JP7223620B2 - Airbag - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an airbag that protects the head of an occupant.

Conventionally, an airbag device equipped with an airbag that expands and deploys when gas is introduced covers and protects the head of an occupant of a two-wheeled vehicle such as a bicycle, or covers and protects the head of an occupant sitting on a car seat. head protection airbag devices are known. For example, an airbag body used in such an airbag device includes a plurality of longitudinal air chambers arranged side by side. The airbag main body is stored in a folded state, and is inflated and deployed by gas introduced from the vicinity of the back of the head to cover the area from the back of the head to the front of the head including both sides of the head.

In the case of this configuration, when the airbag main body is inflated by the inflow of gas introduced from the deployment base end side, it is pulled by the expansion, and the protection portion of the forehead, which is the deployment tip side, touches the occupant's forehead. It is conceivable that it will float against it.

Therefore, for example, a configuration is known in which the surface of an inner bag that retains and deploys gas is covered with an outer bag to retain its shape (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Japanese translation of PCT publication No. 2013-540209 (pages 6-10, Fig. 2)

However, it is difficult to reduce the manufacturing cost with the complicated structure of the airbag main body as described above.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide an airbag that has a simple structure and can provide adequate protection performance.

The airbag according to claim 1 is an airbag that protects the head of an occupant by being inflated by introduced gas, and is a bag-like airbag in which a plurality of air chambers into which gas is respectively introduced are arranged side by side. An airbag main body, and an adjustment section that regulates the inflated shape of the airbag main body so that the tip side of the airbag main body is drawn toward the head toward the base end , the adjustment section comprising: A portion of the non-inflatable portion is folded over and fixed to the non-inflatable portion into which gas is not introduced .

According to a second aspect of the present invention , there is provided an airbag according to the first aspect, further comprising a reinforcing portion for protecting the adjusting portion against a load caused by expansion of the airbag main body.

The airbag according to claim 3 is the airbag according to claim 2 , wherein the adjusting portion and the reinforcing portion are sewn portions each formed of sewing thread, and the reinforcing portion is arranged in a direction intersecting the adjusting portion. It extends toward the tip side of the airbag main body along the .

According to the airbag of claim 1, the front end side of the inflated shape of the bag-like airbag main body portion, in which a plurality of air chambers into which gas is respectively introduced are arranged side by side, extends toward the base end side toward the head portion. To obtain appropriate protection performance with a simple structure by inflating the front end side of an airbag main body so as to appropriately cover a protection target area of an occupant's head by regulating it with an adjusting part so as to draw the airbag. In addition, by forming the adjustment part on the non-inflatable part and folding a part of the non-inflatable part and fixing it, the adjustment part can be easily formed without hindering the flow of gas in the air chamber. In addition, the amount by which the tip side of the airbag main body is drawn toward the head can be easily adjusted by folding the non-inflatable portion .

According to the airbag of claim 2 , in addition to the effect of the airbag of claim 1 , by protecting the adjustment part with the reinforcing part against the load accompanying the expansion of the airbag main body part, the airbag It is possible to reliably prevent the adjustment part from being damaged when the body part is inflated, and to inflate the front end side of the airbag body part by the adjustment part so as to appropriately cover the protection target area of the occupant's head.

According to the airbag of claim 3 , in addition to the effect of the airbag of claim 2 , the adjusting part and the reinforcing part are sewn parts formed of sewing thread, and the reinforcing part is arranged in a direction intersecting the adjusting part. By extending toward the tip side of the airbag main body along the Damage can be reliably prevented.

1A is a side view showing an inflated and deployed state of an airbag according to a first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1B is a side view showing an inflated and deployed state of an airbag of a comparative example; FIG. FIG. 3 is a plan view showing the state of the base fabric that constitutes the same airbag. (a) is a side view showing part of the same airbag, and (b) is a cross-sectional view taken along line II of (a). (a) to (c) are explanatory diagrams showing the manufacturing process of the airbag main body portion of the same airbag, and (d) is a cross-sectional view at a position corresponding to II-II in (c). (a) is a side view showing part of an airbag according to a second embodiment of the present invention, and (b) is a sectional view taken along line III-III in (a). (a) is a side view showing part of an airbag according to a third embodiment of the present invention, and (b) is a sectional view taken along line IV-IV in (a). (a) is a side view showing an inflated and deployed state of an airbag according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention, and (b) is a side view showing an enlarged part of (a).

A first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

1(a) and 2, 10 indicates an airbag. An airbag device 11 having this airbag 10 is a head-protecting airbag device for protecting the head A of an occupant of a mobile object such as a bicycle. In the present embodiment, the airbag device 11 is an airbag device for a two-wheeled vehicle that is worn around the neck of an occupant, for example. In addition, hereinafter, the front and rear direction (arrow FR direction and arrow RR direction), the left and right direction (arrow L direction and arrow R direction), and the vertical direction (arrow U direction and arrow D direction) are each the airbag device 11 that the occupant uses. will be described on the basis of the state in which the .

This airbag device 11 can also be called an airbag module, and in addition to the airbag 10 having the airbag main body 12 which is a bag-shaped outer shell, the airbag main body 12 is supplied with gas. It includes an inflator to supply power, control means for controlling the operation of the inflator, and a battery (secondary battery) as a power supply for these. The airbag device 11 includes an airbag 10 (airbag main body 12) folded by a predetermined method, an inflator, a control means, a battery, and the like, which are housed inside a cover made of, for example, cloth. It is designed to be worn by being wrapped around the neck of the occupant.

The inflator has a main body having a disk shape, a column shape, or the like. An igniter and a chemical agent are housed inside the main body, and the igniter burns the chemical according to an electric signal from the control means transmitted through the connected connector, and the chemical is discharged from the gas injection port formed in the main body. Inflating gas is rapidly supplied into the airbag body 12 .

The control means includes a sensor for detecting impact and a control device. This control device is connected to the inflator via a signal line, and operates the inflator when the sensor detects a predetermined impact.

The airbag main body 12 is formed in a bag shape as a whole by combining and joining a single or a plurality of base fabrics by sewing, adhesion, or welding. That is, the airbag main body 12 may be formed by hollow weaving a single piece of base cloth using a so-called One Piece Woven (OPW), or may be formed by sewing two or more base cloths. It may be formed into a bag-like shape by joining with The airbag main body 12 includes a gas introduction portion 15 into which gas is introduced from an inflator, an inflatable portion 16 inflated by the gas introduced from the gas introduction portion 15, and a non-inflatable portion 17 into which gas is not introduced. It has The airbag main body 12 is joined by a joint 18 formed by sewing or the like, and is formed to have a helmet-like three-dimensional shape that covers the occupant's head from around the neck in the inflated and deployed state. .

The gas introduction part 15 is formed as an opening. The gas introduction portion 15 is a portion on which the airbag main body portion 12 is deployed on the base end side. In the present embodiment, the gas introduction section 15 is positioned at the rear portion around the occupant's neck. For example, a part of the main body of the inflator may be inserted into the gas introduction part 15 .

The expansion section 16 includes a plurality of air chambers 19 that are expanded by introduction of gas from the gas introduction section 15 . Further, the expansion portion 16 is formed with a gas guide portion 20 for controlling the flow of gas introduced into the air chamber 19 .

The air chamber 19 has a plurality of first air chambers 22 extending in the horizontal direction and a plurality of second air chambers 23 extending radially.

Each first air chamber 22 is an air chamber into which gas is directly introduced from the gas introduction portion 15 via an inflator. Each first air chamber 22 is elongated in the left-right direction, and protrudes leftward and rightward from the gas introduction portion 15, respectively. Each of the first air chambers 22 is wound around the neck of the occupant so that the tip ends thereof face each other at the front of the neck of the occupant so as to protect the neck of the occupant in the inflated and unfolded state. It has become.

Each of the second air chambers 23 is located above each of the first air chambers 22 and arranged side by side with each other. Each of the second air chambers 23 is arranged symmetrically, for example, in the present embodiment. In the present embodiment, the second air chambers 23 are formed three each on the left and right sides and one in the central portion, but the number and shape are not limited to this. In addition, each second air chamber 23, for example, in the state of the base fabric before being joined by the joining portion 18 (FIG. 2), has an edge portion from the base end side (lower side) to the tip side (upper side). It extends out like a finger so that the distance gradually increases. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the space between the second air chambers 23 is a notch portion 25 in the state of the base fabric before being joined by the joining portion 18, and the second air chambers 23 are separated from each other. formed. Each of the second air chambers 23 protects the occupant's head A from the rear to both sides and the front in the inflated and deployed state.

The gas guide part 20 can be formed in any position and in any shape as long as the gas can be effectively introduced into the air chamber 19. a first gas guide portion 27 positioned at the same position and guiding gas upward; a second gas guide portion 28 further guiding gas from the first gas guide portion 27 to the left and right; A third gas guide portion 29 is provided to guide the gas upward and to the left and right. The gas guide portion 20 is formed, for example, by joining base fabrics by sewing or the like.

The non-inflatable portion 17 is formed like a fin along the outer edge of each air chamber 19 of the inflatable portion 16 in the state of the base fabric before being joined by the joining portion 18 . The non-inflatable portion 17 of the present embodiment is formed, for example, as a joining allowance (sewing allowance) of the air chamber 19 in the base fabric. In the present embodiment, the non-inflatable portion 17 is formed with an adjusting portion 31. As shown in FIG. The adjustment unit 31 regulates the inflated shape of the airbag main body 12 so that the deployment tip side (front upper side) of the airbag main body 12 is drawn toward the occupant's head A toward the deployment base end side (rear lower side). It is something to do. In this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the adjustment portion 31 is fixed by sewing or the like in a state in which a part of the non-inflatable portion 17 is pinched and folded. formed by For example, the adjusting portion 31 of the present embodiment is a sewn portion formed of sewing thread. The folded shape of the non-inflatable portion 17 for forming the adjustment portion 31 is formed linearly along the horizontal direction along the first air chamber 22, for example, in the present embodiment. Furthermore, the folded position of the non-inflatable portion 17 for forming the adjustment portion 31 is the base end side of the first air chamber 22 , that is, the position close to the gas introduction portion 15 . Further, the adjusting portions 31 of the present embodiment are formed at the positions of the non-expanding portions 17 between the first air chambers 22 and the second air chambers 23, respectively. Therefore, when the airbag main body 12 is inflated and deployed, the adjusters 31 are positioned above the first air chambers 22 and arranged on both sides of the neck (chin) of the occupant.

The joint portion 18 is formed, for example, by sewing, and ties together the positions of the non-inflatable portions 17 on the distal end side of the second air chamber 23 . In this embodiment, for example, from the state of the base fabric shown in FIG. 4(a), as shown in FIG. Then, as shown in FIG. 4(c), a joint portion 18 is formed by joining the tip side of the second air chamber 23 by sewing or the like. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4(d), the joint portion 18 partially overlaps the adjacent second air chambers 23 in the horizontal direction and the vertical direction. They are integrated while being close to each other in the left-right direction. More specifically, the adjacent second air chambers 23 are arranged in the airbag main body 12 from the top of the occupant's head to both sides of the head while obliquely overlapping each other, so that the airbag main body 12 has a three-dimensional shape. are arranged as follows. That is, the second air chambers 23 are arranged so as to overlap each other so that the deployment tip side of the airbag main body 12 is narrowed. Note that the joint portion 18 may be formed after the adjustment portion 31 is formed, or may be formed before the adjustment portion 31 is formed.

Next, the deployment operation of the airbag device 11 will be described.

As an outline of the operation of this airbag device 11, when a predetermined impact is detected by a sensor in the case of a collision of a two-wheeled vehicle, etc., the control device activates the inflator and causes the inflator to inject gas. Then, the gas injected from the inflator flows into the airbag main body 12 from the gas introduction portion 15 and is introduced into the first air chamber 22 and the second air chamber 23 by the gas guide portion 20, respectively. When the bag main body part 12 is inflated and deployed from the folded state, the cover is partly broken and protruded by the deployment pressure to cover the occupant's head A from the back of the head to the front of the head.

At this time, as the introduced gas passes from the proximal side to the distal side, the second air chamber 23 expands while falling forward so as to cover the upper and both sides of the occupant's head A from behind. Therefore, the inflatable portion 16 has a first air chamber 22 that inflates and deploys around the neck of the occupant, and a second air chamber 23 that is rounded to match the shape of the head A (wraps the head A from behind). It develops into a three-dimensional shape tinged with That is, the inflatable portion 16 is deployed in a pocket shape (half-dome shape) with the occupant-facing portion facing the head A of the occupant inside. At this time, the adjustment portion 31 regulates the deployment tip side of the inflated shape of the airbag body 12 toward the deployment base end side toward the head A, thereby allowing the deployment tip side of the airbag body 12 to move toward the occupant. The front portion of the occupant's head A, that is, the forehead (forehead), which is the area to be protected for the head A of the occupant, can be inflated and deployed so as to appropriately cover it. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 1(a), the adjusting portion 31 pulls the front end portion P of the airbag main body 12 in the inflated and deployed state toward the occupant's forehead. As compared with the airbag main body 12a of the airbag 10a of the comparative example shown in FIG. It inclines so as to cover the head from above. That is, even if the airbag 10 made of a planar base fabric is joined in a three-dimensional shape, it is difficult to make it three-dimensional until it covers the front of the occupant's head A. In the present embodiment, the tilt of the airbag main body 12 in the deployed state can be easily changed only by the adjusting section 31 without complicated joints, etc., and the airbag main body section 12 can be deployed so as to cover the occupant's frontal head. can be done. As a result, for example, the shape and sewing of the base fabric are complicated, or the capacity of the airbag main body 12 is increased in consideration of the amount of floating from the protected area. The bag 10 makes it possible to obtain appropriate protection performance with a simple structure.

Further, by forming the adjustment portion 31 in the non-inflatable portion 17, the adjustment portion 31 can be easily formed without obstructing the flow of gas in the air chamber 19. As shown in FIG.

Further, by forming an adjusting portion 31 by folding and fixing a part of the non-inflatable portion 17, the amount by which the deployment tip side of the airbag body portion 12 is drawn toward the head A can be adjusted by folding the non-inflatable portion 17. can be easily adjusted by

For example, as in the second embodiment shown in FIGS. 5(a) and 5(b), the adjustment portion 31 may be formed by folding the non-inflatable portion 17 in an inclined manner and fixing it. As in the third embodiment shown in 6(a) and 6(b), the non-inflatable portion 17 may be folded and fixed in two or more layers. By adjusting the folding position and folding amount of the non-inflatable portion 17 in this manner, the angle and position of the deployment tip side of the airbag main body portion 12 can be appropriately adjusted. That is, the adjustment portion 31 can be formed by folding the non-inflatable portion 17 arbitrarily according to the desired shape of the airbag main body portion 12 in the inflated and deployed state.

Next, a fourth embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. The same reference numerals are assigned to the same configurations and actions as those of the above-described embodiments, and the description thereof will be omitted.

The airbag 10 of the present embodiment includes a reinforcing portion 35 that protects the adjustment portion 31 against the load caused by the expansion of the airbag main body portion 12. As shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 7( a ), the reinforcing portion 35 is a sewn portion formed of sewing thread, similar to the adjusting portion 31 . It is an extended sewing part formed by extending the thread. In other words, the reinforcing portion 35 and the adjusting portion 31 are made of the same sewing thread. In the present embodiment, the reinforcing portion 35 is arranged in the non-inflatable portion 17. As shown in FIG. The reinforcing portion 35 is formed, for example, so as to extend to a part of the non-inflatable portion 17 in which the adjusting portion 31 is formed. The reinforcing portion 35 may be formed in the pinched and folded portion of the non-inflatable portion 17 where the adjustment portion 31 is located, or may be formed in the portion of the non-inflatable portion 17 that is not pinched and folded. May be extended. In the case where the non-inflating portion 17 is pinched and folded, for example, as shown in FIG. A reinforcing portion 35 may be formed along the bent portion 36 formed so as to form a curved portion. The reinforcing portion 35 is continuous with the adjusting portion 31 and is formed in an inclined shape along a direction intersecting the adjusting portion 31 . The reinforcing portion 35 extends from the end portion of the adjusting portion 31 toward the front end side of the airbag main body portion 12, that is, toward the upper front side.

In the airbag main body 12, the non-inflatable portion 17, which is pinched, folded, and fixed by the adjustment portion 31, is subjected to a load that causes the adjustment portion 31 to return to its original shape against the regulation of the adjustment portion 31. Although the load is generated in the crossing direction, which is the rear upper side (arrow F direction) in this embodiment, this load can be received by the reinforcing portion 35 extending along the direction crossing or orthogonal to this load, so the load capacity is increased. It is possible to prevent the sewing thread of the adjusting portion 31 from breaking due to this load.

Further, the gas injected from the inflator flows into the airbag main body 12 from the gas introduction portion 15 and is introduced into the first air chamber 22 and the second air chamber 23 by the gas guide portion 20, respectively. When the bag main body 12 is inflated and unfolded from the folded state, the second air chamber 23 expands over and on both sides of the occupant's head A as the introduced gas passes from the base end side to the tip end side. Expand while falling forward so as to wrap the part from the back. Therefore, the load associated with the expansion of the airbag main body 12 is generated in the rearward upper side, that is, in the direction intersecting the adjusting portion 31, in other words, in the direction in which the sewing thread forming the adjusting portion 31 is sheared. It will happen. In other words, a load is generated in the same direction as the load that causes the non-inflatable portion 17 of the airbag main body 12 to return to its original shape against the regulation of the adjusting portion 31 . Since the reinforcing portion 35 is formed to extend along the direction intersecting the adjusting portion 31, the load is effectively received by the entire reinforcing portion 35, and the load is concentrated only on the front end portion of the adjusting portion 31. to prevent In this way, by protecting the adjusting portion 31 with the reinforcing portion 35 against the load accompanying the inflation of the airbag body 12, the load resistance can be improved, and the adjusting portion 31 is damaged when the airbag body 12 is inflated. can be reliably prevented. That is, it is possible to reliably prevent the sewing thread of the adjusting portion 31 from breaking due to the load. Therefore, it is possible to inflate the front end side of the airbag main body 12 by the adjuster 31 so as to appropriately cover the protection target area of the occupant's head.

In addition, since the non-inflating portion 17 is folded by the adjusting portion 31, it is narrow in the direction intersecting the extending direction of the adjusting portion 31, which is the vertical direction in this embodiment. By forming a reinforcing portion 35 for a length necessary to receive the load, the narrow non-expandable portion is compared to the case where the entire sewn portion is inclined. It is possible to efficiently arrange the adjustment portion 31 and the reinforcement portion 35 with respect to the portion 17 .

Furthermore, since the reinforcing portion 35 is formed continuously with the adjusting portion 31 by the sewing thread that constitutes the adjusting portion 31, it can be formed by extending the sewing portion when forming the adjusting portion 31. It is easy and inexpensive, and it is possible to easily improve the load resistance.

In each of the above-described embodiments, the adjusting portion 31 and the reinforcing portion 35 are not limited to those formed in the non-inflatable portion 17, and for example, a part of the base fabric that constitutes the inflatable portion 16 (air chamber 19). may be formed by folding and joining.

Further, the adjusting portion 31 and the reinforcing portion 35 may be formed by shape restricting means such as a tether or a strap instead of being formed on the airbag main body portion 12 itself.

Furthermore, the airbag device 11 can also be used as an airbag device arranged, for example, on a headrest positioned behind the head A of an occupant seated in a seat of an automobile.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention can be suitably used, for example, as a head protection airbag device for a two-wheeled vehicle.

10 airbags
12 Airbag body
17 non-inflatable part
19 air chamber
31 Adjuster
35 Reinforcement A Head

Claims (3)

An airbag that protects the occupant's head by being inflated by the introduced gas,
a bag-shaped airbag main body in which a plurality of air chambers into which gas is respectively introduced are arranged side by side;
an adjustment unit that regulates the inflated shape of the airbag body so that the tip side of the airbag body is drawn toward the head toward the base end ,
The adjusting portion is formed by folding a portion of the non-inflating portion over a non-inflating portion into which gas is not introduced and fixing the portion.
An airbag characterized by : 2. The airbag according to claim 1 , further comprising a reinforcing portion for protecting the adjusting portion against a load caused by inflation of the airbag main body. The adjusting portion and the reinforcing portion are sewn portions each formed of sewing thread,
3. The airbag according to claim 2 , wherein the reinforcing portion extends toward the tip side of the airbag main body along a direction intersecting the adjustment portion.

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