JP3729038B2 - Vehicle airbag device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an airbag device for a vehicle.
[0002]
[Prior art]
As an airbag device for protecting a passenger's head at the time of a vehicle side collision, for example, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-156450, it may be provided on a vehicle body inner wall portion on the vehicle interior side of a roof rail. In this type of airbag device, a metal pad having a concave cross section (a cross-sectional hat shape, a U-shaped cross section, etc.) having an opening on the inner wall side of the vehicle body and a long size in the front-rear direction is used. Before the metal pad is attached to the inner wall of the vehicle body, a folded airbag is accommodated, and several parts of the opening are closed with a part called Tyvek, which is bridged above and below the opening, and adhesive tape. The airbag is held inside.
[0003]
In this way, the metal pad incorporating the airbag has its upper end attached to the inner wall of the vehicle body and further covered with an interior material that is easily removed from the vehicle interior side. At the time of a side collision of the vehicle, the airbag is inflated to push and expand the lower end portion of the metal pad toward the inside of the vehicle interior, and is deployed downward as it is to protect the passenger's head.
[0004]
Since this metal pad is attached to the inner wall of the vehicle body and becomes a hollow structure with an airbag inside, if the degree of side impact of the automobile is not enough to deploy the airbag, the metal pad It can be easily deformed to absorb the impact energy of the passenger's head.
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in such a conventional technique, since the airbag is held inside the metal pad, it is necessary to close the opening of the metal pad with several parts such as a tiebeck, which increases the number of parts and the number of work steps. It is.
[0006]
The present invention has been made paying attention to such a conventional technique, and provides a vehicle airbag device capable of reducing the number of parts and the number of work steps.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
According to the first aspect of the present invention, an upper end of a metal pad having a concave cross section in which an inner wall portion side of the roof rail is opened and a airbag is held in a folded state is formed in the vehicle body inner wall portion of the roof rail. A vehicle airbag device in which an airbag inflated at the time of a vehicle collision is configured to expand downward by pushing the lower end portion of the metal pad toward the vehicle interior side. A holding piece that protrudes to hold the airbag in the metal pad is integrally formed by cutting and raising a part near the upper surface of the metal pad downward .
[0008]
According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the holding piece for holding the airbag inside is integrally formed on a part of the metal pad, a separate part such as a conventional tyvek becomes unnecessary. In addition, the number of parts and work man-hours can be reduced.
[0010]
Further , since the holding piece is formed by cutting and raising a part near the upper surface portion of the metal pad, the holding piece can be formed at the same time when the metal pad is pressed, and the metal pad can be easily manufactured. Further, since the holding piece is downward and the lower side of the opening of the metal pad is in an open state, it does not interfere with the airbag that is deployed downward.
[0011]
According to a second aspect of the present invention, mounting pieces are formed at predetermined intervals in the front-rear direction at the upper end of the metal pad, the mounting pieces are attached to the inner wall of the vehicle body, and holding pieces are formed at portions other than the mounting pieces. It is a thing.
[0012]
According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the holding piece is formed at a position different from the mounting piece, the notch generated by the formation of the holding piece does not coincide with the position of the mounting piece, thereby preventing the rigidity of the mounting piece from being lowered. it can.
[0013]
According to a third aspect of the present invention, the holding piece is formed at a substantially middle position of the mounting piece forming interval.
[0014]
According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the holding piece is formed at a substantially intermediate position of the mounting piece forming interval, the notch generated by the formation of the holding piece is farthest from the position of the mounting piece, and the rigidity of the mounting piece is increased. Degradation can be most effectively prevented.
[0015]
In the invention according to claim 4, a bead extending in the vertical direction is formed at a position corresponding to the notch generated by cutting and raising the holding piece in the metal pad.
[0016]
According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, since the bead is formed at a position corresponding to the notch after the holding piece is formed, it is possible to compensate for a decrease in rigidity due to the notch of the metal pad, and to absorb the impact energy of the passenger's head. Can be increased.
[0017]
In the invention according to claim 5 , the metal pad is at least divided into two in the front-rear direction.
[0018]
According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the metal pad is divided into at least two parts in the front-rear direction and bent from the middle. Therefore, when the metal pad is attached, the work of putting the metal pad into the passenger compartment is easy. Become.
[0019]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a view of the upper part of the automobile as viewed from the vehicle interior R side. Reference numeral 1 denotes a front pillar, 2 denotes a center pillar, and 3 denotes a rear pillar. A roof rail 4 (see FIG. 3) having a closed cross-sectional structure is formed on the top of each pillar 1, 2, and 3 along the front-rear direction. As shown in FIG. 3, the roof rail 4 is formed of a roof rail outer 5 and a roof rail inner 6.
[0020]
The “vehicle body inner wall portion” is formed by the roof rail inner 6. An end portion of the roof panel 7 is joined to the upper end portion of the roof rail 4, and a roof drip 8 for drainage is formed at the joined portion. A weather strip 9 is attached to the lower end portion of the roof rail 4 to ensure hermeticity with a door (not shown). The roof rail inner 6 is provided with mounting holes 10 at predetermined intervals, and a welding nut 11 is provided in advance on the back surface of the mounting hole 10.
[0021]
A metal pad 12 is attached to the attachment hole 10. The metal pad 12 has a substantially trapezoidal cross section (concave cross section) composed of an upper surface portion 12a, a side surface portion 12b, and a lower surface portion 12c, and has an opening 13 on the roof rail inner 6 side. The upper surface portion 12a is perpendicular to the roof rail inner 6, but the lower surface portion 12c is inclined. This metal pad 12 is divided into two parts in the front and rear at the upper part of the center pillar 2. Each front and rear metal pad 12 is provided with upward mounting pieces 16 at the front and rear end portions and the central portion thereof.
[0022]
A holding piece 17 cut and raised downward is integrally formed at an intermediate position of each attachment piece 16 in the metal pad 12 from the upper surface portion 12a to a part of the side surface portion 12b. The holding piece 17 shields the upper side of the opening 13 in the metal pad 12, and an entrance A with a predetermined interval remains between the lower end of the holding piece 17 and the lower end of the lower surface portion 12c (FIG. 3). reference).
[0023]
Since such a holding piece 17 is formed, a notch 19 is formed in the metal pad 12 after the holding piece 17 is cut and raised. A bead 20 is formed in the vertical direction from the side surface portion 12b to the lower surface portion 12c at the position where the notch 19 is formed. Since the bead 20 and the holding piece 17 are formed simultaneously when the metal pad 12 is press-molded, there is no particular trouble in the process of manufacturing the metal pad 12. In particular, the holding piece 17 can hold an air bag 21 (described later) housed in the metal pad 12, which eliminates the need for a separate part such as a conventional tiebeck, and accordingly, the number of parts and the number of work steps are reduced. Reduction can be achieved.
[0024]
Inside the metal pad 12, the airbag 21 is stored in a folded state. The thickness B when the airbag 21 is folded is a size corresponding to the inlet A left between the lower end of the holding piece 17 and the lower end of the metal pad 12 (A = B). Therefore, the folded airbag 21 can be stored by being pushed into the metal pad 12 from the entrance A. Since the lower surface portion 12c of the metal pad 12 is inclined, the airbag 21 can be easily pushed. After the storage, the holding piece 17 presses the side surface of the airbag 21 and the lower surface portion 12c supports the lower portion of the airbag 21, so that the airbag 21 is securely held in the metal pad 12. The rear end portion of the airbag 21 protrudes rearward from the metal pad 12 in order to connect the inflator 22.
[0025]
Next, an operation for attaching the metal pad 12 containing the airbag 21 in advance to the roof rail inner 6 will be described. The inflator 22 is not yet connected to the rear end portion of the airbag 21. First, the metal pad 12 holding the airbag 21 inside is put into the vehicle interior R. At this time, since the metal pad 12 is divided into the front and the rear, it is easy to put in the vehicle interior R and the work is easy. After the metal pad 12 is placed in the vehicle interior R, the attachment pieces 16 formed on the metal pad 12 are attached to the respective attachment pieces 10 with the welding nuts 11 formed on the roof rail inner 6 using the bolts 14. In this embodiment, since the holding piece 17 is formed at an intermediate position of the formation interval of the attachment pieces 16, the notch 19 after the formation of the holding pieces 17 is farthest from the position of the adjacent attachment pieces 16. Since the rigidity reduction of the mounting piece 16 can be most effectively prevented, the mounting rigidity of the metal pad 12 is also improved.
[0026]
By attaching the metal pad 12 in this manner, the airbag 21 is substantially housed between the roof rail inner 6 and the metal pad 12. Although the lower end portion of the metal pad 12 is not attached to the roof rail inner 6, the state close to the roof rail inner 6 is maintained by the self-shape holding performance (rigidity) of the metal pad 12 itself.
[0027]
Next, an inflator 22 is connected to the rear end portion of the airbag 21, and a pair of brackets 15 provided on the inflator 22 are fixed to the rear pillar 3 using bolts and nuts (not shown). After the metal pad 12 and the inflator 22 are attached in this way, the vehicle interior R side of the metal pad 12 is covered with a garnish 23 and a roof trim 24.
[0028]
Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. First, when a sensor (not shown) detects a side collision of the automobile, gas is ejected from the inflator 22 into the airbag 21 and the airbag 21 begins to expand in the metal pad 12. Since the metal pad 12 is attached only to the attachment piece 16 at the upper end portion and not attached to the lower end portion, when the airbag 21 is inflated, the metal pad 12 moves toward the vehicle interior R side with the attachment piece 16 as a hinge. The air bag 21 is pushed out and spreads downward from between the lower end of the metal pad 12 and the roof rail inner 6 to form a curtain shape. Therefore, the passenger's head can be protected by the airbag 21 deployed in a curtain shape. Even if the holding piece 17 is formed on the metal pad 12 so as to block a part of the opening 13, the holding piece 17 is formed downward from the upper end of the metal pad 12, so that the airbag 21 faces downward. Does not interfere with deployment.
[0029]
When the degree of side collision is not enough to deploy the airbag 21, the passenger's head hits the metal pad 12, and the impact energy of the passenger's head can be absorbed. In particular, since the bead 20 is formed at a position corresponding to the notch 19 of the metal pad 12, it is possible to compensate for a decrease in rigidity due to the notch 19 of the metal pad 12, and to increase the amount of shock energy absorbed by the occupant head.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a vehicle interior perspective view showing a vehicle airbag apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a metal pad.
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a metal pad.
[Explanation of symbols]
6 Roof rail inner (vehicle body inner wall)
12 Metal pad 13 Opening 16 Mounting piece 17 Holding piece 19 Notch 20 Bead 21 Air bag 22 Inflator R Car interior

Claims (5)

An upper end of a metal pad having a concave cross-sectional shape with an opening on the inner wall side of the vehicle body and an airbag held in a folded state is attached to the inner wall of the roof rail on the vehicle interior side. An airbag device for a vehicle in which the airbag is adapted to expand downward by pushing the lower end of the metal pad toward the vehicle interior side,
A holding piece that protrudes toward the opening side and holds the airbag in the metal pad is formed integrally with the metal pad by cutting and raising a part near the upper surface of the metal pad downward. A vehicle airbag device. The airbag apparatus for a vehicle according to claim 1,
An attachment piece is formed on the upper end of the metal pad at predetermined intervals in the front-rear direction, the attachment piece is attached to the inner wall of the vehicle body, and a holding piece is formed at a portion other than the attachment piece. Vehicle airbag device. The vehicle airbag device according to claim 2,
The vehicle airbag apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the holding piece is formed at a substantially intermediate position between the formation intervals of the attachment pieces . The airbag apparatus for a vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 3 ,
A vehicle airbag apparatus, wherein a bead extending in a vertical direction is formed at a position corresponding to a notch generated by cutting and raising the holding piece in the metal pad . It is an airbag apparatus of the vehicle of any one of Claims 1-4, Comprising:
The vehicle airbag apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the metal pad is divided into at least two parts in the front-rear direction .

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