JPH05345555A - Air bag device for automobile - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To fit an air bag unit into a car body sidewall member without sacrificing compartment space. CONSTITUTION:An impact bar 5 is disposed in a side door as car body sidewall member which is formed of an inner panel 3 and an outer panel 4 like a closed cross section. An air bag unit is fitted onto the impact bar 5. A passing hole 15 is formed on the inner panel 3, and the air bag unit 11 and the passing hole 15 are connected via a guide member 16. Upon a lateral collision, a side air bag 13 in the air bag unit 11 passes the passing hole 15 while guided by the guide member 16 and expands in the compartment.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automobile air bag system.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Recently, many automobiles are equipped with an air bag device for inflating an air bag into the passenger compartment at the time of a collision from the viewpoint of improving safety of passengers due to the collision. Among the airbag devices, there has been proposed a so-called side airbag device in which a side airbag is deployed between a side door and an occupant during a side collision. Further, from the viewpoint of protecting an occupant at the time of a side collision, an impact bar as a strength member is also arranged in a side door formed by an inner panel and an outer panel in a closed cross section.

By the way, the air bag device is inflated.
An air bag unit is formed by housing the switch and the folded side air bag in a casing, and the air bag unit is attached to an appropriate position on the vehicle body. Although this airbag unit is quite large,
As disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 117957, it has been proposed to store an airbag unit in a side airbag device in an armrest formed on the inner surface of a side door. That is, the airbag unit is intended to be arranged by utilizing the extra space in the armrest, and the side airbag has a lid portion formed on a vertical wall portion extending substantially vertically in the armrest. It is pushed open and deployed almost horizontally to the inside of the vehicle.

[0004]

When the airbag unit is mounted on the side door or the vehicle body side wall member connected to the side door, it is desirable not to sacrifice the vehicle interior space. In the side airbag device described above, when the airbag unit is to be stored in the armrest, it is necessary to extend the armrest to the inside of the vehicle body considerably.
The function of the mrest is unnecessarily large in view of its function, which is unfavorable for expanding the passenger compartment. In particular,
If the side wall member does not have a member that bulges inward of the vehicle body like the armrest, how to secure the space for disposing the airbag unit becomes a problem.

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and an automobile in which an air bag unit can be arranged on a side wall member of a vehicle body without sacrificing a passenger compartment space. It is an object of the present invention to provide an airbag device of.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention has the following configuration. That is, the vehicle body side wall member is provided with an airbag unit in which an inflator and a folded side airbag are housed in a casing, and the side airbag is deployed into the vehicle compartment at the time of a collision. In an airbag device for a vehicle, an impact bar is arranged in the side wall member, the airbag unit is attached to the impact bar, and a passage port for the airbag to be deployed is formed in the inner panel. A guide member for guiding the deployed side airbag to the passage opening is provided between the airbag unit and the passage opening.
It has such a configuration.

The side wall member may be a side door. The guide member may have one end fixed to the casing and the other end fixed to the inner panel. The guide member may be integrally formed with the casing.

In the case where the side wall member on which the airbag unit is disposed is a side door and is provided with side glass that is vertically moved and at least the lower end thereof is lowered to a position lower than the impact bar. The impact bar can be located on the inner side of the vehicle body with respect to the ascending / descending trajectory of the side glass.

[0009]

According to the present invention, the air bag unit is arranged in the spare space in the vehicle body side wall member formed in the closed cross section, so that the vehicle space is sacrificed. The airbag unit can be disposed on any side wall member without any need. Further, since the airbag is deployed while being guided by the guide member, the deployment direction of the airbag can be freely set by setting the directing direction of the guide member. Of course, since the airbag unit is attached to the impact bar having excellent strength, the airbag unit can be firmly attached.

With the construction as described in claim 2, it is possible to obtain the above-mentioned effects with respect to the side door for which it is particularly desired to attach the side airbag.

With the structure as described in claim 3, it is possible to firmly attach the guide member to the side wall member.

The structure described in claim 4 is preferable for reducing the manufacturing cost.

The structure as described in claim 5 is preferable in order to largely lower the side glass and to secure a large side door opening.

[0014]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a side door as a side wall member to which the present invention is applied. In the embodiment, the side door is for a driver's seat. The side door 1 is attached to a hinge pillar (not shown) of a vehicle body by utilizing a pair of upper and lower hinges 2 provided at the front end thereof. As described above, in the embodiment, the side door 1 is opened and closed rearward with the front side of the vehicle body as the center of rotation.

As shown in FIG. 2, the side door 1 is composed of an inner panel 3 and an outer panel 4 and has a closed cross section. Inside the side door 1, an impact bar 5 is provided as a strength member extending in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body. It is arranged. The impact bar 5 is firmly connected to the inner panel 3 and the outer panel 4. The G sensor 6 is attached at the front end of the impact bar 5, that is, near the hinge 2.

The side door 1 is further equipped with an airbag unit 11. This airbag unit 1
As is well known, reference numeral 1 is a case in which an inflator 12 and a folded side airbag 13 are housed in a casing 14, and the casing 14 is inside the vehicle body of the impact bar 5. It is fixed to the side surface using bolts.

A passage opening 15 is formed in the inner panel 3, and the passage opening 15 and the airbag unit 11 are connected by a guide member 16. Guide member 16
Is formed into a tubular shape by, for example, processing an iron plate or molding with a synthetic resin, one end of which is fixed to the casing 14 and the other end of which is fixed to the inner panel 3. Alternatively, it can be performed by welding or the like. Such a guide member 16 is set so that its opening area gradually increases toward the inner side of the vehicle body.

A trim member 17 is provided on the inner surface of the inner panel 3.
Is attached to the armrest 18 using this trim material.
Is configured. The trim member 17 is provided with a weakened line portion 17a for forming a lid portion and a hinge portion 17b corresponding to the position of the passage opening 115, as shown in FIG.

In FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, reference numeral 18 denotes a side glass, which is opened and closed in a lifting manner. In FIG. 1, the side glass 18 is at the rising end, and in FIG. 2, the side glass 18 is at the falling end. Is shown in FIG. When the side glass 18 is at the descending end shown in FIG. 2, the lower end of the side glass 18 is at a position lower than the impact bar 5. The impact bar 5 is located on the inner side of the vehicle body with respect to the movement path of the side glass 18 so that the side glass 18 does not interfere with the impact bar 5 and the airbag unit 11. A motor 19 for raising and lowering the side glass 18 is attached to the impact bar 5 as shown in FIG.

In the above structure, when the G sensor 6 detects a side collision, the inflator 12 is detonated and the side airbag 13 is inflated. The inflated side airbag 13 is guided toward the passage opening 15 while being guided by the guide member 16, and the weakened line portion 17 is formed.
The trim member 17 is broken from a and is deployed toward the vehicle interior as shown by the alternate long and short dash line in FIG. 2 shows a state where the side airbag 13 is in the process of being deployed, and FIG. 1 shows a state where the side airbag 13 is completely deployed. Since the opening area of the guide member 16 gradually increases toward the inside of the vehicle body, the side airbag 13 can be smoothly deployed.

The side airbag 13 includes a guide member 16
As a result, the deploying direction is directed as shown by the arrow A1 in FIG. 2, but this deploying direction is directed from the shoulder portion to the head of the occupant, and the occupant is effectively protected.
Further, the side airbag 13 can be deployed in the direction indicated by the arrow A2 by setting the passage port 15 below the illustrated case, and by further setting the passage port 15 above the illustrated case. The side airbag 13 can be deployed in the direction indicated by arrow A3. In this way, the deployment direction of the side airbag 13 can be freely set by setting the position of the passage opening 15 with respect to the airbag unit 11, that is, setting the direction of the guide member 16.

Although the embodiments have been described above, the side wall member to which the present invention is applied is not limited to the side door, but may be similarly applied to the side wall member connected to the side door. The side glass 18 is an impact bar.
5 may be an elevating type in which the descent is stopped above 5, or an appropriate type such as a type that is opened and closed in the vehicle width direction or a fixed type that is often used for side wall members other than side doors. May be.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a view of a side door to which the present invention is applied, viewed from the inside of a vehicle body.

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view of an airbag unit portion of FIG.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a main part of the trim material shown in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1: Side Door 3: Inner Panel 4: Outer Panel 5: Impact Bar 6: G Sensor 11: Airbag Unit 12: Inflator 13: Side Airbag 14: Casing 15: Passage Port 16: Guide Member 18: Side glass

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. An airbag unit having an inflator and a folded side airbag housed in a casing is provided on a side wall member of a vehicle body, and the side airbag is deployed into a vehicle compartment at the time of a collision. In the airbag device for a vehicle as described above, the impact bar is arranged in the side wall member, the airbag unit is attached to the impact bar, and the airbag to be deployed is passed through the inner panel. A mouth is formed, between the airbag unit and the passage opening,
An airbag device for an automobile, comprising a guide member for guiding the deployed side airbag to the passage opening. 2. The side wall member according to claim 1, which is a side door. 3. The guide member is such that one end thereof is the case.
One fixed to the inner panel while the other end is fixed to the inner panel. 4. The guide member according to claim 1, wherein the guide member is integrally formed with the casing. 5. The side door according to claim 2, wherein the side door is provided with a side glass that is vertically moved and at least a lower end thereof is lowered to a position lower than the impact bar, and the impact bar is the side glass. It is located on the inner side of the vehicle than the ascending / descending trajectory.