JP5943729B2 - Inflator device and airbag device including the same - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an inflator device including an inflator and a sleeve, and an airbag device including the inflator device.

  For example, Patent Document 1 is known as a prior art document related to an inflator and a sleeve. Patent Document 1 discloses an inflator having a fixing bolt for fixing to a member to be attached, and a sleeve having an insertion hole through which the fixing bolt is inserted.

JP 2011-121469 A

  However, depending on the shape of the sleeve, it has been difficult to firmly attach the inflator device to the attached member.

  An object of the present invention is to provide an inflator device that can be easily firmly attached to a member to be attached and an airbag device including the inflator device.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides:
An inflator having a cylindrical main body provided with a gas ejection part, and mounting legs protruding from the side surface of the main body;
A sleeve having a peripheral wall surrounding the side surface portion so that a gap through which the gas ejected from the gas ejection portion flows is formed;
The peripheral wall, possess said mounting legs planar mounting portion having an opening formed for inserting, and a curved portion formed in an arch shape,
A flange is provided at the base of the mounting leg,
The opening has a hole into which the flange is fitted, and a long hole that communicates with the hole and extends in the longitudinal direction of the main body.
The slot width of the long hole is larger than the diameter of the mounting leg and smaller than the diameter of the hole, and provides an inflator device and an airbag device including the same.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to easily attach the inflator device firmly to the attached member.

It is a schematic sectional drawing of the airbag apparatus of one Embodiment. It is the schematic front view seen from one direction of the inflator apparatus of one Embodiment. It is a partial schematic sectional drawing of a part of the inflator apparatus of one Embodiment. It is a schematic side view of the inflator device of one embodiment. It is a schematic sectional drawing of the sleeve of one Embodiment. It is a schematic plan view of a part of the inflator device of one embodiment. It is a general | schematic bottom view of a part of inflator apparatus of one Embodiment. It is the figure which showed an example of the assembly | attachment method.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view of an airbag apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The airbag device 1 is, for example, a vehicle occupant protection device installed in a seat back portion, and is for restricting the movement of the occupant's upper body during a side collision of the vehicle. For example, the airbag apparatus 1 is mounted such that the front-rear direction of the vehicle is in the Y-axis direction, the vehicle width direction is in the X-axis direction, and the vertical direction of the vehicle is in the Z-axis direction. The “X-axis direction”, “Y-axis direction”, and “Z-axis direction” represent directions parallel to the respective axes.

  The airbag device 1 includes an inflator device 2, an airbag 10, and a casing 15.

  The inflator device 2 is a gas generator having a cylindrical main body 21 that generates gas for inflating and deploying the airbag 10 based on a control signal from a control circuit (not shown). The “cylindrical shape” may include shapes such as a substantially cylindrical shape having a substantially circular end surface portion, an elliptic cylindrical shape having an elliptical end surface portion, and a substantially elliptic cylindrical shape having a substantially elliptic end surface portion. .

  The main body 21 is accommodated in the casing 15 in a state of being incorporated in the airbag 10 together with a sleeve 40 (not shown in FIG. 1) described later. The inflator device 2 has a mounting bolt 28 used for mounting to the casing 15. The inflator device 2 is fixed to the casing 15 by fastening the mounting bolt 28 after being inserted into the mounting surface 16 of the casing 15. For example, a push nut may be used for fastening the mounting bolt 28 and the mounting surface 16. By using the push nut, the inflator device 2 can be easily fixed firmly to the casing 15.

  The airbag 10 is a cloth formed in a bag shape so as to be inflated and deployed between the side wall portion of the vehicle body and an occupant sitting on the seat by the gas supplied from the inflator device 2. The airbag 10 is fixed by being sandwiched between a mounting portion 42 of a sleeve 40 (to be described later) and a mounting surface 16 of the casing 15, for example, at a base end portion of the inflator device 2 on the side where the main body portion 21 is disposed. It is good to be done.

  The bellows part 11 folded by bellows folding is formed at the center of the airbag 10 on the inflator device 2 side, and the tip of the airbag 10 opposite to the inflator device 2 side is folded by roll folding. A roll portion 12 is formed. The airbag 10 is accommodated in the casing 15 together with the main body portion 21 of the inflator device 2 and a sleeve 40 described later in a state of being folded in this manner.

  The casing 15 is an attached member to which the inflator device 2 and the airbag 10 folded so as to be inflated and deployed are attached. The casing 15 is pushed open by the airbag 10 inflated by the gas ejected from the inflator device 2.

  FIG. 2 is a schematic front view of the inflator device 2 when viewed from one side in the Y-axis direction. The inflator device 2 includes an inflator 20 and a sleeve 40 into which the main body 21 of the inflator 20 is inserted. The inflator device 2 is an assembly component that is assembled by fitting the distal end portion 23 of the main body portion 21 into a cylindrical sleeve 40.

  The inflator 20 includes a columnar main body 21 and two mounting bolts 28 aligned along the longitudinal direction (Z-axis direction) of the main body 21. The main body 21 has a columnar tip portion 23 covered with the sleeve 40 and a columnar base end portion 22 not covered with the sleeve 40. The mounting bolt 28 is a mounting leg that protrudes from the side surface 24 of the main body 21 toward one side in the X-axis direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the main body 21. The mounting bolt 28 is fixed to the side surface portion 24 by a predetermined fixing method such as welding. Of the two mounting bolts fixed to the side surface portion 24, one bolt is provided at the base end portion 22, and the other bolt is provided at the distal end portion 22.

  FIG. 3 is a view partially showing the tip portion of the inflator device 2 in section, and shows the sleeve 40 surrounding the tip portion 23 in section in the XZ plane. The inflator device 2 is fixed to the mounting surface 16 by an opening 44 formed in the sleeve 40 and a mounting bolt 28 that passes through the mounting surface 16. The distal end portion 23, which is a portion on the distal end side of the main body portion 21 of the inflator 20, has a gas ejection portion 26.

  The gas ejection portion 26 is a columnar convex portion provided on the distal end portion 23 so as to protrude toward one side in the Z-axis direction with respect to the end surface portion 25 on the distal end portion 23 side of the main body portion 21. The outer diameter of the gas ejection part 26 is smaller than the outer diameters of the main body part 21 and the tip part 23. A plurality of gas ejection holes 27 are provided at equal intervals on the side peripheral surface of the gas ejection portion 26. Gas for inflating the airbag 10 shown in FIG. 1 is ejected from the gas ejection holes 27 in a radial direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the main body 21.

  FIG. 4 is a schematic side view of the inflator device 2 when viewed from one side in the Z-axis direction. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the sleeve 40 surrounds the side surface portion 24 together with the gas ejection portion 26 so that a gap 30 through which the gas ejected in the radial direction from the side peripheral surface of the gas ejection portion 26 flows is formed. A peripheral wall 41 is provided.

  The sleeve 40 surrounds the side surface portion 24 and the gas ejection portion 26 in this way, so that the gas ejected in the radial direction from the side circumferential surface of the gas ejection portion 26 is received by the peripheral wall 41, and the gas flow received by the peripheral wall 41 is Can be deflected in two directions opposite to each other in the Z-axis direction. For example, the gas after being deflected by the peripheral wall 41 in the direction toward the sleeve 40 with respect to the main body portion 21 (right side in FIG. 3) regulates the movement of the lumbar portion of the occupant of the airbag 10 via the gap 30. This is supplied to a chamber (not shown) for inflating the portion to be inflated. On the other hand, the gas after being deflected by the peripheral wall 41 in the direction opposite to the sleeve 40 with respect to the main body portion 21 (left side in FIG. 3) passes through the gap 30 and is in the chest of the passenger in the airbag 10. It is supplied to a chamber (not shown) for inflating a portion that restricts movement.

  FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the sleeve 40 in the CC cross section shown in FIG. The peripheral wall 41 of the sleeve 40 includes a flat mounting portion 42 and a curved surface portion 43 formed in an arch shape. The sleeve 40 is formed in a bowl shape (also referred to as a semi-cylindrical shape, semicylindrical) when viewed from one direction.

  The attachment portion 42 is a flat portion having an outer surface that comes into contact with the attachment surface 16 (see FIGS. 3 and 4) on the attachment counterpart side. As long as the attachment part 42 is formed in a planar shape so as to satisfy a desired attachment strength with the attachment surface 16, it does not necessarily have to be a uniform flat part. The attachment portion 42 is formed with an opening 44 through which the attachment bolt 28 can be inserted. The curved surface portion 43 is preferably an arc-shaped portion formed extending from the mounting portion 42 in an arch shape so as to surround the circumferential side surface of the tip portion 23 of the inflator.

  Since the peripheral wall 41 has the flat mounting portion 42, for example, the contact area with the flat mounting surface 16 can be increased as compared with the case where the peripheral wall of the sleeve is entirely formed of a curved surface portion. it can. Further, since the peripheral wall 41 has the flat mounting portion 42, for example, the moment of the inflator device 2 centering on the mounting portion 42 is compared with a case where the peripheral wall of the sleeve is entirely formed of a curved surface portion. Can be lowered. Further, since the peripheral wall 41 has the flat mounting portion 42, for example, the rigidity of the main body portion 21 of the inflator 20 and the mounting bolt 28 is higher than that in the case where the peripheral wall of the sleeve is entirely formed of a curved surface portion. Can be increased.

  Thus, since the inflator 20 can be firmly attached to the planar attachment surface 16 together with the sleeve 40 because the peripheral wall 41 has the planar attachment portion 42, the inflator device 2 is firmly attached to the casing 15. Can be done easily. Further, since the attachment portion 42 is formed in a flat shape, sufficient attachment strength can be easily secured against the momentum when the airbag 10 is deployed.

  For example, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, it is preferable that the peripheral wall 41 has an inner surface 47 provided with projections 51, 52, and 53 that restrict the movement of the main body 21. By providing at least one of the protrusions 51, 52, and 53, it is possible to suppress the shakiness of the main body portion 21, and thus it is possible to suppress the turbulent flow of gas in the gap 30. The inner surface 47 is a surface facing the side surface portion 24 of the main body portion 21. Further, the protrusions 51, 52, 53 are formed so as to protrude with respect to the inner surface 47.

  The protruding portion 51 is a claw-shaped portion that is provided so as to face the inner surface of the flat mounting portion 42 and is formed by cutting out the peripheral wall 41 of the sleeve 40. The protrusion 51 is formed on a part of the inner surface 47 of the peripheral wall 41 that is farthest from the attachment part 42.

  The protrusion 51 is bent in the direction of the arrow 31 shown in FIG. 4 after the tip 23 is inserted into the space surrounded by the peripheral wall 41. Thereby, the protrusion 51 can press the front end 23 of the main body 21 by contacting the side surface 24. By providing the protrusion 51, it is possible to prevent the inflator 20 and the sleeve 40 from being easily detached before the inflator device 2 is attached to the casing 15. Therefore, the inflator device 2 can be easily attached firmly to the casing 15. Further, rattling of the main body 21 can be suppressed.

  FIG. 6 is a view of the tip portion of the inflator device 2 when viewed from one side in the X-axis direction. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 6, the protrusion 51 is provided on the inner surface 47 so as to come into contact with the tip edge 23 a of the tip 23. The projecting portion 51 is formed in an L shape so as to have a pressing portion 51a that comes into contact with the tip edge portion 23a on the side surface portion 24 side and a holding portion 51b that comes into contact with the tip edge portion 23a on the end surface portion 25 side. Yes.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 3, the pressing portion 51 a presses the side surface portion 24 of the distal end portion 23 in a direction to press against the inner surface of the mounting portion 42. When the pressing portion 51a presses the side surface portion 24, it is possible to suppress rattling (particularly, rattling in the X-axis direction) of the main body portion 21. Further, the pressing portion 51b is in contact with the end surface portion 25 of the tip portion 23, thereby restricting the main body portion 21 from moving in the direction toward the sleeve 40 with respect to the main body portion 21 (rightward in FIG. 3). it can.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, the protrusion 52 is a bead provided on the planar attachment portion 42 so as to contact the end surface portion 25, and protrudes from the inner surface of the attachment portion 42. It is a convex part. In other words, the protrusion 52 is a concave portion that is recessed with respect to the outer surface of the attachment portion 42. The protrusion 52 abuts against the end face 25, so that the main body 21 can be restricted from moving toward the sleeve 40 with respect to the main body 21 (rightward in FIG. 3). Further, by changing the height of the protrusion 52 (the length from the inner surface of the mounting portion 42 to the apex of the protrusion 52), the gap 30 in the sleeve 40 is opposite to each other in the Z-axis direction for each product. The distribution ratio of the gas flowing in two directions can be easily adjusted.

FIG. 7 is a view of the tip portion of the inflator device 2 when viewed from the other side in the X-axis direction (the opposite side of FIG. 6). The attachment portion 42 provided with the protrusion 52 is provided with an attachment hole 55 formed so that a part of the distal end edge portion 23a of the distal end portion 23 is fitted. When a part of the front end edge portion 23a is fitted in the attachment hole 55, the main body portion 21 can be restricted from moving in the Z-axis direction. The attachment hole 55 may be formed in the attachment portion 42 before performing the bead processing for forming the protruding portion 52. Thereby, since the dimensional accuracy of bead processing is improved, it is possible to prevent the distribution ratio of the gas flowing through the gap 30 in two directions opposite to each other in the Z-axis direction from varying between individual products.

  Next, as shown in FIGS. 2, 4, 5, and 7, the protrusion 53 is a bead that extends in a direction (Z-axis direction) parallel to the central axis of the main body 21, and the peripheral wall 41. It is a convex part protruding with respect to the inner surface 47. In other words, the protrusion 53 is a concave portion that is recessed with respect to the outer surface of the peripheral wall 41. Since the protrusion 53 is formed on the inner surface 47 so as to extend in the Z-axis direction, the X of the gap 30 is larger than when the protrusion is formed so as to extend in the circumferential direction of the inner surface 47. The cross-sectional area in the -Y plane can be increased. Thereby, since the flow path of the gas ejected from the gas ejection part 26 and deflected in the Z-axis direction by the peripheral wall 41 widens, the amount of gas that can be supplied to the airbag 10 per unit time can be increased.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the protruding portion 53 is provided on the inner surface 47 so as to contact the side surface portion 24. When the protrusion 53 abuts on the side surface 24, it is possible to suppress the shakiness of the main body 21 in the moment direction with the attachment portion 42 as the center. In the case of the illustrated embodiment, the protrusion 53 is formed on the inner surface 47 near the attachment portion 42 with respect to the central axis of the main body 21.

  A vent hole 54 is formed in the inner surface 47 of the peripheral wall 41 so as to be adjacent to the protrusion 53. By forming the vent hole 54, the gas ejected from the gas ejection portion 26 can be discharged from the gap 30 to the chamber of the airbag 10 through the vent hole 54. Further, the vent hole 54 is preferably formed in the peripheral wall 41 before the bead processing for forming the protruding portion 53. Thereby, since the dimensional accuracy of bead processing is improved, it is possible to prevent the distribution ratio of the gas flowing through the gap 30 in two directions opposite to each other in the Z-axis direction from varying between individual products.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 2, 3, and 7, the mounting bolt 28 is a disk having a diameter larger than the bolt diameter of the mounting bolt 28 as an engaging portion that engages with an opening 44 that penetrates the mounting portion 42. A flange 29 is formed. When the flange 29 provided at the base of the mounting bolt 28 is engaged with the opening 44, rattling of the main body 21 (particularly, rattling in the Z-axis direction and the Y-axis direction) can be prevented.

For example, as shown in FIG. 7, the opening 44 includes a circular hole 45 and a long hole 46 that communicates with the circular hole 45 and extends in the Z-axis direction. The slot width in the Y-axis direction of the long hole 46 is slightly larger than the bolt diameter of the mounting bolt 28. As a result, the main body 21 can be slid in the Z- axis direction with the mounting bolt 28 inserted through the long hole 46. Further, the diameter of the circular hole 35 is preferably slightly larger than the diameter of the flange 29. Thereby, the flange 29 can be fitted into the circular hole 45.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining an example of the procedure for assembling the sleeve 40 and the inflator 20.

  8A and 8B are views showing an initial stage of assembly of the sleeve 40 and the inflator 20, FIG. 8A is a plan view, and FIG. 8B is a front view. It is. The peripheral wall 41 of the sleeve 40 has an extension 48 formed with a notch 49 that can receive the tip 21 and the gas ejection part 26 of the inflator 20. A long hole 46 and a circular hole 45 in the opening 44 through which the mounting bolt 28 is inserted are formed in the extending portion 48.

  First, the mounting bolt 28 on the tip 23 side of the inflator 20 is inserted through the end of the long hole 46 on the inflator 20 side. Since the notch 49 is formed, the mounting bolt 28 can be easily inserted through the long hole 46.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 8C, the inflator 20 or the sleeve 40 is arranged so that the central axes of the main body 21 and the sleeve 40 are parallel to each other in a state where the mounting bolt 28 is inserted through the long hole 46. Tilt.

  Then, by moving the sleeve 40 toward the inflator 20 so that the mounting bolt 28 moves to the circular hole 45 through the elongated hole 46, the sleeve 40 causes the inflator 20 to move as shown in FIGS. The tip 23 side can be covered. At this time, as shown in FIG. 3, since the flange 29 of the mounting bolt 28 is fitted into the circular hole 45, the movement of the main body 21 can be restricted. Then, as shown in FIG. 4, the movement of the main body 21 can be more firmly regulated by bending the protrusion 51 in the direction of the arrow 31 and pressing it against the side surface 24.

  As described above, by assembling the inflator 20 and the sleeve 40, the inflator 20 becomes difficult to come off from the sleeve 40, and the state where the sleeve 40 and the inflator 20 are properly assembled can be maintained.

  The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and the above-described embodiments can be combined with some or all of the other embodiments. Various modifications such as substitution can be added.

  For example, the number of mounting legs protruding from the side surface portion of the cylindrical main body portion of the inflator is not limited to two as in the case of the mounting bolt 28 in FIG. 2, and may be one or three or more. The mounting leg may be detachably fixed to the main body of the inflator.

  Moreover, although the casing 15 shown in FIG. 1 was mentioned as an example of the to-be-attached member to which an inflator apparatus is attached in the above-mentioned Example, this invention is not limited to this shape. Moreover, if it has an attachment surface, to-be-attached members other than a casing may be sufficient.

  In the above-described embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, the gas ejection portion 26 is provided so as to protrude with respect to the end surface portion 25 of the main body portion 21, but the gas ejection portion is different from the main body portion 21. It may be provided at the site. For example, the gas ejection hole may be formed in the side surface portion 24 so as to be covered by the peripheral wall 41 of the sleeve 40.

  In the above-described embodiment, the protrusions 51, 52, and 53 are provided to limit the movement of the inflator 20 in the sleeve 40. However, when the inflator 20 is press-fitted into the sleeve 40, the inflator 20 is pressed. The movement in the sleeve 40 may be restricted.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Airbag apparatus 2 Inflator apparatus 10 Airbag 11 Bellows part 12 Roll part 15 Casing (an example of a to-be-attached member)
16 mounting surface 20 inflator 21 main body portion 22 base end portion 23 distal end portion 23a distal end edge portion 24 side surface portion 25 end surface portion 26 gas ejection portion 27 gas ejection hole 28 mounting bolt (an example of mounting leg)
29 Flange (Example of engaging part)
30 Clearance 31 Arrow 40 Sleeve 41 Peripheral wall 42 Mounting part 43 Curved part 44 Opening 45 Circular hole 46 Long hole 47 Inner surface 48 Extension part 49 Notch part 51 Protrusion part 51a, 51b Holding part 52 Protrusion part 53 Protrusion part 54 Vent hole 55 Mounting hole

Claims (10)

An inflator having a cylindrical main body provided with a gas ejection part, and mounting legs protruding from the side surface of the main body;
A sleeve having a peripheral wall surrounding the side surface portion so that a gap through which the gas ejected from the gas ejection portion flows is formed;
The peripheral wall, possess said mounting legs planar mounting portion having an opening formed for inserting, and a curved portion formed in an arch shape,
A flange is provided at the base of the mounting leg,
The opening has a hole into which the flange is fitted, and a long hole that communicates with the hole and extends in the longitudinal direction of the main body.
The slot width of the long hole is an inflator device that is larger than the diameter of the mounting leg and smaller than the diameter of the hole . The main body has a tip that protrudes in the longitudinal direction of the main body from the gas ejection part,
  The inflator device according to claim 1, wherein the attachment portion has an attachment hole into which an edge portion of the tip portion is fitted. The peripheral wall has a protrusion for limiting movement of said body portion, an inflator device according to claim 1 or 2. The inflator device according to claim 3 , wherein the protrusion has a first protrusion that faces the attachment portion. The inflator device according to claim 4 , wherein the first protrusion is in contact with the side surface. The inflator device according to any one of claims 3 to 5 , wherein the protrusion includes a second protrusion provided on the attachment portion. The inflator device according to claim 6 , wherein the second projecting portion abuts on an end surface portion of the main body portion. The inflator device according to any one of claims 3 to 7 , wherein the protrusion includes a third protrusion that extends to be parallel to the axis of the main body. The inflator device according to claim 8 , wherein the third protrusion is in contact with the side surface. An inflator device according to any one of claims 1 to 9,
An airbag inflated by the gas;
An airbag device comprising a member to be attached to which the attachment portion is attached.

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