JP7331535B2 - Airbag and airbag device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a far-side airbag and an airbag device mounted on a side portion of a vehicle seat on the center side in the vehicle width direction.

In a side collision of a vehicle such as an automobile, the impact force of the collision causes the vehicle to move, while the occupants seated in the seat try to stay where they are, so they are subject to inertial force directed toward the collision side. , the occupant in the non-collision side seat receives a force that moves toward the center in the vehicle width direction. Therefore, a far-side airbag device that is inflated and deployed between adjacent seats has been proposed. Patent Document 1 describes that a far-side airbag is composed of a chest chamber and a head chamber above it in order to restrain the chest and head of an occupant.

Patent Document 2 describes a side airbag device having an airbag that inflates and deploys above the head of an occupant. The upper portion of the airbag has an airbag projecting portion that inflates so as to wrap around the front of the occupant's head. The airbag projecting portion restrains the occupant's head in the event of an oblique front collision with the vehicle.

U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2019/016052 Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2006-8105

In the airbag of Patent Document 2, when the vehicle collides sideways, the shoulders, arms, chest, and torso of the far-side occupant push the far-side airbag, causing the airbag to move away from the occupant's head. The restraint of the occupant's head is insufficient.

In the far-side airbag of Patent Document 1, only the rear portion of the head chamber is connected to the rear portion of the upper chest chamber, so even if the chest chamber is pushed by the occupant's body and moves toward the collision side, the head chamber remains in the original position. and the head chamber restrains the occupant's head.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a far-side airbag and an airbag device that are excellent in restraint performance for the head and upper body of an occupant.

The airbag of the present invention is an airbag for a far-side airbag device that is mounted on a side portion of a seatback on the center side in the vehicle width direction, and includes a first inflation portion that inflates to the side of an occupant; is inflated between the upper portion of the first inflatable portion and the occupant's head, and the front portion is inflated in front of the occupant's shoulder, and the inside of the first inflatable portion and the inside of the second inflatable portion are communicated. the rear portion of the second inflation portion bends from the first inflation portion toward the occupant when the airbag is inflated, and the upper portion of the front portion of the second inflation portion extends to the rear portion. On the other hand, it is connected in a curved shape.

In one aspect of the present invention, the first inflatable portion has an annular chamber surrounding the first inflatable portion and a non-inflatable portion surrounded by the annular chamber.

In one aspect of the present invention, the communicating portion is a first bottleneck located at the rear portion of the upper portion of the first inflation portion, and the rear portion of the first inflation portion is located in the first bottleneck when the airbag is inflated. to bend to the passenger side.

In one aspect of the present invention, the rear portion of the second inflatable portion communicates with the inside of the first inflatable portion through the first bottleneck, extends forward, and in an inflated state, at least a portion thereof is located between the occupant's head and the first inflatable portion. 1 is a first chamber positioned between the upper portion of the inflatable portion.

In one aspect of the present invention, the front portion of the second inflatable portion has an upper portion communicating with the front portion of the first chamber, and in an inflated state, expands downward from the front portion of the first chamber. , a second chamber positioned in front of the occupant's shoulder, the lower portion of the second chamber being joined to the front portion of the first inflatable portion.

In one aspect of the invention, a second bottleneck is provided between the first chamber and the second chamber, and the second inflatable portion bends at the second bottleneck when the airbag is inflated.

In one aspect of the present invention, the lower portion of the second inflating portion communicates with the inside of the first inflating portion through a communicating portion in the middle of the front portion in the vertical direction of the first inflating portion, and inflates upward. It has a second chamber and a first chamber whose front part communicates with the upper part of the second chamber through a second bottleneck.

In one aspect of the invention, the rear portion of the first chamber is joined to the rear portion of the upper portion of the first expansion portion.

In one aspect of the present invention, the lower portion communicates with the occupant side of the front portion of the first inflation portion through a communication port, and has a second chamber that expands upward from the communication port.

In one aspect of the invention, the upper portion of the second chamber and the front portion of the first chamber are joined.

In one aspect of the present invention, the airbag has a first tether for positioning the rear portion of the second inflatable portion on the occupant side of the upper portion of the first inflatable portion when the airbag is inflated.

In one aspect of the present invention, the upper end of the first tether is connected to the rear portion of the second inflatable portion, and the lower end of the first tether is connected to the first inflatable portion or the seatback frame.

In one aspect of the present invention, the lower end of the first tether is connected to the non-inflatable portion.

In one aspect of the present invention, the front end of the first tether is connected to the front portion of the second inflatable portion, and the rear end is connected to the seat back frame or the rear portion of the first inflatable portion.

The airbag device of the present invention has the airbag of the present invention and an inflator for inflating the airbag.

In the airbag of the present invention, tilting of the occupant's head is restrained by interposing the second inflatable portion between the upper portion of the first inflatable portion and the occupant's head during a side collision.

In one aspect of the present invention, the first chamber of the second inflatable portion is interposed between the upper portion of the first inflatable portion and the occupant's head during a side collision.

In one aspect of the present invention, the second inflatable portion restrains the occupant's head and shoulders in the event of an oblique front side collision.

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of the airbag according to the embodiment when it is not inflated; FIG. 4 is a side view of the airbag according to the embodiment in a fully inflated state; FIG. 4 is a front view of the airbag according to the embodiment in a completed inflation state; FIG. 4 is a rear view of the airbag according to the embodiment in a completed inflation state; FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the airbag according to the embodiment in a completed inflation state; FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along the line VI-VI of FIG. 5; FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VII-VII of FIG. 5; FIG. 11 is a side view of the completed inflation state of an airbag according to another embodiment; FIG. 11 is a side view of the completed inflation state of an airbag according to another embodiment; FIG. 11 is a rear view of an airbag in an inflated state according to another embodiment; FIG. 11 is a side view of the completed inflation state of an airbag according to another embodiment; FIG. 12a is an enlarged view of part of an airbag according to another embodiment, and FIG. 12b is a sectional view taken along line XIIb-XIIb of FIG. 12a. FIG. 11 is a perspective view of an airbag in an inflated state according to another embodiment; FIG. 11 is a perspective view of an airbag in an inflated state according to another embodiment;

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the following embodiments, the front-rear, up-down, left-right directions correspond to the front-rear, up-down, left-right directions of the vehicle unless otherwise specified. FR, UP, and CENTER indicate the front direction, upward direction, and center side of the vehicle width direction, respectively.

[First Embodiment]
1 to 7 show an airbag 1 according to a first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1 shows a flattened state of the airbag 1 before inflation. 2 to 7 show states in which the airbag is inflated and deployed.

The airbag device according to the present embodiment is a so-called far-side airbag device, and is mounted on the side portion of the vehicle seat on the center side in the vehicle width direction. In this embodiment, the seat is the left seat of the vehicle, and the airbag device is mounted on the right side of the seat.

The seat has a seat cushion, a seat back and a headrest. The seat back has a seat back frame as its skeleton.

In this embodiment, an airbag device is attached to the seatback frame.

The airbag device includes an airbag 1 that is folded and stored in a seat back, and an inflator 2 that supplies inflation gas to the airbag 1. - 特許庁

The airbag 1 consists of two panels (the first panel 31 and the second panel 32 shown in FIGS. 6 and 7) sewn together at their peripheries with seams 33, and sewn at the center of the first inflatable portion 10 with seams 34. It is sutured. The airbag 1 is sized to restrain the head, shoulders, chest and abdomen of the occupant.

As shown in FIG. 1 , the airbag 1 has a first inflation portion 10 on the lower side, which is inflated by the gas from the inflator 2 first, and is arranged above the first inflation portion 10 . and a second inflatable portion 20 that is inflated by gas flowing from the inflatable portion 10 .

The first inflatable portion 10 has an insertion port 11 for the inflator 2, an inflatable annular chamber 12 communicating with the insertion port 11, and a non-inflatable portion 13 surrounded by the annular chamber 12. there is

As shown in FIG. 1, the airbag 1 includes a rear side 1a extending substantially vertically from the rear portion of the airbag 1, an upper side 1b extending substantially in the front-rear direction, and an upper side 1b connected to the rear side 1a. , an upper front side 1c extending substantially in the vertical direction, an upper cut side 1d connected to the upper front side 1c and extending substantially in the front-rear direction, and a cut side 1d connected to the upper cut side 1d and extending substantially in the front-rear direction. a lower cut edge 1e present, a lower front edge 1f that extends substantially vertically from the lower cut edge 1e, a lower edge 1g that extends rearward from the lower front edge 1f, It has an extension side 1h that continues to the lower part of the rear side 1a and extends rearward.

The seams 33 are provided along these sides 1a to 1h. The sides 1g and 1h are substantially parallel, and an insertion port 11 for the inflator 2 is provided between their rear ends. Instead of the inflator 2 , one end of a gas duct pipe connected to the inflator may be inserted into the insertion port 11 .

A cut portion 4 is formed between the upper cut side 1d and the lower cut side 1e. The cut portion 4 extends rearward from the upper portion of the front side of the airbag 1 .

A first expansion portion 10 is provided below the cut portion 4 , and a second expansion portion 20 is provided above the cut portion 4 .

An annular seam 34 is provided in the central portion of the first inflation portion 10 , and an annular chamber 12 is formed between the seam 34 and the seam 33 . The non-inflatable portion 13 is formed inside the seams 34 .

Portions 33d and 33e of the seam 33 along the upper cut side 1d and the lower cut side 1e extend from the front sides 1c and 1f of the airbag 1 to near the rear side 1a. Eyelet-like seams 35 are provided at the rear ends of the seams 33d and 33e. A first bottleneck 14 connecting the first inflatable portion 10 and the second inflatable portion 20 is formed between the vicinity of the eyelet-like seam 35 and the seam 33 along the rear side 1a.

The second inflatable portion 20 has a generally longitudinally extending chamber surrounded by seams 33 . Of the stitches 33, a stitch 33d along the cut side 1d forms an approaching portion 33d' approaching the upper side 1b in the vicinity of the eyelet-shaped seam 35, and this approaching portion 33d' and the upper side 1b A second bottleneck 23 is formed between the seam 33 and the seam 33 .

The chambers of the second expansion part 20 are composed of a first chamber 21 on the first bottleneck 14 side of the second bottleneck 23 and a second chamber 22 on the front side of the second bottleneck 23 .

The tip (front end in FIG. 1) of the second inflatable portion 20 is joined to the front portion of the first inflatable portion 10 by stitching.

As shown in FIG. 2, tethers 5, 6, 7 are provided in this embodiment. The first tether 5 is for positioning the inflated first chamber 21 on the occupant P (FIG. 3) side. The upper end of the tether 5 is sewn to the first chamber 21 portion of the upper side 1b. The lower end of the tether 5 is sewn to the upper portion of the non-inflatable portion 13 .

The second tether 6 prevents the front side of the inflated first inflation portion 10 from retreating rightward from the occupant. The front edge of the tether 6 is sewn near the front portion of the cut side 1e. The rear end of the tether 6 is connected to the seatback frame.

The upper end of the third tether 7 is sewn near the middle of the rear side 1a in the vertical direction, and the lower end is sewn to the lower portion of the front side 1f.

When a vehicle equipped with an airbag system having the airbag 1 constructed as described above is side-collided from the right side, the inflator 2 is operated to generate gas. The gas supplied from the inflator 2 to the first inflatable section 10 inflates the annular chamber 12, is supplied to the second inflatable section 20 through the first bottleneck 14, and inflates the first chamber 21 and the second chamber 22. Let

By being pulled by the tether 5, the inflated first chamber 21 bends toward the occupant P near the first bottleneck 14 as shown in FIGS. intervening between H.

Also, the second expansion part 20 bends near the second bottleneck 23 and the second chamber 22 expands downward from the front end of the first chamber 21 . The second chamber 22 is positioned in front of the right shoulder of the occupant P and restrains the vicinity of the right shoulder.

Thus, since the first chamber 21 is positioned between the upper portion of the first inflatable portion 10 and the occupant's head H, tilting of the occupant's head H is restrained.

In addition, since the second chamber 22 inflates and deploys from the front of the occupant P's head to the front side near the right shoulder, the occupant's head H is restrained from moving to the right in the event of a side collision from the right oblique front.

[Another embodiment]
In the first embodiment, the tether 5 for bending the first chamber 21 toward the occupant P is provided between the upper side 1b and the non-inflatable portion 13. However, the airbag 1A shown in FIG. , the lower end of the tether 5 may be sewn to the rear side 1a of the first inflatable portion 10. As shown in FIG.

Also, as in the airbag 1B of FIG. 9, the rear end of the tether 5 may be connected to the seatback frame.

Also, as in the airbag 1C of FIG. 10, instead of the tether 5, a tether cloth 41 that straddles the rear surface of the inflated first chamber 21 and the upper rear surface of the inflated annular chamber 12 may be provided.

The front end of the tether 5 may be connected to the second chamber 22 and the rear end may be connected to the seat back frame or the rear portion of the first inflatable portion 10, as in the airbag 1D of FIG.

Other configurations of the airbags 1A to 1D shown in FIGS. 8 to 11 are the same as those of the airbag 1, and the same reference numerals denote the same parts.

12a and 12b, the present invention provides slits 42 extending substantially in the front-rear direction in the panels 31 and 32 in the vicinity of the eyelet seams 35, and the slits 42 in the panels 31 and 32. The upper portion and the lower portion of the belt may be overlapped and extended toward the occupant P, and the overlapped portions may be sewn together with the seams 43 .

In the airbags 1, 1', 1A to 1D, the first bottleneck 14 connecting the first inflation portion 10 and the second inflation portion 20 is located above the first inflation portion 10, but the airbag shown in FIG. As in 1E, the first bottleneck 15 may be positioned in front of the first inflatable portion 10, and the first bottleneck 15 may communicate the second chamber 22 and the annular chamber 12 with each other. The first bottleneck 15 is positioned midway in the vertical direction of the first expansion portion 10 .

In FIG. 13, the first bottleneck 14 connecting the first chamber 21 and the annular chamber 12 is not provided. The rear portion of the first chamber 21 is connected to the rear portion of the upper portion of the first inflation portion 10 by stitching or the like.

In the airbag 1F of FIG. 14, the rear portion of the first chamber 21 and the upper portion of the annular chamber 12 are communicated by the first bottleneck 14, and the lower portion of the second chamber 22 and the front portion of the annular chamber 12 are communicated by the first bottleneck 15. are in communication. The second bottleneck 23 connecting the first chamber 21 and the second chamber 22 is not provided, and the first chamber 21 and the second chamber 22 are not directly connected. The front portion of the first chamber 21 and the upper portion of the second chamber 22 are connected by stitching or the like.

Other configurations of the airbags 1E and 1F shown in FIGS. 13 and 14 are the same as the airbag 1, and the same reference numerals denote the same parts.

All of the above-described embodiments show one mode of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to each of the above-described embodiments.

1, 1′, 1A to 1F Airbag 2 Inflator 4 Notch 5, 6, 7 Tether 10 First expansion part 12 Annular chamber 13 Non-inflation part 14, 15 First bottleneck 20 Second expansion part 21 First chamber 22 2nd chamber 23 2nd bottleneck 31, 32 panel 33, 34, 35, 43 seam

Claims (7)

An airbag of a far-side airbag device mounted on a side portion of a seat back on the center side in the vehicle width direction,
a first expansion portion that expands to the side of the occupant;
a second inflatable portion having a rear portion that inflates between an upper portion of the first inflatable portion and the occupant's head and a front portion that inflates in front of the occupant's shoulders;
a communicating portion that communicates between the inside of the first expansion portion and the inside of the second expansion portion;
The rear portion of the second inflatable portion is bent toward the occupant from the first inflatable portion when the airbag is inflated, and the upper portion of the front portion of the second inflatable portion is connected to the rear portion in a bent shape. ,
the communicating portion is a first bottleneck located in the rear portion of the upper portion of the first expansion portion;
When the airbag is inflated, the rear portion of the first inflation portion bends toward the occupant at the first bottleneck;
A rear portion of the second inflatable portion communicates with the inside of the first inflatable portion through the first bottleneck, extends forward, and in an inflated state, at least a portion of the second inflatable portion is formed between an occupant's head and an upper portion of the first inflatable portion. a first chamber located between
The lower part communicates with the occupant side of the front part of the first inflatable part through a communication port, and has a second chamber that expands upward from the communication port,
An airbag, wherein the upper portion of the second chamber and the front portion of the first chamber are joined together . 2. The airbag according to claim 1, wherein said first inflatable portion has an annular chamber surrounding said first inflatable portion and a non-inflatable portion surrounded by said annular chamber. 3. The airbag according to claim 1 , further comprising a first tether for positioning the rear portion of the second inflatable portion on the occupant side of the upper portion of the first inflatable portion when the airbag is inflated. 4. The airbag according to claim 3 , wherein the upper end of said first tether is connected to the rear portion of said second inflatable portion, and the lower end of said first tether is connected to said first inflatable portion or seat back frame. 5. The airbag according to claim 4 , wherein said airbag is the airbag according to claim 2, and wherein the lower end of said first tether is connected to said non-inflatable portion. 4. The airbag according to claim 3 , wherein the front end of said first tether is connected to the front portion of said second inflatable portion, and the rear end thereof is connected to the seat back frame or the rear portion of said first inflatable portion. An airbag device comprising the airbag according to any one of claims 1 to 6 and an inflator for inflating the airbag.

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