JP2017206070A - Side airbag device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a side airbag device which can perform occupant restraint at an early time and can suppress a reaction force received from an airbag cushion.SOLUTION: A side airbag device 100 comprises: a patch 126 which covers a vent hole 124 provided in a cushion 110 from an outer side of the cushion and is combined to the cushion in the front of a vehicle with respect to the vent hole; an opening which is opened in the patch and is overlapped on the vent hole; a tether 130 which extends from the patch to a specified point on a side part of a seat and pulls the patch to the rear of the vehicle when the cushion is inflated and expanded; and a tether cutter 134 which is located on the side part of the seat and can cut the tether under prescribed conditions. In the operation state of the tether cutter, the patch is positioned in the front of the vehicle thereby enabling overlapping of the opening and the vent hole, and in non-operation state, the patch is pulled to the rear of an airbag cushion by the tether and wrinkles occur at a place where the vent hole exists, whereby the vent hole is closed.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to a side airbag device including an inflator that supplies gas and an airbag cushion that is installed on a side portion of a vehicle seat and that can be inflated with gas from the side portion to the front of the vehicle.

  In recent years, airbag devices are almost standard equipment. The airbag device is a safety device that operates in an emergency such as a vehicle collision, and inflates and deploys an airbag cushion with gas pressure to receive and protect an occupant. There are various types of airbag devices depending on the installation location and application. For example, a front airbag device is provided at the center of the steering wheel in order to protect the driver from collisions in the front-rear direction. In addition, a curtain airbag device is provided near the ceiling above the side window, and a side airbag device is provided on the side of the seat to protect passengers from impacts from the vehicle width direction due to side collisions, etc. It has been.

  When the airbag cushion of the airbag device is inflated and deployed to restrain the occupant, the occupant collides with the airbag cushion and receives the reaction force. The reaction force that the occupant receives from the airbag cushion increases, for example, in proportion to the collision speed at the time of the vehicle collision. If the reaction force received from the airbag cushion is too high, it is predicted that the injury value of the occupant will increase. Therefore, measures to suppress this reaction force are required.

  Patent Document 1 describes a side airbag device that includes a vent hole that discharges gas supplied from an inflator to the outside, and vent hole changing means that makes the opening area of the vent hole variable.

  In Patent Document 1, the opening area of the vent hole is increased at the initial stage of inflating and deploying to reduce the inflating and deploying force of the airbag cushion, and the opening area is reduced at the later stage of inflating and deploying or the occupant protection ability after the inflating and deploying To improve.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-114065

  However, in the technique described in Patent Document 1, since the inflating and deploying force of the airbag cushion is reduced at the initial stage of inflating and deploying, the airbag cushion cannot be rapidly deployed, and it becomes difficult to restrain the occupant at an early stage. Moreover, since the opening area of the vent hole is made small or closed in the latter stage of inflation and deployment, the reaction force that the occupant receives from the airbag cushion cannot be suppressed.

  In view of such problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a side airbag device capable of restraining an occupant at an early stage and further suppressing a reaction force received by the occupant from the airbag cushion.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, a typical configuration of a side airbag device according to the present invention includes an inflator for supplying a gas and a side portion of a vehicle seat that can be inflated by gas from the side portion to the front of the vehicle. An airbag cushion, a vent hole that is provided at a predetermined position of the airbag cushion, and covers the vent hole from the outside of the airbag cushion, and is coupled to the airbag cushion in front of the vent hole in the vehicle. A patch that is open on the patch and can be overlapped with the vent hole, and has a string shape that extends from the patch to a predetermined location on the side of the seat. An extending portion that can be pulled; and a cutting device that is installed on a side portion of the seat and that can cut the extending portion under a predetermined condition. When the cutting device is in the operating state, the patch can be positioned in front of the vehicle and the opening and the vent hole can be overlapped. When the cutting device is not in operation, the patch is pulled behind the airbag cushion by the extending portion, The bag hole is configured such that the vent hole is closed by a wrinkle approaching the region where the vent hole exists in the bag cushion.

  According to the said structure, the patch is couple | bonded with the airbag cushion ahead of the vehicle rather than the vent hole. Therefore, the patch is pulled rearward of the vehicle by the extending portion when the airbag cushion is inflated and deployed when the extending portion is not cut in a state where the cutting device is inoperative. Then, the extending portion causes the region (part) where the vent hole located behind the vehicle to be located in the airbag cushion to the position where the patch is coupled to be bent so as to form a folded bag. As a result, the vent hole is closed and closed in the cage. At this time, since the patch pulled by the extending portion contracts the airbag cushion in the vehicle front-rear direction, the dimension of the airbag cushion in the vehicle front-rear direction is shortened, while the thickness, which is the dimension in the vehicle width direction, is increased. Thereby, since an airbag cushion approaches a passenger | crew, passenger | crew restraint can be performed earlier.

  On the other hand, when the cutting device is activated and the extended part is cut under a predetermined condition, the patch moves forward of the vehicle due to the inflating and deploying force of the airbag cushion, and the airbag cushion disappears and is closed in the cage. Opened vent hole. And since the opening of a patch overlaps with a vent hole, the gas in an airbag cushion can be discharged | emitted outside, and the reaction force received when a passenger | crew collides with an airbag cushion can be suppressed.

  The side airbag device may further include a guide cloth that is coupled to the airbag cushion so as to straddle the patch in the vertical direction behind the vent hole and guides the movement of the patch in the vehicle longitudinal direction. As a result, the patch is guided by the guide cloth and passes therethrough, and is pulled by the extending portion before the extending portion is cut and moved rearward of the vehicle, and after the extending portion is cut, is moved forward by the inflating and deploying force. That is, since the patch is guided by the guide cloth and moves in the vehicle front-rear direction, the position in the vehicle vertical direction is stabilized. Therefore, after cutting the extending portion, the opening of the patch can surely overlap with the vent hole of the airbag cushion.

  The predetermined condition may be a case where the collision speed of the vehicle is equal to or higher than a predetermined value. It is predicted that the higher the collision speed of the vehicle, the greater the reaction force that the occupant receives from the airbag cushion, and the injury value of the occupant increases (deteriorates). Therefore, as described above, when the collision speed is equal to or higher than the predetermined value, the cutting device is operated to discharge the gas to the outside of the airbag cushion. If it does in this way, the reaction force which a crew member receives from an air bag cushion can be controlled, and a crew member's injury value can be controlled.

  The extending portion may be a tether separate from the patch. Thus, since a string-like tether is used as the extending portion, it is easy to handle, and it is easy to cut with a cutting device.

  The extending portion may be a portion narrower than a patch continuous from the patch. Thus, since the site | part which narrowed the width | variety of the cover cloth was made into the extending | stretching part, an extending | stretching part can be formed, without preparing a separate cloth.

  Said patch is good to be couple | bonded with the airbag cushion over the height position at least up and down of a vent hole. As a result, it is possible to more surely close the vent hole by constricting the range where the vent hole is located in the airbag cushion.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, a passenger | crew restraint can be performed at an early stage, Furthermore, the side airbag apparatus which can suppress the reaction force received from an airbag cushion can be provided.

It is the schematic which illustrates the side airbag apparatus in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which illustrates the state which the side airbag apparatus of FIG. 1 expanded and deployed. It is a figure which illustrates a part of side airbag apparatus of FIG. It is a figure which illustrates the state before the cutting | disconnection of a tether at the time of the expansion | deployment deployment of the side airbag apparatus of FIG. It is a figure which illustrates a part of side airbag apparatus of FIG. It is the schematic diagram which illustrates the state which looked at the side airbag apparatus of FIG. 4 from upper direction.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The dimensions, materials, and other specific numerical values shown in the embodiments are merely examples for facilitating understanding of the invention, and do not limit the present invention unless otherwise specified. In the present specification and drawings, elements having substantially the same function and configuration are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted, and elements not directly related to the present invention are not illustrated. To do.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic view illustrating a side airbag device according to an embodiment of the invention. Side airbag device 100 is built in seat back 106 of seat 104 in vehicle 102. The side airbag device 100 includes an airbag cushion (hereinafter referred to as a cushion 110) shown in FIG. 2 that is provided on the vehicle exterior side of the seat back 106 and inflates and deploys between the seat 104 and the side door 108.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a state in which the side airbag device 100 of FIG. 1 is inflated and deployed. In the figure, a state in which the occupant 112 is seated on the seat 104 in the vehicle 102 is viewed from the side of the vehicle. In the figure, the left side is the front side of the vehicle and the front side is the outside of the vehicle.

  As illustrated in FIG. 2, the side airbag device 100 includes a cushion 110 and an inflator 114 that supplies a gas for inflation and deployment to the cushion 110. The cushion 110 is a part that is inflated and deployed in an emergency and restrains an occupant, and is stored by being wound or folded around a side portion of the seat back 106 in the vehicle width direction before the inflation and deployment.

  When the impact of the vehicle is detected, the cushion 110 is inflated and deployed forward from the side of the seat back 106 using the gas supplied from the inflator 114, and the chest of the occupant 112 as shown in FIG. Protect. In the present embodiment, the cushion 110 is provided on the side portion (near side) of the seat back 106 on the door side, but can also be installed on the side portion (far side) on the vehicle interior side.

  The cushion 110 has a generally flat shape, and an outer surface thereof includes a base fabric 116 on the vehicle outer side and a base fabric 118 on the vehicle inner side. The base fabrics 116 and 118 are formed into a bag shape as a whole by sewing or bonding. The cushion 110 can also be formed by weaving using OPW (One-Piece Woven).

  The inflator 114 is attached to the rear side of the vehicle inside the cushion 110. The inflator 114 is a gas generator, and a cylinder type (cylindrical type) is adopted in this embodiment. The inflator 114 is electrically connected to the vehicle side, operates in response to a signal resulting from the detection of an impact from the vehicle side, and supplies gas to the cushion 110. The inflator 114 includes a stud bolt 122 that is fastened to a seat frame 120 (see FIG. 6) of the seat back 106. Since the stud bolt 122 penetrates the cushion 110 and is fastened to the seat back 106, the cushion 110 is also attached to the seat back 106.

  Inflators that are currently in widespread use are filled with a gas generant and burned to generate gas, filled with compressed gas and supplied with gas without generating heat, or There is a hybrid type using both combustion gas and compressed gas. As the inflator 114 of this embodiment, any type can be used.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a part of the side airbag device 100 of FIG. FIG. 3A is an enlarged view of a part of the side airbag device 100. FIG.3 (b) is AA sectional drawing of the side airbag apparatus 100 of Fig.3 (a). A vent hole 124 is provided in the base fabric 116 of the cushion 110. The vent hole 124 is located slightly behind the vehicle front side edge of the base fabric 116 and discharges the gas supplied from the inflator 114 from the inside of the cushion 110.

  A long patch 126 is coupled to the base cloth 116 of the cushion 110 in the vehicle front-rear direction. As shown in FIG. 3, the patch 126 is coupled to the base fabric 116 by a first coupling portion 128 located in front of the vent hole 124 and covers the vent hole 124 from the outside of the base fabric 116. Further, as shown in FIG. 3A, the patch 126 is coupled to the base cloth 116 over at least the upper and lower height positions 129 of the vent hole 124.

  A string-like tether 130 is connected to the patch 126. The tether 130 is an extending portion that extends from the patch 126 to, for example, a second coupling portion 132 that is located on the side portion of the seat back 106 of the seat 104, and is coupled to the second coupling portion 132. However, in FIG. 3, the tether 130 in a state of being cut by the tether cutter 134 as a cutting device is indicated by a solid line, and the position of the tether 130 before cutting is indicated by a virtual line.

  As shown in FIG. 3A, the patch 126 is formed with an opening 136 that can overlap the vent hole 124 when the cushion 110 is inflated and deployed and after the tether 130 is cut. In FIG. 3B, the dimension between the first coupling portion 128 and the second coupling portion 132 when the cushion 110 is inflated and deployed and after the tether 130 is cut is shown as a first dimension La. . In addition, although the base fabric 116 shown in FIG.3 (b) may be curving along the shape of the outer surface of the cushion 110, it has shown typically according to the straight line along the vehicle front-back direction here. .

  A tether cutter 134 shown in FIG. 2 is a small and cylindrical cutter, and is installed together with a cushion 110 or the like at a predetermined position on the side portion of the seat back 106 of the seat 104. As an example, inside the tether cutter 134, a cylinder having a blade (not shown) and a micro gas generator are arranged. The tether cutter 134 is electrically connected to the power source and sensors on the vehicle side, and further to the control unit 138.

  The control unit 138 shown in FIG. 2 applies an operation signal to the tether cutter 134 under a predetermined condition to operate the tether cutter 134. When receiving the operation signal, the tether cutter 134 moves the blade in the cylinder and cuts the tether 130.

  Here, the higher the collision speed at the time of the vehicle collision, the greater the reaction force received from the cushion 110 when the occupant 112 collides with the cushion 110, and the injury value of the occupant is expected to increase. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the above-described predetermined condition is a case where the collision speed obtained from the sensor at the time of the vehicle collision is equal to or higher than a predetermined value. In this case, by operating the tether cutter 134, gas can be discharged to the outside of the cushion 110 through the opening 136 of the overlapping patch 126 and the vent hole 124 of the base fabric 116.

  In this way, the reaction force that the occupant 112 receives from the cushion 110 can be suppressed, and the injury value of the occupant 112 can be suppressed. The reaction force that the occupant 112 receives from the cushion 110 changes not only due to the collision speed but also due to other factors such as the physique and weight of the occupant, so that the conditions for operating the tether cutter 134 are appropriately set in consideration of these factors. You can do it.

  Further, a guide cloth 140 is coupled to the base cloth 116 of the cushion 110. As shown in FIG. 3A, the guide cloth 140 is coupled to the base cloth 116 so as to straddle the patch 126 in the vertical direction behind the vent hole 124 and behind the vehicle. That is, the vent hole 124 is located at a portion 142 between the first coupling portion 128 and the guide cloth 140 in the base cloth 116. That is, the portion 142 of the base fabric 116 is a region where the vent hole 124 of the cushion 110 exists.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a state before the tether 130 is cut when the side airbag device 100 of FIG. 2 is inflated and deployed. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a part of the side airbag device 100 of FIG. 4. FIG. 5A is an enlarged view of a part of the side airbag device 100. FIG.5 (b) is BB sectional drawing of the side airbag apparatus 100 of Fig.5 (a).

  In the side airbag device 100 shown in FIG. 4, the tether 130 is not cut when the cushion 110 is inflated and deployed, and the tether 130 pulls the patch 126 toward the rear of the vehicle, thereby forming a collar 144 on the base fabric 116. .

  As shown in FIG. 5A, the flange 144 is formed by being folded several times at the portion 142 of the base fabric 116 between the first coupling portion 128 and the guide fabric 140. In the portion 142 of the base fabric 116, the vent hole 124 is located as shown in FIG. For this reason, the vent hole 124 is closed and closed in the flange 144 of the part 142 which is the region as shown in FIG.

  When the patch 126 is pulled backward by the tether 130, the patch 126 moves backward while being guided by the guide cloth 140. That is, the patch 126 passes through the guide cloth 140 and moves to the rear of the vehicle in a state where the position in the vehicle vertical direction is stable, and a portion 142 that is a region where the vent hole 124 at the rear of the vehicle exists from the first coupling portion 128. , So as to form a ridge 144.

  As described above, when the patch 126 is pulled rearward of the cushion 110 by the tether 130 in a state where the tether cutter 134 is not operated, the side airbag device 100 is vented by the flange 144 approaching the portion 142 of the cushion 110. The hole 124 is configured to be closed.

  The behavior of forming such ridges 114 is the second dimension Ld obtained by adding the longitudinal dimension Lb of the tether 130 and the longitudinal dimension Lc of the patch 126 before cutting the tether 130 shown in FIG. Can be made shorter than the first dimension La after the cutting of the tether 130 shown in FIG.

  Further, since the patch 126 moves toward the rear of the vehicle while passing through the guide cloth 140, the opening 136 of the patch 126 is covered with the guide cloth 140. Thus, before the tether 130 is cut, the vent hole 124 located at the portion 142 of the base cloth 116 is closed and the patch opening 136 is also covered with the guide cloth 140, so that the gas from the cushion 110 is prevented from being discharged.

  FIG. 6 is a schematic view illustrating the side airbag device 100 of FIG. 4 as viewed from above. A cushion 110A indicated by a chain line in the drawing is shown as a comparative example in which the tether 130 is not present and the base fabric 116 is not folded.

  As shown in the figure, the tether 130 passes through the outside of the base cloth 116 of the cushion 110, passes through a position where it can be cut by the tether cutter 134, and extends to the second coupling portion 132 in the seat back 106. The second coupling portion 132 is a location where the tether 130 is fastened together with the inflator 114 to the seat frame 120 in the seat back 106.

  As described above, the cushion 110 contracts the base fabric 116 in the vehicle front-rear direction so that the patch 126 pulled by the tether 130 forms a ridge 144 at the portion 142 of the base fabric 116. For this reason, the dimension 110 in the vehicle longitudinal direction of the cushion 110 is shorter than the dimension Lf of the cushion 110A of the comparative example, while the dimension Lg in the vehicle width direction is longer than the dimension Lh of the cushion 110A. Thickness increases.

  Therefore, according to the side airbag device 100, since the cushion 110 approaches the occupant 112 before the tether 130 is cut, the occupant can be restrained earlier. Further, since gas is not discharged from the cushion 110 before the tether 130 is cut, the pressure of the cushion 110 is kept high, and the occupant can be sufficiently restrained.

  On the other hand, in the side airbag device 100, when the collision speed is equal to or higher than a predetermined value, the tether cutter 134 is operated by the control unit 138 and the tether 130 is cut. When the tether 130 is cut, the patch 126 moves forward of the vehicle by the expansion and deployment force of the cushion 110.

  When the patch 126 moves forward of the vehicle, the collar 144 formed in the portion 142 of the base fabric 116 of the cushion 110 disappears, and as a result, the vent hole 124 closed in the collar 144 is opened (see FIG. 3). . Further, since the patch 126 passes through the guide cloth 140 when moving forward, the opening 136 of the patch 126 covered with the guide cloth 140 also appears. Then, the opening 136 of the patch 126 overlaps the vent hole 124, whereby the gas in the cushion 110 can be discharged to the outside.

  That is, the tether cutter 134 is activated under a predetermined condition to cut the tether 130, position the patch 126 in front of the vehicle, and overlap the opening 136 and the vent hole 124. The predetermined condition for operating the tether cutter 134 (cutting the tether 130) is a case where it is desired to soften the cushion 110 at the time of deployment. For example, an occupant equivalent to a small general adult woman is on board. In such a case (condition), the operation may be performed uniformly. As another example, when an occupant corresponding to a large general adult male is on board, when the collision speed from the side is relatively large, it is activated and softened, and the collision speed from the side is small. Sometimes, it may be used in a relatively hard state without being actuated.

  Therefore, according to the side airbag device 100, since the internal pressure of the cushion 110 is suppressed after the tether 130 shown in FIG. 2 is cut, the reaction force received when the occupant 112 collides with the cushion 110 can be suppressed.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the patch 126 is guided by the guide cloth 140 and passes therethrough, and is pulled by the tether 130 and moves rearward of the vehicle before the tether 130 is cut. As shown in FIG. 3, the patch 126 moves forward of the vehicle by the inflating and deploying force after the tether 130 is cut. That is, since the patch 126 is guided by the guide cloth 140 and moves in the vehicle front-rear direction, the position in the vehicle vertical direction is stabilized. Therefore, after the patch 126 is cut, the opening 136 of the patch 126 can surely overlap the vent hole 124.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 5A, the patch 126 is coupled to the cushion 110 over at least the upper and lower height positions 129 of the vent hole 124. For this reason, the patch 126 more reliably enables the portion of the cushion 110 where the vent hole 124 is located to be constricted to block the vent hole 124.

  As shown in FIG. 2, in this embodiment, since the tether 130 separate from the patch 126 is used as the extending portion, it can be easily handled and easily cut by the tether cutter 134. However, the extension portion is not limited to the tether 130 as long as the length can be adjusted to be short so that the cushion 110 is folded and the vent hole 124 is closed by pulling the patch 126 toward the rear of the vehicle when the cushion 110 is inflated and deployed. . As an example, the extending portion may be a portion narrower than the patch 126 continuous from the patch 126. In this way, the stretched portion can be formed without preparing a separate cloth.

  As shown in FIG. 6, in the above-described embodiment, the tether 130 is fastened together with the inflator 114 to the seat frame 120 in the seat back 106 by the second coupling portion 132. However, the present invention is not limited to this. As an example, the tether 130 may be fixed to the seat frame 120 alone at the second coupling portion 132, or may be sewn to the base fabric 116. In either case, when the cushion 110 is inflated and deployed, the tether 130 pulls the patch 126 toward the rear of the vehicle, so that the patch 126 can fold the cushion 110 and close the vent hole 124.

  As mentioned above, although preferred embodiment of this invention was described referring an accompanying drawing, it cannot be overemphasized that this invention is not limited to the example which concerns. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made within the scope of the claims, and these are naturally within the technical scope of the present invention. Understood.

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the example which applied the side airbag apparatus 100 concerning this invention to the motor vehicle was demonstrated, it is also possible to apply to an aircraft, a ship, etc. besides a motor vehicle, and obtains the same effect. be able to.

  INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention can be used in a side airbag device including an inflator that supplies gas and an airbag cushion that is installed on a side portion of a vehicle seat and that can be inflated by gas from the side portion to the front of the vehicle.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 ... Side airbag apparatus, 102 ... Vehicle, 104 ... Seat, 106 ... Seat back, 108 ... Side door, 110 ... Cushion, 112 ... Passenger, 114 ... Inflator, 116, 118 ... Base fabric, 120 ... Seat frame, 122 ... Stud bolt, 124 ... Vent hole, 126 ... Patch, 128 ... First coupling portion, 129 ... Upper and lower height positions of the vent hole, 130 ... Tether, 132 ... Second coupling portion, 134 ... Tether cutter, 136 ... Opening DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 138 ... Control part, 140 ... Guide cloth, 142 ... Part of base cloth, 144 ... Spear

Claims (6)

An inflator for supplying gas;
An airbag cushion installed on a side portion of a vehicle seat and inflatable by the gas from the side portion toward the front of the vehicle;
A vent hole provided at a predetermined location of the airbag cushion for discharging the gas;
A patch that covers the vent hole from the outside of the airbag cushion, and is coupled to the airbag cushion in front of the vent hole and the vehicle;
An opening that is open to the patch and can overlap the vent hole;
An extension portion that is string-like and extends from the patch to a predetermined location on a side portion of the seat, and is capable of pulling the patch rearward of the vehicle when the airbag cushion is inflated and deployed;
A cutting device installed on a side portion of the seat and capable of cutting the extending portion under predetermined conditions;
In the operating state of the cutting device, the patch can be positioned in front of the vehicle and the opening and the vent hole can be overlapped,
When the cutting device is in an inoperative state, the patch is pulled behind the airbag cushion by the extending portion, and the vent hole is closed by wrinkling a region where the vent hole exists in the airbag cushion. A side airbag device configured to be removed.   The side airbag device further includes a guide cloth that is coupled to the airbag cushion so as to straddle the patch in the vertical direction behind the vent hole and guides the movement of the patch in the vehicle longitudinal direction. The side airbag device according to claim 1, wherein   The side airbag device according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined condition is a case where a collision speed of the vehicle is equal to or higher than a predetermined value.   The side airbag device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the extending portion is a tether separate from the patch.   The side airbag device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the extending portion is a portion narrower than the patch continuous from the patch.   The side airbag device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the patch is coupled to the airbag cushion over a height position at least above and below the vent hole.

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