JP6202380B2 - Side airbag device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a side airbag device that protects an occupant by inflating an airbag during a side collision of a vehicle.

  2. Description of the Related Art A vehicle has an airbag device as one of safety devices for protecting an occupant when an impact is applied to the vehicle body. In the airbag device, when an impact is applied to the vehicle body to inflate and deploy the airbag, the inflator is activated to supply inflation gas to the airbag, and the airbag instantly inflates and deploys to protect the occupant To do. Among the airbag devices, there is a side airbag device accommodated in the side portion of the seat bag on the door side as a response to a side collision of the vehicle. The side airbag device inflates and deploys an airbag between a door and an occupant at the time of a side collision to soften an impact on the shoulder, chest, and abdomen of the occupant and protect the occupant.

Patent Literature 1 discloses a side airbag device having a side airbag having a V-shape in a plan view that can be pressed against an occupant from an oblique direction toward an occupant's chest corresponding position when inflated and deployed. According to this side airbag device, the ascending curve of the chest displacement is set to a gentle slope, the required time to reach the maximum point can be increased, and the amount of displacement of the chest can be reduced.
Patent Document 2 discloses a side airbag device that divides an airbag into a plurality of regions and includes a pressure regulating valve that controls the flow of an inflation gas flowing between these regions. In this device, the pressure regulating valve is closed at the initial stage of the supply period of the inflation gas, and is opened from the middle of the supply period, so that the load characteristics received by the occupant via the side airbag are suitable for protecting the occupant. It is characteristic.

JP 2011-240807 A JP 2012-046167 A

  FIG. 6 shows an occupant M sitting in a seat adjacent to the door 100. The door 100 includes a door outer panel 100a, a door inner panel 100b, and a door trim 100c from the outside toward the inside. Usually, the human body has a wider shoulder portion s than a chest portion b, an abdominal portion c, a waist portion w, and an arm portion a. Therefore, when the occupant sits on the seat, the shoulder s is the narrowest in the gap with the door 100.

  Therefore, as shown in FIG. 7, when the vehicle V collides with the pole-shaped structure 102 such as a utility pole on the side, the impact load due to the side collision acts on the shoulder s most. Therefore, in order to appropriately protect the shoulder portion s, it is necessary to inflate and deploy the side airbag at an early stage between the door 100 and the shoulder portion s.

  FIG. 8 shows the behavior of the occupant sitting on the seat when the vehicle collides with the pole-shaped structure 102, (A) shows before the collision, and (B) shows after the collision. The side airbag 106 of the side airbag device is housed in a side portion of the seat bag 104 on the door side. When the vehicle travels diagonally forward due to slip or the like and collides with the pole-shaped structure 102, the occupant M moves forward in the traveling direction. That is, the vehicle body decelerates by colliding with the pole-shaped structure 102, and the seat bag 104 fixed to the vehicle body and the side airbag 106 accommodated in the seat bag 104 also decelerates.

  The occupant M is decelerated by the side airbag 106 inflated and deployed due to the impact. However, even when the seat belt is used, when the reaction force of the side airbag 106 is not sufficient, the side airbag is directed toward the structure obliquely forward. It moves so that it may escape from 106. Therefore, when the side airbag 106 is designed assuming a side collision from the side, there is a possibility that the shoulder portion s may move forward from the protection range of the side airbag 106.

One possible countermeasure is to increase the distance between the shoulder s of the occupant M and the door 100. In this case, however, there is a problem that the vehicle size increases and the weight and cost of the vehicle increase.
As another countermeasure, it is conceivable to increase the reaction force of the side airbag 106. In this case, the aggression against the human body is increased at the time of inflating and deploying, and the human body may be adversely affected in other impact forms. .
Furthermore, as another countermeasure, it is conceivable to enlarge the side airbag 106 and extend it to the front in the vehicle traveling direction. In this case, however, the cost is increased and the shape control after inflating and deployment is difficult. There are concerns about adverse effects on the human body when in the form of impact.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and a side airbag that can appropriately protect a passenger by suppressing an impact load applied to the passenger against a side collision including a side collision from an obliquely forward direction. The object is to realize the device.

  In order to achieve the above object, a side airbag device of the present invention is housed in a side portion close to a door side of a seat bag and is inflated and deployed between an occupant seated on a seat and a door at the time of a vehicle collision. A side airbag device comprising an airbag and an inflator that supplies inflation gas into the side airbag, wherein the side airbag is supplied with inflation gas directly from the inflator, and at least a shoulder portion of an occupant A first chamber that is inflated and deployed between the side of the chest and abdomen and the door, and a height corresponding to the shoulder of the occupant, and provided in front of the first chamber in the vehicle running direction. , And a first chamber and an additional chamber communicated with each other through the first vent hole.

According to the present invention, with respect to a side collision from the side, the first chamber is inflated and deployed at an early stage, so that the shock absorbing performance can be ensured.
For a side collision from a diagonally forward direction, expansion gas flows into the additional chamber from the first chamber through the first vent hole while securing the shock absorption from the side by the first chamber. The additional chamber is inflated, so that even if the occupant sitting on the seat moves diagonally forward, the additional chamber is interposed between the door and the shoulder of the occupant, so that the occupant can be protected from impact. .

  As one embodiment of the present invention, the first vent hole is provided on the surface of the first chamber closer to the door side than the passenger side, and the additional chamber is a part of the outer surface of the first chamber including the first vent hole. The edge of the additional chamber is joined to the outer surface of the first chamber in a state of covering the outer surface of the first chamber and the additional chamber. It can be located ahead of the vehicle running direction.

With this configuration, the expansion gas that has flowed into the additional chamber from the first vent hole first flows into the space in the additional chamber near the door side, and the additional chamber expands first in the region near the door side. . After that, since the inflating gas flows into a space near the occupant side, the shape of the additional chamber after inflating and expanding surrounds the occupant's shoulder and becomes a shape suitable for protecting the shoulder. Further, by providing the second vent hole in the region of the additional chamber closer to the door side than the occupant side, it is possible to prevent the hot inflation gas from blowing out to the occupant side.
Furthermore, by providing a seam (seam) or a tether (partition wall member) at an appropriate position in the additional chamber, the shape of the additional chamber can be optimally formed to protect the shoulder.

Moreover, as an aspect of the present invention, the additional chamber has a second ventilation hole that opens to the outside, and the second ventilation hole can be provided in a region closer to the door side than the passenger side.
Thus, by providing the second vent hole and adjusting the vent amount of the first vent hole and the second vent hole, the amount of expansion gas in the first chamber and the additional chamber can be adjusted. The shock absorption characteristics of the chamber and the additional chamber can be adjusted to the optimum ones. Furthermore, by providing the second ventilation hole in the region of the additional chamber closer to the door side than the occupant side, it is possible to prevent the hot inflation gas from blowing out to the occupant side.

  Further, in addition to the above configuration, if the opening area of the second ventilation hole is made smaller than the opening area of the first ventilation hole, the reaction force of the first chamber and the additional chamber can be kept high, and the impact applied to the occupant is reduced. Can be relaxed.

As one aspect of the present invention, the apparatus may further include a second chamber that is supplied with the inflation gas directly from the inflator and inflates and expands in a space between the occupant's waist and the door.
As a result, the first chamber and the second chamber can be expanded and deployed at an early stage after the occurrence of the impact, so that in the case of a side collision from the side, the impact absorption performance can be secured in the first chamber and the second chamber. The human chest is less susceptible to shock than the waist. In this aspect, since the second chamber is provided separately from the first chamber, a reaction force suitable for a portion protected by each chamber can be exhibited. Therefore, it is possible to appropriately protect the occupant's shoulder, chest, abdomen and waist.

Further, in addition to the above configuration, the second chamber may be provided with a third vent hole that opens to the outside, and the third vent hole may be provided in a region closer to the door side than the passenger side.
As a result, the inflation gas that has flowed into the second chamber flows out of the third vent hole, so that the reaction force of the first chamber and the second chamber is optimal for absorbing the impact on the occupant. It can be adjusted to the reaction force.
Further, since the third ventilation hole is provided in the region closer to the door side than the occupant side, it is possible to prevent the hot inflation gas from blowing out to the occupant side.

  According to the present invention, the additional chamber is disposed at a height corresponding to the shoulder portion of the occupant and communicates with the first chamber in front of the vehicle traveling direction via the first vent through the first vent hole. Therefore, in the case of a side collision from the diagonally forward direction, even if the occupant sitting on the seat moves in the diagonally forward direction, the occupant can be effectively protected from the impact load.

It is a side view schematic diagram of the side airbag device after inflating and deploying according to the first embodiment of the present invention. It is a schematic plan view of the side airbag device before inflating and deploying. It is a schematic diagram which shows the side airbag inflated and deployed with the said side airbag apparatus. (A)-(D) are explanatory drawings which show the expansion process of the airbag of the said deboning apparatus in order. It is a side view schematic diagram of the side airbag device after inflating and deploying according to the second embodiment of the present invention. It is a front view schematic diagram which shows the positional relationship of a passenger | crew and a door. (A) And (B) is planar view explanatory drawing which shows before and after the side collision of a vehicle. (A) And (B) is planar view explanatory drawing which shows the passenger | crew's behavior before and after a side collision.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to embodiments shown in the drawings. However, the dimensions, materials, shapes, relative arrangements, and the like of the component parts described in this embodiment are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention to that unless otherwise specified.

(Embodiment 1)
Next, a side airbag device according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 shows a state after the side airbag 22 is inflated and deployed, and FIG. 2 shows a state before the side airbag 22 is inflated and deployed. 1 and 2, a seat 10 is, for example, a passenger seat provided next to a driver's seat in a vehicle, and includes a seat 10a and a seat bag 10b. A door 12 exists on the left side of the seat 10 in the front direction of the vehicle body. The door 12 includes a door outer panel 14, a door inner panel 16, and a door trim 18 from the outside to the inside.

  The side airbag 22 constituting the side airbag device 20 includes a first chamber 24 and an additional chamber 26. The side airbag 22 is housed on the side of the seat bag 12b on the door 14 side before inflating and deploying. An inflator 28 that is activated when the vehicle predicts or detects a side collision and supplies the inflation gas to the first chamber 24 is housed inside the seat bag 12b.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the first chamber 24 is inflated and deployed between these portions and the door 12 corresponding to the shoulder portion s, chest portion b, and abdominal portion c of the occupant M. The additional chamber 24 is inflated and deployed at a height corresponding to the shoulder s of the occupant M and at a position in front of the vehicle body of the first chamber 22. Connected to the first chamber 24 is a flow passage 30 through which inflation gas flows from the inflator 28.

FIG. 3 shows a state where the first chamber 24 and the additional chamber 26 are expanded and deployed. In the figure, x indicates a region on the side where the occupant M sits, and y indicates a region on the door side.
As shown in FIG. 3, an opening is formed in the additional chamber 26, and a portion of the first chamber 24 in the vehicle body front direction (arrow d direction) is inserted into the additional chamber 26 from the opening. The additional chamber 26 covers a region in the vehicle body front direction (arrow d direction) of the outer surface of the first chamber 24, and an opening edge of the additional chamber 26 is joined to the outer surface of the first chamber 24. Yes. A vent hole 32 is formed on the outer surface of the first chamber 24 in the region covered with the additional chamber 24. The vent hole 32 is disposed in a region close to the door 14 side.

The joint portion of the opening edge of the additional chamber 26 joined to the outer surface of the first chamber 24 is the opening edge of the region near the door 12 where the opening edge 26a in the region near the seat 10 is close to the door 12. It is in a position in the vehicle body front direction from 26b.
A vent hole 34 is formed in the partition wall of the additional chamber 24, and the inside of the additional chamber 24 communicates with the outside via the vent hole 34. The vent hole 34 is disposed in a region close to the door 14 side. The ventilation hole 32 has an opening area larger than the opening area of the ventilation hole 34.

  In such a configuration, when the vehicle collides with the pole-shaped structure 102 in the diagonally forward direction, as shown in FIG. 4A, the inflation gas is supplied from the inflator 28 to the first chamber 24. The first chamber 24 is expanded and deployed. The inflated and deployed first chamber 24 comes into contact with the shoulder s of the occupant M at the position closest to the door 12 and ensures shock absorption performance against an impact from the side.

Next, as shown in FIG. 4B, when the shoulder s hits the first chamber 22 and the first chamber 24 is crushed to some extent, the expansion gas g flows into the additional chamber 24 from the vent hole 32. (See FIG. 3), the additional chamber 26 expands and expands.
When the additional chamber 26 is expanded and deployed, even if the occupant M sitting on the seat 10a moves obliquely forward, the additional chamber 24 is interposed between the door and the occupant M. The applied impact load can be relaxed and the shoulder s can be protected from the impact.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the air holes 32 and 34 are disposed in a region far from the seat 10 and close to the door 12, and are directed toward the door 12. In addition, the joint of the opening edge of the additional chamber 26 to the outer surface of the first chamber 24 is positioned in the front direction of the vehicle body, with the opening edge 26a in the area close to the seat 10 being in the vehicle front direction from the opening edge 26b in the area close to the door 12. doing. Therefore, the expansion gas g that has flowed into the additional chamber 26 from the vent hole 32 first flows into the door-side region and first expands and deploys the door-side region. Then, it goes around to the area on the occupant M side. Therefore, the additional chamber 26 bends in the direction of arrow e toward the passenger as it expands and deploys.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4C, when the additional chamber 26 expands and expands, the first chamber 24 is bent toward the occupant side in the direction of arrow a. And it becomes the shape which covers the passenger | crew's M shoulder part s with the 1st chamber 24 and the additional chamber 26. FIG. Accordingly, the shoulder portion s of the occupant M can be effectively protected against the pole-shaped structure 102.
Further, as shown in FIG. 4D, even if the shoulder s is displaced forward with respect to the first chamber 24, the additional chamber 26 is bent in the direction of the arrow e so as to cover the shoulder s. Since the shape is optimal for protecting s, the shoulder s can be effectively protected.

  Further, by providing a seam (seam) or a tether (partition wall member) at an appropriate position in the additional chamber 26, the shape of the additional chamber can be formed as desired. As a result, the shock absorption characteristics for the shoulder s can be optimized.

Further, since the vent holes 32 and 34 are disposed in a region closer to the door 12 side than the seat 10 side, there is no possibility that the high-temperature inflation gas g is blown out to the occupant M side.
Further, by providing the vent holes 32 and 34, the amount of expansion gas in the first chamber 24 and the additional chamber 26 can be adjusted, and the shock absorption characteristics of the first chamber 24 and the additional chamber 26 are adjusted to the optimum ones. it can.
Further, since the opening area of the vent hole 34 is smaller than the opening area of the vent hole 32, the reaction force of the first chamber 24 and the additional chamber 26 can be adjusted, and the impact applied to the occupant M can be adjusted by adjusting these reaction forces. Can be relaxed.

(Embodiment 2)
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In the present embodiment, in addition to the first chamber 24 and the additional chamber 26, a second chamber 40 that is inflated and deployed at a position corresponding to the waist of the occupant M is provided. FIG. 5 shows a state after these three chambers are expanded and deployed. The second chamber 40 is connected to a flow passage 42 through which the inflation gas directly flows from the inflator 28.

A vent hole 44 is formed in the partition wall of the second chamber 40, and the inside of the second chamber 40 communicates with the outside through the vent hole 44. The vent hole 44 is disposed in a region far from the occupant M and close to the door 12, and the vent hole 44 is directed to the door 12 side. Further, a vent hole 46 is formed in the partition wall where the first chamber 24 and the second chamber 40 are in contact with each other, and the first chamber 24 and the second chamber 40 communicate with each other via the vent hole 46. ing. Other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment.

  In the present embodiment, at the time of a side collision, the first chamber 24 can protect the shoulder s, the chest b, and the abdomen c of the occupant M, and the second chamber 40 can protect the waist w of the occupant M. The chest b is less susceptible to impact than the waist w. In the present embodiment, since the second chamber 40 is provided separately from the first chamber 24, a reaction force suitable for a portion to be protected by each chamber can be exhibited. Therefore, it is possible to appropriately protect the occupant's shoulder, chest, abdomen and waist.

Further, the expansion gas that has flowed into the second chamber 40 at the time of a side collision flows out from the vent hole 44, so that the impact absorption characteristics for the occupant M can be improved. Further, since the vent hole 44 is disposed close to the door 12 side and opens toward the door 12 side, there is no possibility that the high-temperature inflation gas g is blown out to the occupant M side.
Furthermore, by providing the vent hole 46, the amount of expansion gas in the first chamber 24 and the first chamber 40 can be adjusted, and the shock absorption characteristics of the first chamber 24 and the second chamber 40 are minimized. Can be adjusted.

  In the second embodiment, the first chamber 24 can be divided into three chambers that expand and deploy at positions corresponding to the shoulder s, chest b, and abdomen c of the occupant M, respectively.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the side airbag apparatus which can suppress the impact load added to a passenger | crew with respect to the side collision including the collision from diagonally forward direction, and can protect a passenger | crew appropriately can be implement | achieved.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Seat 10a Seat 10b, 104 Seat bag 12, 100 Door 14, 100a Door outer panel 16, 100b Door inner panel 18, 100c Door trim 20 Side airbag device 22, 106 Side airbag 24 First chamber 26 Additional chamber 26a, 26b Opening edge 28 Inflator 30, 42 Flow path 32 Ventilation hole (first ventilation hole)
34 Vent (second vent)
40 Second chamber 44 Vent (third vent)
46 Ventilation hole 102 Pole-shaped structure M Crew member a Arm part b Chest part c Abdomen s Shoulder part w Waist part g Inflation gas

Claims (5)

A side airbag that is housed in a side part near the door side of the seat bag and that is inflated and deployed between the passenger seated on the seat and the door in the event of a vehicle collision, and supply of inflation gas to the inside of the side airbag A side airbag device provided with an inflator
The side airbag is
A first chamber which is supplied with inflation gas directly from the inflator and which is inflated and deployed at least between the side of the shoulder, chest and abdomen of the occupant and the door;
An additional chamber disposed at a height corresponding to the shoulder portion of the occupant, provided in front of the first chamber in a vehicle traveling direction, and communicated with the first chamber via a first vent hole; equipped with a,
The first ventilation hole is provided on the surface of the first chamber closer to the door side than the passenger side,
An edge of the additional chamber is bonded to the outer surface of the first chamber in a state where the additional chamber covers a part of the outer surface of the first chamber including the first vent hole,
Of the joint portions between the first chamber and the additional chamber, the joint portion close to the passenger side is located in front of the joint portion close to the door side in the vehicle traveling direction. . The additional chamber has a second ventilation hole opened to the outside,
The side airbag device according to claim 1, wherein the second vent hole is provided in a region closer to the door side than the occupant side. The side airbag device according to claim 2 , wherein an opening area of the second ventilation hole is smaller than an opening area of the first ventilation hole.   The side airbag according to claim 1, further comprising a second chamber that is supplied with inflation gas directly from the inflator and inflates and deploys in a space between the waist of the occupant and the door. apparatus. 5. The side according to claim 4 , wherein the second chamber has a third ventilation hole that opens to the outside, and the third ventilation hole is provided in a region closer to the door side than the passenger side. Airbag device.

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