JP2016165948A - Vehicle exterior airbag - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a vehicle exterior airbag which quickly covers one front pillar and the other front pillar.SOLUTION: A vehicle exterior airbag includes: a pair of side edge bags 1a and 1b which expand so as to extend from lower end sides of front pillars P to an upper side along the front pillars P at front sides of the front pillars P which are positioned at both sides of a windshield W of a vehicle M when viewed in a width direction; and a connection member 3 including one end connected to an upper end side of the one side edge bag 1a and the other end connected to either one portion of the other side edge bag 1b when viewed in a vertical direction.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to an exterior airbag, and more particularly to an exterior airbag that is deployed so as to extend upward along a front pillar.

Conventionally, when a person to be protected such as a pedestrian collides with an automobile, an air bag for protecting the outside from the impact of the collision is used. Generally, an air bag for an outside of a vehicle is folded and accommodated in an automobile, and is deployed by injecting a developing gas into the inside. When this deployed airbag for outside the vehicle receives the person to be protected, it deforms according to the pressure from the person to be protected, so that the collision energy of the person to be protected can be absorbed.
For example, an airbag that is deployed along a front pillar that is hard in an automobile has been put to practical use. Since the person to be protected collides with the front pillar in various directions and speeds, an air bag for vehicle exterior corresponding to these collisions is required.

  Therefore, as a technique for protecting a protection target person who collides at a high speed, for example, in Patent Document 1, a door portion formed on a cover member is arranged on the front side of the mirror body so that the inner edge side faces outward. There has been proposed an airbag device having a front door portion that opens and an inner door portion that is disposed inside the mirror main body and opens so that the front edge side is directed rearward. In this airbag device, when the airbag is deployed, the bag body is quickly projected from the projection opening formed by opening the front door portion and the inner door portion, so that the person to be protected collides with the front pillar. Can be deployed to protect the person being protected.

JP 2011-213142 A

  However, the airbag device disclosed in Patent Document 1 does not smoothly deploy the airbag due to factors such as the direction in which the deployment gas is injected into the airbag from the inflator and the accommodation state of the airbag. There is a risk that the airbag covering the other front pillar will deploy with a great delay from the airbag covering the other. In particular, when the airbag is enlarged so as to cover from the lower end to the upper end of the front pillar, it is necessary to inject a large amount of deployment gas into the airbag, making it difficult to rapidly deploy both airbags. .

  The present invention has been made to solve such a conventional problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide an air bag for vehicle exterior that quickly covers both one front pillar and the other front pillar.

  A vehicle exterior airbag according to the present invention is a pair that deploys to extend upward along the front pillar from the lower end side of the front pillar, in front of each of the front pillars located on both sides in the width direction of the windshield of the automobile. The side edge bag and a connecting member having one end connected to the upper end side of one side edge bag and the other end connected to any part of the other side edge bag in the vertical direction.

  Here, it is preferable that the other end of the connecting member is connected to the middle portion of the other side edge bag.

  The connecting member is a first connecting member, and one end is connected to the upper end side of the other side edge bag, and the other end is connected to any part in the vertical direction of the one side edge bag. The connecting member can be further provided.

  The pair of side edge bags are preferably deployed so as to cover from the lower end to the upper end of the pair of front pillars P.

  Moreover, it can further have a linear member extended between a pair of side edge bags. Moreover, a linear member can be arrange | positioned at a mesh shape between a pair of side edge bags.

  It is preferable to further have a lower edge bag that develops along a cowl panel located on the lower edge side of the windshield.

  According to this invention, one end of the connecting member is connected to the upper end side of one side edge bag and the other end of the connecting member is connected to any part of the other side edge bag in the vertical direction. It is possible to provide an air bag for vehicle exterior that quickly covers both the front pillar and the other front pillar.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The structure of the vehicle exterior airbag which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention is shown, (A) is a front view, (B) is a side view. It is a figure which shows the airbag for vehicle exterior accommodated in the motor vehicle. It is a figure which shows a mode that the airbag for vehicle exteriors expand | deploys. It is a figure which shows a mode that the protection subject who drives a bicycle collides with a motor vehicle. It is a figure which shows a mode that a protection subject is received. It is a front view which shows the structure of the airbag for vehicle exterior which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a front view which shows the structure of the airbag for vehicle exterior which concerns on Embodiment 3 of this invention. FIG. 8A is a perspective view, and FIG. 8B is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG. 8A, showing the configuration of an automotive airbag according to Embodiment 4 of the present invention. It is a side view which shows the structure of the airbag for vehicle exterior which concerns on Embodiment 5 of this invention.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Embodiment 1
1 (A) and 1 (B) show the configuration of an exterior airbag according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. This exterior airbag extends upward along the pair of front pillars P from the lower end side of the pair of front pillars P in front of the pair of front pillars P located on both sides in the width direction of the windshield W of the automobile M. A pair of side edge bags 1a and 1b, a lower edge bag 2 that extends so as to extend along a cowl panel L located on the lower edge portion side of the windshield W, one side edge bag 1a, and the other And a connecting member 3 that connects the side edge bag 1b.

  In the automobile M, the windshield W is provided to be inclined rearward from the lower edge portion toward the upper edge portion, and the pair of front pillars P is provided to be inclined along both side edge portions of the windshield W. A roof panel is disposed rearward from the upper edge of the windshield W. A cowl panel L is disposed along the lower edge of the windshield W, and a front edge B (a part corresponding to the front brace) of the roof panel is located along the upper edge of the windshield W. A front hood H is provided so as to protrude forward from the vicinity of the lower edge of the glass W and cover the front part of the automobile M.

The side edge bags 1a and 1b are deployed so as to cover the front pillar P from the lower end to the upper end.
The lower edge bag 2 is developed so as to cover the cowl panel L from the front side, and both ends thereof are connected to the lower ends of the side edge bags 1a and 1b. The lower part of the lower edge bag 2 is fixed to the automobile M.
The side edge bags 1a and 1b and the lower edge bag 2 are formed so as to largely protrude forward from the windshield W with a constant thickness T. Further, the side edge bags 1a and 1b and the lower edge bag 2 have a continuous annular cross section, and are connected so that the hollow interiors communicate with each other.

  The connecting member 3 has an elongated shape, and one end is connected to the upper end side of the side edge bag 1a and the other end is connected to the middle part of the side edge bag 1b. Further, the connecting member 3 is formed widely in the direction along the windshield W, and can be constituted by, for example, a tether, a base fabric of an air bag for outside the vehicle, a thin air bag, and the like.

FIG. 2 shows an exterior airbag that is accommodated in the automobile M.
The vehicle exterior airbag is accommodated in a folded state in the accommodating portion 4 disposed below the rear edge portion of the front hood H that covers the front portion of the automobile M. Here, the connecting member 3 is formed thin, and can be accommodated in a compact manner as compared with the side edge bags 1 a and 1 b and the lower edge bag 2. The accommodating portion 4 is provided with an inflator 5, and the inflator 5 is connected to the lower edge bag 2. When deployment gas is injected from the inflator 5 into the air bag for vehicle exterior via the lower edge bag 2, the vehicle is used for vehicle exterior via a gap between the rear edge portion of the front hood H and the lower edge portion of the windshield W. The airbag is deployed outside the vehicle.

  Here, under the rear edge of the front hood H, various members such as a motor for driving the wiper, an outside air intake for the vehicle, and a member for draining rainwater are disposed. It may be difficult to arrange in the center of M. For this reason, for example, when the inflator 5 is disposed on the right side of the automobile M, the developing gas ejected from the inflator 5 is preferentially supplied into the side edge bag 1a, and is compared with the side edge bag 1a. There is a possibility that the edge bag 1b is deployed with a delay. Even when the inflator 5 is disposed at the center of the automobile M, the side edge bag depends on the supply direction of the developing gas supplied from the inflator 5, the accommodation state of the side edge bags 1a and 1b in the accommodation unit 4, and the like. There is a possibility that a difference occurs in the deployment time of 1a and the side edge bag 1b.

  When the side edge bag 1a is deployed faster than the side edge bag 1b, as shown in FIG. 3 (A), the upper end portion of the side edge bag 1a and one end portion side of the connecting member 3 are first exposed outside the vehicle. Subsequently, the side edge bag 1a is unfolded so as to extend upward along the front pillar P, and accordingly, one end portion side of the connecting member 3 moves upward. When the one end portion side of the connecting member 3 moves upward, the other end portion side of the connecting member 3 is exposed to the outside of the vehicle, and the side edge connected to the other end portion side of the connecting member 3 as shown in FIG. The middle part of the bag 1b is forcibly pulled out of the vehicle. Thereby, the developing gas is smoothly injected from the inflator 5 into the side edge bag 1b, and the side edge bag 1b can be quickly deployed.

  Further, while the side edge bags 1a and 1b are deployed along the front pillar P, the lower edge bag 2 is also exposed to the outside of the vehicle, and the lower edge bag 2 is deployed along the cowl panel L. 1A and 1B, the side edge bags 1a and 1b are unfolded so as to cover the front pillar P and the lower edge bag 2 to cover the cowl panel L.

  The deployment direction of the vehicle airbag can be controlled by, for example, the direction of the deployment gas injected from the inflator 5, the shape of the vehicle airbag, and the method of folding the vehicle airbag. Further, the order of deploying the air bag for the vehicle can be controlled by the folding method or the like, for example, by folding so that the upper end portion of the side edge bag 1a and the other end portion of the connecting member 3 are located outside. Thus, the air bag for vehicle exterior can be deployed.

Next, an example in which the vehicle airbag is deployed to protect the person to be protected will be described.
First, when a person to be protected such as a pedestrian or a bicycle driver approaches the front of the automobile M, a detection sensor (not shown) mounted on the automobile M detects the person to be protected. As the detection sensor, for example, a sensor that irradiates a protection subject with a laser and detects the sensor, a sensor that detects based on an image obtained from a camera, and the like can be used.
When it is determined that the person to be protected collides with the automobile M based on the detection information obtained from the detection sensor, as shown in FIG. 2, the developed gas is discharged from the inflator 5 into the outside air bag accommodated in the accommodating portion 4. Is injected.

  At this time, the developing gas injected from the inflator 5 is preferentially injected into the side edge bag 1a, and as shown in FIG. Exposed outside the car. Subsequently, the side edge bag 1a is developed so as to extend upward from the lower end side along the front pillar P, and accordingly, one end portion of the connecting member 3 is moved upward. As a result, as shown in FIG. 3B, the other end portion of the connecting member 3 is exposed to the outside of the vehicle, and the intermediate portion of the side edge bag 1b connected to the other end portion of the connecting member 3 is forced out of the vehicle. Pulled out. The developing gas is smoothly injected from the inflator 5 into the side edge bag 1b taken out of the vehicle, and the side edge bag 1b can be quickly deployed along the front pillar P.

  In this way, the side edge bag 1a having a high deployment speed pulls the side edge bag 1b having a low development speed through the connecting member 3 to the outside of the vehicle, thereby increasing the deployment speed of the side edge bag 1b. Both 1a and the side edge bag 1b can be rapidly deployed. In particular, the side edge bags 1a and 1b are formed in a large size so as to cover the front pillar P from the lower end to the upper end and to largely protrude forward. For this reason, the side edge bags 1a and 1b may cause a large difference in the deployment speed, but the difference in the deployment speed can be reduced by forcibly pulling the side edge bag 1b out of the vehicle.

The side edge bags 1a and 1b are deployed so as to cover the front pillar P from the lower end portion to the upper end portion, and the lower edge bag 2 is deployed so as to cover the cowl panel L during this time.
As described above, the side edge bags 1a and 1b and the lower edge bag 2 are deployed along the front pillar P and the cowl panel L, and therefore do not block the view of the driver who drives the automobile M. The field of view of the person can be secured. Moreover, since the deployed airbag for outside the vehicle has a shape that follows the edge of the windshield W, the driver's field of view can be secured even after deployment.

In this way, the vehicle exterior airbag is deployed along the edge of the windshield W as shown in FIGS.
Here, the person to be protected who collides with the automobile M may be skipped over a wide range. In particular, as shown in FIG. 4, when the automobile M collides with the person to be protected C who drives the bicycle, the position of the center of gravity of the person C to be protected is high, so there is a risk that it will be thrown over a wider range. For example, the person C to be protected who has been blown toward the upper side of the automobile M may collide with the front edge B of the roof panel and be further blown to the rear of the roof panel. Further, the person C to be protected who has been thrown to the side of the automobile M may collide with the side portion of the front pillar P and be further thrown to the side, causing a secondary collision with an oncoming vehicle or the like.

Thus, by deploying the vehicle airbag as described above, it is possible to reliably catch the person to be protected C that is to be skipped over a wide range.
For example, as shown in FIG. 5 (A), the person C to be protected who is blown toward the front pillar P is received by the inner wall portion of the side edge bag 1a having a large thickness T, and the side edge bag 1a is deformed. Thus, the collision energy of the person C to be protected is absorbed. At this time, when the side edge bag 1a and the side edge bag 1b are not connected to each other by the connecting member 3, the upper end portion is sideways like the side edge bag S by the pressure from the person C to be protected toward the side. There is a risk that the person C to be protected will fly to the side of the front pillar P. In the present invention, the side edge bag 1a and the side edge bag 1b are supported to each other by the connection of the connection member 3, and the posture is stabilized, and when the person C to be protected is received by the inner wall portion of the side edge bag 1a. It is possible to suppress the protection target person C from jumping out of the side edge bag 1a. Moreover, since the side edge bags 1a and 1b are arranged so as to cover the front pillar P, the protection target person C can be prevented from directly colliding with the front pillar P when receiving the protection target person C.

  As shown in FIG. 5B, when the person C to be protected is blown toward the front edge B of the roof panel, the person C to be protected is received by the connecting member 3. At this time, the connecting member 3 is deformed so as to be folded inward and the side edge bag 1a and the side edge bag 1b are deformed so that the upper end portions are brought closer to each other in accordance with the pressure from the person C to be protected going backward. . Thereby, it is possible to smoothly absorb the collision energy of the person to be protected C and to prevent the person to be protected C from getting over the connecting member 3 and being largely blown behind the roof panel.

  The side edge bags 1a and 1b are preferably deployed so as to project forward from the windshield W with a thickness T such that the person C to be protected fits inside the side edge bags 1a and 1b. Moreover, it is preferable to provide the connection member 3 in the upper side in the thickness T direction of the side edge bags 1a and 1b. Thereby, it can suppress reliably that the protection subject C gets over the side edge bags 1a and 1b and the connection member 3, and is blown to the outer side of the airbag for vehicles outside.

In this way, the protection target person C is prevented from directly colliding with the front pillar P, and at the same time, the protection target person C is blown to the outside of the side edge bags 1a and 1b and the connecting member 3 so as to be secondary to the oncoming vehicle. It can be prevented from colliding.
Further, when the person C to be protected is blown toward the cowl panel L, the person C to be protected is received by the lower edge bag 2 and can be prevented from directly colliding with the cowl panel L.

  According to the present embodiment, one end of the connecting member 3 is connected to the upper end side of the side edge bag 1a, and the other end of the connecting member 3 is connected to the middle part of the side edge bag 1b, whereby the side edge bag Both 1a and the side edge bag 1b can be rapidly deployed. In addition, the side edge bags 1a and 1b, the lower edge bag 2 and the connecting member 3 prevent the protection target person C from directly colliding with the hard part of the automobile M, and at the same time, the protection target person C to be blown in various directions. It can be fastened inside the outside air bag.

Embodiment 2
In Embodiment 1, the upper end side of the side edge bag 1a and the middle part of the side edge bag 1b are connected by the connecting member 3, but the upper end side of the side edge bag 1b and the intermediate part of the side edge bag 1a are connected by the connecting member. You can also

For example, as shown in FIG. 6, a new connecting member 21 can be provided in the vehicle exterior airbag of the first embodiment. Similar to the connecting member 3, the connecting member 21 has an elongated shape, and one end is connected to the upper end side of the side bag 1b and the other end is connected to the middle part of the side bag 1a. .
Thereby, for example, even when the difference in the deployment speed between the side edge bag 1a and the side edge bag 1b is not clearly known in advance, the side edge bag that is first exposed to the outside of the vehicle is connected to the opposite side via the connecting member 3 or the connecting member 21. Since the side edge bag is pulled out of the vehicle, both the side edge bag 1a and the side edge bag 1b can be quickly deployed. Moreover, since the side edge bag 1a and the side edge bag 1b are supported by the two connecting members 3 and 21, the posture can be further stabilized, and the person C to be protected who is blown away in various directions is shown in the side edge bag 1a. And 1b can be reliably received.

Embodiment 3
In the exterior airbag according to the first and second embodiments, a linear member extending between the pair of side edge bags 1a and 1b can be provided.
For example, as shown in FIG. 7, in the air bag for vehicle exterior according to the second embodiment, a linear member 31 extending in a mesh shape can be disposed between the side edge bags 1a and 1b. The linear member 31 extends in the width direction of the windshield W and extends in the vertical direction along the windshield W with a plurality of horizontal linear members that connect the inner wall portion of the side edge bag 1a and the inner wall portion of the side edge bag 1b to each other. And a plurality of vertical line members that connect the uppermost horizontal line member and the inner wall of the lower edge bag 2 to each other. Here, the plurality of horizontal linear members are connected in the vicinity of the central portion of the inner wall portion in the thickness T direction of the side edge bags 1 a and 1 b, and the plurality of vertical linear members are the center of the inner wall portion in the thickness T direction of the lower edge bag 2. It is connected near the part.

As a result, the protection target person C blown toward the windshield W can be received by the linear member 31. At this time, the linear member 31 bends in the space between the linear member 31 and the windshield W to absorb the collision energy of the person C to be protected, and the protective person C directly collides with the windshield W. Can be prevented. It should be noted that the person C to be protected who is blown toward the side of the automobile M can be received on the upper half side of the inner wall portions of the side edge bags 1a and 1b, and the object to be protected which has been blown toward the upper side of the automobile M. The person C can be received by the connecting member 3.
Moreover, since the side bag 1a and 1b are mutually connected by the linear member 31, the attitude | position of the airbag for vehicles outside can be stabilized more at the time of deployment and after deployment. Furthermore, the visibility of the driver can also be ensured by arranging the linear members 31 in a mesh shape.
In addition, the linear member 31 can be comprised from a tether, the base fabric of the airbag for vehicles outside, a thin airbag, etc., for example.

Embodiment 4
In the first to third embodiments, the side edge bags 1a and 1b and the lower edge bag 2 are formed so as to have a continuous annular cross section. However, it is sufficient that the person to be protected C can be received. It is not something that can be done.

  For example, as shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B, a pair of side edge bags 41a and 41b can be arranged instead of the pair of side edge bags 1a and 1b of the first embodiment. The side edge bags 41a and 41b are formed so that the front end portion 42 in the direction protruding forward from the windshield W bends inward. Thus, when the protection target person C flying toward the front pillar P is received by the side edge bags 41a and 41b, the protection target person C from the inside to the outside is reliably supported, and the protection target person C is in the side edge bag. It is possible to suppress jumping to the outside over 41a and 41b.

  According to the present embodiment, by forming the front end portions 42 of the side edge bags 41a and 41b so as to be bent inwardly, the protection target person C going outward is surely supported, and the protection target person C is supported. It can be fastened inside the outside air bag.

Embodiment 5
In the first to fourth embodiments, the pair of side edge bags and the lower edge bag are formed with a constant thickness T, but the thickness T can be changed according to the arrangement location.

For example, as shown in FIG. 9, a pair of side edge bags 51 and a lower edge bag 52 can be arranged in place of the pair of side edge bags 1 a and 1 b and the lower edge bag 2 of the first embodiment. The pair of side edge bags 51 are formed such that a thickness T projecting forward from the windshield W gradually increases from the lower end portion toward the upper end portion. Further, the thickness T of the lower edge bag 52 is formed in the same size as the thickness T of the lower end portion of the side edge bag 51. That is, the air bag for vehicle exterior is formed such that the thickness T projecting forward from the windshield W gradually increases from the lower edge side to the upper edge side of the windshield W.
Note that one end of the connecting member 3 is connected to the upper end side of one side edge bag 51, and the other end is connected to an intermediate portion of the other side edge bag 51.

  According to the present embodiment, by forming a part of the thickness T small, the deployment speed can be improved and the accommodation space can be made small, and the thickness T on the upper end side of the side edge bag 51 is kept large for protection. The function of receiving the subject C can be maintained. In addition, it is preferable to change the thickness T of the outside airbag according to the direction in which the person to be protected C is blown. For example, when the person to be protected C is likely to be blown toward the lower edge of the windshield W. May be formed such that the thickness T gradually increases from the upper edge side to the lower edge side of the windshield W.

In the first to fifth embodiments, the connecting member 3 has one end connected to the upper end side of one side bag and the other end connected to the middle portion of the other side bag. The other end of 3 should just be connected with the part of the other side edge bag of the up-down direction, and is not restricted to this.
Similarly, in Embodiment 2, the connecting member 21 has one end connected to the upper end side of the other side edge bag and the other end connected to the middle portion of the one side edge bag. The other end may be connected to any part of the one side edge bag in the vertical direction, and is not limited to this.

  1a, 1b, 41a, 41b, 51 Side edge bag, 2,52 Lower edge bag, 3,21 Connecting member, 4 Accommodating part, 5 Inflator, 31 Linear member, 42 Tip part, M automobile, W windshield, P A pair of front pillars, L cowl panel, B roof panel front edge, H front hood, T thickness, S side edge bag, C person to be protected.

Claims (7)

A pair of side edge bags that expand so as to extend upward along the front pillar from the lower end side of the front pillar, in front of each of the front pillars located on both sides in the width direction of the windshield of the automobile,
A vehicle exterior airbag comprising: a connecting member having one end connected to the upper end side of one of the side edge bags and the other end connected to any part of the other side edge bag in the vertical direction.   The airbag according to claim 1, wherein the connecting member has the other end connected to an intermediate portion of the other side edge bag. The connecting member is a first connecting member;
3. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a second connecting member having one end connected to the upper end side of the other side edge bag and the other end connected to any part of the one side bag in the vertical direction. The air bag for vehicles described.   4. The vehicle exterior airbag according to claim 1, wherein the pair of side edge bags are deployed so as to cover from a lower end to an upper end of the pair of front pillars P. 5.   The airbag for vehicles outside as described in any one of Claims 1-4 which further has a linear member extended between a pair of said side edge bags.   The air bag according to claim 5, wherein the linear member is arranged in a mesh shape between the pair of side edge bags. The airbag for vehicles outside as described in any one of Claims 1-6 which further has a lower edge bag expand | deployed along the cowl panel located in the lower edge part side of the said windshield.

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