JPH05270340A - Air bag structure - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To cause smooth deformation of a deformation promoting part, in air bag structure formed in such a way that the deformation promoting part to facilitate deformation of a part is formed to this part on the passenger side of an air bag case. CONSTITUTION:A fixing part 48 for fixing an air bag case 8 to a car body is arranged ahead of a car body from a position where a deformation promoting part 20 is formed. A positioning member 36 formed of synthetic resin so as to perform positioning of the air bag case 8 in relation to an instrument panel is arranged to the end part on the passenger side of the air bag case 8. This constitution prevents the fixing part 48 and the positioning member 36 from disturbing deformation of the deformation promoting part 20.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an airbag structure installed in a vehicle such as an automobile, and more particularly, to a portion of an airbag case for accommodating an airbag, which facilitates the deformation of the portion on the occupant side. The present invention relates to an airbag structure in which a portion is formed.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, for example, an airbag device mounted on an automobile has been generally mounted in a steering wheel on the driver's side, but in recent years, for protection of passengers on the passenger side. The airbag device of is also proposed.

As a structure of the airbag apparatus for the passenger seat, an airbag case in which an inflator for generating gas at the time of a vehicle collision and an airbag which is deployed toward the inside of the vehicle by the filling of the gas are accommodated in a vehicle interior. It is generally fixed to the vehicle body in the instrument panel of the front part. In addition, normally, the airbag case is attached with an airbag bag forming a surface that is continuous with the instrument panel when the airbag case is mounted on the vehicle body.
When the airbag is inflated, the airbag is pushed by the airbag and pivotally opens, thereby forming an opening for deploying the airbag in the vehicle compartment.

The above-mentioned air bag device is designed to ensure safety by expanding the air bag into the passenger compartment and restraining an occupant when a deceleration exceeding a predetermined level is applied to the vehicle due to a collision or the like. It is required to ensure the safety of passengers even in the event of a collision such that the bag cannot be deployed.
That is, when the vehicle is suddenly braked, the occupant may move forward due to inertial force and press the instrument panel in front of the vehicle. It is required to be able to absorb the shock of time.

As an airbag structure capable of absorbing the impact when such an occupant presses the instrument panel, a deformation promoting portion for facilitating the deformation of the occupant side portion is formed in the occupant side portion of the airbag case. There are known ones (Japanese Patent Publication No. Sho 58-24296, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2-155855).
Publication). In the airbag structure described in each of the above publications, the rigidity is weakened when a shock is applied to the airbag case by forming a hole or groove in the side wall portion of the occupant of the airbag case to weaken the rigidity of this portion. The part is deformed,
I try to absorb the shock.

[0006]

By the way, in the above passenger side airbag device, in order to align the airbag case with the instrument panel, the passenger side end of the airbag case is attached to the instrument panel. A positioning member may be provided. Further, in order to firmly fix the airbag case to a vehicle body member such as a steering support member, the strength of the fixing portion of the airbag case to the vehicle body is generally large.

In the case where the deformation promoting portion is formed on the occupant side portion of the airbag case as described above, it is desirable that the deformation promoting portion is smoothly deformed when an impact is applied. It is conceivable that the fixing portion of the airbag case to the vehicle body and the positioning member to the instrument panel of the airbag case may hinder the deformation of the deformation promoting portion.

In view of the above problems, it is an object of the present invention to provide an airbag structure in which a deformation promoting portion formed on a passenger side portion of an airbag case can be smoothly deformed when an impact is applied. It is what

[0009]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, an airbag structure according to a first aspect of the present invention is an airbag case which houses an airbag and is fixed to a vehicle body in an instrument panel of a vehicle. In the airbag structure in which a deformation promoting portion for facilitating the deformation of the portion is formed in the passenger side portion of the vehicle, the fixing portion of the airbag case to the vehicle body is formed with the deformation promoting portion of the airbag case. It is characterized in that it is provided on the front side of the vehicle body with respect to the position.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, an airbag structure according to a second aspect of the present invention is an occupant-side portion of an airbag case which is fixed to a vehicle body in an instrument panel of a vehicle for accommodating an airbag. In an airbag structure in which a deformation promoting portion for facilitating the deformation of the portion is formed, a synthetic resin for positioning the airbag case on the instrument panel is formed at an occupant side end portion of the airbag case. Characterized in that the positioning member is provided.

[0011]

In the airbag structure according to claim 1 of the present invention, the fixing portion of the airbag case to the vehicle body is provided on the front side of the vehicle body with respect to the formation position of the deformation promoting portion of the airbag case. Therefore, when the occupant or the like presses the instrument panel and the impact is applied to the airbag case, the fixing portion does not hinder the deformation of the deformation promoting portion, and thus the deformation promoting portion can be smoothly deformed.

That is, when the fixing portion of the airbag case to the vehicle body is formed at substantially the same position as the position where the deformation promoting portion is formed or at the rear side of the vehicle body, the airbag case is impacted from the inside of the vehicle compartment. At this time, since the impact load is transmitted to the vehicle body through the fixing portion and is supported by the vehicle body, it is considered that the deformation of the deformation promoting portion is hindered. In the airbag structure, the fixing portion is provided in front of the vehicle body with respect to the position where the deformation promoting portion is formed, thereby preventing the fixing portion from hindering the deformation of the deformation promoting portion.

Further, in the airbag structure according to claim 2 of the present invention, the positioning member for the instrument panel of the airbag case provided at the occupant side end of the airbag case is formed of synthetic resin. Therefore, when the occupant or the like presses the instrument panel and the impact is applied to the airbag case, the deformation promoting portion can be smoothly deformed by breaking the synthetic resin positioning member.

That is, when the positioning member for the instrument panel of the airbag case is formed of a highly rigid member such as metal, when the airbag case is impacted from the passenger compartment side, the impact load is The transmission to the instrument panel via the metal positioning member and the support by the instrument panel may prevent the deformation of the deformation accelerating portion, whereas the invention according to claim 2 In the airbag structure, the positioning member is formed of synthetic resin having a rigidity lower than that of metal or the like, thereby preventing the positioning member from interfering with the deformation of the deformation promoting portion.

As described above, according to the airbag structure of the first and second aspects of the present invention, the deformation accelerating portion formed in the occupant side portion of the airbag case is subjected to an impact when the airbag is hit. The fixing portion of the case to the vehicle body and the positioning member for the instrument panel allow smooth deformation without being hindered from being deformed, thereby further improving safety for passengers and the like.

[0016]

Embodiments of the airbag structure according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing a schematic structure of an airbag structure according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an instrument panel without an airbag case according to this embodiment, 3 and 4 are sectional views taken along the line III-III in FIG. 1 showing a state in which the airbag case according to the present embodiment is positioned with respect to the instrument panel.

The illustrated airbag structure according to the present embodiment is an application of the present invention to an airbag device for a passenger seat of an automobile. As shown in FIG. 1, the airbag device 2
Is an inflator 4 that generates gas in the event of a vehicle collision, and an airbag 6 that expands toward the vehicle interior by filling the gas.
And an air bag case 10 attached to the air bag case 8 so as to cover the opening surface of the air bag case 8 on the vehicle interior side.

One end of a hinge member 12 is fixed to the upper end of the air bag grid 10 on the front side of the vehicle body. The other end of the hinge member 12 is fastened to the upper surface of the airbag case 8 with bolts and nuts 14. It is fixed. Further, the lower end of the air bag grid 10 is connected to the lower end of the airbag case 8 on the vehicle interior side by a connecting member 16 having an L-shaped cross section, and the connecting member 16 is configured to be broken when a predetermined load or more is applied. Has been done. That is, the airbag bag 10 is connected to the connecting member by the deployment pressure of the airbag 6.
When the hinge 16 is broken, the hinge member 12 is used as a fulcrum to open one side upward, so that the airbag 6 is attached to the airbag case 8 so as to be deployed in the passenger compartment.

On the other hand, a plurality of elliptical holes 18 are formed in the interior portion of the airbag case 8 to weaken the rigidity of the interior portion of the airbag case 8, and the airbag case 8 is provided with a predetermined amount or more from the interior side. The deformation promoting portion 20 is provided so that the portion is easily deformed when a load is applied.

As shown in FIG. 2, an opening 24 is formed on the passenger seat side of the instrument panel 22, and a receiving portion 26 for installing the above-described airbag device 2 is provided in the opening 24. Is formed by the instrument panel 22. A guide groove 28, which serves as a guide when the airbag case 8 is installed, is provided on both walls of the receiving portion 26 in the vehicle width direction. Positioning bosses 30 are provided so as to project inward. A plurality of bolt holes 32 for fixing the airbag case 8 are formed on the bottom surface of the receiving portion 26.

As shown in FIG. 1, the air bag case 8 described above.
A mounting bracket 34 for fixing the airbag case 8 to the receiving portion 26 is fixed to the bottom surface of the receiving portion 26, and the mounting bracket 34 has a bolt hole 32 formed in the bottom portion of the receiving portion 26. A bolt hole (not shown) is formed at a position corresponding to. Further, as shown in FIG. 3, a positioning hole (not shown) is provided at both ends in the vehicle width direction at the end on the vehicle interior side of the airbag case 8 at a position corresponding to the positioning boss 30 in the guide groove 28. A positioning member 36, which is made of synthetic resin and has an L-shaped cross section, is fixed.

Further, as shown in FIG. 1, a steering support member 38 having an annular cross section extending in the vehicle width direction is disposed below the bottom surface of the receiving portion 26. A lower end portion of a connecting bracket 40 having an L-shaped cross section is fixed to the steering support member 38, and an upper end portion of the connecting bracket 40 abuts a bottom surface portion of the receiving portion 26 from below, and further the upper end portion thereof. A bolt hole (not shown) is formed at a position corresponding to the bolt hole 32 formed in the receiving portion 26.

The airbag device 2 is inserted into the instrument panel 22 through the opening 24 while the positioning member 36 attached to the airbag case 8 is guided along the guide groove 28. Then, as shown in FIG. 3, the airbag case 8 is positioned with respect to the instrument panel 22 by inserting the positioning boss 30 into the positioning hole of the positioning member 36, and as shown in FIG. The mounting bracket 34 mounted on the bottom surface of the airbag case 8 with bolts,
The airbag case 8 is fixedly supported by the vehicle body by being fastened and fixed to the steering panel support member 38 through the instrument panel 22, and the instrument panel 22 and the connecting bracket 40 by the nut 42.

Reference numeral 44 shown in FIG. 1 indicates a temporary fixing member for temporarily fixing the airbag case 8 to the vehicle body member 46 when the airbag device 2 is put into the instrument panel 22. Shows.

The first feature of the airbag structure according to the present embodiment described above is, as shown in FIG. 1, a fixing portion of the airbag case 8 to the vehicle body (joining of the mounting bracket 34 to the airbag case 8). Section 48 is the deformation promoting section 20 described above.
Is provided on the front side of the vehicle body with respect to the formation position. As a result, when the passenger on the passenger side collides with the instrument panel 22 and a load greater than a predetermined amount is applied to the airbag case 8 from the vehicle interior side, the fixing portion 48 prevents deformation of the deformation promoting portion 20. Therefore, the deformation promoting portion 20 can be smoothly deformed.

The second characteristic of the airbag structure according to this embodiment is that the positioning member 36 is made of synthetic resin. As a result, when a load larger than a predetermined value is applied to the airbag case 8, the positioning member 36 breaks without supporting the load, so that the deformation promoting portion 20 can be smoothly deformed.

Although one embodiment of the airbag structure according to the present invention has been described above, the airbag structure according to the present invention is not limited to this mode.

For example, in the above embodiment, the fixing portion 48 for fixing the airbag case 8 to the vehicle body is provided on the front side of the vehicle body with respect to the position where the deformation promoting portion 20 is formed, and the positioning member 36 for the instrument panel 22 of the airbag case 8 is provided. Is made of a synthetic resin, but a structure having only one of them may be used.

In the above embodiment, the present invention is applied to the passenger airbag device 2 of an automobile.
It is needless to say that the airbag structure according to the present invention can be applied to airbag devices mounted on various other vehicles.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional view showing a schematic configuration of an airbag structure according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the instrument panel in a state where the airbag case according to the above embodiment is not attached.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line III-III in FIG. 1 showing a state in which the airbag case according to the above embodiment is positioned with respect to the instrument panel.

[Explanation of symbols]

 6 airbag 8 airbag case 20 deformation promoting portion 22 instrument panel 36 positioning member 38 steering support member 48 fixing portion of the airbag case to the vehicle body

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. An airbag structure in which a deformation accelerating portion for facilitating deformation of the airbag is formed in a passenger side portion of an airbag case fixed to a vehicle body in an instrument panel of a vehicle for accommodating an airbag. In the airbag structure, the fixing portion of the airbag case to the vehicle body is provided on the vehicle body front side with respect to the formation position of the deformation promoting portion of the airbag case. 2. An airbag structure in which a deformation accelerating portion for facilitating deformation of the airbag is formed in an occupant-side portion of an airbag case fixed to a vehicle body in an instrument panel of a vehicle for accommodating an airbag. The airbag structure according to claim 1, wherein a positioning member made of a synthetic resin for positioning the airbag case on the instrument panel is provided at an end portion of the airbag case on the occupant side.