JP2572734Y2 - Case for airbag system - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a case for accommodating a gas generator of an airbag system used in a vehicle.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, an airbag system has been introduced to protect an occupant in a vehicle. One type of this airbag system includes a container-like case, a gas generator integrally mounted between opposing side walls of the case, and a bag-like case that closes an opening of the case. There is an airbag that is integrally mounted and accommodated in a case, and the airbag is inflated toward an occupant by gas generated from a gas generator due to an impact at the time of a collision. It is supposed to be.

When the gas generator is integrally mounted between opposing side walls of a case, for example,
A cylindrical projection is formed on one of the side walls by a burring process so as to protrude into the case, and one end of the gas generator is supported in the cylindrical projection in a fitted state. A plate-like member is fixed to an outer surface of the gasket by a fixing means such as a bolt so as to close an opening on the base side of the cylindrical protrusion, and is protruded from one end of the gas generator to penetrate the plate-like member. One end of a gas generator is fixed to one side wall of a case by screwing and tightening a nut to a male screw portion.

[0004]

However, in such a conventional airbag system, the plate-like member and a fixing means such as a bolt for fixing the plate-like member to the side wall of the case are separately required. There are drawbacks in that the number of parts and the weight of the bag system increase, and the work of attaching the gas generator to the case becomes relatively troublesome and time-consuming. In addition, such a large number of components and a time-consuming operation for attaching the gas generator to the case have been one of the factors that hinder the cost reduction of the airbag system.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a case in which one end of a gas generator is supported on one of opposing side walls of a case from the outer peripheral side. When the gas generator is integrally mounted between the side walls of the case based on the fixing, the number of parts and the weight of the airbag system can be reduced, and the work of mounting the gas generator to the case can be performed easily and quickly. It is an object of the present invention to provide a case for an airbag system.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, the gist of the present invention is to provide a container having an opening and a bag-shaped airbag having an opening on the opening side.
The opening is closed by being fixed, and the
While housing the airbag in the interior, the gas generator is mounted integrally in a plate-like side <br/> walls facing each, the
The above gas is generated by the gas generator,
An airbag system case for inflating an airbag from the opening, wherein (a) an airbag system case is formed by subjecting one of the side walls to squeezing so as to protrude annularly inside the case, and the gas generation occurs on an inner peripheral surface. An annular projection that supports one end of the container in a fitted state, and (b) a base side and an inner peripheral side of the annular projection when the side wall is drawn.
Approximately the portion of the side wall that is located on the outer peripheral side of the annular projection
And a fixing portion provided integrally with the gas generator so as to be positioned flush with the inside of the case, and to which one end of the gas generator is fixed.

[0007]

In the case of the airbag system having the above construction, when the gas generator is integrally mounted between the opposed side walls of the case, the gas generator is formed by drawing on one of the opposed side walls and the inside of the case. One end of the gas generator is supported in a fitted state on the inner peripheral surface of the annular projecting portion projecting annularly, and the base side and the inner peripheral side of the annular projecting portion when the side wall is drawn. The one end of the gas generator is fixed to a fixing portion provided integrally with the portion located at the position.

[0008]

As described above, according to the airbag system case of the present invention, the annular projection having the same function as the conventional cylindrical projection formed by burring, and the base side opening of the cylindrical projection are formed. A fixing portion fixed to the outer surface of the case side wall by a fixing means such as a bolt so as to close and having a function similar to that of a conventional plate-like member to which one end of the gas generator is fixed is narrowed to one side wall of the case. Since it is formed integrally with the side wall by performing the processing, the above-mentioned conventional plate-like member and fixing means such as bolts for fixing the same to the side wall of the case are not required, and as a result, the components of the airbag system are eliminated. The points and weight can be reduced suitably, and the operation of attaching the gas generator to the case can be made easier and faster. In addition, since the number of components can be reduced and the operation of attaching the gas generator to the case can be easily and quickly performed, the cost of the airbag system can be suitably reduced. On the other hand, the fixed part is
It is almost flush with the part located on the outer circumference side from the protrusion
Is also located inside the case,
When the fixing part protrudes from the side wall to the outside of the case
In comparison, the distance between the side walls of the case can be relatively large.
And the airbag storage space in the case and
The volume at the time of inflation of the airbag can be suitably secured.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

1 and 2, reference numeral 10 denotes an airbag, 12 denotes an inflator as a gas generator, and 14 denotes a case for accommodating the airbag 10 and the inflator 12, respectively. It constitutes a part. Case 14 is substantially U
U-shaped wall 16 bent into a U-shape and the U-shaped wall 1
6, a pair of plate-like wall portions 18 and 20 covering the opposite side portions.
Are integrally provided to form a container, and have a rectangular opening 22. The opening 22 is closed by fixing the opening-side end of the airbag 10 in the form of a bag to the inner peripheral surface of the case 14 on the opening 22 side.
Is housed in the case 14 in a folded state. The case 14 is fixed to an instrument panel (not shown) of the vehicle by a bolt or the like via a bracket (not shown).

The inflator 12 has a long cylindrical member 24 closed at both ends and having a large number of gas ejection ports (not shown) on the peripheral wall, and a case 14 at both ends of the cylindrical member 24. Plate-like wall portions 18 and 20
It is attached integrally between them. Cylindrical member 2
A gas generating agent, an ignition device for igniting the gas generating agent, and the like are disposed in the inside 4. When the ignition device is activated by an impact at the time of a vehicle collision, the gas generating agent is instantaneously burned. A combustion gas such as a nitrogen gas is generated, and the combustion gas is ejected from the gas outlet, so that the airbag 10 is inflated from the opening 22 of the case 14 toward the passenger seat. Although not shown, a door closing the opening 22 is attached to the case 14 so as to be rotatable around one axis. When the airbag 10 is inflated, the door is turned by the airbag 10. The opening 22 is opened while being moved. In FIG. 2, the illustration of the inflator 12 is omitted.

Next, the case 14 of the inflator 12
A method of attaching the plate to the plate-like wall portions 18 and 20 will be described.

As shown in FIG. 1, a circular mounting hole 26 having an inner diameter through which the inflator 12 can be inserted is formed in one plate-like wall portion 18. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the other plate-shaped wall portion 20 is annularly protruded toward the one plate-shaped wall portion 18 by being subjected to drawing by a press, and is provided at one end of the inflator 12. Is formed, and a disc-shaped portion 30 is integrally provided at a portion located on the base side and on the inner peripheral side of the annular protrusion 28. A through hole 32 is formed in the center of the disc-shaped portion 30. The annular projecting portion 28 includes a pair of outer peripheral side peripheral wall portions 31 and inner peripheral side peripheral wall portions 33
An annular space having a shape corresponding to the shape of the drawing punch is formed between the peripheral wall portions 31 and 33. The inflator 12 is a plate-like wall 1 of the case 14.
It has a length longer than the dimension between 8, 20 by a predetermined dimension,
The end face of the inflator 12 on one end side has a male screw 3
4 are protruded.

When the inflator 12 is integrally mounted between the plate-like wall portions 18 and 20 of the case 14, first, the inflator 12 is connected to one end of the male screw portion 34 at an annular projecting portion 28 of the plate-like wall portion 20. Male thread 3 at one end of the inflator 12
4 is inserted through the through hole 32 of the disc-shaped portion 30, and the other end of the inflator 12 is attached to the mounting hole 2 of the plate-shaped wall 18.
It is set in a state of projecting a predetermined amount outward from 6. Next, a nut 36 is screwed into a male screw portion 34 protruding from the through hole 32 of the plate-like wall portion 20 and tightened, so that one end portion of the inflator 12 is supported by the annular protrusion 28 from the outer peripheral side. The cap-shaped member 40, which is fixed to the disk-shaped portion 30 by the nut 34 and the nut 36 and has a cylindrical shape with a bottom as a whole,
The other end of the inflator 12 is fixed to the plate-like wall portion 18 so as to cover the other end of the inflator 12 in a fitted state, so that the other end of the inflator 12 is supported by the cap-shaped member 40 from the outer peripheral side. Thus, the inflator 1
2 are plate-like walls 18, 2 of the case 14 at both ends.
It is attached integrally between 0. In the present embodiment, the plate-shaped wall portions 18 and 20 form opposed side walls, and the plate-shaped wall portion 20 forms one side wall,
The disk-shaped part 30 constitutes a fixed part. In addition, a plurality of L-shaped notches 41 formed by adjoining a pair of notches having different depths at a predetermined interval are provided at a peripheral portion of the mounting hole 26 of the plate-shaped wall portion 18 (only one in FIG. 1). The cap-shaped member 40 is provided with a plurality of L-shaped protrusions 42 extending in a direction perpendicular to the axis at a tip extending in a direction parallel to the axis from the open end thereof (FIG. 1). At 1
After fitting the other end of the inflator 12 into the cap-shaped member 40 and inserting each of the projections 42 through the notch 41 of the mounting hole 26 at the deeper side, the cap By rotating the member 40 about the axis by a predetermined amount, the plate-like wall portion 18 of the cap-like member 40
A nut 46 is screwed into a bolt 44 for inserting the plate-like wall portion 18 and the projection 38 projecting from the opening end of the cap-like member 40 to the outer peripheral side in this state. By tightening, the cap-like member 40 is prevented from rotating around the axis, whereby the cap-like member 40 is fixed to the plate-like wall portion 18. In FIG. 1, only a notch portion having a smaller depth of the notch 41 is shown.

FIG. 4 is a view showing an example of a conventional mounting technique of one end of the inflator 12 on the male screw portion 34 side to the side wall 60 of the case. In the figure, a cylindrical protrusion 62 that protrudes to the inside of the case by burring is integrally provided on a side wall 60, and one end of the inflator 12 is supported in the cylindrical protrusion 62 in a fitted state. I have. On the outer surface of the side wall 60, a plate-like member 64 is fixed by a plurality of sets of bolts 66 and nuts 68 so as to close the opening on the base side of the cylindrical protrusion 62, and a through hole 70 of the plate-like member 64 is provided. One end of the inflator 12 is fixed to the side wall 60 by screwing and tightening the nut 36 to the male thread portion 34 of the inflator 12 protruding from the side. In this case, since the plate-like member 64 and a plurality of sets of fixing means including the bolts 66 and the nuts 68 for fixing the plate-like member 64 to the side wall 60 of the case are separately required, the number of parts and the weight of the airbag system increase. And inflator 12
In addition to the drawback that the operation of mounting the airbag system on the case is relatively troublesome and time-consuming, the time required for the operation of mounting the inflator 12 to the case requires a large number of parts and the time required for the airbag system. This was one of the factors that hindered cost reduction.

On the other hand, according to the present embodiment, the annular projection 2 having the same function as that of the conventional cylindrical projection 62 described above.
8, and a disk-shaped portion 30 having the same function as the above-mentioned conventional plate-shaped member 64 is formed integrally with the plate-shaped wall portion 20 by subjecting the plate-shaped wall portion 20 of the case 14 to drawing. Therefore, the conventional plate-shaped member 64 and the conventional plural sets of bolts 66 for fixing it to the side wall 60 of the case are provided.
In addition, the number of components and the weight of the airbag system are not required, so that the number of parts and the weight of the airbag system can be suitably reduced, and the operation of attaching the inflator 12 to the case 14 can be performed more easily and quickly.

Further, according to the present embodiment, the number of components is reduced as described above, and the work of attaching the inflator 12 to the case 14 is easily and quickly performed. Can be reduced.

As shown in FIG. 5, for example, a bulging portion 74 bulging out of the case by drawing is formed on a side wall 72 of the case, and the inflator 12 of the inflator 12 is formed in a peripheral wall of the bulging portion 74. In a case where one end is supported in a fitted state and the nut 36 is screwed into the male thread 34 of the inflator 12 protruding outward from a through hole 76 provided in the top wall of the bulging portion 74 and tightened. Also, the above-described effects can be obtained. However, in this case, since the bulging portion 74 and the male screw portion 34 and the like protrude relatively outside of the case, the side wall 72 on which the inflator 12 is mounted and the side wall 72 thereof are limited due to the space for installation in the instrument panel. In some cases, it is necessary to reduce the distance between the side walls facing each other, which may make it impossible to secure a sufficient space for accommodating the airbag in the case and, consequently, the volume when the airbag is inflated. On the other hand, according to the present embodiment, the annular projecting portion 28 formed by drawing is projected to the inside of the case 14, and the male screw portion 34 and the like of the inflator 12 do not project much to the outside of the case 14. For,
Since the space between the plate-shaped wall portions 18 and 20 of the case 14 can be relatively large, there is an advantage that the accommodation space of the airbag 10 in the case 14 and the volume when the airbag 10 is inflated can be suitably secured.

In the above-mentioned embodiment, an annular space having a shape corresponding to the shape of the drawing punch is formed between the outer peripheral side peripheral wall portion 31 and the inner peripheral side peripheral wall portion 33 constituting the annular protruding portion 28. By performing swaging on the outer peripheral wall 31 of the annular projecting portion 28 to reduce the diameter, for example, as shown in FIG. 3, the outer peripheral wall 31 and the inner peripheral wall 33 may be substantially in close contact with each other. The annular protrusion 48 may be configured.

In the above embodiment, the annular projecting portion 28 has an annular shape and the fixing portion is constituted by the disc-shaped portion 30. However, the annular projecting portion and the fixing portion have shapes other than circular. May be provided.

In the above embodiment, the disc-shaped portion 30 is positioned flush with the plate surface of the portion of the plate-shaped wall portion 20 which is located on the outer peripheral side of the annular projecting portion 28. However, it is not always necessary. Instead, for example, it may be provided at a position protruding inside the case 14 by a predetermined amount.

In the above embodiment, the inflator 12
A male screw portion 34 protrudes from one end of the disk-shaped portion 30, and a nut 3 is attached to the male screw portion 34 protruding from the through hole 32 of the disc-shaped portion 30.
6 is screwed, but is not necessarily required. For example, a male screw member having a head is inserted into the through hole 32 of the disc-shaped portion 30 and screwed into a female screw formed at the end of the inflator. May be configured.

In the above embodiment, the airbag system provided on the passenger seat side has been described. However, such an airbag system may be provided on the driver's seat side.

In addition, it goes without saying that the present invention can be embodied in variously modified forms without departing from the spirit of the invention.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a view showing an example of a case for an airbag system according to the present invention, showing a state in which a gas generator is attached, and showing the gas generator with a part cut away.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line II-II in FIG. 1 and omits a gas generator.

FIG. 3 is a view showing another example of the case for the airbag system of the present invention, and is a view corresponding to a main part of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a view showing an example of a conventional technique for attaching a gas generator to a case for an airbag system, and is a view corresponding to a main part of FIG.

5 is a view showing another technique for attaching the gas generator to the case for the airbag system, and is a view corresponding to a main part of FIG. 1. FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

12 inflator (gas generator) 14 case {18 plate-shaped wall, 20 plate-shaped wall (one side wall)} opposing side walls 28, 48 annular protruding part 30 disk-shaped part (fixed part)

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Hiroyuki Shibata 10 Michigami, Wakaai-cho, Toyota-shi, Aichi Prefecture Inside Toyo Brake Industry Co., Ltd. Yama 3 Toyo Tire & Rubber Co., Ltd. Automotive Parts Technology Center (56) References JP-A-48-64638 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁶ , DB name) B60R 21/20

Claims (1)

(57) [Scope of request for utility model registration] 1. A container having an opening and having a bag in the opening.
The airbag is fixed at the open end.
The opening is closed and the airbag is housed inside.
On the other hand, a gas generator is integrally mounted between the opposed plate-shaped side walls , and gas is generated from the gas generator.
The airbag is inflated from the opening by being
A case for an airbag system to be ejected , which is formed by subjecting one of the side walls to a drawing process so as to protrude annularly inside the case, and has one end of the gas generator fitted on an inner peripheral surface. An annular projecting portion to be supported; a base side of the annular projecting portion and an inner peripheral side at the time of drawing processing of the side wall; and an outer peripheral side of the annular projecting portion of the side wall.
On the inside of the case or almost flush with the part
A case fixed to one end of the gas generator, wherein the case is integrally provided so as to be positioned .