JP2936000B2 - Device for absorbing collision energy to the side of the vehicle body - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a collision energy absorbing device for a vehicle body side portion, and more particularly to an airbag that inflates and deploys from a seat to absorb collision energy in a side collision. About things.

(Prior art)

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as an airbag device for a vehicle, an inertial force applied to an occupant at the time of a frontal collision is buffered through an airbag inflated and deployed from a steering handle or an instrument panel on a passenger seat, and a steering handle and an instrument panel are provided. Various types of devices that prevent a secondary collision of an occupant with the vehicle have been proposed and put into practical use.

The airbag device operates an ignition device (igniter) based on an output signal from a collision detection sensor mounted on a vehicle body, and instantaneously activates the airbag by the pressure of nitrogen gas generated from a gas generator (inflator). 2. Description of the Related Art Solid-type airbag devices that are inflated and deployed in a wide range are widely used.

By the way, at the time of a side collision, a secondary collision may occur with a door that has entered the upper body of the occupant sitting on the collision side seat. In other words, at the time of a side collision, the door moves to the anti-collision side and moves the seat to the anti-collision side via the sand sill and the floor, so the lower body of the occupant sitting on the seat moves to the anti-collision side with the seat, Since the upper body of the occupant is almost free with respect to the seat, the occupant moves to the collision side and makes a secondary collision with the door.

Therefore, recently, in order to protect an occupant in the event of a side collision, for example, as described in JP-A-1-117957, an airbag unit including a firing device, a gas generator, an airbag and the like is provided in an armrest of a door. A collision detection sensor is installed in the door or side sill, and in the case of a side collision, the ignition device is activated at a predetermined timing so that the airbag fully deploys immediately before the occupant touches the door, and the fully deployed airbag An airbag device that receives the upper body of an occupant to prevent a secondary collision with a door or the like has also been proposed.

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

In the airbag device described in the above publication, the upper body of the occupant who has moved considerably toward the collision side can be received and a secondary collision with a door or the like can be prevented, but the occupant's behavior only by deploying the airbag near the door It is conceivable that the relative speed between the door on the collision side and the occupant increases, and an impact force acts on the occupant. Furthermore, since the airbag unit is provided in the armrest of the door, the positions of the two are relatively displaced when the seat is adjusted to slide back and forth, which is not preferable.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a collision energy absorbing device for a vehicle body side portion capable of effectively preventing a secondary collision of an occupant in a side collision.

[Means for solving the problem]

In the collision energy absorbing device for a vehicle body side according to the present invention, a side collision airbag deployed between a vehicle body side wall and a vehicle occupant constituting the vehicle body side includes a seat cushion and a seatback and slides in a front-rear direction. A side collision detection sensor for detecting a side collision with the vehicle body, and a gas generating means for generating gas based on a signal from the side collision detection sensor, ,
An airbag unit, which is attached to the gas generating means and comprises an airbag which is inflated and deployed by the gas generated by the gas generating means, wherein the airbag is installed over the seatback and the seat cushion. , Which are configured to protrude and expand between the vehicle body side wall and the occupant.

[Action]

In the device for absorbing collision energy to the side of the vehicle body according to the present invention, the airbag is provided over the seatback and the seat cushion, and at the time of a side collision, the airbag is based on a signal from the side collision detection sensor. The gas generating means of the unit operates to generate gas to the airbag, and the airbag expands and expands between the vehicle body side and the occupant, so that the airbag lands with the seat to the anti-collision side. , The upper body of the occupant trying to move to the collision side is restrained, the relative speed with the door on the collision side can be reduced, and the occupant with the seat is anti-collision while effectively absorbing the inertial force applied to the occupant Side, it is possible to reliably prevent a secondary collision with a door or the like on the collision side.

Further, since the airbag is provided over the seat cushion and the seatback, the airbag can be reliably deployed even if the door is deformed, and the connection between the airbag and the seat is strong and the airbag is strong. Since the relative positional relationship between the bag and the occupant hardly fluctuates, the occupant can be reliably received.

〔The invention's effect〕

According to the apparatus for absorbing collision energy on the side of the vehicle body of the present invention, as described in detail in the above section, the airbag that can be inflated and deployed between the vehicle body side wall and the occupant in the event of a collision is provided by the seat cushion and the seat back Because it is decorated over
The occupant is restrained to the seat via the inflated and deployed airbag, and the occupant is moved to the anti-collision side while effectively damping the inertia force applied to the occupant, thereby reducing the relative roughness between the collision side door and the occupant. That it can reliably prevent secondary collision with doors, etc., that it can reliably deploy the airbag even if the door is deformed by side collision, and that it can reliably receive the occupant even with a relatively small airbag, And the like.

Moreover, even if the position of the seat fluctuates due to the seat slide, the position of the airbag with respect to the occupant is kept constant, so that the operation reliability for receiving the occupant is excellent. Also,
Since the airbag is deployed with gas generated by the gas generating means based on a signal from the side collision detection sensor at the time of a side collision, the airbag does not deploy during normal running (non-collision), which may be an obstacle. Absent.

〔Example〕

 Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

In the present embodiment, the present invention is applied to an automobile airbag device for further improving the safety for a front passenger in a side collision.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the airbag device comprises two sets of collision airbag units (hereinafter referred to as side collision units) installed in the left and right front seats 1 near the left end and the right end. 2, a pair of left and right seat sensors 3 and 4, respectively, installed substantially in the center of a seat cushion 9 of the left and right front seats 1, and a pair of left and right first impact detection sensors, respectively installed in the left and right doors 10. 5 and 6, and a pair of left and right second impact detection sensors 7 respectively mounted on the left and right side sills 11
・ 8 is provided.

The side collision unit 2 will be described. The side collision unit 2 is provided in the left and right front seats 1 in the vicinity of the left end and in the vicinity of the right end, respectively. The seat 1 installed near the left end will be described.

As shown in FIG. 2 to FIG. 6, a long and narrow receiving portion 12 is formed in the front and rear direction in the rear half of the vicinity of the left end of the seat cushion 9, and a storage portion is formed in the lower half of the vicinity of the left end of the seat back 13. An elongate housing portion 14 is formed in the vertical direction that is continuous with the housing 12, and a casing 15 opening in the front half of the housing portion 12 is provided in the lower portion of the seat cushion 9, and a lower end surface of the casing 15 has a frame-shaped seat cushion frame 16. Is fixed to
Fixing plates 17 and 18 are fixed to the rear end surface of the rear half of the housing portion 12 and the rear end surface of the housing portion 14, and the fixing plate 17 is connected to the seat cushion frame 16 via the connecting rod 19, and the fixing plate 18 is connected. It is connected to a hollow pipe-shaped seat back frame 21 via a rod 20.

The bag-shaped airbag 22 is accommodated in a state of being folded substantially in an L-shape over both the accommodating portions 12 and 14, and the outer peripheral portion at the base end of the airbag 22 extends over the fixing plates 17 and 18 and the casing 15. A gas generator 23 for generating gas instantaneously by the reaction between the gas generating agent and the flame-enhancing agent is accommodated in the casing 15, and the gas generator 23 generates heat by energization. An ignition device 24 for reacting the gas generating agent and the flame enhancer is installed,
A plurality of vent holes (not shown) for discharging the gas in the airbag 22 are formed near the base end of the airbag 22, and when the ignition device 24 is energized, the gas generating agent and the flame enhancer are discharged. The gas generator 23 reacts and instantaneously generates a large amount of gas,
This gas is supplied into the airbag 22. Incidentally, the reaction speed of the gas generating agent and the inflammation agent, the capacity of the airbag 22, and the opening area of the vent hole are, for example, about
Each is set to a predetermined value so that the airbag 22 is fully deployed in 10 msec.

A pair of left and right lids 25a is formed integrally with the pad member 25 of the seat cushion 9 above the housing portion 12 so that the airbag 22 can be deployed from the front seat 1. 9 is closed via the skin 26 of the ninth embodiment, and the skin 26 has a substantially T-shaped perforation as shown in FIG.
27 is formed up to the vicinity of the bent portion of the airbag 22, and the accommodation portion 14
A pair of left and right lids 28a is formed integrally with the pad member 28 of the seat back 13 in front of the seat back 13.
3 is closed via a skin 29, and a substantially T-shaped perforation 30 is formed in the skin 29 up to the vicinity of the bent portion of the airbag 22, and the airbag 22 is perforated by gas generated from the gas generator 23. The skins 26 and 29 are broken along the lines 27 and 30, and inflated and deployed on both left and right sides of the seated occupant, as shown by phantom lines in FIG.

Each of the shock detection sensors 5 to 8 is an existing well-known acceleration-sensitive sensor. As shown in FIG. 1, the first shock detection sensors 5 and 6 have front and rear ends connected to the door outer panel 31. The second impact detection sensors 7 and 8 are secured to the substantially central portion of the vertical wall of the side sill 11 in the front-rear direction, and the first impact detection sensor 5
6 is set to have relatively low sensitivity, and it is turned ON when the impact force at the time of impact exceeds a predetermined value. The second impact detection sensors 7.8 are set to have relatively high sensitivity, and even if the impact force is small,
ON operation. Since the impact force at the time of the side collision is transmitted to the impact detection sensors 5 to 8 via the door outer panel 31 and the like, the impact detection sensors 5 to 8 are turned ON after about 10 msec has elapsed from the side collision.

The seat sensors 3 and 4 are turned ON when the occupant sits on the seat cushion 9. As shown in FIG.
The impact detection sensors 5.6 are connected in series to the second impact detection sensors 7.8, respectively, the left impact detection sensors 5.7 and the right impact detection sensors 6.8 are connected in parallel, and the left and right sheet sensors 3/8 are connected. 4 is connected in series to the impact detection sensors 7 and 8,
The left sheet sensor 3 is connected in series with a heater 24A of a pair of left firing devices 24 connected in parallel, and the right sheet sensor 4 is connected in series with a heater 24B of a pair of right firing devices 24 connected in parallel. Have been.

 Next, the operation of the airbag device will be described.

When the impact detection sensors 5 and 7 or the impact detection sensors 6 and 8 are turned ON due to a side collision, a pair of airbags 22 installed in the front seat 1 on the side where the occupant is seated,
The upper body of the occupant moving toward the collision side is restrained by the front seat 1 moving toward the anti-collision side, and the occupant is moved toward the anti-collision side while relaxing the inertia force applied to the occupant. In addition, the relative speed between the collision side door 10 and the occupant is reduced, and the secondary collision with the collision side door 10 and the collision between the occupants are reliably prevented.

Further, since the airbag 22 is provided over the seat cushion 9 and the seatback 13, the airbag 22 can be reliably deployed even if the door 10 is deformed. Since the relative positional relationship with the vehicle hardly fluctuates, the occupant can be reliably received.

As described above, the occupant is restrained to the front seat 1 by the airbag 22 inflated and deployed from the front seat 1 to the left and right sides of the occupant, so that the occupant is reliably received and the inertia force applied to the occupant is effectively buffered. Can be moved to the anti-collision side, and the secondary collision with the door 10 or the like on the collision side and the collision between occupants can be reliably prevented.

Furthermore, since the airbag 22 is housed in the front seat 1, even if the door 10 is deformed due to a side collision, the airbag 22 can be reliably deployed.

In this embodiment, the side collision unit 2 of a type that generates a gas by reacting a gas generating agent and a flame enhancer is applied. However, the same applies to an air bag unit of a type that generates a gas by another method. Can be applied to

The airbag device can be applied to a rear seat in the same manner as described above.

[Brief description of the drawings]

1 is a longitudinal sectional view of an automobile, FIG. 2 is a cutaway perspective view of a main part of a front seat, FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a main part of a front seat, FIG. FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line IV-IV in FIG. 3, FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line VV in FIG.
FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along the line VI-VI of FIG. 3, and FIG. 7 is a circuit diagram of the airbag device. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... front seat, 2 ... side collision airbag unit, 5.6 ... 1st impact detection sensor, 7.8 ... 2nd impact detection sensor, 9 ... seat cushion, 13 ... seatbag, 22 ... airbag, 24 ... ignition device, 23 ... gas generator.

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (56) References Japanese Utility Model Sho 58-130850 (JP, U) Japanese Utility Model Hei 1-1117957 (JP, U) Japanese Utility Model 49-64930 (JP, U) Japanese Utility Model Sho 61- 158543 (JP, U) U.S. Pat. No. 3,510,150 (US, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁶ , DB name) B60R 2/16-2/32

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A vehicle body in which a side collision airbag deployed between a vehicle body side wall portion and a vehicle occupant constituting a vehicle body side portion is provided on a seat having a seat cushion and a seatback and slidable in a front-rear direction. In the side energy absorbing structure, a side collision detection sensor for detecting a side collision with a vehicle body, gas generating means for generating gas based on a signal from the side collision detection sensor, and a gas attached to the gas generating means An airbag unit comprising an airbag that is inflated and deployed by the gas generated by the generating means, wherein the airbag is installed over the seatback and the seat cushion, and between the vehicle body side wall and the occupant. A device for absorbing collision energy to a vehicle body side portion, wherein the device is configured to swell toward and deploy toward the vehicle body.