JP4376729B2 - Airbag device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an airbag device that is deployed at the time of a vehicle collision to protect an occupant.

The airbag device is generally configured to include a bag that is deployed at the time of a vehicle collision and an inflator that generates a gas for deploying the bag (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
Some airbag devices of this type contain an inflator inside the bag. In the case of such an airbag device with a built-in inflator, a slit for inserting an inflator is provided in the bag, the inflator supported by the retainer is inserted from the slit, the bag is folded, and attached to the bag. The slit is covered by covering the slit with a reinforcing cloth and pressing the bag and the reinforcing cloth between the retainer plate arranged on the outside of the reinforcing cloth and the retainer.

In the airbag device configured as described above, when the inflator operates to generate gas, the pressure in the bag increases, and the bag expands and deploys. At that time, a large pulling force acts on the bag at a portion sandwiched between the retainer plate and the retainer. At this time, the reinforcing cloth relaxes the pulling force acting on the portion of the bag and prevents the slit from spreading.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-090906

By the way, conventionally, the reinforcing cloth is provided only on one side of the slit. In this case, when the output of the inflator is low, that is, when the pressure in the bag is low, the tensile force acting in the vicinity of the slit can be relaxed with only the one reinforcing cloth, and the slit can be prevented from spreading. it can.
However, when the output of the inflator is increased, the conventional structure cannot resist the pulling force, and the slit is widened by the pulling force, and the bag may be deformed.
Therefore, the present invention provides an inflator-embedded airbag device that can cope with a higher output of the inflator and can prevent deformation of the bag during inflation and deployment.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, an invention according to claim 1 is directed to an airbag device (for example, an inflator (for example, an inflator 3 in an embodiment to be described later)) provided in an inside of a bag (for example, a bag 2 in an embodiment to be described later). In a side airbag device 1) in an embodiment described later, a slit (for example, a slit 11 in an embodiment described later) formed in the bag for inserting the inflator and spaced from the slit on both sides of the slit One end side (for example, one end portion 21, 31 in the embodiment described later) is fixed to the bag with the one end side being substantially parallel to the longitudinal direction of the slit, and the other end side is a free end (for example, in the embodiment described later). the first is the free end 22, 32), the second reinforcing pieces (e.g., the first reinforcing in examples described later cloth 2 , A second reinforcing fabric 30), the first outside of the bag, connecting members for connecting the free ends of the second reinforcing pieces (e.g., a bolt 7) in Examples described later, wherein the One end of the first reinforcing piece is fixed in the vicinity of the edge in the direction opposite to the direction in which the bag is unfolded, the free end is overlaid on the slit and the periphery of the bag, and the second reinforcing piece is The first reinforcing piece having one end side fixed on the opposite side to the one end side of the first reinforcing piece with the slit in between, and the free end side being superimposed on the slit and the periphery thereof in the bag It is characterized by being overlaid on top .
By comprising in this way, since a slit can be covered with the free end of two reinforcement pieces, a slit can be closed reliably. Further, when the bag is inflated and deployed, the tensile force acting on the bag in the vicinity of the slit can be distributed to both reinforcing pieces, so that the tensile force in the vicinity of the slit in the bag can be reduced.

The invention according to claim 2 is the invention according to claim 1, wherein a free end side of the second reinforcing piece is above the first reinforcing piece overlaid on the slit and the periphery thereof in the bag. Further, it is characterized by being superimposed in multiple .
With this configuration, it is possible to block the slits reliably.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect of the present invention, the connecting member includes a body of the bag, the reinforcing piece, and the inflator (for example, a seat frame 102 in an embodiment described later). It is also characterized by serving as a fastening member for attaching to the head.
By comprising in this way, while the number of parts which comprise an airbag apparatus can be reduced, an assembly man-hour can be reduced.

According to the first and second aspects of the invention, since the pulling force in the vicinity of the slit in the bag can be reduced by providing the pair of reinforcing pieces, the slit is pulled and spreads when the bag is inflated and deployed. It is possible to reliably prevent this, and an excellent effect is obtained that the deformation of the bag at the time of deployment can be prevented.
Further, since the slit can be reliably closed with the two reinforcing pieces, gas leakage from the slit can be reliably prevented when the bag is deployed, and the interior of the bag can be maintained at the set pressure.
According to the invention which concerns on Claim 3, while the number of parts of an airbag apparatus can be reduced, an assembly man-hour can be reduced.

  An embodiment of an airbag device according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings of FIGS. This embodiment is an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a vehicle side airbag device.

The side airbag device 1 is an airbag device that relieves shock applied to the occupant mainly at the time of a side collision. As shown in FIG. At the time of collision, the bag unfolds and jumps out of the seat back 101 to protect the passenger's side.
As shown in FIG. 1, the side airbag device 1 includes a bag 2 that is folded before deployment, an inflator 3 that generates gas for deploying the bag, a retainer 4 that holds the inflator 3, and a retainer 4. The main components are a retainer plate 5 that works to hold the bag 2, a cover 6 that stores them, and a bolt (connecting member, fastening member) 7 for fixing the side airbag device 1 to the seat 100. .

First, the bag 2 will be described. 2 and 3 are plan views of the bag 2 before folding. The bag 2 is made of, for example, nylon and is formed in a bag shape. The bag 2 has a substantially triangular rice ball shape in a plan view, and has a slit 11 for inserting the inflator 3 and a bolt 7 on one end formed linearly. Three insertion holes 12 for insertion are provided. The slit 11 is linearly formed along the edge 2a on the one end side of the bag 2, and circular holes 13 and 13 for preventing breakage are formed at both ends thereof.
The three insertion holes 12 are arranged at almost equal intervals on a straight line parallel to the slit 11 between the edge 2 a of the bag 2 adjacent to the slit 11.

Further, the same reinforcing cloth (reinforcing pieces) 20 and 30 made of nylon as the bag 2 are attached to the bag 2 on both sides of the slit 11. FIG. 2 shows a state in which the reinforcing cloths 20 and 30 are turned up, and FIG. 3 shows a state in which the reinforcing cloths 20 and 30 are overlapped on the bag 2.
The first reinforcing cloth 20 is attached to a portion closer to the edge 2 a of the bag 2 than the insertion hole 12 of the bag 2, and one end 21 of the first reinforcing cloth 20 extends along the edge 2 a of the bag 2. In addition, the bag 2 is sewed and fixed in a straight line substantially parallel to the slit 11, and the other end side is not sewn to the bag 2 but is a free end (free end) 22. Note that the first reinforcing cloth 20 is configured in such a manner that a single base cloth (fabric) is folded back at the edge 23 of the free end portion 22 to be overlapped.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the first reinforcing cloth 20 is large enough to cover all the slits 11 and the three insertion holes 12 of the bag 2 when the free end portion 22 is superimposed on the bag 2. The insertion hole 24 having the same diameter as the insertion hole 12 is provided at a portion overlapping the insertion hole 12. In the following description, in the first reinforcing cloth 20, the direction along the stitching portion 25 with the bag 2 is defined as the width direction of the reinforcing cloth 20, and the direction orthogonal to the stitching portion 25 is defined as the longitudinal direction of the reinforcing cloth 20. .

  The second reinforcing cloth 30 is attached to the opposite side of the first reinforcing cloth 20 with the slit 11 in between. One end 31 of the second reinforcing cloth 30 is sewn and fixed to the bag 2 in a straight line substantially parallel to the slit 11, and the other end is not sewn to the bag 2 and is a free end (free end). ) 32. The installation position of the stitching portion 33 with the bag 2 is set so as not to interfere with the first reinforcing cloth 20 when the first reinforcing cloth 20 is stacked on the bag 2. In the second reinforcing cloth 30, when the direction along the stitching portion 33 is the width direction of the second reinforcing cloth 30 and the direction perpendicular to the stitching portion 33 is the longitudinal direction of the second reinforcing cloth 30, The width dimension of the reinforcing cloth 30 is substantially the same as the width dimension of the first reinforcing cloth 20.

The second reinforcing cloth 30 is configured by folding back one base cloth (fabric) at the edge 34 of the one end 31, but the second reinforcing cloth 30 is overlapped over the entire length in the longitudinal direction of the second reinforcing cloth 30. However, only a region having a predetermined length from the edge 34 is overlapped, and the front end side in the longitudinal direction is composed of one base fabric (cloth). Hereinafter, the overlapped portion is referred to as a reinforcing portion 35, and the single portion is referred to as a beak portion 36. In the reinforcing portion 35, the end portion on the side away from the one end portion 31 is stitched together to form a stitched portion 38.
As shown in FIG. 3, the reinforcing portion 35 of the second reinforcing cloth 30 has a size that can cover all the slits 11 and the three insertion holes 12 of the bag 2 when they are stacked on the bag 2. And three insertion holes 37 having the same diameter as the insertion hole 12 are provided in a portion overlapping the insertion hole 12.

  A plurality of slits 39 extending along the width direction of the second reinforcing cloth 30 are arranged in a straight line at a portion of the second reinforcing cloth 30 that is spaced apart from the stitching section 38 by a predetermined dimension in the spread part 36. The three insertion holes 40 extend along the width direction of the second reinforcing cloth 30 in the vicinity of the edge of the free end portion 32, which is a portion farther from the stitching portion 38 than the slit 39 to the distal end side. It is provided on the straight line at equal intervals. The insertion hole 40 is disposed corresponding to the insertion hole 37 of the reinforcing portion 35, and the inner diameter thereof is substantially the same as that of the insertion hole 37.

The retainer 4 is made of metal, and as shown in FIGS. 1, 4, and 5, a flat plate-like base portion 51 that serves as a mounting portion for the three bolts 7, and an annular bend formed continuously to one end of the base portion 51. The holding portion 52 and an extension portion 53 fixed to the other end side of the base portion 51 are configured. A bulging portion 54 protruding inward is provided at three locations in the circumferential direction of the holding portion 52, and the substantially cylindrical inflator 3 accommodated inside the holding portion 52 is held by the bulging portion 54. It is configured to be able to.
The inflator 3 includes an igniter and a gas generating agent (both not shown). The inflator 3 is ignited by the igniter and burns the gas generating agent to instantly generate a gas for bag deployment. .

  In this embodiment, before inserting the retainer 4 or the like into the bag 2, the inflator 3 is fixed to the holding portion 52 of the retainer 4, and the three bolts 7 are fixed to the base portion 51 so as to be unitized in advance. Keep it. Hereinafter, this unit is referred to as an inflator unit 50. However, the bolt 7 may not be fixed to the base portion 51 in advance.

The retainer plate 5 is a member for sandwiching the bag 2 and the two reinforcing cloths 20 and 30 in cooperation with the base portion 51 of the retainer 4, and includes a central portion 5a and end portions 5b and 5b on both sides thereof. A cross-sectional hat shape having a step in between is formed, and although not shown, three insertion holes for inserting the bolts 7 are also provided in the central portion 5a.
The cover 6 is formed of a resin, and includes a cover main body 61 having a box shape with an approximately U-shaped cross section with one end opened, and a lid 63 that closes the opening 62 of the cover main body 61. 63 is configured to be cleaved by the bag 2 when the bag 2 is inflated and deployed. The cover body 61 is provided with three holes 64 through which the bolts 7 are inserted.

The side airbag device 1 is assembled as follows and attached to the seat back 101.
First, the inflator unit 50 is inserted into the bag 2 from the slit 11 of the bag 2, and the three bolts 7 are respectively inserted into the insertion holes 12 of the bag 2 (see FIG. 4).
Next, the first reinforcing cloth 20 is overlaid on the bag 2, and at that time, the bolt 7 protruding from the insertion hole 12 of the bag 2 is inserted into the insertion hole 24 of the first reinforcing cloth 20 (FIG. 3). And FIG. 4).
Further, the second reinforcing cloth 30 is overlaid on the first reinforcing cloth 20, and at this time, the bolt 7 protruding from the inserting hole 24 of the first reinforcing cloth 20 is inserted into the inserting hole of the second reinforcing cloth 30. 37 (see FIGS. 3 and 4). By doing so, the first reinforcing cloth 20 and the second reinforcing cloth 30 are overlapped on the slit 11 of the bag 2, and the slit 11 is closed by the first reinforcing cloth 20.

Next, the bag 2 is folded in a predetermined order, rounded as shown in FIG. 5, and overlaid on the base portion 51 and the extension portion 53 of the retainer 4.
Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the wrapping portion 36 of the second reinforcing cloth 30 is wound around the portion of the bag 2 in which the inflator unit 50 is accommodated and the outer side of the folded and rolled bag 2. The bolt 7 is inserted through the insertion hole 40 near the edge of the portion 36.
Thereafter, while inserting the bolt 7 through the insertion hole of the retainer plate 5, the retainer plate 5 is overlaid on the punching portion 36, and a nut 71 with a washer is screwed onto the bolt 7 and tightened. As a result, the first reinforcing cloth 20, the reinforcing part 35 in the second reinforcing cloth 30, and the end part of the beak part 36 are firmly held between the base part 51 of the retainer 4 and the retainer plate 5.
At this time, the reinforcing portion 35 of the first reinforcing cloth 20 and the second reinforcing cloth 30 overlaps with the slit 11 of the bag 2, and the slit 11 is disposed in the immediate vicinity of the bolt 7. The part 35 prevents the first reinforcing cloth 20 from being separated from the slit 11 and the periphery thereof, and causes the first reinforcing cloth 20 to adhere to the slit 11 and the periphery thereof. This ensures that the slit 11 is closed.

The unit in which the retainer plate 5 is mounted and integrated with the inflator unit 50 in this way is inserted into the cover main body 61 from the opening 62 of the cover main body 61, and the bolt 7 is protruded outward from the hole 64 of the cover main body 61. Thus, the side airbag device 1 is completed.
Then, as shown in FIG. 6, the side airbag device 1 is disposed at a predetermined position of the seat frame (vehicle body) 102 of the seat back 101, and the bolt 7 is inserted into the mounting hole 103 of the seat frame 102 as shown in FIG. Then, the side airbag device 1 is fixed to the seat frame 102 by screwing and tightening the nut 104.

  In the side airbag device 1 configured as described above, when gas is generated in the inflator 3 and the pressure in the bag 2 is increased, the bag 2 is inflated, and the spreading part 36 in the second reinforcing cloth 30 is formed in the slit 39. The bag 2 is broken in the width direction, the bag 2 is subsequently expanded and deployed, the lid of the cover 6 is cleaved, protrudes from the opening 62 of the cover main body 61, further breaks through the seat back 102, and the side portion of the seat 100 Expand to.

  When the bag 2 is inflated and deployed, a tensile force is also generated in the bag 2 in the vicinity of the slit 11. The first reinforcing cloth 20 and the second reinforcing cloth 30 are provided on both sides of the slit 11, and both reinforcing cloths are provided. Since the free end sides of 20 and 30 are connected by the bolt 7, the tensile force can be distributed to both the reinforcing cloths 20 and 30, and the tensile force acting on the bag 2 in the vicinity of the slit 11 can be reduced. it can. As a result, it is possible to reliably prevent the slit 11 from being pulled and spread when the bag 2 is inflated and deployed, and to reliably prevent deformation of the bag 2 during deployment.

Further, when the bag 2 is deployed, the slit 11 can be reliably closed by overlapping the reinforcing portions 35 of the first reinforcing cloth 20 and the second reinforcing cloth 30, so that the gas from the slit 11 can be removed when the bag 2 is deployed. Can be reliably prevented from leaking, and the inside of the bag 2 can be maintained at a set pressure.
Therefore, even when the inflator 3 is set to a high output and the pressure in the bag 2 is increased, the slit 11 can be prevented from expanding and the bag 2 can be prevented from being deformed, and the bag 2 can be kept at the set pressure. Since it can do, it can fully respond also to the high output accompanying the enlargement of the side airbag apparatus 1. FIG.

  In particular, in this embodiment, the bolt 7 functions as a connecting member for connecting the first reinforcing cloth 20 and the second reinforcing cloth 30, and the bag 2, the two reinforcing cloths 20 and 30, and the inflator 3 are connected to the vehicle body (seat. Since it has a function as a fastening member for attaching to the frame 102), the number of parts of the side airbag device 1 can be reduced as compared with the case where the connecting member and the fastening member are separate members, Assembly time can be reduced.

[Other Examples]
The present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above.
For example, the embodiment described above is an aspect of the side airbag device, but the present invention is not limited to the side airbag device, and there is no restriction on the shape and the mounting location as long as the inflator is built in the bag. It can be applied to any airbag device such as a front airbag device.

It is sectional drawing in one Example of the airbag apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a top view of the bag of the airbag apparatus in the said Example, and is a figure which shows the state which turned up the reinforcement cloth. It is a top view of the said bag, and is a figure which shows the state which accumulated the reinforcement cloth on the bag. It is sectional drawing which shows the procedure which piles up two reinforcement cloth on a bag in the said Example. In the said Example, it is sectional drawing explaining the process of the peeling part of the 2nd reinforcement cloth. It is a perspective view which shows the attachment state to the vehicle of the airbag apparatus (side airbag apparatus) in the said Example.

Explanation of symbols

1 Side airbag device (airbag device)
2 Bag 3 Inflator 7 Bolt (coupling member, fastening member)
11 Slit 20 First reinforcing cloth (reinforcing piece)
21 One end (one end)
22 Free end (free end)
30 Second reinforcing cloth (reinforcing piece)
31 One end (one end)
32 Free end (free end)
102 Seat frame (car body)

Claims (3)

In an airbag device provided with an inflator inside a bag,
A slit formed in the bag for inserting the inflator;
First and second reinforcing pieces arranged on both sides of the slit, spaced apart from the slit, fixed to the bag with one end side substantially parallel to the longitudinal direction of the slit, and the other end side being a free end;
A connecting member that connects both free ends of the first and second reinforcing pieces on the outside of the bag ;
Equipped with a,
One end side of the first reinforcing piece is fixed in the vicinity of the edge in the direction opposite to the deployment direction of the bag, and the free end side is overlaid on the slit and its periphery in the bag,
One end side of the second reinforcing piece is fixed to the side opposite to the one end side of the first reinforcing piece with the slit in between, and the free end side is overlaid on the slit and its periphery in the bag. An airbag device being overlaid on the first reinforcing piece . The free end side of said 2nd reinforcement piece is piled up on the said 1st reinforcement piece piled up on the said slit and its periphery in the said bag, The multiple overlap. The airbag apparatus as described.   The airbag device according to claim 1, wherein the connecting member also serves as a fastening member for attaching the bag, the reinforcing piece, and the inflator to a vehicle body.

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