JPH04283147A - Air bag device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To bend an air bag door reliably during development of an air bag body without locating an energizing means for bending an air bag door. CONSTITUTION:A lower end part 42A of an air bag door 42 is approximately vertically fixed to the car room outside end part of an arm rest 36A of a door trim 36 through a hinge 44. A notch 46 extending from the outside of a car room along the longitudinal direction of a car body is formed approximately in the central part, in the vertical direction of the car body, of the air bag door 42 and the bending strength of this portion is reduced. A hook part 42C is formed to an upper end part 42B of the air bag 42, and an end part 48A of a strap 48 is coupled to the hook part 42C. Further, an end part 48B of the strap 48 is coupled to a front side door inner panel 12.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an air bag device installed in a vehicle instrument panel, door trim, etc.

0002

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, airbag devices have been proposed as devices for protecting occupants in vehicle emergencies.

[0003] In this airbag device, when a vehicle suddenly decelerates, the airbag body is filled with gas, so that the airbag body inflates and extends forward or to the side of the occupant to protect the occupant.

[0004] For example, an instrument panel (hereinafter referred to as
As an airbag device installed on the instrument panel,
An example of this is disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 2-149346. As shown in FIG. 7, in this airbag device, an airbag constituting a part of the instrument panel is attached to the inside of the airbag unit, which has an airbag body and a case for storing the airbag body. A door 80 is provided. In the upper part 82 of this airbag door 80,
A leaf spring 86 is provided for rotating the second portion 82B in a counterclockwise direction (direction of arrow A in FIG. 7) about the hinge portion 84 and bringing it into contact with the first portion 82A. In addition, a second portion 88B is attached to the lower part 88 of the airbag door 80 in a clockwise direction (in the direction of arrow B in FIG. 7) about the hinge portion 90.
A leaf spring 92 is provided which is rotated and brought into contact with the first portion 88A. Therefore, when the airbag body is deployed, the thin wall part 81 of the airbag door 80 is broken by the pressing force when the airbag body is inflated, and then the upper part 82 and the lower part 88 are separated by the leaf springs 86 and 92, respectively. It is folded in half,
The amount of protrusion of the upper part 82 and the lower part 88 toward the inside of the vehicle compartment is reduced.

[0005]

However, in this airbag door device, the upper part 82 and lower part 88 of the airbag door 80 are folded into two by leaf springs 86 and 92, respectively. Therefore, when the airbag body is deployed, the upper part 82 and lower part 88 of the airbag door 80
In order to ensure that the two are folded in half, the leaf spring 86,
It is necessary to increase the urging force of 92. As a result, the leaf springs 86, 92 become larger and the storage space for the airbag unit becomes narrower. Also, leaf springs 86, 9
If the biasing force 2 is made too large, there is a problem that the airbag door 80 will be folded in half by the biasing forces of the leaf springs 86 and 92 even when the airbag body is not deployed.

[0006] The present invention takes the above facts into consideration, and provides an airbag that can reliably bend an airbag door when the airbag body is deployed without providing a biasing means for bending the airbag door. The purpose is to obtain equipment.

[0007]

[Means for Solving the Problems] The invention as set forth in claim 1 is such that when the airbag body is inflated, it expands toward the inside of the vehicle interior, and a portion of the airbag bag is bent along the thin wall portion as a boundary, thereby increasing the amount of protrusion toward the interior of the vehicle interior. An airbag device equipped with an airbag door configured to reduce the size of the airbag, the airbag device being provided on the airbag door to restrict the expansion of the airbag door when the airbag door is expanded, and to control the expansion of the airbag door when the airbag body is inflated. The airbag door is characterized in that it includes a bending means for bending the airbag door by a pressing force.

[0008]

[Function] According to the invention as set forth in claim 1, when the airbag body is deployed, the airbag door is deployed toward the interior of the vehicle due to the pressing force of the airbag body, and the folding means prevents the airbag door from being deployed. Regulated. As a result, a portion of the airbag door is reliably bent along the thin wall portion. For this reason, it is possible to reliably bend the airbag door by using part of its deployment force when the airbag body is deployed, without providing a biasing means for bending the airbag door. can.

[0009]

Embodiment A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.

In the figure, arrow FR indicates the forward direction of the vehicle body, arrow IN indicates the inner direction of the vehicle width, and arrow UP indicates the upward direction of the vehicle body.

As shown in FIG. 2, a door opening 14 is formed in the upper part of a front side door inner panel 12 serving as a door panel constituting the front side door 10. As shown in FIG. An airbag unit 16 is attached to the front side door inner panel 12 near the door opening 14 on the side surface of the vehicle interior.

As shown in FIG. 1, the upper and lower ends of the bracket 16A of the airbag unit 16 are fixed to the front side door inner panel 12 from the inside of the vehicle with bolts 24 and nuts 26, respectively. The interior side of the unit 16 is covered with an airbag cover 18 as a part of the airbag unit 16. An airbag body 20 is stored in the airbag cover 18 in a folded state.
0 has an inflator 22 attached to it. The inflator 22 is filled with a gas generating substance, and the gas generating substance is provided with an ignition means, and the inflator 22 starts combustion by igniting the gas generating substance via the ignition means by the operation of a sensor (not shown). The airbag body 20 is inflated by ejecting gas generated by combustion from a large number of openings.

The lower end 18A of the airbag cover 18 is
Attach bolt 2 to bracket 16A of airbag unit 16.
8 and a nut 30, and the upper part of this fixing part is a hinge part 18B. Therefore, when the airbag body 20 is inflated, the airbag cover 18
As shown by the imaginary line in FIG. 1, it is pressed by the airbag body 20 and expands toward the inside of the vehicle with the hinge portion 18B as the center of rotation.

As shown in FIG. 2, a door trim 36 is provided on the interior side of the front side door inner panel 12. This door trim 36 has an airbag door 42 whose portion corresponding to the airbag cover 18 is approximately rectangular.
The door trim 36 can be attached to the front side door inner panel 12 with clips, screws, etc.

As shown in FIG. 1, the airbag door 42
The lower end 42A is made of an extendable resin hinge 4.
4, the armrest 36A of the door trim 36 is fixed substantially perpendicularly to the outside end of the vehicle interior. In addition, a notch 46 having a V-shaped cross section along the longitudinal direction of the vehicle is formed from the outside of the vehicle interior at approximately the center of the airbag door 42 in the vertical direction of the vehicle body, and the bending strength of this portion is reduced. .

As shown in FIG. 3, the airbag door 42
A hook portion 42C is formed at the upper end portion 42B of the strap, and one end portion 48A of a strap 48 serving as a bending means is coupled to this hook portion 42C. The strap 48 is made of a material that is difficult to expand and contract, and the other end 48B is connected to an anchor 50, as shown in FIG. This anchor 50 is fitted into a through hole 52 bored in the front side door inner panel 12. Additionally, the length of the strap 48 is such that when the airbag door 42 is deployed, the length of the strap 48 is such that when the airbag door 42 is deployed
2D is set to be approximately vertically erected. Further, the height L of the lower side portion 42E of the airbag door 42 is approximately equal to the sum of the thickness of the airbag body 20 when deployed and the width N of the horizontal plane of the upper end portion 42B of the airbag door 42. There is.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be explained.

When the sensor is activated, the gas-generating substance in the inflator 22 is ignited via the ignition means and starts to burn, and the gas generated by the combustion is ejected from a number of openings, causing the airbag body 20 to inflate. Start. In this case, the airbag cover 18 expands toward the interior of the vehicle interior with the hinge portion 18B as the rotation center due to the pressing force when the airbag body 20 is inflated, and the pressing force when the airbag body 20 is inflated causes the airbag cover 18 to expand toward the interior of the vehicle interior. , the airbag door 42 unfolds around the hinge 44 in an arcuate trajectory (arrow S1 in FIG. 1) toward the inside of the vehicle.

In this case, the airbag door 42 is connected to the hinge 4.
When the strap 48 is deployed at a predetermined angle toward the inside of the vehicle with the rotation center at 4, the strap 48 becomes fully extended, and the deployment of the upper end 42B of the airbag door 42 in the direction of the arrow S1 is restricted. Therefore, the airbag door 42 has a notch 46.
The upper part 42D of the airbag door 42 unfolds in a trajectory (arrow S2 in FIG. 1) with a small amount of protrusion toward the inside of the vehicle interior, and the upper part 42D extends approximately vertically. It is erected, and the lower part 42E is in a substantially horizontal state above the armrest 36A. Therefore, without providing a biasing means for bending the airbag door 42, when the airbag body 20 is deployed, a part of the deployment force is used to reliably bend the airbag door 42. can be done.

Furthermore, by bending the airbag door 42, compared to the case where the airbag door 42 is not bent, when the amount of protrusion of the airbag door 42 toward the interior of the vehicle is the same, the airbag body 20 The expansion area seen from the vehicle width direction can be expanded. Further, depending on the position where the notch 46 is provided, the amount of protrusion of the airbag door 42 toward the interior of the vehicle can be adjusted.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6.
Explain according to the following.

[0022] Regarding the same members as in the first embodiment,
The same reference numerals are used to omit the explanation.

As shown in FIG. 6, an airbag unit 1 is installed in the dashboard panel 50 in front of the passenger seat on the inside of the vehicle.
6 is arranged, and the portion of the dash panel 50 facing the airbag unit 16 is a substantially rectangular airbag door 52.

As shown in FIG. 5, the airbag door 52 is integrally formed with the dash panel 50, and a notch 54 is formed along the outer peripheral edge of the airbag door 52 from the outside of the vehicle interior. There is. Additionally, extendable resin hinges 56 are attached to the upper end 52A of the airbag door 52 in the vehicle vertical direction and the lower end 52B of the airbag door 52 from the outside of the vehicle interior, respectively. It is being Therefore, in the airbag door 52, the notches 54 at both ends in the vehicle width direction break, and the notches 54 at the ends in the vertical direction of the vehicle body are bent by the hinges 56.
It is said that it can be deployed inside the vehicle interior.

A substantially central portion of the airbag door 52 in the vertical direction of the vehicle body is formed into a thin walled portion 58 along the vehicle width direction, and this thin walled portion 58 is designed to break when the airbag body is deployed. The upper part of the thin wall portion 58 of the airbag door 52 is
The lower part of the thin part 58 of the airbag door 52 is an airbag door under 60.
It is said to be 2.

At approximately the center of the airbag door upper 60 in the vertical direction of the vehicle body, there is a notch 6 extending along the vehicle width direction from the outside of the vehicle interior.
4 is formed, and this notch 64 allows the lower side 60A of the notch 64 of the airbag door upper 60 to be bent relative to the upper side 60B of the notch 64. In addition, a notch 66 extending from the outside of the vehicle interior in the vehicle width direction is formed at approximately the center of the airbag door under 62 in the vertical direction of the vehicle body. 62A is Notchi 6
The lower part 62B of 6 can be bent.

A hook portion 60C is formed near the thin wall portion 58 of the airbag door upper 60, and one end portion 68A of a strap 68 serving as a bending means is coupled to this hook portion 60C. There is. This strap 68 is made of a material that is difficult to expand and contract, and the other end 68B
is connected to the bracket 16A of the airbag unit 16 near the upper side of the opening 16B for deploying the airbag door bag body. Furthermore, the length of the strap 68 is such that when the airbag door upper 60 is deployed, the lower part 60A of the airbag door upper 60 falls approximately horizontally toward the outside of the vehicle interior with respect to the upper part 60B. (The state indicated by the imaginary line in FIG. 5).

A hook portion 62C is formed near the thin wall portion 58 of the airbag door under 62, and one end portion 70A of a strap 70 serving as a bending means is coupled to this hook portion 62C. . This strap 70 is made of a material that is difficult to expand and contract, and the other end 70B
is connected to the bracket 16A of the airbag unit 16 near the bottom of the opening 16B for deploying the airbag door bag body. In addition, the length of the strap 70 is such that when the airbag door under 62 is deployed, the upper side part 62A of the airbag door under 62 falls approximately horizontally toward the outside of the vehicle interior with respect to the lower side part 62B (Fig. 5).

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be explained.

When the airbag body starts to inflate, the thin wall portion 58 of the airbag door 52 breaks, and the airbag door top 60 of the airbag door 52 bends due to the notch 54 being bent by the hinge 56. An arcuate trajectory (Fig. 5
Draw and expand the arrow S3).

In this case, when the airbag door upper 60 is deployed at a predetermined angle toward the inside of the vehicle interior with the hinge 56 as the center of rotation, the strap 68 is fully extended, and the lower side portion 60A of the airbag door upper 60 is expanded. The expansion along the arrow S3 is restricted. For this reason, the airbag door upper 60 is bent at the portion where the notch 64 is formed, and unfolds in a trajectory (arrow S4 in FIG. 5) with a small amount of protrusion toward the inside of the vehicle interior, and the lower portion 60A is in a state where it falls down substantially horizontally toward the outside of the vehicle interior with respect to the upper side portion 60B (the state shown by the imaginary line in FIG. 5).

The airbag door under 62 of the airbag door 52 has a notch 54 bent by the hinge 56, so that the airbag door under 62 of the airbag door 52 follows an arcuate trajectory (as shown in FIG. Draw arrow S5) and unfold.

In this case, when the airbag door under 62 is deployed at a predetermined angle toward the inside of the vehicle with the hinge 56 as the center of rotation, the strap 70 is fully extended, and the arrow S5 on the upper side 62A of the airbag door under 62A Development in line with this will be regulated. Therefore, the airbag door under 62 is bent at the part where the notch 66 is formed, and unfolds in a trajectory (arrow S6 in FIG. 5) that protrudes less toward the interior of the vehicle, so that the upper part 62A It is in a state where it falls down substantially horizontally toward the outside of the vehicle interior with respect to the lower side portion 62B (the state shown by the imaginary line in FIG. 5).

Therefore, without providing a biasing means for bending the airbag door 52, when the airbag body is deployed, part of the deployment force is used to securely close the airbag door 52. It can be bent.

In each of the above embodiments, the notches 46, 64, and 66 are provided in the bent portion of the airbag door, but instead of this, notches may be provided in the bent portion of the airbag door. Alternatively, the airbag door may be divided at a bent portion of the airbag door, and the divided airbag doors may be connected to each other using a member having a lower bending strength than the airbag door. Further, as for the bending means, although only one using a strap has been described, it is sufficient that the airbag door is bent using a part of the deployment force of the airbag, and other structures may be used.

[0036]

[Effects of the Invention] Since the present invention has the above structure, there is no need to provide a biasing means for bending the airbag door.
This has an excellent effect in that the airbag door can be reliably bent when the airbag body is deployed.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a side sectional view showing an airbag device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing a front side door to which the airbag device of the first embodiment of the present invention is applied.

FIG. 3 is a side sectional view showing a strap connection portion of the airbag device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a side cross-sectional view showing a strap connection portion of the airbag device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a side sectional view showing an airbag device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of an instrument panel to which an airbag device according to a second embodiment of the present invention is applied.

FIG. 7 is a side sectional view showing an airbag door of a conventional airbag device.

[Explanation of symbols] 10 Front side door 12 Front side door inner panel 16
Airbag unit 20 Airbag bag body 42 Airbag door 46 Notch 48 Strap 52 Airbag door 54 Notch 60 Airbag door top 62 Airbag door under 68 Strap 70 Strap

Claims (1)

[Claims] [Claim 1] An airbag door is provided with a structure in which when the airbag body is inflated, it expands toward the inside of the vehicle interior, and a portion of the door is bent along the thin wall portion to reduce the amount of protrusion toward the interior of the vehicle interior. The airbag device is provided on the airbag door to restrict the expansion of the airbag door when the airbag door is expanded, and to bend the airbag door by a pressing force when the airbag body is inflated. the bending means,
An airbag device comprising: