JP6017270B2 - Airbag device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an airbag device that protects an occupant with an airbag in a vehicle.

  Various types of airbag devices are installed on vehicle members in order to protect passengers in the event of a vehicle emergency. In the airbag device, the airbag is generally inflated and deployed by the gas supplied from the inflator, and the occupant enters the inflated airbag. Further, the airbag absorbs energy while being deformed, and the occupant is received by the airbag. When the occupant enters, it is necessary to prevent the occupant from contacting the vehicle member and to restrain the occupant with the airbag. On the other hand, conventionally, an airbag apparatus including an airbag formed in a shape capable of restraining an occupant by three joined panels is known (see Patent Document 1).

  In the airbag device described in Patent Document 1, the airbag includes a peripheral panel facing the occupant and a pair of side panels joined to both side portions of the peripheral panel. The occupant comes into contact with the peripheral panel that extends along the instrument panel and is received by the airbag. However, since the airbag of this shape is easily deformed outward, the airbag tends to be greatly deformed by being crushed by an occupant. For this reason, the amount of movement of the occupant from when the occupant comes into contact with the airbag until it stops increases the energy absorption efficiency of the airbag. Along with this, it is necessary to enlarge the airbag and increase the capacity of the airbag.

JP 2012-66613 A

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described conventional problems, and its purpose is to suppress deformation of the airbag when the occupant enters the inflated airbag and stop after the occupant contacts the airbag. Is to reduce the amount of movement until

The present invention includes an airbag that is inflated by gas and an inflator that supplies gas into the airbag, and is installed on a vehicle member, wherein the airbag includes a pair of edges of a single base fabric. A tubular first base fabric that is formed in a tubular shape with the portion being joined and protrudes from the vehicle member toward the occupant when the airbag is inflated, and one end that is joined to one end portion of the first base fabric on the vehicle member side An airbag device comprising: a second base cloth that closes the opening of the first part; and a third base cloth that is joined to the other end part on the passenger side of the first base cloth and closes the opening of the other end part.

  According to the present invention, when an occupant enters an inflated airbag, the deformation of the airbag can be suppressed, and the amount of movement until the occupant stops after contacting the airbag can be reduced.

It is a side view of the airbag apparatus of this embodiment. It is an expanded view of the airbag before formation. It is a perspective view of the airbag in the middle of formation. It is a perspective view of the air bag after formation. It is a figure which shows the behavior of the airbag at the time of inflation deployment. It is a figure which shows the behavior of the airbag at the time of a passenger | crew's invasion.

An embodiment of an airbag device of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
The airbag device of this embodiment is an occupant protection device that protects a vehicle occupant with an airbag, and is installed on vehicle members of various vehicles. A vehicle member is a member which comprises a vehicle, and an airbag apparatus is installed in a predetermined vehicle member within a vehicle. Hereinafter, the airbag device will be described by taking the passenger seat airbag device as an example.

FIG. 1 is a side view of the airbag apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, and schematically shows the airbag 10 inflated in the vehicle 80. In FIG. 1, a part of the vehicle 80 and the occupant 90 are shown as viewed from the width direction of the vehicle 80, and the vehicle 80 is shown in a cross-sectional view. In the present embodiment, front, rear, upper, and lower refer to front, rear, upper, and lower in the vehicle 80.
As illustrated, the vehicle 80 includes a windshield 81, an instrument panel 82 positioned below the windshield 81, and a housing portion 83 of the airbag device 1.

  The instrument panel 82 is a vehicle member on which the airbag apparatus 1 is installed, and is disposed in front of the occupant 90 in the vehicle 80. The accommodating portion 83 is formed on the upper surface portion of the instrument panel 82. The airbag device 1 before operation is accommodated in the accommodating portion 83 and installed on the instrument panel 82 of the vehicle 80. Moreover, the airbag apparatus 1 in the accommodating part 83 is covered with an airbag cover (not shown).

  The airbag device 1 includes an airbag (cushion) 10 that is inflated by gas and an inflator 2 that generates gas. The airbag 10 has an attachment portion 11 for the inflator 2 and is accommodated in the accommodation portion 83 together with the inflator 2 in a folded state. The inflator 2 is attached to the attachment portion 11 of the airbag 10, and the inflator 2 and the attachment portion 11 are fixed to the instrument panel 82. In the event of a vehicle emergency, the inflator 2 operates in response to an operation instruction signal received from an instruction device (not shown) of the vehicle 80. The inflator 2 generates gas in the airbag 10 and supplies the gas into the airbag 10.

  The airbag 10 is deployed by the gas supplied from the inflator 2 and jumps out of the instrument panel 82 (accommodating portion 83) into the vehicle 80. In addition, the airbag 10 projects toward the occupant 90 and inflates in front of the occupant 90 in a state of being in contact with a part of the instrument panel 82. Thereby, the airbag 10 is inflated and deployed between the instrument panel 82 and the occupant 90. The occupant 90 (here, mainly the head 91) enters the inflated airbag 10, and is received and protected by the airbag 10. At that time, the gas in the airbag 10 is discharged from the vent hole 12 of the airbag 10 to the side, so that the impact of the occupant 90 is reduced.

  The airbag 10 of the present embodiment is formed in a shape that protrudes from the instrument panel 82 toward the occupant 90 in an inflated state. The airbag 10 is inflated and deployed from the instrument panel 82 toward the occupant 90 and inflated into a predetermined shape in the vehicle 80.

  The airbag 10 has an inflatable portion 20 that receives the occupant 90. The attachment portion 11 of the inflator 2 is formed at the base end portion 21 (end portion on the instrument panel 82 side) of the airbag 10 (inflatable portion 20), and is positioned above the base end portion 21. Therefore, the inflator 2 is attached to the base end portion 21 of the airbag 10 and is fixed to the instrument panel 82 together with the upper portion of the base end portion 21. When the airbag 10 is inflated and deployed, the base end portion 21 is in contact with the instrument panel 82 and is held by the instrument panel 82 at the position of the inflator 2. Further, the front end portion 22 of the airbag 10 on the occupant 90 side is disposed in front of the occupant 90 and faces the occupant 90.

Next, a procedure for forming the airbag 10 will be described.
FIG. 2 is a development view of the airbag 10 before formation, and shows three base fabrics (panels) 13 to 15 of the airbag 10. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the airbag 10 being formed, and FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the airbag 10 after formation.

  As shown in the figure, the airbag 10 is composed of first to third base fabrics (base fabric members) 13 to 15 each having a predetermined shape, and the bag is formed by the joined first to third base fabrics 13 to 15. Formed in the body. The 1st base fabric 13 is a side surface base fabric of the airbag 10, and becomes the side surface (circumferential surface) of the airbag 10 expanded in a cylindrical shape. Moreover, the 1st base fabric 13 consists of one base fabric (base fabric raw material), and has the right and left edge parts 13A and 13B and the upper and lower edge parts 13C and 13D which were formed in linear form. Here, the upper edge portion 13C is formed in a linear shape, and the lower edge portion 13D is formed in a bent shape. Note that the shapes of the upper and lower edges 13C and 13D are changed in accordance with the shape of the airbag 10, and are formed in various shapes.

  When the airbag 10 is formed, first, the left and right edges 13A, 13B of the first base fabric 13 are overlapped, and the pair of edges 13A, 13B are joined airtightly by sewing. Thereby, the joining part 13E of the edge parts 13A and 13B is formed on the first base cloth 13, and the first base cloth 13 is formed in a cylindrical shape. When the airbag 10 is inflated, the first base fabric 13 projects from the instrument panel 82 toward the occupant 90 and expands into a cylindrical shape. Thus, the 1st base fabric 13 is a cylindrical base fabric formed in the shape of a cylinder, and has an opening at one end 13F on the instrument panel 82 side and the other end 13G on the occupant 90 side.

  The second base fabric 14 and the third base fabric 15 are respectively joined to the annular end portions 13F and 13G of the first base fabric 13 to form both end surfaces (base end surface and front end surface) of the airbag 10. In that case, the edge part of the 2nd base cloth 14 and the 3rd base cloth 15 is joined airtightly to the edge part of the edge parts 13F and 13G by sewing. The second base fabric 14 is an instrument panel side base fabric (vehicle member side base fabric) of the airbag 10 and is located on the instrument panel 82 side when the airbag 10 is inflated. Further, the second base fabric 14 has an attachment portion 11 for the inflator 2. The attachment portion 11 is formed of an attachment hole having a circular hole, and is formed at the center portion in the width direction of the second base fabric 14. The inflator 2 is inserted into the attachment portion 11 and attached to the attachment portion 11 and the second base fabric 14.

  The second base fabric 14 and the third base fabric 15 are formed in a strip shape having curved ends. After the first base fabric 13 is formed into a cylindrical shape, the second base fabric 14 is joined to the one end portion 13F of the first base fabric 13 and closes the opening of the one end portion 13F. The third base fabric 15 is joined to the second base fabric 14 at the other end portion 13G of the first base fabric 13 and closes the opening of the other end portion 13G. The third base fabric 15 is an occupant side base fabric of the airbag 10, and is located on the occupant 90 side and faces the occupant 90 when the airbag 10 is inflated.

  Both end portions 13F and 13G of the first base fabric 13 are joined to a second base fabric 14 that is a first end surface (bottom surface) base fabric and a third base fabric 15 that is a second end surface (tip surface) base fabric. Thus, a shape corresponding to the shape of each of the base fabrics 14 and 15 is formed. Thereby, the airbag 10 is formed in a predetermined shape. When the airbag 10 is inflated, the longitudinal direction of the second base fabric 14 is arranged in a direction perpendicular to the width direction of the vehicle 80, and the second base fabric 14 contacts the instrument panel 82.

  After the formation of the airbag 10, the airbag 10 is folded in accordance with the size of the accommodating portion 83 and accommodated in the accommodating portion 83 together with the inflator 2. At that time, the airbag 10 is folded so that the gas supplied from the inflator 2 does not directly contact the joint portion 13E of the first base fabric 13. The airbag 10 is folded so that the joint portion 13E does not hit the gas supply portion of the inflator 2. Thereby, the joining part 13E is arrange | positioned in the position which the gas supplied from the inflator 2 does not hit directly in the folded airbag 10 before expansion | swelling.

  The folded airbag 10 (see FIG. 1) is attached to the accommodating portion 83 together with the inflator 2, and the airbag device 1 is installed on the instrument panel 82. When the airbag 10 is inflated and deployed, the inflation of the airbag 10 is started by the gas generated by the inflator 2, and the airbag 10 is deployed while sequentially unfolding the folded shape.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating the behavior of the airbag 10 during inflation and deployment, and FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating the behavior of the airbag 10 when the occupant 90 enters. 5 and 6 show the airbag 10, the vehicle 80, and the occupant 90 in the same manner as in FIG.
As illustrated, when the airbag 10 is inflated and deployed, first, the airbag 10 jumps out of the instrument panel 82 into the vehicle 80 (see FIG. 5A). Subsequently, the airbag 10 is deployed along the instrument panel 82 so as to cover a part of the instrument panel 82 while being inflated (see FIG. 5B). As the gas is supplied, the airbag 10 expands in a cylindrical shape from the instrument panel 82 toward the occupant 90 (see FIG. 5C).

  In a state where the base end portion 21 is in contact with the vehicle 80, the airbag 10 projects from the instrument panel 82 and is completely inflated in front of the occupant 90. At that time, the base end portion 21 of the airbag 10 is mainly deployed closer to the occupant 90 side than the attachment portion 11 (accommodating portion 83), and contacts the surface of the instrument panel 82 on the occupant 90 side. The airbag 10 is inflated to protect the occupant 90 in the vehicle 80 and is disposed at a predetermined position in front of the occupant 90.

  The occupant 90 moves toward the inflated airbag 10 and contacts the distal end portion 22 of the airbag 10 (see FIG. 6A). Due to the force received from the occupant 90 (here, the head 91), the airbag 10 is compressed and crushed in the direction in which the occupant 90 enters. Thus, the airbag 10 is deformed in the intrusion direction and deformed outward (here, a direction orthogonal to the intrusion direction including the side and the vertical direction). Further, the distal end portion 22 of the airbag 10 is deformed so as to be recessed according to the shape of the occupant 90, and the proximal end portion 21 of the airbag 10 is pressed against the instrument panel 82.

  As the occupant 90 enters the inflated airbag 10, the airbag 10 is deformed so as to be crushed toward the instrument panel 82 (see FIGS. 6B and 6C). The airbag 10 absorbs the energy of the occupant 90 while being deformed, and stops the movement of the occupant 90. The occupant 90 is received by the airbag 10 without completely crushing the airbag 10. In addition, the occupant 90 is restrained by the airbag 10 without contacting the instrument panel 82.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, when the airbag 10 is inflated, the tubular first base fabric 13 projects from the instrument panel 82 toward the occupant 90 in a tubular shape. Since the side surface (circumferential surface) of the airbag 10 is formed of the cylindrical first base cloth 13, the airbag 10 is difficult to expand outward, and the outward deformation of the airbag 10 is suppressed. Further, when the occupant 90 enters the inflated airbag 10, deformation of the airbag 10 is suppressed, and the airbag 10 is not easily crushed. Therefore, the energy absorption efficiency by the airbag 10 can be increased, and the occupant 90 can be effectively restrained. It is also possible to reduce the amount of movement of the occupant 90 from when the occupant 90 comes into contact with the airbag 10 until it stops. Accordingly, even if the airbag 10 is made smaller, contact between the occupant 90 and the instrument panel 82 can be prevented, so that the capacity of the airbag 10 can be reduced.

  By reducing the capacity of the airbag 10, the inflator 2 can be changed to a low-power inflator 2 with a small amount of gas generation. Thereby, the inflator 2 can be reduced in size and weight. Further, according to the airbag 10 of the present embodiment, the occupant 90 can be protected in the same area as the conventional airbag even if the capacity is reduced as compared with the conventional airbag.

  In order to join the pair of edge portions 13A and 13B of one base fabric to form the first base fabric 13 into a cylindrical shape (see FIGS. 2 and 3), the cylindrical first base fabric 13 can be easily formed. Can be formed. The joint portion 13 </ b> E of the first base fabric 13 is disposed at an arbitrary position of the airbag 10. However, in the folded airbag 10 before the inflation, the joint portion 13E is disposed at a position out of the position where the airbag 10 is easily damaged, so that the joint portion 13E is damaged at the initial stage of the inflation of the airbag 10. Can be suppressed.

  The position where the airbag 10 is easily damaged is, for example, a position that is affected by high-temperature gas. Therefore, it is preferable to arrange | position the junction part 13E in the position which the gas supplied from the inflator 2 does not hit directly in the folded airbag 10. FIG. By doing in this way, before the airbag 10 is inflated and when gas is first supplied to the folded airbag 10 (at the initial stage of gas supply by the inflator 2), the joint 13E directly receives the gas. It is arranged at a position where it does not hit. As a result, it is possible to reduce the influence of the heat of the gas on the joint portion 13E and suppress the breakage of the joint portion 13E.

  In the present embodiment, the cylindrical first base cloth 13 is formed by bonding one base cloth, but the cylindrical first base cloth 13 is formed by bonding a plurality of base cloths. May be. You may form the 1st base fabric 13 with the cylindrical base fabric without a junction part. Similarly, the second and third base fabrics 14 and 15 may be formed by a single base fabric, or may be formed by joining a plurality of base fabrics. The base fabrics used for forming the first to third base fabrics 13 to 15 are base fabric materials (here, cut base fabrics) that are the basis of the first to third base fabrics 13 to 15, and are respectively predetermined. It is formed into a shape. You may form a penetration part (a hole, a slit, etc.) in the 2nd, 3rd base fabrics 14 and 15 as needed. In this case, the inside (air chamber) of the airbag 10 is the second and third base fabrics with the second and third base fabrics 14 and 15 closing the openings of the cylindrical first base fabric 13. It connects with the outside through the penetration part of 14 and 15.

  In the present embodiment, the airbag device 1 is installed on the upper surface portion of the instrument panel 82, but the airbag device 1 is installed on a portion (intermediate portion, lower portion, etc.) other than the upper surface portion of the instrument panel 82. May be. Further, the present invention can be applied to an airbag apparatus including an airbag protruding from a vehicle member, regardless of the type of airbag apparatus. For example, the present invention may be applied to a driver airbag device or an airbag device installed between a driver airbag device and a passenger airbag device. In each airbag device, the airbag projects in a predetermined projecting direction from a vehicle member on which the airbag device is installed.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Airbag apparatus, 2 ... Inflator, 10 ... Airbag, 11 ... Attachment part, 12 ... Vent hole, 13 ... 1st base fabric, 14 ... 2nd Base fabric, 15 ... 3rd base fabric, 20 ... Expansion part, 21 ... Base end part, 22 ... Tip part, 80 ... Vehicle, 81 ... Wind shield, 82 ... -Instrument panel, 83 ... accommodating part, 90 ... passenger, 91 ... head.

Claims (2)

An airbag device that includes an airbag that is inflated by gas and an inflator that supplies gas into the airbag, and is installed in a vehicle member,
An air bag is formed in a cylindrical shape in which a pair of edges of one base fabric is joined, and a cylindrical first base fabric that protrudes from a vehicle member toward an occupant when the airbag is inflated, and a first base A second base fabric joined to one end of the fabric on the vehicle member side to close the opening at one end, and a third base fabric joined to the other end on the passenger side of the first base fabric to close the opening at the other end And an air bag device. In the airbag apparatus described in Claim 1,
The airbag apparatus arrange | positioned in the position where the joint part of a pair of edge part formed in the 1st base fabric does not directly hit the gas supplied from an inflator in the folded airbag before expansion | swelling .

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