JP3455714B2 - Energy absorption structure on the side of the vehicle - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to an energy absorbing structure on a vehicle body side, and more particularly to a vehicle interior side deployed at the side collision of a vehicle to restrain an occupant in a vehicle interior. The present invention relates to an energy absorbing structure on a vehicle body side portion provided with an airbag to be mounted. 2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, for example, as disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open Publication No. 1-117957, from the viewpoint of protection of occupants in the event of a side collision of a vehicle, a belt line portion of a door or an armrest portion of a door is provided. It is known that an airbag is provided to deploy the airbag in a vehicle cabin and restrain an occupant during a side collision of the vehicle, thereby preventing the occupant from directly colliding with an inner surface of a door or the like. ing. further,
As disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 50-14035, there is also known an apparatus in which an airbag is provided in a roof portion near a side roof rail. [0003] In the prior art described in the above-mentioned publication, an airbag is arranged at a door portion or a roof portion to improve occupant protection in the event of a side collision of a vehicle. However, in order to further improve the occupant protection performance, the inventors of the present invention
The behavior of the occupant during a side collision was studied as follows. [0004] As shown in FIG. 19, consider the behavior of the occupant M when another vehicle X collides from the outside of the driver's seat side while the occupant M is seated in the driver's seat 2 of the vehicle 1. In this case, when the other vehicle X is a passenger-type vehicle, its bumper is generally located at a height near the waist of the occupant M of the vehicle 1, so that the occupant M first receives the bump of the occupant M by the collision of the other vehicle X. A lateral load F1 is received in the vicinity. Therefore, the occupant M swings its upper body to the collision side, that is, the left side 1a of the vehicle 1 due to the inertial force, and collides with the inner wall member of the left side 1a. Further, after the occupant M is once swung toward the left side 1a as described above, the occupant M returns to FIG.
As shown in FIG. 2, the driver's seat 2 is greatly thrown from the driver's seat 2 side to the passenger's seat 3 side. In this case, since the impact force on the occupant M enters near the waist of the occupant M as described above, even if the occupant M Even if you sit forward against
The occupant M is thrown obliquely upward with the entire body turned sideways and the waist protruding toward the right side 1b. As a result, it is expected that the occupant M will collide with the inner wall portion extending from the upper portion of the right side portion 1b of the vehicle 1 to the roof side rail 1d. Further, in this case, since the occupant M is thrown with its waist protruding backward, it is considered that this waist collides with the inner wall member at a timing earlier than the upper shoulder or head. That is, at the time of a side collision of the vehicle, the occupant may collide with a relatively upper portion of the cabin side, and the timing at which the occupant collides with the vehicle interior wall member is between the collision side and the non-collision side, and It has been found by the present inventors that there is a deviation between the upper and lower positions of the vehicle compartment. Therefore, in order to further improve the occupant protection performance in the event of a side collision of the vehicle, it is necessary to take measures that fully consider the occupant's behavior such as the occupant's collision near the upper part of the passenger compartment and the timing of the collision. It turned out to be. On the other hand, from the viewpoint of occupant protection performance, it is necessary to consider the characteristics of the airbag itself. That is, the airbag has a structure in which the gas (usually nitrogen gas) generated from the inflator is deployed. However, if the repulsion force of the airbag becomes excessive, the performance of restraining the occupant is rather lowered. Is provided with a vent hole, and when an occupant comes into contact with the deployed airbag, gas is appropriately released from the vent hole to absorb an impact load, thereby securing an optimal deployed state for restraining the occupant. However, since the amount of gas generated by the inflator is limited, the period during which the optimum deployment state of the airbag is obtained is naturally limited. Therefore,
It is important to consider the deployment timing so that the occupant can be restrained during the period in which the optimal deployment state is obtained. In view of the above, the present invention provides an energy absorbing structure on the side of a vehicle body capable of further improving the performance of protecting the occupant in the event of a side collision of the vehicle in consideration of the behavior of the occupant or the structure of the airbag. It is intended to provide. It is a further object of the present invention to provide an energy absorbing structure for a vehicle body side portion capable of preventing a shoulder portion and a head portion of an occupant from directly colliding with a roof rail portion and a pillar portion. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is directed to a vehicle body having an airbag which is deployed inside a vehicle at the time of a side collision of the vehicle to restrain an occupant in a vehicle compartment. the energy absorbing structure parts are respectively distribution <br/> location in the pillar extending from the roof side rail portion and the roof side rail portion in downward the airbag is positioned above the side of the passenger compartment, an air bag Squirting gas to deploy
A single inflator is integrated with the airbag at the pillar
This single module is physically modular
The roof side rail and pillars
The airbag can be deployed at
The airbag in the side rail is the airbag in the pillar
It is a feature that is configured to be deployed later . In the present invention thus configured, a single
Inflator integrated with airbag at pillar
This single inflator is modularized and provided
Of gas from the roof,
Airbags are deployed in both
The airbag in the roof side rail is the airbag in the pillar.
Deployed later than the ball. Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. First, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of the present invention.
The upper side of the passenger seat 3 (see FIG. 5) side of the vehicle 1 having the vehicle body side energy absorbing structure according to the embodiment is shown. In the figure, reference numeral 1c denotes a roof, and 1d denotes the roof 1c. A roof side rail (see FIG. 3) having a closed cross-section extending sideward in the vehicle front-rear direction (see FIG. 3), and a pillar (a so-called center pillar) extending downward from a front-rear intermediate position of the roof side rail 1d. A later-described pillar-side airbag module 4 is attached to a pair of left and right pillars 1e, and a later-described roof side rail-side airbag module 5 is attached to a pair of left and right roof side rails 1d (see FIGS. 5 and 6). The pillar side airbag module 4 is shown in FIG.
As shown in the figure, a module mounting bracket 1 formed by concavely recessing a part of the inner panel of the pillar 1e.
2, a cylindrical inflator 6 having a large number of gas outlets 6a formed inside a module case 10 which is attached to the module mounting bracket 12 by being fastened to the module mounting bracket 12 and is folded. The airbag 8 is housed in a closed state. In the present embodiment, a part of the airbag 8 is formed of a pillar trim 14 made of a relatively soft material fixed by a seaming welt 15 inside the pillar 1e. Accordingly, the pillar-side airbag module 4 is normally accommodated in the pillar 1e and covered from the vehicle interior side by the pillar trim 14 as shown by a solid line in FIG. The occupant does not feel any discomfort. On the other hand, a side collision of the vehicle 1 is detected by a collision sensor (not shown) disposed on the side of the vehicle body. When gas is blown into the interior of the pillar trim 1, the airbag 8 is deployed by this gas pressure.
4 is pressed from its inside. At this time, each seaming welt 15 to which the pillar trim 14 is fixed comes off, and the pillar trim 14 separates from the pillar 1e, and the airbag 8
Allow the deployment of Accordingly, the airbag 8 eventually deploys largely toward the passenger compartment together with the pillar trim 14 as shown by a chain line 8 'in FIG. On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the roof side rail side airbag module 5 is mounted in a module accommodating portion 18 formed by cutting out a part of the roof side rail 1d on the inner panel side. The inflator 7 and the airbag 9 are mounted on a module case 11 fixed to the module mounting bracket 13 via a bracket 13. In the present embodiment, the rail trim 16 attached to the vehicle side of the roof side rail 1d.
Among them, the roof side rail side airbag module 5
Is used as the air bag grid 16a. That is, an outer peripheral cutout groove 19 is formed at a portion of the rail trim 16 corresponding to the roof side rail side airbag module 5 so as to conform to the outer shape of the roof side rail side airbag module 5, and an intermediate cutout is provided at an intermediate position thereof. Each of the notched grooves 20 is formed from the inside, and a portion surrounded by the outer peripheral notched groove 19 is defined as an air bag grid 16a. Therefore, at normal times, as shown in FIG. 3, the roof side rail side airbag module 5 is prevented from being exposed to the passenger compartment by the rail trim 16, so that the passenger does not feel any discomfort at all. On the other hand, at the time of a side collision of the vehicle 1, as shown in FIG. 4, when the airbag 9 is deployed by the gas ejected from the inflator 7, the airbag 9 moves the airbag lid 16a by the deployed pressure. It is pressed from the inner surface side, breaks it from the middle notch groove 20 and pushes up and down around the outer notch groove 19. Therefore, the deployment of the airbag 9 is allowed, and the airbag 9 is greatly deployed toward the passenger compartment and stands by in a state where the occupant can be restrained. In this embodiment, as described above, the pillar-side airbag module 4 and the roof-side rail-side airbag module 5 are disposed on both sides of the vehicle 1, respectively. The protection of the occupant is achieved by deploying the airbags 8 and 9 from the modules 4 and 5 to the passenger compartment side, respectively. The specific operation state will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6. In this embodiment, for example, as shown in FIG. 5, when another vehicle X collides with the left side 1a of the vehicle 1, the collision is detected by a collision sensor (not shown).
Is detected, the airbag 8 of each pillar-side airbag module 4 and the airbag 9 of each roof-side rail-side airbag module 5 arranged on both upper sides of the vehicle compartment are simultaneously deployed. I have to. Therefore, when the occupant M is swung to the collision side in the initial stage of the side collision, as shown in FIG.
The shoulders and the head of the occupant M are restrained by the airbags 8 and 9 arranged on the side, thereby preventing the occupant M from directly colliding with the inner wall member (for example, the pillar 1e or the roof side rail 1d) of the passenger compartment. . In the latter half of the side collision, as shown in FIG. 6, the occupant M is thrown from the driver's seat 2 side to the passenger seat 3 side, protruding from the waist, and rising upward. In this case, the occupant M is reliably restrained by the airbags 8, 9 waiting in the deployed state on the anti-collision side, that is, on the upper portion of the right side portion 1b, and is prevented from directly colliding with the pillar 1e or the roof side rail 1d. You. In this way, by restraining the occupant M by the airbags 8 and 9 disposed on both upper sides of the passenger compartment, damage to the occupant M can be reduced as much as possible. The performance is improved. In this embodiment, as described above,
The left and right airbags 8 and 9 are simultaneously deployed at the time of a side collision. In addition, for example, the airbags 8 and 9 on the anti-collision side (the right side 1b side in the present embodiment) may be used.
9 is deployed after being delayed by a predetermined time from each of the airbags 8 and 9 on the collision side (the left side 1a in the present embodiment), regardless of the difference in the occupant restraint timing due to the airbags 8 and 9 on the collision side and the counter collision side. The occupant M can be restrained by the airbags 8, 9 in the optimum deployed state on both the collision side and the anti-collision side, and in this case, the protection performance for the occupant is further improved. Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 7 shows a main part of a vehicle 1 provided with a vehicle body side energy absorbing structure according to a second embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the arrangement of the pillar-side airbag module 4 and the roof-side rail-side airbag module 5 on both the pillar 1e and the roof side rail 1d is the same as in the first embodiment. The same operation and effect as in the embodiment can be obtained. However, in particular, in the second embodiment, the airbags 8, 9 provided for each of the airbag modules 4, 5 in the first embodiment are replaced by a single airbag that straddles the airbag modules 4, 5. 8 is different. In such a case, when the vehicle 1 collides with the side, the airbag 8 is deployed in a substantially L-shape toward the passenger compartment, so that, for example, the pillar-side airbag module 4 which is deployed in close contact with each other There is no danger that the body of the occupant M thrown into the contact portion between the airbag 8 and the airbag 9 on the roof side rail-side airbag module 5 will not enter at all. First
A higher occupant protection performance than in the embodiment is secured. Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9 show a vehicle 1 having a vehicle body side energy absorbing structure according to a third embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, a pillar side airbag module 4 and a roof side rail side airbag module 5 having structures similar to those described in the first embodiment are arranged on both sides of the vehicle 1, respectively. Is not different from that of the first embodiment. However, this embodiment has a feature in the operation timing of each of the airbag modules 4 and 5 as described later, whereby the occupant protection performance is more reliably secured as compared with the first embodiment. Is done. That is, in the present embodiment, as shown in the flowchart of FIG.
When the collision sensor detects that a side collision has occurred (steps S1 and S2), the airbag 8 on the pillar 1e side is used.
Is deployed (step S3), and then the airbag 9 on the roof side rail 1d is deployed with a predetermined time delay (steps S4 and S5). Thus, the deployment timing of the airbag is shifted. By doing so, the following operation becomes possible. That is, as shown in FIG. 8, in the initial stage of the side collision, only the airbags 8 of the left and right pillar-side airbag modules 4 are simultaneously deployed. this is,
First, in the initial stage of a side collision, the occupant M is swung to the collision side without being lifted up, and therefore, it is necessary to operate each roof side rail side airbag module 5 located at the top of the passenger compartment. This is because the number is smaller than that in the case of the bag module 4 and the occupant can be seated not only on the driver's seat 2 side but also on the passenger seat 3 side depending on the use state of the vehicle 1. By doing so, the occupant M is restrained by the airbag 8 of the pillar-side airbag module 4 in the initial stage of the side collision, and protection is achieved. On the other hand, FIG.
As shown in the figure, the occupant M is thrown toward the upper side on the collision side. In this case, since the airbag 9 of the roof side rail side airbag module 5 has already been deployed and is waiting for the occupant M, M is reliably restrained by the two airbags 8 and 9 arranged vertically, and its protection is achieved. That is, in the present embodiment, an occupant protection function that appropriately responds to the behavior of the occupant M during a side collision is secured. Next, a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 11 shows a main part of a vehicle 1 having a vehicle body side energy absorbing structure according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention. This embodiment shows one specific example of how to adjust the deployment timing of the airbag 8 on the pillar 1e side and the airbag 9 on the roof side rail 1d side in the third embodiment, and FIG. As shown, the pillar side airbag module 4 has the same configuration as that of the first embodiment including the inflator 6 and the airbag 8, but the roof side rail side airbag module 5 has no inflator, The configuration is such that a simple gas blowing member 22 is provided inside the airbag 9. Then, this gas blowing member 22 is connected to a gas pipe 23 having a gas control valve 24 described later in the middle of the passage.
Is connected to the inflator 6 on the pillar side airbag module 4 side. That is, in the present embodiment, the two airbags 8 and 9 are both deployed by the inflator 6 on the pillar-side airbag module 4 side, and in this case, the gas control valve 24 controls the gas blowing member 22 side. By controlling the amount of gas flowing to the airbag 9, the airbag 9 on the roof side rail 1d is deployed a predetermined time later than the airbag 8 on the pillar 1e. In the present embodiment, by deploying the airbag 9 on the roof side rail 1d side later than the airbag 8 on the pillar 1e side, the same operation and effect as in the third embodiment can be obtained. Here, the specific structure of the gas control valve 24 will be described. First, the gas control valve 24 shown in FIG. 12 is urged by a spring 27 in a valve casing 25 so as to be constantly seated on a valve seat 28. The gas passage pipe 2 is configured in such a manner that the valve body 26 faces the inflator 6 of the airbag module 4 on the pillar side.
3 attached. In the gas control valve 24 having such a configuration, when the inflator 6 of the pillar-side airbag module 4 is actuated by the side collision of the vehicle 1 and gas is jetted from the same, the gas is first supplied to the pillar 1e side. It is dedicated to the deployment of the airbag 8. When the airbag 8 is almost completely deployed, the gas pressure inside the airbag 8 increases, thereby causing the gas control valve 2 to operate.
4 is pushed open against the spring force of the spring 27, and gas is supplied from the inflator 6 to the airbag 9 on the side of the roof side rail 1d via the gas control valve 24. Is expanded. That is, the gas control valve 24 is connected to the airbag 8 on the pillar 1e side.
The deployment timing of the airbag 9 on the roof side rail 1d is automatically delayed by the internal pressure of the airbag 8 on the side of the pillar 1e. Therefore, there is an advantage that the structure is simple, the reliability is high, and the cost is low. On the other hand, the gas control valve 24 shown in FIG.
Is different from that shown in FIG. 12 in that the valve 30 is driven by the solenoid 29. Therefore, although the gas control valve 24 cannot be automatically opened and closed by the gas pressure unlike the above, it can be opened and closed irrespective of the gas pressure. Therefore, the roof side rail 1d side with respect to the airbag 8 on the pillar 1e side. The deployment timing of the airbag 9 can be set arbitrarily, and has an advantage in that control can be performed in a more detailed manner depending on the behavior of the occupant. Next, a fifth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIGS. 14 and 15 show a vehicle 1 having a vehicle body side energy absorbing structure according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, similarly to the first embodiment, the pillar-side airbag module 4 and the roof-side rail-side airbag module 5 are arranged on both sides of the vehicle compartment, respectively, and the structure is not changed at all. However, in the embodiment having such a basic structure, each of these airbags is selected and deployed at the time of a side collision, and the deployment timing is different between the collision side and the non-collision side. This is characterized by the point that, in addition to the case of the first embodiment, it is possible to obtain useful effects as described below. That is, in this embodiment, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 16, when the vehicle 1 has a side collision and this is detected by the collision sensor (step S1).
First, as shown in FIG. 14, among the two upper and lower airbags 8, 9 on the collision side, only the airbag 8 on the pillar 1e side is first deployed (step S13). This is because in the initial stage of a side collision, the occupant M is swung to the collision side, so that it is necessary to deploy the airbag on the collision side, and in this case, the occupant M is swung at a relatively low position in a substantially seated state. Therefore, the airbag 9 on the side of the roof side rail 1d at a higher position than the airbag 8 on the side of the pillar 1e at a lower position has a lower demand for deployment. Therefore, in the initial stage of the side collision, the occupant M is reliably restrained by the airbag 8 deployed on the collision side and at a relatively low position, and the protection is achieved. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 15, in the late stage of the side collision, the two airbags 8 and 9 on the opposite side to the collision side.
Deploy at the same time and wait to restrain the occupant M. Therefore, the occupant M thrown from the driver's seat 2 side to the passenger seat 3 side with the waist protruding is not only the waist, but also the shoulder and head by the two airbags 8 and 9 on the anti-collision side. Is reliably restrained over a wide range of the area, and the protection thereof is achieved. In this case, the airbags 8, 9 on the anti-collision side are deployed with a predetermined time delay from the airbags 8 on the collision side, so that the airbags 8, 9 on the anti-collision side are in an optimally deployed state, respectively. Thus, the occupant M can be awaited, and more reliable occupant protection can be expected. Further, instead of deploying all the four airbags 8 and 9 provided in total as in this embodiment, only three airbags which are considered to be the minimum necessary for protecting the occupant are deployed. If you try to make
Compared to deploying all four, the generation of gas noise during deployment and the amount of gas released into the cabin itself are small, so that discomfort or health effects on occupants are minimized. This has the advantage that it can be reduced to Next, a sixth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 17 and 18 show a vehicle 1 provided with an energy absorbing structure which can be said to be a modification of each of the above embodiments. In this embodiment, similarly to the above embodiments, the pillar-side airbag module 4 and the roof-side rail-side airbag module 5 are arranged at the upper portions on both sides of the vehicle compartment, respectively.
As shown in FIG. 2, an airbag 21 is disposed at a top seal portion disposed on the vehicle cabin side of the roof 1c, and the airbag 21 is mounted on each roof side rail side airbag module located on the left and right sides of the airbag 21. 5 are connected to the respective airbags 9. Then, at the time of a side collision of the vehicle 1, the airbag 8 of each pillar side airbag module 4 and the airbag 9 of each roof side rail side airbag module 5 are simultaneously deployed. Then, simultaneously with the deployment of the airbag 9 on the roof side rail 1d side, the airbag 21 on the roof 1c side is deployed on the ceiling side of the cabin, and the upper part of the cabin is surrounded by these five airbags. The protection of the occupant M is more complete. As described above, according to the energy absorbing structure on the side of the vehicle body of the present invention, the occupant protection performance at the time of a side collision of the vehicle can be further improved, and further, the occupant's protection performance can be improved. It is possible to prevent the shoulder and the head from directly colliding with the roof rail and the pillar.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a main part side view showing a vehicle having a vehicle body side energy absorbing structure according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is an enlarged vertical sectional view taken along line II-II of FIG. FIG. 3 is an enlarged vertical sectional view taken along the line III-III of FIG. 1; FIG. 4 is a state change diagram of FIG. 3; FIG. 5 is an operation explanatory view of the airbag of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1; FIG. 6 is an operation explanatory view of the airbag of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1; FIG. 7 is a side view of a main part showing a vehicle provided with a body side energy absorbing structure according to a second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 8 is an operation explanatory view of an airbag in a vehicle provided with a vehicle body side energy absorbing structure according to a third embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 9 is an operation explanatory view of an airbag in a vehicle having a vehicle body side energy absorbing structure according to a third embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 10 is a control flowchart according to a third embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 11 is a side view of a main part showing a vehicle provided with a vehicle body side energy absorbing structure according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 12 is a structural explanatory view showing a gas control valve according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 13 is a structural explanatory view showing a gas control valve according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 14 is an explanatory view of the operation of an airbag in a vehicle having a vehicle body side energy absorbing structure according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 15 is an operation explanatory view of an airbag in a vehicle provided with a vehicle body side energy absorbing structure according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 16 is a control flowchart according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 17 is an operation explanatory view of an airbag in a vehicle having a vehicle body side energy absorbing structure according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 18 is an operation explanatory view of an airbag in a vehicle provided with a vehicle body side energy absorbing structure according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 19 is an explanatory diagram showing the behavior of the occupant during a side collision of the vehicle. FIG. 20 is an explanatory diagram showing the behavior of the occupant during a side collision of the vehicle. [Description of Signs] 1 Vehicle 1d Roof side rail 1e Pillar 2 Driver's seat 3 Passenger's seat 4,5 Airbag module 6,7 Inflator 8,9,21 Airbag 10,11 Module case 12,13 Module mounting bracket 14 Pillar trim 15 Seaming welt 16 Rail trim 22 Gas blowing member 23 Gas passage 24 Gas control valve 29 Solenoid

   ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page    (72) Inventor Kenichi Okuda               Pine, 3-1, Shinchi, Fuchu-cho, Aki-gun, Hiroshima               DA Co., Ltd.                (56) References JP-A-50-14035 (JP, A)                 Shokai Sho 61-159249 (JP, U)                 Japanese Patent Publication No. 50-22302 (JP, B1)                 Tokiko 47-18130 (JP, B1)                 Jiko 50-5063 (JP, Y1)                 Published in the UK 2191450 (GB, A)

Claims (1)

(1) An energy absorbing structure for a vehicle body side portion provided with an airbag which is deployed inside the vehicle at the time of a side collision of the vehicle and restrains an occupant in a vehicle interior, wherein bag is arranged in the pillar portion extending downward roof side rail portion from the roof side rail portion located above the side of the vehicle compartment, the air bag
Single inflator to blow out gas for deploying
Is integrated with the airbag at the pillar section.
The single inflator
The roof side rails and pillars
The airbag can be deployed, and the
The airbag in the side rail section is
The energy absorbing structure on the side of the vehicle body, wherein the energy absorbing structure is configured to be deployed later than the vehicle body.