JP5623328B2 - Curtain airbag - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a curtain airbag that inflates and deploys along a side surface in a vehicle compartment for the purpose of protecting an occupant during a vehicle side collision or rollover (rollover).

  In recent years, high safety is required for vehicles. This tendency is common in all countries of the world, and at present, airbags are almost standard equipment as vehicle safety devices in all over the world. Further, in business operators related to vehicle development, further improvement of safety is listed as an important development theme, and new airbags are being developed every day accordingly.

  Vehicle safety assessment standards vary from country to country, and each company is developing products to meet multi-country assessment standards. For example, in the United States, which has the largest number of automobiles in the world, FMTSS (Federal Automobile Safety Standards) has been established by NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration). And now, NHTSA's schedule notification (NPRM) of the FMVSS rule that will be set forth in the future says “In the event of a side impact or rollover, the release mitigation system will reduce the likelihood of passengers getting out of the vehicle through the side windows. Has been proposed (FMVSS 226). This requirement can be achieved by providing a curtain airbag as an off-vehicle emission reduction countermeasure device that forms an emission reduction system.

  A curtain airbag is an airbag that inflates and deploys along a side window of a vehicle when an impact occurs. The curtain airbag is attached from the roof side rail above the door to the front pillar or rear pillar at the end in the vehicle longitudinal direction. For example, the curtain airbag described in Patent Document 1 includes an attachment piece (tab) on the upper edge. The tab is a short band-shaped member made of cloth. The tab is provided with a mounting hole, and the bolt can be fastened to the roof side rail or the like using the mounting hole.

  Currently, there is a demand for curtain airbags to further improve the performance of preventing passengers from releasing outside the vehicle. In order to improve the out-of-vehicle release prevention performance, it is advantageous that the curtain airbag can efficiently absorb the load received during contact with the occupant. Load absorption is performed from a tab that is a fixed point to the vehicle. Usually, when an occupant contacts a curtain airbag, tension lines (tension lines) are radially formed from the contact portion to each tab. In order to absorb the load efficiently, it is desirable to provide a tab near the location where the occupant can come in contact, and to form a tension line that applies as high a tension as possible.

JP 2010-52704 A

  However, as in Patent Document 1, the end portion of the curtain airbag in the vehicle front-rear direction is located below the pillar. For example, the front pillar is inclined downward from the roof side rail, and accordingly, the upper edge of the front end of the curtain airbag is also inclined. Therefore, when a tab is provided at the upper edge near the front end, the position of the tab is lower than the other tabs. Usually, the curtain airbag is attached using a tab after being wound or folded upward from the lower edge side. At that time, if the tabs at the low positions are provided, the operation such as winding becomes difficult.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide a curtain airbag that can be easily wound or folded while improving the out-of-vehicle release prevention performance.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, a typical configuration of a curtain airbag according to the present invention is a curtain airbag that is stored above a side surface in a vehicle compartment and inflates and deploys along the side surface. And a series of tabs provided at substantially the same height along the upper edge of the expansion region other than the chamber, and a series of tabs at the upper edge of the chamber. An additional tab provided at a position lower than the tab, and a slit provided upward from the lower edge of the curtain airbag between the chamber and the inflating region adjacent to the chamber, the curtain airbag comprising: By opening the slit in the vehicle front-rear direction, the additional tab can be wound or folded upward from the lower edge side while being moved to the same height as the series of tabs. The features.

  When the occupant is received by the end chamber, the load absorption efficiency is better when the distance between the contact point of the occupant to the end chamber and the fixing point of the end chamber to the vehicle is shorter. Therefore, in the above configuration, first, an additional tab is provided on the upper edge of the chamber at the end. The additional tab is assumed to be fixed at the front pillar, and is lower in position than the other series of tabs. In addition, in the above configuration, a slit is provided, and the slit can be easily wound or folded without involving an additional tab with a low position.

  Moreover, the curtain airbag wound or folded into the cylindrical shape is easily bent at the portion where the slit is located. Therefore, it is possible to bend the curtain airbag at the slit position and easily attach it along the front pillar.

  As a result, the additional tab contributes most to load absorption when the occupant contacts the end chamber. Therefore, it is possible to provide a curtain airbag that can be easily wound or folded while improving the out-of-vehicle release prevention performance.

  The additional tab may be provided on a straight line connecting the hitting point at the end in the vehicle front-rear direction and the pillar of the vehicle among the hitting points where the impactor simulating an occupant collides in the outside release prevention performance evaluation test.

  According to the said structure, the chamber of an edge part is fixed to a pillar (for example, front pillar) in the position nearest to a hit point, a tension line where high tension is applied can be formed, and a load can be absorbed efficiently. Accordingly, it is possible to further improve the performance of preventing the passenger from releasing outside the vehicle.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, it becomes possible to provide the curtain airbag which is easy to wind or fold, improving the release prevention performance outside a vehicle.

It is a figure which illustrates the curtain airbag concerning embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which illustrates only the curtain airbag of Drawing 1 (b). It is a figure which illustrates the vehicle exterior discharge | release prevention performance evaluation test using the curtain airbag of FIG.1 (b). It is a figure which illustrates the process in which the said curtain airbag is wound before accommodating a curtain airbag in the vehicle room interior upper part like FIG. It is a figure which illustrates the process in which the said curtain airbag is wound before accommodating a curtain airbag in the vehicle room interior upper part like FIG.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The dimensions, materials, and other specific numerical values shown in the embodiments are merely examples for facilitating understanding of the invention, and do not limit the present invention unless otherwise specified. In the present specification and drawings, elements having substantially the same function and configuration are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted, and elements not directly related to the present invention are not illustrated. To do.

(Embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a curtain airbag according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1A illustrates the curtain airbag (hereinafter referred to as “airbag 100”) when not deployed, and FIG. 1B illustrates the airbag 100 deployed.

  The airbag 100 is in a state of being wound as shown in FIG. 1A or in a folded state (not shown), and a roof side rail 104 (illustrated by an imaginary line in the figure) above the side surface in the vehicle compartment. Attached) and stored. A plurality of pillars that support the roof (roof) are connected to the roof side rail 104. These are called a front pillar 106, a center pillar 108, and a rear pillar 110 from the front of the vehicle 102.

  The airbag 100 includes an inflator 112 that is a gas generator. When a side collision or rollover (rollover) occurs in the vehicle 102, first, an ignition signal is transmitted to the inflator 112 due to the impact detected by a sensor (not shown) provided in the vehicle 102. Then, the explosive in the inflator 112 burns and the generated gas is supplied into the airbag 100.

  As illustrated in FIG. 1B, the airbag 100 is formed in a bag shape, and is inflated and deployed downward along the side surface portion (side window 114, etc.) of the passenger compartment by the gas from the inflator 112. , Protect passengers. The airbag 100 is manufactured, for example, by sewing a base fabric that constitutes the surface of the airbag 100 on the front and back, or by spinning using OPW (One-Piece Woven).

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating only the curtain airbag of FIG. The expansion region 120 is a region where gas flows in and expands. A plurality of small rooms (chambers) are defined in the expansion region 120. Each chamber is disposed at a contact point with an occupant that is assumed from the configuration of the side surface of the vehicle 102 and the seat. For example, the main chamber 122 is defined on the side of the front seat 116 (see FIG. 1B). In addition, as a chamber utilizing the technical idea of the present invention, a front chamber 124 is defined at the front end of the expansion region 120 in the vehicle front-rear direction. The front chamber 124 protects the occupant of the front seat 116 whose posture has been largely lost due to rollover.

  The front chamber 124 is a so-called delay chamber in which expansion and deployment is completed with delay from the other chambers so as to correspond to the rollover. The front chamber 124 has a gas inlet 126 on the upper side, and is configured to receive gas from the main chamber 122 through the gas inlet 126. Since the gas flow path to the front chamber 124 is limited to the gas inlet 126 only, the front chamber 124 is limited in the amount of gas received per unit time. Since rollover occurs following the occurrence of a side collision or the like, there is a corresponding time difference between the time when the front chamber 124 is required after the sensor detects the collision. Therefore, the expansion of the front chamber 124 is controlled so as to increase the pressure at the time of rollover by limiting the amount of gas received per unit time.

  A series of tabs 130 a to 130 d are provided on the upper edge 132 of the expansion region 120. The tabs 130a to 130d are band-shaped members used when the upper edge 132 is fixed to the roof side rail 104 (see FIG. 1B). The tabs 130a to 130d are provided with bolt holes through which bolts for fastening to the vehicle 102 are passed. The series of tabs 130a to 130d are provided at substantially the same height along the upper edge 132 (the upper edge of the entire upper edge of the airbag 100 other than the front chamber 124).

  An additional tab 136 is provided on the upper edge 134 of the front chamber 124. An additional tab 136 secures the upper edge 134 to the front pillar 106.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an out-of-vehicle release prevention performance evaluation test using the curtain airbag 100 of FIG. FIG. 3A is a partially enlarged view of FIG. FIG. 3B corresponds to the AA cross section of FIG. Symbol A1 illustrated in FIG. 3A is a hit point determined as a collision target of the impactor 160 (see FIG. 3B) in the vehicle outside emission prevention performance evaluation test based on FMVSS (Federal Vehicle Safety Standards). The A1 hit point is set at the lower part of the front side of the side window 114 on the side of the front seat space.

  The impactor 160 illustrated in FIG. 3B is a test apparatus that simulates an occupant. In the side impact test based on FMVSS, the impactor 160 moves outward from the vehicle with reference to the vertical surface that is closest to the outer surface of the impactor 160 when the impactor 160 is in contact with the inner surface of the side window 114. Measure the amount.

  A straight line L1 illustrated in FIG. 3A is a straight line passing through the A1 hit point and the point P1 closest to the A1 hit point of the front pillar 106. The additional tab 136 is designed so that the fixing point (bolt hole 137) is positioned at a position overlapping the straight line L1 when viewed from the inside of the vehicle. When the impactor 160 collides with the A1 hit point, a plurality of tension lines are formed radially from the A1 hit point to each tab. In the case of FIG. 3A, a tension line is also formed on a straight line L1 connecting the A1 hit point and the additional tab 136. The additional tab 136 is a tab closest to the A1 hit point, and the tension line formed on the straight line L1 among the plurality of tension lines has the highest tension. This means that the additional tab 136 contributes most to absorbing the load on the front chamber 124. That is, by providing the additional tab 136, it is possible to efficiently absorb the load applied to the front chamber 124. Therefore, the amount of movement of the front chamber 124 to the outside of the vehicle when the impactor 160 of FIG. This means that the amount of movement of the occupant to the outside of the vehicle decreases when an actual collision occurs.

  4 and 5 are diagrams illustrating a process of winding the curtain airbag before storing the curtain airbag above the side surface in the vehicle compartment as shown in FIG. In the present embodiment, the airbag 100 is wound and stored in the vehicle 102, but the airbag 100 can be folded and stored.

  FIG. 4A illustrates an uninflated airbag 100 before being attached to the vehicle. As illustrated in FIG. 4A, the additional tab 136 is adjusted to the shape of the front pillar 106 so that it can be positioned in the immediate vicinity of the A1 hit point when the vehicle is inflated and deployed after the vehicle is mounted (see FIG. 3A). The position is lower than the series of tabs 130a to 130d. More specifically, the additional tab 136 is provided at a position lower than the height h1 of the series of tabs 130a to 130d in the up-down direction when the airbag 100 is mounted on the vehicle. However, if winding is performed from below in the state of FIG. 4A, the additional tab 136 is wound into the winding at this position. Therefore, the airbag 100 can be wound by moving the additional tab 136 using the slit 140.

  The slit 140 is provided between the front chamber 124 and the main chamber 122 from the lower edge 142 of the airbag 100 to the front of the gas inlet 126. As illustrated in FIG. 4B, when the airbag 100 is wound, the slit 140 is first opened in the vehicle front direction (left direction in the figure). Accordingly, the front chamber 124 is moved upward so as to rotate around the gas inlet 126 (see FIG. 4A). The front chamber 124 is moved until the additional tab 136 is positioned at the same height h1 as the series of tabs 130a to 130d. Then, a crease is formed in the vicinity of the gas inlet 126.

  In FIG. 4B, the fold is formed so that the front chamber 124 side is in front, but the fold may be formed so that the main chamber 122 side is in front as shown in FIG. 4C. .

  Fig.5 (a) has illustrated the winding process which continues from the state of FIG.4 (b). As illustrated in FIG. 5A, the airbag 100 is wound upward from the lower edge 142 side (see FIG. 4B). At this time, since the additional tab 136 has the same height as the series of tabs 130a to 130d as described above, there is no possibility that the additional tab 136 is wound around the winding, and the winding work can be easily performed.

  As illustrated in FIG. 5B, after winding, the winding is stopped using the tape 144 on the side of each tab. Then, as illustrated in FIG. 1B, the vehicle front side of the airbag 100 is bent along the front pillar 106 and attached to the vehicle 102 using each tab. At this time, since the slit 140 is located in the vicinity of the tab 130a, this portion is easily bent. By bending along this portion and along the front pillar 106, the additional tab 136 can be fixed to the vehicle at a position closest to the occupant contact location, that is, a position on the straight line L1 in FIG. As a result, when the occupant comes into contact with the front chamber 124, the additional tab 136 can efficiently absorb the load generated in the front chamber 124.

  As described above, the airbag 100 can be prevented from being released outside the vehicle by the additional tab 136, and can be easily wound or folded without the additional tab 136 being wound by providing the slit 140.

  Note that a second additional tab may be provided in order to further improve the out-of-vehicle discharge prevention performance near the front chamber 124. For example, by providing the second additional tab vertically above the A1 hit point in FIG. 3A, the load applied to the front chamber 124 can be absorbed more efficiently.

  Further, the example in which the technical idea of the present invention is used for the front chamber 124 has been described above. However, this is only an example, and the technical idea of the present invention can be applied to the rear chamber at the rear end in the vehicle longitudinal direction.

  The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the embodiments described above are preferred examples of the present invention, and other embodiments can be implemented or performed in various ways. Can be carried out. The invention is not limited to the detailed shape, size, configuration, and the like of the components shown in the accompanying drawings unless otherwise specified in the present specification. In addition, expressions and terms used in the present specification are for the purpose of explanation, and are not limited thereto unless otherwise specified.

  Therefore, it is obvious for those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be conceived within the scope of the claims, and these naturally belong to the technical scope of the present invention. It is understood.

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the example which applied the curtain airbag concerning this invention to the motor vehicle was demonstrated, it is also possible to apply to an aircraft, a ship, etc. besides a motor vehicle, and can obtain the same effect. it can.

  INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention can be used for a curtain airbag that inflates and deploys along a side surface in a vehicle compartment for the purpose of protecting an occupant during a vehicle side collision or rollover (rollover).

A1 ... Riding point, L1 ... Straight line, P1 ... Point, h1 ... Height, 100 ... Airbag, 102 ... Vehicle, 104 ... Roof side rail, 106 ... Front pillar, 108 ... Center pillar, 110 ... Rear pillar, 112 ... Inflator, 114 ... side window, 116 ... front seat, 120 ... expansion region, 122 ... main chamber, 124 ... front chamber, 126 ... gas inlet, 130a to 130d ... tabs, 132, 134 ... upper edge, 136 ... additional tabs, 137 ... Bolt hole, 140 ... Slit, 144 ... Tape, 160 ... Impactor

Claims (2)

A curtain airbag that is stored above a side surface in a vehicle compartment and inflates and deploys along the side surface,
A delay chamber defined at an end of the expansion region where the gas flows in and expands in the vehicle front-rear direction;
The expansion chamber is provided on the upper side between the delay chamber and the expansion region adjacent to the delay chamber, and the expansion of the delay chamber so that the pressure of the delay chamber is highest during the rollover by limiting the amount of gas received per unit time of the delay chamber. Gas inlet to control,
A series of tabs provided at substantially the same height along the upper edge of the expansion region other than the delay chamber ;
An additional tab provided at a lower position on the upper edge of the delay chamber than the series of tabs;
A slit provided to the front of the gas inlet from the lower edge of the curtain airbag upward between the expansion area adjacent to the delay chamber and the delay chamber,
With
State the curtain air bag, said slits forming a fold in the vicinity of the gas inlet by moving the delay chamber have opened in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, in which the additional tab is moved to substantially the same height as the series of tabs A curtain airbag which is wound and folded upward from the lower edge side.   The additional tab is provided on a straight line connecting the hitting point at the end in the vehicle front-rear direction and the pillar of the vehicle at the shortest distance among hitting points where the impactor simulating an occupant collides in the vehicle outside release prevention performance evaluation test. The curtain airbag according to claim 1.

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