JPH04146840A - Folded bag body maintaining method for air bag device and air bag device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To miniaturize a bag body in a folded state by folding the bag body, accommodating it into an accommodation bag body partly opened, and, after sucking air inside this bag body from the opening thereof for forming vacuum, closing and sealing this opening. CONSTITUTION:A bag body 10 is kept folded so that it may have a specified size in a plan view when an air bag device 12 is in a condition of being assembled to a hub 1 of a steering wheel 14. At this time, the peripheral edge of the opening of an accommodation bag 36 in which the bag body 10 as folded is charged is inserted into a slit 48 of a vacuum pump 46, whereby the inside of the accommodation as well as the inside of the bag body 10 is made into vacuum. Further, the peripheral edge of the opening of the bag body 10 is disposed inside the vacuum pump 46 and is sealed by a seal means not shown which is utilizing ultrasonic waves, thus being tightly closed. As a result, the height of a complete bag 24 becomes lower than that of a conventional bag body.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a method for maintaining a folded state of a bag body for an airbag device and an airbag device for protecting an occupant when a vehicle suddenly decelerates.

[Conventional technology]

An airbag device, such as an airbag device 100 shown in FIG. 7, of a type attached to a steering wheel.
Then, when the vehicle suddenly decelerates, the starting device 102 is activated, and the gas generating substance 106 sealed in the inflator 104 is combusted to generate a large amount of gas. This gas inflates the bag 112 stored in a folded state between the pad 108 and the base plate 110, and the expanded bag 112 breaks the pad 108 along the thin portion 114. The bag 112 after being torn is interposed between the steering wheel 116 and the occupant, and the occupant is protected from impact when the vehicle suddenly decelerates.

By the way, conventionally, the bag body 11 in a state where the suturing process has been completed
2 was folded to a predetermined size in a plan view while being bent by a press to prevent the bag body 112 from expanding after being folded.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

However, according to this method, the air inside the bag 112 is compressed when the bag 112 is pressed to create a crease, but this compressed air is distributed between the overlapping fabrics of the bag 112. (The bellows-shaped portion of the bag 112 in the folded state) remains somewhat. Further, the bag body 112 that is folded while being pressed has some restoring force.

Due to these, the height dimension T of the bag body 112 after pressing is
(See Figure 8) had to be somewhat high.

Therefore, the airbag device 10 storing the bag body 112
0 (see FIG. 7) has increased, and the airbag device 100 has become larger in the height direction of the bag body 112 (in the direction of the rotational axis of the steering wheel 116).

As a result, as shown in FIG.
Since the height dimension R of 00 becomes large, the distance H from the passenger to the surface of the airbag device 1000 on the passenger side becomes short, resulting in a problem that the interior space of the vehicle becomes narrow when the vehicle is running. Furthermore, since the height dimension R of the airbag device 100 is increased, the occupant may
When looking at the instruments, the occupant's line of sight is towards the airbag system 100.
The area obstructed by the pad 108 has expanded, and it is necessary to take layout measures so that the instruments near the steering column 122 on the instrument panel 120 are not difficult to see for the occupants.

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above facts, and an object of the present invention is to provide a method for maintaining a folded state of a bag body for an air bag device and an air bag device that can reduce the size of the folded bag body.

[Means to solve the problem]

The present invention as set forth in claim (1) is characterized in that the bag main body is stored in a folded state in an airbag device disposed in a vehicle and inflates when gas flows in when the vehicle suddenly decelerates, in the folded state. A method for holding a bag for an airbag device in a folded state, the bag body being folded to a predetermined size in a plan view and then stored in a partially opened storage bag. a first step of vacuuming the inside of the storage bag by sucking the air inside the storage bag through the opening after the first step; and a third step of tightly sealing the opening after the opening.

The present invention as set forth in claim (2) is an airbag device that stores a bag body that expands when gas flows in when a vehicle suddenly decelerates, the bag body having a predetermined size in plan view. It is characterized by being vacuum packed in a folded state.

[Effect]

According to the present invention as set forth in claim (1), in the first step, the bag body is folded to a predetermined size in plan view, and then stored in a partially opened storage bag. be done. After passing through this first step, in a second step, the air inside the storage bag is sucked through the opening, and the inside of the storage bag is evacuated. After passing through this second step, the opening of the storage bag is sealed in a third step.

By going through the above steps, there is no air remaining inside the storage bag and inside the bag body.

In addition, since the bag body is pressed down by the storage bag in the direction in which the bag body is folded, the restoring force of the bag body in the folded state is suppressed, and the bag body is maintained in this state. . As a result, the overall height of the bag body in the folded state is reduced. Therefore, the bag body can be made smaller by the reduction in the total height of the bag body.

The downsized bag body expands when the vehicle suddenly decelerates as gas flows into the bag body, and the expanded bag protects the occupant.

Note that as the bag main body is made smaller, the airbag device in which the bag main body is housed also becomes smaller.

According to the present invention as set forth in claim (2), the bag main body is vacuum packed in a state in which it is folded to a predetermined size in a plan view, so that the air remaining inside the bag main body is removed. There will be none. Therefore, the overall height of the bag body is reduced. Therefore, the bag body can be made smaller by the amount that the total height of the bag body is lowered.

As a result, the airbag device housing this bag body can be downsized.

In an airbag that stores this miniaturized bag, when the vehicle suddenly decelerates, the bag expands as gas flows into the bag, and the expanding bag breaks the pad. As a result, the occupant is protected by the expanded bag.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, the method for maintaining the folded state of a bag for an airbag device and the airbag device according to the present invention have the excellent effect that the bag in the folded state can be miniaturized.

〔Example〕

FIG. 1 shows an airbag device 12 including a bag body 10 according to this embodiment. In addition, in this figure,
The direction of the arrow indicates the passenger side.

In this airbag device 12, the steering wheel 1
A base plate 18 is supported substantially parallel to the hub 16 of No. 4. A pad 20, an inflator 22, and a complete bag 24 are attached to the base plate 18.

The pad 20 is arranged on the passenger side of the base plate 18. A rod-shaped metal core (not shown) is embedded around the pad 20, and the pad 20 is fixed to the peripheral edge of the base plate 180 with rivets or the like via this metal core. Further, an H-shaped thin wall portion 26 (also shown in FIG. 2) is formed when viewed from the passenger side at a portion of the pad 20 facing the base plate 18, and the pad 20 is broken along this thin wall portion 26. It is now easier to

The flake 22 has a substantially cylindrical shape and passes through an elliptical hole formed substantially in the center of the base plate 18. A flange 28 extending in the radial direction of the inflation flake 22 is formed in the axially intermediate portion of the inflation flake 22 . The passenger side surface of the flange 28 is welded to the surface of the base plate 18 on the opposite side to the passenger side (the side opposite to the direction of the arrow in FIG. 1). Further, a plurality of gas holes 30 are formed at predetermined intervals on the circumferential surface of the inflator 22 on the passenger side.

Inside this inflator 22, there is a starting device 32 at its axial center.
is built-in, and furthermore, a gas generating substance 34 is sealed around the starting device 32. This gas generating substance 34 burns when the vehicle suddenly decelerates, generates a large amount of gas, and inflates the bag main body 10, which will be described in detail below.

The bag complete 24 is stored between the base plate 18 and the pad 20. As shown in No. 515A, this bag of kelp! J-) 24 includes a bag main body 10 and a storage bag 36.

A circular opening 38 (see FIG. 1) is formed in a part of the bag body 10, and the periphery of this opening 38 is slightly folded back toward the passenger. A ring plate 40 is placed on the passenger side of the opening 38 (inside the bag body 10).
is located.

A plurality of weld bolts 42 are fixed to the ring plate 40 at predetermined intervals on the end surface thereof on the side opposite to the passenger.

As shown in FIG. 2, the bag main body 10 is folded to a predetermined size in plan view when the airbag device 12 is assembled to the hub 16 of the steering wheel 14. In the process of folding the bag main body 10, it is not pressed, and therefore no creases are formed in this state. Therefore, the height dimension Z of the bag body 10 in the folded state is slightly larger than the height dimension T of the conventional bag body 112 by the amount that is not pressed.

As shown in FIG. 3, the storage bag 36 has a rectangular shape in plan view, and has an opening 44 formed at one side edge.

The storage bag 36 is made of a material that is stronger than the restoring force of the bag main body 10 in the folded state and is strong enough to break the storage bag 36 when the bag main body 10 expands. In addition, the bag body 10 is folded in the folding process of the bag body 10 shown in FIG.
The first step is the bagging step in which the products are packed into bags.

The bag kelp IJ-) 24 is vacuum-packed by going through the vacuum process shown in FIG. When the periphery of the opening 44 of the storage bag 36 is inserted into the slit 48 of the vacuum pump 46 and the vacuum pump 46 is driven in this state, both the inside of the bag body 10 and the inside of the storage bag 36 are brought into a vacuum state. Become. This vacuum step is the second step.

As shown in FIG. 5, the bag body 1 has undergone the second process.
Immediately after the inside of the bag body lO and the inside of the storage bag 36 are both evacuated, the periphery of the opening 44 of
6 and is sealed and hermetically sealed by a sealing means (not shown) using ultrasonic waves. This sealing step is the third step. The height of the complete bag 24 that has undergone the sealing process is considerably smaller than the height T of the conventional bag 112.

In the complete bag body 24 constructed in this manner, as shown in FIG. As a result, it is assembled to the base plate 18. For this reason, the bag body 10
The peripheral edge of the opening 38 side is tightly pressed against the passenger side surface of the base plate 18. In this state, the height dimension V of the steering wheel 14 of the airbag device 12 in the rotational axis direction is smaller than the height dimension R of the conventional airbag device 100(7).

Below is a bag of kelp! The operation of this embodiment will be explained through the manufacturing process of J-to 24.

First, in the folding step of the bag body 1o shown in FIG. 2, the bag body 1o is folded to a predetermined size in plan view. Next, in the step of packing the bag body 10 into the storage bag 36 shown in FIG. 3, the bag body 10 in the folded state is inserted into the storage bag 36 from the opening 44 and packed. Ru. In this way, the folding process and bag filling process of the bag main body 10 are completed.

Next, in the vacuum process of the bag main body 10 shown in FIG. The inside of the bag body 10 and the inside of the bag body 10 are evacuated. After the vacuum step is completed in this way, in the sealing step shown in FIG. 5, the periphery of the opening n44 of the storage bag 36 is tightly sealed by a sealing means using ultrasonic waves.

The complete bag 24 manufactured through the steps described above is assembled on the opposite side of the pad 20 to the passenger.

Thereafter, the base plate 18 to which the inflation flake 22 has been welded in advance is attached to the weld bolt 42 of the ring plate 40.
The near bag 12, which includes the hat 20, the complete bag body 24, the base plate 18, and the inflation flakes 22, is constructed by screwing the henna nuts 46 together. On this occasion,
Opening 38 of the bag body 10 in the bag complete 24
The storage bag 36 that closes the inflator 22 is pressed against the passenger side end face and breaks, and the gas hole 3 of the inflator 22 is damaged.
0 and the inside of the bag main body 10 are communicated with each other (see the vicinity of the passenger side aspect of the inflator 22 of the storage bag 36 shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 1). The airbag device 12 assembled in this manner is assembled to the hub 16 of the steering wheel 14.

In the airbag device 12 assembled to the steering wheel 14 in this way, when the vehicle suddenly decelerates, the activation device 32 is activated and the gas generating substance 34 in the inflator 22 is combusted, causing a large amount of gas to be released. occurs.

A large amount of gas flows into the bag body 10 and inflates the bag. Therefore, the passenger side portion of the storage bag 36 is completely torn by the expanding bag body 10, and the pad 2
0 is broken along the thin wall portion 26. As a result, the inflated bag main body 10 is interposed between the steering wheel 14 and the passenger, and the passenger is protected by the bag main body 1o from impact when the vehicle suddenly decelerates.

As described above, in this embodiment, since the bag body 10 is vacuum packed, the bag body 10 in the folded state can be downsized in the height direction of the bag body 10. Therefore, the airbag device 12 to which the complete bag 24 is assembled can also be downsized in the height direction of the bag body 10. Therefore, the distance between the occupant and the surface of the airbag device 12 on the occupant side can be shortened. As a result, the effective space inside the vehicle can be expanded. Furthermore, since the airbag device 12 can be downsized in the height direction of the bag body 10, the occupant can easily see the instruments near the steering column on the instrument panel.

Further, according to the present embodiment, the conventional process of forming folds on the bag main body 10 using a press can be eliminated, so that the complexity of the folding process of the bag main body 10 can be eliminated.

In addition, in this embodiment, a bag with the same specifications as the conventional bag 112 is used and is folded at the same position, so the size in plan view of the conventionally used bag 112 and this embodiment are different. (However, the height dimension Z of the bag body 10 is larger than the height dimension T of the conventional bag body (see Fig. 8). However, in the folding process of the bag body 10, the size of the bag body 10 in plan view is smaller than the size of the conventional bag body 112 in plan view. The number of folds may be increased.

In this case, by setting the number of folds of the bag body 10 so that the height dimension of the bag body 10 is approximately halfway between the height dimension Z and the height dimension T of the conventional bag body 112, The airbag device 12 can be made smaller by a predetermined amount in all directions, such as the height direction, the vehicle width direction, and the approximately longitudinal direction of the vehicle, compared to the bag body 112 of the airbag device 112 .

That is, conventionally, as shown in FIG. 10, the size of the airbag device 100 in plan view is the widthwise dimension S in the vehicle width direction when the steering wheel 116 is not rotated.
The 6th one had a dimension U approximately in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle.
As shown in the figure, the size of the airbag device 12 in a plan view can be a widthwise dimension X in the vehicle width direction and a substantially longitudinal dimension Y in the substantially longitudinal direction of the vehicle, and these widthwise dimensions X , the approximately front-to-back direction dimension Y are smaller than the conventional width direction dimension S and approximately front-to-back direction dimension U, respectively. Therefore, it becomes easier for the occupant to see the instruments on the instrument panel.

Further, in this embodiment, the airbag device 12 of the type that is attached to the steering wheel 14 has been described as an example, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the vacuum-packed bag kelp 'J-) 24 is installed on the passenger seat side. It may also be applied to airbag devices.

Further, in this embodiment, ultrasonic waves are used as the sealing means, but the sealing means is not limited to this and may also be a sealing means using heat, which can reliably seal the opening 44 of the storage bag 36. All can be applied.

The storage bag 36 may be made of any material that is stronger than the restoring force of the bag body 10 in the folded state and has a tension sufficient to cause the storage bag 36 to break when the bag body 10 expands. can do.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing the airbag device according to this embodiment taken along a plane including the axis of the steering wheel, and FIGS. 2 to 5 show the complete bag body in the airbag device of FIG. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the bag folding process, FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the bag filling process, and FIG. 4 is a vacuum process for the bag and storage bag. FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the sealing process of the storage bag, FIG. 6 is a front view of the airbag device shown in FIG. 1 as seen from the passenger side, and FIG. 7 is a conventional example. A sectional view corresponding to FIG. 1 showing the airbag device, FIG. 8 a perspective view showing a bag body in the air purpuff device shown in FIG. 7, and FIG. 9 a vehicle in which the airbag device shown in FIG. 7 is installed. FIG. 10 is a front view corresponding to FIG. 6 showing the airbag device of FIG. 7 as viewed from the passenger side. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10... Bag body, 12... Air bag device, 26... Thin wall part, 34... Gas generating substance, 36... Storage bag, 38... Opening, 46... Vacuum pump .

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) For an airbag device for holding a bag main body in the folded state, which is stored in a folded state in an airbag device installed in a vehicle and expands when gas flows in when the vehicle suddenly decelerates. A method for holding a bag in a folded state, the method comprising: folding the bag main body to a predetermined size in a plan view, and then storing the bag body in a partially opened storage bag; a second step of vacuuming the inside of the storage bag by suctioning the air inside the storage bag through the opening after the first step; and a second step of sealing the opening after the second step. 3. A method for maintaining a folded state of a bag body for an airbag device, comprising the steps of 3. (2) An airbag device housing a bag body that expands when gas flows in when a vehicle suddenly decelerates, the bag body being folded to a predetermined size in plan view. An airbag device characterized by being vacuum packed.