JP2021147033A - Air bag device manufacturing method and air bag device - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an air bag device manufacturing method by which an expansion shape of an air bag cushion, that is assumed after inflation is completed, can be satisfactorily realized, and an air bag device.SOLUTION: An air bag cushion, which inflates and expands between adjacent seats in a cabin, comprises: an upper surface panel and a lower surface panel which are separated in a vertical direction and face each other during expansion; a side face panel which connects circumferences of the upper surface panel and the lower surface panel; a projection which projects upward from the upper surface panel; and a cylindrical inflator which is fitted along an inner surface of the side face panel on one side of the projection. A first roll part in which the upper surface panel and the side face panel, on which a fitting part of the inflator is provided, are stacked on the front and back and the projection is rolled into a roll form, a folding part of which one side part is folded so as to cover the fitting part of the inflator, and a second roll part of the other side part is rolled into a roll form are stored in the folded state that those parts are arranged on the upper surface panel with the second roll part as a center.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing an airbag device and an airbag device.

In recent years, many vehicles have been equipped with airbag devices. The airbag device operates in an emergency such as a vehicle collision, and receives and protects an occupant by an airbag cushion that expands and expands with gas pressure. There are various types of airbag devices depending on the installation location and application, and one of them is an airbag that expands and deploys between adjacent seats inside the vehicle interior (for example, between the driver's seat and the passenger seat). There is an airbag device, a so-called side airbag device, which is provided with a cushion and restrains the occupants seated in each seat from the side to suppress the lateral movement of the occupants in the event of a side collision (see Patent Document 1).

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2010-115947

However, the airbag device described in Patent Document 1 includes a large-sized airbag cushion that occupies a space between adjacent seats during expansion and deployment, and an inflator gas that supplies an expansion gas to the airbag cushion. It will be necessary to increase the amount generated.

To solve this problem, an airbag cushion having a plurality of parts that expand and expand in different directions has been proposed. This airbag cushion is, for example, on the main deploying portion that expands and expands laterally at a height position corresponding to the torso and shoulders of the occupant seated in the seat, and the central portion of the upper surface of the main deploying portion. It is provided with a protruding portion that expands and expands so as to protrude in the direction. According to the airbag device provided with this airbag cushion, the torso and shoulders of the occupant can be supported on both sides of the main deployment portion, and the head of the moving occupant can be supported by the protrusions. The cushion can provide the desired protective function.

However, in such an airbag device, when the airbag cushion expands and expands from the storage form, a plurality of parts are entangled with each other and hinder each expansion. As a result, the expanded shape of the airbag cushion assumed after the expansion is completed. Can arise the problem of not being able to obtain.

An object of the present disclosure is to provide a method for manufacturing an airbag device and an airbag device that can satisfactorily realize the deployed shape of the airbag cushion assumed after the completion of expansion.

The method for manufacturing an airbag device according to the present disclosure is a method for manufacturing an airbag device provided with an airbag cushion that expands and expands between adjacent seats in the vehicle interior and restrains occupants seated in each seat from the side. The airbag cushion has an upper surface panel and a lower surface panel that face each other in the vertical direction when expanded and deployed, a side panel that connects the peripheral edges of the upper surface panel and the lower surface panel, and a protrusion that projects upward from the upper surface panel. The procedure for folding the airbag cushion into a storage form is to include a portion and a tubular inflator mounted along the inner surface of the side panel on one side of the protruding portion. A first step of folding the side panel provided with the above surface so as to overlap the front and back surfaces, a second step of rolling the protruding portion from an end portion into a roll shape to form a first roll portion overlapping the top surface panel, and the above. A third step of forming a folded portion in which one side portion including the mounting portion is folded back so as to cover the mounting portion and the end portion is arranged close to the first roll portion, and the other side portion not including the mounting portion. Is rolled into a roll shape to form a second roll portion, and includes a fourth step of arranging the first roll portion and the folded portion between the first roll portion and the folded portion.

Further, prior to the first step, a pull-out step of pulling out the lower surface panel from between the side panel is further included.

Further, between the first step and the second step, or between the second step and the third step, the protruding portion of the lower surface panel and the side panel generated in the first step is formed on the upper surface panel and the side surface. It further includes a folding step of folding between the overlapping portions of the panels.

Further, the airbag device according to the present disclosure is an airbag device including an airbag cushion that expands and expands between adjacent seats in the vehicle interior and restrains occupants seated in each seat from the side. The bag cushion includes an upper surface panel and a lower surface panel that face each other in the vertical direction when expanded and deployed, a side panel that connects the peripheral edges of the upper surface panel and the lower surface panel, a protruding portion that projects upward from the upper surface panel, and the protrusion. A tubular inflator mounted along the inner surface of the side panel is provided on one side of the portion, and the top panel and the side panel provided with the mounting portion of the inflator are overlapped on the front and back, and the protruding portion is formed. A first roll portion rolled into a roll shape, a folded portion in which one side portion including the mounting portion is folded back so as to cover the mounting portion, and a second roll portion in which the other side portion is rolled into a roll shape are formed. , The second roll portion is stored in a folded form arranged on the upper surface panel with the second roll portion as the center.

According to the present disclosure, it is possible to prevent entanglement of each part when the folded airbag cushion expands and expands, and it is possible to surely realize the expanded shape assumed after the expansion is completed, and the protection of the occupant in the event of a collision is good. Can be achieved.

It is a perspective view which shows the inside of the vehicle interior provided with the airbag device which concerns on embodiment. It is sectional drawing of the airbag device by line II-II of FIG. It is a perspective view of the airbag cushion. It is a front view seen from the front which shows the deployment form of the airbag cushion in a vehicle interior. It is explanatory drawing of the folding procedure of an airbag cushion. It is explanatory drawing of the folding procedure of an airbag cushion.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. The "vertical direction" used in the following explanation indicates the direction on the line connecting the center of the ceiling of the passenger compartment and the center of the floor, and the direction toward the ceiling is "upward" and toward the floor. The direction is "downward". The "front-rear direction" is the direction in which the vehicle travels, the forward direction is the "forward direction", and the reverse direction is the "rear direction". Further, the "vehicle width direction" is a direction orthogonal to the above-mentioned "front-rear direction", and is a direction in which ordinary seats are arranged side by side in the vehicle interior.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating the inside of a vehicle interior provided with the airbag device according to the embodiment. In this figure, the driver's seat 2 and the passenger seat 3 installed side by side in the width direction on the floor surface 10 of the vehicle interior 1 and the seat belt 23 mounted on the driver's seat 2 are shown. The driver's seat 2 includes a seat portion 21 and a backrest 22 that rises upward from the rear side of the seat portion 21, and the occupant 20 (see FIG. 4) wears a seat belt 23 on the seat portion 21. Sit down.

The airbag device 4 according to the embodiment is incorporated on the side surface of the backrest 22 of the driver's seat 2 on the passenger seat 3 side. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the airbag device 4 taken along the line II-II of FIG. The vertical direction in this figure corresponds to the above-mentioned "front-back direction".

The airbag device 4 includes an airbag cushion 5 and an inflator 6 housed in the storage unit 40. The storage portion 40 is a box body provided with an outward opening on the side surface of the backrest 22 on the passenger seat 3 side (left side in FIG. 2). For example, a part of the skeleton frame of the backrest 22 is used. It is composed of. The opening of the storage portion 40 is covered with a cover plate 41 that is flush with the side surface of the backrest 22. The cover plate 41 is a plate made of resin having a lower strength than the storage portion 40, and a fissure groove 42 extending in the vertical direction is formed on the inner surface of the front portion (upper portion in FIG. 2) of the cover plate 41.

The airbag cushion 5 is, for example, a cloth bag body reinforced by weaving high-strength fibers such as nylon fibers, and is folded and stored inside the storage unit 40 by a procedure described later. The inflator 6 has a cylindrical shape and is attached to the inside of the airbag cushion 5. A stud bolt 60 is provided so as to project outward from the peripheral surface of the inflator 6, and the stud bolt 60 extends to the outside of the airbag cushion 5. The inflator 6 is fixed by tightening a nut 61 to a stud bolt 60 passed through the bottom plate of the storage portion 40, and the airbag cushion 5 is sandwiched between the inflator 6 and the bottom plate of the storage portion 40 at the mounting position. It is fixed.

The inflator 6 operates in an emergency such as a vehicle collision, and injects a gas for expansion and deployment into the inside of the airbag cushion 5. The airbag cushion 5 explosively expands due to the action of the injection gas of the inflator 6, breaks the cover plate 41 at the position of the cleavage groove 42, and expands outward as a support for the storage portion 40.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the airbag cushion 5 and shows a form when expanded and deployed. As shown in this figure, the airbag cushion 5 includes an upper surface panel 50 and a lower surface panel 51 that face each other in the vertical direction when expanded and deployed, a side panel 52 that connects the peripheral edges of the upper surface panel 50 and the lower surface panel 51, and an upper surface panel 50. It is provided with a projecting portion 53 projecting upward from the surface. The upper surface panel 50, the lower surface panel 51, and the side panel 52 are integrally joined by, for example, sewing the peripheral edges of each, and as shown in the figure, a main developing portion that expands in a long rectangular parallelepiped shape in the left-right direction (vehicle width direction) is formed. Constitute. The protruding portion 53 rises upward at the central portion in the length direction of the upper surface panel 50, and expands with an appropriate width in the left-right direction.

As shown by the broken line in the drawing, the inflator 6 is attached along the inner surface of the side panel 52 on one side of the protrusion 53 with the axial length direction being the vertical direction. The stud bolts 60 used for fixing described above are provided at two positions separated in the vertical direction of the inflator 6, and project to the outside of the side panel 52 at each position.

FIG. 4 is a front view showing the deployed form of the airbag cushion 5 in the vehicle interior 1 as viewed from the front. As described above, the airbag cushion 5 is housed in the side portion of the backrest 22 of the driver's seat 2, and expands due to the action of the injection gas of the inflator 6 in an emergency such as a vehicle collision, and the driver's seat 2 adjacent to each other in the vehicle width direction. And the passenger seat 3.

The main deployable portion composed of the upper surface panel 50, the lower surface panel 51 and the side panel 52 is located at a height position corresponding to the body and shoulders of the occupant 20 seated in the driver's seat 2 and the occupant 30 seated in the passenger seat 3. The occupants 20 and 30 are restrained from the side on both sides that spread laterally and reach the front positions of the driver's seat 2 and the passenger seat 3. Therefore, the lateral movement of the occupants 20 and 30 at the time of a side collision can be prevented, and the occupants 20 and 30 can be effectively protected. The occupants 20 and 30 in FIG. 4 are shown by a two-dot chain line.

The protrusion 53 rises upward at the center of the main deployment portion and reaches a height position corresponding to the heads of the occupant 20 seated in the driver's seat 2 and the occupant 30 seated in the passenger seat 3. Therefore, for example, even if the occupant 30 seated in the passenger seat 3 is in OOP (Out Of Position), the head of the occupant 30 laterally moving to the driver's seat 2 side is restrained by the protrusion 53. It is possible to provide an airbag device 4 that shows good results in a test for evaluating the degree of protection of an occupant in a non-regular sitting posture, that is, a so-called OOP test.

In the deployed state of the airbag cushion 5 shown in FIG. 4, the dimensions of each part of the airbag cushion 5 are appropriately set according to the positional relationship between the driver's seat 2 and the passenger seat 3 and the arrangement position of the airbag device 4. On the other hand, the airbag cushion 5 has the shape as described above, and when the airbag cushion 5 is expanded and expanded from the stored state in the folded state, a plurality of parts are entangled with each other to expand each of them. As a result of the inhibition, there may be a problem that the expected unfolded shape cannot be obtained after the expansion is completed.

The folded form of the airbag cushion 5 shown in FIG. 2 is intended to prevent entanglement of each part during expansion and deployment, and to reliably and quickly realize the expanded state shown in FIG. 5 and 6 are explanatory views of a folding procedure of the airbag cushion 5. The folding procedure of the airbag cushion 5 will be described below with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6. In this description, "top, bottom" and "left, right" in the figure are used.

FIG. 5A shows the airbag cushion 5 in the deployed state, and the inflator 6 is attached to the position indicated by the broken line in FIG. 5A. When folding the airbag cushion 5, first, as shown by arrows in FIG. 5B, the lower surface panel 51 is pulled out from between the side panel 52 (drawing process), and the side surface panel 52 and the lower surface panel 51 are below the upper surface panel 50. To be continuous.

Next, the pulled-out lower surface panel 51 and the side panel 52 are folded in the direction indicated by the white arrow in FIG. 5B with the long side on one side of the upper surface panel 50 as a fold line, and as shown in FIG. 5C. , The top panel 50 and the side panel 52 provided with the mounting portion of the inflator 6 are folded so as to overlap the front and back (first step). The drawing step performed before the first step is a step necessary to easily and correctly realize the desired overlapping state of the top panel 50 and the side panel 52 in the first step.

On the other hand, the protruding portion 53 protruding from the upper surface panel 50 has a plate shape in which both side surfaces are overlapped by applying force from both the left and right sides as shown by arrows in FIG. 5B, and is indicated by white arrows in FIG. 5B. As shown in FIG. 5C, the first roll portion 54 overlapping the upper surface panel 50 is formed by rolling the upper end portion into a roll shape (second step). The winding direction of the first roll portion 54 is not limited to the direction shown in the drawing, and may be the direction opposite to that shown in the drawing.

The order of implementation of the first step of stacking the top panel 50 and the side panel 52 and the second step of rolling the protruding portion 53 into a roll to form the first roll portion 54 is arbitrary, and after the first step. It may be carried out in the order of the second step, or may be carried out in the order of the first step after the second step.

Further, due to the folding in the first step, as shown in FIG. 5C, the lower surface panel 51 and the remaining side surface panels 52 are in a state of protruding outward from between the upper surface panel 50 and the side surface panels 52 which are overlapped on the front and back surfaces. It is desirable that this protruding portion be folded between the top panel 50 and the side panel 52, as indicated by the arrows in FIG. 5C. This folding step may be performed at an appropriate timing between the first step described above and the third step described below.

By carrying out the first step and the second step including the above folding step, the airbag cushion 5 is a plate-shaped portion formed by overlapping the upper surface panel 50, the lower surface panel 51 and the side surface panel 52 as shown in FIG. 6A. The first roll portion 54 is located in the center of the above, and the mounting portions of the inflator 6 are arranged substantially in parallel on one side (right side) of the first roll portion 54.

Next, the right half including the mounting portion of the inflator 6 is folded back as shown by a white arrow in FIG. 6A, and the mounting portion of the inflator 6 is covered from above as shown by FIG. 6B, and the first roll is used. A folded-back portion 55 whose ends are arranged close to each other is formed on the right side of the portion 54 (third step).

On the other hand, the left half portion not including the mounting portion of the inflator 6 is rolled into a roll shape from the end portion as shown by the white arrow in FIG. 6A, and as shown in FIG. 6B, the first roll portion 54 A second roll portion 56 located on the left side is formed, the formed portion of the second roll portion 56 is folded back as shown by a white arrow in FIG. 6B, and the first roll portion 54 is covered from above with the folded portion. The second roll portion 56 is arranged between the first roll portion 54 and the folded portion 55 (fourth step). The winding direction of the second roll portion 56 is not limited to the direction shown in the drawing, and may be the direction opposite to that shown in the drawing.

In the above description, the folded-back portion 55 in the third step is formed by folding back the right half portion including the mounting portion of the inflator 6, but the folded-back portion 55 is formed on one side including the mounting portion of the inflator 6. The portion (the portion on the right side of the figure) can be formed by folding back as described above over an appropriate length not limited to substantially half the length. Similarly, the second roll portion 56 in the fourth step can be formed by rolling the other side portion (left portion) into a roll shape over an appropriate length.

The range of one side portion and the other side portion varies depending on the shape of the airbag cushion 5 determined by the structure of the vehicle, the positional relationship of the seats, and the mounting position of the inflator 6 in the airbag cushion 5. For example, one side portion is one-fourth (or three-quarters) of the total length of the above-mentioned plate-shaped portion, and the other side portion is the remaining three-quarters (or one-quarter). , Each side can deviate significantly from half the overall length.

The airbag cushion 5 is folded by a procedure of carrying out the above first to fourth steps, preferably including the above-described pull-out step and folding step, and as shown in FIG. 2, the inside of the storage portion 40. It is stored in. FIG. 2 shows the arrangement of the first roll portion 54, the folded portion 55, and the second roll portion 56.

When the airbag cushion 5 housed in this way expands and expands, the position of the upper surface panel 50 is determined by the folded-back portion 55 and the second roll portion 56 expanding to their respective sides, and the position of the upper surface panel 50 is determined. The first roll portion 54 is expanded so as to extend upward to form the protruding portion 53, while the lower surface panel 51 is expanded so as to be separated downward to form the main unfolded portion. Since such expansion and deployment of the airbag cushion 5 occurs without the main deployment portion and the protruding portion 53 being entangled with each other, the expansion shape shown in FIG. 4 assumed after the completion of expansion is surely realized, and the occupant at the time of a collision. 20 and 30 protections can be successfully achieved.

The embodiments disclosed this time should be considered to be exemplary in all respects and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is indicated by the scope of claims, not the above-mentioned meaning, and is intended to include all modifications within the meaning and scope equivalent to the scope of claims. The reference symbols attached to the claims are added to facilitate the understanding of the claims.

1 Vehicle compartment 2 Driver's seat 3 Passenger seat 4 Airbag device 5 Airbag cushion 6 Inflator 20 Crew 30 Crew 50 Top panel 51 Bottom panel 52 Side panel 53 Protruding part 54 1st roll part 55 Folded part 56 2nd roll part

Claims (4)

An airbag cushion (5) that expands and expands between adjacent seats (2) and (3) inside the passenger compartment (1) and restrains the occupants (20) and (30) seated in the respective seats from the side. It is a manufacturing method of the airbag device (4) provided.
The airbag cushion (5) is
The top panel (50) and the bottom panel (51), which face each other in the vertical direction when expanded and deployed,
A side panel (52) connecting the peripheral edges of the top panel (50) and the bottom panel (51),
A protrusion (53) protruding upward from the top panel (50),
A cylindrical inflator (6) attached along the inner surface of the side panel (52) on one side of the protrusion (53) is provided.
The procedure for folding the airbag cushion (5) into the storage form is as follows.
The first step of folding the top panel (50) and the side panel (52) provided with the mounting portion of the inflator (6) so as to overlap each other.
A second step of rolling the protruding portion (53) from an end portion into a roll shape to form a first roll portion (54) overlapping the upper surface panel (50).
A third step of forming a folded portion (55) in which one side portion including the mounting portion is folded back so as to cover the mounting portion and the end portion is arranged close to the first roll portion (54).
A fourth roll portion (56) is formed by rolling the other side portion that does not include the mounting portion into a roll shape, and is arranged between the first roll portion (54) and the folded portion (55). A method of manufacturing an airbag device, which comprises a process. The method for manufacturing an airbag device according to claim 1, further comprising a pull-out step of pulling out the lower surface panel (51) from between the side panel (52) before the first step. Between the first step and the second step, or between the second step and the third step, the protruding portion of the lower surface panel (51) and the side panel (52) generated in the first step is formed. The method for manufacturing an airbag device according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a folding step of folding between the overlapping portions of the top panel (50) and the side panel (52). An airbag cushion (5) that expands and expands between adjacent seats (2) and (3) inside the passenger compartment (1) and restrains the occupants (20) and (30) seated in the respective seats from the side. It is an airbag device (4) provided.
The airbag cushion (5) is
The top panel (50) and the bottom panel (51), which face each other in the vertical direction when expanded and deployed,
A side panel (52) connecting the peripheral edges of the top panel (50) and the bottom panel (51),
A protrusion (53) protruding upward from the top panel (50),
A cylindrical inflator (6) attached along the inner surface of the side panel (52) on one side of the protrusion (53) is provided.
The first roll portion (54) in which the upper surface panel (50) and the side panel (52) provided with the mounting portion of the inflator (6) are overlapped on the front and back, and the protruding portion (53) is rolled into a roll shape. A folded portion (55) in which one side portion including the mounting portion is folded back so as to cover the mounting portion, and a second roll portion (56) in which the other side portion is rolled into a roll shape are the first. 2 An airbag device characterized in that the airbag device is stored in a folded form arranged on the upper surface panel (50) with the roll portion (56) as the center.

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