JP2017159777A - Driver seat air bag device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a driver seat air bag device capable of further effectively suppressing turning of a driver's head in an oblique front collision.SOLUTION: A driver seat air bag 20 includes: in the expanded and developed state, a first bag body 22 having a substantially circular bottom surface part 22a with a diameter covering a steering wheel 24 and projections (an inclined side surface part 22b and a top surface part 22c) diametrically contracting from the bottom surface part 22a, and projecting toward the driver; and in the expanded and developed state, a second bag body 23 having at least a shape covering an area outside the whole circumference of the projections of the first bag body 22. The second bag body 23 can expand and develop independently of the first bag body 22. Thus, since the expansion/development amount of the second bag body 23 in the case of an oblique front collision or a fine lap front collision is smaller than usual, the second bag body 23 provides a softer touch than usual, which secures that the resistance of contact of the head H with the second bag body 23 becomes smaller, and turning of the head can be effectively suppressed.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

  The present invention relates to a driver airbag device, and more particularly to a driver airbag device having a driver airbag that inflates and deploys from a steering wheel toward the driver to protect the driver's head and upper body.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a driver's seat airbag device having an airbag housed in a central portion of a steering wheel is known as a device for protecting a driver from an impact on a front collision. The driver's seat airbag device protects the driver by restraining the driver's head and upper body that move forward by inflating and deploying the airbag rearward at the time of a front collision. The driver's protection by the driver's seat airbag device is premised on the behavior of the driver at the time of a front collision in a state where the seat belt is worn.

  However, in the event of an oblique collision in which the opponent vehicle collides with the front corner of the host vehicle from diagonally forward, the host vehicle is pushed by the opponent vehicle and moves in the traveling direction of the opponent vehicle, while the driver is in the original position. Therefore, the upper body of the driver shows a behavior of moving diagonally forward toward the opponent vehicle in the own vehicle.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a state in which the driver's head is in contact with a conventional driver's seat airbag when the opponent vehicle collides diagonally from the left front to the left diagonal corner of the own vehicle whose right front seat is the driver's seat. It is. The driver wearing the seat belt 101 in the case of an oblique front collision shows a behavior of moving from the left shoulder side to the left front so as to slip through the seat belt 101. As shown in the figure, the head H of the driver D contacts the surface of the inflated and deployed airbag 100 rather than the center portion thereof, and the head H contacts the airbag 100. The face rotates at a high speed in a direction (arrow R direction) in which the face faces the center of the airbag 100 due to friction with the surface. Due to the rotation of the head H, the brain of the driver D may be damaged.

  Patent Document 1 discloses an invention of a driver's seat airbag device that suppresses the rotation of the head. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 10A, Patent Document 1 includes a tether 112 that spans the width direction inside the airbag 110 of the driver's seat airbag device in an inflated and deployed state. A configuration is disclosed.

  According to this driver's seat airbag device, as shown in FIG. 5B, when the head is in an oblique front collision, the head H is in contact with the airbag 110 while moving obliquely forward. Since it is restrained by the airbag 110 so as to be sandwiched from both sides in the vehicle width direction by the tether 112, the difference in restraining force acting on the left and right of the driver's head is suppressed to be small, and the rotation of the driver's head is suppressed. Is done.

JP2015-116912A

  However, according to the driver's seat airbag device disclosed in Patent Document 1, the difference in restraining force acting on the left and right sides of the driver's head in the case of an oblique front collision can be suppressed to a small value, but the restraining force at the center of the airbag is less than the vehicle width. It is inevitable that it becomes larger than the restraining force at the direction end. Therefore, the force to rotate the head in the direction in which the face faces the center of the airbag during an oblique front impact remains, and if the impact from the oblique front impact is large, there is a risk of brain damage due to the rotation of the head. is there.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a driver's seat airbag device that can more effectively suppress the rotation of the driver's head during an oblique front collision. There is to do.

  In order to achieve the above object, a driver seat airbag having a driver seat airbag that inflates and deploys from a steering wheel toward a driver and protects the driver's head and upper body. In the apparatus, the driver's seat airbag has a substantially circular bottom surface having a diameter that covers the steering wheel in the inflated and deployed state, and a protrusion that protrudes toward the driver while reducing the diameter from the substantially circular bottom surface. And a second bag having a shape that covers at least the outer region of the entire circumference of the protruding portion of the first bag in the inflated and deployed state, and the second bag The bag body can be inflated and deployed independently of the first bag body.

  According to this configuration, in the case where the front collision is an oblique collision or a minute lap collision, the second bag body is not inflated and deployed, or the second bag body is inflated and deployed by making the amount of inflation and deployment smaller than usual. The bag body has a softer tactile feel than the first bag body, and the driver's head that moves diagonally forward with such a front impact comes into contact with the vehicle width direction end portion side rather than the center portion of the driver's seat airbag. The contact resistance of the head with respect to the second bag covering the outer region of the entire circumference of the protruding portion of the first bag is reduced, and the rotation of the head can be effectively reduced.

  In addition, since the first bag body has a diameter that covers the steering wheel, the head moves diagonally forward on the soft second bag body that covers the area of the projecting portion of the first bag body where the diameter is reduced. However, there is no possibility that the head will collide with the steering wheel.

  In the case of a front collision where the entire front surface of the vehicle body collides with an obstacle or the like, both the first bag body and the second bag body are greatly inflated and deployed to restrain the driver's head moving forward of the vehicle body. It is possible to do.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the driver's seat airbag device according to the first aspect, the protruding portion of the first bag body has a cylindrical shape that rises obliquely while reducing the diameter from the outer peripheral edge of the bottom surface portion. An inclined side surface portion, and a substantially circular top surface portion having a smaller diameter than the bottom surface portion, closing the upper end of the inclined side surface portion, and the second bag body is an annular three-dimensional shape in the expanded and deployed state. In addition to having a shape, an inner peripheral surface is joined to the inclined side surface portion of the first bag body, and the driver's seat airbag is substantially circular when viewed from the driver side in the inflated and deployed state, and in the vehicle width direction. It is characterized by having a substantially oval or substantially oval shape when viewed from above.

  According to this configuration, in the case where the front collision is an oblique collision or a minute lap collision, the second bag body is not inflated and deployed, or the second bag body is inflated and deployed by making the amount of inflation and deployment smaller than usual. The bag body has a softer tactile feel than the first bag body, and the driver's head that moves diagonally forward with such a front impact comes into contact with the vehicle width direction end portion side rather than the center portion of the driver's seat airbag. The contact resistance of the driver's head with respect to the second bag covering the inclined surface of the first bag is reduced, and the rotation of the head can be effectively reduced.

  Further, in the case of a front collision where the entire front surface of the vehicle body collides with an obstacle or the like, the first bag body and the second bag body are both inflated and deployed largely, so that a substantially circular inflated and deployed shape is seen from the driver side. The driver's seat airbag having the above enables the forward movement of the driver's head to be reliably received and restrained.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the driver's seat airbag device according to the first aspect, the protruding portion of the first bag body is a cylindrical shape that rises obliquely while being reduced in diameter from the outer peripheral edge portion of the bottom surface portion. An inclined side surface portion and a substantially circular top surface portion having a smaller diameter than the bottom surface portion, closing the upper end of the inclined side surface portion, and the second bag body includes the first bag body. The inflated and deployed state is substantially circular when viewed from the driver side, and includes a lower surface portion facing the bottom surface portion along the bottom surface portion and an upper surface portion facing the top surface portion along the top surface portion. And it has the shape of a substantially oval shape or a substantially elliptical shape seeing from the vehicle width direction.

  According to this configuration, in the case where the front collision is an oblique collision or a minute lap collision, the second bag body is not inflated and deployed, or the second bag body is inflated and deployed by making the amount of inflation and deployment smaller than usual. The bag body has a softer tactile feel than the first bag body, and the driver's head that moves diagonally forward with such a front impact comes into contact with the vehicle width direction end portion side rather than the center portion of the driver's seat airbag. The contact resistance of the driver's head with respect to the second bag containing the first bag is reduced, and the rotation of the head can be effectively reduced.

  Further, in the case of a frontal collision in which the entire front surface of the vehicle body collides with an obstacle or the like, both the first bag body and the second bag body are greatly inflated and deployed, so that the driver's head is covered by the upper surface portion of the driver seat airbag. It is possible to reliably receive and restrain the forward movement of the part.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the driver's seat airbag device according to any one of the first to third aspects, a control unit that controls inflation and deployment of a driver's seat airbag corresponding to a frontal collision, and the front surface A front collision sensor that detects or predicts a collision, and a front collision form determination unit that determines whether or not the front collision form detected or predicted by the front collision sensor is an oblique collision or a minute lap collision, and The control by the control unit includes a control for reducing the expansion / deployment amount of the second bag body smaller than usual when the front-projection configuration determination unit determines that the front-projection configuration is an oblique collision or a minute lap collision. It is characterized by.

  According to this configuration, when the front-projection form is an oblique collision or a minute lap collision, the second bag body is softer than the first bag body because the amount of expansion and deployment of the second bag body is smaller than usual. It feels like a touch. Therefore, when the head of the driver who moves obliquely forward with such a front collision comes into contact with the vehicle width direction end portion side rather than the center portion of the driver's seat airbag, the entire circumference of the protruding portion of the first bag body The contact resistance of the head with respect to the second bag covering the outer region is reduced, and the rotation of the head can be effectively reduced.

  In addition, since the first bag body has a diameter that covers the steering wheel, the driver's head moves diagonally forward on the soft second bag body that covers the area where the projecting portion of the first bag body is reduced in diameter. Even so, there is no possibility that the head will collide with the steering wheel.

  In the case of a front collision where the entire front surface of the vehicle body collides with an obstacle or the like, both the first bag body and the second bag body are greatly inflated and deployed to restrain the driver's head moving forward of the vehicle body. It is possible to do.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the driver's seat airbag device according to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the protruding portion of the first bag body has a cylindrical shape that rises obliquely while being reduced in diameter from the outer peripheral edge portion of the bottom surface portion. An inclined side surface portion, and a substantially circular top surface portion having a smaller diameter than the bottom surface portion, closing the upper end of the inclined side surface portion, and the inclined surface portion of the vehicle interior member in front of the vehicle body than the steering wheel. It has an auxiliary airbag arranged so as to be inflated and deployed at a position in a substantially extending direction, and the control by the control unit determines that the front-projection form is an oblique collision or a minute lap collision. And a control for inflating and deploying the auxiliary airbag.

  According to this configuration, when the front-projection form is an oblique collision or a micro-lap collision, even if it slides on the soft second bag body that covers the area where the projecting portion of the first bag body shrinks, it is still obliquely forward It is possible to receive the head of the driver moving to the position by the auxiliary airbag inflated and deployed under the control of the control unit.

  According to the present invention, when the front collision is an oblique collision or a minute lap collision, the second bag body is not inflated and deployed, or the second bag body is inflated and deployed by making the amount of inflation and deployment smaller than usual. The bag body has a softer feeling than the first bag body, and the contact resistance of the head with respect to the second bag body covering the outer region of the entire circumference of the protruding portion of the first bag body is reduced, so that the rotation of the head Can be effectively reduced. This eliminates the possibility that the driver's brain will be damaged.

  In addition, since the first bag body has a diameter that covers the steering wheel, the head moves diagonally forward on the soft second bag body that covers the area of the projecting portion of the first bag body where the diameter is reduced. However, there is no possibility that the head will collide with the steering wheel, and safety is ensured. In the case of a front collision where the entire front surface of the vehicle body collides with an obstacle or the like, both the first bag body and the second bag body are greatly inflated and deployed to restrain the driver's head moving forward of the vehicle body. It is possible to do.

It is a mimetic diagram showing composition of driver's seat airbag device 10 concerning an embodiment of the invention. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view schematically showing a driver's seat airbag 20 accommodated in an airbag module 21 of a steering wheel 24. FIG. (A) The longitudinal cross-sectional view of the inflation deployment state of the driver's seat airbag 20, and (B) the top view. It is a figure which shows the front collision form determination map which the front collision form determination means 42 has. It is a flowchart which shows control of the driver's seat airbag apparatus 10 corresponding to front collision. It is a schematic diagram showing the positional relationship between the head H of the driver D and the inflated and deployed driver's seat airbag 20 and the auxiliary airbag 30. (A) Immediately after inflation and deployment, (B) A state in which the head H is in contact, and (C) a state in which the head H is in contact with the auxiliary airbag 30 are shown. FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a modified example of the driver's seat airbag in its expanded and deployed state. FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a modified example of the configuration of the inflator of the driver airbag device 10. It is a figure which shows the state which the driver | operator's head H contacted the conventional driver's seat airbag 100 in the case of the diagonal collision. It is a schematic diagram which shows the mode of restraint of the driver | operator's head H using the driver's seat airbag 110 which stretched the tether 112 in the width direction, respectively, (A) Immediately after expansion | deployment, and (B), respectively. A state in which the head H is in contact with the driver's seat airbag 110 is shown.

  Next, the driver airbag device according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6 by taking as an example a vehicle in which the right front seat is the driver seat. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of a driver's seat airbag device 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a longitudinal section schematically showing a driver's seat airbag 20 accommodated in an airbag module 21 of a steering wheel 24. FIG. 3A is a longitudinal sectional view of the inflated and deployed state of the driver's seat airbag 20 and FIG. 4B is a plan view thereof, and FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a front-projection form determination map that the front-projection form determination means 42 has. 5 is a flowchart showing the control of the driver's seat airbag device 10 corresponding to a frontal collision, and FIG. 6 shows the positional relationship between the head H of the driver D, the driver's seat airbag 20 inflated and deployed, and the auxiliary airbag 30. It is a schematic diagram. 6A shows a state immediately after inflation and deployment, FIG. 6B shows a state where the head H is in contact with the driver's seat airbag, and FIG. 6C shows a state where the head H is in contact with the auxiliary airbag. In FIGS. 1 and 6, arrows Fr, Re, Rt, and Lf indicate the front of the vehicle body, the rear of the vehicle body, the right direction of the vehicle body, and the left direction of the vehicle body, respectively.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the driver's seat airbag device 10 expands and deploys the driver's seat airbag 20 and the auxiliary airbag 30 that are inflated and deployed in response to the collision, and the driver seat airbag 20 and the auxiliary airbag 30. It has the control part 40 to control, and the front collision sensor 50.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the driver's seat airbag 20 includes a first bag body 22 and a second bag body 23 housed in an airbag module 21.

  The airbag module 21 is disposed at a substantially central portion of the steering wheel 24, and is fixed to the inflator 25 for inflating and deploying the first bag body 22 and the second bag body 23 by an elastic ring 26 on the outer peripheral surface of the inflator 25. And the module cover 28 that forms a housing space for the first bag body 22 and the second bag body 23 together with the retainer 27.

  In the present embodiment, the inflator 25 has a lower gas discharge hole 25a and an upper gas discharge hole 25b, and gas generation from the lower gas discharge hole 25a and the upper gas discharge hole 25b is independently performed. A controllable two-stage inflator.

  As shown in FIG. 2, one end of the second bag body 23 is fixed to the outer peripheral surface of the inflator 25 by an elastic ring 26 together with the retainer 27. Further, a boundary portion between the row of the lower discharge holes 25a and the row of the upper gas discharge holes 25b of the inflator 25 is a stepped portion 25c, and the other end of the second bag body 23 and the first bag are formed in the stepped portion 25c. The ends of the body 22 are stacked and fixed by an elastic ring 29.

  Accordingly, the first bag body 22 is inflated and expanded by the gas discharged from the upper side gas discharge hole 25b of the inflator 25, and the second bag body 23 is expanded and expanded by the gas discharged from the lower side gas discharge hole 25a. Is configured to be able to expand and deploy independently. A part of the second bag body 23 is sewn and joined to the first bag body 22.

  The driver's seat airbag 20 having the above configuration is inflated and deployed from the airbag module 21 to the rear of the vehicle body, that is, in the direction of the driver D by the gas generated by the operation of the inflator 25, and Protect your body.

  In a state where both the first bag body 22 and the second bag body 23 are inflated and deployed, the first bag body 22 includes a substantially circular bottom surface portion 22a having a diameter covering the steering wheel 24, and a bottom surface, as shown in FIG. A cylindrical inclined side surface portion 22b that rises obliquely while reducing the diameter from the outer peripheral edge portion 22aa of the portion 22a, and a substantially circular top surface portion 22c that closes the upper end 22ba of the inclined side surface portion 22b and has a smaller diameter than the bottom surface portion 22a; ,have. That is, the 1st bag body 22 has the substantially truncated cone shape which consists of the bottom face part 22a, the inclination side part 22b, and the top | upper surface part 22c in the expansion | deployment deployment state. In addition, the inclined side surface portion 22b and the top surface portion 22c can be said to be protruding portions that protrude in the driver D direction while reducing the diameter from the bottom surface portion 22c.

  Further, in a state where both the first bag body 22 and the second bag body 23 are inflated and deployed, the second bag body 23 has an annular three-dimensional shape as shown in FIG. One bag body 22 is stitched and joined to the inclined side surface portion 22b.

  Accordingly, the driver's seat airbag 20 has the first bag body 22 and the second bag body 23 as viewed from the driver D side in a state where both the first bag body 22 and the second bag body 23 are inflated and deployed. A part of the curved outer peripheral surface part 23b is exposed in a substantially circular shape and has a substantially oval or elliptical shape when viewed from the vehicle width direction (the vehicle body left-right direction).

  The auxiliary airbag 30 is housed in the substantially central part of the dashboard 18 which is a vehicle interior member in front of the steering wheel 24 and is generated by the operation of an inflator 31 fixed inside the dashboard 18. The gas expands and expands from the same position to the rear of the vehicle body.

  The auxiliary airbag 30 has a quadrangular prism-like inflated and deployed shape, and as shown in FIG. 6A, a straight line S (indicated by a broken line in the figure) along the inclined side surface portion 22b of the first bag body 22 in an inflated and deployed state. Is accommodated inside the dashboard 18 so as to intersect with the top surface portion 30a of the auxiliary airbag 30 in the inflated and deployed state. The straight line S is a straight line passing through the apex of the cone including the truncated cone formed by the first bag body 22.

  In other words, the auxiliary airbag 30 is disposed so as to be inflated and deployed at a substantially extending direction position of the inclined side surface portion 22b of the first bag body 22 in the dashboard 18 which is a vehicle interior member in front of the vehicle body relative to the steering wheel 24. .

  The front collision sensor 50 is a sensor that detects an actual front collision. In the present embodiment, an acceleration sensor that detects an impact generated in the vehicle body at the time of a collision is used. The acceleration sensor includes a forward acceleration sensor that detects an impact from the front of the vehicle body and a left acceleration sensor that detects an impact from the left direction of the vehicle body. The acceleration sensor has a predetermined acceleration detected by the forward acceleration sensor. A signal is output to the control unit 40 when the threshold value is exceeded.

  The control unit 40 includes a front-projection form determination unit 42, and sends a signal to the inflator 25 and the inflator 31 based on the determination result of the front-projection form determination unit 42 to inflate and deploy the driver seat airbag 20 and the auxiliary airbag 30. To control.

  The control unit 40 is a computer including a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a RAM (Random Access Memory), a ROM (Read Only Memory), and the like. The control unit 40 expands the program stored in the ROM on the RAM and causes the CPU to execute a corresponding process. The program is not limited to being stored in the ROM, but may be stored in a non-volatile random access memory (NVRAM).

The front collision form determination means 42 is a program for determining the front collision form based on information detected by the front collision sensor 50. Specifically, the front collision form determination means 42 has a front collision form determination map shown in FIG. As shown, either the front crash mode judging map is the acceleration from the front to the rear is equal to or a predetermined value F ₁ or more, and left acceleration in the right direction is a predetermined value L ₁ or more from not Based on the above, the area is divided into four areas R1 to R4, and thereby the front collision pattern is determined.

R1 is a case where the acceleration from the front to the rear is F ₁ or more and the acceleration from the left to the right is less than L _1. Is a front collision that collides with an obstacle or the like, or about 30 to 60% of the front of the vehicle body is an offset collision that collides with an obstacle or the like.

R2 is when the acceleration of the left and at acceleration from the front F ₁ or more to the right direction is L ₁ or more, in this case, the front crash mode judging unit 42 oblique impact or short overlap collision collision form before It is determined that

Incidentally, although may also include the case where collision occurs before the R3 and R4, a smaller acceleration and less than F ₁ from front to back, thought it is not necessary to inflate and deploy the driver seat air bag 20 Therefore, the determination of the front bump form is not performed in the regions R3 and R4. As described later, before because the signal from the collision sensor 50 is transmitted to the control unit 40 is a case from the front acceleration values rearward of F ₁ or more, before the region of R3 and R4 There is no problem even if the determination of the projecting form is not performed.

  Next, the control corresponding to the frontal collision of the driver's seat airbag apparatus 10 having the above configuration will be described with reference to FIG.

  First, in step S101, a front collision is detected by the front collision sensor 50, and the process proceeds to step S102.

In step S102, among the pre-acceleration collision sensor 50 detects, when the acceleration from front to back is _{F 1} or more (YES judgment), the process proceeds to step S103. If acceleration from front to back is less than _{F 1} (NO determination), the process returns to step S101.

  In step S103, the front collision form determination unit 42, which is a program developed on the RAM in the control unit 40, determines the front collision form based on the above-described front collision form determination map, and the process proceeds to step S104.

  In step S104, as a result of the determination of the front collision form, when the front collision form is an oblique collision or a minute lap collision (YES determination), the process proceeds to step S105. When the front collision form does not correspond to either an oblique collision or a minute lap collision, that is, the front collision is the front collision where the entire front surface of the vehicle body collides with an obstacle or the like, or about 30 to 60% of the front surface of the vehicle body is an obstacle, etc. If it is an offset collision that collides with (NO determination), the process proceeds to step S106.

  In step S105, only the first stage of the inflator 25 is operated to inflate and deploy only the first bag body 22 of the driver seat airbag 20, and at the same time, the inflator 31 is operated to inflate and deploy the auxiliary airbag 30 to The control of the bag device 10 is finished.

  In step S106, the inflator 25 is operated in both stages to inflate and deploy both the first bag body 22 and the second bag body 23 of the driver's seat airbag 20, and the inflator 31 is not operated (the auxiliary airbag 30 is inflated). The control of the driver's seat airbag device 10 is terminated.

  According to the driver's seat airbag device 10 according to the present embodiment, when the front collision form is an oblique collision or a minute lap collision, as shown in FIG. Only one bag body is inflated and deployed (the second bag body 23 is not inflated and deployed), and at the same time, the auxiliary airbag 30 is inflated and deployed. Accordingly, the second bag body 23 that has not been inflated and deployed has a softer tactile feel than the first bag body 22, and as shown in FIG. 6B, from the left shoulder side so as to slip through the seat belt 16 with a front collision. When the head H of the driver D moving to the left front contacts the second bag body 23 on the vehicle width direction end side rather than the center side of the driver's seat airbag 20, the driver D with respect to the second bag body 23 The contact resistance of the head H is reduced. Therefore, the rotation of the head H can be effectively reduced. In addition, the head H can further effectively reduce the rotation of the head H by moving to the left front while stretching the heel on the surface of the second bag body 23 at the time of contact.

  Further, since the bottom surface portion 22a of the inflated and deployed first bag body 22 has a diameter that covers the steering wheel 24, the head H of the driver D slides left and front on the surface of the second bag body 23 that has not been inflated and deployed. Even if it moves, there is no possibility that the head H collides with the steering wheel 24.

  Further, since the auxiliary airbag 30 is inflated and deployed, as shown in FIG. 6 (C), the head of the driver D who still moves to the left front even if the surface of the second bag body 23 slides to the left front. The portion H can be received by the auxiliary airbag 30.

  In addition, when the front-projection form does not correspond to either an oblique collision or a micro-lap collision, that is, the front collision is a front collision in which the entire front surface of the vehicle body collides with an obstacle or the like, or about 30 to 60% of the front surface of the vehicle body is obstructed. In the case of an offset collision that collides with an object or the like, both the first bag body 22 and the second bag body 23 are inflated and deployed, so that the head H of the driver D that moves forward of the vehicle body can be reliably restrained. It is possible.

  In the above embodiment, the driver's seat airbag 20 is joined to the inner peripheral surface 23a of the second bag body 23 by being sewn to the inclined side surface portion 22b of the first bag body 22. It is not limited to form.

  Hereinafter, a modified example of the driver's seat airbag according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 7, the same elements as those in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 6 described above are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted. FIG. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a modified example of the driver's seat airbag in its inflated and deployed state.

  As shown in the figure, in the driver's seat airbag 60 according to this modification, the second bag body 62 contains the first bag body 22, and both the first bag body 22 and the second bag body 62 are inflated and deployed. In the state, a bottom surface portion 62a facing the bottom surface portion 22a along the bottom surface portion 22a and a top surface portion 62b facing the top surface portion 22c along the top surface portion 22c are provided. The bottom surface portion 22 a of the first bag body 22 is sewn and joined to the lower surface portion 62 a of the second bag body 62, and the top surface portion 22 c of the first bag body 22 is sewn to the upper surface portion 62 b of the second bag body 62. Are joined.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the bottom surface portion 22a of the first bag body 22 and the lower surface portion 62a of the second bag body 62 are joined together from the lower discharge hole 25a of the inflator 25 in the second bag body 23. It is made locally so that the communicating hole to the outward area | region of the inclined side part 22b of 1 bag body 22 exists.

  Thus, in a state where both the first bag body 22 and the second bag body 23 are inflated and deployed, the driver's seat airbag 60 is substantially circular when viewed from the driver side and is substantially oval or substantially when viewed from the vehicle width direction. It has an oval shape.

  The driver seat airbag device 10 having such a driver seat airbag 60 can also provide the same operational effects as those of the above-described embodiment.

  Further, in the above embodiment, as the inflator for inflating and deploying the driver's seat airbag 20, the two-stage inflator capable of independently controlling the gas generation from the lower gas discharge hole 25a and the upper gas discharge hole 25b. Although employed, the present invention is not limited to this, and other modes are possible.

  Hereinafter, a modified example of the configuration of the inflator of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 8, elements similar to those in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 6 described above are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted. FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a modification of the configuration of the inflator of the driver airbag.

  As shown in the figure, in this modification, inflators 70 and 72 are connected to the first bag body 22 and the second bag body 23, respectively, and further, the second bag body 23 is connected to the second bag. A small small inflator 74 that generates gas is connected to the body 23 so that the amount of expansion and expansion of the body 23 is half the normal amount.

  In step S105 in the control of the above embodiment, when the front collision form is an oblique collision or a minute lap collision, the inflator 70 and the small inflator 74 are replaced with the control for operating the inflator 25 only by one stage. Control to activate.

  Also according to this modification, when the front-projection form is an oblique collision or a minute lap collision, the driver's seat airbag 20 has the first bag body 22 inflated and deployed, and the second bag body 23 is inflated smaller than usual. Since the second bag body 23 is inflated and deployed with the developed amount, the tactile sensation is softer than that of the first bag body 22. Therefore, when the head H of the driver D contacts the second bag body 23, the contact resistance of the head H with respect to the second bag body 23 is reduced, and the rotation of the head H can be effectively reduced. .

  In addition, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, A various change is possible in the range which does not deviate from the meaning of invention. For example, although the front collision sensor 50 is used in the present embodiment, a collision prediction sensor can be used instead of the front collision sensor 50.

  The collision prediction sensor is a sensor that predicts a collision between the vehicle and the opponent vehicle from the distance and relative speed before the collision, and includes, for example, a pair of left and right cameras that capture the traveling direction (front) of the vehicle. Stereo optical systems can be used. From a pair of left and right images captured by the camera, the image processing means calculates a three-dimensional distance distribution over the entire image by the so-called stereo method, and detects the three-dimensional position of an obstacle such as a counterpart vehicle at high speed from the distance distribution information. To do. Then, a signal is output to the control unit when the distance between the own vehicle and the opponent vehicle (obstacle) is less than a predetermined distance and the time until the predicted collision is less than a predetermined time.

  Furthermore, although the driver's seat airbag device 10 of the present embodiment has the auxiliary airbag 30, it may not have the auxiliary airbag 30. Even if there is no auxiliary airbag 30, the object of the present invention can be achieved.

  Further, in the above embodiment, the auxiliary airbag 30 has a substantially quadrangular prism-like inflated and deployed shape, but is inflated and deployed in a substantially extending direction position of the inclined side surface portion 22b in the vehicle interior member in front of the vehicle body relative to the steering wheel 21. Any shape may be used as long as the head H of the driver D who has completely slipped the inclined side surface portion 22b can be restrained.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Driver's seat airbag apparatus 20, 60 Driver's seat airbag 22 1st bag body 22a Bottom part 22b Inclined side part (protrusion part)
22c Top part (protruding part)
23, 62 2nd bag body 23a Inner peripheral surface 24 Steering wheel 30 Auxiliary airbag 40 Control part 42 Front-projection form determination means 50 Front-projection sensor 62a Lower surface part 62b Upper surface part

Claims (5)

In a driver airbag apparatus having a driver airbag that inflates and deploys from the steering wheel toward the driver and protects the driver's head and upper body,
The driver airbag is
In the inflated and deployed state, a first bag body having a substantially circular bottom surface portion having a diameter covering the steering wheel, and a protruding portion projecting toward the driver while reducing the diameter from the substantially circular bottom surface portion;
In the inflated and deployed state, the second bag body has a shape that covers at least the outer region of the entire circumference of the protruding portion of the first bag body,
A driver's seat airbag device characterized in that the second bag body can be inflated and deployed independently of the first bag body. The protruding portion of the first bag body has a cylindrical inclined side surface portion that rises obliquely while reducing the diameter from the outer peripheral edge portion of the bottom surface portion, and has a smaller diameter than the bottom surface portion, closing the upper end of the inclined side surface portion. A substantially circular top surface portion, and
The second bag body has an annular three-dimensional shape in the inflated and deployed state, and an inner peripheral surface is joined to the inclined side surface portion of the first bag body,
2. The driver seat airbag according to claim 1, wherein in the inflated and deployed state, the driver seat airbag has a substantially circular shape when viewed from the driver side and a substantially oval or substantially elliptical shape when viewed from the vehicle width direction. Driver's airbag device. The protruding portion of the first bag body has a cylindrical inclined side surface portion that rises obliquely while reducing the diameter from the outer peripheral edge portion of the bottom surface portion, and has a smaller diameter than the bottom surface portion, closing the upper end of the inclined side surface portion. A substantially circular top surface portion, and
The second bag body includes the first bag body, and in the expanded and deployed state, the second bag body faces the bottom surface portion along the bottom surface portion, and faces the top surface portion along the top surface portion. 2. The driver's seat airbag device according to claim 1, wherein the driver's seat airbag device has a substantially circular shape when viewed from the driver side and a substantially oval or substantially elliptical shape when viewed from the vehicle width direction. . A control unit that controls the inflation and deployment of the driver airbag corresponding to the frontal collision;
A front collision sensor for detecting or predicting the front collision;
Front collision form determination means for determining whether the front collision form detected or predicted by the front collision sensor is an oblique collision or a minute lap collision, and
The control by the control unit includes a control for reducing the expansion / deployment amount of the second bag body smaller than usual when the front-projection configuration determination unit determines that the front-projection configuration is an oblique collision or a minute lap collision. The driver's seat airbag device according to any one of claims 1 to 3. The protruding portion of the first bag body has a cylindrical inclined side surface portion that rises obliquely while reducing the diameter from the outer peripheral edge portion of the bottom surface portion, and has a smaller diameter than the bottom surface portion, closing the upper end of the inclined side surface portion. A substantially circular top surface portion, and
An auxiliary airbag disposed so as to be inflated and deployed at a substantially extending direction position of the inclined side surface portion of the vehicle body interior member in front of the vehicle body relative to the steering wheel;
The control by the control unit includes control for inflating and deploying the auxiliary airbag when the front-projection form determination unit determines that the front-projection form is an oblique collision or a minute lap collision. 4. The driver airbag apparatus according to 4.

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