JP2021160415A - Airbag device for front passenger seat - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an airbag device for a front passenger seat that can be simply configured to be folded back compactly and can appropriately regulate a shape of an outline of the airbag completing inflation.SOLUTION: An airbag device M for a front passenger seat comprises an airbag 15 that is folded back and stored in a storage site 12 provided in an instrument panel 1. The airbag comprises an airbag main body 16 and a Tether 50 that regulates a shape of the airbag main body completing inflation. The Tether comprises: a left and right connection part 51, arranged nearly along a lateral direction so as to connect a left wall part 17c and a right wall part 17d which are opposing to each other in a lateral direction in a peripheral wall part 17 of the airbag main body, which regulates a distance of separation from each other of the left wall part and the right wall part; and a front/rear connection part 53, which is arranged nearly along a longitudinal direction when the airbag main body completes inflation so as to connect a nearly center in a lateral direction of the left and right connection part to a nearly center in the lateral direction of an occupant-side wall part 25 to suppress the occupant-side wall part from protruding rearward.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 14

Description

The present invention is folded and stored in a storage portion provided on an instrument panel arranged in front of an occupant seated in the passenger seat, and an expansion gas is allowed to flow into the inside so as to project toward the rear side of the vehicle. The present invention relates to a passenger seat airbag device configured to include an airbag that is configured to be inflatable and capable of protecting an occupant.

Conventionally, some passenger seat airbag devices include an airbag having a configuration in which a tether that regulates the expansion completion shape is arranged in the bag body. In this conventional passenger seat airbag device, as a tether disposed in the bag body, the tether is substantially connected in the front-rear direction so as to connect the front end side when expansion is completed and the occupant side wall portion on the rear end side when expansion is completed. The front and rear tethers arranged along the left and right tethers and the left and right tethers arranged substantially along the left and right directions so as to connect the left wall portion and the right wall portion facing each other on the left and right direction when the expansion is completed, respectively. As a separate body, they were arranged so as to intersect each other in a substantially cross shape when viewed from above (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP-A-2019-64282

However, in the conventional passenger seat airbag device, the front and rear tethers and the left and right tethers arranged in the bag body are arranged as separate bodies so as to be substantially orthogonal to each other when viewed from above. Since both terminals are connected to the bag body side so as not to interfere with each other, the joining work is not easy, and there is room for improvement in that the airbag can be folded and stored compactly. ..

The present invention solves the above-mentioned problems, and is an airbag device for a passenger seat that can compactly fold an airbag as a simple configuration and can accurately regulate the outer shape when expansion is completed. The purpose is to provide.

The passenger airbag device according to the present invention is folded and stored in a storage portion provided on an instrument panel arranged in front of an occupant seated in the passenger seat, and an expansion gas is allowed to flow into the rear of the vehicle. Equipped with an airbag that inflates to protrude toward the side and is configured to protect the occupants,
The airbag
As a bag-shaped structure composed of a flexible seat body, a peripheral wall portion that is arranged on the occupant side when expansion is completed and a peripheral wall that extends from the peripheral edge of the occupant side wall portion and converges toward the front end side that is attached to the storage portion side. A bag body having a portion and a structure in which an inflow opening for inflowing expansion gas is provided inside on the front end side of the peripheral wall portion.
A tether that is placed inside the bag body and regulates the inflatable shape of the bag body,
It is an airbag device for the passenger seat that is configured to be equipped with.
Tether,
It is arranged so as to connect the left wall portion and the right wall portion facing each other on the left-right direction side of the peripheral wall portion so as to be substantially along the left-right direction when the expansion of the bag body is completed, and the left wall portion and the right wall portion are mutually connected. Left and right connecting parts that regulate the separation distance of
It is arranged so as to connect the left and right substantially centers of the left and right connecting portions and the left and right approximately centers of the occupant side wall portions so as to be substantially along the front-rear direction when the expansion of the bag body is completed, so that the occupant side wall portion protrudes rearward. Front and rear connecting parts to suppress,
It is characterized in that it is configured to include.

In the passenger seat airbag device of the present invention, the tether that regulates the expanded shape of the bag body has a left-right connecting portion and a front-rear connecting portion, and the front-rear connecting portion is a left wall portion of the bag body. It is formed so as to extend rearward from the left and right connecting portions connecting the right wall portion and the right wall portion. Therefore, in the passenger seat airbag device of the present invention, since the tethers are arranged in a substantially T shape when viewed from above, the separate front and rear tethers and the left and right tethers are viewed from above in the bag body. Compared with the conventional airbag arranged in a substantially cross shape, the amount of the base material forming the tether can be reduced, and the amount of the tether bonded to the bag body itself is also reduced to bond. The work can also be simplified. As a result, in the passenger seat airbag device of the present invention, the configuration of the airbag itself can be simplified, the airbag can be folded compactly, and the device itself can be miniaturized. Further, also in the passenger seat airbag device of the present invention, in the tether arranged in the bag body, the left and right connecting portions regulate the mutual separation distance between the left wall portion and the right wall portion, and the front and rear connecting portions. Since it suppresses the protrusion of the side wall portion of the occupant to the rear, the outer shape of the bag body when the expansion is completed can be accurately regulated by the tether.

Therefore, in the passenger seat airbag device of the present invention, the airbag can be compactly folded as a simple configuration, and the outer shape at the time of completion of expansion can be accurately regulated.

Further, in the passenger seat airbag device of the present invention, the left and right connecting portions are formed of wide strips arranged substantially along the vertical direction when the expansion of the bag body is completed, and the left and right connecting portions are expanded to the upper end side and the lower end side. It is preferable to provide a communication portion for allowing the gas to flow out so that the inside of the bag body at the completion of expansion is divided into a front expansion portion and a rear expansion portion. If the airbag has such a configuration, the front expansion portion on the front side of the left and right connecting portions in the bag body first expands at the initial stage of expansion by inflowing expansion gas through the inflow opening and then communicates with each other. By inflowing the expansion gas through the portion, the rear expansion portion on the rear side of the left and right connecting portions expands, but when the expansion gas flows into the rear expansion portion, the front expansion portion and the rear expansion portion Since the left and right connecting portions that partition the side expansion portion are arranged in a stretched state on the left and right direction side, the occupant side wall portion that constitutes the peripheral wall of the rear expansion portion tends to greatly project rearward. Even so, the front-rear connecting portion arranged so as to extend from the left-right connecting portion is restricted from moving backward, the swing of the rear expanding portion can be suppressed, and the rear side wall portion of the occupant can be moved to the rear. The protrusion can be accurately suppressed.

Further, in the passenger seat airbag device having the above configuration, a rectifying cloth that covers the upper part of the inflow opening and can rectify the expansion gas that has flowed in from the inflow opening toward the front-rear direction is provided in the bag body. , Arrange,
The left and right connecting portions are positioned so that the upper end is located above the upper end of the outflow opening formed on the rear end side of the rectifying cloth and the lower end is located below the lower end of the outflow opening in the vehicle mounted state. In addition, it is preferable to configure it.

If the passenger seat airbag device has such a configuration, at the initial stage of expansion of the airbag, the expansion gas flowing backward from the outflow opening of the rectifying cloth hits the left and right connecting portions and directly hits the left and right connecting portions, and the occupant side wall portion. The expansion gas is suppressed from being pushed backward, and the expansion gas is branched up and down by the left and right connecting portions and flows upward and downward, respectively. Therefore, in the initial stage of expansion, the bag body can be expanded widely up and down by suppressing a large protrusion to the rear side, and shakes that swing in the front-rear direction side can be suppressed and expanded quickly. be able to.

Furthermore, in the passenger seat airbag device having the above configuration, the left and right connecting portions are positioned at positions corresponding to the protrusions that are arranged so as to partially protrude from the instrument panel on the side of the bag body when the expansion is completed. If the structure is such that the connecting portion to the peripheral wall portion is arranged, the bag body can be mounted even if the projecting objects such as the monitor partially projecting from the instrument panel are arranged in close proximity to each other. It is preferable that it can be expanded by suppressing interference with such a projecting object such as a monitor.

Furthermore, in the passenger seat airbag device having the above configuration, the front-rear connecting portion is composed of a wide strip-shaped body arranged substantially along the vertical direction when the expansion of the bag body is completed, and is coupled to the occupant side wall portion. If the width dimension on the joint end side is set smaller than the width dimension of the left and right connecting portions, the width dimension of the front and rear connecting portions does not have to be larger than necessary, in other words, the width of the left and right connecting portions. The dimensions can be set large without any trouble according to the protruding portion, which is preferable.

It is a schematic perspective view of the state in which the airbag used for the passenger seat airbag device according to one embodiment of the present invention is inflated by itself. It is a schematic vertical sectional view along the front-rear direction of the airbag of FIG. It is a schematic vertical sectional view along the left-right direction of the airbag of FIG. It is a schematic cross-sectional view along the front-rear direction of the airbag of FIG. It is a top view which arranged the base materials constituting the airbag of FIG. It is a top view and the bottom view of the pre-folded bag formed by pre-folding the airbag of FIG. 1. It is the schematic which shows the folding process of the airbag of FIG. It is the schematic which shows the folding process of the airbag of FIG. 1, and shows the process after FIG. 7. FIG. 5 is a schematic perspective view showing the vicinity of a portion of a rear folding portion in a left-right reduced folding bag formed by folding the airbag of FIG. 1. It is a schematic cross-sectional view which shows the expansion process of the airbag in the passenger seat airbag apparatus of embodiment. FIG. 5 is a schematic vertical sectional view showing an expansion process of an airbag in the passenger seat airbag device of the embodiment. In the passenger seat airbag device of the embodiment, it is a schematic vertical sectional view which shows the expansion process of an airbag, and shows the process after FIG. It is a schematic vertical sectional view which shows the expansion completion state of the airbag in the passenger seat airbag apparatus of embodiment. It is a schematic cross-sectional view which shows the expansion completion state of the airbag in the passenger seat airbag apparatus of embodiment. It is a schematic side view which shows the expansion completion state of the airbag in the passenger seat airbag apparatus of embodiment.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the embodiment, the passenger seat airbag device M (hereinafter, simply abbreviated as “airbag device”) is a vehicle that is a left-hand drive vehicle in which the passenger seat PS is arranged on the right side as shown in FIGS. It is a top mount type that is arranged inside the upper surface 2 of the instrument panel 1 (hereinafter abbreviated as "instrument panel") in front of the passenger MP seated in the passenger seat PS in V. As shown in FIG. 14, the instrument panel 1 of the vehicle V on which the airbag device M is mounted is located on the center side of the vehicle V in the vehicle width direction and in front of a portion between the driver's seat and the passenger seat PS (not shown). In the vicinity of the rear end of the central portion 1a, the monitor 3 of the car navigation system is arranged as a projecting object so as to partially project upward from the upper surface 2 (see the alternate long and short dash line in FIG. 15). ). In the embodiment, the front-rear, up-down, and left-right directions coincide with the front-back, up-down, and left-right directions of the vehicle V unless otherwise specified.

As shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, the airbag device M of the embodiment serves as a storage portion for storing and holding the airbag 15, the inflator 8 that supplies the expansion gas to the airbag 15, and the airbag 15 and the inflator 8. The case 12, the retainer 9 for attaching the airbag 15 and the inflator 8 to the case 12, and the airbag cover 6 for covering the folded airbag 15 are provided. The airbag cover 6 includes a door portion (not shown in the figure) that can be opened when the airbag 15 is expanded and expanded.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the airbag 15 includes a bag body 16 that expands by inflowing expansion gas into the bag body 16, a rectifying cloth 37 that regulates the flow of expansion gas into the bag body 16, and a bag. It is provided with a tether 50 which is arranged in the main body 16 and regulates the expansion completion shape of the bag main body 16.

As shown in FIG. 13, the bag body 16 has a configuration that can be arranged so as to close between the upper surface 2 of the instrument panel 1 and the windshield 4 above the instrument panel 1 when the expansion is completed. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 1, the bag body 16 has a substantially quadrangular pyramid shape with the top arranged on the front end side when expansion is completed, and is arranged on the occupant MP side when expansion is completed. It is provided with an occupant side wall portion 25 that receives the occupant MP, and a peripheral wall portion 17 that extends from the peripheral edge of the occupant side wall portion 25 and converges toward the front end side attached to the case 12 side (see FIGS. 2 and 4).

The peripheral wall portion 17 is a portion that is mainly arranged so as to close between the upper surface 2 of the instrument panel 1 and the windshield 4 above the instrument panel 1 when the expansion of the airbag 15 is completed. It includes an upper wall portion 17a and a lower wall portion 17b arranged along the left wall portion 17a and a lower wall portion 17b, and a left wall portion 17c and a right wall portion 17d arranged along substantially the front-rear direction on both the left and right sides. In the vicinity of the front end of the lower wall portion 17b of the peripheral wall portion 17, an inflow opening 20 is opened at a position substantially centered on the left and right so that expansion gas can flow into the inside in a substantially circular shape, and the peripheral edge is attached to the case 12. Is formed. A bolt (not shown in the figure) of the retainer 9 is inserted through the peripheral edge of the inflow opening 20, and a plurality (in the embodiment) for attaching the peripheral edge of the inflow opening 20 to the bottom wall portion (not shown in the figure) of the case 12. In the case, four) mounting holes 21 are formed. Vent holes 23 for exhausting excess expansion gas that has flowed into the bag body 16 are formed in the left wall portion 17c and the right wall portion 17d of the peripheral wall portion 17 by opening them in a substantially circular shape. .. In the case of the embodiment, the vent hole 23 is formed in a position behind the left and right connecting portions 51 in the tether 50, that is, in the region of the rear expanding portion 31 described later (see FIG. 2).

The occupant side wall portion 25 is arranged along the substantially vertical direction on the rear end side of the bag body 16 so as to face the occupant MP seated in the passenger seat when the expansion of the bag body 16 is completed (see FIG. 3). ).

As shown in FIGS. It is configured to be rectifiable, and has a substantially tubular shape in which a front outflow opening 38 and a rear outflow opening 39 are arranged on the front end side and the rear end side, respectively. The rectifying cloth 37 is made of the rectifying cloth material 42 shown in FIG. The rectifying cloth material 42 includes a mounting side portion 43 that is arranged on the center side and is coupled to the peripheral edge of the inflow opening 20, and a main body portion 44 that extends from the mounting side portion 43 to the left and right sides to form the rectifying cloth 37. 44 and. The main body parts 44 and 44 form a tubular rectifying cloth 37 by connecting the edges 44a to each other. In the rectifying cloth material 42, the rear end 44ab of each edge portion 44a constitutes the upper end 39a of the rear side outflow opening 39 when the expansion of the airbag 15 is completed, and the center of the rear edge of the mounting side portion 43. The portion 43a constitutes the lower end 39b of the rear outflow opening 39 (see FIG. 5).

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the tether 50 arranged in the bag body 16 includes the left and right connecting portions 51 and the front and rear connecting portions 53, and the airbag 15 at the time of completion of expansion is viewed from above. It is arranged in a substantially T shape.

The left-right connecting portion 51 is arranged so as to connect the left wall portion 17c and the right wall portion 17d facing each other on the left-right direction side of the peripheral wall portion 17 so as to substantially follow the left-right direction when the expansion of the bag body 16 is completed ( (See FIGS. 3 and 4), which regulates the mutual separation distance between the left wall portion 17c and the right wall portion 17d. It is formed from a band of. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 3, the left-right connecting portion 51 is configured as a substantially rectangular shape in which the width dimension on the vertical direction side is slightly larger than the width dimension on the left-right direction side, and is configured on the left end 51a side. And the right end 51b side are sewn to the left wall portion 17c or the right wall portion 17d of the peripheral wall portion 17, respectively, using sutures over the entire length. The left-right connecting portion 51 is, in detail, at a position substantially centered on the front, back, top and bottom of the left wall portion 17c and the right wall portion 17d when the bag body 16 at the time of completion of expansion is viewed from the left-right direction side. It is arranged so as to be substantially along the occupant side wall portion 25 in a portion arranged as wide in the vertical direction (see FIGS. 2 and 5). The left-right connecting portion 51 has a width dimension (length dimension) L1 on the vertical direction side, which is 3/5 of the width dimension L2 of the widest area in the vertical direction in the bag body 16 as viewed from the left-right direction side when expansion is completed. (See FIG. 2), when the expansion of the bag body 16 is completed, a gap is provided between the upper end 51c and the upper wall portion 17a and between the lower end 51d and the lower wall portion 17b, respectively. (See FIGS. 2 and 3). That is, the bag main body 16 of the embodiment is partitioned by the left and right connecting portions 51 in the front-rear direction (to the front expanding portion 30 and the rear expanding portion 31) (see FIGS. 2 and 4), and the front expanding portion 16 is formed. As shown in FIGS. , It will be communicated by the lower communication unit 34. In other words, the left-right connecting portion 51 is configured to provide an upper communication portion 33 and a lower communication portion 34 for flowing out the expansion gas on the upper end 51c side and the lower end 51d side.

Further, in the case of the embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the left-right connecting portion 51 has an upper end 51c in a vertical cross section substantially along the front-rear direction of the airbag 15 when the expansion is completed in a state of being inflated by itself. The lower end 51d is positioned above the upper end 39a of the rear outflow opening 39 formed on the rear end side of the rectifying cloth 37, and the lower end 51d is located below the lower end 39b of the rear outflow opening 39. Has been done. That is, the left and right connecting portions 51 are configured to cover the rear of the rear outflow opening 39 in the rectifying cloth 37 over the entire surface when the expansion of the airbag 15 is completed. In the vehicle-mounted state, the rear outflow opening 39 in the rectifying cloth 37 has a mode in which the lower region is arranged in the case 12 (see FIG. 13), but the left and right connecting portions 51 Is to position the upper end 51c above the upper end 39a of the rear outflow opening 39 formed on the rear end side of the rectifying cloth 37 even when the expansion of the airbag 15 is completed in the vehicle-mounted state, and lower end 51d. Is positioned below the lower end 39c of the rear outflow opening 39 (the lower end of the region exposed upward from the instrument panel 1 (airbag cover 6) in the rear outflow opening 39), and the rectifying cloth 37 is placed. The rear side of the rear outflow opening 39 in the above is covered over the entire surface (see FIG. 13).

The left and right connecting portions 51 suppress the excessive separation between the left wall portion 17c and the right wall portion 17d when the airbag 15 is expanded and expanded, and when the expansion of the airbag 15 is completed, the left wall portion 17c and the right wall portion 51 It is arranged to regulate the separation distance from the portion 17d. The width dimension on the left-right side of the left-right connecting portion 51 is such that when the expansion of the airbag 15 is completed, the left-right connecting portion 58L and the right-right connecting portion 58R are connected to the left-right connecting portion 51 in each of the left wall portion 17c and the right wall portion 17d. The size is set so that a dent that faces inward on the left and right can be formed in the surrounding portion of the (see FIGS. 3 and 4). The left binding site 58L and the right binding site 58R that connect (sew) the left end 51a and the right end 51b of the left and right connecting portions 51 to the left wall portion 17c and the right wall portion 17d, respectively, are continuous over the entire length of the left end 51a and the right end 51b. Is formed in.

In the embodiment, the monitor 3 of the car navigation system is arranged close to the left side of the airbag 15 when the expansion is completed (see the alternate long and short dash line in FIGS. 3 and 15 and FIG. 14). In the airbag 15 of the embodiment, the left and right connecting portions 51 of the car navigation system as protruding portions are arranged so as to partially protrude from the instrument panel 1 when the expansion of the bag main body 16 in the vehicle-mounted state is completed. It is arranged at a position corresponding to the monitor 3. In the case of the embodiment, when the expansion of the bag body 16 in the vehicle-mounted state is completed, the left-right connecting portion 51 substantially aligns the connecting portion (left binding portion 58L) of the left end 51a with the left wall portion 17c along the monitor 3. It is configured to be arranged at a position corresponding to the monitor 3 (see FIG. 15). That is, as described above, in the bag main body 16 at the time of completion of expansion, the peripheral portion of the left side binding portion 58L is arranged so as to be recessed inward on the left and right sides of the left wall portion 17c, and the left side coupling portion 17c. Since the portion 58L is configured to be arranged at a position corresponding to the monitor 3, interference between the airbag 15 and the monitor 3 arranged close to the left side of the left wall portion 17c can be suppressed. Can be done.

The front / rear connecting portion 53 is connected to the left / right connecting portion 51 on the front end 53a side and the rear end 53b side so as to connect the left and right substantially centers of the left and right connecting portions 51 and the left and right substantially centers of the occupant side wall portion 25. It is connected to the side wall portion 25 and is arranged so as to substantially follow the front-rear direction when the expansion of the bag body 16 is completed (see FIGS. 2 and 4). The front-rear connecting portion 53 suppresses the rearward protrusion of the occupant side wall portion 25, and in the case of the embodiment, the front-rear connecting portion 53 is composed of a wide strip-shaped body arranged substantially along the vertical direction when the expansion of the bag body 16 is completed. There is. Specifically, in the case of the embodiment, the front-rear connecting portion 53 has a width dimension (length dimension) on the vertical direction side slightly smaller than a width dimension (length dimension) on the vertical direction side of the left-right connecting portion 51. It is set to about 5/6. That is, in the front-rear connecting portion 53, the width dimension of the rear end 53b as the connecting end to be coupled to the occupant side wall portion 25 is set to be smaller than the width dimension of the left and right connecting portion 51. Further, the width dimension of the front-rear connecting portion 53 on the front-rear direction side slightly forwards the region around the rear-side connecting portion 60 that connects the rear end 53b to the occupant side wall portion 25 when the expansion of the bag body 16 is completed. The dimensions are set so that they are dented toward you. The rear connection portion 60 for connecting the rear end 53b of the front-rear connecting portion 53 to the occupant side wall portion 25 is substantially in the vertical direction at a position substantially centered on the upper, lower, left and right sides of the occupant side wall portion 25 in the bag body 16 when expansion is completed. It is formed along the entire length of the rear end 53b and is continuously formed. The rear binding site 60 has a longer dimension than the left binding site 58L and the right binding site 58R that connect the left end 51a and the right end 51b of the left and right connecting portions 51 to the left wall portion 17c and the right wall portion 17d, respectively. It is a configuration that is set short.

In the tether 50 of the embodiment, as shown in FIGS. It is composed of a base material 56 and a base material 56. Each of the left and right connecting portion base materials 55L and 55R is configured to have a substantially rectangular shape with the vertical side wide, and the outer shape is substantially the same. It is said to have a substantially rectangular shape. Specifically, the front-rear connecting portion base material 56 has a width dimension on the longitudinal direction side (vertical direction side) and a width dimension on the lateral side (front-rear direction side), both of which are the base material 55L for the left-right connecting portion. , 55R is configured to be slightly smaller. Then, the tether 50 of the embodiment has the corresponding edges 55a and 55a of the left and right connecting portion base materials 55L and 55R and the edge portions 56a of the front and rear connecting portion base materials 56 in the longitudinal direction (vertical direction). By stacking them so that the centers of the sides are substantially aligned with each other and sewing (coupling) them with sutures, the outer shape seen from the upper side is formed as a substantially T-shape.

The bag body 16 is formed in a bag shape by connecting the peripheral edges of a base cloth having a predetermined shape to each other, and in the case of the embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, the peripheral wall panel portion mainly constituting the peripheral wall portion 17 side. It includes 65 and an occupant side panel portion 71 that mainly constitutes the occupant side wall portion 25 side. The peripheral wall panel portion 65 includes a left side panel 66 that constitutes a left side region and a right side panel 68 that constitutes a right side region so that the peripheral wall portion 17 is substantially divided into two on the left-right direction side. The left panel 66 constitutes from the left half region of the upper wall portion 17a in the peripheral wall portion 17, through the left wall portion 17c, to the left half region of the lower wall portion 17b, and the right panel 68 is the peripheral wall portion. It constitutes a region from the right half region of the upper wall portion 17a in 17, through the right wall portion 17d, to the right half region of the lower wall portion 17b. The left panel 66 and the right panel 68 are provided with protrusions 67 and 69, respectively, which form a peripheral region of the inflow opening 20.

In the embodiment, the peripheral wall panel portion 65 (left panel 66, right panel 68) constituting the bag body 16, the occupant side panel portion 71, the rectifying cloth material 42 constituting the rectifying cloth 37, and the left and right connecting portions constituting the tether 50. The base materials 55L and 55R and the base material 56 for the front-rear connecting portion are each formed of a flexible woven fabric made of polyester yarn, polyamide yarn, or the like.

Next, the manufacture of the airbag 15 of the embodiment will be described. On the inner peripheral surface side of the left side panel 66 and the right side panel 68, the edge portions 55b of the left and right connecting portion base materials 55L and 55R are sewn in advance so as to form the left side binding site 58L and the right side binding site 58R. The occupant-side panel portion 71 is sewn in advance with the edge portion 56b of the front-rear connecting portion base material 56 so as to form the rear-side binding portion 60. Then, first, the left side panel 66 and the right side panel 68 are overlapped, and the lower edges 66c and 68c are sewn together. Next, the left side panel 66 and the right side panel 68 are opened so as to separate the upper edges 66b and 68b from each other, the protrusions 67 and 69 are overlapped with each other, and a rectifying cloth is placed on the inner peripheral surface side of the protrusions 67 and 69. The mounting side portion 43 of the material 42 is overlapped. Then, the portion serving as the peripheral edge of the inflow opening 20 is sewn with suture, and the protruding portions 67 and 69 are sewn together with the attachment side portion 43 of the rectifying cloth material 42. Next, the inflow opening 20 and the mounting hole 21 are opened. After that, the upper edges 66b and 68b of the left side panel 66 and the right side panel 68 are sewn together using sutures. Next, the trailing edge 66d of the left panel 66 and the left edge 71a of the occupant side panel 71 are sewn together, and similarly, the trailing edge 68d of the right panel 68 and the right edge 71b of the occupant side panel 71 are sewn together. .. The remaining edge portions 55a of the left and right connecting portion base materials 55L and 55R and the remaining edge portion 56a of the front-rear connecting portion base material 56 are sewn together using sutures to form the tether 50. The edges 44a of the main body portions 44 and 44 of the rectifying cloth material 42 are sewn together to form the rectifying cloth 37. Then, the bag body 16 is inverted by utilizing the areas on the front upper edges 66a and 68a of the left side panel 66 and the right side panel 68 which are not sutured. Next, the bag body 16 can be manufactured by folding the front upper edge 66a of the left panel 66 and the front upper edge 68a of the right panel 68 in half and sewing them together with sutures. At the same time, the airbag 15 can be manufactured.

Next, the mounting of the airbag device M on the vehicle V will be described. First, the airbag 15 is folded so that it can be stored in the case 12 from the state in which the retainer 9 is stored inside by projecting a bolt (not shown) from the mounting hole 21. In the embodiment, after the preliminary folding, the airbag 15 is folded so as to reduce the width dimension of the front, back, left and right, and is stored in the case 12. Specifically, first, while deploying the occupant side wall portion 25 substantially flatly, the occupant side wall portion 25 is brought closer to the inflow opening 20 side, and a valley fold is made in the portion of the peripheral wall portion 17. Folds to form a spare folding bag 75 as shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B. Next, the preliminary folding bag 75 is folded through a first front-rear reduction folding step, a left-right reduction folding step, and a second front-rear reduction folding step.

First, the preliminary folding bag 75 is folded by the first front-rear reduction folding step. Specifically, as shown in A of FIG. 7, the area on the rear side of the inflow opening 20 in the preliminary folding bag 75, which is the lower end 60a side of the rear joint portion 60 formed on the occupant side wall portion 25. A region (rear side portion 76) of about 2/5 of the rear side (lower side) including the rear side (lower side) is wound toward the peripheral wall portion 17 side while bringing the trailing edge 76a (lower edge) closer to the inflow opening 20 side. The rear folding portion 78 is formed by folding the bag by rolling, and the front-rear reduced folding bag 80 as shown in B of FIG. 7 is formed. Specifically, the rear folding portion 78 is formed by roll folding such that the portion on the trailing edge side of the preliminary folding bag 75 is folded in three layers. Next, the front-rear reduction folding bag 80 is folded by the left-right reduction folding step. Specifically, as shown in B of FIG. 7 and A of FIG. 8, the left side portion 81 on the left side of the inflow opening 20 in the front-rear reduced folding bag 80 is brought closer to the inflow opening 20 with the left edge 81a. , Folded by roll folding so as to wind toward the occupant side wall portion 25, and similarly, the right side portion 82 on the right side of the inflow opening 20 also has the occupant side wall portion 25 while bringing the right edge 82a close to the inflow opening 20. It is folded by roll folding so as to wind toward the side to form roll folding portions 84L and 84R, and as shown in A of FIG. 8, a left-right reduced folding bag 86 is formed. Then, the left-right reduction folding bag 86 is folded by the second front-rear reduction folding step of reducing the width dimension on the front-rear direction side. Specifically, as shown in A and B of FIG. 8, the rear side portion 87 on the rear side of the inflow opening 20 in the left-right reduced folding bag 86 is folded back at the portion near the trailing edge of the inflow opening 20. The folded portion is rolled and folded so that the trailing edge 87a side is wound toward the peripheral wall portion 17 side to form the roll folding portion 90. After that, as shown in FIG. 8B, in the left-right reduced folding bag 86, the front side portion 88, which is on the front side of the inflow opening 20, is folded back so that the end side is placed on the upper side of the roll folding portion 90. As shown in C of 8, a folded completed body 95 that can be stored in the case 12 can be formed.

The airbag 15 (folded completed body 95) folded in this way is wrapped with a foldable wrapping sheet (not shown) so as not to collapse. After that, the folded body 95 is housed in the case 12, and the inflator 8 is connected to the case 12 together with the peripheral edge of the inflow opening 20 of the airbag 15 by using the retainer 9. After that, if the case 12 holding the folded airbag 15 and the inflator 8 is connected to the airbag cover 6 formed on the instrument panel 1 mounted on the vehicle V, the airbag device M is connected to the vehicle V. It can be installed.

If the expansion gas is discharged from the inflator 8 after the airbag device M is mounted on the vehicle V, the airbag 15 inflows the expansion gas into the vehicle to expand and pushes the door portion of the airbag cover 6. Through the opening formed by opening, it protrudes upward from the case 12, and expands and expands while protruding toward the rear side of the vehicle. As shown in FIGS. 13 to 15, the upper surface 2 of the instrument panel 1 and the upper surface of the instrument panel 1 are above. The expansion is completed so as to close the space between the windshield 4 and the windshield 4.

Further, in the airbag device M of the embodiment, the tether 50 that regulates the expansion completed shape of the bag body 16 is configured to have a left-right connecting portion 51 and a front-rear connecting portion 53, and the front-rear connecting portion 53 is a bag. It is formed so as to extend rearward from the left and right connecting portions connecting the left wall portion 17c and the right wall portion 17d in the main body 16. Therefore, in the airbag device M of the embodiment, since the tether 50 is arranged in a substantially T shape when viewed from above, the front and rear tethers and the left and right tethers which are separate bodies are omitted when viewed from above in the bag body. Compared with the conventional airbag arranged in a cross shape, the amount of the base material forming the tether can be reduced, and the amount of the tether 50 bonded to the bag body 16 itself can be reduced. The joining work can also be simplified. As a result, in the airbag device M of the embodiment, the configuration of the airbag 15 itself can be simplified, the airbag 15 can be compactly folded, and the device itself can be miniaturized. Further, also in the airbag device M of the embodiment, in the tether 50 arranged in the bag body 16, the left and right connecting portions 51 regulate the mutual separation distance between the left wall portion 17c and the right wall portion 17d. Since the front-rear connecting portion 53 suppresses the protrusion of the occupant side wall portion 25 to the rear, the outer shape of the bag body 16 at the completion of expansion can be accurately regulated by the tether 50.

Therefore, in the airbag device M of the embodiment, the airbag 15 can be compactly folded as a simple configuration, and the outer shape at the time of completion of expansion can be accurately regulated.

Further, in the airbag device M of the embodiment, the left and right connecting portions 51 are formed from wide strips arranged substantially along the vertical direction when the expansion of the bag body 16 is completed, and the upper end 51c side and the lower end 51d side. The upper communication portion 33 and the lower communication portion 34 for allowing the expansion gas to flow out are provided in the bag body 16 so as to partition the inside of the bag body 16 at the completion of expansion into the front expansion portion 30 and the rear expansion portion 31. Has been done. Therefore, at the initial stage of expansion in which the expansion gas flows in from the inflow opening 20 and expands, the front expansion portion 30 on the front side of the left and right connecting portions 51 in the bag body 16 first expands (see A in FIG. 10), and then. By allowing the expansion gas to flow in through the upper communication portion 33 and the lower communication portion 34, the rear expansion portion 31 on the rear side of the left and right connecting portions 51 expands (see B in FIG. 10). When the expansion gas flows into the rear expansion portion 31, the left and right connecting portions 51 that partition the front expansion portion 30 and the rear expansion portion 31 generate tension T on the left-right direction side. Since it is arranged in a stretched state, the occupant side wall portion 25 constituting the peripheral wall of the rear expansion portion 31 is arranged so as to extend from the left and right connecting portions 51 even if it is intended to protrude significantly rearward. A tension T is also generated in the front-rear connecting portion 53 along the front-rear direction, so that the front-rear connecting portion 53 is restricted from moving backward, and the swing of the rear expansion portion 31 can be suppressed, so that the occupant can be suppressed. The protrusion of the side wall portion 25 to the rear can be accurately suppressed. If such a point is not taken into consideration, the left-right connecting portion does not have to be wide in the vertical direction so as to partition the inside of the bag body in the front-rear direction. In the embodiment, the upper communication portion 33 and the lower communication portion 34 are formed from a gap formed between the upper end 51c and the lower end 51d of the left and right connecting portions 51 and the upper wall portion 17a and the lower wall portion 17b. Each is configured, but for example, if the left and right connecting parts are configured wider up and down and it is difficult to secure a gap that allows the expansion gas to flow out stably, near the upper end or lower end of the left and right connecting parts. In the left and right connecting portions themselves, an auxiliary opening is provided so as not to allow a large amount of expansion gas to flow directly toward the occupant side wall portion side, and such an opening and a gap form a communicating portion. You may.

Further, in the airbag device M of the embodiment, a rectifying cloth that covers the upper part of the inflow opening 20 in the bag body 16 and can rectify the expansion gas that has flowed in from the inflow opening 20 toward the front-rear direction side. 37 is arranged, and the left and right connecting portions 51 have the upper end 51c above the upper end 39a of the rear outflow opening 39 formed on the rear end side of the rectifying cloth 37 when the left and right connecting portions 51 are mounted on the vehicle. It is configured so that the lower end 51d is positioned below the lower end 39c of the rear outflow opening 39 (see FIG. 13). That is, in the airbag device M of the embodiment, the left-right connecting portion 51 covers the rear side of the rear side outflow opening 39 of the rectifying cloth 37 widely up and down over the entire surface. Therefore, at the initial stage of expansion of the airbag 15, the expansion gas GB flowing rearward from the rear outflow opening 39 of the rectifying cloth 37 hits the left and right connecting portions 51 and directly pushes the occupant side wall portion 25 rearward. The expansion gas GB is branched up and down by the left and right connecting portions 51 and flows upward and downward, respectively (see FIG. 13). Therefore, at the initial stage of expansion, the bag body 16 can be expanded widely in the vertical direction by suppressing a large protrusion to the rear side, and can be rapidly expanded by suppressing blurring that swings in the front-rear direction. Can be made to. If such a point is not taken into consideration, the left and right connecting portions do not have to be configured to cover the entire rear side of the rear outflow opening of the rectifying cloth in the vehicle-mounted state, and further, the rectifying portion is rectified as an airbag. A configuration without a cloth may be used.

Furthermore, in the airbag device M of the embodiment, the monitor of the car navigation system as a protrusion in which the left and right connecting portions 51 are disposed so as to partially project from the instrument panel 1 on the side of the bag body 16 when the expansion is completed. The connection portion to the peripheral wall portion 17 (in the case of the embodiment, the left connection portion 58L) is arranged at the position corresponding to No. 3 (see FIGS. 3 and 15). Therefore, even if the monitor 3 partially protruding from the instrument panel 1 is arranged close to each other, the bag body 16 can be expanded by suppressing interference with such a monitor 3. Of course, if such a point is not taken into consideration, the left-right connecting portion may not be arranged at a position corresponding to a protruding object such as a monitor.

Furthermore, in the airbag device M of the embodiment, the front-rear connecting portion 53 is composed of a wide strip-shaped body arranged substantially along the vertical direction when the expansion of the bag main body 16 is completed, and is coupled with the occupant side wall portion 25. The width dimension on the side of the joint end (rear end 53b) to be formed is set smaller than the width dimension of the left and right connecting portions 51. Therefore, the width dimension of the front-rear connecting portion 53 does not have to be made larger than necessary, in other words, the width dimension of the left-right connecting portion 51 can be set large without any trouble according to the projecting object such as the monitor 3. In the case of the embodiment, the width dimension on the rear end 53b side of the front-rear connecting portion 53 (the length dimension of the rear coupling portion 60) is the movement of the head MH that moves forward when the occupant MP is received by the occupant side wall portion 25. It is set according to the trajectory. Of course, if such a point is not taken into consideration, the width dimension of the connecting end side to be connected to the occupant side wall portion as the front-rear connecting portion is substantially the same as the width dimension of the left and right connecting portion, or the width dimension of the left and right connecting portion. It may be configured to be larger than. In the embodiment, the front-rear connecting portion 53 has a strip shape having a constant width dimension in the front-rear direction. For example, as the front-rear connecting portion, the front end side connected to the left-right connecting portion is connected to the left and right. It may be configured to have a width dimension equivalent to the width dimension of the portion and to have a narrow width toward the rear end (joining end) side connected to the occupant side wall portion.

In particular, in the airbag device M of the embodiment, the airbag 15 has a width dimension on the left-right direction side in a state where the rear side portion 76 of the preliminary folding bag 75 is roll-folded so as to wind toward the occupant side wall portion 25 side. It is configured to be folded and stored in the case 12 through a roll fold that winds toward the peripheral wall portion 17 side so as to shrink. That is, in the airbag 15 of the embodiment, in the region behind the inflow opening 20, the rear folding portion 78 formed by folding the preliminary folding bag toward the peripheral wall portion 17 side is the occupant side wall portion 25. The rolls are folded so as to be wound sideways (see FIG. 9), in other words, the rolls are folded and arranged so that the folding directions are different and the folds are substantially orthogonal to each other. Therefore, when the airbag 15 projects from the case 12 and expands and expands while allowing the expansion gas to flow into the inside, first, as shown in FIG. 11A, the folding due to the second front-rear reduction folding step is eliminated. Next, it is attempted to eliminate the folding due to the left-right reduction folding step, but at this time, it is difficult to eliminate the folding of the rear folding portion 78, and the airbag 15 has this, as shown in B of FIG. The rear folding portion 78 is unfolded from the front (upper) region where the rear folding portion 78 is not arranged so as to eliminate the roll folding in the left-right reduction folding step, and then the rear folding portion 78 is folded as shown in FIG. 12A. The area of the portion 78 is expanded so as to eliminate the fold. Then, in the airbag 15 of the embodiment, as described above, the bag body 16 is divided into the front expansion portion 30 and the rear expansion portion 31 by the left and right connecting portions 51 of the tether 50, and the rear expansion portion 31 is divided into the rear expansion portion 31. The expansion gas flows into the portion 31 through the upper communication portion 33 and the lower communication portion 34 formed on the upper end 51c side and the lower end 51d side of the left and right connecting portions 51. Since the rear folding portion 78 is formed so as to fold beyond the lower end 60a side of the rear connecting portion 60 connecting the rear end 53b of the front-rear connecting portion 53 in the tether 50, the lower communication portion 78 is communicated with the lower side. The portion constituting the portion 34 is folded by the rear folding portion 78, and before the rear folding portion 78 is unfolded, the rear expanding portion 31 has only the upper upper communicating portion 33. Therefore, the expansion gas will flow in (see A in FIG. 12). Therefore, due to the folded shape of the airbag 15 and the shape of the tether 50, the occupant side wall portion 25 can be widely expanded vertically so as to raise the upper end side region at the initial stage of expansion of the airbag 15. , While maintaining that state, it can be inflated to move backwards. Therefore, the occupant MP can be quickly protected by the occupant side wall portion 25 that is widely deployed vertically.

1 ... Instrument panel (instrument panel), 3 ... Monitor (projection), 8 ... Inflator, 12 ... Case (storage site), 15 ... Airbag, 16 ... Bag body, 17 ... Peripheral wall, 17a ... Upper wall, 17b ... Lower wall part, 17c ... Left wall part, 17d ... Right wall part, 25 ... Crew side wall part, 30 ... Front expansion part, 31 ... Rear expansion part, 33 ... Upper communication part, 34 ... Lower communication part, 37 ... rectifying cloth, 39 ... rear outflow opening, 39a ... upper end, 39b, 39c ... lower end, 50 ... tether, 51 ... left and right connecting parts, 51a ... left end, 51b ... right end, 51c ... upper end, 51d ... lower end, 53 ... front / rear connecting portion, 53a ... front end, 53b ... rear end, 58L ... left binding site, 60 ... rear binding site, MP ... occupant, PS ... passenger seat, M ... passenger seat airbag device.

Claims (5)

It is folded and stored in a storage portion provided on the instrument panel arranged in front of the passenger seated in the passenger seat, and the expansion gas flows into the inside to expand so as to protrude toward the rear side of the vehicle. Equipped with an airbag configured to protect the occupants,
The airbag
As a bag-shaped body composed of a flexible seat body, from the occupant side wall portion arranged on the occupant side when expansion is completed and the front end side extending from the peripheral edge of the occupant side wall portion and attached to the storage portion side. A bag body having a peripheral wall portion that converges, and an inflow opening for allowing an expansion gas to flow into the inside on the front end side of the peripheral wall portion.
A tether that is placed inside the bag body and regulates the expansion completion shape of the bag body,
It is an airbag device for the passenger seat that is configured to be equipped with.
The tether
The left wall portion and the right wall portion are arranged so as to connect the left wall portion and the right wall portion facing each other on the left-right direction side of the peripheral wall portion so as to be substantially along the left-right direction when the expansion of the bag body is completed. The left and right connecting parts that regulate the mutual separation distance from the parts,
It is arranged so as to connect the left and right substantially centers of the left and right connecting portions and the left and right substantially centers of the occupant side wall portions so as to be substantially along the front-rear direction when the expansion of the bag body is completed, and behind the occupant side wall portions. Front and rear connecting parts that suppress protrusion to
An airbag device for a passenger seat, which is characterized in that it is configured to be equipped with. The left-right connecting portion is formed of a wide band-shaped body that is arranged substantially along the vertical direction when the expansion of the bag body is completed, and a communicating portion for flowing out expansion gas to the upper end side and the lower end side. The passenger seat airbag device according to claim 1, further provided, wherein the inside of the bag body when expansion is completed is configured to be divided into a front expansion portion and a rear expansion portion. A rectifying cloth that covers the upper part of the inflow opening and is capable of rectifying the expansion gas that has flowed in from the inflow opening toward the front-rear direction is arranged in the bag body.
In the vehicle-mounted state, the left and right connecting portions position the upper end above the upper end of the outflow opening formed on the rear end side of the rectifying cloth, and lower the lower end below the lower end of the outflow opening. The passenger seat airbag device according to claim 2, wherein the airbag device is configured to be positioned. The connecting portion to the peripheral wall portion is provided at a position corresponding to a protrusion in which the left-right connecting portion is disposed so as to partially project from the instrument panel on the left-right side of the bag body when expansion is completed. The passenger seat airbag device according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the airbag device is arranged and configured. The front-rear connecting portion is composed of a wide band-shaped body that is arranged substantially along the vertical direction when the expansion of the bag body is completed, and the width dimension of the connecting end side to be connected to the occupant side wall portion is defined as the left and right. The passenger seat airbag device according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein the airbag device is set smaller than the width dimension of the connecting portion.

Images