JPH07117542A - Occupant restrain system of seat for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To protect a sitting occupant by suppressing the movement of the occupant, and absorbing the shock energy by side supports. CONSTITUTION:A pair of side supports 8, 8 of the shape to surround the upper body of an occupant are provided on each end part in the width direction of a seat back 7, a pre-tensioner 18 to generate the high driving force when the shock of the prescribed value or over is detected from the side part of the vehicle body by a sensor 29 mounted on the vehicle body is provided on these side supports 8, 8, and a link mechanism 27 to transmit the driving force of this pre-tensioner 18 to the side supports 8, 8 is provided. When a collision is made on a door 4, the pre-tensioner 18 is started to generate the high driving force, the side supports 8, 8 are instantaneously turned to the side to hold the upper body of the occupant to restrain the upper body of the occupant not to be moved from the right and left, and at the same time, the occupant is protected from the shock by the side support 8 to be interposed between the door 4 and the occupant 4 to absorb the shock energy.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vehicle seat occupant restraint system for protecting an occupant seated on a seat from an impact from the side of the seat.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In the automobile industry, it has been attracting attention to protect an occupant from a side collision, that is, a side collision. This is because the front seat of the passenger car is installed in the passenger compartment with its side facing the front door that is the wall of the passenger compartment and adjacent to the front door.
This is because the occupant sitting on the toe may be affected by the collision from the front door.

As a countermeasure against this, conventionally, a technique for increasing rigidity, that is, a door, a center pillar, a frame forming a passenger compartment and a frame of a seat are reinforced. , Various proposals have been made.

Specifically, the technique of reinforcing the door is to increase the rigidity of the door by incorporating an impact beam in the door body of the front door and the rear door (both of which form the wall of the vehicle compartment). Reinforce.

In the technique of reinforcing the center pillar, the reinforcement is built into the center pillar to increase the rigidity of the center pillar. In addition, the frame
The technology for reinforcing the frame of the seat and the seat is to reinforce the frame forming the passenger compartment, and at the same time, by providing a cross pipe member on the frame of the seat, the passenger compartment and the seat frame. −
It reinforces the rigidity of the frame.

[0006]

Although such a technique certainly brings about a good effect, it is not sufficient. That is, even if the rigidity of the passenger compartment and the seat frame is increased, the vehicle receives the impact at the time of collision from the vehicle body side portion, for example, the front door a as shown in FIG.
Despite the presence of the seat belt b, it is unexpected that the body of the occupant seated on the seat c, especially the upper body, deviates from the seat back d of the seat c and moves toward the door. Behavior can be seen.

[0007] However, the above-described technique is mainly capable of reducing the amount of entry into the vehicle compartment at the time of a collision, and therefore lacks the ability to suppress the unexpected movement of the occupant at the time of the collision.
Therefore, there is a demand for a technology capable of protecting the occupant in consideration of the movement of the occupant.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and its purpose is to suppress the movement of an occupant at the time of a collision from the side part of a vehicle body by utilizing a side support. An object of the present invention is to provide an occupant restraint device for a vehicle seat that can protect the occupant by absorbing impact energy at the time of the collision.

[0009]

In order to achieve the above object, an occupant restraint system for a vehicle seat according to a first aspect of the present invention comprises:
The upper body of the occupant located in the seat back, from the widthwise both sides of the seat back of the seat provided in the passenger compartment with the side facing the wall of the passenger compartment. A pair of side supports, which are rotatable in the direction sandwiching the vehicle and whose outer shape is formed so as to surround the upper body of the occupant from both sides, project from the outside of the passenger compartment adjacent to the seat. A sensor that detects the impact on the wall is provided, and the side support
When an impact of a predetermined value or more is detected by the sensor,
The actuator is connected to generate a high driving force and to momentarily move the side support to the side sandwiching the upper body of the occupant.

In the vehicle seat occupant restraint system according to a second aspect of the present invention, in order to move the side support at the highest speed at the time of a collision, the actuator detects the impact and the sensor detects an impact greater than a predetermined value. In this case, the driving force generating device for displacing the piston in the cylinder at a high speed in accordance with the explosive reaction of the propellant and the transmission mechanism for transmitting the displacement of the piston to the side support are configured.

[0011]

The vehicle seat occupant restraint system according to the first aspect of the present invention is an actuator when a collision occurs on a side portion of a vehicle body.
Is activated in response to the detection of impact from the sensor.

Then, the actuator generates a high driving force, and momentarily rotates a pair of side supports on both sides of the seat back to the side (closed side) which sandwiches the upper body of the occupant. Go.

At this time, since the outer shape of the side support is such that the upper body of the occupant is surrounded in advance from both sides, the upper body of the occupant positioned in the seat back according to the rotation of the side support. Are sandwiched from both left and right sides.

Then, the upper body of the occupant is restricted from the left and right by the side support, and its movement is restricted.
As a result, in the event of a collision, the upper body of the occupant is held so as not to shift from the seat back. That is, the movement of the occupant during a collision is suppressed.

Further, at the time of a collision, one of the rotated side supports is interposed between the wall portion of the vehicle body to which the impact is applied and the upper body of the occupant. That is, the cushioning property of the side support absorbs impact energy from the vehicle body wall while protecting the occupant from impact.

This means that the side support not only restrains the upper body of the occupant but also functions as a cushioning member for cushioning the shock transmitted to the occupant. The restraint of the movement of the occupant and the absorption of the impact energy, which are carried out by utilizing the side support, effectively protect the occupant of the seat from a collision.

According to the vehicle seat occupant restraint system of the second aspect, in the actuator of the first aspect, the drive effective for moving the side support at the fastest speed at the moment of collision. Can generate force.

That is, in the driving force generating device which constitutes the actuator, when the sensor detects a collision, the propellant causes an explosive reaction, and the explosive energy displaces the piston at a high speed.

The driving force generated at this time is the shortest and the largest driving force can be obtained because the driving source is an explosion of propellant. The generated high driving force is transmitted to the pair of side supports through the transmission mechanism, and the side supports are moved at the highest speed. This makes it possible for the side support to immediately shift to a state in which the upper body of the occupant is restrained at the moment of collision.

[0020]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below with reference to the first embodiment shown in FIGS. FIG. 1 shows a front side of a passenger car (vehicle) to which the present invention is applied, and 1 in the drawing shows a vehicle body. The vehicle body 1 is configured, for example, to have an engine room 3 in a front part of a vehicle interior 2 and a trunk room (not shown) in a rear part.

At both sides of the vehicle compartment 2 on both sides in the width direction of the vehicle body, there are provided entrances and exits (not shown) which are opened and closed by, for example, a laterally opening type front door 4 (which constitutes a wall portion of the vehicle compartment). ing.

A front sheet 5 is installed on the front side of the floor panel 2a constituting the vehicle compartment 2 at a position adjacent to the front door 4 with its side facing the front door 4. .

The front seat 5 comprises a seat cushion 6 which is a portion on which an occupant sits, and a seat back 7 on which the occupant leans. Although not shown, the seat cushion 6 and the seat back 7 are rotatably connected by a reclining mechanism.

A pair of side supports 8, 8 projecting forward are provided on both sides of the seat back 7 in the width direction. Further, the seat back 7 uses the side supports 8 and 8 to make a side collision (a collision from the side of the vehicle body).
An occupant restraint device 9 for protecting the occupant from an impact from is installed.

FIG. 2 shows the overall structure of the occupant restraint system 7. Describing the structure of the occupant restraint system 7, 10 is a frame of the seat back 7.
The frame 10 has a frame shape extending upward from both sides of the rear portion of the seat cushion 6.

The seat back 7 is constructed by sequentially providing an elastic layer, a foam layer, and a skin (not shown) on the front side of the frame 10 so as to cover the opening. A pair of side support frames 11 and 11 forming the side supports 8 and 8 are provided on the frame portions 10a and 10a forming the left and right sides of the frame 10, respectively.

Each of the side support frames 11 and 11 is a pipe material 1 bent in a triangular shape at a portion corresponding to a waist portion of a seated occupant and a portion corresponding to a shoulder portion.
It has a substantially W shape in which 1a and 11b are arranged.

Of the side support frame 11, the upper end of the pipe material 11a at the shoulder position and the lower end of the pipe material 11b at the waist position are frame portions 10a.
It is rotatably supported in the left-right direction via brackets 12 attached to the upper and lower ends of the upper part.

Further, the upper end of the pipe material 11b extending rearward has a frame portion 10 as shown in FIG.
It is rotatably supported in the left-right direction via a bracket 13 attached to the upper side of a.

The side support 8 is provided with a pad member 8a around the side support frame 11 thus supported so as to cover the opening, so that the shoulder portion and the waist portion of the occupant are shown in FIG. The portion corresponding to and is formed in a mountain shape that protrudes forward more than the other portions.
In the figure, 8b shows a portion that covers the shoulders of the occupant, and 8c shows a portion that also covers the waist. This allows side support on both sides.
The toes 8 and 8 are rotatable inward and outward directions, that is, in a direction sandwiching the upper body of the occupant located in the seat back 7.

Further, of the side support frame 11, the pipe material 11a is set to a projecting length capable of covering the entire side portion of the shoulder portion of the occupant located in the seat back 11, and the pipe material 11b is the waist of the occupant. The protruding length is set to cover the entire side of the part.

The outer shapes of the side supports 11 and 11 are defined by the side support frame 11.
The shape of the occupant located in the seatback 11 is set so as to surround the right and left sides of the occupant.

On the other hand, 14 is the left and right brackets 13, 13
It is a link member arranged between them. This link member 14
3 extends in the width direction of the frame 10 as shown in FIG. 3, and the end portion on the door side is inclined rearward. The remaining end of the link member 14 is inclined forward.

The tip of the inclined portion 14a on the door side has a pipe member 11b extending rearward from the bracket 13.
Is rotatably connected to the extension end of the. In addition, the tip of the inclined portion 14b on the side opposite to the door is a bracket 15 that is integral with the pipe member 11b that projects forward from the pivot portion of the pipe member 11.
Is rotatably connected to.

By the link mechanism 27 having such a connecting structure, the side support frames 11, 11 are opened and closed synchronously when the link member 14 is displaced in the left-right direction.

The side supports 8 and 8 are turned inward by the movement of the link mechanism 27 with reference to the normal use position A indicated by the solid line in FIG. 3, that is, the side on which the occupant's upper body is sandwiched. It can be turned to.

An installation plate 16 is laid between the frame portions 10a, 10a on the rear side of the link member 14 so as to connect the peripheral surface portions facing rearward. An actuator 17 is provided on the inner surface of the installation plate 16 for driving the side supports 8, 8 to the closing side at a high speed at the time of a side collision.

The actuator 17 uses, for example, an electric ignition type pretensioner 18 (driving force generating device) as a driving source for instantaneously generating a high driving force. The pretensioner-18 has an elongated appearance extending in the left-right direction. This pretensioner-18
The structure of is shown in FIG.

Explaining this structure, the pretensioner 18 has a cylinder portion 20 in which a piston 19 is movably accommodated. The cylinder portion 20 extends in the left-right direction. A piston 19 is arranged on the right side of the cylinder portion 20. The wire 20a connected to the piston 19 is led out from the right end of the cylinder portion 20.

On the right side of the cylinder portion 20, there is provided a propellant chamber portion 21 extending in the direction perpendicular to the cylinder portion 20.
The propellant chamber portion 21 communicates with the right portion of the cylinder chamber 22 with the piston 19 as a boundary.

A propellant 23 is contained in the propellant chamber 21. Further, from the inside of the propellant chamber portion 21, a wiring 25 leading to the electric ignition device 24 is led to the outside. That is, when the pretensioner 18 supplies a current from the electric ignition device 24 to the propellant chamber portion 21 through the wiring 25,
The propellant 23 causes an explosive reaction inside the propellant chamber 21 and the piston 1 on the right side due to the explosive energy.
9 is displaced to the left at a high speed.

Such a pretensioner 18 is installed in a horizontal position with its tip end facing the right side. In addition, this installation makes the entire pretensioner 18
It is accommodated between the boot 16 and the link member 14.

The wire end of the pretensioner 18 is connected to a bracket 26 projecting rearward from the right side portion of the link member 14. By this connection, the piston displacement generated in the pretensioner 18 is transmitted to the side support frames 11, 11 through the link member 14.

As a result, the side supports 8 and 8 use the link mechanism 27 as a transmission mechanism to operate the pretensioner-18.
With the high driving force generated in step 2, the normal use position A is momentarily rotated inward, that is, to the side sandwiching the upper body of the occupant.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 2, a tensioner is attached to the front door 4 (the wall of the passenger compartment adjacent to the seat).
A starting unit 28 is provided. The tensioner starting unit 28 includes a sensor 29 for detecting an impact applied to the front door 4 from the outside, and the electric ignition device 24 connected to the sensor 29.

The electric ignition device 24 is activated only when the sensor-29 detects an impact of a predetermined value or more, that is, when the sensor-29 detects an impact force that requires protection of an occupant. When the front door 4 receives an impact that requires protection of the passenger, the side supports 8 and 8 in the normal use position A are momentarily moved to the inside ( It is designed to be rotated to the closed side).

On the other hand, a lock mechanism 30 is provided at the pivotal support portion pivotally supporting the upper end portion of the pipe member 11b among the pivotal support portions pivotally supporting the side support frame 11 on the side opposite to the door, for example.

The lock mechanism 30 is provided with the side support 8
It is composed of a rotation blocking mechanism 30a that allows the vehicle to rotate in the direction sandwiching the occupant and blocks the rotation in the opposite direction. The rotation preventing mechanism 30a includes, for example, as shown in FIG. 5, a ratchet 32 provided with a pivot 31c of a pipe member 11b and having teeth 31 oriented in one direction, and the ratchet 3
It has two teeth 31 and a claw 33 that engages and disengages. Nail 33
Is urged toward the ratchet 32 side by the spring member 34.

As a result, the side supports 8 and 8 (side support frames 11 and 11) move only in the direction in which the side supports 8 and 8 (side support frames 11 and 11) rotate inward in accordance with the one-way engagement between the claw 33 and the tooth 31. Is free.

Next, the operation of the occupant restraint device 9 thus constructed will be described. For example, as shown in FIG. 6A, it is assumed that a collision occurs at a front door 4 that is a wall portion of a passenger compartment with respect to a passenger vehicle in which an occupant is seated on the front seat 5.

At this time, if the impact detected by the sensor 29 is not less than a predetermined value, the electric ignition device 24 operates,
The actuator 17 supplies a current required for ignition to the propellant chamber portion 21.

Then, the propellant 23 explodes, and the explosive energy displaces the piston 19 at a high speed in the left direction shown by the arrow in FIG. In other words, at the moment of collision,
The actuator 17 produces a high driving force.

Then, the displacement of the piston 19 having a high driving force is changed by the wire 20a, as shown by the arrow in FIG.
The side support frame 1 via the link mechanism 27.
1, 11, and the side support frame 11,
11 is rotated inward at the highest speed.

That is, at the moment when the front door 4 is impacted, as shown in FIG. 6 (b), the pair of side supports 8, 8 on both sides of the seat back 7 momentarily rotate inward. Then, the upper body of the occupant is pinched from the left and right.

Here, the outer shapes of the side supports 8 and 8 are
Since the upper body of the occupant is surrounded in advance from both sides, the entire upper body of the occupant is sandwiched from the left and right sides. Then,
The upper body of the occupant is regulated from the left and right by the side supports 8,8. At the same time, the locking mechanism 30 holds the rotated side supports 8 and 8 at that position so as not to be released, that is, so as not to rotate toward the opening side.

As a result, the upper body of the occupant is seatback 7
Be restrained in. This means that the upper body of the occupant is held by the seat back 7 by the rotation of the side supports 8, 8 at the moment of collision with the side portion of the vehicle body.

However, inadvertent movement of the occupant at the time of a collision, that is, displacement of the occupant's upper body from the seatback 7 to the side can be suppressed. Moreover, of the rotated side supports 8, 8, the side support 8 on the door side is provided.
Is interposed between the front door 4 and the upper body of the occupant to which an impact is applied at the moment of collision, the cushioning property of the side support 8, that is, the elasticity of the pad member 8a protects the occupant from the impact. , Absorbs impact energy from the front door 4.

This means that the side support 8 not only restrains the upper body of the occupant but also functions as a cushioning member for cushioning the shock transmitted to the occupant. Therefore, by restraining the movement of the occupant and absorbing the impact energy, which is performed by utilizing the side supports 8 and 8, the occupant seated on the front seat 5 is effectively prevented from a side collision. Will be protected.

Moreover, by adopting the actuator 17 which causes the propellant 23 to explode and generate a driving force, the side supports 8 and 8 are set to the state of restraining the upper body of the occupant at the moment of collision. It can be moved quickly.

In addition, since the side supports 8 and 8 are shaped so as to cover the shoulder portion of the upper body of the occupant located in the seatback 7 and the entire side portion of the waist portion, the side support portions 8 and 8 are emphasized.
The upper body of the occupant can be restrained most efficiently without causing discomfort.

Moreover, by adopting the lock mechanism 30,
Since the side supports 8 sandwiching the upper body of the occupant are not opened, that is, the restraint state of the occupant is not inadvertently released even after the collision, the secondary behavior after the collision, for example, the impact again. It can be prepared for cases such as joining.

In this embodiment, the pretensioner starting unit 28 is provided on the wall portion of the passenger compartment 2. However, the pretensioner starting unit 28 is provided on the inner space of the side sill, the center pillar, or the joining portion of both members. Good.

FIG. 7 shows a second embodiment of the present invention.
In this embodiment, in order to further enhance the restraint of the occupant at the time of a collision, the side support described in the first embodiment described above.
At the same time when the upper body of the occupant is pinched by the toes 8 and 8, at the time of a collision, a seat belt device, for example, a three-point type seat belt device 40 is utilized to press the upper body of the occupant from the front side. is there.

FIG. 7 shows only the periphery of the seat belt device, which is the main part of the embodiment. Explaining the same embodiment, the three-point type seat belt device 40 has a front seat.
A retractor 42 accommodating a belt 41 that is wound so as to be freely drawn is arranged in the vehicle body portion behind the gutter 5.

The tip of the belt 41 of the retractor 42 is fixed to a seat anchor (not shown) behind the front sheet 5 through a hanger 41a. Further, a tongue 43 is slidably attached to the belt 41 along the belt, and after sitting on the front seat 4,
By connecting the tongue 43 to a buckle 44 arranged on the side of the front seat 5, the belt 41 is forwarded to the front of the upper body of the occupant by hanging the belt 41 around the front of the upper body, more specifically, from the shoulder of the occupant to the waist. It is designed to suppress the movement of.

A pretensioner 45 having the same structure as that described in the first embodiment is connected to the retractor 42 as a second actuator. The description of the pretensioner-45 will be omitted.

Wire 20 of this pretensioner-45
a is connected to a shaft portion (not shown) in which the belt 41 is wound inside the retractor 42 via a pulley 42a protruding to the outside, and when the propellant 23 explodes, the belt 41 is pulled in at a high speed.

As the tensioner starting unit of the pretensioner 45, the tensioner starting unit 28 described in the first embodiment is used as it is, that is, it is also used. As a result, when the sensor 29 detects an impact greater than a predetermined value, the side supports 8 and 8 are rotated,
The seat belt 41 is pulled in at the same time.

With this structure, when the sensor 29 detects an impact of a predetermined value or more, the pretensioner 18
The side supports 8 and 8 are rotated by the activation of. At the same time, the pretensioner 45 is activated, and the high driving force generated by the pretensioner 45 pulls in the belt 41 suspended around the upper body of the occupant at a high speed.

That is, the upper body of the occupant is pinched from the left and right by the side supports 8 and at the same time, is pressed against the seat back 7 from the front by the belt 41. As a result, the upper body of the occupant in the seat back 7 is restricted from moving in the left-right direction by the side supports 8 and at the same time is restricted from moving in the front direction by the belt 41 of the seat belt device 40.

That is, the upper body of the occupant is restrained so as not to move from the front, rear, left and right directions. Therefore, according to the structure in which the seat belt device 40 is also used, the effect of significantly improving the restraint of the occupant at the time of a collision is brought about, and it is possible to further contribute to the occupant protection.

However, in FIG. 7, the same components as those of the first embodiment described above are designated by the same reference numerals and their description is omitted. Although the pretensioner using the explosive is used as the actuator in the above-described embodiment, the pretensioner is not limited to this, and the pretensioner has a structure in which the elastic force of the spring is released at a stroke to obtain a high driving force. May be used. Further, in the second embodiment, the input signal for actuating the actuator is received from the pretensioner starting unit, but the output signal from the gravity sensor stored in the pretensioner for the seat belt device. May be used.

[0073]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the seat movement is suppressed by the use of the side support to suppress the movement of the occupant and absorb the impact energy. The seated occupant can be effectively protected from a collision on the side of the vehicle body.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effect of the first aspect, the maximum driving force can be obtained in the shortest time in the actuator, so the side support can be performed at the highest speed. It can be moved, and at the moment of collision, the side support can be quickly moved to a state in which the upper body of the occupant is restrained.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a seat equipped with an occupant restraint system according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a partially cut sheet for explaining the configuration of the passenger restraint system.

FIG. 3 is a plan sectional view taken along line XX in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view for explaining the configuration of a pretensioner that serves as a drive source.

FIG. 5A is a view showing a side support in a normal use position together with a lock mechanism. (B) is a figure which shows the side support rotated inward from the same position with the state locked by the lock mechanism.

FIG. 6A is a diagram showing a state of an occupant sitting on the front seat. FIG. 6B is a view for explaining the moment when the passenger is held from the left and right by the rotating side support at the moment of side collision.

FIG. 7A is a diagram showing a state of an occupant sitting on a front seat. FIG. 6B is a diagram for explaining the moment when the passenger is held by the side support that rotates and the seat belt that is retracted at the moment of side collision.

FIG. 8 is a view for explaining the behavior of an occupant seated on the front seat during a side collision.

[Explanation of symbols]

2 ... Vehicle compartment 4 ... Front door (wall portion of vehicle compartment) 5 ... Front seat 7 ... Seat back 8 ... Side support 9 ... Occupant restraint device 10 ... Seat back frame 11 ... Side support frame 14 ... Link member 17 ... Actuator 18 ... Pretensioner (driving force generator) 23 ... Propellant 26 ... Ignition device 25 ... Wiring 27 ... Link mechanism (transmission mechanism) 29 ... Sensor-30 ... Lock mechanism 40 ... -Tobert device 41 ... Sheet belt 45 ... Pretensioner

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A seat having a seat back, which is provided in the vehicle interior so as to face a side portion toward a wall of the vehicle interior and is adjacent to the wall, and the seat back. Protruding from both sides in the width direction to the front, it is rotatable along the direction sandwiching the upper body of the occupant located in the seat back, and the outer shape is formed in a shape surrounding the upper body of the occupant from both sides. A pair of side supports, a sensor for detecting an impact applied from the outside to a wall portion of the vehicle compartment adjacent to the seat, and a sensor connected to the side support and having a predetermined value or more by the sensor. When a shock is detected, a high driving force is generated, and an actuator for instantaneously moving the side support to a side sandwiching an upper body of an occupant is provided. Occupant restraint system. 2. The actuator includes a driving force generating device for displacing a piston in a cylinder at a high speed in accordance with an explosive reaction of a propellant when the sensor detects an impact of a predetermined magnitude or more, and the actuator. Displacement is the side support
The occupant restraint system for a vehicle seat according to claim 1, further comprising a transmission mechanism for transmitting the occupant to the vehicle seat.