JPH10258700A - Air bag device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce the number of part items and lighten a device as well as to eliminate a cover by forming a curved part having a curvature of a specific radius on an outer surface of a corner part of an end part on a holder. SOLUTION: A bag main body 10 has flexibility free to be folded and to expand, and it is installed on a holder 9 itself in a state of covering the holder 9. Hereby, a curved part 23 is formed on the holder 9. The curved part 23 is formed on a part having possibility of a body of an occupant making contact with, and two of it are formed on both end parts of the holer 9 in the longitudinal direction here. The curved part 23 to be formed on a corner part is set in the curvature capable of minimizing impact to the extreme in the case when the body of the occupant makes contact with it. This curvature is to be decided by making a head form 24 copying the body of the occupant contact with it and measuring the minimum value of impact, and impact is moderated by making the curvature of the radius of 3mm. Consequently, it is possible to eliminate necessity of covering the holder with a cover and to reduce the number of part items and to lighten a device.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an airbag apparatus for protecting an occupant by inflating instantaneously due to sudden acceleration / deceleration of a car collision or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 9 shows a conventional airbag device.
A cylindrical holder 2 is attached to a frame 4 of an automobile seat by studs 3, and the inflator 1 is inserted and stored in the holder 2. The entire holder 2 is wrapped in an inflatable bag body 5, and the gas is blown from the inflator 1 so that the bag body 5 is instantly inflated.

[0003] Further, the whole of these is housed in a cover 7 fixed to a frame 4 of a seat by studs 6. The cover 7 is formed of a metal material, plastic, or the like into a box shape, and has a corner portion 7a curved with a curvature of 3 mm so as to be safe even if an occupant touches the cover.

[0004] The fact that the occupant is safe even if the occupant comes into contact by being formed with a curvature of 3 mm has been obtained based on an empirical rule. Of course it will contribute.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 8-4016 discloses a similar technique.
As shown in Japanese Patent Publication No. 7 (Kokai) No. 7-No.

[0006]

As described above, in the structure of the conventional airbag device, the cover 7 is used to attach the airbag device to vehicle body parts and to secure safety when the occupant comes into contact. Therefore, the number of parts is large and the weight is large. Further, it is necessary to attach the holder 2 and the cover 7 to the body parts (in this case, the frame 4 of the seat), and the attaching work is troublesome.

The present invention has been made in consideration of the conventional problems as described above. By eliminating the need for a cover, the number of parts can be reduced and the weight can be reduced. It is another object of the present invention to provide an airbag device having a safe structure.

[0008]

In order to attain the above object, according to the present invention, there is provided a vehicle body comprising a cylindrical holder in which an inflator is housed, a bag body for covering an outer surface of the holder. An airbag device attached to a component, wherein a curved portion having a radius of curvature of at least 3 mm is formed on an outer surface of a corner portion at an end of the holder.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the airbag device according to the first aspect, a cap is attached to an end of the holder, and an outer surface of a corner portion of the end of the cap has a radius of at least 3 mm. Characterized by the fact that a curved portion having the following curvature is formed.

A third aspect of the present invention is the airbag device according to the first or second aspect, wherein the curved portion abuts on an end of the inflator to prevent the inflator from coming off.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the airbag device according to any one of the first to third aspects, wherein the holder comprises:
A mounting portion for engaging with the inflator and fixing the inflator in the holder is formed.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the airbag device according to the fourth aspect, the mounting portion is a caulking projection whose outer surface is caulked so as to engage with the outer surface of the inflator. It is characterized by the following.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the airbag device according to the fourth aspect, the attachment portion is a small-diameter portion formed in the holder so that the cylindrical shape becomes thin.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the airbag device according to the sixth aspect, the narrow diameter portion is formed by caulking or narrowing.

[0015]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the curved portion formed at the corner of the end of the holder has a curved curvature for safety even when the body comes into contact, so that the safety can be ensured. Therefore, it is only necessary to attach this holder to the vehicle body part, and it is not necessary to cover the holder with a cover.
As a result, the number of parts can be reduced and the weight can be reduced, and the attachment to the vehicle body parts can be simplified.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the curved portion is formed on the cap attached to the holder, safety can be ensured even when the body comes into contact with the cap. Therefore,
According to the present invention, the cover is not required.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the curved portion formed on the holder or the cover prevents the inflator from coming off, so that the inflator can be securely housed in the holder.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, since the mounting portion formed on the holder fixes the inflator, the inflator can be securely fixed without coming off. According to the invention of claim 5, since the crimping projection formed by crimping the holder is engaged with and fixed to the inflator, the inflator can be fixed. According to the invention of claim 6, the inflator can be fixed by the small diameter portion. According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, since the small diameter portion is formed by crimping or drawing, the formation of the small diameter portion can be easily performed.

[0019]

1 to 5 show an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, an airbag apparatus 11 having an inflator 8, a holder 9 and a bag body 10 is constructed.

As shown in FIG. 4, the airbag device 11 is buried in a side support portion 14 on a side surface of a seatback 13 of a seat 12, which is a vehicle body part.

More specifically, as shown in FIG. 5, it is inserted into a hollow recess 16 formed in the pad 15 of the side support portion 14. In the recess 16, the airbag device 11 is fixed to a seatback frame 17 by studs 18 (see FIG. 1).

The head portion 8a of the inflator 8 of the airbag device 11 is provided with a plurality of gas ejection holes 19 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, and the leg 8b at the other end.
Is provided with a nozzle 20 for signal input.

The holder 9 has a cylindrical shape, and the inflator 8 is inserted and stored along the length thereof. This insertion is performed from an insertion hole 21 formed in the leg 9 b of the holder 9. The holder 9 is a member for fixing the inflator 8, and is attached to the seat back frame 17 by studs 18.

The bag body 10 has a flexibility that can be folded and inflated, and is attached to the holder 9 itself while covering the holder 9. This bag body 10
Is instantaneously inflated by the gas pressure of the high-pressure gas ejected from the inflator 8 and jumps out of the cleaved portion 36 of the seat back 13 into the vehicle interior to ensure the safety of the occupant.

In FIGS. 1 and 5, reference numeral 22 denotes a skin covering the outer surface of the pad 15 of the seat back 13.

In the airbag device 11 having such a structure, the holder 9 is formed with a curved portion 23. The curved portions 23 are formed at portions where the body of the occupant may come into contact. In this embodiment, the curved portions 23 are formed at both ends in the length direction of the holder 9. Both ends are holder 9
Is a corner portion in which a side surface forming line 25 for forming the side surface and an end surface forming line 26 for forming both end surfaces (both shown in FIG. 3) intersect at right angles. If the body comes into contact, the impact is large and dangerous.

Curved portion 2 formed at the corner portion
Numeral 3 is set to a curvature that can minimize the impact when the occupant's body comes into contact. This curvature is determined by measuring the minimum value of the impact by bringing the headform 24 imitating the occupant's body into contact with the occupant's body. By setting the curvature to a radius of at least 3 mm, the impact is alleviated. be able to. With such a curvature, even if the headform 24 imitating the occupant's body is brought into contact with the occupant as shown in FIG. 1, the impact is reduced, so that the safety can be enhanced.

FIG. 3 shows a curved portion 23 at such a corner portion.
The corner portions of the holder 9 are formed by intersecting the straight side surface forming lines 25 and the end surface forming lines 26. The curved portion 23 is formed by contacting the two lines 25 and 26,
The entire curved portion 23 is formed with a radius of curvature of 3 mm or more.

In FIG. 3B, another additional straight line 2 is added to the side surface forming line 25 and the end surface forming line 26.
The corners of the holder 9 are formed by the intersections of 7. In this (b), these three straight lines 25,
Curved portions 23 are formed by contacting 26 and 27. In the curved portion 23, the end face forming line 26
23a is formed with a radius of curvature of 3 mm or more, and a contact portion 23b between the additional line 27 and the side surface forming line 25 is formed with a similar curvature.

In FIG. 3C, the side forming lines 25,
A corner portion of the holder 9 is formed by the intersection of the additional curve 28 with the end surface forming line 26, and the curved portion 23 is formed by contacting the side surface forming line 25, the end surface forming line 26, and the additional curve 28. . This curved part 23
In, the contact portion 23c between the end face forming line 26 and the additional curve 28 is formed with a radius of curvature of 3 mm or more,
A contact portion 23d between the additional curve 28 and the side surface forming line 25 is formed with a similar curvature.

In the above-described formation of the curved portions 23, since the radius of curvature of all the contact portions is 3 mm or more, the holder 9 is given safety. For this reason, a cover for covering the entire body including the holder 9 is not required to ensure safety. Therefore, the number of parts can be reduced, the weight can be reduced, and the cover is eliminated, so that the mounting of the airbag device 11 is simplified.

For such a holder 9, an inner inflator 8 is fixed by forming a mounting portion. In this embodiment, a mounting portion is formed by a caulking projection 29 formed on the head portion 9a of the holder 9 corresponding to the head portion 8a of the inflator 8, and a small-diameter portion 30 formed on the leg portion 9b of the holder. ing.

The caulking projection 29 of the head 9a is formed by caulking a portion corresponding to the tip of the head 8a of the inflator 8 from the outer surface, and is engaged with one end of the inflator 8 to be fixed. .

The small diameter portion 30 of the leg 9b is
Is formed by caulking or narrowing the outer surface of the holder 9 corresponding to the leg 8b of the inflator 8 so that the diameter of the holder 9 becomes smaller than the cylindrical diameter of the holder 9 and engages with the leg 8b of the inflator 8. , That's fixed.

As described above, the crimping projection 29 and the small diameter portion 30
By fixing the inflator 8, the inflator 8 can be prevented from coming off, so that the inflator 8 can be fixed stably.

FIG. 6 shows a modification of this embodiment, in which a curved portion 23 is formed by forming one end of the holder 9 into a curved shape. The curved portion 23 is also formed so that the radius of curvature is 3 mm or more, and safety is ensured. The head portion 8a of the inflator 8 abuts against the curved portion 23 of the holder 9, and the abutment prevents the inflator 8 from coming off.
Fixation in the holder 9 is performed. Accordingly, the inflator 8 can be fixed without forming the mounting portions such as the crimping protrusion 29 and the small diameter portion 30.

FIG. 7 shows another embodiment of the present invention, and the same portions as those in the above-described embodiment are assigned the same reference numerals. In this embodiment, the head 9 of the holder 9
a is covered with a cap 31. The cap 31 has a locking portion 32 formed by bending an outer peripheral portion thereof, and the cap 31 is fixed to the holder 9 by locking the locking portion 32 to the head portion 9a.

The bent corner portion of the cap 31 is a portion where the occupant's body may come into contact, and a curved portion 23 having a radius of curvature of 3 mm or more is formed at this corner portion. As a result, safety when the occupant comes into contact is ensured.

In the inflator 8 of this embodiment, a step portion 33 having a large diameter is formed below the head portion 8a, and the inflator 8 is fixed by using the step portion 33. That is, the mounting portion 34 that engages with the stepped portion 33 is formed by caulking or narrowing the outer surface of the holder 9 with respect to the stepped portion 33, and the inflator 8 is fixed.

FIG. 8 shows a modification of the cap 31. In this example, the stud 3 is attached to the head 8a of the inflator 8.
The cap 31 is fixed by sandwiching the cap 31 between the stud 35 and the head portion 8a. Also in this case, the safety of contact is ensured by forming the curved portion 23 on the cap 31.

In the above-described embodiment, the airbag device provided on the seat has been described. However, an airbag device used for a member other than the seat such as a door trim and a rear pillar trim may be provided. Needless to say, it may be provided at a predetermined position.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall sectional view of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the airbag device without a bag body.

FIGS. 3A to 3C are explanatory diagrams showing a mode of forming a curved portion.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a state of attachment to a seat.

5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 4 showing a state of attachment to a seat.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of a modification of the embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of another embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view of a modification of another embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a sectional view of a conventional airbag device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 8 inflator 9 holder 10 bag body 11 airbag device 17 seat back frame 23 curved portion 24 head form 29 crimping protrusion 30 small diameter portion 31 cap 34 mounting portion

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. An airbag device comprising: a cylindrical holder in which an inflator is housed; and a bag body covering an outer surface of the holder, and attached to a vehicle body component, wherein an end of the holder is provided. An airbag device characterized in that a curved portion having a radius of curvature of at least 3 mm is formed on the outer surface of the corner portion of (1). 2. The airbag device according to claim 1, wherein a cap is attached to an end of the holder, and a curvature having a radius of at least 3 mm is formed on an outer surface of a corner portion of the end of the cap. An airbag device having a curved portion having the same. 3. The airbag device according to claim 1, wherein the curved portion comes into contact with an end of the inflator to prevent the inflator from coming off. 4. The airbag device according to claim 1, wherein the holder has a mounting portion that engages with the inflator and fixes the inflator in the holder. An airbag device characterized by the above. 5. The airbag device according to claim 4, wherein the mounting portion is a caulking protrusion whose outer surface is caulked so as to engage with the outer surface of the inflator. Airbag device. 6. The airbag device according to claim 4, wherein the attachment portion is a small-diameter portion formed in the holder so that the cylindrical shape becomes thin. 7. The airbag device according to claim 6, wherein the small-diameter portion is formed by caulking or narrowing.