JP3591367B2 - Airbag device for automobile side collision - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a side collision airbag device for an automobile.
[0002]
[Prior art]
2. Description of the Related Art In an airbag device for an automobile, there is an airbag device for a side collision in which an airbag is deployed forward from a side portion of a seat back at the time of a side collision of a vehicle and an occupant is protected by the airbag. As a technique, see JP-A-9-136598).
[0003]
Generally, this type of airbag is substantially L-shaped, and is divided into an upper head protection portion and a lower chest protection portion by a partition cloth provided inside. At the inlet of the airbag, an inflator is attached, and the high-pressure gas ejected from the inflator first enters the chest protection section, deploys the chest protection section forward, and then enters the head protection section. The head protection part is expanded upward.
[0004]
This is because the space between the occupant and the side wall of the body is narrow, so the chest protection part is first deployed to secure the front and rear positions of the head protection part, and then the head protection part is deployed upward. Thus, it is positioned on the occupant's head.
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in such an airbag device for side collision, as described above, the front and rear positions of the head protection unit are secured by first deploying the chest protection unit, and thereafter, the head protection unit is deployed. The head protection part is positioned with respect to the occupant's head by expanding the head protection part upward. However, from the viewpoint of occupant protection performance in a high-speed traffic environment in recent years, the occupant head of the head protection part is Further improvement of the positioning speed for the part is desired.
[0006]
The present invention has been made in response to such a demand, and provides an airbag device for a side collision of an automobile, which can further improve the positioning speed of a head protection portion with respect to an occupant's head. is there.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
According to the first aspect of the present invention, a substantially L-shaped airbag including a chest protection portion and a head protection portion is provided on a side portion of the seatback, and is deployed forward when gas is blown from the inflator into the airbag. In a side collision airbag device for an automobile, a first tubular gas flow path formed along an outer edge of the head protection portion and a boundary line between the head protection portion and the chest protection portion. On the other hand, one end has a second gas passage connected to one end of the first gas passage, and a gas inlet for introducing gas from an inflator is formed at the other end of the first gas passage. In the second gas flow path, an upper gas outlet opening into the head protection portion main body and a lower gas outlet opening into the chest protection portion are formed.
[0008]
In the invention described in claim 2, the lower gas outlet is formed larger than the upper gas outlet.
[0009]
According to a third aspect of the present invention, the airbag is formed by sewing outer edges of two base cloths, bending an elongated cloth piece into a tube shape, and overlapping the side ends thereof. The first gas flow path and the second gas flow path were formed by sewn the side edge from the outer edge of the head protection section to the boundary line with the chest protection section by continuous sewing on both base cloths. Things.
[0010]
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the airbag is formed by sewing outer edges of two base cloths, and is substantially parallel with a predetermined width from an outer edge of the head protection portion to a boundary line with the chest protection portion. The first gas flow path and the second gas flow path are formed by sewing both base cloths together by two sewing portions continuous with each other.
[0011]
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the sewn portions are alternately sewn.
[0012]
In the invention described in claim 6, the airbag is formed in an alligator fold that is sequentially pushed inward by a predetermined width from the vicinity of the inlet where the inflator is attached to the tip of the head protection portion.
[0013]
According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, a tubular third gas flow path is formed along an outer edge of the chest protection portion, and one end of the third gas flow path is connected to one end of the second gas flow path. The other end is connected to the gas inlet.
[0014]
【The invention's effect】
According to the first aspect of the present invention, the first gas flow path and the second gas flow path have a small capacity because they are tubular. One end of a first gas flow path formed along the outer edge of the head protection section and one end of a second gas flow path formed along a boundary between the head protection section and the chest protection section were connected. Therefore, when the gas of the inflator is introduced from the gas inlet formed at the other end of the first gas flow path, the first gas flow path and the second gas flow path surrounding the head protection unit, that is, the head, The edge of the protection part expands at a high speed, and in conjunction with this, the head protection part main body unfolds and unfolds, its outer shape is secured, and the occupant's head is forcibly and directly moved. Is positioned. After the positioning of the head protection part is ensured, gas is introduced into the head protection part main body and the chest protection part from the upper gas outlet and the lower gas outlet, so that the entire airbag is in a completely inflated state. . Further, since the head protection portion is forcibly and directly positioned with respect to the occupant's head, the airbag does not need to be specially folded so as to increase the deployment speed of the head protection portion. Folding and storage becomes easy.
[0015]
According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the lower gas outlet is formed larger than the upper gas outlet, the chest protection portion is inflated first, and then the occupant's head is inflated. The head protection unit main body positioned with respect to the main body enters an expanded state. Since the chest protection portion whose outer shape is not secured inflates before the head protection portion main body whose only outer shape is secured without being inflated, the outer shape of the entire airbag is secured at a high speed.
[0016]
According to the third aspect of the present invention, the first gas flow path and the second gas flow path are formed by sewing together an elongated cloth piece to both base cloths with one sewing portion. , The leakage of gas from the first gas passage and the second gas passage is reduced. Further, in the second gas flow path, at the boundary between the head protection part and the chest protection part, both base fabrics are sewn together with a piece of cloth interposed therebetween, so that the inflation width of the airbag near the boundary is restricted, The airbag can be reliably deployed even in a narrow space between the occupant and the side wall of the vehicle body without interfering with the occupant or the side wall of the vehicle body.
[0017]
According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, since the first gas flow path and the second gas flow path are formed by sewing both base fabrics together with the two sewing portions, it is not necessary to sew another cloth together. Thus, the manufacture of the airbag is easy.
[0018]
According to the fifth aspect of the invention, since the sewn portions are alternately sewn, gas leakage from the sewn portions is reduced. In addition, since the sewing is performed by multiple stitching, the strength of the sewn portion is improved, and a thread thinner than a thread used for single stitching can be used, and sewing can be easily performed.
[0019]
According to the invention described in claim 6, since the airbag is folded in an alligator, the deployment speed of the airbag is high. In other words, in the alligator fold that pushes inward like a bamboo shoot, the pushed-in thing jumps out directly as it is, so the deployment speed is very fast, even if the space between the occupant and the side wall of the vehicle is narrow, at the beginning of the vehicle side collision, The airbag can be deployed quickly. Furthermore, the direction in which the airbag protrudes is stabilized, the amount of swing to the left and right is reduced, and interference with the occupant and the side wall of the vehicle body is reliably avoided.
[0020]
According to the seventh aspect of the invention, one end of the third gas flow path formed along the outer edge of the chest protection part is connected to one end of the second gas flow path, and the other end is connected to the gas inlet. Only the positioning can be secured first without the protection unit main body being inflated, and the positioning speed of the entire airbag with respect to the occupant is improved.
[0021]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In each of the embodiments, common portions are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description will be omitted.
[0022]
1 to 6 are views showing a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a side view of a driver's seat back 1 in a right-hand drive vehicle as viewed from a passenger seat side. On the right end side of the seat back 1, a folded airbag 2 and an inflator 3 for blowing gas for inflating and deploying the airbag 2 are housed. Then, at the time of a side collision of the vehicle, high-pressure gas is blown from the inflator 3 into the airbag 2, and the airbag 2 is deployed forward (left side in FIG. 1), and the occupant M and the vehicle body side wall (door) D (see FIG. 3) to protect the occupant M from directly interfering with the vehicle body side wall (door) D.
[0023]
The airbag 2 is formed by sewing the outer edges of two base cloths 4 having the same shape, and has a substantially L-shape including a chest protection part 5 and a head protection part 6, and an inflator at the rear end. An inlet 7 is formed for receiving and attaching 3. The material of the base cloth 4 constituting the airbag 2 is 66 nylon which is a standard specification in terms of heat resistance and pressure resistance.
[0024]
The airbag 2 is formed with one continuous sewn portion H1 from the outer edge of the head protection portion 6 to the boundary line L with the chest protection portion 5 (see FIG. 1). The sewn portion H1 has a simple structure sewn with only one thread, and has a distal end connected to the vicinity of the entrance 7 while surrounding the entire circumference of the head protection portion 6.
[0025]
Further, inside the head protection portion 6, there is provided an elongated cloth piece 8 having a side end overlapped with each other to form a tube, and the side end of the cloth piece 8 overlapped with the sewing section H1. In the above, the pieces are sewn together while being sandwiched between the two base cloths 4. The end of the cloth piece 8 is also connected near the entrance 7 of the sewing portion H1. The cloth piece 8 is a high-grade specification in which 66 nylon is coated with silicon and has high performance in terms of heat resistance and pressure resistance.
[0026]
By sewing such a piece of cloth 8 to both base cloths 4, a first gas flow path 9 in the form of a tube formed along the outer edge of the head protection part 6, and the head protection part 6 and The second gas flow path 10 is formed along the boundary line L of the chest protection part 5 and has one end connected to one end of the first gas flow path 9. A gas inlet 11 for introducing gas from the inflator 3 is formed on the inlet 7 side of the first gas flow path 9 as the other end. An upper gas outlet 12 opening into the main body 6a of the head protecting portion 6 and a lower gas outlet 13 opening into the chest protecting portion 5 are formed in an intermediate portion of the second gas flow path 10, respectively. ing. The upper gas outlet 12 is formed by cutting out a part of the cloth piece 8, and the lower gas outlet 13 is formed by leaving a part of the sewing portion H1 unsewn. At the outer edge of the chest protection portion 5, a sewing portion H1 whose both ends are along the outer edge of the head protection portion 6 and another sewing portion H2 connected to the entrance 7 are provided.
[0027]
As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the airbag 2 has a so-called alligator-folded structure, and is folded in a bamboo-like shape by a predetermined width sequentially from the vicinity of the entrance 7 to the tip of the head protection portion 6. It is better.
[0028]
Next, the deployment state of the airbag 2 at the time of a side collision of the vehicle will be described. When a sudden deceleration such as a side impact of the vehicle is detected, high-pressure gas is ejected from the inflator 3. The ejected gas enters the first gas passage 9 from the gas inlet 11 which is the other end of the first gas passage 9 as shown by an arrow in FIG. And enters one end of the second gas flow path 10 to expand the first gas flow path 9 and the second gas flow path 10 as shown in FIGS.
[0029]
Since the first gas flow path 9 and the second gas flow path 10 are tubular and have a small capacity, they are expanded at a high speed by the ejected gas, and are linked (pulled) to the head protection section 6. Is unfolded and unfolded. Although the main body 6a of the head protection portion 6 is still thin, the outer shape is secured by the expanded first gas flow path 9 and second gas flow path 10. In addition, due to the expansion of the first gas flow path 9 and the second gas flow path 10, the main body 6a of the head protection unit 6 is directly positioned with respect to the head of the occupant M, and the positioning speed is higher than before. fast.
[0030]
After the positioning of the main body 6a of the head protection portion 6 is secured at a high speed, gas is introduced into the chest protection portion 5 from the lower gas outlet 13 and the main body 6a of the head protection portion 6 from the upper gas outlet 12. Gas is introduced into the inside, and the entire airbag 2 is in a completely inflated state. Accordingly, the completely inflated and deployed airbag 2 can protect the occupant M by avoiding a direct collision between the vehicle body side wall D and the occupant M. In particular, since the positioning speed of the head protection unit 6 with respect to the head of the occupant M is improved, the performance of protecting the occupant M by the airbag 2 is further improved.
[0031]
Further, since the lower gas outlet 13 is formed larger than the upper gas outlet 12, the chest protection part 5 is inflated first, and then positioned with respect to the head of the occupant M. The moved head protection unit 6 enters an expanded state. Since the chest protection portion 5 whose outer shape is not secured expands before the main body 6a of the head protection portion 6 where only the outer shape is secured without being inflated, the overall shape of the airbag 2 can be increased at a high speed. Secured.
[0032]
The first gas flow path 9 and the second gas flow path 10 are formed by sewing the elongated cloth piece 8 together with the two base cloths 4 at one sewing portion H1. The leakage of gas from the first gas passage 9 and the second gas passage 10 is reduced by the amount of the gas flow. Further, in the second gas flow path 10, at the boundary L between the head protection part 6 and the chest protection part 5, both the base cloths 4 are sewn together with the cloth piece 8 interposed therebetween. The bulging width in the vicinity of the line L is regulated, so that the airbag 2 can be reliably deployed even in a narrow space between the occupant M and the vehicle body side wall D without interfering with the occupant M and the vehicle body side wall D.
[0033]
In addition, since the head protection unit 6 is forcibly and directly positioned with respect to the head of the occupant M, the airbag 2 should be originally folded in a special way to increase the deployment speed of the head protection unit 6. In this embodiment, since the airbag 2 is stored in an alligator-folded manner, the deployment speed of the airbag 2 is extremely high. That is, in the alligator fold that is pushed inward, since the pushed-in object directly jumps out as it is, the deployment speed is very fast, and even if the space between the occupant M and the side wall D of the vehicle is narrow, the air squeezes at the beginning of the vehicle side collision. The bag 2 can be quickly deployed. Furthermore, the direction in which the airbag 2 protrudes is stabilized, the amount of swing to the left and right is reduced, and interference with the occupant M and the vehicle body side wall D is reliably avoided.
[0034]
7 and 8 are views showing a second embodiment of the present invention. In the second embodiment, the first gas passage 9 and the second gas passage 10 are formed only by the two base cloths 4 without using separate cloth pieces. That is, from the outer edge of the head protection portion 6 to the boundary line L (see FIG. 1) with the chest protection portion 5, the two base fabrics 4 are connected by two sewing portions H3 and H4 which are continuous in a predetermined width and substantially parallel. The first gas passage 9 and the second gas passage 10 are formed by sewing together.
[0035]
The upper gas outlet 14 and the lower gas outlet 15 were formed by separating the ends of the two sewn portions H3 and H4 from the sewn portion H4 in the first gas flow path 9.
[0036]
According to the second embodiment, the first gas flow path 9 and the second gas flow path 10 are formed by sewing both base cloths 4 together at the two sewing portions H3 and H4. It is not necessary to sew another cloth as in the embodiment, and the manufacture of the airbag 16 is easy.
[0037]
The upper gas outlet 14 and the lower gas outlet 15 are formed by separating the ends of the two sewn portions H3 and H4 from the first gas flow path 9, so that the notches are formed as in the previous embodiment. There is no need to form a non-sewn portion or the upper gas outlet 14 and the lower gas outlet 15 are easily formed.
[0038]
FIGS. 9 and 10 and FIGS. 11 and 12 show a modification of the second embodiment. FIGS. 9 and 10 show two stitched portions H5 and H6 each of which is double-alternately stitched. FIGS. 11 and 12 show an example in which the sewing portions H7 and H8 are each formed by triple alternate stitching. In any case, since the sewing portions H5 to H8 are alternately sewn in multiple layers, leakage of gas from the sewing portions H5 to H8 is reduced, and the expansion speed of the first gas passage and the second gas passage is reduced. Further improve. In addition, since the sewing is performed by the sewn portions H5 to H8, the strength of the sewn portions H5 to H8 is improved, and a thread thinner than a thread used for single stitching can be used.
[0039]
FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a third embodiment of the present invention. In the third embodiment, a tubular third gas flow path 17 is formed along the outer edge of the chest protection section 5 by adding a sewing portion H9, and one end of the third gas flow path 17 is connected to the third gas flow path 17. One end of the second gas flow path 10 is connected to the other end, and the other end is connected to the gas inlet 18. By doing so, only the outer shape can be secured first without the main body 5a of the chest protection portion 5 being inflated, and the positioning speed of the entire airbag 19 with respect to the occupant is improved.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a side view illustrating a relationship between an airbag and an occupant according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a side view showing a deployed state of the airbag alone shown in FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is an explanatory sectional view showing a state in which an airbag is deployed in a space between a vehicle body side wall and an occupant along a line SA-SA in FIG. 1;
FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing the internal structure of the airbag of FIG. 3;
FIG. 5 is a side view showing a state where a part of the airbag of FIG. 1 is pushed inward.
FIG. 6 is a side view showing a state in which the entire airbag of FIG. 5 is folded by an alligator.
FIG. 7 is a side view showing an airbag according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along the line SB-SB shown in FIG. 7;
FIG. 9 is a sectional view corresponding to FIG. 8, showing a state in which a sewing portion is double-alternately sewn;
FIG. 10 is a plan view showing a state in which a sewing portion is double-alternately sewn.
FIG. 11 is a sectional view corresponding to FIG. 8, showing a state in which a sewing portion is triple-alternately sewn;
FIG. 12 is a plan view showing a state where a sewing portion is triple-alternately sewn;
FIG. 13 is a side view showing an airbag according to a third embodiment of the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
2, 16, 19 Airbag 3 Inflator 4 Base cloth 5 Chest protection part 5a Chest protection part main body 6 Head protection part 6a Head protection part main body 7 Inlet 8 Cloth 9 First gas flow path 10 Second gas flow Roads 11, 18 Gas inlets 12, 14 Upper gas outlets 13, 15 Lower gas outlets 17 Third gas flow paths H <b> 1 to H <b> 9 Sewing section M Occupant L Boundary line D Vehicle side wall

Claims (7)

An airbag device for a side collision of an automobile, comprising a substantially L-shaped airbag including a chest protection portion and a head protection portion on a side portion of a seat back, and deploying forward when gas is blown from an inflator into the airbag. At
A first gas flow path formed in a tubular shape along an outer edge of the head protection part, and a first gas flow path formed along a boundary between the head protection part and the chest protection part, and one end of the first gas flow path; A second gas flow path connected to one end of the flow path,
A gas inlet for introducing gas from the inflator is formed at the other end of the first gas flow path, and an upper gas outlet opening into the head protection part main body and a chest protection part in the second gas flow path. An airbag device for a side collision of an automobile, wherein an open lower gas exhaust port is formed. It is a side collision airbag apparatus of the automobile of Claim 1, Comprising:
The side airbag device for a vehicle, wherein the lower gas outlet is formed larger than the upper gas outlet. An automobile side collision airbag device according to claim 1 or claim 2,
The airbag is formed by sewing outer edges of two base cloths,
The slender piece of cloth is bent into a tube shape and its side edges are overlapped, and the overlapped side edge is extended from the outer edge of the head protection part to the boundary line with the chest protection part by one continuous sewing part. A side collision airbag device for an automobile, wherein a first gas flow path and a second gas flow path are formed by sewing together on both base cloths. An automobile side collision airbag device according to claim 1 or claim 2,
The airbag is formed by sewing outer edges of two base cloths,
The two gaskets are sewn together by two sewn portions having a predetermined width and substantially parallel from the outer edge of the head protection portion to the boundary line with the chest protection portion. An airbag device for a side collision of an automobile, wherein a gas passage is formed. An automobile side collision airbag device according to claim 3 or 4, wherein:
The side bag airbag device for an automobile, wherein the sewn portions are alternately sewn. An automobile side collision airbag device according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
An airbag device for a side collision of an automobile, wherein the airbag is formed in an alligator fold that is sequentially pushed inward by a predetermined width from the vicinity of an inlet for mounting an inflator to a tip portion of a head protection portion. It is a side collision airbag apparatus of the motor vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
A tubular third gas flow path is formed along the outer edge of the chest protection part, and one end of the third gas flow path is connected to one end of the second gas flow path, while the other end is connected to the gas inlet. An airbag device for a side collision of an automobile, wherein the airbag device is connected to a vehicle.

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