JP3493637B2 - Airbag device - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention protects an occupant's side by deploying an airbag disposed inside a seat back into a vehicle cabin during a side collision of the vehicle. The present invention relates to an airbag device. 2. Description of the Related Art As an airbag device for protecting an occupant's side in an automobile, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-5308 is disclosed.
No. 6 discloses the technique. Generally, this type of airbag apparatus includes an airbag module including a folded airbag, an inflator, and the like. The conventional airbag device 100 will be briefly described with reference to FIG. Incidentally, FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing a state in which the airbag device is arranged in the seat back and a state in which the airbag is deployed. The airbag module 101 is housed in a module case 102, and is mounted together with the module case 102 in a seat back S2. When the vehicle collides from the side, the sensor detects the collision and generates gas from the inflator 101a, and deploys the airbag 104 to protect the occupant from the side. FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along line XX of FIG.
FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view showing the inside of the module case 102. In the conventional airbag module 101, the airbag 104 is provided in a state as shown in FIG.
In other words, the airbag 104 wraps the holder 101b holding the inflator 101a by the base end 104a, and then alternately folds the airbag 104 from both sides toward the distal end 104b, and gradually folds this stack. [0005] When the airbag 104 is deployed, the propellant in the inflator 101a is ignited to generate gas, and this gas is sent into the airbag 104 (see the strip arrow in FIG. 8). Then, the airbag 104 is inflated, and pushes open the lid 102a of the module case 102 as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. Further, the airbag 102
Continues to expand, breaks the sewn portion on the right side of the seat back S2, and expands (see FIG. 1). FIGS. 9A and 9B are side views schematically showing the unfolding process. FIG. 9A is a state at the beginning of unfolding, FIG. 9B is a state after a certain time has elapsed from the start of unfolding, and FIG. ) Is a state after the development is completed. [0006] In the conventional airbag module 102, the airbag 104 is alternately folded back.
The airbag 104 is folded with both sides completely overlapped. Therefore, it is inevitably developed gradually from the base end 104a side. In other words, the time required for the gas to reach the distal end portion 104b of the airbag 104 is slightly delayed, but there is a possibility that the deployment may be hindered due to a defective folding of the airbag 104 in the middle. Was. [0007] The deployment of the airbag 104 occurs instantaneously, and is meaningful only when the vehicle rapidly responds to a side collision of the vehicle. Therefore, it is desirable that the deployment of the airbag 104 be as fast as possible, and that the deployment be reliable. That is, an object of the present invention is to deploy the airbag 104 more quickly and to prevent the occurrence of deployment failure. [0008] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a module for storing a folded airbag.
The case is placed in the seatback with its lid facing the outside of the vehicle , and the gas generated from the inflator is
An airbag device for protecting an occupant by inflating the air bag, the air bag has a pair of base fabric portion formed in a bag shape overlap, the airbag of the set The tip side of the base cloth is folded in an independent bellows shape, and a gas flow passage is formed between the set of base cloths. The base of the set of base cloths is the module casing.
Fix the inflator to the surface of the base facing the lid
Fixed with the holder, one of the bases is fixed
Position to the front end of the holder of the inflator
From the front end to the vicinity of the front position of the inflator.
An airbag device characterized by being folded back . By the above means, the gas generated from the inflator can easily reach the front end of the airbag through the passage, and the deployment is quickly performed, and the occurrence of the deployment failure is effectively prevented. Embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the drawings. The airbag device 1 according to the present embodiment also has a structure as shown in FIG.
It is arranged inside the side of the seat back S2. First, the arrangement of the front seat S on the right side of the vehicle and the airbag device 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 2 is a plan view of the state where the airbag 6 is deployed, as viewed from above. As shown in FIG. 1, the right front seat S of the automobile includes a seat cushion S1 disposed substantially horizontally, a seat back S2 extending rearward and upward from a rear end of the seat cushion S1, and a seat back S2.
And a headrest S3 provided at the upper end of the headrest. As shown in FIG. 2, a center pillar CP faces the right side surface of the seat back S2, and a front door FD is disposed in front of the center pillar CP. An airbag module 3 housed in a module case 4 is provided inside the right side of the seat back S2 of the front seat S. Incidentally, in this installation, the module case 4 is installed with the cover 4c facing outward (to the right in FIG. 2) and the hinge 4b facing rearward. As shown in FIG. 2, a central portion of the front surface of the seat back S2 is covered with a first covering material 20.
The second covering material 21 covers the right and left sides and the upper part of the “0”. The left and right side surfaces and the upper surface of the seat back S2 connected to the second covering material 21 are covered with a third covering material 22, and the rear surface of the seat back S2 is covered with a fourth covering material 23. Each of the coating materials 20, 21, 22, 23 is
Each side edge portion is sewn to each other. In particular, the side sewing portion 2 is sewn between the second coating material 21 and the third coating material 22.
5 are formed. When the airbag module 3 is actuated, the airbag 6 is inflated. First, the lid 4c of the module case 4 is pushed open, and further, the side sewn portion 25 of the seat back S2 is pushed open. Thereafter, the airbag 6 further continues to inflate, and deploys obliquely forward so as to block between the right side of the occupant sitting on the front seat S and the left side of the center pillar CP and the front door FD. Next, the structure of the airbag module 3 will be described with reference to FIGS. By the way,
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a module case mounted in a seat back with the airbag module housed therein, and FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line ZZ of FIG. As shown in FIG. 4, the metal holder 31 has a body portion 31 having a substantially J-shaped cross section.
a, and a pair of clamp portions 31b, 31b extending from one side edge of the main body portion 31a and wound into a substantially circular shape. Further, as shown in FIG.
A pair is formed at upper and lower positions along the longitudinal direction of the main body 31a. The main body 31a and the clamp 31
A substantially cylindrical inflator 32 having a propellant therein is fitted into the circular cross section formed by b and 31b.
The inflator 32 is fastened by bolts 14 and 14 and nuts 15 and 15 and is held in a state of being integrated with the holder 31. This integrated inflator 32
Are wrapped in the base end 6a of the airbag 6, and the front end 6b of the airbag 6 is folded. As described above, the combination of the folded airbag 6 and the inflator 32 is the airbag module 3. The airbag module 3 is housed in a module case 4 integrally formed of a synthetic resin. The module case 4 includes a tray-shaped main body 4a opening toward the right side of the vehicle body, and a lid 4c connected to a rear edge of the main body 4a via a hinge 4b. The five locking claws 4d, 4d,... Provided on the upper edge, the front edge, and the lower edge are locked in the five locking holes 4e, 4e,. By doing so, the cover 4c is fixed so as to cover the opening of the main body 4a. The airbag module 3 includes:
Together with the module case 4, the module case 4 is mounted to the airbag module mounting bracket 12 with bolts 14, 14 and nuts 16, 16. Incidentally, the airbag module mounting bracket 12 is fixed to a pipe frame serving as a framework of the seat back S2.
The airbag module 3 is held in place. In addition,
Reference numeral 5 in FIG. 3 denotes a harness that supplies current to the igniter 32a (igniter), and reference numeral 4f denotes a holding cover portion that holds and protects the harness 5. The folding of the airbag 6 when forming the airbag module 3 has already been described. However, the folding in the present embodiment is essentially different from the conventional folding. Therefore, the folding of the airbag 6 will be specifically described with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6 show the step of folding the airbag step by step. FIG. 5 is a side view of the airbag, and FIG.
It is W sectional drawing. FIGS. 5 and 6 are diagrams (a),
(B) and (c) correspond to each other. The airbag 6 according to the present embodiment is formed by folding a single piece of cloth at the center and stacking it, and sewing the overlapping peripheral edges together to form a flat bag. Each of the overlapping portions serving as the side surfaces of the bag corresponds to a "base cloth portion" described in the claims. In FIG. 4, the base cloth portion indicated by reference numeral 36 is an outer (right side) base cloth portion. , 37 is an inner (left side) base cloth portion. The base fabric portions 36 and 37 may be formed by laminating two independent fabrics and sewing the peripheries to form a bag, or may use a bag-shaped fabric from the beginning without sewing. it can. As shown in FIG. 4, the airbag 6 encloses the inflator 32 and the like at its base end 6a. One set of base cloth 3
The bases 36a and 37a of the holders 6 and 37 are sandwiched between the main body 31a of the holder 31 and the side plate 33 and fastened and fixed by bolts 14 and 14. Base part 3 of base cloth part 36
6a is from the inside of the vehicle body (left side in FIG. 4) to the outside (FIG.
(The right side in FIG. 3), around the rear surface of the inflator 32, and wrap the inflator 32 over approximately 360 °. This wrapped position is point a, and the front side extending forward from point a is the folded portion 36b. Further, the base 37a of the base cloth portion 37 on the right side of the vehicle body extends forward along the inside of the main body 31a (left side in FIG. 4), and is folded back around the point b which is the front end of the main body 31a. further,
It is folded forward at point c, which is the front position of the inflator 32. That is, the front side folded at the point c is the folded portion 37b. Further, a portion between point b and point c in the base cloth portion 37 (left base cloth portion in FIG. 4) of the airbag 6 is disposed along the right side surface of the main body portion 31a of the holder 31, The surplus parts are b to c. This surplus part b ~
When the airbag 6 is inflated, c rotates counterclockwise about the point b and first spreads. As a result, the airbag 6 is easily deployed rightward (outside in the left-right direction), and the module case 4 is opened and the side sewn portion 25 (see FIG. 2).
Is accurately broken. As shown in FIGS. 5A and 6A, the folded portions 36b and 37b of the expanded airbag 6 have independent bellows from the front side to the rear side. Folded. Also, as shown in FIG. 4, the folded portions forming the bellows are formed by the left and right folded portions 36b and 37b.
They do not engage with each other and form a constant passage R near the center. The passage R communicates from the inflator 32 to the tip 6b of the airbag 6 and serves as a path through which gas passes. When the airbag module 3 is folded to the position shown in FIG. 5B and FIG. 6B, that is, to the position where the airbag module 3 is wrapped, the vertical height of the folded airbag 6 is then increased. (See the arrow in FIG. 5B), the airbag 6
Is bent downward and upward, respectively (see FIG. 5 (c)). After this bending, the left and right halves of the airbag 6 are squashed forward so as to decrease the width in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 6B, that is, in the left and right direction. Thereafter, the folded airbag 6
Is compactly packaged by a protect cover so as not to be separated from the inflator 32, the holder 31, and the like, and is housed in the module case 4 as shown in FIG. Since the protect cover is easily torn, it does not prevent the inflation of the airbag 6. Further, as in the present embodiment, the airbag 6 is formed while forming the passage R.
Is folded, the gas sent from the inflator 32 pushes out the front end portion 6b of the airbag 6 earlier than the deployment of the folded portions 36b and 37b. As a result, the airbag 6 deploys faster and effectively prevents the occurrence of deployment failure. Next, the operation of the airbag device according to this embodiment will be described. When the inflator 32 generates gas at the time of a vehicle collision, the airbag 6 expands inside the module case 4. When the pressure at which the airbag 6 expands acts on the lid 4c of the module case 4, the locking claws 4d, 4d,... Come off from the locking holes 4e, 4e.
The c rotates around the hinge 4b (see the chain line in FIG. 4), and the main body 4a is opened. Also, as shown in FIG. 2, when the pressure for opening the lid 4c is transmitted to the third covering material 22 of the seat back S2, the side sewing portion 25 is broken and the second covering material 21 and the third covering material 22 are separated. To separate. Then, the airbag 6 that has passed through the gap expands obliquely forward as viewed from above along the center pillar CP and the front door FD. FIG. 7 is a process diagram showing a process of deploying the airbag 6. As shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 4, since the airbag 6 is folded so as to form a gas passage R at the center, the gas emitted from the inflator 32 directly hits the tip 6 b of the airbag 6. Then, as shown in FIG. 7A, the airbag 6 starts to deploy in the front-back direction simultaneously with the up-down direction. Then, as shown in FIG. 7 (b), the airbag 6 is uniformly deployed over the entirety,
A completely expanded state shown in FIG. The fully deployed airbag 6 reliably protects the occupant's chest. At the time of this deployment, since the airbag 6 is deployed directly in the front-rear direction, the deployment is faster than in the above-described conventional technology. As described above, according to the present invention, the airbag can be deployed quickly and reliably.
The protection of the occupant in the event of a side collision of the vehicle can be appropriately performed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing a state where an airbag device according to the present invention is arranged on a seat back and a state where an airbag is deployed. FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a state where an airbag is deployed, as viewed from above. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a module case mounted on a seat back in a state where an airbag module is stored. FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line ZZ in FIG. 3; FIG. 5 is a side view of an airbag folding step. FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line WW of FIG. 5; FIGS. 7A and 7B are side views schematically showing an airbag deploying process in the airbag device, wherein FIG. 7A shows an initial state of deploying, and FIG. FIG. 3C shows the state after the development is completed. FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along line XX of FIG. 1 when a conventional airbag device is arranged. 9A and 9B are side views schematically showing a process of deploying an airbag according to a conventional airbag apparatus, wherein FIG. 9A is a state at an initial stage of deployment, and FIG. FIG. 3C shows a state after a lapse of time, and a state after the development is completed. [Description of Signs] 1: Airbag device 3: Airbag module 4: Module case 4a: Main body 4b: Hinge 4c: Lid 4d: Locking claw 4e: Locking hole 4f: Holding cover 5: Harness 6 : Airbag 6a: Base end 6b: Tip 11: Pipe frame 12: Airbag module mounting bracket 13: Retainer 14: Bolts 15, 16: Nut 25: Side sewn part 31: Holder 31a: Main part 31b: Clamp part 32: inflator 32a: igniter 33: side plate 36, 37: base cloth 36a, 37a: base 36b, 37b: folding part R: passage 100: conventional airbag device 101: airbag module 101a: inflator 102: module Case 102a: Lid 104: Airbag 104a: Base end 104b: Tip S: Front seat S1: Seat cushion S2: Seat back S3: Headrest

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-9-207698 (JP, A) JP-A-7-9929 (JP, A) JP-A-2-14944 (JP, A) JP-A-5-99 155304 (JP, A) JP-A-8-72656 (JP, A) JP-A-10-175499 (JP, A) JP-A-10-53086 (JP, A) JP-A-8-1313 (JP, U) (58) Field surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B60R 21/16-21/32

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] [Claim 1] A module housing a folded airbag
The case is placed in the seatback with its lid facing the outside of the vehicle , and the gas generated from the inflator is
An airbag device for protecting an occupant by inflating the air bag, the air bag has a pair of base fabric portion formed in a bag shape overlap, the airbag of the set folding the distal end side of the base fabric section, each independently of the bellows, during this pair of groups cloth part, forming a passage which the gas flows, the base of the set of groups cloth portion is of the module case Said
A holder for fixing the inflator to the surface facing the lid
Fixed together , one of the bases being inflated from the fixed position to the inflator
To the front end of the holder, from which the
An airbag device, wherein the airbag device is folded back to a position near a front surface of the airbag.