JP2021054390A - Side airbag device - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a side airbag device that is able to improve a degree of freedom in a position of a communication hole that is formed in an inner bag.SOLUTION: A side airbag device 11 comprises an airbag 14 that is inflated and expanded between a body side part of a vehicle and an occupant P seated in a seat 12 in a vehicle cabin, by means of pressure of gas supplied from an inflator 15. The airbag 14 comprises an outer bag 23, and an inner bag 24 provided inside the outer bag 23 and accommodating the inflator 15. The inner bag 24 comprises: an upper expansion portion 25 corresponding to shoulder parts of the occupant P by projecting forward when expanded; a lower expansion portion 26 corresponding to a waist part of the occupant P by projecting forward when expanded; and a recessed portion 27 provided between the upper expansion portion 25 and the lower expansion portion 26. In the inner bag 24, communication holes 30, 32, 33 are formed for allowing communication between inside and outside of the inner bag 24.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to a side airbag device mounted on a vehicle and protecting an occupant from the impact of a lateral collision with the vehicle.

This type of side airbag device comprises an airbag that deploys and expands between the body side of the vehicle and an occupant seated in a seat in the vehicle interior. Some of these side airbag devices include two airbags that communicate with each other through communication holes and expand so as to be adjacent to each other in the vehicle width direction (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In this case, the inflator that generates gas is arranged in one of the two airbags, and the gas of one airbag is supplied to the other airbag through the communication hole.

U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2015/0997359

By the way, in the side airbag device as described above, since the two airbags expand so as to be adjacent to each other in the vehicle width direction, there is a problem that the positions of the communication holes for communicating the two airbags are limited. is there.

The present invention has focused on such problems existing in the prior art. An object of the present invention is to provide a side airbag device capable of increasing the degree of freedom in the position of the communication holes formed in the inner bag.

Hereinafter, means for solving the above problems and their actions and effects will be described.
The side airbag device that solves the above problems is a side airbag provided with an airbag that expands and expands between the body side portion of the vehicle and the occupant seated in the seat in the passenger compartment by the pressure of the gas supplied from the inflator. In the bag device, the airbag includes an outer bag and an inner bag provided in the outer bag to accommodate the inflator, and the inner bag projects forward when inflated and the shoulder portion of the occupant. The upper inflated portion corresponding to the above, the lower inflated portion that protrudes forward when inflated and corresponds to the waist portion of the occupant, and the recess provided between the upper inflated portion and the lower inflated portion. It is a gist that the inner bag is formed with at least one communication hole that communicates with the inside and outside of the inner bag.

According to this configuration, since the inner bag is provided inside the outer bag, the degree of freedom in the position of the communication hole formed in the inner bag can be increased.
In the side airbag device, the inner surfaces of the outer bag in the thickness direction of the outer bag are connected by a tether that regulates the thickness of the outer bag, and the tether expands the airbag. It is preferable that the bag extends so as to pass through the recess.

According to this configuration, the thickness of the outer bag can be regulated by the tether while suppressing the contact between the tether and the inner bag.
In the side airbag device, the communication hole is formed in the central portion of the recess in the inner bag so as to face the tether in the front-rear direction of the vehicle when the airbag expands, and the airbag expands. It is preferable that a through hole is formed at a position of the tether that faces the communication hole in the vehicle front-rear direction.

According to this configuration, when the airbag expands, the gas in the inner bag injected from the communication hole is supplied into the outer bag through the through hole of the tether. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the tether from obstructing the supply of gas from the inner bag to the outer bag through the communication hole.

In the side airbag device, the communication hole is formed in the upper portion of the inner bag in the recess so as to face diagonally downward forward when the inner bag expands, and the lower portion of the inner bag in the recess is formed. It is preferable that the communication hole is formed so as to face diagonally upward in the front when the inner bag expands.

According to this configuration, when the airbag expands, the gas in the inner bag injected from each communication hole collects in the recess in the outer bag and in the position corresponding to the front of the recess, so that the position in the outer bag can be determined. Can be inflated quickly.

In the side airbag device, it is preferable that at least one of the upper inflatable portion and the lower inflatable portion in the inner bag is fixed to the outer bag.

According to this configuration, when the inner bag expands, at least one of the upper expansion portion and the lower expansion portion fixed to the outer bag can be prevented from swinging in the vertical direction.

In the side airbag device, it is preferable that a part of the inner bag is composed of a part of the outer bag.
According to this configuration, the amount of cloth and the sewing portion that make up the inner bag can be reduced, so that the airbag can be folded more compactly.

In the side airbag device, the base cloth forming the inner bag is preferably sewn to a portion of the base cloth forming the outer bag in a state where the tack is formed.

According to this configuration, the portion where the tack is formed when the inner bag is inflated has a more three-dimensional shape, so that the thickness of the inner bag can be increased.
In the side airbag device, it is preferable that a regulation tether that regulates the forward expansion of the inner bag is provided at a position corresponding to the recess in the inner bag.

According to this configuration, when the inner bag is expanded, the regulation tether suppresses the expansion of the inner bag forward, so that the thickness of the inner bag in the vehicle front-rear direction can be reduced and the thickness in the vehicle width direction can be increased. it can.

According to the present invention, the degree of freedom in the position of the communication hole formed in the inner bag can be increased.

A side view showing the entire side airbag device when the airbag is inflated. A cross-sectional view showing an enlarged view around the airbag inside the seat back. The plan view which shows the positional relationship between a seat and a body side part in a vehicle. Development view of the outer bag. Development view of the inner bag. Development view of tether. Deployment view of the airbag. Schematic diagram of the cross section of the airbag of the modified example. FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a state when the outer bag is unfolded in a modified example in which the airbag of FIG. 8 is further modified. The plan view which shows the state at the time of manufacturing the airbag of FIG. A schematic side view of an airbag of another modified example. FIG. 11 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the airbag of FIG.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the side airbag device will be described with reference to the drawings.
As shown in FIG. 1, the side airbag device 11 supplies an airbag 14 housed inside the seat back 13 of the vehicle seat 12 in a folded state, and an expansion gas to the airbag 14. It is equipped with an inflator 15 for the purpose of doing so. The inflator 15 is fixed to the frame 16 inside the seat back 13 together with the airbag 14.

As shown in FIG. 2, the inflator 15 housed inside the seat back 13 is fixed to the retainer 17 that covers the inflator 15 by caulking or the like. The retainer 17 is fixed to the inside of the frame 16 in the vehicle width direction together with the folded airbag 14 by bolts 18 and nuts 19. That is, the retainer 17 in which the inflator 15 is fixed is fixed to the inside of the frame 16 in the vehicle width direction together with the airbag 14.

As shown in FIG. 1, the side airbag device 11 includes a control device 20 that controls the supply of expansion gas to the airbag 14 by the inflator 15, and an impact sensor 21 for detecting a side collision of the vehicle. I have. The impact sensor 21 outputs a detection signal to the control device 20 when the impact of a side collision is applied to the vehicle. The control device 20 operates the inflator 15 based on the detection signal from the impact sensor 21 to supply the expansion gas to the airbag 14.

Then, when a gas for expansion is supplied from the inflator 15 to the folded airbag 14, the airbag 14 expands and expands due to the pressure of the gas, and the portion near the inflator 15 is inside the seat back 13. It jumps forward from the seat back 13 while leaving it in. As shown by the alternate long and short dash line in FIG. 3, the airbag 14 protruding from the seat back 13 is located between the occupant P seated on the seat 12 in the vehicle interior and the body side portion 22 such as the door and pillar in the vehicle. Deployed and inflated toward the front of the door.

In this case, the size of the airbag 14 in the deployed and inflated state is such that the portion from the chest to the lumbar region of the occupant P can be protected. That is, the airbag 14 expands and expands so as to correspond to the portion of the occupant P from the chest to the lumbar region. Further, in this case, the occupant P seated on the seat 12 in the vehicle interior has the same physique as the dummy for the collision test. This dummy is, for example, the International Unified Side Collision Dummy (WorldSID) AM50 (a model that covers 50% of adult males in the United States).

The white arrows in FIG. 3 indicate the direction in which the impact is applied when the impact is applied to the body side portion 22 due to the side collision of the vehicle.
Next, the configuration of the airbag 14 will be described in detail.

As shown in FIG. 1, the airbag 14 includes an outer bag 23 and an inner bag 24 provided on the rear side of the outer bag 23 and accommodating the inflator 15. The inner bag 24 has a substantially C-shape with the front side open as a whole, and protrudes forward when inflated to the upper inflated portion 25 corresponding to the shoulder portion of the occupant P, and protrudes forward when inflated. It is provided with a lower expansion portion 26 corresponding to the waist portion of the occupant P, and a recess 27 provided between the upper expansion portion 25 and the lower expansion portion 26.

The inflator 15 is covered with a rectifying member (not shown) made of a tubular cloth in the inner bag 24. The rectifying member (not shown) preferentially guides the expansion gas supplied from the inflator 15 to the upper expansion portion 25 and the lower expansion portion 26 in the inner bag 24.

The inner surfaces of the outer bag 23 in the thickness direction are connected by a tether 28 made of a square piece of cloth that regulates the thickness of the outer bag 23, with the vehicle width direction corresponding to the left-right direction as the thickness direction. The tether 28 extends so as to pass through the recess 27 of the inner bag 24 when the airbag 14 expands, and regulates the thickness of the outer bag 23. A pair of left and right vent holes 29 for discharging the gas in the airbag 14 to the outside are formed at the front end portion of the outer bag 23 at the central portion in the vertical direction.

At the center of the recess 27 in the inner bag 24, there is a central communication hole 30 as an example of a communication hole that communicates with the inside and outside of the inner bag 24 so as to face the tether 28 in the front-rear direction of the vehicle when the airbag 14 expands. It is formed. A through hole 31 is formed at a position of the tether 28 facing the central communication hole 30 in the vehicle front-rear direction when the airbag 14 expands.

An upper communication hole 32 is formed in the upper portion of the recess 27 of the inner bag 24 as an example of a communication hole that communicates the inside and outside of the inner bag 24 so as to face diagonally downward and forward when the inner bag 24 expands. On the other hand, a lower communication hole 33 is formed in the lower portion of the recess 27 of the inner bag 24 as an example of a communication hole that communicates the inside and outside of the inner bag 24 so as to face diagonally upward forward when the inner bag 24 expands. ing.

The upper end peripheral edge of the upper expanding portion 25 and the lower end peripheral edge of the lower expanding portion 26 of the inner bag 24 are fixed by being sewn to the upper end peripheral edge and the lower end peripheral edge of the outer bag 23, respectively.

Next, the method of manufacturing the airbag 14 will be described in detail.
When manufacturing the airbag 14, first, one outer base cloth 34 (see FIG. 4) for forming the outer bag 23 and one inner base cloth 35 for forming the inner bag 24 (see FIG. 4). (See FIG. 5) and a tether 28 (see FIG. 6) made of a single piece of cloth are prepared.

Here, the two-dot chain line S1 drawn on the peripheral edge of one outer base cloth 34 in FIG. 4 is sewn in a state where one outer base cloth 34 is folded in two along the fold line L and overlapped. The peripheral sewn portion when the bag-shaped outer bag 23 is formed is shown. Further, the pair of substantially elliptical double dashed lines H1 drawn on the outer base cloth 34 of FIG. 4 is a pair of substantially elliptical double dashed lines H2 drawn on the tether 28 of FIG. The indicated parts are sewn together and connected to each other. Further, the two-dot chain line S2 drawn on the peripheral edge of one inner base cloth 35 in FIG. 5 is a bag in which one inner base cloth 35 is folded in two along the fold line L and sewn together. The peripheral sewn portion when the shape of the inner bag 24 is formed is shown.

Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 7, one inner base cloth 35 is placed on one outer base cloth 34 so that the folding lines L overlap each other. Subsequently, with the inflator 15 arranged along the fold line L on one inner base cloth 35, one inner base cloth 35 is folded in two at the fold line L and overlapped. Then, the stacked inner base cloths 35 are sewn together along the alternate long and short dash line S2 to form a bag shape, thereby forming the inner bag 24.

Subsequently, the portion indicated by the pair of double broken lines H2 in the tether 28 and the portion indicated by the pair of double broken lines H1 in the one outer base cloth 34 are sewn together. Subsequently, one outer base cloth 34 is folded in two at the folding line L and overlapped, and the overlapped outer base cloths 34 are sewn together along the two-dot chain line S1 to form a bag shape, thereby forming the outer bag 23. Form.

At this time, the outer bag 23 and the inner bag 24 are sewn together at the portion where the two-point chain wire S1 of the outer bag 23 (outer base cloth 34) and the two-point chain line S2 of the inner bag 24 (inner base cloth 35) overlap. .. That is, the upper end peripheral edge of the upper expansion portion 25 and the lower end peripheral edge of the lower expansion portion 26 of the inner bag 24 are fixed to the upper end peripheral edge and the lower end peripheral edge of the outer bag 23, respectively. As a result, the airbag 14 is completed.

Next, the operation of the side airbag device 11 will be described.
When an impact based on a side collision is applied to the vehicle, expansion gas from the inflator 15 is supplied to the airbag 14 folded inside the seat back 13 in the seat 12, and the airbag 14 expands and expands. .. In this case, since the inflator 15 is arranged in the inner bag 24 in a state of being covered with a rectifying member (not shown), the expansion gas injected from the inflator 15 is the upper expansion portion 25 in the inner bag 24. And is preferentially guided to the lower expansion portion 26.

Therefore, the pressure of the gas injected from the inflator 15 first expands and expands the upper expansion portion 25 and the lower expansion portion 26 of the inner bag 24. At this time, since the upper expansion portion 25 and the lower expansion portion 26 of the inner bag 24 are fixed to the outer bag 23, the vertical swing is suppressed. Therefore, the upper expansion portion 25 and the lower expansion portion 26 expand accurately at positions corresponding to the shoulder portion and the waist portion of the occupant P, respectively.

As a result, the impact based on the lateral collision is first received by the shoulders and the lumbar region, which are relatively resistant to the impact of the occupant P. That is, the shoulders and waist of the occupant P, which are relatively resistant to impact, are firmly restrained and protected by the inner bag 24. Then, when the gas fills the inner bag 24 and the entire inner bag 24 expands, the gas in the inner bag 24 is injected from the central communication hole 30, the upper communication hole 32, and the lower communication hole 33, and this injection is performed. The outer bag 23 expands due to the pressure of the gas.

At this time, the tether 28 is deployed and the thickness of the outer bag 23 is regulated by the tether 28, but since the tether 28 passes through the recess 27 of the inner bag 24, it does not come into contact with the inner bag 24. Therefore, the deployment of the tether 28 is not hindered by the inner bag 24.

Further, at this time, the tether 28 is located on the front side of the central communication hole 30, but the tether 28 is formed with a through hole 31. Therefore, the gas injected forward from the central communication hole 30 passes through the tether 28 through the through hole 31. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the tether 28 from obstructing the supply of gas from the inner bag 24 into the outer bag 23 through the central communication hole 30.

Further, at this time, the gas injected from the central communication hole 30, the upper communication hole 32, and the lower communication hole 33 of the inner bag 24 flows from these directions into the recess 27 and the recess of the inner bag 24 in the outer bag 23. Since it gathers at a position corresponding to the front of 27, the position in the outer bag 23 expands rapidly.

Since the position of the outer bag 23 in the present embodiment corresponds to the rib portion having a relatively low resistance to impact in the occupant P, the inner bag 24 is preferentially inflated after being inflated so that the occupant P is relatively resistant to impact. The rib portion with low resistance is softly restrained by the outer bag 23 and is preferentially protected. After the entire outer bag 23 is expanded, the gas in the outer bag 23 (airbag 14) is discharged to the outside from the vent hole 29.

According to the embodiment described in detail above, the following effects are exhibited.
(1) The side airbag device 11 deploys and expands the airbag 14 between the body side portion 22 of the vehicle and the occupant P seated on the seat 12 in the vehicle interior by the pressure of the gas supplied from the inflator 15. The airbag 14 includes an outer bag 23 and an inner bag 24 provided in the outer bag 23 and accommodating the inflator 15. The inner bag 24 is formed with a central communication hole 30, an upper communication hole 32, and a lower communication hole 33 that communicate the inside and outside of the inner bag 24. According to this configuration, since the inner bag 24 is arranged in the outer bag 23, the positions of the communication holes such as the central communication hole 30, the upper communication hole 32, and the lower communication hole 33 formed in the inner bag 24 are located. The degree of freedom can be increased. Therefore, the degree of freedom in designing the airbag 14 and thus the side airbag device 11 can be increased.

(2) In the side airbag device 11, the inner surfaces of the outer bag 23 in the thickness direction are connected by a tether 28 that regulates the thickness of the outer bag 23 with the vehicle width direction as the thickness direction, and the tether 28 is air. When the bag 14 expands, it extends so as to pass through the recess 27. According to this configuration, the thickness of the outer bag 23 can be regulated by the tether 28 while suppressing the contact between the tether 28 and the inner bag 24.

(3) In the side airbag device 11, a central communication hole 30 is formed in the central portion of the recess 27 in the inner bag 24 so as to face the tether 28 in the front-rear direction of the vehicle when the airbag 14 expands. When the bag 14 expands, a through hole 31 is formed at a position facing the central communication hole 30 in the tether 28 in the front-rear direction of the vehicle. According to this configuration, when the airbag 14 expands, the gas in the inner bag 24 injected from the central communication hole 30 is supplied into the outer bag 23 through the through hole 31 of the tether 28. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the tether 28 from obstructing the supply of gas from the inner bag 24 into the outer bag 23 through the central communication hole 30.

(4) In the side airbag device 11, an upper communication hole 32 is formed in the upper portion of the recess 27 of the inner bag 24 so as to face diagonally downward forward when the inner bag 24 expands, and the recess 27 of the inner bag 24 is formed. In the lower part of the bag, a lower communication hole 33 is formed so as to face diagonally upward in the front when the inner bag 24 expands. According to this configuration, the gas in the inner bag 24 injected from the upper communication hole 32 and the lower communication hole 33 when the airbag 14 expands corresponds to the inside of the recess 27 in the outer bag 23 and the front of the recess 27. Since the bags are gathered at the desired positions, the positions on the outer bag 23 can be quickly inflated. Therefore, the portion of the occupant P corresponding to the position on the outer bag 23 can be preferentially protected. In the present embodiment, the position on the outer bag 23 corresponds to the rib portion of the occupant P, which has a relatively low resistance to impact.

(5) In the side airbag device 11, the upper expansion portion 25 and the lower expansion portion 26 of the inner bag 24 are fixed to the outer bag 23. According to this configuration, when the inner bag 24 expands, it is possible to prevent the upper expansion portion 25 and the lower expansion portion 26 from swinging particularly in the vertical direction.

(Change example)
The above embodiment can be modified and implemented as follows. Further, the above-described embodiment and the following modified examples can be implemented in combination with each other within a technically consistent range.

As shown in FIG. 8, in the airbag 14, the inner base cloth 35 in FIG. 5 is cut in half along the fold line L, and the inner base cloth 35 cut in half and a part of the outer base cloth 34 are inner. The bag 36 may be formed. That is, a part of the inner bag 36 (half in this example) may be composed of a part of the outer bag 23. In this case, it is preferable to set a gusset on the inner base cloth 35 and the outer base cloth 34 to increase the thickness of the inner bag 36. By doing so, the amount of the inner base cloth 35 and the sewing portion can be reduced, so that the airbag 14 can be folded more compactly.

-As shown in FIG. 9, in the airbag 14 of FIG. 8 above, the tack 37 may be formed on the inner base cloth 35. That is, the inner base cloth 35 forming the inner bag 36 may be sewn to the portion 38 constituting the inner bag 36 in the outer base cloth 34 forming the outer bag 23 with the tack 37 formed. In this case, as shown in FIG. 10, the inner base cloth 35 is one size larger than the portion 38, and the inner base cloth 35 is made to hit the portion 38 while forming the tack 37. The peripheral edge is sewn. In this way, when the inner bag 36 is expanded, the portion where the tack 37 is formed is stretched to form a more three-dimensional shape, so that the thickness of the inner bag 36 can be further increased.

As shown in FIG. 11, a regulation tether 39 for restricting the forward expansion of the inner bag 24 may be provided at a position corresponding to the recess 27 in the inner bag 24. By doing so, as shown in FIG. 12, when the inner bag 24 is expanded, the regulation tether 39 suppresses the expansion of the inner bag 24 in the front direction, so that the thickness of the inner bag 24 in the vehicle front-rear direction is reduced. The thickness in the vehicle width direction can be increased. Note that FIG. 12 shows the expanded state of the inner bag 24 when the regulation tether 39 is not provided by the alternate long and short dash line.

-One inner base cloth 35 is folded in two at the fold line L and overlapped, and the peripheral portions of the overlapped inner base cloths 35 are sewn together so as to form a tack to form a bag shape. The inner bag 24 may be formed by the above.

-At least one of the upper expansion portion 25 and the lower expansion portion 26 in the inner bag 24 does not necessarily have to be fixed to the outer bag 23. That is, only one of the upper expansion portion 25 and the lower expansion portion 26 of the inner bag 24 may not be fixed to the outer bag 23, or both may not be fixed to the outer bag 23. ..

-At least one of the upper communication hole 32 and the lower communication hole 33 in the inner bag 24 may be omitted.
-The through hole 31 in the tether 28 may be omitted.

The through hole 31 of the tether 28 and the central communication hole 30 of the inner bag 24 do not necessarily face each other in the front-rear direction of the vehicle.
-The tether 28 does not necessarily have to extend so as to pass through the recess 27 of the inner bag 24 when the airbag 14 expands.

-The tether 28 may be omitted.
-The number, position, size, and shape of the communication holes formed in the inner bag 24 may be changed as appropriate.

11 ... Side airbag device 12 ... Seat 14 ... Airbag 15 ... Inflator 22 ... Body side part 23 ... Outer bag 24, 36 ... Inner bag 25 ... Upper expansion part 26 ... Lower expansion part 27 ... Recess 28 ... Tether 30 ... Central communication hole as an example of communication hole 32 ... Upper communication hole as an example of communication hole 33 ... Lower communication hole as an example of communication hole 34 ... Outer base cloth (base cloth)
35 ... Inner base cloth (base cloth)
37 ... Tack 38 ... Part 39 ... Regulatory tether P ... Crew

Claims (8)

In a side airbag device equipped with an airbag that deploys and expands between the body side of the vehicle and a occupant seated in a seat in the vehicle interior by the pressure of the gas supplied from the inflator.
The airbag includes an outer bag and an inner bag provided in the outer bag and accommodating the inflator.
The inner bag is
When inflated, the upper inflated part that protrudes forward and corresponds to the shoulder of the occupant,
When inflated, the lower inflated part that protrudes forward and corresponds to the lumbar part of the occupant,
A recess provided between the upper expansion portion and the lower expansion portion,
With
A side airbag device characterized in that the inner bag is formed with at least one communication hole that communicates with the inside and outside of the inner bag. The inner surfaces of the outer bag in the thickness direction with the vehicle width direction as the thickness direction are connected by a tether that regulates the thickness of the outer bag.
The side airbag device according to claim 1, wherein the tether extends so as to pass through the recess when the airbag expands. A communication hole is formed in the central portion of the recess in the inner bag so as to face the tether in the front-rear direction of the vehicle when the airbag expands.
The side airbag device according to claim 2, wherein a through hole is formed at a position of the tether that faces the communication hole in the vehicle front-rear direction when the airbag expands. The communication hole is formed in the upper portion of the concave portion of the inner bag so as to face diagonally forward and downward when the inner bag expands.
Any of claims 1 to 3, wherein a communication hole is formed in the lower portion of the recess of the inner bag so as to face diagonally upward forward when the inner bag expands. The side airbag device according to one item. The invention according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein at least one of the upper inflatable portion and the lower inflatable portion in the inner bag is fixed to the outer bag. Side airbag device. The side airbag device according to claim 1, wherein a part of the inner bag is composed of a part of the outer bag. The sixth aspect of claim 6, wherein the base cloth forming the inner bag is sewn to a portion of the base cloth forming the outer bag in a state where the tack is formed. Side airbag device. One of claims 1 to 5, wherein a regulatory tether that regulates the forward expansion of the inner bag is provided at a position corresponding to the recess in the inner bag. The side airbag device described in.

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