JP4186997B2 - Energy absorption device for vehicle side - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an energy absorbing device for a side portion of a vehicle, and particularly relates to a technical field in which an airbag unit is disposed in a seat covered with a skin material.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, it is well known that an airbag unit is disposed on a steering handle to ensure the safety of an occupant during a frontal collision of a vehicle body. On the other hand, in recent years, for example, as shown in Patent Document 1, an airbag unit is disposed on a side portion in a seat, and an airbag is deployed on the side of an occupant at the time of a collision with a vehicle body side portion. It has been proposed to protect the occupant by absorbing the energy of the side collision with the airbag.
JP-A-6-64491

  By the way, when the airbag unit is disposed in the seat as in the above proposal example, the outermost surface of the seat is usually covered with a skin material, so the skin material corresponding to the airbag unit is A fragile portion that easily opens when subjected to an airbag deployment pressure is provided, and the airbag is deployed outward from the opened fragile portion.

  However, as the skin material is usually used with a high stretch rate so that wrinkles do not occur on the surface, the skin material is first stretched to the outside of the seat when subjected to airbag deployment pressure, and thereafter The fragile part will open. Therefore, there is room for improvement in order to open the fragile portion more reliably by the deployment pressure of the airbag.

  This invention is made | formed in view of such a point, The place made into the objective is to try to open the weak part of a skin material more reliably by the expansion | deployment pressure of an airbag.

In order to achieve the above object, in the present invention, the opening of the fragile portion is closed by sewing the first skin material and the second skin material with an opening closing sewing thread, and the first skin material is The first skin material has a first folded portion formed by folding an end portion on the opening side of the fragile portion of the first skin material at a sewing portion by the opening closing sewing thread, and the second skin material is the second skin material. A second folded portion formed by folding an end portion of the fragile portion opening side to the inside of the seat at a sewing portion by the opening closing sewing thread, and the first folded portion and the outer side of the seat from the first folded portion. Sewing together with the first skin material and the first skin material outside the seat with the first sewing thread different from the opening closing sewing thread between the first skin material and the first skin material. The first skin material reinforcing body for reinforcing the first skin material around the fragile portion, and the second folded portion A second sewing thread different from the opening sewing thread and the first sewing thread between the second folding part and the second skin material outside the seat with respect to the second folding part, and the second folding part and the second folding material. A second skin material reinforcing body for reinforcing the second skin material around the fragile portion is provided by sewing together with the second skin material outside the seat from the folded portion .

Specifically, in the invention of claim 1, comprising an airbag unit that is disposed on the side near portion in the sheet of surface material is formed by covered state, to the surface material, by receiving the air bag deployment pressure It is premised on a vehicle side energy absorbing device that is provided with a fragile portion that can be opened, and that an airbag is deployed from the opened fragile portion to the outside of the seat.

The skin material includes a first skin material that extends from the rear side of the sheet through the outer side in the seat width direction toward the fragile portion, and a second skin material that extends from the center side in the seat width direction on the front side of the seat toward the fragile portion. The opening of the fragile portion is closed by sewing the first skin material and the second skin material with a sewing thread for closing the opening, and the first skin material is the first skin material. A fragile portion opening side end portion of the material has a first folded portion that is folded back to the inside of the seat by a sewing portion by the opening closing sewing thread, and the second skin material has a fragile portion opening of the second skin material A second folded portion formed by folding the end portion on the inner side of the seat at the sewing portion by the opening closing sewing thread, the first folded portion and the first skin material outside the seat from the first folded portion, Between the first sewing thread different from the opening closing sewing thread The first skin material reinforcing body that reinforces the first skin material around the fragile portion by sewing together with the first skin portion and the first skin material outside the seat from the first folded portion, and the second Between the folded portion and the second skin material outside the seat with respect to the second folded portion, the second folded portion is separated from the second folded portion by a second sewing thread different from the opening closing sewing thread and the first sewing thread. A second skin material reinforcing body that reinforces the second skin material around the fragile portion by being sewn together with the second skin material outside the seat from the second folded portion .

In the invention of claim 2, in the invention of claim 1, the first and second skin material reinforcements are resin plates.

  According to a third aspect of the invention, in the first aspect of the invention, a pad is provided on the inner side of the skin material sheet, and the pad breaks by receiving a deployment pressure of the airbag at a portion corresponding to the airbag unit in the pad. It is assumed that a break starting point portion is provided as a starting point for starting.

In the invention of claim 4, in the invention of claim 3, the break starting point portion of the pad is cut toward the weak portion .

According to the first to fourth aspects of the invention, since the skin material around the fragile portion is reinforced by the first and second skin material reinforcements , the opening closing sewing thread can be more reliably cut by the airbag deployment pressure. And the fragile portion can be opened more reliably.

As described above, according to the energy absorbing device for the vehicle side portion of the present invention, the opening of the fragile portion is closed by sewing the first skin material and the second skin material with the sewing thread for closing the opening, In the first skin material, there is a first folded portion formed by folding the end portion on the opening side of the fragile portion to the inside of the sheet at the sewing portion by the opening closing sewing thread, and a first skin material outside the seat from the first folded portion. Between the first folded portion and the first skin material outside the seat with respect to the first folded portion by a first sewing thread different from the opening closing sewing thread, thereby surrounding the weak portion A first skin material reinforcing body that reinforces the first skin material, and a second folded portion formed by folding an end portion on the opening side of the fragile portion of the second skin material to the inside of the seat at a sewing portion by the sewing thread for closing the opening. And the second skin material outside the seat from the second folded portion, By sewing together with the second folding part and the second skin material outside the seat with respect to the second folding part by the second sewing thread different from the opening closing sewing thread and the first sewing thread, By providing a second skin material reinforcing body that reinforces the second skin material around the fragile portion, the opening closing sewing thread is more reliably cut by the airbag deployment pressure, and the fragile portion is more reliably secured. Thus, the airbag can be more reliably deployed from the opening.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, first, a reference embodiment similar in configuration to the embodiment of the present invention except for the main part will be described, and thereafter, the embodiment of the present invention will be described in terms of differences from the reference embodiment.

(Reference form)
1 to 4 show a seat 1 on the left side of a front seat of an automobile in an energy absorbing device for a vehicle side portion according to a reference embodiment of the present invention (in the following description, front and rear and right and left of an automobile are simply referred to as front and rear and right and left). The seat 1 includes a seat cushion 2, a seat back 3, and a headrest 4. Sliders 7 and 7 extending in the front-rear direction are provided at the lower portions of the left and right ends of the seat cushion 2, and the sliders 7 are fixed to the floor at the front and rear portions via rail mounting members 10 and 10, respectively. The front and rear positions of the seat 1 can be adjusted by being engaged with the slide rails 8. Further, a knuckle member 9 is provided at the rear portion of the seat cushion 2 so as to be rotatable about a rotation shaft 11 extending in the left-right direction, and the seat back 3 is rotated with respect to the seat cushion 2 via the knuckle member 9. The angle of the seat back 3 can be adjusted by being coupled so as to be rotatable about 11.

  The headrest 4 is attached to the seat back 3 by inserting the frames 5 and 5 protruding from the lower end surface thereof into two holes formed in the upper end surface of the seat back 3.

  A frame-like seat back frame 13 (seat frame) having upper and lower portions and left and right side portions made of a steel pipe material is provided on the outer periphery of the rear portion in the seat back 3. The two headrest adjusting members 14 and 14 are fitted and fixed so as to be fitted to the respective frames 5 protruding from the lower end surface of the headrest 4 and adjust the vertical position of the headrest 4.

  Between the left and right side portions of the seat back frame 13, a plurality of wire frames 18, 18,... Both ends of each wire frame 18 are fixedly attached to the front sides of both left and right sides of the seat back frame 13 by welding.

  A pad 15 is provided on the front side of each wire frame 18, and the pad 15 is supported by each wire frame 18 so as not to escape backward when the occupant falls into the seat back 3. Further, the pad 15 is supported by the seat back frame 13 so that the end portion of the pad 15 wraps around from the outside of the seat back frame 13. The seat outer surface of the pad 15 is covered with a skin material 19 made of fabric. That is, the skin material 19 is covered on the outermost side of the sheet 1.

  Side support portions 2a, 2a bulging upward are provided at the left and right ends of the seat cushion 2, and side support portions 3a, 3a bulging forward are provided at the left and right ends of the seat back 3, respectively. It plays the role of supporting not to move.

  In the seat back 3, an airbag unit 21 is disposed in a side portion near the side door near the seat 1, that is, in the left side support portion 3a. The airbag unit 21 has a module can 22 having a substantially U-shaped cross section. In the module can 22, a cylindrical can-like inflator 23 containing an ignition part and explosives is provided on the back side, and an opening side is also provided. Each of the airbags 24 folded in is accommodated. Although not shown, an ignition signal is supplied to the ignition part of the inflator 23 from an acceleration sensor that detects a side collision to the left side of the automobile. The ignition part ignites the explosive by the ignition signal. The air bag 24 is inflated and expanded by a large amount of gas generated at that time.

  The airbag unit 21 is arranged such that its longitudinal direction substantially coincides with the vertical direction of the seat back 3, and mounting members are provided by two sets of upper and lower bolts 27, 27 and nuts 28, 28 on the side surface of the module can 22. It is fastened to one end of 26. The other end of the attachment member 26 is fixedly attached to the seat back frame 13 by welding. Thus, the airbag unit 21 is fixed to the seat back frame 13 via the attachment member 26. The airbag unit 21 is arranged so that the opening direction of the module can 22, that is, the direction in which the airbag 24 is deployed is inclined to the left with respect to the front.

  A portion corresponding to the airbag unit 21 in the seat inner surface portion of the pad 15, that is, a substantially front portion of the opening of the module can 22 in the airbag unit 21 receives the deployment pressure of the airbag 24 and the pad 15 starts to break. The notch groove part 33 used as a starting point part is provided, and this notch groove part 33 is made weaker than another part. The cut groove portion 33 is provided at substantially the same height in the vertical direction of the module can 22 and the seat back 3 of the airbag unit 21 and over substantially the same length. When the airbag 24 is deployed, the pad 15 begins to break from the cut groove portion 33 due to the deployment pressure, and the portion on the extension line of the cut groove portion 33 is broken.

  The skin material 19 corresponding to the airbag unit 21, that is, the skin material 19 on the substantially extended line of the cut groove portion 33, is provided with a fragile portion 19 a so as to open upon receiving the deployment pressure of the airbag 24. That is, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, the fragile portion 19a is substantially linear at substantially the same height in the vertical direction of the cut groove portion 33 and the seat back 3 and over the same length. The opening portion of the skin material 19 is closed by sewing, and when the airbag 24 is subjected to the deployment pressure, the closed weak portion 19a is opened, and the open weak portion 19a and the broken portion of the pad 15 are opened. Accordingly, the airbag 24 is deployed outside the seat back 3 and between the occupant of the seat 1 and the left side door.

  The sewn portion of the weakened portion 19a has the skin material 19 at both ends of the opening folded back and stitched together by the first sewing threads 35, 35. The double stitches are sewn together by the sewing thread 36. The strength of the first and second sewing threads 35 and 36 of the sewing portion is set lower in the skin material 19 than in other sewing portions.

  The skin material 19 is provided with expansion limiting means for limiting the expansion of the skin material 19 before the fragile portion 19a is opened by the deployment pressure of the airbag 24 of the airbag unit 21. That is, the extension limiting means is composed of a plurality of low-extension sheet-like members 38, 38,... Having a lower extension rate than the skin material 19, and each of the low-extension sheet-like members 38 is a skin material 19 near the fragile portion 19a. The back surface 19 and the skin material 19 are joined together by adhesion. The plurality of low-extension sheet-like members 38, 38,... Are approximately along the longitudinal direction of the fragile portion 19a that is linear on both sides in the opposite direction of the fragile portion 19a across the fragile portion 19a. They are spaced apart. Each low-extension sheet-like member 38 on one side of the fragile portion 19a extends from the vicinity of the fragile portion 19a to the vicinity of the left side support portion 3a base on the seating surface side (front side) of the seat back 3, and The extended sheet-like member 38 extends from the vicinity of the fragile portion 19a to the vicinity of the rear side of the left side support portion 3a.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the airbag 24 is deployed forward from the seat back 3 and between the occupant sitting on the seat 1 and the side door 40 from the occupant's abdomen to the head. The chest protection part 24a corresponding to the chest part of the occupant and the head protection part 24b corresponding to the head part of the occupant are provided substantially continuously above the chest protection part 24a. The chest protection part 24 a is directly connected to the inflator 23 of the airbag unit 21 and extends substantially forward from the inflator 23. The head protecting part 24b is connected to the chest protecting part 24a and extends substantially upward so that the gas as the airbag developing gas flows through the chest protecting part 24a. .

  The operation when the airbag 24 is deployed due to a side collision in the vehicle side energy absorbing device configured as described above will be described. First, when the acceleration sensor detects a side collision to the left side of the automobile, a deployment signal is supplied to the ignition unit of the inflator 23 and the ignition unit ignites. As a result, the explosive in the inflator 23 burns at a high speed, a large amount of gas is supplied to the airbag 24, and the airbag 24 tries to expand and deploy. The airbag 24 attempts to deploy substantially forward, which is the opening direction of the module can 22, contacts the seat inner surface of the pad 15, and presses the pad 15 from the seat inner side to the outer side by the deployment pressure. For this reason, the pad 15 starts to break from the fragile portion, that is, the cut groove portion 33, and the pad 15 is broken substantially along the extension line of the cut groove portion 33.

  Next, the fragile portion 19a of the skin material 19 is opened, but before that, the skin material 19 in the vicinity of the fragile portion 19a is expanded to the outside of the seat by receiving the deployment pressure of the airbag 24, and for the time it is expanded. Opening is slow. However, in this reference embodiment, since the extension of the skin material 19 itself is limited by the respective low-extension sheet-like members 38, the extension amount of the skin material 19 becomes small, and the time to opening is short. Then, the strength of the first and second sewing threads 35 and 36 of the sewing part that is a double stitch in the fragile part 19 a is set lower than that of the other sewing parts in the skin material 19, and moreover than the first sewing thread 35. In addition, since the deployment pressure of the airbag 24 is greatly applied to the second sewing thread 36, only the second sewing thread 36 is cut and the fragile portion 19a is opened. Furthermore, since the skin material 19 around the fragile portion 19a is reinforced by the first sewing thread 35, the skin material 19 itself around the fragile portion 19a is broken, so that the skin material 19 is opened before the sewing. The airbag 24 does not open out of position, and the airbag 24 can be reliably and quickly deployed from the opening before sewing.

  Subsequently, the airbag 24 is deployed to the front outside of the seat back 3 from the open fragile portion 19 a and the broken portion of the pad 15. At this time, the chest protection part 24a connected to the inflator 23 of the airbag unit 21 is first deployed, and then the gas flows into the head protection part 24b and the head protection part 24b is deployed. As a result, the deployment of the head protection part 24b is slightly delayed, but since the time until the fragile part 19a of the skin material 19 is opened is short, the time until the head protection part 24b is fully deployed is also short. I'll do it. As a result, even if the large-capacity airbag 24 having such a head protecting portion 24b is provided, the airbag 24 can be deployed in a short time, and the chest of an occupant sitting on the seat 1 and It is possible to prevent the head from colliding with the left side door. Therefore, it is possible to effectively use the energy absorbing device on the side of the vehicle and to improve the safety of the passenger.

  Therefore, in the above reference embodiment, the skin material 19 in the vicinity of the fragile portion 19a is used as an expansion limiting means for restricting the expansion of the skin material 19 before the fragile portion 19a is opened by the deployment pressure of the airbag 24 of the airbag unit 21. A plurality of low-extension sheet-like members 38, 38,... Having a lower expansion rate than the skin material 19 are provided on the back surface, and the low-extension sheet-like members 38, 38,. Since the skin material 19 and the skin material 19 are integrally bonded to both sides in the opposing direction of 19a, the stretching of the skin material 19 itself can be effectively limited with a simple configuration, and the amount of stretching can be reduced. For this reason, the opening action of the fragile portion 19a due to the deployment pressure of the airbag 24 is promoted, and the time until the fragile portion 19a is opened is shortened, and the airbag 24 is smoothly opened from the opened fragile portion 19a. Expand outward. Therefore, the airbag 24 can be easily deployed outside the seat back 3 in a short time.

  Further, the plurality of low-extension sheet-like members 38, 38,... Are arranged at predetermined intervals substantially along the longitudinal direction of the fragile portion 19a that is linear, so that the surface of the skin material 19 Can be effectively suppressed, and the soft touch of the skin material 19 can be maintained. Therefore, appearance and sitting comfort can be improved.

  Further, since the airbag unit 21 is disposed in the left side support portion 3a of the seat back 3, the airbag 24 is easily deployed between the occupant and the left side door by a side collision to the left side portion of the automobile. It is possible to reliably prevent the passenger from colliding with the left side door. In addition, a relatively large space can be provided in the side support portion 3 a of the seat back 3. Therefore, the airbag unit 21 can be accommodated in the seat 1 without hindering the sitting comfort of the occupant, and further safety of the occupant during a side collision can be achieved.

  In the reference embodiment, the sewing portion of the fragile portion 19a is a double stitch. However, the present invention can be applied to a single stitch that is sewn only with the second sewing thread 36. In this case, the weakened portion 19a is further reduced by further reducing the strength of the thread of the sewing portion of the weakened portion 19a or increasing the strength of the base fabric of the laminate usually joined to the inner surface of the sheet of the skin material 19. Only the thread of the sewing portion can be cut without breaking the surrounding skin material 19, and the airbag 24 can be reliably deployed outward from the seat back 3 from the opening before sewing in the fragile portion 19a. .

(Embodiment)
Here, an embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 5 shows an embodiment of the present invention (in the following embodiment, the same parts as those in FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals, detailed description thereof is omitted, and only other different parts are described). The configuration of the sewing portion that is a double stitch in the fragile portion 19a is different from that of the above-described reference embodiment.

  That is, in this embodiment, resin plates 43 are respectively interposed between the folded portions of the skin material 19 in the fragile portion 19a, and the folded portions are sewn together by the first sewing thread 35 with the resin plate 43 interposed therebetween, The ends of the folded portions of the skin material 19 are sewn together by the second sewing thread 36.

The skin material 19 on the outer side in the sheet width direction of the fragile portion 19a corresponds to the first skin material, and the skin material 19 on the center side in the sheet width direction of the fragile portion 19a corresponds to the second skin material. The second sewing thread 36 corresponds to an opening closing sewing thread, and the opening of the fragile portion 19a is closed by sewing the first skin material and the second skin material with the opening closing sewing thread. Will be. Further, the folded portion on the first skin material side corresponds to the first folded portion, and the folded portion on the second skin material side corresponds to the second folded portion. The first sewing thread 35 corresponds to the first and second sewing threads of the present invention. Furthermore, the resin plate 43 of the first skin material side corresponds to the first skin material reinforcement, the resin plate 43 of the second skin material side corresponds to the second skin material reinforcement.

  Therefore, in the above embodiment, the skin material 19 around the fragile portion 19a is further reinforced by the resin plates 43, so that the second sewing thread 36 can be cut more reliably, and before the fragile portion 19a is sewn. The airbag 24 can be more reliably deployed from the opening.

  In the above reference embodiment and embodiment, a plurality of low-extension sheet-like members 38, 38,... Are joined to the skin material 19 by adhesion, but each low-extension sheet-like member 38 may be joined by sewing, The present invention can be applied even if one low-extension sheet-like member is joined to the skin material 19 around the entire fragile portion 19a.

  Moreover, in the said reference form and embodiment, although the notch groove part 33 was provided in the sheet | seat inner surface part of the pad 15 so that the pad 15 may be easy to fracture | rupture, the pad 15 breaks reliably on the extension line of the notch groove part 33. As described above, a slit may be provided on the extended line so that the pad 15 is separated.

  Furthermore, in the above reference embodiment and embodiment, the airbag unit 21 is disposed in the left side support portion 3a of the seat back 3, but the present invention may also be provided in the case of being disposed in the right side support portion 3a of the seat back 3. Can be applied and collision between passengers can be prevented. The airbag unit 21 is arranged in the side support portion 2a of the seat cushion 2 so that the opening of the module can 22 faces substantially upward and the airbag 24 is deployed substantially upward of the seat cushion 2. Even in the case of being provided, the present invention can be applied in the same manner as in the case where the seat back 3 is disposed in the side support portion 3a. In addition, when side support portions are provided on the left and right side portions of the headrest 4 and a small airbag unit is disposed on the side support portions so that the airbag is deployed substantially forward, thereby protecting the occupant's head and the like. The present invention can be applied.

  INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention is useful for an energy absorbing device on a vehicle side portion in which an airbag unit is disposed in a seat that is covered with a skin material.

It is the II sectional view taken on the line of FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the sheet | seat in the energy absorption device of the vehicle side part which concerns on a reference form. It is a left view of the sheet | seat which shows the expansion | deployment state of an airbag. It is a perspective view which shows the weak part of the skin material in a seat back. FIG. 2 is a view corresponding to FIG. 1 in the embodiment of the present invention.

Explanation of symbols

1 seat 2 seat cushion 3 seat back 13 seat back frame (seat frame)
15 Pad 19 Skin material 19a Weak part 21 Airbag unit 24 Airbag 33 Cut groove part (breaking origin part)
35 First sewing thread (first and second sewing threads)
36 Second sewing thread (sewing thread for closing the opening)
43 resin plate (first and second skin material reinforcement)

Claims (4)

An air bag unit that is disposed on the side near portion in the sheet of surface material is formed by covered state,
In the above-mentioned skin material, a weak portion that can be opened by receiving an airbag deployment pressure is provided, and the vehicle side energy absorbing device configured to deploy the airbag outward from the seat from the opened weak portion,
The skin material includes a first skin material that extends from the rear side of the seat through the outer side in the seat width direction toward the fragile portion, and a second skin material that extends from the center side in the seat width direction on the front side of the seat toward the fragile portion. Consists of
The opening of the fragile portion is closed by sewing the first skin material and the second skin material with a sewing thread for closing the opening,
The first skin material has a first folded portion formed by folding an end portion of the first skin material on the fragile portion opening side to the inside of the seat at a sewing portion by the opening closing sewing thread,
The second skin material has a second folded portion formed by folding the end portion of the second skin material on the fragile portion opening side to the inside of the seat at the sewing portion by the opening closing sewing thread,
A first sewing thread different from the opening closing sewing thread between the first folding part and the first skin material on the seat outer side than the first folding part, the first folding part and the first folding part. A first skin material reinforcing body that reinforces the first skin material around the weakened portion by being sewn together with the first skin material outside the seat from the folded portion;
The second sewing thread separates the opening closing sewing thread and the first sewing thread between the second folding part and the second skin material outside the seat from the second folding part. It is provided with a second skin material reinforcing body that reinforces the second skin material around the weakened portion by sewing together with the folded portion and the second skin material outside the seat from the second folded portion. An energy absorbing device for the side of the vehicle. The energy absorber for a vehicle side portion according to claim 1,
The energy absorbing device for a vehicle side portion, wherein the first and second skin material reinforcing bodies are resin plates. The energy absorber for a vehicle side portion according to claim 1,
A pad is provided on the inner surface of the skin material,
The vehicle side portion energy absorbing device according to claim 1, wherein a break starting point portion is provided at a portion of the pad corresponding to the airbag unit, which is a starting point of the pad starting to break upon receiving the deployment pressure of the airbag. The vehicle side energy absorbing device according to claim 3,
The vehicle side portion energy absorbing device, wherein the rupture starting point portion of the pad is cut toward the fragile portion.

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