JP4365689B2 - Airbag device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an airbag apparatus including an airbag that is deployed on the side of an automobile occupant, for example.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, for example, a side airbag device is known that deploys an airbag on the side of an automobile occupant and protects the occupant during a side collision.

  As this type of airbag device, there is known an airbag device called a side airbag that is housed in a side portion of a seat and is deployed between an occupant and a door to protect the chest and torso of the occupant. It has been.

  The airbag device includes a bag-shaped airbag and an inflator that is housed in a rear side portion of the airbag and supplies gas. A first chamber that protects the occupant's lumbar region and a second chamber that protects the occupant's chest are formed on the inner side of the airbag. . Furthermore, the inflator is housed in a housing, and a first opening communicating with the first chamber and a second opening communicating with the second chamber are formed in the housing. In addition, a reinforcing body is disposed at the end portion of the split seam on the inflator side so as to separate the first chamber and the second chamber.

When the airbag is deployed, the internal pressures of the first chamber and the second chamber are made different so as to properly protect the occupant (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
JP 2000-177527 A (page 3-4, FIGS. 1 and 2)

  In the above-described conventional configuration, the airtightness of the end portion of the split seam on the inflator side is achieved simply by attaching the reinforcing body to the housing. Therefore, it is not easy to maintain airtightness against the high-pressure gas supplied from the inflator, and there is a problem that it is not easy to set the pressure of each chamber gas to a desired value.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and provides an airbag apparatus that can easily improve the airtightness between the compartments provided in the airbag and can easily set the gas pressure in each compartment. For the purpose.

The airbag device according to claim 1 has a bag-shaped outer shell and a partition wall inside the outer shell, and communicates with the plurality of compartments defined by the partition walls and the end portions of the partition walls. And an inflator provided with a gas supply part for supplying gas to the gas introduction part, and a fixture for connecting the inflator and the airbag and attaching to the attached member. the fixture, the disposed through the gas supply unit and the spacing, the gas guide inner surface to distribute gas to the plurality of compartments so as to face the gas supply unit to the gas inlet portion of the inside of the airbag an inner fixture with an inner pinching portion serving as a part, an outer shell of the gas inlet portion of the air bag between the disposed outside the airbag includes a position facing the end portion of the partition wall the inner clamping portion the Soo pinching that outside side Those equipped with an outer fastener having a lifting unit.

In this configuration, the gas supplied from the gas supply unit of the inflator to the gas introduction unit passes between the inner clamping unit of the fixture and the inflator and is distributed and supplied to the plurality of compartments.
Since the inner clamping part and the outer clamping part of the fixing device sandwich the airbag including the position facing the end part of the partition wall, the air tightness of the end part of the partition wall in the gas introduction part is easily improved, and the plurality of compartments Each gas pressure is easily set to a desired value. Furthermore, since the inner clamping part is provided with a gas guide part that distributes gas to a plurality of compartments facing the gas supply part of the inflator, a member that improves gas tightness and a member that guides gas are used together. Gas is supplied to the plurality of compartments in a desired state without increasing the score.

The airbag device according to claim 2 is the airbag device according to claim 1 , wherein a part of the partition wall is sandwiched between the inner sandwiching portion and the outer sandwiching portion.

In this configuration, by sandwiching a part of the partition wall between the inner sandwiching part and the outer sandwiching part, the airtightness of the end part of the partition wall is easily improved, and the gas pressures of the plurality of compartments are respectively desired. It is easily configured value.

The airbag device according to claim 3, in the airbag device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the airbag is deployed on the side of the occupant, compartment is first compartment to expand opposite the occupant lumbar region And a second compartment that is located above the first compartment and that is deployed to face the chest of the occupant.

  And in this structure, a passenger | crew's waist | hip | lumbar part and a chest part are each protected by the compartment developed to the desired state.

The airbag device according to claim 4 is the airbag device according to claim 3, wherein a third compartment that is positioned between the first compartment and the second compartment and is deployed to face the abdomen of the occupant is provided. It is provided.

  And in this structure, a passenger | crew's waist | hip | lumbar part, a chest part, and an abdominal part are each protected by the compartment developed to the desired state.

According to the airbag device of the present invention, the gas supplied from the gas supply part of the inflator to the gas introduction part can be distributed and supplied to the plurality of compartments through the space between the inner clamping part of the fixture and the inflator. Since the inner clamping portion and the outer clamping portion of the fixture include the position facing the end portion of the partition wall to hold the airbag, it is possible to easily improve the airtightness in the gas introduction portion at the end portion of the partition wall, and Each gas pressure can be easily set to a desired value. Furthermore, since the inner clamping part is provided with a gas guide part that distributes gas to a plurality of compartments facing the gas supply part of the inflator, a member that improves gas tightness and a member that guides gas are used together. Gas can be supplied to a plurality of compartments in a desired state without increasing the number of points.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of an airbag device of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  1 to 3, reference numeral 11 denotes an airbag device. The airbag device 11 is attached to a seat of an automobile, which is a member to be attached, and is inflated and deployed between an occupant seated on the seat and a door of the vehicle body. Thus, a so-called side airbag that protects the passenger is formed.

  The airbag device 11 includes an inflator 12 that generates and injects gas, a bag-like airbag 14 that is inflated and deployed by the gas supplied by the inflator 12, and the inflator 12 and the airbag 14 connected to each other. A fixing tool 16 that is fixed to the seat, a resin case body (not shown) that is a cover for storing these members, and the like are provided.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the inflator 12 includes a substantially cylindrical main body 21 and a gas supply unit 22 projecting from one end of the main body 21. Further, a terminal portion 23 for operating the inflator 12 is provided at the other end portion of the main body portion 21. The gas supply unit 22 is a diffuser that supplies a gas, and protrudes from one end of the main body 21 into a cylindrical shape having a diameter smaller than that of the main body 21 or substantially the same as the main body 21. A plurality of circular holes serving as gas discharge ports are formed on the surface. Further, a disc-shaped top plate portion 24 is disposed at the distal end portion of the gas supply portion 22. The inflator 12 is a so-called hybrid type that reacts with the propellant filled in the main body 21 and releases the gas stored in the cylinder inside the main body 21 so that the gas supply unit 22 Inject low temperature gas.

  Further, the fixture 16 has a retainer 25 as an inner fixture and an outer fixture 26. Further, the outer fixing tool 26 includes a separator 27 as a first fixing tool and a plate spacer 28 as a second fixing tool combined with the separator 27.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the retainer 25 includes a retainer main body 31 formed by bending a sheet metal, and bolts 32 and 32 which are attachment means fixed to the retainer main body 31 by welding or the like. And. The retainer body 31 is a substantially flat substrate portion 33, an inflator holding portion 34 that is integrally extended from the substrate portion 33, and an inner airtight portion that is also integrally extended from the substrate portion 33. And an inner clamping part 35. Further, a stopper 36 that projects from the end portion of the inner clamping portion 35 of the substrate portion 33 in contact with the distal end portion of the inflator 12 is provided. The inflator holding part 34 is curved in a substantially cylindrical shape into which the main body part 21 of the inflator 12 can be inserted, and a fixing part 34a provided on the distal end side is fixed to the substrate part 33 by a rivet (not shown), and the inflator 12 A plurality of positioning fixing portions 34b that are elastically contacted to be positioned and held are formed by cutting and raising together.

  Further, the inner clamping portion 35 is also called a skirt portion, has a substantially cylindrical shape, and has an inner peripheral surface with respect to the gas supply portion 22 of the inflator 12 held by the inflator holding portion 34 as shown in FIGS. As shown in FIG. 4, the gas guide portions 37 are curved to be opposed to each other with a predetermined distance L therebetween. Further, the gas guide portion 37 is formed in a truncated cone shape that expands in one direction with respect to the longitudinal direction that is the axial direction of the inflator 12. That is, the gas guide part 37 is formed as an inclined surface inclined with respect to the gas supply part 22, and distributes more gas in one direction than in the other direction at a predetermined distribution rate. . In the present embodiment, the gas guide portion 37 is formed so as to expand downward toward the tip side of the inflator 12 and distribute a large amount of gas downward.

  In addition, a circular attachment hole 39 is formed in the substrate portion 33 of the retainer main body portion 31 in the vicinity of the inner clamping portion 35.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the separator 27 is formed by bending a sheet metal or the like, and an outer holding portion 41 that is an outer airtight portion constituting the closing means, and both end portions of the outer holding portion 41. Mounting piece portions 42 and 43 extending from the front end. The outer clamping part 41 is curved so as to be in close contact with the outer peripheral surface of the inner clamping part 35. Further, bolts 46 and 47 which are attachment means and tightening means are inserted into or fixed to the attachment pieces 42 and 43 by welding or the like.

  Further, the plate spacer 28 is formed by bending a sheet metal or the like. In the present embodiment, the first spacer 51 substantially along the longitudinal direction of the retainer main body 31 and the longitudinal direction of the separator 27 are substantially along. The second piece 52 is formed in a substantially T-shape. The first piece 51 is formed with a pair of mounting holes 53, 53 through which the bolts 32, 32 fixed to the retainer body 31 are inserted, and the second piece 52 is fixed to the separator 27. A pair of mounting holes 54 and 55 through which the bolts 46 and 47 are inserted are formed.

  The airbag 14 is configured by sewing a base fabric called one or a plurality of panels. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, two substantially identical base fabrics 14a and 14b are superposed on each other, and the vicinity of the outer peripheral portion is formed by a stitching portion 59 except for the opening portion 58 serving as a component insertion portion. The outer shell of the flat bag body is formed by sewing. A line-shaped partition wall 60 whose base end portion overlaps the stitched portion 59 is formed inside the bag body, and the partition wall 60 forms a first partition chamber that is a partition chamber located below the partition wall 60. And a chest protection chamber 62 as a second compartment, which is a compartment located on the upper side of the partition wall 60, are formed in a substantially airtight manner, and the end of the partition wall 60 on the opening 58 side A gas introduction part 65 is formed as an inflator storage part. That is, the waist protection chamber 61 and the chest protection chamber 62 are partitioned substantially airtightly by the partition wall 60, and the waist protection chamber 61 and the chest protection chamber 62 communicate with each other only through the gas introduction portion 65. ing.

  In addition, the partition wall 60 can be formed by simply sewing the base fabrics 14a and 14b together, but in the present embodiment, in the vicinity of both side edges of the elongated rectangular intermediate base fabric 67 having the fold line 66 as the upper end portion. Are stitched to the base fabrics 14a and 14b along the longitudinal direction at the stitching line 68, respectively, so that the airbag 14 is formed so as to be flattened with a predetermined width dimension. .

  As shown in FIG. 2, the airbag 14 has mounting holes 71, 71, 72, 72, 73 in two pairs of the gas introduction part 65 and the partition wall 60 near the end part 64, respectively. Is formed. Of these mounting holes 71, 71, 72, 72, 73, the outer mounting holes 71, 71 paired up and down close to the opening 58 and the mounting holes 73 of the end portion 64 of the partition wall 60 are: Although the base fabrics 14a and 14b are overlapped with each other, the inner mounting holes 72 and 72 that are separated from the opening 58 and make a pair vertically are formed so as to penetrate only one base fabric 14b. ing.

  In addition, a reinforcing cloth called a flameproof cloth or the like is overlapped and sewn onto the base cloths 14a and 14b as necessary. For example, in the present embodiment, a reinforcing cloth 75 that protects the lower side portion of the airbag 14 and a reinforcing cloth 76 that is disposed in the vicinity of the gas introducing portion 65 are sewn to the base cloths 14a and 14b on both sides, respectively. In addition, circular reinforcing cloths 77 arranged coaxially in mounting holes 73 formed in the end portion 64 of the partition wall 60 are sewn to the base cloth.

  Next, an assembly process of the airbag device 11 will be described.

  First, with the inflator 12 inserted into the inflator holding part 34 of the retainer 25 and positioned with the stopper 36, the fixing part 34a is fixed to the substrate part 33 with a rivet, whereby the inflator holding part 34 is pressed against the inflator 12. At the same time, the positioning fixing portion 34b engages with a recess provided in the main body portion 21 of the inflator 12, the inflator 12 is positioned and held, and an assembly in which the inflator 12 and the retainer 25 are combined is configured.

  Next, the assembly is inserted into the airbag 14 through the opening 58, and the bolts 32 and 32 are pulled out from the inner mounting holes 72 and 72 to the outside. Further, the portion of the opening 58 of the airbag 14 is folded back, and the bolts 32 and 32 are inserted into the outer mounting holes 71 and 71.

  In this state, a part of the substrate part 33 of the retainer main body part 31 is inserted into the notch part 66a formed along the fold line 66 in the end part 64 of the intermediate base fabric 67 constituting the partition wall 60, and the substrate part 33 The mounting hole 39 and the mounting hole 73 of the airbag 14 are aligned.

  Further, in this state, the separator 27 is disposed on one side of the airbag 14, and the plate spacer 28 is disposed on the other side of the airbag 14. The separator 27 and the plate spacer 28 are used to mount the airbag 14 together with the retainer 25. Hold it. That is, one bolt 46 of the separator 27 is inserted into the mounting holes 73 and 39, and the other bolt 47 is disposed outside the airbag 14. Then, these bolts 46, 47 and the bolts 32, 32 of the retainer 25 are inserted into the mounting holes 54, 55, 53, 53 of the plate spacer 28, respectively, and are fastened and fastened to the bolts 46, 47 of the separator 27, respectively. Screw the nuts 80, 80, which are tools, and tighten them.

  FIG. 3 shows a state in which the bolts 46 and 47 and the nuts 80 and 80 are not completely tightened and the respective members are separated from each other for the purpose of explaining the structure. At the tightened portion, the attachment pieces 42 and 43 of the separator 27 and the plate spacer 28 are pressed against each other, and the outer clamping portion 41 of the separator 27 and the inner clamping portion 35 of the retainer 25 are crimped to each other. ing.

  Then, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the airbag 14 is folded in an appropriate state, and the folded shape of the airbag 14 is held by the shape retaining means 82 such as a tape that can be easily broken, so that an airbag device is obtained. 11 is composed.

  Then, after storing the airbag device 11 in a case (not shown), it is stored in the side of the seat, and by using nuts or the like, the bolts 32, 32 of the retainer 25 are fixed to the frame of the seat, etc. The airbag device 11 is attached to the seat of the automobile.

  Next, an operation when the airbag device 11 is deployed will be described.

  First, when the vehicle receives an impact such as a side collision, the control device activates the inflator 12 to inject gas from the gas supply unit 22. Then, due to the pressure of this gas, the airbag 14 opens the cover, protrudes from the seat, and expands and deploys between the occupant and the door panel. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 1, the gas injected from the gas supply unit 22 is guided to the gas guide unit 37 of the retainer 25 and is distributed vertically at a desired distribution ratio, and the main stream going downward. A and side stream B heading upward. The main stream A is supplied directly to the waist protection chamber 61 and the side stream B is supplied directly to the chest protection chamber 62 at the same time, and the protection chambers 61 and 62 are inflated and deployed to protect the occupant.

  Here, in the present embodiment, the airbag 14 is sandwiched from the outside together with the inner clamping portion 35 portion of the retainer 25 with the separator 27 and the plate spacer 28 constituting the fixture 16 in contact with the partition wall 60 of the airbag 14. Therefore, the airbag 14 and the inner sandwiching portion 35 of the retainer 25 are tightly closed around the entire circumference, that is, the airtightness of the end portion 64 of the partition wall 60 is maintained.

  Thus, according to the present embodiment, in the so-called side airbag that protects the waist from the occupant's chest, in contact with the partition wall 60 of the airbag 14, the separator 27 and the plate spacer 28 that constitute the fixture 16, The airbag 14 is sandwiched from the outside together with the inner sandwiching portion 35 portion of the retainer 25, and the end portion 64 that is a part of the partition wall 60 is sandwiched, so that the airbag 14 and the inner sandwiching portion 35 of the retainer 25 are in close contact with each other. That is, the airtightness of the end portion 64 of the partition wall 60 can be maintained.

  Therefore, the airtightness of the partition wall 60 that divides the lumbar protection chamber 61 and the chest protection chamber 62, which are the compartments, can be easily improved, and the airtightness of these compartments 61 and 62 against the high-pressure gas supplied from the inflator 12 Therefore, even when one inflator 12 is used, the pressure of the gas supplied to each of the compartments 61 and 62 can be easily controlled, and a desired optimum pressure characteristic, that is, a development characteristic can be easily realized. That is, the waist protection chamber 61 rapidly expands the gas pressure and also increases the peak pressure, and the chest protection chamber 62 deploys the occupant relatively slowly and with a relatively low peak pressure. It can protect effectively with the characteristic suitable for a protection target.

  Further, since the waist protection chamber 61 and the chest protection chamber 62 communicate with each other via a gap L between the gas supply unit 22 and the gas guide unit 37, a gas guide that is an inner peripheral surface of the inner clamping unit 35 is provided. The portion 37 can easily distribute gas at a desired ratio. That is, by adjusting the inclination angle of the gas guide portion 37 with respect to the gas supply portion 22, the gas distribution ratio to each of the compartments 61 and 62 can be easily adjusted. Furthermore, since the gas guide part 37 is integrally formed on the inner peripheral surface of the inner clamping part 35 which is a structure that improves the airtightness, the number of parts is not increased, and the manufacturing cost can be easily suppressed.

  In the above-described embodiment, the airbag 14 has a two-chamber configuration including the lumbar protection chamber 61 and the chest protection chamber 62. However, the configuration is not limited to this configuration, and a plurality of three or more chambers are provided. You can also. For example, as shown in FIG. 8, in addition to the partition wall 60, a second partition wall 90 is provided substantially parallel to the partition wall 60, and the end of the partition walls 60, 90 on the gas introduction part 65 side is provided as a third partition wall. It is also possible to adopt a three-room configuration in which an abdominal protection chamber 93 serving as a third branch chamber is provided between the lumbar protection chamber 61 and the chest protection chamber 62. In this configuration, the communication port 95 is provided in the second partition wall 90, and the secondary flow B supplied to the chest protection chamber 62 is passed through the chest protection chamber 62 as shown by the arrow C. To be supplied. Therefore, in this configuration, the waist, chest, and abdomen of the occupant can be effectively protected with desired characteristics, and for example, the occupant can be effectively protected even when an armrest is present. Is possible.

  Further, as indicated by a broken line in FIG. 3, in each of the above-described embodiments, a soft packing such as urethane or neoprene rubber is used as a sealing material in a portion sandwiched between the retainer 25 and the separator 27 as necessary. By disposing S, the adhesion between the airbag 14 and the fixture 16 can be easily improved, and the airtightness can be improved more easily. The packing S can be provided on the outer peripheral surface of the inner clamping portion 35 of the retainer 25 or can be provided on the inner peripheral surface of the separator 27.

  Further, the adjustment of the distribution ratio of the gas to each of the compartments is not necessarily based on the inclined gas guide part 37, but may be based on, for example, the shape of the gas supply part 22 of the inflator 12. That is, for example, as shown in FIG. 9, the gas guide portion 37 of the retainer 25 can be vertically opposed to the gas supply portion 22 of the inflator 12.

  Further, the shape and configuration of the inflator, the retainer, and the airbag are not limited to those described above, and various configurations can be used. For example, the inflator can adopt a so-called pyro type configuration that supplies gas by combustion. The retainer can also be provided with a cooling means for cooling the gas supplied from the inflator. The airbag can also be provided with an exhaust port through which the supplied gas can be exhausted.

Further, in each of the above-described embodiments, the closing means for closing the base fabric 14a of the airbag 14 in close contact with the inner clamping portion 35 of the retainer 25 is the outer side of the separator 27, which is a metal fitting constituting the outer fixture 26. configured as clamping portions 41 has been clamped by pressing the base cloth 14a of the air bag 14 in the outer clamping part 41 on the inner clamping part 35 is not limited to this configuration, the outer fasteners 26, groups of airbags 14 The base fabrics 14a and 14b of the airbag 14 are hermetically sealed to the inner clamping portion 35 of the retainer 25 by a yarn that is a joining means for joining the fabric or a reinforcing fabric that is a sheet-like reinforcing member attached to the airbag 14. It is also possible to configure a closing means for closing .

  The present invention is used, for example, as a so-called side airbag that is housed in a side portion of a seat of an automobile and is deployed between an occupant and a door to protect the chest and trunk of the occupant.

It is explanatory drawing of the deployment state which shows one Embodiment of the airbag apparatus of this invention. It is explanatory drawing of the decomposition | disassembly state of an airbag apparatus same as the above. It is sectional drawing of an airbag apparatus same as the above. It is a perspective view which shows the inflator and retainer of an airbag apparatus same as the above. It is a perspective view which shows the retainer of an airbag apparatus same as the above. It is a perspective view of the folded state of an airbag apparatus same as the above. It is a perspective view of the folded state of an airbag apparatus same as the above. It is explanatory drawing of the deployment state which shows other embodiment of the airbag apparatus of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows other embodiment of the retainer of the airbag apparatus of this invention .

11 Airbag device
12 Inflator
14 airbags
16 Fixture
22 Gas supply unit
25 Retainer as inner fixture
26 Outer fixture
27 Separator making up the outer fixture
28 Plate spacers constituting the outer fixture
35 Inner clamping part
37 Gas guide
41 outer side holding portions
60 Bulkhead
61 Lumbar protection room, the first branch as a branch
62 Chest protection room, the second compartment as a compartment
64 edge
65 Gas introduction part
93. A third part of the abdominal protection room L

Claims (4)

An airbag having a bag-like outer shell and a partition inside the outer shell, and having a plurality of compartments partitioned by the partition and a gas introduction part facing the end of the partition and communicating the compartments with each other; ,
An inflator provided with a gas supply unit for supplying gas to the gas introduction unit;
A fixture that connects the inflator and the airbag and attaches to the attached member;
The fixture is
Wherein disposed through the gas supply and spacing to the gas inlet portion of the inner air bag, the inner clamping portion of the gas guide portion whose inner surface facing the gas supply unit for distributing gas to the plurality of compartments An inner fixture with
Outer fixture having an outer side holding portions that Soo clamping the outer shell of the gas inlet of the airbag between the disposed outside the airbag includes a position facing the end portion of the partition wall the inner clamping portion DOO features and to Rue airbag apparatus by comprising a. Some of the partition wall, an air bag apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that it is held between the inner clamping part and the outer clamping part. The airbag is deployed to the side of the passenger,
The compartment has a first compartment that is deployed opposite the occupant's lower back and a second compartment that is located above the first compartment and that is deployed opposite the chest of the occupant. The airbag apparatus according to claim 1 or 2 . The airbag device according to claim 3, further comprising a third compartment that is positioned between the first compartment and the second compartment and that is deployed to face the abdomen of the occupant.

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