JPH1029489A - Air bag device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an air bag device in which some component parts such as a housing or the like can be eliminated, its structure is simple and its cost is also sufficiently reduced. SOLUTION: This device is provided with an inflator 10 having a main body 11 formed in a column-like shape, formed with a flange 12 at its one end and with a fastening part 14 at the other end; a retainer 20 having a plate-like main body 21 and a pair of side pieces 22, 23 bent from both ends of the main body in the same direction and further formed with a first insertion hole 24 capable of inserting the inflator main body at one side piece and a second insertion hole 25 capable of inserting the fastening part into the other sided piece; and an air bag 30 formed with a first opening 35 and a second opening 36 in correspondence with the first insertion hole and the second insertion hole of the retainer. The retainer is arranged within the air bag, the inflator main body is inserted into the first opening and the first insertion hole, the fastening part is projected out of the second insertion hole and the second opening, the fastening part is fastened by the fastening means 16, thereby the air bag is fixed at both side pieces of the retainer.

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 in the event of a vehicle collision, and more particularly to an airbag apparatus suitable for a relatively small sidebag for protecting an occupant from a side collision.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An airbag device which has been conventionally used is, for example, one in which parts such as an inflator, an airbag, and a retainer for mounting an airbag are assembled in a housing as disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 5-94029. Almost.

[0003]

Incidentally, in the airbag device, the side bag is particularly attached to a part of a seat, a door or the like, and its storage space is relatively limited. In addition, the number of parts constituting the airbag device is not much different from the airbag device for the driver's seat or the passenger seat, and therefore, it has a disadvantage that it cannot be supplied at low cost despite its small capacity. I was

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and has as its object to provide a simple structure and a sufficiently low cost without impairing the performance. It is an object of the present invention to provide an airbag device capable of performing the above-described operations.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention according to claim 1 of the present invention has a main body having a cylindrical shape, a flange at one end and a fastening portion at the other end. A formed inflator, a plate-shaped main body, and a pair of side pieces bent in the same direction from both ends of the main body, a first insertion hole into which the inflator main body can be inserted into one side piece, A retainer having a second insertion hole into which the fastening portion can be inserted into the side piece, and an airbag having a first opening and a second opening corresponding to the first insertion hole and the second insertion hole of the retainer, respectively. Disposing the retainer in the airbag, inserting the inflator body into the first opening and the first insertion hole, exposing the fastening portion from the second insertion hole and the second opening, and fastening the fastening portion by fastening means. As a result, the airbag is fixed to both sides of the retainer. It is characterized in that was.

Here, a hybrid type inflator may be used, and a gas outlet for discharging compressed gas is provided at one end of the inflator body. The fastening portion may have a configuration in which a reduced-diameter projection in which a thread groove is formed is formed at one end portion of the inflator body, and the fastening portion is screwed with a fixing nut serving as fastening means. The retainer is formed so that the vertical length of the main body is substantially the same as the length of the inflator main body.
The airbag may be formed by sewing the peripheral portions of two base cloths, or may be formed by folding one base cloth and sewing the outer edges thereof. After sewing, the airbag is inverted and used. Further, the retainer mounting portion of the airbag may be reinforced by sewing a reinforcing cloth.

The invention according to claim 2 is characterized in that a slit is formed in a portion between the first opening and the second opening of the airbag, and the retainer is inserted into the airbag through the slit. I have. The slit is formed by cutting into the airbag smaller than the size of the retainer body. When the airbag is sandwiched between the retainer and the vehicle body, the gap is closed by the slit.

The invention according to claim 3 is characterized in that a non-sewn portion is provided at a part of the edge of the airbag, and the retainer is inserted into the airbag from the non-sewn portion. Further, the invention according to claim 4 is characterized in that a portion corresponding to the gas ejection port of the inflator on the periphery of the retainer mounting portion of the airbag is sewn to form a gas flow path. The non-sewn portion provided at the edge of the airbag may be closed by sewing after attaching the retainer and the inflator to the airbag, or may be a gas exhaust hole without sewing. The seam for forming the gas flow path may be configured to be broken when the entire airbag is inflated.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, a retaining portion for attaching the retainer to the vehicle body is provided on the retainer body opposite to the side piece protruding, and a mounting hole is formed in the airbag corresponding to the retaining portion. Provided, the locking part is made to protrude from the mounting hole,
The airbag is sandwiched between the retainer and the vehicle body. The locking portion may be configured by projecting a pair of protrusions from both ends of the retainer body.

[0010] The invention according to claim 6 is characterized in that the airbag folded by attaching the retainer and the inflator is covered with a cover made of a material which is easily broken. When the folded airbag is covered with the cover with the retainer and the inflator attached thereto, the cover fixes the folded airbag and facilitates the work of assembling the device to the vehicle body.

[0011]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of an airbag device according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a front view of the airbag, and FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG.

Reference numeral 10 denotes an inflator whose main body 11 has a cylindrical shape. The inflator 10 may be of a hybrid type using a compressed gas mainly composed of argon and an explosive in combination. Inflator body 1
At one end of one, a flange 12 is formed.

A small diameter portion at the other end of the inflator body 11 has a plurality of gas ejection ports 1 for ejecting compressed gas.
3, 13, ... are provided. And the inflator 10
The fastening portion 14 is formed from the small diameter portion to the end. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, the fastening portion 14 may be formed by forming a reduced diameter projection on the other end of the inflator body 11 and engraving a thread groove 15 on the peripheral wall thereof.
Reference numeral 16 denotes a fixing nut which is a fastening means and is screwed into the screw groove 15 of the fastening portion 14.

Reference numeral 20 denotes a retainer for holding the inflator 10 and an airbag, which will be described later, on the vehicle body. The retainer 20 has a U-shaped cross section, and includes a plate-shaped main body 21 and a pair of side pieces 22 and 23 that are bent in the same direction from both ends of the retainer main body 21. The vertical length of the retainer main body 21 is formed to be substantially the same as the length of the inflator main body 11.

On one side piece 22, the inflator body 1 is provided.
The first insertion hole 24 is larger than the outer diameter of the inflator body 11 and smaller than the outer diameter of
Is formed. The other side piece 23 has an inflator 1
In order to insert the zero fastening portion 14, a second insertion hole 25 that is larger than the outer diameter of the fastening portion 14 and smaller than the outer diameter of the inflator body 11 is formed.

The retainer body 21 on the side opposite to the side from which the side pieces 22 and 23 protrude is provided with a locking portion 26 for attaching the retainer 20 to the vehicle body. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, a pair of projections is provided to project from both ends of the retainer main body 21 to form a locking portion 26.

Reference numeral 27 denotes a flange 12 of the inflator 10.
And a washer interposed between the retainer 20 and the side piece 22 of the retainer 20. Reference numeral 28 denotes a fixing nut 16 and a retainer 20.
And a washer interposed between the side pieces 23.

The airbag 30 has a substantially square shape.
The peripheral portions of the base cloths 31 and 32 are sewn and formed.
These base fabrics 31 and 32 may be woven fabrics coated with rubber or synthetic resin, or may be simple woven fabrics. The airbag 30 is used after being sewn and then inverted.

The end of one of the base cloths 31 (the retainer mounting portion 3)
3) includes a base cloth 3 as reinforcement when the retainer 20 is attached.
A reinforcing cloth 34 made of the same material as that of the reinforcing members 1 and 32 is sewn. The reinforcing cloth 34 may be composed of a plurality of sheets, and in the example shown in FIG.
On the back side, it is composed of a total of four sheets.

A first opening 35 and a second opening 36 are formed in the retainer mounting portion 33 of the airbag 30 so as to correspond to the first insertion hole 24 and the second insertion hole 25 of the retainer 20. The first opening 35 is substantially equal to the outer diameter of the inflator body 11 for inserting the inflator body 11. Then, for reinforcement, to surround the first opening 35,
The base cloth 31 and the reinforcing cloth 34 are sewn in an annular shape.

The second opening 36 is provided in the inflator 10.
In order to insert the fastening portion 14, the outer diameter of the fastening portion 14 is larger than the outer diameter of the inflator body 11. For reinforcement, the base cloth 31 and the reinforcing cloth 34 are sewn in an annular shape so as to surround the second opening 36.

A slit 37, which is smaller than the size of the retainer body 21, is cut into a portion between the first opening 35 and the second opening 36 of the airbag 30. The slit 37 is for inserting the retainer 20 into the airbag 30, and may be cut into another shape such as an L-shape in addition to the U-shape in the illustrated example.

At the upper and lower portions of the airbag 30 where the slit 37 is provided, the retaining portions 26, 2 of the retainer 20 are provided.
6, mounting holes 38, 38 are provided. These slits 37 are used to reinforce the airbag 30.
The base cloth 31 and the reinforcing cloth 34 are sewn in an annular shape so as to surround the mounting holes 38, 38.

In the above-described embodiment, the retainer 20 is inserted into the airbag 30 through the slit 37 and arranged, and the locking portions 26 of the retainer 20 are made to protrude through the mounting holes 38 of the airbag 30. The slit 37 is
When this device is mounted on the vehicle body, the device is held in contact with the surface of the retainer main body 21 and the vehicle body, and the gap is closed.

Next, the inflator main body 11 is inserted into the washer 27, the first opening 35, and the first insertion hole 24 by aligning the first opening 35 of the airbag 30 with the first insertion hole 24 of the retainer 20. Then, by aligning the second insertion hole 25 of the retainer 20 with the second opening 36 of the airbag 30, the fastening portion 14 is made to protrude from the second insertion hole 25, the second opening 36, and the washer 28, and The fixing nut 16 is fastened to the groove 15.

In this manner, the airbag 30 is fixed to the side pieces 22 and 23 of the retainer 20 and the inflator 1
0, the retainer 20, and the airbag 30 can be integrally fixed. Then, the locking portion 2 of the retainer 20
By attaching 6, 26 to the vehicle body, the airbag 30 is sandwiched between the retainer main body 21 and the vehicle body. Therefore, in the above-described embodiment, the airbag 30 can be fixed directly to the vehicle body when the airbag device is mounted, so that a base plate or the like for completely fixing the airbag in advance as in the related art is unnecessary.

FIG. 4 is a front view showing another embodiment of the airbag. This airbag 40 is different from the airbag 30 in that the airbag 30 has two base cloths 3.
While all the peripheral portions of the first and second sewn portions are sewn, a non-sewn portion 41 which is not sewn is partially provided. After the sewing, the airbag 40 is used by reversing the inner and outer surfaces from the non-sewn portion 41.

In this embodiment, when attaching the retainer 20 to the airbag 40, the retainer 20 can be inserted from the non-sewn portion 41.
There is no problem even if the slit 37 is not provided. The non-sewn portion 41 may be closed by sewing after attaching the retainer 20 and the inflator 10, or may be an exhaust hole for gas generated in the inflator 10 without sewing. The other points of the airbag 40 are the same as those of the airbag 30.

FIG. 5 is a front view showing another embodiment of the airbag. The airbag 50 is different from the airbag 30 in that when the inflator 10 is provided with gas outlets 13 at one end, the airbag 5 is used.
0 is provided in the gas flow path so as to uniformly inflate and deploy, and the rest is the same as the airbag 30.

The gas flow path extends around the periphery of the retainer mounting portion 33 of the airbag 50 and the gas ejection port 1 of the inflator 10.
What is necessary is just to form by suturing the base fabrics 31 and 32 of the part corresponding to 3. In the example shown in FIG. 5, the base cloth 31 and the base cloth 32 are stitched. However, the reinforcing cloth 34 is made larger, and the base cloths 31 and 32 and the reinforcing cloth 34 are stitched to form a gas flow path. May be formed.

If the gas flow path is formed, the inflator 10
The gas ejected from the airbag 50 enters the airbag 50 from the sewn portion 52 through the non-sewn portion 51, and the airbag 50 is inflated and deployed uniformly as a whole without partially biasing the gas pressure. . The sewn portion 52 may be configured to break when the entire airbag 50 is inflated.

FIG. 6 is a front view showing another embodiment of the airbag. This airbag 60 is different from the airbag 30 in that the airbag 30 has two base cloths 3.
While the peripheral portions of 1, 32 are formed by sewing,
It is formed by folding one base cloth 61 and sewing the outer edge thereof, and the reinforcing cloth 34 is sewn to the folded part. Others are the same as the airbag 30.

The airbags 30, 40, 50, 60 to which the retainer 20 and the inflator 10 are attached are folded into an appropriate shape and stored in the vehicle body. 7 and 8 show a cover 70 that facilitates handling of the present apparatus when the vehicle is stored.

The cover 70 is made of a fragile material such as a nonwoven fabric. The cover 70 has through holes 71 at both ends for inserting the locking portions 26 of the retainer 20. Then, the airbags 30, 40, and 5 with the retainer 20 and the inflator 10 attached thereto are folded.
0, 60, the retainer 2 is inserted into the through hole 71 provided at one end.
No. 26 is inserted to cover the retainer 20, the inflator 10, and the airbags 30, 40, 50, and 60, and goes around the circumference. The locking portion 26 of the retainer 20 is inserted into a through hole 71 provided at the other end. Is inserted and stopped using an adhesive tape 72 or the like.

As described above, the folded airbag 30,
When the covers 40, 50, and 60 are integrally bound to the retainer 20 by the cover 70, the cover 70 fixes the folded airbag, so that the work of assembling the apparatus to the vehicle body becomes easy. If the cover 70 is provided with a break line 73 on the side opposite to the locking portion 26, the cover 70 is easily broken along the break line 73 when the inflator 10 is operated, and the inflation and deployment of the airbag is further facilitated. Become.

FIG. 9 shows this device using the airbag 30.
FIG. 10 shows a state where the present apparatus using the airbag 60 is mounted on a vehicle body for side collision. The use of this device is compact, simple in structure and easy to mount on a vehicle body. Reference numeral 81 denotes a seat back constituting a seat back portion, 82 denotes a urethane portion of the seat back, 83 denotes an occupant's head, and 84 denotes an occupant's shoulder.

[0037]

As described above, according to the first and second aspects of the present invention, the first opening of the airbag is formed by the flange of the inflator and the side piece of the retainer, and the second opening is formed by the side of the retainer. The airbag is closed by the piece and the fastening means, and there is no risk of gas leakage exceeding the set value, and the airbag can be firmly fixed between the retainer and the vehicle body. Therefore, it is possible to provide an airbag device having a very simple structure without impairing the performance.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, an extra hole for inserting the retainer into the airbag may not be formed only by providing the non-sewn portion at a part of the edge of the airbag.
The hole making operation is not required, and the strength of the airbag is not reduced.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, since a gas flow path is formed by suturing a peripheral portion of the retainer mounting portion of the airbag while leaving a non-sewn portion, it is not necessary to separately use a diffuser. Can be simplified and the cost can be reduced.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the positioning of the first opening and the second opening of the airbag and the first insertion hole and the second insertion hole of the retainer is performed by projecting the locking portion from the mounting hole. It can be easily performed, and the assembling work is easy. Further, even if the airbag is provided with a slit for inserting a retainer, when the retainer is attached to the vehicle body, the slit can be closed by the retainer and the vehicle body.

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, since the airbag whose cover is folded is fixed, the work of assembling the present apparatus to the vehicle body becomes easy. In addition, since the cover is made of a material that is easily broken, it does not hinder the inflation and deployment of the airbag. According to the present invention, the base plate is not required, the structure is simple, and the capacity can be reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of an airbag device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the airbag.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a front view of an airbag according to another embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a front view of an airbag according to another embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a front view of an airbag according to another embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a front perspective view of a state where the airbag device is assembled.

FIG. 8 is a rear perspective view of a state where the airbag device is assembled.

FIG. 9 is a plan view showing a state where the airbag is inflated.

FIG. 10 is a plan view showing a state where an airbag according to another embodiment is inflated.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Inflator 11 Inflator main body 12 Flange 13 Gas outlet 14 Fastening part 16 Fixing nut 20 Retainer 21 Retainer main body 22, 23 Side piece 24 First insertion hole 25 Second insertion hole 26 Locking part 30, 40, 50, 60 Airbag 33 Retainer mounting portion 35 First opening 36 Second opening 37 Slit 38 Mounting hole 41 Non-sewn portion 51 Non-sewn portion 52 Stitched portion 70 Cover

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. An inflator in which a main body has a cylindrical shape, a flange is formed at one end and a fastening portion is formed at the other end, a plate-shaped main body, and a pair of sides formed by bending both ends of the main body in the same direction. A retainer having a first insertion hole into which the inflator body can be inserted into one side piece, and a second insertion hole into which the fastening portion can be inserted into the other side piece, and a first insertion of the retainer. An airbag having a first opening and a second opening corresponding to the hole and the second insertion hole, a retainer is disposed in the airbag, and an inflator body is inserted into the first opening and the first insertion hole. An airbag device characterized in that the fastening portion protrudes from the second insertion hole and the second opening, and the fastening portion is fastened by fastening means, thereby fixing the airbag to both side pieces of the retainer. 2. The airbag according to claim 1, wherein a slit is formed at a portion between the first opening and the second opening of the airbag, and the retainer is inserted into the airbag through the slit. Airbag device. 3. The airbag device according to claim 1, wherein a non-sewn portion is provided at a part of an edge portion of the airbag, and a retainer is inserted into the airbag from the non-sewn portion. 4. The airbag device according to claim 1, wherein a portion corresponding to a gas outlet of the inflator on a periphery of a retainer mounting portion of the airbag is sewn to form a gas flow path. . 5. A retainer for attaching a retainer to a vehicle body is provided on a retainer body opposite to a side piece that protrudes, and a mounting hole is provided in an airbag corresponding to the retainer.
5. The airbag device according to claim 1, wherein the locking portion is made to protrude from the mounting hole so that the airbag is sandwiched between the retainer and the vehicle body. 6. The airbag apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the airbag which is folded by attaching the retainer and the inflator is covered with a cover made of a material which is easily broken.