JP6604474B2 - Side airbag device for vehicle - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle side airbag device that deploys an airbag between an occupant and a wall surface in a passenger compartment.

In an automobile (vehicle), a side airbag device may be provided in order to protect an occupant seated on a seat from an impact at the time of a side collision of the vehicle.
Many of the side airbag devices use a structure in which an inflator and a folded airbag are accommodated in a side portion of a seat back constituting a seat. That is, when a side collision occurs, the folded airbag is deployed in the gap between the occupant and the wall surface (side part of the door) in the vehicle interior by the gas generated from the inflator, thereby protecting the occupant on the seat.

  By the way, the gap between the occupant and the wall surface in the passenger compartment when the airbag is deployed varies depending on the physique of the occupant and the collision speed. The gap becomes narrower as the occupant's physique is larger, and the gap becomes wider as the occupant's physique is smaller. In the case of a side collision, the wall surface in the vehicle interior is impacted and enters the vehicle interior, but the wall surface intrusion speed changes depending on the collision speed, so that when the airbag is deployed, the collision speed is high or low. The amount of wall intrusion differs. That is, the gap is narrower as the collision speed is higher even with the same physique, and the gap is wider as the collision speed is lower.

However, since the size (deployment width) of the airbag is predetermined, depending on the occupant's physique and collision speed, the internal pressure of the airbag during deployment changes, and it is difficult to always deploy in an optimal state. .
Thus, conventionally, a technique has been proposed in which the occupant's physique is detected as in Patent Document 1, and the change in the internal pressure of the airbag is suppressed by changing the deployment width according to the physique.

Japanese Patent No. 4952321

However, in the conventional technique such as Patent Document 1 described above, since the influence of the collision speed is not taken into consideration, even when the occupant's physique is detected and the deployment width is controlled, depending on the collision speed, It is conceivable that the pressure increases or conversely the pressure decreases, and there is room for further improvement in improving the passenger protection performance.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle side airbag that can maintain the thickness and internal pressure of the airbag in an appropriate state regardless of the size of the gap between the occupant and the wall surface in the passenger compartment when the airbag is deployed. Providing equipment.

An aspect of the present invention is a side airbag device for a vehicle in which an airbag is deployed between an occupant seated on a seat and a wall surface in a vehicle interior, the airbag forming an outer peripheral surface of the airbag, and an inflator An outer chamber having an outer vent hole for discharging the gas inside the airbag generated from the outside to the outside, an inner chamber having an inner vent mechanism communicating with the outer chamber and having a smaller capacity than the outer chamber housed in the outer chamber; And the inner vent mechanism is disposed adjacent to the first inner vent hole so as to communicate between the outer chamber and the inner chamber, and communicates between the outer chamber and the inner chamber. a first inner vent hole is smaller than the second inner vent hole, the position base point for closing the second inner vent hole, when the developed width in the vehicle width direction of the airbag is spread over a predetermined width It was assumed to have a vent hole switching member provided so as to be displaced to a position which closes the first inner vent hole.

  According to the present invention, at the time of a side collision, gas is supplied to the inside of the inner chamber, the inner chamber is inflated, and the air flows from the inner vent mechanism into the outer chamber so that the outer chamber is inflated. It is developed between the walls. At this time, the inner vent hole closed by the vent hole switching portion of the inner vent mechanism is reduced from the first inner vent hole having a smaller diameter according to the size of the gap between the occupant and the vehicle interior wall surface when the airbag is deployed. Thus, the amount of gas supplied from the inner chamber to the outer chamber is varied, and the amount of gas discharged to the outside of the airbag is adjusted.

  As a result, when the gap between the passenger and the wall surface in the passenger compartment is relatively small with a predetermined width or less (for example, collision speed: high), the gas flowing into the inner chamber flows from the first inner vent hole having a large diameter, Since the air is positively exhausted from the outer vent hole through the outer chamber, an increase in the internal pressure of the airbag can be suppressed. On the other hand, when the clearance between the passenger and the wall surface in the passenger compartment is relatively large, such as a predetermined width or more (for example, collision speed: low), it is switched to the second inner vent hole, which is smaller than the first inner vent hole, and the outer chamber is removed from the inner chamber. Since it becomes difficult for gas to flow out into the chamber, the internal pressure of the internal chamber is ensured, and the internal pressure of the airbag can be in an appropriate state.

  Therefore, regardless of the size of the gap between the occupant and the wall of the passenger compartment when the airbag is deployed, which varies depending on the physique and collision speed of the occupant, the thickness (deployment width) and internal pressure of the airbag are kept in an appropriate state. Can be maintained, and further improvement of passenger protection performance can be achieved.

The perspective view which shows the side airbag apparatus used as the aspect which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. (A) is the side view which expanded the airbag of the side airbag apparatus, (b) is sectional drawing which shows the inclined surface part by which a band member is arrange | positioned. The perspective view explaining the structure of the airbag. The front view seen from the A arrow in FIG. 2 explaining the expansion | deployment of an airbag when the clearance gap between a passenger | crew and a vehicle interior wall surface is small. The plane sectional view which follows the BB line in FIG. The perspective view explaining the expansion | deployment of an airbag when the clearance gap between a passenger | crew and the wall surface in a vehicle interior is large. The front view similarly seen from the C arrow in FIG. The plane sectional view which follows the DD line in FIG.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described based on an embodiment shown in FIGS.
FIG. 1 shows a side airbag device to which the present invention is applied together with a part of a vehicle on which the device is mounted.
In FIG. 1, 1 is a passenger compartment formed in a vehicle body (not shown), 3 is a front door provided on a side portion of the passenger compartment 1 (corresponding to a wall surface in the passenger compartment of the present application), and 5 is adjacent to the front door 3. And a front seat (corresponding to the seat of the present application) installed on the floor 1a of the vehicle interior 1.

The front seat 5 includes a seat cushion 5a on which the occupant M sits and a seat back 5b that supports the back of the occupant M. And the side airbag apparatus 11 is accommodated in the side part by the side of the door of the seat back 5b, for example.
The side airbag device 11 includes a fabric airbag 13 (illustrated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 1) folded to a predetermined size, and an inflator 15 that inflates the airbag 13 with gas. Although not shown, the inflator 15 is connected to a collision detection sensor that detects a side collision. When a side collision is detected by the collision detection sensor, the inflator 15 is activated and the generated gas is supplied to the airbag 13. As a result, the folded airbag 13 is moved to the gap between the side of the occupant M and the inner surface of the front door 3 (the wall surface in the passenger compartment) as shown by the solid line in FIG. 1 and FIGS. 2 and 6. It invades and is deployed (flat bag shape) in the vehicle width direction.

FIG. 3 shows the deployed airbag 13, and FIGS. 4 and 5 and FIGS. 6 to 8 show the airbag 13 deployed in different gaps between the occupant M and the front door 3. ing.
Specifically, the airbag 13 forms an outer peripheral surface of the airbag 13, and an outer chamber 17 that is in contact with the occupant M during deployment (FIGS. 2 and 3A). Thus, a two-bag structure having an inner chamber 19 (FIGS. 2 and 3B) that is deployed in the outer chamber 17 is formed.

  The outer chamber 17 forms the appearance of the airbag 13 and is formed in a size corresponding to the protection area on the side of the occupant M. The outer chamber 17 is formed with an outer vent hole 25 for adjusting the internal pressure of the airbag 13 by discharging the gas in the outer chamber 17 (in the airbag 13) to the outside of the airbag 13. In the present embodiment, the outer vent hole 25 is formed by one large-diameter through hole, and is provided at two locations on the front side of the outer chamber 17, here at two locations spaced vertically. ing.

  On the other hand, the inner chamber 19 has an inflator 15 held therein, and is smaller in volume than the outer chamber 17. The inner chamber 19 is provided with an inner vent mechanism 21 that communicates with the outer chamber 17 and supplies gas from the inner chamber 19 to the outer chamber 17. In the present embodiment, the inner vent mechanism 21 is provided at a portion on the front side of the inner chamber 19, and here, is provided at two locations corresponding to the positions of the outer vent holes 25 of the outer chamber 17.

In the side airbag device 11 configured as described above, at the time of a side collision, gas is supplied from the inflator 15 into the inner chamber 19 to inflate the inner chamber 19, and then gas enters the outer chamber 17 from the inner chamber 19 through the inner vent mechanism 21. Is introduced and the outer chamber 19 is inflated, so that the airbag 13 is deployed between the occupant M and the front door 3.
Here, the air bag 13 varies the amount of gas flowing from the inner chamber 19 into the outer chamber 17 in accordance with the width of the gap between the occupant M and the front door 3 during deployment (changes depending on the physique of the occupant and the collision speed). It is possible.

That is, the inner vent mechanism 21 has a function of changing the amount of gas flowing to the outer chamber 17. Next, the structure of the inner vent mechanism 21 will be described in detail.
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 6, the inner vent mechanism 21 is provided at two positions corresponding to the position of the outer vent hole 25 of the outer chamber 17 in the front side portion of the inner chamber 19 with a space in the vertical direction. It has been. Both the upper and lower inner vent mechanisms 21 have the same structure.

As shown in FIG. 3B, the inner vent mechanism 21 includes a plurality of inner vent holes 27 that are provided on the front side of the inner chamber 19 and that communicate with the outer chamber 17. 27 includes a band member 29 (corresponding to the vent hole switching member of the present application) provided to be openable and closable.
Among these, the inner vent hole 27 is a first inner vent hole 27a provided at a position facing the outer vent hole 25, a position adjacent to the first inner vent hole 27a, for example, a position near the lower side of the first inner vent hole 27a. And the second inner vent hole 27b provided side by side. Among these, the first inner vent hole 27 a is a circular through-hole having the same size as or slightly smaller than the outer vent hole 25, and is formed to be approximately the same size as the outer vent hole 25. The second inner vent hole 27b is formed by a circular (small diameter) through-hole that is smaller than the first inner vent hole 27a. That is, the inner vent hole 27 is configured such that the first inner vent hole 27a and the second inner vent hole 27b having different sizes (gas outflow amounts) are disposed adjacent to each other in the vertical direction.

  Further, two portions of the front portion of the inner chamber 19 where the inner vent mechanism 21 is provided are bulged portions 31 that bulge toward the vehicle front side as shown in FIG. The bulging portion 31 includes an arcuate surface portion 31a that protrudes forward and an inclined surface portion 31b that is abruptly inclined so as to retreat backward as it goes downward below the arcuate surface portion 31a. The first inner vent hole 27a is formed in the top area of the arcuate surface portion 31a of the bulging portion 31, and the second inner vent hole 27b is formed in the inclined surface portion 31b.

  For example, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the band member 29 is formed of a cloth band member having a predetermined length having a width dimension that closes the first inner vent hole 27 a which is the larger inner vent hole 27. The An intermediate portion of the band member 29 is arranged at a position closing the second inner vent hole 27b, and both end sides extend along both sides in the width direction of the inner chamber 19 as shown in FIG. Both ends of the band member 29 are fixed to inner surface portions of the base fabric on both sides in the vehicle width direction of the outer chamber 17 by, for example, sewing. Reference numeral 30 in FIG. 5 indicates a fixing portion for fixing the end of the band member 29 to the outer chamber 17 portion.

  Here, the band member 29 is in a slack state until the deployment width in the vehicle width direction of the outer chamber 17 (airbag 13) is equal to or greater than a predetermined width, and the deployment width of the airbag 13 is equal to or greater than the predetermined width. Then, the length is set so as to be stretched in the vehicle width direction. That is, as the deployment width of the airbag 13 increases, the band member 29 is pulled from the slack state in the vehicle width direction and gradually stretched in the vehicle width direction. And in the state where the deployment width of the airbag 13 is less than the predetermined width, the position where the intermediate portion of the band member 29 is arranged along the inclined surface portion 31b on the lower side of the bulging portion 31 to cover the second inner vent hole 27b. When the developed width is equal to or larger than the predetermined width, the intermediate portion of the band member 29 moves upward from the inclined surface portion 31b, and the position of the top region of the arc surface 31a of the bulging portion 31, that is, the first inner vent hole 27a. It is comprised so that it may be displaced to the position which covers.

  That is, the inner vent mechanism 21 switches the size of the inner vent hole 27, that is, the first inner vent hole 27a and the second inner vent hole 27b, using the band member 29 as shown in FIGS. It is a mechanism. Specifically, until the deployment width in the vehicle width direction of the airbag 13 reaches a predetermined deployment width, the second inner vent hole 27b is closed with the band member 29, and the deployment width of the airbag 13 in the vehicle width direction. Is expanded beyond a predetermined development width, the first inner vent hole 27a is switched to be closed.

  More specifically, the inner vent mechanism 21 is configured such that the band member 29 is connected to the second inner vent at the inclined surface portion 31b until the deployment width of the airbag 13 (outer chamber 17) in the vehicle width direction reaches a predetermined width. The second inner vent hole 27b is kept closed by being positioned at a position (covering position) for closing the hole 27b. When the deployment width of the airbag 13 (outer chamber 17) in the vehicle width direction is equal to or greater than a predetermined width, the band member 29 is not loosened, and the intermediate portion of the band member 29 is pressed against the inclined surface portion 31b. The inner chamber 19 is displaced upward while pressing backward (seat side). That is, the intermediate portion of the band member 29 slides up to the first inner vent hole 27a side (upper side) while pressing the inclined surface portion 31b, and is displaced to a position covering the first inner vent hole 27a of the arc surface portion 31a. Thereby, it replaces with the small diameter 2nd inner vent hole 27b, and it switches so that the large diameter 1st inner vent hole 27a may be plugged up (FIG. 6). Of course, each part of the circular arc surface part 31a with the first inner vent hole 27a is appropriately set or fixed to fix the end of the band member 29 so that the band member 29 is positioned at a position covering the first inner vent hole 27a. The position of the part 30 and the length of the band member 29 are appropriately set. In this embodiment, the band member 29 is positioned by the inclined surface portion 31b. However, the intermediate portion of the band member 29 is fixed by sewing or the like while the second inner vent hole 27b is closed. You may comprise so that fixation may be cancelled | released (sewing is fracture | ruptured), when the expansion | deployment width in the vehicle width direction of 13 (outer chamber 17) becomes more than predetermined width.

  With this structure, the band member 29 closes the first inner vent hole 27a as the deployment width of the airbag 13 (outer chamber 17) expands beyond a predetermined width, starting from the position covering the second inner vent hole 27b. Is displaced. When the airbag 13 is deployed to a predetermined width by switching between the first inner vent hole 27a and the second inner vent hole 27b, the generated gas is transferred from the first inner vent hole 27a having a large diameter to the outer chamber. When the air bag 13 is exhausted to the outside through the outer vent hole 25 and the airbag 13 is deployed to a predetermined width or more, the generated gas passes through the outer chamber 17 from the second inner vent hole 27b having a small diameter. 25 is exhausted to the outside.

  That is, when the deployment width of the airbag 13 is relatively small, that is, when the gap between the side portion of the occupant M and the inner surface of the front door 3 (wall surface in the vehicle interior) is relatively narrow, the inner chamber 19 to the outer chamber The amount of gas outflow to 17 is increased, so that a large amount of gas is discharged to the outside of the airbag 13. Further, when the deployment width of the airbag 13 exceeds a predetermined value, that is, when the gap between the side of the occupant M and the inner surface of the front door 3 (wall surface in the vehicle interior) is relatively large, the inner chamber 19 Adjustment is made so that the amount of gas flowing out to the outer chamber 17 is reduced and the amount of gas discharged to the outside of the airbag 13 is reduced.

Next, the operation of the side airbag device 11 configured as described above will be described.
When a side collision is detected by a collision detection sensor (not shown), the inflator 15 is activated and the generated gas is supplied to the inner chamber 19 and the outer chamber 17. Thereby, the airbag 13 accommodated in the seat back 5b enters the clearance between the occupant M from the seat back 5b, that is, the clearance between the side portion of the occupant M and the inner surface of the front door 3 (wall surface in the passenger compartment). To do. Subsequently, the airbag 13 is deployed (in the vehicle width direction) so as to fill a gap between the side portion of the occupant M and the inner surface of the front door 3.

Here, for example, a description will be given of a case where the collision speed is relatively high and when the airbag 13 is deployed, there is a relatively small gap δ1 having a predetermined width or less between the side portion of the occupant M and the inner surface of the front door 3. (FIGS. 2-4).
In this case, since the deployment width of the airbag 13 (outer chamber 17) in the vehicle width direction is regulated by the front door 3 and the occupant M, the band member 29 of the inner vent mechanism 21 is in a state in which the central portion hangs down. In addition, the inclined surface portion 31 is positioned so as to stop at the same position, and continues to close the second inner vent hole 27b (small). That is, the first inner vent hole 27a (large) continues to be opened while facing the outer vent hole 25. Thus, the generated gas supplied from the inflator 15 to the inner chamber 19 is exhausted from the outer vent hole 25 to the outside through the first inner vent hole 27a through the outer chamber 17.

That is, when the gap between the front door 3 and the occupant M is a gap δ1 narrower than a predetermined width, the airbag 13 maintains a state in which gas (pressure) can easily escape as shown in FIGS. While being deployed. Therefore, the inner chamber 19 develops at a low pressure, and the outer chamber 17 develops in a disk shape (low pressure) around the inner chamber 19.
For this reason, the increase in the internal pressure of the airbag 13 is suppressed. Thereby, the airbag 13 is maintained at an appropriate internal pressure even though the intrusion speed is relatively high.

Next, for example, a description will be given of a case where the collision speed is relatively low, and the gap δ2 is relatively large between the side portion of the occupant M and the inner surface of the front door 3 when the airbag 13 is deployed (FIGS. 6 to 8). ).
In this case, since the airbag 13 is deployed at a predetermined width or more in the vehicle width direction, the band member 29 of the inner vent mechanism 21 is outside the vehicle width direction as indicated by an arrow a in FIG. In response to the behavior of the chamber 17, it is pulled from both sides (left and right) in the vehicle width direction and is stretched in the left and right direction (vehicle width direction). Thereby, the intermediate part of the band member 29 is displaced to the upper side from the state where it hung downward. More specifically, the band member 29 slides upward while pressing the inner chamber 19 backward (seat side). Then, the band member 29 is displaced to a position where the first inner vent hole 27a is closed as indicated by an arrow b in FIG. 7, and closes the first inner vent hole 27a as shown in FIGS. Incidentally, the arc surface portion having the first inner vent hole 27a receives the band member 29 while being pressed. Due to the reaction force and deformation of the arcuate surface portion at this time, the band member 29 continues to be regulated in a state of closing the first inner vent hole 27a.

  As a result, the inner vent hole 27 is switched from the large-diameter first inner vent hole 27a to the small-diameter second inner vent hole 27b, making it difficult for gas to flow out from the inner chamber 19 to the outer chamber 17 (gas exhaust amount: Decrease). That is, the internal pressure of the inner chamber 19 is higher than that of the relatively small gap δ1 less than the predetermined width (due to an increase in internal pressure), and continues to maintain a pressure suitable for the situation of the relatively large gap δ2 greater than the predetermined width. . That is, the airbag 13 can be maintained at an internal pressure suitable for a situation with a relatively low intrusion speed.

  As described above, the side airbag device 11 uses the band member 29 and switches the large and small inner vent holes 27a and 27b according to the deployment state of the airbag 13 (outer chamber 17). The amount of gas discharged from the airbag 13 can be adjusted when the gap between the front door 3 and the occupant M and the front door 3 is relatively large. For this reason, the internal pressure of the airbag 13 can be varied according to the clearance between the occupant M and the front door 3.

  Therefore, the thickness of the airbag 13 is different regardless of the size of the gaps δ1, δ2 between the occupant M and the front door 3 (wall surface in the vehicle interior), which varies depending on the physique of the occupant M and the collision speed. (Development width) and internal pressure can be maintained in an appropriate state, and passenger protection performance can be further improved. In particular, by arranging the first inner vent hole 27a of the inner chamber 19 and the outer vent hole 25 of the outer chamber 17 so as to face each other, the inner pressure of the outer chamber 17 which is a characteristic of the airbag 13 having the double bag structure is reduced. It is easy to ensure a lower behavior than the inner chamber 19.

  In addition, in the switching structure between the first inner vent hole 27a and the second inner vent hole 27b, the band member 29 fixed on both sides in the width direction of the outer chamber 17 is used, and the development width of the outer chamber 17 becomes a predetermined width. Up to this point, the second inner vent hole 27b is closed at the slack intermediate portion of the band member 29, and when the developed width of the outer chamber 17 exceeds a predetermined width, the band member 29 is pulled to cover the first inner vent hole 27a. Since a structure that displaces it to the position is used, a simple structure is sufficient. In particular, by forming an inflatable inclined surface portion 31b in the inner chamber portion having the second inner vent hole 27b, the first inner portion can be formed with a simple structure while having a double bag structure in combination with the band member 29. Settings can be made to keep the vent hole 27a open until it reaches a predetermined width, or switching to the second inner vent hole 27b only when the predetermined width is exceeded.

  It should be noted that each configuration and combination thereof in the above-described embodiment is an example, and that addition, omission, replacement, and other changes of the configuration can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. Needless to say. Further, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and needless to say, is limited only by the “claims”. For example, in one embodiment, the example in which the first inner vent hole and the outer vent hole are arranged to face each other has been described, but they may be provided at different positions.

3 Front door (wall surface in the passenger compartment)
5 Front seat
11 Side airbag device 13 Air bag 17 Outer chamber 19 Inner chamber 21 Inner vent mechanism 25 Outer vent hole 27a First inner vent hole 27b Second inner vent hole 29 Band member (vent hole switching member)
31b Inclined surface M Crew

Claims (4)

A side airbag device for a vehicle that deploys an airbag between an occupant seated in a seat and a wall surface in a vehicle cabin,
The airbag is
Forming an outer peripheral surface of the airbag, and an outer chamber having an outer vent hole for discharging the gas inside the airbag generated from the inflator to the outside;
An inner chamber having an inner vent mechanism communicated with the outer chamber and having an inner chamber with a smaller capacity than the outer chamber housed in the outer chamber;
The inner vent mechanism is
The first inner vent hole communicating between the outer chamber and the inner chamber, and the first inner vent hole disposed adjacent to the first inner vent hole and communicating between the outer chamber and the inner chamber. A second inner vent hole smaller than the vent hole;
Based on the position where the second inner vent hole is blocked , the vent is provided to be displaceable to a position where the first inner vent hole is blocked when the deployment width of the airbag in the vehicle width direction exceeds a predetermined width. A side airbag device for a vehicle, comprising: a hole switching member.   The side airbag device for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the first inner vent hole is disposed at a position facing the outer vent hole. The first inner vent hole is provided in the front portion of the inner chamber and the second inner vent hole is provided in the front portion of the inner chamber adjacent to the lower side of the first inner vent hole;
The vent hole switching member is composed of a band member that extends to both sides in the vehicle width direction on the front side of the inner chamber and is fixed to inner surface portions on both sides in the vehicle width direction of the outer chamber,
The band member is disposed at a position where the middle portion of the band member is slackened and closes the second inner vent hole until the development width in the vehicle width direction of the outer chamber reaches a predetermined width. When the deployment width of the outer chamber in the vehicle width direction is expanded beyond a predetermined width, the outer chamber is arranged in a position that is pulled in the vehicle width direction and displaced upward to close the first inner vent hole. The vehicle side airbag device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the vehicle side airbag device is a vehicle side airbag device. The portion having the second inner vent hole covered with the band member of the inner chamber is configured by an inclined surface portion that is inclined in a direction of retreating backward as it moves downward from the first inner vent hole side,
The band member is positioned at a position covering the second inner vent hole by being disposed along the inclined surface portion until a deployment width of the outer chamber reaches the predetermined width. Item 4. The vehicle side airbag device according to Item 3.

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