JP4816387B2 - Side airbag device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a side airbag device that inflates and deploys an inflatable portion provided on a seat back of a seat disposed in a passenger compartment between an occupant seated on the seat and a vehicle side wall.

As a conventional vehicle occupant protection device, for example, as described in Patent Document 1, when a large impact force acts on the vehicle from the lateral direction such as a side collision, the side is designed to protect the occupant from the impact. Airbag devices are known. In this side airbag device, gas is generated from the inflator upon detection of an impact on the vehicle, and the generated gas flows into the airbag provided on the seat back of the seat, so that the airbag starts to inflate. To do. The inflated airbag is deployed from the seat back to the space between the vehicle side wall and the passenger seated on the seat.
JP 2003-335208 A

  Thus, in the conventional side airbag apparatus, it is necessary to inflate and deploy in a slight space between the occupant seated on the seat and the vehicle side wall. Here, for example, when the occupant is seated near the vehicle side wall in the seat, or when the physique of the occupant seated on the seat is significantly higher than the standard adult physique, the airbag is inflated. The space that can be developed is further narrowed. As a result, in the conventional airbag device, it may be difficult to ensure the speed and certainty when inflating and deploying the airbag in such a case, and this point is still an improvement. The room was left.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to enable the airbag to be inflated and deployed in a side airbag device that inflates and deploys an airbag between an occupant seated on a seat and a vehicle side wall. It is an object of the present invention to provide a side airbag device capable of securing a wide space and inflating and deploying it quickly and reliably.

In order to solve the above problems, a first aspect of the present invention, the expansion between the vehicle occupant and the vehicle sidewall main expansion portion provided in a seat back of a seat disposed in the vehicle compartment is seated on the seat in the side airbag device that expand, in the main than expanding portion and biased inside the vehicle position within said seat back, the auxiliary inflatable portion main inflation portion is inflated and deployed when inflated and deployed is provided, wherein The main inflating portion breaks the seat back and inflates and deploys in the passenger compartment, and the auxiliary inflating portion deforms the seat back and deforms the upper body of an occupant seated on the seat via the seat back. The gist is to inflate and deploy by pressing toward the front vehicle interior.

According to this configuration, when the main inflating portion is inflated and deployed, gas flows from the inflator to the auxiliary inflating portion earlier than the main inflating portion, and the auxiliary inflating portion is inflated and deployed. Since the expansion exhibition therefore the upper body of the occupant to open the auxiliary inflatable portion comes to be displaced inside the vehicle, the space between the occupant and the vehicle sidewall wider. After the expansion of the space, the main expansion part expands and deploys. Therefore, in such a wide space, the main inflating portion is prevented from being hindered from being inflated by being sandwiched between the occupant and the side wall at the time of inflating and deploying. It can be inflated and deployed. Therefore, for example, the space between the occupant and the vehicle side wall can be expanded more quickly than in the configuration in which the occupant's waist is pressed, and in this respect, the main expansion portion can be more reliably and quickly expanded. It will be possible to contribute to the development.

  In addition, as such an auxiliary | assistant expansion | swelling part, as described in Claim 2, the structure which makes this independent from the main expansion | swelling part, and as described in Claim 3, it is common. It is possible to adopt a configuration in which the interior of the airbag is partitioned to form an inflatable space different from the main inflatable portion.

  The gist of the invention according to claim 4 is that, in the side airbag device according to claim 2 or claim 3, the volume of the auxiliary inflation portion is set smaller than that of the main inflation portion. .

  It is desirable that the auxiliary inflating portion is set to have a high internal pressure in order to press and displace the occupant, while the main inflating portion is sized to be expanded as much as possible to catch the occupant. It is desirable. In this regard, according to the above configuration, the expansion range of the main expansion portion can be secured in the limited space for expansion, and the internal pressure of the auxiliary expansion portion can be increased.

In order to inflate and expand the gas by flowing the gas from the inflator to the auxiliary inflating part earlier than the main inflating part , for example, the configuration described in claim 5 can be adopted. That is, according to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the side airbag device according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, the main inflating portion is inflated upon detection of a collision with a vehicle by an impact detection sensor. The gist of the auxiliary inflating section is that the expansion is started in response to detection by a pre-crash sensor that detects a collision with the vehicle before the collision.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the side airbag device according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, the auxiliary inflating portion has an inflow rate of gas flowing in from an inflator to the main inflating portion. The gist is that it is set faster than the inflow speed of the inflowing gas.

  According to this configuration, it is possible to inflate and deploy the auxiliary inflatable part earlier when the main inflating part is inflated and to displace the occupant to the inside of the vehicle, and set the gas inflow speed to each inflating part to the same speed. Compared to the case, the main inflating part is inflated and deployed, so that a wider space can be secured.

Invention according to claim 7, in the side airbag apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the auxiliary expansion portion, vehicle parts according to the abdomen from the occupant of the shoulder seated on the seat The gist of the invention is that it is provided in the seat back so as to expand and deploy at a position where it can be pressed from behind.

  According to this configuration, it is possible to suppress pressing of the ribs of the occupant seated on the seat from the lateral side or the front side, and the auxiliary expansion portion can be expanded more appropriately.

  In the side airbag device of the present invention, a wide space in which the airbag can be inflated and deployed can be secured, and the inflation and deployment can be performed quickly and reliably.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of a side airbag device according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 shows a state in which an airbag of a side airbag device is inflated and deployed in a vehicle interior according to the present embodiment together with a seat and a passenger seated on the seat. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the airbag of the side airbag device is accommodated in the seat back together with the configuration inside the seat back. In the following description, the forward direction of the vehicle will be described as the front (front of the vehicle), and the reverse direction of the vehicle will be described as the rear (rear of the vehicle). Further, in the following description, the vertical direction is the vertical direction of the vehicle, and the horizontal direction is the vehicle width direction of the vehicle, which coincides with the horizontal direction when the vehicle is moving forward.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a seat 10 is provided in the vehicle interior. The seat 10 includes a seat back 11 that serves as a backrest of the occupant P and a seat cushion 12 that is a seating portion of the occupant P. This seat back 11 has side support portions 13 on both sides in the vehicle width direction at the front portion thereof, and both side support portions 13 are seated on the vehicle seat 10 and leaned against the seat back 11. This is to support the occupant P so as to restrict movement in the vehicle width direction. Here, in the seat back 11, assuming that a portion excluding both sides on the vehicle inner side and the vehicle outer side is an intermediate portion 14, the both side support portions 13 project forward from the front surface of the intermediate portion 14.

  A side airbag device 20 is built in the side portion of the seat back 11. The side airbag device 20 ejects gas from the inflator 21 (see FIG. 2) into the first airbag 22 when the impact detection unit detects the impact on the side 15 of the vehicle. As indicated by a one-dot chain line, the airbag 22 is inflated and deployed between the occupant P seated on the seat 10 and the side wall 16 in the passenger compartment. By inflating and deploying the first airbag 22 in such a manner, the contact between the occupant P and the side wall portion 16 is suppressed, and the impact on the occupant P is also reduced.

  Further, the side airbag device 20 receives the second detection from the inflator 23 (see FIG. 2), which is different from the inflator 21 for the first airbag 22, triggered by the detection of the impact on the vehicle side wall 16 by the impact detection unit. Gas is injected into the airbag 24 to inflate the airbag 24. Then, the inflated airbag 24 is displaced by pressing the occupant P toward the left front side, that is, the inside of the vehicle via the seat back 11 while deforming the seat back 11 as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. Let By such expansion of the second airbag 24, the deployment space of the first airbag 22, that is, the space between the occupant P and the side wall portion 16 is widened, and the deployment performance of the first airbag 22 is improved. ing.

  Hereinafter, a specific configuration of such a side airbag device 20 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing the state in which each airbag is inflated in the seat back together with the configuration inside the seat back. FIG. 4 shows a state in which the first airbag is inflated and deployed in the vehicle compartment together with the seat and the side wall portion of the vehicle.

  As shown in FIG. 2, in the seat back 11, the seat frame is a skeleton, and a seat pad 31 made of an elastic material such as urethane foam is provided around the seat frame. A part of the seat frame is disposed in the side support portion 13 of the seat back 11, and this portion (hereinafter referred to as “side frame portion 32”) is formed by bending a metal plate in the present embodiment. Yes. The side frame part 32 includes a side wall part 33 extending in the front-rear direction and a rear wall part 34 bent from the rear end of the side wall part 33 toward the vehicle interior side.

  The seat pad 31 is covered with a plurality of skins 35 to 37, and the skins 36 and 37 are overlapped and stitched at the front side of the side support portion 13. The stitched portion 38 is accommodated in a groove 39 provided in the seat pad 31. The stitched portion 38 has a lower strength than the non-stitched portions of both the epidermis 36 and 37, and is configured to be broken when the first airbag 22 is inflated and deployed.

  The seat pad 31 is provided in the vicinity of the side frame portion 32 with a housing space for incorporating the airbags 22 and 24 described above. This housing space has a side housing space 41 located on the inner side (left side) of the side frame portion 32 and a front housing space 42 located on the front side of the side frame portion 32. is doing. The front housing space 42 is located on the front side of the side housing space 41 and is formed continuously from the side housing space 41.

  A slit 43 extends from the corner on the vehicle exterior side of the front housing space 42 toward the stitched portion 38 of the skins 36 and 37. In the seat pad 31, a portion between the slit 43 and the stitching portion 38 is formed in a thin shape so that it is broken along with the stitching portion 38 as the first airbag 22 is inflated.

  A bracket 44 is attached to the side frame portion 32. The bracket 44 includes a side plate portion 45 that extends in the front-rear direction at a predetermined distance from the side wall portion 33 of the side frame portion 32 toward the vehicle inner side, and a front plate portion 46 that extends from the front end of the side plate portion 45 to the vehicle outer side. Each of the side plate portion 45 and the front plate portion 46 is formed of a highly rigid plate material such as a metal plate. The bracket 44 is fixed to the front end portion of the side wall portion 33 of the side frame portion 32 in the front plate portion 46.

  And each airbag 22 and 24 mentioned above is being fixed to the side frame part 32 comprised in this way, respectively. More specifically, the inflator 21 is accommodated in the first airbag 22, and the inflator 21 is fixed to the side wall portion 33, that is, the portion of the side support portion 13 outside the vehicle, together with the first airbag 22. . The first airbag 22 is housed in a state where the front side portion thereof is folded, and the folding is released along with the expansion, and the first airbag 22 is placed in the direction indicated by the arrow F1 in FIG. It develops toward the formed slit 43.

  On the other hand, an inflator 23 is accommodated inside the second airbag 24, and the inflator 23 is fixed together with the airbag 24 to a rear end portion of the side plate portion 45 of the bracket 44, that is, a portion of the side support portion 13 inside the vehicle. ing. The second airbag 24 is deployed in the direction indicated by the arrow F2 in FIG.

In the first airbag 22 and the second airbag 24 configured as described above, the volume, that is, the volume that can be expanded by gas filling is set to be smaller in the second airbag 24 than in the first airbag 22. Has been. In addition, the inflator 23 is faster than the inflator 21 in terms of the flow velocity (flow rate per hour) of the gas filled in the airbags 22 and 24 from the inflators 21 and 23. This is realized, for example, by increasing the capacity of the inflator 23 or by increasing the diameter of a portion that becomes a gas inflow path from the inflator 23 to the second airbag 24.

  The side airbag device 20 includes an impact sensor and a pre-crash sensor (not shown) as an impact detection unit. The impact sensor and the pre-crash sensor are composed of an acceleration sensor or the like, and are provided on the side portion 15 (see FIG. 1) of the vehicle. The impact sensor detects an impact applied to the side portion 15 from the side, and when the impact detected by the impact sensor is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, the inflator 21 is activated and gas is ejected to the first airbag 22. . On the other hand, the pre-crash sensor is a so-called millimeter wave radar type sensor and detects another vehicle approaching the side portion 15 of the vehicle. If it is determined by the pre-crash sensor that a collision with another vehicle cannot be avoided, the inflator 23 is activated and gas is ejected to the second airbag 24.

  When the side airbag device 20 configured as described above is activated, as shown in FIG. 3, the first airbag 22 is inflated and deployed, presses the stitched portion 38 through the slit 43, and breaks the side support portion 13. . And the 1st airbag 22 is expand | deployed in a vehicle interior from this fracture | ruptured site | part. On the other hand, the second airbag 24 is inflated leftward and presses the seat pad 31 from the inside. At this time, the shape of the side support portion 13 is deformed by the pressing force and protrudes to the inside of the vehicle, and the occupant P is pressed to the inside of the vehicle by the side support portion 13. Incidentally, at this time, the size of the second airbag 24 is set so as to correspond to the portion of the occupant P seated on the seat cushion 12 from the shoulder to the abdomen, and the occupant P It is pressed from (diagonally behind). That is, as shown in FIG. 4, the second airbag 24 is deployed behind the spine P1 of the occupant P when inflated, as shown by a two-dot chain line, while the first airbag 22 is shown by a one-dot chain line. As shown, the entire body of the occupant P is received by inflating and expanding to the front of the chest of the occupant P.

Then, the effect | action of such a side airbag apparatus 20 is demonstrated.
First, when it is determined that a collision with the side portion 15 of the vehicle cannot be avoided based on a detection signal from the pre-crash sensor, the inflator 23 is activated and gas is injected into the second airbag 24. When the second airbag 24 is inflated, the second airbag 24 displaces the occupant P through the seat back 11 in the direction indicated by the arrow F3, that is, the vehicle interior side, as shown in FIG. Here, since the capacity | capacitance of the 2nd airbag 24 is set small compared with the 1st airbag 22, an internal pressure becomes comparatively high and can press the passenger | crew P effectively. Moreover, since the capacity | capacitance of the 2nd airbag 24 is small, compared with the 1st airbag 22, the expansion | deployment deployment is complete | finished at an early stage. Then, after that, an impact is actually applied to the side portion 15 of the vehicle, and the inflator 21 is activated and gas is injected into the first airbag 22 when the impact detected by the impact sensor is equal to or greater than a predetermined value. When gas flows into the first airbag 22, the airbag 22 starts to expand and is deployed out of the seatback 11 from the broken side support portion 13. At this time, since the occupant P is displaced toward the vehicle interior due to the expansion of the second airbag 24, the space between the occupant P and the side wall portion 16 is widened. Therefore, the first airbag 22 can be suitably inflated and deployed between the occupant P and the side wall portion 16 without being sandwiched between them.

The effects that can be achieved by the side airbag device 20 of the present embodiment described above will be described below.
(1) A second airbag 24 that is inflated and deployed when the first airbag 22 is inflated and deployed is provided in the seat back 11 at a position that is biased to the vehicle interior side of the first airbag 22. The upper body of the occupant P seated on the seat 10 is pressed against the inner side of the vehicle diagonally forward by the inflating and deploying force. As the second airbag 24 is inflated and deployed in this manner, the upper half of the occupant P is displaced toward the inside of the vehicle, so that the space between the occupant P and the side wall 16 of the vehicle is widened. Therefore, in such a wide space, the first airbag 22 is prevented from being inflated and prevented from being pinched by the occupant P and the side wall portion 16 during the inflation and deployment. 22 can be expanded and deployed more reliably and rapidly. Further, in the same configuration, since the upper body of the occupant P is pressed by the second airbag 24, the upper body of the occupant P can be largely displaced with a smaller force starting from the waist. Therefore, for example, the space between the occupant P and the side wall 16 of the vehicle can be expanded more quickly than in the configuration in which the occupant P's waist is pressed. In this respect, the first airbag 22 can be expanded. Thus, it is possible to contribute to more reliable and quick inflation and deployment.

  (2) The first airbag 22 is inflated upon detection of a collision with the vehicle by the impact detection sensor, and the second airbag 24 is a pre-crash sensor that detects a collision with the vehicle before the collision. Expansion was started upon detection by Since the first airbag 22 is inflated and deployed after the second airbag 24 is inflated and deployed and the space between the occupant P and the side wall portion 16 of the vehicle is expanded, the first airbag 22 is more reliably secured. In addition, it can be expanded and deployed quickly.

  (3) The second airbag 24 is set so that the inflow speed of the gas flowing into the second airbag 24 is set higher than the inflow speed of the gas flowing into the first airbag 22. When the first airbag 22 is inflated and deployed, the second airbag 24 can be inflated and deployed earlier to displace the occupant P toward the vehicle interior, and the inflow rate of gas to each airbag is set to the same speed. Compared to the case, since the first airbag 22 is inflated and deployed, a wider space can be secured.

  (4) The volume of the second airbag 24 is set to be smaller than that of the first airbag 22. With this configuration, it is possible to secure a deployment range of the first airbag 22 in a limited space for inflating and to increase the internal pressure of the second airbag 24.

  (5) The second airbag 24 is provided in the seat back 11 so that the portion of the occupant P seated on the seat 10 from the shoulder to the abdomen can be pressed from the rear of the vehicle when the airbag is inflated and deployed. . In such a side airbag device 20, it is possible to suppress pressing of the ribs of the occupant P seated on the seat 10 from the lateral side or the front side, and the second airbag 24 is inflated more appropriately. Will be able to.

In addition, this embodiment can also be implemented with the following forms which changed this suitably.
In the above embodiment, the second airbag 24 is inflated and deployed at a position where the portion of the occupant P from the shoulder to the abdomen can be pressed from the rear of the vehicle. If the occupant P can be displaced so as to ensure the distance, the pressing mode of the occupant P can be changed as appropriate.

  In the above embodiment, the capacity of the second airbag 24 is set smaller than the capacity of the first airbag 22, but the amount of gas flowing in from the inflator is large, and the internal pressure necessary to displace the occupant In the case where the second airbag 24 can be secured, the capacity of the second airbag 24 may be made large in the same manner as the first airbag 22.

  The flow rate of the gas flowing into the airbags 22 and 24 may not necessarily be set to a different flow rate as long as a sufficient space for inflating and deploying the first airbag 22 can be secured.

  In order to set the start timing of inflow of gas into the second airbag 24, when an impact is detected by the impact detection sensor, gas ejection from the inflator 23 is first started, and then gas from the inflator 21 is started. A configuration in which the eruption of gas is started may be employed.

  In addition, as described above, when the first airbag 22 is inflated and deployed, in order to ensure a wider inflated and deployed region, the inflation start timing of the second airbag 24 (the gas ejection start timing of the inflator 23) is set. It is desirable to set the timing earlier than the first airbag 22 inflation start timing (the gas ejection start timing of the inflator 21). However, even when the gas is simultaneously ejected by the inflators 21 and 23 and the inflation start timing of the airbags 22 and 24 is set to the same timing, the first airbag is inflated by the inflation and deployment of the second airbag 24. It is possible to increase the expansion / deployment region during the expansion / deployment of 22. Even if the airbags 22 and 24 start to be deployed at the same time, if the deployment of the second airbag 24 completes its deployment earlier than the first airbag 22, the first airbag The expansion / deployment region of the bag 22 is further increased.

  In addition, the deployment timing of the airbags 22 and 24 can be adjusted not only by the gas inflow start timing from the inflator, but also by, for example, the release mode of the stopper cloth for maintaining the folding of the airbag.

  In the above embodiment, the main inflatable portion and the auxiliary inflatable portion are provided as separate independent airbags, but they may be formed by dividing the inside of a common airbag into respective inflatable portions. . That is, as shown in FIG. 6A, the airbag 120 includes a first inflating portion 122 that is located on the outside of the vehicle when inflated and deployed, and a second inflating portion 124 that is located on the inside of the vehicle when inflating and deploying. Yes. The inflator 121 is provided between these inflatable portions 122 and 124, and the inflatable portions 122 and 124 are partitioned by the inflator 121 and a seam formed around the inflator 121. When the airbag 120 is inflated, as shown in FIG. 6B, the first inflatable portion 122 is deployed at a position outside the vehicle with respect to the occupant P, and the second inflatable portion 124 obliquely rearwards the occupant P. Press from. Even in such a configuration, it is possible to inflate the auxiliary expansion part earlier than the main expansion part by appropriately changing the gas inflow path.

The above mentioned embodiments of the side air bag device, a passenger seat or the like, may be provided in other seats.

The schematic diagram which shows the state which the airbag expanded and expanded in the vehicle interior about one Embodiment of the side airbag apparatus concerning this invention. Sectional drawing which similarly shows the cross-section of the seat back in which the airbag was accommodated. Sectional drawing which similarly shows the cross-section of the seat back in which the airbag was accommodated. The side view which shows the state which the airbag expanded and expanded similarly in the vehicle interior. The schematic diagram which shows the state which the airbag expanded and expanded similarly in the vehicle interior. (A) is a schematic diagram which shows the structure where the main inflatable part and the auxiliary | assistant inflatable part were divided in the integrated airbag, (b) is a schematic diagram which shows the state by which the airbag was inflate-deployed in the vehicle interior.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Seat, 11 ... Seat back, 20 ... Side airbag apparatus, 21, 23 ... Inflator, 22, 24 ... Air bag, P ... Passenger.

Claims (7)

In the side airbag device you inflated and deployed between the occupant and the vehicle sidewall main expansion portion provided in a seat back of a seat disposed in the vehicle compartment is seated on the seat,
An auxiliary inflating portion that is inflated and deployed when the main inflating portion is inflated and deployed is provided at a position biased toward the vehicle inner side than the main inflating portion in the seat back ,
The main inflating portion breaks the seat back and expands and deploys in the vehicle interior,
The side airbag device characterized in that the auxiliary inflating portion inflates and deploys by pressing the upper body of an occupant seated on the seat through the seat back while deforming the seat back to the inner side of the vehicle diagonally forward. . In the side airbag device according to claim 1,
The side airbag device, wherein the main inflatable portion and the auxiliary inflatable portion are provided as separate and independent ones. In the side airbag device according to claim 1,
The side airbag device, wherein the main inflatable portion and the auxiliary inflatable portion are formed by dividing the inside of a common airbag into respective inflatable portions. In the side airbag device according to claim 2 or claim 3,
The auxiliary airbag is set to have a volume smaller than that of the main inflation part. In the side airbag device according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The main inflating portion starts to expand upon the detection of a collision with the vehicle by an impact detection sensor,
The side airbag device is characterized in that the auxiliary inflating portion starts to be inflated upon detection by a pre-crash sensor that detects a collision with a vehicle before the collision . In the side airbag apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5
The side airbag device according to claim 1, wherein the auxiliary inflation portion is configured such that the inflow speed of the gas flowing in from the inflator is set faster than the inflow speed of the gas flowing into the main inflating portion . In the side airbag device according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
The side airbag device is characterized in that the auxiliary inflating portion is provided in the seat back so as to inflate and deploy to a position where the portion from the shoulder portion of the occupant seated on the seat to the abdomen can be pressed from the rear of the vehicle. .

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