JPH0556681U - Mounting structure for airbag starter - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Abstract] [Purpose] To reliably position an airbag starter at a position where it can be switched between an operable state and an inoperable state by a switching means fixed to a vehicle body even if the dimensional tolerance is large. To do. [Structure] A plurality of positioning surfaces 75A are formed on brackets 70 and 80 fixed to a steering wheel 12, and a plurality of engaging surfaces corresponding to these positioning surfaces 75A are formed on a base plate 14 to which a starter is fixed. The claw 15 is formed. The base plate 14 is positioned in the direction of arrow C with the plurality of engaging claws 15 contacting the corresponding positioning surfaces 75A, and when the base plate 14 is fixed to the brackets 70 and 80 in this state, the direction of arrow D is increased. Is also positioned, and the lock pin of the activation device corresponds to the release pin (switching means) attached to the vehicle body side, and the activation device can be switched between the operable state and the inoperable state by the movement of the release pin.

Description

[Detailed description of the device]

[0001]

[Industrial application]

 The present invention relates to a mounting structure for an airbag starting device which is mounted on a vehicle body in a state in which an activating device for activating the airbag during rapid vehicle deceleration is positioned with respect to a switching means fixed to the vehicle body.

[0002]

[Prior Art]

 The starting device for actuating the airbag at the time of sudden deceleration of the vehicle is in an inoperative state before being attached to the vehicle body, and can be switched to an operable state by the switching means after being attached to the vehicle body.

As a structure for switching the starting device, a release bolt fixed to the vehicle body is axially screwed to move a release pin in the starting device, and this movement causes a lock pin of the starting device. There is one that moves to unlock the inertial body.

In this case, if the relative position between the release pin and the activation device is not aligned, the axial movement force of the release bolt cannot be reliably transmitted to the lock pin via the release pin, so the release pin and the activation device. It is necessary to strictly maintain the dimensional tolerance of the mounting of and within a narrow range, and a mechanism to absorb this dimensional tolerance is required, and the manufacturing becomes complicated accordingly. Further, there is a problem that the number of parts is increased and the number of assembling steps is also increased.

[0005]

[Problems to be solved by the device]

 In consideration of the above facts, the present invention securely attaches the airbag starter to a position where it can be switched between the operable state and the inoperable state by the switching means fixed to the vehicle body even if the dimensional tolerance is large. The purpose is to obtain a mounting structure for an airbag start-up device.

[0006]

[Means for Solving the Problems]

 The mounting structure for an airbag starter according to the present invention includes a support member provided with a starter that operates when the vehicle suddenly decelerates to operate an air bag, and a starter mounted on the support member and acting on the starter. It is characterized in that it has switching means for switching the starting device from an inoperable state to an operable state, and a positioning member for positioning the support member and the switching means when fixing the support member to the vehicle body.

[0007]

[Action]

 According to the above configuration, the support member to which the airbag starting device is fixed and the switching means are positioned by the positioning member, and thereby the relative position between the starting device and the switching means is determined. That is, the starting device is arranged at a position where it can be switched between the operable state and the inoperable state by the switching means. Therefore, even if there is a large dimensional tolerance between the relative mounting positions of the activating device and the switching means, the airbag activating device can be reliably switched between the operable state and the inoperable state by the switching means fixed to the vehicle body. Can be installed in any position.

[0008]

【Example】

 Hereinafter, an airbag device to which an airbag starting device mounting structure according to the present invention is applied will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the airbag apparatus 10 includes a box-shaped base plate 14 having an opening on the side opposite to the occupant, which is the lower side of FIG. 1 (the direction opposite to the arrow F direction). A pad 16, a bag body 18, and an inflator 20 are attached to the base plate 14.

The pad 16 has a substantially box shape, and a thin-walled portion 22 is formed on the occupant-side surface of the pad 16. The thin-walled portion 22 allows the pad 16 to be broken and expanded. Further, as shown in FIG. 1, a frame-shaped insert plate 24 is embedded in the outer peripheral portion of the pad 16 to reinforce the pad 16. The insert plate 24 extends toward the side opposite to the occupant to form a leg portion 24A.

The inflator 20 has a cylindrical shape by welding the upper case 26 and the lower case 28. A flange 30 is formed at an axially intermediate portion of the inflator 20. The inflator 20 has a flange 30 and a ring plate 32 in a state where substantially half of the inflator 20 is penetrated into the circular hole of the base plate 14. Both are fastened together with mounting bolts (not shown).

The bag body 18 is stored between the pad 16 and the base plate 14 in a folded state. An opening is formed on the bag body 18 on the side opposite to the occupant, and a ring plate 32 is arranged on the outer circumference of the opening. The ring plate 32 fixes the peripheral edge of the opening of the bag body 18 to the occupant side surface of the base plate 14 with the mounting bolts (not shown).

Further, a columnar starting device 34 is arranged at the axial center of the inflator 20. The starting device 34 is provided with a detonator and an explosive transfer agent (not shown). A gas generating substance 36 is enclosed in the inflator 20. When the vehicle suddenly decelerates, the starter 34 operates to ignite the detonator, and the gas generating substance 36 burns through the explosive agent to generate a large amount of gas. The gas flows into the bag body 18 from a gas hole (not shown) formed in the peripheral surface of the upper case 26 of the inflator 20, and bulges the bag body 18 toward the occupant.

As shown in FIG. 3, the starting device 34 includes a ball 40 which is housed in a cylinder 38 and inertially moves when the vehicle rapidly decelerates, and a tip end portion of a shaft 42 A is arranged on an inertial movement locus of the ball 40. A drive shaft 42 rotatable about 42B, a bias pin 46 abutting against the opposite end of the shaft 42A and biased by a bias spring 44 in the inertial movement direction of the ball 40, and a direction orthogonal to the shaft 42A. Two ignition pins 50 are provided, each of which is locked to a substantially rectangular parallelepiped locking portion 42C that is fixed in the longitudinal direction, and is biased by a compression coil spring 48 toward the detonator (not shown). ..

In the starting device 34, a lock pin 52 that is movable in the axial direction of the starting device 34 is provided in the shaft core portion. The lock pin 52 has a substantially cylindrical shape, and as shown by the solid line in FIG. 3, the diameter near the occupant side end portion in the axial direction is reduced. As a result, the lock pin 52 has a cylindrical base 52A, a disc-shaped pressure receiving portion 52B located at the end on the occupant side, and a neck portion having a reduced diameter located between the base 52A and the pressure receiving portion 52B. It consists of 52C. The pressure receiving portion 52B of the lock pin 52 is in contact with a pressing pin 54 having a shape in which a column and a truncated cone are connected. The push pin 54 is biased by the lock spring 56 toward the side opposite to the occupant. Further, the bent ends 58A of the two torsion coil springs 58 are locked to the neck 52C in parallel with each other. One end (not shown) of the torsion coil spring 58 is locked to the inner wall of the starter 34, and the tip end of the bent end 58A crosses and abuts against the occupant side of the shaft 42A. Therefore, when the lock pin 52 is pushed toward the occupant and moves (in the direction of arrow F), the bent end 58A of the torsion coil spring 58, which is locked to the neck 52C, slides on the tapered surface of the neck 52C. To move relative to each other. Therefore, the bent end portion 52C is retracted from the contact position with the shaft 42A, and the starter 34 is in an operable state.

As shown in FIG. 1, a substantially rectangular parallelepiped slide base 60 is fixed to the hub 12A. Inside the slide base 60, a slide body 66 that can slide along the longitudinal direction of the slide base 60 (directions A and B in FIG. 1) is housed. A bent portion 66A is formed at one end in the longitudinal direction of the slide body 66, and an inclined surface 66B is formed at the other end.

On the movement trajectory of the slide body 66, a cylinder body 71 having a cylindrical shape with an end is arranged. A slit 71A is formed in the cylindrical body 71, and the vicinity of the end of the slide body 66 enters through the slit 71A. Further, a circular hole is formed in the center of the end surface of the tubular body 71 on the occupant side, and a cylindrical release pin 68 that is slidable in the axial direction of the starter 34 is arranged at the axial center portion of the tubular body 71. ..

The lower end surface of the lock pin 52 shown in FIG. 3 is positioned on the movement path of the release pin 68. Therefore, when the release pin 68 moves toward the occupant side, the release pin 68 abuts against the end face of the lock pin 52 opposite to the occupant side so that the lock pin 52 is pushed up against the urging force of the lock spring 56. Is becoming An inclined surface 74A corresponding to the inclined surface 66B is formed at the end of the release pin 68 on the side opposite to the occupant. Therefore, when the slide body 66 enters in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 1, the release pin 68 is pushed up toward the occupant by the inclined surface 66B of the slide body 66.

A tip portion of a release bolt 79 is rotatably connected to the bent portion 66A of the slide body 66. A release spring 82 is wound around the release bolt 79. The release spring 82 is provided with a release bolt 79 so that the release bolt 79 moves in the direction in which the slide body 66 retreats (the direction of arrow B in FIG. 1). I am energetic.

A male screw 84 is formed on the release bolt 79, and this male screw 84 is combined with a female screw 88 of a holding plate 86 attached to a bracket 70 (see FIG. 2) fixed to the spoke 12B of the steering wheel 12. It is in mesh. The holding plate 86 is a substantially L-shaped plate, has a rising portion 86A, and the rising portion 86A has a semicircular cutout formed at the center of the upper end, and the peripheral surface thereof. A female screw 88 is formed. In the base portion 86B of the holding plate 86, a through hole 90 coaxially arranged with one through hole 72B of the bracket 70 shown in FIG. 2 and a through hole 92 into which a release bolt 79 is inserted are formed. There is.

Now, as shown in FIG. 2, a bracket 80 is provided on the spoke 12B of the steering wheel 12 so as to face the bracket 70. The bracket 80 includes mounting side plate portions 72 arranged with their longitudinal directions oriented in the direction of arrow C in FIG. 2 (the tangential direction of the steering wheel 12), and flat plate portions for mounting 76 are provided at both ends in the direction of arrow C in FIG. Has been formed. Each of the mounting flat plate portions 76 includes a base portion 75 that is orthogonal to the mounting surface of the mounting side plate portion 72 and extends toward the inside of the base plate 14, and a thick mounting portion formed at the tip of the base portion 75. A section 77 is provided. Each of the mounting portions 77 extends in opposite directions.

A pair of through holes 72A are formed in the mounting side plate portion 72 along the direction of arrow C in FIG. 2, and mounting holes 77A are formed in the mounting portions 77, respectively. The bracket 80 is fixed to the spoke 12B by a bolt 93 (see FIG. 1) inserted in the mounting hole 77A.

Similar to the bracket 80, the bracket 70 is also provided with a mounting side plate portion 72 having a through hole 72A and a mounting flat plate portion 76 having a mounting hole 77A. In addition to the structure of the bracket 80, the bracket 70 is provided with an extension plate portion 74 extending downward (on the side opposite to the occupant) from an intermediate portion of the mounting side plate portion 72 in the direction of arrow C in FIG. A through hole 74A into which the release bolt 79 is inserted is formed in a substantially central portion of the extension plate portion 74.

The side plate portion 14A of the base plate 14, the side plate portion 14B facing the side plate portion 14A, and the leg portion 24A of the insert plate 24 are closely attached to the mounting side plate portion 72 of the bracket 80 and the bracket 70. ing. The side plate portion 14A of the base plate 14 is formed with a pair of through holes 17 coaxially with the respective through holes 72A of the bracket 80, and the bolts 62 inserted into the through holes 72A and the through holes 17, and It is fixed to the bracket 70 and the bracket 80 by the nut 63 welded to the side plate portions 14A and 14B in advance.

The surfaces of the bases 75 of the bracket 80 that face each other and the surfaces of the brackets 70 that face the bases 75 are positioning surfaces 75A, which protrude from the side plate portion 14A and the plate portion 14B. It corresponds to the engaging claw 15.

That is, the side plate portion 14A of the base plate 14 has a rectangular engaging claw 15 extending downward from the end surface toward the mounting flat plate portion 76 in the same plane as the side plate portion 14A. A pair of engagement claws 15 are formed at a predetermined interval. Further, a pair of engaging claws 15 is similarly formed on the side plate portion 14B of the base plate 14. Each of the engaging claws 15 of the side plate portion 14A has a side surface opposite to the side surface facing the other engaging claw 15 as an engaging surface 15A, and the engaging claw 15 of the side plate portion 14B is also the other engaging claw. The side surface opposite to the side surface facing 15 is an engagement surface 15A.

At the time of assembling, that is, when the airbag device 10 is moved in the direction opposite to the arrow F direction, the engagement surfaces 15A of the engagement claws 15 of the side plate portion 14A are aligned with the positioning surfaces 75A of the bracket 80. The engaging surfaces 15A of the engaging claws 15 of the side plate portion 14B come into contact with the respective positioning surfaces 75A of the bracket 70. In this state, the inflator 20 fixed to the base plate 14 is fixed to the steering wheel 12 in a state of being positioned in the direction of arrow C by the bracket 70 and the bracket 80.

The operation of this embodiment will be described below. When the inflator 20 is attached to the hub 12A of the steering wheel 12 and the activation device 34 is in an operable state, the activation device 34 and the pad 16 are preliminarily fixed to the bracket 70 and the fracquet 80 fixed to the spoke 12B. After inserting the base plate 14 in the direction opposite to the arrow F direction, the base plate 14 is fixed.

That is, the engaging surface 15A of each engaging claw 15 of the side plate portion 14A of the base plate 14 is engaged with each positioning surface 75A of the bracket 80, and the engaging claw 15 of each side plate portion 14B is engaged. The engaging surface 15A of the bracket 70 is engaged with each positioning surface 75A of the bracket 70. In this state, the inflator 20 (lock pin 12) is fixed to the hub 12A and positioned in the arrow C direction in FIG. 2 with respect to the release pin 68 which is a part of the switching means. This positioning is performed by simply bringing the engaging claws 15 of the base plate 14 into contact with the positioning surfaces 75A of the brackets 70 and 80, which facilitates the positioning work.

After positioning, the bolt 62 is inserted through the through hole 72 A and screwed into the nut 63 inside the through hole 17 to attach the base plate 14, the insert plate 24, and the holding plate 86 to the bracket 70 and the bracket 70. Fix at 80. In this fixed state, the base plate 14 to which the inflator 20 is fixed is fixed between the bracket 70 and the bracket 80, and is also positioned in the direction of arrow D in FIG. 2 (the steering wheel 12 is in a neutral state and substantially in the vehicle width direction). To be done.

As described above, the inflator 20 is positioned in the arrow C direction and the arrow D direction in FIG. 2, and the release pin 68 corresponds to the lock pin 52. In this state, the lock pin 52 is located on the movement trajectory of the release pin 68. Further, in this state, the tip of the side plate portion 14B pushes the mounting flat plate portion 76 in the direction opposite to the arrow F direction in FIG. 1, so that the female screw 88 of the rising portion 86A of the holding plate 86 and the male screw 84 of the release bolt 79 are held. When the release bolt 79 is screwed in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 3, the slide body 66 moves integrally with the release bolt 79 and the slanted surface 66B of the slide body 66. Pushes up the slope 74A of the base 74 of the release pin 68 in the axial direction of the starter 34. Therefore, the lock pin 52 is pushed up against the urging force of the lock spring 56 by the axial tip of the release pin 68. Accordingly, the bent end portion 58A of the torsion coil spring 58 moves from the neck portion 52C of the lock pin 52 in the radial direction of the starter 34. By this movement, the bent end portion 58A of the torsion coil spring 58 is retracted from the position where the drive shaft 42 interferes with the shaft 42A. Therefore, the activation device 34 is in the operable state.

On the other hand, in order to switch the activation device 34 from the operable state to the inoperable state, the release bolt 79 is moved in the direction of arrow B in FIG. Along with this, the lock pin 52 and the slide body 66 move in the same direction and are pushed down by the urging force of the lock spring 56. Therefore, the bent end portion 58A of the torsion coil spring 58 is again locked to the neck portion 52C of the lock pin 52. As a result, the activation device 34 is switched from the operable state to the inoperable state.

In the above embodiment, a pair of engaging claws 15 is provided on each of the side plate portions 14A and 14B, but a single engaging claw 15 is provided on each of the side plate portions 14A and 14B, and the bracket 70, A positioning concave portion that fits with the engaging claw 15 may be formed in 80.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, instead of forming the engaging claws 15 on the side plate portions 14A, 14B, notches are formed in the side plate portions 14A, 14B, and the brackets 70, 80 are provided with positioning protrusions that fit into these notches. May be formed.

In addition, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the bracket 70 and the bracket 80 are positioned at two positions. However, if an accurate assembled state can be obtained, the positioning surface 75A of the bracket 70 is engaged. The positioning may be performed only by the engagement with the claw 15. Also, a similar positioning structure may be applied for positioning in the direction of arrow D in FIG.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the release pin 68 is moved toward the occupant to push up the lock pin 52 to bring the starter 34 into the inoperable state, but the extension to prevent the inertial movement of the ball 40. The present invention can also be applied to an airbag device of a type in which the extension portion is retracted from the inertial movement locus of the ball 40 by rotating the lock pin having the formed portion to allow the inertial movement of the ball 40.

[0037]

[Effect of the device]

 With the above-described structure, the mounting structure of the airbag starting device according to the present invention is a switching device in which the airbag starting device is fixed to the vehicle body without strict dimensional tolerances between the starting device and the switching means. This has an excellent effect that it is possible to obtain a mounting structure for an airbag starter that can reliably switch between an operable state and an inoperable state by means.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which an airbag device to which an airbag starting device mounting structure according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied is mounted on a steering wheel.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing a main part of a mounting structure of an airbag starting device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of a starting device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 Airbag device 14 Base plate (supporting member) 15 Engaging claw (engaging portion) 34 Starting device 66 Sliding body (switching means) 68 Release pin (switching means) 70 Bracket (positioning member) 80 Bracket (positioning member)

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A support member provided with a starting device that operates when the vehicle suddenly decelerates to operate an airbag; An airbag starting device mounting structure, comprising: switching means for switching to a state; and positioning members for positioning the supporting member and the switching means when the supporting member is fixed to a vehicle body.