JPH03281454A - Air bag device for automobile - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent the movement of a riding person on an assistant seat side to the seat back side of the assistant seat by providing a sub-air-bag, spreading toward the direct front of the assistant seat seatback at the time of collision, on a roof panel of the upper part of the assistant seat. CONSTITUTION:A unit 10 for a sub-air-bag is fitted to the inner surface of a roof panel 6 of the upper part of an assistant seat 2. A sub-air-bag 11 is spreaded toward the direct front of an assistant seat seatback 2A at the time of collision from the unit 10. The shape of the sub-air-bag 11 at the time of its expansion is made an approximate U-shaped state opening toward the front in looking from an upper side. In the unit 10, an inflater 13 is actuated at the time of a collision to expand the sub-air-bag 11 and a bag cover 14 receives the expansion pressure to break a bag cover 14, and also a cover seat 15 is broken to spread the sub-air-bag 11 toward the direct front of the assistant seat seatback 2A.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to an airbag device for an automobile for increasing the safety of occupants in the event of a collision.

(Prior Art) In order to improve safety in the event of a collision, recent automobiles are increasingly equipped with airbag devices that are inflated and deployed in the vehicle interior to restrain occupants in the event of a collision. Although this airbag device is generally used for a driver, there is also a growing demand for an airbag device for a passenger on the passenger seat side.

In an airbag device for a passenger seat, at least an airbag unit including a case housing an airbag is housed in an instrument panel. More specifically, an opening is formed on the passenger side of the instrument panel, a lid is provided to cover the opening, and an airbag unit is placed within the instrument panel corresponding to the opening so that it can be inflated in the event of a collision. The airbag is deployed into the vehicle interior through the opening by forcibly pushing the lid open (see Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 176749/1983).

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) Incidentally, the inflation pressure of the airbag is quite large. For this reason, if the passenger on the passenger seat side is far away from the passenger seat back, the passenger will be moved to the passenger seat by the airbag deployed from the front. For example, when a passenger is sitting in the front seat, or when a child is standing on the floor in front of the passenger seat and looking forward with their hands on the instrument panel (so-called standing child). There is.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an airbag device for an automobile that can prevent a situation in which an occupant on the passenger seat side is moved toward the passenger seat pack side.

(Structure of the Invention) In order to achieve the above object, the present invention has the following structure. Namely.

In the airbag system of a car that is equipped with a main airbag in the instrument panel in front of the passenger seat that deploys towards the passenger seat pack in the event of a collision, a This configuration includes a sub-airbag that deploys toward the front.

(Operations and Effects of the Invention) In the present invention configured as described above, the passenger on the passenger seat side is sandwiched between the main airbag and the sub airbag from the front and back at the time of a collision, that is, the passenger and the passenger A sub-airbag exists between the seat pack and the seat pack to reliably avoid receiving shocks in the longitudinal direction.

In addition, since the sub airbag is deployed from the roof panel, it also exists in the space above the passenger seat pack, which means that the passenger seat occupant who receives the rear force from the main airbag is This is also preferable in terms of preventing unexpected situations such as being moved into space.

(Examples) Examples of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In FIGS. 1 and 2, an automobile A has a driver's seat 1 and a passenger's seat 2 that are independent on the left and right sides as front seats, and a rear seat 3 that is integrated.

A main airbag 5 is disposed in the instrument panel 4 in front of the passenger seat 2, and is deployed toward the seat pack 2A of the passenger seat 2 in the event of a collision. This is shown in Figure 3. The shape of this deployed main airbag 5 is shown in FIG.
a is attached to prevent the central portion from partially protruding significantly toward the rear.In addition, the main airbag 5 is formed with a vent hole 5b as is known.

A sub-airbag unit 10 is attached to the inner surface of the roof panel 6 above the passenger seat 2.

At the time of a collision, this unit 10 deploys a sub-airbag 1) toward the front of the passenger seat back 2A, and its deployed state is shown in FIGS. 1 and 3.

The sub-airbag 1) has an abbreviated shape that opens forward when viewed from above, as shown in FIG. 5, when the sub-airbag 1) is deployed. In other words, the shape is such that it covers the front passenger seat occupant from behind and from the left and right sides. A vent hole lla is also formed in the sub-airbag 1).

The details of the above sub-airbag unit 1o are shown in Fig. 6.
This will be explained with reference to FIG. First, the upper part of the case 12, which is open at the bottom, is fixed to the inner surface of the roof panel 6. This case 12 shows the deployed sub airbag 1)
corresponding to the shape of.

The overall shape is approximately U-shaped (see also FIG. 1). The case I2 houses an inflator 13 as a gas pressure generation source and a sub-airbag 1) folded below the inflator 13. The lower opening of the case J2 is a bag cover 14 having a weakened line portion.
It is covered by. Such a unit 10 is covered from the inside of the vehicle with a cover sheet 15 that is easily torn to improve its appearance from the inside of the vehicle.

In the unit 10 as described above, at the time of a collision, the inflator 13 is operated to inflate the sub-airbag 1). The bag cover 14 is broken by this expansion pressure, and
The cover sheet 15 is torn, and the sub-airbag 1) is deployed immediately in front of the passenger seat back 2A as described above.

Here, the sub airbag 1) is the passenger seat back 2
Preferably, it is deployed only when there is a large gap between A and the passenger seat bundle @X. In this embodiment, such conditions include when the passenger in the front passenger seat is not wearing a seat belt and when the child is standing. Based on this assumption, the main airbag 5
How to deploy the sub-airbag 1) will be explained with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 8. In the following explanation, P indicates a step.

First, at Pl, it is determined whether or not occupant X is seated in the passenger seat. If YES is determined by this Pl, P2
In this step, it is determined whether or not occupant X is wearing a seat belt. If the result of P2 is YES, P3
When it is confirmed that a collision has occurred, the main airbag 5 is inflated and deployed at P4. In this way, when the passenger X is wearing the seat belt, there is no large gap between the passenger X and the passenger seat back 2A, and the sub airbag lug 5
is not expanded or expanded.

When the determination in P2 is No, it is confirmed in P5 that a collision has occurred, and the main airbag 5 is first deployed in P6. After that, at P7, a predetermined period of time (
For example, after confirming that O9 (several seconds) has elapsed, the inflator 13 for sub-airbag 11 is activated at P8, and the sub-airbag 1) is inflated and deployed. The above P7 was provided because the occupant leans forward at the initial stage of the collision.
This is to wait until a space for sub-airbag 1) deployment is secured between the occupant and the front passenger seat back 2A.

When the determination in P1 is No, it is determined in P9 whether or not the child is in a standing child state.

When the determination in P9 is YES, when the PIO confirms that a collision has occurred, the main airbag 5 is inflated and deployed at pH, and the sub airbag 1) is inflated and deployed at P12. It will be done. The reason why both airbags 5 and 1) are deployed at the same time when the child is standing is because there is an extremely large distance between the child who is standing and the passenger seat back 2A. . Further, the deployment of the sub-airbag 1) is performed simultaneously with the deployment of the main airbag 5, in consideration of quickly closing the space above the passenger seat back 2A with the sub-airbag 1).

N in any one of P3, P5, and P9.

In this case, it is not a collision, so both airbags are activated (5.1).
Not deployed together.

Note that whether or not the passenger X is seated in the passenger seat can be known by, for example, providing a pressure-sensitive switch on the passenger seat cushion 2B. Further, whether or not the seat belt is fastened can be determined by a switch activated by the seat belt fastening operation. Furthermore, whether or not the child is in a standing child condition can be determined by, for example, the operating state of a switch that is installed on the floor in front of the passenger seat and is activated when a load exceeding a certain level is applied. It will be more accurate if you can also check the operating status of the pressure-sensitive switch installed on the instrument panel 4 in front of the seat (when a child is standing, children usually have their hands on the instrument panel 4). can be known. Of course, it is also possible to know whether or not the child is a standing child, for example, using an optical or acoustic sensor, ie, using a type of radar.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view showing an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a plan view of the automobile viewed from above, showing the mounting position of the sub-airbag unit. FIG. 3 is a side view showing a state in which a front passenger seat occupant is restrained by a main airbag and a sub-airbag. Figure 4 is a diagram showing the main airbag deployed. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the sub-airbag deployed. FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing the appearance of the sub-airbag unit. FIG. 7 shows how the sub-airbag unit is attached to the roof panel, and is a sectional view corresponding to the line X7-Xγ in FIG. 6. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an example of control when deploying the main airbag and sub-airbag. A: Car Figure 7

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) In an airbag system for a car that has a main airbag installed in the instrument panel in front of the passenger seat that deploys toward the passenger seat back in the event of a collision, the main airbag is installed in the roof panel above the passenger seat, and An airbag device for an automobile, characterized in that it is provided with a sub-airbag that deploys toward the front of the seatback.