JP6542727B2 - Curtain airbag device - Google Patents

Description

  According to the present invention, for example, a curtain airbag apparatus in which an airbag is deployed in a curtain shape along a side window in a vehicle interior when a car is collided from the side, thereby protecting an occupant's head and preventing its release outside the vehicle. It is about In particular, it is possible to ensure the freedom of the chamber design while preventing the end of the front pillar garnish (hereinafter referred to as A-pillar garnish) from being broken and spattering when the air bag is developed.

  Hereinafter, in the present application, “upper” and “upper” mean the direction of the ceiling when viewed from the center of the vehicle, and “down” and “lower” mean the direction of the floor when viewed from the center of the vehicle. Further, "front" and "forward" mean the forward direction side of the vehicle, and "rear" and "rear" mean the backward direction side of the vehicle.

  For example, when the vehicle is collided from the side, the airbag is deployed in a vehicle-like manner along the side window to protect the head of the occupant and to prevent the occupant from being released outside the vehicle. There is a curtain airbag device.

  This curtain airbag device conforms to the US Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 226 and other laws and regulations established by the United States Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), so the airbag airbag expansion area is also located under the front pillar. It has become necessary to provide.

  In this case, the size of the air bag is extended so that the air bag is present in the front portion of the front pillar (hereinafter referred to as A-pillar) more than the present.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the curtain airbag device 1 is attached to the interior of the A-pillar P and the roof side rail RSR using the clip 2 and the bracket 3. After that, it is covered with an A-pillar garnish or a room head lining (roof garnish), and these garnish are stored outside the cabin.

  Then, for example, when the automobile collides from the side, the air bag 5 folded in a roll shape or the like is deployed by the gas generated by the inflator 4. As a result, the A-pillar garnish and the room head lining are pushed toward the interior of the vehicle, and the tip of the A-pillar garnish and the room head lining is disengaged from the A pillar P and the roof side rail RSR.

  After the engagement is released, the airbag 5 curtains the vehicle compartment vertically downward along the side window 6 from the opening made by pushing the tip side of the A-pillar garnish or the room head lining to the vehicle room side. expand.

  However, when the size of the air bag is extended, there is a high possibility that the upper end of the A-pillar garnish, that is, the joint with the room head lining is broken when the air bag is deployed (for example, paragraph 0006 of Patent Document 1).

  In order to prevent this A-pillar garnish from being damaged, it is conceivable to adopt the following method.

a) Change the material of the A-pillar garnish to one with high strength.
b) In order to facilitate removal of the A-pillar garnish from the A-pillar, the air-bag has a chamber structure in which the air bag is first deployed inside the A-pillar.

  The method a) is not addressed by improving the curtain airbag device. On the other hand, the method of b) can be coped with by the improvement of the curtain airbag device.

  However, there is a problem that the degree of freedom in the design of the chamber of the airbag is reduced in order to achieve the configuration in which the airbag first deploys inside the A-pillar as in the method b).

JP, 2011-173551, A

  The problem to be solved by the present invention is that the conventional method for preventing breakage of the A-pillar garnish at the time of deploying the airbag housed inside the A-pillar when providing the inflation region of the airbag also below the A-pillar is The point is that the degree of freedom in chamber design is reduced.

  An object of the present invention is to prevent the A-pillar garnish from being damaged when the airbag is deployed without reducing the degree of freedom in the chamber design when providing the inflation region of the airbag also below the A-pillar. It is said that.

  The present invention is mounted in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle along the roof side rail of the vehicle, and in the event of an emergency, the gas generated by the inflator causes the folded airbag to deploy in a vehicle like a curtain along the side window. It is a curtain airbag device.

  And in order to achieve the above-mentioned object, in the present invention, adopting the following composition is the main feature.

1) The folded airbag is disposed so that the front end is folded back toward the rear of the vehicle, and the folded-back portion is positioned more to the rear of the vehicle than the upper end of the A-pillar garnish covering the A-pillar.

2) A guide member having a shape in which the tip end portion is bent in the inward direction is installed on the vehicle rear side of the upper end of the A-pillar garnish of the roof side rail. The guide member is a member for guiding the air bag which is inflated so that the vehicle forward direction portion of the air bag does not hit the A-pillar garnish when the air bag is inflated and deployed. With this guide member, the airbag in the process of being inflated hardly comes into contact with the upper end of the A-pillar.

3) A cover for covering the air bag is further installed behind the guide member, and the cover and the guide member are integrally formed.
In the present invention, the folded form of the air bag may be a roll or a bellows.

  In the present invention, according to the configuration of the above 1), when the air bag is deployed, only the soft resin room head lining is pushed toward the vehicle interior, the engagement with the room side rail is released, and the tip end is pushed toward the vehicle interior. The air bag is deployed into the vehicle compartment from the opening that was made open.

At that time, according to the configuration of the above 2), the front end portion of the airbag to be deployed is guided by the guide member, and the vehicle interior is also deployed to the front portion of the A pillar without almost contacting the upper end of the A pillar garnish. Further, the cover of the above 3) can protect the airbag from the sharp edge of the vehicle, control the deployment direction of the airbag, and prevent the airbag from being twisted when mounted on the vehicle. Further, by integrally forming the cover and the guide member, there is no change in the relative position between the cover and the guide member, so that it is possible to prevent the change in the mounting position on the vehicle.

  In the present invention, the airbag may be one in which the front end folded back toward the rear of the vehicle is further folded back toward the front of the vehicle. In this way, further extension of the size of the air bag is possible, and the front portion of the front pillar can be covered completely.

  Further, in the present invention, the front end of the airbag is folded back toward the rear of the vehicle according to the vehicle to be installed and the installation state to the vehicle, either before folding the airbag or after folding. You can choose one.

  In the present invention, the position where the front end portion of the airbag is folded back to the vehicle is positioned on the vehicle rear side with respect to the upper end of the A-pillar garnish. In addition, the guide member having a shape in which the tip end portion is bent in the inward direction of the vehicle is installed on the vehicle rear side of the upper end of the A-pillar garnish of the roof side rail.

  Therefore, when the air bag is deployed, only the room head lining is pushed to the vehicle interior side to disengage from the room side rail, and the air bag is expanded into the vehicle interior from the opening formed by pushing the tip end side to the vehicle interior side. . At that time, the front end of the air bag deployed in the front portion of the A-pillar is guided by the guide member and deployed, so that the front end of the air bag does not contact the upper end of the A-pillar garnish.

(A) illustrates the airbag in which the front end is folded back to the rear of the vehicle and then the folded front end is further folded to the front of the vehicle; (b) illustrates the installation position of the airbag on the front end side of the vehicle FIG. FIG. 6A is a view for explaining the initial stage of deployment where the airbag is deployed in the vehicle compartment only from the room head lining portion, when the deployment state of the airbag described in FIG. ) Is a view for explaining the completion of deployment when the front end of the airbag is also deployed to the front portion of the A-pillar. It is a figure explaining the case where FIG. 2 is seen from the side direction of a vehicle. It is a figure explaining the curtain airbag apparatus of this invention of the state mounted in a vehicle, (a) is a figure at the time of seeing it from the floor direction of a vehicle, (b) is substantially the same height as roof side from diagonally backward of a vehicle FIG. 6C is a view for explaining the completion of the deployment of the airbag. (A) and (b) are the figures explaining the other Example of the guide member which is a structural member of the curtain airbag apparatus of this invention. (A)-(c) is a figure explaining the other Example of the folding | turning aspect of the airbag of the curtain airbag apparatus of this invention. It is a figure explaining the conventional curtain airbag apparatus.

  The present invention aims to prevent the A-pillar garnish from being damaged when the air bag is deployed without reducing the degree of freedom in the chamber design when providing the inflation area of the air bag also in the front portion of the A-pillar. It is said that.

  In addition to folding the front end of the airbag toward the rear of the vehicle and positioning the folded position at a predetermined position, the guide member has a shape in which the tip portion is bent in the inward direction of the vehicle. It realized by installing in the predetermined position of the side rail.

  Hereinafter, after the process to the completion of the curtain airbag apparatus of this invention is demonstrated, the curtain airbag apparatus of this invention is demonstrated using FIGS. 1-6.

  The inventors folded back the front end 5a of the airbag 5 toward the rear of the vehicle as shown in FIG. 1 (a) as a method for preventing breakage of the upper end of the A-pillar garnish when the airbag is deployed (arrow A). . Subsequently, the folded front end portion 5a is turned toward the front of the vehicle (arrow b), and then wound upward (in the direction indicated by arrow c) to form a roll.

  Thereafter, the position L1 of the airbag 5 folded back toward the vehicle, and the front end 5b of the airbag folded back toward the vehicle forward are more than the upper end PG1 of the A pillar garnish PG, as shown in FIG. It was installed on the rear side of the vehicle.

  When the said structure is employ | adopted, at the time of expansion | deployment of the airbag 5, only room head lining is pushed by the vehicle interior side, and engagement with roof side rail RSR remove | deviates. Accordingly, the airbag 5 is deployed into the vehicle compartment only from the opening formed by pushing the front end side of the room head lining to the vehicle interior side (FIGS. 2 and 3A).

  However, if the above-described structure is adopted, the front end portion 5a of the folded airbag 5 contacts the upper end PG1 of the A-pillar garnish PG, as shown in FIG. And the upper end PG1 is likely to be damaged.

  Therefore, the present inventors do not contact the front end portion 5a of the airbag 5 with the upper end PG1 of the A-pillar garnish PG at the time of deployment of the airbag 5, and the above-mentioned completion also occurs at the deployment completion shown in FIG. The present invention is realized by trial and error in a method in which the upper end PG1 is not damaged.

  That is, according to the present invention, the front end portion 5a of the airbag 5 is folded back to the vehicle rear side to be positioned on the vehicle rear side of the upper end PG1 of the A pillar garnish PG, and further, the roof side rail RSR is more than the upper end PG1. The guide member 12 is installed on the vehicle rear side.

  The guide member 12 has a tip portion 12a which is bent in the inward direction of the vehicle, and protects the airbag 5 from the sharp edge of the vehicle and controls the deployment direction of the airbag 5 at the rear thereof. A cover 13 is provided to prevent twisting of the air bag 5 when mounted on a vehicle.

  In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the guide member 12 provided with a flat plate-like tip portion 12a is integrally formed at the front end of the resin cover 13 covering the airbag 5. As shown in FIG.

Thus, when the guide member 12 to the front end of the cover 13 is formed integrally, in addition to the effects of the cover 13, since the relative position between the cover 13 and the guide member 12 does not vary, tower to the vehicle At the time of mounting, it is possible to prevent the change of the installation position.

  Then, when installing the guide member 12 on the roof side rail RSR, as shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the tip end 12b of the guide member 12 is positioned on the vehicle rear side with respect to the upper end PG1 of the A pillar garnish PG. , A pillar P and the roof side rail RSR.

  In the curtain airbag device 11 of the present invention configured as described above, when the air bag 5 is deployed, only the room head lining made of soft resin is pushed toward the vehicle interior, and the tip end is pushed and spread toward the vehicle interior. The bag 5 is deployed in the vehicle compartment.

  At that time, as shown in FIG. 4C, the front end portion 5a of the airbag 5 to be deployed is guided by the leading end portion 12a of the guide member 12, and the vehicle interior is made almost without contact with the upper end PG1 of the A pillar garnish PG. Expand below the A-pillar P.

  That is, the curtain airbag device 11 of the present invention does not reduce the degree of freedom in the chamber design even when the inflation region of the airbag 5 is provided also in the front portion of the A-pillar P. Moreover, the A-pillar garnish PG is not damaged when the air bag 5 is deployed.

  By the way, even if the inclination angle α of the distal end portion 12a of the guide member 12 is larger than the inclination angle α shown in FIG. 4 as shown in FIG. 5A, as shown in FIG. It may be smaller than the shown inclination angle α. In short, when the front end portion 5a of the airbag 5 is guided by the leading end portion 12a of the guide member 12 at the time of deployment, the vehicle interior can be deployed below the A pillar P with almost no contact with the upper end PG1 of the A pillar garnish PG. good.

  Needless to say, the present invention is not limited to the above-described example, and the embodiment may be appropriately modified as long as it falls within the scope of the technical idea described in each claim.

  That is, the embodiment described in FIG. 4 is a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and other embodiments can be implemented or carried out in various ways. In particular, the present invention is not limited to the shape, size, arrangement, etc. of detailed parts shown in the attached drawings, unless otherwise specified in the specification of the present application. In addition, the expressions and terms used in the present specification are for the purpose of explanation, and are not limited thereto unless there is a particular limitation.

  For example, in the example described in FIG. 1, the airbag 5 is shown as being folded in a roll, but may be folded in a bellows.

  Further, in the example described in FIG. 1, after the front end portion 5a of the airbag 5 is folded back toward the vehicle, this folded front end portion 5a is folded back toward the vehicle, but FIG. As shown in FIG. 5, the front end portion 5a of the airbag 5 may be folded back toward the rear of the vehicle.

  Further, the examples described in FIG. 1 and FIG. 6A show the airbag 5 folded in a roll after the front end 5a of the airbag 5 is folded back toward the vehicle rear. However, as shown in FIGS. 6 (b) and 6 (c), the front end portion 5a of the airbag 5 may be folded back toward the rear of the vehicle after the airbag 5 is folded into a roll. Either of the modes may be selected in accordance with the vehicle to be installed and the installation state of the vehicle.

  Further, in the example described in FIG. 4, the guide member 12 is integrally formed on the front end of the cover 13 made of resin, but the guide member 12 is formed of a metal plate and separately from the cover 13 It may be configured.

  In the example described in FIGS. 4 and 5, the end portion 12a of the guide member 12 is a flat plate, but the air bag 5 to be deployed does not come in contact with the upper end PG1 of the A pillar garnish PG. As long as it can be developed below the A pillar P, it may be in the shape of a concave curve or a groove.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 4 inflator 5 air bag 5a front end 5b front end 6 side window 11 curtain air bag device 12 guide member 12a front end portion 12b front end 13 cover P A pillar PG A pillar garnish PG1 upper end RSR roof side rail L1 position folded back to the vehicle rear

Claims (4)

A curtain airbag device mounted along the roof side rail of the vehicle in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, and in the event of an emergency, the gas generated by the inflator spreads the folded airbag along the side window like a curtain. And
The folded airbag has a front end folded back toward the rear of the vehicle, and the folded back portion is disposed on the vehicle rear side relative to the upper end of the front pillar garnish covering the front pillar.
At the vehicle rear side of the roof side rail relative to the upper end of the front pillar garnish, a guide member having a shape in which the tip end portion is bent toward the inward direction is installed and a cover that covers the airbag behind the guide member. The curtain airbag device is characterized in that the cover and the guide member are integrally formed .   The curtain airbag device according to claim 1, wherein the air bag is formed by folding a front end portion folded back toward the rear of the vehicle further toward the front of the vehicle. The curtain airbag device according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein the air bag is folded at the front end toward the rear of the vehicle before folding of the air bag. The curtain airbag device according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , wherein the air bag is folded at the front end toward the rear of the vehicle after folding of the air bag.

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