JPH0761318A - Container for gas generator/and gas generator using it - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a container for gas generator, which can lighten and downsize a device, and to provide a gas generator using this container. CONSTITUTION:A cylindrical combustion chamber cup 6 and a cylindrical combustion chamber cover 7, of which opposite ends are opened, are bonded for fixation at the opening ends thereof to form a combustion chamber case 2 for housing an igniting mechanism and gas generating agent. A cylindrical diffuser cup 8 and a cylindrical diffuser cover 9, of which opposite ends are opened, are bonded for fixation at the opening ends thereof to form a diffuser case 3 for housing the combustion chamber case 2 and a cooling scavenger. A top wall 2a and a bottom wall 2b of the combustion chamber case 2 are overlapped with a top wall 3a and a bottom wall 3b of the diffuser case 3 to form the double structure of the top walls 2a, 3a and the bottom walls 2b, 3b.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention mainly relates to a gas generator container used for inflating and expanding an airbag such as an air bag, a life bag, a rubber boat, an escape chute as a safety device at the time of collision, and a container for the same. The present invention relates to the gas generator used.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a safety device for protecting an occupant from a shock at the time of a collision in a vehicle, especially a passenger car, an airbag device for instantaneously inflating an airbag at the time of a collision is known. This airbag device is composed of an airbag and a gas generator that generates gas for inflating the airbag. The airbag has a volume of 30 to 70 liters in the driver's seat device and 100 to 250 liters in the passenger seat device.

Further, most of the gas generators used especially in the airbag device for the driver's seat have to be housed in the pad cover at the center of the steering wheel, and are restricted in size and shape. It has a disk-shaped pressure vessel shape. When a passenger vehicle collides, the gas generating agent burns due to ignition of the ignition mechanism to generate gas, and the gas instantaneously inflates the airbag to protect the occupant from impact at the time of collision.

An example of a gas generator in an airbag device for a driver's seat of this type is, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 155308/1993.
A structure as shown in Japanese Patent Publication has been conventionally known. That is, as shown in FIG. 4, the container 31 includes a diffuser cup 32 formed in a cylindrical shape, a cylindrical combustion chamber cup 33 with a lid, which is concentrically arranged inside the diffuser cup 32 at a predetermined interval, and its opening. It is composed of a disk-shaped combustion chamber cover 34 fixed to the end portion. A plurality of gas outflow holes 35 and 36 are formed on the peripheral walls of the diffuser cup 32 and the combustion chamber cup 33, respectively.

The ignition chamber 37 is formed in the center of the combustion chamber cup 33, and an electric igniter 38 is attached to the inside of the combustion chamber cup 33 via an attachment adapter 39. The igniting agent 40 made of boron nitrate or the like is filled in the ignition chamber 37, and when the igniting agent 40 is ignited by the electric igniter 38, the flame accompanying combustion is propagated to the outside of the ignition chamber 37.

The combustion chamber 41 is provided on the outer periphery of the ignition chamber 37 in the combustion chamber cup 33, and a disk-shaped gas generating agent 42 is loaded inside the combustion chamber 41. Cooling collection material 4
Reference numerals 3 and 44 are respectively provided on the inner surface of the peripheral wall of the combustion chamber cup 33 and between the peripheral walls of the diffuser cup 32 and the combustion chamber cup 33 to cool the gas generated by the combustion of the gas generant 42 and to prevent the solid secondary gas generated by the combustion. The biological residue is filtered.

When the electric igniter 38 is ignited by energization, the igniting agent 40 in the ignition chamber 37 is burned and the flame is propagated from the ignition chamber 37 into the combustion chamber 41. As a result, the gas generating agent 42 is burned and gas is generated in the combustion chamber 41. This gas is cooled by the cooling collectors 43 and 44, and the solid combustion residue is filtered.
Thereafter, the purified gas is flown out through the gas outflow hole 35 of the diffuser cup 32 to inflate and deploy the airbag.

[0008]

By the way, since the gas generator in the airbag device for the driver's seat of this kind is incorporated in the steering wheel, there is a possibility that the rotating operation of the steering wheel may become unstable, and in order to prevent this. Moreover, it is desired to reduce the weight of the gas generator. Further, in order to save energy, it is necessary to reduce the weight of the vehicle body as much as possible in order to improve the fuel consumption rate, and for this reason, it is desired to reduce the weight of the gas generator.

However, in the above-described conventional gas generator container, the container 31 is provided with a cylindrical diffuser cup 32, a cylindrical combustion chamber cup 33 with a lid, and a disk-shaped combustion chamber cover 34. It is configured by being assembled and fixed, and the top wall and the bottom wall of the container 31 have a single layer structure. Therefore, the combustion chamber 4 is required to have a particularly high pressure resistance.
When trying to secure a large plate thickness of the top wall and the bottom wall of No. 1, it is necessary to set the plate thickness of the entire combustion chamber cup 33 and the combustion chamber cover 34 including the peripheral wall of the combustion chamber 41 to be large. Therefore, the peripheral wall portion of the combustion chamber 41 becomes excessively strong, which increases the weight of the entire gas generator, which makes it impossible to reduce the weight and size of the gas generator.

The present invention has been made by paying attention to the problems existing in such conventional techniques. An object of the invention is to provide a gas generator container and a gas generator using the same, which can reduce the weight and size of the gas generator.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a gas generator container in which an electric igniter of an ignition mechanism can be easily assembled and fixed in a combustion chamber case without using a mounting adapter or the like, and a gas using the container. It is to provide a generator.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a safe gas generator container which does not cause a danger to a driver and a gas generator using the same.

[0013]

In order to achieve the above object, in the invention of the gas generator container according to claim 1,
In a gas generator container containing an ignition mechanism for igniting, a gas generating agent for generating gas by combustion, and a cooling scavenger for cooling the generated gas, a cylindrical combustion chamber cup with opposite ends open. And a combustion chamber cover, which are joined and fixed to each other at their open ends to form a combustion chamber case for housing the ignition mechanism and the gas generating agent, and a cylindrical diffuser cup and diffuser having opposite ends opened. The covers are joined and fixed to each other at their open ends to form a diffuser case for containing the combustion chamber case and the cooling scavenger, and a top wall and a bottom wall of the combustion chamber case are
It is characterized in that it is superposed on the top wall and the bottom wall of the diffuser case.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the gas generator container according to the first aspect, the combustion chamber cup and the combustion chamber cover of the combustion chamber case are the same as the diffuser cup and the diffuser cover of the diffuser case. It is characterized in that it is formed of a material for press working, and the plate thickness of the combustion chamber cup and the combustion chamber cover is set to be equal to or more than the plate thickness of the diffuser cup and the diffuser cover.

According to a third aspect of the invention, in the gas generator container according to the first aspect, an electric igniter of an ignition mechanism is provided between the bottom wall of the combustion chamber case and the bottom wall of the diffuser case. It is characterized in that it is sandwiched and held.

Further, in the invention of the gas generator described in claim 4, the ignition chamber and the gas generating agent are housed in the combustion chamber described in claim 1, and the cooling trapping material is housed in the diffuser chamber. , A mounting flange portion is projected on the outer periphery of the opening end portion of the diffuser cover, and through this mounting flange portion,
The diffuser cover is mounted on the steering wheel of the vehicle so that the diffuser cover is arranged on the driver side.

[0017]

In the gas generator having the gas generator container configured as described above, when the ignition mechanism disposed in the combustion chamber case is ignited, the gas generating agent is ignited and burned, and the inside of the combustion chamber case is ignited. Gas is generated at. The gas flows from the combustion chamber case into the diffuser case, is cooled and filtered by the cooling and collecting material, and then flows out of the diffuser case to inflate the airbag and the like.

Further, in the gas generator container, the top wall and the bottom wall of the combustion chamber case are superposed on the top wall and the bottom wall of the diffuser case, and the top portion and the bottom portion of the combustion chamber containing the ignition mechanism and the gas generating agent are placed. Has a double wall structure. Therefore, it is possible to secure sufficient pressure resistance at the top and bottom of the combustion chamber without setting the plate thickness of the entire combustion chamber cup and the combustion chamber cover that form the combustion chamber case large. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the weight and size of the gas generator, which in turn makes it possible to prevent the steering operation of the handle from becoming unstable due to the mounting of the gas generator, and to reduce the weight of the vehicle body. The fuel consumption rate can be improved.

Further, in the gas generator container, the electric igniter of the ignition mechanism is sandwiched and held between the bottom wall of the combustion chamber case and the bottom wall of the diffuser case. Therefore, the electric igniter of the ignition mechanism can be easily assembled and fixed in the combustion chamber case without using a mounting adapter or the like.

In addition, the gas generator has a mounting flange portion projecting from the outer periphery of the opening end portion of the diffuser cover, and the diffuser cover is disposed on the driver side through the mounting flange portion. It is designed to be attached to the handle. Therefore, when the container is installed, the diffuser cover is fixed to the steering wheel, the double top wall portion of the diffuser cover and the combustion chamber cover is arranged on the driver side, and the fixing portion of the diffuser cover and the diffuser cup is fixed. Is located on the opposite side of the driver. Therefore, it is possible to reliably prevent the driver from being injured when the gas generator operates.

[0021]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of a gas generator for deploying an air bag equipped with a container embodying the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.
It will be described in detail based on.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the gas generator container 1 of this embodiment has a combustion chamber case 2 having a closed cylindrical shape.
And a diffuser case 3 in the shape of a closed cylinder that is concentrically fixedly arranged on the outside thereof. The combustion chamber 4 is partitioned within the combustion chamber case 2, and a diffuser chamber 5 is partitioned between the combustion chamber case 2 and the diffuser case 3 so as to be located on the outer periphery of the combustion chamber 4.

In the combustion chamber case 2, a bottomed cylindrical combustion chamber cup 6 and a covered cylindrical combustion chamber cover 7 are joined to each other at opposite open ends, and the joined portion is a laser or electronic welding machine. It is formed by welding and fixing with, for example. The diffuser case 3 is formed by joining a diffuser cup 8 having a cylindrical shape with a bottom and a diffuser cover 9 having a cylindrical shape with a lid to each other at opposite opening end portions, and similarly fixing the joint portions by welding.

Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the top wall 2a and the bottom wall 2b of the combustion chamber case 2 are the diffuser case 3
Are superposed on the inner surfaces of the top wall 3a and the bottom wall 3b, and the top and bottom of the combustion chamber 4 have a double wall structure. And
By similarly fixing the overlapping portion of the combustion chamber case 2 and the diffuser case 3 by welding, both cases 2 and 3 are fixed to each other.

Further, the combustion chamber cup 6 and the combustion chamber cover 7 of the combustion chamber case 2 and the diffuser cup 8 and the diffuser cover 9 of the diffuser case 3 are made of the same material, and are pressed. It is formed by. Examples of this material include stainless steel, titanium or titanium alloys, aluminum alloys that have been subjected to heat treatment, that is, processing, heat treatment, or a composite treatment thereof, or magnesium alloys.

The plate thicknesses of the combustion chamber cup 6 and the combustion chamber cover 7 are set to be equal to or more than the plate thicknesses of the diffuser cup 8 and the diffuser cover 9. The plate thickness of the combustion chamber cup 6 and the combustion chamber cover 7 is preferably set within the range of 0.5 to 1.0 mm, and more preferably set to about 0.8 mm.

A plurality of gas outflow holes 10 are formed in the peripheral wall of the combustion chamber cup 6, and the combustion chamber 4 is communicated with the diffuser chamber 5 through the gas outflow holes 10. The plurality of gas outflow holes 11 are formed on the peripheral wall of the diffuser cover 9, and the diffuser chamber 5 is communicated with the outside through the gas outflow holes 11.

The mounting flange portion 12 is formed so as to project on the outer periphery of the opening end portion of the diffuser cover 9, and a plurality of bolt insertion holes 13 are formed in the mounting flange portion 12. The gas generator container 1 is attached to the steering wheel of the vehicle (not shown) via the mounting flange portion 12 so that the diffuser cover 9 is arranged on the driver side.

The substantially conical cylindrical holding portion 14 is formed inward at the center of the bottom wall 2b of the combustion chamber case 2.
A cylindrical retaining portion 15 is formed at the center of the bottom wall 3b of the diffuser case 3 so as to correspond to the holding portion 14 toward the outside.

Next, an ignition mechanism, a gas generating agent, a cooling scavenger, etc., which are housed in the gas generator container as described above in order to configure the gas generator, will be described. As shown in FIG. 4, the electric igniter 17 of the ignition mechanism 16 includes the retaining portion 15 with the flange portion 17 a thereof fitted in the holding portion 14.
By drawing the bottom wall 2b of the combustion chamber case 2
And a bottom wall 3b of the diffuser case 3 are sandwiched and held, and a lead wire 18 is connected to the outside thereof.

The ignition chamber 19 is provided at the center of the combustion chamber 4 so as to surround the electric igniter 17. The igniting agent 20 made of boron salt stone, Teflon magnesium, or the like has a circular sheet shape, and is arranged at the upper end of the combustion chamber 4. When the ignition agent 20 is ignited by the electric igniter 17, the flame is propagated from the ignition chamber 19 to the upper portion in the combustion chamber 4.

A plurality of rod-shaped gas generating agents 21 are loaded in the combustion chamber 4 in an aligned state so as to be located on the outer periphery of the ignition chamber 19. As the gas generating agent 21, a material containing potassium perchlorate and cellulose acetate as main components is used. Then, as the ignition agent 20 is ignited,
The gas generating agent 21 is burned to generate a gas such as nitrogen gas.

The cooling and collecting material 22 is arranged in the diffuser chamber 5 with a predetermined thickness. Then, the gas generated by the combustion of the gas generating agent 21 is cooled when passing through the cooling and collecting material 22, and the solid combustion residue in the gas is filtered.

In the gas generator for deploying an air bag constructed as described above, when a detection signal is generated due to a collision of a vehicle or the like, the electric igniter 1 is led through the lead wire 18.
A predetermined electric current flows through 7, and the igniter 17 is ignited. The flame due to this ignition is propagated to the igniting agent 20 arranged at the upper end of the combustion chamber 4, and the igniting agent 20 is ignited. Then, the flame of the igniting agent 20 is propagated from the upper part to the lower part in the combustion chamber 4, and the gas generating agent 21 is burned to generate gas. The gas is cooled and filtered by the cooling and collecting material 22 and flows out of the container 1 through the gas outflow holes 10 and 11 to inflate an airbag (not shown).

As described above, in the gas generator of this embodiment, the top wall 2a and the bottom wall 2b of the combustion chamber case 2 are superposed on the top wall 3a and the bottom wall 3b of the diffuser case 3, and the ignition mechanism 16 is provided. The top and bottom of the combustion chamber 4 containing the gas generating agent 21 have a double wall structure. Therefore, it is possible to secure sufficient pressure resistance at the top and bottom of the combustion chamber 4 without setting the overall plate thickness of the combustion chamber cup 6 and the combustion chamber cover 7 that form the combustion chamber case 2 large.

Incidentally, in the gas generator container 1 of this embodiment, the height is 25 to 35 mm and the mounting flange portion 1 is
When the outer diameter except 2 is formed to 75 to 90 mm, the plate thickness of the combustion chamber cup 6 and the combustion chamber cover 7 is 0.5 to 1.0.
Within the range of mm, it is sufficient to set it to about 0.8 mm. The plate thicknesses of the diffuser cup 8 and the diffuser cover 9 are the same as those of the combustion chamber cup 6 and the combustion chamber cover 7.
The plate thickness can be set to 0.8 mm or less. On the other hand, in the conventional gas generator container shown in FIG. 5, the plate thickness of the diffuser cup, the combustion chamber cup, and the combustion chamber cover needs to be set to 1.2 to 4 mm.

Therefore, the gas generator container 1 of this embodiment
According to this, it is possible to reduce the weight and size of the gas generator. Therefore, when the lightweight and small-sized gas generator is mounted on the steering wheel, it is possible to prevent the steering operation of the steering wheel from becoming unstable, reduce the vehicle body weight, and improve the fuel consumption rate. it can.

Further, in the gas generator container 1 of this embodiment, the electric igniter 17 of the ignition mechanism 16 is sandwiched and held between the bottom wall 2b of the combustion chamber case 2 and the bottom wall 3b of the diffuser case 3. Has been done. Therefore, unlike the conventional configuration, it is not necessary to use a mounting adapter or the like, and the electric igniter 17 of the ignition mechanism 16 can be easily assembled and fixed in the combustion chamber case 2 in spite of the simple configuration. You can

Further, in the gas generator of this embodiment, a mounting flange portion 12 is provided so as to project on the outer periphery of the opening end portion of the diffuser cover 9, and the diffuser cover 9 is provided on the driver side through the mounting flange portion 12. The container 1 is attached to the steering wheel of the vehicle so as to be disposed in the vehicle. Therefore, in the state where the gas generator is mounted, the diffuser cover 9 is fixed to the handle, the double top wall portion of the diffuser cover 9 and the combustion chamber cover 7 is arranged on the driver side, and the diffuser cover 9 and A welded fixed portion with the diffuser cup 8 is arranged on the side opposite to the driver. Therefore, it is possible to reliably prevent the driver from being injured when the gas generator operates.

The present invention is not limited to the configuration of the above-described embodiment, and can be embodied by making the following arbitrary changes without departing from the spirit of the present invention. (1) Use pellets or disks as the gas generating agent 21. Further, as the gas generating agent 21, a combination of an azide of an alkali metal or an alkaline earth metal typified by sodium azide and a metal oxide, or a combination of a metal salt of a bitetrazole compound and an oxidizer is used. Use what is. (2) Aluminium foil is attached to the inner surfaces of the combustion chamber cup 6 and the diffuser cover 9 for the purpose of preventing moisture inside.
Block the gas outflow holes 10 and 11. (3) The powdery igniting agent 20 is filled and arranged in the ignition chamber 19 at the upper portion of the electric igniter 17. (4) Caulking the opening ends of the diffuser cup 8 and the diffuser cover 9 together.

[0041]

Since the gas generator container of the present invention and the gas generator using the same are configured as described above, they have the following excellent effects.

It is possible to reduce the weight and size of the gas generator, which in turn can prevent the rotational operation of the handle from becoming unstable due to the mounting of the gas generator, and reduce the weight of the vehicle body. As a result, the fuel consumption rate can be improved.

Further, the electric igniter of the ignition mechanism can be easily assembled and fixed in the combustion chamber case without using an attachment adapter or the like. In addition, the gas generator
It is safe without any danger to the driver.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG. 3, showing an embodiment of a gas generator container embodying the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the gas generator container.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the gas generator container.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing an embodiment of a gas generator embodying the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a gas generator provided with a container having a conventional configuration.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Gas generator container, 2 ... Combustion chamber case, 2a ... Top wall, 2b ... Bottom wall, 3 ... Diffuser case, 3a ... Top wall, 3b ... Bottom wall, 4 ... Combustion chamber, 6 ... Combustion chamber cup, 7 …
Combustion chamber cover, 8 ... Diffuser cup, 9 ... Diffuser cover, 12 ... Mounting flange portion, 14 ... Holding portion, 1
5 ... retaining part, 16 ... ignition mechanism, 17 ... electric igniter, 17
a ... Flange portion, 20 ... Ignition agent, 21 ... Gas generating agent, 2
2 ... Cooling collector.

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A container for a gas generator containing an ignition mechanism for igniting, a gas generating agent for generating a gas by combustion, and a cooling trapping material for cooling the generated gas. -Shaped combustion chamber cup and combustion chamber cover are joined and fixed to each other at their open ends to form a combustion chamber case for accommodating the ignition mechanism and the gas generating agent, and a cylindrical shape with opposite ends open. The diffuser cup and the diffuser cover are joined and fixed to each other at their open ends to form a diffuser case for accommodating the combustion chamber case and the cooling trap, and the top wall and the bottom wall of the combustion chamber case are formed. A container for a gas generator, characterized in that it is superposed on a top wall and a bottom wall of a diffuser case. 2. The combustion chamber cup and the combustion chamber cover of the combustion chamber case and the diffuser cup and the diffuser cover of the diffuser case are formed of the same material for press working, and the plates of the combustion chamber cup and the combustion chamber cover are formed. The gas generator container according to claim 1, wherein the thickness is set to be equal to or more than the plate thickness of the diffuser cup and the diffuser cover. 3. The gas generator container according to claim 1, wherein an electric igniter of an ignition mechanism is sandwiched and held between a bottom wall of the combustion chamber case and a bottom wall of the diffuser case. 4. The combustion chamber according to claim 1 accommodates an igniter and a gas generating agent, the diffuser chamber accommodates a cooling trapping material, and a mounting flange portion on the outer periphery of the opening end of the diffuser cover. And a diffuser cover mounted on the steering wheel of the vehicle through the mounting flange so that the diffuser cover is arranged on the driver side.