JP5654981B2 - Side airbag device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a side airbag device provided on a seat side portion of a vehicle.

  For example, various side airbag devices that are deployed and inflated between an occupant and a door lining in a side collision of a vehicle have been proposed. As this type of side airbag device, there is known one that includes an inner tube inside the airbag body and is partitioned in the vehicle front-rear direction (see Patent Documents 1 and 2).

International Publication No. 2006/049093 JP-A-11-157407

  By the way, when folding an airbag main body, what is first folded substantially parallel to a line extending in a substantially vertical direction at the front end (front end) of the inner tube, and then the whole is folded and stored in the seat side portion has been proposed. . However, when the airbag body is folded as described above in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2, when the airbag body is expanded and inflated, the airbag body expands into a gap between the object placed on the seat and the door lining (vehicle body). When the airbag body in a state where the previous gas is not sufficiently filled sinks and then expands and inflates, there is a concern that, for example, a large load inward in the vehicle width direction may act on an object on the seat. .

  An object of the present invention is to provide a side airbag device that can prevent an airbag body before inflation from entering a gap between a vehicle body and an object.

The present invention includes an airbag main body that is provided on a seat side portion of a vehicle and that is deployed between a vehicle body and an occupant, and the airbag main body includes an outer bag body that contacts the occupant and an inner side of the outer bag body. And an inner tube that is inflated by the inflow of gas from the inflator and arranged so that the direction of the longitudinal side during deployment is substantially vertical, and the inner tube passes the gas forward A communication hole that flows into the outer bag body and an opening formed at a lower end portion of the inner tube, and the airbag body has a communication section that communicates the opening and the outer bag body. and folding the lower portion of the airbag body on one side of the inner and the airbag body with respect to the vehicle width direction of the vehicle a direction substantially orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the side of the direction of the inner tube Characterized in that it is folded into a roll shape or a bellows shape in after being folded in the Suyo.

  According to this, by folding the lower part of the airbag body in a direction substantially orthogonal to the direction of the side in the longitudinal direction of the inner tube, for example, a clearance between an object placed on the seat and the door lining Thus, it is possible to prevent the airbag body in a state in which the gas before being inflated is sufficiently filled from entering. Therefore, when the airbag body is deployed and inflated, it is possible to prevent a large load inward in the vehicle width direction from acting on the object on the seat. For example, an object placed on the seat flies to the passenger in the adjacent seat. The inconvenience of coming in can be prevented.

  Further, the position of the folding line when folded in a direction substantially perpendicular to the direction of the longitudinal side of the inner tube is a position where the lower end position of the airbag body after folding is near the fixing portion of the inflator It is characterized by being set to.

  According to this, when folding the whole airbag main body, the dimension of an up-down direction can be shortened and it becomes possible to store the side airbag apparatus provided with the airbag main body in the seat side part compactly. .

  The fold line is preferably set within ± 15 degrees when the direction orthogonal to the direction of the longitudinal side of the inner tube is defined as 0 degree. Within such a range, the airbag body can be prevented from being reduced or reduced.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, it can prevent that the airbag main body before expansion | swelling sinks into the clearance gap between a vehicle body and a thing.

It is a perspective view which shows the state which applied the side airbag apparatus which concerns on this embodiment to the side part of a seat back. It is an expanded view of an airbag main body. It is a figure which shows from the 1st process of the method of folding an airbag main body to a 3rd process. It is a figure which shows from the 4th process of the method of folding an airbag main body to a 6th process. It is a figure which shows from the 7th process of the method of folding an airbag main body to a 9th process. It is a figure which shows from the 10th process of the method of folding an airbag main body to an 11th process. The side airbag apparatus by the novel folding method which concerns on this embodiment is shown, (a), (b) is how to fold an airbag main body, (c) is a schematic diagram which shows an effect | action. The side airbag apparatus by the folding method as a comparative example is shown, (a), (b) is how to fold an airbag main body, (c) is a schematic diagram which shows an effect | action.

  Hereinafter, the side airbag device 10 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. In this embodiment, “front” is the front side of the vehicle, “rear” is the rear side of the vehicle, “upper” is the vertical upper side, “lower” is the vertical lower side, and “left and right” is the vehicle width direction side. To do.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the side airbag device 10 according to the present embodiment includes, for example, a vehicle seat (door lining) side of a seat back (seat) 12 in a driver seat and a passenger seat disposed in a passenger compartment of a vehicle V. Is housed in the side portion 14 of the main body. The side portion 14 of the seat back 12 is provided with a substantially rectangular recess (not shown), and the side airbag device 10 is accommodated in the recess. A cover plate 18 is attached to the recess so as to cover the entire opening including the side airbag device 10.

  The position where the side airbag device 10 is attached is not limited to the front seat, but may be a side part of the rear seat back on the vehicle body (door lining) side, and is particularly limited as long as it is a vehicle seat. Is not to be done.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the side airbag device 10 includes an airbag main body 20 and a cylindrical inflator that supplies (discharges) gas (for example, nitrogen gas) into the airbag main body 20 to deploy and inflate it. 30. FIG. 2 is a development view of the airbag main body 20, and a portion indicated by a thick broken line shows a suture line formed after sewing the cloth.

  The airbag main body 20 includes, for example, a cloth-made outer bag body 21 and a cloth-made inner tube 22 provided inside the outer bag body 21.

  The outer bag body 21 is a portion that comes into contact with an occupant (not shown) when expanded and inflated, and is configured to exhibit a substantially vertically long elliptical shape (substantially oval shape) in plan view by folding and overlapping the base fabric. Has been.

  Moreover, the outer bag 21 has an upper convex portion 21a and a lower convex portion 21b, and the lower convex portion 21b is longer in the vertical direction (vertical direction) than the upper convex portion 21a. It is configured. Moreover, the upper convex part 21a and the lower convex part 21b respectively have stitching lines 21a1 and 21b1 in which convex peripheral parts are sewn together.

  In addition, the outer bag body 21 is formed with circular open portions 21c, 21c, and 21c arranged in the vertical direction at a portion where the base fabric is woven back (front end, right end in FIG. 2). The opening portion 21c is configured such that when the airbag main body 20 is deployed and inflated, the opening portion 21c is opened when the internal pressure of the airbag main body 20 exceeds a predetermined value, so that the internal gas escapes to the outside of the airbag main body 20. ing. An insertion portion 21d into which the inflator 30 is inserted is formed at the rear end (left end in FIG. 2) of the outer bag body 21. The length of the opening in the vertical direction of the insertion portion 21d is longer than the length of the inflator 30 in the axial direction.

  In addition, circular through holes 21 e and 21 e are formed in the outer bag body 21 at a position of the inflator 30 with an interval in the axial direction of the inflator 30. The through holes 21e and 21e are located closer to the lower part with respect to the axial direction of the inflator 30. The outer bag 21 has through holes 21f and 21f in the vicinity of the insertion portion 21d behind the through holes 21e and 21e. The through holes 21f and 21f are formed at the same interval as the through holes 21e and 21e.

  The inner tube 22 is disposed inside the outer bag body 21 and is configured so as to have a substantially rectangular shape in plan view by folding and overlapping the base fabric (not shown). More specifically, the inner tube 22 is formed such that the front side in the substantially vertical direction (substantially vertical direction) is longer than the side in the substantially front-rear direction of the lower end in the plan view of FIG. Further, the inner tube 22 is sewn together via portions 21a2 and 21b2 of the suture lines 21a1 and 21b1 of the outer bag 21.

  Further, the inner tube 22 has a suture line 22a1 in which a front end edge portion 22a in a substantially front-rear direction at the time of deployment is stitched with one surface (surface on the near side in the drawing) of the external bag body 21. Although not shown, the other surface of the external bag body 21 (the surface on the back side in the drawing) has a similar suture line. The suture line 22a1 is configured to extend in a substantially vertical direction.

  The inner tube 22 has communication holes 22b, 22b, and 22b formed in a base fabric disposed between the suture lines 22a1. The number and position of the communication holes 22b are not limited to the present embodiment. The gas in the inner tube 22 flows into the outer bag 21 in front of the inner tube 22 through the communication hole 22b. In the present embodiment, the inclination S formed by the suture line 22a1 corresponds to the direction of the side of the inner tube 22 in the longitudinal direction.

  In addition, the inner tube 22 is formed to be approximately half the size of the outer bag 21 in a plan view, and the suture line 22a1 of the inner tube 22 extends from the suture line 21a1 of the upper convex portion 21a to the suture line of the lower protrusion 21b. It extends to just before reaching 21b1. Thereby, an opening is formed in the lower end portion 22 c of the inner tube 22, and a communication portion 23 that connects the lower end portion 22 c of the inner tube 22 and the outer bag body 21 is formed.

  In the airbag main body 20 configured as described above, the upper portion of the outer bag body 21 restrains the side region of the upper body centered on the chest of the occupant, and the lower portion of the outer bag body 21 is the side region of the waist portion of the occupant. It is comprised so that it may restrain. When gas is discharged from the inflator 30, the inside of the inner tube 22 is first expanded and inflated, and then the outer bag body 21 outside the inner tube 22 is expanded and inflated. Moreover, the expansion | swelling expansion | swelling of the external bag body 21 can be smoothed when gas flows in into the external bag body 21 from the communicating hole 22b.

  Next, how to fold the airbag body 20 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 is a view showing the first to third steps of how to fold the airbag body, FIG. 4 is a view showing the fourth to sixth steps of how to fold the airbag body, and FIG. 5 is the airbag body. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing from the seventh step to the ninth step of how to fold the airbag, FIG. 6 is a diagram showing from the tenth step to the eleventh step of folding the airbag body, and FIG. To FIG. 6 for illustration.

  3 (a-1), (b-1), and (c-1) are plan views, and FIGS. 3 (a-2), (b-2), and (c-2) are views in the Y direction. Is shown. 4 (a-1), (b-1), and (c-1) are plan views, and FIGS. 4 (a-2), (b-2), and (c-2) are views in the Z direction. ing. 5 (a-1), (b-1), and (c-1) are plan views, and FIGS. 5 (a-2), (b-2), and (c-2) are views in the Y direction. 5 (a-3) shows a Z direction arrow view. 6 (a-1) and (b-1) are plan views, FIGS. 6 (a-2) and (b-2) are views in the Y direction, and FIGS. 6 (a-3) and (b-3). Indicates a Z direction arrow view. 3 to 6, the suture lines 21a1, 21b1, and 22a1 are not shown. Moreover, in FIG.3 (c), the inflator 30 is shown with the virtual line.

  As shown in the first step of FIG. 3A-1, the airbag body 20 is provided with a packing cloth 40 for preventing the folded state after the airbag body 20 is folded. As shown in FIG. 3 (a-2), the packing cloth 40 is provided on one surface of the airbag body 20. In addition, in FIG. 3 (a-1)-(c-1), the volt | bolts 31 and 31 provided in the inflator 30 are illustrated virtually.

  The packing cloth 40 includes a first sheet portion 41 having a substantially rectangular shape, and a substantially trapezoidal second sheet portion 42 that protrudes downward from a lower end edge portion of the first sheet portion 41.

  The first sheet portion 41 is formed with a slit 41a extending in the vertical direction from the upper edge to the lower edge. Further, in the middle of the slit 41a, circular holes 41a1 and 41a1 cut into a circle are formed. The slit 41a is configured to break when the airbag body 20 is deployed.

  Further, the first sheet portion 41 has a pair of small holes 41b and 41b formed behind the slit 41a, and a pair of small holes 41c and 41c formed forward of the slit 41a. The small holes 41b and 41b are formed at positions corresponding to the through holes 21e and 21e (see FIG. 2) of the airbag body 20.

  A slit 42 a extending along the front-rear direction is formed at the base end portion of the second sheet portion 42. The slit 42a is also configured to break when the airbag body 20 is deployed. In addition, a circular small hole 42 b is formed at the leading end (lower end) of the second sheet portion 42.

  First, as shown in the 2nd process of Drawing 3 (b-1) and (b-2), upper part 20a of airbag main part 20 is turned up on the opposite side to the side where packing cloth 40 is arranged. Accordingly, a linear fold line is formed in the front-rear direction on the upper portion of the airbag body 20. At this time, the amount of folding back the upper portion 20 a is set such that the tip of the upper portion 20 a is in contact with the upper edge of the first sheet portion 41.

  And as shown in the 3rd process of Drawing 3 (c-1) and (c-2), lower part 20b is bent to packing cloth 40 side. The folding line L at this time is set in a direction orthogonal to the side direction S (see the alternate long and short dash line) of the inner tube 22 in the longitudinal direction (vertical direction). Note that the folding line L is not limited to the direction orthogonal to the direction S of the longitudinal side of the inner tube 22, and is positive when the inclination of the folding line L when orthogonal is 0 degrees. It can be appropriately set within a range of minus 15 degrees (see FIG. 7A).

  As shown in FIG. 3 (c-1), when the lower portion 20b of the airbag body 20 is bent, the lower end 20b1 is set at a position near the fixed portion of the inflator 30 indicated by a virtual line. Note that the folded lower portion 20b of the airbag body 20 is disposed on the lower side of the packing cloth 40 as shown in FIG.

  And as shown in the 4th process of Drawing 4 (a-1) and (a-2), with the slit 41a neighborhood of packing cloth 40 used as a standard, the front side of airbag body 20 passes the back side of the page, and back. Wrap to the side. By adopting such folding, when the airbag body 20 is deployed and inflated, the airbag body 20 can be pushed outward in the vehicle width direction of the seat back 12 and then deployed forward. . Therefore, the airbag body 20 can be deployed and inflated while avoiding the structure provided on the seat back 12.

  And as shown in the 5th process of Drawing 4 (b-1) and (b-2), the airbag main part 20 turned up in Drawing 4 (a-1) is again from the back side so that a part may be folded up. Wrap it forward. And the inflator 30 is inserted in the airbag main body 20 from the insertion part 21d, as shown to the Z direction arrow line view of FIG.4 (b-2). At this time, for example, the inflator 30 is fixed to a bracket (not shown). Also, a pair of bolts 31, 31 described later are fixed to the bracket. Then, the bolts 31, 31 are inserted through the through holes 21e, 21e (see FIG. 2) of the airbag body 20 and the small holes 41b, 41b of the packing cloth 40 in this order. Then, the insertion portion 21d of the airbag body 20 is folded back toward the inflator 30 and the bolts 31, 31 are inserted through the small holes 21f, 21f formed in the insertion portion 21d. The packing cloth 40 is arranged so as to be positioned at the top.

  And as shown in the 6th process of Drawing 4 (c-1) and (c-2), front end part (tip part) 20c of airbag body 20 is turned up to packing cross 40 side. At this time, the front end 20c is positioned below the packing cloth 40 as shown in the Z direction arrow view of FIG.

  And the position where the inflator 30 is accommodated, winding up the front-end part 20c of the airbag main body 20, as shown to the 7th process of Fig.5 (a-1), (a-2), (a-3). Fold up to roll. When it is folded into a roll, it is folded into a roll in the counterclockwise direction. Thereby, the airbag main body 20 becomes an elongate shape vertically. When the airbag body 20 is folded as shown in FIG. 5 (a-3), it is not limited to roll folding as in this embodiment, and may be bellows folding.

  And as shown to the 8th process of FIG.5 (b-1), (b-2), the front-end | tip 20d of the airbag main body 20 of the state folded in roll shape is folded back to the packing cloth 40 side (upper side). The amount of folding is such that the tip 20d does not contact the packing cloth 40.

  And as shown in the 9th process of Drawing 5 (c-1) and (c-2), lower end part 20e containing tip 20d turned up at the 8th process is turned up to the opposite side to packing cloth 40. At this time, the packing cloth 40 is folded back below the lower end edge portion of the first sheet portion 41.

  Thus, as shown in the eighth step and the ninth step, the length of the airbag body 20 in the vertical direction can be shortened by folding the airbag body 20.

  And in the folded airbag main body 20, as shown in the 10th process of Drawing 6 (a-1), (a-2), and (a-3), it is packing cloth on the basis of the position of bolts 31 and 31. 40 is made to make one turn around the airbag body 20, and the bolts 31, 31 are inserted through the small holes 41c, 41c formed in the packing cloth 40. Thereby, it can prevent that the airbag main body 20 roll-folded can be opened.

  And as shown in the 11th process of Drawing 6 (b-1) and (b-2), the 2nd sheet part 42 of packing cloth 40 is turned up to bolts 31 and 31, and these bolts 31 and 31 are connected. The small holes 42b and 42b of the second sheet portion 42 are inserted. Thereby, it can prevent that the folded lower end part 20e can be unwound from the side part of the axial direction of the packing cloth 40. FIG.

  Thus, the folded state of the airbag body 20 can be stably maintained by wrapping the airbag body 20 with the packing cloth 40 in the 10th and 11th steps. Since the packing cloth 40 is formed with slits 41a and 42a, the packing cloth 40 is easily broken through the slits 41a and 42a at the start of the deployment, and the airbag body 20 is easily shifted to the deployment and inflation operation. become able to.

  The airbag body 20 folded in this way is stored in a recess formed in the side portion 14 of the seat back 12. That is, the bolts 31 and 31 protruding from the airbag body 20 are fixed to the fixing plate provided in the recess through the bolts.

  Next, the effect of the side airbag device 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 7 and the comparative example shown in FIG. FIG. 7 shows a side airbag device by a novel folding method according to the present embodiment, (a) and (b) are how to fold an airbag body, (c) is a schematic diagram showing the operation, and FIG. 8 is a comparative example. The side airbag apparatus by how to fold is shown, (a), (b) is how to fold an airbag main body, (c) is a schematic diagram which shows an effect | action. Note that the airbag main body 100 shown in FIG. 8 has the same structure as the airbag main body 20 according to the present embodiment except that the airbag main body 100 is folded differently. In FIG. 7C and FIG. 8C, the airbag main bodies 20 and 100 indicated by solid lines indicate a state in the middle of deployment and inflation, and the airbag main bodies 20 and 100 indicated by virtual lines indicate that after the deployment and expansion. Indicates the state.

  By the way, the airbag main body 100 shown as a comparative example in FIG. 8A is folded so as to be a fold line L10 that is nearly parallel to the direction S of the side in the longitudinal direction of the inner tube. ). The airbag main body 100 in the state of FIG. 8B is roll-folded from the right side to the left side in the figure, and the lower part (waist side) or the upper part after the roll-folding is folded back. (See FIG. 1).

  When the airbag main body 100 is folded in this way, when the airbag main body 100 is deployed from the side portion 14 of the seat back 12, the front end of the airbag main body 100 is sufficiently filled with gas as shown in FIG. Unexpanded deployment. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 8C, when the article C is placed on the seat near the door lining DL, the portion indicated by the region R in FIG. 8B is the vehicle article C and the door lining. It becomes easy to dive into the gap between the DL (vehicle body). As a result, the air bag body 100 that has entered is then deployed and inflated, and the load F10 acts on the left side surface (inner side in the vehicle width direction) of the article C, causing the article C to move in the vehicle width direction (left and right direction). A force to move inward is generated. Thereby, there exists a possibility that the article | item C may fly to the passenger | crew side of a driver's seat.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7A, the folding line L is formed in the airbag body 20 so as to be orthogonal to the direction S of the longitudinal side of the inner tube (not shown). By doing so, the folded state shown in FIG. 7B is obtained (see FIG. 3C-1). The subsequent folding method is the same as that described in the comparative example.

  When the airbag main body 20 is folded in this manner, even when the airbag main body 20 is deployed from the side portion 14 of the seat back 12, the gas is sufficiently filled as shown in FIG. It can prevent that the airbag main body 20 with the state which is not invaded between the articles | goods C and the doorlining DL. Incidentally, when the folding method of the present embodiment is adopted, the folded lower portion 20b of the airbag body 20 is deployed so as to hit the article C. Therefore, even if the airbag body 20 is subsequently expanded and inflated, a force F1 that pushes the article C forward acts on the article C, and a force inward in the vehicle width direction acts on the article C. Never do. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the article C from flying to the passenger side.

  Thus, according to the present embodiment, when the lower portion 20b of the airbag body 20 is folded, it is folded in a roll shape after being folded in a direction substantially perpendicular to the direction S of the longitudinal side of the inner tube 22. Thus, even when the portion folded in a roll shape is deployed at the time of deployment, the airbag body 20 in a state where the gas before inflation is not sufficiently filled in the gap between the article C on the seat and the door lining DL enters. Can be prevented.

  In addition, according to the present embodiment, the position of the fold line L when folded in a direction substantially perpendicular to the direction S of the longitudinal side of the inner tube 22 is the lower end 20b1 of the airbag body 20 after folding. By setting the position in the vicinity of the fixed portion of the inflator 30, the vertical dimension of the airbag body 20 can be shortened, and the side airbag device 10 can be made compact.

  In addition, according to the present embodiment, the inclination of the folding line L with respect to the side in the longitudinal direction of the inner tube 22 is set within ± 15 degrees when the orthogonal direction is set to 0 degrees, whereby the article C and the door lining DL are set. Can be prevented or reduced.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to above-described embodiment, In the range which does not change the meaning of this invention, it can change suitably. For example, the configuration of the inner tube 22 may be bag-shaped as long as the direction of the longitudinal side of the inner tube 22 is substantially vertical, and does not include the suture line 22a1. There may be.

  Moreover, in this embodiment, when the lower part 20b of the airbag main body 20 was folded, the case where the folding line L was formed only in one place was demonstrated as an example, For example, it folds twice and the folding line L is 2 It may be possible to make a place. Also in this case, it may be a roll fold or a bellows fold.

10 Side airbag device 12 Seat back (seat)
14 Side 20 Airbag Main Body 20b Lower 20b1 Lower Tip 21 External Bag 22 Inner Tube 30 Inflator 40 Packing Cloth DL Door Lining (Car Body)
L Folding line S Longitudinal side direction V Vehicle

Claims (3)

Provided on the seat side of the vehicle, and equipped with an airbag body that expands between the vehicle body and the occupant,
The airbag body is
An external bag that contacts the occupant;
An inner tube provided inside the outer bag body, inflated by the inflow of gas from the inflator, and arranged so that the direction of the side in the longitudinal direction during deployment is substantially vertical;
The inner tube has a communication hole for allowing the gas to flow into the front outer bag body, and an opening formed in a lower end portion of the inner tube,
The airbag main body has a communication portion that allows the opening and the outer bag body to communicate with each other, and a lower portion of the airbag main body is in a direction substantially orthogonal to the direction of the side in the longitudinal direction of the inner tube. A side airbag device which is folded in a roll shape or a bellows shape after being folded so as to be folded inward with respect to the vehicle width direction of the vehicle and on one surface side of the airbag body.   The position of the folding line when folded in a direction substantially perpendicular to the direction of the side of the inner tube in the longitudinal direction is set to a position where the lower end of the airbag body after folding is near the fixing portion of the inflator. The side airbag device according to claim 1.   The said fold line is set within ± 15 degrees when the direction orthogonal to the direction of the longitudinal side of the inner tube is set to 0 degrees. Side airbag device.

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