JPH08244555A - Air bag device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide an air bag device which can improve the occupant retaining properties by opening the exhaust port of an air bag main body rapidly when an occupant is restrained and can be obtained at advantageous cost with the structure and design easy. CONSTITUTION: The exhaust port 2 of an air bag main body 1 is blocked from the rear side by a valve form member 4 with the diameter larger than the exhaust port 2, and a part of the valve form member 4 is fixed to the rear side of the air bag main body 1. The valve form member 4 is formed of a flexible material of a cloth and the like, same as the air bag main body 1, in order to open the exhaust port 2 by going out from the exhaust port 2 to the outer side in a tongue form, by raising the inner pressure of the air bag main body 1 at a specific value or higher, when the occupant is detained.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an air bag device which is disposed on a passenger side of a vehicle instrument panel or on a steering wheel.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 4 shows an airbag device for a passenger on the passenger side of an instrument panel, in which 1 is a cloth airbag body, and the airbag body 1 has an opening portion. The peripheral edge is fixed to the inflator unit 3, and exhaust ports 2 and 2 are formed on both left and right sides.

The airbag body 1 is normally folded and stored, and when the inflator unit is actuated at the time of a collision of a vehicle or the like, the airbag body 1 is inflated and expanded so as to be fixed by the generated gas to restrain the occupant's inertial movement. At this time, the gas of the airbag main body 1 is discharged from the exhaust ports 2 and 2 to suppress the increase in the internal pressure and to enhance the restraint performance of the occupant.

However, the air bag body 1 has an exhaust port 2,
If 2 is left open, the airbag body 1 is inflated,
Gas may be discharged from the exhaust ports 2 and 2 during the expansion process, and a predetermined pressure necessary for restraining an occupant may not be obtained.

Therefore, Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 132532/1990,
As shown in JP-A-4-2543, JP-A-4-306149, JP-A-5-162608, etc., the exhaust ports 2 and 2 are closed by a valve device, and It is known that the valve device is opened to discharge the gas inside when the internal pressure rises above a predetermined value.

[0006]

However, in any structure provided with the valve device, the valve body is destroyed by the internal pressure of the airbag body to open the exhaust ports 2 and 2. It is undeniable that variations in the destruction of the valve element are likely to occur, and that the design is difficult and the cost is disadvantageous.

Therefore, according to the present invention, when the internal pressure of the airbag body rises above a predetermined value, the exhaust port can be quickly opened to discharge the generated gas to the outside, and the design is easy and the cost is advantageous. An airbag device that can be used is provided.

[0008]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an exhaust port formed in an airbag body, and a part of the exhaust port having a diameter larger than that of the exhaust port and fixed to a back side of the airbag body. A valve-shaped member that closes the exhaust port from the back side is provided, and when the occupant is restrained, the internal pressure of the airbag body rises above a predetermined value so that the exhaust port opens outward in a tongue shape and opens the exhaust port. As is the case with the airbag body, it is made of a flexible material such as cloth.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, when the valve-shaped member according to the first aspect of the invention comes out tongue-shaped from the exhaust port to the outside, the gas ejected from the exhaust port is directed toward the occupant by the valve-shaped member. It is characterized in that the valve member is fixed to the airbag body at a position where it can be guided in the escape direction.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the valve-shaped member according to the first and second aspects is formed by forming a notch in a part of the reinforcing cloth sewn around the exhaust hole on the back side of the airbag body. It is characterized by having done.

[0011]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, when the airbag main body is inflated and expanded by the generated gas pressure and restrains the occupant moving inertially, the internal pressure of the airbag main body rises above a predetermined value. The valve-shaped member is tongue-shaped outward from the exhaust port of the airbag main body to open the exhaust port, discharge gas from the exhaust port, adjust the internal pressure of the airbag main body to reduce the pressure, and properly restrain the occupant. You can

Since the valve-shaped member is formed of a flexible material such as a cloth material similar to the airbag body, when the internal pressure of the airbag body rises above a predetermined value, the valve-shaped member Since the peripheral portion of the non-fixed portion passes through the edge of the exhaust port and comes out in a tongue shape as a whole by flexing and deforming outward from the central part, the exhaust port can be opened promptly without variation. You can

Further, the opening timing of the exhaust port can be arbitrarily adjusted by adjusting the thickness of the valve member and the amount of lap between the valve member peripheral edge and the exhaust port edge. Can be advantageously obtained.

According to the second aspect, when the valve-shaped member is tongue-shaped outward from the exhaust port, the ejection direction of the gas in the airbag main body ejected from the exhaust port is regulated by the valve-shaped member, and the occupant side The occupant is guided in a direction that does not face to, and the occupant is not affected by the heat of the ejected gas, so that the safety can be further improved.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the peripheral portion of the exhaust port is reinforced by the reinforcing cloth, the peripheral portion of the valve member can be smoothly passed through the edge of the exhaust port, and the valve opening operation of the valve member can be performed. Can be stabilized.

[0016]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings, in which the same parts as those of the above-described conventional structure are designated by the same reference numerals, taking a passenger seat airbag device as an example.

In FIGS. 1 to 3, reference numeral 1 denotes a cloth air bag main body whose peripheral edge is fixed to an inflator unit 3, and circular exhaust ports 2 for reducing reaction force when restraining an occupant on both left and right sides of the cloth air bag main body 2. 2 is formed, and valve-shaped members 4 and 4 for closing the exhaust ports 2 and 2 from the back side are provided on the back side of the airbag body 1.

The valve-shaped members 4 and 4 are formed to have a diameter larger than that of the exhaust ports 2 and 2, and a part of them is fixed to the back side of the airbag body 1. For example, like the airbag body 1, It is made of a flexible material such as cloth, and when the internal pressure of the airbag body 1 rises above a predetermined value when the occupant is restrained, the exhaust ports 2 and 2 are tongue-shaped and outwardly escape from the exhaust ports 2 and 2.
Is open.

In the present embodiment, a circular reinforcing cloth 5 is sewn around the exhaust holes 2 and 2 on the back side of the airbag body 1, and a part of the reinforcing cloth 5 is left as a continuous portion 7 to form the exhaust holes 2 and 2. Also, a circular cut 6 having a large diameter is provided, and the valve member 4 is formed inside the cut 6.

Further, in these valve-shaped members 4 and 4 arranged on the back side of the exhaust ports 2 and 2, fixed portions thereof, that is, connecting portions 7 and 7 with the reinforcing cloths 5 and 5, are not shown. Reinforcing cloths 5 and 5 are sewn around the exhaust ports 2 and 2 so that the front side of the passenger seat occupant can be sewn, and when the occupant is restrained, the valve-shaped members 4 and 4 slip out outward from the exhaust ports 2 and 2 in a tongue shape. In this case, the ejection direction of the gas ejected from the exhaust ports 2 and 2 is restricted to the front of the vehicle so that the ejected gas does not face the passenger in the passenger seat.

According to the above-described structure of the embodiment, when the inflator unit is actuated and gas is generated during a frontal collision of the vehicle, the air bag body 1 is inflated and expanded by the generated gas.

During the process of inflation and deployment of the airbag body 1, the valve-shaped members 4 and 4 are brought into close contact with the peripheral portions of the exhaust ports 2 and 2 by the internal pressure of the airbag body 1 to close the exhaust ports 2 and 2.

Therefore, in the process of inflation and deployment of the airbag body 1, the generated gas does not flow out from the exhaust ports 2 and 2.
The airbag body 1 can be quickly and properly inflated and deployed in the vehicle compartment.

When the front passenger occupant that inertially moves forward is restrained by the airbag body 1, the internal pressure of the bag body 1 rises sharply, but the internal pressure of the airbag body rises above a predetermined value. 4 and 4 are flexibly deformed outward from the central portion thereof, and the peripheral edge portion of the non-fixed portion passes through the peripheral edge of the exhaust ports 2 and 2 and is totally tongue-shaped as shown in FIGS. The exhaust ports 2 and 2 are quickly opened without causing variations in the opening of the exhaust ports 2 and 2.

As a result, the gas in the airbag body 1 is discharged to the outside through the exhaust ports 2 and 2, the inside of the airbag body 1 is decompressed and adjusted, and the reaction force of the airbag body 1 is reduced to reduce the passenger seat occupant. Can be properly restrained.

Particularly, in this embodiment, the valve-shaped members 4, 4
The fixed position is set at a position where the gas ejected from the exhaust ports 2 and 2 can be guided by the valve-shaped members 4 and 4 toward the front of the vehicle not facing the passenger side of the passenger seat. As described above, the valve-shaped members 4 and 4 protruding outward from the exhaust ports 2 and 2 in a tongue-like manner restrict the ejection direction of the high-temperature gas ejected from these exhaust ports 2 and 2 to the front of the vehicle, so that the passenger occupant ejects the ejected gas. The safety can be further improved without being affected by the heat of.

Further, the peripheral portions of the exhaust ports 2 and 2 are reinforced with the reinforcing cloth 5 and 5.
Since it is reinforced by the passenger seat 5, the valve-shaped members 4 and 4 smoothly pass through the exhaust ports 2 and 2 at the peripheral edge portions when the passenger seat is restrained, and the valve-shaped members 4 and 4 are opened. Can be stabilized.

Here, the opening timing of the exhaust port 2 is determined by the valve member 4
Can be arbitrarily adjusted by adjusting the thickness of the valve, the amount of lap between the peripheral edge of the valve-shaped member 4 and the peripheral edge of the exhaust port 2, and the like, so that the design is easy and the cost can be obtained advantageously. it can.

In the above embodiment, the airbag device for the passenger in the passenger seat has been described as an example, but the same effect as described above can be obtained by applying the airbag device for the driver provided on the steering wheel. it can.

[0030]

As described above, according to the present invention, the following effects can be obtained.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, when the airbag body is inflated and expanded by the generated gas pressure, the valve-shaped member is brought into close contact with the peripheral edge of the exhaust port by the internal pressure to close the exhaust port. It is possible to prevent the outflow of gas and quickly inflate and deploy the airbag body into the passenger compartment, and when the internal pressure of the airbag body rises above a predetermined value due to occupant restraint, this valve-shaped member is released from the exhaust port. Since the air flows out outward in a tongue-like shape and opens the exhaust port, it is possible to properly restrain the occupant by discharging gas from the exhaust port and adjusting the internal pressure of the airbag body to be reduced.

Further, since the valve-shaped member is formed of a flexible material such as a cloth material similar to that of the airbag main body, when the internal pressure of the airbag main body rises above a predetermined value, the valve-shaped member is Flexibly deforms outward from its central part, and the peripheral part of the non-fixed part passes through the edge of the exhaust port and comes out in a tongue shape as a whole, so there is no variation in the opening of the exhaust port and it opens quickly. The reliability can be improved.

Furthermore, the opening timing of the exhaust port can be arbitrarily adjusted by adjusting the thickness of the valve member and the amount of lap between the valve member peripheral edge and the exhaust port edge, and the like, so that the design is easy and the cost is low. Can be advantageously obtained.

According to the second aspect, when the valve-shaped member is tongue-shaped outward from the exhaust port, the direction in which the gas in the airbag main body ejected from the exhaust port is regulated is restricted by the valve-shaped member. The occupant is guided in a direction that does not face to, and the occupant is not affected by the heat of the ejected gas, so that the safety can be further improved.

According to the third aspect, since the peripheral edge of the exhaust port is reinforced by the reinforcing cloth, the peripheral edge of the valve-shaped member can be smoothly passed through the edge of the exhaust port, and the valve-opening of the valve-shaped member can be performed. The operation can be stabilized, and the feeling of quality and reliability can be further enhanced.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the main parts of the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing a relationship between an exhaust port and a valve member of the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a conventional airbag device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Airbag body 2 Exhaust port 4 Valve member 5 Reinforcement cloth 6 Notch 7 Fixed part (continuous part)

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An exhaust port formed in an airbag body, and a valve-shaped member formed to have a larger diameter than the exhaust port and partially fixed to the back side of the airbag body to close the exhaust port from the back side. The valve-shaped member is provided with a cloth material like the airbag body so that the internal pressure of the airbag body rises to a predetermined value or more when the occupant is restrained so that the valve-shaped member can be tongue-like outwardly opened from the exhaust port to open the exhaust port. An airbag device formed of a flexible material such as. 2. The valve-shaped member is located at a position where the gas ejected from the exhaust port can be guided by the valve-shaped member in a direction not directed toward the occupant when the valve-shaped member comes out outward from the exhaust port in a tongue shape. The airbag apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the airbag is fixed to the airbag body. 3. The valve-shaped member is formed by forming a notch in a reinforcing cloth sewn around the exhaust hole on the back side of the airbag body, leaving a part thereof. Airbag device.