JPH0687400A - Inflator fitting structure for collision air bag - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To allow satisfactory damping of shock in a narrow energy absorption zone by providing an energy absorbing mechanism for a supporting member to support an inflator on a body side. CONSTITUTION:When a collision sensor detects side-face collision, a current flows in an inflator 11 to ignite gas generating agent so that a great amount of generated gas is supplied to an air bag 13. The air bag 13 is inflated and developed between the inside face of the room inside wall of a side door 14 and anoccupant. When an occupent collides with the inflated air bag 13 by the incursion of the door at time of collision, the air bag 13 is shrunk while gradually exhausting gas for energy absorption to protect the occupant against the secondary collision Even if a part of the occupant body makes contact with the side face of the inflator 11, the sectional corrugation area of the energy absorption portion 16 of an energy absorbing mechanism formed on a backup plate 12 is elongated to the outside of a vehicle body for energy absorption.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an inflator mounting structure for inflating an airbag of an airbag device which protects an occupant in the event of a vehicle collision.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a conventional airbag device, for example, there is a side airbag device described in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 20856/1992. In this device, an airbag in a folded state and an inflator containing a gas generating agent in a case are integrally attached to a backup plate, and the backup plate is bolted to an inner panel in a side door of a vehicle. It is attached so that it can be stopped and the airbag can be deployed inside the vehicle compartment.

At the time of a vehicle collision, the collision sensor detects the collision, an ignition signal is sent from the collision sensor to the inflator, and the airbag is inflated by the gas generated from the gas generating agent in the ignited inflator, and the air is emitted. The bag is deployed in the passenger compartment to protect the occupant from a secondary collision.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An inflator that generates gas at the time of a vehicle collision to inflate and deploy an airbag is
As described above, since it is required to have high strength to sufficiently withstand the internal pressure that rises when gas is generated, it is formed in a metal box shape having high rigidity.

Therefore, the case of the inflator has a high rigidity, and therefore, as shown in FIG. 7, in the case of the side collision of the vehicle, in the airbag 1 which is inflated and expanded into the passenger compartment, the door moves toward the occupant. However, when the thickness of the airbag is reduced due to the collision with the occupant, a part of the body of the occupant D may compress the airbag 1 and come into contact with the hard inflator 2 inside. In the above, it is necessary to increase the volume of the airbag 2 when deployed to increase the width direction of the vehicle body, that is, the energy absorption zone between the occupant D and the inflator 2.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a mounting structure for an inflator for a side-impact airbag which is capable of absorbing sufficient energy without increasing the volume of the airbag. .

[0007]

As a means for solving the above problems, the present invention provides a collision air for mounting an inflator on a vehicle body for inflating and deploying an air bag by a gas generated from a gas generating agent contained in a case. An attachment structure of an inflator for a bag is characterized in that an energy absorbing mechanism is provided on a support member that supports the inflator on the vehicle body side.

[0008]

As described above, since the case of the inflator is attached to the vehicle body side through the energy absorbing mechanism, the airbag inflated by the inflator buffers the collision energy to protect the occupant and the energy of the inflator. The cushioning action of the absorption mechanism reduces the impact on the occupant.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment in which the mounting structure for an inflator for a collision airbag according to the present invention is applied to the mounting structure for an inflator for a side collision airbag will now be described with reference to FIGS.

1 to 3 show a first embodiment of the present invention, which is an inflator 11 for a side collision airbag.
Is a cylindrical metal case having a flange portion 11a on the outer periphery, and the gas generating agent is housed inside. The inflator 11 is fitted in a mounting hole 12a formed at the substantially center of a metal backup plate 12, and an outer peripheral flange portion 11a is fixed to the rim of the mounting hole 12a by welding or the like. Further, an airbag 13 is attached to the inflator 11 in a folded state,
The backup plate 12 is bolted to the inner panel 15 of the side door 14.

An energy absorbing portion 16 having a wavy cross section is concentrically formed around the mounting hole 12a of the backup plate 12 in which the inflator 11 is mounted. In addition, in FIG.
It is a trim cover that covers the interior of the airbag 13 accommodated in the side door 14 so as to be openable.

Next, the operation of this embodiment configured as described above will be explained. When a side collision is made by another vehicle while traveling, when the side collision is detected by the collision sensor, the inflator 11 is detected. A large amount of the generated gas is supplied to the airbag 13 by passing an electric current to ignite the gas generating agent. Then, the airbag 13 inflates and the side door 14
It is deployed between the inner surface of the passenger compartment and the passenger.

When the occupant collides with the inflated airbag 13 due to the entrance of the door at the time of collision, the airbag 13 contracts while gradually discharging gas to absorb energy, thereby causing a secondary collision of the occupant. In addition to protecting, the corrugated portion of the energy absorbing portion 16 formed on the backup plate 12 extends to the outside of the vehicle body (left side in FIG. 1) even if a part of the body of the occupant contacts the side surface of the inflator 11. The energy is absorbed by (see FIG. 3) and the contact load on the occupant is reduced.

As described above, in this embodiment, the mounting hole 1 in which the hard and highly rigid inflator 11 is mounted.
Since the energy absorbing portion 16 having a corrugated cross section is provided around the circumference 2a, the occupant buffered by the inflated airbag 13 can be further buffered by the energy absorbing portion 16.

4 and 5 show a second embodiment of the present invention, in which an inflator 21 for a side-impacting airbag is a cylindrical metal case having a flange 21a on its outer periphery and is provided inside. Contains a gas generant. This inflator 21 is a metal backup plate 2
It is fitted in a mounting hole 22a formed at the substantially center of the flange 2, and the flange portion 21a is fixed to the rim portion by welding or the like. An airbag is attached to the inflator 21 in a folded state, and the backup plate 2
2 is bolted to the inner panel of the side door.

Around the mounting hole 22a of the backup plate 22 in which the inflator 21 is mounted, one of four sides surrounding the mounting hole 22a in a square shape is shown in FIG.
In three, except for the upper side, three slits 26 are formed in a discontinuous U-shape. When a load is applied to the outside of the vehicle body (to the left in FIG. 5) on the inflator 21, a portion where no slit is formed between the ends of the three slits 26, 26, 26 formed in the backup plate 22. Energy is absorbed by the breakage of each of 26a and 26a, and after breakage, the energy is further absorbed by bending on a line connecting both ends of the slit 26 continuous in a U-shape. Although not shown, an airbag is attached to the inflator 21 in a folded state, and the backup plate 22 is bolted to the inner panel of the side door.

Next, the operation of this embodiment configured as described above will be explained. When a side collision occurs with another vehicle while traveling, the airbag is inflated and the inner surface of the interior wall of the side door. Deploy with crew. Then, the inflated airbag protects the occupant from the secondary collision by gradually contracting the gas while absorbing the energy, and when a part of the occupant's body comes into contact with the side surface of the inflator 21, the backup plate 22 slits 26, 2
Energy is absorbed by breaking the portion 26a between 6 and the backup plate 22 is buffered by being bent (see FIG. 5) to reduce the contact load on the occupant.

As described above, in this embodiment, energy is absorbed as in the case of the first embodiment, so that the occupant buffered by the inflated airbag can be further buffered.

Further, FIG. 6 shows a third embodiment of the present invention, which is an inflator 3 for a side collision airbag.
Reference numeral 1 is a cylindrical metal case having a flange portion 31a on the outer periphery thereof, and a gas generating agent is housed inside. This inflator 31 has a metal backup plate 32.
Is attached to an attachment hole 32a formed at a substantially larger center than the outer diameter of the flange portion 31a by a predetermined dimension, via an elastic member 33 made of neoprene rubber or the like. That is, the inner peripheral edge of the elastic member 33 formed in an annular shape having a constant width is bolted to the flange portion 31a of the inflator 31 and the outer peripheral edge thereof to the rim portion of the mounting hole 32a of the backup plate 32. Further, an airbag is attached to the inflator 31 in a folded state, and the backup plate 32 is fastened to the inner panel of the side door by a bolt nut 34.

Next, the operation of this embodiment constructed as described above will be explained. When a side collision is made by another vehicle while traveling, the airbag is inflated and the same manner as in the above-described embodiments. And protects the occupant from a secondary collision, and when a part of the occupant's body comes into contact with the side surface of the inflator 31, the elastic member 33 connecting the backup plate 32 and the inflator 31 is pulled and deformed, so that energy is saved. The absorption is performed (the state shown by the broken line in FIG. 6), and the contact load on the occupant is reduced.

As described above, in this embodiment, since energy is absorbed as in the case of both the embodiments, it is possible to further buffer the occupant buffered by the inflated airbag.

In each of the above embodiments, the case where the mounting structure of the present invention is applied to the mounting structure of the inflator for the side collision air bag has been described, but the mounting structure of the inflator for the front collision airbag is also described. It can be applied. Further, in each of the above-described embodiments, the case where the inflator is attached to the vehicle body side via the backup plate has been described, but the inflator can also be suitably implemented when directly attached to the vehicle body side member such as the inner panel of the side door. it can.

[0023]

As described above, in the mounting structure of the inflator for a collision airbag according to the present invention, the energy absorbing mechanism is provided in the supporting member for supporting the inflator on the vehicle body side. When a part of the occupant's body to be buffered comes into contact with the inflator, the contact load on the occupant is reduced by the energy absorbing mechanism, so that the impact can be sufficiently buffered in the narrow energy absorbing zone.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional side view showing an inflator mounting structure of a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view showing a state where the inflator of the first embodiment is attached to a backup plate.

FIG. 3 is a sectional side view showing a state where energy is absorbed by the inflator mounting structure of the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a front view showing an inflator mounting structure according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a sectional side view showing a state where energy is absorbed by the inflator mounting structure of the second embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a sectional side view showing a mounting structure for an inflator according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing a cushioning state of an occupant by a conventional side impact airbag.

[Explanation of symbols]

 11 Inflator 12 Backup Plate 13 Airbag 16 Energy Absorbing Section 26 Slit 33 Elastic Member

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A collision airbag inflator mounting structure for mounting an inflator for inflating and deploying an airbag on a vehicle body by a gas generated from a gas generating agent housed in a case, wherein a support member for supporting the inflator on the vehicle body side. A structure for mounting an inflator for a collision airbag, characterized in that an energy absorbing mechanism is provided in the.