JP2023120836A - Occupant protection device - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an occupant protection device capable of suppressing the positional deviation of a conduit part in a connection part connected to a pipe part when inflation gas is generated.SOLUTION: An occupant protection device S for protecting an occupant MP seated in a seat 1, includes: a seat belt 7; an air bag 25 which is arranged in the region of a lap belt 10 for restraining an occupant lumbar part when worn in the seat belt 7, and which is inflated so as to be capable of protecting an upper half body MU of the occupant MP; an inflator body 18 for generating inflation gas; and a pipe part 19 which extends from the inflator body 18 and guides the inflation gas into the air bag 25. The air bag 25 includes a conduit part 40 connected to the pipe part 19. The conduit part 40 includes: a cylindrical conduit part body 41 which is fitted to a tip 19c of the pipe part 19 from outside and tightened to be fixed; and an extension piece 80 extending outward from the conduit part body 41. The extension piece 80 is fixed to a seat frame 4 supporting the seat 1.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

The present invention relates to an occupant protection device for protecting an occupant seated on a seat.

Conventionally, some occupant protection devices have a configuration in which an airbag is arranged in a region of a lap belt that restrains the waist of the occupant when the seat belt is worn (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In this occupant protection system, the airbag is inflated forward and upward from the lap belt as inflation gas is generated, and when the inflation is completed, the upper body of the occupant is protected.

JP 2020-66425 A

In the occupant protection device as described above, the pipe portion that guides the inflation gas into the airbag and the conduit portion on the side of the airbag are connected and fixed using a tightening member such as a clamp. The deployment and inflation position of the airbag body is defined by the position of the conduit portion at the connecting portion. However, when the inflation gas is generated, if the position of the conduit portion shifts in the driving force direction due to the gas pressure, the deployment and inflation position of the airbag body may be affected.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is intended to solve such problems, and to provide an occupant protection system capable of suppressing displacement of a conduit portion at a connection portion with a pipe portion when inflation gas is generated. aim.

An occupant protection device according to the present invention is an occupant protection device for protecting an occupant seated on a seat, and is arranged in a region of a seat belt and a lap belt that restrains the waist of the occupant when the seat belt is worn. an airbag that inflates so as to protect the occupant's upper body; an inflator body that generates inflation gas; and a pipe portion that extends from the inflator body and guides the inflation gas into the airbag. and
The airbag has a conduit portion connected to the pipe portion,
The conduit section includes a tubular conduit section body that is fitted onto the tip of the pipe section from the outside and is tightened and fixed, and an extension piece that extends outward from the conduit section body. is fixed to a seat frame that supports the seat.

According to the occupant protection device of the present invention, even if the propulsive force due to the gas pressure of the inflation gas acts on the conduit portion, the reaction force in the opposite direction is exerted on the conduit portion through the extending piece fixed to the seat frame. works, movement of the conduit is restricted. As a result, displacement of the conduit portion at the connecting portion with the pipe portion when inflation gas is generated can be suppressed.

Here, the extending pieces may be provided on both sides of the inflation gas flow path in the conduit body. By doing so, it is possible to more effectively suppress the displacement of the conduit portion.

1 is a perspective view of a seat on which an occupant protection device according to an embodiment of the invention is mounted; FIG. Figure 2 is a side view of the seat of Figure 1; FIG. 2 is a front view of the seat of FIG. 1, showing a state in which a seat belt is worn; A is a view showing the connecting portion between the pipe portion and the conduit portion together with its peripheral portion, and B is a view showing the connecting portion between the pipe portion and the inflator main body together with its peripheral portion. FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view showing a state in which the airbag used in the occupant protection system of FIG. 1 is inflated by itself; FIG. 6 is a schematic longitudinal sectional view of the airbag of FIG. 5; FIG. 6 is a plan view showing a base fabric forming the airbag of FIG. 5; FIG. 2 is a front view of a seat in a state where the airbag has completed inflation in the occupant protection system of the embodiment; FIG. 4 is a side view of the seat in a state in which the airbag has completed inflation in the occupant protection system of the embodiment; FIG. 4 is a side view showing a state in which an inflated airbag restrains an occupant in the occupant protection system of the embodiment; It is a figure of the modification which provided multiple extension pieces.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the occupant protection device S of the embodiment is mounted on a seat 1 of a vehicle, and includes a seat belt 7, an airbag 25, and an inflator 17. . The seat 1 has a backrest portion 2 and a seat portion 3.

The seat belt 7 includes a belt body 8 for restraining an occupant MP seated on the seat 1, a tongue plate 12 attached to the belt body 8, and a buckle 13 for connecting the tongue plate 12. ing. One end of the belt body 8 is engaged with a winding shaft of a retractor (not shown) disposed within the backrest portion 2, and the other end side of the belt body 8 is anchored to the left of the rear end 3b of the seat portion 3 of the seat 1. It is locked to member 14 (see FIGS. 1 and 2). More specifically, the belt body 8 is disposed so as to be exposed to the outside from the upper left edge side of the backrest portion 2, and in the case of the embodiment, when the occupant is not seated, as shown in FIGS. In addition, the lap belt 10 on which the airbag 25 is arranged is exposed to the front surface of the backrest portion 2. - 特許庁The belt body 8 has a lap belt 10 and a shoulder belt 9 housed in the backrest portion 2. When the passenger is seated, the anchor member 14 and the buckle 13 are connected to each other with the tongue plate 12 connected to the buckle 13. The lap belt 10 is arranged substantially along the left-right direction between and restrains the lower body MD (lumbar region) of the occupant MP, and the shoulder belt is arranged diagonally across the buckle 13 while extending from the upper left edge side of the backrest 2. 9 restrains the upper body MU of the occupant MP (from the shoulder to the chest MB and the head MH) (see FIG. 3). In addition, in the seat belt 7, a retractor (not shown) arranged in the backrest portion 2 has a pretensioner mechanism.

The inflator 17 supplies inflation gas to the airbag 25 . In this embodiment, the inflator 17 includes an inflator body 18 that generates inflation gas, and a pipe portion 19 that extends from the inflator body 18 and guides the inflation gas into the airbag 25 . The inflator 17 in the embodiment is set to start operating later than the pretensioner mechanism of the seat belt 7 in order to restrict the withdrawal of the belt body 8 of the seat belt 7 accompanying the inflation of the airbag 25. there is Specifically, the inflator 17 is set to be activated 5 ms after the pretensioner mechanism of the seat belt 7 is activated.

The inflator 17 is attached to the seat frame 4 that supports the seat 1 (specifically, the seat portion 3) at a position below the seat surface 3a of the seat 1. For example, the seat 1 can be slid forward and backward or rotated. The inflator 17 is movable together with the seat 1 even when it is moved.

As shown in FIG. 4, the inflator main body 18 is of a substantially columnar cylinder type, and is provided on the rear surface side below the seat portion 3 with its axial direction substantially along the left-right direction. At this time, the gas discharge port 61 provided at one end in the axial direction of the inflator main body 18 faces the left direction of the seat 1 .

As shown in FIG. 4B, the inflator body 18 is fixed to the seat frame 4 using fixing members 65 at two points spaced apart in the axial direction. As the fixing member 65, a clamp with a bolt including a ring-shaped clamp 66 whose diameter can be reduced and a bolt 68 projecting radially outward from the outer peripheral surface of the clamp 66 is used.

The clamp 66 is made of sheet metal, and is firmly wound around the inflator body 18 by contracting and deforming in diameter while attached to the outer peripheral surface of the inflator body 18 . A fixing member 65 including a clamp 66 is thereby attached to the inflator main body 18 .

On the other hand, a mounting plate portion 70 of the seat frame 4 to which the inflator main body 18 is fixed has a flat first mounting surface 71 extending in the left-right direction, and is provided with through mounting holes 72 spaced apart in the left-right direction. (See FIG. 4B). In the embodiment, the bolt 68 of the fixing member 65 is inserted through the mounting hole 72, and a nut 75 is screwed onto the male threaded portion of the bolt 68 so as to sandwich the mounting plate portion 70 from the tip side of the bolt 68. The inflator main body 18 is fixed to the mounting plate portion 70 of the seat frame 4 .

The pipe portion 19 is a metal tubular body bent into a substantially L shape, and one end portion 19a thereof is connected to the gas discharge port portion 61 of the inflator main body 18 (see B in FIG. 4). The end portion 19a on the side connected to the gas discharge port portion 61 is formed as an enlarged diameter portion, and is crimped while being fitted onto the gas discharge port portion 61 of the inflator main body 18 to form a crimped joint portion 76. As shown in FIG. At the crimped joint 76 , a portion of the pipe portion 19 bites into the annular recessed groove 62 formed at the base of the gas discharge port portion 61 , thereby connecting the end portion 19 a of the pipe portion 19 to the inflator main body 18 . ing.

The pipe portion 19 connected to the inflator main body 18 extends horizontally at the end portion 19a, and is then bent forward and upward at the bent portion 19b as shown in FIG. 4A. A front end 19c is disposed at a tip extending forward and upward close to the seat frame 4. As shown in FIG. The distal end 19c is configured to be connected to a later-described conduit portion 40 of the airbag 25 using the clamp 20. As shown in FIG.

The airbag 25 is folded into a long shape and arranged in the region of the lap belt 10 so as to overlap the upper surface side of the lap belt 10 when the seat belt 7 is worn (see FIG. 3). That is, in the non-wearing state as shown in FIG. 1, the airbag 25 is arranged on the back side of the lap belt 10 (the side of the backrest portion 2). In the case of the embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, the airbag 25 and the lap belt 10 are integrated by being covered with a cover 22 that can be broken when the airbag 25 is deployed and inflated. That is, in the embodiment, the gap between the lap belt 10 and the cover 22 constitutes a storage portion for storing the airbag 25 .

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the airbag 25 includes a bag main body 26, a conduit portion 40 connected to the inflator 17 and allowing inflation gas to flow into the bag main body 26, and a belt mounting portion 47 through which the lap belt 10 is inserted. and have.

The bag main body 26 has a substantially triangular prism shape in which the outer shape of the bag body 26 at the time of completion of inflation is substantially parallel to the lateral direction. More specifically, the bag main body 26 has a substantially right-angled triangular shape with an oblique side on the front when viewed from the left and right sides, and the completed inflation when viewed from the front and rear sides. It is configured to have a substantially rectangular shape that is widened vertically (see FIGS. 8 and 9). The bag body 26 includes a front wall portion 27 arranged on the front side away from the occupant MP when inflation is completed, a rear upper wall portion 28 and a rear lower wall portion 29 arranged on the occupant MP side when inflation is completed, and A left wall portion 30 and a right wall portion 31 are provided facing each other in the left-right direction. The bag main body 26 has a communication hole 33 communicating with the conduit section 40 on the lower surface side of the rear end 29a of the rear lower wall section 29, and is connected to the conduit section 40 at the peripheral portion of the communication hole 33. It is In the case of the embodiment, two communication holes 33 are arranged side by side in the left-right direction so as to sandwich the left-right center of the bag main body 26 so as to be substantially left-right symmetrical. Vent holes 34 for exhausting surplus inflation gas are formed in the vicinity of the upper and lower centers of the left and right edges of the front wall portion 27 . In the bag main body 26 of the embodiment, the rear lower wall portion 29 constitutes a leg contact surface 36 capable of contacting the upper surface of the leg (thigh) of the occupant MP when inflation is completed, and the rear upper wall portion 28 , constitutes an upper body restraint surface 37 which is arranged in front of the occupant MP when the inflation is completed, and which can restrain the occupant MP from the chest to the head. In the case of the embodiment, the rear upper wall portion 28 and the rear lower wall portion 29 each have an outer shape in which the bag main body 26 is in an inflated state, and the longitudinal direction thereof is substantially along the front-back direction side or the up-down direction side. As shown in FIG. 6, it is formed in a rectangular shape with the width dimension on the longitudinal side being the same. The rear upper wall portion 28 is configured such that the upper end 28a is positioned in front of the occupant's head MH when the bag main body is fully inflated (see FIG. 9). In addition, the rear upper wall portion 28 and the rear lower wall portion 29 are arranged so as to be substantially perpendicular to each other in cross-sectional shape when the bag body 26 is completely inflated (see FIG. 6).

The conduit portion 40 includes a tubular conduit portion main body 41 connected to the pipe portion 19 of the inflator 17, and an extension piece 80 extending outward from the conduit portion main body 41 (the extension piece 80 4A and FIG. 7). The conduit portion main body 41 is configured such that the tip 41b side connected to the bag main body 26 is closed and the base portion 41a side is opened so as to be connectable with the pipe portion 19. When the airbag 25 completes inflation, It is arranged along the left-right direction so as to substantially follow the lap belt 10 . As shown in FIG. 5, the conduit portion main body 41 has a tip 41b side area arranged on the lower surface side of the bag body 26 when inflation is completed. A gas storage portion 42 is provided for temporarily storing the inflated gas.

The width of the gas storage portion 42 is set to be about twice the width of the base portion 41 a side of the conduit portion main body 41 . In addition, the gas reservoir 42 is configured such that the width in the left-right direction is substantially the same as the width in the left-right direction of the portion of the bag body 26 on the rear lower edge side (near the portion where the communication hole 33 is arranged). (See FIGS. 5 and 7). An opening 42 a corresponding to the communication hole 33 formed in the bag main body 26 is formed in the gas storage portion 42 . In the case of the embodiment, the conduit portion main body 41 is formed into a tubular shape by joining the peripheral edges of the upper wall portion 43 and the lower wall portion 44 which have the same outer shape, and the opening 42a is formed on the upper wall. It is formed in the region of the portion 43 . In addition, the opening 42a is joined (sewn) to the periphery of the communication hole 33 over the entire periphery.

An extending piece 80 extending outward from the conduit body 41 is provided on the side of the base part 41a of the conduit body 41, as shown in FIG. 4A. As shown in FIG. 7, the extending piece 80 is formed by connecting portions 80a and 80b corresponding to the extending piece 80 provided on the two conduit portion panels 57 and 58 constituting the conduit portion 40 to each other. It is formed by The extending piece 80 has a substantially triangular shape in a plan view, and is formed with an insertion hole 82 in the vicinity of a corner spaced apart from the conduit portion main body 41, through which a fixing screw member 85 is inserted.

Here, the connecting portion between the conduit portion 40 of the airbag 25 and the pipe portion 19 will be described with reference to FIG. 4A. A tip 19c of the pipe portion 19 is an annular protrusion that protrudes radially outward. A clamp 20 as a tightening member is contracted from the outside of the pipe portion 40 to connect and fix a conduit portion 40 (specifically, a conduit portion main body 41 ) to the pipe portion 19 . Further, an extension piece 80 is provided at a position near the fixed portion by the clamp 20 on the base portion 41 a side of the conduit portion main body 41 connected to the pipe portion 19 . As shown in the partial enlarged view in A of FIG. 4, a fixing screw member 85 is inserted through the insertion hole 82 of the extension piece 80, and the screw portion of the screw member 85 is attached to the mounting plate of the seat frame 4 facing the extension piece 80. The extension piece 80 is fixed to the mounting plate portion 70 of the seat frame 4 by being screwed into the second mounting surface 73 of the portion 70 . At the connecting portion between the conduit portion 40 and the pipe portion 19, the clamp 20, the tip 19c of the pipe portion 19, and the extension piece 80 are arranged in the direction of the inflation gas flow (the upper left direction in FIG. 4A). The insertion holes 82 for fixing are arranged in this order. In the embodiment configured as described above, the movement of the conduit portion 40 at the connection portion with the pipe portion 19 is restricted by the extension piece 80 fixed to the seat frame 4, so the extension piece 80 is virtually Compared to an occupant protection device that does not have such a device, displacement of the conduit portion 40 at the connecting portion when inflation gas is generated can be suppressed.

The belt attachment portion 47 is disposed on the lower surface side (lower wall portion 44 side) of the gas reservoir portion 41 region of the conduit portion 40, and has a substantially tubular shape with both ends opened so that the lap belt 10 can be inserted therethrough. , are sewn to the lower wall 44 (see FIGS. 5 and 6). The length dimension of the belt attachment portion 47 is set to be slightly smaller than the width dimension of the gas storage portion 41 in the left-right direction. That is, the belt attachment portion 47 is set to have a large length in the direction along the lap belt 10 so that excessive lifting of the bag body 26 from the lap belt 10 during deployment and inflation can be suppressed.

The airbag 25 of the embodiment is formed by joining together the peripheral edges of a base fabric having a predetermined shape. As shown in FIGS. It is composed of a panel 55 , two conduit section panels 57 and 58 that form the conduit section 40 , and a belt mounting panel 60 that forms the belt mounting section 47 . The occupant side panel 50, the front panel 55, the conduit panels 57 and 58, and the belt mounting panel 60 are each made of a flexible woven fabric made of polyester thread, polyamide thread, or the like.

The occupant-side panel 50 is disposed on the occupant MP side when inflation is completed, and constitutes a portion from the leg contact surface 36 to the upper body restraint surface 37, and is positioned rearward from the rear upper wall portion 28 of the bag main body 26 when inflation is completed. It is mainly configured over the lower wall portion 29 . Specifically, the occupant-side panel 50 includes a lower portion 52 that mainly constitutes the leg contact surface 36 (rear lower wall portion 29) and an upper portion that mainly constitutes an upper body restraining surface (rear upper wall portion 28). a portion 51; Specifically, the lower portion 52 forms the rear lower wall portion 29 and the lower rear regions of the left wall portion 30 and the right wall portion 31, and the upper portion 51 forms the rear upper wall portion 28 and the left wall portion. 30 and the rear upper region of the right wall portion 31, and both of them have a substantially hexagonal outer shape. The occupant-side panel 50 has an outer shape in which the lower portion 52 and the upper portion 51 are connected at one side, and the lower portion 52 and the upper portion 51 are connected with the connecting portion 50a as a reference. is symmetrical as

The front panel 55 mainly constitutes the front wall portion 27 of the bag main body 26 when the inflation is completed. are doing. The front panel 55 has a substantially hexagonal outer shape. Specifically, the outer shape of the front panel 55 is formed by connecting rear left edges 51a and 52a and rear right edges 51b and 52b, which are arranged on the left and right sides of the connecting portion 50a. The edge portions (front edges 51c, 52c) are formed in a hexagonal shape that substantially coincides with the lower portion 52 and the upper portion 51 (see FIG. 7) that are opened so as to separate them from each other.

As shown in FIG. 7, the two conduit panels 57 and 58 have the same outer shape and form the upper wall 43 and the lower wall 44 of the conduit 40, respectively. . The belt attachment panel 60 has a substantially rectangular outer shape, and is folded in two and joined together at the lateral edges 60a and 60b to form the belt attachment portion 47. As shown in FIG. .

In the occupant protection device S of the embodiment, when the inflator 17 is activated while being mounted on the vehicle, the inflation gas discharged from the inflator 17 flows into the bag main body 26 through the conduit portion 40, thereby The main body 26 ruptures the cover 22 and protrudes forward and upward from the lap belt 10 to complete the inflation as shown in FIGS. At this time, the conduit portion 40 of the airbag 25 receives a driving force in the direction indicated by the arrow in FIG. 4 , the reaction force from the pipe portion 19 and the seat frame 4 acts to suppress the movement (positional displacement) of the conduit portion 40 at the connection portion with the pipe portion 19 .

In the occupant protection system S of the embodiment, the airbag 25 (bag main body 26) has a substantially triangular prism shape when the inflation is completed, with the axial direction substantially along the left-right direction. It is arranged in front of the upper half of the body MU of the occupant MP while the upper surface of the leg MT is brought into contact with the upper body MU of the occupant MP. Therefore, when the inflation of the airbag 25 is completed, even if the occupant MP has to move the upper body MU closer to the lower body MD, as shown in FIG. The upper body MU of the occupant MP (from the chest MB to the head MH) is arranged so as to face the upper body MU in front of the upper body MU, which is supported by the MT so as to be suppressed from falling down and being compressed. The restraining surface 37 can precisely restrain. In addition, in the occupant protection system S of the embodiment, the airbag 25 (bag main body 26) has a substantially triangular prism shape when the airbag 25 (bag body 26) is fully inflated. The upper body MU can be properly restrained by the upper body restraining surface 37 even when the upper body is restrained.

According to the occupant protection system S of the embodiment configured as described above, even if the propulsive force due to the gas pressure of the inflation gas acts on the conduit portion 40, the extending piece 80 fixed to the seat frame 4 is prevented from moving. Since a reaction force in the opposite direction acts on the conduit portion 40 via the duct portion 40, the movement of the conduit portion 40 is restricted. As a result, displacement of the conduit portion 40 at the connecting portion with the pipe portion 19 when inflation gas is generated can be suppressed.

Although the above-described embodiment is an example in which one extension piece 80 is provided to be fixed to the seat frame 4, the number and positions of the extension pieces 80 can be changed as appropriate. For example, as shown in FIG. 11 , extending pieces 80 are provided on both sides of the inflation gas flow path in the conduit body 41 , and each extending piece 80 is fixed to the mounting plate portion 70 of the seat frame 4 . It is also possible to configure In this way, displacement of the conduit portion 40 at the connecting portion with the pipe portion 19 can be more effectively suppressed.

Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail above, this is merely an example. The present invention can be embodied with various modifications without departing from the scope of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Seat 2... Backrest part 4... Seat frame 7... Seat belt 10... Lap belt 18... Inflator main body 19... Pipe part 19c... Tip 25... Airbag 40... Conduit part 41... Conduit portion body, 80... Extension piece, MP... Occupant, S... Occupant protection device.

Claims (2)

An occupant protection device for protecting an occupant seated on a seat,
seat belt and
an airbag that is arranged in a region of the lap belt that restrains the waist of the occupant when the seat belt is worn, and inflates so as to protect the upper body of the occupant;
an inflator body that generates inflation gas;
a pipe portion extending from the inflator body and guiding the inflation gas into the airbag;
and is configured to have
The airbag has a conduit portion connected to the pipe portion,
The conduit section includes a tubular conduit section body that is fitted onto the tip of the pipe section from the outside and is tightened and fixed, and an extension piece that extends outward from the conduit section body. is fixed to a seat frame that supports the seat. 2. The occupant protection device according to claim 1, wherein the extending pieces are provided on both sides of the inflation gas flow path in the conduit body.

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