JP4650340B2 - Crew protection device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an occupant protection device mounted on a vehicle, and more particularly to an improvement in combination with a side airbag device and a seat belt device that are deployed when a side collision occurs.

  When the vehicle receives a side collision, a side airbag device that is instantly deployed to protect the occupant is used. In this type of apparatus, an airbag is folded and an inflator is mounted in a seat back constituting the seat. Simultaneously with the side collision, the gas supply port of the inflator is opened to supply gas to the airbag, and the airbag is inflated between the occupant and the side surface of the vehicle body.

  Specifically, it is necessary to protect the occupant's head, chest and waist. In particular, there is a so-called curtain airbag device as a dedicated airbag device for the head. Further, as described in, for example, [Patent Document 1], a chest airbag protection side airbag device that simultaneously protects both an occupant's chest and waist is known.

According to the side airbag device of the above [Patent Document 1], the chest protection part and the waist protection part communicating with the gas supply part are rapidly deployed to generate a reaction force. Subsequently, it is described that the abdomen protection part communicating with the waist protection part is developed and a reaction force is generated, so that preferable deployment characteristics are easily realized.
JP 2003-291770 A

  By the way, due to the skeletal structure of the human body, the lumbar part in which the so-called hip bone (pelvis) is inherent is more resistant than the chest part surrounded by the sternum. Therefore, from the viewpoint of occupant protection, in a side airbag device that is deployed in response to a side collision, it is desirable to increase the pressure on the highly resistant waist while reducing the pressure on the less resistant chest.

  However, in the airbag device in the above-mentioned [Patent Document 1], the chest protection part and the waist protection part are both communicated with the gas supply part and simultaneously deployed to generate a reaction force. For this reason, the pressure on the waist portion having high resistance becomes weak and the pressure on the chest portion having low resistance becomes strong, so that the occupant protection performance cannot be optimized.

  Therefore, a side airbag device is conceivable in which a partition part made of a seam or the like is provided between the waist protection part and the chest protection part, and the pressure is adjusted between the protection parts. However, if a seam or the like is provided directly on the airbag, there is a problem that the flow of gas is restricted or the seam setting takes time.

  The present invention has been made on the basis of the above circumstances, and the object of the present invention is to make it possible to independently adjust the pressure characteristics of the air bag against the lumbar region and the chest region of the occupant without adversely affecting each other. It is an object of the present invention to provide an occupant protection device that facilitates tuning for obtaining characteristics.

In order to satisfy the above object, the present invention is an occupant protection device mounted on a vehicle,
A seat belt device that restrains at least the waist of an occupant seated in the seat;
A side airbag device for protecting the lumbar region that develops between the lumbar region of the occupant and the side surface of the vehicle body when receiving a side collision ,
The seat belt device is attached to a base that is slidable in the front-rear direction constituting the seat, a retractor for feeding or winding the seat belt, and a lower end portion that is rotatably supported on the side of the vehicle body side of the base, and an upper end portion is supported. With a free end and a long guide collar part through which the seat belt fed from the retractor passes,
The waist protection side airbag device is provided on the side of the vehicle body side of the guide collar of the seat belt device, and expands between the waist of the occupant and the side of the vehicle when a side collision occurs. And an inflator that is provided on the base and that supplies gas to the airbag when it is connected to the airbag and receives a side collision.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to independently adjust the pressure characteristics of the airbag with respect to the occupant's waist and chest, and the effects of facilitating the tuning for obtaining the optimum protection characteristics are achieved.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. (In addition, the component which does not attach | subject the code | symbol in a sentence is not illustrated.)
FIG. 1 is a side view of an occupant M seated on a seat (passenger seat in a domestic car) S inside the vehicle, FIG. 2 is a front view of the occupant M seated on the seat S, and FIG. 2 is a schematic partial cross-sectional plan view of a side surface portion 10 and an occupant M. FIG.

  The seat S includes a base 1, a seat cushion 2 provided on the base 1 and on which an occupant M sits, and a seat back 4 that includes a headrest 3 at an upper end portion and serves as a back of the occupant M. The base 1 is slidably attached in the front-rear direction of the vehicle body along guide rails 6 provided on the vehicle body floor 5.

  A seat belt device B for restraining and protecting the passenger M sitting on the seat S is provided. It is a so-called three-point seat belt device, and a substantially convex tongue 8 inserted through the seat belt 7 is engaged with the buckle 9 to restrain the occupant M from the shoulder a to the chest c, and at the same time The abdomen d and the waist e of M are restrained.

  The buckle 9 is attached and fixed to the vehicle body floor 5 on the center beam side (that is, the adjacent seat side) opposite to the vehicle body side surface portion 10 with bolts, and the tongue 8 can be fastened and detached. . Since the buckle 9 is fixedly attached to the vehicle body floor 5, even if the position of the seat S is adjusted in the front-rear direction, the position does not change.

  One end portion g of the seat belt 7 is attached and fixed in the upper end (upper) of the center pillar constituting the vehicle body side surface portion 10, and extends from here to the vehicle compartment 11 side. Since one end portion g of the seat belt 7 is also fixedly attached to the vehicle body side surface portion 10, even if the position of the seat S is adjusted in the front-rear direction, the position does not change.

  In the case of a conventionally used seat belt device, a retractor is attached in the vicinity of the lower end (lower) of the center pillar facing the one end attaching portion of the seat belt. This retractor has a mechanism for extending or winding the seat belt, and is hidden from the vehicle interior by an interior material mounted on the center pillar.

  On the other hand, the retractor 12 in the embodiment of the present invention is characterized in that it is attached to the seat base 1. That is, the other end h of the seat belt 7 extends from the side surface 10 of the seat base 1 and is exposed in the passenger compartment 11. When the occupant M is not seated, the seat belt 7 is exposed from the side of the seat base 1 to the upper end of the center pillar.

  The tongue 8 is inserted between them, and is held by an appropriate means at a position where it can be easily taken out. When the occupant M is seated on the seat S and the seat S is shifted to the optimum position in the front-rear direction, the position of the lower end h of the seat belt 7 is simultaneously shifted. On the other hand, as described above, the seat belt 7 mounting and fixing position at the upper end of the center pillar and the position of the buckle 9 do not change.

  The portion of the seat belt 7 extending from the retractor 12 is covered with a guide flange 15 provided along the side portion of the seat S on the vehicle body side surface portion 10 side. The guide flange 15 is a long one molded from a synthetic resin material having a relatively low strength, and a lower end portion is rotatably supported by the seat base 1 and an upper end portion is a free end. .

  In a state where the occupant M is not seated on the seat S, the position of the guide collar 15 is regulated so as to be in close contact with the side portion of the seat back 4, so that the occupant M is not obstructed. When the occupant M sits on the seat S, pulls out the tongue 8, and pulls out the seat belt 7 from the retractor 12, the guide collar 15 is easily rotated and displaced in the extending direction of the seat belt 7.

  Then, when the occupant M fastens the tongue 8 to the buckle 9 and attaches the seat belt device B, the guide collar 15 extends obliquely with respect to the waist e of the occupant M as shown in FIG. More specifically, the guide collar 15 is a side of the occupant M (that is, the seat S) on the side surface 10 of the vehicle body, and faces the waist e from the butt f of the occupant M in a side view.

  On the other hand, when the occupant M gets off, the tongue 8 is dissociated from the buckle 9. At this time, the retractor 12 automatically winds up the seat belt 7, and the guide collar 15 is elastically rotated and returned to the position along the side of the original seat back 4 again. Accordingly, the seat belt 7 is exposed between the upper end of the center pillar and the side portion of the seat base 1.

  In particular, as shown in FIG. 3, the guide flange 15 is provided with a belt insertion portion 16 through which the seat belt 7 is inserted on the inner side in the longitudinal direction, that is, on the occupant M side. On the outside of the belt insertion portion 16, that is, on the side of the vehicle body side portion 10, an airbag storage portion 19 is provided that is stored in a state where the airbag 18 constituting the waist protection side airbag device K is folded.

  As described above, the seat belt 7 and the airbag 18 are accommodated in the guide flange 15 in an inner and outer double. In particular, the portion of the air bag storage portion 19 that faces the vehicle body side surface portion 10 is formed with a thin thickness over the entire length, and a side collision occurs and the vehicle body side surface portion 10 is deformed to contact the guide flange 15. In this case, it is molded so as to be easily destroyed.

  Adjacent to the retractor 12 in the seat base 1, an inflator 20 that constitutes a waist protection side airbag device K is mounted together with the airbag 18. The gas supply port of the inflator 20 is connected to the airbag 18 and is controlled to be opened based on a control signal from an ECU (Electronic Control Unit) provided in the instrument panel.

  Further, a G sensor is attached to the vehicle body side surface portion 10, and when the vehicle body side surface portion 10 receives a gravitational force (that is, an impact) of a predetermined value or more, the G sensor sends a detection signal to the ECU. Yes. The ECU determines that the vehicle body side surface portion 10 has undergone a side collision and controls to open the gas supply port of the inflator 20.

  In this way, a part of the seat belt 7 is inserted into the guide flange 15 and the airbag 18 of the waist protection side airbag device K is accommodated. In other words, the waist protection side airbag device K is attached to the side portion of the seat S, and the occupant M sits on the seat S and restrains the body with the seat belt device B. Located in.

  Note that a chest protection side airbag device N including an airbag 18a and an inflator 20a is housed in the seat back 4 constituting the seat S. The airbag 18a of the airbag apparatus N is set to a pressure lower than the pressure in the deployed state of the airbag 18 of the waist protection side airbag apparatus K in the deployed state.

FIG. 4 is a partial cross-sectional plan view between the vehicle body side face 10 and the occupant M in a state in which another vehicle contacts from the side of the occupant M (in the direction of the large arrow) and the vehicle on which the occupant M gets is subjected to a side collision. 5 is a side view of the occupant M in a state of receiving a side collision, and FIG. 6 is a front view of the occupant M in the same state.
When the vehicle receives a side collision, the G sensor sends a detection signal to the ECU. When the ECU determines that the detected value is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, a control signal is sent to the waist protection side airbag device K and the chest protection side airbag device N, and the gas supply ports of the respective inflators 20, 20a Opened.

The gas supply ports of the inflators 20 and 20a are instantly opened, and gas is supplied to the airbags 18 and 18a. Therefore, the airbags 18 and 18a are inflated and deployed almost simultaneously with the side collision, and the waist protection side airbag device K and the chest protection side airbag device N function simultaneously.

  In the waist protection side airbag device K, the guide flange 15 is broken and the airbag 18 is inflated and deployed instantaneously, and is interposed between the waist portion e of the occupant M and the vehicle body side surface portion 10. In particular, as shown in FIG. 5, the airbag 18 develops in a substantially triangular shape with the apex angle at a portion facing the occupant f of the occupant M, and the buttock f and the abdomen d are reliably protected around the waist e. .

As the guide collar 15 is broken, the seat belt 7 inserted through the belt insertion part 16 is exposed. Almost instantaneously, the seat belt 7 acts, and the occupant M is reliably restrained against the seat S.
Further, the airbag 18a of the chest protection side airbag device N is inflated and deployed, and is interposed between the chest c and shoulders a of the occupant M and the vehicle body side surface 10. Since the pressure of the airbag 18a at this time is set to be weaker than the pressure of the airbag 18 of the waist protection side airbag device K, the protection of the chest c and shoulder a of the occupant M is ensured. Do.

  Thus, even when the vehicle on which the occupant M gets is subjected to a side collision, the waist protection side airbag device K, the chest protection side airbag device N, and the seat belt device B function instantaneously. The occupant M is protected by the airbag devices K and N and the seat belt device B, and safety is ensured.

  Further, since the waist e and the chest c of the occupant M are protected by separate side airbag devices K and N, the pressure characteristics of the airbags 18 and 18a for the waist e and the chest c are independently adjusted. It becomes possible. The configuration hardly affects each other's performance, and tuning for obtaining the optimum protection performance becomes possible.

  Further, the height of the occupant M seated on the seat S varies, and the front-rear position of the seat S is adjusted so as to be optimal for the occupant M. The position of the waist protection side airbag device K composed of the guide flange 15 attached to the seat S, the retractor 12, the airbag 18 and the inflator 20 is also displaced simultaneously with the longitudinal adjustment of the seat S.

  On the other hand, when the user sits on the seat S and restrains the body with the seat belt device B, the guide collar 15 is interposed between the waist e of the occupant M and the side surface 10 of the vehicle body in an oblique state. Regardless of the height of the occupant M and the front / rear position of the seat S, the relative positional relationship between the seat S and the occupant M does not change since the waist protection side airbag device K is attached to the seat S.

  Therefore, the airbag 18 of the waist protection side airbag device K is unfolded in a state where the waist portion e of the occupant M is completely covered in a state of receiving a side collision. Furthermore, since the airbag 18 is formed in a substantially triangular shape with the apex angle at a portion facing the occupant f of the occupant M, the buttock f and the abdomen d are reliably protected with the waist e as the center.

  On the other hand, in the conventional seat belt device, there is no difference from the present invention in that one end of the seat belt is attached to the upper end of the side surface of the vehicle body, but the other end is attached to the lower end of the side surface of the vehicle body. When the front / rear position of the occupant is adjusted, the distance between the occupant's lower back and the seat belt lower end mounting portion is not constant.

  For this reason, when the above-described waist protection side airbag device K is attached to the lower end of the side surface of the vehicle body of the seat belt 7, for example, if the seat S is in the rearmost position at the time of a side collision, Even if it can be protected, if the seat is moved to the foremost position, it is far from the airbag device K and the occupant M cannot be reliably protected. Therefore, it may be configured as in the present invention.

  In the above embodiment, the chest protection side airbag device N is provided independently of the lumbar protection side airbag device K. However, the present invention is not limited to this. The bag device N may be integrated with the head protection side airbag device.

  Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments as they are, and can be embodied by modifying the constituent elements without departing from the scope of the invention in the implementation stage. Various inventions can be formed by appropriately combining a plurality of constituent elements disclosed in the above-described embodiments.

The side view of a crew member and a crew member protection device concerning one embodiment in the present invention. The partial front view of a passenger | crew and a passenger | crew protection device based on the embodiment. The cross-sectional top view of a passenger | crew, a vehicle side part part, and a guide collar part based on the embodiment. The cross-sectional top view of the airbag expansion | deployment state at the time of a side collision based on the embodiment. The side view of the airbag expansion | deployment state at the time of a side collision based on the embodiment. The front view of the airbag expansion | deployment state at the time of a side collision based on the embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

  M ... occupant, S ... seat, 10 ... body side, e ... (occupant's) waist, f ... (occupant's) hip, B ... seat belt device, 15 ... guide buttocks, K ... lumbar protection side airbag Device: 4 ... Seat back, N ... Side airbag device for chest protection, 7 ... Seat belt, 12 ... Retractor.

Claims (3)

An occupant protection device mounted on a vehicle,
A seat belt device that restrains at least the waist of an occupant seated in the seat;
A side airbag device for protecting the lumbar region that develops between the lumbar region of the occupant and the side surface of the vehicle body when receiving a side collision ,
The seat belt device includes a retractor that is attached to a base that is slidable in the front-rear direction constituting the seat, and that feeds or winds up the seat belt, and a lower end that is rotatably supported on the side of the vehicle body side of the base. A free end, and a long guide collar portion through which the seat belt fed from the retractor is inserted,
The waist protection side airbag device is provided on the side of the vehicle body side of the guide collar of the seat belt device and is deployed between the passenger's waist and the side of the vehicle body when receiving a side collision. An occupant comprising: an air bag that protects the vehicle; and an inflator that is provided on the base and is connected to the air bag so as to supply gas to the air bag when subjected to the side collision. Protective device. A side airbag device for chest protection that is mounted in a seat back that constitutes the seat and expands between the chest of the occupant and the side surface of the vehicle body when receiving a side collision ,
The occupant protection device according to claim 1 , wherein an airbag pressure at the time of deployment in the waist protection side airbag device is set higher than an airbag pressure at the time of deployment in the chest protection side airbag device. . 3. The waist-protecting side airbag device is formed in a substantially triangular shape having an apex angle at a portion facing the occupant's buttocks in a side view when deployed. The occupant protection device according to any one of the above.

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