JP2650821B2 - Airbag device for passengers - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To relax the shock when an air bag is developed, and to make the folding work of the air bag and the confirming work of its folding condition easier. CONSTITUTION:The projecting part of an air bag 16 is provided at the upper side of an instrument panel. The air bag 16 is folded by folding the left side and the right side of the developing member 67 to the inner side in order along its projecting direction. Then, the developing member 67 folded in the plate form is folded in the wave form remaining the part near a marking 75 so as to form a folded member 74. The folded member 74 is wound to move the marking 75 from the front side to the rear side passing at the upper side, while being wound by a winding member 73, and it is squeezed and housed inside an upper frame body 12. The air bag 16 is developed at first along the front glass, and then developed to the rear side and the lower side. As a result, by confirming the marking 75 through a through hole 45 at the upper frame body 12, the folding condition of the air bag 16 can be confirmed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a passenger airbag device for protecting a passenger in a passenger seat of an automobile or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An airbag device for a passenger in a passenger seat described in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 4-193648 is known. This airbag device for a passenger seat occupant is provided on an instrument panel in front of a passenger seat and has a case body open to the occupant on one side, and a gas generator (inflator) and an air generator housed inside the case body. It is composed of a bag, a pair of upper and lower covers (air bag grids) that cover the opening of the case body, and the like. Then, in a state where the impact of the collision of the automobile is detected, the gas is rapidly released from the gas generator into the airbag and deployed, and the airbag is projected toward the occupant while opening the cover body. I have.

By the way, the physique and sitting posture of the passenger in the passenger seat are different from those of the driver in the driver's seat, and the collision mode between the inflating and deploying airbag and the occupant also changes in various ways. Also,
Passengers in the passenger seat tend to be late in predicting an accident, and there is no operation of stepping on the brake and squeezing the steering wheel.

Therefore, in the case of an airbag device for a passenger in the passenger seat, it is necessary to improve the occupant protection performance by absorbing impact and to deploy the airbag in a wide space, so that a large-capacity airbag is required. .

[0005] However, when such a large-capacity airbag is inflated and deployed, it is necessary to reduce the impact force applied to the occupant in the passenger seat due to the collision of the airbag.

In view of this, a projecting opening of the airbag is provided on the upper surface of the instrument panel, and the airbag projecting from the projecting opening is first deployed along the inner surface of the windshield, and then deployed rearward and downward of the vehicle. At the same time, there has been proposed a configuration in which the airbag is folded in the vertical direction and stored, so that the gas quickly flows into the airbag.

[0007]

However, according to the above-mentioned conventional construction, the work of folding and storing the airbag so as to deploy along the inner surface of the windshield is complicated, and the airbag is correctly folded and stored. There is a problem that the operation of confirming whether or not it is complicated is complicated.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and in an airbag device for an occupant in a passenger seat, the airbag can be easily folded and stored so as to be deployed along the inner surface of a windshield, and can be accurately stored. It is an object of the present invention to provide a passenger-side occupant airbag device which can easily confirm whether the airbag device is folded and stored.

[0009]

According to the present invention, there is provided an airbag device for an occupant in a passenger seat of the present invention, wherein a protrusion provided on an upper surface of an instrument panel located in front of a passenger seat is provided in the vicinity of a windshield; A frame provided on the lower side, and an airbag provided with an opening attached to the frame and a bag-shaped deploying portion that projects and deploys through the projecting opening in response to the inflow of gas. The deployment part of the airbag is provided with a winding part which is continuous with the opening part and has an identification part formed at a predetermined position, and a folding part which is continuous with the winding part and is always folded into a predetermined shape. The folded portion is wound in the counterclockwise direction as viewed from the right side of the vehicle, and is housed in the frame body while being wound around the winding portion.

[0010]

In the passenger airbag device of the present invention, the airbag protruding from the protruding port with the inflow of gas is
First, it protrudes while rotating in the opposite direction to the direction in which it is involved, that is, clockwise as viewed from the right side of the vehicle. Then, after deploying upward along the windshield, it deploys rearward and downward of the vehicle and deploys to the occupant side. When the airbag is rolled up and stored, the position of the identification section formed on the winding section is confirmed, whereby the rolled-up state of the airbag is confirmed.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The construction of an embodiment of an airbag device for a passenger in a passenger seat according to the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

1 to 3, reference numeral 11 denotes an airbag module. The airbag module 11 includes an upper frame (retainer upper) 12 and a lower frame (retainer lower) 14 as a frame, and a gas generator ( Inflator) 1
5, the air bag 16 and the cover (lid) 17 are attached.

The lower frame 14 is made of metal and has a substantially box shape with an open upper surface, and a substantially columnar gas generator accommodating portion 21 for accommodating the gas generator 15 is provided at a lower portion inside. Above the gas generator accommodating section 21, a partition plate 23 having a large number of through holes 22 and having an arc-shaped cross section is fixed by a plurality of rivets 24. Further, a gas generator insertion hole 25 is formed at one end of the gas generator storage part 21, and a substantially D-shaped bolt through hole 26 is formed at the other end. ing. Furthermore, an opening on the upper surface of the lower frame 14
At the periphery of 27, a plurality of, at this time,
Two substantially U-shaped mounting holes 28 are formed, and a lower surface of the lower frame 14 is provided with a mounting bracket welded thereto.
A plurality of mounting bolts 30 are planted via 29.

The gas generator 15 has a substantially cylindrical main body 32, which is inserted into the gas generator housing 21 through the gas generator insertion hole 25 of the lower frame 14. To be inserted and stored. At one end of the main body 32, an enlarged diameter portion 33 that fits into the gas generator insertion hole 25 is formed, and at the other end of the main body 32,
A positioning protrusion 34 having a substantially D-shaped cross section, which is positioned by engaging with the bolt through hole 26, is protruded, and a bolt 35 is protruded from the positioning protrusion 34. By screwing a nut 37 to this bolt 35 from outside through a bush 36, the gas generator 15 is positioned and fixed to the lower frame 14.

Then, from the enlarged diameter portion 33 of the gas generator 15,
A plurality of lead wires 39 bound by a pipe-shaped cover 38 or a clip band are led out, and the lead wires 39
A short connector 40 is connected to the end of 39. When the short connector 40 is connected to an impact sensor (not shown) and the impact sensor detects an impact such as an automobile collision, the gas generator 15 is detected by the impact sensor.
An igniter built in the irrigator operates to burn the chemical filled in the main body 32, and injects nitrogen gas upward from an injection port (not shown).

The upper frame member 12 is made of metal and has a rectangular cylindrical shape with upper and lower surfaces opened, and a plurality of mounting pieces projecting from the lower edge.
With 42 inserted into the mounting holes 28 of the lower frame 14,
These mounting pieces 42 are respectively attached to the lower frame by rivets 43.
14 and is connected to the opening 27 on the upper surface of the lower frame 14. The front plate portion 44 located on the front side of the upper frame body 12 is formed to have a smaller height dimension than the rear plate portion 45 located on the rear side. The edge is formed to be inclined downward from the rear side to the front side. Along the vicinity of the upper edge of the rear plate portion 45 and the side plate portion 46, bolts 47 extending outward at predetermined intervals are implanted. Are formed at predetermined intervals along the vicinity of the upper edge of the front plate portion 44 which is slightly inclined toward the front side.
From the lower end edge of the upper frame body 12, a substantially convex locking piece 50 is formed at an intermediate portion of each mounting piece 42 so as to be folded upward.

The dimensions of the upper frame 12 are, for example, 8 cm in the front-rear direction, 26 cm in the width direction, 4 cm in height of the front plate portion 44,
The height of the rear plate 45 is 6 cm.

The cover body 17 is attached almost flush with the upper surface of the substantially horizontal instrument panel 52 on the front side of the passenger seat of the automobile, and is integrally formed of synthetic resin. The cover body 17 has a plate-like front plate portion.
A pair of front and rear fixed wall portions 54 and 55 which are long in both sides from the back surface side of the front plate portion 53 are provided. These fixed walls 54 and 55 are respectively connected to the front plate of the upper frame 12.
A mounting hole 56 is formed so as to abut against the outside of the rear plate portion 44 and the rear plate portion 45 and correspond to the bolt through hole 49 and the bolt 47 provided in the upper frame 12, respectively. In addition, a break line 57 having a substantially U-shaped plane is formed on the front plate portion 53 between the front and rear fixed wall portions 54 and 55. This break line 57
Is formed to be fragile by recessing the rear surface of the front plate portion 53 into a substantially V-shaped cross section.

With the cover body 17 attached to a predetermined position of the instrument panel 52, the upper and lower frame bodies 12,
The cover 14 is attached at an angle of about 16 degrees counterclockwise as viewed from the right side of the vehicle. A windshield 58 inclined upward from the lower front side to the upper rear side is located above the cover body 17. ing.

Reference numerals 61 and 62 denote a pair of front and rear reinforcing plates. The reinforcing plates 61 and 62 are bent in a substantially L-shaped cross section, and are fixed to the front and rear of the cover body 17.
A mounting hole 63 is formed corresponding to each of the mounting holes 56. In addition, these reinforcing plates 61 and 62
Is cut out in a substantially triangular shape.

The fixed wall 54 on the front side of the cover 17
The nut 66 is screwed into a bolt 65 which is inserted through the bolt through hole 49 and the mounting holes 56 and 63 while being sandwiched between the outside of the front plate portion 44 and the reinforcing plate 61. It is fixed to the upper frame 12. Further, the fixed wall portion 55 on the rear side of the cover body 17 is sandwiched between the outside of the rear plate portion 45 and the reinforcing plate 62, and the bolt 47 planted in the upper frame body 12 is attached to the mounting hole 56, It is fixed to the upper frame body 12 by being integrally inserted into 63 and screwing a nut 66.

As shown in FIGS. 3 to 6, the airbag 16 is formed by sewing a nylon sheet coated with silicone rubber, and is opened at the lower end of a bag-shaped deployment portion 67 in a substantially rectangular plane. An opening 68 is formed. The peripheral portion of the opening 68 is sewn in a folded state to form a reinforcing portion 69, and the reinforcing portion 69 is provided with the upper frame 12
The cutting lines 70 and 71 formed at the lower end of each of the locking pieces 50 and the mounting pieces 42 are inserted and locked respectively at upper and lower positions at predetermined intervals. Further, gas vent holes 72 shown in FIG. 6 are formed on both sides of the airbag 16 so that the nitrogen gas filled inside is released to the outside at the time of deployment.

The maximum size of the airbag 16 at the time of sewing is, for example, as shown in FIGS. 4A and 6, a width W600 mm, and a protrusion (stroke) from the opening 68.
S650mm, height H570mm, but airbag
When the 16 is deployed, each dimension is designed to be as large as each part is rounded.

Further, the deployment portion 67 of the airbag 16
It consists of a winding part 73 continuous with the opening part 68 and a folded part 74 continuous with the winding part 73.The winding part 73 faces the front side of the vehicle, and a marking 75 as an identification part is drawn. I have. The marking 75 is drawn linearly long in both sides by ink.

In the airbag 16, the deployment portion 67 is inserted through the upper frame 12, and the cut lines 70,
The locking piece 50 of the upper frame 12 and the mounting piece 42 are locked to 71,
By connecting and fixing the upper and lower frames 12, 14 with the opening 68 substantially aligned with the lower edge of the upper frame 12, a reinforcing portion 69 is sandwiched between the upper and lower frames 12, 14. It is fixed.

In this state, the marking 75 drawn on the wrapping portion 73 of the airbag 16 is attached to the front plate portion 44 of the upper frame 12.
Is located at a distance L of about 16 cm from the upper end of the.

Next, a process of folding the airbag 16 and storing it in the upper frame 12 will be described.

First, as shown in FIG. 4 (a), from the state where the deploying portion 67 of the airbag 16 is expanded, as shown in FIG. 4 (b), the deploying portion 67 extends along the projecting direction of the airbag 16. The left and right sides are sequentially folded inward, and as shown in FIG. 4C, the width of the developing portion 67 is made into a plate shape having a width substantially equal to the width of the opening 68.

Next, as shown in FIG. 5A, the unfolded portion 67 folded in a plate shape is positioned on the front side of the upper frame body 12, and the folded portion 74 is folded in a wave shape. Then, as shown in FIG. 5B, the folded portion 74 is wound in a counterclockwise direction (the direction of the arrow shown in the drawing) when viewed from the right side of the vehicle, and while being wound by the winding portion 73, as shown in FIG. Push into the inside of the upper frame 12, as shown in c). Thus, the folding step of the airbag 16 is completed.

In this winding process, while the marking 75 of the winding portion 73 moves from the front side to the rear side through the upper side and is pushed into the inside of the upper frame body 12, the folding portion
The airbag 16 of 74 is folded in the vertical direction, and the upper surface side of the folded portion 74 is wrapped in the front portion of the winding portion 73, and the lower surface side of the folding portion 74 is the rear portion of the winding portion 73. It is wrapped in.

Further, in this state, the marking 75 is located on the rear side of the folded portion 74, that is, inside the rear plate portion 45 of the upper frame 12, and the position of the marking 75 is formed in the through hole formed in the rear plate portion 45. It can be visually confirmed via 48.

Next, the operation of the airbag module 11 will be described.

When an impact sensor (not shown) detects an impact on the vehicle body in the event of an automobile collision or the like, the impact sensor operates the gas generator 15 connected via the lead wire 39 to generate the gas. The device 15 rapidly injects nitrogen gas upward. Then, the gas blows up through the through hole 22 of the partition plate 23, hits the wrapped portion 73 of the airbag 16 covering the lower surface of the folded portion 74 of the airbag 16, and pushes up the gas. 17
Is cleaved along the breaking line 57 to form the projection 77, and from the state shown in FIG.
The folding unit 74 is rotated to the state shown in FIGS. 5B and 5A.

Next, the gas injected by the gas generator 15 is
4 (b) and 4 (b) from the state shown in FIG. 4 (c), while being blown into the air bag 16 through the opening 68 of the air bag 16 to expand and extend the fold 74.
The developing unit 67 is deployed to the state shown in FIG. In this state, as shown in FIG.
Then, the vehicle collides with the front windshield 58 and projects upward and rearward along the windshield 58, and then deploys downward and rearward, that is, toward the occupant.

With the airbag 16 deployed in this manner, the passenger in the passenger seat is prevented from colliding with the instrument panel 52 or the windshield 58,
The airbag 16 protects the occupant from the impact of the collision.

Next, the gas filled inside is released from the gas vent holes 72 formed on both sides of the airbag 16, so that the airbag 16 is contracted.

According to the airbag device of the present embodiment, the airbag 16 is first rotated and projected, then deployed along the windshield 58, and then deployed rearward and downward of the vehicle, so that the occupant side Can be expanded to. Therefore, even when a large-capacity airbag 16 is used, this airbag
The airbag 16 can be made to protrude toward the occupant while the airbag 16 is deployed, without the folded mass of 16 protruding to the occupant side, and the impact on the occupant when the airbag 16 is deployed can be reduced.

Further, a marking 75 is drawn at a predetermined position of the airbag 16, and when the airbag 16 is rolled up, the marking 75 may be rolled up so as to rotate from the front side to the upper side and rearward. At the same time, attach the airbag 16 to the upper frame 12
The markings 75 can be visually confirmed through the through holes 48 formed in the rear plate portion 45 of the upper frame body 12 in a state where the markings are stored at the correct positions inside. So, the airbag
Folding and storing operations of the air bag 16 are facilitated, and it is possible to easily confirm whether or not the air bag 16 has been correctly folded after being stored in the upper frame 12.

Further, the airbag 16 is firstly an airbag.
Since the left and right sides of the deploying portion 67 are folded inward along the projecting direction of the 16, during the deployment process of the airbag 16, after the folded portion 74 of the airbag 16 that has been bent in a wave shape is deployed and extended, Gas can be quickly blown into every corner of the airbag 16 and can be deployed smoothly with little resistance.

In the present embodiment, the marking 75 drawn on the airbag 16 is located at a distance L of about 16 cm from the upper end of the front plate portion 44 of the upper frame body 12. The marking 75 can be arranged at a distance L of about 10 cm from the upper end of the front plate portion 44 of the upper frame 12. When the marking 75 is provided at this position, as shown in FIG. 7, the marking 75 is located on the upper surface of the airbag 16 in a state where the airbag 16 is stored in a correct position in the upper frame 12, Upper frame housing bag 16
When attaching the cover body 17 to the cover body 12, the worker can check from the upper side whether or not the airbag 16 is correctly folded when attaching the cover body 17.

In each of the above embodiments, the identification portion is formed by the linear linear marking 75. However, the form of the identification portion is not limited to this, and may be, for example, a dashed line formed by sewing sewing thread. It can also be constituted by sewing marking or printing marking formed by printing a part number by a printer.

In each of the above embodiments, FIG.
As shown in FIG. 5 and FIG. 5, when the deployment portion 67 of the airbag 16 is
Fold both the left and right sides of 67 inward, and then
The unfolded portion 67 folded into a plate shape is folded in a wave shape leaving the vicinity of the marking 75 as a folded portion 74, and the folded portion 74 is wound so that the marking 75 passes from the front side to the back side through the upper side. The airbag 16 was folded and stored by pushing it into the inside of the upper frame 12,
The deploying portion 67 of the upper frame 12 is folded so that the airbag 16 projects in the plane direction while leaving the vicinity of the marking 75, and then the marking 75 is wound from the front side to the rear side through the upper side while the upper frame 12 It can also be pushed inside and stored. As described above, by folding the airbag 16 with the protruding direction of the airbag 16 as a plane direction, the gas injected from the gas generator 15 is blown into the airbag 16 more quickly, and the airbag 16 can be deployed more smoothly. it can.

[0043]

According to the airbag device for a passenger in the passenger seat of the present invention, the airbag can be first deployed upward along the windshield, then deployed rearward and downward of the vehicle, and deployed toward the passenger. Therefore, even when a large-capacity airbag is used, the airbag does not protrude to the occupant side before the folded portion of the airbag is deployed. This can reduce the impact on the occupant when the airbag is deployed. In addition, since the identification portion is formed at a predetermined position of the airbag, by confirming the position of the identification portion at the time of winding or after the winding, whether or not the airbag is accurately wound into the frame body and stored. Can be easily confirmed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a rear view of an airbag module showing an embodiment of an airbag device for a passenger in a passenger seat of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a right side view of the airbag module.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the airbag module.

FIG. 4 is a process diagram showing a folding process of the airbag as viewed from the front side.

FIG. 5 is a process diagram viewed from the right side showing a folding process of the airbag.

FIG. 6 is an operation view showing the deployment operation of the airbag as viewed from the right side.

FIG. 7 is an end view of a cross section viewed from the right side of an airbag module showing another embodiment of the airbag device for a passenger in the passenger seat of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 12 Upper frame as a frame 16 Airbag 52 Instrument panel 58 Windshield 67 Deployment part 68 Opening 73 Wrapping part 74 Folding part 75 Marking as identification part 77 Projection

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A projection provided on an upper surface of an instrument panel located in front of a passenger seat near a windshield; a frame provided below the projection; and a frame attached to the frame. And an airbag having a bag-shaped deploying portion that projects and deploys through the projecting port when gas flows in. The deploying portion of the airbag is continuous with the opening and has a predetermined position. And a folding portion which is continuous with the winding portion and is always folded in a predetermined shape, and which is provided in a counterclockwise direction as viewed from the right side of the vehicle. An airbag device for an occupant in a passenger seat, wherein the airbag device is housed in the frame body in a state of being wound around and wound around the winding portion.