JPH1016695A - Air bag device for passenger's - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To develop an air bag without making it interfere with a front glass substantially by providing a partition plate by tilting it in such a manner that the front side of a car body is high and an occupant's side is low and forming a gas discharge port in such a manner that it is tilted and opposes to a hinge part of a lid body. SOLUTION: A gas discharge port 26 of a partition plate 25 is provided by tilting it in such a manner that an occupant's side is low for a lid body 19. Since it is formed in such a manner that it is tilted and opposes to a hinge part 23, a part of gas which is discharged into an air bag 13 from the gas discharge port 26 advances straight from an opening O of the lid body 19, and the remaining part of gas hits on an inner wall of the lid body 19 in the vicinity of the hinge part 23 and attempts to flow on the opening O side along the inner wall of the lid body 19. Since these streams of gas meet in the opening O part of the lid body 19, the direction of flow of both gas is changed, and the direction is adjusted so that gas flows more to the occupant's side so that the air bag 13 which is inflated and developed does not collide against a front glass 28.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a passenger airbag device for protecting a passenger in a passenger seat in the event of a vehicle collision, and more particularly, to an airbag device arranged such that the airbag inflates and protrudes from an upper portion of an instrument panel. Even so, the present invention relates to an airbag device for a passenger seat that can be deployed without almost interfering with a windshield until the airbag is deployed almost completely.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An airbag device for a passenger seat is housed in a space provided in an instrument panel facing the passenger seat. Conventionally, as this type of airbag device, one described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-277128 has been provided. In this device, an airbag device for a passenger seat is installed on an upper inside surface of an upper part of an instrument panel, and an airbag is arranged such that an initial deployment direction is directed upward from a horizontal direction, and the airbag is inflated. The airbag mounting hole receiving the gas supply from the inflator is eccentrically arranged so that the deployed shape at the time is inflated and deployed to the passenger seat side centering on the installation position of the airbag device. It is. in this way,
In the case where the airbag device is arranged so that the airbag inflates and protrudes from the upper part of the instrument panel,
As shown by a broken line 29 in FIG. 1 of the publication, the airbag collides with the windshield in the initial stage of deployment, and thereafter expands while expanding upward along the inclination of the windshield.

The conventional airbag device for a passenger seat has the disadvantage that the deployment speed is delayed because the airbag collides with the windshield during deployment and inflates while rebounding. Further, there is a possibility that the airbag is damaged by the windshield, or the windshield is damaged by the impact of the airbag.

[0004] As an airbag device for a passenger seat, one disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 5-94029 is also provided. In this lid, a slit and a cutting blade are provided on a base material of the lid, which covers an upper opening of a housing containing an inflator and an airbag, and the lid is attached by the cutting blade when the airbag is inflated. It is cut at the slit forming portion while leaving the surface, so that the opening operation portion of the lid does not hit the windshield or does not strongly hit it.

[0005]

However, according to the conventional example described in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 5-94029,
The airbag inflates while rebounding by colliding with the windshield during deployment, so the deployment speed is delayed,
Airbags can be damaged by windshields,
There is a problem that the windshield may be damaged by the impact of the airbag.

Therefore, the present invention according to claim 1 of the present invention, even if the airbag device is arranged so that the airbag inflates and projects from the upper part of the instrument panel, the airbag hardly interferes with the windshield. It is an object of the present invention to provide a passenger airbag device that can be deployed. The invention according to claim 2 is
In addition to the object of the first aspect of the present invention, it is another object of the present invention to provide a passenger airbag device in which a lid does not hinder inflation and deployment of the airbag.

[0007]

Means for Solving the Problems In order to achieve the above object, an invention according to claim 1 of the present invention is an airbag device for a passenger seat installed on an upper inside surface of an upper part of an instrument panel. A housing having an opening opened at the top, an airbag and an inflator housed in the housing, a lid closing the opening of the housing and opening an occupant-side opening operation portion from a hinge portion, and a gas discharger. It has an outlet and a partition plate interposed between the inflator and the airbag, and the partition plate is disposed so as to be inclined so that the front side of the vehicle body is high and the occupant side is low, and the gas discharge port is provided on the lid. It is characterized in that it is formed so as to be inclined and opposed to the hinge part.

Here, the housing is arranged and fixed on the inner upper surface of the upper part of the instrument panel facing the passenger seat such that the opening is disposed on the upper surface side of the instrument panel. The lid also serves as a part of the instrument panel, and usually closes the opening of the housing. When the lid is formed with a groove-shaped weakened portion with a reduced thickness on the inner wall on the occupant side, when the inflator is activated,
The lid is easily broken. The hinge part is formed in the middle part of the lid, and the open operating part broken by the fragile part when the inflator operates is bent and opened by the hinge part.
The partition plate is interposed between the inflator and the airbag in the housing, and supplies gas ejected from the inflator into the airbag through a gas discharge port. The gas discharge port is formed at a portion of the partition plate which is inclined and opposes the hinge portion of the lid, and the partition plate is arranged so that the front side of the vehicle body is high and the occupant side is low, so that the hinge portion is provided. To adjust the direction so that the gas colliding with the vehicle flows toward the occupant.

Further, the invention according to claim 2 is characterized in that the thickness of the opening operation portion is formed so as to be smaller than the thickness of the lid on the vehicle body front side from the hinge portion. When the opening portion is formed in this manner, the opening of the opening portion having a reduced thickness becomes faster due to the inflation of the airbag by the gas pressure of the inflator, and does not hinder the inflation and deployment of the airbag.

[0010]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a passenger airbag device according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a plan view of the device.

Reference numeral 11 denotes an inflator 1 having a cylindrical shape.
2 and a housing for storing the folded airbag 13. The housing 11 has a hollow box shape, and has an opening 15 formed in an upper portion thereof (disposed on the upper surface side of the instrument panel 14).

The housing 11 has a front side wall 16 located on the front side of the vehicle body and a rear side wall 17 located on the occupant side. The rear side wall 17 is formed so as to be longer in the vertical direction than the front side wall 16. As shown in FIG. 1, the housing 11 is mounted on the upper inner surface of the upper part of the instrument panel 14 facing the passenger seat such that the respective openings 15 of the front side wall 16 and the rear side wall 17 are inclined toward the occupant. The arrangement is fixed.

Reference numeral 18 denotes an opening 1 at the edge of the rear side wall 17.
5 is a concave ridge formed by beading substantially parallel to the mouth end. By forming the concave ridges 18, deformation of the housing 11 due to gas pressure applied when the airbag 13 is inflated and deployed can be suppressed, and damage to the instrument panel 14 can be prevented.

The opening 15 of the housing 11 is closed by a lid 19 which also serves as a part of the instrument panel 14. At the front end and the rear end of the lid 19, the front mounting piece 20 and the rear mounting piece 21 are formed to project at the same angle as the inclination of the front side wall 16 and the rear side wall 17 of the housing 11, respectively. . The front mounting piece 20 and the rear mounting piece 21 are attached to the front side wall 16 and the rear side wall 17, respectively.

The thickness of the inner wall near the rear mounting piece 21 of the cover 19 is reduced so that the cover 19 can be easily broken when the inflator 12 is operated so that the airbag 13 can be quickly inflated and deployed. A groove-shaped fragile portion 22 is formed.

The lid 19 is provided with a hinge 23 at an intermediate portion thereof (substantially at an intermediate portion between the front mounting piece 20 and the rear mounting piece 21). This hinge portion 23 is
The thickness of the opening portion 24 is made different from the portion in the vicinity of the front mounting piece 20 to the middle portion, and from the middle portion to the weak portion 22 (opening portion 24). What is necessary is just to comprise so that the site | part which changed the thickness of the part may become the hinge part 23. FIG.

Further, the thickness is gradually reduced from the intermediate portion to the fragile portion 22 so that the middle portion of the intermediate portion starts to gradually decrease in thickness.
3 may be configured. And the lid 19 is
The air bag 13 is inflated by the gas pressure of the inflator, so that the air bag 13 is broken at the fragile portion 22 and the opening operation portion 24 is moved to the hinge portion 2.
3, and it is bent and opened.

As the inflator 12, a hybrid type in which a compressed gas mainly containing argon and an explosive are used in combination is used. The inflator 12 is provided with a gas ejection port (not shown) for ejecting a compressed gas on both front and rear surfaces at one end in the longitudinal direction, and the ejected gas flows into the airbag 13.

Reference numeral 25 denotes a horizontally long partition plate which is interposed between the inflator 12 and the airbag 13 in the housing 11 and attached to the front side wall 16 and the rear side wall 17 of the housing 11. As shown in FIG. 1, the partition plate 25 is formed to have a U-shaped cross section inclined so that the front side of the vehicle body is high and the occupant side is low, so that the gas ejected from the inflator 12 easily flows to the occupant side. is there.

The partition plate 25 has an inflator 12
A gas discharge port 26 is formed so that the gas ejected from the air bag is diffused and supplied into the airbag 13. The gas discharge port 26 is formed at a portion of the partition plate 25 that is inclined and opposes the hinge portion 23 of the lid 19. In addition to the fact that the partition plate 25 is arranged so that the front side of the vehicle body is high and the occupant side is low, the hinge portion 23 is provided.
Is adjusted so that the gas colliding with the vehicle flows toward the occupant.

The gas outlet of the embodiment shown in FIG. 3 has a partition corresponding to one end of the inflator 12 having a gas outlet so that the gas ejected from the inflator 12 is uniformly supplied into the airbag 13. At one end of the plate 25, a gas discharge port 26a having a small opening area is provided.
5 has a gas discharge port 26b having a larger opening area at the other end in the longitudinal direction. The opening area ratio between the gas discharge ports 26a and the gas discharge ports 26b may be determined as desired. Also, the shape of the gas discharge port is
Various modifications can be made as desired.

Reference numeral 27 denotes the partition plate 2 for the airbag 13.
5 is a bag fixing plate to be clamped. In addition,
28 is a windshield.

At the time of a vehicle collision, the inflator 12 operates and the compressed gas is ejected. The jet gas is supplied into the airbag 13 through the gas discharge port 26 of the partition plate 25. Then, the fragile portion 22 is broken by the pressure of the airbag 13, and the opening 19 of the lid 19 is bent by the hinge portion 23 to be opened.

The gas discharge port 26 of the partition plate 25 is disposed so as to be inclined so that the occupant side is lower with respect to the lid 19, and is formed so as to be inclined and opposed to the hinge portion 23. Therefore, the airbag 13 is
A part of the gas discharged into the inside goes straight from the opening O of the lid 19, and the remaining part hits the inner wall of the lid 19 near the hinge portion 23 and flows toward the opening O along the inner wall of the lid 19. And
Since these gases merge at the opening O of the lid 19, as a result, the flow direction of both gases is changed, the direction is adjusted to flow more toward the occupant, and the inflating and deploying airbag 1 is expanded.
3 does not collide with the windshield 28.

As shown in FIG. 5, the position of the gas discharge port 26 of the partition plate 25 is changed from the hinge portion 23 to the opening operation portion 24.
5 (c), the gas flow is directed upward, and conversely, if the gas flow is shifted toward the front of the vehicle body from the hinge portion 23 (FIG. 5 (b)), the gas flows more toward the occupant. It will flow toward. Therefore, the gas discharge direction can be adjusted according to the angle of the windshield 28.
In addition, if the position of the gas discharge port 26 of the partition plate 25 is displaced from the hinge portion 23 toward the front of the vehicle body so that the gas hits the inner wall of the lid 19, the discharge pressure of the gas is completely applied to the lid 19. In addition, a load is imposed on an attachment portion to the housing 11, which is not preferable. In addition, the airbag 13 is less likely to protrude from the lid 19, and the deployment performance is deteriorated.

If the thickness of the opening portion 24 is reduced and the thickness of the lid 19 near the front mounting piece 20 from the hinge portion 23 is increased, the opening portion 24 is easily bent and opened, The portion remaining from the portion 23 is hardly deformed even when directly hit by gas, and the direction in which the gas flows can be fixed.

[0027]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the partition plate is disposed so as to be inclined such that the front side of the vehicle body is high and the occupant side is low, and the gas discharge port is provided with the lid. It is formed so as to be inclined and opposed to the hinge portion of the airbag, and the gas discharge angle from the opening of the lid can be arbitrarily adjusted. it can. Therefore, when the airbag is inflated, the airbag hardly interferes with the windshield until it is almost completely deployed. For example,
Even if the angle of the windshield changes, it can be adapted simply by using a partition plate with a different position of the gas discharge port,
Excellent versatility.

Further, since the inner wall of the lid and the partition plate are in an inclined positional relationship, the gas pressure discharged from the gas discharge port is not applied to the inner wall of the lid as it is. Since the thickness of the portion is formed to be smaller than the thickness of the lid on the vehicle body front side from the hinge portion,
The lid on the front side of the vehicle body from the hinge portion can be prevented from being significantly deformed. The opening portion can be sharply bent from the hinge portion to form a large opening, and does not hinder the inflation of the airbag during deployment.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a passenger airbag device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a passenger airbag device according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a front view of a partition plate.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the device when the airbag is inflated.

FIGS. 5A and 5B are explanatory diagrams showing gas flows. FIG. 5A shows a case where a gas discharge port is formed so as to face a hinge portion.
(B) shows the case where the position of the gas discharge port is shifted to the front side of the vehicle body from the hinge portion, and (c) shows the case where the position of the gas discharge port is shifted to the opening operation portion side from the hinge portion. The flow is shown.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Housing 12 Inflator 13 Airbag 14 Instrument panel 15 Opening 19 Lid 23 Hinge part 24 Opening part 25 Partition plate 26, 26a, 26b Gas discharge port

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. An airbag device for a passenger seat installed on an upper inside surface of an upper part of an instrument panel, comprising a housing having an opening opened at an upper part, an airbag and an inflator housed in the housing, A lid that closes the opening of the housing, opens the opening portion on the occupant side from the hinge portion, has a gas discharge port, and has a partition plate interposed between the inflator and the airbag, and has a partition plate. An airbag device for a passenger seat, characterized in that the front side of the vehicle body is inclined and the occupant side is lowered so as to be inclined, and the gas discharge port is formed so as to be inclined and opposed to the hinge part of the lid. 2. The passenger airbag device according to claim 1, wherein the thickness of the opening portion is formed to be smaller than the thickness of the lid on the vehicle body front side from the hinge portion.