JPH08142790A - Air bag device for side collision - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To develop an air bag in a short time after the side collision is detected. CONSTITUTION: An air bag 14 is folded in a sprip form which is long in the development direction, and folded so as to be wound in a spiral form, having the surface forming a car room inside wall 12 side as outside in development, and as for the air bag 14 in side collision, the outside surface is allowed to make contact with the car room inside wall 12, and developed forwardly, releasing the wound state.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a side for protecting an occupant from a secondary collision by deploying an airbag between a side wall of a passenger compartment and an occupant at the time of a vehicle side collision and absorbing the impact by the airbag. The present invention relates to a collision airbag device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An example of an airbag device for side impact that protects an occupant by inflating an airbag accommodated in a side portion of a seat back in a side collision is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 4-50052. is there. This side impact airbag device 1 includes a vehicle seat 2 as shown in FIGS.
Is provided in an opening 3 formed in a side portion of the seat back 2a on the outer side of the vehicle body. The side impact airbag device 1 includes an airbag 4 and an inflator 5 that generates gas for inflating the airbag 4. When a side collision is detected by a collision sensor or the like (not shown), an ignition current flows through the inflator 5 to ignite the gas generating agent, the generated gas inflates the airbag, and the airbag 3 bulges out. Then, the airbag 4 is deployed in the space between the inner surface of the vehicle body side wall 6 and the occupant 7 seated on the seat 2 so that the airbag 4 absorbs the impact of the secondary collision of the occupant 7 with the vehicle body side wall 6. Has become.

In such a side impact airbag apparatus 1, a shock absorbing structure portion that absorbs a shock due to deformation of the side wall 6 of the vehicle body such as a side door is provided in the front portion of the vehicle body including the engine room. Since the number is smaller than that in the case of a frontal collision, it is necessary to detect the collision earlier and deploy the airbag 4 earlier to protect the occupant 7.

Therefore, in the above-mentioned conventional side-impact airbag apparatus 1, the side-impact is detected at an early stage, and the airbag 4 folded and accommodated in the opening 3 is smoothly moved in a short time after the side-impact is detected. It is folded as shown in FIG. That is, as shown in FIG. 8 (2), the disk-shaped airbag 4 shown in FIG. 8 (1) is folded in two on the rear side of the inflator 5, while on the other hand, as shown in FIG. 8 (3).
And as shown in (4), the front side of the inflator 5 is 3
After being folded in three, the upper side of the inflator 5 is folded in three and the lower side is folded in six as shown in FIGS. 8 (5) and (6). It can be deployed smoothly by storing it in.

[0005]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional side-impact airbag apparatus 1, the airbag 4 accommodated in the opening 3 is formed with two fold lines intersecting at right angles. Then, each fold has a mountain fold portion and a valley fold portion formed alternately. Therefore, in this folding method, since the airbag 4 is multiply folded in the front-rear direction and the up-down direction, the deployment direction of the airbag 4 in the process of inflating is not constant, and for example, the airbag 4 changes alternately in the left-right direction. Becomes Therefore, there is no problem when deployed in a wide space such as a frontal collision airbag, but in the case of a side collision airbag device, the width between the side wall of the seat back and the occupant is widened. In the narrow space of
When the vehicle is deployed toward the front side of the vehicle, the deployment direction in the inflation process changes and the vehicle is deployed while repeatedly contacting the inner wall of the vehicle and the side surface of the occupant. There was a problem that the time required for deployment could not be shortened sufficiently.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a side impact airbag device which can reduce the time required for deploying the airbag.

[0007]

As a means for solving the above problems, the present invention is to inflate an airbag stored in a folded state in a storage portion provided on a side portion of a seat back in a side collision. Side airbag for introducing side gas from a communication hole provided on the base end side to bulge out from the storage portion and to expand in the space between the vehicle interior side wall and the occupant to protect the occupant from a secondary collision. In the device, the airbag is folded in a strip shape that is long in a deployment direction, and is further folded in a spiral shape from a tip end side thereof so that a surface which is a side wall of the passenger compartment is an outer side at the time of deployment. It is characterized by being.

Further, a folding portion formed by bending in a direction opposite to the winding direction of the spiral can be provided in the vicinity of the communication hole on the winding end side of the airbag.

Further, an opening shape of the accommodating portion is formed in a trapezoidal shape in which an upper bottom and a lower bottom which are longer than the upper bottom are parallel to each other, and the airbag is matched with the opening shape to form an upper bottom. It is possible to fold it into a trapezoidal shape with a longer lower bottom and store it in the storage part.

[0010]

With the above-mentioned structure, the air bag is folded into a long band in the direction of deployment, and is further wound into a spiral shape from the tip side thereof, so that gas is introduced at the time of a side collision. Then, the spirally folded airbag expands while unrolling the rolled state, and the rolled outer surface is brought into contact with the vehicle interior side wall to roll and expand toward the front of the vehicle. To do. Therefore, in the deployment process, the airbag is always pressed against the side wall of the passenger compartment and deployed toward the front of the vehicle. Therefore, contact with an occupant is avoided, the airbag is deployed smoothly, and the time required for deployment is shortened.

Further, in a spirally folded airbag, if a folded-back portion is provided in the vicinity of the communication hole on the winding-end side, the folded-back portion is inflated first by the gas from the inflator, so that the folded-back shape is formed. The entire air bag wound around is pushed out from the storage portion, and the subsequent deployment of the airbag becomes smooth, and the time required for the deployment of the airbag is shortened.

Further, when the airbag is wound in a spiral shape in cross section, if the lower bottom has a trapezoidal shape longer than the upper bottom, it conforms to the sectional shape of the seat back in which the upper side is thin and the lower side is gradually thicker. Therefore, the airbag can be stored efficiently.

[0013]

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

This side collision airbag device protects an occupant from a secondary collision by deploying an airbag accommodated in a side portion of a seat back at the time of a vehicle side collision and absorbing the impact by the airbag. For example, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the passenger seat 10 includes a seat back 1 facing the side wall 12 of the passenger compartment such as an inner surface of a side door.
A storage portion 13 is formed on one side portion of the seat back 11 in which the length L ₁ of the lower bottom is longer than the length L _{2 of the} upper bottom and is opened in a vertically long trapezoidal shape in accordance with the side surface shape of the seat back 11. In the storage portion 13, a side collision airbag module 16 in which a folded airbag 14 and an inflator 15 for inflating the airbag 14 are attached to a module case 16a, is covered with a seat cover 11a. It is supported and stored in a seat frame 11c arranged on the back side of 11b. And the airbag module 16 for side impact
The storage portion 13 in which is stored is openably and closably closed by a deployment door 13a.

Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the module case 16a of the side impact airbag module 16 is made of metal that also serves as a backup plate, and the seat back 11
It is in the shape of a trapezoidal container that can be fitted into the storage portion 13 formed in, and the airbag 14 is folded and accommodated therein, and the inflator 15 is attached to the back side thereof. The portion is firmly attached to the seat frame 11c.

The air bag 14 housed in the module case 16a adopts a special folding method as shown in FIG. 3 so that the air bag 14 can be smoothly deployed when the gas is filled.

That is, in the airbag 14 which is formed in a substantially rectangular shape when not filled with the inflation gas, the corner portion (lower right corner portion in FIG. 3) at one end in the longitudinal direction thereof has a predetermined angle (seat back 11). And a rectangular communication hole 14a having a length substantially the same as that of the cut-off portion is formed.

The airbag 14 has two widths which are substantially the same as the length of the communication hole 14a formed on one end side thereof and which are formed substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the communication hole 14a. First, in FIG. 3, the lower left corner and the upper right corner of the airbag 14 are respectively bent to the lower surface side so that the folding lines aa ′ and bb ′ are both mountain folds. That is, the surface 14b, which is on the side of the vehicle interior side wall 12 at the time of deployment, is folded in a strip shape so as to be the upper surface in FIG.

Next, from the end portion of the airbag 14 folded in a band shape on the side opposite to the side where the communication hole 14a is formed, the air bag 14 is wound toward the lower surface side in FIG.
Fold lines cc ', dd', e in a direction substantially parallel to 4a
e ′ and ff ′ are defined by the fold line intervals aa ′.
Bending in the same direction so that the interval l _{1 of} the portion intersecting with the fold line bb ′ is formed to be slightly wider than the interval l _{2 of} the portion intersecting the fold line bb ′. ₂ , a trapezoid whose lower bottom can be accommodated in a trapezoid L ₁ ) is folded so that its cross-sectional shape becomes a spiral shape, and in the vicinity of the communication hole 14 a connected to the inflator 15, Contrary to the winding direction, it is bent to the upper surface side in FIG.
Reference) is formed.

As shown in FIG. 5, the airbag 14 thus folded has a rectangular reinforcing cloth 17 of a size capable of enclosing the airbag 14 and a container-shaped portion of the module case 16a. And the end portion side where the communication hole 14a is formed is inserted into the insertion hole 17a formed in the substantially center of the reinforcing cloth 17, and the gas discharge port of the inflator 15 is provided on the back side of the reinforcing cloth 17. The gas generated by the inflator 15 can be introduced into the airbag 14 by being firmly connected to the module case 16 (not shown).
By interposing it between the bottom surface of a and the inner surface of the side wall, the airbag 14 is prevented from hitting the edge of the module case 16a and being broken when the airbag is inflated. 1 and 2, reference numeral 18 is a headrest.

Next, the operation of this embodiment configured as described above will be explained. When a collision sensor (not shown) detects a side collision of the vehicle, an ignition current is supplied to the inflator 15 of the side collision airbag module 16. Flow, the inflator 15
The gas generating agent inside is ignited to generate a large amount of gas, and this gas is introduced from the discharge port into the airbag 14 inside the module case 16a through the communication hole 14a.

When the gas is introduced, the airbag 14 expands the folded-back portion 14c so that the deployment door 13a is first pushed open by the pressure of the airbag 14 and the airbag is folded into a spiral shape. The entire bag 14 is pushed out of the storage portion 13 on the side of the seat back 11 into a narrow space between the vehicle interior side wall 12 and an occupant (not shown), and then rolled in a direction to release the spiral. Deploy toward the front of the vehicle. Therefore, in the deployment process, the airbag 14 always contacts the outer side surface 14b, which is wound in a spiral shape, against the vehicle interior side wall 12, and deploys while unwinding the spiral (see FIG. 2). Therefore, the airbag 14 in the process of deployment always keeps the vehicle interior side wall 12
Since the air bag 14 is pushed to the side and deployed, unnecessary contact with the occupant is avoided, and as a result, the airbag 14 is smoothly deployed and the occupant is not adversely affected by the pressure and heat of the airbag 14 when inflated and deployed. Can be prevented.

Further, in this embodiment, the storage portion 13
The deployment door 13a that serves as a lid serves as a guide plate when the airbag 14 is pushed and opened by the airbag 14 and deploys the airbag 14 diagonally forward, so that the airbag 14 can be more smoothly deployed.

The airbag 14 is a seat back 1
Communication hole 14a formed by inclining according to the inclination of 1
Since it is folded so as to be deployed to the front of the vehicle that is substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, it will be deployed obliquely upward as shown in FIG. Since the deployment trajectory is prevented from shifting downward due to the weight of the undeployed portion on the tip side of the, the deployment can be accurately performed at a predetermined position and the time required for the deployment can be shortened.

Further, in this embodiment, the shape of the module case 16a is formed into a trapezoid according to the shape of the side surface of the seat back 11, and the airbag 14 is formed into a trapezoid according to the shape of the module case 16a. Therefore, the airbag 14 can be stored efficiently.

In this embodiment, the case of applying the side collision airbag device of the present invention to the side collision airbag device of the passenger seat has been described. However, the side collision airbag of the driver's seat and the rear seats is described. The same can be implemented as a device.

[0027]

As described above, according to the airbag apparatus for side impact of the present invention, the airbag is folded into a strip shape that is long in the deploying direction, and the surface on the side of the vehicle interior side is the outside when the airbag is deployed. It is stored by folding it in a spiral shape from the tip side. Therefore, at the time of deployment, the air bag inflates while unrolling and deploys along the side wall of the passenger compartment, avoiding contact with the occupant and deploying smoothly to shorten the time required for deployment. As a result, the occupant can be reliably protected.

Further, by providing a folded portion in the direction opposite to the winding direction of the spiral in the vicinity of the communication hole on the winding end side of the spirally folded airbag, an inflating airbag is Since it is pushed out from the narrow storage part and then unfolded, it can be more smoothly unfolded and the time required for unfolding can be further shortened.

Further, when the opening shape of the storage portion is formed into a trapezoidal shape in which the lower bottom is longer than the upper bottom, and the folded shape of the airbag is a trapezoidal shape matching this opening shape, the upper side is thin and the lower side is gradually thicker. Since it conforms to the sectional shape of the seat back, the airbag can be efficiently stored.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view of a passenger seat equipped with a side impact airbag device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway sectional plan view of FIG.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory view showing a method of folding an airbag.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the airbag in a folded state and an explanatory view showing a process of deploying the airbag.

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of a side impact airbag module.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a vehicle seat equipped with a conventional side impact airbag device.

FIG. 7 is a plan view of the vehicle seat showing a deployment range of the airbag at the time of a side collision.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory view showing a folding order of the conventional airbag.

[Explanation of symbols]

 11 Seat Back 12 Vehicle Interior Side Wall 13 Storage Section 14 Airbag 14a Communication Hole 14b Surface That Becomes Vehicle Interior Side Wall Side 14c Foldback Section 15 Inflator 16 Side Impact Airbag Module 16a Module Case 17 Reinforcing Cloth

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An airbag stored in a storage portion provided on a side portion of a seat back in a folded state is introduced by introducing an inflation gas from a communication hole provided on a base end side at the time of a side collision. In a side impact airbag device that bulges out of the vehicle and is deployed in the space between the passenger compartment side wall and the occupant to protect the occupant from a secondary collision, the airbag is folded in a long strip shape in the deployment direction, and An airbag apparatus for a side collision, which is folded so as to be wound in a spiral shape from its tip side so that the surface on the side of the vehicle compartment inside when deployed is the outside. 2. The air bag folded in a spiral shape is provided with a folded-back portion formed in the vicinity of the communication hole on the winding end side by bending in a direction opposite to the winding direction of the spiral. The airbag apparatus for side impact according to claim 1, wherein: 3. An opening shape of the storage portion is formed in a trapezoidal shape in which an upper bottom and a lower bottom longer than the upper bottom are substantially parallel to each other, and the airbag has an upper shape matching the opening shape. The airbag apparatus for side impact according to claim 1, wherein the airbag is folded into a trapezoidal shape having a lower bottom longer than the bottom and is stored in the storage portion.