JPH10278713A - Air bag - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an air bag which suppresses abrupt expansion to an occupant side just after the expansion is swollen entirely without any partial unevenness, and prevents the occupant from being collided with an obstacle. SOLUTION: An air bag is provided with base materials 11, 12 which are opposed to each other and formed into a bag body 10 by sewing the stacked outer edge parts and a regulating member which is provided with a plurality of leg piece parts 22 for coupling these base materials 11, 12 together, and a joint sewing part 23 which is sewn with a part of the bag body sandwiched by the leg piece parts or sewn to a part of the bag body by stacking the leg piece parts with each other so as to be fractured in swelling and developing of the air bag is formed. A stacked sewing part 24 which is sewn by stacking together the outside leg piece part of the joint sewing part so as to be fractured in swelling and expansion of the air bag is formed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an airbag for protecting an occupant in the event of a vehicle collision, and more particularly to an airbag which is inflated and deployed so as to quickly cover an obstacle such as a steering wheel to prevent the occupant from colliding with the obstacle. It relates to an airbag.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as this kind of airbag, one described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-166361 has been provided. In this airbag, the outer edges of two base materials are sewn together, and the gap between the peripheral edge of the inflator mounting opening of the two base materials and the center of the occupant abutment surface is sewn with sewing thread. That is, in the early stage of deployment of the airbag, after the sudden expansion toward the occupant side is suppressed to inflate the airbag toward the outer edge portion, the sewing thread is broken and inflated to the occupant side.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 6-17147 discloses that a regulating member is fixed between a peripheral portion of an opening for mounting an inflator of two base materials and a center portion of an occupant contact surface. An intermediate portion is folded and sewn, and when the airbag is deployed, the sewing breaks to cancel the momentum (speed) of inflation toward the occupant, thereby trying to protect the occupant safely. ing.

[0004]

The airbag is mounted at the bottom or middle of the airbag device, and gas blown from the inflator hits the casing side wall of the airbag device, and as a result, the cover is broken. Almost all of the subsequent gas flow is directed toward the occupant. For this reason, the airbag that has protruded from the cover suddenly projects toward the occupant in the initial stage of deployment.

[0005] In the above-mentioned prior art, although the effect of relaxing the momentum of the airbag which is about to inflate and protrude rapidly and inflating the airbag as a whole during this period is to some extent, it is not sufficient. That is, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. Hei 6 (1994) -6, in which a gap between the peripheral edge of the opening of the two base materials and the center of the occupant abutment surface is sutured.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-166361 also discloses a device in which a regulating member sewn at an intermediate portion is fixed between two base materials.
This is also because the sewing machine described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 171449/47 breaks at a stretch in the early stage of deployment of the airbag, and thus the airbag projects toward the occupant before inflating the entire airbag.

If the length of the sewn portion of the regulating member is sufficiently lengthened or the breaking strength of the sewn portion is increased in order to solve this drawback, the airbag must be removed before all the sewn portions of the regulating member break. Although it is possible to inflate toward the outer edge, it takes time for the airbag to completely inflate and deploy, resulting in poor protection performance.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems of the prior art. It is an object of the present invention to provide an airbag in which an airbag is inflated as a whole immediately after deployment without local bias. , Which quickly and completely covers obstacles such as steering, preventing occupants from colliding with obstacles, and suppressing rapid deployment of airbags to the occupant side, providing air with superior protection performance. It is intended to provide a bag.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the invention according to claim 1 of the present invention is directed to an opposing base formed on a bag body by suturing an overlapped outer edge thereof. Material, and a regulating member having a plurality of leg pieces connecting these base materials, and a part of the bag body is sewn so as to be rupturable at the time of inflation and deployment of the airbag. Alternatively, a joint sewn portion formed by overlapping leg pieces and sewn to a part of the bag body is formed.

Here, as the base material, a flexible and airtight material obtained by coating a synthetic fiber woven fabric with a heat-resistant rubber or synthetic resin, or a non-coated base fabric having the same performance is used. do it. One of the opposing base materials formed on the bag is attached to the inflator, and an opening for inserting the inflator is provided at the center of the base material. The other substrate is
It is arranged on the side that comes into contact with the occupant during inflation and deployment. Both substrates, even if they consist of one continuous substrate,
It may consist of a single substrate.

The regulating member regulates the deployment distance between the base materials to a predetermined value or less so that the inflated and deployed airbag does not protrude and deform in the occupant direction. The regulating member is
What is necessary is just to produce with synthetic fiber woven fabric which is comparatively soft and has shape-retaining property, similarly to the above-mentioned base material, may be coated with heat-resistant rubber or synthetic resin, or may be non-coated. The restricting member is extended with a predetermined width in the radial direction at a fixed interval from an engaging surface portion formed in an appropriate size such as a circular shape or a polygonal shape and a peripheral edge of the engaging surface portion. It has a plurality of leg pieces.

The connection between the base member and the regulating member is performed by sewing the engaging surface portion of the regulating member at the center of the occupant abutment surface of one base member and sewing the leg piece to the opening peripheral portion of the other base member. It may be connected by wearing. Also, a pair of regulating members are prepared, and at the opening peripheral portion of one base material and the occupant contact surface center portion of the other base material,
The two restricting members may be connected by sewing the engaging surface portions of the restricting members and connecting the ends of the leg portions of the corresponding restricting members.

The joint sewn portion is formed by bending the leg portion, sandwiching a part of the bag body in the leg portion, and superimposing the sewn portion so as to be integrally sewn so as to be breakable when the airbag is inflated and deployed. is there. Further, the joint sewn portion may be formed by sewing the outer peripheral edge portion of the bag body between the leg pieces, or may be formed by overlapping the leg pieces and sewn to a part of the bag body. It may be formed.

The fact that the airbag can be broken when inflated and deployed,
The compressed gas flowing into the bag body from the inflator breaks the airbag cover and the bag body expands from the airbag device to the occupant side, but only by absorbing this energy and inflating the bag body toward the outer edge. is there.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the first aspect of the present invention, the outer leg portions of the joining seam are overlapped with each other so as to be breakable when the airbag is inflated and deployed. It is characterized in that a sewn, polymerized sewn portion is formed. The overlapped sewn portion is formed by folding and overlapping the outer leg portions of the joint sewn portion and sewing them. Breakable when the airbag is inflated and deployed means that after the joint seam is broken, it breaks due to the gas pressure expanded in the outer edge direction, and the regulating member regulates the center part of the occupant contact surface to a relatively flat shape when inflated. It is about to be done.

[0015] Of the present invention, the invention described in claim 3 is the following.
And a pair of regulating members having a plurality of leg pieces extending radially from the periphery of the engaging surface portion. A mating surface portion is sewn, and an engaging surface portion of the other regulating member is sewn to a center portion of the occupant contact surface of the other base material, and outer edges of these base materials are sewn to form a bag body. And the leg pieces of the regulating member sewn to each base material of the bag are sewn and connected,
A pinching sewn portion in which a part of the bag body is sewn with a leg portion sewn so that it can be broken when the airbag is inflated and deployed, and an outer leg portion of the pinch sewn portion that can be ruptured when the airbag is inflated and deployed. A superposed sewn portion formed by overlapping and sewing is formed, and the inner and outer surfaces of the bag body are inverted from the opening of the base material.

[0016]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings, with reference to a driver's seat airbag.
FIG. 1 is a rear view of the airbag bag before the regulating member is sewn, and FIG.
3 is a front view, FIG. 3 is a rear view of the airbag bag when the regulating member is sewn, FIG. 4 is a rear view of the airbag bag after the regulating member is sewn, FIG. 5 is a front view of the same, and FIG. A rear view of a state in which the inner and outer surfaces of the rear airbag body are reversed, and FIGS. 7 to 9 are explanatory views showing the deployed state of the airbag over time. In FIG. 9, the airbag device is attached. It is shown in the state. FIG. 10 is an explanatory view showing another embodiment of sewing the regulating member.

Reference numerals 11 and 12 denote two substrates constituting the airbag, which have a circular shape. Substrates 11, 12
Is made of a flexible and airtight material obtained by coating a synthetic fiber woven fabric with a heat-resistant rubber or synthetic resin. In the following, the inner surfaces of the substrates 11 and 12
The outer surface side is a state of the formed airbag.

An opening 13 into which the inflator 30 is inserted is provided at a central portion of the one base material 11. On the inner surface (coated surface) side of the opening peripheral portion 14,
A reinforcing cloth 1 made of the same material as the base material 11 and having openings.
5 is reinforced by sewing.

The other substrate 12 is disposed on the side that comes into contact with the occupant during the expansion and deployment. A regulating member 20 is sewn on the inner surface (coated surface) of the occupant contact surface central portion 16 of the base material 12.

The restricting member 20 has an engaging surface portion 21 formed in an appropriate size such as a circular shape or a polygonal shape, and has a predetermined width in a radial direction at a predetermined interval from the periphery of the engaging surface portion 21. Are extended (four in the illustrated example).

The regulating member 20 is fixed to the base material 12 by sewing the engagement surface portion 21 to the inner surface of the central portion 16 of the occupant contact surface. Note that the regulating member 20 is
.. May be constituted by one woven cloth having one and a plurality of leg pieces 22, 22. Also, a plurality of woven cloths having a pair of leg pieces 22, 22 provided on the engagement surface 21 are prepared. And leg piece 2
The engagement surfaces 21 may be overlapped with each other at different angles 2 and 22 and sewn to the base 12.

The length of the leg portion 22 is, as shown in FIG.
Since the length is sufficiently shorter than the radius of the base material 12, when the distal ends of the leg pieces 22, 22,... Are sewn to the auxiliary cloth 15, the outer shape of the airbag is reduced, as described later. Folding and storage are easy.

The two substrates 11 and 12 are overlapped with their coated surfaces facing outward, and the outer edges thereof are sewn to form the bag body 10. The tip of each leg piece 22 is fixed to the base material 11 by sewing to the reinforcing cloth 15.

Each leg piece 22 is bent near the reinforcing cloth 15 so that the bag 10
Is formed, and a joint sewn portion 23 is formed integrally and sewn so as to be breakable when the airbag is inflated and deployed. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the joint sewn portion 23 overlaps the outer peripheral edge of the bag body 10 or the outer peripheral edge after folding with the leg piece portion 22 and integrally sews the same. May be formed. Further, as shown in FIG. 10, the leg piece 22 may be sewn between the protruding pieces (outer peripheral edge) extending to the outer peripheral edge of the bag body 10 in a bent state.

Each of the leg portions 22 outside the joint sewing portion 23 is folded back, and the leg portion 22 is overlapped on the folded portion and sewn so that it can be broken when the airbag is inflated and deployed. The overlap sewing part 24 is formed.

When the joint sewn portion 23 and the overlap sewn portion 24 are formed on the leg portion 22, the bag 10 may be partially folded inside. In this way, each leg piece 22
When the joint sewing portion 23 and the overlap sewing portion 24 are formed in
As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the outer shape of the bag body 10 is reduced, and the bag body 10 can be easily folded and stored in the airbag device. For example, if there are four leg pieces 22 of the regulating member 20, the bag 10 can be folded into a square.

By inverting the inner and outer surfaces of the bag 10 through the opening 13, the coated surface becomes the bag 1.
The airbag is formed so as to face the inside of the airbag. And, the regulating member 20 is used for both the base materials 1 of the bag body 10.
It will be arranged between 1 and 12.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the engaging surface 21 of the regulating member 20 is connected to the occupant contact surface center 1 of the base 12.
6, only a pair of regulating members are prepared, and the engaging surface portion is sewn to the opening peripheral portion 14 of the base material 11 and the occupant contact surface central portion 16 of the base material 12. There may be.

That is, in this embodiment, a pair of regulating members are prepared, and the engaging surface of one regulating member is attached to the base material 11.
Is sewn to the inner surface of the opening peripheral portion 14. In this case, the reinforcing cloth 15 may or may not be provided on the base material 11.
Then, the engagement surface portion of the other regulating member is sewn to the inner surface of the occupant contact surface central portion 16 of the base material 12. An opening having the same diameter as the opening 13 is formed in the engaging surface of the regulating member sewn to the base material 11, but an opening is provided in the engaging surface of the regulating member sewn to the base material 12. It may not be provided.

The two substrates 11 and 12 are overlapped with their coated surfaces facing outward, and the outer edges thereof are sewn to form the bag body 10. Then, the two regulating members are connected by continuously connecting the tips of the leg portions of the corresponding regulating members sewn to the base material 11 and the base material 12.

Then, similarly to the above embodiment of the present invention,
In the vicinity of the opening peripheral portion 14 of the base material 11,
The leg pieces are bent and overlapped with the bag body 10 sandwiched in the leg pieces to form a joint sewn portion which is integrally sewn so as to be breakable when the airbag is inflated and deployed. In addition, the outer legs of the joint sewn portion are overlapped to form a polymerized sewn portion which is sewn so as to be rupturable when the airbag is inflated and deployed.

Then, by inverting the inside and outside surfaces of the bag body 10 through the opening 13, the coated surface is arranged so as to face the inside of the bag body 10 to form an airbag. Thus, the regulating member is disposed between the base materials 11 and 12 of the bag 10.

The inflator 30 is in the form of a thin cylindrical container in which a gas generating agent is sealed, and has a plurality of gas ejection ports 31, 31 on its side surface at appropriate intervals along the circumferential direction. ... are formed. Then, the gas generated by detonating the gas generating agent is supplied to the jet port 3
Are jetted from 1, 31,... In a direction orthogonal to the axis of the inflator 30. Also, the inflator 30
The flange 3 is provided on the outer periphery of the
2, and a holding bracket 33 is attached to the flange 32.

In the bag body 10, the opening peripheral portion 14 of the base material 11 and the reinforcing cloth 15 are sandwiched between the fixing ring 34 and the holding bracket 33, and the opening peripheral portion 14 and the opening of the reinforcing cloth 15 (not shown). ) Or rivets are inserted into and fastened to the inflator 30 in an airtight manner. Then, the airbag is attached to a center portion of a steering wheel (not shown) in a folded state.

According to the airbag according to the present invention, at the time of a vehicle collision, a gas generating agent in the inflator 30 is detonated by a sensor (not shown) to generate gas. The generated gas flows from the ejection ports 31, 31.
Is supplied to the inside of the bag body 10. Then, the gas pressure in the bag body 10 rises, and the airbag cover breaks to break the bag body 1.
0 is deployed from the airbag device to the occupant side.

The air bag cover is broken and the bag 10
Immediately after jumping out of the airbag device, the pressure in the bag body 10 becomes a negative pressure, and the bag body 10 does not expand in the outer edge direction until the gas inside the bag body 10 is filled to some extent. For this reason, the bag body 10 tends to protrude more locally toward the occupant, but since the joining member 23 is provided on the regulating member 20,
The capacity of the bag body 10 in the initial stage of deployment is smaller than that at the time of deployment, and the time during which the interior of the bag body 10 is in a negative pressure state can be suppressed, and the pressure rise can be accelerated.

Then, the pressure inside the bag body 10 increases with a relatively small amount of gas, and the joint sewing portion 23 of the regulating member 20 breaks out and is absorbed (see FIG. 8). Further, if the joint sewn portion 23 is formed by sewing the outer peripheral edge of the bag body 10 therebetween, the breakage of the joint sewn portion 23 causes an inner pressure to further act on the outer edge portion of the bag body 10. As a result, the entire outer edge of the bag body 10 tends to expand.

When the joint sewing portion 23 breaks, the vicinity of the outer edge of the bag body 10 becomes free, and the bag body 10 can expand at a stretch in the direction of the outer edge, so that the entire obstacle is quickly covered with the bag body 10. Can be. When the pressure in the bag body 10 further increases, the overlapped sewing portion 24 is also broken, and the bag body 10 further expands toward the occupant. Safety can be improved.

When the bag 10 is inflated,
With 0, the occupant abutment surface central portion 16 is regulated to a relatively flat shape, the head and chest of the occupant can be reliably and safely received, and the impact force can be absorbed and reduced. in this way,
The length of the bag body 10 protruding toward the occupant can be finally regulated by the regulating member 20, but after the momentum of the protruding toward the occupant is sufficiently reduced, the regulating member 20 is also finally broken. It may be.

If the joint sewn portion 23 and the overlap sewn portion 24 are not provided on the regulating member 20, the gas which has flown out to the occupant side is free and the bag body suddenly locally projects toward the occupant side. The sewn portion between the regulating member and the base material is broken before the gas pressure rises. There is no fear.

Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above with reference to an airbag for a driver's seat, the airbag according to the present invention is not limited to this, but may be applied to an airbag for a passenger's seat, a side bag, or the like. Can also be applied.

[0042]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, a part of the bag body is sewn so as to be breakable when the airbag is inflated and deployed. The joint sewn part is formed by overlapping the leg pieces and sewn to a part of the bag, so the capacity of the bag at the initial stage of deployment is reduced, and the time of negative pressure inside the bag is suppressed. As a result, the pressure rise can be accelerated, so that the local protrusion of the bag body can be prevented. Further, the rupture of the joint sewn portion allows the bag body to expand at a stretch in the direction of the outer edge, so that the entire obstacle can be quickly covered with the bag body. Since the bag body is inflated to the occupant after the break of the joint seam, the bag can be prevented from suddenly protruding toward the occupant in the early stage of bag deployment, and the projecting speed can be sufficiently reduced. Safety can be improved.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the overlapped sewn portion formed by overlapping the leg portions outside the joint sewn portion is sewn so that the airbag can be broken when the airbag is inflated and deployed. By doing so, it is possible to inflate the bag body toward the outer edge even after the joint sewing portion is broken, and it is possible to widely cover the entire obstacle with the bag body. Since the bag body expands toward the occupant only after the break of the overlapped seam, it is possible to suppress the sudden protrusion of the bag body toward the occupant in the initial stage of the bag deployment, and to sufficiently reduce the protrusion speed. Safety can be improved.

Further, in the invention according to the third aspect of the present invention, since the regulating member is sewn on the base cloth in advance and the bag is formed with the regulating member on the outside, the processing of the complicated sewn portion is performed. (Joint stitching portion, overlapping stitching portion) and the like can be easily performed, and the airbag can be easily manufactured by inverting the inner and outer surfaces of the bag body. Further, it is also possible to continuously sew the joint sewing portion and the overlap sewing portion. Furthermore, when the sewing portion is processed (joint sewing portion, superimposed sewing portion), the bag body is partially woven into the inside, and the outer shape is reduced (in the case of four leg pieces). Is a quadrangle), which facilitates the folding and storing operation in the airbag device.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a rear view of an airbag bag before a regulating member is sewn.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the airbag bag before the regulation member is sewn.

FIG. 3 is a rear view of the airbag body when the regulating member is sewn.

FIG. 4 is a rear view of the airbag body after the regulation member is sewn.

FIG. 5 is a front view of the airbag body after the regulation member is sewn.

FIG. 6 is a rear view in a state where the inner and outer surfaces of the airbag body after the regulation member is sewn are inverted.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing the deployment state of the airbag over time, showing an initial deployment state.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing the deployment state of the airbag over time.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing a deployment state of the airbag with time attached to the airbag device, showing a state at the time of completion of deployment.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory view showing another embodiment of sewing a regulating member.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Bag body 11, 12 Base material 13 Opening 14 Periphery of opening 16 Central part of occupant contact surface 20 Restriction member 21 Engagement surface part 22 Leg piece part 23 Joining sewing part 24 Polymerization sewing part

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An opposing base member formed on a bag body by suturing an overlapped outer edge thereof, and a regulating member having a plurality of leg pieces connecting the base members,
A joint sewn portion is formed that can be broken when the airbag is inflated and deployed, with a part of the bag body sewn with the leg pieces sandwiched or with the leg pieces overlapped and sewn to a part of the bag body. An airbag characterized by: 2. The airbag can be broken when inflated and deployed.
2. The airbag according to claim 1, wherein an overlapped sewn portion is formed by overlapping and sewn the outer leg portions of the joint sewn portion. And a pair of regulating members having a plurality of leg portions extending radially from a periphery of the engagement surface portion, wherein one of the base members has an opening periphery. The engaging surface of one regulating member is sewn, and the engaging surface of the other regulating member is sewn to the center of the occupant abutment surface of the other substrate. Are formed in a bag body, and leg portions of a regulating member sewn to each base material of the bag body are sewn and connected, and the bag is rupturable when the airbag is inflated and deployed. A joint sewn part in which a part of the body is sewn with leg parts sewn together, and a superimposed sewn part in which the outer leg parts of the pinch sewn part are overlapped and sewn so that they can be broken when the airbag is inflated and deployed. And form
An airbag formed by inverting the inner and outer surfaces of a bag body from an opening of a base material.