JP4781699B2 - Airbag device for vehicle - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle airbag device.

The airbag device on the passenger seat side of an automobile has a structure in which an airbag is stored in a folded state inside an instrument panel located below the front window panel. The airbag is inflated by the gas ejected from the inflator at the time of a collision, is deployed from the upper part of the instrument panel toward the vehicle interior side, and receives and protects an occupant who falls forward (for example, Patent Document 1).
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-5505

  However, in such a conventional technique, since the airbag is fully inflated at the time of a collision, for an adult having a large physique, the inflated airbag corresponds to the vertical position of the occupant's head. For small children, the position of the occupant head may be relatively low with respect to the inflated airbag.

  The present invention has been made by paying attention to such a conventional technique, and provides a vehicle airbag device capable of obtaining appropriate energy absorption performance in accordance with the physique of an occupant.

The invention according to claim 1 is an air bag apparatus for a vehicle in which an air bag is installed inside an instrument panel in a folded state, and the air bag is inflated at the time of a collision and deployed from the upper part of the instrument panel to the vehicle interior side. The airbag is divided into an upper air chamber and a lower air chamber by a single partition, each of which includes an inflator that supplies gas to each air chamber, and a physique sensor that detects the physique of the occupant. When the physique sensor detects a physique greater than or equal to a predetermined value , both the upper and lower air chambers of the airbag are inflated, and when the physique sensor detects a small physique that is less than the predetermined value, the airbag the lower air chamber by causing only expand the lower air chamber of the air bag is characterized in that the Maseru write around the vehicle width direction on both sides of the upper air chamber.

The invention described in claim 2 is characterized in that two inflators are integrated .

The invention according to claim 3 is characterized in that the expansion pressure of the upper air chamber is set lower than the expansion pressure of the lower air chamber .

According to the first aspect of the present invention, when the physique sensor detects a large physique greater than a predetermined value, all the air chambers of the airbag are inflated. And proper energy absorption performance is obtained. Also, when detecting a small physique, since only the air chamber of the lower portion without the top of the air chamber expands expands, the rider's head in the vertical position corresponds at a lower position, in which case also, Appropriate energy absorption performance can be obtained.

In addition , since the airbag is divided into an upper air chamber and a lower air chamber, the air bag can be easily manufactured. Furthermore, since the lower air chamber wraps around both sides of the upper air chamber in the vehicle width direction, when the occupant's physique is small and only the lower air chamber is inflated, the occupant's head is moved in the vehicle width direction by the lower air chamber. Can be supported from both sides. Therefore, even when the vehicle collides obliquely and the occupant head tends to fall obliquely forward, the occupant head can be reliably protected by being held at the center position of the airbag by the lower air chamber.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the two inflators are integrated structure, it is easy installation work of the inflator.

According to the invention described in claim 3, since the expansion pressure of the upper air chamber is set lower than that of the lower air chamber, the occupant's physique is large, and even when both the upper air chamber and the lower air chamber are inflated, The portion can be supported by the lower air chamber so as to be sandwiched from both sides in the vehicle width direction. Therefore, even when the vehicle collides obliquely and the occupant head tends to fall obliquely forward, the occupant head can be reliably protected by being held at the center position of the airbag by the lower air chamber.

The purpose of providing a vehicle airbag device that can obtain an appropriate energy absorption performance according to the occupant's physique is to install the airbag in the instrument panel in a folded state and to inflate the airbag at the time of a collision. A vehicle airbag device that is deployed from the upper part of an instrument panel toward the interior of a vehicle compartment, wherein the airbag is partitioned into an upper air chamber and a lower air chamber by a single partition wall, and gas is supplied to each air chamber. Each inflator is equipped with a physique sensor that detects the occupant's physique, and when the physique sensor detects a physique greater than a predetermined value , both the upper and lower air chambers of the airbag are inflated. , when detecting a small physique less than the predetermined value, by expanding only the lower air chamber of the air bag, the lower air chamber of the air bag By Maseru write around the vehicle width direction on both sides of the upper air chamber, it was realized. Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  1 to 3 are views showing a first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG.1 and FIG.2, the instrument panel 2 is located under the front window panel 1 in the passenger seat side of a motor vehicle. An upper portion of the instrument panel 2 is provided with a case 3 closed by a lid (not shown). In the case 3, an airbag 4 in a folded state and an inflator for injecting gas for inflating the airbag 4 are provided. 5 and 6 are stored.

  The case 3 has a shape curved in the front-rear direction along the shape of the upper surface of the instrument panel 2. The bottom surface of the case 3 is formed by two flat surfaces with different angles, and disc-type inflators 5 and 6 are respectively installed.

  A base surface 7 corresponding to the bottom surface of the case 3 is formed in the airbag 4, and circular gas inlets 8 and 9 corresponding to the two inflators 5 and 6 are formed on the base surface 7, respectively. . The gas inlets 8 and 9 are formed with cuts 10 in four directions so that the gas inlets 8 and 9 can be expanded.

  Inside the airbag 4, a partition wall 11 is sewn along the inner surface of the airbag 4 from the front and rear center of the base surface 7 to divide the airbag 4 into two parts. A slit 12 is formed at the lower end of the partition wall 11. The airbag 4 is partitioned into an upper air chamber A and a lower air chamber B by the partition wall 11. Due to the simple structure in which the airbag 4 is divided into the upper air chamber A and the lower air chamber B, the manufacture of the air bag 4 is easy.

  A retainer 13 for fixing the base surface 7 from the inside is installed inside the airbag 4. The retainer 13 first enters the upper air chamber A or the lower air chamber B of the airbag 4 from one of the gas injection ports 8 and 9, and then inserts the half from the slit 12 to the other side to cover the entire base surface 7. In this state, it is pressed against the bottom surface of the case 3 and fixed.

  A physique sensor S is provided on the seat 16 on which the occupants 14 and 15 are seated. The physique sensor S has a structure for detecting the physique from the weights of the passengers 14 and 15. The physique sensor S outputs the detected signal to the control unit 17 that operates the inflators 5 and 6.

  In the control unit 17, when the physique sensor S detects an occupant (for example, an adult) 14 having a large physique greater than or equal to a predetermined value, both inflators 5 and 6 are actuated and a small physique (for example, a child) 15 that does not satisfy the predetermined value When this is detected, only the rear inflator 6 corresponding to the lower air chamber B is operated. A signal from a collision sensor (not shown) is also input to the control unit 17.

Next, the operation will be described. When a vehicle collides with the occupant 14 having a large physique seated on the seat 16 (see FIG. 1), both inflators 5 and 6 are activated, and the upper air chamber A and the lower air chamber of the airbag 4 are operated. Both B expand | swell, the lid (not shown) of the upper surface part of the instrument panel 2 is opened, and it expand | deploys to the vehicle interior side. Since the deployed airbag 4 is sufficiently inflated upward, the head 14a at the high position of the large occupant 14 corresponds to the vertical position so that proper energy absorption performance is obtained and the occupant 14 is reliably protected. can do.

Further, when the vehicle collides with the occupant 15 having a small physique seated on the seat 16 (see FIG. 2), only the rear inflator 6 is activated and only the lower air chamber B of the airbag 4 is inflated. And deployed in the passenger compartment. Since the deployed airbag 4 is inflated only in the lower air chamber B, the position is low, the head 15a at the low position of the small occupant 15 corresponds to the vertical position, and appropriate energy absorption performance can be obtained, The occupant 15 can be reliably protected. Since there is no unnecessary airbag 4 ′ (shown in phantom line in FIG. 2), an appropriate energy absorption performance can be obtained without applying a load that presses against the head 15 a of the occupant 15 having a small physique from above. It is done.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a second embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the case 18 has a straight shape along the front-rear direction, and the two inflators 19 and 20 have a cylindrical integrated structure. Gas injection holes 19a and 20a are formed at opposite ends of the inflators 19 and 20, respectively. In the case of an occupant with a large physique, both inflators 19 and 20 are operated, and in the case of an occupant with a small physique, only the inflator 20 corresponding to the lower air chamber is operated.

  According to this embodiment, since the two inflators 19 and 20 are integrated, installation work of the inflators 19 and 20 on the case 18 is easy. Other configurations and operational effects are the same as those of the first embodiment.

  6 to 8 are views showing a third embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the partition wall 22 of the airbag 21 is curved in a convex state downward. Accordingly, both side portions of the lower air chamber B in the vehicle interior wrap around the both sides of the upper air chamber A in the vehicle width direction.

One disk type inflator 24 corresponding to the upper air chamber A is provided in front of the case 23, and two disk type inflators 25 , 25 corresponding to the lower air chamber B are provided behind. Yes. And the internal pressure of the upper air chamber A and the lower air chamber B when it expand | swells is set so that the lower air chamber B may become higher.

  In the airbag 21 of this embodiment, since the lower air chamber B wraps around both sides of the upper air chamber A in the vehicle width direction, the occupant is small in size, and only the lower air chamber B is inflated. 7, the passenger's head 15a can be supported by the lower air chamber B so as to be sandwiched from both sides in the vehicle width direction. Therefore, even when the vehicle collides diagonally and the occupant's head 15a is about to fall obliquely forward, the head 15a is held at the center position of the airbag 21 by the lower air chamber B and reliably protected. Can do.

  Further, when the occupant has a large physique and both the upper air chamber A and the lower air chamber B are inflated, the expansion pressure of the upper air chamber A is set lower than that of the lower air chamber B. Thus, the passenger | crew's head 14a can be supported by the lower air chamber B so that it may be pinched | interposed from the vehicle width direction both sides. Accordingly, as in the case of an occupant having a small physique, even when the vehicle collides obliquely and the occupant's head 14a is about to fall obliquely forward, the head 14a is placed in the center of the airbag 21 by the lower air chamber B. It can be securely protected by being held in position. Other configurations and operational effects are the same as those of the first embodiment.

Sectional drawing which shows the state which expanded all the air chambers of the airbag which concerns on 1st Example of this invention. Sectional drawing which shows the state which expanded only the lower air chamber of the airbag of FIG. The disassembled perspective view which shows the coupling | bond part with respect to the case of the airbag which concerns on FIG.1 and FIG.2. The perspective view which shows the inflator which concerns on 2nd Example of this invention. The perspective view which shows the inflator which concerns on 3rd Example of this invention. The rear view which shows the inflated state of the airbag using the inflator of FIG. Sectional drawing equivalent to FIG. 8 which shows the state which expanded only the lower air chamber of the airbag using the inflator which concerns on FIG. Sectional drawing of the airbag which follows the arrow SA-SA line in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

2 Instrument panel 4, 21 Air bag 5, 6, 19, 20, 24, 25 Inflator 11, 22 Bulkhead 14 Crew (large body)
15 Crew (physique is small)
A upper air chamber B lower air chamber S physique sensor

Claims (3)

A vehicle airbag device that installs an airbag in the instrument panel in a folded state and expands the airbag from the top of the instrument panel to the vehicle interior side in the event of a collision,
The airbag is divided into an upper air chamber and a lower air chamber by a single partition, each of which includes an inflator for supplying gas to each air chamber, and a physique sensor for detecting the physique of the occupant,
When the physique sensor detects a physique greater than or equal to a predetermined value , both the upper and lower air chambers of the airbag are inflated, and when a physique that is smaller than the predetermined value is detected , by inflating only the lower air chamber, the air bag device for a vehicle in which the lower air chamber, characterized in that the Maseru write around the vehicle width direction on both sides of the upper air chamber of the air bag. The vehicle airbag device according to claim 1,
A vehicle airbag device, wherein two inflators are integrated . The vehicle airbag device according to claim 1 or 2,
The vehicle airbag device according to claim 1, wherein an expansion pressure of the upper air chamber is set lower than an expansion pressure of the lower air chamber.

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