side part of a vehicle. An interior of the airbag body 31 is partitioned, by a partitioning part 40 which extends from an upper end portion of the airbag body 31 to a site proximate to a lower end portion thereof and which has a gas-flow restriction section, into an upstream inflation part 46 which is located rearward of the partitioning part 40 and to which the inflation gas is supplied and a downstream inflation part 47 which is located forward of the partitioning part 40 and to which the inflation gas passing through the upstream inflation part 46 and the gas-flow restriction part is supplied. When a dimension, in a vehicle width direction, of the upstream inflation part 46 that has been deployed and inflated is assumed as an inflation thickness, an inflation thickness of a site protecting a belly part PB is set smaller than an inflation thickness of each of a site protecting the chest part and a site protecting the waist part PP in the upstream inflation part 46.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 8

Description

  In the present invention, when an impact is applied from the side to the body side part of the vehicle, the airbag body is deployed and inflated between the occupant seated on the vehicle seat and the body side part to The present invention relates to a side airbag device that protects against impact.

  A side airbag device including an airbag and an inflator is effective as a device for protecting an occupant seated on a vehicle seat when an impact is applied to the vehicle from the side due to a side collision or the like. As one form of this side airbag device, an airbag is known that includes an airbag body that constitutes an outer shell portion thereof, and a partition portion having a gas flow regulating portion such as a pressure regulating valve (for example, , See Patent Document 1). The partition part is located in the airbag body at the rear side of the partition part, and is located upstream of the partition part and upstream of the inflator to which the inflation gas is supplied. And a downstream side expansion portion to which expansion gas is supplied via the gas flow restriction portion.

  According to the side airbag device, when an impact is applied from the side to a vehicle body side portion, for example, a side door, the inflation gas is supplied from the inflator to the upstream inflation portion, and the upstream inflation portion is Then, it expands and expands between the upper body of the occupant and the body side part that enters the inside of the vehicle. The expansion gas in the upstream expansion section flows into the downstream expansion section through the gas flow regulating section, and expands and expands the downstream expansion section after the upstream expansion section. A load is applied to the upper body of the occupant through the upstream inflating portion and the downstream inflating portion, the upper body is restrained, and the impact from the side transmitted to the occupant upper body through the body side portion is reduced.

JP 2013-35535 A

  By the way, the armrest generally protrudes toward the inside of the vehicle from a portion having a height similar to that of the abdomen of the occupant in the body side portion. Therefore, the distance between the abdomen and the body side part is narrower than the distance between the chest part and the body side part and the distance between the waist part and the body side part.

  However, in the conventional side airbag device including Patent Document 1, the upstream inflatable portion is expanded and inflated without sufficiently considering the difference in the distance between the upper body part and the body side portion as described above. ing. For this reason, the load acting from the upstream inflating portion is too small or too large depending on the upper body part.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a situation, and the purpose thereof is a side air that can restrain each part of the upper body of an occupant with an appropriate load when the upstream inflating part is deployed and inflated. The object is to provide a bag device.

  The side airbag device that solves the above problems is applied to a vehicle in which a side portion is constituted by a body side portion, and the body side portion is provided with an armrest that protrudes indoors, Developed between the body side part and at least the region from the chest to the waist of the upper body of the occupant seated on the vehicle seat by the inflation gas supplied in response to the impact applied from the side to the body side part And an inflating airbag body, and the inside of the airbag body extends from the upper end portion of the airbag body to a lower end portion or a portion close to the lower end portion, and has a gas flow regulating portion, and the partition portion An upstream side expansion portion to which an expansion gas is supplied and a front side of the partitioning portion, the upstream side expansion portion and the gas flow regulating portion When the dimension in the width direction of the vehicle seat of the upstream inflated portion that is divided and expanded and inflated is defined as an inflated thickness, the upstream inflatable portion is divided into The inflated thickness of the part protecting the occupant's abdomen is set smaller than the inflated thickness of the part protecting the chest and the part protecting the waist.

  According to the above configuration, when an impact is applied from the side to the body side portion of the vehicle, and the inflation gas is supplied to the upstream inflation portion, at least the chest from the chest of the occupant sitting on the vehicle seat The upstream inflatable part expands and inflates between the region between and the body side part.

  Here, the distance between the abdomen and the body side part is narrower than the distance between the chest or waist and the body side part. This is because the armrest that protrudes from the body side portion toward the room is generally provided at a location that is approximately the same height as the abdomen of the occupant.

  On the other hand, as in the above configuration, the expansion thickness of the site that protects the abdomen of the upstream expansion portion is smaller than the expansion thickness of the region that protects the chest and waist. Therefore, the site | part which protects an abdominal part expand | deploys and expand | swells between the abdominal part and a body side part, and restrains an abdominal part with the load suitable for the space | interval of both.

  Also, of the upstream inflatable part, the part that protects the chest expands and inflates between the chest and body side parts, which is wider than between the abdomen and body side parts, with a load suitable for the distance between them. Restrain the chest. Similarly, the portion of the upstream inflatable portion that protects the lumbar region is wider than between the abdominal portion and the body side portion, expands and expands between the lumbar portion and the body side portion, and is suitable for the distance between the two. The waist is restrained with.

  The expansion gas supplied to the upstream expansion part flows into the downstream expansion part through the gas flow restriction part. When the expansion gas passes through the gas flow restricting portion, the flow passage area is reduced, and the expansion gas is restricted from flowing into the downstream expansion portion. The expansion gas expands and expands the downstream expansion portion in addition to the upstream expansion portion. The occupant is restrained not only by the upstream inflatable portion but also by the downstream inflatable portion, and is protected from impact.

  In the side airbag device, the portion of the upstream inflatable portion that protects the chest is deployed and inflated at a lower internal pressure than the portion that protects the waist, and the portion that protects the chest is inflated. The thickness is preferably set larger than the inflated thickness of the portion protecting the waist.

  Here, the impact resistance when an impact is applied from the side to the upper body of the occupant is better at the waist than at the chest. For this reason, it is desirable that the portion of the upstream inflatable portion that protects the chest is softer than the portion that protects the waist, and that a large amount is inflated in the width direction of the vehicle seat.

  In this regard, according to the above-described configuration, the portion that protects the chest is inflated with a lower internal pressure than the portion that protects the lumbar region, and with a large expansion thickness. Therefore, the part protecting the chest is inflated with an internal pressure and an inflated thickness suitable for protecting the chest. Moreover, the site | part which protects a waist | hip | lumbar part is expanded by the internal pressure and expansion | swelling thickness suitable for protecting the same waist | lumbar part. Thus, the site | part which protects a chest part, and the site | part which protects a waist | hip | lumbar part in an upstream expansion part are expand | deployed and expanded with the internal pressure and expansion | swelling thickness which considered the said difference of impact resistance.

  In the above-described side airbag device, the partition portion is coupled to the airbag body by a longitudinal coupling portion extending along a pair of side edges in the width direction of the vehicle seat, and a flat surface of the upstream inflation portion. Of the circumferential lengths in the cross section, when the partition portion length is defined as the partition length, and when the airbag body is defined as the body length, the combination of the partition length and the body length is three of the upstream inflatable portion. It is preferable that the magnitude relation about the expansion thickness is set by setting differently between the parts.

  According to said structure, an upstream expansion | swelling part expand | deploys by supplying the gas for expansion | swelling, tries to expand | swell to a curved surface shape, and produces expansion | swelling thickness. This expanded thickness tends to increase as the body length increases.

  On the other hand, the partition part connected to the airbag main body by both vertical connecting parts is pulled to both sides in the width direction of the vehicle seat when the upstream inflating part is deployed and inflated. A partition part becomes a tension | tensile_strength and regulates the expansion | swelling thickness of an upstream expansion part. The degree of regulation decreases as the section length increases. Therefore, the expansion thickness of the upstream expansion portion tends to increase as the partition length increases.

  As described above, the expansion thickness of the upstream expansion portion is mainly determined by the section length and the main body length. Therefore, by appropriately setting the combination of the section length and the body length, the inflated thickness of the site protecting the occupant's abdomen is made smaller than the inflated thickness of the site protecting the chest and the site protecting the waist. It is possible.

  In the side airbag device, the partition length is set to be shorter in the order of a part protecting the chest, a part protecting the waist, and a part protecting the abdomen. It is preferable that the length is set to be shorter in the order of a site to protect, a site to protect the chest, and a site to protect the abdomen.

  When the body length is set so as to satisfy the above conditions, assuming that there is no partition part, the inflated thickness is the part of the part protecting the waist, the part protecting the chest, and the part protecting the abdomen. It becomes smaller in order.

  On the other hand, by setting the section length to satisfy the above conditions, the degree to which the partition section becomes tensioned and regulates the expansion thickness of the upstream inflating section protects the chest part and the waist. It becomes large in order of a site | part and the site | part which protects an abdomen.

  Then, the thickness regulation by the partitioning part affects the inflated thickness determined by the main body length, so that the inflated thickness of the part protecting the abdomen of the occupant, the inflated thickness of the part protecting the chest and the part protecting the waist It is possible to make it smaller.

  In the side airbag device, in the portion that protects the waist portion of the upstream inflatable portion, the partition portion is inclined with respect to the rear edge portion of the airbag main body so as to be farther away from the front side. Is preferably arranged.

  As in the above configuration, in the part where the partition part protects the waist part, the same part as compared with the case where it does not incline by inclining so as to move farther forward toward the lower side with respect to the rear edge part of the airbag body. The length of the front and rear is longer. As described above, the waist has higher impact resistance than the chest. Moreover, the site | part which protects a waist | hip | lumbar part is inflated with the internal pressure higher than the site | part which protects a chest. Accordingly, a wider area in the front-rear direction of the waist is efficiently restrained by receiving a load from a portion having a high internal pressure and having a large size in the front-rear direction in the upstream inflatable part.

  According to the said side airbag apparatus, when an upstream expansion | deployment part expand | deploys and expand | swells, each part of a passenger | crew's upper body can be restrained with a suitable load.

It is a figure which shows one Embodiment embodied in the side airbag apparatus for vehicles, and is a side view which shows the vehicle seat provided with the same apparatus with the passenger | crew. In one embodiment, the plane sectional view showing the positional relation of a vehicular seat, an air bag, a crew member, and a body side part. 1 is a front sectional view showing a positional relationship among a vehicle seat, an occupant, and a body side part in one embodiment. In one embodiment, the partial plane sectional view showing the internal structure of the side part of the seat back in which the air bag module was incorporated. The side view which looked at the airbag module from which the airbag main body was made into the non-expanded deployment state in one Embodiment from the vehicle outer side. The side view which looked at the airbag module from which the airbag main body was made into the non-expanded deployment state from the vehicle inside in one Embodiment. In one embodiment, the exploded perspective view shown in the state where each constituent member of an airbag was developed, respectively. (A) is the fragmentary sectional side view which shows the internal structure of the airbag module of FIG. 5 with a passenger | crew and a vehicle seat, (b) is a fragmentary sectional side view which expands and shows a part of Fig.8 (a). The partial cross-sectional view which shows the state which the airbag main body of FIG. 4 left the part in the seat back, protruded from the vehicle seat, and was expand | deployed and expanded. The partial perspective view which shows a pressure regulation valve when a division part is tensioned with expansion | swelling of the upstream expansion part in one Embodiment, and its peripheral part. (A)-(c) is a fragmentary sectional side view which shows typically the operation | movement of the communicating part in one Embodiment, and a pressure regulation valve. The front view which shows the state which looked at the division part developed in one Embodiment from the front. (A)-(c) is a plane sectional view showing typically each part of an air bag body which developed and inflated. The perspective view which shows the division part provided with the opening part instead of the communication part and the pressure regulation valve as a modification of a gas flow control part. It is a figure which shows the modification by which the hole and the cover sheet | seat were provided in the partition part as a gas flow control part, (a) is a perspective view of a partition part and a cover sheet, (b) is one of Fig.15 (a). The partial perspective view which expands and shows a part.

Hereinafter, an embodiment embodied in a vehicle side airbag device will be described with reference to FIGS.
In the following description, the forward direction of the vehicle will be described as the front, and the reverse direction of the vehicle will be described as the rear. In addition, with the central portion in the vehicle width direction (vehicle width direction) as a reference, the side approaching the central portion is referred to as “vehicle inside”, and the side away from the central portion is referred to as “vehicle outside”. In addition, it is assumed that an occupant having the same physique as the collision test dummy is seated on the vehicle seat. This dummy is, for example, AM50 (a model that covers 50% of US adult males) of an international unified side collision dummy (WorldSID).

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, a vehicle seat 12 is arranged as a vehicle seat in the vicinity of the vehicle side of the body side portion 11 in the vehicle 10. Here, the body side part 11 refers to a vehicle constituent member arranged on the side part of the vehicle 10, and mainly corresponds to a door, a pillar, and the like. For example, the body side part 11 corresponding to the front seat is a front door, a center pillar (B pillar), or the like. The body side portion 11 corresponding to the rear seat is a rear portion of a side door (rear door), a C pillar, a front portion of a tire house, a rear quarter, and the like.

An armrest (armrest) AR projects from the inner wall of the body side portion 11 at the same height as the abdomen PB of the occupant P toward the vehicle interior (see FIG. 3).
The vehicle seat 12 includes a seat cushion 13 and a seat back 14 that is configured to stand up from the rear side of the seat cushion 13 and to adjust an inclination angle. The vehicle seat 12 is disposed with the seat back 14 facing forward. The width direction of the vehicle seat 12 arranged in this way matches the vehicle width direction.

Next, the internal structure of the side portion on the vehicle outer side in the seat back 14 will be described.
Inside the seat back 14, a seat frame forming the skeleton is arranged. As shown in FIG. 4, a part of the seat frame is disposed on the vehicle outer side portion in the seat back 14, and this portion (hereinafter referred to as “side frame portion 15”) is formed by bending a metal plate or the like. Is formed by. A seat pad 16 made of an elastic material such as urethane foam is disposed on the front side of the seat frame including the side frame portion 15. A hard backboard 17 made of synthetic resin or the like is disposed on the rear side of the seat frame. Although the seat pad 16 is covered with a skin, the skin is not shown in FIG. The same applies to FIG. 9 described later.

  In the seat pad 16, a storage portion 18 is provided in the vicinity of the vehicle exterior side of the side frame portion 15. The storage unit 18 incorporates an airbag module ABM that forms the main part of the side airbag device.

  A slit 19 extends from the corner of the storage portion 18 diagonally forward and toward the vehicle exterior. A portion sandwiched between the corner 16c on the front side of the seat pad 16 and the slit 19 (a portion surrounded by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 4) constitutes a planned breaking portion 21 to be broken by an airbag 30 described later. ing.

The airbag module ABM includes a gas generator 25 and an airbag 30 as main components. Next, each of these structural members will be described.
<Gas generator 25>
As shown in FIGS. 4 and 8A, the gas generator 25 includes an inflator 26 and a retainer 27 that covers the inflator 26. Here, a type called a pyrotype is adopted as the inflator 26. The inflator 26 has a substantially cylindrical shape, and a gas generating agent (not shown) that generates an expansion gas is accommodated therein. The inflator 26 has a gas ejection part (not shown) at its lower end. Further, a harness (not shown) serving as an input wiring for an operation signal to the inflator 26 is connected to the upper end portion of the inflator 26.

  As the inflator 26, instead of the pyro type using the gas generating agent, a type (hybrid type) in which a partition wall of a high pressure gas cylinder filled with a high pressure gas is broken by an explosive or the like to inject an expansion gas is used. May be.

  On the other hand, the retainer 27 is a member having a function of fastening the inflator 26 to the side frame portion 15 together with the airbag 30 while functioning as a diffuser that controls the direction in which the inflation gas is ejected. Most of the retainer 27 is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape by bending a plate material such as a metal plate. At least the lower end of the retainer 27 is an open end.

  A plurality of bolts 28 are fixed to the retainer 27 as locking members for attaching the retainer 27 to the side frame portion 15 (see FIG. 6). The gas generator 25 may be one in which an inflator 26 and a retainer 27 are integrated.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the outer shell portion of the airbag 30 is configured by an airbag body 31.
<Airbag body 31>
5 and 6 show the airbag module ABM in a state where the airbag body 31 is deployed in a plane without being filled with an inflation gas (hereinafter referred to as “non-inflated and deployed state”). FIG. 8A shows the airbag module ABM in which the airbag main body 31 of FIG. 5 is cut at the center in the vehicle width direction so as to show the internal structure of the airbag module ABM. Together with FIG. 7 shows the components of the airbag 30 including the airbag body 31 in a deployed state.

  As shown in FIGS. 5 to 7, the airbag main body 31 folds one piece of cloth (also called a base cloth, panel cloth, etc.) to the front along a fold line 32 set at the center portion thereof. Thus, they are formed by overlapping in the vehicle width direction and joining the overlapped portions into a bag shape. Here, in order to distinguish the above-described two overlapped portions of the airbag main body 31, the one located on the vehicle interior side is referred to as a main body cloth portion 33, and the one located on the vehicle outer side is referred to as a main body cloth portion 34. To do. By folding in two along the fold line 32, the rear edge portion of the airbag body 31 in a non-inflated and deployed state extends linearly along the vertical direction.

  In the present embodiment, the cloth piece is folded in two so that the fold line 32 is located at the rear end of the airbag body 31, but the fold line 32 has other ends such as a front end, an upper end, The cloth piece may be folded in half so as to be located at the lower end or the like. The airbag body 31 may be composed of two pieces of cloth divided along the fold line 32. Furthermore, the airbag body 31 may be composed of three or more pieces of cloth.

  In the airbag main body 31, the outer shapes of the two main body cloth portions 33 and 34 are in a line-symmetric relationship with respect to the folding line 32 as an axis of symmetry. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, each of the main body cloth portions 33 and 34 has a large amount of the upper body of the occupant P when the airbag main body 31 is deployed and inflated between the vehicle seat 12 and the body side portion 11. Are formed in a shape and size that can occupy a region corresponding to the portion (portion from the chest PT to the waist PP). This region includes a region corresponding to the abdomen PB.

  As the main body cloth portions 33 and 34, a woven fabric formed using a material having high strength and flexibility and can be easily folded, for example, polyester yarn, polyamide yarn or the like is suitable. .

  The coupling between the two main body cloth portions 33 and 34 is performed at a peripheral coupling portion 35 provided at the peripheral edge portion thereof. In this embodiment, most of the peripheral edge coupling portion 35 sews (sews) a portion of the peripheral edge portions of the main body cloth portions 33 and 34 excluding the rear end portion (the vicinity of the folding line 32) with a sewing thread. It is formed by. This also applies to the coupling portions 44 and 84, the vertical coupling portions 45 and 71, and the horizontal coupling portion 63 described later.

  Regarding the above-described sewing, in FIGS. 5 to 8A, 10 and 12, a sewing portion is expressed by three line types. The same applies to FIG. 15 used to explain the modification. The first line type is a line expressed by arranging a certain length of thick lines intermittently, and this shows a state in which the sewing thread is viewed from the side (see the peripheral joint portion 35 in FIG. 5). . The second line type is a line in which fine lines of a certain length (longer than a general broken line) are intermittently arranged, which is located at the back of a piece of cloth, for example, and is directly visible. The state of the sewing thread that is not (hidden) is shown (see the lateral coupling portion 63 and the like in FIG. 5). The third line type is a line expressing points arranged at regular intervals, which indicates a cross section of the sewing thread along a cross section passing through the sewing portion (the peripheral joint portion 35 in FIG. 8A, etc.). reference).

  In addition, the periphery coupling | bond part 35 may be formed by the means different from the sewing using the said sewing thread, for example, adhesion | attachment using an adhesive agent. This also applies to the coupling portions 44 and 84, the vertical coupling portions 45 and 71, and the horizontal coupling portion 63 described later.

  As shown in FIG. 8A, the space between the main body cloth portions 33 and 34 and surrounded by the peripheral edge coupling portion 35 and the fold line 32 becomes an inflatable portion 36 that expands and inflates with the inflating gas. ing.

  As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, an insertion port 37 of the gas generator 25 is formed at the rear end portion of the body cloth portion 33 on the vehicle interior side and in the middle portion in the vertical direction. In addition, bolt holes 38 through which the bolts 28 of the gas generator 25 are inserted are formed at a plurality of locations (two locations) below the insertion port 37 in the main body cloth portion 33.

The inflating part 36 is divided into two by a partitioning part 40. The partition unit 40 has the same configuration as that generally called a tether.
<Partition section 40>
The partition 40 in FIG. 7 is shown in a deployed state, which is a state before being assembled to the airbag body 31. The partition portion 40 includes a main body portion 41 and a pair of inclined portions 42 formed integrally with the lower end portion of the main body portion 41. The lower part of the main body 41 is formed to be narrower than the middle part of the main body 41 in the vertical direction. Moreover, both the inclination parts 42 incline with respect to the rear edge part of the airbag main body 31 so that a mutual space | interval may spread toward the lower side.

  As shown in FIGS. 5, 6, and 8 (a), when the airbag main body 31 is in a non-inflated and deployed state, the partition 40 is a fold extending along the vertical direction at the center in the vehicle width direction. Folded forward along line 43. The main body portion 41 of the partition portion 40 in this state extends substantially in the vertical direction along the rear edge portion of the airbag main body 31. Both inclined portions 42 are inclined with respect to the rear edge portion of the airbag main body 31 so as to move farther forward as the lower side. The upper end portion of the main body portion 41 is joined to the upper end portions of the two main body cloth portions 33 and 34 by the above-described peripheral edge joining portion 35 by co-sewing. Moreover, the lower end part of each inclination part 42 is couple | bonded with the front lower end part of both the main body cloth parts 33 and 34 by the seam joint part 35 by the co-sewing. Further, the two inclined portions 42 are coupled by a coupling portion 44 provided along the lower edge portion thereof.

  The partition portion 40 is coupled to the corresponding main body cloth portions 33 and 34 by vertical coupling portions 45 extending along a pair of side edge portions on both sides in the vehicle width direction. Each vertical coupling portion 45 has a different shape depending on the portion in the vertical direction. Among the vertical coupling portions 45, those in the main body portion 41 are referred to as a vertical coupling portion 45a, a vertical coupling portion 45b, and a vertical coupling portion 45c in this order from top to bottom, and those in the inclined portion 42 are referred to as vertical coupling portions 45d. Each vertical coupling portion 45a has a curved shape that gently swells obliquely forward. Each vertical coupling portion 45 b has a linear shape extending in the substantially vertical direction along the rear edge portion of the airbag body 31. Each vertical coupling portion 45c has a curved shape recessed backward. Each of the vertical coupling portions 45d is inclined so as to be positioned forward in the lower side.

  Each vertical coupling part 45a-45d couple | bonds the side edge part of the division part 40 with the corresponding main body cloth parts 33 and 34 in the meandering state as mentioned above. Due to this coupling and the coupling by the coupling portion 44, the partition portion 40 is installed between the two main body fabric portions 33 and 34 and at a substantially central portion in the front-rear direction of the expansion portion 36.

  When the airbag body 31 is inflated, the partition portion 40 is in a state in which the body portion 41 extends along the vertical direction when the airbag body 31 is pulled and deployed on both sides in the vehicle width direction. The slope is located forward. The partition 40 at this time has a vertically long shape as a whole in which the vertical dimension is longer than the dimension in the vehicle width direction.

  A portion of the inflating portion 36 on the rear side of the partitioning portion 40 constitutes an upstream inflating portion 46 to which the inflating gas is first supplied from the gas generator 25 in the inflating portion 36. A portion of the expansion portion 36 in front of the partition portion 40 constitutes an upstream expansion portion 46 and a downstream expansion portion 47 to which an expansion gas is supplied via a gas flow restricting portion described later.

  The partition part 40 is made of the same material as the two main body cloth parts 33 and 34, and is composed of two cloth pieces 48 and 49 arranged in the vertical direction. More specifically, the upper half of the main body 41 in the partition 40 is constituted by the upper cloth piece 48, and the lower half of the main body 41 and both inclined parts 42 are constituted by the lower cloth piece 49. Has been.

  As shown in FIGS. 8A, 8 </ b> B, and 10, the lower end 51 of the cloth piece 48 and the upper end 52 of the cloth piece 49 are located on the side of the chest PT of the occupant P. It is overlapped at the place. The cloth pieces 48 and 49 are laterally coupled along the vehicle width direction at the boundary between the pair of overlapping portions 61 each having a belt shape and the other portion (hereinafter referred to as “non-overlapping portion 62”). The parts 63 are connected.

In addition, at least one of the cloth pieces 48 and 49 may be configured by being divided into two along the fold line 43.
The partition unit 40 is provided with a communication unit 64 and a pressure regulating valve 65 as a gas flow regulating unit that regulates the flow of the expansion gas from the upstream expansion unit 46 to the downstream expansion unit 47.

<Communication part 64 and pressure regulating valve 65>
These are on condition that an external force is applied in accordance with the occupant restraint by the upstream inflating portion 46, and are closed or close to the condition until the condition is satisfied, and are opened when the condition is satisfied. The communicating portion 64 and the pressure regulating valve 65 are located in the compartment 40 that is tensioned as the upstream inflating portion 46 is inflated, and are located laterally to the chest PT of the occupant P in the vertical direction and substantially in the center in the vehicle width direction. It is provided in the part. In detail, in the partition part 40, the coupling | bonding part 63 provided in the side of the passenger | crew's P chest part PT is cancelled | released in the approximate center part of the vehicle width direction. As described above, the portion released from the coupling by the lateral coupling portion 63 extends in the vehicle width direction, and constitutes a slit-like communication portion 64 that allows the upstream side expansion portion 46 and the downstream side expansion portion 47 to communicate with each other. .

  The pressure regulating valve 65 is a valve that adjusts the internal pressures of the upstream expansion portion 46 and the downstream expansion portion 47 by controlling the flow of the expansion gas in the communication portion 64. And the valve body part 66 of the pressure regulation valve 65 is comprised by the location corresponding to the communication part 64 in the vehicle width direction among the edge parts 51 of the cloth piece 48, and it communicates in the vehicle width direction among the edge parts 52 of the cloth piece 49. A valve body portion 67 of the pressure regulating valve 65 is configured by a portion corresponding to the portion 64.

  The flow of the inflation gas between the valve body portions 66 and 67 is restricted by the valve body portions 66 and 67 contacting each other at least at a part of them, for example, at the tip portions 66t and 67t (FIG. 11). (See (a) and (b)). The operation mode of the pressure regulating valve 65 at this time is referred to as “valve closing”. Further, the communication portion 64 is opened, and the substantially entire valve body portion 66 is separated from the substantially entire valve body portion 67, so that the expansion gas can flow between the valve body portions 66 and 67. (Refer FIG.11 (c)). The operation mode of the pressure regulating valve 65 at this time is referred to as “valve opening”.

  The two overlapping portions 61 are bent downward at the boundary portion with the non-overlapping portion 62 and overlapped with the lower non-overlapping portion 62. Contrary to the above, both overlapping portions 61 may be folded upward and overlapped with the upper non-overlapping portion 62. Further, the folded belt-like two overlapping portions 61 are respectively connected to the main body cloth portions 33 and 34 and the non-overlapping portion 62 of the airbag main body 31 by the two vertical coupling portions 45 described above at both ends in the vehicle width direction. On the other hand, it is connected by co-sewing.

A rectifying cloth 70 is disposed at the rear of the airbag body 31 in a non-inflated and deployed state.
<Rectification cloth 70>
As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the rectifying cloth 70 is for distributing the expansion gas ejected from the gas ejection portion below the inflator 26 so as to be supplied more downward than above.

  The rectifying cloth 70 is formed by joining a single piece of cloth formed in a rectangular shape with the same material as the two main body cloth portions 33 and 34 to the airbag main body 31. The rectifying cloth 70 is coupled to the airbag body 31 by a pair of vertical coupling portions 71 extending in the vertical direction on both sides in the vehicle width direction of the rectifying cloth 70 in a deployed state. One of the two vertical coupling portions 71 couples the rectifying cloth 70 to the main body cloth portion 33 inside the vehicle, and the other couples the straightening cloth 70 to the main body cloth portion 34 outside the vehicle. The rectifying cloth 70 may be constituted by a plurality of cloth pieces. Further, the rectifying cloth 70 may be coupled to the main body cloth portions 33 and 34 while being folded in two.

  And many parts of the gas generator 25 made into the attitude | position extended along an up-down direction are accommodated in the rear-end part in the upstream expansion part 46. As shown in FIG. The upper part of the gas generator 25 passes through the insertion port 37 and is exposed to the outside of the airbag body 31. The lower part of the gas generator 25 is inserted between a portion sandwiched between the longitudinal coupling portions 71 in the rectifying cloth 70 and the rear portion of the airbag body 31.

  The bolts 28 of the retainer 27 are inserted into the bolt holes 38 of the main body cloth portion 33, whereby the gas generator 25 is locked in a state of being positioned with respect to the airbag main body 31 (main body cloth portion 33) ( (See FIG. 6).

  Further, an exhaust hole (also referred to as a vent hole) 75 is provided in the front portion of the airbag main body 31 (main body cloth portion 33) for discharging the inflating gas in the downstream inflating portion 47 that has been deployed and inflated forward. It has been.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 12 and FIGS. 13A to 13C, the dimension in the vehicle width direction of the upstream-side inflatable portion 46 that has been expanded and inflated is defined as the inflated thickness. In the upstream inflatable portion 46, the expansion thickness at the site protecting the chest PT is TT, the expansion thickness at the site protecting the abdomen PB is TB, and the expansion thickness at the site protecting the waist PP is TP. In this embodiment, the expansion thickness is set so as to decrease in the order of the expansion thickness TT, the expansion thickness TP, and the expansion thickness TB. However, the expansion thickness TT and the expansion thickness TP are approximated, and the deviation between them is small compared to the deviation between the expansion thickness TP and the expansion thickness TB.

For the above-mentioned setting regarding the inflated thickness, out of the circumferential length in the plane cross section of the upstream inflatable portion 46, the portion due to the partition portion 40 is defined as the partition portion length, and the one due to the airbag body 31 is defined as the body length.
Further, the section length at the site protecting the chest PT is C1T, the section length at the site protecting the abdomen PB is C1B, and the section length at the site protecting the waist PP is C1P.

Further, the body length at the site protecting the chest PT is C2T, the body length at the site protecting the abdomen PB is C2B, and the body length at the site protecting the waist PP is C2P.
The combination of the partition lengths C1T, C1B, C1P and the main body lengths C2T, C2B, C2P is set to be different between the three portions of the upstream side expansion portion 46, so that the size of the expansion thickness is small. A relationship (TT>TP> TB) is set.

  This is based on the following knowledge. The upstream inflating portion 46 expands by being supplied with the inflating gas and tries to expand into a curved surface. This expansion causes expansion thicknesses TT, TB, and TP in the upstream expansion portion 46. These expansion thicknesses TT, TB, and TP tend to increase as the main body lengths C2T, C2B, and C2P become longer.

  On the other hand, the partition portion 40 coupled to the airbag body 31 by the both longitudinal coupling portions 45 is pulled to both sides in the vehicle width direction by the both body cloth portions 33 and 34 when the upstream inflating portion 46 is deployed and inflated. The partition part 40 becomes a tension | tensile_strength and regulates expansion | swelling thickness TT, TB, TP. The degree of regulation decreases as the section lengths C1T, C1B, and C1P increase. Accordingly, the expansion thicknesses TT, TB, and TP tend to increase as the partition lengths C1T, C1B, and C1P increase.

  Thus, the expansion thicknesses TT, TB, and TP are mainly determined by the section lengths C1T, C1B, and C1P and the main body lengths C2T, C2B, and C2P. Therefore, by appropriately setting the combination of the partition section lengths C1T, C1B, C1P and the main body lengths C2T, C2B, C2P, the expansion thickness is in the order of the expansion thickness TT, the expansion thickness TP, and the expansion thickness TB as described above. It has been made smaller.

  More specifically, the section length C1T at the site protecting the chest PT is the longest, and then the section length C1P at the site protecting the waist PP and the section length C1B at the site protecting the abdomen PB are shortened in this order. It is set to be.

  By setting the section lengths C1T, C1B, and C1P to satisfy the above-described conditions, the degree to which the section 40 is in tension and restricts the inflated thickness protects the chest part PT and the waist part PP. It becomes large in order of a site | part and the site | part which protects the abdominal part PB.

  In the above setting, where the partition section length C1B is shorter than the partition section length C1T, the partition section 40 (main body section 41) is narrower in the upstream inflatable section 46 that protects the abdomen PB than in the section that protects the chest PT. (See FIG. 12).

The main body length is set to be shorter in the order of the main body length C2P, the main body length C2T, and the main body length C2B.
When the main body lengths C2T, C2B, and C2P are set so as to satisfy the above-described conditions, when it is assumed that there is no partition 40, the inflated thickness is the inflated thickness TP at the part protecting the waist PP, the chest The expansion thickness TT at the site protecting the PT and the expansion thickness TB at the site protecting the abdomen PB decrease in order.

  The above-described setting in which the main body length C2P is longer than the other main body lengths C2T and C2B is such that both inclined portions 42 of the partition 40 are lower than the rear edge portion of the airbag main body 31 in the portion protecting the waist PP. It is made by arrange | positioning in the state inclined so that it may move away so much ahead (refer Fig.8 (a)). In other words, the above setting is made by inclining the two inclined portions 42 so that the lower portions are located forward. Due to the above arrangement of the two inclined portions 42, the main body length becomes longer toward the lower side.

  In addition, the above-described setting in which the main body length C2B is shorter than the main body length C2T is such that the vertical coupling portion 45 (vertical coupling portion 45c) is recessed rearward at the site protecting the abdomen PB than at the site protecting the chest PT. It is made by curving (see FIG. 8A). Due to the shape of the vertical coupling portion 45c, the distance between the rear edge portion of the airbag body 31 and the vertical coupling portion 45c is smaller than the distance between the rear edge portion of the airbag body 31 and the vertical coupling portion 45b. Accordingly, the main body length C2B becomes shorter than the main body length C2T.

  Then, the thickness regulation by the partition 40 affects the expansion thicknesses TT, TB, and TP determined by the main body length, so that the expansion thickness of the upstream expansion portion 46 is the expansion thickness TT, the expansion thickness TP, and the expansion thickness. It is made smaller in the order of TB.

  By the way, the airbag module ABM has a compact configuration (hereinafter referred to as “storage configuration”) as shown in FIG. 4 by folding the airbag body 31 (see FIG. 8A) in a non-inflated and deployed state. Has been. This is to make the airbag module ABM suitable for storage in the storage portion 18 of a limited size in the seat back 14.

  In the airbag module ABM, the bolt 28 extending from the gas generator 25 and inserted into the bolt hole 38 of the main body cloth portion 33 is inserted into the side frame portion 15, and the nut 29 is tightened to the inserted bolt 28. Yes. By this tightening, the gas generator 25 is attached to the side frame portion 15 together with the airbag main body 31.

Note that the gas generator 25 may be attached to the side frame portion 15 by a member different from the bolt 28 and the nut 29 described above.
The side airbag device includes an impact sensor 77 and a control device 78 shown in FIG. 1 in addition to the airbag module ABM described above. The impact sensor 77 is composed of an acceleration sensor or the like, and is provided on the body side portion 11 of the vehicle 10 to detect an impact applied to the body side portion 11 from the side. The control device 78 controls the operation of the inflator 26 based on the detection signal of the impact sensor 77.

  Further, the vehicle interior is equipped with a seat belt device for restraining the occupant P seated on the vehicle seat 12 to the vehicle seat 12, but this seat belt device is shown in FIGS. Is omitted.

As described above, the side airbag device of the present embodiment is configured. Next, a typical mode of operation (mode) will be described as an operation of the side airbag device.
11 (a) to 11 (c) schematically show how the configurations of the pressure regulating valve 65 and the partition 40 change with time after the supply of the expansion gas starts, and details are omitted. It has been simplified.

  In this side airbag device, when the impact sensor 77 does not detect that an impact has been applied to the body side portion 11 from the side, an operation signal for operating this is output from the control device 78 to the inflator 26. Therefore, the expansion gas is not ejected. The airbag main body 31 continues to be stored in the storage portion 18 in the storage form (see FIG. 4).

  On the other hand, when the vehicle 10 is traveling, an impact of a predetermined value or more is applied from the side to the body side portion 11 due to a side collision or the like, and when this is detected by the impact sensor 77, control is performed based on the detection signal. An operating signal for operating the inflator 26 is output from the device 78. In response to this operation signal, the expansion gas is ejected from the gas ejection portion of the inflator 26.

  The jetted expansion gas is distributed into an upward direction and a downward direction by a flow straightening cloth 70 (see FIG. 8A and the like). There is more inflation gas distributed and going downwards than inflation gas going upwards. Due to the expansion gas, the internal pressure of the upstream expansion portion 46 increases. However, since more inflation gas is supplied to the lower part of the upstream expansion part 46 than the upper part, the internal pressure in the lower part becomes higher than the internal pressure in the upper part. The upstream inflating portion 46 expands by being supplied with the inflating gas and tries to expand into a curved surface. This expansion causes an expansion thickness in the upstream expansion portion 46.

  On the other hand, the partition part 40 connected to the airbag body 31 (main body cloth parts 33, 34) by the vertical connection part 45 is pulled to both sides in the vehicle width direction when the upstream side expansion part 46 is deployed and inflated. The partition part 40 is in a tension state and tries to regulate the expansion thickness of the upstream expansion part 46 determined by the main body length.

  As shown in FIG. 11A, the internal pressure PI is applied to the valve body portions 66 and 67 of the pressure regulating valve 65 from the overlapping direction (thickness direction). This internal pressure PI is not as high as the internal pressure when the occupant P is restrained by the upstream inflating portion 46. Both valve body portions 66 and 67 are brought into close contact with each other over the entire surface by the internal pressure PI, and are in a self-sealing state that regulates the flow of the expansion gas between the valve body portions 66 and 67. Further, the overlapping portion 61 that is bent and overlapped with the lower non-overlapping portion 62 is pressed against the non-overlapping portion 62 by internal pressure (see FIG. 10), and both valve body portions 66 and 67 are further closed. It becomes easy to be done.

  Here, since the partition part 40 is formed longer in the vertical direction than in the vehicle width direction (see FIG. 8), the partition part 40 is more likely to be applied with a stronger tension in the vehicle width direction than in the vertical direction. . Since the communication portion 64 extends in the vehicle width direction in which strong tension is easily applied, the communication portion 64 is easily closed.

  Furthermore, when the upstream side expansion portion 46 is expanded and expanded, a strong tension is applied not only to the non-overlapping portion 62 of the partition portion 40 but also to the overlapping portion 61 in the vehicle width direction. This is because both ends of the overlapping portion 61 in the vehicle width direction are coupled to the main body cloth portions 33 and 34.

  When both valve body parts 66 and 67 contact each other in at least a part of them, the pressure regulating valve 65 is substantially closed. The expansion gas in the upstream expansion portion 46 is restricted from flowing out to the downstream expansion portion 47 between the valve body portions 66 and 67 and the communication portion 64. Due to this restriction, expansion gas is accumulated in the upstream side expansion portion 46, and the internal pressure of the upstream side expansion portion 46 exclusively increases.

  Due to the increase in the internal pressure, the upstream side expansion portion 46 expands while eliminating (deploying) the folded state. The seat pad 16 of the seat back 14 is mainly pressed by the upstream expansion portion 46 and is broken at the planned breaking portion 21 (see FIG. 4). The upstream inflating portion 46 jumps forward from the seat back 14 through the broken portion with the downstream inflating portion 47 in a state where a part thereof is left in the storage portion 18 (see FIG. 9).

  Thereafter, the upstream inflating portion 46 to which the inflating gas is supplied is the latter half of the upper half of the occupant P, and expands and inflates between the body side portion 11 and the region extending from the chest PT to the waist PP. At this time, the downstream-side expansion portion 47 has not yet expanded or is slightly expanded even if it has expanded, and its internal pressure is low.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 3, the gap GB between the abdomen PB and the body side part 11 of the occupant P is the gap GT between the chest part PT and the body side part 11 or the gap GP between the waist part PP and the body side part 11. Narrower than. This is because the armrest AR protrudes toward the vehicle seat (occupant) side from a location on the inner wall of the body side portion 11 that is approximately the same height as the abdomen PB of the occupant P. On the other hand, the interval GT and the interval GP are approximately equal to each other and larger than the interval GB.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 13A to 13C, in the upstream inflatable portion 46, the inflated thickness TB at the site protecting the abdomen PB is the inflated at the site protecting the chest PT and the waist PP. The thickness is smaller than TT and TP. Therefore, the part that protects the abdomen PB expands and expands between the abdomen PB and the body side part 11 (armrest AR), and presses the abdomen PB toward the inside of the vehicle with a load suitable for the gap GB between them. To do.

  Moreover, the site | part which protects chest PT among the upstream expansion parts 46 expand | deploys and expands between the chest PT and the body side part 11 wider than between the abdominal part PB and the body side part 11, and both. The chest PT is restrained with a load suitable for the interval GT. Similarly, a part of the upstream inflating portion 46 that protects the lumbar portion PP expands and expands between the lumbar portion PP and the body side portion 11, which is wider than between the abdominal portion PB and the body side portion 11. The waist PP is restrained with a load suitable for the distance GP between the two.

  Further, in general, the impact resistance when an impact is applied from the side to the upper body of the occupant P is better at the waist PP than at the chest PT. Therefore, it is desirable that the portion of the upstream inflatable portion 46 that protects the chest PT is softer than the portion that protects the waist PP, and is expanded by a large amount in the vehicle width direction.

  In this regard, in the present embodiment, the portion that protects the chest PT is inflated with an internal pressure lower than that of the portion that protects the waist PP, and with a large expansion thickness TT (> TP). Accordingly, the portion protecting the chest PT is inflated with an internal pressure and an inflated thickness TT suitable for protecting the chest PT. Moreover, the site | part which protects waist part PP is expanded by the internal pressure and expansion thickness TP suitable for protecting the waist part PP. As described above, the interval GT at the chest PT and the interval GP at the lumbar PP are approximately the same, but the site that protects the chest PT and the site that protects the lumbar PP take into account the above difference in impact resistance. The inner pressure and the expanded thickness TT, TP are expanded and expanded.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the inclined portion 42 of the partition portion 40 is inclined so as to be farther away from the rear side of the airbag body 31 toward the front side at a portion protecting the waist portion PP. From this, compared with the case where it does not incline, the front-back length of the said part (length from the rear edge part of the airbag main body 31 to the inclination part 42) becomes long. As described above, the waist PP has higher impact resistance than the chest PT. Moreover, the site | part which protects the waist | hip | lumbar part PP is inflated by the internal pressure higher than the site | part which protects the chest part PT. Accordingly, a wider region in the front-rear direction of the waist PP is efficiently restrained by receiving a load from a portion having a high internal pressure and having a large size in the front-rear direction in the upstream inflatable portion 46.

  As the body side portion 11 further enters the vehicle inner side, the upstream inflating portion 46 further pushes the rear half of the upper body of the occupant P toward the vehicle inner side, moves the upper body to the vehicle inner side and is restrained. Protected. Moreover, the space | interval of the passenger | crew's P upper body and the body side part 11 is expanded by the said movement to the vehicle inside, and the space for expansion | deployment and expansion | swelling of the downstream expansion part 47 is ensured.

  Here, in a state in which both valve body portions 66 and 67 are closely adhered (substantially closed) over their entire surfaces, the inflation gas is continuously supplied into the upstream side inflation portion 46, while the body side portion 11 Due to the applied external force, the pressure regulating valve 65 starts to open.

  That is, from the middle of the supply period of the expansion gas to the upstream side expansion portion 46, an external force accompanying the restraint of the occupant P is applied and the upstream side expansion portion 46 is deformed. Along with this, the tension applied strongly in the vehicle width direction with respect to the partition portion 40 is reduced.

  Further, the internal pressure PI of the upstream inflating portion 46 further increases with the deformation of the upstream inflating portion 46, and the partition 40 is pressed toward the downstream inflating portion 47 (see FIG. 11B). The tension applied to the partition 40 changes. And the difference of the tension of a vehicle width direction and an up-down direction becomes small by the change of the said tension | tensile_strength. The deformation of the communication part 64 in the partition part 40 is allowed, and the operation of the valve body parts 66 and 67 in the partition part 40 is allowed.

  On the other hand, since the overlapping portion 61 is overlapped with the lower non-overlapping portion 62 and is connected to the main body cloth portions 33 and 34 by both vertical connecting portions 45 at both ends in the vehicle width direction, the overlapping portion In 61, in the part close | similar to the vertical coupling | bond part 45, the force which maintains the superimposed state is strong. However, this force decreases as the distance from the longitudinal coupling portion 45 increases, and becomes minimum at the center portion in the vehicle width direction. Therefore, the overlapping portion 61 pulled in the vertical direction is deformed in the same direction only in the communication portion 64, the valve body portions 66 and 67, and the vicinity thereof.

  When the communicating part 64 opens to some extent in the vertical direction, the overlapping part 61 communicates only at both valve body parts 66 and 67 that have received the high internal pressure PI of the upstream-side inflating part 46, as shown in FIG. It is pushed out (inverted) through the portion 64 to the downstream side expansion portion 47. When the vertical width W of the communication portion 64 is narrow, the tip portions 66t and 67t of the valve body portions 66 and 67 come into contact with each other, and the pressure regulating valve 65 is kept closed.

  Then, when the width W of the communication portion 64 increases, as shown in FIG. 11C, when the tip portions 66t and 67t are separated and the pressure regulating valve 65 is opened, the flow restriction is released. The expansion gas in the upstream side expansion portion 46 is allowed to flow out to the downstream side expansion portion 47 through the communication portion 64 and the valve body portions 66 and 67 in order. However, when the expansion gas passes through the communication portion 64 and the pressure regulating valve 65, the flow passage area is reduced and the flow of the expansion gas into the downstream expansion portion 47 is restricted to some extent.

  Due to the outflow of the expansion gas, the internal pressure of the upstream expansion portion 46 changes from increasing to decreasing. However, the body side portion 11 continues to enter the vehicle inner side, and the inflating portion 36 is pressed against the occupant P at the upstream inflating portion 46.

  Further, the downstream side expansion portion 47 starts to expand due to the inflow of the expansion gas, and the internal pressure of the downstream side expansion portion 47 starts to rise. The downstream expansion portion 47 cancels (expands) the folded state and tries to expand into a curved surface together with the upstream expansion portion 46.

  At this time, the downstream inflating portion 47 expands and inflates on the side of the front half of the upper body with an internal pressure lower than that of the upstream inflating portion 46. At this time, as described above, the space between the body side portion 11 and the upper half of the occupant P is widened by the upstream inflating portion 46, and a space for expansion and expansion of the downstream inflating portion 47 is secured. Therefore, the downstream side inflating portion 47 is easier to expand and expand forward than in the case where the interval is not enlarged.

  Then, with the body side portion 11 entering the vehicle interior a little after the start of the increase in the internal pressure of the downstream side inflating portion 47, the downstream side inflating portion 47 is added to the front half of the upper body of the occupant P by the body side portion 11 entering the inside of the vehicle. It begins to touch and be pressed. The same upper half body starts to be restrained by the downstream expansion portion 47 in addition to the upstream expansion portion 46.

  As described above, the airbag main body 31 in which the upstream inflatable portion 46 and the downstream inflatable portion 47 are deployed and inflated is interposed between the upper body of the occupant P and the body side portion 11 entering the vehicle inside. . The upper body is pressed and restrained by the airbag body 31 toward the inside of the vehicle. And the impact from the side transmitted to the upper body through the body side part 11 is relieved by the airbag main body 31, and the upper body is protected.

  When the downstream expansion portion 47 is expanded and expanded, the exhaust hole 75 is directed forward. Therefore, the surplus expansion gas in the downstream expansion portion 47 is exhausted forward through the exhaust hole 75. Due to this discharge, the internal pressure of the downstream expansion portion 47 is reduced, and the front half of the upper half of the occupant P is pressed and restrained by the downstream expansion portion 47 with an appropriate load.

According to the embodiment described in detail above, the following effects can be obtained.
(1) Of the upstream inflatable portion 46, the inflated thickness TB at the site protecting the abdomen PB of the occupant P is the inflated thickness TT at the site protecting the chest PT, and the inflated thickness at the site protecting the waist PP. It is set smaller than TP (FIGS. 13A to 13C).

  Therefore, the gap GB between the abdomen PB and the body side part 11 (armrest AR) is narrower than the gap GT between the chest part PT and the body side part 11 and smaller than the gap GP between the waist part PP and the body side part 11. However, a part that protects the abdomen PB, which has an expansion thickness TB smaller than the part that protects the chest part PT and the waist part PP, can be deployed and inflated between the abdomen PB and the body side part 11. The abdomen PB can be constrained by a load suitable for the distance GB between the abdomen PB and the body side part 11 by a portion of the upstream inflatable part 46 that protects the abdomen PB.

  Further, a portion of the upstream inflatable portion 46 that protects the chest PT is expanded and inflated between the chest PT and the body side portion 11, which is wider than between the abdomen PB and the body side portion 11. The chest PT can be restrained with a load suitable for the interval GT. Similarly, a portion of the upstream inflatable portion 46 that protects the lumbar portion PP is expanded and inflated between the lumbar portion PP and the body side portion 11, which is wider than between the abdominal portion PB and the body side portion 11, The waist PP can be restrained with a load suitable for the distance GP between the two.

In this way, when the upstream inflatable portion 46 is deployed and inflated, each part of the upper body of the occupant P (chest part PT, abdominal part PB, waist part PP) can be restrained with an appropriate load.
(2) In the airbag 30 in which the portion that protects the chest PT in the upstream inflatable portion 46 is deployed and inflated at a lower internal pressure than the portion that protects the lumbar PP, the inflated thickness TT of the portion that protects the chest PT Is set to be larger than the inflated thickness TP of the portion that protects the waist PP (FIGS. 13A and 13C).

  Therefore, the part which protects the chest PT can be inflated with an internal pressure and an expansion thickness TT suitable for protecting the chest PT. Moreover, the site | part which protects waist part PP can be expanded with the internal pressure and expansion thickness TP suitable for protection of the waist part PP.

Thus, the site | part which protects the chest part PT, and the site | part which protects the waist | hip | lumbar part PP can be expand | deployed and expanded with the internal pressure and expansion | swelling thickness TT, TP which considered the difference in the impact resistance of the passenger | crew P.
(3) In the airbag 30 formed by coupling the partition portion 40 to the airbag body 31 by a pair of vertical coupling portions 45, the combination of the partition portion lengths C1T, C1B, C1P and the body lengths C2T, C2B, C2P It is appropriately set so as to be different among the three portions of the upstream expansion portion 46 (FIGS. 12 and 13A to 13C).

  Therefore, the inflated thickness is made smaller in the order of the inflated thickness TT at the site protecting the chest PT, the inflated thickness TP at the site protecting the waist PP, and the inflated thickness TB at the site protecting the abdomen PB (TT> TP). > TB).

  (4) The partition unit length is set shorter in the order of the partition unit length C1T at the site protecting the chest PT, the partition unit length C1P at the site protecting the waist PP, and the partition unit length C1B at the site protecting the abdomen PB.

  Further, the main body length is set shorter in the order of the main body length C2P at the site protecting the lumbar PP, the main body length C2T at the site protecting the chest PT, and the main body length C2B at the site protecting the abdomen PB ( FIG. 13 (a)-(c)).

With the above setting of the main body length, the expansion thickness when it is assumed that there is no partition 40 can be made smaller in the order of the expansion thickness TP, the expansion thickness TT, and the expansion thickness TB.
In addition, the above-described setting of the partition section length causes the partition section 40 to be in a tension state and regulate the degree of expansion thickness of the upstream inflatable section 46 by changing the site that protects the chest PT, the site that protects the waist PP, and the abdomen PB. The size can be increased in the order of the parts to be protected.

  Then, by affecting the expansion thickness of the upstream expansion portion 46 determined by the main body length by the above-described thickness regulation of the partition portion 40, the expansion thickness is decreased in the order of the expansion thickness TT, the expansion thickness TP, and the expansion thickness TB. be able to.

  (5) In the part which protects the waist part PP in the upstream inflatable part 46, the inclined part 42 of the partition part 40 is inclined so that it is farther away from the rear edge part of the airbag body 31 toward the front side. It arrange | positions in the state (FIG. 8 (a)).

  Therefore, in the upstream inflatable portion 46, the portion that protects the lumbar PP, where the internal pressure is high, can be expanded and expanded in a wide area in the front-rear direction, and the lumbar PP having high impact resistance is made to have high impact resistance. It can be restrained efficiently in a wide area with a corresponding internal pressure.

In addition, the said embodiment can also be implemented as a modification which changed this as follows.
<About the expansion part 36>
The airbag main body 31 may be substantially entirely composed of the inflatable portion 36 as in the above embodiment, but has a non-inflatable portion that does not inflate without being supplied with the inflation gas. It may be a thing.

  The shape and size of the airbag body 31 are changed on the condition that the airbag body 31 is deployed and inflated between the body side portion 11 and at least the region from the chest PT to the waist PP of the upper body of the occupant P. May be.

<Regional section 40>
-The shape of the lower part of the division part 40 may be changed into the shape different from the said embodiment. For example, the inclined part 42 constituting the lower part of the partition part 40 may be changed to a shape extending in the same direction as the main body part 41. That is, the main body 41 and the both inclined portions 42 may be inclined with respect to the rear edge portion of the airbag main body 31 so as to be farther away from the front toward the lower side. In this case, the lower end portion of each inclined portion 42 may be disposed at the lower end portion of the airbag body 31.

  In the above embodiment, the pair of side edge portions on both sides in the vehicle width direction of the partition portion 40 may be coupled to the main body cloth portions 33 and 34 in the upstream expansion portion 46, or the downstream expansion portion. 47 may be combined.

Further, one side edge portion may be coupled to the main body cloth portions 33 and 34 within the upstream expansion portion 46, and the other side edge portion may be coupled within the downstream expansion portion 47.
-In the superposition part 61, what functions as both valve body parts 66 and 67 is a part corresponding to the communication part 64 in the vehicle width direction. Therefore, when at least a part (for example, the tip portions 66t and 67t) of both the valve body portions 66 and 67 is in contact and closed when the upstream side expansion portion 46 is expanded and expanded, the overlapping portion 61 communicates. The form of the part (non-neighboring part) that does not correspond to the part 64 may be changed. For example, a portion (non-neighboring portion) that does not correspond to the communication portion 64 in the overlapping portion 61 may be partially or entirely combined. As a means for this connection, stitching or adhesion may be used. By changing in this way, only the portion corresponding to the communication portion 64 in the overlapping portion 61 is operated as both valve body portions 66 and 67, and the phenomenon in which the non-corresponding portion moves unnecessarily, for example, the flapping phenomenon is suppressed. Can do. In addition, at least a part of the overlapping portion 61 that does not correspond to the communication portion 64 may be cut.

-Both valve body parts 66 and 67 may be comprised by the member different from the division part 40 which has the communication part 64. As shown in FIG.
The communication part 64 may be provided in the lateral coupling part 63 at a location deviated from the fold line 43 in a direction perpendicular to the fold line 43. Further, the communication part 64 may be provided at a plurality of locations of the horizontal coupling part 63. Also in these cases, the valve body portions 66 and 67 are provided around the communication portions 64 as in the above embodiments.

The pair of overlapping portions 61 including both valve body portions 66 and 67 may be disposed in the downstream expansion portion 47 instead of the upstream expansion portion 46 before the expansion portion 36 is expanded and expanded.
The bifolded partition 40 may be disposed in the inflatable portion 36 in a non-inflated and deployed state in a state where the fold line 43 is positioned on the downstream inflatable portion 47 side with respect to the vertical coupling portions 45. In this case, the overlapping portion 61 including both the valve body portions 66 and 67 may be disposed in the downstream side expansion portion 47 before the expansion portion 36 is expanded and expanded.

<About rectifying cloth 70>
The shape of the rectifying cloth 70 can be changed on condition that the rectifying is performed so that the expansion gas ejected from the gas ejection portion of the inflator 26 is supplied more downward than above. For example, the rectifying cloth 70 may surround the entire inflator 26.

<About the gas flow control unit>
As shown in FIG. 14, an opening 81 may be provided in the partition 40 instead of the communication part 64 and the pressure regulating valve 65 as a gas flow restriction part. In this case, the partition part 40 may be comprised by the single cloth piece, and may be comprised by the several cloth piece similarly to the said embodiment. The opening 81 is configured by a hole that allows the upstream expansion portion 46 and the downstream expansion portion 47 to communicate with each other, and allows the expansion gas to flow from the upstream expansion portion 46 to the downstream expansion portion 47. Good. Even in this case, the expansion gas receives resistance when passing through the opening 81 and is restricted from flowing into the downstream expansion portion 47.

  It is preferable that the opening 81 is provided in a part (main body part 41) that is on the side of the chest PT and a part (inclined part 42) that is on the side of the waist PP in the partition part 40. In this case, by constraining the chest part PT and the waist part PP by the upstream side inflating part 46, the gas for inflation in the upstream side inflating part 46 passes through the openings 81 to the side of the chest part PT. It can be made to flow into the part which becomes and the part which becomes the side of waist part PP.

  -As the communication part 64 and the pressure regulating valve 65, it replaces with what was demonstrated by the said embodiment, on condition that the internal pressure of the upstream expansion | swelling part 46 exceeds predetermined value, and it is in the closed state or it is close to it until the conditions are satisfied It is possible to use one that opens and opens when the same condition is satisfied. FIGS. 15A and 15B show an example. Also in this case, similarly to FIG. 14, the partition portion 40 may be configured by a single piece of cloth, or may be formed by a plurality of pieces of cloth as in the above embodiment.

  In this modified example, a hole 82 that allows the upstream expansion portion 46 and the downstream expansion portion 47 to communicate with each other is provided in place of the communication portion 64 in the partition portion 40 of the above embodiment. The communicating portion is constituted by the hole 82.

  Further, the lid sheet 83 is disposed as a pressure regulating valve at a position where the upstream expansion portion 46 or the downstream expansion portion 47 (the upstream expansion portion 46 in FIGS. 15A and 15B) closes the hole 82. Is done. The lid sheet 83 is coupled to the partition portion 40 by an annular coupling portion 84 provided so as to surround the hole 82. The coupling portion 84 is formed by stitching using a sewing thread, bonding using an adhesive, or the like. However, as the connecting portion 84, one that is broken at least partially when the internal pressure of the upstream-side inflating portion 46 exceeds a predetermined value is used.

  In this way, when the internal pressure of the upstream-side inflating portion 46 is equal to or lower than a predetermined value, the internal pressure is applied to the coupling portion 84 through the lid sheet 83, but the coupling portion 84 is not broken and the lid sheet 83 is perforated. Continue to join the partition 40 around 82.

  In the case where the bonding portion 84 is formed by continuously applying an adhesive around the hole 82 to the partition portion 40 in a ring shape, the hole 82 is closed by the lid sheet 83, that is, the hole 82 and Both lid sheets 83 are closed.

  On the other hand, when the coupling portion 84 is formed by stitching, the lid sheet 83 is intermittently coupled to the partition portion 40 by the sewing thread, so that some inflation gas can leak from the seam. Therefore, both the hole 82 and the lid sheet 83 are substantially closed.

  Further, when the internal pressure exceeds a predetermined value and a large force is applied to the coupling portion 84 through the lid sheet 83, at least a part of the coupling portion 84 is broken. By this breakage, the hole 82 is not blocked by the lid sheet 83, that is, the hole 82 and the lid sheet 83 are both opened. The inflation gas can pass through the hole 82 and the lid sheet 83 through the broken portion.

<About the relationship of expansion thickness>
Of the upstream inflatable portion 46, the magnitude relationship between the inflated thickness TT at the site protecting the chest PT and the inflated thickness TP at the site protecting the waist PP is greater than the inflated thickness TB at the site protecting the abdomen PB. However, it may be changed to a different one from the above embodiment on the condition that it is larger. For example, the expansion thickness TT and the expansion thickness TP may be set to be the same, or the expansion thickness TT may be set to be smaller than the expansion thickness TP.

<About the storage unit 18 of the airbag module ABM>
-The storage part 18 may be provided in the body side part 11 instead of the seat back 14 of the vehicle seat 12, and the airbag module ABM may be incorporated therein.

<Others>
-Vehicles to which the side airbag device is applied include not only private vehicles but also various industrial vehicles.

  The side airbag device can be applied to a side airbag device that is mounted on a vehicle other than a vehicle, such as an aircraft or a ship, and protects an occupant seated on the vehicle seat from an impact.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Vehicle (vehicle), 11 ... Body side part, 12 ... Vehicle seat (vehicle seat), 31 ... Airbag main body, 40 ... Partition part, 45, 45a, 45b, 45c, 45d, 71 ... Vertical coupling | bond part , 46 ... upstream side expansion part, 47 ... downstream side expansion part, 64 ... communication part (gas flow restriction part), 65 ... pressure regulating valve (gas flow restriction part), 81 ... opening part (gas flow restriction part), 82 ... Hole (gas flow restriction part), 83 ... Lid sheet (gas flow restriction part), AR ... Armrest, C1B, C1P, C1T ... Partition length, C2B, C2P, C2T ... Body length, P ... Crew, PB ... Abdomen, PI ... Internal pressure, PP ... waist, PT ... chest, TB, TP, TT ... expanded thickness.

Claims (5)

The side part is constituted by a body side part, and the body side part is applied to a vehicle provided with an armrest protruding toward the room,
The expansion gas supplied in response to an impact applied from the side to the body side portion between the body side portion and at least the region from the chest to the waist of the upper body of the occupant seated on the vehicle seat An airbag body that expands and inflates;
The airbag body extends from the upper end of the airbag body to a lower end portion or a portion close to the lower end portion, and is inflated by being positioned on the rear side of the partition portion by a partition portion having a gas flow regulating portion. Comparted into an upstream inflating portion to which a working gas is supplied and a downstream inflating portion which is located in front of the compartment and to which the inflating gas is supplied via the upstream inflating portion and the gas flow regulating portion And
When the dimension in the width direction of the vehicle seat of the upstream inflated portion that has been expanded and inflated is defined as the inflated thickness, the inflated thickness of the portion that protects the abdomen of the occupant in the upstream inflated portion protects the chest. The side airbag apparatus set smaller than each expansion | swelling thickness of a site | part and the site | part which protects a waist | hip | lumbar part. Of the upstream inflatable part, the part that protects the chest is deployed and inflated at a lower internal pressure than the part that protects the waist.
2. The side airbag device according to claim 1, wherein an inflated thickness of a portion protecting the chest is set to be larger than an inflated thickness of a portion protecting the waist. The partition part is coupled to the airbag body by a longitudinal coupling part extending along a pair of side edges in the width direction of the vehicle seat,
Of the peripheral length in the plane cross section of the upstream-side inflating portion, the portion by the partitioning portion is the partitioning portion length, and the one by the airbag main body is the body length,
The magnitude relationship about the said expansion | swelling thickness is set by setting the combination of the said division | segmentation part length and the said main body length so that it may differ between three said site | parts of the said upstream expansion part. The side airbag device as described. The section length is set to be shorter in the order of a part protecting the chest, a part protecting the waist, and a part protecting the abdomen,
The side airbag device according to claim 3, wherein the main body length is set to be shorter in the order of a site protecting the waist, a site protecting the chest, and a site protecting the abdomen.   The portion of the upstream inflatable portion that protects the waist portion is disposed in a state in which the partition portion is inclined so as to move farther forward toward the lower side with respect to the rear edge portion of the airbag body. The side airbag device according to any one of 2 to 4.