JP6994978B2 - Airbag device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an airbag device that is installed in a vehicle and expands and deploys for the purpose of protecting occupants in an emergency.

The airbag device is a safety device that operates in an emergency such as a vehicle collision, and includes, for example, a bag-shaped cushion. The cushion expands and expands with gas in an emergency to receive and protect the occupants. There are various types of airbag devices depending on the installation location and application. As an example, a side airbag that expands and expands from the side of the vehicle seat to the immediate side of the occupant in order to protect the occupant from a side collision and the subsequent rollover (rollover) is known.

The cushion of the airbag device is made of a base cloth and is configured to expand and expand mainly by gas pressure, and is equipped with a gas generator called an inflator as a gas supply source. There are various types of inflators depending on the type of airbag and the location where it is installed. For example, a cylinder type (cylinder type) inflator is mainly used for curtain airbags, side airbags and the like.

Patent Document 1 describes an airbag device including a side airbag (cushion) and a cylinder-type inflator. The cushion is provided with an insertion hole for inserting an inflator and a check valve. The check valve is provided inside the cushion so as to cover the insertion hole, and has a pair of cloth pieces formed in a substantially trapezoidal shape.

In the airbag device described in Patent Document 1, when an inflator inserted through an insertion hole inside a cushion is activated, the upper end sides of a pair of cloth pieces forming a check valve are separated from each other by the wind pressure of the gas, and the gas is separated from each other. Allow supply. Then, when the gas pressure becomes equal to or higher than a predetermined value, the check valve limits the movement of the gas because the upper end sides of the pair of cloth pieces approach each other.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2012-131363

By the way, in an airbag device having a configuration in which a cylinder-type inflator is inserted into an insertion hole formed in a cushion, it is necessary to attach a connector for supplying a signal for ignition to the end of the inflator. Therefore, the end of the inflator needs to be exposed to the outside from the entrance of the insertion hole. Therefore, at the entrance of the insertion hole, a gap is inevitably created between the base cloth constituting the cushion and the inflator. When the inflator is activated, gas leaks to the outside of the cushion through this gap.

In the technique described in Patent Document 1, a pair of cloth pieces are provided inside the cushion so as to cover the insertion hole to form a check valve, but the pair of cloth pieces are separated from each other or approach each other by gas pressure. It's just that. Therefore, there is a concern that the check valve will collapse due to the change in gas pressure when the inflator is operated, and gas will leak to the outside of the cushion through the gap formed between the inlet of the insertion hole and the main body of the inflator.

In view of such problems, it is an object of the present invention to provide an airbag device capable of suppressing gas leakage to the outside from a gap between the inlet of a cushion insertion hole and the main body of the inflator when the inflator is operated. ..

In order to solve the above problems, a typical configuration of the airbag device according to the present invention is an airbag device installed in a vehicle, which is a cylinder type main body and an inflator having a stud bolt protruding from the main body. Through a bag-shaped cushion that expands and expands using the gas supplied from the inflator, an insertion hole formed in the cushion into which the inflator is inserted, and an inflator stud bolt formed in the cushion and inserted into the insertion hole. It has a hole that protrudes to the outside of the cushion and a tether that is connected to the cushion. It is characterized by having an intermediate portion extending from one end portion through the inlet of the insertion hole to the outside of the cushion, and the other end portion continuously hooked on the stud bolt to the intermediate portion.

When a cylinder-type inflator is inserted into the insertion hole of the cushion, the rear end of the inflator is exposed to the outside from the entrance of the insertion hole in order to attach a connector for supplying a signal for ignition. Therefore, at the entrance of the insertion hole, a gap is inevitably generated between the base cloth constituting the cushion and the main body of the inflator. Therefore, when the inflator is activated, gas leaks to the outside of the cushion through this gap.

According to the present invention, one end of the tether is coupled to the insertion hole at a position opposite to the hole, and the other end is hooked on a stud bolt. The intermediate portion positioned by these one end and the other end can cover the gap between the inlet of the insertion hole and the main body of the inflator, and can prevent gas from leaking to the outside of the cushion through the gap. Moreover, one end of the tether is connected to a position deeper than the entrance of the insertion hole. Therefore, even if the inflator is activated and the internal pressure of the cushion rises and the tether is pushed outward from the entrance of the insertion hole, the middle part of the tether moves out of the entrance of the insertion hole. Is prevented. As a result, the above-mentioned gas leakage suppressing effect can be obtained more fully.

The cushion described above has a folded portion that extends outward from the entrance of the insertion hole and is folded inside the insertion hole, and one end of the tether is overlapped and connected to the tip of the folded portion. It is good.

As a result, the folded-back portion is folded back with the entrance of the insertion hole as a boundary, so that the folded-back portion overlaps with the base cloth of the cushion. Then, by overlapping and connecting one end of the tether to the tip of the folded portion, this portion is reinforced by stacking three sheets. Therefore, one end of the tether can be reliably connected at a position deeper than the entrance of the insertion hole.

The above tether may be set to a length that maintains tension while the other end is hooked on the stud bolt.

As a result, the cushion in the range from the position deeper than the entrance of the insertion hole to which one end of the tether is connected, through the entrance of the insertion hole over which the middle part straddles, and the stud bolt to which the other end is hooked is released. It is pulled by the entire tensioned tether. Therefore, the middle portion of the tether can reduce (shrink) the gap between the entrance of the insertion hole and the main body of the inflator. Therefore, it is possible to further suppress the leakage of gas from the gap to the outside of the cushion when the inflator is operated.

One end of the above tether may be joined to a recessed position by sewing. This ensures that one end of the tether can be securely and easily coupled to the cushion.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an airbag device capable of suppressing gas from leaking to the outside through a gap between an inlet of a cushion insertion hole and a main body of an inflator when the inflator is operated.

It is a figure which schematically illustrates the airbag device in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which exemplifies a part of the airbag device of FIG. 1 in detail. It is a figure which illustrates the state before sewing of the cushion of FIG. 2 (a). FIG. 3B is a diagram illustrating a procedure for attaching a tether to a cushion following FIG. 3 (b). It is a figure which illustrates the procedure of sewing a cushion following FIG. 4 (b). Following FIG. 5, a procedure for manufacturing the airbag device will be described. It is a figure which illustrates the airbag device of the comparative example. It is a figure which illustrates the airbag device in another embodiment of this invention.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The dimensions, materials, and other specific numerical values shown in the embodiment are merely examples for facilitating the understanding of the invention, and do not limit the present invention unless otherwise specified. In the present specification and the drawings, elements having substantially the same function and configuration are designated by the same reference numerals to omit duplicate explanations, and elements not directly related to the present invention are not shown. do.

FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically illustrating an airbag device 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The airbag device 100 is built in, for example, the seat back 104 of the vehicle seat 102. The airbag device 100 is provided on the outside of the vehicle of the seat back 104, and includes a cushion 108 (see FIG. 2) that stands upright and expands and expands between the vehicle seat 102 and the door 106.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a part of the airbag device 100 of FIG. 1 in detail. FIG. 2A illustrates a state in which the cushion 108 is unfolded. FIG. 2B is a diagram schematically showing the region A surrounded by the dotted line in FIG. 2A and the inside thereof. FIG. 2 (c) is a view taken along the line B of FIG. 2 (a).

The cushion is formed in a bag shape by, for example, a method of sewing from a total of two base fabrics constituting the front and back surfaces, a method of spinning using OPW (One-Piece Woven), or the like. The cushion 108 in the present embodiment is composed of a single piece of cloth, and as shown in FIG. 2A, its periphery is sewn by a sewing line 110 to form a bag shape.

The airbag device 100 includes an inflator 112. The inflator 112 is a gas generator, and is configured to generate and supply gas by burning an internal gas generator. The inflator 112 is a cylinder type (cylinder type), and is inserted and attached to the inside of the cushion 108 through the inlet 116 of the insertion hole 114 formed in the cushion 108 as shown in FIG. 2 (a). ing. The size of the inlet 116 of the insertion hole 114 is defined by the position of the end 110a of the sewing line 110, and is wide enough to insert the inflator 112.

The inflator 112 has a cylinder-shaped main body 118 and stud bolts 120 and 122 protruding from the main body 118. The inflator 112 is fixed to, for example, a vehicle seat 104 (see FIG. 1) through holes 124 and 126 formed in the cushion 108 through the stud bolts 120 and 122.

As shown in FIG. 2A, a gas supply hole 130 is provided on the tip 128 side of the main body 118 of the inflator 112. On the other hand, the connector 134 is attached to the rear end 132 side of the main body 118. The connector 134 has a harness 136 (see FIG. 6) as shown in FIG. 2 (c), and supplies a signal for igniting the gas generating agent due to the detection of an impact by a sensor or the like.

Therefore, the rear end 132 of the main body 118 of the inflator 112 is exposed to the outside from the inlet 116 of the insertion hole 114 so that the connector 134 can be attached. As a result, a gap 138 is formed between the rear end 132 of the main body 118 of the inflator 112 and the inlet 116 of the insertion hole 114, as shown in FIG. 2 (b). Therefore, when the inflator 112 is operated, gas may leak to the outside of the cushion 108 through the gap 138.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, the tether 140 is coupled to the cushion 108 as shown in FIG. 2 (b). Specifically, the tether 140 has one end 142, an intermediate 144 and an other end 146. One end 142 of the tether 140 is coupled to a position recessed from the inlet 116 of the insertion hole 114 and opposite to the hole 124 through which the stud bolt 120 of the inflator 112 is passed. The position on the opposite side of the hole 124 is that the inflator 112 is inserted into the insertion hole 114 as shown in FIG. 2B, and the inflator 112 faces the hole 124 with the main body 118 in between. It is the position where you are.

Here, the cushion 108 has a folded-back portion 148 as shown in FIG. 2 (b). The folded-back portion 148 is folded back inside the insertion hole 114 with the inlet 116 of the insertion hole 114 as a boundary, and is overlapped with the base cloth of the cushion 108. One end 142 of the tether 140 is overlapped with the tip 150 of the folded portion 148 and is joined to the inside of the cushion 108 by sewing. Therefore, the position where one end portion 142 of the tether 140 is sewn is reinforced by stacking three sheets. Therefore, one end 142 of the tether 140 is securely coupled at a position recessed from the inlet 116 of the insertion hole 114.

The intermediate portion 144 of the tether 140 extends from one end 142 through the inlet 116 of the insertion hole 114 to the outside of the cushion 108 as shown in FIG. 2 (c). A hole 152 is formed in the other end 146 of the tether 140. The other end portion 146 of the tether 140 is continuous with the intermediate portion 144, and is hooked on the stud bolt 120 by passing the stud bolt 120 through the hole portion 152.

Further, the tether 140 is set to a length that maintains tension while the other end 146 is hooked on the stud bolt 120. In order to maintain the tension of the tether 120, the length from one end 142 to the hole 152 of the other end 146 is sewn along the base cloth of the cushion 108, in which the one end 142 of the tether 140 is sewn. The length may be set shorter than the length from the vertical position to the stud bolt 120 via the inlet 116 of the insertion hole 114.

In this way, from a predetermined range of the cushion 108, that is, a position deeper than the inlet 116 of the insertion hole 114 to which the one end 142 of the tether 140 is connected, via the inlet 116 of the insertion hole 114 straddling the intermediate portion 144. Further, the range up to the stud bolt 120 to which the other end 146 is hooked is pulled by the entire tensioned tether 140. Therefore, the gap 138 between the inlet 116 of the insertion hole 114 and the main body 118 of the inflator 112 can be reduced or reduced by the intermediate portion 144 of the tether 140, which is positioned by the one end 142 and the other 146. (See FIG. 6 (b)).

Hereinafter, a procedure for manufacturing such a cushion 108 and an airbag device 100 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 to 6. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a state of the cushion 108 of FIG. 2A before sewing.

In the single base cloth forming the cushion 108 shown in FIG. 3A, the holes 124 and 126 through which the stud bolts 120 and 122 are passed are formed on the right side of the folding line C shown by the chain line in the figure. .. Further, a folded portion 148 extending outward from the lower end 154 is formed at a position of the lower end 154 of the cushion 108 that straddles the folding line C.

With respect to such a cushion 108, the operator folds the folded-back portion 148 inside the cushion 108 as shown by the arrow D in FIG. 3 (a). As a result, the cushion 108 is in a state where the folded-back portion 148 is overlapped with the base cloth as shown in FIG. 3 (b).

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a procedure for attaching the tether 140 to the cushion 108 following FIG. 3 (b). The operator arranges the entire tether 140 at a position on the left side of the folding line C as shown in FIG. 4 (a). Here, the position on the left side of the folding line C is the position opposite to the position of the hole portion 124 through which the stud bolt 120 is passed, with the folding line C as a reference.

Next, the operator superimposes the one end 142 of the tether 140 on the tip 150 of the folded-back portion 148 at a position deeper than the lower end 154 of the cushion 108, and sews it by the sewing line 156.

Subsequently, the operator folds the tether 140 with the tip portion 150 of the folded portion 148 as a boundary as shown by the arrow E in FIG. 4 (a). As a result, as shown in FIG. 4B, the tether 140 is in a state in which the intermediate portion 144 and the other end portion 146 are located outside the lower end portion 154 of the cushion 108.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a procedure for sewing the cushion 108 following FIG. 4 (b). The operator folds the cushion 108 with reference to the folding line C as shown by the arrow F in FIG. 4 (b). As shown in FIG. 5, the cushion 108 folded in this way is sewn around the cushion 108 by the sewing line 110 to form a bag shape. At this time, the position of the end portion 110a of the sewing line 110 is adjusted to define the width of the inlet 116 of the insertion hole 114.

FIG. 6 describes a procedure for manufacturing the airbag device 100 following FIG. In the figure, the gap 138 between the main body 118 of the inflator 112 and the inlet 116 of the insertion hole 114 is shown by diagonal lines.

As shown in FIG. 6A, the operator inserts the main body 118 of the cylinder type inflator 112 into the cushion 108 through the inlet 116 of the insertion hole 114 formed in the cushion 108. Further, the operator passes the stud bolts 120 and 122 through the holes 124 and 126 of the cushion 108 and projects the stud bolts 120 and 122 to the outside of the cushion 108.

Next, as shown by the arrow G in FIG. 6A, the operator pulls the other end 146 of the tether 140 toward the stud bolt 120 to apply tension. Then, as shown in FIG. 6B, the operator passes the hole 152 of the other end 146 of the tether 140 through the stud bolt 120 and hooks the other end 146 on the stud bolt 120. In this way, the airbag device 100 shown in FIG. 2 is manufactured.

As described above, the tether 140 is set to a length that maintains tension while the other end 146 is hooked on the stud bolt 120. Therefore, the intermediate portion 144 of the tether 140 positioned by the one end 142 and the other end 146 is located between the inlet 116 of the insertion hole 114 and the main body 118 of the inflator 112, as shown in FIG. 6 (b). The gap 138 (see FIG. 6A) can be covered, and the gap 138 can be further reduced or reduced.

Moreover, one end 142 of the tether 140 is coupled to a position deeper than the inlet 116 of the insertion hole 114. Therefore, even when the inflator 112 is activated to increase the internal pressure of the cushion 108 and the tether 140 is pushed outward from the inlet 116 of the insertion hole 114, the intermediate portion 144 of the tether 140 is still in the insertion hole. It is prevented from moving out of the entrance 116 of the 114.

Therefore, in the airbag device 100 of the present embodiment, it is possible to prevent gas from leaking to the outside of the cushion 108 from the gap 138 between the inlet 116 of the insertion hole 114 and the main body 118 of the inflator 112 when the inflator 112 is operated.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a comparative example airbag device 200. In the airbag device 200, as shown in FIG. 7A, the one end portion 204 of the tether 202 is coupled to the vicinity of the inlet 116 rather than the position recessed from the inlet 116 of the insertion hole 114 of the cushion 108A. It is different from the tether 140 of the airbag device 100 of the embodiment.

In the tether 202, the intermediate portion 206 extends to the outside of the cushion 108A through the inlet 116 of the insertion hole 114, the stud bolt 120 is passed through the hole portion 210 of the other end portion 208, and the other end portion 208 is a stud bolt. It is hooked on 120.

Here, in the airbag device 200, the behavior of the tether 202 when the inflator 112 is activated to increase the internal pressure of the cushion 108A and the tether 202 is pushed outward from the inlet 116 of the insertion hole 114 will be described.

In such a case, in the tether 202, since the one end portion 204 is coupled to the vicinity of the inlet 116 of the insertion hole 114, the intermediate portion 208 is the inlet 116 of the insertion hole 114 as shown by the arrow H in FIG. 7 (b). It will move to the outside of. As a result, the gap 138 cannot be closed by the intermediate portion 208 of the tether 202, and gas leaks from the gap 138 to the outside of the cushion 108A.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating the airbag device 100A according to another embodiment of the present invention. The airbag device 100A differs from the airbag device 100 in that one end 142 of the tether 140 is coupled to the inside of the cushion 108A in which the folded-back portion 148 (see FIG. 2B) is not formed.

However, as shown in the figure, one end 142 of the tether 140 is coupled to a position recessed from the inlet 116 of the insertion hole 114. Therefore, in the airbag device 100A, when the internal pressure of the cushion 108 rises and the tether 140 is pushed outward from the inlet 116 of the insertion hole 114, the intermediate portion 144 of the tether 140 is the inlet of the insertion hole 114. It is prevented from moving outside the 116. Therefore, similarly to the airbag device 100, the airbag device 100A can also suppress gas from leaking from the gap 138 to the outside of the cushion 108A when the inflator 112 is operated.

In the above embodiment, the side airbag is exemplified as the airbag device 100, but the present invention is not limited to this. That is, if the airbag has a structure in which a cylinder-type inflator is inserted into the insertion hole of the cushion, the airbag device is, for example, a knee airbag appearing from the feet of an occupant, or a side collision or a subsequent rollover (rollover). ), A cushion airbag that expands and expands along the side window from the vicinity of the ceiling of the wall portion may be used to protect the occupant.

Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above with reference to the accompanying drawings, it goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to such examples. It is clear that a person skilled in the art can come up with various modifications or modifications within the scope of the claims, which naturally belong to the technical scope of the present invention. Understood.

Further, in the above embodiment, an example in which the airbag device according to the present invention is applied to an automobile has been described, but it can also be applied to an aircraft, a ship, or the like in addition to the automobile, and the same effect can be obtained. can.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention can be used for an airbag device that is installed in a vehicle and expands and expands for the purpose of protecting occupants in an emergency.

100, 100A ... Airbag device, 102 ... Vehicle seat, 104 ... Seat back, 106 ... Door, 108, 108A ... Cushion, 110, 156 ... Sewing line, 110a ... End of sewing line, 112 ... Inflator, 114 ... Insertion hole, 116 ... Insertion hole inlet, 118 ... Main body, 120, 122 ... Stud bolt, 124, 126 ... Cushion hole, 128 ... Main body tip, 130 ... Gas supply hole, 132 ... Main body rear end, 134 ... Connector, 136 ... Harness, 138 ... Gap, 140 ... Tether, 142 ... One end of the tether, 144 ... Middle part of the tether, 146 ... The other end of the tether, 148 ... Folded part, 150 ... Tip of the folded part, 152 ... The hole at the other end of the tether, 154 ... The lower end of the cushion

Claims (3)

An airbag device installed in a vehicle
An inflator with a cylinder-shaped body and stud bolts protruding from the body,
A bag-shaped cushion that expands and expands using the gas supplied from the inflator,
An insertion hole formed in the cushion into which the inflator is inserted,
A hole formed in the cushion and projected to the outside of the cushion through the stud bolt of the inflator inserted into the insertion hole,
With a tether coupled to the cushion
The tether is
One end that is recessed from the entrance of the insertion hole and is connected to a position opposite to the hole.
An intermediate portion extending from one end to the outside of the cushion through the entrance of the insertion hole,
It has an other end portion that is continuous with the intermediate portion and is hooked on the stud bolt.
The cushion has a folded portion that extends outward from the entrance of the insertion hole and is folded back inside the insertion hole.
An airbag device characterized in that one end portion of the tether is overlapped and coupled to the tip end portion of the folded portion . The airbag device according to claim 1 , wherein the tether is set to a length at which the other end thereof maintains tension while being hooked on the stud bolt. The airbag device according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein the one end portion of the tether is coupled to the recessed position by sewing.

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