JP2018171997A - Armrest - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an armrest which can protect an occupant quickly and securely by using an airbag having a smaller capacity than a conventional armrest.SOLUTION: An armrest 1 is attached to a seat 100 on which an occupant of a vehicle is seated and includes: a pair of side parts 2 provided at left and right sides of the occupant P and extending in a fore and aft direction to be connected to the seat 100; a front part 3 provided in front of the occupant P and connected to at least one of the pair of side parts 2; and an airbag 5 which expands from the front part 3. The front part 3 has support parts 31 which support the expanded airbag 5 in a direction toward the occupant P.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to an armrest, and more particularly, to an armrest that quickly and reliably protects an occupant using a smaller-capacity airbag than in the past.

  Various airbags and the like have been developed to protect vehicle occupants, such as drivers. For example, a vehicle driver's seat airbag device disclosed in Patent Document 1 includes a main chamber that is deployed in front of the driver and a sub-chamber that is deployed to the side of the main chamber. It is possible to protect even when the driver moves diagonally forward.

JP 2016-199123 A

  However, for example, a front airbag deployed from a steering wheel is deployed from a member at a position away from the occupant, and thus there has been a demand for an improved restraining effect on the size of the airbag. That is, there is room for improvement in the arrangement and restraint of the airbag that reaches the seating area of the occupant for the first time after deploying a large-capacity airbag. In addition, the armrest is not utilized as a passenger | crew protection member, or there are very few examples of utilization.

  In view of this, the problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide an armrest that can quickly and reliably protect an occupant using a smaller-capacity airbag than in the past.

  As a means for solving the above-mentioned problems, an armrest according to the present invention is an armrest mounted on a seat on which a vehicle occupant is seated, and is provided in a pair on the left and right sides of the occupant and extends in the front-rear direction. A front portion connected to at least one side of the pair of side portions, and an airbag that is deployed from the front portion. It has a support part which supports a bag in the direction which goes to a crew member.

  In the armrest according to the present invention, it is preferable that the support portion has at least a protruding portion that protrudes from the front portion when supporting the airbag, and the protruding portion supports the airbag from the front.

  In the armrest according to the present invention, it is preferable that the projecting portion has at least one of an upper projecting portion that projects forward and upward of the front portion, and a lower projecting portion that projects rearward and downward of the front portion. .

  In the armrest according to the present invention, it is preferable that the angle of the projecting portion with respect to the horizontal direction or the vertical direction of the portion in contact with the airbag is variable and follows the direction of the force received from the occupant via the airbag.

  The armrest which concerns on this invention WHEREIN: It is preferable that a front part has a cover part which covers the site | part which accommodates an airbag, and a protrusion part is a cover part opened at the time of expansion | deployment of an airbag.

  The armrest according to the present invention preferably includes a rear portion that connects the seat and the rear side of the side portion, and an annular structure is formed by the side portion, the front portion, and the rear portion or the seat.

  According to the present invention, the airbag is deployed from the front portion that is disposed closer to the occupant than the members disposed in the other vehicles, and the deployed airbag is supported by the front support portion. It is possible to provide an armrest that can be quickly and surely protected from a position close to an occupant using a smaller-capacity airbag than in the past.

FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing a seat provided with an armrest according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1A is a schematic side view showing the seat in a side view, and FIG. It is a front schematic diagram showing a sheet in a front view. FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing a seat provided with an armrest in a state where the airbag according to an embodiment of the present invention is deployed, and FIG. 2 (a) is a schematic side view showing the seat in a side view, FIG. 2B is a schematic front view showing the sheet in a front view. FIG. 3 is a schematic side view showing an armrest according to another embodiment of the present invention in a side view.

(Basic embodiment)
An embodiment of an armrest according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.
1 is a schematic diagram showing a seat 100 provided with an armrest 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1A is a schematic side view showing the seat 100 in a side view. 1 (b) is a schematic front view showing the sheet 100 in a front view. FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing a seat 100 provided with an armrest 1 in which an airbag according to an embodiment of the present invention is deployed, and FIG. 2A is a schematic side view showing the seat 100 in a side view. FIG. 2B is a schematic front view showing the sheet 100 in a front view.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the armrest 1 is attached to a seat 100 and includes a side portion 2, a front portion 3, a rear portion 4, and an airbag 5.

  As shown in FIG. 1B in particular, the side portions 2 are cylindrical members that are provided in pairs on the left and right sides of the occupant P and extend substantially parallel to the front-rear direction. Note that the extending direction of the side portion 2 may be substantially along the front-rear direction, and may be inclined to some extent with respect to the front-rear direction.

The front part 3 is a cylindrical member provided in front of the passenger P. In particular, as shown in FIG. 1A, the front portion 3 connects the front end portion side of the side portion 2 on the left and right sides at least during use as shown by the solid line. In the present embodiment, the front side of the side portion 2 and the front side are connected not only when in use but also when not in use, such as when the vehicle is parked and when the occupant P gets off the vehicle and leaves the seat 100. An integrated form of the part 3 is adopted.
In the present invention, the form of the front part is not particularly limited as long as it can accommodate and deploy an airbag described later, and it is sufficient that the front part is connected to at least one side of a pair of left and right side parts. It does not have to be connected so as to pass between the sections.

  The rear portion 4 is connected to the seat 100 and the rear end side of the side portion 2. In the present embodiment, the rear portion 4 is a shaft member that penetrates the seat back 101 in the left-right direction. The side portions 2 are connected to the left and right ends exposed from the seat back 101 of the rear portion 4, respectively. The rear portion 4 is fixedly attached to the seat frame 102 disposed in the seat back 101 so as to be immovable in the vehicle front-rear, left-right, and up-down directions.

  The airbag 5 is provided in a substantially central part in the left-right direction of the front part 3 and is accommodated in the front part 3 that is used as an accommodation part. The airbag 5 is a member that expands toward the passenger P. The deployment form and the like of the airbag 5 will be described later with reference to FIG. 2 showing the airbag 5 in the deployed state.

  The side part 2 and the front part 3 are rotatable around a line connecting the connecting part between the rear part 4 and the seat back 101 on the left and right. A line connecting the connecting portions on the left and right sides is substantially parallel to and substantially coincides with the central axis of the rear portion 4, and the rear portion 4 functions as a hinge in this embodiment. Accordingly, the side part 2 and the front part 3 can be rotated upward when not in use to make it difficult for the occupant P to get in and out, and the side part 2 can be substantially parallel and parallel after the occupant P is seated in use. Thus, the side part 2 and the front part 3 can be rotated downward so that the occupant P can place the arm on the armrest 1.

  In this embodiment, the side part 2, the front part 3, and the rear part 4 are provided as rigid members. By having rigidity, the side part 2 and the front part 3 are not easily deformed to protect the occupant P even if the intruder comes into contact with each other at the time of a collision, which will be described later, and the rear part 4 It is difficult to detach from the sheet 100 when it contacts 2 etc.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the side portion 2, the front portion 3, and the rear portion 4 or the seat 100 incorporating the rear portion 4 form a substantially rectangular annular structure in plan view. Therefore, when the armrest 1 is used, the occupant P is surrounded. Thus, even when the vehicle interior is deformed and an intruder is generated in the vehicle interior during a forward collision, an oblique collision, a side collision, or the like, the armrest 1 is disposed between the intruder and the occupant. Therefore, the passenger P can be directly protected from the intruder. In particular, at the time of an oblique collision and a side collision, the door component member and the vehicle body component member tend to become intrusions into the vehicle interior. Even if the door component or the like is deformed to the vehicle interior side, the armrest 1 including the side portion 2 and the front portion 3 can be suppressed or prevented from directly hitting the occupant P.

  In the present embodiment, since the rear portion 4 is fixed to the seat frame 102, the position of the armrest 1 is not easily displaced due to an impact caused by a collision, and an intruder entering the vehicle compartment hits the armrest 1. Even if it exists, it can demonstrate the resistance against an intruder.

  When the armrest 1 is applied to a vehicle equipped with an automatic driving or driving support system, the side portion 2 and the front portion 3 preferably have a shape on which an arm, a book, an electronic terminal, or the like of the occupant P can be placed or an easy shape. . In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, a single shaft member is employed for the rear portion 4, but the rear portion in the present invention may be divided and does not need to penetrate the seat back.

  The armrest 1 shown in FIG. 2 is in a state where the airbag 5 is deployed. As shown in FIG. 2, the front portion 3 has a protruding portion 31 that supports the deployed airbag 5.

The airbag 5 is a member that is deployed from the front portion 3 toward the occupant P, and includes an airbag bag body 51 and an inflator 52.
The airbag bag body 51 is a bag body that extends from the front portion 3 to the front of the upper body of the occupant P, and faces the occupant P that is the inner portion of the armrest 1 having a substantially annular shape, that is, the rear surface portion of the front portion 3. A region extending from the portion to the upper surface portion of the front portion 3 is broken and developed.
The inflator 52 is a gas generating member provided inside the front portion 3 and press-fits gas into the airbag bag body 51 by driving.

The protruding portion 31 is a member having a triangular prism shape that can support the airbag bag body 51 from the front, and protrudes from the front portion 3. The protruding portion 31 is disposed on the front side of the upper portion of the front portion 3 and has an appropriate width in the left-right direction as shown in FIG. A collision is not detected or predicted, and before the airbag 5 is deployed, the protrusions 31 are respectively housed on the left and right sides of the housing portion of the airbag 5 in the front portion 3 as shown in FIG. ing. Further, when a collision is detected or predicted and the airbag 5 is deployed or before deployment, the protruding portion 31 rises upward from both the left and right sides of the housing portion of the airbag 5 as shown in FIG. Protrusively.
In addition, the protrusion part 31 is an example of the support part in this invention. In the present embodiment, the protruding portion 31 is accommodated in the front portion 3 before the airbag 5 is deployed, whereas in the present invention, the supporting portion is a book or a portable terminal that is being read during automatic driving, for example. In order to mount the electronic device, a mounting table protruding in advance from the front may be used.

  The protrusion 31 has a support surface 32 on the rear side, particularly as shown in FIG. The support surface 32 is formed to have a predetermined angle with respect to the horizontal direction or the vertical direction. The predetermined angle of the support surface 32 and the effect thereof will be described in detail.

Here, a protection mode of the occupant P by the airbag 5 will be described.
First, as a method of using the airbag 5, gas is injected into the airbag bag body 51 by driving the inflator 52 at the time of collision or at the time of collision prediction. Thereby, the surface of the front portion 3 is broken, and the airbag bag body 51 accommodated in the front portion 3 is deployed toward the passenger P.

  By deploying the airbag bag body 51 toward the occupant P, the region between the front portion 3 and the occupant P can be filled with the airbag bag body 51. Therefore, not only a direct protection function against an intruder by the armrest 1 that forms a substantially annular structure, but also the occupant P can be more reliably protected by being restrained by the airbag 5 of the occupant P. Become. The airbag 5 can be deployed from a position closer to the occupant P than an existing airbag such as a front airbag from a steering wheel and a curtain airbag from a portion near the roof, so that it can be quickly and with a small capacity gas. Protection is possible.

  When a frontal collision or an oblique collision occurs, the occupant P is restrained in the waist by the seat belt, so that the upper body of the occupant P centered on the waist is tilted forward as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. Arise. The support surface 32 is provided so as to be orthogonal to the tangential direction of the track D in the track D of the falling behavior of the passenger P. When this support surface 32 has such a predetermined angle, the airbag bag body 51 pressed forward and downward by the upper body falling behavior of the occupant P is firmly and reliably supported from the front. Can be realized.

  Although the protrusion part 31 which has the support surface 32 mentioned above showed the form which has a suitable width | variety along the left-right direction, in this invention, a support part can support the airbag pushed ahead from the front in the direction toward a passenger | crew. As long as the shape, number, size and position are not limited. As the support portion, for example, a plurality of rod-like projecting portions standing in the left-right direction over the same range as the projecting portion 31 can be employed. Even if it is a rod-shaped protrusion, a support action equivalent to that of the support surface 32 can be exerted on the airbag 5 in contact with the rod-shaped protrusion.

(Modification)
Next, an embodiment in which the occupant is more reliably protected using the armrest according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 3 is a schematic side view showing the armrests 11 and 12 according to another embodiment of the present invention in a side view.

  In the armrest 11 shown in FIG. 3A, the difference from the basic embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is that an upper protruding portion 311 and a lower protruding portion 312 are provided instead of the protruding portion 31. is there.

  The upper protruding portion 311 and the lower protruding portion 312 are lid portions that cover the accommodation portion of the airbag 5 and form a surface portion of the front portion 3. That is, before the airbag 5 is deployed, the upper projecting portion 311 constitutes a lid portion of the housing portion of the airbag 5 on the upper surface portion of the front portion 3, and the lower projecting portion 312 is the air on the rear surface portion of the front portion 3. The lid part of the accommodation part of the bag 5 is comprised. One end of the upper protrusion 311 and one end of the lower protrusion 312 are joined before the airbag 5 is deployed.

  The upper protrusion 311, the lower protrusion 312, and the front portion 3 are connected by the hinge member 6. The upper protruding portion 311 and the lower protruding portion 312 are released toward the outside of the front portion 3 by being pressed by the airbag bag body 51 when the airbag 5 is deployed and the joint portion is broken. At this time, the upper protruding portion 311 rotates around the hinge member 6 and protrudes above the front portion 3, and the lower protruding portion 312 rotates about the hinge member 6 to rotate the front portion 3. It will be in a state of protruding downward.

As shown in FIG. 3A, a center line is illustrated at a substantially central portion of the front portion 3 in the vertical direction and the front-rear direction. The upper protruding portion 311 is a portion that protrudes in front of and above the front portion 3, and the lower protruding portion 312 is a portion that protrudes rearward and downward of the front portion 3.
If the protruding direction of each protruding portion and the orientation of the support surface are not appropriate, depending on the direction and angle of each protruding portion contacting the airbag 5, the airbag 5 may not be in a good support state. The occupant P may be forced to change the posture in a different direction together with the airbag 5.
The protrusions provided respectively on the upper side and the lower side of the front part 3 protrude in at least the above-described region, so that the protrusions receive the respective protrusions via the airbag 5 regardless of the physique of the occupant P. Good support is possible.

  Next, in the armrest 12 shown in FIG. 3B, the difference from the embodiment shown in FIG. 3A is that the inclination angle of the protrusion is made variable.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3B, the upper protruding portion 313 and the lower protruding portion 314 are integrated plate bodies. The upper projecting portion 313 and the lower projecting portion 314 are members that are projected in advance on the upper side and the lower side of the front part 3 from before the airbag 5 is deployed, for example, an electronic device terminal and a book. Used as a mounting table. The movable shaft 7 is disposed inside the front portion 3 and at a substantially vertical central portion of the upper protrusion 313 and the lower protrusion 314.
The movable shaft 7 is a shaft member, and the angle of the upper protrusion 313 and the lower protrusion 314, which are plate bodies, with respect to the horizontal direction or the vertical direction is variable. In other words, the upper protruding portion 313 and the lower protruding portion 314 are rotatable like a flap around the movable shaft 7. As a result, the upper protruding portion 313 and the lower protruding portion 314 follow the direction of the force received from the occupant P via the airbag 5.
A pair of the upper protruding portion 313, the lower protruding portion 314, and the movable shaft 7 are provided on both the left and right sides of the airbag 5, similarly to the protruding portion 31 shown in FIGS.

  When the airbag 5 is deployed and the occupant P collapses with respect to the airbag bag body 51, the airbag bag body 51 is pressed against the upper protruding portion 313 and the lower protruding portion 314. At this time, even if the upper protruding portion 313 and the lower protruding portion 314 contacting the airbag bag body 51 are at an angle at which the support force of the airbag 5 cannot be exhibited to the maximum, the upper protruding portion is moved by the movable shaft 7. By rotating the 313 and the lower protrusion 314, the optimum support angle is obtained. For example, when the physique of the occupant P is different between the driver seat and the passenger seat provided with the same armrest 12, the pressing direction received by the upper protruding portion 313 and the lower protruding portion 314 via the airbag 5 is also different. If the angle of the projecting portion by the movable shaft 7 is variable, an optimum support angle can be realized for each occupant P following the posture of the occupant P.

  As another modification, the side portion of the armrest according to the present invention may be integrated with the door trim at the side portion provided on the door side of the vehicle. In this case, the front part is divided into left and right parts when not in use, and the left and right side parts are connected to each other when in use. Further, the side portion on the door side does not rotate and becomes a fixing member.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment which applied the invention made | formed by this inventor was described, this invention is not limited by the description and drawing which make a part of indication of this invention by this embodiment. That is, it should be added that other embodiments, examples, operation techniques, and the like made by those skilled in the art based on this embodiment are all included in the scope of the present invention.

1, 11 and 12: Armrest, 2: Side, 3: Front, 31: Projection, 32: Support surface, 311 and 313: Upper projection, 312 and 314: Lower projection, 4: Rear, 5 : Airbag, 51: airbag bag body, 52: inflator, 6: hinge member, 7: movable shaft, 100: seat, 101: seat back, 102: seat frame, A and B: connecting part, D: passenger collapse Orbit, P: Crew

Claims (6)

An armrest mounted on a seat on which a vehicle occupant is seated,
A pair of left and right sides of the occupant, extending in the front-rear direction and connected to the seat;
A front part provided in front of the occupant and connected to at least one side of the pair of side parts;
An airbag that is deployed from the front portion toward the occupant,
The front portion includes a support portion that supports the deployed airbag in a direction toward the occupant.
Armrest. The support part has a protruding part that protrudes from the front part when supporting the airbag at least,
The protrusion supports the airbag from the front;
The armrest according to claim 1. The protrusion has at least one of an upper protrusion that protrudes forward and upward from the front part, and a lower protrusion that protrudes downward and rearward of the front part.
The armrest according to claim 2. The protruding portion has a variable angle with respect to a horizontal direction or a vertical direction of a portion in contact with the airbag, and follows a direction of a force received from the occupant via the airbag.
The armrest according to claim 2 or 3. The front portion has a lid portion that covers a portion that houses the airbag,
The protrusion is the lid that is opened when the airbag is deployed.
The armrest in any one of Claims 2-4. A rear portion connecting the seat and the rear side of the side portion;
An annular structure is formed by the side portion, the front portion, and the rear portion or the seat.
The armrest in any one of Claims 1-5.

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