JPH10315908A - Air bag device for cab-behind-engine vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an air bag device for a cab-behind-engine vehicle which prevents a pedestrian from crashing into a windshield in case of a collision of the cab-behind-engine vehicle with the pedestrian. SOLUTION: The subject device is equipped with an air bag itself which is stored, while not in operation, in a folded state in a store-box located at a place adjacent to the windshield of the hood and spreads, while in operation, as it covers almost all the windshield and a part of the hood in front of the windshield, and with a holding means which is fixed at the front of the air bag itself and holds fast the sufferer of the collision, and which is constituted by curved materials capable of almost wrapping in the sufferer in case of a collision.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention generally relates to an airbag device for a bonnet type vehicle, and more particularly, to a pedestrian or the like (including a person riding a bicycle or a motorcycle. ") And the bonnet-type vehicle in an unintended collision, minimizing the physical damage to the injured person and occupants when the bonnet-type vehicle collides with an object such as a tree or part of a building. The present invention relates to a hood-type vehicle airbag device for protecting a vehicle.

[0002]

In recent years, as the number of traffic accidents has increased dramatically and safety awareness has increased, passenger cars equipped with airbag devices have become conspicuous in order to protect occupants in the event of a collision. Various types of such airbag devices have been developed, but these are intended solely for the protection of occupants and not for pedestrians.

Considering an example of an accident in which a hood-type passenger car collides with a pedestrian head-on, a pedestrian who suffers physical damage by colliding with a front bumper of the passenger car (hereinafter, referred to as “primary collision”) is further examined. After being hit on the hood and hitting the windshield, it was found that in many cases it was shaken down from the hood to the ground and suffered second and third physical damage (hereinafter referred to as "secondary collision"). I have. As an airbag device intended for pedestrians, an airbag device described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 6-239198 is known. However, this device is intended for primary collision, and at present there is no airbag device for secondary collision.

Further, when a hood-type vehicle collides with an object such as a tree or a part of a building from the front, the object may collide with a windshield and cause harm to occupants. No occupant protection system is currently available.

Accordingly, the present invention prevents a pedestrian from colliding with a windshield when a hood-type vehicle collides with a pedestrian, and the hood-type vehicle collides with an object such as a tree or a part of a building. An object of the present invention is to provide a hood-type vehicle airbag device that protects an occupant in such a case.

[0006]

The hood-type vehicle airbag device according to the first aspect of the present invention is housed in a folded state in a storage box arranged at a position adjacent to the windshield of the hood when not in operation. An airbag body that is deployed to cover almost the entire surface of the windshield and a part of the bonnet in front of the windshield during operation, and gripping means fixed to a front surface of the airbag body and gripping an impacted person. The gripping means is constituted by a member which is curved so as to wrap the collider at the time of a collision.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an airbag device for a hood type vehicle, wherein the gripping means is covered with an impact buffer material.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a hood-type airbag device for a vehicle according to the second aspect, wherein an anti-slip member is attached to a side of the gripping means which comes into contact with the collision target. It is characterized by the following.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an airbag device for a hood type vehicle according to any one of the first to third aspects, wherein a plurality of ropes are attached to both ends of the gripping means, respectively. The end of each rope is configured to be locked by locking means so as to be released when a constant tensile force is applied to the rope.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a hood-type vehicle airbag device according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, wherein the gripping means or the airbag body comprises:
It is characterized by being rigidly connected to the vehicle by a second rope.

The hood-type vehicle airbag device according to claim 6 of the present application is stored in a folded state in a storage box arranged at a position adjacent to the windshield of the bonnet when the hood is not operated, and the windshield is operated when the hood is operated. An airbag body that is deployed to cover almost the entire surface of the windshield and a part of the hood in front of the airbag body, the airbag body having a central part, a left part, and a right part, and a right part and a left part Is foldably connected to the center, and the width of one of the right side and the left side is formed to be larger than the width of the other, and the width of the right side and the left side is smaller. The distal end and the corresponding portion of the larger width are connected by a rope, and the length of the rope is selected so as to be substantially taut when activated.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided an airbag device for a hood type vehicle according to the sixth aspect, wherein the outer end portion having a smaller width and the inner portion having a larger width in the airbag body. A fixing means is attached to the distal end of the airbag body so as to securely wrap the collision object when the collision object collides with the airbag body, and the fixing means is a hook and loop fastener. .

According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a hood-type vehicle airbag apparatus according to the sixth or seventh aspect, wherein the airbag body is firmly connected to the vehicle by a second rope. It is characterized by the following.

A bonnet according to a ninth aspect of the present invention is provided with the airbag device according to any one of the first to eighth aspects.

[0015]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing a state in which a vehicle airbag device according to a first embodiment of the present invention is deployed. The vehicle airbag device according to the first embodiment of the present invention includes an airbag body 10 that is deployed to cover almost the entire front glass and part of the hood in front of the vehicle windshield in the event of a collision. Have. The airbag body 10 may be composed of a single bag as shown in FIG. 2A, or a plurality of bags 10a, 10b and 10c as shown in FIG. May be constituted.

On the front surface of the airbag body 10, a gripping means 12 for gripping a collision target such as a pedestrian is mounted. The gripper 12 is configured by a member that curves so as to wrap the collider in the event of a collision. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the center of the rear surface of the gripper 12 is located on the front of the airbag body 10. Fixed. Gripping means 12
As a member constituting the above, a plate-shaped spring, a member made of a shape memory alloy formed to be curved at the time of a collision, and the like are suitable. The “front surface” of the airbag body means a surface on the opposite side to the surface of the airbag body facing the windshield when the airbag body 10 is deployed.

As shown in FIG. 3, the gripping means 12 is preferably covered with a shock-absorbing material 12a such as a sponge, so that when the colliding person is gripped by the gripping means 12, Thereby, the impact given to the injured person is reduced. Further, the gripping means 12 is preferably provided with an anti-slip material 12b such as vinyl on the side (upper side in FIG. 3) with which the colliding person comes into contact, which helps to securely grip the colliding person.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, only the center of the back surface of the gripping means 12 is fixed to the airbag body 10, but the entire back surface of the gripping means 12 is fixed to the airbag body 1.
It may be fixed to 0. In this case, as shown in FIG. 4, the airbag main body 10 also curves together with the gripping means 12 so as to enclose the collision target.

FIG. 5 is a schematic sectional view showing the airbag device in the housed state. The airbag main body 10 and the gripping means 12 are stored in a folded state in an airbag storage box 14 arranged at a position adjacent to a windshield on the hood of the vehicle. An airbag inflation means 16 for inflating the airbag body 10 is disposed below the airbag storage box 14. The airbag inflation means 16 may be of a conventional type. Note that a groove 14a is formed in the top wall of the airbag storage box 14 so that the top wall is easily crushed when the airbag body 12 is inflated. In FIG. 5, the airbag inflating means 16 is shown as being disposed at the lower part of the airbag storage box 14. May be.

FIG. 6 shows one form for securely storing the gripping means 12 in the airbag storage box 14. When the airbag device is stored, the edges 10a and 10b of the airbag body 10 are moved over the gripping means 12 and
The gripping means 12 is securely stored in the airbag storage box 14 by fixing the Oa and 10b to each other at a plurality of places by the string 18. With this configuration, when the airbag body 10 is inflated during operation of the airbag device, the string 18 is cut off, and the gripping means 12 can be deployed outside the airbag storage box 14.

FIGS. 9 and 10 are schematic views showing a vehicle airbag device according to a second embodiment of the present invention. The vehicle airbag device according to the second embodiment of the present invention includes an airbag body 30 that is deployed so as to cover almost the entire front glass and part of the hood in front of the vehicle windshield in the event of a collision. Have. The airbag body 30 includes a central portion 30a, a left side portion 30b, and a right side portion 3b.
0c, and the left portion 30b and the right portion 30c are foldably connected to the central portion 30a, respectively. The width of either the left part 30b or the right part 30c is
For the reason described later, it is formed to be larger than the other width (for simplicity of description, as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the width of the right portion 30 c is
The case where the width is larger than the width b will be described as an example).

A substantially distal end portion of the left side portion 30b of the airbag body 30 and a corresponding portion of the right side portion 30c are shown in FIG.
They are connected by a rope 32, as best shown in FIG. The length of the rope 32 is selected to be substantially taut during operation (ie, when deployed as shown in FIG. 10 (a)). In addition, the rope 32 is 1
Although only books are shown, it is preferable to connect them with a plurality of ropes 32.

The outer tip of the left portion 30b of the airbag body 30 and the inner tip of the right portion 30c are shown in FIG.
As shown in (b), when the pedestrian collides with the airbag body 30, the fixing means 34 is attached so as to securely wrap the pedestrian. The fixing means 34 is preferably
The hook-loop fastener has a hook portion or a loop portion of the hook-loop fastener attached to the outer tip of the left portion 30b, and a corresponding loop portion or hook portion of the hook-loop fastener attached to the inner tip of the right portion 30c.

The airbag body 30 is preferably
FIG. 10 shows that the wrapped pedestrian is not shaken off.
As shown in the figure, the second rope 36 is firmly connected to the vehicle.

The operation of the vehicle airbag device of the present invention configured as described above will be described. When a bonnet-type passenger car collides with a pedestrian, an airbag activation signal is output from a sensor installed in the front bumper to an airbag activation circuit (not shown) in the airbag inflation means 16. When an airbag activation signal is input to the airbag activation circuit, the ignition device (not shown) in the airbag inflation means 16 is energized from the airbag activation circuit to ignite the igniter in the ignition device, and the flame is generated. The nitrogen gas which propagates to the transfer agent (not shown) in the airbag inflation means 16 and then to the gas generating agent (not shown) and is generated from the gas generating agent is filled in the airbag body 10 or 30. .

Then, in the case of the first embodiment, the airbag main body 10 and the gripping means 12 begin to deploy, pushing down the top wall of the airbag storage box 14 and causing the airbag storage box 1 to break.
4 Go outside. Next, the pedestrian jumped up on the bonnet hits the airbag body 10 which has come out of the airbag storage box 14 and is almost completely inflated, and at the same time, the pedestrian is gripped by the gripping means 12.

On the other hand, in the case of the second embodiment shown in FIG. 8 and FIG. 9, the airbag main body 30 (see FIG. 9 (a), when the pedestrian jumped up on the hood hits the rope 32, the pedestrian is wrapped by the airbag body 30 as shown in FIG. 9 (b). Becomes Further, when the fixing means 34 is attached, the pedestrian is more securely wrapped in the airbag body 30.

It is preferable that the handle is locked and the brake is automatically applied at the same time when the airbag device of the present invention is operated. Further, it is desirable that the sensor installed in the front bumper can adjust the collision speed at which the sensor operates in advance.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments of the invention, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the invention described in the claims. It goes without saying that it is included in. For example, in the first embodiment, as shown in FIG.
0 (only one of each side is shown in FIG. 7), so that the ends of each rope 20 are released when a constant tensile force is applied to the rope 20. You may comprise so that it may be locked by the locking means 22.

In this embodiment, the rope 20 is released from the locking means 22 at the same time that the airbag body 10 comes out of the airbag storage box 14. And the airbag storage box 1
4 to the airbag body 10 which has gone out and is almost completely inflated,
As shown in FIG. 8, when a pedestrian jumped up on the bonnet hits the pedestrian and the pedestrian is gripped by the gripping means 12, as shown in FIG. Wrapped in the bag body 10.

The airbag body 10 or the gripping means 1
8 is preferably rigidly connected to the vehicle by a second rope 24 as shown in FIG. 8 so that the pedestrian gripped by the gripping means 12 is not shaken off (in FIG. Numeral 24 is shown as being attached to the airbag body 10).

Although the above embodiment has been described with reference to a hood-type vehicle, the present invention can be applied to a vehicle such as a truck or a wagon vehicle without a hood.

Further, a bonnet equipped with the airbag device described above may be prepared so that it can be replaced with a bonnet not equipped with an airbag device.

[0034]

According to the present invention, it is possible to prevent a pedestrian who has unfortunately collided with a vehicle from crashing into a windshield or being dropped from the hood onto the ground.
It is possible to minimize physical damage to pedestrians. Further, according to the present invention, it is possible to protect an occupant when a hood-type vehicle collides with an object such as a tree or a part of a building and collides with a windshield. Furthermore, if a vehicle equipped with an airbag device on the bonnet itself is used, a vehicle equipped with the airbag device of the present invention can be easily provided even with a vehicle not equipped with an airbag device.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing a state in which a vehicle airbag device according to a first embodiment of the present invention is deployed.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 2-2 of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along lines 3-3 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view showing a form in which the entire back surface of the gripping means is fixed to the airbag body.

FIG. 5 is a schematic sectional view showing the airbag device in a stored state.

FIGS. 6A and 6B are views showing one mode for securely storing the gripping means in the airbag storage box, wherein FIG. 6A is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the airbag device in a stored state; )
FIG. 6A is a cross-sectional view taken along line 6b-6b in FIG.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along lines 7-7 of FIG. 5;

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a state where a pedestrian is being gripped by the device shown in FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a schematic sectional view showing a state in which a vehicle airbag device according to a second embodiment of the present invention is housed.

FIG. 10 is a plan view showing a state in which a vehicle airbag device according to a second embodiment of the present invention is deployed, and FIG. 10A shows a state in which the airbag body has been deployed. FIG. 2B is a diagram illustrating a state in which a pedestrian collides with the airbag body and is wrapped in the airbag body.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10, 30 Airbag body 12 Gripping means 14 Airbag storage box 16 Airbag inflating means 32 Rope 34 Fixing means

Claims (9)

[Claims] A hood-type airbag device for a vehicle, which is stored in a folded state in a storage box arranged at a position adjacent to a windshield of the hood when not in operation, and in front of the windshield when activated. An airbag body that is deployed to cover substantially the entire surface of the windshield and a part of the hood, and a gripper that is fixed to the front surface of the airbag body and grips the injured person, wherein the gripper is used in the event of a collision. An airbag device comprising a member that curves so as to enclose a person to be hit. 2. The airbag device according to claim 1, wherein the gripping means is covered with an impact buffer. 3. An anti-slip member is attached to a side of the gripping means that contacts the collider.
An airbag device according to claim 1. 4. A plurality of ropes are respectively attached to both ends of the gripping means, and ends of the ropes are locked by locking means so that the ends are released when a constant tensile force is applied to the ropes. The airbag device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the airbag device is configured to perform the following. 5. The airbag device according to claim 1, wherein the gripping means or the airbag body is firmly connected to the vehicle by a second rope. 6. An airbag device for a bonnet type vehicle, wherein the airbag device is stored in a folded state in a storage box arranged at a position adjacent to a windshield of the hood when not in operation, and is in front of the windshield when activated. An airbag body that is deployed so as to cover almost the entire surface of the windshield and a part of the hood, the airbag body has a central part, a left part, and a right part, and the right part and the left part are centered. The right end and the left end are formed so that the width of one of the right and left sides is larger than the width of the other end. An airbag device wherein the rope and the corresponding portion having a larger width are connected by a rope, and the length of the rope is selected so as to be substantially in a tensioned state when activated. 7. The airbag body includes an outer end portion having a smaller width and an inner end portion having a larger width so as to reliably wrap the impacted person when the impacted object collides with the airbag body. , The fixing means is attached, and the fixing means,
7. A hook-and-loop fastener.
An airbag device according to claim 1. 8. The airbag apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the airbag body is firmly connected to the vehicle by a second rope. 9. A hood equipped with the airbag device according to claim 1. Description: