JP2806073B2 - Air bag grid mounting structure - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a mounting structure of an airbag grid for covering a cabin side of an airbag device arranged inside an instrument panel of an automobile.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, when a deceleration at the time of a collision of a vehicle is equal to or more than a predetermined value, the detonator is ignited to activate an inflator and stored in an instrument panel in a folded state. 2. Description of the Related Art There has been known an airbag device in which an airbag body is inflated and deployed to reduce an impact of an occupant on an instrument panel or a front window panel. The inflator is activated when an input signal from a collision detection sensor mounted on the vehicle is equal to or greater than a set value.

Usually, an airbag unit in which the above-described airbag body and the inflator are integrated using a cover member is manufactured in advance, and this airbag unit is separately provided at a front portion of a driver's seat and a front portion of a passenger seat. For example, on the driver's seat side, the airbag unit is housed in a center pad at the center of the steering wheel.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Sho 62-198547 discloses an example of an arrangement on the passenger seat side, in which an opening is provided on a vehicle compartment side of an instrument panel located above a glove box. The airbag unit is arranged and fixed together with the storage frame, and the airbag unit has a locking structure in which the opening is normally closed and the connection is released by the inflation of the airbag body when the airbag body is inflated. A structure closed by a grid is disclosed.

The airbag lid has an upper end portion fixed to an upper opening edge of the opening, and a substantially middle portion of the airbag lid is temporarily fixed to a vehicle body side member using a clip or the like. When the main body is inflated, the clip is disengaged and the air bag lid is turned around the upper end portion as a center of rotation.

According to such an airbag device, at the time of a vehicle collision, an explosion device incorporated in an inflator in the airbag unit is operated by an input signal from a collision detection sensor to send high-pressure gas into the airbag body. The airbag body breaks the cover member and rapidly expands and deploys, and the inflating force releases the airbag lid in a swiveling state, so that the inflated airbag body is mainly used for the occupant sitting on the passenger seat. The effect of reducing the impact exerted on the upper body can be obtained.

[0007]

However, in such a conventional airbag apparatus, an occupant seated in a passenger seat forcibly releases an airbag grid and an airbag disposed inside an instrument panel. There are many cases in which the storage state of the bag unit is to be checked, and there has been a problem that the air bag grid may be damaged due to the forcible release by the occupant's manual operation. In order to cope with this, it is conceivable to strengthen the closed state of the airbag grid so that the airbag grid is not easily released. However, the releasability of the airbag grid when the airbag body is inflated and deployed is reduced. Therefore, there is a problem that the original function of the airbag device may be affected.

Accordingly, the present invention solves such a problem of the conventional air bag grid, and the air bag grid is not easily released by an external force applied from the passenger compartment side. An object of the present invention is to provide a mounting structure of an air bag grid that can maintain a good releasability of the air bag grid when inflated.

[0009]

The present invention SUMMARY OF] In order to achieve the above object, and an opening is provided at a position facing the occupant of the instrument panel, and the Lee Nfureta and airbags body in the opening portion housing The airbag unit is disposed, and the opening is disconnected by the inflation of the airbag body, and the occupant lowers the lower end from below.
Fold forward with space to easily apply force
Bending closed by the airbag lid having bent pieces, the mounting structure of the air bag lid which is adapted to inflate developing the air bag body passenger compartment direction upon collision of the vehicle, before
The upper end portion of the serial airbag lid is fixed to the upper opening edge of the opening, a lower opening edge of the opening
In, of forming the substantially along the plane tangent of the rotation locus of the upper terminal portion and the bent piece to pivot fulcrum, in succession below the said surface
And located above the bent piece, and from the surface
Also, the direction along the surface is oriented toward the passenger compartment.
A projection having an engagement surface spaced apart from the
An external force acts on the piece from directly below and the bent piece is raised.
The engaging surface and the bent piece engage when deformed toward
The mounting structure of the air bag grid is as described above .

[0010]

According to this structure, when the seated occupant applies an external force that pushes the bent piece upward from below to forcefully release the airbag lid, the bent piece is lifted upward.
When it is deformed, it engages with the engagement surface of the projection,
The release of the airbag lid in the vehicle compartment direction is prevented by the stopper action of the engagement surface with respect to the piece .

Next, a signal detected by the collision detection sensor is transmitted to an inflator in the airbag unit due to a vehicle collision or sudden stop, etc., and an initiating device incorporated in the inflator operates to activate the inflator inside the airbag body. When high-pressure gas is supplied to the airbag body, the airbag body is rapidly inflated and deployed in the vehicle compartment direction. At this time, when the airbag lid is rotated around the upper opening edge of the opening, the airbag is bent. Piece
Is the direction of the cabin along the surface substantially along the tangent to the rotation locus of the projection
, And the release of the airbag lid is achieved without any trouble without the bent piece interfering with the projection.

[0012]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an airbag lid mounting structure according to the present invention;

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a main part of a passenger seat side in a vehicle cabin to which the present embodiment is applied, FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a main part with an airbag lid removed, and FIG. 3 is a plan view of the same. In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes an instrument panel, and an opening 3 shown in FIG.
The airbag unit 7 is stored and fixed in the opening 3. Upper opening edge 3 of this opening 3
a is a mounting base 1 for supporting the airbag unit.
a are provided integrally, and lid mounting holes 5, 5,... are opened at a predetermined pitch in the mounting base 1a.

The airbag unit 7 includes a storage frame 9 made of a hard material, and a soft skin member 11 that covers the entire surface of the storage frame 9 on the vehicle interior N side. The airbag body housed in a folded state between the airbag body and an inflator disposed inside the airbag body are previously integrally formed as a non-disassembled module having main components. . And, in the mounting base 9a of the storage frame 9,
The lid mounting holes 13, 13,... Having the same pitch as the lid mounting holes 5, 5,. On the surface of the skin member 11 on the vehicle cabin N side, a thin-walled easily breakable portion 11a extends in the left-right direction.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 15 denotes an air bag grid which covers the opening 3;
5 is configured by interposing a cushioning material 21 between the outer panel 17 and the inner panel 19. The outer panel 17 and the inner panel 19 are provided with the airbag lid 15.
Easy bending portions 17a, 19a for enhancing the operation when releasing
Are formed.

The outer panel 17 and the inner panel 19
At the lower end of the vehicle , the occupants attach the lower terminals of both panels 17, 19
Front F with space to easily apply force from below
Folded pieces 17b and 19b bent in the R direction are formed. Further, the tip of the bent piece 17b of the outer panel 17 is bent downward to form a flange portion 17c, and the flange portion 17c is attached to the instrument panel 1. Cabin side end 1
b. The upper end surface of the air bag grid 15 is provided at the upper opening edge 3a of the instrument panel 1 together with the lid mounting holes 13, 13 opened in the storage frame 9 of the air bag unit 7 shown in FIG. Are bolted to the lid mounting holes 5, 5.

On the other hand, the instrument panel 1 is located near the opening 3 and closer to the side in the vehicle width direction from the lower opening edge 3b.
A plurality of ribs 23 protruding in the direction are provided. The ribs 23, 23 extend from the instrument panel 1 in the direction of the vehicle compartment N,
and a locking piece 23b extending obliquely downward in the front FR direction from the front end of the locking piece 23a. Further, a projection 25 is integrally provided on a slope 23c of the locking piece 23b on the vehicle cabin N side.

The line C in FIG. 1 is a tangent to the turning locus of the bent piece 19b, and the line D is the tangent of the bent piece 19b and the projection 25.
Is the contact line with The direction of the contact line D is set so as to be more toward the passenger compartment N than the tangent line B of the turning trajectory of the bent piece 19b having the upper end portion of the air bag grid 15 as a turning fulcrum. The projection 25 has a bent piece 19b.
A surface E substantially along the tangent C of the rotation locus and a continuous line below the surface E
And located above the bent piece 19b.
And the direction along the plane than the plane E is toward the cabin , that is,
In the direction of the contact line D, and normally separated from the bent piece 19b.
An interposed engaging surface F is formed. Therefore, the bent piece 17
When an external force is applied to the upper part b from the lower side, the bent piece 19b comes into contact with the engagement surface F and
When the airbag body is inflated, the bent piece 19b moves smoothly along the surface E ,
The rotation of the air bag grid 15 about the upper terminal portion as a rotation fulcrum is allowed.

In the illustrated example, a total of four ribs 23 protrude from the lower opening edge 3b of the instrument panel 1 on both sides located closer to the side in the vehicle width direction.

As shown in FIG.
A support bracket 27 is fixed to the inner side of the inner panel 19 which constitutes the support bracket 29, and an engagement piece 31 of the clip 31 is attached to a support 29 bolted to the support bracket 27.
a, 31a are engaged, and the base 31b of the clip 31 is fixed to a vehicle body side member 33 such as a steering member. The engagement pieces 31a, 31a of the clip 31 are easily detached from the support 29 when the airbag lid 15 is released. In other words, the airbag lid 15 is temporarily fixed to the vehicle body side member 33 by the clip 31. I have.

According to the mounting structure of the airbag lid 15, the airbag unit 7 shown in FIG. 2 is housed in the opening 3 of the instrument panel 1 at the time of assembly.
The lid mounting holes 5, 5,... Provided on the opening edge of the instrument panel 1 and the lid mounting holes 13, 13,.・
The opening 3 is closed by the airbag grid 15 by bolting the upper end of the airbag grid 15 to the mounting holes 13, 13. In this closed state, the bent piece 19b of the inner panel 19 of the air bag grid 15
And the bent piece 17b of the outer panel 17 are both rib 2
It is located at a position facing the lower side of the projections 25 of the reference numerals 23.

As shown by an arrow A in FIG. 1, an occupant seated in the passenger seat is manually operated by the air bag grid 1.
5 is forcibly released from below, and therefore, when such an external force is applied to the air bag grid 15, the external force is applied to the inner panel 19 from the bent piece 17b of the outer panel 17. It is added to the projection 25 provided on the slope 23c of the locking piece 23b of the rib 23 via the bent piece 19b, and the bent piece 19b is engaged with the projection 25 .
Contact the surface F. The bent piece 19 formed by the engagement surface F
The stopper action of b and the locking action of the clip 31 prevent the airbag lid 15 from being released in the vehicle compartment N direction.

Next, when the deceleration of the vehicle exceeds a predetermined value due to a vehicle collision or sudden stop, etc., a signal detected by a collision detection sensor (not shown) outputs an airbag unit 7.
Is transmitted to the inflator inside the inflator, and the initiating device incorporated in the inflator operates to send high-pressure gas into the airbag body, which breaks the skin member 11 and rapidly expands in the direction of the vehicle compartment N. Be expanded. At this time, at the same time when the engagement pieces 31a of the clip 31 are disengaged from the support 29, the airbag lid 15 is released while rotating so as to jump up about the lid mounting holes 5, 5,. The impact that is mainly exerted on the upper body of the occupant sitting in the seat is reduced.

At this time, the rotation direction of the air bag grid 15 is in the direction of arrow B in FIG. 1, that is, obliquely above the cabin N side.
The bent piece 19b and the projection 25 are separated from each other by a certain length .
And the bent piece 19b moves smoothly along the surface E
By doing so, the rotation of the air bag grid 15 in the direction of the vehicle compartment N is allowed, and the protrusion 25 does not hinder the release.

Therefore , according to the present embodiment , the projection 25 formed on the rib 23 has a tangent to the rotation locus of the bent piece 19b.
The surface E substantially along the line C and the position above the bent piece 19b
Engagement surface F is formed so that the direction along the surface is more toward the vehicle compartment than the surface E
Because it is, the protrusion 25, the airbag lid 15
Has a function of restraining the airbag grid 15 against external force applied from just below from below, while allowing the airbag grid 15 to be released when the airbag body is inflated.

[0026]

As described above in detail, according to the air bag grid mounting structure of the present invention, the following functions and effects can be obtained. That is, when the occupant sitting on the seat forcibly releases the airbag lid, a bent piece formed on the lower terminal portion of the airbag lid is provided on the instrument panel by an external force directly above from below. Contacting the engaging surface F of the projection
The rotation of the air bag grid in the vehicle compartment direction can be prevented by the stopper action of the engagement surface F. Therefore, there is no fear that the air bag grid will be damaged by the forcible release operation.

When the initiating device incorporated in the inflator is activated based on the signal detected by the collision detection sensor, high-pressure gas is sent into the airbag body, and the airbag body is inflated and deployed in the vehicle compartment direction. At this time, the airbag lid is rotated about its upper end portion as a center of rotation, and the bent pieces of the inner panel and the projections of the ribs constituting the airbag lid are separated from each other by a certain length , and
The bent piece moves smoothly along the surface E of the protrusion
The bent pieces are able to rotate without interfering with the projections, the release of the airbag lid is achieved without any problem by.

Therefore, according to the present invention, the effect that the airbag lid is not released by the external force applied from the passenger compartment side and that the releasability of the airbag lid is favorably maintained when the airbag body is inflated is exhibited. Is done.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a main part showing an embodiment of an air bag grid mounting structure according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a main part showing a state before assembly in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of a main part of FIG. 2;

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Instrument panel, 1a ... Mounting base, 3 ... Opening, 3a ... Upper opening edge, 3b ... Lower opening edge, 5,
13: lid mounting hole, 7: air bag unit, 9: storage frame, 15: air bag grid, 17: outer panel, 19: inner panel, 17b, 19b: bent piece,
23 ... rib, 23a ... extension piece, 23b ... locking piece, 25 ...
Protrusion, 31: clip, 33: body side member.

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁶ , DB name) B60R 21/16-21/32 B60K 37/00

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] We claim: 1. an opening at a position facing the occupant of the instrument panel, together with the Lee Nfureta and airbags body to place an air bag unit which is accommodated in the opening portion, the air bag the opening The connection is released by the expansion of the main body, and the occupant from the lower end
Fold forward with space to easily apply force
Closed by the airbag lid having a bent bent piece, in the mounting structure of the air bag lid which is adapted to inflate developing the air bag body passenger compartment direction upon collision of the vehicle, the opening of the upper end portion of the airbag lid Fixed to the upper opening edge of the opening, and the lower opening edge of the opening.
In part, forms the upper end portion substantially along the plane tangent of the rotation trajectory of the bent piece to the pivot point, in succession below the said surface
And is located above the bent piece, and
The direction along the plane faces the cabin direction.
A projection having an engagement surface separated from the
An external force acts on the bent piece from directly below from below to cause the bent piece to be bent.
The engagement surface and the bent piece are engaged when deformed upward.
Mounting structure of the air bag lid, characterized in that that.