JP2019142338A - Air bag and air bag device - Google Patents

Abstract

To so make an intermediate part of an air bag in a vehicle longitudinal direction as to be a constricted shape in an inflation completion state.SOLUTION: An air bag 10 comprises: a front panel 12 on an occupant side; a rear panel 11 on an anti-occupant side; and a side panel SP which interposed between the front panel 12 and the rear panel 11. In an inflation completion state, a lateral width is gradually increased from an intermediate part M in a vehicle longitudinal direction toward a rear side, and a lateral width is gradually increased from the intermediate part M toward a front side. A maximum width part of a lateral width on the front side with respect to the intermediate part M has a lateral width larger than a maximum width of a lateral width on the rear side with respect to the intermediate part M. The side panel SP includes plural side panel pieces 13 which are located along a circumferential direction.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to an airbag and an airbag apparatus for restraining an occupant at the time of a collision of an automobile.

  The airbag device is configured to cause an inflator (gas generator) to perform a gas ejection operation in an emergency such as a vehicle collision, to supply gas to the airbag, and to deploy the airbag.

  For example, Patent Document 1 includes an inflator and an airbag, and the airbag includes two airbag bags arranged in series in a direction in which an occupant enters the airbag at the time of deployment. An airbag device is described in which a bag bag is coupled through an intermediate holding body such as a string, and a bag is formed at the coupling portion.

  In the airbag apparatus described in Patent Document 1, the middle of the airbag is narrowed (constricted) by the intermediate holding body. Although the diameter of the constricted portion can be controlled by connecting the two airbag bags with the intermediate holding member interposed therebetween, the shape of the constricted portion cannot be controlled. In addition, the formation of a ridge at the joint between the two airbag bags increases the bulk of the base fabric, increases the weight of the airbag, and increases the size when folded.

JP 2007-1312238 A JP 2003-276546 A JP 2007-76619 A JP 2017-109684 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2017-100576 JP 2017-159775 A

  An object of the present invention is to provide an airbag and an airbag device that can have a constricted shape in an intermediate portion in a vehicle longitudinal direction in an inflated state.

  The airbag of the present invention is an airbag including an occupant-side front panel, an anti-occupant-side rear panel, and a side panel interposed between the front panel and the rear panel. The lateral width gradually increases from the intermediate portion in the vehicle front-rear direction toward the rear, and the lateral width gradually increases from the intermediate portion toward the front.

  In one aspect of the present invention, the maximum width portion of the left and right width on the front side of the intermediate portion is larger than the maximum width portion of the left and right width on the rear side of the intermediate portion.

  In one aspect of the present invention, the intermediate portion is a recess that circulates around the airbag and is recessed radially inward, and the recess has an R shape.

  In one aspect of the present invention, the side panel includes a plurality of side panel pieces arranged along the circumferential direction, and the side sides of the adjacent side panel pieces are coupled to each other, and the side panel piece is on the side opposite to the passenger The first side is coupled to the peripheral portion of the rear panel, and the occupant-side second side of the side panel piece is coupled to the peripheral portion of the front panel.

  In one aspect of the present invention, the panel width of the side panel piece in the circumferential direction is from the narrow portion located in the middle part between the first side and the second side toward the first side. It gradually increases and gradually increases from the narrow part toward the second side.

  In one aspect of the present invention, the maximum panel width portion on the first side than the narrow portion of the side panel piece is wider than the maximum panel width portion on the second side than the narrow portion. large.

  In one aspect of the present invention, 3 to 12 side panel pieces are arranged.

  In one aspect of the present invention, the apparatus further includes an inner tether having one end coupled to the front panel and the other end coupled to the rear panel.

  The airbag device of the present invention includes the airbag of the present invention and an inflator that inflates the airbag.

  The air bag according to the present invention can be appropriately input to the occupant chest when restraining the occupant without making the volume of the air bag increase, with the intermediate portion in the vehicle front-rear direction being constricted.

(A) is a front view of the steering wheel in which the airbag apparatus provided with the driver's seat airbag which concerns on embodiment is installed, (b) is a front view of the steering wheel at the time of airbag expansion of (a). It is. It is a side view of the inflated driver's seat airbag. It is a top view of each panel of the airbag for driver's seats concerning an embodiment. It is a perspective view at the time of expansion of a driver's seat air bag concerning an embodiment. It is the VV sectional view taken on the line of FIG.

  An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In the following description, the front-rear direction and the left-right direction coincide with the up-down direction and the left-right direction of the steering wheel when the steering wheel is in a straight traveling posture.

  An airbag 10 for a driver's seat (hereinafter simply abbreviated as an airbag) according to the present embodiment is attached to a retainer (not shown) as an airbag attachment member in a folded state, and built in an inflator 2. Is inflated. A module cover (not shown) is mounted so as to cover the folded body of the airbag 10, thereby configuring a driver's seat airbag device.

  The steering wheel 1 includes a central portion 1a connected to a steering shaft (not shown), an annular portion 1b that circulates around the central portion 1a, and a spoke portion 1c that connects the central portion 1a and the annular portion 1b. And have. In this embodiment, a total of three spoke portions 1c extend from the central portion 1a to the left and right and downward, and the front end side of each spoke portion 1c extends in the left and right and lower sides of the annular portion 1b. It is connected to each lap. Of the portion between the central portion 1a and the annular portion 1b, the portion where the spoke portion 1c does not exist is an open portion 1d that communicates the occupant side and the non-occupant side of the steering wheel 1.

  A steering wheel 1 is attached to the rear end of the steering column 3 protruding rearward (driver's seat side) from the instrument panel 4. A driver's seat airbag device is disposed in the central portion 1 a of the steering wheel 1.

  The driver's seat airbag 10 has a bag-like shape in which a front panel 12 that constitutes a front surface on the passenger side when inflated and a rear panel 11 that constitutes a rear surface on the side of the steering wheel 1 are coupled via a side panel SP. It is what. Further, the rear panel 11 and the front panel 12 are connected by an inner tether 14.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the rear panel 11 and the front panel 12 are circular (substantially circular). The front panel 12 is made of a circular woven cloth having a slightly smaller diameter than the rear panel 11. The rear panel 11 is made of a circular woven cloth having the same diameter as the annular portion 1 b of the steering wheel 1. For example, the diameter of the rear panel 11 is about 400 to 600 mm, and the diameter of the front panel 12 is about 200 to 400 mm.

  The rear panel 11 is provided with an inflator opening 11a into which the inflator 2 is inserted. Further, a bolt insertion hole 11b through which a bolt for fixing the rear panel 11 together with the inflator 2 to the retainer is inserted is provided around the inflator opening 11a.

  In the upper part of the rear panel 11, two circular vent holes 11 c that communicate the inside and the outside of the airbag 10 are provided. The shape, number, and position of the vent hole 11c can be changed as appropriate.

  The side panel SP includes a plurality (eight in this embodiment) of side panel pieces 13. The side panel piece 13 has a pair of short side portions 13a and 13b and a pair of long side portions (hereinafter referred to as side side portions) 13c and 13d, and a narrow width portion 13e having a narrow middle portion in the longitudinal direction. It has become.

  More specifically, one end of the short side portion 13a and one end of the side portion 13c are connected, and the other end of the short side portion 13a and one end of the side portion 13d are connected. One end of the short side portion 13b and the other end of the side portion 13c are connected, and the other end of the short side portion 13b and the other end of the side portion 13d are connected.

  The short side portion 13a is concave toward the inside of the side panel piece 13 toward the center side. The short side portion 13 b is convex toward the outside of the side panel piece 13 toward the center side. The central portions of the side portions 13 c and 13 d are concave toward the inside of the side panel piece 13.

  The length (width) in the short direction of the id panel piece 13 is the largest between the narrow width portion 13e and the short side portion 13b. When the width of the maximum width portion is W1, the width of the narrow width portion 13e is W2, and the maximum width in the region between the narrow width portion 13e and the short side portion 13a is W3, W2 <W3 <W1.

  The side panel SP is manufactured by sewing the side side portion 13c of the side panel piece 13 and the side side portion 13d of another side panel piece 13 in turn with the suture thread 21 (see FIG. 5).

  The short side portion 13 a of the side panel piece 13 and the peripheral edge of the front panel 12 are stitched together by the suture thread 22. The short side portion 13 b of the side panel piece 13 and the peripheral edge of the rear panel 11 are stitched together with a suture thread 23.

  The inner tether 14 has a cross shape having a center portion 14a and leg portions 14b extending in the four radial directions from the center portion 14a. The center portion 14 a is sewn to the center portion of the front panel 12 with a suture thread 24. An end 14c of the leg portion 14b is provided with an inflator opening 14d and a bolt insertion hole 14e, and a bolt for fixing the rear panel 11 and the inflator 2 to the retainer is inserted into the bolt insertion hole 14e. In the present embodiment, the cross-shaped inner tether 14 is used, but the shape is not limited to this.

  Accordingly, as shown in FIGS. 2, 4, and 5, in the inflated and deployed state, the lateral width (airbag diameter) gradually increases from the intermediate portion M in the vehicle front-rear direction toward the rear, and the intermediate portion M Thus, the airbag 10 is manufactured in which the lateral width gradually increases from the front to the front, and the center portion of the front panel 12 (occupant restraint surface) is recessed forward.

  The airbag 10 in an inflated and deployed state has a maximum diameter on the front side of the intermediate portion M. When the maximum diameter is D1, the diameter of the intermediate portion M that is a constricted portion of the airbag 10 is D2, and the maximum diameter of the airbag 10 on the rear side of the intermediate portion M is D3, D2 <D3 <D1.

  When a vehicle equipped with the driver airbag device collides (or predicts a collision), the inflator 2 is activated, and the airbag 10 is inflated and deployed behind the steering wheel 1 (in front of the occupant) to restrain the occupant. . Since the intermediate portion M becomes a concave portion (necked portion) that is concave toward the radially inner side in the inflated state, input to the occupant chest when the occupant is restrained can be made appropriate.

  In addition, since it is not necessary to use a member such as a string to form the constricted portion, the configuration of the airbag 10 can be simplified without increasing the volume. The shape of the constricted portion can be controlled by the shape of the side panel piece 13. For example, when the airbag 10 is viewed in a cross section in the front-rear direction, the constricted portion can be formed in an R shape. The narrow portion 13e of the side panel piece 13 corresponds to the intermediate portion M.

  Further, the stroke in the front-rear direction can be increased without increasing the diameter or volume of the airbag 10.

  The number of side panel pieces 13 constituting the side panel SP may not be eight, but may be about 3 to 12, preferably about 6 to 8. It is preferable that the stitched portions of the side portions of the side panel pieces 13 are evenly positioned in the circumferential direction of the airbag.

  The above-described embodiment is an example of the present invention, and the present invention may be configured other than the above. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the driver seat airbag has been described. However, the present invention may be applied to a passenger seat airbag.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Steering wheel 1a Center part 1b Annular part 1c Spoke part 1d Open part 2 Inflator 3 Steering column 4 Instrument panel 10 Driver's seat airbag 11 Rear panel 12 Front panel 13 Side panel piece 21-23 Suture thread

Claims (9)

The front panel on the passenger side,
The rear panel on the non-occupant side,
A side panel interposed between the front panel and the rear panel;
An airbag comprising:
An air bag characterized in that, in an inflated state, the lateral width gradually increases from the intermediate portion in the vehicle front-rear direction toward the rear, and the lateral width gradually increases from the intermediate portion toward the front. The airbag according to claim 1,
The airbag is characterized in that the left and right maximum width portion on the front side of the intermediate portion has a left and right width greater than the maximum width portion of the left and right width on the rear side of the intermediate portion. In the airbag according to claim 1 or 2,
The airbag is characterized in that the intermediate portion is a recess that circulates around the airbag and becomes concave toward the inside in the radial direction, and the recess has an R shape. The airbag according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The side panel includes a plurality of side panel pieces arranged along a circumferential direction,
Sides of the adjacent side panel pieces are joined together,
The first side of the side panel piece on the side opposite to the passenger is coupled to the peripheral edge of the rear panel,
A second side of the side panel piece on the passenger side is coupled to a peripheral edge of the front panel. The airbag according to claim 4,
The panel width of the side panel piece in the circumferential direction gradually increases from the narrow width portion located in the middle portion between the first side and the second side toward the first side, An airbag characterized by gradually increasing from the narrow portion toward the second side. The airbag according to claim 5,
The maximum panel width portion on the first side than the narrow portion of the side panel piece is wider than the maximum panel width on the second side than the narrow portion. bag. The airbag according to any one of claims 4 to 6,
3 to 12 side panel pieces are disposed, and the airbag is characterized in that: The airbag according to any one of claims 1 to 7,
The airbag further comprising an inner tether having one end coupled to the front panel and the other end coupled to the rear panel. The airbag according to any one of claims 1 to 8,
An inflator for supplying gas to the airbag;
An air bag device comprising:

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