JP2669230B2 - Airbag assembly - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an airbag apparatus for protecting an occupant in the event of a vehicle collision, and more particularly to an airbag assembly having an airbag assembled in a case.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a conventional air bag device, for example, FIG. 4 shows a side air bag device described in the specification of US Pat. No. 4,966,388. It is housed in a folded state inside a door or the like, and the inflator 2 is ignited when a side collision of the vehicle occurs, and the generated gas inflates the airbag 1 so that the occupant D and the inner surfaces of the side door 3 are separated from each other. It is designed to be deployed in the space between.

This conventional airbag 1 is fixed to a metal backup plate 4 together with an inflator 2. The backup plate 4 is attached to, for example, an inner panel of a side door 3 and the like, and the inside of the passenger compartment is located inside. The cover is openably and closably covered by a trim cover 5 in which a fabric skin or the like lined with a cushion material is stuck on the surface of a hard resin plate. Therefore, this airbag 1 is
When the sensor 6 provided in the side door 3 detects a side collision and ignites the inflator 2, when the gas is expanded by the generated gas, the trim cover 5 is pushed to the inside of the vehicle interior and deployed to a predetermined position. However, it is designed to protect passengers from a secondary collision.

[0004]

As described above, in the above-mentioned conventional side airbag device, the side door 3 is used.
The interior side of the airbag 1 housed inside is covered with the trim cover 5, so that the airbag 1 that expands at the time of a side collision pushes the trim cover 5 toward the interior of the vehicle with the hinge at the lower end serving as a fulcrum. In order to prevent the trim cover 5 from coming into contact with the occupant when it bulges out, the trim cover 5 cannot be opened too large, and as a result, there is a problem that the opening becomes narrow.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances and is required for a cover member that shields the opening of a case.
Maintains harmony with the interior and passenger protection, and also
Make the opening area of the airbag inflation bag as large as possible
Air bag inflation smoothly and quickly.
It relates to possible picture A bag assembly of the things to I.

[0006]

As a means for solving the above problems, the present invention provides an airbag assembly in which an airbag is mounted in a case having an opening for inflating the airbag. Cloth that shields the opening
Made of a cover member made of metal and movable relative to the case
The cover member is arranged and cooperates with the case.
The cover member is tightened by holding the peripheral edge of the
Cover locking mechanism for making the case and the cover locking machine
And a cover removing mechanism for releasing the holding of the cover member by moving the structure relative to each other.

[0007]

According to the present invention, the airbag is in the non-inflated state.
In some cases, a cloth cover member blocks the opening.
You. The rigidity of the cloth cover member itself is sufficient
It does not have enough holding power, but due to the case and cover locking mechanism
The peripheral edge of the cover member is clamped and the cover member is in a tensioned state
Since it is maintained at
The shape retention force is secured, and it is flat without wrinkling.
Will be improved as much as possible. Therefore, with a cloth cover member
Despite its presence, it has almost the same feel and appearance as the surrounding interior materials.
Therefore, the function of harmony with the interior is maintained. Also, vehicle collision
If the airbag inflates and deploys due to a collision, remove the cover
The case and cover locking mechanism move relative to each other by the operation of the mechanism
Release of the cover member, the tension of the cover member
Is almost gone. Therefore, inflating and expanding the airbag
More easily the cover member will come off the opening,
The airbag is inflated and deployed smoothly. In addition, the hippo
-The member is made of cloth and flexible, and the cover member is opened
Even if it comes off and contacts the occupant, there is no problem. But
The opening area of the opening that is covered by the cover member
The airbag can be set as wide as possible.
When it expands and expands, it is difficult to contact a part of the case
As a result, the inflation and deployment of the airbag is performed more smoothly.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment in which the airbag assembly of the present invention is applied to an airbag assembly of a side airbag apparatus will be described below with reference to FIGS.

The airbag assembly 11 includes a case 12 made of a rigid metal plate such as aluminum and an inflator 1 attached to a bottom 12 a of the case 12.
3 and a side airbag 14 accommodated in the case 12 in a folded state. Further, the side airbag 14 in the case 12 is connected such that the base end side (right side in FIG. 1) of the side airbag 14 is introduced into the inflator 13 and nitrogen gas generated when the inflator 13 is ignited is introduced into the bag. Has been done. Also, the case 12 has a bottom 12
An opening 12b for inflating the side airbag 14 is provided on the side facing a, and a metal plate of the case 12 is bent to form a groove 12c at the rim of the opening 12b. It is formed over the entire circumference.

A locking mechanism is provided outside the case 12.
Clamp 15 as is, covers the side surface of the case 12, slidably provided along the sides, at one end which is bent on the inner side, further bent to the bottom 12a direction of the case 12 engages The stop claw portion 15a is formed, and the other end side is formed with a stopper portion 15b which is bent inward and engages with a step portion 12d formed on the bottom portion 12a side of the case 12. Then, the side air bag 14 which is accommodated in the case 12 is not folded properly folded so as to properly inflated and deployed
On the other hand, the opening 12b of the case 12 has a cloth cover 16
Is shielded by. The peripheral edge portion 16a of this cover 16
Is inserted into the concave groove 12c of the case 12, and the clamp 15 is retracted so that the end of the locking claw portion 15a is fitted into the concave groove 12c to lock with the bottom of the concave groove 12c. The peripheral edge portion 16a of the cover 16 together with the tip of the claw portion 15a
To prevent the peripheral portion 16a from being pulled out of the groove 12c . In this way, a flexible cloth cover
The peripheral portion of the bar 16 is fixed by the case 12 and the clamp 15.
Is clamped to provide even tension and tension without wrinkles
In this state, the opening 12b is closed.

The clamp 15 is driven forward by an electromagnetic mechanism or mechanically by a signal transmitted together with an ignition signal to the inflator 13 when a collision sensor (not shown) detects a side collision. When the clamp 15 is driven forward,
The locking claw portion 15a goes out from the groove 12c, and the cover 16
The holding state of the is released . Above electromagnetic machine
The structure or mechanical mechanism is compatible with the cover release mechanism of the present invention.
Hit.

The side airbag assembly 11 thus constructed has the door trim 21 of the side door with the cover 16 attached to the opening 12b of the case 12 in which the inflator 13 and the side airbag 14 are housed. At a predetermined position, that is, in the opening 21a formed in the upper portion of the armrest 22 of the door bird 21 so as to cover the opening 12b of the case 12 so that the cover 16 closes the opening 21a. The bottom side of the case 12 is bolted to a door inner panel or the like (see FIG. 3A). As the material of the cover 16, it is preferable to use, for example, a material that has almost the same feel as the surface of the interior material such as the ornamental skin of the door trim 21 and can be a decorative material.

Next, the operation of this embodiment constructed as described above will be described with reference to FIG. 3. When a side collision is made by another vehicle while traveling, this side collision is treated as a side air collision. The collision sensor of the bag device detects the collision, and a side collision detection signal is transmitted. In response to the side collision detection signal, the inflator 13 is ignited, and at the same time, the clamp 15 advances and the cover 16 is released. Next, a large amount of nitrogen gas is generated in the inflator 13, the side airbag 14 is inflated by the nitrogen gas, and the cover 16 that closes the opening 12b of the case 12 is pressed toward the vehicle interior. At this time, since the holding by the clamp 15 is released, the peripheral edge portion 16a of the cover 16 is pulled out from the concave groove 12c without resistance, so that the normal inflation of the side airbag 14 is not hindered (see FIG. See B)).

Then, the airbag 14 is further inflated and inflated from the opening 12b toward the inside of the vehicle compartment, and is inflated upward along the inside of the side door (see (C) in FIG. 3), so that the occupant and the side Deployed between the door inner surface to protect occupants from secondary collisions in side collisions. Further, as described above, when the side airbag 14 bulges toward the inside of the vehicle, the cover 16 that shields the opening 12b of the case 12 of the side airbag assembly 11 separates from the opening 12b, so that the opening 12b is opened. The entire portion is opened and the side airbag 14 is inflated smoothly and widely opened for deployment. Further, fabric cover 16 which is separated from the opening 12b is, even if the child contact with the occupant protrudes into the vehicle interior side, the cover 16 is provided with the same flexibility and ornament epidermis such interior materials
Since the occupant is made of such a material, the influence of the contact on the occupant can be reduced. Further, the cover 16 locked by the clamp 15 can inflate the airbag by releasing the locking of the portion in the deployment direction of the airbag. Therefore, for example, the cover 16 remains locked at the lower end of the opening 12b.
By releasing the locking of the three sides of the left and right sides and the upper side of the cover and separating them from the lower side, the airbag can be inflated and deployed without the cover 16 protruding to the inside of the vehicle compartment.

With this structure, the cover 16 for shielding the opening 12b of the case 12 accommodating the inflator 13 and the side airbag 14 is made of a flexible material in this embodiment. Since the cover 16 is locked to the rim portion of the case 12, the cover 16 can be provided integrally with the side airbag assembly 11, so that the performance obtained in the state of the side airbag assembly 11 is maintained. Since the side airbag assembly 11 can be attached to the door trim 21, it is possible to prevent variations in deployment performance and the like due to variations in attachment work when the vehicle is mounted on an actual vehicle, and to provide the side airbag assembly 11 with stable performance.

The opening 21a formed in the door trim
As the cover 16 exposed from the inside, a material having a feel similar to that of an interior material surface such as an ornament skin and a material that can be a decorative material is used, so that a garnish member such as a trim cover is not required, and when the airbag is inflated, Only the cover 16 needs to be removed, and the same feeling and appearance as those of the interior material around the opening 21a of the door trim 21 can be obtained.

[0017]

Further, in the above embodiment, the case 12
The case where the inflator 13 and the side airbag 14 are integrally assembled into the inside to form an airbag assembly has been described. However, the inflator 13 is separately provided and only the side airbag 14 is housed in the case 12. In this case, the side airbag 14 and the inflator 13 are connected by a duct.

In the above embodiment, the case where the present invention is applied to the side airbag device has been described. However, in addition to this, for example, the airbag assembly is housed in the center of the steering wheel or is housed in the instrument panel portion. It is also suitable for an airbag device of a type such as a front collision airbag of a type that has a front impact or an airbag assembly in which the airbag assembly is stored in the ceiling portion of the vehicle compartment and the airbag is inflated downward in the event of a collision. You can

[0020]

As described above, the airbag assembly according to the present invention is used when the airbag is in a non-inflated state.
The opening is shielded by the cloth cover member. Cloth
Sufficient shape retention is obtained only by the rigidity of the cover member itself.
However, due to the case and cover locking mechanism, the cover part
The periphery of the material is clamped and the cover member is maintained in tension.
Therefore, the uniform tension force maintains the shape of the cover member.
Assured holding power, flatness possible without wrinkles
To improve. Therefore, although it is a cloth cover member,
The same texture and appearance as the surrounding interior materials.
The function of harmony with the clothes is maintained. Also, due to a vehicle collision
When the airbag is inflated and deployed, the cover release mechanism
Operation causes the case and cover locking mechanism to move relative to each other.
The holding of the bar member is released, and there is almost no tension on the cover member.
It becomes. Therefore, due to the inflation and deployment of the airbag,
-The member can easily come off from the opening,
The expansion and deployment of the gu can be performed smoothly. Furthermore, the cover member
Made of cloth and flexible, the cover member will come out of the opening
There is no problem even if you contact the staff. Therefore,
As much as possible the opening area of the opening that is shielded by the bar member
It is possible to set the
When opening, it will be difficult to contact a part of the case and
This has the effect that the expansion and deployment of the bag are performed more smoothly .

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional side view of a side airbag assembly according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a door trim equipped with a side airbag assembly.

3 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view showing a state of a cover member when a side airbag is inflated, which is taken along a chain line L in FIG.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory view showing a conventional side airbag device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 11 Side Airbag Assembly 12 Case 13 Inflator 14 Side Airbag 15 Clamp 16 Cover 21 Door Trim

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A airbag assembly mounted airbag in a case having an opening for airbag inflating, the fabric of the cover member for shielding the opening of the case, before
It is arranged so that it can move relative to the case, and
Hold the peripheral edge of the cover member in cooperation with the case.
And a cover locking mechanism for tensioning the cover member by
And moving the case and the cover locking mechanism relative to each other.
And a cover removing mechanism for releasing the holding of the cover member .