JP2018122844A - Air bag - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an air bag capable of stably receiving and protecting a driver even when being installed in a handle in which a linear dimension from a center part to a front side is shortened.SOLUTION: An air bag includes: a driver side part 32 which is stored and held in a central part B of a handle W, and in which an outer peripheral wall 21 in completion of inflation can receive a driver; and a handle side part 22 which is supported on the handle. The handle side part includes an inflow opening 23 for making expansion gas flow into in the central vicinity, and a fitting seat 24 fitted to the central part of the handle. A support expansion part 28F projecting from the front side of the fitting seat to the front side of the handle is arranged in the handle side part in completion of inflation. A region at a rear face 28cb side from a root part 28b to a tip part 28a of the support expansion part is arranged with a support surface part 29F which is abutted and supported on a front surface Bf side of the handle when the front direction of the driver side part is inclined when the air bag receives the driver.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 10

Description

  The present invention relates to an airbag used in an airbag device for a driver's seat for mounting on a steering wheel for a vehicle, and in particular, as a length dimension from the center portion of the handle, a length dimension toward both left and right sides. More particularly, the present invention relates to an airbag that can be used for a handle (an odd-shaped handle) having a shape with a shortened length dimension toward at least the front side on both the front and rear sides.

  A conventional driver's seat airbag device has a non-circular handle without the front side of the ring portion to be gripped during steering, in other words, the length from the center of the handle to the left and right sides. What is known to be mounted on a handle having a shape in which the length toward the front side is shorter than the size is known. The airbag to be used has a configuration in which an outer bag for bridging the front side of the separated ring portion is disposed on the lower surface of the front side of the inner bag for receiving the driver (for example, Patent Document 1). reference).

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-245759 (see FIG. 7)

  However, in the conventional airbag, the outer bag needs a length dimension in the left-right direction that exceeds the distance where the ring part is separated, and if the space space (separated part) on the front side of the handle becomes large The lower side of the outer bag is not supported by the upper side of the steering wheel, and the airbag (inner bag) is folded so that the front side falls when the driver receives it. It will be difficult.

  The present invention solves the above-described problem, and even when mounted on a handle whose length from the center portion toward the front portion is shortened, the driver can be stably received and protected when the expansion is completed. An object is to provide an air bag that can be used.

An airbag according to the present invention is housed and held in the center of a steering handle for a vehicle, and an outer peripheral wall at the time of completion of inflation has a driver side that can receive the driver, and an outer side of the driver side. An airbag comprising an outer peripheral edge connected to a peripheral edge, and a handle side portion supported by the handle;
The handle side portion is configured by disposing an inflow opening through which an inflating gas flows and a mounting seat that is disposed at a peripheral edge of the inflow opening and is attached to the central portion of the handle. And
A support expansion part that protrudes from the front side of the mounting seat to the front side of the handle is disposed on the handle side part when the expansion is completed,
The region on the rear surface side from the base portion to the tip portion of the support inflating portion is abutted and supported on the front side of the handle when the driver side portion tilts in the forward direction when the driver of the airbag is received. The support surface portion is disposed.

  In the airbag according to the present invention, when the inflation is completed in the mounted state on the steering wheel and the driver is received, the front supporting inflation part is disposed on the front side of the central part of the steering wheel. Even if it is going to incline so that an edge side falls below, a front support expansion part makes a support surface part contact the front side of a handle central part, and prevents the front edge side of an airbag from falling down. Therefore, the air bag can accurately receive the driver coming toward the steering wheel by the driver side portion arranged to face the driver without tilting.

  Therefore, even if the airbag according to the present invention is mounted on a handle whose length from the center portion toward the front portion is shortened, the driver can stably receive and protect the driver when the inflation is completed.

Further, in the airbag according to the present invention, a rear support inflating portion protruding from the rear side of the mounting seat to the rear side of the handle is disposed on the handle side portion at the time of completion of inflation,
A front side region from the base part to the tip part of the rear support inflating part is in contact with and supported by the rear side of the handle when the driver side part of the airbag is tilted in the rearward direction. A rear support surface portion may be provided.

  In such a configuration, when the driver is received by completing the expansion in the mounted state on the steering wheel, the rear supporting expansion part is disposed on the rear side of the central part of the steering wheel. Even if it is going to incline so as to fall downward, the rear support inflating part makes the rear support surface part abut on the rear side of the handle central part to prevent the rear edge side of the airbag from dropping downward. Therefore, the air bag can accurately receive the driver coming toward the steering wheel by the driver side portion arranged to face the driver without tilting. That is, in the airbag having such a configuration, even if the handle to be mounted has a length dimension from the central part toward both sides of the front part and the rear part, which is shorter than a length dimension from the central part to the left and right, the airbag is inflated. It is possible to receive and protect the driver coming toward the steering wheel stably when completed.

In this case, in the airbag according to the present invention, the handle side portion when the inflation is completed is
A general portion that is disposed on the left and right sides between the front and rear support inflating portions and is supported on the upper surface side of the handle;
An extending part extending from the general part and extending above the front and rear support expansion parts;
It is desirable to be configured with.

  In such a configuration, the front and rear support inflatable portions are formed so as to partially protrude from between the extending portion and the mounting seat, respectively, and the volume of the airbag can be reduced, so that the airbag can be quickly formed. Can be inflated.

  In the case of the configuration as described above, the extended portion at the time of abutting the front and rear sides of the handle corresponding to the front and rear of the support inflated portion on the extended portion of the handle side portion when the expansion is completed You may arrange | position the 2nd support expansion part which can each support the said support expansion part before and behind at the time of the relative approach to the side.

  In such a configuration, the second support inflating portions that support the front and rear support inflating portions are formed so as to partially protrude from between the extending portion and the support inflating portion, respectively, It is possible to suppress the increase and improve the support force of the front and rear support expansion portions.

Further, in the airbag according to the present invention, the handle side portion is formed from a bag material having flexibility,
The bag material is
A mounting seat portion forming the mounting seat;
A part for a general part that extends from the mounting seat part to the left and right to form the general part;
A projecting portion that extends from the mounting seat portion to the front and rear, and can form the front and rear support expansion portions, respectively;
Configured with
Each of the front and rear support inflating portions has a folded portion that extends in the left-right direction at the tip portion, and is formed from a sheet-like portion in which the left and right edges extending from the folded portion are joined to each other. ,
The front and rear projecting portions are each configured to include the sheet-shaped portion disposed on the mounting seat side, and a tip portion disposed on the tip side,
The front and rear tip edges of the front and rear parts and the left and right general part parts of the front and rear edges constitute a driver side coupling portion that is coupled to the outer peripheral edge of the driver side portion,
The left and right side edges extending from both ends of the tip edge to the inner sheet-like part at the outer peripheral edge of the front and rear tip parts and the front and rear side edges of the general part part are opposed to each other. It is desirable to constitute a coupling part for forming the handle side part to be coupled.

  In such a configuration, in the sheet-like portion in the front and rear protruding portion portions of the bag material constituting the handle side portion, the folded portion is folded, and the overlapping left and right edges are joined to each other, and the support inflating portion Next, before and after the left and right side edges extending left and right from the front edge at the outer peripheral edge of the front end portion of the front and rear protrusion portions to the sheet-like portion and the front and rear side edges of the general portion portion A handle side portion can be formed by coupling the coupling portions facing each other. After that, the driver side coupling portion between the front end edge of the front and rear front end portions on the handle side and the front end edge of the left and right general portion sites is combined with the outer peripheral edge of the driver side portion so that the coupling allowance is not exposed. Moreover, if the front and back are reversed using the inflow opening, the airbag can be manufactured.

  Therefore, in the above-described configuration, an airbag having front and rear support inflatable portions can be formed by plane sewing with a predetermined joining portion overlapped, and an airbag having front and rear support inflatable portions can be easily manufactured. can do.

  In the configuration as described above, if the front and rear sheet-like portions are configured to dispose two folded portions so that two support expansion portions can be formed, respectively, the front and rear support described above is provided. An airbag including the inflating portion and the second support inflating portion can be formed.

Further, in the configuration as described above, the front end edges of the front and rear front end portions are each provided with a concave groove in the center in the left-right direction that couples the edges facing each other in the left-right direction,
The tip edge portion extending from the concave groove to the left and right may constitute the driver side coupling portion.

  In such a configuration, if the concave groove is coupled so as to be closed, the support expansion portion can be protruded from the front and rear edges of the handle side portion, and a large volume support expansion portion can be formed. The large volume support inflating part that is abutted and supported by the air bag enables a large reaction force to be secured, and even if a driver with large kinetic energy moves to the front edge side or rear edge side of the airbag, the driver of the airbag The sides can face each other without tilting and can accurately receive the driver.

  Further, the flexible bag material forming the handle side portion includes the mounting seat portion, the left and right general portion portions, and the front and rear protruding portion portions. If it is formed from a sheet, the outer peripheral wall of the airbag having the front and rear support inflating parts can be formed by two predetermined bag materials together with the bag material forming the driver side part. The number of component parts of the airbag can be reduced, the parts can be easily managed, and the parts to be joined can be reduced, so that the airbag can be easily manufactured.

Furthermore, in the airbag according to the present invention, a primary inflating portion that inflates by inflating the inflating gas first, and a secondary inflating portion that inflates the inflating gas from the supply port of the primary inflating portion and completes the inflating. Configured with
The primary expansion part is
A base part configured to allow the expansion gas from the inflow opening to flow in and to expand, and to dispose the supply port;
A tip portion extending from the base portion to form the support expansion portion;
Configured with
The secondary inflating part may be configured to form an outer peripheral wall of the airbag excluding an outer peripheral wall of the support inflating part.

  In such a configuration, when the inflation gas flows into the airbag, the primary inflation part is inflated, and the secondary inflation part is inflated by the inflation gas supplied through the supply port of the primary inflation part. When the expansion of the primary expansion unit is completed, the support expansion unit also completes expansion, so that before the expansion of the secondary expansion unit is completed, the support surface of the support expansion unit can be quickly moved to the front side or the rear side of the handle. It arrange | positions in the predetermined position which opposes. Therefore, even if the secondary expansion part completes the expansion and catches the driver, the support surface part of the support expansion part is already arranged at an appropriate position, and the support expansion part quickly moves to the front side of the handle. In addition, the front side and rear edge side of the driver side can be prevented from falling down accurately and stably, and as a result, the air bag makes the driver coming toward the steering wheel more stable. Can be received and protected in a state.

  Further, in the airbag according to the present invention, when the front support inflating portion is provided, the flexible strap is in a direction to press the support surface portion of the support inflating portion when the inflation is completed against the front surface side of the handle. As the tension is possible, the support inflating portion may be disposed so as to connect the portion of the outer peripheral wall of the airbag on the rear side of the support inflating portion.

  In such a configuration, when the driver is received by completing the inflation in the state of being mounted on the handle, the support surface portion of the support inflating portion is already pressed against the front side of the handle by the strap, and the airbag is moved to the front of the handle. It is configured to easily receive reaction force from the side. Therefore, the airbag can quickly and stably receive and protect the driver who comes toward the steering wheel whose front side is shortened without causing the front edge side to drop. Of course, since the strap is configured to have flexibility, when the airbag is folded and stored, the strap is folded together with the airbag and stored in the storage portion without any trouble.

  Further, in the airbag according to the present invention, when the front support inflating portion is provided, the support inflating portion when the inflating is completed is supported by contacting the front surface side of the handle at least approximately the center of the support surface portion in the vertical direction. It is desirable to be configured.

  In such a configuration, the support expansion part at the time of completion of expansion is supported not only near the base part side but also in the vicinity of the approximate center in the vertical direction on the front side of the handle, so that it is stable from the front side of the handle. The driver's side facing the steering wheel is accurately received by the driver's side that faces the driver in a stable manner without causing the front edge of the airbag to drop quickly and easily. Can be protected.

Further, in the airbag according to the present invention, when the front support inflating portion is provided, the support inflating portion at the completion of the inflation is configured to protrude downward from the front edge of the handle side portion,
The support surface portion of the support expansion portion at the time of completion of expansion has a bent portion along the left-right direction on the front side of the mounting seat, and is configured as a substantially planar shape extending downward from the front portion side of the mounting seat,
It is desirable that the bent portion at the time of completion of the expansion is disposed in the vicinity of the intersection between the front surface and the upper surface of the front side of the handle.

  In such a configuration, the support inflating portion at the time of completion of expansion inflates so as to extend downward from the bent portion between the front side of the mounting seat, and at that time, the bent portion and the front side of the front side of the handle Since it is arranged near the intersection with the upper surface, the substantially flat support surface extending downward from the bent portion is not only the upper edge side (original side) of the bent portion side, but also the middle in the vertical direction. The part and even the tip end side are easily arranged so as to be able to contact the front side of the handle. Therefore, even if the driver is caught so that the front edge side of the airbag falls, the support surface portion of the support inflating portion immediately receives a reaction force from the front surface side of the handle that is in contact with a wide area, and the air The airbag prevents the driver from coming to the steering wheel with the front side shortened by the driver's side facing the driver, and protects the driver accurately. Can do. Of course, the support expansion part is configured to protrude downward from the front edge of the handle side part, and can be configured with a large volume, so that the support expansion part can secure a large reaction force, and kinetic energy can be secured. Even if a large driver is inclined and moved toward the front edge side of the airbag, the driver side of the airbag faces directly without tilting and can accurately receive the driver.

Furthermore, in the airbag according to the present invention, when the front side support inflating part is provided, the handle side part at the time of completion of the inflating,
A general portion disposed on the left and right sides and the rear side of the mounting seat and supported on the upper surface side of the handle;
The support expansion part;
With
The support inflating portion is configured to connect the front side to the front edge side of the handle side portion;
The handle side portion is formed from a flexible bag material,
The bag material is
A mounting seat portion forming the mounting seat;
A general part part that extends from the mounting seat part to the left and right sides and the rear side to form the general part;
A projecting portion that extends forward from the mounting seat portion and can form the support expansion portion;
Configured with
As the structure in which the support inflating part is formed from a sheet-like part having a folded part along the left-right direction at the tip part and combined with each other of the left and right edges extending from the folded part,
The projecting portion portion is configured to include the sheet-like portion disposed on the mounting seat side, and a tip portion disposed on the distal end side,
The tip edge of the tip portion and the tip edges of the left and right general portion portions constitute a driver side coupling portion that is coupled to the outer peripheral edge of the driver side portion,
The left and right side edges extending from both ends of the tip edge to the inner sheet-like part on the outer peripheral edge of the tip part and the front and rear side edges of the general part part are coupled to each other. Constituting the handle side part forming
The tip edge of the tip portion is provided with a concave groove in the center in the left-right direction for coupling edges facing each other in the left-right direction, and the tip edge portion extending from the concave groove to the left and right is the driver. Configure the side joint, and
A direction along the steering shaft of the handle on the front side of the handle, as seen from the left and right directions when the expansion is completed, in the connecting portion for forming the handle side, as viewed from the left and right directions when the inflation is completed It is desirable to be configured to be disposed near the upper part of

  In such a configuration, the support side part of the support inflating part and the handle side part forming connection are arranged so that the handle side part of the airbag when the inflation is completed is along the front side of the handle in the direction along the steering axis of the handle. Part can be provided. That is, since the support surface portion of the support expansion portion of the handle side portion can be abutted and supported on the front surface side of the handle, when the driver is received in the state of being mounted on the handle and receiving the driver, Even if it is going to incline so that an edge side falls below, a support inflating part makes a support surface part contact the front side of a handle, and an air bag can ensure reaction force immediately. Therefore, the air bag can catch the driver who comes to the steering wheel whose front side is shortened quickly and accurately by the driver side portion arranged to face the driver without tilting.

  Further, in such a configuration, the concave portion of the tip portion in the protruding portion portion of the bag material constituting the handle side portion is coupled so as to close, and the tip edge of the tip portion is placed in front of the driver side portion. In the arc shape corresponding to the edge, and in the sheet-like portion of the projecting portion portion, the folded portion is folded, and the overlapped left and right edges are joined together to form a large front support expansion portion, Next, the coupling parts that are opposed to each other at the front and rear sides of the left and right side edges extending to the sheet-like part and the side edge of the general part part are joined to each other from the leading edge at the outer peripheral edge of the tip part of the protruding part part. Then, the handle side portion can be formed. Thereafter, the driver side coupling portion between the front edge of the front tip portion on the handle side and the front edge of the left and right general portion portions is coupled with the outer peripheral edge of the driver side portion so that the coupling allowance is not exposed. Moreover, if the front and back are reversed using the inflow opening, the airbag can be manufactured. For this reason, in such a configuration, an airbag in which a support inflating portion that protrudes from the front edge of the handle side portion and has a large volume is disposed on the front edge side of the handle side portion is easily manufactured by plane sewing. be able to.

  In this case, the coupling part of the coupling part for forming the steering wheel side part with the driver side part is located on the steering shaft of the steering wheel on the front side of the steering wheel as viewed from the left and right when the expansion is completed. It is desirable to be configured to be disposed within a range shifted by 50 mm forward and backward with the reference line in the direction along the center.

  That is, the connecting part of the connecting part for forming the handle side part with the driver side is a side view as seen from the left and right direction when the expansion is completed, and a reference line in the direction along the steering axis of the handle on the front side of the handle If it is arranged on the front side that exceeds 50mm as the center, the boundary part (folded part) with the support expansion part on the front edge side of the mounting seat will contact the front side away from the upper surface side on the front side of the handle. Although the support surface portion of the support expansion portion can be brought into contact with and supported, the base portion can be brought into contact with the front surface of the handle, but the front edge side portion of the mounting seat is also in contact with the front surface of the handle. A force that pushes the base side of the inflating part forward is generated, and the tip side is easily separated from the front face of the handle, and it is difficult to quickly secure the reaction force from the front face of the handle inflating part. .

  In addition, the connecting part of the connecting part for forming the handle side part with the driver side part shows a reference line in the direction along the steering axis of the handle on the front side of the handle as a side view seen from the left and right direction when the expansion is completed. If it is arranged on the rear side exceeding 50 mm as the center, the boundary part (folded part) with the support expansion part on the front edge side of the mounting seat is shifted to the rear side from the front side of the front part of the handle. The reaction force received from the front side of the handle on the support surface portion of the support inflating portion is in a state where the rear end of the driver side portion is downward, with the vicinity of the boundary portion shifted backward as the center of rotation. As a result, a situation in which the driver side part is tilted so that the rear edge side of the driver side part is shifted downward is caused, and the driver side part is difficult to face the driver. Is not preferable.

It is a schematic plan view which shows the use condition of the airbag apparatus for driver's seats where the airbag for driver's seats of 1st Embodiment of this invention is used. It is a schematic longitudinal cross-sectional view of the airbag apparatus for driver's seats of 1st Embodiment, and respond | corresponds to the II-II site | part of FIG. It is a schematic perspective view at the time of expansion | swelling of the airbag of 1st Embodiment. It is a top view of the bag raw material which manufactures the airbag of 1st Embodiment. It is a top view which shows the state which manufactured the handle | steering-wheel side part of the airbag of 1st Embodiment. It is a schematic end view of the VI-VI part of FIG. It is a schematic end view of the VII-VII site | part of FIG. It is a figure explaining the manufacturing process of the handle | steering-wheel side part in the airbag of 1st Embodiment. It is a figure explaining the process after C of FIG. 8 in the manufacturing process of the handle | steering-wheel side part of 1st Embodiment, and the process of manufacturing an airbag. It is a schematic longitudinal cross-sectional view explaining the time of the driver | operator receiving after completion of expansion | swelling of the airbag of 1st Embodiment. It is a schematic perspective view at the time of expansion | swelling of the airbag of 2nd Embodiment. It is a top view of the raw material for bags which manufactures the airbag of 2nd Embodiment. It is a top view which shows the state which manufactured the handle | steering-wheel side part of the airbag of 2nd Embodiment. FIG. 14 is a schematic end view of the XIV-XIV part of FIG. 13. It is a schematic end elevation of the XV-XV part of FIG. It is a figure explaining the manufacturing process of the handle | steering-wheel side part in the airbag of 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure explaining the manufacturing process of the handle | steering-wheel side part in the airbag of 2nd Embodiment, and shows the process after B of FIG. It is a figure explaining the process after B of FIG. 17 of the manufacturing process of the handle | steering-wheel side part of 2nd Embodiment, and the process of manufacturing an airbag. It is a schematic longitudinal cross-sectional view explaining the time of the driver | operator reception after the completion of expansion | swelling of the airbag of 2nd Embodiment. It is a schematic perspective view at the time of expansion | swelling of the airbag of 3rd Embodiment. It is a top view of the raw material for bags which manufactures the airbag of 3rd Embodiment. It is a top view which shows the state which manufactured the handle | steering-wheel side part of the airbag of 3rd Embodiment. It is a schematic end view of the XXIII-XXIII part of FIG. It is a schematic end elevation of the XXIV-XXIV part of FIG. It is a figure explaining the manufacturing process of the handle | steering-wheel side part in the airbag of 3rd Embodiment. It is a figure explaining the process after B of FIG. 25 in the manufacturing process of the handle | steering-wheel side part of 3rd Embodiment. It is a figure explaining the process after B of FIG. 26 of the manufacturing process of the handle | steering-wheel side part of 3rd Embodiment, and the process of manufacturing an airbag. It is a schematic longitudinal cross-sectional view explaining the time of the driver | operator receiving after completion of expansion | swelling of the airbag of 3rd Embodiment. It is a top view which shows the handle | steering_wheel of a shape different from embodiment. FIG. 30 is a central longitudinal sectional view of the handle shown in FIG. 29. Furthermore, it is a top view which shows the handle | steering_wheel of a different shape. It is a schematic plan view which shows the use condition of the airbag apparatus for driver's seats where the airbag for driver's seats of 4th Embodiment is used. It is a schematic longitudinal cross-sectional view of the airbag apparatus for driver's seats of 4th Embodiment, and respond | corresponds to the XXXIII-XXXIII site | part of FIG. It is a schematic perspective view at the time of expansion | swelling of the airbag of 4th Embodiment. It is a top view of the raw material for bags which manufactures the airbag of 4th Embodiment. It is a top view which shows the state which manufactured the handle | steering-wheel side part of the airbag of 4th Embodiment. FIG. 37 is a schematic end view of the XXXVIIA-XXXVIIA portion and the XXXVIIB-XXXVIIB portion of FIG. 36. It is a figure explaining the process of manufacturing the airbag of 4th Embodiment. It is a schematic longitudinal cross-sectional view explaining the time of the driver | operator catching after completion | finish of inflation of the airbag of 4th Embodiment. It is a schematic longitudinal cross-sectional view at the time of completion | finish of expansion | swelling of the airbag of the modification of 4th Embodiment. It is a top view which shows the raw material for bags which forms the airbag shown in FIG. It is a schematic longitudinal cross-sectional view at the time of completion | finish of expansion | swelling of the airbag of the modification of 4th Embodiment. It is a top view which shows the raw material for bags which forms the airbag shown in FIG. It is a schematic perspective view at the time of expansion | swelling of the airbag of 5th Embodiment. It is a general | schematic center longitudinal cross-sectional view at the time of expansion | swelling of the airbag of 5th Embodiment. It is a top view of the raw material for bags which manufactures the airbag of 5th Embodiment. It is a schematic longitudinal cross-sectional view explaining the state which the airbag of 5th Embodiment expand | swells. It is a schematic longitudinal cross-sectional view explaining the time of completion of inflation of the airbag of 5th Embodiment, and the time of driver | operator catching. It is a schematic perspective view at the time of expansion | swelling of the airbag of 6th Embodiment. It is a general | schematic center longitudinal cross-sectional view at the time of expansion | swelling of the airbag of 6th Embodiment. It is a top view of the raw material for bags which manufactures the airbag of 6th Embodiment. It is a schematic longitudinal cross-sectional view explaining the state which the airbag of 6th Embodiment expand | swells. It is a schematic longitudinal cross-sectional view explaining the time of completion of inflation of the airbag of 6th Embodiment, and a driver | operator reception. It is a schematic longitudinal cross-sectional view of the airbag apparatus for driver's seats of 7th Embodiment. It is a schematic perspective view at the time of expansion | swelling of the airbag of 7th Embodiment. It is a top view which shows the bag raw material of the handle | steering-wheel side part of the airbag of 7th Embodiment, and the handle | steering-wheel side part manufactured from the raw material for bags. It is a figure explaining the time of manufacture of the airbag of 7th Embodiment. It is the general | schematic center longitudinal cross-sectional view at the time of inflation of the airbag in the airbag apparatus of 7th Embodiment, and a schematic side view. The modification of the airbag of 7th Embodiment is shown and it is a schematic side view at the time of expansion | swelling of the airbag which each shifted the bending part (boundary position) of the handle | steering-wheel side to the front side and the back side. It is a schematic perspective view at the time of expansion | swelling of the airbag of 8th Embodiment. It is a top view which shows the handle | steering-wheel side part of the airbag of 8th Embodiment. It is a schematic longitudinal cross-sectional view at the time of expansion | swelling of the airbag in the airbag apparatus of 8th Embodiment. It is a schematic perspective view at the time of expansion | swelling of the airbag of 9th Embodiment. It is a top view of the bag raw material which manufactures the airbag of 9th Embodiment. It is a bottom view of the airbag of 9th Embodiment. It is a figure explaining the time of manufacture of the airbag of 9th Embodiment. It is a schematic side view at the time of expansion | swelling of the airbag in the airbag apparatus of 9th Embodiment. It is a schematic perspective view at the time of expansion | swelling of the airbag of 10th Embodiment. It is a schematic side view at the time of expansion | swelling of the airbag of 10th Embodiment. It is a schematic perspective view at the time of expansion | swelling of the airbag of 11th Embodiment. It is a schematic longitudinal cross-sectional view at the time of expansion | swelling of the airbag in the airbag apparatus of 11th Embodiment.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the airbag according to the first embodiment is an airbag 20 for a driver's seat. The airbag apparatus M in which 20 is used is a driver-seat airbag apparatus mounted on the handle W. The handle W includes a handle body 1 and an airbag device M that is disposed on an upper portion of a central central portion B of the handle body 1.

  In addition, the handle W is a deformed handle having a length dimension from the central portion B that is shorter than a length dimension XL, XR toward the left and right sides, and a length dimension YF toward at least the front BF on both the front and rear sides. More specifically, the handle W has a shorter length dimension YB from the central portion B toward the rear portion BB than the length dimensions XL and XR toward the left and right sides. In other words, the handle W is an odd-shaped handle having an operation gripping portion H (HL, HR) on both the left and right sides and having a width dimension YW before and after the left and right width dimension XW from the center B smaller. . The left and right operation gripping portions HL and HR are formed of rod-shaped portions along the front-rear direction, and both front and rear ends extend along the left-right direction from the front and rear edges of the center portion B of the handle W. SFR, SBL, SBR). A boss 3 connected to a steering shaft SS serving as a rotation center at the time of operation is disposed below the central portion B. The handle main body 1 is configured by disposing a core material 2 made of a metal material such as a steel material in order to ensure rigidity in the central portion B, the coupling portion S, and the operation gripping portion H, and the boss 3 has a core It is disposed on the lower side of the center of the material 2. A synthetic resin coating layer 4 is appropriately disposed around the core material 2. The lower surface side of the central portion B is covered with a synthetic resin lower cover 5.

  In the description of the present invention, unless otherwise specified, the vertical direction corresponds to the vertical direction along the axial direction of the steering shaft SS, and the front-back direction is orthogonal to the axial direction of the steering shaft SS during straight-ahead steering of the vehicle. The left and right directions correspond to each other, and the left and right directions correspond to the left and right directions orthogonal to the axial direction of the steering shaft SS during straight-ahead steering of the vehicle.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the driver-seat airbag apparatus M covers the airbag 20 that is folded and stored, the inflator 9 that supplies inflation gas to the airbag 20, and the folded airbag 20. The airbag cover 15 is configured to include a case 11 that holds and holds the airbag 20 and the inflator 9, and a retainer 7 that attaches the airbag 20 to the case 11 together with the inflator 9. The

  The retainer 7 is made of a square annular sheet metal, presses the periphery of the inflow opening 23 of the airbag 20, attaches the airbag 20 to the case 11, and attaches the inflator 9 to the case 11. And a bolt (not shown) that is nut-fastened to the head.

  The inflator 9 includes a cylindrical main body portion 9a having a plurality of gas discharge ports 9b in the upper portion, and a flange portion 9c protruding from the outer peripheral surface of the main body portion 9a. A through-hole (not shown) through which each bolt (not shown) of the retainer 7 passes is formed in the flange portion 9c.

  The case 11 is made of a sheet metal having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, and is disposed on the upper side of the central portion B of the handle W to constitute a storage portion for storing the folded airbag 20, and includes a rectangular bottom wall portion 11a, And a square cylindrical side wall portion 11d extending upward from the outer peripheral edge of the bottom wall portion 11a. The bottom wall portion 11a is formed with a circular opening 11b through which the main body 9a of the inflator 9 can be inserted from below, and four through holes 11c through which bolts (not shown) of the retainer 7 pass. (See FIG. 1) is formed. A plurality of locking claws 11f that lock and connect the side wall portion 17 of the airbag cover 15 are attached to the side wall portion 11d. In addition, the case 11 is provided with a bracket portion 11e that is connected and fixed to the core member 2 by bolting or the like in order to dispose and fix the airbag device M on the upper portion of the central portion B. .

  The airbag cover 15 is made of synthetic resin, and includes a ceiling wall portion 16 that covers the upper portion of the stored airbag 20, and a substantially square cylindrical side wall portion 17 that extends downward from the vicinity of the outer peripheral edge of the ceiling wall portion 16. Configured. The ceiling wall portion 16 is formed with two door portions 16a and 16a that are pushed by the inflating airbag 20 and open to both the front and rear sides. The side wall portion 17 is formed with a locking hole 17a into which the locking claw 11f of the case 11 is inserted.

  The airbag 20 is formed of a flexible bag material made of a cloth material woven from polyamide, polyester, or other woven yarn. As shown in FIGS. When viewed from the side and excluding the support expansion portion 28 (28F, 28B), which will be described later, it is configured to have a substantially elliptical shape close to a spherical shape, and a peripheral wall (outer peripheral wall) 21 at the completion of expansion, The driver side D 32 that can receive the driver D and the outer peripheral edge 22 a are connected (coupled or connected) to the outer peripheral edge 32 a of the driver side part 32, and are supported by the handle W (handle main body 1). And a handle side portion 22.

  The handle side portion 22 is formed in a substantially disc shape in a state where the handle side portion 22 is flattened, and an inflow opening 23 that opens in a circular shape for inflating the inflation gas is arranged at the center of the handle side portion 22. It is installed. At the periphery of the inflow opening 23, an attachment hole 24 a is formed through which each bolt (not shown) of the retainer 7 for attaching the airbag 20 to the bottom wall portion 11 a of the case 11 is passed. An arrangement site of the attachment hole 24 a at the periphery of the inflow opening 23 constitutes an attachment seat 24 that is held by the retainer 7 and attached to the bottom wall portion 11 a of the case 11.

  In addition, the handle side portion 22 at the completion of the expansion includes front and rear support expansion portions 28 (28F, 28B) protruding from the front and rear sides of the mounting seat 24 to the front surface Bf side and the rear surface Bb side of the central portion B of the handle W. It is arranged. The front support inflating portion 28F and the rear support inflating portion 28B are configured so that the driver side portion 32 tilts (swings) in the front-rear direction when the airbag 20 at the completion of inflation receives the driver D by the driver side portion 32. Even if it tries to move, the surfaces 28cb, 28cf on the central portion B side between the tip portion 28a and the base portion 28b (the rear surface 28cb in the front support expansion portion 28F and the front surface 28cf in the rear support expansion portion 28B), respectively. Are brought into contact with (or pressed against) the front surface Bf side or the rear surface Bb side of the central portion B of the handle W, respectively, so that the airbag 20 is supported and tilting of the driver side portion 32 can be suppressed. Arranged.

  That is, the rear surface 28cb of the front support expansion portion 28F constitutes a support surface portion 29F that is abutted and supported on the front surface Bf side of the central portion B of the handle W, and the front surface 28cf of the rear support expansion portion 28B is the central portion of the handle W. A support surface portion 29B that is in contact with and supported on the rear surface Bb side of B is configured.

  In the case of the embodiment, both of the support surface portions 29F and 29B are configured to be in contact with and supported by the front surface Bf and the rear surface Bb of the handle W in the vicinity of the base portion 28b side of the support expansion portion 28.

  Furthermore, on the left and right sides between the front and rear support expansion portions 28F and 28B in the handle side portion 22 when the expansion is completed, on the upper surface Wu side of the handle W (in the embodiment, the connection portions SFL and SFR near the operation gripping portions HL and HR). , SBL, SBR, and general portions 26 (26L, 26R) supported on the upper surface Wu side of the operation gripping portions HL, HR themselves). Specifically, the general portions 26L and 26R are portions on the left and right sides of the mounting seat 24 up to the left and right edges 22d and 22e of the handle side portion 22 when the expansion is completed, and as shown in FIGS. In addition, in the case of the embodiment, it is a portion exposed between the support inflating portions 28F and 28B on both the left and right sides of the mounting seat 24, and in the case of the general portion portions 43L and 43R and the tip portions 61F and 61B described later. It is comprised from the site | part of the right-and-left both edges side.

  Furthermore, in the case of the embodiment, the general portions 26L and 26R are respectively extended portions 27 (F and B) disposed above the front and rear support expansion portions 28F and 28B in the handle side portion 22 when the expansion is completed. Is extended. These extended portions 27F and 27B are portions from the support expansion portions 28F and 28B to the front and rear edges 22b and 22c of the handle side portion 22 on both front and rear sides of the mounting seat 24, respectively. As shown to 5 and 6, it is the center part of the horizontal direction of the site | parts 61F and 61B for front-end | tips made into the position hidden by the support expansion parts 28F and 28B.

  For this reason, in the case of the embodiment, the support expansion portion 28F is formed such that the outer shape obtained by combining the left and right general portions 26L and 26R and the extending portions 27F and 27B of the mounting seat 24 is substantially the same as the outer shape of the driver side portion 32. , 28B are disposed so as to protrude downward from the front and rear of the mounting seat 24 in the substantially circular handle side portion 22 so as to expand the tip portions 28a, 28a. In the case of the embodiment, each of the support expansion portions 28F and 28B has a substantially rectangular plate shape in which the distal end portion 28a is tapered to reduce the thickness in the front-rear direction.

  In the airbag 20 of the first embodiment, the outer peripheral wall 21 includes a bag material (bag base material) 40 for the handle side portion 22 and a bag material for the driver side portion 32 as shown in FIG. 70 and two sheets. The bag material 70 has a disk shape. As described above, these bag materials 40 and 70 are made of a flexible cloth material in which woven yarns such as polyamide and polyester are woven.

  The bag material 40 is configured by providing a portion extending in the front-rear and left-right directions from a mounting seat portion 41 that forms the mounting seat 24 at the center in the front-rear direction when flattened. That is, the bag material 40 extends from the mounting seat portion 41 to the left and right to form the general portions 26L and 26R. The general portion portion 43 (43L, 43R) having a substantially rectangular plate shape and the mounting seat portion 41 can be formed. And a projecting portion 45 (45F, 45B) that extends in the front-rear direction as a dimension longer than the general portion portion 43 and can form the support expansion portions 28F, 28B and the extending portions 27F, 27B. Has been.

  The general portion portions 43L and 43R extend from the mounting seat portion 41 to the left and right sides in a substantially rectangular plate shape, and include an arcuate tip edge 43a and front and rear side edges 43b and 43c. The leading edge 43a constitutes a driver side coupling portion that is coupled to the outer peripheral edge 70a of the bag material 70 forming the driver side portion 32 by sewing. The front and rear side edges 43b, 43c are arranged in a straight line parallel to each other along the left-right direction, and are respectively opposed to the parts facing in the front-rear direction of the edges 61b, 61c of the projecting parts 45F, 45B described later. Are joined by stitching to form a handle portion 22 forming the handle side portion 22.

  The general portion portions 43L and 43R have the width dimension in the front-rear direction substantially equal to the outer diameter size of the substantially circular reinforcing cloth 72 that is sewn to the mounting seat 24. The reinforcing cloth 72 is formed from a flexible cloth material woven with a woven yarn such as polyamide or polyester, like the bag material 40, and is attached to the mounting seat 24 on the inner peripheral surface side of the airbag 20. In addition to being sewn, an inflow opening 23 and an attachment hole 24 a are formed in the same manner as the attachment seat 24.

  The front and rear projecting portions 45F and 45B are respectively provided with a sheet-like portion 47 (47F and 47B) on the mounting seat portion 41 side and a tip-side tip end disposed so as to extend from the sheet-like portions 47F and 47B. And a region 61 (61F, 61B).

  The sheet-like portions 47 </ b> F and 47 </ b> B have a substantially rectangular plate shape extending in the front-rear direction from the attachment seat portion 41, with the width dimension on the attachment seat portion 41 side being slightly larger than the outer diameter of the reinforcing cloth 42. These sheet-like portions 47F and 47B are portions that form the outer peripheral walls of the front and rear support expansion portions 28F and 28B, respectively. Each of the sheet-like portions 47F and 47B is provided with a folding portion 48 for making a crease along the left-right direction in the middle of the front-rear direction, folded in half, and the left and right overlapping edges, that is, the left front edge 49 And the left base side edge 50 and the right front side edge 52 and the right base side edge 53 are connected to each other by stitching. The portion 28 (28F, 28R) can be formed.

  The front end portions 61F and 61B are formed to extend from the front ends of the sheet-like portions 47F and 47B into an arcuate shape whose width in the left-right direction is increased, respectively, and an arcuate tip edge 61a and a sheet-like portion 47F, respectively. , 47B extending in the left-right direction so as to expand from the left side 47B, and left and right side edges 61b, 61c connected to the tip edge 61a. The leading edge 61a, together with the leading edge 43a of the general portion portions 43L and 43R, constitutes a driver side coupling portion that is coupled to the outer peripheral edge 70a of the bag material 70 forming the driver side portion 32 by sewing. .

  That is, the tip edges 61a and 61a of the tip parts 61F and 61B and the tip edges 43a and 43a of the general part parts 43L and 43R form the outer peripheral edge 22a of the handle side part 22, and the driver side part. It will be couple | bonded with the outer periphery 32a of 32.

  Further, left and right side edges 61b and 61c extending from both ends of the tip edge 61a at the outer peripheral edges of the tip portions 61F and 61B to the inner sheet-like portions 47F and 47B are respectively opposed to the general part portions 43L and 43L in the front-rear direction. The front and rear side edges 43b and 43c of 43R are connected to each other to form a connecting portion for forming the handle side portion 22.

  When the manufacturing process of the airbag 20 using these bag materials 40 and 70 is demonstrated, it cuts from the predetermined cloth material for bag materials, respectively, and forms the bag materials 40 and 70 of a predetermined shape. The bag material 70 at the time of cutting is in the state shown in FIG. 4, but the bag material 40 immediately after cutting is in a state in which the reinforcing cloth 72, the inflow opening 23, and the attachment hole 24a are not provided. After the reinforcing cloth 72 is stitched to the mounting seat 24 using the suture thread 74, a hole is drilled to form the inflow opening 23 and the mounting hole 24a in the mounting seat 24 together with the reinforcing cloth 72.

  The outline of the process of manufacturing the handle side portion 22 using the bag material 40 in which the inflow opening 23 and the attachment hole 24a are formed will be briefly described. First, the folded portion 48 of the sheet-like portions 47F and 47B is described. The folded edges 49 and 50 and the overlapped edges 52 and 53 are sewn together using the suture thread 74 to form the outer peripheral walls of the support inflatable portions 28F and 28B. To do. In addition, the folding | returning part 48 attaches the fold of a mountain fold to the outer peripheral surface side (side to which the reinforcement fabric 72 is not sewn) of the airbag 20, and it folds.

  Due to the formation of the support expansion portions 28F and 28B, the edges of the general portion portions 43L and 43R and the tip portions 61F and 61B that are close to each other so as to be able to overlap each other, that is, the side edge 43b of the general portion portion 43L and the tip portion 61F. Between the side edge 61b, the side edge 43c of the general portion portion 43L and the side edge 61b of the tip portion 61B, the side edge 43b of the general portion portion 43R and the side edge 61c of the tip portion 61F. 5, 6 and 7 are shown in FIGS. 5, 6 and 7 when the side edge 43c of the general portion portion 43R and the side edge 61c of the tip portion 61B are sutured using the suture thread 74, respectively. As described above, the handle side portion 22 is formed.

  However, in the case of the first embodiment, when the handle side portion 22 is formed, for example, as shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B, the tip portion 61F of the protrusion portion 45F is overlapped with the mounting seat 24, If the folded portion 48 of the support inflating portion 28F in the bag material 40 is folded, the edges 61b and 43b between the tip portion 61F and the general portion portion 43L, the edges 49 and 50 of the sheet-like portion 47F, and the tip portion 61F Since the edges 61c and 43b of the general-purpose portion 43R and the edges 52 and 53 of the sheet-like portion 47F can be overlapped at the same time, these mutual portions can be placed on a predetermined industrial sewing machine work table. And can be easily stitched by plane sewing. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 8C and FIG. 9A, the folded-back portion 48 of the support inflating portion 28B of the bag material 40 is formed so that the tip portion 61B of the protruding portion 45B overlaps the mounting seat 24. When folded, the edges 61b and 43c between the tip portion 61B and the general portion portion 43L, the edges 49 and 50 of the sheet-like portion 47B, the edges 61c and 43c between the tip portion 61B and the general portion portion 43R, Since the edges 52 and 53 of the sheet-like portion 47B can be overlapped at the same time, the handle side portion 22 can be obtained by setting these portions on a work table of a predetermined industrial sewing machine and performing surface sewing. Can be easily formed.

  Thereafter, the outer surface side of the airbag 20 in the driver side portion 32 made of the bag material 70 is overlapped from the upper side of the handle side portion 22 made of the bag material 40 shown in FIG. The tip edges 43a, 43a, 61a, 61a (the outer peripheral edge 22a of the handle side portion 22) connected in an arc shape and the outer peripheral edge 70a of the bag material 70 (the outer peripheral edge 32a of the driver side portion 32) are mutually connected. The suture 74 is used for suturing, and the joining margin (sewing allowance) between the outer peripheral edges 22a and 32a is reversed using the inflow opening 23 so that it is not exposed to the outer peripheral surface side of the airbag 20. For example, as shown in FIG. 9C, the airbag 20 can be manufactured.

  When the airbag device M is assembled and mounted on a vehicle, the retainer 7 is inserted into the airbag 20 so that each bolt (not shown) of the retainer 7 protrudes from the mounting hole 24a, and then the airbag 20 is folded, The airbag 20 is wrapped with a predetermined collapse prevention material so as not to collapse. Next, the airbag 20 is housed on the bottom wall portion 11a in the case 11 so that each bolt (not shown) of the retainer 7 protrudes from the through hole 11c, and the main body portion 9a of the inflator 9 is further lowered from the bottom wall portion. 11a is inserted into the insertion hole 11b, and each bolt (not shown) of the retainer 7 is passed through the flange portion 9c, and a nut (not shown) is fastened to each bolt. 9 and the retainer 7 can be used to attach the airbag 20 and the inflator 9. Further, if the case 11 is covered with the airbag cover 15, the locking claws 11 f are inserted into the locking holes 17 a, the side wall portions 11 d and 17 are connected to each other, and the airbag cover 15 is attached to the case 11, The airbag apparatus M can be assembled. The air bag apparatus M is mounted on the vehicle by using a work hole (not shown) of the lower cover 5 with respect to the handle main body 1 that is fastened to the steering shaft SS in advance to attach the bracket portion 11e of the case 11 to the core material. The air bag device M can be mounted on the vehicle if it is attached and fixed to the vehicle 2 with bolts or the like.

  In the driver's seat airbag apparatus M according to the first embodiment, when the inflation gas G is activated so as to flow into the airbag 20 through the inflow opening 23 when activated, the airbag 20 is inflated by the inflation gas G. Then, the doors 16a and 16a of the airbag cover 15 are pushed open so that the airbag 20 protrudes from the case 11 as a storage part, as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIGS. The expansion is completed so as to cover the upper surface Wu side of the handle W and to be supported on the upper surface Wu side.

  In the driver seat airbag 20 of the first embodiment, when the inflation is completed and the driver D is received, the front support inflation portion 28F is disposed on the front side (front side Bf side) of the center portion B of the handle W. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 10B, even if the front edge 32b side of the driver side portion 32 is inclined so as to fall downward, the front support expansion portion 28F causes the support surface portion 29F to move the front surface of the handle central portion B. The air is brought into contact with the Bf side (specifically, the base portion 28b side of the support surface portion 29F on the rear surface 28cb side is brought into pressure contact with the opened door portion 16a and the front surface Bf and supported by the central portion B). The downward fall of the bag 20 on the front edge 32b side is prevented. Therefore, the airbag 20 can accurately receive the driver D coming toward the handle W by the driver side portion 32 that is arranged to face the driver D without tilting.

  Therefore, even if the airbag 20 of the first embodiment is mounted on the handle W whose length YF from the central part B toward the front part BF is shortened, the airbag 20 is stably received and protected when the inflation is completed. can do.

  Further, in the airbag 20 of the first embodiment, a rear support inflation portion 28B that protrudes from the rear side of the mounting seat 24 to the rear side of the handle W is disposed on the handle side portion 22 when the inflation is completed. The region of the front side 28cf from the base portion 28b of the portion 28B to the front end portion 28a is applied to the rear surface Bb side of the handle W when the driver side 32 is tilted in the rearward direction when the driver D receives the airbag 20. A rear support surface portion 29B that is in close contact with the support is disposed.

  Therefore, in the first embodiment, when the driver D is received by completing the expansion while mounted on the handle W, as shown in FIG. Since the portion 28B is arranged, even if the rear edge 32c side of the driver side portion 32 is inclined to fall downward, the rear support expansion portion 28B moves the rear support surface portion 29B toward the rear surface Bb side of the handle central portion B. (In detail, since the base portion 28b side of the support surface portion 29F on the front surface 28cf side is pressed against the opened door portion 16a and the rear surface Bb and supported by the central portion B), the airbag 20 A downward drop on the trailing edge 32c side is prevented. As a result, the airbag 20 can accurately receive the driver D coming toward the handle W by the driver side portion 32 that is arranged to face the driver D without tilting.

  That is, in the airbag 20 having such a configuration, the length W YF and YB of the handle W to be mounted from the central portion B toward the both sides of the front BF side and the rear BB side is the length from the central portion B to the left and right. Even if it is shorter than the dimensions XL and XR, the driver D coming toward the handle W can be received and protected stably when the expansion is completed.

  In other words, in the airbag 20 of the first embodiment, the handle W having the operation gripping portions HL and HR on at least both the left and right sides, and the width dimension YW before and after the width dimension XW from the center B is smaller. Even if it is mounted on the vehicle, the driver D can be received preferably.

  Of course, even if the left and right edges 32d, 32e (see FIG. 1) side of the driver side portion 32 fall downward, the handle W makes the width dimension XW in the left-right direction wider than the width dimension YW in the front-rear direction. Therefore, the general portions 26L and 26R extending left and right from the mounting seat 24 of the handle side portion 22 without using the support expansion portion 28 are connected portions SFL, SFR, SBL, and SBR near the operation gripping portions HL and HR of the handle W. The driver 20 is disposed so that the airbag 20 is opposed to the driver D with the upper surface Wu of the vehicle and the upper surface Wu of the operation gripping portions HL and HR themselves being in contact with each other, and the inclination of the driver side portion 32 is prevented. By the side part 32, a driver | operator can be received exactly.

  The front and rear support inflating portions 28F and 28B are, when the airbag 20 is completely inflated, the front surface Bf side extending downward from the front edge of the upper surface Bu (see FIGS. 1 and 2) of the central portion B and the rear edge of the upper surface Bu. One or both of them are arranged in contact with the rear surface Bb extending downward from the rear surface Bb side (appropriately interposing an open door portion 16a), or both. May be arranged so as to be in contact with each other and sandwich the central portion B in the front-rear direction. Of course, if at least the driver side portion 32 receives the driver D and can prevent the driver side portion 32 from largely tilting (swinging) back and forth, the support inflating portions 28F and 28B can be attached to the central portion B when the airbag 20 is completely inflated. The front surface Bf side that extends downward from the front edge of the upper surface Bu and the rear surface Bb side that extends downward from the rear edge of the upper surface Bu may be arranged separately in advance.

  Further, in the airbag 20 of the first embodiment, the general portions 26L and 26R supported on the upper surface Wu side of the handle W on the left and right sides between the front and rear support inflating portions 28F and 28B in the handle side portion 22 when the inflation is completed. And extending portions 27F and 27B extending from the general portions 26L and 26R and extending above the front and rear support expansion portions 28F and 28B.

  Therefore, in the embodiment, the front and rear support expansion portions 28F and 28B are formed so as to partially protrude from between the extending portions 27F and 27B and the mounting seat 24, respectively, and the volume can be reduced. The airbag 20 can be inflated quickly.

  In the first embodiment, the handle side portion 22 is formed of a flexible bag material 40, and the bag material 40 extends from the mounting seat portion 41 that forms the mounting seat 24 to the left and right. The general portion portions 43L and 43R that can form the general portions 26L and 26R, and the protruding portion portions 45 that extend from the mounting seat portion 41 in the front-rear direction and can form the front and rear support expansion portions 28F and 28B, respectively. , And is configured. The front and rear support inflating portions 28F and 28B each have a folded portion 48 extending in the left-right direction at the distal end portion 28a, and the left and right edges extending from the folded portion 48 overlap each other, that is, the edges 49 and 50 mutually. The edges 52 and 53 are combined with each other to form a sheet-like portion 47F and 47B. The front and rear projecting portions 45F and 45B include sheet-like portions 47F and 47B arranged on the mounting seat 24 side, and tip portions 61F and 61B arranged on the distal end side, respectively. ing. Further, the driver side coupling portion in which the front edge 61a of the front and rear front sites 61F and 61B and the front edge 43a of the left and right general sites 43L and 43R are coupled to the outer peripheral edge 32a of the driver side 32 is provided. The left and right side edges 61b, 61c extending from both ends of the front edge 61a to the inner sheet-like parts 47F, 47B at the outer peripheral edges of the front and rear tip parts 61F, 61B and the front and rear sides of the general part parts 43L, 43R The portions facing the edges 43b and 43c in front and rear form a handle side portion forming joint that is coupled to each other.

  In such a configuration, the folded portions 48 are folded back at the sheet-like portions 47F and 47B in the projecting portion portions 45F and 45B before and after the bag material 40 constituting the handle side portion 22, and the left and right edges are overlapped. That is, the edges 49 and 50 and the edges 52 and 53 are connected to each other to form the support expansion portions 28F and 28B, and then the front-end portions 61F and 61B of the front and rear protrusion portions 45F and 45B. The left and right side edges 61b and 61c extending from the front edge 61a to the sheet-like portions 47F and 47B and the front and rear side edges 43b and 43c of the general portion portions 43L and 43R are opposed to each other at the front and rear sides. Each other, that is, the side edge 43b of the general part portion 43L and the side edge 61b of the tip portion 61F, and the side edge 43c and the tip of the general portion portion 43L. The side edge 61b of the part 61B, the side edge 43b of the general part part 43R and the side edge 61c of the tip part 61F, and the side edge 43c of the general part part 43R and the side of the tip part 61B The handle side portion 22 can be formed by connecting the edge 61c to each other. Thereafter, the driver side coupling portion between the front end edges 61a, 61a of the front and rear front end portions 61F, 61B and the front end edges 43a, 43R of the left and right general portion portions 43L, 43R in the handle side portion 22 is connected to the driver side portion. The airbag 20 can be manufactured if the front and back surfaces are reversed using the inflow opening 23 so as to be coupled to the outer peripheral edge 32a of 32 and the coupling margin is not exposed.

  Therefore, in the above structure, the airbag 20 can be formed by plane sewing which piled up the predetermined | prescribed coupling | bond part, and the airbag 20 can be manufactured easily.

  Furthermore, in the first embodiment, the flexible bag material 40 that forms the handle side portion 22 includes a mounting seat portion 41, left and right general portion portions 43L and 43R, and front and rear protruding portions. It is formed from one piece provided with the portions 45F and 45B. Therefore, in 1st Embodiment, the outer peripheral wall 21 of the airbag 20 can be formed with the bag raw material 70 which forms the driver | operator side part 32 with the bag raw materials 40 and 70 of two predetermined shapes, The number of component parts of the airbag 20 can be reduced, the parts can be easily managed, the number of parts to be joined can be reduced, and the airbag 20 can be easily manufactured.

  In particular, in the first embodiment, as shown in A, B, C of FIG. 8 and A, B of FIG. 9, the handle side portion 22 can be formed only by plane sewing, so that the support expansion portion 28 is partially formed. Even if it is the structure which protrudes, the handle | steering-wheel side part 22 can be formed easily.

  If the above points are not taken into consideration, as the flexible bag material 40 that forms the handle side portion 22, the mounting seat portion 41, the left and right general portion portions 43L and 43R, and the front and rear portions The projecting portions 45F and 45B are divided into two pieces, divided into two pieces, or divided into three pieces and joined together to form a bag material 40. May be formed. An airbag may be formed by providing an opening for projecting the support inflating portion on the handle side portion provided with the mounting seat, and connecting the support inflating portion to the periphery of the opening.

  Further, like the airbag 200 of the second embodiment shown in FIGS. 11 and 19, the central portion B of the handle W of the support inflating portions 28F and 28B is connected to the extending portions 27F and 27B of the handle side portion 220 when the inflation is completed. The support expansion portions 28F and 28B can be supported at the time of relative approach to the extending portions 27F and 27B when contacting the front side (front surface Bf side) or rear side (rear surface Bb side) (press contact) You may arrange | position the 2nd support expansion parts 30F and 30B. The second support expansion portions 30F and 30B have a substantially rectangular plate shape with the tip portion 30a tapered.

  In the airbag 200 of the second embodiment, the second support inflating portions 30F and 30B that support the support inflating portions 28F and 28B are parts from between the extending portions 27F and 27B and the support inflating portions 28F and 28B, respectively. Thus, the increase in the volume of the airbag 200 can be suppressed, and the support force of the front and rear support inflating portions 28F and 28B can be improved.

  That is, as shown in FIG. 19A, after the airbag 200 completes inflating, as shown in FIG. 19B, the driver D is received and the front edge 32b side of the driver side portion 32 is lowered. Even if it tries to incline so as to fall, first, the front support expansion portion 28F presses the support surface portion 29F on the rear surface 28cb side to the front surface Bf including the open door portion 16a in the center portion B of the handle W, B is supported, the inclination of the driver side portion 32 is prevented, and even if the driver side portion 32 is inclined, the second support expansion portion 30F makes the support surface portion 29F abut on the front surface Bf side. The support surface 30b is brought into contact with the opposite surface (front surface) 28d of the front support inflatable portion 28F to prevent the driver side portion 32 from being inclined, and the airbag 200 is arranged so as to face the driver D. The driver side 32 , It is possible to receive the driver D.

  Similarly, as shown in FIG. 19C, even if the rear edge 32c side of the driver side portion 32 is inclined so as to fall downward, first, the rear support expansion portion 28B is changed to the support surface portion 29B on the front surface 28cf side. Is pressed against the rear surface Bb side including the door portion 16a opened in the central portion B of the handle W, and is supported by the central portion B to prevent the driver side portion 32 from tilting. Even if it is tilted, the second support expansion portion 30B causes the support surface 30b to abut on the opposite surface (rear surface) 28d of the support expansion portion 28B that abuts the support surface portion 29B on the rear surface Bb side. The inclination of the side portion 32 can be prevented, and the driver can be accurately received by the driver side portion 32 arranged so that the airbag 200 faces the driver D.

  Of course, even if the left and right edges 32d and 32e (see FIGS. 11 and 19) of the driver side portion 32 are lowered downward, the support expansion portion 28 and the second support expansion portion 30 are the same as in the first embodiment. The general portions 26L and 26R extending left and right from the mounting seat 24 of the handle side portion 220 are connected to the upper surface Wu of the connecting portions SFL, SFR, SBL and SBR near the operation gripping portions HL and HR of the handle W and the operation gripping portion HL. , The upper surface Wu of the HR itself is contacted and supported, the inclination of the driver side portion 32 is prevented, and the driver side portion 32 arranged so as to face the driver D accurately, You can catch the driver.

  As shown in FIG. 12, the airbag 200 includes a driver side portion 32 made of the same bag material 70 as in the first embodiment, and a bag material 400 slightly different from the bag material 40 in the first embodiment. And a handle side 220 made of

  In the bag material 400, the second portion 54 (54F, 54B) forming the second support inflating portions 30F, 30B is replaced with the sheet-like portion 47 (the protrusion portion 45 of the bag material 40 of the first embodiment). 47F, 47B) and the tip portion 61 (61F, 61B) are different from the bag material 40. That is, the bag material 400 is configured to include a mounting seat portion 41, a general portion portion 43 (43L, 43R), and a tip portion 61 (61F, 61B) in the same manner as the bag material 40. ing. However, the sheet-like portion 470 (470F, 470B) of the projecting portion 450 (450F, 450B) has a left edge 49, 50 and a right edge 52, 53 that are stitched together in the folded portion 48. In addition to the same part as the sheet-like part 47 (47F, 47B) of the material 40, the folded part 55 that forms the tip part 30a of the second support expansion part 30 (30F, 30B) and the left side of the folded part 55 The second portion 54 (54F, 54B) having the edges 56, 57 that are overlapped with each other and the edges 58, 59 that are overlapped with each other on the right side is sewn.

  In the process of manufacturing the handle side portion 220 using the bag material 400, as shown in FIGS. 16A and 16B, the reinforcing cloth 72 is stitched to form the inflow opening 23 and the attachment hole 24a. For example, a fold that is a mountain fold is made on the opposite side (outer surface side) of the second portion 54F to the stitched surface of the reinforcing cloth 72, the folded portion 55 is folded, and the overlapping edge 56 on the left side of the folded portion 55 is folded. , 57 and the right edges 58, 59 are stitched together to form the outer peripheral wall of the second support inflating portion 30F first, and the subsequent operations are the same as in FIGS. It is. That is, as shown in FIG. 16B and FIG. 17A, the folded portion 48 of the support inflating portion 28F in the bag material 400 is formed so that the tip portion 61F of the protruding portion 450F overlaps the mounting seat 24. If folded, the edges 61b and 43b between the tip portion 61F and the general portion portion 43L, the edges 49 and 50 of the sheet-like portion 470F, the edges 61c and 43b between the tip portion 61F and the general portion portion 43R, Since the edges 52 and 53 of the sheet-like part 470F can be overlapped at the same time, these parts are set on a work table of a predetermined industrial sewing machine and are sewn by plane sewing. Next, as shown in FIGS. 17A and 17B, a crease that is a mountain fold is attached to the surface of the second portion 54B opposite to the side where the reinforcing cloth 72 is sewn, and the folded portion 55 is folded back. The left overlapping edges 56 and 57 of the 55 and the right edges 58 and 59 are stitched together to form the outer peripheral wall of the second support inflating portion 30B. Next, as shown in FIG. 17B and FIG. 18A, the folded portion 48 of the support inflating portion 28B in the bag material 400 is arranged so that the tip portion 61B of the protruding portion 450B overlaps the mounting seat 24. When folded, the edges 61b and 43c between the tip portion 61B and the general portion portion 43L, the edges 49 and 50 of the sheet-like portion 470B, the edges 61c and 43c between the tip portion 61B and the general portion portion 43R, Since the edges 52 and 53 of the sheet-like part 470B can be overlapped at the same time, if these parts are set on a work table of a predetermined industrial sewing machine and are sewn on a plane, FIGS. It is possible to easily form the handle side portion 220 shown in FIG. Thereafter, as shown in FIGS. 18B and 18C, as in the first embodiment, the handle side portion 220 and the driver side portion 32 are overlapped, and the outer peripheral edges 22a and 32a are sewn and reversed. The airbag 200 can be manufactured.

  Next, as with the airbag 20 of the first embodiment, the airbag device M may be assembled and mounted on the handle W.

  As described above, the airbag 200 including the front and rear support inflation portions 28F and 28B and the second support inflation portions 30F and 30B is simply a sheet-like portion 470F as compared with the bag material 40 of the airbag 20. , 470B, it is only necessary to use the bag material 400 having a configuration in which the two folded portions 48 and 55 are disposed so that the two support inflatable portions 28F and 30F or the support inflatable portions 28B and 30B can be formed. Can be formed easily.

  In addition, in the airbag 200 of 2nd Embodiment, although the case where the 2nd support expansion part 30F and 30B which can each support the support expansion parts 28F and 28B before and behind the handle | steering-wheel side part 220 was shown was shown, The second support expansion part 30 may be provided so as to support only one side of the support expansion parts 28F and 28B.

  Further, in the airbags 20 and 200 according to the first and second embodiments, the support inflating portions 28 (28F and 28B) and 30 (30F, partially) from the extending portions 27 (27F and 27B) of the handle side portions 22 and 220, respectively. 30B) is shown, but it is supported so as to protrude downward from the front and rear edges 22b and 22c of the handle side portion 221 as in the airbag 201 of the third embodiment shown in FIGS. The inflating part 28 (28F, 28B) may protrude.

  The airbag 201 includes a driver side portion 32 similar to the first and second embodiments, and a handle side portion 221 made of a bag material 401 having a slightly different shape from the bag material 40 of the first embodiment. Configured. As shown in FIG. 21, the bag material 401 is provided with a concave groove 61d at the center of the tip from the tip portion 61 (61F, 61B) to the sheet-like portion 47 (47F, 47B) of the bag material 40, on both the left and right sides. It is configured as a shape that is expanded. Similar to the bag material 40, the bag material 401 includes a mounting seat portion 41 and a general portion portion 43 (43L, 43R). However, the protruding portion 451, that is, the front end edge 61a of the front and rear front end portions 611 (611F, 611B), respectively, joins the edges 61e, 61f facing each other in the left-right direction to the center 61ac in the left-right direction. A concave groove 61d is provided. Therefore, the protruding portion 451 is expanded by the concave groove 61d so that the left and right base side edges 50, 53 of the sheet-like portion 471 (471F, 471B) are the same as the bag material 40. The left and right tip side edges 49, 50 of the shaped part 471 (471F, 471B) are expanded to the left and right from the edges 49, 50 of the bag material 40, and further, the tip part 611 (611F, 611F, The left and right side edges 61b and 61c of 611B) are also formed in a shape that is expanded from the side edges 61b and 61c of the bag material 40 to the left and right, and these portions are different in shape from the bag material 40. .

  In the bag material 401, when the opposing edges 61e and 61f facing each other in the left and right direction of the groove 61d of the tip portion 611 (611F and 611B) are sewn together, as shown in FIGS. A portion of the tip edge 61a extending from the concave groove 61d of the front tip portion 611 (611F, 611B) to the left and right becomes an arc shape having the same shape as the tip edge 61a of the tip portion 61 of the bag material 40, Together with the tip edge 43a of the part portion 43 (43L, 43R), the driver side coupling portion to be sewn with the outer peripheral edge 32a (70a) of the driver side portion 32 (bag material 70) is configured.

  That is, in such a bag material 401, if the opposing edges 61e and 61f opposed to each other in the left and right direction of the concave groove 61d of the tip portion 611 (611F and 611B) are sewn together and flattened, It becomes the same planar shape as the raw material 40. Therefore, thereafter, as shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B, as shown in FIGS. 25B and 26A, the tip portion 611F of the protrusion portion 451F is overlapped with the mounting seat 24. When the folded portion 48 of the support inflating portion 28F in the bag material 401 is folded, the edges 61b and 43b of the tip portion 611F and the general portion portion 43L, the edges 49 and 50 of the sheet-like portion 471F, and the tips Since the edges 61c and 43b of the part 611F and the general part part 43R and the edges 52 and 53 of the sheet-like part 471F can be overlapped at the same time, these mutual parts can be used for a predetermined industrial sewing machine. Set on work table and sew by plane sewing. Next, as shown in FIG. 26B and FIG. 27A, the folded portion 48 of the support inflating portion 28B of the bag material 401 is formed so that the tip portion 611B of the protruding portion 451B overlaps the mounting seat 24. If folded, the edges 61b and 43c between the tip portion 611B and the general portion portion 43L, the edges 49 and 50 of the sheet-like portion 471B, the edges 61c and 43c between the tip portion 611B and the general portion portion 43R, Further, since the edges 52 and 53 of the sheet-like portion 471B can be overlapped at the same time, if these mutual portions are set on a predetermined work table of an industrial sewing machine and subjected to plane sewing, FIGS. It is possible to easily form the handle side portion 221 shown in FIG. Thereafter, as in the first embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 27B and 27C, if the handle side portion 221 and the driver side portion 32 are overlapped, the outer peripheral edges 22a and 32a are stitched together and reversed. The airbag 201 can be manufactured.

  Next, as with the airbag 20 of the first embodiment, the airbag device M may be assembled and mounted on the handle W.

  In the airbag 201 of the third embodiment, in the vehicle mounted state, after completing the inflation as shown in FIG. 28A, the driver D is received and the driver is received as shown in FIG. 28B. Even if the side portion 32 is inclined forward (even if the front edge 32b is inclined downward), the front support expansion portion 28F is provided on the support surface portion 29F on the rear surface 28cb side, particularly on the base portion 28b side. In addition, since it is pressed against the front surface Bf including the opened door portion 16a and is supported by the central portion B, the inclination of the driver side portion 32 is prevented so that the airbag 201 faces the driver D. The driver D can be accurately received by the driver side portion 32 disposed in the vehicle. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 28C, even if the driver D is received and the driver side portion 32 is inclined backward (even if the rear edge 32c is inclined downward), the rear side support is supported. Since the inflating portion 28B is supported by the center portion B by pressing the support surface portion 29B on the front surface 28cf side, in particular, the base portion 28b side to the rear surface Bb including the opened door portion 16a, the driver side The inclination of the portion 32 is prevented, and the driver 201 can accurately receive the driver by the driver side portion 32 disposed so as to face the driver D.

  In particular, in the airbag 201 of the third embodiment, the support inflating portions 28F and 28B can be protruded from the front and rear edges 22b and 22c of the handle side portion 221 when the inflating is completed. 28F and 28B can be formed, and a large reaction force can be secured by the large-capacity support expansion portions 28F and 28B that are in contact with and supported by the front surface Bf and the rear surface Bb of the handle W. Even if the person moves to the front edge 32b side or the rear edge 32c side of the airbag 201, the driver side portion 32 of the airbag 201 faces directly without tilting and can accurately receive the driver.

  Of course, even in the airbag 201, when the driver D after the completion of the inflation is received, the left and right edges 32d and 32e (see FIGS. 20 and 28) of the driver side portion 32 are lowered downward, so that the support inflation portion is supported. 28 (28B, 28F), the general portions 26L, 26R extending left and right from the mounting seat 24 of the handle side portion 221 are connected to the connecting portions SFL, SFR, SBL, SBR near the operation gripping portions HL, HR of the handle W. The driver side in which the airbag 201 is arranged to face the driver D with the upper surface Wu and the upper surfaces Wu of the operation gripping portions HL and HR themselves being in contact with each other and preventing the driver side portion 32 from tilting. The driver can be accurately received by the unit 32.

  In the airbag 201 of the third embodiment, both the front and rear support inflation portions 28F and 28B are configured to increase the volume, but only one of the front and rear support inflation portions 28F and 28 is configured to increase the volume. The other is configured as a support inflating portion 28 provided with the second support inflating portion 30 as in the airbag 20 in the first embodiment or the airbag 200 in the second embodiment. Also good.

  In addition to the handle W shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the deformed handle on which the airbag is mounted has a length dimension from the central portion B as a length dimension XL, XR that extends toward the left and right sides, and at least the front and rear sides. A shape in which the length dimension YB toward the front BF side is shortened, that is, the operation gripping portion H (L, R) is provided on both the left and right sides, the length dimension YB is shortened, If the width dimension YW before and after the width dimension XW is smaller than the width dimension XW, one of the operation gripping portions H in the front-rear direction, such as the deformed handle W0 illustrated in FIGS. 29 and 30 and the deformed handle W1 illustrated in FIG. The front end Hf may be a free end, or the central portion B may be arranged so as to be greatly shifted downward from the operation gripping portion H as in the case of the odd-shaped handle W0.

  Furthermore, in the airbags 20, 200, 201 of the first to third embodiments, the case where the support inflating portions 28F, 28B are provided on both the front and rear sides is shown, but the airbag 202 of the fourth embodiment shown in FIGS. As described above, only the front support expansion portion 28F may be formed.

  The handle WA on which the airbag apparatus MA using the airbag 202 is mounted has operation gripping portions HL and HR on both the left and right sides, and the length dimensions XL and XR from the central portion B toward the left and right sides, The deformed handle has a shape in which the length YF from the central part B toward the front part BF is shortened. In other words, the ring portion R is disposed on the rear portion BB side of the central portion B together with the left and right grip portions HL and HR without arranging the portion of the ring portion R on the front portion BF side of the central portion B of the handle WA. The rear portion RB is disposed. The central part B and the ring part R are connected by four spoke parts (connecting parts) S (SFL, SFR, SBL, SBR). A boss 3 connected to a steering shaft SS serving as a rotation center at the time of operation is disposed below the central portion B. The handle WA is composed of a handle body 101 and an airbag device MA.

  In order to ensure the rigidity of the central portion B, the spoke portion S, and the ring portion R, the handle main body 101 is configured by disposing a core material 102 made of a metal material such as a steel material. It is arranged on the lower side of the center of 102. In addition, a synthetic resin coating layer 104 is appropriately disposed around the core material 102. The lower surface side of the central portion B is covered with a synthetic resin lower cover 105.

  As shown in FIGS. 32 to 34, the driver airbag device MA covers the airbag 202 that is folded and stored, the inflator 9 that supplies inflation gas to the airbag 202, and the folded airbag 202. The airbag cover 115 is configured to include a case 111 for storing and holding the airbag 202 and the inflator 9 and holding the airbag cover 115, and a retainer 7 for attaching the airbag 202 to the case 111 together with the inflator 9. The

  The inflator 9 and the retainer 7 have the same configuration as in the first embodiment. That is, the retainer 7 is made of a square annular sheet metal, presses the periphery of the inflow opening 23 of the airbag 202, attaches the airbag 202 to the case 111, and attaches the inflator 9 to the case 111, at the four corners, A bolt (not shown) that is nut-fastened to the case 111 is provided. The inflator 9 includes a columnar main body portion 9a having a plurality of gas discharge ports 9b in the upper portion, and a flange portion 9c that protrudes from the outer peripheral surface of the main body portion 9a. A through hole (not shown) through which each bolt not to be passed is formed.

  The case 111 is made of a substantially rectangular parallelepiped sheet metal, and is disposed on the upper side of the central portion B of the handle WA to constitute a storage portion for storing the folded airbag 202, and a rectangular bottom wall portion 111a, And a rectangular tubular side wall portion 111d extending upward from the outer peripheral edge of the bottom wall portion 111a. The bottom wall 111a is formed with a circular opening 111b that allows the main body 9a of the inflator 9 to be inserted from below, and four through-holes 111c through which bolts (not shown) of the retainer 7 are passed. (See FIG. 32). A tongue piece 111g extending downward is formed at the front and rear facing portions of the side wall 111d, and the rivet 12 for stopping the side wall 117 of the airbag cover 115 is passed through the side wall 111d through the tongue piece 111g. A plurality of through holes 111h are provided. Further, a bracket portion 111i that is connected and fixed to the core member 102 by bolting or the like at the upper end of the side wall portion 111d of the case 111 in order to dispose and fix the airbag device MA on the upper portion of the central portion B. Is arranged.

  The airbag cover 115 is made of synthetic resin, and includes a ceiling wall portion 116 that covers the upper portion of the stored airbag 202, and a substantially rectangular tubular side wall portion 117 that extends downward from the vicinity of the outer peripheral edge of the ceiling wall portion 116. Configured. The ceiling wall portion 116 is formed with two door portions 116a and 116a that are pushed by the inflating airbag 202 and open to both the front and rear sides. The side wall 117 is formed with a through hole 117b through which the rivet 12 is inserted.

  Similar to the airbags 20 and 201 of the first and third embodiments, the airbag 202 of the fourth embodiment protrudes to the front side of the central portion B of the handle WA and is abutted and supported on the front surface Bf side of the central portion B. The front support inflatable portion 28F is provided, but the rear support inflatable portion 28B is not provided, except for the airbags 20 and 201 of the first and third embodiments, and the other configurations are the same. It is. In particular, in the airbag 202 of the fourth embodiment, the front support inflating portion 28F is configured to increase the volume similarly to the front support inflating portion 28F of the airbag 201 in the third embodiment.

  That is, as shown in FIGS. 35 to 37, as the bag material constituting the airbag 202, the bag material 70 forming the driver side portion 32 is the same as that of the first and third embodiments, and the handle side portion 222 is formed. As a configuration in which the bag material 402 forming the bag is not provided with the rear-side protruding portion 451B in the bag material 401 of the third embodiment, only the front-side protruding portion 451F is provided. Yes. Specifically, in the bag material 402, the general portion portions 43 (43L, 43R) are disposed on the left and right sides of the mounting seat portion 41, and the protruding portion portion 451F is disposed on the front side of the mounting seat portion 41. A substantially semi-disc-shaped rear side portion 62 in which the left and right general portion portions 43L and 43R and the tip portion 611B of the third embodiment are coupled is disposed on the rear side of the mounting seat portion 41. Is configured. Furthermore, the bag material 402 according to the fourth embodiment has a third feature in that the opposing edges 61e and 61f of the groove 61d at the center 61ac of the tip edge 61a of the tip portion 611F are formed so as to swell forward. It is slightly different from the opposed edges 61e and 61f of the bag material 401 of the embodiment, and the same reference numerals are given to the same parts as the bag material 40 of the other third embodiment.

  As shown in FIGS. 38A and 38B, the airbag 202 is manufactured by sewing the opposing edges 61e and 61f facing each other in the left-right direction of the concave groove 61d of the tip portion 611F, and deploying them flatly. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 38C, the tip portion 611F of the protrusion portion 451F is overlapped with the mounting seat 24, and the folding portion 48 of the support inflating portion 28F in the bag material 402 is folded back. Edges 61b and 43b of the part 611F and the general part part 43L, edges 49 and 50 of the sheet-like part 471F, edges 61c and 43b of the tip part 611F and the general part part 43R, and a sheet-like part Since the edges 52 and 53 of the 471F can be overlapped at the same time, if these mutual parts are set on a work table of a predetermined industrial sewing machine and are sewn flat, The dollar side 222, can be easily formed. Thereafter, the handle side portion 222 and the driver side portion 32 are overlapped, and the outer peripheral edge 22a (driver side coupling portions 61a and 43a, the outer peripheral edge 62a of the rear side portion 62) and 32a are sewn and reversed. The airbag 202 can be manufactured.

  The airbag 202 manufactured in this manner may be assembled to the airbag apparatus MA and mounted on the handle WA in the same manner as the airbag 20 of the first embodiment.

  Also in the driver's seat airbag apparatus MA of the fourth embodiment, when activated, if the inflation gas G flows into the airbag 202 through the inflow opening 23 and the airbag 202 expands, The doors 116a and 116a are pushed open so that the airbag 202 protrudes from the case 111 as a storage part as shown in the two-dot chain line of FIGS. 32 and 33 and the upper side Wu of the handle WA. Cover and complete the expansion so that they are supported on the upper surface Wu side.

  In the driver seat airbag 202 of the fourth embodiment, when the inflation is completed and the driver D is received, the front support inflation portion 28F is disposed on the front side (front side Bf side) of the center portion B of the handle WA. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 39B, even if the front edge 32b side of the driver side portion 32 is inclined so as to fall downward, the front support inflating portion 28F causes the support surface portion 29F to move the front surface of the handle central portion B. Air contact with the Bf side (specifically, the base portion 28b side of the support surface portion 29F on the rear surface 28cb side is pressed against the opened door portion 116a and the front surface Bf and supported by the central portion B). The bag 202 is prevented from falling downward on the front edge 32b side. Therefore, the airbag 202 can accurately receive the driver D coming toward the handle WA by the driver side portion 32 that is arranged to face the driver D without tilting. Note that, at portions other than the front edge 32b side of the airbag 202, the general portions 26L and 26R extending left and right from the mounting seat 24 of the handle side portion 222 abut on the upper surface Wu near the operation gripping portions HL and HR of the handle WA. On the rear edge 32c side, the rear-side general portion 26B of the mounting seat 24 is abutted and supported on the upper surface Wu of the rear portion RB of the ring portion R, and the driver side portion 32 is prevented from being tilted. However, the driver side portion 32 arranged to face the driver D can accurately receive the driver.

  Therefore, even if the airbag 202 of the fourth embodiment is mounted on the handle WA having a shorter length YF from the central portion B toward the front portion BF, the driver D is stably received and protected when the inflation is completed. can do.

  Note that the front support inflating portion 28F of the airbag 202 of the fourth embodiment has a shape in which the opposing edges 61e and 61f of the recessed groove 61d are inflated, and the area of the corresponding portion of the bag material 402 is the corresponding portion of the bag material 401. The area is slightly larger than the front support inflating portion 28F of the airbag 201.

  Further, when only the front support inflation portion 28F is formed, the rear support inflation portion 28B of the airbag 20 of the first embodiment is omitted and only the front support inflation portion 28F is arranged as in the airbag 202A shown in FIG. You may comprise so that it may provide. As shown in FIG. 41, the airbag 202A is a bag portion 402A that forms the handle side portion 222A. On the rear side of the mounting seat portion 41 of the bag material 40 of the first embodiment, 45B may be eliminated and a semi-disc-shaped rear side portion 62 may be used.

  Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 42, a support inflating portion having a larger volume in the fourth embodiment may be arranged on the rear side. The airbag 202B having the front and rear supporting and inflating portions 28F and 28B having a large volume has a protruding portion portion on the front side, like a bag material 402B shown in FIG. 43, as the structure of the handle side portion 222B. It can be manufactured by arranging 451F on the rear side symmetrically in the front-rear direction with the inflow opening 23 as the center, and providing the projecting portion 451B.

  Further, when forming the support inflating portion, as in the airbag 203 of the fifth embodiment shown in FIGS. 44 to 48, the primary inflating portion 80 that inflates by inflating the inflation gas first, and the primary inflating portion 80. The primary expansion portion 28F includes a secondary expansion portion 90 that allows the expansion gas G to flow from the supply port 83 to complete expansion, and the front support expansion portion 28F that is supported by contact with the front surface Bf of the handle WA. You may make it comprise from 80 site | parts.

  The primary inflating portion 80 of the airbag 203 is inflated by inflowing the inflating gas from the inflow opening 23, and has a base portion 81 that is provided with a supply port 83 and extends from the base portion 81 to the front. And a distal end portion 82 that forms the support expansion portion 28F. The secondary inflating portion 90 of the airbag 203 is configured to form the outer peripheral wall 213 of the airbag 203 excluding the outer peripheral wall of the support inflating portion 28F. In other words, the secondary inflating portion 90 constitutes the outer bag 91, and the primary inflating portion 80 has the front support inflating portion 28 </ b> F, and the inner portion 84 is housed in the outer bag 91. It is configured.

  44 to 46, the inner bag 84 has an opening side portion 85 and a lid side portion, both of which are substantially disc-shaped, in addition to the substantially rectangular support members 87 and 88 forming the front support inflatable portion 28F. 86. The opening side portion 85 is provided with a mounting seat 24 having an inflow opening 23 and a mounting hole 24a, and further, an insertion hole 85a through which the expansion gas G flows into the front support expansion portion 28F is formed. In the portion 86, a supply port 83 for supplying the inflation gas G to the outer bag 91 (secondary inflation portion 90) side is opened. The outer bag 91 has a handle side part 223 and a driver side part 323, both of which are substantially disk-shaped, and the handle side part 223 is provided with a mounting seat 24 having an inflow opening 23 and a mounting hole 24a. Furthermore, an insertion hole 91a for allowing the expansion gas G to flow into the front support expansion portion 28F is formed. The front support inflating portion 28F constituting the primary inflating portion 80 sews the outer peripheral edges of the substantially rectangular support members 87 and 88, and sews the base portion 28b side to the peripheral edges of the insertion holes 85a and 91a. Is formed.

  The airbag 203 is in a state before the punching process, and the peripheral portion of the inflow opening 23 is aligned with the inner peripheral surface side of the bag material 403 constituting the handle side portion 223 of the outer bag 91, The opening side portion 85 provided with the supply port 83 of the inner bag 84 is overlapped, and the peripheral portions of the inflow opening 23 are stitched together, and then the inflow opening 23, the mounting hole 24a, and the insertion holes 85a and 91a are opened. Open to form. Subsequently, the base portion 28b side of the supporting members 87 and 88 is sewn together with the opening side portion 85 on the periphery of the insertion holes 91a and 85a on the outer peripheral surface side of the bag material 403 opposite to the opening side portion 85. Next, the outer peripheral edges of the supporting members 87 and 88 including the front end portion 28a side are sewn to form the front supporting expansion portion 28F.

  Next, the lid side portion 86 is overlapped on the opening side portion 85 and the outer peripheral edges are sewn together to form the inner bag 84. Thereafter, the bag material 70 constituting the driver side portion 323 is overlapped on the opposite side of the base portion 81 of the inner bag 84 in the bag material 403 constituting the handle side portion 223, and the outer peripheral edges 40a and 70a are stitched together. The airbag 203 can be manufactured by turning over using the inflow opening 23. The manufactured airbag 203 may be assembled to the airbag apparatus MA and mounted on the handle WA, as in the first embodiment.

  Even in the driver's seat airbag apparatus MA using the airbag 203 of the fifth embodiment, when the inflation gas G flows into the airbag 203 through the inflow opening 23 during operation, the airbag 203 is inflated. The doors 116a and 116a of the air bag cover 115 are pushed open, and the air bag 203 protrudes from the case 111 as a storage part as shown in A and B of FIG. 47 and A of FIG. The expansion is completed so as to cover the upper surface Wu side and to be supported by the upper surface Wu side.

  In the driver seat airbag 203 of the fifth embodiment, when the inflation is completed and the driver D is received, the front support inflation portion 28F is disposed on the front side (front side Bf side) of the center portion B of the handle WA. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 48B, even if the front edge 32b side of the driver side portion 323 is inclined so as to fall downward, the front support inflating portion 28F causes the support surface portion 29F to move the front surface of the handle central portion B. Air contact with the Bf side (specifically, the base portion 28b side of the support surface portion 29F on the rear surface 28cb side is pressed against the opened door portion 116a and the front surface Bf and supported by the central portion B). This prevents the bag 203 from dropping downward on the front edge 32b side. Therefore, the airbag 203 can accurately receive the driver D coming toward the handle WA by the driver side portion 32 that is arranged to face the driver D without tilting. At portions other than the front edge 32b side of the airbag 203, the general portions 26L and 26R extending from the mounting seat 24 of the handle side portion 223 to the left and right contact the upper surface Wu near the operation gripping portions HL and HR of the handle WA. On the rear edge 32c side, the rear side general portion 26B of the mounting seat 24 is abutted and supported on the upper surface Wu of the rear portion RB of the ring portion R, so that the driver side portion 32 is prevented from tilting, and the airbag 203 However, the driver side portion 32 arranged to face the driver D can accurately receive the driver.

  In particular, in the airbag 203 of the fifth embodiment, when the inflation gas G flows into the airbag 203, the primary inflation portion 80 is inflated as shown in FIGS. As shown to A, the secondary expansion part 90 expand | swells with the gas G for expansion supplied through the supply port 83 of the primary expansion | swelling part 80. FIG. When the expansion of the primary expansion portion 80 is completed, the front support expansion portion 28F also completes expansion. Therefore, before the expansion of the secondary expansion portion 90 is completed, the support surface portion 29F of the front support expansion portion 28F can be quickly handled. It is arranged at a predetermined position facing the front surface Bf side of the WA. Therefore, even if the secondary expansion portion 90 completes expansion and receives the driver D, the support surface portion 29F of the front support expansion portion 28F is already disposed at an appropriate position, and the front support expansion portion 28F. Is quickly abutted and supported on the front face Bf side of the handle WA, and the drop on the front edge 32b side of the driver side portion 323 can be accurately and stably prevented. As a result, the airbag 203 moves toward the handle WA. The coming driver D can be received and protected in a more stable state.

  When the support inflating portion is constituted by the primary inflating portion, as shown in the airbag 204 of the sixth embodiment shown in FIGS. 49 to 53, the front and rear supporting inflating portions 28F and 28B are arranged before and after the primary inflating portion 80A. You may form from the front-end | tip parts 82F and 82B.

  In the airbag 204, the support inflation portions 28F and 28B protrude from the insertion holes 91a and 91a of the outer bag 91A constituting the outer peripheral wall 214 of the airbag 204 on both the front and rear sides of the base portion 81 of the primary inflation portion 80A. It is configured. The airbag 204 can be formed by arranging the support inflating portion 28F of the fifth embodiment symmetrically in the front-rear direction around the inflow opening 23 and providing the rear support inflating portion 28B. In the secondary inflating portion 90A constituting the outer bag 91, insertion holes 91a through which the front and rear tip portions 82F and 82B extending from the base portion 81 of the primary inflating portion 80A are inserted are arranged on both front and rear sides of the inflow opening 23. (See FIG. 51).

  The airbag 204 is in a state before the perforating process, and the peripheral portion of the inflow opening 23 is formed on the inner peripheral surface side of the bag material 404 (see FIG. 51) constituting the handle side portion 224 of the outer bag 91A. The opening side portion 85A provided with the supply port 83 of the inner bag 84A is overlapped, the peripheral portions of the inflow opening 23 are stitched together, and then the inflow opening 23, the mounting hole 24a, and the insertion hole 85a and 91a are formed by drilling. Next, the base portions of the supporting members 87 and 88 are sewn together at the periphery of the two insertion holes 91a on the outer peripheral surface side of the bag material 404 on the side opposite to the opening side portion 85, while the opening side portion 85 is sewn together. The front and rear front expansion portions 28F and 28B are formed by stitching the outer peripheral edges of the support members 87 and 88, including the distal end portion 28a side.

  Next, the lid side portion 86A is overlapped with the opening side portion 85A, and the outer peripheral edges are stitched together to form the inner bag 84A. Thereafter, the bag material 70 constituting the driver side portion 324 is overlapped on the opposite side of the inner bag 84A in the bag material 404 constituting the handle side portion 224, and the outer peripheral edges 40a, 70a are sewn together to open the inflow opening. If the bag is turned upside down using 23, the airbag 204 can be manufactured. The manufactured airbag 204 may be assembled to the airbag apparatus M and mounted on the handle W, as in the first embodiment.

  Even in the driver's seat airbag apparatus M using the airbag 204 of the sixth embodiment, when the inflation gas G flows into the airbag 204 through the inflow opening 23 during the operation, the airbag 204 is inflated. The doors 16a and 16a of the airbag cover 15 are pushed open so that the airbag 204 protrudes from the case 11 as a storage part as shown in A and B of FIG. 52 and A of FIG. The expansion is completed so as to cover the upper surface Wu side and to be supported by the upper surface Wu side.

  When the inflation gas flows into the airbag 204, the primary inflation portion 80A is inflated, and the secondary inflation portion 90A is inflated by the inflation gas G supplied via the supply port 83 of the primary inflation portion 80A. . When the expansion of the primary expansion portion 80A is completed, the support expansion portions 28F and 28B also complete the expansion. Therefore, before the expansion of the secondary expansion portion 90A is completed, the support surface portions 29F and 29B of the support expansion portions 28F and 28B It is quickly arranged at a predetermined position facing the front surface Bf side or the rear surface Bb side of the handle W. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 53B, even if the secondary expansion portion 90A completes expansion and receives the driver D, the support surface portions 29F and 29B of the support expansion portions 28F and 28B are already appropriate. The support inflating portions 28F and 28B are quickly abutted and supported on the front surface Bf side and the rear surface Bb side of the handle W, and the driver side portion 324 falls on the front edge 32b side and the rear edge 32c side. As a result, the airbag 204 can receive and protect the driver D coming toward the steering wheel W in a more stable state. Note that the left and right depressions of the airbag 204 are such that the vicinity of the general portions 26L and 26R extending from the mounting seat 24 of the handle side portion 224 to the left and right is in contact with and supported by the upper surface Wu of the handle W near the operation grip portions HL and HR. To be prevented.

  Moreover, you may comprise so that the support surface part of a support expansion part may be contact | abutted and supported on the front surface of a steering wheel positively. For example, like the airbag 205 of the seventh embodiment shown in FIGS. 54 to 58, the boundary portion between the front support inflating portion 28 </ b> F and the mounting seat 24, that is, the mounting seat 24 in the airbag 205 when the inflation is completed. The bent portion 25 between the front and rear support bulges 28F that swells from the front edge side of the front portion BF side of the handle WA near the front surface Bf and the upper surface Bu (in the corner portion) Bc (specifically, near the cross portion Bc) The substantially flat plate-like support surface portion 29F extending downward from the bent portion 25 of the support expansion portion 28F is arranged not only on the base portion 28b side but also in the center in the vertical direction. The vicinity of the portion 29a and the vicinity of the tip 29c may also be configured to contact and support the front surface Bf of the handle WA. It should be noted that the airbag 205 used as the airbag device MA has a planar view in the inflated state in the same shape as the airbag 202 indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG.

  In the airbag 205 of the seventh embodiment, as shown in FIG. 55, the support inflating portion 28 </ b> F is similar to the airbag 202 (see FIGS. 32 to 39) of the fourth embodiment and the front edge of the handle side portion 225. It is comprised so that it may protrude below from 22b. Further, the bag material 405 forming the handle side portion 225 is also similar to the bag material 402 (see FIGS. 35 and 38) of the airbag 202 of the fourth embodiment, as shown in FIGS.

  That is, the handle side portion 225 of the airbag 205 of the seventh embodiment is disposed on both the left and right sides and the rear side of the mounting seat 24 having the inflow opening 23, similarly to the handle side portion 222 of the fourth embodiment. In addition, the general portions 26L, 26R, and 26B supported on the upper surface Bu side of the handle WA and the front support expansion portion 28F are configured, and the support expansion portion 28F has a front surface 28h side of the handle side portion 222. It is configured to be connected to the front edge 22b side, that is, to protrude downward from the front edge 22b.

  As shown in FIGS. 56 and 57, the bag material 405 forming the handle side portion 224 is made of a cloth material woven with a woven yarn such as polyamide as shown in FIGS. The mounting seat portion 41 is flexible and extends from the mounting seat portion 41 to the left and right sides and the rear side to form the general portions 26L, 26R, and 26B (rear side portion 62). A possible general portion portion 43 (L, R, B) and a protruding portion portion 455F extending forward from the mounting seat portion 41 and capable of forming the support expansion portion 28F are configured. The support inflating portion 28F has a folded portion 48 extending in the left-right direction at the distal end portion 28a, and the left and right edges 49, 50 and the edges 52, 53 extending from the folded portion 48 are joined to each other. It is set as the structure formed from the shape part 475F.

  The protruding portion 455F includes a sheet-like portion 475F disposed on the mounting seat 24 side and a distal end portion 615F disposed on the distal end side. The tip edge 61a of the tip portion 615F and the tip edges 43a of the left and right general portion portions 43L and 43R constitute a driver side coupling portion that is joined to the outer peripheral edge 32a of the driver side portion 32, and the tip portion In the outer peripheral edge of 615F, the left and right side edges 61b and 61c extending from both ends of the leading edge 61a to the inner sheet-like part 475F and the front and rear side edges 43b of the general part parts 43L and 43R are opposed to each other. The connecting part for forming the handle side part to be connected to is constructed.

  Further, the front end edge 61a of the front end portion 615F is arranged in the left-right direction in the same manner as the bag material 402 of the fourth embodiment so that the support inflating portion 28F can protrude from the front edge 22b of the handle side portion 225 to increase the volume. A concave groove 61d that couples the edges 61e and 61f facing each other in the left-right direction is disposed at the center 61ac of the vehicle, and a portion of the tip edge 61a that extends from the concave groove 61d to the left and right constitutes the driver side coupling portion 61a. ing. The edges 61e and 61f that face in the left-right direction have a shape that swells forward so as to approach each other, like the bag material 402 of the fourth embodiment.

  In particular, in this handle side portion 225 (bag material 405), the coupling portion 44 with the driver side portion 32 of the coupling portions 43b, 61b, 61c for forming the handle side portions is viewed from the left-right direction when the inflation is completed. As seen in a side view, the steering wheel WA is disposed near the upper side in the direction along the steering axis SS of the handle WA on the front surface Bf side, that is, along the steering axis SS on the front surface Bf side of the handle WA. It is configured to be arranged in the vicinity of the straight line UPc (see FIG. 58). Note that the front surface Bf side of the handle WA through which the straight line UPc passes is based on the most forwardly projecting portion of the front portion BF of the central portion B.

  Explaining the above configuration, the portion constituting the support surface portion 29F of the support inflating portion 28F in the bag material 405 is the same as the portion 41 for mounting seat (the mounting seat 24) in the sheet-like portion 475F of the portion 455F for protrusion. It becomes a substantially rectangular planar area on the front side of the boundary portion 25. Further, since the support inflating portion 28F protrudes downward on the front side of the mounting seat 24 when the airbag 205 is inflated, the boundary portion 25 is folded in a substantially straight line along the left-right direction at the handle side portion 225. The music part 25 is constituted. In the seventh embodiment, the bent portion 25 is disposed on the front surface Bf side near the intersection (corner portion) between the front surface Bf on the front BF side and the upper surface Bu in the central portion B of the handle WA. ing.

  That is, when viewed from the size and shape of the bag material 405, the boundary portion 25 between the sheet-like portion 475F of the protruding portion 455F and the attachment seat portion 41 extends linearly along the left-right direction, and the attachment seat The left and right general portion parts 43L and 43R of the use part 41 are connected to the side edges 43b extending linearly along the left and right direction. These side edges 43b are combined with side edges 61b and 61c of the tip portion 615F to form a connecting part for forming a handle side part, and the left and right tip sides are driver side connecting parts 43a and 61a. At the same time, the coupling portion 44 is coupled to the outer peripheral edge 32a of the driver side portion 32 (the outer peripheral edge 70a of the bag material 70 of the driver side portion 32). In the case of the seventh embodiment, when the airbag 205 is completely inflated, the coupling portion 44 is located near the straight line (reference line) UPc along the steering axis SS on the front surface Bf side of the handle WA, as shown in FIG. For this reason, in the seventh embodiment, the distance L0 (see FIG. 56) from the center O of the inflow opening 23 to the coupling portions 43b, 61b, 61c for forming the handle side portions is the airbag device. When the expansion is completed with the MA mounted on the handle WA, the bent portion 25 is located near the intersection (corner) Bc between the front surface Bf on the front BF side and the upper surface Bu at the center B of the handle WA. The length dimension is set to be arranged on the front surface Bf side.

  As with the airbag 202 of the fourth embodiment, the airbag 205 of the seventh embodiment is manufactured for the protruding portion of the bag material 405 constituting the handle side portion 225, as shown in FIGS. 57. The groove 61d of the tip portion 615F in the portion 455F is coupled so as to be closed, and the tip edge 61a of the tip portion 615F is formed in an arc shape corresponding to the front edge 32b of the driver side portion 32. As shown in C, in the sheet-like part 475F of the projecting part 455F, the folded part 48 is folded back, and the left and right edges 49, 50 and the edges 52, 53 are stitched (bonded) to each other. A large front support expansion portion 28F is formed, and then extends from both ends of the leading edge 61a at the outer peripheral edge of the tip portion 615F of the protrusion portion 455F to the inner sheet-like portion 475F. Right side edge 61b, 61c and general portion for site 43L, the side edges 43b of the 43R, the connecting portion mutually opposed before and after the 43b, if caused to bond to form a handle side 225. Thereafter, the driver side coupling portion between the front end edge 61a of the front end portion 615F on the handle side portion 225 and the front end edges 43a of the left and right general portion portions 43L and 43R is connected to the outer peripheral edge 32a of the driver side portion 32. The airbag 205 can be manufactured by reversing the front and back using the inflow opening 23 so that the coupling allowance is not exposed.

  Even in the airbag 205 of the seventh embodiment, similarly to the fourth embodiment, even if the airbag 205 has the support inflating portion 28F that protrudes from the front edge 22b of the handle side portion 225 and has a large volume, It can be manufactured easily.

  And the airbag 205 manufactured in this way should just be assembled | attached to the airbag apparatus MA and mounted in handle | steering-wheel WA similarly to the airbag 202 of 4th Embodiment.

  Also in the driver seat airbag device MA of the seventh embodiment, when activated, if the inflation gas G from the inflator 9 flows into the airbag 205 through the inflow opening 23 and the airbag 205 is inflated, The doors 116a and 116a of the airbag cover 115 are pushed open so that the airbag 205 protrudes from the case 111 as a storage part as shown in a two-dot chain line in FIG. 54 or A in FIG. The expansion is completed so as to cover the Wu side and be supported on the upper surface Wu side thereof. In particular, in the seventh embodiment, the handle side portion 225 of the airbag 205 at the time of the completion of inflation is arranged in the direction along the steering axis SS of the handle WA along the front surface Bf side of the handle WA, so The support surface portion 29 and the handle side portion forming coupling portions 43b, 61b, 61c are disposed. Therefore, since the support surface portion 29F of the support expansion portion 28F of the handle side portion 225 can be abutted and supported on the front surface Bf side of the handle WA over a wide area, the driver can be completed by completing the expansion while mounted on the handle WA. When receiving, even if it is going to incline so that the front edge 32b side of driver side part 32 falls below, support inflating part 28F makes support surface part 29 contact the front Bf side of handle WA in a wide area, and airbag 205 Can immediately secure a reaction force. As a result, the airbag 205 can quickly and accurately catch the driver coming toward the short handle WA on the front side by the driver side portion 32 arranged to face the driver without tilting. it can.

  In the case of the seventh embodiment, in the airbag 205 that has been inflated, the support surface portion 29F of the support inflatable portion 28F is not only near the central portion 29a in the vertical direction, but also near the base portion 29b near the bent portion 25 The front surface 115a of the airbag cover 115 including the back surface side of the open door portion 116a on the front surface Bf side of the handle WA and the front surface 105a of the lower cover 105 are supported in a wide area from the vicinity of the front end 29c.

  Further, when the airbag 205 at the time of completion of the inflation is to support at least the surface including the vicinity of the center portion 29a in the vertical direction of the support surface portion 29F in contact with the front surface Bf of the handle WA, the coupling for forming the handle side portion is used. As shown in a side view of the portions 43b, 61b, 61c with the driver side portion 32 when viewed from the left-right direction when the expansion is completed, the portion 44b, 61b, 61c extends in the direction along the steering axis SS of the handle WA on the front surface Bf side of the handle WA. It may be configured not only to coincide with the reference line UPc but also to slightly deviate back and forth.

  In other words, the airbags 205A and 205B shown in FIGS. 59A and 59B may be configured.

  The airbag 205A has a front side Bf side of the handle WA as a side view of the connecting portion 44 of the connecting portion 43b, 61b, 61c for forming the handle side portion with the driver side portion 32 when viewed from the left-right direction when the inflation is completed. Is disposed behind the reference line UPc in the direction along the steering axis SS of the steering wheel WA. In other words, the distance LO from the center O of the inflow opening 23 of the handle side portion 225 to the coupling portions 43b, 61b, 61c and the boundary portion 25 is the distance LOb shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. is there.

  The airbag 205B has a front side Bf side of the handle WA as a side view of the connecting portion 44 of the connecting portion 43b, 61b, 61c for forming the handle side portion with the driver side portion 32 when viewed from the left-right direction when the inflation is completed. Is disposed in front of the reference line UPc in the direction along the steering axis SS of the steering wheel WA. In other words, the distance LO from the center O of the inflow opening 23 of the handle side portion 225 to the coupling portions 43b, 61b, 61c and the boundary portion 25 is the distance LOf shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. is there.

  However, in the airbag 205A on the rear side with respect to the reference line UPc, when the inflation is completed, the boundary part (folded part) 25 with the support inflating part 28F on the front edge side of the mounting seat 24 is the front part of the handle WA. The reaction force received from the front surface Bf side of the handle WA of the support surface portion 29F of the support inflating portion 28F is shifted rearward because it is in contact with and supported by the upper surface Bu side shifted from the front surface Bf side of the BF to the rear side. With the vicinity of the boundary portion 25 as the center of rotation, a moment is generated that causes the rear edge 32c of the driver side portion 32 to be directed downward. As a result, as shown in FIG. 59A, the rear edge 32c of the driver side portion 32 is generated. It is desirable that the rearward displacement bs does not exceed 50 mm because the driver side portion 32 is inclined so as to shift the side downward.

  Further, in the airbag 205B in which the coupling portion 44 is in front of the reference line UPc, the boundary portion (folded portion) 25 with the support inflating portion 28F on the front edge side of the mounting seat 24 is the upper surface on the front portion BF side of the handle WA. Although the support surface portion 29F of the support expansion portion 28F can contact the front surface Bf of the handle WA with the support surface portion 29F of the support expansion portion 28F being in contact with and supported by the front surface Bf away from the Bu side, the mounting seat The front edge 24 of the handle 24 also contacts the front surface Bf side of the handle WA to generate a force that pushes the base portion 28b side of the support inflating portion 28F forward, thereby separating the tip 29c side from the front surface Bf of the handle WA. Since it becomes easy and it becomes difficult to quickly secure the reaction force from the handle front surface Bf of the support inflating portion 28F, it is desirable that the forward displacement fs does not exceed 50 mm.

  That is, as the airbag 205 including the front support inflating portion 28F, the coupling portion 44 with the driver side portion 32 of the coupling portion 43b, 61b, 61c for forming the handle side portion is viewed from the left-right direction when the inflation is completed. As viewed from the side, it is desirable that the handle WA is disposed within a range that is shifted by 50 mm forward and backward with respect to the reference line UPc on the front surface Wf side of the handle WA.

  In other words, in the airbag 205 at the completion of inflation, the bent portion 25 is located near the intersection Bc between the front surface Bf on the front BF side of the handle WA and the upper surface Bu, preferably the front surface Bf near the intersection Bc. It can be said that it is desirable to have a configuration arranged on the side.

  It should be noted that the flat outer diameter D0 of the driver side portion 32 of each embodiment is about 700 mm, and the opening diameter d0 of the inflow opening 23 is about 65 mm.

  Further, like the airbags 205, 205A, 205B, the boundary part 25 between the support inflating part 28F and the mounting seat 24 is located near the intersection part Bc between the front surface Bf and the upper surface Bu on the front part BF side of the central part B of the handle WA. The configuration in which the support surface portion 29F of the support inflating portion 28F is widely contacted and supported by the front surface Bf is the rear support inflating portion 28B as in the airbag 206 of the eighth embodiment shown in FIGS. This can also be applied to the case of providing

  That is, the airbag 206 of the eighth embodiment is similar to the airbag 201 of the third embodiment shown in FIG. 20, but the boundary portion 25F between the front support inflating portion 28F and the mounting seat 24 is provided with the handle W. The rear support expansion portion 28B and the mounting seat are arranged on the front surface Bf side (near the reference line UPc on the front surface Bf side) in the vicinity of the intersection BcF of the front surface Bf and the upper surface Bu on the front BF side of the central portion B 24 is arranged on the rear surface Bb side (near the reference line UPc on the rear surface Bb side) in the vicinity of the intersection portion BcB between the rear surface Bb and the upper surface Bu on the rear portion BB side of the central portion B of the handle W.

  Therefore, in the airbag 206, the support surface portion 29F of the support inflating portion 28F can be widely supported by the front surface Bf, and the support surface portion 29B of the support inflating portion 28B can also be widely supported by the rear surface Bb. It becomes.

  In the airbag 206, as with the airbag 201 of the third embodiment, the rear support inflatable portion 28B is simply symmetrical with the front support inflatable portion 28F in the front-rear direction, and the handle side portion 226 (bag material 406). The same parts as those of the airbag 201 are denoted by the same reference numerals.

  Further, when the support surface portion 29F is brought into contact with and supported by the front surface Bf of the handle WA over a wide area, the support surface portion 29F may be configured as an airbag 207 of the ninth embodiment shown in FIGS.

  The airbag 207 is supported and inflated so that the strap 35 (L, R) having flexibility can be pulled in a direction in which the support surface portion 29F of the support inflatable portion 28F when the inflation is completed is pressed against the front surface Bf side of the handle WA. It arrange | positions so that the part 28F and the site | part of the outer peripheral wall 21 of the airbag 207 of the back side of the support expansion part 28F may be connected.

  Specifically, the left and right straps 35 are joined (sewn) between the driver side portion 32 and the handle side portion 227 in the vicinity of the center in the front-rear direction on the left and right sides of the airbag 207, respectively. The tip 35a side is coupled to the intermediate portion in the vertical direction of the support expansion portion 28F. Specifically, the front end portion 35a side is formed of the edges 49 and 50 and the edges 52 and 53 that are folded and overlapped from the folded portion 48 of the sheet-like portion 477F in the protruding portion portion 457F of the bag material 407 forming the handle side portion 227. It is formed by sewing near the middle position in the vertical direction.

  That is, as shown in FIGS. 66A, 66B and 66C, the airbag 207 closes the concave groove 61d of the tip portion 617F in the protruding portion 457F of the bag material 407 constituting the handle side portion 227. And the tip edge 61a of the tip portion 617F has an arc shape corresponding to the front edge 32b of the driver side portion 32, and the folded portion 48 is folded back at the sheet-like portion 477F of the protrusion portion portion 457F. Then, the left and right edges 49 and 50 and the edges 52 and 53 are stitched together (joined) to form a large front support expansion portion 28F, and then the tip portion 617F of the protrusion portion 455F. Left and right side edges 61b and 61c extending from both ends of the leading edge 61a to the inner sheet-like part 477F and side edges 43b of the general part parts 43L and 43R, The coupling portion mutually opposed before and after the 3b, if caused to bond to form a handle side 227. Thereafter, as shown in D of FIG. 66, the base portions 35b side of the straps 35L and 35R are arranged at predetermined positions of the distal end edges 43a of the left and right general portions 43L and 43R of the handle side portion 227, and the handle side portions are arranged. The driver side coupling portion between the tip edge 61a of the front tip portion 617F and the tip edges 43a of the left and right general portion portions 43L and 43R, together with the base portion 35b of the strap 35 and the outside of the driver side portion 32. Next, the front and back sides of the straps 35L and 35R are reversed using the inflow opening 23 so that the coupling margin is not exposed, and the leading ends 35a of the straps 35L and 35R are connected to the left and right edges of the support expansion portion 28F. If it couple | bonds with the site | part of 49,50 or the edges 52,53, the airbag 207 can be manufactured. The manufactured airbag 207 may be mounted on the handle WA by assembling the airbag device MA in the same manner as the airbag 202 of the fourth embodiment.

  Also in the driver seat airbag apparatus MA of the ninth embodiment, when the inflation gas flows into the airbag 207 via the inflow opening 23 and the airbag 207 is inflated during operation, the airbag cover 115 67, the airbag 207 protrudes from a case 111 (not shown) as a storage part, covers the upper surface Wu side of the handle WA, and is supported on the upper surface Wu side. Thus, the expansion is completed.

  In the ninth embodiment, when the driver is received by completing the expansion in the mounted state on the handle WA, the support surface portion 29F of the support expansion portion 28F is already attached to the front surface Bf side of the handle WA by the straps 35L and 35R. The airbag 207 is configured to be easily subjected to a reaction force from the front surface Bf side of the handle WA. Note that in the airbag that is inflated without the straps 35L and 35R, as shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 67, the vicinity of the front end portion 28a of the support inflating portion 28F is below the front surface Bf of the handle WA. That is, the lower cover 105 is in a state of floating from the vicinity of the front surface 105a to the front side. Therefore, in the airbag 207 of the ninth embodiment that has been inflated, not only the vicinity of the central portion 29a of the support surface portion 29F of the support inflatable portion 28F, but also the substantially entire region from the base portion 29b to the vicinity of the tip 29c of the lower cover 105. It is possible to abut the front surface Bf of the steering wheel WA including the front surface 105a side, and the driver coming toward the steering wheel WA can be quickly and stably without causing a drop on the front edge 32b side. Can be received and protected. Of course, since the straps 35L and 35R are configured to be flexible, when the airbag 207 is folded and stored, the straps 35L and 35R can be folded together with the airbag 207 and stored in the storage portion without any trouble. Become.

  In addition, when the support surface portion of the support expansion portion is pressed against the front surface Bf side of the handle WA using the strap, the strap can be pressed to the front end side of the left and right edges of the support expansion portion if the support surface portion can be pressed against the front surface Bf side. Alternatively, the front end may be coupled to the outer peripheral wall of the airbag on the rear side of the support inflatable portion, and the base side may be coupled. Furthermore, if the airbag includes a rear support inflatable portion, a strap may be provided also on the rear support inflatable portion side so that the support surface portion of the rear support inflatable portion can be pressed against the rear side of the handle.

  In addition, when the front support inflatable portion is provided on the front side of the center portion of the handle so as to abut and support in a wide area, the bag materials 405, 406, 407 of the airbags 205, 206, 207 of the seventh to ninth embodiments are provided. Without being limited to the shape, for example, as in the airbag 208 of the tenth embodiment shown in FIGS. 68 and 69, the support inflating portion 28F is separately coupled to the handle side portion 225 and disposed. Also good. In the airbag 208, as in the configuration of the characteristic portion of the airbag 205 of the seventh embodiment, the support inflating portion 28F when the inflation is completed is configured to project downward from the front edge 22b of the handle side portion 225. In addition, the support surface portion 29F of the support expansion portion 28F when the expansion is completed has a bent portion 25 extending in the left-right direction on the front side of the mounting seat 24, and extends substantially downward from the front portion side of the mounting seat 24. The bent portion 25 at the time of completion of expansion is arranged on the front surface Bf side in the vicinity of the intersection Bc between the front surface Bf and the upper surface Bu of the front portion BF of the handle WA.

  In such a configuration, as shown in FIG. 69, the support inflating portion 28 </ b> F at the time of completion of the inflating is inflated so as to extend downward from the bent portion 25 between the front side of the mounting seat 24, Since the portion 25 is disposed in the vicinity of the intersection Bc between the front surface Bf on the front BF side of the handle WA and the upper surface Bu, the substantially rectangular planar support surface portion 29F extending downward from the bent portion 25 is Not only the upper edge (original part) 29b side of the bent part 25 side but also the vicinity of the middle part (center part) 29a in the vertical direction and the tip 29c side are arranged so as to be able to contact the front surface Bf side of the handle WA. It is easy to be done. Therefore, even if the driver is caught so that the front edge 32b side of the airbag 208 falls, the support surface portion 29F of the support inflating portion 28F immediately reacts with the large area of the handle WA from the front Bf side. The airbag 205 receives the force to prevent the airbag 208 from falling on the front edge 32b side, and the airbag 205 accurately detects the driver coming toward the handle WA by the driver side portion 32 facing the driver. You can protect it. Of course, the support expansion portion 28F is configured to protrude downward from the front edge 22b of the handle side portion 225, and can be configured with a large volume. Therefore, the support expansion portion 28F can ensure a large reaction force. Thus, even if a driver with a large kinetic energy moves while tilting toward the front edge 32b of the airbag 205, the driver side portion 32 of the airbag 208 faces directly without tilting and accurately receives the driver. Can do.

  Further, as in the airbag 209 of the eleventh embodiment shown in FIGS. 70 and 71, the support inflating portion 28F at the time of completion of inflation is located at least near the center portion 29a in the vertical direction of the support surface portion 29F on the front surface Bf side of the handle WA. You may be comprised so that it may contact | abut and support. Although the airbag 209 is similar to the outer shape of the airbag 203 of the fifth embodiment, the support inflating portion 28F itself is provided so as to protrude from the handle side portion 223 without including the primary inflating portion 80. Yes.

  In such an airbag 209, the support inflating portion 28F at the completion of the inflation is supported not only in the vicinity of the base portion 28b side but also in the vicinity of the substantially central portion 29a in the vertical direction on the front surface Bf side of the handle WA. The driver side portion 32 which is easy to quickly receive a stable reaction force from the front surface Bf side of the handle WA and faces the driver stably without causing a drop on the front edge 32b side of the airbag 209. Thus, the driver who comes toward the handle WA can be accurately received and protected.

  When the support surface portion 29F of the support inflating portion 28F is abutted and supported on the front surface Bf side of the handle WA, as shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 71, the vicinity of the distal end portion 28a from the vicinity of the base portion 28b and the central portion 29a, You may comprise so that it may contact | abut and support the lower side by the side of the front surface Bf by the side of the front surface 105a, such as the lower cover 105.

20, 200, 201, 202, 202A, 202B, 203, 204, 205, 205A, 205B, 206, 207, 208, 209 ... airbag, 21,213, 214 ... outer peripheral wall, 22, 220, 221, 222, 222A, 222B, 223, 224, 225, 226, 227 ... handle side, 22a ... outer peripheral edge of handle side, 22b ... front edge of handle side, 22c ... rear edge of handle side , 22d (left side of the handle), 22e ... right edge, 23 ... inflow opening, 24 ... mounting seat, 26 (L, R) ... general part, 27 (F, B) ... extension part, 28 (F, B) ... support expansion part, 28a ... tip part, 28b ... original part, 28cf, 28h ... front face, 28cb ... rear face, 28d ... opposite side face, 29F, 29B ... support face part, 29a ... (on the support face part) Part 30 (F, B) ... second support expansion part, 32, 323, 324 ... driver side part, 32a ... outer peripheral edge (of driver side part), 32b ... front edge (of driver side part), 32c ... Rear edge (of driver side), 32d ... Left edge of driver side, 32e ... Right edge of driver side, 35 ... Strap,
40, 400, 401, 402, 402A, 402B, 403, 404, 405, 406, 407 ... (handle side part) bag material, 41 ... mounting seat part, 43 (L, R, B) ... for general part 43a ... (front) edge (for forming the handle side part), 43c ... (rear) side edge (for forming the handle side part), 44 ... Binding part, 45, 450, 451 (F, B), 455F, 457F ... Projection part, 47, 470, 471 (F, B), 475F, 477F ... Sheet-like part, 48 ... Folding part, 49 ... (Left tip side) edge, 50 ... (left tip side) edge, 52 ... (right tip side) edge, 53 ... (right tip side) edge, 54 (F, B) ... second part, 55 ... turn-up portion 56 ... (left tip side) edge, 57 ... (left tip side) edge, 58 ... (right tip side) edge, 59 ... (right tip) ) Edge, 61, 611 (F, B), 615F, 617F ... tip portion, 61a ... tip edge / driver side coupling portion, 61b ... (left) side edge / (handle side portion forming) coupling portion, 61c ... (Right) side edge / (for handle side part formation) coupling part, 61ac ... (center of tip edge), 61d ... concave groove, 61e, 61f ... opposite edge, 70 ... (driver side part) bag material, 70a ... outer periphery,
80, 80A ... primary expansion part, 81 ... base part, 82, 82F, 82B ... tip part,
83 ... Supply port, 90, 90A ... Secondary expansion part,
W, W0, W1, WA ... handle, B ... center, Bu ... upper surface, BF ... (center) front, Bf ... (center) front, Bc (B, F) ... Crossing point, BB ... (center) rear, Bb ... (center) rear, Wu ... (handle) top, UPc ... reference line, XL ... (left) length, XR ... (right) Length dimension, YF ... (front side) length dimension, YB ... (rear side) length dimension, G ... inflation gas, D ... driver, M, MA ... driver seat airbag device.

Claims (14)

The outer peripheral wall is stored and held in the center of the steering wheel for the vehicle, and the outer peripheral wall connects the outer periphery to the driver's side that can receive the driver and the outer peripheral edge of the driver's side. An airbag comprising a handle side portion supported by the handle,
The handle side portion is configured by disposing an inflow opening through which an inflating gas flows and a mounting seat that is disposed at a peripheral edge of the inflow opening and is attached to the central portion of the handle. And
A support expansion part that protrudes from the front side of the mounting seat to the front side of the handle is disposed on the handle side part when the expansion is completed,
The region on the rear surface side from the base portion to the tip portion of the support inflating portion is abutted and supported on the front side of the handle when the driver side portion tilts in the forward direction when the driver of the airbag is received. An air bag characterized in that a supporting surface portion is disposed. A rear support inflating part protruding from the rear side of the mounting seat to the rear side of the handle is disposed on the handle side part at the time of completion of expansion,
A front side region from the base part to the tip part of the rear support inflating part is in contact with and supported by the rear side of the handle when the driver side part of the airbag is tilted in the rearward direction. The airbag according to claim 1, wherein a rear support surface portion is provided. The handle side when the expansion is completed
A general portion that is disposed on the left and right sides between the front and rear support inflating portions and is supported on the upper surface side of the handle;
An extending part extending from the general part and extending above the front and rear support expansion parts;
The airbag according to claim 2, comprising:   When the extended portion of the handle side portion at the time of completion of expansion is relatively approaching to the extended portion side when the front and rear of the corresponding handle inflating portion are brought into contact with the front side or the rear side of the handle. The airbag according to claim 3, further comprising a second support inflatable portion that can support the front and rear support inflatable portions. The handle side portion is formed from a flexible bag material,
The bag material is
A mounting seat portion forming the mounting seat;
A part for a general part that extends from the mounting seat part to the left and right to form the general part;
A projecting portion that extends from the mounting seat portion to the front and rear, and can form the front and rear support expansion portions, respectively;
Configured with
Each of the front and rear support inflating portions has a folded portion that extends in the left-right direction at the tip portion, and is formed from a sheet-like portion in which the left and right edges extending from the folded portion are joined to each other. ,
The front and rear projecting portions are each configured to include the sheet-shaped portion disposed on the mounting seat side, and a tip portion disposed on the tip side,
The front and rear tip edges of the front and rear parts and the left and right general part parts of the front and rear edges constitute a driver side coupling portion that is coupled to the outer peripheral edge of the driver side portion,
The left and right side edges extending from both ends of the tip edge to the inner sheet-like part at the outer peripheral edge of the front and rear tip parts and the front and rear side edges of the general part part are opposed to each other. The airbag according to claim 3, comprising a coupling portion for forming a handle side portion to be coupled.   6. The airbag according to claim 5, wherein the front and rear sheet-like portions are each configured to have two folded portions so that the two support inflatable portions can be formed. The front edges of the front and rear tip portions are each provided in the center in the left-right direction with a concave groove that joins the edges facing each other in the left-right direction,
The airbag according to claim 5, wherein a portion of the leading edge that extends from the concave groove to the left and right constitutes the driver side coupling portion.   The flexible bag material forming the handle side portion is formed from a single piece including the mounting seat portion, the left and right general portion portions, and the front and rear protruding portion portions. The airbag according to any one of claims 5 to 7, wherein the airbag is provided. A primary expansion portion that expands by first flowing an expansion gas, and a secondary expansion portion that completes expansion by flowing the expansion gas from a supply port of the primary expansion portion,
The primary expansion part is
A base part configured to allow the expansion gas from the inflow opening to flow in and to expand, and to dispose the supply port;
A tip portion extending from the base portion to form the support expansion portion;
Configured with
The airbag according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the secondary inflatable portion is configured to form an outer peripheral wall of the airbag excluding an outer peripheral wall of the support inflatable portion.   A flexible strap can be pulled in a direction in which the support surface portion of the support expansion portion when the expansion is completed is pressed against the front side of the handle, and the air on the rear side of the support expansion portion and the support expansion portion The airbag according to claim 1, wherein the airbag is disposed so as to connect to a portion of an outer peripheral wall of the bag.   The said support expansion part at the time of completion of expansion is comprised so that at least the approximate center vicinity of the up-down direction may be contact | abutted and supported by the front side of the said handle | steering-wheel. Air bag. The support inflating portion at the time of completion of expansion is configured to protrude downward from the front edge of the handle side portion, and
The support surface portion of the support expansion portion at the time of completion of expansion has a bent portion along the left-right direction on the front side of the mounting seat, and is configured as a substantially planar shape extending downward from the front portion side of the mounting seat,
2. The airbag according to claim 1, wherein the folded portion at the time of completion of inflation is arranged in the vicinity of an intersection portion between a front surface and an upper surface on the front side of the handle. The handle side when the expansion is completed
A general portion disposed on the left and right sides and the rear side of the mounting seat and supported on the upper surface side of the handle;
The support expansion part;
With
The support inflating portion is configured to connect the front side to the front edge side of the handle side portion;
The handle side portion is formed from a flexible bag material,
The bag material is
A mounting seat portion forming the mounting seat;
A general part part that extends from the mounting seat part to the left and right sides and the rear side to form the general part;
A projecting portion that extends forward from the mounting seat portion and can form the support expansion portion;
Configured with
As the structure in which the support inflating part is formed from a sheet-like part having a folded part along the left-right direction at the tip part and combined with each other of the left and right edges extending from the folded part,
The projecting portion portion is configured to include the sheet-like portion disposed on the mounting seat side, and a tip portion disposed on the distal end side,
The tip edge of the tip portion and the tip edges of the left and right general portion portions constitute a driver side coupling portion that is coupled to the outer peripheral edge of the driver side portion,
The left and right side edges extending from both ends of the tip edge to the inner sheet-like part on the outer peripheral edge of the tip part and the front and rear side edges of the general part part are coupled to each other. Constituting the handle side part forming
The tip edge of the tip portion is provided with a concave groove in the center in the left-right direction for coupling edges facing each other in the left-right direction, and the tip edge portion extending from the concave groove to the left and right is the driver. Configure the side joint, and
A direction along the steering shaft of the handle on the front side of the handle, as seen from the left and right directions when the expansion is completed, in the connecting portion for forming the handle side, as viewed from the left and right directions when the inflation is completed The airbag according to claim 1, wherein the airbag is configured to be disposed near an upper portion of the airbag.   The direction along the steering axis of the handle on the front side of the handle as viewed from the left and right when the expansion is completed, when the connecting portion for forming the handle side is connected to the driver side The airbag according to claim 13, wherein the airbag is arranged within a range shifted by 50 mm forward and backward with respect to the reference line.

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