JP7464030B2 - Airbag device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an airbag device mounted on a steering wheel or the like, and in particular to an airbag device in which functional parts such as a camera device are arranged on the door of the airbag cover that opens when pushed by the inflating airbag.

Conventional airbag devices mounted on vehicles include an airbag that expands and inflates from a folded state by the introduction of inflation gas, an airbag cover that covers the folded airbag, and a holder that holds the airbag and the airbag cover (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In this airbag device, the airbag cover includes a door section that is pushed by the inflating airbag and opens around a hinge section as a rotation center, and a mounting wall section that is disposed so as to surround the periphery of the door section and is attached to the holder. A functional part consisting of a camera device is disposed on the door section and mounted on the vehicle. Furthermore, the functional part is attached to the back side of the door section and is held by a flexible band-shaped holding member to prevent it from scattering when the door section is opened. Specifically, when the functional part is attached to the rear side of the door, the locking projection protruding from the rear side of the door is inserted and locked into the locking hole of the functional part (more specifically, the lower end of the locking projection inserted into the locking hole is thermally melted to expand its diameter and locked into the locking hole), and the functional part is attached to the rear side of the door. The flexible belt-shaped holding member is inserted into the insertion hole of the functional part and wrapped around the connecting rod around the insertion hole to connect it to the functional part, and the end is riveted to the side wall of the airbag device or attached to the holder together with the mounting wall of the airbag cover.

JP 2020-63017 A

However, in conventional airbag devices, when arranging a functional part on a door section while preventing it from scattering, the work of connecting the functional part to the door section and the work of connecting the retaining member to the functional part must be performed separately, posing a challenge in reducing the complexity of the work of attaching the functional part to the door section while preventing it from scattering.

The present invention aims to solve the above-mentioned problems by providing an airbag device that can easily attach functional parts to the door while preventing shattering.

The airbag device according to the present invention comprises: an airbag that is expanded and inflated from a folded state by the inflow of inflation gas;
an airbag cover for covering the folded airbag;
a holder for holding the airbag and the airbag cover;
Equipped with
The airbag cover,
a door portion that is pushed by the inflating airbag and opens around a hinge portion as a rotation center;
a mounting wall portion disposed so as to surround the door portion and attached to the holder;
Equipped with
An airbag device having a functional component disposed in the door portion and mounted on a vehicle,
the functional component is held by a holding member for preventing scattering of the airbag when the airbag is inflated, and is attached to a mounting seat provided at a mounting portion on a rear surface side of the door portion by a plurality of fastening means;
The holding member is
A tip-side connecting portion on a tip side that holds the functional component;
A base connection portion connected to a portion excluding the door portion and the hinge portion, where the attachment strength can be ensured;
an intermediate portion disposed between the front connecting portion and the base connecting portion and capable of bending while maintaining a holding state of the functional component in the front connecting portion when the airbag is inflated;
The present invention is configured to include
the front connecting portion of the retaining member has a peripheral portion surrounding the mounting seat, and has a bridging portion connecting opposing portions of the retaining member in a direction substantially along a direction in which the retaining member is pulled when the airbag is inflated, and is configured in an annular shape having an insertion hole divided in two by the bridging portion;
The functional part is characterized in that it is configured by arranging a flange-shaped portion that abuts against the peripheral edge portion of the tip connecting portion at a portion on the pulling direction side that is approximately along the direction in which the retaining member is pulled when the airbag is inflated.

In the airbag device according to the present invention, even if the functional part is about to fly off when the airbag inflates and the door opens after being mounted on a predetermined mounting portion of the vehicle, the retaining member attaches the base connecting portion to a predetermined connecting portion, and the intermediate portion is deflected to hold the functional part on the tip connecting portion side. In this case, even if the tip connecting portion has an annular shape so as to surround the mounting seat, it has a bridging portion so as to be approximately along the pulling direction of the retaining member (the direction from the base connecting portion side to the tip connecting portion side), and does not deform to enlarge the insertion hole, and the portion on the pulling direction side of the peripheral portion around the insertion hole is abutted against and pressed against the flange-shaped portion of the functional part, and is restricted from coming off from the periphery of the mounting seat. Therefore, the tip connecting portion can stably hold the functional part, and the retaining member can prevent the functional part from flying off. Furthermore, when attaching the functional part to the mounting seat at the installation location on the back side of the door part, the peripheral portion of the front connecting portion of the retaining member is arranged so as to surround the mounting seat, and the flange-shaped portion of the functional part is arranged on the peripheral portion, and the functional part is attached to the mounting seat using multiple fastening means, and then the functional part can be connected to the retaining member and attached to the installation location on the back side of the door part. In other words, since the retaining member can be attached to the functional part at the same time as the functional part is attached to the door part, the task of attaching the functional part to the door part can be performed easily. The base connecting portion of the retaining member can be attached to a specified connecting portion when the airbag device is assembled.

Therefore, the airbag device of the present invention makes it easy to attach the functional parts to the door while preventing them from scattering.

In the airbag device according to the present invention, the retaining member may be made of a material equivalent to the airbag fabric that forms the airbag.

If the retaining member is made of the same flexible material as the airbag base fabric, the retaining member can be easily manufactured using scraps, etc., when cutting the airbag base fabric that is prepared when manufacturing the airbag.

In the airbag device according to the present invention, it is preferable that the front connecting portion of the retaining member is provided with a penetration portion through which the fastening means passes, and that a non-clamped portion is disposed around the periphery of the penetration portion so as not to be clamped between the mounting seat and the functional component when the functional component is attached to the mounting seat.

In this configuration, when the functional part is attached to the mounting seat, the leading connecting portion of the flexible holding member is not pinched between the functional part and the mounting seat, but is directly abutted against the mounting seat. This stabilizes the fastening strength of the fastening means to the mounting seat, and allows the functional part to be firmly attached to the mounting seat.

The airbag device according to the present invention can be a driver-use device mounted on a steering wheel operated by the driver, and in this case, the functional part can be, for example, a camera device that photographs the driver.

In the case where the functional part is a camera device, the camera device is configured to include an infrared camera and an infrared irradiation device,
an ornament that also serves as a visible light cut filter that transmits infrared rays and blocks visible light has the mounting seat and is disposed on the door portion so as to cover the camera device;
It is desirable that the ornament be held by the holding member together with the camera device when the door portion is opened upon inflation of the airbag, and be assembled and arranged on the door portion so as to be detachable from the door portion.

In this configuration, the ornament is attached so that it is exposed on the surface side of the door, enhancing the decorative effect of the door of the airbag cover. Of course, even if the ornament to which the camera device is attached comes off the door when the airbag inflates, the retaining member that holds the camera device prevents it from scattering, so there is no problem even if the ornament is made large to enhance the design effect.

1 is a plan view of a steering wheel on which an airbag device according to an embodiment of the present invention is mounted. 1 is a schematic plan view of an airbag device according to an embodiment; 3 is a schematic vertical cross-sectional view of the airbag device according to the embodiment, which corresponds to the III-III portion of FIG. 2. 1 is a schematic exploded perspective view of an airbag device according to an embodiment of the present invention, as viewed from above; 2 is a schematic exploded perspective view of the airbag device according to the embodiment, as viewed from the bottom side. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the airbag device according to the embodiment, as viewed from the bottom side. FIG. 2 is a schematic exploded perspective view of the vicinity of a door portion, an ornament, the vicinity of a front connecting portion of a holding member, and a camera device of the airbag device according to the embodiment, as viewed from above. FIG. 2 is a schematic exploded perspective view of the vicinity of a door portion of the airbag device according to the embodiment, an ornament, the vicinity of a front connecting portion of a holding member, and a camera device as viewed from the bottom side. FIG. 10 is a schematic bottom view showing a state in which a front connecting portion of a retaining member is disposed at a portion of an ornament attached to a door portion of the airbag cover according to the embodiment. FIG. 13 is a schematic bottom view showing a state in which a camera device is attached after a front connecting portion of a holding member is disposed at a portion of an ornament assembled to a door portion of the airbag cover of the embodiment. FIG. 2 is a schematic vertical cross-sectional view illustrating a state in which the airbag device according to the embodiment is activated. FIG. 12 is a schematic vertical cross-sectional view illustrating a state in which the airbag device according to the embodiment is activated, showing the rear of FIG. 11 . FIG. 11 is a schematic vertical cross-sectional view showing a modified example of the airbag device according to the embodiment. FIG. 11 is a schematic vertical cross-sectional view showing another modified example of the airbag device of the embodiment.

One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The airbag device 20 of the embodiment is mounted on a steering wheel W that is steered by a driver of a vehicle, as shown in Figs. 1 to 3. As shown in Fig. 1, the steering wheel W is configured with a steering wheel main body 1 having a ring portion R that is gripped when steering, a boss portion B that is located in the center of the ring portion R, and spoke portions S that connect the ring portion R and the boss portion B, and an airbag device 20 that is disposed on top of the boss portion B.

In this specification, the up-down, left-right, and front-to-rear directions are based on the vehicle being steered straight ahead with the steering wheel W connected to the vehicle's steering shaft SS (see Figure 3) by a nut N, and the up-down direction corresponds to the up-down direction along the axial direction of the steering shaft SS, the left-right direction corresponds to the left-to-right direction of the vehicle perpendicular to the axis of the steering shaft SS, and the front-to-rear direction corresponds to the front-to-rear direction of the vehicle perpendicular to the axis of the steering shaft (see Figures 1 and 3).

The steering wheel body 1 is configured with a core metal 2 arranged to interconnect the ring portion R, boss portion B, and spoke portion S, and a coating layer 7 made of urethane or the like that covers the ring portion R and the core metal 2 of the spoke portion S near the ring portion R. In addition, a decorative bezel 14 is arranged on the upper surface side from around the airbag device 20 of the boss portion B to the ring portion R.

The core metal 2 is composed of a ring core metal portion 3 arranged in the ring portion R, a boss core metal portion 4 arranged in the boss portion B and connected to the steering shaft SS, and a spoke core metal portion 5 arranged in each spoke portion S and connecting the ring core metal portion 3 and the boss core metal portion 4. The spoke core metal portion 5 is composed of two separate left and right portions in the rear spoke portion S area.

The boss core metal portion 4 of the core metal 2 is provided with a fixing portion 10 for fixing an assembly pin 68 of each horn switch 67 of the airbag device 20 (described later) (see Figs. 1 and 3). The fixing portion 10 is configured by arranging a locking hole 11 that penetrates in a tapered shape narrowing downward, and a locking pin 12 that is arranged on the underside of the boss core metal portion 4 and locks the tip of the assembly pin 68. The locking pin 12 is made of a flexible spring material that can be restored along the underside of the boss core metal portion 4.

In addition, the steering wheel body 1 is configured with a lower cover (not shown) disposed on the underside of the boss portion B.

2 to 6, the airbag device 20 is configured to include an airbag 32 that is inflated by the introduction of inflation gas, an inflator 26 that supplies inflation gas to the airbag 32, an airbag cover 37 made of synthetic resin that covers the folded airbag 32 and is arranged on the upper side of the boss portion B, a sheet metal holder 21 that holds the airbag 32, the inflator 26, and the airbag cover 37 and is connected to the steering wheel main body 1, and a retainer 28. Furthermore, the airbag device 20 of the embodiment is configured to include a camera device 70 for photographing the driver as a functional part arranged above the folded airbag 32, and a holding member 80 that holds the camera device 70 and is connected and held by the holder 21. Furthermore, the airbag device 20 of the embodiment is configured to include an ornament 55 that is assembled to the door portion 39 of the airbag cover 37 and forms an installation portion 54 for installing the camera device 70.

The airbag 32 is a substantially circular plate-like shape with a thickness that is approximately spherical when inflated, and has a circular inlet opening 33 that opens to allow the inflation gas to flow into the lower side (see Figs. 3 and 5). Four through holes 34a are formed on the periphery 34 of the inlet opening 33, through which the bolts 28b of the retainer 28 penetrate. The airbag 32 of the embodiment is mounted on the airbag device 20 as a compact, substantially cylindrical folded body 35 that is folded and compressed. A storage recess 35a that is recessed into a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape and capable of storing the lower protrusion 73 of the main body 71 of the camera device 70 as a functional part is disposed on the upper surface of the folded body 35 (see Fig. 4). In the embodiment, the storage recess 35a is a substantially rectangular parallelepiped recess with a volume slightly larger than that of the lower protrusion 73.

The inflator 26 has a cylindrical body 26a with a plurality of gas outlets 26b at its upper portion 26aa for discharging the inflation gas G, and a rectangular annular flange 26c protrudes from the outer circumferential surface of the body 26a. The flange 26c has a through hole 26d through which the bolt 28b of the retainer 28 passes. When the inflator 26 is mounted on the airbag device 20, the upper portion 26aa of the body 26a is stored in a recess 35b on the bottom side of the folded body 35 of the airbag 32 (see Figures 4 and 5).

The retainer 28 has a rectangular ring-shaped body 28a made of sheet metal, with bolts 28b protruding downward from each of the four corners. The retainer 28 is disposed on the periphery 34 of the inlet opening 33 in the airbag 32, and each bolt 28b is passed through the through-hole 34a of the airbag 32, the through-hole 22b of the holder 21, and the through-hole 26d of the flange portion 26c of the inflator 26, in that order. The airbag 32 and the inflator 26 are attached to the holder 21 by fastening nuts 29 to each bolt 28b. The retainer 28 is stored on the bottom side of the airbag 32.

2 to 6, the holder 21 is made of a metal plate and includes a bottom wall 22 and a side wall 23 extending upward from the outer periphery of the bottom wall 22. The bottom wall 22 has a circular insertion hole 22a in the center into which the main body 26a of the inflator 26 can be inserted from below, and through holes 22b are provided around the periphery of the insertion hole 22a, through which the previously mentioned bolts 28b pass. Four locking holes 22c for attaching and fixing the airbag cover 37 are provided near the outer periphery of the bottom wall 22. Each locking hole 22c is a portion that locks the locking leg 65 of the airbag cover 37, which will be described later. The edge side away from the insertion hole 22a is the locking edge 22d, and the edge on the insertion hole 22a side is bent upward to enter the locking hole 22c, and a tongue 22e is disposed on the edge to press the locking leg 65 toward the locking edge 22d to strengthen the locking of the locking leg 65 (see Figures 3 and 6).

The lower end thick portion 90 of the base connecting portion 89 of the retaining member 80 is inserted into the retaining hole 22cA on the rear left edge side of the bottom wall portion 22 together with the retaining leg 65A, and the base connecting portion 89 of the retaining member 80 is retained by the retaining edge 22d of the retaining hole 22cA of the holder 21 via the retaining leg 65A, preventing it from coming off upward and being connected and held to the holder 21.

In addition, multiple horn switches 67 (three in this embodiment) are attached to each mounting seat 22f of the bottom wall portion 22, and the holder 21, i.e., the airbag device 20, is attached and fixed to the boss core metal portion 4 of the steering wheel main body 1 using the mounting pins 68 of these horn switches 67.

Each horn switch 67 has a movable contact and a fixed contact (not shown) arranged inside, and is arranged so that when the airbag device 20 is pressed down, the movable contact comes into contact with the fixed contact to activate the horn. Each horn switch 67 has an assembly pin 68 extending downward, and as described above, when the assembly pin 68 is inserted into the locking hole 11 in the fixing part 10 of the steering wheel main body 1 and locked with the locking pin 12, the airbag device 20 equipped with the holder 21 to which the horn switch 67 is attached is mounted above the boss core metal part 4, ensuring a predetermined horn stroke and allowing the horn switch 67 to move downward when operated.

The side wall portion 23 is disposed on the outer edge side of each locking hole 22c, and is configured so that the vicinity of the locking leg portion 65 that locks into each locking hole 22c in the airbag cover 37 can provide support when the airbag 32 expands outward during inflation.

As shown in Figures 1 to 10, the airbag cover 37 is made of synthetic resin such as an olefin-based thermoplastic elastomer and is disposed on the upper surface side of the boss portion B near the center of the steering wheel W. The airbag cover 37 is disposed on the upper side and is configured to include a substantially disk-shaped ceiling wall portion 38 that covers the upper side of the airbag 32 that is folded and stored inside the boss portion B, and a mounting wall portion 64 that extends in a substantially cylindrical shape from the underside near the outer periphery 38a of the ceiling wall portion 38 and covers the outer periphery side of the folded airbag 32 (folded body 35).

An ornament 55 is attached to the ceiling wall 38 as a visible light cut filter that transmits infrared rays and blocks visible light. The ornament 55 is attached to the mounting hole 47. The mounting hole 47 is disposed in the center of the ceiling wall 38, and multiple (in this embodiment, two) door sections 39 (L, R) are disposed around the periphery of the mounting hole 47. The door sections 39 (L, R) are pushed open by the inflating airbag 32. The mounting hole 47 opens in an elliptical shape with its major axis aligned in the left-right direction corresponding to the external dimensions of the ornament 55. The door sections 39L, 39R are configured to open to the left and right by breaking the thin-walled breakable section 43 on the periphery when the airbag 32 inflates. The breakable portion 43 extends radially from the inner end 44a of the inner peripheral edge 48 of the assembly hole 47, and is disposed so as to open around the hinge portion 41 on the base side away from the inner peripheral edge 48 of the assembly hole 47 as the center of rotation. Specifically, the breakable portion 43 is composed of straight portions 44 (F, B) (see FIG. 9 ) disposed along the front-rear direction across the assembly hole 47, and curved portions 45 (FL, FR, BL, BR) extending in an arc shape of approximately ⅙ of a circle along the outer peripheral edge 38a of the ceiling wall portion 38 from outer ends 44b of the straight portions 44F, 44B on the front and rear sides, respectively. The space between the ends 45a, 45a of the curved sections 45FL, 45BL extending leftward from the outer ends 44b of the straight sections 44F, 44B forms the hinge section 41L when the left door section 39L is open, and the space between the ends 45a, 45a of the curved sections 45FR, 45BR extending rightward from the outer ends 44b of the straight sections 44F, 44B forms the hinge section 41R when the right door section 39R is open.

The inner peripheral edge 48 of the mounting hole 47 is provided with cover side engaging portions 50 (L, R) that engage with the ornament side engaging portion 55d of the ornament 55 (described later) so that the ornament 55 can be mounted. The cover side engaging portions 50L, 50R are respectively provided on the left edge 48a and the right edge 48b of the inner peripheral edge 48 of the mounting hole 47.

The cover side engagement portion 50 (L, R) is configured with a fitting recess 51 into which the ornament side engagement portion 55d of the ornament 55 can be fitted. The fitting recess 51 is configured with a recess having a substantially rectangular cross section.

The cover-side engaging portion 50 (L, R) is provided with an upper surface protrusion 52 that abuts against the upper surface 55a of the outer periphery 55c of the ornament 55. The upper surface protrusion 52 is thinned in a fin-like shape, and its lower surface 52a is arranged along the upper surface 55a that extends gently upward from the outer periphery 55c of the ornament 55.

The mounting wall 64 of the airbag cover 37 has a plurality of (four in this embodiment) protruding locking legs 65 at its lower end. Each locking leg 65 is inserted into the locking hole 22c of the holder 21 and is fixed to the holder 21 by being attached to the holder 21. The locking head 65b protruding from the outer peripheral surface (outer surface) 64b of the mounting wall 64 is disposed at the lower end of the neck 65a. When the locking head 65b of each locking leg 65 is inserted into the locking hole 22c of the holder 21 and locked by pressing the tongue 22e, it is firmly locked to the underside of the locking edge 22d on the outer edge side of the locking hole 22c.

The airbag cover 37 is attached to the holder 21 with its upward movement restricted by the engagement of the engaging legs 65, and its downward movement restricted by the abutment of the tip 64c (see FIG. 3) of the mounting wall 64 against the bottom wall 22.

As described above, the ornament 55 constitutes a visible light cut filter that transmits infrared light and blocks visible light. It is made of polycarbonate or the like, and is an elliptical plate with a central upward protrusion and a long axis in the left-right direction. The ornament 55 has a decorative body 57 with a roughly T-shaped decorative pattern disposed on the upper surface 55a side. The decorative body 57 is attached to the upper surface 55a side of the ornament 55 by passing multiple mounting legs 57a extending downward through the through holes 55e of the ornament 55 and heat caulking the lower end to expand its diameter. The decorative body 57 is disposed so as to avoid being above the infrared camera 75 of the camera device 70 and the infrared LED 76 serving as the infrared irradiation device.

An ornament side engaging portion 56d is provided on the outer peripheral edge 55c of the ornament 55, which engages with a cover side engaging portion 50 provided on the inner peripheral edge 48 of the assembly hole 47 so that the ornament 55 can be releasably assembled into the assembly hole 47 provided in the ceiling wall portion 38 of the airbag cover 37. The ornament side engaging portion 56d is configured by providing a convex portion that extends downward on the outer peripheral edge 55c of the ornament 55. The ornament side engaging portion 55d is basically configured with a substantially rectangular cross-sectional shape so that it can engage with the cover side engaging portion 50 on the inner peripheral edge 48 of the assembly hole 47.

Furthermore, the ornament 55 has an upper surface 55a of the outer peripheral edge 55c, which is covered by the upper surface protrusion 52 of the cover side engagement part 50 at the outer peripheral edge 55c, and is an inclined surface that slopes gently upward from the outer peripheral edge 55c side of the ornament 55. The upper surface protrusion 52 of the cover side engagement part 50 is formed thin, with its lower surface 52a corresponding to this upper surface (inclined surface) 56a.

In this embodiment, the ornament 55 serves as the mounting portion 54 for mounting the camera device 70 to the door portion 39 (L, R), and has three mounting seats 59 on the underside 55b, each having a screw hole 59a for screwing in a mounting screw 78 as a fastening means (see Figures 8 and 9). The mounting seats 59 are provided on the left and right sides of the front edge of the ornament 55, and near the center of the rear edge.

The camera device 70 for photographing the driver as a functional component uses infrared rays to photograph the area around the driver's eyes and outputs the photographed data to a determination means for determining whether the driver is in a drivable state where the steering wheel W can be steered smoothly, or is in a non-drivable state due to a state such as falling asleep at the wheel. The camera device 70 has an infrared camera 75 and an infrared LED 76 as an infrared irradiation device disposed on the upper surface 71a of a roughly rectangular plate-shaped main body 71, and a roughly rectangular parallelepiped-shaped lower protrusion 73 protruding from the lower surface 71b. More specifically, the lower protrusion 73 is configured to have a shape that includes a horizontal bar portion 73a extending in the left-right direction, and a rectangular parallelepiped-shaped bent portion 73b that bends forward and extends from the left edge of the horizontal bar portion 73a.

The main body 71 of the camera device 70 has mounting holes 74 for inserting mounting screws 78 on the left and right sides of the front edge 71c and near the center of the rear edge 71d. The front edge 71c constitutes a retaining flange 72 that prevents the tip connecting portion 81 of the holding member 80 from slipping out.

The holding member 80 is made of the same material as the airbag base fabric used to manufacture the airbag 32 (e.g., a woven fabric made of fibers such as polyester) and is cut to the same shape. The holding member 80 is formed by stacking multiple pieces of cloth material 94, which are then joined together by providing a stitching 95 to prevent slippage. The holding member 80 is configured to include a front connecting portion 81 at the tip side that holds the camera device 70 as a functional part, a base connecting portion 89 that connects to a portion that can ensure mounting strength, excluding the portions of the door portion 39 (L, R) and the hinge portion 41 (L, R), and an intermediate portion 92 that is disposed between the front connecting portion 81 and the base connecting portion 89 and can bend while maintaining the holding state of the camera device 70 at the front connecting portion 81 when the airbag 32 is inflated. The base connecting portion 89 is configured to include a thick portion 90 at the tip, which is made by folding back and stitching the end of the cloth material 94. In this embodiment, the base connection part 89 is connected to the holder 21.

The front connecting portion 81 has a peripheral portion 82 surrounding the three mounting seats 59 of the ornament 55, and has a bridging portion 85 that connects opposing portions in a direction substantially along the pulling direction (PD) of the holding member 80 when the airbag 32 is inflated, and is configured in an annular shape with an insertion hole 84 bisected by the bridging portion 85. In the case of the embodiment, the pulling direction PD of the holding member 80 when the airbag 32 is inflated is such that the base connecting portion 89 is attached to the locking hole 22cA of the holder 21 together with the locking leg portion 65A on the left rear edge side of the mounting wall portion 64 of the airbag cover 37, and when the airbag is inflated, the front connecting portion 81 is subjected to a tensile force along the direction PD that moves diagonally away from the base connecting portion 89 in a right front direction. Therefore, the bridging portion 85 is arranged to connect the opposing peripheral portions 82 in the front-rear direction substantially along the pulling direction PD. The insertion hole 84 is divided into two holes 84a and 84b by the bridge portion 85. The upper end of the infrared camera 75 of the camera device 70 is inserted into the hole 84a as the camera hole 84a, and the upper end of the infrared LED 76 is inserted into the hole 84b as the LED hole 84b.

The front edge 82a of the peripheral portion 82 at the tip 81a of the front connecting portion 81 is pressed against the anti-slip flange 72 of the camera device 70, forming a restricting portion 82a that restricts the front connecting portion 81 from coming off the mounting seat 59.

Furthermore, the front connecting portion 81 has a through-hole 86 through which each mounting screw 78 passes as a fastening means. The through-hole 86 is composed of a camera hole 84a, an LED hole 84b, and a through-hole 86a on the rear end side of the bridging portion 85. These through-holes 86 are configured by disposing non-clamped portions 87 on their periphery that are not clamped between the mounting seat 59 and the camera device 70 when the camera device 70 is attached to each mounting seat 59.

In the airbag device 20 of this embodiment, first, the retainer 28 is stored in the airbag 32 with the bolt 28b protruding from the through hole 34a, and the airbag 32 is folded and compressed to form the folded body 35 having the storage recess 35a and the recess 35b. The folded body 35 is wrapped in a wrapping material (not shown) to prevent it from collapsing.

In addition, the ornament 55 is fitted into the assembly hole 47 surrounded by the door portions 39 (L, R) of the airbag cover 37 and assembled to the airbag cover 37. When attaching the camera device 70 as a functional part to the mounting seat 59 of the ornament 55 as the mounting portion 54 on the back surface 39a side of the door portion 39, the peripheral portion 82 of the front connecting portion 81 of the holding member 80 is arranged to surround the mounting seat 59 as shown in Figs. 9A and 9B, and the flange-shaped portion 72 of the camera device 70 is arranged on the peripheral portion 82, and the mounting screws 78 as multiple fastening means are inserted through the mounting holes 74 of the camera device 70 and the through portions 86 of the holding member 80 and fastened to the screw holes 59a of each mounting seat 59, and the camera device 70 is attached to the mounting seat 59 of the ornament 55 (see Fig. 10). Then, the holding member 80 is connected to the camera device 70 as a functional part, and the camera device 70 can be attached to the mounting portion 54 on the back surface 39a side of the door portion 39 (L, R).

During this attachment, the holding member 80 is arranged so that the annular peripheral portion 82 of the tip connecting portion 81 surrounds the three mounting seats 59 on the underside 55b of the ornament 55, and is arranged so as to be clamped between the upper surface 71a of the main body 71 of the camera device 70 and the underside 55b of the ornament 55 (not directly clamped because a non-clamped portion 87 is provided), thereby holding the camera device 70. During this attachment, the upper end of the infrared camera 75 of the camera device 70 is inserted through the camera hole 84a of the holding member 80, and the upper end of the infrared LED 76 is inserted through the LED hole 84b.

Next, each bolt 28b of the retainer 28 extending from the folded body 35 of the airbag 32 is inserted through the through-hole 22b of the holder 21 to which the horn switch 67 has already been attached, and while the main body 26a of the inflator 26 is inserted from below into the insertion hole 22a of the holder 21, each bolt 28b is inserted through each through-hole 26d of the flange portion 26c of the inflator 26, and nuts 29 are fastened to each bolt 28b to attach and fix the airbag 32 and the inflator 26 to the holder 21.

Then, the airbag cover 37 is attached and fixed to the holder 21 by inserting the locking legs 65, 65A of the mounting wall 64 of the airbag cover 37 into the locking holes 22c, 22cA of the holder 21 and pressing the tongues 22e against the inner circumferential surfaces 64a of the locking legs 65, 65A to lock the locking heads 65b of the locking legs 65, 65A to the locking edges 22d of the locking holes 22c, 22cA, thereby assembling the airbag device 20. At this time, the retaining member 80 is attached and fixed to the holder 21 together with the mounting wall 64 of the airbag cover 37 by inserting the thick portion 90 at the lower end of the base connecting portion 89 together with the locking legs 65A into the locking holes 22cA and pressing the tongues 22e against them. Additionally, the lower protrusion 73 of the camera device 70 is stored in the storage recess 35a of the folded body 35.

Then, the assembly pins 68 of the horn switches 67 of the airbag device 20 are inserted into the locking holes 11 of the fixing parts 10 of the steering wheel body 1 already fastened to the steering shaft SS, and are locked to the locking pins 12 to attach the airbag device 20 to the steering wheel body 1. The airbag device 20 can then be mounted on the vehicle together with the steering wheel W.

The lead wires (not shown) extending from the camera device 70 for outputting photographic data and inputting power are aligned along the retaining member 80 and passed through the holder 21 so that they deform in the same way as the retaining member 80 when the door portion 39L is opened, and are then connected to a specified connector extending from the steering wheel body 1 together with the lead wires (not shown) for inputting an activation signal for the inflator 26.

In the embodiment of the airbag device 20 mounted on a vehicle, before activation, the infrared camera 75 of the camera device 70 as a functional part uses the ornament 55 that blocks visible light and transmits infrared light, and the infrared light emitted from the infrared LED 76 is reflected by the infrared camera 75 to capture an image of the area around the driver's eyes, and the captured image data is output to a predetermined determination means.

11 and 12, the airbag 32 is inflated by the inflation gas G from the inflator 26, and completes the inflation so as to cover the ring portion R of the steering wheel W, as shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 1. At that time, the camera device 70 as a functional part held by the front connecting portion 81 of the holding member 80 arranged above the folded airbag 32 (folded body 35) and the ceiling wall portion 38 of the airbag cover 37 are pushed up. At that time, the ceiling wall portion 38 of the airbag cover 37 breaks the breakable portion 43, and each door portion 39 (L, R) opens to form the protrusion opening 62 (see the two-dot chain line in FIG. 2), the ornament 55 comes off the assembly hole 47, and the camera device 70 attached to the mounting seat 59 of the ornament 55 is pushed up by the inflating airbag 32 and is about to fly off. However, even if camera device 70 as a functional part were to fly off, holding member 80 which holds camera device 70 by tip connecting portion 81 engages thick portion 90 of tip connecting portion 89 with engagement hole 22cA in bottom wall portion 22 of holder 21, which is a predetermined connection portion, to attach tip connecting portion 89 to holder 21, and so while maintaining the holding of camera device 70 on the tip connecting portion 81 side, intermediate portion 92 bends and rotates in a left rear direction from above boss portion B (see dashed line in FIG. 2 and FIGS. 11 and 12 ). In this case, even though the tip connecting portion 81 has an annular shape so as to surround the three mounting seats 59, it has a bridging portion 85 so as to be approximately aligned with the pulling direction PD of the holding member 80 (the direction from the base connecting portion 89 side toward the tip connecting portion 81 side), and does not deform so as to enlarge the diameter of the insertion hole 84. In addition, the portion of the peripheral portion 82 around the insertion hole 84 on the pulling direction PD side is abutted against and pressed by the flange portion 72 of the camera device 70, and is restricted from slipping out from around the mounting seats 59. Therefore, the tip connecting portion 81 can stably hold the camera device 70, and the holding member 80 can prevent the camera device 70 as a functional part from scattering.

Furthermore, as already described, when attaching the camera device 70 to the mounting seat 59 of the arrangement portion 54 (ornament 55) on the back surface 39a of the door portion 39 (L, R), the peripheral portion 82 of the front connecting portion 81 of the holding member 80 is positioned so as to surround the three mounting seats 59, and the flange-shaped portion 72 of the camera device 70 is positioned on the peripheral portion 82. Then, the mounting screws 78 as multiple fixing means are passed through the mounting holes 74 and the through-portions 86 and fastened to the screw holes 59a of the mounting seats 59 to attach the camera device 70 to the mounting seat 59. Then, the holding member 80 can be connected to the camera device 70, and the camera device 70 can be attached to the arrangement portion 54 on the back surface 39a of the door portion 39 (L, R). In other words, when attaching the camera device 70 as a functional part to the door section 39, the holding member 80 can be attached to the camera device 70 at the same time, so the task of attaching the camera device 70 to the door section 39 can be easily performed.

Therefore, in the airbag device 20 of this embodiment, the camera device 70, which is a functional part, can be easily attached to the door portion 39 while preventing it from scattering.

In the airbag device 20 of this embodiment, the retaining member 80 is formed from a material (cloth material) 94 that is the same as the airbag base fabric that forms the airbag 32.

In other words, if the retaining member 80 is made of a material similar to the flexible airbag base fabric, the retaining member 80 can be easily manufactured by using scraps, etc., when cutting the airbag base fabric prepared for manufacturing the airbag 32.

In addition, in the embodiment of the airbag device 20, the front connecting portion 81 of the holding member 80 is provided with a through portion 86 through which the mounting screw 78 as a fastening means passes, and a non-clamped portion 87 is provided around the periphery of the through portion 86 so that it is not clamped between the mounting base 59 and the camera device 70 when the camera device 70 is attached to the mounting base 59.

Therefore, in the embodiment, when the camera device 70 is attached to the mounting seat 59, the tip connecting portion 81 of the flexible holding member 80 is not pinched between the camera device 70 and the mounting seat 59, but is directly abutted against the mounting seat 59. This makes it possible to stabilize the fastening strength of the mounting screw 78, which serves as a fastening means, to the mounting seat 59, and to firmly attach the camera device 70 to the mounting seat 59.

In this embodiment, the airbag device 20 is mounted on the steering wheel W that is steered by the driver and is used by the driver, and the functional component is a camera device 70 that captures an image of the driver. The camera device 70 can be used to accurately determine whether the driver operating the steering wheel W is dozing off, etc.

The camera device 70 as a functional part of the embodiment is configured with an infrared camera 75 and an infrared LED 76 as an infrared irradiation device, and an ornament 55 that also serves as a visible light cut filter that transmits infrared light and blocks visible light has a mounting base 59 and is arranged on the door portion 39 (L, R) so as to cover the camera device 70. When the door portion 39 opens upon inflation of the airbag 32, the ornament 55 is held by the holding member 80 together with the camera device 70, and is assembled and arranged on the door portion 39 (L, R) so as to be detachable from the door portion 39 (L, R).

Therefore, in the embodiment, the ornament 55 is attached so as to be exposed on the surface side of the door portion 39, thereby enhancing the decorative effect of the door portion 39 of the airbag cover 37. Of course, even if the ornament 55 to which the camera device 70 is attached comes off the door portion 39 when the airbag 32 inflates, the retaining member 80 that holds the camera device 70 prevents it from scattering, so there is no problem even if the ornament 55 is formed large to enhance the design effect.

In the embodiment, the base connecting portion 89 of the holding member 80 is engaged with the locking hole 22cA of the holder 21 to connect it to the holder 21. However, as shown in FIG. 13, the base connecting portion 89A of the holding member 80 may be connected to the mounting wall portion 64A of the airbag cover 37A using a rivet 97. The base connecting portion 89A has a mounting hole 89a through which the rivet 97 passes. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 14, the base connecting portion 89B of the holding member 80 may be connected to the bottom wall portion 22 of the holder 21 using the bolt 28b of the retainer 28 together with the airbag 32 and the inflator 26. The base connecting portion 89B has a mounting hole 89a through which the bolt 28b passes.

In addition to a camera, a light-emitting device consisting of a liquid crystal panel or the like can be used as a functional part, and such a light-emitting device as a functional part can be connected and held by a holding member and arranged.

20...airbag device, 21...holder, 32...airbag, 37, 37A...airbag cover, 39(L, R)...door portion, 39a...rear surface, 41(L, R)...hinge portion, 54...installation portion, 55...ornament, 59...mounting seat, 59a...screw hole, 64, 64A...mounting wall portion, 65, 65A...locking leg portion, 70...(functional part) camera device, 72...(front edge portion) slip-out prevention flange portion, 74...Mounting hole, 75...Infrared camera, 76...(Infrared irradiation device) Infrared LED, 78...(Fixing means) Mounting screw, 80...Retaining member, 81...Front connecting portion, 82...Periphery, 84...Insertion hole, 84a...Camera hole, 84b...LED hole, 85...Bridge portion, 86...Penetration portion, 86a...Penetration hole, 87...Non-clamping portion, 89, 89A, 89B...Base connecting portion, 92...Middle portion, 94...Cloth material,
G...expansion gas, PD...pulling direction, W...steering wheel.

Claims (6)

An airbag that expands and inflates from a folded state by introducing inflation gas into the airbag;
an airbag cover for covering the folded airbag;
a holder for holding the airbag and the airbag cover;
Equipped with
The airbag cover,
a door portion that is pushed by the inflating airbag and opens around a hinge portion as a rotation center;
a mounting wall portion disposed so as to surround the door portion and attached to the holder;
Equipped with
An airbag device having a functional component disposed in the door portion and mounted on a vehicle,
the functional component is held by a holding member for preventing scattering of the airbag when the airbag is inflated, and is attached to a mounting seat provided at a mounting portion on a rear surface side of the door portion by a plurality of fastening means;
The holding member is
A tip-side connecting portion on a tip side that holds the functional component;
A base connection portion connected to a portion excluding the door portion and the hinge portion, where the attachment strength can be ensured;
an intermediate portion disposed between the front connecting portion and the base connecting portion and capable of bending while maintaining a holding state of the functional component in the front connecting portion when the airbag is inflated;
The present invention is configured to include
the front connecting portion of the retaining member has a peripheral portion surrounding the mounting seat, and has a bridging portion connecting opposing portions of the retaining member in a direction substantially along a direction in which the retaining member is pulled when the airbag is inflated, and is configured in an annular shape having an insertion hole divided in two by the bridging portion;
an airbag device characterized in that the functional component is configured by arranging a flange-shaped portion that abuts against a peripheral edge portion of the front connecting portion at a portion on the pulling direction side that is approximately along the direction in which the retaining member is pulled when the airbag is inflated. The airbag device according to claim 1, characterized in that the retaining member is made of a material equivalent to the airbag fabric that forms the airbag. The airbag device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the front connecting portion of the retaining member is provided with a through-hole portion through which the fastening means passes, and a non-clamped portion is disposed around the periphery of the through-hole portion, which is not clamped between the mounting seat and the functional part when the functional part is attached to the mounting seat. An airbag device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that it is for a driver and is mounted on a steering wheel operated by the driver. The airbag device according to claim 4, characterized in that the functional part is a camera device that photographs the driver. The camera device as the functional part is configured to include an infrared camera and an infrared irradiation device,
an ornament that also serves as a visible light cut filter that transmits infrared rays and blocks visible light has the mounting seat and is disposed on the door portion so as to cover the camera device;
6. The airbag device according to claim 5, wherein the ornament is held by the holding member together with the camera device when the door portion is opened during inflation of the airbag, and is assembled and arranged on the door portion so as to be detachable from the door portion.

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