JP6287818B2 - Side airbag device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a side for protecting an occupant from an impact by deploying and inflating an air bag body on the side of an occupant seated on the vehicle seat when an impact is applied to the vehicle from the side of the vehicle seat. The present invention relates to an airbag device.

  A side airbag device including an airbag and an inflator is effective as a device for protecting an occupant seated on a vehicle seat when an impact is applied to the vehicle from the side due to a side collision or the like. As one form of this side airbag device, an airbag is known that includes an airbag body that constitutes an outer shell portion thereof, and a partition portion having a gas flow regulating portion such as a pressure regulating valve (for example, , See Patent Document 1). The partition part is located in the airbag body at the rear side of the partition part, and is located upstream of the partition part and upstream of the inflator to which the inflation gas is supplied. And a downstream side expansion portion to which expansion gas is supplied via the gas flow restriction portion.

  According to the side airbag device, when an impact is applied from the side to a vehicle body side portion, for example, a side door, the inflation gas is supplied from the inflator to the upstream inflation portion, and the upstream inflation portion is Then, it expands and expands between the upper body of the occupant and the body side part that enters the inside of the vehicle. The expansion gas in the upstream expansion section flows into the downstream expansion section through the gas flow regulating section, and expands and expands the downstream expansion section after the upstream expansion section. A load is applied to the upper body of the occupant through the upstream inflating portion and the downstream inflating portion, the upper body is restrained, and the impact from the side transmitted to the occupant upper body through the body side portion is reduced.

JP 2012-30614 A

  By the way, in the upper body of the occupant, the shoulder protrudes more toward the body side than the other part, for example, the chest. Accordingly, the distance between the shoulder and the body side is narrower than the distance between the chest and the body side.

  However, in the conventional side airbag device including Patent Document 1, the upstream inflatable portion is expanded and inflated without sufficiently considering the difference in the distance between the upper body part and the body side portion as described above. ing. For this reason, the load acting from the upstream inflating portion is too small or too large depending on the upper body part.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a situation, and the purpose thereof is a side air that can restrain each part of the upper body of an occupant with an appropriate load when the upstream inflating part is deployed and inflated. The object is to provide a bag device.

A side airbag device that solves the above problem is an air that expands and expands on the side of the upper body of an occupant seated on the vehicle seat by an inflation gas supplied in response to an impact applied from the side of the vehicle seat. A bag main body, the airbag main body including a pair of main body cloth portions coupled to each other by a peripheral edge coupling portion provided along a peripheral edge portion; and the airbag main body includes a gas flow regulating portion. Each of which is a part of itself, and is located on the rear side of the common wall portion and is supplied with an inflation gas, and is located on the front side of the common wall portion and the upstream side. In a state where the airbag main body is partitioned into a side inflation portion and a downstream inflation portion to which inflation gas is supplied via the gas flow regulating portion, and the airbag body is deployed in a planar shape without being filled with inflation gas, Common wall A folded state along a fold line extending linearly along the vertical direction, and the upper end portion and the lower end portion thereof are coupled to both body cloth portions by the peripheral edge coupling portion, and are folded. At least one of the upper part and the lower part of the common wall part is coupled by the peripheral joint part at a position deviated in the front-rear direction from the fold line, and the developed upper part of the common wall part and At least one of the lower portions is provided with a pair of folding lines that are inclined with respect to the folding line so as to have a line-symmetric relationship with respect to the folding line as an axis of symmetry. And at least one of the lower part is folded along both folding lines, and the folded part is joined to the two main body cloth parts by the peripheral joint part together with the unfolded part. There.
A side airbag device that solves the above problem is an air that expands and expands on the side of the upper body of an occupant seated on the vehicle seat by an inflation gas supplied in response to an impact applied from the side of the vehicle seat. A bag main body, the airbag main body including a pair of main body cloth portions coupled to each other by a peripheral edge coupling portion provided along a peripheral edge portion; and the airbag main body includes a gas flow regulating portion. Each of which is a part of itself, and is located on the rear side of the common wall portion and is supplied with an inflation gas, and is located on the front side of the common wall portion and the upstream side. In a state where the airbag main body is partitioned into a side inflation portion and a downstream inflation portion to which inflation gas is supplied via the gas flow regulating portion, and the airbag body is deployed in a planar shape without being filled with inflation gas, Common wall A folded state along a fold line extending linearly along the vertical direction, and the upper end portion and the lower end portion thereof are coupled to both body cloth portions by the peripheral edge coupling portion, and are folded. At least one of the upper part and the lower part of the common wall part is coupled by the peripheral joint part at a position deviated in the front-rear direction from the fold line, and the developed upper part of the common wall part and At least one of the lower portions is provided with a pair of resection lines that are inclined with respect to the fold line so as to have a line symmetric relationship with respect to the fold line as an axis of symmetry, and between the resection lines Is excised,
In at least one of the upper part and the lower part of the folded common wall part, the remaining part remaining after the resection is coupled by a joint part provided along both the resection lines, and both the body cloth parts by the peripheral joint part. Is bound to.

  According to the above configuration, when an impact is applied from the side of the vehicle seat, the inflation gas is supplied to the upstream inflation portion. At the side of the upper half of the occupant seated in the vehicle seat, the upstream expansion portion expands and tries to expand into a curved surface. Here, assuming that the dimension in the width direction of the vehicle seat in the expanded and inflated upstream-side inflated portion is the inflated thickness, the inflatable portion in the upstream side generates an inflated thickness in accordance with the above-described expansion and expansion.

  On the other hand, the common wall portion is pulled to both sides in the width direction of the vehicle seat when the upstream inflating portion expands and inflates. The common wall portion is in a tension state and regulates the expansion thickness of the upstream expansion portion. In the tensioned common wall portion, if the dimension in the width direction of the vehicle seat is the common wall length, the degree of regulation increases as the common wall length decreases, and the expansion thickness of the upstream expansion portion decreases. .

  In the upper part and the lower part of the common wall part where the two body cloth parts are joined by the peripheral joint part, the common wall part length is affected by the peripheral joint part. As the length of the peripheral joint portion in the common wall portion becomes shorter, the common wall portion length becomes shorter.

  The length of the peripheral joint portion in the common wall portion is the maximum value of the range that can be taken when the joint by the peripheral joint portion is also performed on the folding line. The length of the peripheral joint portion becomes shorter as the connection by the peripheral joint portion moves forward or backward from the folding line.

  In this regard, in the above configuration, at least one of the upper part and the lower part of the common wall part is joined by the peripheral joint part at a position deviated in the front-rear direction from the folding line, and the length of the peripheral joint part is maximum. Shorter than the value. Accordingly, the common wall length is shortened. The degree to which the common wall portion regulates the expansion thickness increases, and the expansion thickness decreases. And the difference between the expansion thickness at the portion where the expansion thickness is reduced as described above between the upper and lower portions of the upstream expansion portion and the expansion thickness at the intermediate portion in the vertical direction of the upstream expansion portion is Expanding.

  Therefore, in the upper and lower parts of the upstream side inflating part, the part with the small expansion thickness is inflated at the narrow part between the body side part of the vehicle and the upper body of the occupant, and the part with the large expansion thickness is the part with the wide same distance. By inflating, each part of the upper body of the occupant is restrained by a load corresponding to the distance from the body side part.

  The expansion gas supplied to the upstream expansion part flows into the downstream expansion part through the gas flow restriction part. When the expansion gas passes through the gas flow restricting portion, the flow passage area is reduced, and the expansion gas is restricted from flowing into the downstream expansion portion. The expansion gas expands and expands the downstream expansion portion in addition to the upstream expansion portion. The occupant is restrained not only by the upstream inflatable portion but also by the downstream inflatable portion, and is protected from impact.

According to the configuration of the side airbag device of the first aspect, at least one of the upper part and the lower part of the folded common wall part is folded along the pair of folding lines. The folded portion is joined to the two main body cloth portions by the peripheral joint portion together with the unfolded portion, so that the joint by the peripheral joint portion is performed at a location deviated in the front-rear direction from the folding line. As a result, the length of the peripheral joint portion at the common wall portion is shorter than the maximum value.

According to the configuration of the side airbag device according to the second aspect, at least one of the upper part and the lower part of the deployed common wall part, the region sandwiched by both the resection lines is cut off. The remaining part in at least one of the upper part and the lower part of the folded common wall part is coupled by the coupling part provided along both the cut lines, and is coupled to both the body cloth parts by the peripheral coupling part, The connection by the peripheral connection part is performed at a position deviated in the front-rear direction from the folding line. As a result, the length of the peripheral joint portion at the common wall portion is shorter than the maximum value.

  According to the said side airbag apparatus, when an upstream expansion | deployment part expand | deploys and expand | swells, each part of a passenger | crew's upper body can be restrained with a suitable load.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is a figure which shows 1st Embodiment actualized in the side airbag apparatus for vehicles, and is a side view which shows the vehicle seat provided with the same apparatus with the passenger | crew. In 1st Embodiment, the plane sectional view which shows the positional relationship of a vehicle seat, an airbag, a passenger | crew, and a body side part. In 1st Embodiment, the front sectional view which shows the positional relationship of a vehicle seat, an airbag, a passenger | crew, and a body side part. In the first embodiment, a partial plan sectional view showing an internal structure of a side portion of a seat back in which an airbag module is incorporated. In 1st Embodiment, the side view which looked at the airbag module in which the airbag main body was made into the non-expanded deployment state from the vehicle outer side. The partial perspective view which shows the upper part of a common wall part in 1st Embodiment. In 1st Embodiment, the exploded perspective view shown in the state which expand | deployed each structural member of the airbag, respectively. (A) is the fragmentary sectional side view which shows the internal structure of the airbag module of FIG. 5 with a passenger | crew and a vehicle seat, (b) is a fragmentary sectional side view which expands and shows a part of Fig.8 (a). It is a figure which shows 1st Embodiment, (a) is a front view which shows the common wall part before assembling | attaching to an airbag main body, (b) is the airbag main body to which the common wall part was attached expand | deployed and expanded. The front view which takes out and shows a common wall part. The partial cross-sectional view which shows the state which the airbag main body of FIG. 4 left the part in the seat back, protruded from the vehicle seat, and was expand | deployed and expanded. The partial perspective view which shows a pressure regulation valve when a common wall part is tensioned with expansion | swelling of the upstream expansion part in 1st Embodiment, and its peripheral part. (A)-(c) is a fragmentary sectional side view which shows typically the operation | movement of the communicating part in 1st Embodiment, and a pressure regulation valve. It is a figure which shows 2nd Embodiment embodied in the side airbag apparatus for vehicles, and is a partial perspective view which shows the upper part of a common wall part corresponding to FIG. The fragmentary sectional side view which shows the internal structure of the airbag module in 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows 2nd Embodiment, (a) is a front view which shows the common wall part before assembling to an airbag main body, (b) is the airbag main body to which the common wall part was attached expand | deployed and expanded. The front view which takes out and shows a common wall part. It is a figure which shows the modification of a common wall part, (a) is a front view which shows the common wall part before assembling | attaching to an airbag main body, (b) is the airbag main body to which the common wall part was attached, and expand | deployed The front view which takes out and shows a common wall part when it expand | swells. The perspective view which shows the common wall part provided with the opening part instead of the communication part and the pressure regulation valve as a modification of a gas flow control part. It is a figure which shows the modification by which the hole and cover sheet | seat were provided as a gas flow control part in the common wall part, (a) is a perspective view of a common wall part and a cover sheet, (b) is FIG. The partial perspective view which expands and shows a part of. The partial front view which shows the modification of a common wall part upper part. FIG. 3 is a plan sectional view showing a schematic configuration of an airbag in which an airbag body is partitioned into an upstream inflating portion and a downstream inflating portion by a common wall portion having a configuration different from those of the first and second embodiments.

(First embodiment)
Hereinafter, a first embodiment embodied in a vehicle side airbag device will be described with reference to FIGS.

  In the following description, the forward direction of the vehicle will be described as the front, and the reverse direction of the vehicle will be described as the rear. Further, with the center in the vehicle width direction (vehicle width direction) as a reference, the side approaching the center is referred to as “vehicle inside”, and the side away from the center is referred to as “vehicle outside”. In addition, it is assumed that an occupant having the same physique as the collision test dummy is seated on the vehicle seat. This dummy is, for example, AM50 (a model that covers 50% of US adult males) of an international unified side collision dummy (WorldSID).

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, a vehicle seat 12 is arranged as a vehicle seat in the vicinity of the vehicle side of the body side portion 11 in the vehicle 10. Here, the body side part 11 refers to a vehicle constituent member arranged on the side part of the vehicle 10, and mainly corresponds to a door, a pillar, and the like. For example, the body side part 11 corresponding to the front seat is a front door, a center pillar (B pillar), or the like. The body side portion 11 corresponding to the rear seat is a rear portion of a side door (rear door), a C pillar, a front portion of a tire house, a rear quarter, and the like.

  The vehicle seat 12 includes a seat cushion 13 and a seat back 14 that is configured to stand up from the rear side of the seat cushion 13 and to adjust an inclination angle. The vehicle seat 12 is disposed with the seat back 14 facing forward. The width direction of the vehicle seat 12 arranged in this way matches the vehicle width direction.

Next, the internal structure of the side portion on the vehicle outer side in the seat back 14 will be described.
Inside the seat back 14, a seat frame forming the skeleton is arranged. As shown in FIG. 4, a part of the seat frame is disposed on the vehicle outer side portion in the seat back 14, and this portion (hereinafter referred to as “side frame portion 15”) is formed by bending a metal plate or the like. Is formed by. A seat pad 16 made of an elastic material such as urethane foam is disposed on the front side of the seat frame including the side frame portion 15. A hard backboard 17 made of synthetic resin or the like is disposed on the rear side of the seat frame. Although the seat pad 16 is covered with a skin, the skin is not shown in FIG. The same applies to FIG. 10 described later.

  In the seat pad 16, a storage portion 18 is provided in the vicinity of the vehicle exterior side of the side frame portion 15. The storage unit 18 incorporates an airbag module ABM that forms the main part of the side airbag device.

  A slit 19 extends from the corner of the storage portion 18 diagonally forward and toward the vehicle exterior. A portion sandwiched between the corner 16c on the front side of the seat pad 16 and the slit 19 (a portion surrounded by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 4) constitutes a planned breaking portion 21 to be broken by an airbag 30 described later. ing.

The airbag module ABM includes a gas generator 25 and an airbag 30 as main components. Next, each of these structural members will be described.
<Gas generator 25>
As shown in FIGS. 4 and 8A, the gas generator 25 includes an inflator 26 and a retainer 27 that covers the inflator 26. Here, a type called a pyrotype is adopted as the inflator 26. The inflator 26 has a substantially cylindrical shape, and a gas generating agent (not shown) that generates an expansion gas is accommodated therein. The inflator 26 has a gas ejection part (not shown) at its upper end. Further, a harness (not shown) serving as an input wiring for an operation signal to the inflator 26 is connected to the lower end portion of the inflator 26.

  As the inflator 26, instead of the pyro type using the gas generating agent, a type (hybrid type) in which a partition wall of a high pressure gas cylinder filled with a high pressure gas is broken by an explosive or the like to inject an expansion gas is used. May be.

  On the other hand, the retainer 27 is a member having a function of fastening the inflator 26 to the side frame portion 15 together with the airbag 30 while functioning as a diffuser that controls the direction in which the inflation gas is ejected. Most of the retainer 27 is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape by bending a plate material such as a metal plate.

  A plurality of bolts 28 are fixed to the retainer 27 as locking members for attaching the retainer 27 to the side frame portion 15. The gas generator 25 may be one in which an inflator 26 and a retainer 27 are integrated.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the outer shell portion of the airbag 30 is configured by an airbag body 31.
<Airbag body 31>
FIG. 5 shows the airbag module ABM in a state in which the airbag body 31 is deployed in a planar shape without being filled with the inflation gas (hereinafter referred to as “non-inflated and deployed state”). FIG. 8A shows the airbag module ABM in which the airbag main body 31 of FIG. 5 is cut at the center in the vehicle width direction so as to show the internal structure of the airbag module ABM. Together with FIG. 7 shows the components of the airbag 30 including the airbag body 31 in a deployed state.

  As shown in FIGS. 5, 7, and 8 (a), the airbag main body 31 is formed along a fold line 32 in which a single piece of cloth (also referred to as a base cloth, a panel cloth, or the like) is set at the center portion thereof. It is formed by folding forward and folding in the vehicle width direction, and joining the overlapped portions. Here, in order to distinguish the above-described two overlapped portions of the airbag main body 31, the one located on the vehicle interior side is referred to as a main body cloth portion 33, and the one located on the vehicle outer side is referred to as a main body cloth portion 34. To do.

  In the first embodiment, the cloth piece is folded in two so that the fold line 32 is located at the rear end of the airbag body 31, but the fold line 32 is at the other end, for example, the front end or the upper end. The cloth piece may be folded in two so as to be positioned at the lower end or the like. The airbag body 31 may be composed of two pieces of cloth divided along the fold line 32. Furthermore, the airbag body 31 may be composed of three or more pieces of cloth.

  In the airbag main body 31, the outer shapes of the two main body cloth portions 33 and 34 are in a line-symmetric relationship with respect to the folding line 32 as an axis of symmetry. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, each of the main body cloth portions 33, 34 is one of the upper body of the occupant P when the airbag main body 31 is deployed and inflated between the vehicle seat 12 and the body side portion 11. It is formed in a shape and size that can occupy a region corresponding to a portion (a portion from the shoulder PS to the chest PT).

  As the main body cloth portions 33 and 34, a woven fabric formed using a material having high strength and flexibility and can be easily folded, for example, polyester yarn, polyamide yarn or the like is suitable. .

  The coupling between the two main body cloth portions 33 and 34 is performed at a peripheral coupling portion 35 provided at the peripheral edge portion thereof. In the first embodiment, most of the peripheral joint portion 35 is a portion of the peripheral portions of the main body cloth portions 33 and 34 except for the rear end portion (the vicinity of the folding line 32) is sewn (sewn with a sewing thread). It is formed by doing. This also applies to the vertical coupling portion 43, the horizontal coupling portion 53, and the coupling portions 56, 74, and 78 described later.

  Regarding the above-described sewing, in FIGS. 5, 7, 8A, 9A, 9B, and 11, the sewing portion is represented by three line types. 14, 15 (a), (b) used for explaining the second embodiment, and FIGS. 16 (a), (b), 18 (a), (b) used for explaining the modification. Is the same. The first line type is a line expressed by arranging a certain length of thick lines intermittently, and this shows a state in which the sewing thread is viewed from the side (see the peripheral joint portion 35 in FIG. 5). . The second line type is a line in which fine lines of a certain length (longer than a general broken line) are intermittently arranged, which is located at the back of a piece of cloth, for example, and is directly visible. The state of the sewing thread that is not (hidden) is shown (see the lateral coupling portion 53 in FIG. 5). The third line type is a line expressing points arranged at regular intervals, which indicates a cross section of the sewing thread along a cross section passing through the sewing portion (the peripheral joint portion 35 in FIG. 8A, etc.). reference).

  In addition, the periphery coupling | bond part 35 may be formed by the means different from the sewing using the said sewing thread, for example, adhesion | attachment using an adhesive agent. This also applies to the vertical coupling portion 43, the horizontal coupling portion 53, and the coupling portions 56, 74, and 78 described later.

  As shown in FIG. 8A, the space between the main body cloth portions 33 and 34 and surrounded by the peripheral edge coupling portion 35 and the fold line 32 becomes an inflatable portion 36 that expands and inflates with the inflating gas. ing.

  A slit 37 extending in a direction perpendicular to the folding line 32 is formed at the lower rear end of the airbag body 31 folded in half (see FIG. 7). The lower portions of the body cloth portions 33 and 34 below the slit 37 are inwardly folded portions 38 which are inserted in a state of being folded inside the other portions. The lower end portion of the inner folding portion 38 is coupled to the other portions of the main body cloth portions 33 and 34 by the peripheral edge coupling portion 35 by co-sewing. In addition, the slit 37 is opened along with the formation of the inwardly-folded portion 38, and the insertion port 39 of the gas generator 25 is formed.

  As shown in FIG. 7, bolt holes 40 through which the bolts 28 of the gas generator 25 are inserted are formed at a plurality of locations (two locations) above the slit 37 in the main body cloth portion 33.

The inflating part 36 is divided into two by the common wall part 41. The common wall portion 41 has the same configuration as that generally called a tether.
<Common wall 41>
As shown in FIG. 7 and FIG. 9A, the common wall portion 41 has a vertically long shape in which the dimension in the vertical direction is longer than the dimension in the vehicle width direction in the unfolded state.

  As shown in FIGS. 5 and 8A, the common wall portion 41 extends linearly along the vertical direction at the center in the vehicle width direction when the airbag body 31 is in a non-inflated and deployed state. Folded forward along the fold line 42 and overlapped in the vehicle width direction.

  An intermediate portion 41 i in the vertical direction of the common wall portion 41 is formed in a straight line extending along the vertical direction. The upper portion 41u and the lower portion 41l of the common wall portion 41 are each formed in a curved shape that swells forward. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 9A, the width of the common wall portion 41 in the unfolded state is the maximum at the intermediate portion 41i, and the upper portion 41u and the lower portion 41l become narrower as the distance from the intermediate portion 41i increases. .

  As shown in FIGS. 5 and 8 (a), the upper end portion of the common wall portion 41 that is folded in two is overlapped with the upper end portions of the main body cloth portions 33 and 34 by the peripheral joint portion 35. They are joined together. Moreover, the lower end part of the common wall part 41 of the said state is couple | bonded by the co-sewing with the lower end part of both the main body cloth parts 33 and 34 by the periphery coupling | bond part 35. FIG.

  The common wall portion 41 is coupled to the corresponding main body cloth portions 33 and 34 by a longitudinal coupling portion 43 extending along a pair of side edge portions in the vehicle width direction. The common wall portion 41 is provided between the two main body fabric portions 33 and 34 by the above-described connection, and is provided at a substantially central portion in the front-rear direction of the expansion portion 36.

  The common wall portion 41 and the portion of the expansion portion 36 on the rear side of the common wall portion 41 constitute an upstream expansion portion 44 in the expansion portion 36 to which the expansion gas is first supplied from the gas generator 25. doing. The common wall portion 41 and the portion of the expansion portion 36 on the front side of the common wall portion 41 constitute a downstream expansion portion 45 to which an expansion gas is supplied via an upstream expansion portion 44 and a gas flow regulating portion described later. doing.

The common wall portion 41 is made of the same material as the two main body cloth portions 33 and 34, and is constituted by two cloth pieces 46 and 47 arranged in the vertical direction.
As shown in FIGS. 8A, 8 </ b> B, and 11, the lower end portion 48 of the cloth piece 46 and the upper end portion 49 of the cloth piece 47 have a chest portion of the occupant P in the vertical direction. It is overlapped at the place which becomes the side of PT.

  The cloth pieces 46 and 47 are laterally coupled along the vehicle width direction at a boundary portion between the pair of overlapping portions 51 each having a belt shape and other portions (hereinafter referred to as “non-overlapping portions 52”). The parts 53 are combined.

In addition, at least one of the cloth pieces 46 and 47 may be constituted by one divided into two along the fold line 42.
By the way, the common wall portion 41 is pulled to both sides in the vehicle width direction when the upstream side expansion portion 44 is expanded and expanded. Here, when the dimension in the vehicle width direction of the upstream-side inflating portion 44 that has been expanded and inflated is the inflating thickness T1 (see FIG. 3), the common wall portion 41 is in a tensioned state, and the inflating thickness T1 of the upstream-side inflating portion 44 Are regulated (FIGS. 9A and 9B). In the unfolded common wall portion 41, if the dimension in the vehicle width direction is the common wall portion length L1, the degree of restriction increases as the common wall portion length L1 decreases, and the expansion thickness T1 of the upstream expansion portion 44 decreases. .

  In the upper part 41u and the lower part 41l of the common wall part 41 where the main body cloth parts 33 and 34 are joined by the peripheral joint part 35, the common wall part length L1 is affected by the peripheral joint part 35. As the length of the peripheral edge coupling portion 35 in the common wall portion 41 becomes shorter, the common wall portion length L1 becomes shorter.

  The length of the peripheral joint portion 35 in the common wall portion 41 is the maximum value of the range that can be taken when the joint by the peripheral joint portion 35 is also performed on the folding line 42 (FIG. 9A). . The length of the peripheral joint portion 35 becomes shorter as the connection by the peripheral joint portion 35 moves away from the folding line 42 forward or backward.

  In this regard, in the first embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 8A, the shoulder of the occupant P when the airbag body 31 is deployed and inflated in the folded common wall portion 41. In the upper part 41u that will be located on the side of the part PS, the connection by the peripheral connection part 35 is performed at a location that is biased forward from the fold line 42. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 9 (a), the fold line 42 is placed on the upper portion 41u of the developed common wall 41 so as to be in a line symmetric relation with the fold line 42 as an axis of symmetry. On the other hand, a pair of folding lines 54 that are inclined at an acute angle are set. 6 and 8A, when the common wall portion 41 is folded along the fold line 42, the common wall portion 41 is sandwiched between both fold lines 54 in the upper portion 41u of the common wall portion 41. The bent portion 41p is folded back in two along the folding line 42 so as to enter the inside of the remaining portion 41r of the upper portion 41u. Further, the folded portion is coupled to the upper end portions of the main body cloth portions 33 and 34 together with the non-folded portion by the circumferential coupling portion 35, so that the coupling by the circumferential coupling portion 35 is the folding line. It is performed at a location that deviates forward from 42. Along with this, the length (FIG. 9B) of the peripheral joint portion 35 in the upper portion 41u is made shorter than the maximum value (FIG. 9A) that can be taken.

The common wall portion 41 is provided with a communication portion 61 and a pressure regulating valve 62 as gas flow restriction portions.
<Communication part 61 and pressure regulating valve 62>
These are on condition that an external force is applied in accordance with the occupant restraint by the upstream side inflating portion 44, and are closed or close to the condition until the condition is satisfied, and are opened when the condition is satisfied. As shown in FIG. 9B, the communication portion 61 and the pressure regulating valve 62 are provided at a substantially central portion in the vehicle width direction in the common wall portion 41 that is tensioned with the expansion of the upstream expansion portion 44. . Specifically, the lateral coupling portion 53 of the common wall portion 41 is released from coupling at a substantially central portion in the vehicle width direction. As described above, the portion released from the coupling by the lateral coupling portion 53 extends in the vehicle width direction, and constitutes a slit-like communication portion 61 that allows the upstream expansion portion 44 and the downstream expansion portion 45 to communicate with each other. .

  As shown in FIGS. 8A, 8 </ b> B, and 11, the pressure regulating valve 62 controls the flow of the expansion gas in the communication portion 61, so that the upstream side expansion portion 44 and the downstream side expansion portion 45. It is a valve that adjusts each internal pressure. The valve body 63 of the pressure regulating valve 62 is configured by the portion corresponding to the communication portion 61 in the vehicle width direction in the end portion 48 of the cloth piece 46, and the communication portion 61 in the vehicle width direction among the end portion 49 of the cloth piece 47. The valve body 64 of the pressure regulating valve 62 is configured by the locations corresponding to the above.

  The flow of the inflation gas between the valve body parts 63 and 64 is restricted by the valve body parts 63 and 64 being in contact with each other at least at a part thereof, for example, at the tip parts 63t and 64t (FIG. 12). (See (a) and (b)). The operation mode of the pressure regulating valve 62 at this time is referred to as “valve closing”. Further, the communication part 61 is opened and the valve body part 63 is substantially separated from the valve body part 64 so that the inflation gas can flow between the valve body parts 63 and 64. (See FIG. 12 (c)). The operation mode of the pressure regulating valve 62 at this time is referred to as “valve opening”.

  The two overlapping portions 51 are bent downward at the boundary with the non-overlapping portion 52 and overlapped with the lower non-overlapping portion 52. Contrary to the above, both the overlapping portions 51 may be folded upward and overlapped with the upper non-overlapping portion 52. Further, the folded belt-like two overlapping portions 51 are respectively connected to the main body cloth portions 33 and 34 and the non-overlapping portions 52 of the airbag main body 31 by the above-described vertical coupling portions 43 at both ends in the vehicle width direction. On the other hand, it is connected by co-sewing.

  Further, in the main body cloth portion 33 on the inner side of the vehicle, the expansion gas in the downstream expansion portion 45 that has been deployed and expanded is discharged to a location that is farther from the pressure regulating valve 62 in the downstream side expansion portion 45. An exhaust hole (also called a vent hole) 65 is provided.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 8A, after the gas generator 25 is in a posture extending substantially in the vertical direction, many portions except for the lower portion of the gas generator 25 are passed through the insertion port 39 from substantially below. It is inserted into the rear end portion in the upstream expansion portion 44. Further, the bolt 28 is inserted into the bolt hole 40 (see FIG. 7) of the main body cloth portion 33, so that the gas generator 25 is locked in a state of being positioned with respect to the airbag main body 31.

In addition, the whole gas generator 25 may be arrange | positioned in the rear-end part in the upstream expansion part 44, and the bolt 28 may be penetrated by the bolt hole 40 of the main body cloth part 33. FIG.
By the way, the airbag module ABM has a compact configuration (hereinafter referred to as “storage configuration”) as shown in FIG. 4 by folding the airbag body 31 (see FIG. 8A) in a non-inflated and deployed state. Has been. This is to make the airbag module ABM suitable for storage in the storage portion 18 of a limited size in the seat back 14.

  In the airbag module ABM, the bolt 28 extending from the gas generator 25 and inserted into the bolt hole 40 of the main body cloth portion 33 is inserted into the side frame portion 15, and a nut 29 is tightened to the inserted bolt 28. Yes. By this tightening, the gas generator 25 is attached to the side frame portion 15 together with the airbag main body 31.

Note that the gas generator 25 may be attached to the side frame portion 15 by a member different from the bolt 28 and the nut 29 described above.
The side airbag device includes an impact sensor 66 and a control device 67 shown in FIG. 1 in addition to the airbag module ABM described above. The impact sensor 66 is composed of an acceleration sensor or the like, and is provided on the body side portion 11 of the vehicle 10 to detect an impact applied to the body side portion 11 from the side. The control device 67 controls the operation of the inflator 26 based on the detection signal of the impact sensor 66.

  Further, the vehicle interior is equipped with a seat belt device for restraining the occupant P seated on the vehicle seat 12 to the vehicle seat 12, but this seat belt device is shown in FIGS. Is omitted.

  The side airbag device of the first embodiment is configured as described above. Next, a typical mode of operation (mode) will be described as an operation of the side airbag device.

  FIGS. 12A to 12C schematically show how the configurations of the pressure regulating valve 62 and the common wall portion 41 change with time after the supply of the expansion gas starts, and details are omitted. And has been simplified.

  In this side airbag device, when the impact sensor 66 does not detect that an impact is applied from the side to the body side portion 11, an operation signal for operating the inflator 26 is output from the control device 67. Therefore, the expansion gas is not ejected. The airbag main body 31 continues to be stored in the storage portion 18 in the storage form (see FIG. 4).

  On the other hand, when the vehicle 10 is traveling, an impact of a predetermined value or more is applied from the side to the body side portion 11 due to a side collision or the like, and when this is detected by the impact sensor 66, control is performed based on the detection signal. An operation signal for operating the inflator 26 is output from the device 67. In response to this operation signal, the expansion gas is ejected from the gas ejection portion of the inflator 26. When the inflating gas is supplied to the upstream inflating portion 44 of the airbag main body 31 in the storage form, the upstream inflating portion 44 starts to expand and inflate.

Due to the expansion gas, the internal pressure of the upstream expansion portion 44 increases. The upstream expansion portion 44 expands when supplied with the expansion gas, and expands into a curved surface, resulting in an expansion thickness T1.
On the other hand, the common wall portion 41 coupled to the airbag main body 31 (main body cloth portions 33 and 34) by the vertical coupling portion 43 is pulled to both sides in the vehicle width direction when the upstream-side inflating portion 44 is deployed and inflated. The common wall portion 41 is in a tension state and attempts to regulate the expansion thickness T1 of the upstream side expansion portion 44.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 12A, the internal pressure PI is applied to the valve body parts 63 and 64 of the pressure regulating valve 62 from the overlapping direction (thickness direction). This internal pressure PI is not as high as the internal pressure when the occupant P is restrained by the upstream inflating portion 44. Both valve body parts 63 and 64 are brought into close contact with each other over the entire surface by the internal pressure PI, and are in a self-sealing state that restricts the flow of the expansion gas between the both valve body parts 63 and 64. Further, the overlapping portion 51 which is bent and overlapped with the lower non-overlapping portion 52 is pressed against the non-overlapping portion 52 by internal pressure (see FIG. 11), and both valve body portions 63 and 64 are further closed. It becomes easy to be done.

  Here, since the common wall portion 41 is formed longer in the vertical direction than in the vehicle width direction (see FIGS. 9A and 9B), the common wall portion 41 has an upper and lower direction with respect to the vehicle width direction. It is easier to apply a stronger tension than the direction. Since the communication portion 61 extends in the vehicle width direction in which the strong tension is easily applied, the communication portion 61 is easily closed.

  Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 11, when the upstream side expansion portion 44 is expanded and expanded, not only the non-overlapping portion 52 of the common wall portion 41 but also the overlapping portion 51 has a strong tension in the vehicle width direction. It takes. This is because both ends of the overlapping portion 51 in the vehicle width direction are coupled to the main body cloth portions 33 and 34.

  When both valve body parts 63 and 64 contact each other in at least a part of them, the pressure regulating valve 62 is substantially closed. The expansion gas in the upstream expansion portion 44 is restricted from flowing out to the downstream expansion portion 45 between the valve body portions 63 and 64 and through the communication portion 61. Due to this restriction, the expansion gas is accumulated in the upstream expansion portion 44, and the internal pressure of the upstream expansion portion 44 is exclusively increased.

  Due to the increase in the internal pressure, the upstream side expansion portion 44 expands while eliminating (deploying) the folded state. The seat pad 16 of the seat back 14 is mainly pressed by the upstream expansion portion 44 and is broken at the planned breaking portion 21 (see FIG. 4). The upstream inflatable portion 44 jumps forward from the seat back 14 through the broken portion with the downstream inflatable portion 45 in a state where a part thereof remains in the storage portion 18 (see FIG. 10).

  Thereafter, the upstream inflating portion 44 to which the inflating gas is supplied is the latter half of the upper half of the occupant P, and expands and inflates between the body side portion 11 and the region from the shoulder PS to the chest PT. At this time, the downstream side inflating portion 45 has not yet expanded, or even if it has expanded, the internal pressure is low.

  Incidentally, as shown in FIG. 3, in the upper body of the occupant P, the shoulder portion PS protrudes more toward the body side portion 11 side (vehicle outer side) than the chest portion PT. The interval GS is narrower than the interval GT between the chest part PT and the body side part 11.

  In this respect, in the first embodiment, the upper portion 41u of the common wall portion 41 in the folded state is coupled to both the main body cloth portions 33 and 34 by the peripheral coupling portion 35 together with the unfolded portion, Coupling by the peripheral coupling portion 35 is performed at a location deviated forward from the fold line 42. Due to such coupling, the length of the peripheral coupling portion 35 is shorter than the maximum value (FIG. 9B). Accordingly, the common wall length L1 is shortened, the degree of regulation of the expansion thickness T1 of the upstream expansion portion 44 is large, and the expansion thickness T1 is small. And in the upper part of the upstream side expansion part 44, the difference of the expansion thickness T1 in the site | part by which expansion | swelling thickness was made small as mentioned above and the expansion thickness T1 in the intermediate part in the up-down direction of the same upstream side expansion part 44 Is expanding.

  Therefore, as shown in FIG. 3, in the upstream inflatable portion 44, the upper portion, which is a portion having a small inflated thickness T1, expands and expands in a narrow gap between the body side portion 11 and the shoulder portion PS, and the distance between the two. The shoulder PS is pressed toward the inside of the vehicle with a load suitable for GS and restrained.

  In addition, an intermediate portion, which is a portion having a large expansion thickness T1 in the upstream expansion portion 44, expands and expands in a wide gap between the body side portion 11 and the chest PT, and the chest PT with a load suitable for the interval GT therebetween. Is pushed to the inside of the car and restrained.

  As the body side portion 11 further enters the inside of the vehicle, the upstream side inflating portion 44 further presses the rear half of the shoulder PS and the chest PT of the occupant P toward the inside of the vehicle and moves the upper body to the inside of the vehicle. Restrained and protected from impact. Moreover, the space | interval of the passenger | crew's P upper body and the body side part 11 is expanded by the said movement to the vehicle inside, and the space for expansion | deployment and expansion | swelling of the downstream expansion part 45 is ensured.

  Here, in a state where both valve body parts 63 and 64 are closely adhered (substantially closed) over their entire surfaces, the inflation gas is continuously supplied into the upstream side inflation part 44, while the body side part 11 By applying an external force, the pressure regulating valve 62 starts to open.

  That is, from the middle of the supply period of the inflation gas to the upstream side expansion portion 44, an external force accompanying the restraint of the occupant P is applied and the upstream side expansion portion 44 is deformed. Accordingly, the tension that is strongly applied to the common wall portion 41 in the vehicle width direction is reduced.

  Further, the internal pressure PI of the upstream inflating portion 44 further increases with the deformation of the upstream inflating portion 44, and the common wall portion 41 is pressed toward the downstream inflating portion 45 (see FIG. 12B). The tension applied to the common wall 41 changes. And the difference of the tension of a vehicle width direction and an up-down direction becomes small by the change of the said tension | tensile_strength. Deformation of the communication part 61 in the common wall part 41 is allowed, and the operation of the valve body parts 63 and 64 is allowed.

  On the other hand, since the overlapping portion 51 is overlapped with the lower non-overlapping portion 52 and is connected to the main body cloth portions 33 and 34 by the both vertical connecting portions 43 at both ends in the vehicle width direction, the overlapping portion In 51, in the part close | similar to the vertical connection part 43, the force which is trying to maintain the superimposed state is strong. However, this force decreases as the distance from the longitudinal coupling portion 43 increases, and becomes minimum at the center portion in the vehicle width direction. Therefore, the overlapping portion 51 pulled in the up-down direction is deformed in the same direction only in the communication portion 61, the valve body portions 63, 64, and the vicinity thereof.

  When the communicating portion 61 opens to some extent in the vertical direction, the overlapping portion 51 communicates only at both valve body portions 63 and 64 that have received the high internal pressure PI of the upstream side inflating portion 44 as shown in FIG. Extruded (inverted) through the portion 61 to the downstream expansion portion 45. When the vertical width W of the communication portion 61 is narrow, the tip portions 63t and 64t of the valve body portions 63 and 64 come into contact with each other, and the pressure regulating valve 62 continues to close.

  When the width W of the communication portion 61 is increased, as shown in FIG. 12C, when the tip portions 63t and 64t are separated and the pressure regulating valve 62 is opened, the flow regulation is released. The expansion gas in the upstream expansion portion 44 is allowed to flow out to the downstream expansion portion 45 through the communication portion 61 and the valve body portions 63 and 64 in order. However, when the expansion gas passes through the communication portion 61 and the pressure regulating valve 62, the flow passage area is reduced and the flow of the expansion gas into the downstream expansion portion 45 is restricted to some extent.

  Due to the outflow of the expansion gas, the internal pressure of the upstream expansion portion 44 changes from increasing to decreasing. However, the body side portion 11 continues to enter the vehicle inner side, and the inflatable portion 36 is pressed against the occupant P at the upstream inflatable portion 44.

  Further, the downstream side expansion portion 45 starts to expand due to the inflow of the expansion gas, and the internal pressure of the downstream side expansion portion 45 starts to rise. The downstream expansion portion 45 cancels (expands) the folded state and tries to expand into a curved surface together with the upstream expansion portion 44.

  At this time, the downstream inflating portion 45 is expanded and inflated on the side of the front half of the upper body with an internal pressure lower than that of the upstream inflating portion 44. At this time, as described above, the space between the body side portion 11 and the upper half of the occupant P is widened by the upstream inflating portion 44, and a space for expansion and expansion of the downstream inflating portion 45 is secured. Therefore, the downstream-side inflating portion 45 is easier to expand and inflat forward than when the gap is not enlarged.

  The downstream side inflating part 45 is added to the front half of the upper half of the occupant P in addition to the upstream side inflating part 44 by the body side part 11 entering the vehicle interior with a slight delay from the start of the increase in the internal pressure of the downstream side inflating part 45. It begins to touch and be pressed. The same upper body starts to be restrained by the downstream inflating portion 45 in addition to the upstream inflating portion 44.

  As described above, the airbag main body 31 in which the upstream inflatable portion 44 and the downstream inflatable portion 45 are deployed and inflated is interposed between the upper body of the occupant P and the body side portion 11 entering the vehicle inside. . The upper body is pressed and restrained by the airbag body 31 toward the inside of the vehicle. And the impact from the side transmitted to the upper body through the body side part 11 is relieved by the airbag main body 31, and the upper body is protected.

  When the downstream expansion portion 45 is expanded and expanded, the exhaust hole 65 is directed forward. Therefore, surplus gas for expansion in the downstream expansion portion 45 is exhausted forward through the exhaust hole 65. By this discharge, the internal pressure of the downstream inflating portion 45 is reduced, and the front half of the upper half of the occupant P is pressed and restrained by the downstream inflating portion 45 with an appropriate load.

According to the first embodiment described in detail above, the following effects can be obtained.
(1) The common wall 41 that divides the airbag body 31 into the upstream inflatable portion 44 and the downstream inflatable portion 45 is folded along a fold line 42 that extends linearly, and the upper end portion and The airbag 30 that is coupled to both the body cloth portions 33 and 34 by the peripheral edge coupling portion 35 at the lower end portion is an object. In the upper part 41u of the common wall part 41 in the folded state, the coupling by the peripheral coupling part 35 is performed at a position biased forward from the folding line 42 (FIG. 8A).

  Therefore, the length of the peripheral joint portion 35 in the upper portion 41u of the common wall portion 41 is shortened, and the common wall portion length L1 in the upper portion 41u is shortened (FIG. 9B). The degree by which the common wall portion 41 regulates the expansion thickness T1 can be increased, and the expansion thickness T1 of the upstream expansion portion 44 can be decreased. And the difference of the expansion thickness T1 of the upstream expansion part 44 in the site | part by which expansion | swelling thickness T1 was made small as mentioned above and the expansion thickness T1 in the intermediate part in the up-down direction of the same upstream expansion part 44 is expanded. be able to.

  As a result, in the upstream inflatable portion 44, the small upper portion of the inflated thickness T1 is expanded and inflated in a narrow gap between the body side portion 11 and the shoulder PS, and the shoulder PS with a load suitable for the distance GS between the two. Can be pressed and restrained (FIG. 3). Further, an intermediate portion having a large expansion thickness T1 in the upstream expansion portion 44 is expanded and expanded in a wide gap between the body side portion 11 and the chest PT, and the chest PT is mounted on the vehicle interior side with a load suitable for the distance GT between the two. Can be pressed and restrained. Thus, each part of the upper body of the occupant P can be restrained by a load corresponding to the distances GS and GT from the body side part 11.

  (2) A pair of folding lines 54 that are inclined with respect to the folding line 42 are set on the expanded upper portion 41u of the common wall portion 41 so that the folding line 42 is symmetrical with respect to the axis of symmetry. (FIG. 9A). The upper portion 41u of the folded common wall portion 41 is folded along both folding lines 54, and the folded portion is joined to the upper end portions of the main body cloth portions 33, 34 by the peripheral joint portion 35 together with the unfolded portion. (FIG. 8A).

Therefore, the joint by the peripheral joint part 35 of the common wall part 41 is performed at a position biased forward from the folding line 42, and the effect (1) can be obtained.
(Second Embodiment)
Next, 2nd Embodiment of the side airbag apparatus for vehicles is described with reference to FIGS.

  In the second embodiment, the coupling by the peripheral coupling portion 35 with respect to the upper portion 41u of the folded common wall portion 41 is performed at a location deviated in the front-rear direction from the folding line 42 in a manner different from the first embodiment. It is.

  More specifically, as shown in FIG. 15A, a pair of cut lines 55 that form a straight line are set in the upper portion 41 u of the developed common wall portion 41. Both cut lines 55 are inclined at an acute angle with respect to the fold line 42 so as to have a line symmetric relationship with the fold line 42 as an axis of symmetry. A region F1 sandwiched between the cut lines 55 in the upper portion 41u is cut off.

  Then, as shown in FIGS. 13, 14, and 15 (b), when the common wall portion 41 is folded along the fold line 42, the upper portion 41 u of the common wall portion 41 remains after excision. The parts are also superimposed. The overlapped portions are connected by a connecting portion 56 provided along both cut lines 55. The upper portion 41u of the common wall portion 41 in this state is coupled to the upper end portions of the two main body cloth portions 33 and 34 by the peripheral joint portion 35, whereby the joint by the peripheral joint portion 35 is biased forward from the fold line 42. It is performed in the place (FIG. 14). Along with this, the length of the peripheral coupling portion 35 is made shorter than the maximum value that can be taken, as in the first embodiment.

Other configurations are the same as those in the first embodiment. For this reason, the same elements as those described in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted.
In the side airbag device according to the second embodiment, the portion remaining after the excision is coupled to both the body cloth portions 33 and 34 by the peripheral joint portion 35, whereby the joint by the peripheral joint portion 35 is coupled from the fold line 42. It is carried out at a point biased forward. From this, the length of the periphery coupling | bond part 35 becomes shorter than the maximum value (FIG. 15 (a)). Accordingly, the common wall length L1 is shortened (FIG. 15B), the degree of regulating the expansion thickness T1 of the upstream expansion portion 44 is large, and the expansion thickness T1 is small. And in the upper part of the upstream side expansion part 44, the difference of the expansion thickness T1 in the site | part by which expansion | swelling thickness was made small as mentioned above and the expansion thickness T1 in the intermediate part in the up-down direction of the same upstream side expansion part 44 Is expanding.

  Therefore, in the upstream inflatable portion 44, the upper portion, which is a portion having a small expansion thickness T1, expands and expands in a narrow gap between the body side portion 11 and the shoulder portion PS, and the shoulder is loaded with a load suitable for the distance GS between the two. The part PS is pressed toward the inside of the vehicle and restrained.

  Further, the intermediate portion, which is a portion having a large expansion thickness T1 in the upstream expansion portion 44, expands and expands in a wide gap between the body side portion 11 and the chest PT, and the chest PT with a load suitable for the interval GT therebetween. Is pushed to the inside of the car and restrained.

  As described above, the portions remaining after the excision are coupled by the coupling portions 56 provided along the two excision lines 55 in a superposed state. For this reason, when the common wall portion 41 is deployed, the expansion gas is restricted from leaking from the excised portion.

Therefore, according to the second embodiment, the same effect as the above (1) can be obtained, and the following effect (3) instead of (2) can be obtained.
(3) A pair of cut lines 55 that are inclined with respect to the fold line 42 are set on the expanded upper portion 41u of the common wall portion 41 so that the fold line 42 is symmetrical about the fold line 42. At the same time, the region F1 sandwiched between the two excision lines 55 is excised (FIG. 15A). In the upper portion 41 u of the folded common wall portion 41, the remaining portion remaining after the excision is coupled by the coupling portion 56 provided along the both excision lines 55, and both the body cloth portions 33 and 34 are coupled by the peripheral coupling portion 35. (FIGS. 14 and 15B).

Therefore, the coupling | bonding by the periphery coupling | bond part 35 is performed in the location biased ahead from the folding line 42, and the effect of said (1) can be acquired.
In addition, said each embodiment can also be implemented as a modification which changed this as follows.

<About the expansion part 36>
The airbag main body 31 may be substantially composed of the inflating portion 36 as in the above embodiments, but the non-inflating portion that does not inflate without being supplied with the inflating gas is used as a part. You may have.

  The air bag body 31 has been changed to a shape and size different from those of the above embodiments on the condition that the airbag body 31 is deployed and inflated between the upper body of the occupant P and the body side portion 11. Also good.

  -In the inflating part 36, the structure which divides the airbag main body 31 into the upstream inflating part 44 and the downstream inflating part 45 by the common wall part 41 may be changed into a thing different from said each embodiment.

  FIG. 20 shows an example. In this modification, the upstream side expansion portion 44 is formed in a bag shape. A cloth piece 71 is disposed on the front side of the upstream inflatable portion 44, and a peripheral edge portion of the cloth piece 71 is coupled to the upstream inflatable portion 44 by a vertical coupling portion 43. Also in this modified example, the common wall portion 41 constitutes a part of each of the upstream side expansion portion 44 and the downstream side expansion portion 45. Also in this case, in the same manner as in each of the above-described embodiments, the coupling by the peripheral coupling portion 35 is deviated in the front-rear direction from the folding line in at least one of the upper portion and the lower portion of the folded common wall portion 41. It is done at the place.

<About the common wall 41>
-The shape of the common wall 41 is different from those of the above embodiments on condition that the vertical dimension is longer than the dimension in the vehicle width direction when the common wall 41 is unfolded. It may be changed.

  An example of the two-dot chain line in FIG. In this modification, the common wall portion 41 has a vertically long rectangular shape. Even when the common wall 41 having such a shape is used, at least one of the upper part 41u and the lower part 41l of the folded common wall 41, the coupling by the peripheral coupling part 35 is folded. The effect similar to that of each of the above-described embodiments can be obtained by being performed at a location deviated in the front-rear direction from the overlapping line 42.

  The coupling by the peripheral coupling portion 35 to the upper portion 41u of the folded common wall portion 41 may be performed at a location deviated from the folding line 42 in the front-rear direction in a manner different from the above embodiments. . FIGS. 16A and 16B show an example.

  In this modified example, as shown in FIG. 16A, a cut 72 is formed on the folding line 42 in the upper portion 41 u of the common wall portion 41 in the unfolded state. The portions 73 on both sides in the width direction of the common wall portion 41 are overlapped with each other with the notch 72 interposed therebetween. The overlapped portion 73 is coupled by the coupling portion 74.

  In the state where the common wall portion 41 is folded along the fold line 42, the upper portion 41 u of the common wall portion 41 is coupled to the upper end portions of the main body cloth portions 33 and 34 by the peripheral edge coupling portion 35. Thus, the coupling by the peripheral coupling portion 35 is performed at a location that is biased forward from the fold line 42. In connection with this, the length of the peripheral joint part 35 in the upper part 41u can be made shorter than the maximum value which can be taken like the said each embodiment.

  In a general vehicle, as shown in FIG. 3, the armrest AR protrudes toward the vehicle interior from a location that is approximately the same height as the abdomen PB of the occupant P in the body side portion 11. Therefore, the interval between the abdomen PB and the body side portion 11 (armrest AR) is narrower than the interval GT between the chest PT and the body side portion 11.

  Therefore, in the case of a side airbag device in which the airbag main body 31 is deployed and inflated between the chest PT and the abdomen PB and the body side part 11, for example, between the abdomen PB and the body side part 11, the chest part PT and the body side It is desirable to expand and expand the upstream expansion portion 44 with an expansion thickness T <b> 1 smaller than that between the portion 11.

  In this case, the lower portion of the upstream inflatable portion 44 is expanded and inflated between the abdomen PB and the body side portion 11 with a small expansion thickness T1, and the intermediate portion in the vertical direction of the upstream inflatable portion 44 with a large expansion thickness T1. It is desirable to expand and inflate between the chest part PT and the body side part 11.

  Therefore, in place of or in addition to the upper portion 41u of the folded common wall portion 41, even in the lower portion 41l, the coupling by the peripheral edge coupling portion 35 may be performed at a location deviated from the folding line 42 in the front-rear direction. Good.

  -In 1st Embodiment, when the common wall part 41 is folded along the fold line 42, the part 41p pinched | interposed by both the folding lines 54 among the upper parts 41u of the same wall part 41 is the same upper part. It may be folded back in two along the folding line 42 so as to be positioned outside instead of the inside of the remaining portion 41r of 41u.

  In at least one of the upper part 41u and the lower part 41l of the folded common wall part 41, the connection by the peripheral joint part 35 may be performed at a place biased rearward from the folding line 42 instead of forward. .

  The cut line 55 in the second embodiment may be changed to a non-linear shape. FIG. 19 shows an example. In this modification, each cutting line 55 is curved so as to swell toward the facing cutting line 55 side.

  In each of the above embodiments, the pair of side edge portions in the vehicle width direction of the common wall portion 41 may be coupled to the main body cloth portions 33 and 34 in the upstream expansion portion 44 or may be downstream expansion. They may be combined in the part 45.

Further, one side edge portion may be coupled to the main body cloth portions 33 and 34 within the upstream expansion portion 44, and the other side edge portion may be coupled within the downstream expansion portion 45.
-In the overlapping part 51, the part that functions as both valve body parts 63 and 64 is a part corresponding to the communication part 61 in the vehicle width direction. Therefore, if at least a part of the valve body parts 63 and 64 (for example, the tip parts 63t and 64t) is closed by contact when the upstream side expansion part 44 is expanded and inflated, the overlapping part 51 communicates. The form of the part (non-neighboring part) that does not correspond to the part 61 may be changed. For example, a portion (non-neighboring portion) that does not correspond to the communication portion 61 in the overlapping portion 51 may be partially or entirely combined. As a means for this connection, stitching or adhesion may be used. By changing in this way, only the part corresponding to the communication part 61 in the overlapping part 51 is operated as both valve body parts 63 and 64, and the phenomenon in which the non-corresponding part moves unnecessarily, for example, the phenomenon of flapping is suppressed. Can do. In addition, a cutout may be made in at least a part of the overlapping portion 51 that does not correspond to the communication portion 61.

-Both valve body parts 63 and 64 may be constituted by a member different from the common wall part 41 having the communication part 61.
The communication part 61 may be provided in the lateral coupling part 53 at a location deviated from the fold line 42 in a direction perpendicular to the fold line 42. Further, the communication part 61 may be provided at a plurality of locations of the lateral coupling part 53. Also in these cases, valve body parts 63 and 64 are provided around each communication part 61 as in the above embodiments.

The pair of overlapping portions 51 including both valve body portions 63 and 64 may be arranged in the downstream expansion portion 45 instead of the upstream expansion portion 44 before the expansion portion 36 is expanded and expanded.
The common wall portion 41 in the bi-fold state may be disposed in the inflatable portion 36 in the non-inflated and deployed state in a state where the fold line 42 is positioned on the downstream side inflatable portion 45 side with respect to the both vertical coupling portions 43. . In this case, the overlapping portion 51 including both the valve body portions 63 and 64 may be disposed in the downstream side expansion portion 45 before the expansion portion 36 is expanded and expanded.

<About the gas flow control unit>
As shown in FIG. 17, an opening 75 may be provided in the common wall portion 41 instead of the communication portion 61 and the pressure regulating valve 62 as the gas flow restriction portion. In this case, the common wall part 41 may be comprised by the single cloth piece, and may be comprised by the several cloth piece similarly to said each embodiment. The opening 75 is configured by a hole that allows the upstream expansion portion 44 and the downstream expansion portion 45 to communicate with each other, and allows the expansion gas to flow from the upstream expansion portion 44 to the downstream expansion portion 45. Good. Even in this case, the expansion gas receives resistance when passing through the opening 75 and is restricted from flowing into the downstream expansion portion 45.

  As the communication part 61 and the pressure regulating valve 62, instead of those described in the above embodiments, the internal pressure of the upstream expansion part 44 exceeds the predetermined value, and is closed until the condition is satisfied, or A thing that becomes close and opens when the same condition is satisfied may be used. FIGS. 18A and 18B show an example. Also in this case, the common wall 41 may be configured by a single piece of cloth as in FIG. 17 or may be formed by a plurality of pieces of cloth as in the above embodiments.

  In this modification, a hole 76 that communicates the upstream expansion portion 44 and the downstream expansion portion 45 is provided in place of the communication portion 61 in the common wall portion 41 of each of the embodiments described above, instead of the communication portion 61. The communication portion is formed by the hole 76.

  Further, the lid sheet 77 is arranged as a pressure regulating valve at a position where the upstream expansion portion 44 or the downstream expansion portion 45 (the upstream expansion portion 44 in FIGS. 18A and 18B) closes the hole 76. Is done. The lid sheet 77 is coupled to the common wall portion 41 by an annular coupling portion 78 provided so as to surround the hole 76. The coupling portion 78 is formed by stitching using a sewing thread, bonding using an adhesive, or the like. However, as this coupling part 78, a part that is broken at least partially when the internal pressure of the upstream expansion part 44 exceeds a predetermined value is used.

  In this case, when the internal pressure of the upstream side expansion portion 44 is equal to or lower than a predetermined value, the internal pressure is applied to the coupling portion 78 through the lid sheet 77, but the coupling portion 78 is not broken and the lid sheet 77 is perforated. Continue to join the common wall 41 around 76.

  When the bonding portion 78 is formed by continuously applying an adhesive around the hole 76 to the common wall portion 41 in a ring shape, the hole 76 is closed by the lid sheet 77, that is, the hole 76. The lid sheet 77 is closed.

  On the other hand, when the coupling portion 78 is formed by stitching, the lid sheet 77 is intermittently coupled to the common wall portion 41 by the sewing thread, so that some inflation gas may leak from the seam. Therefore, both the hole 76 and the lid sheet 77 are substantially closed.

  When the internal pressure exceeds a predetermined value and a large force is applied to the coupling portion 78 through the lid sheet 77, at least a part of the coupling portion 78 is broken. By this breakage, the hole 76 is not blocked by the lid sheet 77, that is, the hole 76 and the lid sheet 77 are both opened. The inflation gas can pass through the hole 76 and the lid sheet 77 through the broken portion.

<About the storage unit 18 of the airbag module ABM>
-The storage part 18 may be provided in the body side part 11 instead of the seat back 14 of the vehicle seat 12, and the airbag module ABM may be incorporated therein.

<Others>
-Vehicles to which the side airbag device is applied include not only private vehicles but also various industrial vehicles.

  The side airbag device can be applied to a side airbag device that is mounted on a vehicle other than a vehicle, such as an aircraft or a ship, and protects an occupant seated on the vehicle seat from an impact.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 12 ... Vehicle seat (vehicle seat), 31 ... Airbag main body, 33, 34 ... Main body cloth part, 35 ... Peripheral joint part, 41 ... Common wall part, 41l ... Lower part, 41p, 73 ... Part, 41r ... Remaining part , 41u ... upper part, 42 ... folding line, 44 ... upstream expansion part, 45 ... downstream expansion part, 54 ... folding line, 55 ... cut line, 56, 74, 78 ... coupling part, 61 ... communication part (gas Flow regulating part), 62 ... Pressure regulating valve (gas flow regulating part), 75 ... Opening part (gas flow regulating part), 76 ... Hole (gas flow regulating part), 77 ... Lid sheet (gas flow regulating part), F1 ... Area, P ... Crew.

Claims (2)

An airbag main body that is deployed and inflated on the side of the upper body of an occupant seated on the vehicle seat by an inflation gas supplied in response to an impact applied from the side of the vehicle seat;
The airbag main body includes a pair of main body cloth portions coupled to each other by a peripheral joint portion provided along the peripheral edge portion,
The airbag main body has a common wall portion having a gas flow regulating portion as a part of each, and an upstream side inflatable portion that is located on the rear side of the common wall portion and is supplied with inflation gas; Located on the front side of the common wall portion, and partitioned into an upstream side expansion portion and a downstream side expansion portion to which the gas for expansion that has passed through the gas flow restriction portion is supplied.
In the state where the airbag body is deployed in a planar shape without being filled with the inflation gas, the common wall portion is folded along a fold line extending linearly along the vertical direction. The upper end portion and the lower end portion are coupled to both body cloth portions by the peripheral edge coupling portion,
At least one of the upper part and the lower part of the common wall part in a folded state, the connection by the peripheral joint part is performed at a location deviated in the front-rear direction from the fold line ,
At least one of the upper part and the lower part of the developed common wall part is set with a pair of folding lines inclined with respect to the folding line so as to have a line-symmetrical relationship with respect to the folding line. ,
At least one of the upper part and the lower part of the folded common wall part is folded back along both folding lines, and the folded part together with the non-folded part, both body cloth parts by the peripheral joint part. Side airbag device that is coupled to . An airbag main body that is deployed and inflated on the side of the upper body of an occupant seated on the vehicle seat by an inflation gas supplied in response to an impact applied from the side of the vehicle seat;
The airbag main body includes a pair of main body cloth portions coupled to each other by a peripheral joint portion provided along the peripheral edge portion,
The airbag main body has a common wall portion having a gas flow regulating portion as a part of each, and an upstream side inflatable portion that is located on the rear side of the common wall portion and is supplied with inflation gas; Located on the front side of the common wall portion, and partitioned into an upstream side expansion portion and a downstream side expansion portion to which the gas for expansion that has passed through the gas flow restriction portion is supplied.
In the state where the airbag body is deployed in a planar shape without being filled with the inflation gas, the common wall portion is folded along a fold line extending linearly along the vertical direction. The upper end portion and the lower end portion are coupled to both body cloth portions by the peripheral edge coupling portion,
At least one of the upper part and the lower part of the common wall part in a folded state, the connection by the peripheral joint part is performed at a location deviated in the front-rear direction from the fold line,
At least one of the upper part and the lower part of the deployed common wall part is set with a pair of cut lines that are inclined with respect to the fold line so as to be in a line symmetric relationship with respect to the fold line. And the area between the two resection lines is excised,
In at least one of the upper part and the lower part of the folded common wall part, the remaining part remaining after the resection is coupled by a joint part provided along both the resection lines, and both the body cloth parts by the peripheral joint part. It has been coupled to the Lusa Ido air bag device.