JPH10119701A - Air bag device for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To surely protect a head part and a chest part of a driver by guiding an air bag to the driver side by means of a part of a burst steering wheel pad when an air bag is inflated. SOLUTION: A bag 19 is inflated by a gas, and an upper side burst part 17a and a lower side burst part 17b are opened widely in the arrow direction via bending groove parts 27, 29. In this process, a thick part 31 arranged in the base part of the upper side burst part 17a is deformed as shown by two-dot chain line, and by means of the upper side burst part 17a, the bag 19 is positioned at the predetermined angle so as to be guided to a driver side, and then, the bag 19 is developed onto the driver side along the upper side burst part 17a so as to cover a rim of a steering wheel positioned on the driver side from the outside, and as a result, a head part and a chest part of a driver can be protected at the same time.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an airbag device for a vehicle which protects a driver during a frontal collision.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in order to ensure the safety of occupants in the event of a vehicle collision, a seat belt is conventionally provided as standard equipment on a vehicle seat.
In recent years, a steering retracting device and an airbag device as disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 2-34380 have been proposed for the purpose of reducing injuries to the driver's head and chest.
In particular, airbag devices are installed in many vehicles.

As is well known in the art, this airbag device is composed of a nylon bag, an inflator, and a sensor unit built in a steering wheel, and when a sensor detects an impact (deceleration) at the time of a head-on collision. The gas generating agent in the inflator is ignited to inflate the bag with gas generated from the gas generating agent. The bag is stored inside the steering wheel pad in a folded state.

[0004] Two exhaust holes are provided on the back side of the bag, and when the bag receives the driver, gas is released and the shock is absorbed while shrinking.

[0005]

However, in a vehicle such as a cab-over type truck 1 shown in FIG. 4 in which the steering wheel 3 is mounted with the steering wheel 3 slightly upright as compared with an ordinary passenger car, FIG. As described above, when the truck 1 collides with the wall 5 or another vehicle and the bag 7 is inflated (deployed),
Although the bag 7 can protect the head of the driver 9, the chest of the driver 9 that has moved forward may hit the rim 11 of the steering wheel 1 and receive an impact.

The present invention has been devised in view of such circumstances, and has as its object to provide an airbag device for a vehicle that can reliably protect the driver's head and chest.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 stores a bag deployed between a steering wheel and a driver at the time of a frontal collision of a vehicle inside a steering wheel pad. In the airbag device for a vehicle described above, the steering wheel pad is provided with positioning means for guiding the bag to the driver with a part of the cracked steering wheel pad when the bag is deployed.

[0008] The invention according to claim 2 is based on claim 1.
4. The airbag device for a vehicle according to claim 3, wherein the bag is formed into a shape that covers a rim of a steering wheel located on a driver side when deployed.
According to the present invention, in the airbag device for a vehicle according to the first or second aspect, the positioning means is provided at a base portion of a part of the cracked steering wheel pad, and the positioning means is deformed when the bag is deployed. It is characterized by comprising a thick portion for positioning the wheel pad at a predetermined angle, and a bending groove provided on the surface of the thick portion.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, when the steering wheel pad is cracked in a frontal collision of the vehicle and the bag is deployed, the bag is deployed to the driver side along a part of the steering wheel pad. like,
Positioning means positions a portion of the steering wheel pad.

[0010] The deployed bag protects the driver's head and chest. According to the airbag device of the second aspect, the bag guided by the steering wheel pad covers the rim of the steering wheel located on the driver side to protect the chest together with the driver's head. According to the third aspect of the invention, the thick portion provided at the base of a part of the steering wheel pad is deformed when the bag is deployed, and the steering wheel pad is positioned at a predetermined angle.

[0011]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows an embodiment in which the airbag device according to claims 1 to 3 is applied to a cab-over type truck. In the drawing, reference numeral 13 denotes a steering wheel, and a steering wheel pad ( Cover) 17, a nylon bag 1
9, an inflator 21 and a sensor unit 23.

Then, as in the prior art, when the sensor detects an impact at the time of a frontal collision of the truck, the gas generating agent in the inflator 21 is ignited, and the bag 19 is inflated with the gas generated therefrom.

Since the configurations of the inflator 21 and the sensor unit 23 are the same as those conventionally known, the description thereof is omitted here. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, approximately in the center of the surface portion of the steering wheel pad 17,
A notch groove 25 is provided in an H shape. Then, on the front side corresponding to the upper ends 25a and 25b of the notch groove 25 and the back side between the lower ends 25c and 25d, respectively,
Folding grooves 27 and 29 are provided in the lateral direction, and FIG.
When the bag 19 is unfolded, the steering wheel pad 17 is cracked along the notch groove 25 into the upper crack portion 17a and the lower crack portion 17b, and the upper crack portion 17a is bent as shown in FIG. 27, and the lower side crack portion 17b is configured to open greatly in the direction of the arrow through the bending groove 29.

At the base of the upper crack 17a,
As shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 2, the bag 19 that unfolds the upper side crack portion 17a at a predetermined angle due to deformation during bag deployment is guided to the driver along the upper side crack portion 17a. Portion 31 is positioned downwardly in correspondence with the groove 27 for bending, and the bag 19
Is guided by the upper side crack portion 17a and unfolds to the driver side.

As shown by the one-dot chain line in FIG. 1, the bag 19 is different from the conventional bag 19 'shown by the two-dot chain line.
It is shaped so as to cover the rim 13a of the steering wheel 13 located on the driver side from the outside when deployed, and the bag 19 protects the chest together with the driver's head. Although not shown, two exhaust holes are provided on the back side of the bag 19, and when the bag 19 receives the driver, the gas is released and the shock is absorbed while shrinking.

As described above, the thick portion 31 is formed so as to position the upper side crack portion 17a at a predetermined angle due to deformation when the bag is unfolded.
The upper crack 17a is opened in the direction of the arrow through the upper portion to deform the thick portion 31 to position the upper crack 17a at a predetermined angle, and the bending groove 27 is an essential requirement. . Then, the optimum shape and thickness of the thick portion 31 are selected based on various experimental data.

The steering wheel pad 17 is
As before, it is molded of polypropylene, but the shape of the upper side crack portion 17a is maintained so that the deploying bag 19 can be guided to the driver side. Since the airbag device 33 according to the present embodiment is configured as described above, when the sensor detects an impact at the time of a head-on collision, the gas generating agent in the inflator 21 is ignited and the bag 19 is generated by gas generated therefrom. The steering wheel pad 17 expands so that the notch groove 25
Along the upper crack 17a and the lower crack 17b.

The upper crack 17a opens in the direction of the arrow via the groove 27 for bending, and the lower crack 17b opens largely in the direction of the arrow via the groove 29 for bending, while the upper crack 17a opens. 2 is deformed as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 2, and the upper side crack portion 17a positions the bag 19 at a predetermined angle so as to guide the bag 19 to the driver side. The bag 19 is deployed to the driver side along the upper side crack portion 17a to cover the rim 13a of the steering wheel 13 located on the driver side from the outside, thereby protecting the chest together with the driver's head. When the bag 19 receives the driver, the gas escapes from the exhaust hole and absorbs the shock while shrinking.

Therefore, according to the airbag device 33 of the present embodiment, the head and the chest of the driver can be protected more reliably than the conventional example shown in FIG. Is more reliably achieved.
Incidentally, the positioning means of the upper side crack portion 17a is not limited to the bending groove portion 27 and the thick portion 31. Although not shown, for example, on the surface side of the base of the upper side crack portion 17a,
A stopper for positioning the upper side crack portion 17a at a predetermined angle may be protruded, or the upper side crack portion 17a may be connected with a hinge so that the upper side crack portion 17a is fixed at a predetermined time when the bag 19 is deployed. May be positioned.

Thus, according to these embodiments, the intended purpose can be achieved similarly to the above embodiment. In the above embodiment, the bag 19 is formed so as to cover the rim 13a of the steering wheel 13 located on the driver side from the outside when the bag 19 is deployed. However, the shape of the bag may be the same as that of the related art. The intended purpose can be achieved by the side crack portion 17a guiding the bag to the driver side.

[0021]

As described above, by mounting the airbag device according to each claim on a vehicle such as a cab-over type truck, the steering wheel of which is mounted with the steering wheel slightly upright as compared with a normal passenger vehicle, It becomes possible to protect the head and chest of the driver more reliably than before,
The driver's physical safety was assured. According to the second aspect of the invention, when the bag is deployed, the bag covers the rim of the steering wheel located on the driver side from the outside, so that the protection of the chest of the driver is more effective than the first aspect of the invention. It has the advantages that can be reliably achieved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an airbag apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a main part of a steering wheel pad.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of a steering wheel.

FIG. 4 is a schematic view of the inside of a cab of a cab-over type truck.

FIG. 5 is a schematic view showing an operation state of a conventional airbag mounted on the cab-over type truck shown in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 13 steering wheel 13a rim 17 steering wheel pad 19 bag 25 notch groove 27, 29 bending groove 31 thick part 33 airbag device

Claims (3)

[Claims] In an airbag device for a vehicle in which a bag deployed between a steering wheel and a driver at the time of a frontal collision of a vehicle is housed inside a steering wheel pad, the bag is mounted on the steering wheel pad when the bag is deployed. An airbag device for a vehicle, further comprising positioning means for guiding a bag toward a driver with a part of a cracked steering wheel pad. 2. The airbag device for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the bag is formed to cover a rim of a steering wheel located on a driver side when deployed. 3. A thick portion provided at a base of a part of the cracked steering wheel pad for positioning the steering wheel pad at a predetermined angle by deformation when the bag is deployed, and a thick portion. 3. The airbag device for a vehicle according to claim 1, comprising a bending groove provided on a surface of the vehicle.