JP7306357B2 - passenger protection device - Google Patents

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an occupant protection device equipped with airbags mounted on a vehicle to protect occupants in the driver's seat and the passenger's seat.

Conventionally, in an occupant protection device equipped with airbags for protecting occupants in the front seats of a driver's seat and a front passenger's seat, one airbag is installed on the vehicle body side in front of the front seats of the driver's seat and the front passenger's seat. It was stored in a folded state (see Patent Documents 1 and 2, for example). The airbag has an occupant-receiving surface that can receive the occupants in the front seats of the driver's seat and the passenger's seat on the rear surface of the airbag when it is completely inflated. Therefore, in the event of a vehicle collision, the airbag will inflate and protrude rearward from the storage area to protect the occupants in the front seats. was to receive the crew of the Furthermore, in the conventional occupant protection system, when there is no occupant on the front passenger seat and there is only one occupant on the driver's seat, the air bag is designed to receive both the occupants on the driver's seat and the passenger's seat. If the internal pressure of the airbag is maintained high, the reaction force will become too high. was

German utility model publication 2020013002020U1

However, in the conventional occupant protection device of Patent Document 1, it is necessary to control the operation of the inflator that supplies inflation gas to the airbag depending on the presence or absence of an occupant on the front passenger seat side, and this cannot be handled easily.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide an occupant protection system that can easily adjust the internal pressure of an airbag when a passenger is received regardless of whether or not there is an occupant in the front passenger seat. .

The occupant protection device according to the present invention is folded and stored in the vehicle body side portion in front of the front seats of the driver's seat and the front passenger seat of the vehicle, and when inflated, the occupant in the front seat can be protected. an occupant protection device comprising: an airbag having an occupant receiving surface that protrudes outward and is capable of receiving occupants on the driver's seat side and the passenger's seat side on the rear surface of the airbag when inflation is completed,
The airbag has a connecting portion that connects two separated portions of the outer peripheral wall to reduce the internal volume,
The connecting part maintains the connection when receiving only one occupant on the driver side or the passenger side, and increases the internal volume when receiving both occupants on the driver side and the passenger side. Secondly, the outer peripheral wall is connected so that the connection can be released.

In the occupant protection device according to the present invention, when the airbag receives the occupant after the inflation is completed, the connection portion is not released, one occupant will be received. However, when two occupants, one on the driver's seat side and the other on the front passenger's seat side, are to be received after the airbags have completed inflation, the sudden rise in internal pressure at the beginning of receiving the airbags will cause the joints to be released and the airbags to be inflated. The internal pressure is increased to approximately the same level as the internal pressure of an airbag that receives one passenger without releasing the connection. It is possible to receive and protect two occupants in a favorable manner without overdoing it. Conversely, when receiving one passenger, the connection of the connecting portion is maintained and the internal volume of the airbag is not increased, so that the predetermined internal pressure can be maintained and the one passenger can be preferably protected. can be done. The adjustment of the internal pressure of the airbag when it receives the occupant does not involve adjusting the supply of the inflation gas, but merely a connection that joins two spaced apart portions of the outer peripheral wall so as to reduce the internal volume. The inner pressure of the airbag can be easily adjusted when the occupant is received, because the connecting portion can be released when the internal pressure rises.

Therefore, the occupant protection system according to the present invention can easily adjust the internal pressure of the airbag when receiving the occupant regardless of whether or not there is an occupant in the front passenger seat.

Further, in the occupant protection device according to the present invention, both side surfaces projecting rearward between the driver seat side portion and the passenger seat side portion of the occupant receiving surface when the airbag is fully inflated are A protruding inflatable portion is provided as a receiving surface for oblique movement capable of receiving the obliquely moving occupants on the driver's seat side and the passenger's seat side,
It is preferable that the coupling portion is arranged at a portion of the outer peripheral wall of the airbag excluding the projecting inflation portion.

With such a configuration, even if the occupant in the front seat moves obliquely forward in the event of a vehicle oblique collision or the like, the oblique movement receiving surface of the protruding inflatable portion of the airbag at the completion of inflation will It can be received and protected so as to face it. No connecting portion is provided at the portion of the protruding inflatable portion, and the volume of the protruding inflatable portion can be kept constant. The amount of protrusion can be stably secured.

Further, in the occupant protection system according to the present invention, the connecting portion is positioned above the position where the head of the occupant on the front seat enters at the rear side of the airbag when inflation is completed, and is free during inflation. It is desirable that it be arranged at a site exposed to the space.

With such a configuration, when the occupant enters the airbag, the occupant's upper body including the head does not interfere with the connecting portion, and the surrounding members such as the vehicle body side members do not interfere with the connecting portion. Since the connecting portion is arranged so as to be exposed to free space, when the internal pressure of the airbag that receives the two occupants increases, the connecting portion interferes with the occupants and the surrounding vehicle body side members. The connection can be released smoothly without being

Furthermore, in the occupant protection device according to the present invention,
As the outer peripheral wall when the airbag is fully inflated,
a rear panel portion on the rear side having the occupant receiving surface;
a top panel portion extending forward from the top edge side of the rear panel portion;
As a configuration comprising
The connecting portion is
It extends in the left-right direction at a position immediately above the position where the heads of the occupant on the driver's seat side and the occupant on the passenger's seat side enter on each of the occupant receiving surfaces of the airbag when inflation is completed. As a connecting line,
It is desirable that the rear panel portion and the upper panel portion of the outer peripheral wall of the airbag at the time of completion of inflation be joined together.

In such a configuration, when the occupant moves forward and is received by the occupant receiving surface in the event of a frontal collision of the vehicle, the occupant is received directly below the connecting portion. A tensile force is applied to the part in the direction perpendicular to the connection line, and stress concentration is likely to occur near the receiving part of the connection part. In addition, it is possible to release the coupling of the coupling part, and to release the coupling from the part near the receiving part to both ends of the coupling line, so that the coupling of the entire coupling part can be smoothly released. can be done. As a result, the inflated airbag increases the internal volume of the airbag and secures the internal pressure to smoothly receive the two occupants, thereby smoothly receiving and protecting the two occupants.

In this case, it is desirable that the length of each of the connecting lines is set to be equal to the width of the head of the passenger in the front seat.

In such a configuration, since the length of the bond line is not too short, it is easier to distribute the tensile force over the entire length of the bond line, and the uncoupling of the bond line when only one occupant enters the airbag. can be prevented. Then, when two occupants enter the airbag, when releasing the coupling from the portion near the receiving portion to both ends of the coupling line, the coupling line substantially corresponds to the width dimension of the entering occupant's head. Since it is not too long, the internal volume of the airbag can be increased so that the entire area of each connection line can be rapidly decoupled and a predetermined internal pressure can be ensured.

Further, in the occupant protection device according to the present invention, an inflator for supplying inflation gas for inflating the airbag is provided on the front side of the driver seat side portion and the passenger seat side portion of the occupant receiving surface. Preferably two are used as arranged.

In such a configuration, when the airbag is inflated, the two inflators disposed on the front side of the driver seat side portion and the passenger seat side portion of the occupant receiving surface inflate the driver's seat on the occupant receiving surface. Both the side part and the passenger seat side part can receive the occupant and can be smoothly arranged at the expansion completion position, and the occupants on the driver's seat side and the passenger's seat side can be suitably received and protected.

FIG. 3 is a schematic vertical cross-sectional view in the front-rear direction showing the occupant protection device according to the embodiment of the invention when it is in operation, and corresponds to the section II in FIG. 2; FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view of the occupant protection device of the same embodiment in a vehicle-mounted state; FIG. 4 is a schematic front view of the occupant protection system of the same embodiment as viewed from the rear side of the vehicle when it is in operation; FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view showing a completed state of inflation of an airbag alone used in the occupant protection system of the same embodiment. It is a figure explaining manufacture of the upper surface panel part in the outer peripheral wall of the airbag used for the passenger protection device of the same embodiment in order. It is a figure explaining manufacture of the lower surface panel part in the outer peripheral wall of the airbag used for the passenger protection device of the same embodiment in order. It is a figure explaining manufacture of the rear surface panel part in the outer peripheral wall of the airbag used for the passenger protection device of the same embodiment in order. FIG. 8 is a view for explaining manufacturing of a rear panel portion in the outer peripheral wall of the airbag used in the passenger protection device of the same embodiment, and shows the state after FIG. 7 ; It is a figure explaining the process of manufacturing the airbag used for the passenger protection device of the same embodiment. FIG. 10 is a view for explaining the steps of manufacturing the airbag used in the occupant protection device of the same embodiment, showing the state after FIG. 9 ; FIG. 10 is a schematic cross-sectional view for explaining a state in which the airbag used in the occupant protection system of the same embodiment releases the connection of the connection portion; FIG. 5 is an enlarged schematic cross-sectional view for explaining the release of coupling of the coupling portion in the airbag of the occupant protection system of the same embodiment; FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view showing a state in which the airbag of the occupant protection system of the same embodiment completes inflation by itself with the connection of the connection portion being released.

An embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIGS. It is mounted on the upper surface 2 side of the instrument panel (instrument panel) 1 in front of the area, that is, on the upper surface 2 side of the driver seat side portion 3 and passenger seat side portion 4 on the front side of the front seat 6 of the instrument panel 1 . As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the occupant protection device 10 includes an airbag 30, a case 12 as a housing portion for housing the folded airbag 30, two inflators 24 (L, R), and one portion of the instrument panel 1. The airbag cover 28 is composed of parts.

In this specification, the front-rear, up-down, left-right directions correspond to the front-rear, up-down, left-right directions of the vehicle V unless otherwise specified.

The case 12 is made of sheet metal and has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape. ing. The bottom wall portion 13 is provided with two circular insertion openings 14 (L, R) for inserting the body portion 25 of the inflator 24 (L, R) from below. Four mounting holes 15 for passing the bolts 21 of the retainer 20 are formed around the two left and right insertion openings 14L and 14R. The insertion opening 14L is arranged in front of the driver's seat 7 when the case 12 is mounted on the vehicle, and the insertion opening 14R is arranged in front of the front passenger seat 8 when the case 12 is mounted on the vehicle.

In the side wall portion 17, a plurality of substantially J-shaped engaging claw portions 18 that are reversed are arranged on the upper edges of the portions facing each other in the front and rear. These locking claws 18 are inserted into the locking holes 28d of the side wall 28c of the airbag cover 28 (see FIG. 1), and serve as portions for locking the side wall 28c.

Further, the case 12 is provided with a plurality of mounting pieces (not shown) for mounting the case 12 to the vehicle V on the left and right portions of the side wall portion 17 and the portion of the bottom wall portion 13. , and a mounting hole through which a bolt is inserted to be bolted to a bracket extending from an instrument panel hose.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the airbag cover 28 is arranged on the upper surface 2 side of the instrument panel 1 so as to cover the upper side of the airbag 30 folded and stored in the case 12. consists of a part of The airbag cover 28 includes door portions 28a and 28b that open to both front and rear sides when the airbag 30 is inflated, and a side wall portion 28c that extends downward in a substantially square tubular shape around the periphery of the door portions 28a and 28b. there is As described above, locking holes 28d into which the locking claws 18 of the case 12 are inserted are formed in front and rear facing portions of the side wall portion 28c.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the inflators 24 (L, R) each include a columnar body portion 25 that supplies inflation gas to the airbag 30 and a substantially square shaped body portion 25 that is provided on the outer periphery of the body portion 25 . and a plate-like (substantially square annular) flange portion 26 . The inflator 24L is arranged in front of the driver's seat 7 and assembled in the portion of the insertion opening 14L in the bottom wall portion 13 of the case 12. It is attached to the portion of the insertion opening 14R in the wall portion 13 . Each inflator 24 (L, R) has a plurality of gas discharge ports 25a opening on the upper side of the body portion 25 .

Mounting holes 26a through which the bolts 21 of the retainer 20 pass are formed near the four corners of the flange portion 26 of each of the inflators 24L and 24R.

The retainer 20 has a substantially square annular shape arranged around the periphery of an inflow opening 39 (L, R) described later on the inner peripheral surface side of the airbag 30, and has bolts 21 protruding downward from its four corners. Each bolt 21 protrudes outside the airbag 30 through a mounting hole 41, which will be described later, of the airbag 30. Further, the mounting hole 26a of the mounting hole 15 of the bottom wall portion 13 of the case 12 and the mounting hole 26a of the flange portion 26 of the inflator 24 are provided. and the mounting seat 40 (L, R) and the inflator 24 (L, R), which will be described later, of the airbag 30 are attached to the bottom wall portion 13 of the case 12 by fastening the nut 22. Become.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the airbag 30 is configured to be inflated so as to protect the occupants DM and PM seated in the driver's seat 7 and the passenger's seat 8 by inflating with an inflating gas G. The shape of is such that the upper surface 30b and the lower surface 30c extending forward from the upper and lower edges of the rear surface 30a are joined at the front end side, and are substantially triangular prism-shaped when viewed from the side. A occupant receiving surface 45 for receiving and protecting the occupants DM and PM is formed along the substantially vertical direction except for the portion 49 . The occupant receiving surface 45 has a driver seat side portion 46 for receiving the occupant DM on the driver seat 7 and a passenger seat side portion 47 for receiving the occupant PM on the passenger seat 8 in the event of a frontal collision of the vehicle V. I have it set up.

A recess 31b for preventing interference with a rearview mirror (not shown) of the vehicle V is provided near the center in the left-right direction on the rear upper edge 31a of the outer peripheral wall 31 of the airbag 30 when inflation is completed. .

The airbag 30 is composed of three panels, a rear panel portion 33 , an upper panel portion 34 , and a lower panel portion 35 , as panel portions forming the outer peripheral wall 31 . The rear panel portion 33 has the airbag 30 having the occupant receiving surface 45 disposed on the rear surface 30a side. The upper panel portion 34 extends forward from the upper edge 33 a side of the rear panel portion 33 and is arranged on the upper surface 30 b of the airbag 30 . The lower panel portion 35 extends forward from the lower edge 33b side of the rear panel portion 33, connects the front edge 35a side to the front edge 34a side of the upper panel portion 34, and is disposed on the lower surface 30c side of the airbag 30. It is assumed to be the part to be

The left and right side surfaces 30d and 30e of the airbag 30 at the time of completion of inflation are the left and right edges 34b and 34c of the top panel portion 34 (more specifically, the front edges 34ba and 34ca) and the bottom panel portion 35. It is formed from the vicinity of mutual joints with the left and right edges 35b, 35c (more specifically, the front edges 35ba, 35cb). Further, the upper portions of the rear portions of the left and right side surfaces 30d and 30e are formed by the upper side edges 33ca and 33da of the left and right edges 33c and 33d of the rear panel portion 33 and the rear side edges 34bb and 34b of the left and right edges 34b and 34c of the upper surface panel portion 34, respectively. 34cb and 34cb, and the lower side of the rear part is the lower side edges 33cb and 33db of the left and right edges 33c and 33d of the rear panel portion 33 and the left and right edges 35b and 35c of the lower panel portion 35. It is composed of the vicinity of the joints of the rear side edges 35bb and 35cb (see FIGS. 4, 5, 6, 8 and 10).

Inflow openings 39 (L, R) for inserting the body portion 25 of the inflator 24 (L, R) from below are formed on the left and right sides of the front portion of the lower surface panel portion 35, and their peripheral edges are , retainers 20 are used to form mounting seats 40 (L, R) mounted on the bottom wall portion 13 of the case 12 . Each mounting seat 40 (L, R) is provided with four mounting holes 41 through which each bolt 21 of the retainer 20 is inserted.

When the airbag 30 is completely inflated, the rear panel portion 33 has approximately four (4) grooves at the central portion in the left-right direction, that is, between the driver seat side portion 46 and the passenger seat side portion 47 of the occupant receiving surface 45 . A protruding expanded portion 49 protruding rearward is provided as a truncated pyramid shape. Both left and right side surfaces of the projecting expansion portion 49 are formed as oblique movement receiving surfaces 49a and 49b capable of receiving the obliquely moving occupants DM and PM on the driver's seat 7 side and passenger seat 8 side, respectively.

In addition, the airbag 30 has an upper surface panel portion 34 and a lower surface panel portion 35 which are directly connected by stitching to the left and right of the intermediate portion in the front-rear direction when inflation is completed so as to regulate the thickness of the airbag 30 when inflated. A thickness regulating portion 43 (L, R) is provided. A through-hole 43a is opened vertically through the center of the thickness regulating portion 43 .

A reinforcing cloth 78 is interposed at the thickness regulating portions (L, R) to sew the upper panel portion 34 and the lower panel portion 35 together.

Furthermore, in the airbag 30 of the embodiment, a connecting portion 51 (L, R) is provided to connect the two separated portions 51a and 51b of the outer peripheral wall 31 to reduce the internal volume (see FIG. 12). ). The connecting portion 51 maintains the connection when only one of the occupants DM, PM on the side of the driver's seat 7 or on the side of the front passenger seat 8 receives the occupants DM, PM on the side of both the driver's seat 7 and the front passenger seat 8. At the time of receiving, the outer peripheral wall 31 is coupled with a coupling strength that allows the coupling to be released so as to increase the internal volume.

In the case of the embodiment, the connecting portions 51 (L, R) are portions of the outer peripheral wall 31 of the airbag 30 excluding the protruding inflation portion 49, and are located on the rear side of the airbag 30 when the inflation is completed. It is arranged above the entry position IP of the head H of the PM and at a site exposed to the free space when inflated. More specifically, the connecting portions 51 (L, R) are the head entry positions IP of the occupant DM on the driver seat 7 side and the occupant PM on the passenger seat 8 side on the occupant receiving surface 45 of the airbag 30 when inflation is completed. At the directly above position UP, the rear panel portion 33 and the upper panel portion 34 of the outer peripheral wall 31 of the airbag 30 at the time of completion of inflation are connected by sewing using a suture thread 55 and disposed.

These connecting portions 51 (L, R) are sewn lines using suture thread 55, that is, the connecting line 53 is a straight line extending in the left-right direction, and the length dimension of the connecting line 53 extending in the left-right direction is SL is equal to the width dimension WH of the heads H of the occupants DM and PM entering the portion of the occupant receiving surface 45 directly below (see FIG. 3).

Incidentally, the width dimension WH of the head H of the occupants DM and PM is set within the range of 160mm±20%, and the equivalent length dimension SL corresponding to the width dimension WH is also set within the range of 160mm±20%. , and in the embodiment, both are about 160 mm.

Furthermore, in the case of the embodiment, as shown in FIG. 12, the two separated portions of the outer peripheral wall 31 that are joined as the joints 51 (L, R) are the rear upper edge of the outer peripheral wall 31 of the airbag 30 when inflation is completed. A portion 51a of the rear panel portion 33 extending downward from 31a and a portion 51b of the upper panel portion 34 extending forward from the rear upper edge 31a are sewn together using a suture thread 55. , are combined and formed. When these parts 51a and 51b are joined, a part 58 on the side of the rear panel part 33 and a part 59 on the side of the upper panel part 34 from the joining part 51 (L, R) to the rear upper edge 31a are aligned in the front-rear direction. , the volume of the inflated airbag 30 is reduced, and these portions 58 and 59 approach so as to overlap to form a volume reduction portion 57 (L, R). becomes.

As described above, the portion 51a of the connecting portion 51 (L, R) on the rear panel portion 33 side is directly above the head entry position IP of the occupant DM on the driver seat 7 side and the occupant PM on the passenger seat 8 side. position UP.

The outer peripheral wall 31 of the airbag 30, as shown in FIGS. It is composed of two base fabrics 64 and 65 (see FIG. 5) forming the portion 34 and two base fabrics 62 and 63 (see FIG. 6) forming the bottom panel portion 35 . These base fabrics 66, 70, 71, 74, 75, 64, 65, 62, 63 are formed of woven fabrics made by weaving synthetic fibers such as polyester and polyamide.

When forming the outer peripheral wall 31 of the airbag 30, first, as shown in FIG. 5, the top panel portion 34 is formed. The upper panel portion 34 is composed of an upper left base fabric 64 and an upper right base fabric 65 . The upper left base cloth 64 and the upper right base cloth 65 are sewn together with predetermined reinforcing cloths 78, 79 and 80, respectively, and the edges facing each other are sewn together to form the upper panel portion 34. be able to. The reinforcing cloth 78 reinforces the stitching of the thickness regulating portion 43, and the reinforcing cloth 79 reinforces the recessed center region (near the recessed portion 31b) on the rear edge side of the upper panel portion 34. Additionally, the reinforcing fabric 80 provides protection from the inflating gas.

Further, as shown in FIG. 6, a lower surface panel portion 35 is formed. The lower panel portion 35 is composed of a lower left base cloth 62 and a lower right base cloth 63. Predetermined reinforcing cloths 78, 80, 81 are sewn to the base cloths 62, 63, and the edges facing each other are sewn to the base cloths 62, 63. , the bottom panel portion 35 can be formed. The reinforcing cloth 81 reinforces the mounting seats 40L and 40R. Further, when the lower surface panel portion 35 is formed, the inflow openings 39 (L, R) and the mounting holes 41 are drilled.

Next, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the rear panel portion 33 is formed. The rear panel portion 33 includes a rear center side base fabric 66 , a rear center left side base fabric 70 , a rear center right side base fabric 71 , a rear left side base fabric 74 , and a rear right side base fabric 75 .

The rear center side base cloth 66 is a portion that forms the protruding inflatable portion 49 except for the oblique movement receiving surfaces 49a and 49b. and a substantially trapezoidal lower part 69 adjacent to the central part 67 and forming the lower surface of the projecting expansion part 49 .

The rear center left side base cloth 70 is a portion that forms the oblique movement receiving surface 49a of the projecting inflatable portion 49 and the central portion 46a (see FIGS. 4 and 8) of the driver seat side portion 46 of the occupant receiving surface 45. It comprises a substantially trapezoidal oblique collision part 70a corresponding to the oblique movement receiving surface 49a and a substantially rectangular frontal collision part 70b corresponding to the center side part 46a.

The rear central right base fabric 71 is a portion that forms the oblique movement receiving surface 49b of the protruding inflatable portion 49 and the central portion 47a (see FIGS. 4 and 8) of the front passenger seat side portion 47 of the occupant receiving surface 45. It comprises a substantially trapezoidal oblique collision part 71a corresponding to the oblique movement receiving surface 49b and a substantially rectangular frontal collision part 71b corresponding to the center side part 47a.

The rear left base fabric 74 forms the left end portion 46b of the driver seat side portion 46 of the occupant receiving surface 45 (see FIGS. 4 and 8). Furthermore, the rear left base fabric 74 has cut grooves 74c on the upper and lower edges, and has a central side portion 74a near the protruding inflatable portion 49 and an end side portion 74b on the left edge side with the cut grooves 74c interposed therebetween. is configured with The end side portion 74b is a portion forming the vicinity of the rear portion of the left side surface 30d of the airbag 30. As shown in FIG.

The rear right base fabric 75 forms an end portion 47b on the right end side of the passenger seat side portion 47 of the occupant receiving surface 45 (see FIGS. 4 and 8). Furthermore, the rear right base fabric 75 has cut grooves 75c on the upper and lower edges, and has a central side portion 75a near the protruding inflatable portion 49 and an end side portion 75b on the right edge side with the cut grooves 75c interposed therebetween. is configured with The end side portion 75b is a portion forming the vicinity of the rear portion of the right side surface 30e of the airbag 30. As shown in FIG.

A substantially trapezoidal tether portion 72 is provided on the rear center left base cloth 70 and the rear center right base cloth 71 so as to extend from the front bump portion 70b. The cloth 75 also has a substantially trapezoidal tether portion 76 extending from the central side portions 74a and 75a. These tether parts 72 and 76 are overlapped with each other so as to suppress rearward protrusion of the driver seat side portion 46 and the passenger seat side portion 47 of the occupant receiving surface 45 near the center of the vertical and horizontal directions. It forms the front and rear tethers 90 (L, R) that are arranged. The front ends 90a of the front and rear tethers 90L and 90R are coupled to the reinforcing cloth 78 on the front edge side of the insertion holes 43a of the thickness regulating portions 43L and 43R. The rear ends 90b of the front and rear tethers 90L and 90R are arranged near the centers of the driver seat side portion 46 and the passenger seat side portion 47 of the occupant receiving surface 45 in the left-right direction (see FIGS. 1 and 9). reference).

Reinforcement cloths 82 of various shapes are stitched to the base cloths 66, 70, 71, 74, and 75 at portions requiring strength. A reinforcing cloth 79 is sewn to the portion of the rear center base cloth 66 where the concave portion 31b is formed, similarly to the upper panel portion 34 .

Then, when forming the rear panel portion 33, first, as shown in FIGS. It is folded and sutured so as to close the cut grooves 74c and 75c. Next, as shown in FIGS. 7B and 7C, the folds of the rear left base fabric 74 and the rear right base fabric 75 are unfolded, and the center side portion 74a of the rear left base fabric 74 and the rear center left base fabric 70 are folded. The driver seat side portion 46 of the occupant receiving surface 45 is sewn together with the front collision portion 70b, and the center side portion 75a of the rear right base cloth 75 and the front collision portion 71b of the rear center right base cloth 71 are sewn together. and a passenger seat side portion 47 . At this time, the stitching of the entire corresponding edges of the central side portion 74a and the front projection portion 70b and the stitching of the entire corresponding edges of the central side portion 75a and the front projection portion 71b are performed. For smooth operation, the tethering parts 72 and 74 are overlapped and folded back so as to protrude from the sewn parts (boundary parts between the center side parts 46a and 47a and the end side parts 46b and 47b).

Next, as shown in FIG. 8A, on both left and right sides of the central portion 67 of the rear center side base cloth 66, an oblique protrusion portion 70a of the rear center left side base cloth 70 and an oblique protrusion portion of the rear center right side base cloth 71 are provided. 71a are sutured. Further, as shown in FIG. 8B, both the left and right edges of the upper portion 68, the upper edge side of the oblique projection portion 70a of the rear center left side base cloth 70, and the oblique projection portion 71a of the rear center right side base cloth 71 Also, both left and right edges of the lower part 69, the lower edge side of the oblique projection portion 70a of the rear center left base cloth 70 and the lower edge side of the oblique projection portion 71a of the rear center right base cloth 71 and are stitched together, the rear panel portion 33 having the protruding inflatable portion 49 can be formed.

Then, as shown in FIGS. 9A and 9B, the upper edge 33a side of the rear panel portion 33 and the rear edge 34d side of the upper panel portion 34 are sewn together, and the lower edge 33b side of the rear panel portion 33 and the lower panel are sewn together. The rear edge 35d side of the portion 35 is sutured. After that, the lower surface panel portion 35 and the upper surface panel portion 34 are overlapped, and the front ends 90a of the front and rear tethers 90, which are the overlapped tether portions 72, 74, are sewn together, and the reinforcing cloths 78, 78 are interposed to are sutured, and as shown in FIG. 10A, an insertion hole 43a is drilled. Next, as shown in FIG. 10B, the upper side edges 33ca and 33da of the left and right edges 33c and 33d of the rear panel section 33, the rear side edges 34bb and 34cb of the left and right edges 34b and 34c of the upper panel section 34, Further, the front side edges 34ba, 34ca of the left and right edges 34b, 34c of the upper panel portion 34 are sewn to the front side edges 35ba, 35ca of the left and right edges 35b, 35c of the flatly developed lower panel portion 35. The outer peripheral wall 31 of the airbag 30 is manufactured by stitching the lower side edges 33cb and 33db of the left and right edges 33c and 33d of the rear panel portion 33 to the rear side edges 35bb and 35cb of the left and right edges 35b and 35c. be able to.

Further, the rear upper edge 31a of the airbag 30 is folded, and the rear panel portion 33 and the upper surface panel portion 34 near the rear upper edge 31a are overlapped to form the rear panel portion 33 and the upper surface as shown in FIGS. The airbag 30 can be manufactured by sewing the portions 51a and 51b of the panel portion 34 to each other as a left-right connecting line 53 with a suture thread 55 to form the connecting portions 51 (L, R).

To assemble the occupant protection device 10, first, the retainer 20 is arranged around the left and right inflow openings 39 (L, R) in the airbag 30, and the bolts 21 are inserted into the airbag 30 through the mounting holes 41. The airbag 30 is protruded outside and folded into a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape that can be stored in the case 12, and when the folding is completed, the airbag 30 is inflated to prevent collapse. The folded airbag 30 is wrapped with a wrapping sheet (not shown) that can be broken at times. The folded airbag 30 is stored on the bottom wall portion 13 of the case 12 so that the bolts 21 of the retainer 20 protrude from the mounting holes 15, and the bolts 21 are connected to the inflators 24 (L, R). While protruding from the attachment hole 26a of the flange portion 26 of the inflator 24 (L, R), the main body portion 25 of the inflator 24 (L, R) is inserted from below the bottom wall portion 13 into the insertion opening 14 (L, R) and the inflow opening 39 (L , R) and fasten the nuts 22 to the respective bolts 21, the airbag 30 and the inflator 24 (L, R) are attached to the bottom wall portion 13 of the case 12 to assemble the occupant protection device 10. (see Figure 1).

After that, the case 12 is connected to a bracket extending from a predetermined instrument panel hose of the vehicle V using a mounting piece portion (not shown) extending from the case 12, and the inflator 24 (L, R) is connected to the inflator 24 (L, R) for operating the occupant protection device 10. The instrument panel 1 is assembled to the vehicle V while the lead wires for inputting the operation signal extending from the control device (not shown) are connected, and the locking claw portions 18 of the case 12 are inserted and locked into the locking holes 28d of the side wall portions 28c. For example, the occupant protection device 10 can be mounted on the vehicle V.

After the occupant protection device 10 is mounted on the vehicle V, if the vehicle V experiences a frontal collision or an oblique collision, an actuation signal is input to the inflators 24 (L, R) to discharge gas from the inflators 24 (L, R). The airbag 30 into which the inflation gas G is discharged from the outlet 25a breaks the wrapping sheet (not shown) and pushes open the door portions 28a and 28b of the airbag cover 28 to open the case. It deploys and inflates while protruding rearward from 12 (see FIGS. 1 and 2).

When the airbag 30 receives the occupants DM and PM after completing the inflation, when receiving only the occupant DM on either the driver's seat 7 side or the passenger's seat 8 side, for example, the driver's seat 7 side, the coupling Since the portion 51 (L, R) is not released, it will receive one passenger DM. However, when receiving two passengers DM and PM on the side of the driver's seat 7 and the side of the passenger seat 8 after the airbag 30 has completed inflation, as shown in FIGS. With the sudden increase in internal pressure, the connecting portion 51 is released, and the airbag 30 is in a state in which the internal volume is increased (the state in which the inflation is completed as shown in FIG. 13), and the two occupants DM, PM , so that the internal pressure of the airbag 30, which receives one passenger DM without releasing the connecting portion 51, is approximately equal to the internal pressure of the airbag 30. It can receive and protect the passengers DM and PM. Conversely, when receiving one occupant DM, the connection of the connecting portion is maintained and the internal volume of the airbag 30 is not increased. can be protected. The adjustment of the internal pressure of the airbag 30 at the time of receiving the occupant does not necessarily adjust the supply of the inflation gas G, but simply reduces the internal volume of the airbag 31 at two locations 51a spaced apart from each other. , 51b, which can be released when the internal pressure rises. Therefore, the internal pressure of the airbag 30 can be easily adjusted when the occupant is received.

Therefore, the occupant protection device 10 of the embodiment can easily adjust the internal pressure of the airbag 30 when receiving the occupant regardless of the presence or absence of the occupant PM on the front passenger seat 8 .

In addition, in the occupant protection device 10 of the embodiment, the occupant receiving surface 45 when the airbag 30 is fully inflated is projected rearward between the driver's seat side portion 46 and the passenger's seat side portion 47 to Protruding expansion portions 49 are provided as oblique movement receiving surfaces 49a and 49b capable of receiving the obliquely moving occupants DM and PM on the side of the driver's seat 7 and the side of the front passenger seat 8, respectively (see FIG. 2). reference). Then, the connecting portion 51 (L, R) is a portion of the outer peripheral wall 31 of the airbag 30 excluding the projecting inflation portion 49 (in the embodiment, the airbag on the upper side of the driver seat side portion 46 and the passenger seat side portion 47). 30 on the rear upper edge 31a side).

Therefore, in the embodiment, even if the occupants DM and PM in the front seats 6 move obliquely forward in the event of an oblique collision of the vehicle V or the like, the airbag 30 does not reach the projecting inflation portion 49 of the airbag 30 when inflation is completed. The oblique movement receiving surfaces 49a and 49b can be received and protected so as to face each other. In addition, since the coupling portion 51 is not provided at the portion of the projecting inflation portion 49, the volume of the projecting inflation portion 49 can be kept constant, and the airbag 30 is at The rearward projection amount of 49 can be stably secured.

If the above points are not taken into consideration, the coupling portion may be provided on the upper surface side of the projecting expansion portion 49 or the like.

Further, in the occupant protection device 10 of the embodiment, the connecting portions 51 (L, R) are positioned above the head entrance positions IP of the occupants DM and PM sitting in the front seats 6 on the rear side of the airbag 30 when inflation is completed. and at a portion exposed to the free space when inflated (in the embodiment, on the rear upper edge 31a side of the airbag 30 on the upper side of the driver seat side portion 46 and the passenger seat side portion 47) (See FIG. 3).

Therefore, in the embodiment, when the occupants DM and PM enter the airbag 30, the upper bodies UB (see FIG. 1) including the heads H of the occupants DM and PM do not interfere with the coupling portion 51, The connecting portion 51 is arranged so that the peripheral instrument panel 1 as a side member does not interfere with the connecting portion 51 and is exposed to the free space. When the internal pressure is increased, the coupling portion 51 can be smoothly released without interference from the occupants DM, PM and the instrument panel 1 as a surrounding member on the vehicle body side.

If the above points are not taken into account, for example, a rear panel portion 33, a top panel portion 34, and a bottom panel are provided on the left and right side surfaces 30d and 30e of the airbag 30, as indicated by the two-dot chain line in FIG. A connecting portion 51A may be provided for connecting the portion 35 and the portions 51a and 51b.

Also, the number of connecting portions 51 may be one, or three or more, instead of two.

Furthermore, in the occupant protection device 10 of the embodiment, the airbag 30 includes the rear panel portion 33 on the rear surface 30a side having the occupant receiving surface 45 and the upper edge of the rear panel portion 33 as the outer peripheral wall 31 when the inflation is completed. and a top panel portion 34 extending forward from the 33a side. The connecting portions 51 (L, R) are connected to the head portions of the occupant DM on the side of the driver seat 7 and the occupant PM on the side of the passenger seat 8 on the occupant receiving surface 45 of the airbag 30 when inflation is completed. A connection line 53 extending in the left-right direction at a position UP immediately above the entry position IP connects portions 51a and 51b of the rear panel portion 33 and the upper panel portion 34 of the outer peripheral wall 31 of the airbag 30 when inflation is completed. They are connected and arranged.

Therefore, in the embodiment, when the occupants DM and PM move forward and are received by the occupant receiving surface 45 at the time of a frontal collision of the vehicle V, they are received directly below the coupling portions 51 (L, R). 12, a tensile force T is applied in a direction orthogonal to the connecting line 53 to the central portion 53a of the connecting line 53 of the connecting portion 51 that is close to the receiving portion AP of the head H, thereby Therefore, if the internal pressure of the airbag 30 rises rapidly, the connection of the connection portion 51 can be quickly released, and the receiving portion AP can be quickly released. The coupling can be released from the central portion 53a near the portion AP to the left and right ends 53b and 53c of the coupling line 53 (see FIGS. 3 and 12), and the coupling of the entire coupling portion 51 can be smoothly released. be able to. As a result, the inflated airbag 30 increases the internal volume of the airbag 30 and secures an internal pressure to smoothly receive the two passengers DM and PM. can be protected.

In the case of the embodiment, the length dimension SL of the coupling line 53 is set to be equal to the width dimension WH of the heads H of the occupants DM and PM in the front seats 6, respectively.

Therefore, in the embodiment, since the length dimension SL of the coupling line 53 is not too short, the tensile force T can be easily dispersed over the entire length of the coupling line 53, and only one passenger DM, PM can reach the airbag 30. Uncoupling of the coupling line 53 during entry can be prevented. When the two occupants DM and PM enter the airbag 30, the connecting line 53 extends from the portion 53a near the receiving portion AP to both ends 53b and 53c of the connecting line 53 when the connection is released. Since the width dimension WH of the head H of the occupants DM and PM is not too long, the entire area of each coupling line 53 can be rapidly released and a predetermined internal pressure can be secured. The internal volume of the airbag 30 can be increased.

Further, in the occupant protection device 10 of the embodiment, the inflators 24 (L, R) that supply the inflation gas G for inflating the airbag 30 are arranged at the driver seat side portion 46 and the passenger seat side of the occupant receiving surface 45 . Two of them are used so as to be arranged on the front side of the portion 47 .

Therefore, in the embodiment, when the airbag 30 is inflated, two inflators 24 (L, R) arranged in front of the driver seat side portion 46 and the passenger seat side portion 47 of the occupant receiving surface 45 are used to inflate the airbag 30 . , the driver seat side portion 46 and the passenger seat side portion 47 of the passenger receiving surface 45 can be smoothly arranged at the inflation completion position so as to be able to receive the passengers DM and PM together. The occupants DM and PM on the side of the seat 8 can be favorably received and protected.

In addition, in the embodiment, when forming the connecting portions 51 and 51A that connect the two separated portions of the outer peripheral wall 31 of the airbag 30, the case is shown in which sewing using the suture thread 55 is used to form the connecting portions. may be formed using adhesion as well as sewing.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 instrument panel/body side portion 6 front seat 7 driver seat 8 front passenger seat 10 occupant protection device 12 (storage portion) case 24 (L, R) inflator 30 Airbag 30a Rear surface 31 Peripheral wall 33 Rear panel part 33a Upper edge 34 Upper panel part 39 (L, R) Inflow opening 43 (L, R) Thickness regulation Part 45... Occupant receiving surface 46... Driver's seat side part 47... Passenger seat side part 49... Protruding expansion part 49a... Diagonal movement receiving surface 49b... Diagonal movement receiving surface 51 (L , R), 51A...Coupling portion, 51a...(Coupling point of rear panel portion) portion, 51b...(Coupling portion of upper panel portion) portion, 53...Coupling line,
IP: head entry position, UP: directly above position, SL: length dimension (of coupling line),
WH... (head) width, G... inflation gas, V... vehicle, DM... (driver's seat) occupant,
PM... (passenger seat) passenger, H... head.

Claims (6)

It is folded and stored in the vehicle body side part in front of the front seats of the driver and passenger seats of the vehicle, and when inflated, it protrudes rearward from the storage part so as to protect the occupants in the front seats, and is on the rear surface when inflation is completed. , an airbag having occupant receiving surfaces capable of receiving occupants on the driver's seat side and the passenger's seat side,
The airbag has a connecting portion that connects two separated portions of the outer peripheral wall to reduce the internal volume,
The connecting part maintains the connection when receiving only one occupant on the driver side or the passenger side, and increases the internal volume when receiving both occupants on the driver side and the passenger side. (2) an occupant protection device, wherein the outer peripheral wall is connected so as to be releasable from the connection; Between the driver's seat side and the passenger's seat side of the occupant receiving surface when the airbag is completely inflated, the driver's seat side and the passenger's seat side protrude rearward and move obliquely on both side surfaces, respectively. A protruding expansion part is disposed as a diagonal movement receiving surface capable of receiving the occupant of the
2. The occupant protection system according to claim 1, wherein the coupling portion is disposed at a portion of the outer peripheral wall of the airbag excluding the projecting inflation portion. The connecting portion is arranged at a position above the position where the front seat occupant's head enters on the rear side of the airbag when inflation is completed, and at a portion exposed to the free space when inflated. 3. The occupant protection device according to claim 1, wherein the occupant protection device is characterized by: As the outer peripheral wall when the airbag is fully inflated,
a rear panel portion on the rear side having the occupant receiving surface;
a top panel portion extending forward from the top edge side of the rear panel portion;
As a configuration comprising
The connecting portion is
It extends in the left-right direction at a position immediately above the position where the heads of the occupant on the driver's seat side and the occupant on the passenger's seat side enter on each of the occupant receiving surfaces of the airbag when inflation is completed. As a connecting line,
4. The occupant protection system according to claim 3, wherein the rear panel portion and the upper panel portion of the outer peripheral wall of the airbag when inflation is completed are joined to each other. 5. The occupant protection system according to claim 4, wherein the length of each of the connecting lines is set to be equal to the width of the head of the occupant in the front seat. Two inflators for supplying inflation gas for inflating the airbag are arranged in front of the driver seat side portion and the passenger seat side portion of the occupant receiving surface. The occupant protection device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the occupant protection device is

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