JP4672633B2 - Airbag device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an airbag device installed in a vehicle such as an automobile, and particularly relates to an improvement in a lid member formed on an instrument panel or the like from which an airbag is inflated.

Some of the instrument panels in front of a passenger seat of a vehicle such as an automobile are provided with a passenger seat airbag device. When the airbag of the airbag device is deployed, the lid member formed on the instrument panel is pushed open and opened in front of the occupant to protect the occupant. By the way, this type of airbag device is normally provided with a pair of lids starting from the hinge portion with the tear line provided on the instrument panel as a boundary, and each lid portion broken at the tear line when the airbag is deployed is connected to the hinge portion. The air bag is deployed outwardly by pushing it open at the center.
In order to expand the airbag more greatly, instead of opening the lid around the hinge portion described above, when the airbag is deployed, the lid is in a direction intersecting the airbag deployment direction. A structure that opens while sliding is proposed (Patent Document 1).
JP 2005-75141 A

  However, as described above, in the structure in which the lid portion is opened while sliding in the direction intersecting with the airbag deployment direction, the broken portion around the lid portion is stably set as set in addition to the tear line. Since it is necessary to break, there is a problem that it takes time to set the tear line, the setting around the lid, the plate pressure of the lid, and the like.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an airbag device that can be stably opened while the lid portion slides in a direction intersecting with the deployment direction of the airbag and that can reduce the thickness of the lid member.

In order to achieve the above object, the invention described in claim 1 is arranged in the deployment direction of an airbag (for example, the airbag 10 in the embodiment) and its peripheral tear line portion (for example, the peripheral tear line portion 4a in the embodiment). And lid members (for example, the front lid member Ff and the rear lid member Fr in the embodiment) that can be broken at the central tear line portion (for example, the central tear line portion 4b in the embodiment), and extending downward from the vicinity of the periphery of the lid member. A strut portion (for example, front strut portion 50f and rear strut portion 50r in the embodiment) and a branch portion (for example, implementation) extending from the strut portion toward the central tear line portion along the back surface of the lid member. An airbag device including a front branch portion 51f and a rear branch portion 51r) in the form, which is disposed on the distal end side of the branch portion and is joined to the lid member A portion (for example, the front joint portion 53f and the rear joint portion 53r in the embodiment) and a sub-joint portion (for example, the front joint portion in the embodiment) that extends from the joint portion to the column portion side and is joined to the lid member. A partial sub-joint portion 54f and a rear sub-joint portion 54r).
By configuring in this way, the peripheral tear line portion of the lid member that receives force in the direction of being pushed outward through the sub-joint portion with the joint portion on the center tear line side as the base end when the airbag is deployed is reliably broken. After that, the center tear line portion can be broken and the lid member can be opened in a direction crossing the airbag deployment direction.

The invention described in claim 2 is characterized in that the lid member is formed by integrally forming a skin member (for example, the skin member 1a in the embodiment).
By comprising in this way, a cover member can be made thin.

The invention described in claim 3 is characterized in that a plurality of at least one of the branch part and the sub-joint part is formed.
By comprising in this way, a cover member can be supported stably.

The invention described in claim 4 is characterized in that a slack portion (for example, a slack portion 52 in the embodiment) is formed on the support portion side of the branch portion.
By comprising in this way, the displacement to the outer side of a cover member is accept | permitted by the slack part at the time of airbag deployment, and a cover member can be made to transfer to a slide operation | movement rapidly.

The invention described in claim 5 is characterized in that the branch portion and the sub-joint portion have different thicknesses.
By comprising in this way, only a subjoining part can be thickened.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the peripheral tear line portion of the lid member that receives a force in the direction of being pushed outward through the sub-joint portion with the joint portion on the side of the central tear line portion as the base end when the airbag is deployed is surely secured. Since the center tear line portion is broken and the lid member can be opened in a direction intersecting with the airbag deployment direction, the airbag can be deployed by opening the opening widely. is there. Further, there is an effect that the thickness of the lid member itself can be suppressed by the joint portion joined to the lid member.
According to the invention described in claim 2, there is an effect that the lid member can be made thin and the number of parts can be suppressed.
According to the invention described in claim 3, since the lid member can be stably supported, there is an effect that it is possible to secure the surface rigidity in the portion of the lid member and reduce the sense of incongruity in the rigidity with the surroundings. is there.
According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, since the slack portion allows the displacement of the lid member to the outside by the slack portion when the airbag is deployed, the lid member can be quickly shifted to the sliding operation. There is an effect that can be easily performed.
According to the invention described in claim 5, since only the sub-joint portion can be thickened, there is an effect that the weight can be reduced.

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
As shown in FIG. 1, an instrument panel 1 in front of a passenger seat of a vehicle such as an automobile has a substantially flat upper surface portion facing the front window glass 2, the passenger seat side is curved, and the whole is a hard polypropylene resin. Is integrally molded. Note that the instrument panel 1 is subjected to matte texture to avoid the reflection of the front window glass 2.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a tear line 4 is formed in a substantially Japanese character shape on the back surface of the upper wall on the passenger seat side of the instrument panel 1. The tear line 4 includes a peripheral tear line portion 4a and a central tear line portion 4b. A portion surrounded by the peripheral tear line portion 4a with the central tear line portion 4b as a boundary is partitioned into a front front lid member Ff and a rear rear lid member Fr, and the lid members Ff and Fr can be broken. Is arranged.

  Here, the tear line 4 is formed on the back side of the instrument panel 1 by a rotary blade such as a milling blade or by laser machining, and is formed on the back side of the instrument panel 1 having a seamless structure. It does not appear on the surface. Further, a backing member 5 is provided on the back surface of the instrument panel 1 so as to support the front lid member Ff and the rear lid member Fr so as to cover the tear line 4 along the portion where the tear line 4 is formed. It has been. Specifically, the backing material 5 includes a frame-shaped portion 5a and a flange portion 5b joined to the upper edge of the frame-shaped portion 5a. Here, the skin member 1 a of the front lid member Ff and the rear lid member Fr is integrally formed in the same manner as the instrument panel 1.

  As shown in detail in FIGS. 4 and 5, the frame-like portion 5 a of the backing member 5 is located near the peripheral tear line portion 4 a of the front lid member Ff, that is, from the front side of the peripheral tear line portion 4 a of the front lid member Ff. A front support column 50f extending downward and a rear support column 50r extending downward from the rear side of the peripheral tear line portion 4a of the rear cover member Fr are provided.

A plurality of attachment holes 50h to the airbag module 6 are formed in the vicinity of the lower ends of the front column 50f and the rear column 50r (see FIGS. 2 and 3).
And the front branch part 51f extended toward the center tear line part 4b along the back surface of the front cover member Ff on the same plane as the flange part 5b is formed in the upper end part of the front support | pillar part 50f. . Further, a rear branch portion 51r extending toward the central tear line portion 4b along the back surface of the rear cover member Fr is formed on the upper end portion of the rear column portion 50r on the same plane as the flange portion 5b.
The base portions of the front branch portion 51f and the rear branch portion 51r are each formed with a slack portion 52 that is bent downward, and when the external force is received from below, the slack portion 52 causes the front lid member to be formed. An upward displacement between Ff and the rear cover member Fr is allowed.

A front joint portion 53f joined to the front lid member Ff is provided on the front end side of the front branch portion 51f, and a rear joint portion 53r joined to the rear lid member Fr is provided on the front end side of the rear branch portion 51r. Is provided. The front joint portion 53f is formed with a front sub-joint portion 54f extending from the front joint portion 53f to the front strut portion 50f and joined to the front lid member Ff, and is formed on the rear joint portion 53r. Is formed with a rear sub-joint portion 54r extending from the rear joint portion 53r to the rear column portion 50r side and joined to the rear lid member Fr.
In the backing member 5 configured as described above, a plurality of sets of the joint portions 53f and 53r and the branch portions 51f and 51r are alternately arranged on the back surfaces of the lid members Ff and Fr.

Specifically, the rear strut 50r will be described as an example (see FIG. 5). The rear branch 51r extends at a plurality of positions at predetermined intervals via a slack portion 52 at the lower end of the upper end of the rear strut 50r formed in a plate shape. A rear joint portion 53r is formed in the longitudinal direction so as to be joined to the rear surface of the rear lid member Fr so as to be connected to the front end portion of the rear branch portion 51r. A rear sub-joint portion 54r extending from the rear joint portion 53r to the same plane between the rear branch portions 51r and terminating in front of the rear column portion 50r is formed. Here, the rear sub-joining portion 54r is flush with the flange portion 5b.
A convex portion 55 for heat welding is formed on the upper surface as a heat application area at a portion extending from the rear joint portion 53r to the rear sub-joint portion 54r, and the welding convex portion 55a formed on the upper surface of the flange portion 5b is instrumental. It is welded to the back surface of the ment panel 1. In addition, the welding convex part 55a welded to the back surface of the instrument panel 1 is formed also in the upper surface of the rear part junction part 53r. In addition, a trapezoidal convex portion 56 having a trapezoidal cross section for receiving a load from the airbag 10 is formed on the base end side of the rear surface of the rear sub-joining portion 54r. In addition, since the front support | pillar part 50f is also provided with the same structure, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the same part and description is abbreviate | omitted.
Here, the front sub-joint portion 54r is formed thicker than the front branch portion 51r, and the rear sub-joint portion 54f is thicker than the rear branch portion 51f.

  As shown in FIG. 2, an airbag module 6 is installed in the instrument panel 1. Here, in FIG. 2, the front branch portion 51f, the rear branch portion 51r, the front sub-joint portion 54f, and the rear sub-joint portion 54r are on the same plane as the flange portion 5b, but are indicated by chain lines. As described above, the front sub-joint portion 54f and the rear sub-joint portion 54r may be attached in a state where the front sub-joint portion 54r and the rear branch portion 51r are lifted at an angle.

  The airbag module 6 has a reaction can 6a formed in a substantially cylindrical shape by a metal plate, and is fixed to the steering hanger beam SB by a bracket 6f protruding from the outer periphery of the reaction can 6a. An inflator 7 that generates high-pressure gas at the time of a vehicle collision is accommodated in the reaction can 6a.

The retainer 6b and the lower part of the airbag case 6c are fixed to the upper opening of the reaction can 6a by a fixing tool.
At the upper end of the airbag case 6c, hooks 6d are fixed to the front edge and the rear edge, and these hooks 6d are attached to the attachment holes 50h formed in the lower part of the frame-like part 5a of the backing member 5. The airbag case 6 c is attached to the backing member 5 by being locked from the inside.

  The airbag case 6c accommodates an airbag 10 that is folded and wrapped with a wrapping cloth 10a so that the shape of the airbag case 6c does not collapse. The gas inlet of the airbag 10 is connected to the gas outlet of the inflator 7 (both (Not shown) in an airtight state.

Next, the operation will be described.
The airbag module 6 installed in the instrument panel 1 is covered by the instrument panel 1 and the tear line 4 does not appear on the surface of the instrument panel 1. An instrument panel 1 having a seamless appearance and an appearance that is not noticed can be obtained.

First, when the inflator 7 of the airbag module 6 injects high-pressure gas due to an impact when the vehicle collides, the airbag 10 stored in the folded state in the airbag case 6c starts to be inflated. The backing member 5 is pushed up.
As a result, the slack portion 52 at the base portion of the front branch portion 51f and the rear branch portion 51r of the backing member 5 is displaced, and the front lid member Ff and the rear lid member Fr are moved upward with respect to the load from below. Encourage displacement.

Then, the peripheral tear line portion 4a is pushed outward through the front sub-joint portion 54f and the rear sub-joint portion 54r with the front joint portion 53f and the rear joint portion 53r on the central tear line portion 4b side as the base ends. The center tear line portion 4b is then broken.
Then, as shown by a chain line in FIG. 6, the airbag 10 further protrudes so that the inner edge of the front joint portion 53 f and the rear joint portion 53 r and the inner edge of the front lid member Ff and the rear lid member Fr are located on the instrument panel 1. Since the front lid member Ff and the rear lid member Fr are pushed open in the front-rear direction along the upper surface, the front lid member Ff and the rear lid member Fr open while sliding in a direction intersecting with the deployment direction of the airbag 10 (indicated by a chain line arrow).

Finally, when the airbag 10 starts to be deployed from the surface of the instrument panel 1, as shown in FIG. 6, the front sub-joining portion 54f, the rear sub-joining portion 54r, and the front lid member Ff of the backing member 5, Since the rear cover member Fr is almost fully opened and does not hinder the deployment of the airbag 10, the airbag 10 is instantly opened to the front of the occupant and deployed.
Further, since the front joint member 53f is joined to the front lid member Ff, and the rear joint member 53r is joined to the rear lid member Fr, the thicknesses of the front lid member Ff and the rear lid member Fr are suppressed and reduced. be able to.

Moreover, since the front cover member Ff and the rear cover member Fr are formed by integrally forming the skin member 1a, the front cover member Ff and the rear cover member Fr can be made thin. Therefore, the front lid member Ff and the rear lid member Fr can be thinned, and the number of parts can be reduced.
Since the front branch portion 51f, the front sub-joint portion 54f, the rear branch portion 51r, and the rear sub-joint portion 54r are alternately arranged on the same plane, the front lid member Ff, the rear lid member Fr can be supported stably. Therefore, it is possible to secure the surface rigidity of the front lid member Ff and the rear lid member Fr and reduce the sense of incongruity with respect to the surrounding rigidity.
Furthermore, since only the front sub-joint portion 54f and the rear sub-joint portion 54r can be made thicker than the front branch portion 51f and the rear branch portion 51r, the weight can be reduced as compared with the case where both are made thicker. it can.

  In addition, this invention is not restricted to the said embodiment, It can apply to the airbag apparatus used in places other than an instrument panel. Further, the case where a plurality of sets of front branch portions 51f and front sub-joint portions 54f and rear branch portions 51r and rear sub-joint portions 54r are alternately arranged has been described. However, the branch portions 51f and 51r and the sub-joint portions 54f and 54r A plurality of at least one of them may be formed. Moreover, although the case where the backing member was directly attached to the instrument panel was described, an opening was provided in the instrument panel, the opening was closed with an airbag cover, and the backing member was placed on the back surface of the airbag cover It can also be applied to a structure that attaches.

It is a perspective view which shows the vehicle interior of the motor vehicle of embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing which follows the AA line of FIG. It is a principal part enlarged plan view of FIG. It is sectional drawing of the backing member which follows the BB line of FIG. It is a fragmentary perspective view of the backing member of the front side of FIG. It is sectional drawing which shows the expansion | deployment state of the airbag of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

1a Skin member 4a Peripheral tear line portion 4b Center tear line portion 10 Air bag 50f Front strut portion 50r Rear strut portion 51f Front branch portion 51r Rear branch portion 52 Slack portion 53f Front joint portion 53r Rear joint portion 54f Front sub-joint portion 54r Rear secondary joint

Claims (5)

A lid member that is disposed in the airbag deployment direction and can be broken at the peripheral tear line portion and the central tear line portion;
A column portion extending downward from the vicinity of the periphery of the lid member;
An airbag device including a branch portion extending from the support portion toward the center tear line portion along the back surface of the lid member;
A joint portion disposed on the distal end side of the branch portion and joined to the lid member;
An airbag device comprising: a sub-joining portion that extends from the joining portion toward the support column and is joined to the lid member.   The airbag device according to claim 1, wherein the lid member is formed by integrally forming a skin member.   The airbag device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a plurality of at least one of the branch portion and the sub-joint portion is formed.   The airbag device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a slack portion is formed on a support column side of the branch portion.   The airbag device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the branch portion and the sub-joint portion have different thicknesses.

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