JPH06227350A - Cover structure of side air bag unit - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To unfold an ait bag so smoothly by eliminating any obstacle from the unfolding range of this bag. CONSTITUTION:A platelike trim cover 17 is installed in a bag bulging port 15a formed in a door trim 15 on a side wall in a car room rockably inside the car room with a hinge at the lower side as a fulcrum and it is filled up, while an armrest part equipped with a vertically rising parition part 17c at the outside of a car body is formed on an upper end of this trim cover 17. In succession, when the trim cover 17 is opened, even if an arm A of a rider M is situated in and around an upper part of the trim cover 17 or in the armrest part 17, it is pushed by the partition part 17c and eliminated to the outside from the unfolding range of an air bag.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a structure of a cover for opening and closing an air bag accommodated in a side wall of a vehicle compartment so as to open and close a bag inflation port which bulges toward the vehicle interior when a vehicle collides. .

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a side airbag device for protecting an occupant from a secondary collision by deploying an airbag between a side surface of a passenger compartment and a passenger in a side collision, for example, Japanese Patent Application No. 3-43 is available.
Some are proposed by No. 537 and the like. In this type of conventional side airbag device, a folded airbag and an inflator are integrally attached to a backup plate to form a side airbag module, which is fixed to an inner plate of a side door. The vehicle interior side of the side airbag module is covered with a door trim 1 as shown in FIG.

A bag inflation port 3 is formed on a side surface of the door trim 1 facing the interior of the vehicle at a position higher than an armrest 2 corresponding to an inner airbag, and the bag inflation port 3 has a plate shape. It is closed by the trim cover 4 so that it can be opened and closed.

At the time of a side collision, a current flows from the collision sensor to the squib (electric detonator) of the inflator, and the gas generating agent in the inflator is ignited to fill the air bag with the generated gas. Then, the gas-filled airbag pushes open the trim cover 4 due to the pressure when the airbag is inflated, bulges out from the bag inflation port 3 and deploys into the passenger compartment, and the airbag absorbs the impact and thereby It is designed to protect passengers from the next collision.

[0005]

However, since the trim cover 4 of the above-described conventional side airbag device is structured to open toward the passenger compartment by being pushed by the inflating airbag, the trim cover 4 of one side of the occupant's arm or the like is not provided. If the portion is in contact with the trim cover 4 or located near the trim cover 4, there is a risk that smooth deployment of the airbag may be hindered.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances. Even if a part of a body such as an occupant's arm comes into contact with or approaches the cover that covers the bag inflation port, the airbag can be smoothly installed. An object is to provide a cover structure for a side airbag device that can be deployed.

[0007]

As a means for solving the above problems, the present invention provides a pressure for inflating an air bag accommodated inside a vehicle interior side wall at the time of a collision and inflating a cover for closing a bag inflation port. In a side airbag device that pushes open with a button and deploys to the inside of the vehicle, absorbs impact with this airbag, and protects the occupant from a secondary collision, the cover includes a shielding portion that covers the bag inflation port and the shielding portion. An elbow rest formed continuously on the upper end of the part, and a rising part that rises from the vehicle body outer side of the elbow rest,
It is characterized in that it is provided so as to be swingable toward the vehicle interior side with the lower end of the shielding portion as a fulcrum.

[0008]

With the above-described structure, when the occupant's arm or the like is placed near the inside of the cover in the passenger compartment or on the elbow rest on the upper end of the cover at the time of a collision, the cover is inflated. When opening in the vehicle interior direction due to the pressure of the bag, the rising part on the side surface of the shield part or the outer side of the elbow rest part pushes the arm etc. with the opening operation of the cover,
Move it away from the inflating airbag. Therefore, the cover is also wide open and the airbag is deployed smoothly.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of a cover structure for a side airbag device according to the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

Airbag 11 of the side airbag device
Is normally folded and housed in the recess of the backup plate 13 together with the inflator 12, and is mounted inside the vicinity of the belt line behind the side door 14. In the door trim 15 that covers the inside of the side door 14 in the vehicle interior, a bag inflation port 15a is formed in the upper part of the armrest 16 so that the airbag 11 can inflate and inflate toward the vehicle interior when a collision occurs. Bulge 15
The a is closed by a plate-shaped trim cover 17 (a hatched portion in FIG. 1) attached so as to be openable and closable with a hinge 17a at the lower end as a fulcrum.

The trim cover 17 covers the inside of the air bag 11 housed inside the vehicle interior.
At the upper end of 7d, an elbow rest 17b protruding toward the vehicle interior is
From the upper end of the portion of the door trim 15 excluding the bag inflation port 15a to the inside of the vehicle compartment (right side in FIG. 2), and the upper surface of the door trim 15 is continuous with the elbow rest 15b having a substantially horizontal fold-back cross section. The protrusion 1 is formed to have a substantially similar cross-sectional shape and protrudes toward the inside of the vehicle, and the upper end of the elbow rest 17b is outwardly of the vehicle body.
7c is continuously formed at a constant height.

Further, inside the elbow rest 17b formed at the upper end of the trim cover 17, there is provided a guide member 18 for guiding the bulging direction of the airbag 11 obliquely upward to the inside of the passenger compartment.
The guide member 18 is provided in the vicinity of the upper side of the airbag 11 housed in the side door 11, and the guide member 18 is formed in a substantially small cross-sectional shape with a cross section similar to the cross-sectional shape of the elbow rest 17b. Has been done.

Next, the operation of this embodiment configured as described above will be described. The airbag 11 of the side airbag device is normally accommodated in the side door 14 and is not shown in the figure. When the sensor detects a side collision and applies an electric current to the inflator 12, the gas generating agent in the inflator 12 is ignited and a large amount of gas is generated. Then, the airbag 11 inflated by the generated gas swings the trim cover 17 around the hinge 17a at the lower end thereof as a fulcrum and pushes the trim cover 17 open to inflate from the bag inflation port 15a into the vehicle compartment.

At the time of this side collision, even if a part of the body of the occupant M is inside the vehicle compartment near the trim cover 17, it is pushed by the trim cover 17 that opens toward the vehicle interior and moves, so that the airbag 11 is deployed. Does not interfere with. Especially the occupant M
If the arm A of the vehicle is placed on the elbow rest portion 15b of the door trim 15 and the elbow rest portion 17b of the trim cover 17 that is continuous with the arm rest A, the trim cover 1 is pushed open toward the vehicle interior.
A squeeze portion 17c formed outside the vehicle body of the elbow rest portion 17b of 7 pushes the arm A and carries it together with the trim cover 17 in a direction away from the inflating airbag 11 (see FIG. 2). As a result, the arm A of the occupant M is reliably excluded from the deployment range of the airbag 11, so that smooth deployment of the airbag 11 is ensured and the occupant can be more reliably protected from a secondary collision.

Also, in this embodiment, the guide member 1
8 is the elbow rest 17 above the storage portion of the airbag 11.
Since it is provided so as to project inside b, the guide member 1
Since the airbag 11 is guided obliquely upward from the initial stage of inflating by 8 and pushes the upper end side of the trim cover 17, that is, the portion away from the fulcrum toward the vehicle interior, the trim cover 17 can be smoothly opened. In addition, the airbag 11 can be accurately deployed in a predetermined direction.

[0016]

As described above, according to the present invention, at the upper end of the shielding portion that closes the bag inflation port formed on the side wall of the passenger compartment,
Since an elbow rest part having a rising part is formed on the outer side of the vehicle body, even if an occupant's arm or the like is located near the upper part of the cover, it is excluded from the deployment range of the airbag when the cover is opened. Therefore, the airbag can be deployed smoothly.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a side door of a cover structure according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional side view taken along line II-II of FIG.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a relationship between a position of a trim cover and an occupant.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a door trim showing a position of a trim cover of a conventional side airbag device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 11 Airbag 12 Inflator 15 Door Trim 15a Bag Expansion Port 17 Trim Cover 17a Hinge 17b Elbow Rest 17c Edge Part 17d Shield 18 Guide Member M Occupant A Arm

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. At the time of a collision, an airbag accommodated inside a vehicle interior side wall is inflated, and a cover for closing the bag inflation port is pushed open by an inflating pressure to be inflated to the vehicle interior side, and the impact is absorbed by the airbag. However, in a side airbag device that protects an occupant from a secondary collision, the cover includes a shield portion that covers the bag inflation port, an elbow rest portion that is continuously formed at an upper end of the shield portion, and an elbow rest portion of the elbow rest portion. A cover structure for a side airbag device, which has a rising portion that rises from an outer side of the vehicle body, and is provided so as to be swingable toward a vehicle interior side with a lower end of the shielding portion as a fulcrum.