JP2756823B2 - Automotive airbag equipment - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to an airbag device for an automobile.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an airbag device has been known as a safety device against a collision of an automobile, and for example, a device disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 62-198547 is known. The airbag device disclosed in this patent publication has an airbag unit including an airbag, a gas generator, and the like, which is disposed above a glove box in an instrument panel.
During a vehicle collision, a gas generator is activated to inflate and deploy the airbag, thereby protecting the head and chest of an occupant who is moving forward during a collision. Further, the conventional airbag device is generally designed for an adult sitting on a seat.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) However, there is a case where a child stands in front of a passenger seat next to a driver's seat (hereinafter, referred to as a standing child). When the generator is activated to deploy the airbag, the airbag can cause a significant impact to the child.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide an airbag device that can reduce a shock to a child due to a back deployment during a standing child.

(Means for Solving the Problems) The present invention relates to an airbag which is normally folded and stored in a seat front member provided in front of a seat of an automobile, and which is inflated and deployed to the seat side in the event of a collision, and a collision. An airbag device for an automobile, which is provided with a gas generating means for generating gas for inflating and deploying the airbag when the occupant is away from the seat and close to the seat front member. Means, and gas flow deflecting means for directing the flow direction of the gas generated from the gas generating means toward the upper and lower ends or the left and right ends of the airbag when the detecting means detects the occupant in the above state. It is characterized by having.

(Operation and Effect of the Invention) As described above, in the airbag device of the present invention, when the occupant is standing upright in the state close to the seat front member, that is, when the standing child state is detected, the gas generation means Since the flow direction of the generated gas is directed to the upper and lower ends or the left and right ends of the airbag, the airbag is deployed first from the upper and lower ends or the left and right ends, and the center follows the airbag. To expand. Accordingly, in the standing child state, the restraint of the child by the deployment of the airbag is gradually performed, so that the impact force on the child can be reduced and the occupant protection performance is improved.

Hereinafter, an airbag device for a vehicle according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a view showing an instrument panel of an automobile in which an airbag device according to a first embodiment of the present invention is incorporated, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. is there.

In the drawings, reference numeral 1 denotes an instrument panel as a front seat member of a front seat of an automobile, and an airbag device 2 according to an embodiment of the present invention is incorporated in a predetermined portion of the instrument panel on a passenger seat side. I have.

The body structure of the part in which the airbag device 2 is incorporated is substantially as follows.

That is, as shown in FIG. 2, at the upper end of the dash lower panel 3 located at the rear end of the engine room,
A dash upper panel 4 is joined, and a cowl upper panel 5 is joined to an upper end of the dash upper panel 4 at a rear end thereof. Further, although not shown, the cowl front panel is joined between the front end of the cowl upper panel 5 and the front end of the dash upper panel 4 to provide a cowl box 6 having a cowl closed cross section extending in the vehicle width direction. Has formed.

A front window glass 7 is fixed to a predetermined portion of the cowl upper panel 5 with an adhesive 8.

Further, a cooling unit 9 as an air conditioner is disposed in the interior space of the instrument panel 1 at a position behind the dash lower panel 3 and below the dash upper panel 4. On the lower surface of the top deck of the instrument panel 1, a defroster nozzle 10 for blowing hot air from the cooling unit 9 to the front window glass 7 through a differential door to prevent the front window glass 7 from fogging is provided. ing. A glove box 14 having a glove tray 11, a glove lid 12, and a glove pocket 13 is provided at a position behind the cooling unit 9.

Immediately above the glove box 14, a steering support member 15 is disposed. The steering support member 15 extends in the vehicle width direction, and both ends of the steering support member 15 are connected to hinge pillars (not shown) on both sides via brackets (not shown). (Not shown). Although not shown, a vertically extending reinforcing member is stretched between the central portion of the steering support member 15 and the floor tunnel portion to form a substantially T-shaped steering support structure. I have.

A bracket 16 is fixed to the steering support member 15, and an airbag unit 20 of the airbag device 2 is attached to the bracket 16 by a front mount method.

The above airbag unit 20 is used when a vehicle crashes.
This collision is detected by a collision sensor, ignited by an igniter, ignited by a chemical substance incorporated in a gas generator, and gas generated from the chemical substance is introduced into an airbag to inflate and deploy the airbag. This protects the occupant's head and chest from moving forward in the event of a collision. The front of the airbag unit 20 is provided with a lid 17 which is an extension of the instrument panel 1.
The lid 17 has a weak line 18 extending in the vehicle width direction. When the airbag is deployed, the lid 17 breaks at the line of weakness 18 and opens like a double door to help deploy the airbag.

However, if the airbag unit 20 has such a structure, as shown in FIG. 2, the child C is separated from the seat S and stands up, that is, in the standing child state in the passenger seat as described above. Failure occurs.

Therefore, in the first embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 3, at the time of a standing child, the airbag 21 is first inflated and deployed from the upper and lower ends 21a and 21b, and then as shown by a dashed line. The central portion 21c is inflated and deployed, so that the child is first protected at the upper and lower ends of the airbag, so that a sudden force when the airbag is deployed is not applied to the child from the front.

For this reason, the airbag unit 20 in this embodiment is
Is configured as follows.

As shown in FIG. 4 and subsequent figures, the airbag unit 20 includes a rectangular parallelepiped casing 22 that is long in the vehicle width direction, and the casing 22 has an opening 23 that faces the direction of the seat S. A cover 22a made of synthetic resin, which always closes the opening, is attached to the opening by an attachment member 22b. The cover 22a has a fragile portion that has the same function as the fragile portion 18 formed on the lid 17.
22c is formed.

At the portion of the opening 23 of the casing 22, that is, at the tip,
An end of the airbag 21 is attached by an attachment member 24. The main body of the airbag 21 is folded up and down inside the casing 22 with a space 25 opened in the center for the purpose to be described later. A gas generator 26 that is activated at the time of a collision of the vehicle and generates gas for inflating and deploying the airbag 21 is provided at a portion of the casing 22 far from the opening 23, that is, at a rear end portion.

In the space 25, the gas flow generated from the gas generator 26 is directed toward the upper and lower ends of the airbag 21 at the time of standing child, as described with reference to FIG. A gas flow deflector 27 for deploying the airbag 21 from upper and lower ends 21a and 21b is provided. The gas flow deflector 27 includes a pair of deflection blades 28 and 29 for deflecting the gas flow. The pair of deflecting blades 28 and 29 extend substantially along the entire length of the casing 22 and are pivotally connected at an edge on the gas generator 26 side by a pivot 30. And can be opened and closed. The gas flow deflector 27 directs the gas from the gas generator 26 to the upper and lower ends of the airbag 21 with the pair of deflection blades 28 and 29 open.

The gas flow deflector 27 has an actuator 31 for opening and closing the deflection blades 28, 29. This actuator 31 is the fifth
As shown in the figure, it has a casing-shaped base 32, and an opening 34 is formed in a predetermined portion of an upper wall 33 of the base 32. A telescopic telescopic operating rod 35 is fixed at the lower end of the upper wall 33 of the upper wall 33 of the base 32 where the opening 34 is formed, and extends upward. This operating rod
The inside of 35 is a space. The actuator 31 includes a base 32
Is fixed to the lower deflection blade 29, and the upper end of the operating rod 35 is rotatably attached to the upper deflection blade 28 by a ball bearing 35a.

A motor 36 is provided in the base 32, and a pinion 38 is fixed to a rotating shaft 37 of the motor 36. As shown, a flexible tape-like rack 39 formed of, for example, a synthetic resin meshes with the pinion 38 at a lower portion thereof. The rack 39 penetrates through the opening 34, extends upward inside the operation rod 35, and is fixed to an upper end of the operation rod 35 at an upper end thereof.

The gas flow deflector 27 has the above-described structure, and when the motor 36 rotates clockwise in the drawing, the tape-shaped rack 39 is projected upward to extend the operation rod 35,
Thus, the deflecting blades 28 and 29 are opened. When closing the deflection blades 28 and 29, the reverse operation is performed.

The motor 36 is connected to a control circuit 40 for controlling the operation and rotation direction of the motor 36.The control circuit 40 includes a proximity sensor 41 and a seat for detecting the standing child state. Switch 42 is connected. As the proximity sensor 41, a signal wave sensor or an infrared sensor can be used. The signal wave sensor uses a radar (microwave), an ultrasonic wave, or a laser as a signal wave. For example, a laser antenna as a transceiver installed at a predetermined portion on the front surface of the instrument panel 1, and the laser antenna Is equipped with a connected signal processor,
The presence of an occupant near the front of the instrument panel 1 is detected based on the time difference between the transmitted signal and the received signal. On the other hand, the infrared sensor is the instrument panel 1
It is determined whether or not a heating element equivalent to a human body is present in the vicinity of the front surface of the camera.

The seat switch 42 uses a sensor for determining whether or not a predetermined load or more is applied downward on the cushion of the seat S. Specifically, detection by a contact by a spring member having a predetermined spring constant,
Alternatively, detection is performed by performing load measurement using a signal from a strain gauge type pressure-electric signal converter.

The control circuit 40 receives signals from the proximity sensor 41 and the sheet switch 42, and turns on the proximity sensor 41.
When the seat switch 42 is off, a standing child state is determined, and in this standing child state, the motor 36 is rotated clockwise to open the deflecting blades 28 and 29 of the gas flow deflector 27. Thereby, the gas flow from the gas generator 29 is directed toward the upper and lower ends of the airbag 21, and the airbag 21 is inflated and deployed from the upper and lower ends as described with reference to FIG. ing.

The control circuit 40 closes the gas flow deflector 27 and deploys the airbag 21 in a normal state when the proximity sensor 41 and the seat switch 42 are in states other than the above.

In the embodiment described above, the airbag 21 has been described as the embodiment in which the airbag 21 is deployed from the upper and lower ends.
As in the second embodiment shown in FIG.
The left and right ends 51 and 52 may be inflated and deployed, and then the central portion 53 may be deployed as shown by a dashed line. The airbag unit of this embodiment may be configured so that the airbag unit 20 of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 4 is rotated by 90 degrees. That is, the airbag 50 may be folded in a bellows shape in the left-right direction, and the deflection blades 28, 29 of the gas flow deflector may be opened in the left-right direction.

As described above, in the standing child state, the airbag is first deployed from the upper and lower or left and right ends, whereby a standing child is first protected by the upper and lower or left and right ends of the airbag. Since a sudden force during deployment of the airbag is prevented from being applied from the front, occupant protection can be sufficiently achieved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an instrument panel of an automobile in which an airbag device according to a first embodiment of the present invention is incorporated, FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 1, FIG. FIG. 4 is a view for explaining a deployed state of the airbag of the airbag apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention in a standing child state. FIG. 4 is a horizontal sectional view of an airbag unit of the airbag apparatus. FIG. 5 is a vertical sectional view of an actuator used in the airbag unit of the airbag device, and FIG. 6 is a view showing a deployed state of the airbag of the airbag device according to the second embodiment of the present invention in a standing child state. It is a figure for explaining. 20 Airbag unit 21 Airbag 27 Gas deflector 40 Control circuit 41 Proximity sensor 42 Seat switch

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. An airbag which is normally folded and stored inside a seat front member provided in front of a seat of an automobile, and which is inflated and deployed to the seat side in the event of a collision, and which is activated in the event of a collision to operate the airbag. In an airbag device for a vehicle having gas generating means for generating gas to be inflated and deployed, a detecting means for detecting that an occupant is away from a seat and in a state close to the seat front member, An airbag device for an automobile, comprising: gas flow deflecting means for directing the flow direction of the gas generated from the gas generating means toward the upper and lower ends of the airbag when detecting the occupant in the state of (1). 2. An airbag which is normally folded and stored inside a seat front member provided in front of a seat of an automobile, and which is inflated and deployed to the seat side in the event of a collision, and which is activated in the event of a collision. In an airbag device for a vehicle having gas generating means for generating gas to be inflated and deployed, a detecting means for detecting that an occupant is away from a seat and in a state close to the seat front member, An airbag device for an automobile, comprising: gas flow deflecting means for turning the flow direction of the gas generated from the gas generating means toward the left and right end portions of the airbag when detecting the occupant in the state of (1).