JP6192009B2 - Side airbag device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a side airbag device that is inflated and deployed between a vehicle occupant and a side door.

  Conventionally, a side airbag device for the purpose of ensuring the safety of an occupant during a side collision of a vehicle has been proposed. This type of side airbag device inflates and deploys the airbag between the occupant and the side door instantly at the time of a side collision of the vehicle. In recent years, the reason for improving the design of the vehicle interior Therefore, in normal driving, the side airbag device is often housed inside the vehicle seat. In such a case, the airbag before being inflated / deployed is folded and stored inside the vehicle seat, and is inflated / deployed by breaking the weak portion of the vehicle seat at the time of a side collision of the vehicle.

  In order to protect the occupant with the side airbag device, it is necessary to complete the inflation / deployment of the airbag before the occupant collides with the side door at the time of a side collision of the vehicle. The problem is how to inflate and deploy the bag at an early stage. For example, in the side airbag device described in Patent Document 1, the airbag is folded in the vehicle front-rear direction and the vertical direction and housed inside the vehicle seat. After folding, the vehicle is folded up and down. When the airbag is folded in this way, the airbag in the front-rear direction is deployed after the airbag in the vertical direction that is difficult to inflate and deploy is deployed first. Can be expanded and deployed.

Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2008-201172 (see paragraphs 0034, 0035, FIG. 8, etc.)

  As described above, the side airbag device described in Patent Document 1 improves the inflation / deployment performance of the airbag as compared with the conventional one, but in order to ensure the safety of the passenger, Further improvement in deployment performance is required.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide a side airbag device capable of improving the inflation / deployment performance of an airbag.

In order to achieve the above object, the side airbag device of the present invention is folded in the vehicle longitudinal direction, and then the airbag folded in the vehicle vertical direction is filled with gas output from the inflator at the time of vehicle collision. In the side airbag device that expands from the cover weak portion of the vehicle seat by being expanded and is deployed between the side door and the occupant, the airbag is a portion that is folded upward in the vehicle with the intermediate portion interposed therebetween and the larger portion sac Chi surface product to be folded in a vehicle downward direction is, is characterized in that the folded superimposed portions to smaller areas in a folded state in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle (claim 1).

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the airbag of the side airbag device is folded in the vehicle front-rear direction, and then folded in the vehicle vertical direction and housed in the vehicle seat. Since the airbag is folded in this way, the airbag is deployed in the front-rear direction after being first deployed in the vertical direction, which is difficult to deploy, at the time of a side collision of the vehicle. The air bag stored in the bag can be easily inflated / deployed, whereby the air bag can be inflated / deployed at an early stage.

By the way, the length of the vehicle in the vertical direction when the airbag is inflated / deployed is determined after setting an occupant protection area such as a range from the side of the occupant to the waist. Therefore, when the airbag is folded and stored, the folding area of the portion of the airbag that is folded in the vehicle upward direction and the vehicle in relation to the mounting position of the airbag device inside the vehicle seat (storage position of the airbag) The folding area of the part folded down may be different. In such a case, in the present invention, the larger the folding area is folded superimposed part to the smaller.

  By folding the airbag in this way, the airbag inflated and deployed at the time of a side collision of the vehicle, the part that is folded upward and the part that is folded downward in the vertical direction of the airbag that is deployed first. Of these, the one with the larger folding area is deployed first. In this way, when the portion with the large folding area is deployed first, the inflation force at the initial deployment of the airbag can be transmitted over a wide range to the cover fragile portion of the vehicle seat. And the airbag can be deployed. Therefore, the airbag can be easily and quickly inflated and deployed, and the inflation and deployment performance of the side airbag device is improved.

It is a side view of the side airbag device concerning one embodiment of the present invention. It is sectional drawing of the arrangement | positioning periphery part of the side airbag apparatus of FIG. It is a figure for demonstrating the folding method of an airbag.

  The side airbag apparatus 1 concerning one Embodiment of this invention is demonstrated with reference to FIGS. 1-3. 1 is a side view of the side airbag device 1, FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the peripheral portion of the side airbag device 1 of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining a method of folding the airbag 2. is there.

  A side airbag device 1 according to this embodiment is a gas generator that is disposed inside a vehicle seat and that is normally folded and generates an inflation gas that is output to the airbag 2. A certain inflator 3 is provided. And the airbag 2 folded normally is filled with the gas output from the inflator 3 at the time of a side collision of the vehicle and inflated, so that the vulnerable portion P of the seat cover of the vehicle seat 5 (the present invention) It corresponds to a “cover weak part”) and is deployed between the side door of the vehicle and the occupant M. In addition, this weak part P is a stitching | suture part extended in the vehicle up-down direction which couple | bonds the front surface (surface which contacts a passenger | crew) part and side part of a seat cover.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the airbag 2 is inflated and deployed from the side of the occupant M to the waist while the occupant M is sitting on the vehicle seat 5, and is applied to the occupant M that is added at the time of a side collision of the vehicle. To absorb the shock of.

  The inflator 3 is composed of an ignition device, a transfer agent, a gas generating agent, and the like, and the gas generating agent becomes a nitrogen gas generation source for inflating and deploying the airbag 2 at the time of a side collision of the vehicle. ing. The inflator 3 is fixed inside the vehicle seat 5, and in this embodiment, a gas outlet 3a is disposed at the upper end, and a lower end located at the counter electrode of the gas outlet 3a. The harness 3b is disposed on the side.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the vehicle seat 5 includes a seat frame 5a, an elastic member 5b formed of urethane or the like covering the periphery of the frame 5a, and a seat cover (not shown) covering the periphery of the elastic member 5b. Z)). At this time, the elastic member 5b has a front block 5b1 disposed in front of the seat frame 5a, and first and second rear blocks 5b2 and 5b3 respectively disposed behind the seat frame 5a. The side airbag device 1 is accommodated in the enclosed space formed by the blocks 5b1 to 5b3.

  As described above, the side airbag device 1 is fixed by screws to a support body (not shown) assembled to a seat frame 5a extending in the vehicle vertical direction, so that each of the blocks 5b1 to 5b1 of the elastic member 5b. It is stored in the Go space by 5b3.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 2, when the airbag 2 is inflated and deployed, the side airbag device 1 quickly transmits the inflating force to the cover fragile portion P of the vehicle seat, as shown in FIG. Therefore, it is covered with a webbing 4 made of a material that has a small elongation with respect to the expansion force. The webbing 4 includes an inner webbing 4a located inside the elastic member 5b and an outer webbing 4b located outside, and both the webbings 4a and 4b serve as a side airbag device 1. It arrange | positions so that it may pinch | interpose. And the airbag apparatus 1 is covered by the power cloth 4 because the front end parts and the rear end parts of both the power cloths 4a and 4b are joined.

  Specifically, the front end portion of the inner force cloth 4a is pulled out through the gap between the front block 5b1 of the elastic member 5b and the side airbag device 1 to the position of the fragile portion P of the seat cover, and the fragile At the position P, the front end portion of the outer force cloth 4b and the front end portions of the inner force cloth 4a are stitched together. The stitched portion is formed so as to be easily broken by the inflation force when the airbag 2 is inflated / deployed, and the stitched portion becomes a fragile portion of the webbing 4. Further, the rear end portion of the inner force cloth 4b passes through the gap between the first and second rear blocks 5b2 and 5b3 of the elastic member 5b, and is pulled out to the outside (surface) of the elastic member 5b. The rear end of the outer webbing 4b is joined to the rear end of the outer webbing 4b. The coupling portion Q is set to have a higher expansion resistance than the stitching portion (the stitching portion of the webbing 4) so as not to break due to the inflation force when the airbag 2 is inflated / deployed.

  The inflating / deploying process of the side airbag device 1 configured as described above will be briefly described. The inflating / deploying of the airbag 2 of the side airbag device 1 is performed by an airbag computer (airbag ECU) having a microcomputer configuration. The air bag ECU detects whether the obstacle has collided with the side surface of the vehicle based on the vehicle deceleration information detected by the acceleration sensor provided on the vehicle, that is, the airbag 2 Determine whether to inflate or deploy. When the airbag ECU determines that the airbag 2 is inflated / deployed, energization of the ignition device of the inflator 3 is started. By this energization, the filament in the ignition device is heated, thereby igniting the igniting agent. Thereafter, the flame propagates to the fire transfer agent and the gas generating agent in a very short time, and a large amount of nitrogen gas is generated from the gas generating agent. The nitrogen gas passes through the filter, cools and removes scum, and is output into the airbag 2.

  At this time, the gas output from the inflator 3 is filled and the airbag 2 is inflated, and the inflating force at that time is a sewed part that is a fragile part of the webbing 4 and a vehicle that is substantially in the same position as the sewed part. It acts on the weakened part P of the seat cover of the seat 5 for use. Then, the webbing 4 and the seat cover are almost simultaneously broken at the position of the fragile portion P, and the airbag 2 is inflated from the fragile portion P while pushing the front block 5b1 of the elastic member 5, and the airbag 2 is a side door of the vehicle. And the occupant M. Here, since the airbag 2 is covered with the webbing 4 formed of a material having a small elongation with respect to the inflating force, the elastic member 5b of the vehicle seat 5 that absorbs the inflating force when the airbag 2 is inflated. The expansion force at the initial stage of deployment of the airbag 2 can be quickly transmitted to the fragile portion P of the seat cover without being affected.

(How to fold the airbag 2)
Next, a method for folding the airbag 2 housed in the vehicle seat 5 will be described with reference to FIG. 3A is a side view of the airbag 2 before folding, FIG. 3B is a side view of the airbag 2 folded in the vehicle front-rear direction, and FIG. 3C is a state folded down in the vehicle. (D) is a side view of the airbag 2 in a state of being folded upward in the vehicle. In FIG. 3, the harness 3b of the inflator 3 is not shown.

  In this embodiment, the airbag 2 is folded in the vehicle front-rear direction, then folded in the vertical direction, and stored in the vehicle seat 5. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 3A, the airbag 2 before being folded is formed in a flat plate shape by overlapping portions constituting the left side surface and the right side surface of the airbag 2 when deployed. The At this time, a vent hole 2a is provided at the front of each of the left and right side surfaces of the airbag 2. When the airbag 2 is inflated and deployed and comes into contact with the occupant M during a side impact of the vehicle, both vents The expansion gas in the airbag 2 is caused to flow out from the hole 2a, and the impact is absorbed more efficiently.

  Further, as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 3A, the airbag 2 in this state includes an upper portion S1 that is an area above the two-dot chain line on the upper side of the paper and a two-dot chain line on the lower side of the paper. A lower portion S3 which is a lower region and an intermediate portion S2 which is a region sandwiched between both two-dot chain lines are set, and both the two-dot chain lines are folded when the airbag 2 described later is folded in the vehicle vertical direction. Forming a line. At this time, the area (folding area) of the lower part S3 of the airbag 2 is formed larger than the area of the upper part S1.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 3B, the flat airbag 2 is first folded in a bellows shape (see the lower diagram in FIG. 3B) in the vehicle front-rear direction. Note that the folding method of the airbag 2 in the vehicle front-rear direction is not limited to the bellows shape, and can be changed as appropriate.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 3C, the upper portion S1 is folded downward in the vehicle so that the upper portion S1 of the airbag 2 is overlapped with the intermediate portion S2.

  Finally, as shown in FIG. 3 (d), the lower part S3 of the airbag 2 is folded upward so as to overlap the folded upper part S1, and in this state, the side airbag device 1 is folded into the vehicle seat 5. Store inside. The upper part S1 of the airbag 2 corresponds to the “part folded in the downward direction” in the present invention, and the lower part S3 corresponds to the “part folded in the upward direction” in the present invention.

  Therefore, according to the above-described embodiment, the airbag 2 of the side airbag device 1 is folded in the vehicle front-rear direction, and then folded in the vehicle vertical direction and stored in the vehicle seat 5. By folding the airbag 2 in this way, the airbag 2 at the time of a side collision of the vehicle is deployed in the vertical direction, which is difficult to deploy, and then deployed in the front-rear direction. The airbag 2 housed inside can be easily inflated and deployed, whereby the airbag 2 can be inflated and deployed at an early stage.

  Further, when the airbag 2 is folded in the vehicle front-rear direction and then folded in the vertical direction, of the lower portion S3 of the airbag 2 that is folded upward and the upper portion S1 that is folded downward in the vehicle, the one with the larger folding area The lower part S3 overlaps with the smaller upper part S1 and is folded later. Therefore, when the airbag 2 is inflated and deployed by the gas output from the inflator 3, the lower portion S3 of the airbag 2 having a large folding area is deployed first. In this way, the lower part S3 of the airbag 2 with the larger folding area is deployed first, so that the inflating force at the initial stage of deployment of the airbag 2 can be applied to the weak part P of the seat cover of the vehicle seat 5. The air bag 2 can be transmitted in a wide range, and the fragile portion P can be quickly broken to deploy the airbag 2.

  In the state where the airbag 2 is inflated and deployed between the side door of the vehicle and the occupant M, the lower part S3 of the airbag 2 protects the region from the abdomen of the occupant M to the waist. In this range, the armrest of the side door of the vehicle that is usually formed to protrude toward the passenger side is provided. In such a case, in this range, the distance between the side door and the occupant M is shorter than the other ranges. Therefore, it is possible to inflate and deploy the lower part S3 of the airbag 2 at an early stage in the event of a side collision of the vehicle. This leads to an improvement in the restraining performance on the occupant M by the bag 2 and an improvement in the safety of the occupant M. Therefore, as in this embodiment, by using a folding method in which the lower portion S3 of the airbag 2 is inflated and deployed at an early stage, the restraining performance and safety of the side airbag device 1 on the occupant M can be improved. it can.

  Further, as another method for inflating and deploying the lower part S3 of the airbag 2 at an early stage, the gas output direction by the inflator 3 can be considered to be the vehicle downward direction. In this case, the inflator 3 shown in FIG. The vertical positional relationship between the gas outlet 3a and the harness 3b is reversed. That is, the gas outlet 3a of the inflator 3 is disposed at the lower end portion of the inflator 3, and the harness 3b is disposed at the upper end portion. Then, since the harness 3b is formed in a hook-like shape with a protrusion on the upper side in the connection portion between the main body of the inflator 3 and the harness 3b in a state where the side airbag device 1 is disposed inside the vehicle seat 5, There is a possibility that stress due to the weight of the harness 3b or the like concentrates on the connection portion, and the harness 3b is broken. However, according to the method of folding the airbag 2 of the present embodiment, the lower portion S3 of the airbag 2 that is desired to be inflated and deployed early is deployed first with the gas outlet 3a of the inflator 3 facing the vehicle upper side. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the harness 3b from being broken while improving the expansion / deployment performance of the side airbag device 1.

  Further, in order to store the side airbag device 1 inside the vehicle seat 5 in a state where the airbag 2 is folded and reduced in the vehicle longitudinal direction and the vertical direction, the side airbag device 1 is placed inside the vehicle seat 5. The storage has little influence on the shape of the vehicle seat 5, and the design of the vehicle seat 5 is improved.

  Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications other than those described above can be made without departing from the spirit thereof. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the air Although the case where the folding area of the lower part S3 of the bag 2 is formed larger than the upper part S1 has been described, the relationship between the folding areas of the upper part S1 and the lower part S3 of the airbag 2 may be reversed. In this case, when the airbag 2 is folded in the vehicle vertical direction, the lower part S3 may be folded first, and the upper part S1 may be overlaid on the lower part S3 and folded later. Even in this case, the expansion force at the initial stage of deployment of the airbag 2 can be widened with respect to the weak portion P of the seat cover of the vehicle seat 5, and the weak portion P of the seat cover can be quickly broken to quickly Can be deployed early.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Side airbag apparatus 2 ... Air bag 3 ... Inflator 5 ... Vehicle seat S1 ... Upper part (part folded by vehicle downward direction)
S3 ... Lower part (the part that can be folded upward)

Claims (1)

After the vehicle is folded in the vehicle longitudinal direction, the airbag folded in the vehicle vertical direction is inflated from the cover weak part of the vehicle seat by being inflated with the gas output from the inflator when the vehicle collides, and the side In the side airbag device deployed between the door and the occupant,
The airbag towards the partial sac Chi surface product to be folded portion and the vehicle downward direction are folded in the vehicle upward direction sandwiching the intermediate portion larger, partly overlapping the smaller area in a folded state in a longitudinal direction of the vehicle It is in side air bag device characterized by folded.

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