JP6939179B2 - Airbags and occupant restraint devices - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an airbag that restrains an automobile occupant and a occupant restraining device. Specifically, the present invention provides an airbag that is installed on the seat back of an automobile and expands so as to surround the front and both sides of an occupant in an emergency such as a collision or rollover, and an occupant restraint device provided with this airbag. Regarding and.

Patent Document 1 describes a occupant restraint device that expands and deploys an airbag so as to surround the front portion and both side portions of the occupant head in an emergency such as a collision or rollover of an automobile. The airbag of the occupant restraint device of Patent Document 1 has a frame duct that expands and expands above the occupant's head when viewed from the seat width direction, and a pre-expansion that expands and expands in front of the occupant's head by receiving gas supply from the frame duct. It has a portion and a pair of laterally expanding portions that expand and expand on both sides of the occupant's head by receiving gas supply from the frame duct or the front expanding portion.

When the airbag of the occupant restraint device of Patent Document 1 is inflated, the occupant's head is surrounded by the front inflated portion and the pair of lateral inflated portions from the front and both sides of the seat.

JP-A-2017-30373

The present invention is an airbag that is installed on a seat back or the like and has a front expansion portion that expands in front of the occupant and a lateral expansion portion that expands on both sides of the occupant's head, and is below the front expansion portion. It is an object of the present invention to provide an airbag capable of controlling the internal pressure and the internal pressure of the upper part of the front expansion portion, and an occupant restraint device equipped with this airbag.

The occupant restraint device of the present invention is an airbag that expands and deploys from the seat back, headrest, or interior member behind the seat back to restrain the occupant of the seat, and the airbag expands in front of the occupant. In an airbag that includes a front expansion portion that expands and a lateral expansion portion that expands and expands on both sides of the occupant's head, the left and right side portions of the front expansion portion are connected to the front end portion of the lateral expansion portion. The inside of the front expansion part is divided into at least two chambers, an upper chamber and a lower chamber, by a partition panel, and the partition panel allows gas inflow from the upper chamber to the lower chamber, and from the lower chamber to the upper chamber. It is characterized in that a one-way mechanism portion for blocking or suppressing gas backflow is provided.

In one aspect of the present invention, a vent hole is provided for allowing gas to flow out from the lower chamber.

In one aspect of the present invention, an upward expansion portion that expands upward from the lateral expansion portion is provided. Further, the upper surface of the laterally expanded portion on the front side of the upwardly expanded portion is lower toward the front.

In one aspect of the present invention, the front inflated portion extends below the lateral inflated portion in the expanded state of the airbag.

The occupant restraint device of the present invention includes the airbag of the present invention and an inflator that inflates the airbag.

In the occupant restraint device of the present invention, the inside of the front expansion portion is divided into at least two chambers, an upper chamber and a lower chamber, by a partition panel, and since the partition panel is provided with a one-way mechanism portion, the internal pressure of the upper chamber is increased. It is possible to control the internal pressure of the lower chamber.

It is a side view at the time of expansion of the airbag which concerns on embodiment. It is a top view at the time of expansion of the airbag which concerns on embodiment. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line III-III of FIG. FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line IV-IV of FIG. FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line VV of FIG. FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line VI-VI of FIG. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line VII-VII of FIG. It is the schematic perspective view at the time of expansion of the airbag which concerns on embodiment. It is a side view at the time of occupant restraint of the occupant restraint device which concerns on another embodiment.

The airbag and the occupant restraint device according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 8. In the following explanation, the front and rear, left and right correspond to the front and rear and left and right of the automobile.

The airbag 1 has a pair of lateral expansion portions 2 and 2 that expand and expand forward from the upper part of the seat back S through the left and right sides of the head H of the occupant P and in front of the lateral expansion portions 2 and 2. It has a front expansion portion 3 that is connected to the portion and expands and expands in front of the upper body of the occupant P.

As shown in FIG. 2, the plan view of the airbag 1 is substantially C-shaped because the left and right side portions of the front expansion portion 3 are connected to the front portions of the lateral expansion portions 2 and 2. The vertical length of the front expansion portion 3 is larger than that of the lateral expansion portion 2, and when the airbag 1 is completely expanded, the lower portion of the front expansion portion 3 extends downward from the lateral expansion portion 2.

A partition panel 4 is provided so as to connect the front panel 3a and the rear panel 3b of the front expansion portion 3, whereby the inside of the front expansion portion 3 is divided into two chambers, an upper chamber 3U and a lower chamber 3L. It is drawn. When the airbag 1 has been expanded, the partition panel 4 is located at the lowermost portion of the lateral expansion portion 2 or lower than the lowermost portion 2. The partition panel 4 extends in the left-right direction, and the left and right ends of the partition panel 4 are connected to the left and right end portions of the front expansion portion 3 by adhesion, sewing, or the like.

The partition panel 4 is provided with an opening 4a for communicating the upper chamber 3U and the lower chamber 3L, and a valve cloth 4b is provided in the opening 4a. The valve cloth 4b has a size slightly larger than the opening 4a, and is arranged on the lower surface side of the partition panel 4 so as to cover the opening 4a from below. The valve cloth 4b is connected to the approximately half circumference portion (or two portions facing each other in the radial direction) of the peripheral edge of the opening 4a by a connecting means such as a suture thread 4c. The valve cloth 4b functions as a one-way valve, and when gas tries to flow from the upper chamber 3U to the lower chamber 3L, the valve is opened as shown by the two-dot chain line 4b'in FIG. .. When the gas tries to flow back from the lower chamber 3L to the upper chamber 3U, the valve cloth 4b overlaps the opening 4a and closes the opening 4a to prevent or suppress the backflow of the gas. A one-way mechanism other than the valve cloth 4b may be adopted.

A vent hole 5 is provided below the partition panel 4 in the front panel 3a of the front expansion portion 3. In this embodiment, the vent hole 5 is closed by a film 6 that cleaves when the pressure exceeds a predetermined pressure. The film 6 is bonded to the peripheral edge of the vent hole 5 by a bonding means such as adhesion or sewing.

In this embodiment, an upward expansion portion 7 that expands and expands upward from the rear portion of each lateral expansion portion 2 or in the middle of the front-rear direction through both sides of the occupant head H is provided. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the upward expansion portion 7 is located on the side of the occupant head H in the normal sitting posture (FIGS. 1 and 2) when there is no collision. The length of the upward expansion portion 7 in the front-rear direction is preferably about 100 to 300 mm, particularly about 150 to 250 mm.

The upward expansion portion 7 rises upward from the peripheral edge portion of the opening 8 (FIG. 5) on the upper surface of the lateral expansion portion 2. A tether panel 9 is provided so as to cross the opening 8 in the left-right direction. The upward expansion portion 7 communicates with the lateral expansion portion 2 through the open openings 8 on the front and rear sides of the tether panel 9.

A tether panel 10 (FIG. 7) is provided between the upward expansion portion 7 and the front expansion portion 3 so as to connect the side surfaces of the lateral expansion portion 2, and the expansion width of the lateral expansion portion 2 in the left-right direction is restricted. Has been done. When the airbag 1 has been expanded, it is preferable that the front side of the upper surface of the lateral expansion portion 2 with respect to the upper expansion portion 7 is lower toward the front.

The rear ends of the left and right lateral expansion portions 2 and 2 are connected by a tie duct 11. The tie duct 11 communicates the rear ends of the laterally expanding portions 2 and 2 with each other. The tie duct 11 is provided with a hole 11h on the lower surface near the middle in the longitudinal direction, and is configured so that the tip of a gas introduction pipe (not shown) is inserted into the hole 11h.

The airbag 1 configured in this way is folded and housed in a retainer (not shown). An inflator is installed in the retainer, and gas can be introduced into the airbag 1 through the gas introduction pipe.

The retainer accommodating the airbag 1 is installed in the upper part of the seat back S and is covered with the seat back surface covering material. The seat back surface covering material is provided with a tearable slit (not shown) that opens when the airbag 1 expands.

When a vehicle collision, rollover, or the like is detected, the inflator is activated and the airbag 1 starts to expand. The airbag 1 pushes through the tearable slit and first expands and expands upward from the upper part of the seat back S. Next, the laterally inflated portion expands and expands forward above the occupant's head H, and then the front inflated portion 3 expands and expands downward in front of the occupant's head H. At the same time, or before or after that, the upward expansion portion 7 expands and expands from the lateral expansion portion 2.

The final unfolded shape of the airbag 1 is as shown in FIGS. 1 to 8. The front expansion portion 3 of the airbag 1 having the final expanded shape is located in front of the upper body of the occupant P, and the lateral expansion portions 2 and 2 pass through the left and right sides of the occupant head H to the left and right of the front expansion portion 3. Both side parts and the upper part of the seat back S are connected. In this embodiment, the upper chamber 3U of the anterior inflated portion 3 is located from about the lower half of the occupant's head H to the upper front of the chest of the occupant P. When the eye height of the occupant P is higher than that of the front expansion portion 3, the occupant can visually recognize the front.

The lower chamber 3L is located near the front of the abdomen from the lower part of the chest of the occupant P.

The gas from the inflator flows into the front expansion portion 3 through the lateral expansion portion 2 and descends in the front expansion portion 3. Therefore, immediately before the expansion of the front expansion portion 3 is completed, the inertial force of the gas causes the front expansion portion. The rate of increase in internal pressure near the lower part of 3 is about to increase.

In this embodiment, the inside of the front expansion portion 3 is divided into an upper chamber 3U and a lower chamber 3L by a partition panel 4, and the gas descending in the upper chamber 3U hits the partition panel 4 and passes through the opening 4a. Since it flows into the lower chamber 3L, the internal pressure rising speed of the lower chamber 3L is slowed down.

When the automobile collides forward, the upper body (including the head H) of the occupant P is restrained by the front expansion portion 3.

When the front expansion portion 3 receives the occupant P, the internal pressure of the front expansion portion 3 rises. Since the valve cloth 4b is provided in the opening 4a, even if the internal pressure of the lower chamber 3L becomes higher than the internal pressure of the upper chamber 3U, the gas backflow from the lower chamber 3L to the upper chamber 3U is blocked or suppressed. When the internal pressure of the lower chamber 3L becomes equal to or higher than the specified pressure (for example, 30 to 60 kPa), the film 6 is torn, the vent hole 5 is opened, and gas flows out from the vent hole 5. As a result, the impact is absorbed. Further, as described above, since the backflow of gas is blocked or suppressed by the valve cloth 4b, the increase in the internal pressure of the lower chamber 3L is prevented or suppressed from propagating to the upper chamber 3U, and the head restraint by the upper chamber 3U is good. Performance is maintained.

The film 6 may be omitted. Further, a pressure adjusting means other than the film 6 may be adopted. Examples of the pressure adjusting means include various means such as a tearable seam that sutures and closes the vent hole 5.

When the automobile receives a side collision or rolls over, the occupant head H is restrained by the lateral expansion portion 2 and the upward expansion portion 7. In this case, it is preferable that the film 6 does not tear.

The upward rising height of the upward expanding portion 7 may be the height at which the upper end of the upward expanding portion 7 abuts on the vehicle interior ceiling R. When the upward expansion portion 7 comes into contact with the vehicle interior ceiling R, the movement of the lateral expansion portion 2, particularly the movement to the left and right, is suppressed.

The occupant restraint device of the present invention may be mounted on a seat back of a type in which the seat back tilts forward when a forward tilt load of a predetermined value or more is applied to the seat back. Examples of such a seat back include those described in JP-A-2016-179768. With such a configuration, interference with the secondary collision portion is prevented as in the case of the conventional airbag without being affected by the physical disparity of the occupants.

FIG. 9 shows a state in which an automobile in which the occupant restraint device of the present invention is installed on the seat back of the same publication collides forward. FIG. 9 shows the driver's seat back on which the steering wheel 20 is arranged, and the occupant P is also restrained by the seat belt 21. However, the occupant restraint device of the present invention may be installed on the seat back of another seat such as the passenger seat. This seat may be a seat in which the instrument panel, the steering wheel, or the like is not present in the front, and the occupant's head finally hits the occupant's thigh.

The above embodiment is an example of the present invention, and the present invention may be an embodiment other than those shown in the drawings. For example, the airbag 1 does not have an overhead expansion portion that covers the upper side of the occupant head H, but such an expansion portion may be provided. Further, in the present invention, the partition panels may be provided in two or more stages. The occupant restraint device of the present invention may be installed on a headrest or an interior member of a passenger compartment behind a rear seat back.

1 Airbag 2 Lateral expansion part 3 Front expansion part 3U Upper chamber 3L Lower chamber 4 Partition panel 5 Vent hole 6 Film 7 Upper expansion part 8 Opening 9,10 Tether

Claims (4)

An airbag that expands and expands from the seat back, headrest, or interior member behind the seat back to restrain the occupants of the seat.
The airbag includes a front expansion portion that expands and expands in front of the occupant and a lateral expansion portion that expands and expands on both sides of the occupant's head, and the left and right side portions of the front expansion portion are front ends of the lateral expansion portion. In the airbags connected to the part
The inside of the front expansion portion is divided into at least two chambers, an upper chamber and a lower chamber, by a partition panel, and the partition panel allows gas inflow from the upper chamber to the lower chamber, and from the lower chamber to the upper chamber. A one-way mechanism that blocks or suppresses the backflow of gas is provided .
An upward expansion portion that expands upward from the rear portion of the lateral expansion portion or the middle of the front-rear direction is provided.
The upward rising height of the upward expanding portion is the height at which the upper end of the upward expanding portion abuts on the ceiling of the passenger compartment.
Inside the lateral expansion portion between the upward expansion portion and the front expansion portion, a tether panel is provided so as to connect the side surfaces of the lateral expansion portion to each other.
When the airbag has been inflated, the partition panel is located at the bottom of the lateral inflatable portion or lower than the lowermost portion.
An airbag characterized in that a vent hole for allowing gas to flow out from the lower chamber is provided, and the vent hole is closed by a film that cleaves when a predetermined pressure or higher is applied. The airbag according to claim 1 , wherein the upper surface of the lateral expansion portion on the front side of the upward bulging portion is lower toward the front. The airbag according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein the front expansion portion extends downward from the lateral expansion portion when the expansion of the airbag is completed. An occupant restraint device comprising the airbag according to any one of claims 1 to 3 and an inflator that inflates the airbag.

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