JP6576815B2 - Airbag device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an airbag device that restrains an occupant in an emergency.

  In recent years, airbag devices are almost standard equipment. The airbag device is a safety device that operates in an emergency such as a vehicle collision, and receives and protects an occupant using an airbag cushion that is inflated and deployed by gas pressure. There are various types of airbag devices depending on the installation location and application. For example, a front airbag is installed in the center of the steering wheel in the driver's seat to protect the front seat occupant mainly from front-rear impacts, and the instrument panel and its surrounding areas are located near the passenger seat. A passenger airbag is provided. In addition, a curtain airbag that inflates and deploys along the side window is installed near the ceiling of the wall to protect each occupant in the front and rear row from side collision and subsequent rollover (rollover). A side airbag that inflates and deploys to the side of the occupant is provided on the side of the vehicle.

  The airbag cushions of various airbag devices may be partitioned into a plurality of spaces depending on the purpose and installation environment. For example, in the occupant protection device (front airbag) described in Patent Document 1, the airbag cushion is composed of a central central gas bag 1 and an outer peripheral gas bag 3 around it. According to the configuration of Patent Document 1, it is stated that the restraint surface for restraining the occupant is flattened to have a large area, so that the occupant can be reliably received.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 1-132444

  At present, the airbag apparatus is also required to cope with irregular collisions and impacts such as so-called oblique collision in which an impact is applied to the vehicle from an oblique front-rear direction. An occupant at the time of an oblique collision enters the airbag cushion existing in front of the seat at an irregular angle such as an oblique direction. In that case, when the head of the occupant contacts the airbag cushion in front of the seat, the head may rotate around the neck as viewed from above. Such rotation of the head tends to increase the injury value of the occupant in view of the structure of the human body, and there is a demand for efficiently preventing this.

  In view of such a problem, an object of the present invention is to provide an airbag device that can efficiently suppress an injury value of an occupant in an emergency.

  In order to solve the above problems, a typical configuration of an airbag apparatus according to the present invention includes an inflator installed in a vehicle and capable of supplying gas, and a bag-like main bag that is inflated forward of a vehicle seat by the gas. The main bag is installed in a predetermined range on the seat side on the base that expands in a predetermined shape, and protrudes toward the seat in a columnar space having the predetermined range as a bottom surface. And a protruding portion that expands.

  The protrusion of the main bag protrudes toward the seat on which the occupant to be protected by the main airbag is seated, and is closer to the occupant than the base. Therefore, the protrusion can contact the occupant at the earliest stage.

  The main bag composed of the base and the protrusion is inflated by the pressure of gas received from one inflator. Since the base and the projection are not completely partitioned, the internal pressure is equal at the base and the projection. When the base fabric of each of the base portion and the protruding portion at the time of expansion is viewed as a curved surface, since the outer shape of the protruding portion is smaller than the outer shape of the base portion, the radius of curvature at an arbitrary position of both portions is also smaller than that of the protruding portion. Therefore, the tension of the base fabric of the protrusion is weaker than the tension of the base fabric of the base.

  For example, in an oblique collision, the driver's seat occupant may move diagonally forward in the vehicle width direction. In that case, in the above configuration, the head of the occupant comes into contact first with a low-tension protruding portion that exists near the occupant. And if a passenger | crew's head tries to move diagonally forward from there, it will also contact a base part and passenger | crew restraint will be achieved.

  In the restraining process described above, the occupant's head, in particular, can be received by a relatively flexible protrusion having a low tension. Therefore, it is possible to restrain the rotation of the head and restrain the injury value lower.

  The protruding portion may protrude from the base portion into a cylindrical shape. If it is the projection part of this structure, the tension | tensile_strength of a base fabric can be suppressed more and a passenger | crew can be received flexibly.

  The airbag device further includes an outer bag that surrounds and inflates the main bag with gas, and the outer bag opens toward an occupant seated on the seat and exposes a portion of the base portion of the main bag and a protrusion. When the outer bag surrounds and presses the main bag, a part of the base portion of the main bag and the protrusion may protrude from the opening to the seat side.

  In the above configuration, the protrusion of the main bag protrudes from the opening of the outer bag together with a part of the base (rear region). Therefore, the protrusion can further approach the occupant and contact the occupant earlier.

  When the occupant moves obliquely forward in the vehicle width direction in the above-described oblique collision or the like, in the above configuration, the occupant first contacts the protrusion of the main bag with low tension first from the rear region, and then contacts the protrusion. On the other hand, the load is absorbed by the outer bag that is inflated outside in the vehicle width direction. By these, it is possible to restrain the rotation of the head and restrain the injury value lower.

  The outer bag may include a portion of the main bag other than a portion of the base portion protruding from the opening. According to this configuration, the main bag can be surrounded and supported by the outer bag.

  The volume of the space inside the opening in the outer bag may be smaller than the volume of the main bag. With this configuration, the main bag can be pressed from the periphery by the outer bag, and a part of the base portion and the protrusion of the main bag can be efficiently projected from the opening of the outer bag.

The airbag device may further include a connecting portion that is provided at a predetermined location in a valley between the outer bag and the main bag and connects the outer bag and the main bag. By providing the connecting portion, it is possible to adjust the depth of the valley between the main bag and the outer bag, and further to suppress the separation between the main bag and the outer bag and to stabilize the posture when occupant is restrained.
The airbag device may further include a vent hole for discharging gas provided in the vicinity of the inflator in the main bag, and the outer bag may be inflated by gas received from the vent hole connected to the vent hole.

  In the above configuration, when the occupant comes into contact with the main bag, the gas flowing out from the main bag can be sent to the inside of the outer bag, and the discharge of the gas to the outside can be delayed. Therefore, the inner pressure of the outer bag can be increased when the occupant is restrained, and the main bag can be supported by the outer bag and its movement can be suppressed.

  The outer bag may be inflated in an annular shape. Also with this configuration, the outer bag surrounding the main bag can be efficiently realized.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, it becomes possible to provide the airbag apparatus which can suppress a passenger | crew's injury value efficiently in an emergency.

It is a figure which illustrates the outline | summary of the airbag apparatus concerning embodiment of this invention. It is the figure which illustrated the main bag at the time of the expansion | deployment of FIG.1 (b) from each direction. It is the figure which illustrated the process in which the main bag at the time of inflation deployment of Drawing 1 (b) restrains a crew member. It is the figure which illustrated the process in which the main bag of FIG. 3 restrains a passenger | crew seeing from the vehicle inner back. It is the figure which illustrated the process in which the main bag of FIG. 3 restrains a passenger | crew seen from the vehicle outer back. It is the figure which illustrated the result of the evaluation test of the main bag of FIG. It is the figure which illustrated the outline | summary of the airbag apparatus concerning 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is the figure which illustrated the process in which the cushion at the time of inflation deployment of FIG.7 (a) restrains a passenger | crew. It is a 1st modification of the airbag cushion illustrated in FIG. It is the figure which illustrated the 2nd modification of the airbag cushion illustrated in FIG.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The dimensions, materials, and other specific numerical values shown in the embodiments are merely examples for facilitating understanding of the invention, and do not limit the present invention unless otherwise specified. In the present specification and drawings, elements having substantially the same function and configuration are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted, and elements not directly related to the present invention are not illustrated. To do.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an outline of an airbag apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1A is a diagram illustrating a vehicle before the airbag apparatus 100 is operated. In FIG. 1 (a) and other drawings, the vehicle front-rear direction is indicated by arrows F (Forward) and B (Back), the vehicle width direction is indicated by arrows L (Left) and R (Right), and the vehicle vertical direction is indicated by arrows. Examples are U (up) and D (down).

  In the present embodiment, the airbag device 100 is implemented as a frontal airbag for a driver's seat (right seat in the front row) in a right-hand drive vehicle. In the following, the description will be made assuming the right seat 102 in the front row. For example, the vehicle outer side in the vehicle width direction means the vehicle right side, and the vehicle inner side in the vehicle width direction means the vehicle left side.

  The airbag device 100 includes a main bag 114 (see FIG. 1B) as an airbag cushion that restrains an occupant. The main bag 114 is stored in a storage unit 108 provided in the center of the steering wheel 106 by being folded or wound. The storage unit 108 includes a cover 110 and a housing (not shown) below it.

  In addition to the main bag 114, the storage unit 108 also stores an inflator 112 (see FIG. 2C) that is a gas generator. The inflator 112 operates due to an impact detection signal sent from a sensor (not shown), and supplies gas to the main bag 114 (see FIG. 1B). The main bag 114 starts to be inflated by the gas from the inflator 112 and is inflated and deployed toward the seat 102 by cleaving the cover 110 with the inflation pressure.

  FIG. 1B is a diagram illustrating the vehicle after the main bag 114 of the airbag device 100 is inflated and deployed. The main bag 114 is formed as a three-dimensionally inflated bag. The main bag 114 is formed by overlapping or sewing a plurality of base fabrics constituting the surface thereof, spinning using OPW (One-Piece Woven), or the like.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the main bag 114 at the time of inflating and deploying in FIG. 1B from each direction. FIG. 2A illustrates the main bag 114 of FIG. 1B as viewed from above the vehicle outer side. The main bag 114 is inflated forward in the space for the occupant seated on the seat 102 (see FIG. 1B) by the gas from the inflator 112 (see FIG. 2C), and the upper body and head of the occupant are to bound.

  The main bag 114 in this embodiment is roughly divided into two parts, a base part 113 and a protrusion part 115. The base 113 occupies most of the volume of the main bag 114, and expands in a predetermined shape, for example, a circle when viewed from the seat 102, in front of the seat 102 (see FIG. 1B). To do. The protrusion 115 is provided in a columnar shape substantially at the center of the base 113 on the seat side.

  FIG. 2B illustrates the main bag 114 of FIG. 2A as viewed from the outside of the vehicle. The protrusion 115 protrudes from the base 113 and expands toward the seat side (vehicle rear side) on which the occupant who is to be protected by the main bag 114 is seated. Since the protrusion 115 protrudes toward the seat, the main bag 114 can contact the occupant at an earlier stage.

  As described above, in this embodiment, the protrusion 115 protrudes from the base 113 into a cylindrical shape and expands. The columnar projection 115 is an example of a projecting shape, and the configuration of the projection 115 is not limited thereto. The projecting portion 115 is installed in a columnar virtual space (virtual space E1) having a predetermined range on the seat side on the base portion 113 as a bottom surface a1 so as to project with the bottom surface a1 as an installation range. Thus, it can be realized efficiently. As another example, the protrusion 115 can be provided not only in a cylindrical shape but also in, for example, a prismatic shape, a hemispherical shape, or a frustum shape. In addition, the columnar virtual space E1 is set not only to a straight column body but also to an inclined column body inclined in an arbitrary direction, so that a protruding portion protruding in an arbitrary direction can be efficiently provided. is there.

  FIG. 2C illustrates the main bag 114 as seen from the vehicle rear side, as in FIG. The base 113 is generally circular as viewed from the vehicle rear side, which is the seat side. The central protrusion 115 expands in a circular shape when viewed from the seat side, and its outer shape is set smaller than the outer shape of the base 113.

  FIG.2 (d) is AA sectional drawing of the main bag 114 of FIG.2 (c). No partition or the like is provided between the base 113 and the protrusion 115. In other words, the configuration of the protrusion 113 can be expressed as an inflatable portion provided with an opening region 117 in a predetermined range on the seat side of the base 113 and continuously connected to the edge of the opening region 117.

  FIG. 2D also illustrates the inflator 112 described above. The inflator 112 is of a disk type (disk type), and is installed inside the storage portion 108 of the steering wheel 106 (see FIG. 1A). Inflators that are in widespread use are filled with a gas generating agent and burned to generate gas, filled with compressed gas and supplied with gas without generating heat, or burned There are hybrid types that use both gas and compressed gas. Any type of inflator 112 can be used.

  The virtual line L1 is a straight line that extends virtually from the inflator 112. In the present embodiment, the circular base 113 and the columnar protrusion 115 have a rotating body configuration with the imaginary line L1 as the rotation axis. Note that the base 113 and the protrusion 115 may not necessarily be in the shape of a rotating body. For example, the protrusion 115 may be formed at a position offset with respect to the center of the base 113. Further, for example, the protrusion 115 may be elliptical when viewed from the seat side.

  The base 113 of the main bag 114 is provided with an external vent 126 on the vehicle front side. The external vent 126 discharges gas from the inside of the main bag 114 to the outside of the main bag 114.

  In the present embodiment, a difference in the tension of the base fabric appears between the base 113 and the protrusion 115 in the main bag 114. Specifically, as compared with the tension of the base fabric of the base portion 113, the tension of the base fabric is relatively low in the central protrusion 115.

  As illustrated in FIG. 2D, the protrusion 115 is a part of the entire volume of the main bag 114, and most of the remaining part is a base 113. Here, as illustrated in FIG. 2C, when the base fabric of both portions at the time of expansion is viewed as a curved surface, the approximate curvature radius r1 of the protrusion 115 at an arbitrary position is larger than the curvature radius r2 of the base 113. Is also small (r1 <r2).

  In general, the tension (T) of the base fabric can be expressed by the pressure (P) and the radius of curvature (r) (T = P × r). The main bag 114 is inflated by the pressure of gas received from one inflator 112 (see FIG. 2D). Since the base 113 and the protrusion 115 are not completely partitioned, the internal pressure is equal at each of the base 113 and the protrusion 115. Therefore, the protrusion 115 having a relatively small radius of curvature r1 has a lower base fabric tension than the base 113 having a relatively large radius of curvature r2 having the same internal pressure. That is, the main bag 114 according to the present embodiment has a configuration in which the protrusion 115 having a low tension protrudes from the center.

  In the main bag 114 of this embodiment, the injury value of the occupant 128 can be efficiently suppressed in an emergency by the above-described configuration. Hereinafter, the process in which the main bag 114 restrains the occupant 128 will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a process in which the main bag 114 restrains the occupant 128 at the time of inflating and deploying in FIG. Each figure in FIG. 3 illustrates a phenomenon assuming an oblique collision when the main bag 114 and the occupant 128 are viewed from above the vehicle. As illustrated in FIG. 3A, when an impact occurs in the vehicle, the main bag 114 is inflated and deployed forward of the seat 102 (see FIG. 1B).

  FIG. 3B illustrates an example immediately after the occupant 128 contacts the main bag 114. The occupant 128 in FIG. 3 (b) has moved from the state of FIG. 3 (a) diagonally forward of the vehicle interior (in the diagonally downward right side in FIG. 3 (b)). The protrusion 115 of the main bag 114 protrudes toward the occupant seated on the seat (upper side in FIG. 3B) and is closer to the occupant 128 than the base 113. Therefore, the protrusion 115 comes into contact with the occupant 128 earlier than the base 113.

  FIG. 3C is a diagram in which the occupant 128 of FIG. 3B has further moved to the vehicle interior diagonally forward side and diagonally downward to the right in FIG. 3C. A base 113 exists outside the protrusion 115. As a result, even if the occupant 128 tries to move further after contacting the protrusion 115, the load is absorbed by the base 113, and the movement is suppressed. By this action, the head 130 of the occupant 128 is received and restrained by the protrusion 115 and the base 113 on the outside thereof.

  As illustrated in FIG. 3C, the tension of the base fabric of the protrusion 115 is suppressed to be low, so that the vicinity of the protrusion 115 is flexibly recessed, and the head 130 is a side head on both sides (left side). Even the head 134 and the right head 136) are in contact with and restrained by the protrusion 115 and the base 113.

  In the state of FIG. 3C, if only a single cushion is present in front of the occupant 128, the head 130 of the occupant 128 that moves obliquely contacts the cushion. The friction between the head 130 and the cushion causes a difference in movement between the head 130 and the shoulder 131, and the head 130 has a clockwise rotational force with respect to the shoulder 131 and the like as viewed from the upper side of the vehicle. (Rotating force turning to the left and right on the axis) may occur. When such rotation occurs in the head 130, the injury value of the occupant 128 tends to increase.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, the head portion 130 of the occupant 128 is first brought into contact with the projection portion having a low tension, and then the load is absorbed by the base portion 113 existing outside the projection portion in the vehicle width direction. As a result, the movement of the head 130 of the occupant 128 is restrained by aligning with the movement of the shoulder 131. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the injury value of the occupant 128 accompanying the rotation of the head 130 can be suppressed by significantly reducing or canceling the rotation of the head 130 of the occupant 128 and reducing the angular velocity of the head.

  According to these configurations of the present embodiment, it is possible to restrain high occupant restraint performance and suppress occupant injury values and movement not only during oblique collisions but also during normal vehicle longitudinal collisions.

  With reference to FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, the process in which the main bag 114 restrains the passenger | crew 128 from a different direction from FIG. 3 is demonstrated. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating the process of restraining the occupant 128 by the main bag 114 of FIG. As illustrated in FIG. 4A, the main bag 114 is inflated and deployed in front of an occupant 128 that moves obliquely forward (in the left direction in FIG. 4A) to the vehicle interior side.

  As illustrated in FIG. 4B, the head 130 of the occupant 128 contacts the protrusion 115 from the vicinity of the lower jaw 138. If the projection 115 is in contact with the vicinity of the jaw 138, in the present embodiment, the rotation in the direction of falling forward of the head 130 can also be suppressed.

  As illustrated in FIG. 4C, the head 130 of the occupant 128 that moves obliquely forward on the vehicle interior (to the left in FIG. 4C) has the left side head 134 in contact with the base 113. It is accepted. At this time, the projection 115 and the base 113 restrain the shoulder 131 and the chest as well as the head 130 of the occupant 128. By these actions, the main bag 114 can align the movement of the head 130 and the shoulder 131 of the occupant 128, rotate to the left and right with respect to the shoulder 131 of the head 130, and move the head 130 up and down and left and right. Restrain any rotation tilted to a minimum. In this way, the main bag 114 can greatly suppress the injury value of the occupant 128.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a process in which the main bag 114 of FIG. 3 restrains the occupant 128 as viewed from the rear side of the vehicle. As illustrated in FIG. 5A, the main bag 114 is inflated and deployed in front of an occupant 128 that moves diagonally forward of the vehicle interior (slightly upward on the left side in FIG. 5A). As illustrated in FIG. 5B, the head 130 of the occupant 128 contacts the rear region 120 of the main bag 114 from the lower jaw 138 side.

  As illustrated in FIG. 5C, the head 130 is received by bringing the left head 134 into contact with the base 113 and further bringing the right head 136 into contact with the flexible protrusion 115 having a low tension. By these actions, the main bag 114 aligns the movement of the head 130 of the occupant 128 with the shoulder 131 and the head 130 without turning the head 130 in any direction with respect to the shoulder 131 or the like. The rotation of the part 130 is minimized and restrained.

  With the above configuration, the main bag 114 of the present embodiment can efficiently suppress the injury value of the occupant 128 in an emergency.

  In the above, referring to FIG. 3C, the clockwise rotation is given as an example of the rotation generated in the head 130. However, depending on the emergency situation, for example, the occupant 128 may move obliquely forward to the outside of the vehicle, and the head 130 may rotate counterclockwise around the neck as viewed from above. Even with this counterclockwise rotation, according to the main bag 114 of the present embodiment, the rotation can be reduced or canceled, and the angular velocity of the head 130 can be reduced. That is, the airbag apparatus 100 of the present embodiment can obtain the same effect for the occupant 128 that moves in any of the vehicle width directions.

(Evaluation test)
An example of the main bag evaluation test described above will be described. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating the result of the evaluation test of the main bag 114 of FIG. The vertical axis represents the angular velocity of the head of the dummy doll, and the horizontal axis represents time. The test was performed by bringing the head of the dummy doll into contact with each cushion in an oblique direction.

  Sample “Base” is a comparative example, which is a single mass of cushion. The peak of the waveform of the sample “Base” indicates the angular velocity immediately after the contact of the dummy doll.

  Sample “# 3” is an example of the main bag illustrated in FIG. 2. In sample “# 3”, the peak appears from the same time as sample “Base”, but its value is lower than that of sample “Base”. From this, it can be seen that the sample “# 3” is more flexible than the sample “Base” and can be restrained without rotating the head.

  From the evaluation test of FIG. 6, it can be seen that the injury value of the occupant 128 can be efficiently suppressed in the case of an emergency with the main bag 114 described above.

(Second Embodiment)
FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an outline of an airbag device 150 according to the second embodiment of the present invention. Henceforth, about the same component as already demonstrated, the description is abbreviate | omitted by attaching | subjecting the same code | symbol. In addition, components having the same names as the components already described have the same functions unless otherwise specified even if they are given different reference numerals.

  FIG. 7A illustrates an airbag cushion (cushion 152) provided in the airbag device 150 as viewed from above the vehicle exterior. The cushion 152 in this embodiment includes two parts, a main bag 114 and an outer bag 116.

  Similarly to the main bag 114, the outer bag 116 is also a portion that is inflated by gas from the inflator 112 (see FIG. 7C). An opening 118 is provided on the vehicle rear side of the outer bag 116. The opening 118 opens toward the occupant 128 (see FIG. 8A, etc.) seated on the seat, and exposes a part of the base 113 (the rear region 120) and the protrusion 115 of the main bag 114. .

  The outer bag 116 surrounds the main bag 114 at a portion other than the opening 118. In particular, in the present embodiment, the outer bag 116 surrounds the top, bottom, left, and right of the base portion of the main bag 114 and the vehicle front side.

  FIG. 7B illustrates the cushion 104 of FIG. 7A as viewed from the outside of the vehicle. Of the base 113 of the main bag 114, the rear region 120 on the vehicle rear side (left side in FIG. 7B) is exposed from the opening 118 of the outer bag 116 and protrudes to the seat side (vehicle rear side). . Since the rear region 120 protrudes toward the seat, the projecting portion 115 further approaches the seat, and the projecting portion 115 can contact the occupant earlier. Of the base portion 113 of the main bag 114, the remaining majority other than the rear region 120 is included in the outer bag 116 as a front region 121 (see FIG. 7D).

  FIG. 7C illustrates the cushion 152104 as seen from the vehicle rear side, as in FIG. The cushion 152104 is generally circular as viewed from the vehicle rear side, which is the seat side. The central main bag 114 is also expanded in a circular shape when viewed from the seat side, and the outer bag 116 is expanded so as to surround the outer side of the circular main bag 114. The inner diameter φ1 of the opening 118 of the outer bag 116 is set larger than the outer diameter φ2 of the protrusion 115.

  FIG.7 (d) is BB sectional drawing of the cushion 104 of FIG.7 (c). The outer bag 116 surrounds the main bag 114 and is inflated into a rotating body concentric with the main bag 114. The outer bag 116 having a rotating body includes a portion other than the rear region 120 (a portion protruding from the opening 118) of the base 113 of the main bag 114. The main bag 114 and the outer bag 116 do not necessarily have a rotating body shape. For example, the rear region 120 of the base portion of the main bag is formed at a position offset with respect to the center of the front region 121. Also good. Further, for example, the rear region 120 may be elliptical when viewed from the seat side.

  Both the main bag 114 and the outer bag 116 are inflated and deployed by the gas from the inflator 112. Gas supply to the outer bag 116 is performed from a vent hole (internal vent 124) provided in the main bag 114.

  The internal vent 124 is provided in the vicinity of the inflator 112 on the vehicle front side (the right side in FIG. 7D) of the main bag 114, and discharges gas from the inside of the main bag 114. The outer bag 116 is connected to the internal vent 124 and is inflated by the gas received from the internal vent 124. The outer bag 116 is provided with an external vent 126 on the front side of the vehicle. The external vent 127 discharges gas from the inside of the outer bag 116 to the outside of the cushion 104.

  As described above, the rear region 120 of the base 113 of the main bag 114 is exposed from the opening 118 of the outer bag 116 and protrudes toward the occupant side (left side in FIG. 7D) seated on the seat. . The protrusion of the rear region 120 of the main bag 114 is caused by the outer bag 116 pressing the main bag 114.

  As illustrated in FIG. 7D, the inner space (inner space E <b> 1) from the opening 118 to the back of the outer bag 116 is set smaller than the size of the main bag 114. That is, the volume of the inner space E1 of the outer bag 116 is smaller than the entire volume of the main bag 114. With this configuration, the outer bag 116 efficiently presses the main bag 114 from the periphery thereof, and the rear region 120 and the protrusion 115 of the main bag 114 that did not fit in the inner space E1 protrude from the opening 118 toward the seat. .

  In the present embodiment, the tension of the base fabric is suppressed not only in the protrusions 115 but also in the rear region 120 of the base 113 in the cushion 104 as a whole. Specifically, in the base portion 113 of the main bag 114, the rear region 120 has a relatively weak base fabric tension as compared to the front region 121.

  As illustrated in FIG. 7C, when the base fabric of the rear region 120 and the front region 121 at the time of expansion is viewed as a curved surface, the approximate curvature radius r3 of the rear region 120 at an arbitrary position is It is smaller than the radius of curvature r4 of the partial region 121 (r3 <r4). The main bag 114 is inflated by the pressure of the gas received from one inflator 112 (see FIG. 7D). Therefore, the rear region 120 having a relatively small radius of curvature r3 has a lower base fabric tension than the front region 121 having a relatively large radius of curvature r4 having the same internal pressure.

  Compared to the rear region 120 of the base 113, the outer shape of the protrusion 115 is even smaller. The approximate radius of curvature r1 of the protrusion 115 is smaller than the radius of curvature r3 of the rear region (r1 <r3). Therefore, the tension of the base fabric of the main bag 114 is such that the protrusion 115 is the lowest, and then the surrounding rear region 120 is low.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a process in which the cushion 152 restrains the occupant 128 at the time of inflating and deploying, such as FIG. Each figure of FIG. 8 has illustrated the process which the cushion 152 restrains the passenger | crew 128 seeing from the vehicle inside back. As illustrated in FIG. 8A, when an impact occurs in the vehicle, the cushion 104 expands and deploys forward of the seat 102 (see FIG. 1B).

  The main bag 114 protrudes toward the occupant side (right side in FIG. 8A) where the rear region 120 and the protrusion 115 of the base 113 are seated on the seat, and is closer to the occupant 128 than the outer bag 116. Therefore, the contact between the occupant 128 and the protrusion 115 is made earlier. The head 130 of the occupant 128 contacts the protrusion 115 from the vicinity of the lower jaw 138.

  FIG. 8B illustrates a state in which the occupant 128 has moved further than in FIG. Since the protrusion 115 has a lower base fabric tension than the surrounding rear region 120, the head 130 of the occupant 128 can be received more flexibly. At this time, since the projection 115 receives the head 130 from the jaw 138 side, it is possible to suppress vertical rotation of the head 130 (rotation from above to below).

  As illustrated in FIG. 8C, the head 130 of the occupant 128 that moves obliquely forward on the vehicle interior (to the left in FIG. 8C) causes the left side head 134 to contact the outer bag 116. Thus, it is received near the entrance of the valley 132 between the outer bag 116 and the main bag 114. At this time, the protruding portion 115 and the rear region 120 having low tension are depressed, the head 130 enters the valley 132, and the side bags on both sides (the left head 134 and the right head 136) extend to the main bag 114. The outer bag 116 contacts and is restrained.

  The main bag 114 and the outer bag 116 restrain the shoulder 131 and the chest in addition to the head 130 of the occupant 128. Thus, the cushion 152 restrains the rotation of the head 130 turning left and right with respect to the shoulder 131 and the rotation of tilting the head 130 up and down and left and right to a minimum. And the injury value accompanying the head 130 can be suppressed significantly by making the angular velocity of the head 130 small.

  As described with reference to FIG. 8D, in this embodiment, the gas flowing out from the main bag 114 is sent into the outer bag 116 through the inner vent 124 and then the outer vent 127 of the outer bag 116. Discharged from the outside. With this configuration, when the occupant 128 comes into contact with the protruding portion and the rear region 120 of the main bag 114, the internal pressure of the outer bag 116 can be further increased.

  For example, the rear region 120 and the projecting portion 115 of the main bag 114 are flexibly recessed according to the load of the occupant 128, and the outer bag 116 protrudes toward the vehicle rear side as a result of the gas entering the outer bag 116, resulting in a valley. In the vicinity of 132, the side heads (the left side head 134 and the right side head 136) on both sides of the head 130 can be received by being wrapped by the main bag 114 and the outer bag 116. Then, by increasing the internal pressure of the outer bag 116, the main bag 114 can be supported by the outer bag 116 and the movement of the entire cushion 104 can be suppressed. In addition, with the above-described configuration, the discharge of gas from the cushion 104 to the outside can be delayed, and the pressure of the cushion 104 can be held longer.

  According to these configurations of the present embodiment, it is possible to restrain high occupant restraint performance and suppress occupant injury values and movement not only during oblique collisions but also during normal vehicle longitudinal collisions.

(First modification)
FIG. 9 is a first modification of the airbag cushion 152 illustrated in FIG. The cushion 170 in FIG. 9 corresponds to the cushion 152 in FIG. The cushion 170 is provided with a connecting portion 172 at a predetermined location in the valley 132 between the outer bag 116 and the main bag 114. The connecting portion 152 connects the outer bag 116 and the main bag 114 by sewing or the like. For example, in the cushion 170, the connection portion 172 is provided at the center in the vehicle front-rear direction of the front region 121 of the outer bag 116. By providing the connection portion 172, the depth of the valley 132 between the main bag 114 and the outer bag 116 can be adjusted.

  In this modified example, as described with reference to FIG. 8C and the like, the head 130 of the occupant 128 is restrained in the vicinity of the valley 132. In the cushion 170, since the main bag 114 and the outer bag 116 are connected by the connecting portion 172, the head 130 of the occupant 128 can be restrained at a shallower position in the valley 132. In other words, adjusting the depth of the valley 132 with the connecting portion 172 also adjusts the degree of interference of the outer bag 116 with the left head 134 (see FIG. 8C). Further, by providing the connecting portion 172 in the valley 132, the separation between the main bag 114 and the outer bag 116 can be suppressed, and the posture of the cushion 170 as a whole when the passenger is restrained can be further stabilized.

(Second modification)
FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a second modification of the airbag cushion 152 illustrated in FIG. FIG. 10A illustrates the cushion 200 according to the second modification as viewed from above the vehicle outer side. In the cushion 200, the outer bag 202 is configured to expand in an annular shape.

  The outer bag 202 is also a part inflated by gas. The outer bag 202 surrounds a predetermined portion of the base 113 of the main bag 114 in an annular shape from the top, bottom, left and right. The opening 204 in the center of the outer bag 202 opens toward the passenger 128 (see FIG. 8A) seated on the seat 102 (see FIG. 1B), and the rear portion of the base 113 of the main bag 114 The region 120 and the protrusion 115 are exposed. A portion of the main bag 114 other than the rear region 120 (the front region 121) is partially surrounded by the outer bag 202, and the remaining portion is exposed from the outer bag 202 to the vehicle front side.

  FIG. 10B illustrates the cushion 200 of FIG. 10A as viewed from the outside of the vehicle. The rear region 120 and the protrusion 115 of the base 113 of the main bag 114 are exposed from the opening 204 of the outer bag 202 and protrude to the seat side (vehicle rear side).

  FIG. 10C illustrates the cushion 200 as viewed from the vehicle rear side. The annular outer bag 202 is inflated so as to surround a predetermined portion of the circular main bag 114. The inner diameter φ3 of the opening 204 of the outer bag 202 as viewed from the passenger seat side is set smaller than the outer diameter φ4 of the maximum portion of the main bag 114 as viewed from the passenger seat side (φ3 <φ4). Accordingly, a part of the main bag 114 is pressed so as to be tightened by the opening 204 of the outer bag 202, and the rear region 120 is formed.

  FIG.10 (d) is CC sectional drawing of the cushion 200 of FIG.10 (c). The outer bag 202 is also inflated into a rotating body concentric with the main bag 114 with the imaginary line L1 as a rotation axis.

  The outer bag 202 is connected to a vent hole 206 provided in the main bag 114 and receives gas through the main bag 114. The main bag 114 is also provided with another vent hole 208 through which the gas is discharged to the outside.

  As illustrated in FIG. 10C, also in the cushion 200, the approximate radius of curvature r1 of the rear region 120 is smaller than the radius of curvature r2 of the front region 121 (r1 <r2). The rear region 120 having a relatively small radius of curvature r1 has a lower base fabric tension than the front region 121 having a relatively large radius of curvature r2 having the same internal pressure.

  Similarly to the cushion 152 described with reference to FIG. 8, the cushion 200 also brings the head 130 of the occupant 128 into contact with the projection 115 of the main bag 114 having low tension first, and then the vehicle width of the main bag 114. The load can be absorbed by the outer bag 202 which is inflated outside in the direction. Then, the movement of the head 130 and the shoulder 131 of the occupant 128 is aligned, the head 130 is not turned or tilted with respect to the shoulder 131 or the like, and between the main bag 114 and the outer bag 202. In the vicinity of the valley 210, the rotation of the head 130 (particularly, rotation turning around the cervical spine) can be restrained with a minimum.

  In the above description, the airbag device 100 is implemented as a frontal airbag for a driver's seat. However, the airbag apparatus 100 can be installed in places other than the driver's seat. For example, it can be implemented as a frontal airbag that inflates and deploys in front of the rear seat by being provided on the rear side of the front seat.

  The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the embodiments described above are preferred examples of the present invention, and other embodiments can be implemented by various methods. Can be carried out. The invention is not limited to the detailed shape, size, configuration, and the like of the components shown in the accompanying drawings unless otherwise specified in the present specification. In addition, expressions and terms used in the present specification are for the purpose of explanation, and are not limited thereto unless otherwise specified.

  Therefore, it is obvious for those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be conceived within the scope of the claims, and these naturally belong to the technical scope of the present invention. It is understood.

  The present invention can be used for an airbag device that restrains an occupant in an emergency.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 ... Airbag apparatus, 102 ... Seat, 104 ... Cushion, 106 ... Steering wheel, 108 ... Storage part, 110 ... Cover, 112 ... Inflator, 113 ... Base part of main bag, 114 ... Main bag, 115 ... Protrusion of main bag 116, outer bag, 117, opening region between the projection and the base, 118, opening, 120, rear region of the base of the main bag, 121 ... front region of the base of the main bag, 124, internal vent , 126 ... external vent, 127 ... external vent, 128 ... occupant, 130 ... head, 131 ... shoulder, 132 ... valley, 134 ... left side head, 136 ... right side head, 138 ... jaw, 150 ... second embodiment Air bag apparatus, 152 ... cushion of the first modification, 170 ... cushion, 172 ... connection part, 200 ... cushion of the second modification 202 ... outer bag, 204 ... opening, 206 ... vent hole, 208 ... vent hole, 210 ... valley, E1 ... virtual space, a1 ... bottom surface of virtual space, L1 ... virtual line, r1 ... curvature radius of projection R2 ... radius of curvature of the base, r3 ... radius of curvature of the rear region, r4 ... radius of curvature of the front region,

Claims (8)

An inflator installed in a vehicle and capable of supplying gas;
A bag-like main bag inflated forward of the vehicle seat by the gas;
An outer bag that surrounds and inflates the main bag with the gas;
With
The main bag is
A base that expands into a predetermined shape and expands;
Wherein is installed in a predetermined range of the seat side on the base, possess a protrusion that expands and projects the seat seat at pillar-shaped space to the bottom surface of the predetermined range, and
The outer bag has an opening that opens toward a passenger seated in the seat and exposes a part of the base portion and the protrusion of the main bag,
The airbag device, wherein the outer bag surrounds and presses the main bag so that a part of the base portion and the protrusion of the main bag protrude from the opening to the seat side .   The airbag device according to claim 1, wherein the tension of the base fabric of the protruding portion is weaker than the tension of the base fabric of the base portion.   The airbag device according to claim 1, wherein the protruding portion protrudes in a cylindrical shape from the base portion. The airbag device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the outer bag includes a portion of the main bag other than a portion of the base portion protruding from the opening. 5. The airbag device according to claim 4 , wherein a volume of a space inside the opening in the outer bag is smaller than a volume of the main bag. The airbag apparatus further includes a connecting portion that is provided at a predetermined position in a valley between the outer bag and the main bag and connects the outer bag and the main bag. The airbag device according to any one of 1 to 5 . The airbag device further includes a vent hole for discharging a gas provided in the vicinity of the inflator of the main bag,
The airbag device according to any one of claims 1 to 6 , wherein the outer bag is connected to the vent hole and inflated by gas received from the vent hole. The airbag device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the outer bag is inflated in an annular shape.

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