JP3951612B2 - Airbag device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an airbag device that is an occupant protection device in an automobile.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, there is an airbag apparatus in which an inflator is disposed inside an airbag. In such an airbag device, for example, when a substantially cylindrical inflator is used, an inflator is preliminarily used to input an operation signal or the like after opening the rectangular mouth portion of the airbag and inserting the inflator into the airbag. There is a structure (hereinafter referred to as structure A) in which a harness connected to a wire is pulled out from the opening to the outside of the airbag, and the opening is closed by sewing except for a portion through which the harness passes to seal the airbag.
[0003]
Also, a flap is integrally provided at the opening of the rectangular mouth portion of the airbag, and after inserting an inflator with a stud bolt on the side wall into the airbag, the harness is pulled out from the opening to the outside of the airbag. On the side wall of the inflator, put out the stud bolt of the inflator to the outside of the airbag from the small hole provided in the flap with the mouth of the airbag and the mouth of the airbag, and tighten the nut to the stud bolt from the outside through a retainer or other holder There is a structure (hereinafter referred to as structure B) for closing the opening and gas-sealing the airbag.
[0004]
Also, an insertion hole is provided on the side of the airbag, and a hollow cylindrical member that is slightly larger than the inflator called an diffuser is inserted into the airbag through the insertion hole, and the inflator is inserted inside the diffuser. There is also a structure (hereinafter, structure C) in which the airbag is gas sealed by closing the opening of the diffuser and the opening on the side surface of the airbag with a disk-shaped member. In this case, a plurality of holes are formed in the side wall of the diffuser so that gas generated from the inflator can be supplied to the airbag.
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In the above structure A, since the inflator is arranged in the vicinity of the mouth portion of the air bag, when sewing the mouth after inserting the inflator, it is devised to hold the relatively heavy and hard inflator on the sewing table and to synchronize with the cloth movement by sewing. Is required. Further, in this case, the inflator cannot be directly held, and therefore, it is necessary to devise for holding through the airbag cloth. In addition, there are many management items such as prevention of interference between the sewing needle or the sewing head and the inflator or harness. Also, after sewing the airbag opened in the sewing process, the inflator must be inserted and the sewing process must be performed again. It is necessary to set up a simple process.
[0006]
In the above structure B, the flap is overlapped with the airbag mouth portion and pressed by the retainer for gas sealing, but when the harness is passed through the overlap portion, the harness is placed between the flap cloth and the mouth cloth. It is necessary to take a path that is folded back into at least a U-shape. Also, when the retainer is pressed, it must be devised so as not to bite the harness between the retainer and the inflator. Therefore, the structure for the gas seal must be advanced, and the process becomes complicated.
[0007]
In the structure C, the hole for inserting the cylindrical diffuser is generally circular, but in this case, the hole needs to have a diameter larger than the diameter of the diffuser. For this reason, in order to press the periphery of the hole with a disk-shaped member from the outside of the airbag and perform gas sealing, a backup that is sandwiched from the inside of the airbag is required. However, it is difficult to perform such a backup with a diffuser. Therefore, a flange is formed with an integral cloth at the edge of the insertion hole, the flange is inserted into the diffuser, and the flange is sandwiched by a disk-like member or inflator for gas sealing. Is a required structure.
[0008]
Conventionally, a circuit is configured by connecting a harness connected in advance to an inflator and a harness prepared on the vehicle side. In recent years, the harness on the inflator side is abolished by connecting the vehicle side harness directly to the inflator. Therefore, measures to reduce the cost have been developed. In this case, in common with the structures A and B, if an inflator whose harness is not previously connected is inserted into a closed bag body, the vehicle-side harness cannot be connected to the inflator after the airbag is mounted on the vehicle. The problem arises.
[0009]
The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and in an airbag device in which an inflator is accommodated inside an airbag, it is possible to simplify the troublesomeness of sewing and the complexity of the process after the inflator is inserted. An object of the present invention is to provide an airbag device that can easily gas-seal the airbag.
[0010]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The airbag apparatus of the present invention is an airbag apparatus including an airbag and an inflator that is accommodated inside the airbag and supplies gas, and an opening edge through which the inflator can be inserted into the airbag. insertion holes with the provided et al is, the insertion hole, so as to be larger opening upon insertion of said inflator, after insertion in which the air bag portion of the insertion hole near becomes smaller Rukoto folded tuck shape There are those the insertion hole the tuck in Rukoto this folded tuck portion is held down by the cover material from the bag outside is held between the inflator and the cover material is a gas seal.
[0011]
In the airbag device of the present invention, the insertion hole of the inflator is greatly opened at the time of insertion, is folded into a tack shape after insertion, and is opened to a small size. Is sandwiched between the inflator and the lid. Therefore, although it is a hole into which the inflator can be inserted, gas sealing can be easily performed by pressing it with a lid after the insertion.
[0012]
In the airbag apparatus of the present invention, the tack portion may be formed after the inflator is inserted from the insertion hole, and the lid member may be pressed down so as to maintain the folded shape of the tack portion.
[0013]
In addition, the tack portion is folded and formed into a tack shape by sewing, the tack portion is widened, an inflator is inserted from the insertion hole, and the tack portion is returned to the original folded state and then pressed by the lid member. You may make it. Thus, by previously forming the tack portion by sewing, the process after the inflator insertion can be further simplified.
[0014]
Further, the tack portion is made of a cloth separate from the cloth constituting the airbag body, the airbag body is provided with a body side insertion hole for inserting an inflator, and the tack portion is The cloth body may be sewn to the airbag main body so as to cover the main body side insertion hole in a state where the cloth is folded into a tack shape.
[0015]
In the airbag device of the present invention, the inflator is substantially cylindrical, the insertion hole has an opening edge longer than the circumference of the maximum diameter portion of the inflator, and the insertion hole protrudes from the bottom surface of the inflator. In some cases, the tack portion is formed so as not to be sandwiched between the bottom surface of the inflator and the lid member.
[0016]
In this case, a bolt protrudes from the bottom surface of the inflator, and the bolt passes through the insertion hole opened in the folded tack portion and the bolt hole provided in the lid member, and It may be tightened with a nut from the outside.
[0017]
In addition, a harness is attached to the bottom surface of the inflator, and the harness passes through the insertion hole that opens in the folded tack portion and the harness opening provided in the lid member, and the outside of the airbag. It may be drawn to. In this case, the route for pulling out the harness attached to the bottom surface of the inflator is simple, and it is not necessary to employ an advanced seal structure resulting from the harness route.
[0018]
Furthermore, a connection terminal is provided on the bottom surface of the inflator, the lid member is provided with a terminal opening for connecting a vehicle-side harness to the connection terminal, and the connection terminal is in a folded state. The opening may be exposed to the outside of the airbag by the insertion hole that opens and the terminal opening of the lid member. In this case, since the vehicle-side harness can be connected to the connection terminal of the inflator after the inflator is accommodated inside the airbag, the inflator-side harness is not required and the cost can be reduced.
[0019]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The airbag apparatus 10 which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention is demonstrated based on FIGS.
[0020]
As shown in FIG. 4, the airbag apparatus 10 is an airbag apparatus for a passenger seat disposed in an instrument panel 1 in front of the passenger seat of an automobile, and is a composite that is fitted in the opening portion 2 of the instrument panel. A resin door 12, an airbag 14 disposed in a folded state behind the resin door 12, and a substantially cylindrical inflator 16 disposed inside the airbag 14 are provided.
[0021]
The door 12 is provided with a thin broken portion 18 that is broken by an internal pressure when the airbag is operated, and the door 12 is pushed open when the broken portion 18 is broken. In addition, a frame-like door wall 20 that surrounds the side surface of the folded body of the airbag 14 is integrally formed on the door 12 so as to protrude from the back surface thereof. And the airbag 14 folded inside this door wall 20 is accommodated.
[0022]
The inflator 16 is installed inside the instrument panel 1 with its axial direction facing the vehicle width direction while being accommodated in the airbag 14. The inflator 16 is a single-injection type that supplies gas to the airbag 14 from a gas blowing portion 16a provided at one end in the axial direction. A stud bolt 42 projects from a circular bottom surface 16c at the end opposite to the gas blowing portion 16a. Further, a convex connection terminal 46 for connecting the vehicle-side harness 44 is provided on the bottom surface 16c.
[0023]
As shown in FIG. 1, the airbag 14 is formed by forming a base fabric cut into a predetermined shape into a three-dimensional bag shape by sewing 24, and for receiving the occupant and the accommodating portion 26 that accommodates the inflator 16. It consists of a main body portion 28 that spreads in an inversely tapered shape from the housing portion 26. The main body 28 is provided with vent holes 30 on the left and right side surfaces 14a.
[0024]
A cover 32 that holds the folded shape of the airbag 14 and a partition cloth 34 that covers the bottom surface of the folded airbag 14 and separates it from the internal space of the instrument panel 1 are sewn by the sewing 36. It is sewn.
[0025]
One end side of the cover 32 is sewn to the airbag 14 by sewing 36, and the cover 32 is fixed by a free end or sewing so that the airbag 14 folded at the other end side can be wrapped. And the fracture | rupture part 38 is provided by making a center part cross a some slit, and this fracture | rupture part 38 is fractured | ruptured by the internal pressure at the time of airbag operation.
[0026]
The central portion of the partition cloth 34 is sewn to the airbag 14 by the sewing 36, and a plurality of hooks 40 are fixed to the free ends on both sides thereof. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the partition cloth 34 is attached so as to close the lower end opening surface of the door wall 20 by inserting the hook 40 into the corresponding attachment hole 22 of the door wall 20 and hooking it. Here, as the partition cloth 34, the same kind of cloth as that used for the airbag 14 can be used.
[0027]
The airbag 14 incorporates the inflator 16, and then the bag body 28 is folded by a predetermined folding method. The folded body is wrapped with the cover 32, thereby forming a subassembly body 48 as shown in FIG. 5. Then, by inserting this subassembly body 48 into the inside of the door wall 20, closing the lower surface of the door wall 20 with the partition cloth 34, and then assembling it to the opening 2 of the instrument panel 1 from above, The airbag device 10 is configured. Thus, since the metal case is eliminated and the airbag storage space is formed by covering the bottom surface of the folded body of the airbag 14 with the partition cloth 34, the airbag device 10 is lightweight and compact.
[0028]
Hereinafter, a structure for inserting the inflator 16 into the airbag 14 will be described.
[0029]
As shown in FIG. 1A, an insertion hole 50 for inserting the inflator 16 is provided on the side surface of the accommodating portion 26 of the airbag 14. The insertion hole 50 has an opening edge longer than the circumference of the circular cross section of the largest diameter portion of the inflator 16, that is, the cylindrical body portion 16b, so that the cylindrical inflator 16 can be inserted in the axial direction. Here, since the insertion hole 50 can be freely deformed by utilizing the softness of the cloth, it is not necessarily a circular hole. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the insertion hole 50 has a slightly elongated opening shape. Moreover, the shape of the insertion hole 50 can also be made into a simple slit shape.
[0030]
The inflator 16 is inserted into the airbag 14 from the insertion hole 50. The inflator 16 is inserted from the gas blowing part 16a side, and as shown in FIG. 3A, the bottom surface 16c on the connection terminal 46 side is disposed on the bag side surface on the insertion hole 50 side, as shown in FIG. And the stud bolt 42 look out from the insertion hole 50.
[0031]
Then, as shown in FIG. 2, a tack portion 52 is formed by folding the airbag portion in the vicinity of the insertion hole 50 into a tack shape (folded shape), so that the opening area of the insertion hole 50 is more than the original state. Is also getting smaller. Specifically, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3B, the cloth has a cross-section S at a substantially central portion in the longitudinal direction of the insertion hole 50 so that the insertion hole 50 does not protrude outward from the bottom surface 16 c of the inflator 16. The tack part 52 is formed by folding in the shape of a letter. At this time, the stud bolt 42 and the connection terminal 46 are viewed through the insertion hole 50 which is a small opening by folding.
[0032]
As shown in FIG. 1B, the folded tack portion 52 is pressed by a disk-shaped lid member 54 from the outer side of the airbag 14, so that the folded shape of the tack portion 52 is reduced. While being held, the insertion hole 50 is gas-sealed. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 3B, the stud bolt 42 is passed through the folded insertion hole 50 and the bolt hole 56 provided in the lid member 54, and the nut is formed from the outside of the airbag 14. By tightening at 58, the tack portion 52 is sandwiched between the bottom surface 16 c of the inflator 16 and the lid member 54. Further, the insertion hole 50 disposed on the bottom surface 16c of the inflator 16 is completely covered with a lid member 54 and gas-sealed. Further, the connection terminal 46 is fitted into the folded insertion hole 50 and the terminal opening 60 provided in the lid member 54 and is exposed to the outside of the airbag 14.
[0033]
As described above, in this embodiment, the inflator insertion hole 50 is folded in a tack shape after insertion to make it small, and after making it small in this manner, gas is sealed by pressing with the lid member 54. Therefore, a simple gas seal is possible, and the troublesomeness of sewing and the complexity of the process after inserting the inflator can be simplified.
[0034]
Further, since the connection terminal 46 of the inflator 16 is exposed to the outside of the airbag 14, even after the airbag device 10 is mounted on the vehicle, the vehicle-side harness 44 is connected to the vehicle-side harness 44 as shown in FIG. Since it can connect to the connection terminal 46, an inflator side harness is unnecessary and it can aim at cost reduction.
[0035]
In the above embodiment, the tack portion 52 is formed after the inflator 16 is inserted. However, the tack portion 52 may be previously folded into a tack shape by sewing. In that case, since the insertion hole 50 is enlarged by widening the tack portion 52, the inflator 16 is inserted from the insertion hole 50, and then the tack portion 52 is closed to reduce the insertion hole 50 and then pressed by the lid material 54. Just put it in. In this case, after the inflator 16 is inserted, the tack portion 52 can be easily closed into a predetermined shape, so that the process after the inflator is inserted can be further simplified.
[0036]
Moreover, in the said embodiment, although it was set as the structure which abolishes the inflator side harness, instead of this, as shown in FIG. 6, the inflator side harness 62 was attached to the bottom face of the inflator 16, and this harness 62 was attached. The folded insertion hole 50 and the harness opening 64 provided in the lid member 54 may be pulled out to the outside of the airbag 14. Even in this case, the route for pulling out the harness 62 attached to the bottom surface 16c of the inflator 16 to the outside of the airbag 14 is simple, and there is an effect that it is not necessary to adopt an advanced seal structure resulting from the harness route. It is done.
[0037]
Next, the airbag apparatus which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention is demonstrated based on FIGS. In addition, what attached | subjected the code | symbol same as the said embodiment has abbreviate | omitted description as what has the same structure unless there is particular notice.
[0038]
The airbag device according to the second embodiment differs from the above-described embodiment in that the tack portion 52 is configured by a separate fabric 70 from the fabric that configures the airbag body 14.
[0039]
The airbag main body 14 is provided with a main body side insertion hole 72 for inserting the inflator 16. As shown in FIG. 9, the main body side insertion hole 72 is a circular hole having a diameter larger than the diameter of the maximum diameter portion of the inflator 16.
[0040]
As shown in FIG. 8A, the separate cloth 70 constituting the tack portion 52 has a rectangular shape, and is provided with an elongated insertion hole 50 similar to that of the first embodiment at the center. The separate cloth 70 is folded into two S-shaped cross sections along the crease lines x1 and x2, and a tack 52 is provided as shown in FIG. 8B. The separate cloth 70 in this state is inserted into the main body side of the airbag body 14. The holes 72 are overlapped so as to cover them and are sewn by sewing 74 around them as shown in FIG.
[0041]
In this case, when inserting the inflator 16 into the airbag 14, as shown in FIG.7 (b), the tack part 52 is expanded and the inflator 16 is inserted in the insertion hole 50 which appears by it. At that time, since the main body side insertion hole 72 of the airbag 14 is larger than the inflator 16, the inflator 16 that has passed through the insertion hole 50 is guided into the airbag 14 as it is.
[0042]
After the inflator 16 is inserted in this manner, the tack portion 52 is closed, and then the lid member 54 is fastened in the same manner as in the first embodiment, so that the tack portion 52 is inflated as shown in FIG. The insertion hole 50 is gas-sealed by being sandwiched between the bottom surface 16 c of the 16 and the lid member 54.
[0043]
FIG. 10 is a modification of the tack unit 52 in the second embodiment. In this example, two tacks 52a and 52b are provided on the separate cloth 70 constituting the tack part 52. This makes it easy to spread the tack part 52 when the inflator 16 is inserted, and the inflator 16 is inserted more. It is easy.
[0044]
【The invention's effect】
With the airbag device of the present invention, it is possible to easily perform gas sealing by pressing the inflator insertion hole with the lid material after insertion, so that it is possible to simplify the troublesomeness of sewing and the complexity of the process after the inflator is inserted. it can.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1A is a perspective view of an airbag and an inflator according to a first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1B is a perspective view of an assembled state thereof.
FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of a main part of FIG. 1 (b).
3A is a cross-sectional view of a main part showing a state in which an inflator is inserted into an airbag, and FIG. 3B is a cross-sectional view of a main part in a state where a lid is further covered.
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the airbag device of the embodiment.
FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of the airbag apparatus.
FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a main part of an airbag device according to a modification of the first embodiment.
7A and 7B are perspective views of a main part of an airbag according to a second embodiment, in which FIG. 7A shows a state where the tack portion is closed, and FIG. 7B shows a state where the tack portion is spread.
FIG. 8A is a perspective view of another cloth in the second embodiment, and FIG. 8B is a perspective view showing a state in which the separate cloth is folded.
FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of a main part of an airbag device according to a second embodiment.
FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a main part of an airbag showing a modified example of the separate cloth.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Airbag apparatus 14 ... Airbag 16 ... Inflator 16c ... Inflator bottom face 42 ... Stud bolt 44 ... Vehicle side harness 46 ... Connection terminal 50 ... Insertion hole 52 ... Tuck part 54 ... Cover material 56 ... Bolt hole 58 ... Nut 60 ... Terminal opening 62 ... Inflator harness 64 ... Harness opening 70 ... Separate cloth 72 ... Body side insertion hole

Claims (8)

An airbag device comprising an airbag and an inflator that is housed inside the airbag and supplies gas,
The insertion hole having an opening edge which can be inserted the inflator inward provided we are in the air bag, the insertion hole, so as to be larger opening upon insertion of said inflator, after insertion the insertion hole near the air bag portions are those decreases in Rukoto folded tuck shape,
Airbag device, wherein the insertion hole the folded tuck portion is the tuck in Rukoto is held down by the cover material from the bag outside is held between the inflator and the cover material is a gas seal.   The airbag apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the tack portion is formed after the inflator is inserted from the insertion hole, and the lid member is pressed down so as to hold a folded shape of the tack portion.   The tack part is formed into a tack-like shape by sewing, the tack part is widened, the inflator is inserted from the insertion hole, the tack part is returned to the original folded state, and then pressed by the lid member. The airbag device according to claim 1. The tack portion is made of a cloth different from the cloth constituting the airbag body, and the airbag body is provided with a body side insertion hole for inserting the inflator,
The airbag device according to claim 3, wherein the tack portion is sewn to the airbag main body so as to cover the main body side insertion hole in a state where the separate cloth is folded into a tack shape.   The inflator has a substantially cylindrical shape, the insertion hole includes an opening edge longer than the circumference of the maximum diameter portion of the inflator, and the tack portion is formed so that the insertion hole does not protrude from the bottom surface of the inflator; The airbag device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the tack portion is sandwiched between a bottom surface of an inflator and the lid member.   A bolt protrudes from the bottom surface of the inflator, and the bolt penetrates the insertion hole opened in the folded tack portion and the bolt hole provided in the lid member from the outside of the airbag. 6. The airbag device according to claim 5, wherein the airbag device is tightened with a nut.   A harness is attached to the bottom surface of the inflator, and the harness passes through the insertion hole opened in the tack portion in a folded state and the harness opening provided in the lid member, to the outside of the airbag. 6. The airbag apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the airbag apparatus is pulled out.   A connection terminal is provided on the bottom surface of the inflator, the lid member is provided with a terminal opening for connecting a vehicle-side harness to the connection terminal, and the connection terminal is folded in the tuck portion. 6. The airbag device according to claim 5, wherein the airbag device is exposed to the outside of the airbag by the opening insertion hole and the terminal opening of the lid member.

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