JP5126133B2 - Side airbag device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a side collision airbag device that restricts a passenger sitting on the far side from a side collision position from moving toward a vehicle interior as a reaction of the impact when the vehicle receives an impact due to a side collision. .

  In the event of a side collision of a vehicle, generally abbreviated as a side collision, a side collision airbag is used to protect an occupant. The side impact airbag has a so-called near side airbag that is inflated and deployed between the occupant and a vehicle body component such as a door, and protects the occupant from the vehicle body component that protrudes inward due to the impact of the side impact. There is a far-side airbag that restricts the movement of an occupant moving to the vehicle interior side due to a reaction of a side collision.

  The “airbag device” disclosed in Patent Document 1 relates to an airbag that enables smooth inflation and deployment in a narrow space between a door trim and an occupant, and the interior of the airbag is used for protecting a chest. It is divided into one air chamber and a second air chamber for protecting the head. And the head is efficiently protected by the expansion of the second air chamber.

JP 2006-8016 A (see [Summary], paragraphs [0007], [0010], [0022] of the specification)

  According to the airbag of Patent Document 1, the thickness of the airbag when it is inflated is regulated in order to enable quick deployment in a narrow space with a relatively small amount of gas. And in order to provide the 1st tether which guides the flow of the gas to the 2nd air chamber, and the 3rd tether which regulates the thickness of the shoulder protection field in the 2nd air chamber, the front and back which form an air bag This base fabric is directly stitched so as to form a long elliptical or circular stitch line. Further, the first air chamber and the second air chamber are divided by a suture line for directly sewing the front and back base fabrics.

  Therefore, even if this vehicle body side airbag device capable of protecting the chest and head by rapid inflation and deployment is used as a far side airbag device, the thickness of the airbag is suppressed, so that it is deformed by being broken. It is difficult to use as an airbag that restricts the movement of the occupant toward the passenger compartment. Further, since the second air chamber for protecting the head is inflated after the pressure of the first air chamber for protecting the chest is increased, the air bag is used as a priority airbag. Is difficult.

  The present invention has been made paying attention to such a problem. The object of the present invention is to be provided at one position on the top of the seat back, and inflated and deployed at the time of a side collision, toward the passenger compartment. An object of the present invention is to provide a side collision airbag device that restricts movement.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the invention of the side impact airbag device according to claim 1 is characterized in that the supply of the inflation gas of the inflator receives the inflation gas from the airbag accommodating portion provided near the top of the seat back. In a side impact airbag device that protects an occupant seated on a vehicle seat cushion by an airbag that is inflated and deployed in a lateral position, a rectifying cloth is provided in an upper portion inside the airbag, and a front upper portion from the inflator When the airbag is inflated from the housing portion accommodated by being folded by the gas ejected to the airflow, the rectifying cloth is inflated and deployed upward and forward, and in the middle of the inflation and deployment. rectifies the gas to expand deployed downward, the rectifier cloth, a tubular shape, an inlet for gas supplied from the inflator flows, the air bag In the state where the airbag has a flat wall shape with an outlet for supplying gas to the peripheral wall, the gas bag is supplied with the gas pressure supplied from the inflator. In some cases, the outflow port is arranged so as to supply gas in a direction in which the airbag is inflated and deployed upward and forward . The "near the top" shown here does not indicate only the top of the seat back, but includes a vehicle compartment member that is in the vicinity of the back of the seat back and is substantially the same height as the top of the seat back. Shall point to. In addition, the “side impact airbag device” specifically refers to a side impact airbag provided between a seating portion and a seating portion.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the rectifying cloth is provided inside the airbag, and the gas ejected from the inflator is rectified and supplied into the airbag. For this reason, after the airbag is inflated from the accommodating portion accommodated by being folded, the airbag can be inflated and deployed upward and forward, and can be inflated and deployed downward during the inflation and deployment. First, the movement of the head of an occupant seated on the far side to the vehicle interior side can be restricted. Then, after the entire airbag is inflated and deployed, the movement of the occupant's upper body to the vehicle interior side can be appropriately restricted to effectively protect the occupant from the impact of the side collision.

In addition , when the gas pressure supplied from the inflator is received, the outlet of the rectifying cloth having a cylindrical shape is arranged so that gas can be supplied in a direction in which the airbag is inflated and deployed upward and forward. . For this reason, it is possible to inflate and deploy the airbag upward and forward by intensively supplying gas from the outlet in a stage where the upper and lower openings of the rectifying cloth are not yet opened. Therefore, the moving destination of the head can be blocked before the head of the occupant moves.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the airbag device for a side collision according to the first aspect , the rectifying cloth in a flattened state has a height between a lower end of the inlet and an upper end of the outlet. When inflated from the accommodating portion together with the airbag when subjected to gas pressure and inflated and deployed, the inlet and outlet overlap in the height direction. It is characterized by this.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the lower end of the inflow port of the rectifying cloth and the upper end of the outflow port overlap with each other in the height direction in a state where the supply of the gas from the inflator is received and the container is bulged. I did it. For this reason, the gas is efficiently supplied in a direction in which the airbag is inflated and deployed upward and forward.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the side impact airbag apparatus according to the first or second aspect , the position of the inflow port is an intermediate height in the vertical direction of the rectifying cloth in the flattened shape. In the state where the flow rectifying cloth is bulged from the housing portion together with the airbag, the opening on the upper side of the flow rectifying cloth is blocked by the inner wall of the housing portion, and the gas flow is restricted. It is characterized by that.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the position of the inflow port is positioned above the intermediate height of the rectifying cloth in the vertical direction of the rectifying cloth. For this reason, in the state in which the flow rectifying cloth bulges from the accommodating portion together with the airbag, the opening on the upper side of the rectifying cloth is closed by the inner wall of the accommodating portion. Therefore, even if the upper side of the flow straightening cloth is omitted and the opening is formed, the outflow of gas from the opening can be limited to a small amount that can be ignored when the airbag is used.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the airbag device for a side collision according to any one of the first to third aspects, the rectifying cloth is an outer peripheral end of a front portion of a woven cloth trimmed symmetrically. It is formed by sewing.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the number of stitches may be one, and the rectifying cloth can be formed without increasing the cost.

  According to the present invention, by rectifying the gas supplied from the inflator with the rectifying cloth inside the airbag, the airbag is inflated and deployed upward and forward, and inflated and deployed downward during the inflation and deployment. Can be made. Accordingly, at the initial stage where the airbag is inflated and deployed, the movement of the occupant seated on the far side to the inside of the head can be appropriately restricted.

The perspective view which shows typically the vehicle seat with which the airbag apparatus of embodiment was mounted | worn. The top view which shows the state which expand | deployed the airbag of embodiment. The state which the airbag of embodiment expanded and expanded is shown, (a) is a front view, (b) is a side view. The flow straightening cloth of embodiment is shown typically, (a) is A arrow directional view of FIG. 3, (b) is BB sectional drawing of (a), (c) is CC sectional drawing of (a). Sectional drawing which shows the use condition of the baffle cloth of embodiment typically. The operation of the airbag device is shown, and the airbag is inflated and deployed in the order of (a) to (c), (a-1) to (c-1) are front views, and (a-2) to (c) -2) shows a side view.

(Embodiment)
Hereinafter, an embodiment of a side impact airbag device 1 embodying the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6. In this embodiment, the front-rear direction of the vehicle is the front-rear direction of the airbag, and the vertical direction of the vehicle is the upper-lower direction of the airbag.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the side airbag device 1 of the present embodiment is provided at the center of the top portion of the seat back of the rear seat, and is mounted inside an invisible type airbag door 1a. A large center console 4 is provided as a console member between the seats 2 and 3 in which the seat cushions 2a and 3a and the seat backs 2b and 3b are integrally formed. The seat cushion refers to the seating portion of the seat, and the seat back refers to the backrest portion of the seat.

  An armrest 5 is placed on the center console 4. The armrest 5 is rotatable and is accommodated in the recess 5a between the seat backs 2b and 3b so as to become a part of the seat back when not in use. As shown in FIG. 1, when the armrest 5 is in use, the door of a storage box such as the refrigerator 6 is exposed in the recess 5a. The left and right headrests 7 can be adjusted in height as necessary, but the illustrated headrest 7 is at the lowest position.

  The airbag 20 shown in FIG. 2 shows a state in which the airbag 20 is mountain-folded along a line passing vertically through the center of the inlet 21 for supplying the gas of the inflator 1c (shown in FIG. 3) into the airbag 20. As a result, both wings of the symmetrical base fabric 29 are superposed, and the outer peripheral edge 28 except the mountain fold end 27 is stitched by the double stitch S1, so that the whole is formed in a bag shape. The inflator 1c is fixed to the center console 4. The mounting holes 19a around the inflow port 21 are holes through which fasteners such as screws for mounting the airbag 20 to the inflator 1c are inserted, and are arranged at four positions (only two positions on the front side in the drawing). Yes. The portion where the attachment hole 19a centering on the inflow port 21 is disposed becomes the attachment portion 19 for the inflator 1c. As the base fabric 29, a well-known synthetic resin fiber generally used as a base fabric of an airbag, for example, a woven fabric made of a polyamide or polyester fiber is suitably used.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a cylindrical shape in which an inlet 21 (not shown) that matches the inlet 21 of the base fabric 29 is provided inside the airbag 20 (see FIGS. 4A to 4C). ) Is sewed to the base fabric 29 at the stitches S2, S3, and S4 in a state where the inlets 21 are aligned with each other. In the unfolded state shown in FIG. 2, the rectifying cloth 22 has a flat shape having a substantially pentagonal shape in plan view with an upper and lower opening, and an outlet 23 for supplying gas to the front end 25 side in the airbag 20. There are two places. In addition, since the baffle cloth 22 shown in FIG. 2 exists in the state expand | deployed flat, it is drawn so that a pair of outflow port 23 may be arrange | positioned in one place facing the side (front side of a paper surface). However, as shown in FIGS. 4A to 4C, when the gas is ejected from the inflator 1c, the flow straightening cloth 22 swells into the hollow cylindrical body so as to face forward. The vent hole 26 formed in the base fabric 29 is for adjusting the gas pressure in the airbag 20.

  In addition, a tether 24 is provided inside the airbag 20 at the lower front side of the rectifying cloth 22. The tether 24 is constructed by stitching two portions of the peripheral wall of the tubular cloth body 24a to both wings of the base cloth 29 with double oval stitches S5. For this reason, when the airbag 20 is inflated and deployed, the portion where the tether 24 is stitched has a thickness corresponding to the dimension between the left and right seams S5 of the tubular cloth body 24a.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the airbag 20 shown in FIG. 2 receives the supply of the inflation gas from the inflator 1 c and bulges upward from the housing portion 1 b and then between the ceiling 30 and the center console 4. It will expand and expand. As is clear from FIG. 3, the inflated airbag 20 has a height that does not fit in the space between the ceiling 30 and the center console 4 in the natural state, but the inflation is limited to the ceiling 30 and the center console 4. Has been. This limited amount becomes the tension force of the airbag 20 between the ceiling 30 and the center console 4.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the rectifying cloth 22 is a tubular body made of woven cloth having an upper opening 22a and a lower opening 22b. As will be described later, the rectifying cloth 22 at the time of inflating and deploying the airbag 20 is a cylindrical body deformed from a flat state, but in order to facilitate understanding, FIGS. Drawn in a cylindrical shape.

  As shown in FIG. 4 (c), the rectifying cloth 22 of the present embodiment is formed by stitching a woven cloth on the opposite side of the inflow port 21, that is, the overlapping portion 22c obtained by superposing the outer end portion of the front portion in an inwardly folded state. Is formed. The rectifying cloth 22 and the base cloth 29 are stitched together by three stitching lines as already described with reference to FIG.

  The two outlets 23 that supply gas in a concentrated manner upward and forward in the airbag 20 are open toward the front, that is, in the direction opposite to the mounting portion 19 side. And the position of the upper end of the outflow port 23 is arrange | positioned below rather than the position of the lower end of the inflow port 21. FIG. Further, the position of the center C1 of the inflow port 21 is disposed above the position of the intermediate line C2 that bisects the height of the rectifying cloth 22 by the height H1 and the height H2.

  Next, the form of the rectifying cloth 22 in use and the mode of rectifying the gas supplied from the inflator 1c will be described with reference to FIG. In order to facilitate understanding, in FIG. 5, the contact portions of each member are drawn with a small interval.

  When gas is ejected from the inflator 1c, the rectifying cloth 22 having the above-described configuration is deformed into a bulging rectifying cloth 40 by gas pressure, as shown in FIG. This deformation occurs because the position of the attachment portion 19 including the inflow port 21 is disposed above the upper and lower intermediate lines C <b> 2 of the rectifying cloth 22. For this reason, substantially the entire upper opening 22a is closed by the inner wall surface of the housing 1b, and the outflow of the gas G1 supplied from the inflator 1c from the upper opening 22a is limited to a negligible small amount. Further, when the airbag 20 is folded and accommodated in the accommodating portion 1b, the lower opening 22b of the rectifying cloth 22 is closed by folding, and when the gas pressure is applied, the closed lower opening 22b is closed. Since the opening of the air bag 20 is delayed, the outflow amount of the gas G3 from the lower opening 22b is small at the beginning of the inflation of the airbag 20.

  Furthermore, the position of the inflow port 21 and the position of the outflow port 23 of the rectifying cloth 22 immediately after the airbag 20 is bulged from the accommodating portion 1b are shifted. For this reason, before the gas G2 flows out from the outflow port 23, the gas G2 acts to inflate the rectifying cloth 22. The shape of the flow straightening cloth 22 is changed to the bulging flow straightening cloth 40, and therefore the position of the inlet 21 and the position of the outlet 23 overlap as shown in FIG. That is, since the outlet 23 is positioned in the flow direction of the gas G1 ejected from the inlet 21, the gas G2 flows out from the outlet 23 upward and forward in the airbag 20.

  For this reason, as shown in FIGS. 6A-1 and 6A-2, the airbag 20 is first inflated and deployed upward and forward in the vehicle interior. At this time, since the attachment portion 19 of the airbag 20 is supported by the inner surfaces of the inflator 1c and the accommodating portion 1b, the movement of the occupant's head toward the vehicle interior side can be restricted from the beginning of the inflation of the airbag 20. it can. Then, after a slight time difference, the lower opening 22b of the rectifying cloth 22 is opened and the gas G3 flows downward in the airbag 20, so that FIGS. 6 (b-1), (b-2), ( As shown in c-1) and (c-2), the entire inflation and deployment of the airbag 20 proceeds at a stretch. For this reason, the movement of the far side occupant toward the vehicle interior side with respect to the side collision position is restricted.

Next, an aspect in which the airbag 20 is inflated and deployed by the gas rectified by the rectifying cloth 22 from the state in which the airbag 20 is folded and accommodated in the accommodating portion 1b will be described in more detail with reference to FIG.
As shown in FIGS. 6A-1 and 6A-2, the airbag 20 accommodated in the accommodating portion 1b of the top portion 8 of the seat back 2b is brought into the airbag door by the jet gas supplied from the inflator 1c. The thin line (not shown) of 1a is broken, and the gas rectified by the bulging rectifying cloth 40 swells upward and forward, and immediately comes into contact with the ceiling 30. At this time, since the airbag 20 is supported at two points, that is, a portion connected to the inflator 1c and a frictional force that comes into contact with the ceiling 30, the airbag 20 moves toward the passenger compartment as a reaction of the impact force of the side collision. The movement of the head that is not restrained by the seat belt can be restricted. Further, as shown in FIGS. 6B-1 and 6B-2, the airbag 20 is inflated and deployed forward. The gas supplied to the lower side of the airbag 20 passes from the lower side of the tether 24 to the front side of the tether 24 from below.

  Thus, as shown in FIGS. 6C-1 and 6C-2, the airbag 20 is also inflated and deployed downward, and the airbag 20 includes the center console via the ceiling 30 and the armrest 5. 4 between the vertical and vertical directions due to the gas pressure. Since the natural length in the vertical direction when the airbag is fully inflated and deployed is longer than the distance between the ceiling 30 and the center console 4, the inflation and deployment between the ceiling 30 and the center console 4 is restricted. The air bag 20 that has been developed will develop a tensile force in the vertical direction by the amount of the extra deployment length. Therefore, the airbag 20 supported at the three points of the portion connected to the inflator 1c, the ceiling 30, and the center console 4 receives the upper body of the occupant who moves to the vehicle interior side as a reaction of the impact force of the side collision. Can be protected.

Therefore, according to the above embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.
(1) In the above embodiment, the rectifying cloth 22 is provided inside the airbag 20, and the gas G1 supplied from the inflator 1c is rectified and supplied into the airbag 20. For this reason, first, the airbag 20 is inflated from the accommodating portion 1b accommodated by being folded, and then the airbag 20 is inflated and deployed upward and forward, and inflated downward during the inflation and deployment. Can be deployed. Therefore, first, the movement of the head of an occupant seated on the far side to the vehicle interior side can be restricted. Then, after the entire airbag 20 is inflated and deployed, the movement of the occupant's upper body to the vehicle interior side can be appropriately restricted to effectively protect the occupant from a side impact.

  (2) In the above embodiment, when receiving the gas pressure supplied from the inflator 1c, the outlet 23 of the bulging rectifying cloth 40 that forms a tubular body deformed by the gas pressure is disposed above the airbag 20 and The gas G2 can be supplied in a direction in which it expands and expands forward. For this reason, at the stage where the upper opening 22a and the lower opening 22b are not yet opened, the gas G2 can be intensively supplied from the outlet 23 to inflate and deploy the airbag 20 upward and forward. . Therefore, the moving destination of the head can be blocked before the head of the occupant moves.

  (3) In the above embodiment, the lower end of the inflow port 21 and the upper end of the outflow port 23 are separated from each other in the height direction in the rectifying cloth 22 when not receiving the gas pressure. And in the state which the baffle cloth 22 expanded from the accommodating part 1b, the lower end of the inflow port 21 and the upper end of the outflow port 23 were made to overlap in a height direction. For this reason, gas G2 can be efficiently supplied from the outflow port 23 in the direction in which the airbag 20 is inflated and deployed upward and forward.

  (4) In the above embodiment, the center C <b> 1 of the inflow port 21 is positioned above the intermediate line C <b> 2 of the rectifying cloth 22 in the vertical direction of the rectifying cloth 22. For this reason, when the rectifying cloth 22 is inflated from the accommodating portion 1b together with the airbag 20, the upper opening 22a of the rectifying cloth 22 is mostly blocked by the inner wall of the accommodating portion 1b. Therefore, even if the upper side opening portion 22a is omitted by omitting the sewing work on the upper side of the rectifying cloth 22, when the airbag 20 is used, the outflow of gas from the upper side opening portion 22a can be limited to a small amount that can be ignored. it can.

  (5) In the above embodiment, the woven fabric trimmed symmetrically is mountain-folded at the center line passing through the center of the inflow port 21, and the outer peripheral end on the front side among the superposed outer peripheral ends is stitched, and the rectifying fabric 22 The upper portion 22a, 22b is formed without sewing the outer peripheral end in the direction orthogonal to the mountain fold portion, and the rectifying cloth 22 is formed. For this reason, the rectifying cloth 22 can be formed without increasing the cost.

(Example of change)
In addition, the said embodiment can also be changed and actualized as follows.
The flow straightening cloth 22 when not receiving the gas pressure is a flat cylindrical body having a substantially pentagonal shape in plan view that is open at the top and bottom, but the flow straightening cloth 22 has a quadrilateral shape in plan view, and one side of the front side is a convex curve To be formed with. By making the front side a convex curve, the gas ejected from the inlet 21 can be concentrated on the outlet 23.
-Although the overlapping portion 22c of the rectifying cloth 22 is folded inward, the end portion ahead of the stitched portion is folded outward.
・ Although there are two outlets 23, they should be installed in one or more locations.
-The upper part of the rectifying cloth 22 is opened to form the upper opening 22a, but the upper part is closed by closing.

  C1 ... center, G1, G2, G3 ... gas, 1 ... side impact airbag device, 1b ... accommodating portion, 1c ... inflator, 2a, 3a ... seat cushion, 2b, 3b ... seat back, 8 ... top, 20 ... Airbag, 21 ... inlet, 22 ... rectifying cloth, 23 ... outlet, 28 ... outer peripheral edge, 29 ... base cloth.

Claims (4)

The side that receives the supply of inflation gas from the inflator and protects the occupant sitting on the seat cushion of the vehicle by the airbag that is inflated and deployed at the side position of the occupant from the airbag accommodating portion provided near the top of the seat back In a crash airbag device,
A rectifying cloth is provided in the upper part of the airbag, and the rectifying cloth is expanded when the airbag is folded and accommodated by the gas jetted upward from the inflator. Rectifies the gas so that the airbag is inflated and deployed upward and forward, and inflated and deployed downward during the inflation and deployment ,
The rectifying cloth has a cylindrical shape, and has an inflow port through which gas supplied from the inflator flows in and an outflow port through which gas is supplied into the airbag, and the airbag is deployed in a flat shape. In this state, it has a flat cylindrical shape with openings at the top and bottom, and when the gas pressure supplied from the inflator is received, the outflow port causes gas to expand and deploy the airbag upward and forward. A side-impact airbag device arranged so as to be supplied . In the flattened state of the rectifying cloth, the lower end of the inflow port and the upper end of the outflow port are separated from each other in the height direction, and when subjected to gas pressure, bulges, in the state where the inflation and deployment is complete, and the inlet and the outlet is, the side airbag apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that overlap in the height direction. The position of the inflow port is arranged above the intermediate height in the vertical direction of the rectifying cloth in the flattened state, and in a state where the rectifying cloth bulges out from the accommodating portion together with the airbag, The side airbag device according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein the opening on the upper side of the flow straightening cloth is closed by an inner wall of the housing portion, and gas circulation is restricted. The rectifier cloth, side collision air as claimed in any one of claims 1, characterized in that it is formed by suturing the front of the outer peripheral edge of the fabric that is trimmed symmetrically 3 Bag device.

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