JPH09207701A - Air bag device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To secure necessary and sufficient shape and capacity and to realize easy assembly. SOLUTION: A bag body 10 is normally stored inside of a storage case 18. The bag body 10 extends an opening 26 by expansion, develops a garnish and faces downward to the inside of a car room from the opening 26. The bag body 10 is lengthy in the longitudinal direction of a vehicle and can sufficiently absorb kinetic energy of an occupant head part by supporting the occupant head part even when an occupant changes his position along the longitudinal direction of the vehicle. Additionally, the longitudinal direction of the storage case 18 is made the same direction as the longitudinal direction of the bag body 10 and a direction along a roof side and a front pillar, and it comes to be possible to easily assemble it in a limited space by installing a bracket 40 on an inner panel extending along the roof side and the front pillar.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention is used in a vehicle,
The present invention relates to an airbag device that inflates and expands a bag to support a passenger's head and the like and absorbs kinetic energy of the passenger's head and the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As an airbag device, a bag body is inflated between a vehicle body side portion and an occupant's head to support the occupant's head in the event of a side collision of the vehicle (side collision). A structure that absorbs the kinetic energy of the part has been proposed.

Specifically, an air bag device is installed on the roof side or the like, and an inflator communicating with the bag body is operated at the time of a side collision or the like to supply pressure gas into the bag body to inflate the bag body. It has become.

Further, an airbag device has also been proposed which corresponds to a portion of an occupant other than the occupant's head and absorbs the kinetic energy of that portion.

[0005]

However, in any of the airbag devices, the space for installing the airbag device is limited in shape and size, and it is unavoidable that the assembly becomes difficult.

In view of the above circumstances, it is an object of the present invention to provide an airbag device which ensures a required and sufficient shape and capacity and realizes easy assembly.

[0007]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, an airbag apparatus according to the present invention according to claim 1 has a long bag which is inflated and deployed by gas pressure, and a longitudinal direction of the bag. A storage body provided along the longitudinal direction along with the longitudinal direction to store the bag body before expansion and deployment, and to store the stored bag body to the outside at the time of expansion and deployment.
And a mounting portion for mounting the storage body to the vehicle body.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the air bag device of the first aspect, the outlet portion is an opening formed along the longitudinal direction of the storage body.

The airbag device according to a third aspect of the present invention is characterized in that, in the structure of the second aspect, the mounting portion is provided on the side opposite to the outlet portion of the storage body.

According to the above construction, the bag body is usually stored inside the storage body. For example, an airbag device supports the occupant's head by inflating and expanding the bag body between the vehicle body side and the occupant's head in the event of a side collision of the vehicle (side collision), and As long as it absorbs energy, the storage body is arranged along the roof side with this longitudinal direction as the vehicle front-rear direction, and is attached to the vehicle body by the attachment portion.

By this expansion and expansion, the bag body is projected from the outlet portion to the outside of the storage body in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the bag body,
The vehicle front-rear direction can be taken as the longitudinal direction to face downward in the vehicle interior from the roof side.

Here, the bag body is elongated in the vehicle front-rear direction, and even if the occupant changes its position in the vehicle front-rear direction, it supports the occupant's head to sufficiently provide the kinetic energy of the occupant's head. Can be absorbed. Also, the longitudinal direction of the storage body is the same direction as the longitudinal direction of the bag body and is along the roof side, and the mounting part is attached to the inner panel extending along the roof side, so that it can be assembled even in a limited space. Is easily possible.

The airbag device according to the present invention is not limited to the one for supporting the head of an occupant, but may be the one for supporting a portion of another occupant. For example, it is possible to inflate and deploy the bag body in front of the knees of the occupant to support the knees of the occupant and absorb the kinetic energy of the knees of the occupant when the vehicle suddenly decelerates. In this case, the storage body is attached along the upper edge of the knee bolster with the longitudinal direction as the vehicle width direction, and the bag body projects from the outlet portion to the outside of the storage body in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction. It is possible to face in front of the occupant's knees in the room.

In this case, the bag body is inflated and expanded with the longitudinal direction as the vehicle width direction, so that the occupant's knees are supported and the kinetic energy of the occupant's knees is sufficient even if the occupant changes position in the vehicle width direction. Can be supported. In addition, the longitudinal direction of the storage body is the same as the longitudinal direction of the bag body and is along the upper edge of the knee bolster, and the mounting portion is limited to the inner panel for mounting the knee bolster. Assembly is possible easily even in a space.

As described above, the required and sufficient shape and capacity can be secured, and the easy assembly can be realized.

Regarding the outlet part, it is possible to project the bag body to the outside of the storage body by forming it weakly and breaking the weakened part which is weakened by the expansion of the bag body. As described in claim 2, it is possible to form the opening in advance. In that case, for example, a configuration may be adopted in which the opening is normally narrowed so that the bag does not fall out from the opening, and the container is deformed by the expansion of the bag to expand the opening. Also, when assembling the airbag device, if the container is made of synthetic resin, the bag can be stored inside the container by elastically expanding the opening, and the container is made of metal. if there is,
By enclosing the bag body when forming the storage body, the bag body can be stored inside the storage body.

Further, the position of the mounting portion is arbitrary as long as it is a portion other than the outlet portion. However, when the outlet portion is formed as an opening as described in claim 3, it is opposite to the outlet portion. By providing the attachment portion on the side, it is possible to smoothly deform the storage body for expanding the opening due to the expansion of the bag body.

[0018]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION A first embodiment of an airbag device according to the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. In each drawing, the front side of the vehicle is indicated by an arrow FR, the upper side of the vehicle is indicated by an arrow UP, and the inner side in the vehicle width direction is indicated by an arrow IN.

In the airbag apparatus according to the present embodiment, the bag body is inflated and deployed between the side portion of the vehicle body and the head of the occupant at the time of a side collision of the vehicle (side collision), and the occupant is caused by the bag body. It supports the head and absorbs the kinetic energy of the occupant's head.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the bag body 10 is
Both the retracted and retracted state and the inflated and unfolded state are formed in a long bag shape, and the longitudinal direction is the vehicle front-rear direction extending from the roof side 12 to the front pillar 14, and covers the upper portion of the window 16 downward from the roof side 12 and the front pillar 14. Thus, it is inflated and deployed, and is stored in the storage case (reservoir) 18 before inflation and deployment.

The storage case 18 is made of soft iron, aluminum,
It is made of a deformable thin material such as synthetic resin, and has a longitudinal direction extending in the longitudinal direction of the bag body 10 and extending from the roof side 12 to the front pillar 14. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the storage case 18 has a rectangular cross-section in the shape of a rectangular tube, and is provided between the inner panel 20 of the roof side 12 and the front pillar 14 and the garnish (interior material) 22. Will be placed. Storage case 18
Case wall 2 facing the garnish 22 in the peripheral wall of the
An opening (outlet portion) 26 extending in the longitudinal direction of the storage case 18 is formed in the center of the storage case 4, whereby the storage case 18 has an open cross-sectional shape in a cross section perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the storage case 18. A linear cut 28 is formed in the garnish 22 so as to face the opening 26.

In the storage case 18, the bag body 10 is folded and stored along a fold line along the longitudinal direction.
0 is wrapped by the peripheral wall of the storage case 18 so that 0 does not inadvertently exit the storage case 18 through the opening 26. In the case wall 30 facing the case wall 24 of the storage case 18,
Both ends of the bag body 10 stored in the storage case 18 in a cross section perpendicular to the longitudinal direction are fixed using the retainer plate 32. The retainer plate 32 is provided inside the bag body 10, is formed in a long plate shape extending in the longitudinal direction of the storage case 18, and clamps and fixes both end portions of the bag body 10 to the case wall portion 30. The retainer plate 32 has a plurality of male screw portions 34 protruding from the retainer plate 32 at predetermined intervals along the longitudinal direction. An insertion hole 36 is formed in the case wall portion 30 of the storage case 18 so as to correspond to the male screw portion 34, and the male screw portion 34 penetrates the insertion hole 36 from the inside of the bag body 10 through both ends of the bag body 10. The nut 3 from the outside of the storage case 18.
8 is screwed and fastened to the male screw portion 34. This allows
Both ends of the bag body 10 corresponding to the case wall portion 30 of the storage case 18 are sandwiched between the retainer plate 32 and the case wall portion 30 of the storage case 18.

Each male screw portion 34 penetrates a bracket (mounting portion) 40 between the nut 38 and the case wall portion 30. As a result, as shown in FIG. 2, the brackets 40 are arranged along the storage case 18 at predetermined intervals. Reference numeral 42 in the drawing is a through hole formed at one end of the bracket 40 and through which the male screw portion 34 penetrates. The other end of the bracket 40 has a bolt 46 that penetrates a through hole 44 formed in the other end and a nut 47 that is screwed into the bolt 46.
And are bolted to the inner plate 20.
The nut 47 is welded to the inner panel 20 in advance. As a result, the storage plate 18 in which the bag body 10 is stored is attached to the vehicle body.

As shown in FIG. 1, an inflator 48 is connected to an end of the storage case 18 on the front side of the vehicle to connect the bag 1 to the bag 1.
Communicates with 0. The inflator 48 includes a gas generating agent therein, and when a sensor (not shown) detects a sudden vehicle deceleration, a side collision, or the like, pressure gas (gas pressure) is generated from the gas generating agent, and the gas is supplied into the bag body 10. The bag body 10 is inflated and deployed. As shown in FIG. 5, due to the expansion of the bag body 10,
Case wall parts 5 on both sides of the case wall part 24 of the storage case 18
0 is opened to the left and right by elastic deformation or plastic deformation to expand the opening 26, and the garnish 22 is cut 2
It is developed by elastic deformation or plastic deformation to the left and right via 8. The bag body 10 is supported with both ends of the bag body 10 facing the case wall 30 of the storage case 18 being sandwiched between the retainer plate 32 and the case wall portion 30,
The state of being stored in the storage case 10 (the state shown by the dotted line in FIG. 1) is inflated and deployed into the passenger compartment, and the state shown by the chain line in the same figure and FIG. 2 is obtained.

In addition, as shown in FIG.
This end portion 18A is bent toward the lower side of the center pillar 52, and the bag body 10 is also bent and stored accordingly. Further, the retainer plate 32 is also bent accordingly. The storage case 18 includes a center pillar 52.
In the portion corresponding to, the bracket 40 is attached to the inner panel of the center pillar 52.
As shown in FIG. 2, the opening 26 of the storage case 18 is made to face the inner side in the vehicle width direction at the portion corresponding to the center pillar 52, and the opening 26 at the portion corresponding to the roof side 12 and the front pillar 14. And are continuous like twisting. Notches 28 formed linearly on the garnish 22 at the roof side 12 and the front pillar 14.
Are also formed continuously on the center pillar 52, and the bag body 1
With 0 expansion, it can be deployed left and right. As a result, the bag body 10 can be sufficiently inflated and deployed in the vehicle interior even at the center pillar 52 portion.

When the airbag device is assembled, the bag body 10 is stored in the storage case 18 with the case wall 50 of the storage case 18 being opened to open the opening 26 as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. Can be done at. When the storage case 18 is made of metal such as aluminum, the bag body 10 can be stored by bending the plate material so as to wrap the folded bag body 10. Also, storage case 1
When 8 is made of synthetic resin, the case wall portion 50 is elastically opened to form the opening 2 after forming the rectangular tubular shape having the open cross-sectional shape.
When 6 is expanded, the bag body 10 can be stored through the opening 26. After the storage, the storage case 18 is elastically returned to the original shape (from the state of the solid line in FIG. 7 to the state of the chain line). Furthermore,
When the storage case 18 is made of synthetic resin, the open leg of the case wall portion 50 due to the expansion of the bag body 10 is also elastically deformed. Regardless of whether it is made of metal or synthetic resin, it is normally possible to wrap the bag body 10 without deforming the storage case 18, and to expand the opening 26 easily by expanding the bag body 10 when inflating. It is good to transform. When the storage case 18 is made of synthetic resin, as shown in FIG. 6, after the bag body 10 is stored in the storage case 18 through the opening 26, a predetermined space is provided along the longitudinal direction of the storage case 18, By winding a fastening member 52 such as a tape around the storage case 18, it is possible to prevent accidental deformation during normal operation. The fastening member 52 is broken by the expansion of the bag body 10.

As a seatbelt device, there is an automatic seatbelt device for automatically mounting the webbing to the occupant after the occupant gets on the vehicle. In the automatic seat belt device, as shown in FIG.
A guide rail 54 is provided along the guide rail 54, and a slider 60 having a support metal fitting 58 supporting the webbing 56 inserted and supported at the lower end is moved along the guide rail 54 in the vehicle front-rear direction to drive the webbing 56. Is automatically attached to the occupant. In a vehicle that employs such an automatic seat belt device,
The guide rail 54 and the storage case 18 may be integrally formed, or may be integrally attached to the inner plate 20 so as to be housed between the inner plate 20 and the garnish 22.

According to the above construction, normally, the bag body 10 is
It is stored inside the storage case 18.

The bag body 10 is inflated and expanded to project from the opening 26 to the outside of the storage case 18 in a direction at right angles to the longitudinal direction, and the vehicle front-rear direction is taken as the longitudinal direction, and the bag side 10 and the front pillar 14 serve as the vehicle body. Facing downwards in the room.

Here, the bag body 10 is elongated in the vehicle front-rear direction, so that the occupant's head is supported and kinetic energy of the occupant's head is sufficient even if the occupant changes position along the vehicle front-rear direction. Can be absorbed into. The longitudinal direction of the storage case 18 is the same as the longitudinal direction of the bag body 10 and is along the roof side 12 and the front pillar 14, and the bracket 40 is attached to the roof side 12 and the front pillar 14.
By attaching to the inner panel 20 extending along, it becomes possible to easily assemble even in a limited space.

As described above, the required and sufficient shape and capacity can be secured, and the easy assembly can be realized.

Regarding the outlet portion, it is possible to project the bag body 10 to the outside of the storage case 18 by forming it weakly and breaking the weakened weakened portion by expansion of the bag body 10. However, if the opening 26 is formed in advance as in the present embodiment, the opening 26 is normally formed.
It is possible to adopt a configuration in which the opening 26 is narrowed so that the bag body 10 does not come out carelessly, and the storage case 18 is deformed by the expansion of the bag body 10 to expand the opening 26.
Further, in assembling the airbag device, if the storage case 18 is made of synthetic resin, the bag 10 can be stored inside the storage case 18 by elastically expanding the opening 18. If 18 is made of metal, by enclosing the bag body 10 when forming the storage case 18, it becomes possible to easily store the bag body 10 inside the storage case 18.

Further, the position of the bracket 40 is optional as long as it is a portion other than the outlet portion. In the above embodiment, the bracket 40 is provided on the case wall portion 30 on the side opposite to the opening 26. However, for example, as shown in FIG. 14, the bracket 40 is provided on both sides of the case wall portion 24 where the opening 26 is formed. It may be provided on one of the case wall portions 50. However, when the outlet is formed by the opening 26, the bag 40 is provided by providing the bracket 40 on the side opposite to the opening 26.
It is possible to smoothly deform the storage case 18 for expanding the opening 26 by expanding the storage case 18.

The storage case can take various forms, for example, the storage case according to the second embodiment described below. As shown in FIG. 9, the storage case (container) 200 of the present embodiment has the same rectangular tubular shape with an open cross-section as in the first embodiment, but faces the garnish 22. The difference is that the opening 26 formed in the wall portion 24 is formed along a corner of one of the case wall portions 50 on both sides of the case wall portion 24 on the side of the case wall portion 50.

As shown in FIG. 10, when the bag body 10 is inflated, the case wall portion 24 is mainly deformed so as to open outward and the opening 26 is expanded.

The other structure is the same as that of the first embodiment, and the same effects as those of the first embodiment can be obtained.

In the first and second embodiments described above, the airbag device that absorbs the kinetic energy of the occupant's head has been described, but the kinetic energy of that portion is not limited to the occupant's head and other occupant's head. An airbag device that absorbs is also possible.

For example, there is a third embodiment described next with reference to FIGS. 11 to 13.

That is, the airbag apparatus according to the present embodiment inflates the bag body in front of the occupant's knees when the vehicle suddenly decelerates in the front-rear direction of the vehicle and supports the occupant's knees with the bag. It is designed to absorb the kinetic energy of the passenger's knees.

As shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, the inflated bag body 300 is formed into a long bag shape along the vehicle width direction. Storage case 302 for storing the bag body 300 before expansion
13 has a long shape extending in the longitudinal direction of the bag body 300, and as shown in FIG. 13, has a substantially oval tubular shape, and extends from the occupant's knees to the occupant's ankles to face the knee bolster 304 and the knee bolster. It is provided along the upper edge of the knee bolster 304 between the instrument panel 306 located above the 304.

An opening 310 is formed in the center in the vertical direction on the case wall 308 (see FIG. 13) facing the occupant's knee in the peripheral wall of the storage case 302, and the opening 310 extends in the longitudinal direction of the storage case 302. Storage case 3 formed across
The cross section of 02 viewed from the longitudinal direction has an open cross sectional shape.

As shown in FIG. 13, the bag 300 is folded along the fold line along the longitudinal direction to be stored in the storage case 302.
The male screw portion 34 housed inside and protruding from the retainer plate 32 is passed through the space between the both ends of the longitudinal cross section of the bag 300 facing the case wall portion 308 of the storage case 302, and the nut 38 is inserted from the outside of the storage case 202. By screwing and tightening, both ends of the bag body 300 corresponding to the case wall portion 312 are sandwiched between the retainer plate 32 and the case wall portion 212, and the bag body 300 is fixed to the storage case 302. This is the same as in the first embodiment, including that the plurality of male screw portions 34 are arranged at predetermined intervals along the longitudinal direction of the retainer plate 32. Also,
Similar to the first embodiment, a bracket 40 is provided corresponding to each male screw portion 34, and one end portion of the bracket 40 is sandwiched between the case wall portion 312 of the storage case 302 and the nut 36. . The other end of the bracket 40 is bolted to the inner panel 314 to which the knee bolster 304 is attached using bolts 46 and nuts 47, and the storage case 202 in which the bag 300 is stored is attached to the vehicle body.

An inflator 48 is connected to an end of the storage case 302 on the outer side in the vehicle width direction so as to communicate with the inside of the bag 300. As in the first embodiment, the bag 300 is inflated by the operation of the inflator 48. As shown by the chain line in FIG. 13, due to the expansion of the bag body 300, the case wall portion 308 of the storage case 302 is opened on both sides in the vertical direction through the opening 310 to open the opening 310.
Is expanded, and the bag 300 is bulged from the opening 310 toward the occupant's knee, as shown by the chain line in FIG.

Also in this embodiment, the bag body 300 can be stored in the storage case 302 with the opening 310 expanded, and the storage case 302 is made of metal such as aluminum or synthetic resin. It is possible to
They are similar to those in the first embodiment.

Reference numeral 320 in FIG. 12 is a steering wheel, and 322 in FIGS. 11 and 12 is a key cylinder of an ignition key.

According to the above construction, the storage case 302 is attached along the upper edge of the knee bolster 304 with the longitudinal direction thereof being the vehicle width direction, and the bag body 300 is retracted from the opening 310 in the direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction. It can be projected to the outside of the case 302 and face the front of the knees of the occupant in the passenger compartment.

The bag body 300 is inflated and expanded with this longitudinal direction as the vehicle width direction, and supports the occupant's knees and sufficiently supports the kinetic energy of the occupant's knees even if the occupant changes the position in the vehicle width direction. You can Further, the longitudinal direction of the storage case 302 is the same as the longitudinal direction of the bag 300 and is a direction along the upper edge of the knee bolster 304, and the male screw portion 3
By attaching 4 to the inner panel 314 for attaching the knee bolster 304, it is possible to easily assemble even in a limited space.

As described above, the necessary and sufficient shape and capacity can be secured, and the easy assembly can be realized, as in the first embodiment.

The outlet portion is not limited to the opening 310, but may be a fragile portion such as a thin wall.
With this, the bag 300 can be easily accommodated, and particularly regarding the mounting portion, by providing it on the side opposite to the opening 310, the storage case for expanding the opening 310 by expanding the bag 300. Other configurations and operational effects, such as the ability to smoothly deform 302, are similar to those of the first embodiment.

[0050]

As described above, in the airbag device of the present invention, it is possible to secure a required and sufficient shape and capacity, and to realize easy assembly.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an airbag device according to a first embodiment of the present invention, as viewed from the inside in a vehicle width direction.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the airbag device according to the first embodiment, as viewed from the inside in the vehicle width direction.

3 is an end view taken along line 3-3 of FIG.

FIG. 4 is an end view taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a view corresponding to FIG. 4 when the bag body is inflated and deployed.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the airbag device according to the first embodiment before being attached to the storage body, showing the state before the bag body is assembled to the storage body.

FIG. 7 is a view corresponding to FIG. 6 showing an assembling process of the bag body to the storage body.

FIG. 8 is a view corresponding to FIG. 3 in relation to an automatic seat belt device.

FIG. 9 is a view showing an airbag device according to a second embodiment and corresponds to FIG. 3.

FIG. 10 is a view showing an airbag device according to a second embodiment and corresponds to FIG. 5.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing the airbag device according to the third embodiment, as viewed from the vehicle width direction and looking into the vehicle interior.

FIG. 12 is a view showing the airbag device according to the third embodiment, as seen from the rear of the vehicle and looking into the vehicle interior.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing an airbag device according to a third embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 3 showing a modified example of the outlet according to the first embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10,300 Bag 18,200,302 Storage case (storage) 26,310 Opening (outlet) 40 Bracket (mounting)

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A long bag body which is inflated and expanded by gas pressure, and a bag body which is longly provided along the longitudinal direction of the bag body before being inflated and deployed and is stored therein. An airbag device, comprising: a storage body provided with an outlet portion along the longitudinal direction for projecting the bag body to the outside when inflated and deployed; and a mounting portion for mounting the storage body to a vehicle body. 2. The airbag device according to claim 1, wherein the outlet portion is an opening formed along a longitudinal direction of the storage body. 3. The airbag device according to claim 2, wherein the attachment portion is provided on a side of the storage body opposite to the outlet portion.