JPH0986329A - Seat embedded type air bag device for side impact - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To smoothly and quickly develop an air bag under appropriate expansion pressure even when an occupant rests his own arm over an arm rest. SOLUTION: In the air bag device for side impact which is embedded in the seat back of a vehicle seat, the air bag 10 has its upper portion 16 folded over its lower portion 18, and is housed in with this condition kept while being alternately folded as shown by an arrow head A along the longer direction. When an occupant's arm is rested over an arm rest at the side of a vehicle door at the time of vehicle collision, the air bag 10 is developed narrowly in width along the arm rest first, the comparatively lower side of the occupant's arm is pressed by the developing tip end part in the longer direction of the air bag 10, and the arm is thereby pushed away by appropriate force. After that, the air bag 10 is then wholly developed widely in width between the inner side of the vehicle and the side of an occupant by developing the upper side portion of the air bag 10 upward.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention has an elongated rectangular air bag having a widthwise direction in the up-down direction, folded and stored along the longitudinal direction, and incorporated in a side portion of a seat back of a vehicle seat. The present invention relates to a seat-embedded airbag apparatus for a side impact in which an airbag is deployed between an inner side portion of a vehicle and a side portion of an occupant in a vehicle side collision.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An airbag device for a side collision of a vehicle has an airbag stored in a side portion of a seat back of a vehicle seat, and the airbag is divided into a vehicle inside portion and an occupant side portion at the time of a vehicle side collision. There is something to deploy in between.

As such a side impact airbag device, for example, a device disclosed in JP-A-6-64491 is known.

The device described below is also conceivable.
Description will be made based on a comparative example according to FIGS. In each drawing, the front side of the vehicle is indicated by an arrow FR, the outer side in the vehicle width direction is indicated by an arrow OUT, and the upper side of the vehicle is indicated by an arrow UP.

As shown in FIGS. 15 to 17, the module case 100 is a seat back 1 of a vehicle seat 101.
The No. 02 seat back frame 104 is attached to the side surface side of the seat back frame 104. The module case 100 includes an inflator 106 on the back side of the seat back.
Is stored and at the front side of the seat back,
The airbag 108 is folded and stored.

As shown in FIG. 18, the air bag 108.
Is a long rectangular shape having a width direction in the up-down direction, the longitudinal direction base end portion is attached so as to cover the outer periphery of the inflator 106, and the ejection port 107 formed on the outer periphery of the inflator 106 is arranged inside the airbag 108. Communicated. The front end in the longitudinal direction of the airbag 108 is a free end, and the airbag is alternately folded along the longitudinal direction as indicated by an arrow A in FIG.

The module case 100 has an opening 110 formed on the side of the seat back and on the front of the seat back, and the opening 110 is closed by a lid 112.

At the time of a vehicle side collision, the inflator 106 is activated to generate gas, and the gas is supplied from the ejection port 107 into the airbag 108 to inflate the airbag 108. Due to the inflation of the airbag 108, the lid 112 expands outward from the front side of the seat back to the rear side of the seat back. The seat cover 114 covering the lid 112 is sewn along the edge of the lid 112 on the front side of the seat back, and the suture thread 11 is sewn by the deployment pressure of the lid 112.
6 is broken, the seat cover 114 is peeled off, and the lid 1
Twelve deployments are allowed. By deploying the lid 112,
The airbag 108 is deployed outside the module case 100 between the vehicle inner side portion and the occupant 118 side portion (see FIGS. 16 and 17).

[0009]

By the way, as shown in FIG. 17, when the occupant 118 puts the arm 122 on the armrest 120 of the vehicle door, the air bag 10 is removed.
When the airbag 8 is deployed, the deployment tip of the airbag 108 hangs from the elbow of the occupant to the shoulder and comes into contact with the airbag 8. Even in such a case, it is required to push back the arm and smoothly deploy the airbag 108.

For that purpose, it is conceivable to increase the output of the inflator 106 to increase the amount of gas, but in that case, the size of the apparatus is increased and the cost is increased.

In consideration of the above facts, the present invention is a seat built-in type side collision which can realize a smooth deployment of an airbag promptly with an appropriate inflation pressure even when an occupant places his or her arm on an armrest. It is an object of the present invention to provide an airbag device for a vehicle.

[0012]

In order to solve the above problems, a seat-embedded airbag for side collision according to claim 1 of the present invention is a long rectangular air bag having a width direction in the vertical direction. It has a bag that is folded and stored along the longitudinal direction, is installed in the side part of the seat back of the vehicle seat, and the airbag is deployed between the vehicle inside part and the occupant side part in the case of a vehicle side collision. In the airbag apparatus for side impact, the upper portion of the airbag is folded downward, and in this state, the airbag is folded along the longitudinal direction to be stored.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, a seat-embedded airbag for side impact has an elongated rectangular airbag having a widthwise direction in the vertical direction and is folded and stored along the longitudinal direction. , In a seat-embedded airbag system for side impact, which is incorporated in the side portion of the seat back of the vehicle seat and the airbag is deployed between the vehicle inner side portion and the occupant side portion in the event of a vehicle side collision As for the remaining part, the airbag is sewn so as to divide the inside of the airbag into two chambers, an upper chamber and a lower chamber, and an inflator for supplying gas to the airbag for deploying the airbag is connected to the lower chamber. Characterize.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, a seat-embedded airbag apparatus for a side impact has an elongated rectangular airbag having a widthwise direction in the up-down direction and is folded and stored along the longitudinal direction. A seat-embedded side-impact airbag apparatus which is incorporated in a side portion of a seat back of a vehicle seat and which is deployed between a vehicle inner side portion and an occupant side portion when a vehicle side collision occurs. It is characterized in that the upper corner portion is bent obliquely downward at the front end of the direction, and in this state, the airbag is folded along the longitudinal direction to be stored.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the seat-incorporating type airbag apparatus for side impacts according to the second aspect, the upper portion corresponding to the upper chamber is folded back to the lower side and the lower chamber corresponding to the lower chamber is formed. It is characterized in that the airbag overlaps with the side portion, and in this state, the airbag is folded and stored along the longitudinal direction.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a seat-embedded airbag apparatus for side impact in the structure of the first, third or fourth aspect, characterized in that the folded portion is tentatively sutured. . According to the above configuration, the airbag is normally folded and stored in the side portion of the seat back of the vehicle seat, and is deployed between the vehicle inner side portion and the occupant side portion in the vehicle side collision.

According to the first aspect, the airbag is first deployed along the longitudinal direction while the upper portion is still folded downward, and then the upper portion is deployed upward.

When the occupant's arm is resting on the armrest, the airbag is deployed along the armrest in a narrow width, and the deployment tip in the longitudinal direction of the airbag is located relatively below the arm. The part of the arm, that is, the part away from the shoulder, which is the rotation fulcrum of the arm, is abutted and pushed. Therefore, the airbag pushes the arm away with an appropriate force. Thereafter, the upper portion of the airbag is deployed upward, so that the airbag is widened between the vehicle inner side portion and the occupant side portion, and the airbag is fully deployed.

In order to fold the upper portion downward, for example, the upper portion is folded back so as to overlap one outer surface of the lower portion, or the upper portion is folded between both inner side surfaces of the lower portion. You may do it.

According to the second aspect, in the airbag, first, the gas is supplied to the lower chamber, and mainly due to the expansion of the lower chamber,
Deploy along the longitudinal direction. Gas that has passed through the lower chamber is supplied to the upper chamber, and the expansion of the upper chamber lags behind the expansion of the lower chamber.

When the occupant's arm rests on the armrest, the airbag is deployed along the armrest and the portion corresponding to the inflated lower chamber is mainly located relatively below the arm. Push the part of and push the arm away. After that, the upper chamber is fully inflated and the airbag is inflated.

A portion that connects the lower chamber and the inflator is formed at a longitudinal base end portion of the airbag, while a portion that communicates the upper chamber and the lower chamber is separated from the proximal portion of the airbag. Forming it at the longitudinal end is effective in delaying the expansion of the upper chamber.

According to the third aspect of the invention, the airbag is first deployed along the longitudinal direction with the upper corner portion of the distal end portion in the longitudinal direction being folded obliquely downward, and then is extended obliquely downward. The folded upper corner extends upward.

When the occupant's arm is resting on the armrest, the airbag is inflated along the armrest so that the longitudinal end portion of the airbag is tapered downward, and then the tapered tip end is formed. However, pushing the relatively lower part of the arm pushes the arm away. After that, the airbag is fully deployed by deploying the upper corner portion upward.

Further, as described in claim 4, the upper portion corresponding to the upper chamber is folded back to the lower portion corresponding to the lower chamber,
It is possible to overlap with the lower part corresponding to the lower chamber. In this case, the airbag becomes narrower and contacts the arm on the armrest.

In order to give priority to the deployment of the airbag along the longitudinal direction and to ensure that the downwardly folded portion is deployed upward, as described in claim 5, It is better to temporarily sew the folded portion to the brittle portion.
That is, during the deployment along the longitudinal direction, the temporary suture assists the portion folded downward (upper portion, upper corner portion) so as not to deploy upward, and after deployment along the longitudinal direction, It is possible to deploy the part where the temporary suture is broken and folded and folded up.

[0027]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION A first embodiment of a seat-embedded side impact airbag device according to the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 7. In each drawing, the front side of the vehicle is indicated by an arrow FR, the outer side in the vehicle width direction is indicated by an arrow OUT, and the upper side of the vehicle is indicated by an arrow UP.

As shown in FIG. 1, the airbag 10 of the airbag apparatus for side impact according to the present embodiment has an elongated rectangular shape having a width direction in the up-down direction. It is obtained as a bag by stitching. Airbag 1
The length 0 of the base portion in the longitudinal direction has a height of about 1 / th of that of other portions.
The width is narrowed to be 2. The longitudinally-proximal end portion of the airbag having the reduced width is attached so as to cover the outer periphery of the inflator 12, and the ejection port 14 formed on the outer peripheral surface of the inflator 12 communicates with the inside of the airbag 10. The longitudinal tip of the airbag 10 is a free end.

In the airbag 10, as shown in FIG. 2, first, the upper portion 16 is arranged in the lower portion 1 in the longitudinal direction.
2 so that the upper portion 16 is overlapped with one outer peripheral surface of FIG.
Fold downward from the position indicated by the chain line to the position indicated by the solid line. As a result, the airbag 10 becomes narrow with its height being approximately 1/2. In this state, the airbag 10 is shown in FIG.
As shown by the arrow A in FIG. 3, the sheets are alternately folded along the longitudinal direction (bellows fold or accordion fold).
Get the state of.

In this way, in the folded state of the airbag 10, the airbag 10 is housed together with the inflator 12 in the module case (see FIG. 4) 20. The module case 20 has the same structure as the module case 100 of the comparative example described above with reference to FIGS. 15 and 16, and is similarly attached to the side portion of the seat back 102 of the vehicle seat 101.

At the time of a vehicle side collision, for example, a side collision sensor (not shown) detects the side collision state of the vehicle, and the inflator 1
Ignition current flows through the valve 2 and the inflator 12 operates. As a result, the gas generating agent in the inflator 12 is ignited to generate gas, and this gas is supplied from the ejection port 14 into the airbag 10 to inflate the airbag 10. The airbag 10 is inflated to inflate the lid 112 outward from the front side of the seat back to the rear side of the seat back as in the comparative example described above with reference to FIGS.
As if the seat cover 114 is peeled off, the seat cover 114 is unfolded to the outside of the module case 20 between the inside of the vehicle and the side of the passenger 118.

The process of deploying the airbag 10 will be specifically described below. First, the airbag 10 has an upper portion 1
With 6 still folded down, expand along the longitudinal direction,
Then, the upper portion 16 expands upward.

That is, as shown in FIG. 4, when the arm 122 of the occupant 118 rests on the armrest 120 of the vehicle door, as shown in FIG.
However, the airbag 10 is deployed narrowly along the armrest 120, and the deployment tip portion in the longitudinal direction of the airbag 10 is separated from a relatively lower portion of the arm 122, that is, from a shoulder which is a rotation fulcrum of the arm 122. Abut the part and push the part. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 6, the airbag 10 pushes the arm 122 away with an appropriate force. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 7, the upper portion 16 of the airbag 10 is deployed upward, so that the airbag 10 is widened between the vehicle inner side portion and the occupant side portion to obtain the full deployment.

As a result, the occupant 118 can move the armrest 1
Even when the arm 122 is placed on the arm 20, smooth deployment of the airbag 10 can be quickly realized with an appropriate inflation pressure.

In this embodiment, the airbag 10 is used.
Is folded along the longitudinal direction by bellows folding or accordion folding, but may be rolled up in one direction as shown in FIG. 8, for example.

Next, a second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. In the first embodiment described above, when the upper portion 16 of the airbag 10 is folded downward, the upper portion 16 is folded back so as to overlap one outer surface of the lower portion 18, but the present embodiment is not limited to this. In the airbag 10 of FIG.
From the position indicated by the chain line to the position indicated by the solid line, the lower part 1
It is designed to be folded between both inner side surfaces of 8 (custom-folded).

In this state, folding the airbag 10 along the longitudinal direction is the same as in the first embodiment.
Moreover, the same effect can be achieved.

Next, a third embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. In the present embodiment, the remaining portion of the airbag 10 except the longitudinal end portion is sewn with the suture thread 50 along the center of the airbag 10 in the width direction. This suture 50
Is set so that it will not be broken by the airbag deployment pressure. In the airbag 10, the upper chamber 52 and the lower chamber 54 communicate with each other at the front end in the longitudinal direction (the communication port is shown by 56 in FIG. 10), and the remaining chamber has two chambers of the upper chamber 52 and the lower chamber 54. Is divided into The ejection port 14 of the inflator 12 communicates with the lower chamber 54 at the base end in the longitudinal direction of the airbag 10. Such an airbag 10 is alternately folded along the longitudinal direction as indicated by arrow A in FIG.

According to this, at the time of a vehicle side collision, first, the gas is supplied to the lower chamber 54, and the airbag 10 is expanded along the longitudinal direction mainly by the expansion of the lower chamber 54. Gas is supplied to the upper chamber 52 from the communication port 56 via the lower chamber 54, and the expansion of the upper chamber 52 lags behind the expansion of the lower chamber 54.

The armrest 120 has the arm 12 of the occupant 118.
2 is mounted, the airbag 10 is deployed along the armrest 118 to inflate the lower chamber 5
The portion corresponding to 4 mainly pushes the relatively lower portion of the arm 122 to push the arm 122 away (unlike FIG. 5 to FIG. 7 according to the first embodiment, the airbag 10 is not narrow. Although it is deployed while it is wide, the part corresponding to the lower chamber 54 exerts a large deployment force). Then, the upper chamber 52 is also fully inflated, and the airbag 10 is completely inflated.

This also brings about the same effect as that of the first embodiment. A portion that connects the lower chamber 54 and the ejection port 14 of the inflator 12 is formed at the proximal end of the airbag 10 in the longitudinal direction, and a portion that connects the upper chamber 52 and the lower chamber 54 so as to be separated therefrom. (Communication port 5
Forming 6) at the distal end of the airbag 10 in the longitudinal direction is effective in delaying the expansion of the upper chamber 54.

Further, as shown by a chain line in FIG. 10, the upper chamber 5
The upper portion 16 corresponding to 2 is folded back to the lower portion 16 corresponding to the lower chamber 54 to form the lower portion 18 corresponding to the lower chamber 54.
Can be overlaid. In this case, the airbag 10 becomes narrower and the arm 122 on the armrest 120 becomes narrower.
It is effective because it comes into contact with.

Next, a fourth embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.
2 will be described. In the present embodiment, the airbag 6
The upper corner portion 62 of the airbag 60 is bent obliquely downward at the leading end of the airbag 60, and in this state, the airbag 60 is folded along the longitudinal direction and stored. Unlike the airbag 10 according to the first to third embodiments, the airbag 60 is attached to the inflator 64 without forming the widthwise base end portion thereof narrow. Then, unlike the inflator 12 according to the first to third embodiments, the inflator 64 has a length corresponding to the entire width direction of the airbag 10.

Such an airbag 60 is alternately folded along the longitudinal direction as indicated by arrow A in FIG.

According to this, the upper corner portion 62 of the longitudinal direction tip portion is expanded along the longitudinal direction while being bent obliquely downward, and then the upper corner portion 62 is expanded upward. .

As shown in FIG. 12, the armrest 120
When the arm 122 of the occupant 118 is placed on the vehicle, the airbag 60 is deployed along the armrest 120 so that the longitudinal end portion of the airbag 60 is inclined downward and is tapered. The tip 66 pushes the relatively lower part of the arm 122 to push the arm 122, as shown in FIG.
Push away. After that, the upper corner portion 62 is deployed upward, so that the airbag 60 is fully deployed (the deployment completed state is shown by a chain line in FIG. 12).

According to this embodiment, the same effect as that of the first embodiment can be obtained. Next, a fifth embodiment will be described based on FIG. In the present embodiment, in the fourth embodiment, the upper corner portion 62 folded obliquely downward is tentatively sutured to the lower portion (see FIG. Shown). As a result, it is possible to reliably realize that the airbag 60 is preferentially deployed in the longitudinal direction and that the upper corner portion 62 is later deployed. That is, the temporary suture assists the upper corner portion, which is folded obliquely downward, from expanding upward during the expansion along the longitudinal direction, and after the expansion along the longitudinal direction, the temporary suture 70 It is possible to rupture and expand the upper corner portion 62 upward.

Next, a sixth embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. In the present embodiment, the upper portion 16 is tentatively sewn to the lower portion at the distal end in the longitudinal direction of the airbag 10 in the first embodiment (a temporary suture is shown by 72 in FIG. 14). ).

According to this, it is possible to reliably realize that the airbag 10 is preferentially deployed in the longitudinal direction and the upper portion 16 is later deployed. That is, the temporary suture assists the upper portion 16 folded downward to prevent the upper part 16 from being expanded upward during the expansion along the longitudinal direction, and the temporary suture thread 72 breaks after the expansion along the longitudinal direction. The upper part 16 can be deployed upward.

In this temporary suture, in the third embodiment, the upper portion 16 corresponding to the upper chamber 52 is folded back to the lower portion 16 corresponding to the lower chamber 54, and the lower portion corresponding to the lower chamber 54. Of course, it can be applied to the case of overlapping with 18.

In the third embodiment, the upper chamber 5
When the upper portion 16 corresponding to No. 2 is not folded back to the lower portion 16 corresponding to the lower chamber 54, and in the fourth embodiment, the width dimension of the airbag after folding is the same as the width dimension before folding. Since there is no difference, as shown in FIG. 12, a module case 68 having a size corresponding to the width dimension before folding is required, while the upper part is folded along the longitudinal direction with the upper part folded down. In the airbag to be used, the module case 20 can be downsized because the width of the airbag after folding is smaller than the width of the airbag before folding.

[0052]

As described above, according to the airbag apparatus for a side impact type with a seat incorporated according to claims 1 to 5 of the present invention, even when an occupant places his or her arm on an armrest. The smooth deployment of the airbag can be quickly realized with an appropriate inflation pressure.

According to the seat-incorporating type side-impact airbag apparatus of the fourth aspect, the side-collision of the seat-incorporating type according to the fifth aspect corresponds to the width of the airbag which narrows and contacts the arm on the armrest. According to the airbag device for a vehicle, priority is given to the deployment along the longitudinal direction of the airbag, and it is ensured that the downwardly folded portions (the upper portion and the upper corner portion) are deployed upward. As long as it can be realized, the above effects become remarkable.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a state before folding of an airbag of a side impact airbag apparatus of a seat built-in type according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 1, showing a state in which an upper portion is folded downward.

FIG. 3 is a view corresponding to FIG. 1, showing a state in which the upper portion is folded downward and is folded along the longitudinal direction.

FIG. 4 is a view seen from the outside in the vehicle width direction showing a state of the airbag of the seat-embedded airbag for side collision according to the first embodiment before deployment.

FIG. 5 is a view corresponding to FIG. 4 showing a process of deploying the airbag.

FIG. 6 is a view corresponding to FIG. 4 showing the next process of deploying the airbag.

FIG. 7 is a view corresponding to FIG. 4, showing the final deployment process of the airbag.

FIG. 8 is a view showing a state in which the airbag is folded in a roll type along the longitudinal direction, as viewed from the width direction of the airbag.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing an airbag of a side impact airbag apparatus of a seat built-in type according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing an airbag of a side impact airbag apparatus of a seat built-in type according to a third embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing an airbag of a seat-embedded airbag for side collision according to a fourth embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a view as seen from the outside in the vehicle width direction showing the process of deploying the airbag of the side impact airbag device of the seat built-in type according to the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing an airbag of a seat-embedded airbag for side collision according to a fifth embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a perspective view showing an airbag of a seat-embedded airbag for side impact according to a sixth embodiment.

FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view of a main part of the side collision airbag device according to the comparative example, which is shown incorporated in a seat back and viewed from above the vehicle.

FIG. 16 is a view corresponding to FIG. 15 showing an operating state of the airbag device.

FIG. 17 is a view showing the process of deploying the airbag of the side impact airbag device according to the comparative example, as viewed from the vehicle width direction outer side.

FIG. 18 is a perspective view showing a state before folding of the airbag of the side collision airbag device according to the comparative example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10, 60 Airbag 16 Upper part 18 Lower part 50 Suture thread 52 Upper chamber 54 Lower chamber 62 Upper corner part 70, 72 Temporary suture thread 101 Vehicle seat 102 Seat back 118 Occupant 120 Armrest

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. An elongated rectangular airbag having a width direction in the up-down direction is folded along the longitudinal direction and stored.
A seat-embedded side-impact airbag apparatus incorporated into a side portion of a seat back of a vehicle seat, wherein the airbag expands between a vehicle inner side portion and an occupant side portion in a vehicle side collision, wherein an upper portion of the airbag is provided. Is folded downward, and in this state, the airbag is folded along the longitudinal direction to be stored, and a seat-embedded airbag apparatus for side impact. 2. An elongated rectangular airbag having a widthwise direction in the vertical direction is folded along the longitudinal direction and is stored therein.
A seat-embedded side impact airbag device that is incorporated into the side of the seat back of the vehicle seat and that expands between the vehicle inner side and the occupant side during a vehicle side collision. The remaining portion is characterized in that the airbag is sewn to divide the inside of the airbag into two chambers, an upper chamber and a lower chamber, and an inflator for supplying gas to the airbag to deploy the airbag is connected to the lower chamber. A side impact airbag device with a built-in seat. 3. An elongated rectangular airbag having a widthwise direction in the up-and-down direction is folded along the longitudinal direction and stored.
A seat-embedded side-impact airbag apparatus incorporated in a side portion of a seat back of a vehicle seat, wherein the airbag expands between a vehicle inner side portion and an occupant side portion in a vehicle side collision, in a longitudinal direction of the airbag. A seat-embedded airbag apparatus for side impact, characterized in that an upper corner portion of the tip portion is folded obliquely downward, and in this state, the airbag is folded and stored along the longitudinal direction. 4. The upper part corresponding to the upper chamber is folded back to be overlapped with the lower part corresponding to the lower chamber, and in this state, the airbag is folded along the longitudinal direction to be stored. Side seat airbag device with built-in seat. 5. The seat-embedded airbag apparatus for side impact according to claim 1, 3 or 4, wherein the folded portions are tentatively sewn together.