JPH10287195A - Air bag for side collision - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent expansion for a head protection part from interfering with a seat belt when an air bag for side collision is expanded, and make the air bag for side collision as mentioned above simple in structure, and easy to manufacture. SOLUTION: This is an air bag for side collision 2 to be built in the inside of the seat of a vehicle, and the air bag is so constituted that a neck part 12 is formed at the middle part of the air bag in such a way that the expansion thickness and width at the middle part of the air bag in its height direction are narrower than those of the other portion of the air bag, and the position of the neck part is located in the vicinity of the shoulder part of an occupant so as to allow the expansion of the air bag to be prevented from interfering with a seat belt, any tether for particularly regulating the expansion of the air bag, is not used at all, and the expansion of the air bag is rather regulated by the neck part.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a side collision air for protecting an occupant from a secondary collision by inflating an airbag between a side surface of a vehicle interior and an occupant at the time of a collision and absorbing an impact by the airbag. It relates to the structure of the bag.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a side collision airbag for protecting an occupant by inflating in the event of a side collision, the impact absorbing structure on the side of the vehicle body, such as a side door, is thin.
It is necessary to inflate the airbag that protects the occupant in a short time of the order of one second. In particular, since the torso collides with the side surface of the passenger compartment before the occupant's head, it is desirable to inflate the portion of the airbag corresponding to the torso first. Since the entire airbag is inflated in a single structure at the same time, it takes time to completely inflate the airbag. Therefore, the space for installing the side collision airbag must be increased and the airbag must be expensive.

In a normal side collision airbag,
If the timing of inflation is set so as to effectively protect the head, for example, when the torso collides, the airbag is not yet sufficiently inflated, and the torso is effectively protected. If the timing is set to inflate, if the head collides later than the torso, the airbag will go into the deflation process past the peak of inflation and the shock absorbing capacity will easily decrease. In order to prevent this, it is necessary to lengthen the gas generation time of the inflator, and there is a problem that the inflator becomes large.

[0004] The side airbag has a flat shape so as to protect the side of the occupant. However, in the stage where the internal pressure is high at the initial stage of inflation, the airbag protrudes from the center portion and the ball protrudes. However, in this case, not only may the airbag hit the torso directly and cause occupant injury, but also the protection of the head may be incomplete and the head may be damaged. Can also cause injury.

Therefore, a side collision airbag as shown in FIG. 5, for example, has been proposed. That is, in this airbag, the airbag 21 is inflated by gas generated by the inflator 20 at the time of collision,
When the airbag 21 is deployed between the side surface of the passenger compartment and the occupant, the airbag 21 is inflated to protect the occupant 22 from the chest and other parts of the torso. 2
3, an inflator 20 attached so as to be able to supply gas,
It comprises a head protection part 24 which is continuous above the chest protection part 23, expands and corresponds to the head of the occupant, and a boundary part between the chest protection part 23 and the head protection part 24 has bases on both sides. It is provided with a string-shaped tether 25 in which cloth is sewn on both ends.

In this airbag, the chest protector 2
Since a tether 25 as an expansion restricting member is provided in the horizontal direction at the boundary between the head protection unit 3 and the head protection unit 24, when the inflator 20 is ignited at the time of collision and gas is generated, the chest protection unit 23 first expands. To start, the horizontal expansion is regulated by the tether 25, so that excessive horizontal expansion is limited. As a result, first, the lower chest protection section 23 is inflated first, and then the upper head protection section 2
4 is developed. Then, as shown in FIG. 6, the unfolded shape is such that the unfolded shape of the neck is restricted by the tether 25 and unfolded.

The tether 25 is provided between the front side fabric and the back side fabric constituting the airbag, that is, inside the airbag.
Both ends are sewn in a tape shape or a string shape, and at least one tether is disposed inside the airbag.

[0008]

In the above-mentioned conventional side-impact airbag, the airbag has a chest protection portion for protecting the occupant's shoulder and chest, and a head protection portion corresponding to the occupant's head. In the meantime, it is necessary to sew the above-mentioned tape-shaped or string-shaped tether, but this sewing is not easy, requires a lot of trouble, increases the number of members constituting the airbag, and reduces the cost. Was causing the up.

Further, in the conventional side collision airbag, as shown in FIG. 5, a seat belt 26 extended from a pillar portion of the vehicle above the occupant's shoulder has a sloping shape which is hung from the occupant's shoulder to the belly. , While the side collision airbag is
Since the seat back is deployed forward from the side of the backrest portion 27 and simultaneously deployed upward, the deployment of the side collision airbag to be deployed upward is impeded by the seat belt, and the hatched portion in the figure In some cases, the deployment of the airbag was delayed and the protection of the occupant's head was insufficient, and the function as a side collision airbag could not be sufficiently exhibited.

Therefore, the present invention prevents the deployment of the head protection portion from being hindered by the seat bell when deploying the side collision airbag. Further, such a side collision airbag can be easily and simply constructed. The purpose is to make it cheap to manufacture.

[0011]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention is directed to a side collision airbag incorporated in a vehicle seat, wherein an inflated thickness and width of an intermediate portion in a height direction thereof. However, so that both become narrower than the other portions, a side collision airbag is configured such that a constricted portion is formed in the intermediate portion,
Further, the position of the constricted portion is set near the occupant's shoulder, so that the deployment of the airbag is not hindered by the seat belt, and in particular, without using any tether for regulating the inflation of the airbag. The present invention has a great feature in that the inflating of the airbag is restricted by the constricted portion.

According to the present invention, as described above, the constricted portion is provided at the intermediate portion so that the inflated thickness and width of the intermediate portion in the height direction of the side collision airbag are both narrower than other portions. When the side collision airbag is deployed at the time of a vehicle collision, the high-pressure gas generated from the inflator first causes the lower portion of the airbag to start inflating. The constriction prevents excessive expansion in the horizontal direction and prevents gas from flowing rapidly to the upper part. As a result, first, the lower portion of the airbag is fully deployed to reliably protect the occupant's chest, and then gas flows upward through the narrowed middle portion, and the upper portion of the airbag is deployed. I do. At this time, the constricted part is located at the part of the seat belt that hangs on the occupant's shoulder, so it can be deployed while avoiding the seat belt, and it can be securely deployed upward to protect the occupant's head. You can do it.

[0013]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 1 and 2 show a state in which the side collision airbag of the present invention is deployed, and FIGS. 3 and 4 show only the deployed side collision airbag portion of the present invention. The side-impact airbag device 1 is mounted as a module 3 having an inflator in a state where the airbag is folded below a side portion of a seat back portion, and the airbag 2 includes two base cloths. The outer peripheral sewn portions 6 sewn around the portions 4 and 5 are formed into a predetermined shape.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the airbag 2 extends forward from the inflator mounting opening 20, and extends upward ahead of the center line 10 of the occupant 8, and at this portion, protects the occupant's chest. The part 11 is formed. Further, a constricted portion 12 is formed on the upper portion, and extends further upward from the constricted portion 12 to form a head protection portion 13. This head protection part 1
Numeral 3 extends rearward near the upper end, and this portion is located on the side of the occupant's head. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the constricted portion 12 is located at a substantially middle portion in the height direction of the airbag 2 and has a smaller inflation thickness and width than other portions in the conventional art. The constriction is formed by the shape of the airbag itself without using a tether as described above. In addition, this constricted portion, when deployed, is located in the middle of the occupant's head and chest, ie,
It is set to be located near the occupant's shoulder.

Therefore, from the seat belt feeding portion 15 above the shoulder of the occupant of the pillar 14 of the vehicle, the occupant is hung on the occupant's shoulder, extends downward through the chest on the opposite side, and the occupant's chest is crossed. With respect to the seat belt 16 extending, the side collision airbag is configured to be deployed at a portion other than the shoulder portion 17 of the occupant. Therefore, at the time of a side collision of the vehicle, the gas from the inflator of the module 3 enters the folded and stored airbag 2, breaks the cover by the deployment force, and deploys between the occupant and the inside of the vehicle body. .

At this time, in the airbag, the chest protector 11 is first deployed forward to protect the occupant's chest, and then the head protector 13 is deployed to protect the occupant's head. However, since the constricted part 12 is formed in the middle part of the airbag 12, the chest protection part 11 and the head protection part 1 are formed.
Excessive inflation in the horizontal direction of the airbag 3, i.e., in the thickness direction of the airbag, is prevented by the constricted portion 12, so that the position of the head protection portion 13 is also held at an appropriate position, and the head is reliably protected. Things become possible. At the same time, the gas flow is regulated by the constricted portion 12, so that the head protection portion 13 is deployed after the chest protection portion 11 is deployed. As a result, the torso that is initially impacted is reliably protected by the chest protector 11, and the head is maintained in a state where the head protector 13 is fully deployed when it hits the airbag. The head is also reliably protected from collisions.

A vent hole 19 is formed on the outer surface of the head protection portion 13, that is, a portion facing the vehicle body side. Excess gas is discharged from the vent hole 19 to the outside of the airbag, and at the same time, It is designed to absorb the repulsive force when the head collides with the airbag.

Particularly, in the above embodiment, the airbag extends rearward in the vicinity of the upper end of the head protection portion 13, so that the portion where the head protection portion 13 rises from the chest protection portion 11 is sufficiently moved forward. The seat belt 16 can be securely placed around the shoulder.

[0019]

According to the present invention, as described above, the constricted portion is formed in the middle portion in the height direction of the side collision airbag. Since the side airbag having such a structure is not hindered and is formed simply by sewing the outer peripheral edge, the airbag can be manufactured at low cost.

Further, since a constricted portion is formed in the intermediate portion of the side collision airbag such that the inflated thickness and width of the intermediate portion in the height direction are both smaller than those of the other portions, the vehicle is provided. When the side collision airbag is deployed at the time of collision, the lower portion of the side collision airbag is first inflated by the high-pressure gas generated from the inflator, and at this time, by the constricted portion,
Over-inflation in the horizontal direction is prevented, and gas is prevented from flowing rapidly to the upper part, so that the chest protection at the lower part of the airbag is fully deployed, thereby ensuring that the occupant's torso is secured. Protected. Subsequently, the gas flows upward through the constricted part, and the head protection part at the top of the airbag deploys upward in front of the occupant, so the seatbelt is reliably deployed avoiding the part on the shoulder This ensures that the occupant's head is protected. Also, as a means for preventing the horizontal excessive inflation of the airbag, there is no need to provide a tether inside the airbag as in the conventional case,
It can be manufactured inexpensively with a simple structure.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view showing a state in which a side collision airbag according to the present invention is deployed in a vehicle.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the same.

FIG. 3 is a side view showing a deployed state of the side collision airbag according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a side view showing a state in which a conventional side collision airbag is deployed in a vehicle.

FIG. 6 is a front view of the same.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Side-impact airbag 2 Airbag 3 Module 4,5 Base fabric of airbag 6 Peripheral sewing part 7 Seat backrest 8 Occupant 10 Occupant's centerline 11 Chest protection part 12 Constriction part 13 Head protection part 14 Vehicle pillar 15 Seat belt extension 16 Seat belt 19 Vent hole 20 Inflator mounting port

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A side collision airbag (1) built in a vehicle seat such that an inflated thickness and a width of an intermediate portion in a height direction are both smaller than other portions. An airbag for side collision, wherein a constricted portion (12) is formed in the intermediate portion. 2. The side according to claim 1, wherein the constricted portion is located near the shoulder of the occupant so that the deployment of the airbag is not hindered by the seat belt. Airbag for collision. 3. The occupant according to claim 1, wherein the constricted portion is located between the head and the chest of the occupant.
2. The side collision airbag according to 1. 4. The airbag (1) extends horizontally from the inflator mounting opening (20) toward the front of the occupant,
The chest protection part (11) which subsequently rises upward, and a head protection part (13) which rises continuously from the chest protection part and extends upward from the front to the rear. The side impact airbag as described. 5. The side collision according to claim 4, wherein the constriction (12) is formed between the chest protection part (11) and the head protection part (13). Airbag. 6. The side collision air according to claim 1, wherein the constricted portion controls the inflation of the airbag without using any tether for restricting the inflation of the airbag. bag.