JP5003631B2 - Side airbag device - Google Patents

Description

  In the present invention, when an impact is applied from the outside of the vehicle, the airbag is inflated and deployed in the vicinity of the outside of the occupant seated on the vehicle seat to restrain the occupant and protect the occupant from the impact. The present invention relates to a side-impact airbag device.

  A side impact airbag device is known as a device that protects an occupant from an impact caused by a side impact on a body side portion such as a side door of a vehicle from the outside. This device includes an inflator, a retainer, an airbag, and the like. The inflator has a substantially cylindrical gas ejection part provided with a plurality of gas ejection holes over almost the entire circumference of the outer peripheral surface, and is used for expansion from the gas ejection hole in response to an impact from the outside of the vehicle due to a side collision. Spout gas. The retainer has a cylindrical wall portion that holds the inflator in a state of covering the inflator from the outside. In the vicinity of the gas ejection portion of the wall portion, an opening that allows passage of the expansion gas from the gas ejection portion is provided.

  When the object to be protected by the side impact airbag device is the occupant's waist, chest, shoulder, etc., the inflator, retainer, and airbag are located on the outer side of the seat back (backrest) in the vehicle seat. Stored. The airbag is fixed to the seat frame in the seat back together with the inflator and the retainer at one end (fixing end) thereof.

  In the side impact airbag device, when an impact is applied to the body side portion from the outside due to the side impact, the inflation gas is ejected from the gas ejection portion of the inflator and supplied into the airbag. By supplying the inflation gas, the airbag jumps forward from the seat back with the fixing end left, passes through the gap between the occupant seated on the vehicle seat and the body side part, and then the occupant. Inflate and expand to a size and shape that can protect the sides (waist, chest, shoulders, etc.). The occupant is restrained by this airbag, and the impact from the outside transmitted to the occupant through the body side portion is mitigated.

As the airbag apparatus for side collision, the one disclosed in Patent Document 1 has been proposed. As shown in FIG. 18, the airbag device inflates and deploys an airbag 71 that protects the shoulder and chest of the occupant from the upper part of the seat back 14 of the vehicle seat, and the occupant's waist from the lower part of the seat back 14. An airbag 72 that protects the vehicle is inflated and deployed.
Special table 2008-509042

  However, the side airbag device shown in FIG. 18 has the following problem because the airbag 71 that protects the shoulder and chest of the occupant has a single chamber. That is, it is generally known that in terms of impact resistance of the human body side, the shoulder is superior to the chest in the lower part. For this reason, it is desirable that the impact acting on the occupant due to the inflation and deployment of the airbag 71 is smaller in the chest than in the shoulder. Therefore, since the pressure of the chamber of the airbag 71 in the inflated and deployed state needs to be set to a low pressure that is not suitable for shoulder protection on the basis of chest protection, there is a problem that the protection performance of the shoulder is lowered. there were.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a side-impact airbag device that can solve the above-described problems of the prior art and appropriately protect the occupant's waist, chest, and shoulders.

In order to solve the above problems, the invention according to claim 1 is directed to a seat back that is inflated by a single inflator built in a door side portion of the seat back and an inflating gas injected from the inflator. An airbag deployed in a space to the side of the vehicle, wherein the airbag protects the waist of the occupant, a waist protection airbag that protects the chest, and a shoulder protection airbag that protects the shoulder And provided with a deployment speed delay means for making the deployment speed of the chest protection airbag slower than the deployment speed of the shoulder protection airbag and the waist protection airbag, and the waist protection airbag and the shoulder protection airbag are together they are formed in the bellows-like folded structure, essential that the thorax protecting air bag which functions as the expansion rate delay means are formed in rolled structure has been granted To.

  According to the above configuration, in the process in which the chest protection airbag is inflated and deployed from the folded (reduced) state by the inflation gas, the deployment speed of the chest protection airbag is increased by the deployment speed delay means. It becomes slower than the inflation and deployment speed of the protective airbag. For this reason, it is possible to protect the occupant's waist, chest and shoulders in a timely manner prior to the protection of the chest by protecting the occupant's waist and shoulders with the waist protection airbag and the shoulder protection airbag. It can be done properly.

Moreover , the function as a deployment speed delay means can be easily provided to a chest protection airbag only by changing the folding structure of each airbag.
The invention according to claim 2, Oite to claim 1, wherein the inflator, wherein provided in the first position for supplying inflation gas to the chamber of the thorax protection air bag, the inside the thorax protecting airbag The first chamber and the second chamber in the waist protection airbag are communicated by a first communication path, and the first chamber and the third chamber in the shoulder protection airbag are communicated by a second communication path. It is a summary.

  According to the above configuration, the inflation gas injected from the inflator to the first chamber of the chest protection airbag passes through the lower communication path and the upper communication path by the inflation delay operation of the first chamber, and thus the second chamber of the waist protection airbag In addition, the operation to be supplied to the third chamber of the shoulder protection airbag is promoted, and the expansion and deployment of the waist protection airbag and the shoulder protection airbag is performed more quickly, so that the waist and shoulders of the occupant are more appropriately protected. Can be done.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect , the first communication path is provided with a first check valve for preventing a gas from flowing backward from the second chamber to the first chamber, The gist of the invention is that the second communication path is provided with a second check valve for preventing the gas from flowing backward from the third chamber to the first chamber.

  According to the above configuration, the inflation gas in the second chamber of the waist protection airbag and the third chamber of the shoulder protection airbag does not flow back into the first chamber of the chest protection airbag. Therefore, the pressure of the second chamber of the waist protection airbag and the pressure of the third chamber of the shoulder protection airbag can be maintained higher than the pressure of the first chamber of the chest protection airbag, Protection by restraining the shoulder can be performed more appropriately.

Invention according to claim 4, in claim 1, rolled direction of the thorax protection air bag, the outer peripheral surface of the Botisaido portion side of the air bag of a rolled state in the deployment operation of the airbag of the Botisaido portion The gist is that it is set to be pressed against the inner surface.

  According to the above configuration, the outer peripheral surface of the airbag is unwound while being pressed against the inner side surface of the vehicle side portion of the vehicle in the deployment operation of the roll-wrapped chest protection airbag. The collision of the chest protection airbag is properly performed, and the chest can be properly protected.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, a passenger | crew's waist | hip | lumbar part, a chest part, and a shoulder part can be protected appropriately.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of a side-impact air bag device embodying the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
In the following description, the traveling direction (forward direction) of the vehicle will be described as the front.

  As shown in any of FIGS. 1 to 3, a vehicle seat 12 is disposed in the vicinity of the inside of the body side portion 11 (upper side in FIG. 2) in the vehicle. Here, the body side part 11 shows the member arrange | positioned at the side part of a vehicle. For example, the body side part 11 corresponding to the front seat is a front door, a center pillar (B pillar), or the like. The body side portion 11 corresponding to the rear seat is a rear portion of a side door (rear door), a C pillar, a front portion of a tire house, a rear quarter, and the like.

  The vehicle seat 12 includes a seat cushion (seat portion) 13 and a seat back (back portion) 14 that stands up from the rear side of the seat cushion 13 and has an inclination adjustment mechanism (not shown). ing. A storage portion 15 is provided on the side of the seatback 14 on the vehicle exterior side. The storage portion 15 stores an airbag module AM that forms the main part of the side-impact airbag device. The position of the storage portion 15 is in the vicinity of the outside of the occupant P seated on the vehicle seat 12. As shown in FIG. 4, the airbag module AM includes an airbag 20 and an inflator assembly 40 as main components.

Next, each of these structural members will be described. Here, in the present embodiment, when the airbag module AM and its constituent members are referred to as “vertical direction” and “front-rear direction”, the seat back 14 of the vehicle seat 12 is used as a reference. The direction in which the seat back 14 stands is the “vertical direction”, and the direction substantially orthogonal to the front-rear direction of the vehicle with respect to this direction is the “front-rear direction”. Normally, since the seat back 14 is used in a state of being inclined rearward, the “vertical direction” is not strictly a vertical direction but is slightly inclined. Similarly, the “front-rear direction” is not strictly a horizontal direction but is slightly inclined.
[Airbag 20]
As shown in any one of FIGS. 1 to 3, the airbag 20 includes a waist protection airbag 21 that protects the waist Pp of the occupant P, a chest protection airbag 22 that protects the chest Pt, and a shoulder that protects the shoulder Ps. A protective airbag 23 is used. As shown in FIG. 4, each of the airbags 21 to 23 is separated so as to be individually foldable by cuts S <b> 1 and S <b> 2 formed at two upper and lower portions, and is connected to each other at the base end portion. The airbags 21 to 23 are inflated and deployed by the inflation gas when an impact is applied to the body side portion 11 from the outside of the vehicle. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the airbags 21, 22, and 23 are substantially forward from the storage portion 15 in a state where the fixing end portion 20 </ b> A common to them is left in the storage portion 15. The occupant P is restrained by being inflated and expanded and expanded in the gap G1 between the vehicle seat 12 and the body side portion 11, and is protected from the impact. The airbag 20 is inflated and deployed with the front of the vehicle as the front in the deployment direction.

  As shown in either one of FIGS. 4 and 5, the airbag 20 has a pair of base fabrics 24 and 25 connected to each other at a rear side 26 extending substantially in the vertical direction. It is formed by joining the cloths 24 and 25 into a bag shape.

  As the base fabrics 24 and 25, materials having high strength and flexibility, which can be easily folded, such as woven fabrics formed using polyester yarn or polyamide yarn, are suitable. The shapes and sizes of both base fabrics 24 and 25 are in the vicinity of the outer side of the occupant P seated on the vehicle seat 12 when the airbag 20 is inflated and deployed between the vehicle seat 12 and the bodyside portion 11. It is set to be able to occupy a wide area corresponding to the chest part Pt and the shoulder part Ps from the waist part Pp. The airbag 20 may be formed by overlapping a pair of base fabrics 24 and 25 that are independent of each other in the vehicle width direction and joining the base fabrics 24 and 25 into a bag shape.

  As shown in FIG. 4, both base fabrics 24 and 25 are coupled by a coupling portion 27. The connecting portion 27 is formed by sewing both base fabrics 24 and 25 with sewing threads. The connecting portion 27 may be formed by means different from the sewing thread, for example, bonding using an adhesive. The connecting portion 27 is provided at the peripheral edge portions of both base fabrics 24 and 25. The first to third chambers 28, 29, 30 between the base fabrics 24, 25 and surrounded by the coupling portion 27 are in order the chest protection airbag 22, the waist protection airbag 21, and the shoulder protection airbag 23. It is a chamber. The first to third chambers 28 to 30 are individually expanded by the expansion gas G. The rear portion of the first chamber 28 of the chest protection airbag 22, that is, the vicinity of the rear side 26 is a fixing end 20A.

  The first chamber 28 of the chest protection airbag 22 and the second chamber 29 of the waist protection airbag 21 are formed by a lower communication path 31 formed by a gap between the base fabrics 24 and 25 near the fixing end 20A. It is communicated. The first chamber 28 of the chest protection airbag 22 and the third chamber 30 of the shoulder protection airbag 23 are upper communication paths formed by gaps between the base fabrics 24 and 25 near the fixing end 20A. 32.

The second chamber 29 of the waist protection airbag 21 is inflated and deployed with a relatively high external pressure mainly in the vicinity of the outside of the waist Pp of the occupant P to restrain and protect the waist Pp. Further, the first chamber 28 of the chest protection airbag 22 is inflated and deployed at an internal pressure lower than that of the second chamber 29 mainly in the vicinity of the outside of the chest Pt of the occupant P to protect the chest Pt and the like. Further, the third chamber 30 of the shoulder protection airbag 23 is inflated and deployed at an internal pressure higher than that of the first chamber 28 mainly in the vicinity of the outer side of the shoulder Ps of the occupant P to protect Ps and the like.
[Inflator assembly 40]
As shown in FIG. 4, the inflator assembly 40 includes an inflator 41 serving as a gas generation source, and a retainer 42 that covers the inflator 41 from the outside. The main part of the inflator 41 is constituted by a main body part 43 having an elongated column shape in the vertical direction, and a gas generating agent that generates an expansion gas G in response to an operation signal from the outside. (Not shown) is accommodated. A connector part 44 is provided on the upper side of the main body part 43, and a harness (not shown) serving as an operation signal application wiring to the inflator 41 is connected to the connector part 44. Under the main body 43, a gas ejection portion 45 having a substantially cylindrical shape and having a diameter smaller than that of the main body 43 is provided. The gas ejection part 45 is provided with a plurality of gas ejection holes 46 for ejecting the expansion gas G generated by the gas generating agent to the outside. As the inflator 41, instead of the type using the gas generating agent, a type in which the partition wall of the high-pressure gas cylinder filled with the high-pressure gas is broken with explosive or the like to discharge the expansion gas G may be used.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 4, the retainer 42 is a member that functions as a diffuser that regulates the flow of the inflation gas G and that has a function of being fixed to the seat frame 16 in the seatback 14 together with the airbag 20. . The retainer 42 has a cylindrical wall portion 47 that holds the inflator 41 in a state of covering the inflator 41 from the outside. The lower outer peripheral surface of the wall 47 is open, and the lower end of the wall 47 is an open end 47A.

  A plurality of (in this embodiment, two) bolts 48 (see FIG. 11) are fixed to the wall portion 47 as locking members for attaching the retainer 42 to the vehicle, more specifically, the seat frame 16. Yes. These bolts 48 extend inward in the vehicle width direction in a direction perpendicular to the axis of the gas ejection portion 45.

  In the wall portion 47, an opening portion 49 that allows passage of a part of the expansion gas G from the gas ejection portion 45 is provided above the open end 47 </ b> A and near the gas ejection portion 45 of the inflator 41. Yes. The opening 49 exposes a part of the gas ejection holes 46 in the inflator 41 from the wall 47 to the first chamber 28.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the inflator assembly 40 configured as described above is positioned in the vicinity of the fixing end portion 20 </ b> A of the airbag 20 in a posture in which the axis of the gas ejection portion 45 is inclined so as to extend substantially in the vertical direction. It is arranged. Most of the inflator assembly 40 is housed in the first chamber 28. The inflation gas G injected downward from the open end 47A of the wall 47 is injected toward the lower communication passage 31, and the inflation gas G injected from the opening 49 is a chest protection airbag. 22 first chambers 28 are injected.

Next, the check valves 51 and 52 provided in the lower communication path 31 and the upper communication path 32 formed in the airbag 20 will be described with reference to FIGS.
In FIG. 4, the check valve 51 provided in the lower communication path 31 is configured such that the inflation gas G passes through the lower communication path 31 from the first chamber 28 of the chest protection airbag 22 and enters the second chamber 29 of the waist protection airbag 21. To prevent the gas from flowing back from the second chamber 29 to the first chamber 28. In the check valve 52 provided in the upper communication path 32, the inflation gas G is supplied from the first chamber 28 of the chest protection airbag 22 through the upper communication path 32 into the third chamber 30 of the shoulder protection airbag 23. And the backflow of gas from the third chamber 30 to the first chamber 28 is prevented.

  The check valve 51 is formed in a cylindrical shape with both upper and lower ends opened by a cloth such as a woven cloth. More specifically, as shown in at least one of FIGS. 5, 6, and 7, the check valve 51 is a pair of fabrics 53 that are connected to each other on the rear side 26 that extends substantially in the vertical direction of the airbag 20. , 54 are overlapped in the vehicle width direction, and both fabrics 53, 54 are joined so as to form a cylindrical shape with both upper and lower ends opened. As shown in FIG. 5, the fabric 53 on the vehicle inner side is coupled to the base fabric 24 on the vehicle inner side by a coupling portion 55 at the upper end portion thereof. The connecting portion 55 is formed by sewing the fabric 53 and the base fabric 24 with sewing threads. Similarly, the fabric 54 on the vehicle outer side is coupled to the base fabric 25 on the vehicle exterior by a coupling portion 56 at the upper end portion thereof. The coupling portion 56 is formed by fastening the fabric 54 and the base fabric 25 with sewing threads.

  The front edge portions of the fabrics 53 and 54 with respect to the traveling direction of the vehicle are sewn together to the base fabrics 24 and 25 by sewing threads of a joint portion 27 that joins the base fabrics 24 and 25 as shown in FIG. In FIG. 5, locations where the fabrics 53 and 54 are sewn together by the sewing thread of the coupling portion 27 are displayed. The fabrics 53 and 54 positioned below the straight line W connecting the lower ends 27a of the two connecting portions 27 are defined as bendable portions 53a and 54a. As shown in FIG. 6, the connecting portion 57 of the fabric 53, 54 is located inside the side 26 on the rear side of the base fabric 24, 25 and is below the connecting portion 55 (56). Is in a free state without being sewn together to the base fabrics 24 and 25 by the connecting portion 27. Therefore, the bendable parts 53a and 54a can be bent upward, for example, with the straight line W as a center and being overlapped with each other.

  As shown in FIG. 7A, in a state before the expansion gas G is supplied to the lower communication passage 31, the fabrics 53 and 54 are held in a flat state in contact with each other. As shown in FIG. 7B, when the expansion gas G is supplied from the first chamber 28 side to the lower communication path 31 as indicated by the arrow, the fabrics 53 and 54 are separated from each other by the expansion gas G. It is supplied from the passage T between the fabrics 53 and 54 to the second chamber 29 of the waist protection airbag 21. Then, when the second chamber 29 has the maximum volume, and the internal pressure causes the expansion gas G to flow backward from the second chamber 29 to the first chamber 28 side through the lower communication path 31, as follows: Backflow is prevented. That is, as shown in FIG. 7C, the expansion gas G in the second chamber 29 enters the gap between the base cloth 24 and the cloth 53 and the gap between the base cloth 25 and the cloth 54, and the cloths 53 and 54 are mutually connected. While being contacted, the bendable portions 53a and 54a of the fabrics 53 and 54 are bent upward, the passage T is eliminated, and the backflow of the expansion gas G is prevented.

Since the check valve 52 provided in the upper communication path 32 is configured in substantially the same manner as the check valve 51, different configurations will be described below.
As shown in FIG. 5, the check valve 52 has no rear side 26 between the base fabrics 24 and 25 and is separated in the horizontal direction, so that the fabrics 53 and 54 are also separated into two pieces. . For this reason, the rear edges 53b and 54b of the fabric 53 and 54 are connected by another sewing thread instead of the joint sewing by the sewing thread of the coupling portion 27. The coupling portions 55 and 56 are provided at the lower edges of the fabrics 53 and 54, and the bendable portions 53 a and 54 a are provided at the upper portions of the fabrics 53 and 54. As described above, the fabrics 53 and 54 of the check valve 52 are upside down with respect to the fabrics 53 and 54 of the check valve 51, and when the check valves 52 function as check valves, the bendable portions 53a and 54a are positioned downward. To be bent. Other configurations of the check valve 52 are the same as those of the check valve 51.

Next, the configuration of the side-impact airbag device in the folded (reduced) state stored in the storage portion 15 of the seat back 14 will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 8 to 11.
FIG. 4 shows a state in which the airbag 20 of the side-impact airbag apparatus is deployed without being inflated. In this state, the chest protection airbag 22 is rolled up from the tip edge S thereof to form a cylindrical roll winding structure as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9A. At this time, as shown in FIG. 9A, the chest protection airbag 22 is spirally wound in the counterclockwise direction with the tip edge S wound in the center as a reference. With this roll winding structure, the chest protection airbag 22 is rewound on the outside of the vehicle as indicated by an arrow during inflation and deployment.

  Next, the waist protection airbag 21 shown in FIG. 4 is folded in a bellows shape toward the rear in the vehicle traveling direction to form a bellows folding structure as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9B. In the bellows-folding structure, the bent portions 21a of the waist protection airbag 21 appear alternately on the vehicle outer side and the vehicle inner side, and the flat portion 21b between the bent portions 21a is orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the vehicle. ing. Similarly to the waist protection airbag 21, the shoulder protection airbag 23 is folded in a bellows shape toward the rear in the vehicle traveling direction to form a bellows folding structure. Also in this bellows fold structure, the bent portions 23a of the shoulder protection airbag 23 appear alternately on the vehicle outer side and the vehicle inner side, and the flat surface portion 23b between the bent portions 23a is orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the vehicle. It has become.

  The waist protective airbag 21 having the bellows fold structure shown in FIG. 8 is further folded in a bellows shape obliquely upward to form a bellows fold structure as shown in FIG. In the bellows folding structure, the bent portions 21c of the waist protection airbag 21 appear alternately in the front-rear direction of the vehicle, and the flat portion 21d between the bent portions 21c is orthogonal to the oblique vertical direction. Similarly, the shoulder protection airbag 23 having the bellows folding structure shown in FIG. 8 is further folded in a bellows shape obliquely downward to form a bellows folding structure as shown in FIG. In the bellows-folding structure, the bent portions 23c of the shoulder protection airbag 23 appear alternately in the front-rear direction of the vehicle, and the flat portion 23d between the bent portions 23c is orthogonal to the oblique vertical direction.

  In this embodiment, the folded state of the chest protection airbag 22 is a roll winding structure, and the folded state of the waist protection airbag 21 and the shoulder protection airbag 23 is a bellows folding structure, thereby making the folding structure different. . Then, the inflating and deploying speed of the roll protection structure chest protective airbag 22 is made slower than the inflating and deploying speed of the bellows folded airbag 21 and shoulder protection airbag 23 by the inflating gas G, A function as a deployment speed delay means is given to the protective airbag 22.

  Each airbag 21 to 23 folded as shown in FIG. 10 is wrapped with a wrapping sheet 61 that is easily broken by the inflating and deploying operation of each airbag, and as shown in FIG. Is stored in the storage unit 15. The airbag module AM is inserted into the seat frame 16 in the seat back 14 with a bolt 48 fixed to the retainer 42, and is tightened by the nut 17. The mounting direction of the bolt 48 is orthogonal to the deployment direction of the airbag 20.

  The side airbag device includes an impact sensor 65 and a control device 66 shown in FIG. 1 in addition to the airbag module AM described above. The impact sensor 65 includes an acceleration sensor or the like, and is attached to the body side portion 11 of the vehicle. The impact sensor 65 detects an impact applied to the body side portion 11 from the outside. The control device 66 controls the operation of the inflator 41 based on the detection signal from the impact sensor 65.

Next, the operation of the side impact airbag device configured as described above will be described.
When an impact greater than or equal to a predetermined value is applied to the vehicle side portion 11 of the vehicle and detected by the impact sensor 65, an operation signal for operating the inflator 41 is output from the control device 66 to the inflator 41 based on the detection signal. Is done. In response to this operation signal, in the inflator 41, the gas generating agent generates a high-temperature and high-pressure expansion gas G, and the expansion gas G passes through the plurality of gas ejection holes 46 of the gas ejection portion 45 to the wall portion 47 of the retainer 42. The inflation gas G is supplied to the second chamber 29 of the waist protection airbag 21 which is injected through the open end 47A toward the lower communication passage 31 and is accordion-folded through the check valve 51, so that the airbag 21 is inflated and deployed. Is done.

  The inflation gas G ejected from the gas ejection hole 46 of the gas ejection section 45 is also ejected into the first chamber 28 of the chest protection airbag 22 in a roll state, and the airbag 22 is inflated and deployed. At the same time, the inflation gas G in the first chamber 28 of the chest protection airbag 22 passes through the check valve 52 provided in the upper communication path 32 and passes through the third chamber of the shoulder protection airbag 23 in the bellows folded state. The shoulder protection airbag 23 is inflated and deployed.

  As described above, since the chest protection airbag 22 has a roll winding structure with a slow deployment speed, the volume of the first chamber 28 of the chest protection airbag 22 is increased at a low rate, so that it is injected into the first chamber 28. The inflation gas G can easily enter the second chamber 29 of the waist protection airbag 21 and the third chamber 30 of the shoulder protection airbag 23 through the lower and upper communication passages 31 and 32. For this reason, the inflation and deployment speeds of the waist protection airbag 21 and the shoulder protection airbag 23 are promoted more than the inflation and deployment speed of the chest protection airbag 22. The inflation gas G that has entered the second and third chambers 29, 30 of the waist and shoulder protection airbags 21, 23 has reached the maximum volume in the second and third chambers 29, 30; The check valves 51 and 52 prevent both the backflow of the chest protection airbag 22 to the first chamber 28 and prevent the internal pressures of both the chambers 29 and 30 from decreasing. Further, when the supply of the inflation gas G from the inflator 41 to the first chamber 28 of the chest protection airbag 22 is stopped, the pressure increase due to the inflation gas G in the first chamber 28 is stopped. For this reason, the pressures P29 and P30 of the second and third chambers 29 and 30 of the waist and shoulder protection airbags 21 and 23 are higher than the pressure P28 of the first chamber 28 of the chest protection airbag 22. Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the gas injection hole 46 of the gas injection part 45 of the inflator 41 is provided so as to be directed to the check valve 51 of the lower communication path 31 and close to the check valve 51, and the waist part The inflation gas G is injected into the second chamber 29 of the protective airbag 21 toward the lower communication path 31. For this reason, the pressure P29 of the second chamber 29 of the waist protection airbag 21 is higher than the pressure P30 of the third chamber 30 of the shoulder protection airbag 23. As a result, there is a relationship of P29> P30> P28 among the pressures P28, P29, P30 of the first to third chambers 28-30. Accordingly, the waist and shoulder protection airbags 21 and 23 restrain the occupant P's waist Pp and shoulder Ps with appropriate pressures to protect them appropriately. The chest Pt of the occupant P is appropriately protected by the chest protection airbag 22 having the lowest internal pressure.

  In addition, although not shown in figure, you may make it provide a vent hole with respect to each said airbag 21,22,23. When the vent hole is provided, the expansion gas G is gradually discharged to the outside through the vent hole after the expansion and deployment are completed.

According to the airbag apparatus for side collision of the said embodiment, the following effects can be acquired.
(1) In the above embodiment, the waist protection airbag 21, the chest protection airbag 22, and the shoulder protection airbag 23 are separately formed so as to be individually foldable, and the chest protection airbag 22 is rolled with a slow inflation and deployment speed. The waist protection airbag 21 and the shoulder protection airbag 23 have a bellows fold structure in which both the inflation and deployment speeds are fast. Further, the first chamber 28 of the chest protection airbag 22 and the second chamber 29 of the waist protection airbag 21 are communicated by the lower communication path 31, and the first chamber 28 of the chest protection airbag 22 and the shoulder protection air are connected. The upper chamber 32 communicated with the third chamber 30 of the bag 23. Further, the inflation gas G injected from the gas injection portion 45 of the single inflator 41 is injected into the first chamber 28 of the chest protection airbag 22 and the second chamber 29 of the waist protection airbag 21, respectively. Therefore, the inflation gas G injected from the gas ejection portion 45 to the first chamber 28 where the deployment speed of the chest protection airbag 22 is slow is supplied from the first chamber 28 to the second chamber 29 and the third chamber 30. The speed of inflation and deployment of the waist and shoulder protection airbags 21 and 23 can be increased, and the waist Pp and the shoulder Ps that need to be restrained earlier than the chest Pt of the occupant P can be used in a timely manner. It can be restrained and protected.

  (2) In the above embodiment, the waist protection airbag 21 and the shoulder protection airbag 23 are both formed in a bellows fold structure with a fast deployment speed, and the chest protection airbag 22 has a roll-wrap structure with a slow deployment speed. The function as the deployment speed delay means is provided. For this reason, the function as a deployment speed delay means can be easily provided to the chest protection airbag 22 only by changing the folding structure of each airbag 21-23.

  (3) In the above embodiment, since the check valve 51 is provided in the lower communication passage 31 and the check valve 52 is provided in the upper communication passage 32, the chest protection airbag is provided from the second chamber 29 of the waist protection airbag 21. The backflow of the inflation gas G to the first chamber 28 of 22 is prevented, and the backflow of the inflation gas G from the third chamber 30 of the shoulder protection airbag 23 to the first chamber 28 is prevented. Further, a part of the inflation gas G is directly injected from the gas ejection portion 45 of the inflator 41 into the second chamber 29 of the waist protection airbag 21 through the lower communication passage 31. Therefore, the relationship between the pressures P28, P29, and P30 of the first to third chambers 28 to 30 can be set to P29> P30> P28 as described above, and the waist Pp, chest Pt, and shoulders of the occupant P Restraint / protection suitable for Ps can be performed.

  (4) In the above embodiment, as shown in FIG. 9A, the chest protection airbag 22 is formed in a roll winding structure, and the roll winding direction of the chest protection airbag 22 is positioned at the center. The tip edge S was used as a reference, and a spiral structure wound in the counterclockwise direction as going outward from the reference was used. For this reason, as shown in FIG. 12, in the process where the inflation gas G is supplied to the first chamber 28 of the chest protection airbag 22 and the chest protection airbag 22 is inflated and deployed, it is rewound on the outside of the vehicle, A chest protection airbag 22 is deployed along the inner surface of the bodyside portion 11. Accordingly, the distal end edge S of the chest protection airbag 22 is brought into contact with the inner surface of the body side portion 11 at the final deployment stage, and the distal end edge S does not collide with the occupant P, so that the chest part Pt can be properly protected. it can.

In addition, you may change the said embodiment as follows.
-As shown in FIG. 13, let the folding structure of the said chest protection airbag 22 be a bellows folding structure. In this bellows folding structure, the bent portions 21a of the chest protection airbag 22 appear alternately on the vehicle outer side and the vehicle inner side, and the flat portion 22b between the bent portions 22a is orthogonal to the vehicle front-rear direction. ing. Then, in order to slow down the inflation and deployment speed of the chest protection airbag 22, for example, a synthetic resin band 67 constituting a deployment speed delay means that breaks when a predetermined tension is applied, the chest protection airbag 22 and the retainer You may make it wind around the outer peripheral side of 42. For the same purpose, as shown in FIG. 14, the chest protection airbag 22 is a kind of bellows fold structure and has a cactus fold structure with a high deployment speed. In this cactus folding structure, the inner and outer base fabrics 24 and 25 of the chest protection airbag 22 are folded in a bellows, and the flat portion 22b between the bent portions 22a is slightly inclined with respect to the traveling direction of the vehicle. It is what you do. Then, the distal end edge of the chest protection airbag 22 and, for example, the retainer 42 may be connected by a tether 68 that constitutes a deployment speed delay means that breaks when a predetermined tension is applied.

  As shown in FIG. 15, the chest protection airbag 22 has a cactus fold structure similar to the cactus fold structure shown in FIG. 14, and the butted portions of the bent portions 22a are joined together with sewing threads or adhesives. May be formed. In this case, when the inflation gas G having a predetermined pressure is supplied to the first chamber 28 of the chest protection airbag 22, the coupling portion 69 is broken or separated and separated, and the chest protection airbag 22 is deployed. The speed is slower than the other airbags 21 and 23.

  As shown in FIG. 16, the chest protection airbag 22 is bellows folded so that the bent portion 22a is positioned in the front and rear of the vehicle and the flat portion 22b between the bent portions 22a is parallel to the front and rear direction. . Then, similarly to the tether 68, the front end and the rear end side (for example, the retainer 42) of the chest protection airbag 22 are connected by the tether 68, and the distance between the front end and the rear end side of the chest protection airbag 22 is shortened. The tether 68 may slow the inflation and deployment speed of the chest protection airbag 22.

  As shown in FIG. 17, the chest protection airbag 22 has a bellows fold structure, and the base fabrics 24 and 25 are coupled in the same manner as the coupling portion 69, so that the deployment speed of the chest protection airbag 22 is decreased. It may be.

  Although not shown, the waist protection airbag 21 and the shoulder protection airbag 23 may each have a cactus fold structure as shown in FIG. 15 or a bellows fold structure as shown in FIG.

  -The check valves 51 and 52 may be omitted. Also in this case, the inflating and deploying speed of the waist and shoulder protecting airbags 21 and 23 is faster than the inflating and deploying speed of the chest protecting airbag 22, so that the shoulder Ps and the waist Pp that require early restraint of the occupant P are required. Restraint can be performed in a timely manner.

  The chambers 28 to 30 of the airbags 21 to 23 may be completely independent, and the inflation gas G may be individually supplied from the single inflator 41 to each chamber.

In one Embodiment which actualized this invention, the schematic side view of the vehicle seat equipped with the airbag apparatus for side collisions. The schematic plane sectional view which shows the positional relationship of a vehicle seat and a body side part. The schematic longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the positional relationship of a vehicle seat and a body side part. The schematic side view which shows the airbag module of the deployment state of an airbag. The schematic front view which shows a pair of base fabric and inflator assembly which were spread | deployed planarly. The fragmentary perspective view which shows the structure of a non-return valve. (A)-(c) is a longitudinal cross-sectional view explaining operation | movement of a non-return valve. The schematic side view for demonstrating the folding method of an airbag. FIG. 9A is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along line 1-1 in FIG. 8, and FIG. The schematic side view for demonstrating the folding method of an airbag. The plane sectional view which shows the accommodation state to the accommodating part of an airbag module. The plane sectional view for explaining deployment operation of a chest protection air bag. The schematic plan view of the airbag module which shows another embodiment of this invention. The schematic plan view of the airbag module which shows another embodiment of this invention. The schematic plan view of the airbag module which shows another embodiment of this invention. The schematic plan view of the airbag module which shows another embodiment of this invention. The schematic plan view which shows another embodiment of this invention. The side view of the conventional airbag apparatus for a side collision.

Explanation of symbols

  G: Inflatable gas, P: Crew, Pp ... Waist, Ps ... Shoulder, Pt ... Chest, 11 ... Body side, 14 ... Seat back, 21 ... Lumbar protective airbag, 22 ... Chest protective airbag, 23 ... Shoulder Part protection airbag, 28 ... first chamber, 29 ... second chamber, 30 ... third chamber, 41 ... inflator.

Claims (4)

A single inflator built in the door side of the seat back, and an airbag that is inflated by the inflation gas injected from the inflator and deployed in the space to the side of the seat back,
The airbag is separated into a waist protection airbag that protects the occupant's waist, a chest protection airbag that protects the chest, and a shoulder protection airbag that protects the shoulder,
Providing a deployment speed delay means for slowing the deployment speed of the chest protection airbag slower than the deployment speed of the shoulder protection airbag and the waist protection airbag;
The waist protection airbag and the shoulder protection airbag are both formed in an accordion fold structure, and the chest protection airbag is formed in a roll-wrapped structure and is provided with a function as the deployment speed delay means. A side-impact airbag device. Oite to claim 1, wherein the inflator, wherein provided at a position for supplying inflation gas into the first chamber of the thorax protection air bag, and a second chamber within said thorax protecting airbag, the waist protection air bag The first chamber communicates with the first communication passage, and the first chamber communicates with the third chamber in the shoulder protection airbag by the second communication passage. Air bag device. 3. The first check valve according to claim 2 , wherein the first communication passage is provided with a first check valve for preventing a gas from flowing backward from the second chamber to the first chamber, and the second communication passage includes the third check valve. A side-impact airbag device comprising a second check valve for preventing gas from flowing backward from the chamber to the first chamber. 2. The roll winding direction of the chest protection airbag according to claim 1 , wherein the outer peripheral surface of the rolled side airbag on the side of the body side portion is pressed against the inner side surface of the body side portion in the deployment operation of the airbag. A side-impact air bag device characterized by being made.

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