JP6978987B2 - Airbag - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an airbag installed in a vehicle for occupant protection.

In recent years, many vehicles have been equipped with airbags to protect occupants in the event of a collision. The airbag is arranged at an appropriate position in the vehicle interior, and is expanded and expanded by introducing the injection gas of the inflator when the vehicle collides. The occupants in the passenger compartment are caught by the inflated airbag and protected from secondary collisions with various parts in the passenger compartment.

Patent Document 1 discloses an airbag composed of left and right half airbags. The left and right half airbags are integrated by suturing the inner panels of each. This airbag expands and expands in front of the occupant, restrains the occupant's movement forward in the event of a vehicle collision between the left and right half airbags, and moves the occupant to the left front or right front on each side. Can be restrained with a half airbag.

Patent Document 2 describes a driver airbag that expands and expands in front of the driver's seat, a passenger airbag that expands and expands in front of the passenger seat, and an airbag that protrudes rearward from these. A occupant protection device with a central airbag that expands and expands as described above is disclosed. According to this device, the movement of the occupant in the forward direction can be restrained by the driver airbag or the passenger airbag, and the movement of the occupant diagonally forward can be restrained by the central airbag.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2008-018936 JP-A-2015-157602

According to the disclosures of Patent Documents 1 and 2, it is possible to protect an occupant who moves not only in the forward direction but also in the left-right direction in the event of a vehicle collision. However, many collision modes are assumed in a moving vehicle, and the occupant may move in various directions due to the collision. The techniques disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2 can satisfactorily protect the occupant. May not be.

An object of the present disclosure is to provide an airbag that can provide good protection for occupants in various forms of collision.

The airbag according to the present disclosure includes a main restraint surface facing the front position of the occupant during expansion and deployment in the vehicle interior, and left and right protrusions protruding rearward from both the left and right sides of the main restraint surface. It is provided with an upper protruding portion that protrudes from the upper side of the main restraining surface toward the rear.

According to the present disclosure, the movement of the occupant in the forward direction in the event of a vehicle collision is received and restrained by the main restraint surface, and the movement of the occupant in the left-right direction is further upward by the left protrusion or the right protrusion. The movement of the occupants is received and restrained by the upper protrusions.

Further, the left and right left and right end portions of the upper protruding portion are respectively coupled to the upper end portions of the left protruding portion and the right protruding portion.

The upper protrusion and the left and right protrusions are connected at their respective ends. The upper protrusions regulate the lateral expansion of the left and right protrusions, and the left and right protrusions act to regulate the upward tilting of the upper protrusions, and the occupants move in various directions. Can be reliably restrained.

Further, an annular central panel including the main restraint surface, the inner side surface of the left protrusion and the right protrusion, and the upper and lower side surfaces of the upper protrusion, the outer surface of the left protrusion or the right protrusion, and the said. It includes a left side surface or a right side surface of the upper protrusion, and includes left and right outer panels connected to both side edges of the central panel.

An annular central panel and left and right outer panels coupled to both side edges of the central panel can form an airbag having protrusions on both the left and right sides and the upper side of the main restraint surface.

Further, the outer panel is interconnected between a portion corresponding to the upper end portion of the left protruding portion or the right protruding portion and a portion corresponding to the left end portion or the right end portion of the upper protruding portion.

The connection between the upper protrusion and the ends of the left and right protrusions is firmly realized by connecting the corresponding parts of the outer panel to each other.

Further, the central panel and the outer panel are joined by stitching.

The central panel and the outer panel can be easily and strongly joined by adopting stitching.

Further, it is provided between the inner surfaces of the central panel and the outer panel, and is provided with a plurality of internal tethers that regulate the shape at the time of expansion and deployment.

The inner tether is erected between the inner surfaces of the central panel and the outer panel and regulates the relative position between the erection sites during expansion and deployment. By appropriately providing a plurality of internal tethers, the airbag can be kept in a desired shape during expansion and deployment.

Further, the internal tether is erected between the inner surface of the central panel and the boundary portion between the main restraining surface of the central panel and the inner surface of the left protruding portion and the right protruding portion, and is installed in front of and behind the main restraining surface. Includes a first tether that regulates directional position.

The first tether regulates the position of the main restraint surface in the anteroposterior direction during expansion and deployment. The main restraining surface faces the front of the occupant at an appropriate position, and can satisfactorily restrain the occupant's forward movement in the event of a vehicle collision.

Further, the internal tether includes a second tether that is installed between the inner surfaces of the left and right outer panels and regulates the spread width of both outer panels in the left-right direction.

The second tether regulates the expansion width of the left and right outer panels in the left-right direction during expansion and deployment. As a result, the left and right projecting portions and the right projecting portions having the left and right outer panels as the outer surfaces are appropriately maintained in the left-right direction, and the movement of the occupant in the left-right direction in the event of a vehicle collision can be satisfactorily restrained.

According to the airbag according to the present disclosure, it is possible to satisfactorily protect the occupant in various collision modes.

It is a side view of the inside of the vehicle which includes the airbag which concerns on embodiment. It is a side view of the inside of a vehicle which shows the state which the airbag is deployed. It is a top view of the inside of a vehicle which shows the state which the airbag is deployed. It is a front view which looked at the expanded and expanded airbag from the rear. It is a side perspective view of the expanded and expanded airbag seen from the upper left side. It is an exploded view of an airbag. It is explanatory drawing which shows the assembly form of a central panel.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic view of the inside of a vehicle including an airbag according to an embodiment. The airbag assembly 100 including the airbag according to the embodiment is mounted on the vehicle 10. In the following description, as shown in the figure, the front-rear, up-down, and left-right of the vehicle 10 traveling on the road surface are used.

In the passenger compartment of the vehicle 10, the occupant 50 is seated on the seat 5 facing forward. A windshield 12, a roof 14, and a side door 15 are provided in front of, above, and to the side of the occupant 50. The airbag assembly 100 is mounted on the dashboard 11 facing the occupant 50 at a position below the windshield 12, and includes a housing 102, an inflator 104, and an airbag 2 (see FIGS. 2 and 3). The airbag assembly 100 is not limited to the dashboard 11, but may be installed in various places in the vehicle interior such as a steering wheel, side doors 15, and seats 5. Further, the dashboard 11 may be referred to by another name such as an instrument panel.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the inside of the vehicle showing a state in which the airbag is deployed. FIG. 3 is a plan view of the inside of the vehicle showing a state in which the airbag is deployed. The airbag 2 is, for example, a cloth bag reinforced by braiding nylon fibers, and is normally folded appropriately, stored in a housing 102, and connected to an inflator 104. The inflator 104 operates explosively in response to the collision of the vehicle 10 and injects gas into the airbag 2. The airbag 2 expands and expands in the vehicle interior as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 when the injection gas of the inflator 104 is introduced. The occupant 50 seated in the seat 5 is restrained from moving by the expanded and deployed airbag 2 and is protected from a secondary collision with each part in the vehicle interior.

The housing 102 includes a continuous cover on the upper surface of the dashboard 11. This cover has a seam such as a tear seam and a burst seam that breaks due to the action of a predetermined external force, and the expansion and deployment of the airbag 2 occurs with the break of the cover. The inflator 104 may be directly connected to the airbag 2 or may be indirectly connected via an appropriate duct or pipe.

The airbag 2 has a main restraint surface 20 facing the front position of the occupant 50 when expanded and deployed in the vehicle interior, and a left protruding portion 21 projecting rearward from both the left and right sides of the main restraint surface 20. And a right protruding portion 22, and further provided with an upper protruding portion 23 protruding from the upper side of the main restraint surface 20 toward the rear.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the main restraint surface 20 receives the head 52 of the occupant 50 that inertially moves forward at the time of a collision, and acts to restrain the movement. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the left protruding portion 21 and the right protruding portion 22 receive the torso shoulder portion 54 of the occupant 50 that inertially moves forward at the time of a collision, restrain the movement, and as shown in FIG. The head 52 of the occupant 50 is sandwiched from both the left and right sides, and acts to restrain the movement of the head 52 to the left or right. Further, the upper protruding portion 23 abuts on the head 52 of the occupant 50 from above as shown in FIG. 2, and acts to restrain the upward movement of the head 52.

As described above, the airbag 2 is provided with a left protruding portion 21 and a right protruding portion 22 on both the left and right sides of the main restraining surface 20, and further has an upper protruding portion 23 on the upper side of the main restraining surface 20. In addition to the movement of the occupant 50 in the forward and left-right directions assumed at the time of a collision, the movement of the occupant 50 in the upward direction can also be restrained, and the occupant 50 can move to each part of the vehicle interior in various collision modes. Protected from secondary collisions.

FIG. 4 is a front view of the expanded and expanded airbag 2 as viewed from the rear, and FIG. 5 is a side perspective view of the expanded and expanded airbag 2 as viewed from the upper left. As shown in these figures, the airbag 2 includes a central panel 3 constituting a central portion including a main restraining surface 20, and outer panels 4 and 4 constituting the left and right outer surfaces, which are joined by stitching. It is composed of. Although the outer panel 4 on the left side is shown in FIG. 5, the outer panel 4 on the right side also has substantially the same shape.

FIG. 6 is an exploded view of the airbag 2, and the central panel 3 and the left and right outer panels 4 and 4 before coupling are simplified and illustrated. It should be noted that the constituent members of the airbag 2 may include panels other than the central panel 3 and the left and right outer panels 4 and 4, as well as various auxiliary members used for coupling between the panels and regulation of the deployed shape. good.

The central panel 3 is an elongated strip in the disassembled state shown in FIG. 6, and overhanging portions 30, 30 overhanging on both sides in the width direction are provided at one end in the length direction, respectively, over an appropriate length. A connection hole 31 for connecting to the inflator 104 is formed at a position appropriately long away from the other end.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing an assembled form of the central panel 3. The central panel 3 is formed by rolling a band having the shape shown in FIG. 6 into an annular shape, overlapping both ends in the length direction and connecting them to form a band ring as shown in FIG. 7. The end connection can be realized, for example, by stitching at the position (joint end 35) indicated by the broken line in the figure. The overhanging portions 30 and 30 are located apart from the connection hole 31, and are raised outward at each position. Further, on the opposite side of the joint end portion 35 with respect to the overhanging portions 30 and 30, the portion that becomes a protruding portion continuously with the overhanging portions 30 and 30 is bent in a chevron shape and is oriented in the same direction as the overhanging portions 30 and 30. A bent portion 32 protruding into the shape is formed.

The assembly form of the central panel 3 as described above can be maintained by installing an internal tether at an appropriate position on the inner surface. In FIG. 7, the first tether 33 erected between the rising portion 37 of the overhanging portions 30 and 30 and the forming portion of the connecting hole 31 is shown by a two-dot chain line. The first tether 33 is a narrow band, and the central portion is connected to the forming portion of the connection hole 31, and both ends extending toward the left and right overhanging portions 30 and 30 are raised portions 37 on each side. It is erected by connecting to. The rising portion 37 is a boundary portion between the main restraining surface 2a of the central panel 3 and the left protruding portion 21 and the right protruding portion 22. As will be described later, the first tether 33 erected in this way acts to regulate the position of the main restraint surface 20 in the front-rear direction when the airbag 2 is expanded and deployed.

As shown in FIG. 6, the left and right outer panels 4 and 4 each have a shape corresponding to the openings on both sides of the central panel 3 assembled in a band ring shape, and the overhanging portion 30 and the bent portion 32 of the central panel 3 respectively have a shape. It includes corresponding protrusions 40, 41. The airbag 2 is configured as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 by aligning the left and right outer panels 4 and 4 with the openings on both sides of the central panel 3 and joining the peripheral edges of each by stitching over the entire circumference. ing.

The overhanging portion 30 of the central panel 3 is coupled to the protruding portion 40 of the outer panel 4, and the left protruding portion 21 and the right protruding portion 22 of the airbag 2 have the overhanging portion 30 on the inner side surface as shown in FIG. The protruding portion 40 is configured as an outer surface, and the outer surface of the central panel 3 connecting the left and right overhanging portions 30 is the main restraining surface 20.

One end of the first tether 33 provided as described above is at the boundary portion between the main restraining surface 20 and the inner side surface of the left protruding portion 21 and the right protruding portion 22, and the other end is the center at the forming portion of the connection hole 31. Each is bonded to the inner surface of the panel 3. When the airbag 2 is expanded and deployed, the first tether 33 is stretched between both sides of the main restraint surface 20 and the dashboard 11, as shown by the alternate long and short dash line in FIGS. 2 and 3, and the dashboard 11 is stretched. As a reference, the position of the main restraint surface 20 in the front-rear direction is regulated. As a result, the main restraining surface 20 can appropriately receive the head 52 of the occupant 50 and reliably restrain the movement of the head 52 in the forward direction.

On the other hand, the protruding portion 41 of the outer panel 4 is coupled to the bent portion 32 of the central panel 3, and the upper protruding portion 23 of the airbag 2 projects with the bent portion 32 as the upper and lower side surfaces as shown in FIG. The portion 41 is configured as an outer surface. Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the left end portion of the upper protrusion 23 is coupled to the upper end portion of the left protrusion 21, and the right end portion of the upper protrusion 23 is similarly coupled to the upper end portion of the right protrusion 22. Has been done.

By this coupling, the upper protruding portion 23 acts to restrict the left-right protruding portion 21 and the right protruding portion 22 from spreading in the left-right direction, and the left protruding portion 21 and the right protruding portion 22 move upward in the upper protruding portion 23. It acts to regulate the fall of. Therefore, it is possible to reliably perform the left or right movement restraint by the left protrusion 21 and the right protrusion 22 and the upward movement restraint by the upper protrusion 23, and to protect the occupant 50 satisfactorily. .. The connection between the left protruding portion 21 and the right protruding portion 22 and the upper protruding portion 23 is realized with high strength by mutually sewing the protruding portions 41 and 42, that is, the corresponding portions of the outer panel 4, which are the outer surfaces of each. can do.

Further, as shown in FIG. 6, exhaust holes 42 are formed in the left and right outer panels 4 and 4. The exhaust hole 42 has a function of exhausting the gas in the airbag 2 to the outside under a predetermined resistance. The occupant 50 restrained by the airbag 2 at the time of a collision is buffered and protected by the exhaust gas from the exhaust hole 42. FIG. 5 shows an exhaust hole 42 formed in the outer panel 4 on the left side. The exhaust hole 42 may be provided in any one of the left and right outer panels 4 and 4, or may be provided in the central panel 3.

Further, the airbag 2 includes a second tether 43 installed between the inner surfaces of the left and right outer panels 4 and 4. As shown by the alternate long and short dash line in FIG. 3, the second tether 43 is stretched in the left-right direction between the inner surfaces when the airbag 2 is expanded and deployed, and regulates the expansion width of the airbag 2 in the left-right direction. As a result, the left-right protruding portions 21 and the right protruding portions 22 having the left and right outer panels 4 and 4 as the outer surfaces can be appropriately maintained in the left-right direction, and the movement of the occupant 50 in the left-right direction at the time of a collision is satisfactorily restrained. be able to. In FIG. 5, the position of the second tether 43 is shown by a sewing line appearing on the outer surface of the outer panel 4 on the left side.

Internal tethers other than the first tether 33 and the second tether 43 can be appropriately installed between the inner surfaces of the central panel 3 and the outer panels 4 and 4 constituting the airbag 2. By appropriately providing a plurality of internal tethers, the airbag 2 at the time of expansion and deployment can be kept in a desired shape, and the occupant 50 can be restrained more reliably.

It should be noted that the embodiments disclosed this time are exemplary in all respects and are not considered to be restrictive. The scope of the present invention is indicated by the scope of claims, not the above-mentioned meaning, and is intended to include all modifications within the meaning and scope equivalent to the scope of claims.

2 Airbag 3 Center panel 4 Outer panel 20 Main restraint surface 21 Left protrusion 22 Right protrusion 23 Top protrusion 33 First tether (internal tether)
43 Second tether (internal tether)

Claims (6)

The main restraint surface facing the front position of the occupant when expanding and deploying in the passenger compartment,
A left protrusion and a right protrusion protruding rearward from both the left and right sides of the main restraint surface,
It is provided with an upper protrusion that protrudes rearward from the upper side of the main restraint surface .
Left and right side end portions, said left projecting portion and the right protruding portion upper end airbag that is respectively coupled to the portion of the upper protrusion. The central panel of the ring road and
With the left and right outer panels that are connected to both sides of the center panel, respectively.
Equipped with
The central panel has a main restraint surface facing the front position of the occupant when expanded and deployed in the vehicle interior, an inner surface of a left protrusion and a right protrusion protruding rearward from both left and right sides of the main restraint surface, and the above-mentioned. Forming the upper and lower side surfaces of the upper protrusion protruding from the upper side of the main restraint surface toward the rear,
The outer panel forms an outer surface of the left or right protrusion and a left or right surface of the upper protrusion.
The airbag left projection or the upper end of the right projection and the left end or the right end portion of the upper protrusion that is coupled to each other. The airbag according to claim 2 , wherein the central panel and the outer panel are joined by stitching. The airbag according to claim 2 or 3 , which is erected between the inner surfaces of the central panel and the outer panel and includes a plurality of internal tethers that regulate the shape when expanded and deployed. The internal tether is erected between the inner surface of the central panel and the boundary portion between the main restraint surface of the central panel and the inner surface of the left protrusion and the right protrusion, and is positioned in the front-rear direction of the main restraint surface. The airbag according to claim 4 , which comprises a first tether that regulates. The airbag according to claim 4 , wherein the internal tether is installed between the inner surfaces of the left and right outer panels and includes a second tether that regulates the lateral spread width of both outer panels.

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