JPH11170947A - Inverting method for airbag body, and device used therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve a problem that a non-inverted part is left behind so that an airbag is inverted in an approximately uniform manner toward an outer peripheral edge of a whole airbag body from the center of an opening in inverting the face side and the back side of the airbag body not only in a case where the distance from the center of the opening to the outer peripheral edge of the airbag body is approximately uniform, but also in a case where the distance is not uniform. SOLUTION: In an inverting direction of an airbag body 10 provided with an opening 14, an airbag base cloth 12 on the side without any opening 14 is clamped at a plurality of parts from both face side and back side making use of the opening 14, and the face side and the back side of the airbag body 10 are inverted through relative movement so that the clamped parts pass the opening 14.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for inverting an airbag bag formed in a bag shape by means of sewing or the like in a manufacturing process of the airbag bag used for a vehicle. It relates to an apparatus used for the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-85292 is known for manufacturing an airbag bag. In this technique, a bag-shaped airbag bag is set on a work table by superposing two bag-shaped base cloths cut in a circular shape and sewing the periphery thereof. At this time, an opening for connecting an inflator (gas generator) opened at the center of one bag base fabric of the airbag bag is positioned so as to face the through hole of the table. In this state, the center portion of the other bag body fabric is pushed by a pushing member (rod) so as to pass through the opening, thereby turning the airbag bag body upside down.

[0003]

When the bag base fabric of the airbag bag is circular as described above, when the bag is turned upside down, the reversal proceeds uniformly from the opening toward the outer periphery. However, for example, when trying to invert an airbag bag with a tether belt by the above-mentioned conventional technology,
For the following reasons, a part that is not inverted may remain.

[0004] That is, the tether belt is for regulating the shape of the airbag body when the airbag body is deployed to a flat spherical shape, and is set to a predetermined length for that purpose. Before the bag is turned over, it is located outside the bag. For this reason, in order to connect both ends of the tether belt to predetermined portions of the bag base fabric of the airbag bag, the bag base fabric of the airbag bag at the portion where the tether belt is provided is partially folded.

As a result, in the planar shape of the airbag body before the inversion, the distance from the center of the opening to the outer peripheral edge of the airbag body becomes uneven. Therefore, the portion where the distance is short, that is, the inversion of the portion where the tether belt is located precedes the other portions, and as a result, a portion that is not inverted remains. Such a phenomenon also occurs when the bag base cloth is non-circular such as an ellipse, or when the opening is shifted from the center of the bag base cloth even if the bag base cloth is circular.

An object of the present invention is not only when the distance from the center of the opening to the outer peripheral edge of the airbag bag is almost uniform, but also when the distance is uneven. Is to make the inversion proceed almost uniformly from the center of the opening toward the outer peripheral edge of the entire airbag body in order to eliminate the situation where a part that is not inverted remains.

[0007]

According to the first aspect of the present invention,
A method of reversing an airbag bag having an opening, wherein a plurality of portions of the bag base fabric on the side not having the opening are clamped from both front and back sides by using the opening, and these clamped are provided. The portion is relatively moved so as to pass through the opening, thereby inverting the front and back of the airbag body.

According to the present invention, the whole airbag bag body is turned over by clamping a plurality of portions of the bag base fabric on the side not having the opening from both the front and back sides and inverting the front and back of the airbag bag body. Can be turned over smoothly over the range.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided the method of reversing the airbag body according to the first aspect, wherein a distance from a center of the opening to an outer peripheral edge of the airbag body is not uniform.
The apparent distance from the center of the opening to the outer peripheral edge of the airbag body can be made substantially uniform by relatively moving the center part of the bag base cloth on the side not provided with the opening and each of the clamp points. In this state, the airbag bag is turned upside down.

Even when the distance from the center of the opening to the outer peripheral edge of the airbag body is not uniform, the front and back of the airbag body can be inverted with this distance seemingly substantially uniform. Thereby, the inversion proceeds almost uniformly from the center of the opening toward the outer peripheral edge of the entire airbag body, and the situation where a part that is not inverted remains remains is eliminated.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided an airbag bag reversing device having an opening, wherein the airbag bag can be set, and the through hole has a diameter substantially corresponding to the opening. And a clamping mechanism capable of clamping a plurality of portions of the bag base fabric on the side of the through-hole not having the opening from the front and back sides by using the opening, A support mechanism capable of supporting a central portion of a portion to be clamped, which is a bag base cloth having no opening, and an inversion disposed at an outer peripheral portion of the clamp mechanism and capable of vertically moving relative to the clamp mechanism The clamp mechanism and the support mechanism are configured to be able to relatively move up and down. As a result, the invention according to claim 1 or 2 can be implemented, and as described above, the airbag bag can be turned over almost uniformly and smoothly.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the airbag bag reversing device according to the third aspect, wherein a relative lifting / lowering operation amount of the clamp mechanism and the support mechanism can be appropriately adjusted. .

In the present invention, when the distance from the center of the opening to the outer peripheral edge of the airbag body is not uniform, the relative amount of lifting and lowering of the clamp mechanism and the support mechanism is adjusted according to the difference in the distance. By doing so, the apparent distance from the center of the opening to the outer peripheral edge of the airbag body can be made substantially uniform for the airbag bodies of various shapes, and the front and back can be reversed.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the airbag reversing device according to the third aspect, wherein the airbag bag after the reversal is disengaged from the reversal ring at an outer peripheral position of the reversal ring. An air nozzle for blowing air is arranged.

According to this configuration, the airbag bag after inversion is discharged out of the inversion ring by the air blown out from the air nozzle, and the airbag bag can be easily taken out of the apparatus.

[0016]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below. FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram illustrating a reversing device for an airbag body, and FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a part of FIG. As shown in these drawings, a table 20 is disposed horizontally at a substantially middle position in the vertical direction of the apparatus, and a hole 21 vertically penetrating is provided at the center of the table 20. Also, above the table 20,
An upper plate 22 parallel to the table 20 is located at a predetermined space. In the center of the upper plate 22, a hole 2 penetrating vertically on the same axis as the hole 21 of the table 20 is provided.
3 are provided.

The lower clamping air cylinder 24 is disposed in a space secured below the table 20.
Are fixed upward to the lower surface of the table 20. The rod 25 of the air cylinder 24 is
Through the upper surface of the table 20. A block 26 is connected to an end (upper end) of the rod 25, and a pair of pins 28 each having a convex spherical end are connected to the block 26.

On the other hand, an upper clamping air cylinder 30 is fixed downward on the upper surface of the upper plate 22 on the same axis as the clamping air cylinder 24. The rod 31 of the air cylinder 30 is located on the lower surface side of the upper plate 22 through the hole 23. A block 32 is connected to the end (lower end) of the rod 31. The block 32 has a pair of pins 34 each having a concave spherical end.
Are combined. The two pins 34 and the two pins 28 are individually located on the same coaxial line as shown in FIG. 2, and the convex spherical surface at the end of the block 26 and the pin 34
Are set to dimensions that can fit into each other.

As shown in FIG. 1, a support shaft 3 whose ends are individually connected to the table 20 and the upper plate 22.
The linear bush 42 of the lifting table 38
The linear bush 52 of the elevating plate 50 is supported so as to be slidable in the vertical direction. Lifting table 38
Is for setting an airbag body 10 to be described later, is located below the elevating plate 50, and has a through hole 40 at the center thereof. The inner diameter of the through hole 40 is set to a size that allows the pins 28 and 34 to be inserted with a margin.

The elevating table 38 includes the table 2
Under the control of the air cylinder 44 fixed upward to the lower surface of the cylinder 0, the air cylinder 44 moves up and down along the support shaft 36. When the elevating table 38 is in the lowest position, the distal ends of the lower pins 28 slightly protrude from the through holes 40 as shown in FIGS. An air cylinder 46 is provided on the lower surface of the lifting table 38.
This air cylinder 46 is capable of projecting its rod 48 between the axes of the lower pins 28 and the upper pins 34.

The elevating plate 50 is located above the elevating table 38, and a reversing ring 54 is fixed coaxially with the through hole 40 of the elevating table 38. The inner diameter of the reversing ring 54 is also set to a size that allows the pins 28 and 34 to be inserted. The lift plate 50 moves up and down along the support shaft 36 under the control of an air cylinder 56 supported downward on the axis of the support shaft 36.

A plurality of air nozzles 58 are arranged on the outer periphery of the reversing ring 54 in the elevating plate 50,
On the upper surfaces of these air nozzles 58, a receiving plate 60 having an opening at the center is provided integrally with the elevating plate 50.
For each of these air nozzles 58, air from a compressed air source (not shown) provided outside the equipment of the airbag bag reversing device is provided with a flexible tube or the like so as not to hinder the elevating operation of the elevating plate 50. It is supplied through. The air supplied to each air nozzle 58 is blown upward from a gap between the outer periphery of the reversing ring 54 and the inner periphery of the opening of the receiving plate 60.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory view showing the airbag body 10 before inversion, and FIG. 4 is an explanatory view showing the airbag body 10 after inversion. As is clear from FIG. 3 (A) showing the appearance of the airbag bag body 10 before inversion in a perspective view and FIG. 3 (B) showing the cross section thereof, a cloth or the like cut into a circular shape is used. The two bag base fabrics 12 and 13 are overlapped, and the periphery thereof is sewn with a sewing machine. In addition, as for the one bag base fabric 13 located on the front surface side in FIG. 3, when the airbag bag 10 is assembled into a predetermined portion of the vehicle, the inside of the airbag bag 10 and the inflator (gas generation) are formed. An opening 14 for communicating with the device is formed in advance.

A general airbag bag is deployed in a shape close to a true sphere by injecting gas from an inflator, and the contact surface with the body of a vehicle occupant is reduced. Therefore, there is a case where the tether belt 16 shown in FIG. 3 is used for the purpose of restricting the shape of the airbag bag at the time of deployment to a flat spherical shape. Two tether belts 16 are provided on the outer side of the airbag bag body 10 before inversion, and one end of each is connected to the bag base cloth 12 and the other end is connected to the bag base cloth 13 by sewing or the like. .

Since the length of the tether belt 16 is set shorter than the length of the bag base fabrics 12 and 13 between the individual joining points for the above-described purpose, the tether belt 16
The bag base fabrics 12 and 13 at the portions where are provided are partially folded as shown in FIG. As a result, in the planar shape of the airbag body 10 before inversion, the distance from the center of the opening 14 to the outer peripheral edge of the airbag body 10 is not uniform.

The airbag bag 10 after being turned upside down
As is clear from the external perspective view of FIG. 4 (A) and the cross-sectional view of FIG. 4 (B), the seams of both bag base fabrics 12, 13 are on the inside. In addition, both tether belts 16
Are the bag base fabrics 12, 1 inside the airbag bag 10.
3 is regulated so as not to separate more than a predetermined size. As a result, the airbag bag body 10 when deployed is kept flat and spherical.

Next, the reversing operation of the airbag body 10 by the reversing device configured as described above will be described. First, it is assumed that the upper and lower pins 28, 34, the lifting table 38, and the lifting plate 50 in the reversing device are at the standby positions shown in FIGS. Therefore, the air bag body 10 sewn as shown in FIG. 3 is placed on the elevating table in the reversing device such that the bag body cloth 13 having the opening 14 is on the upper side as shown in FIG. Set on top of 38. At this time, the opening 14 is made to be on the axis of the lower and upper pins 28 and 34, and the lower two pins 28 are substantially aligned with the center portion of the bag base fabric 12 on the side not having the opening 14. The other bag body cloth 13 is made to protrude upward from the opening 14.

Next, as shown in FIG. 5B, the lifting table 38 is raised by controlling the air cylinder 44, and the rod 48 of the air cylinder 46 is projected as described above. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 5C, the upper pins 34 are lowered by the drive control of the clamping air cylinder 30 so that these pins 34 are moved downward.
Passes through the reversing ring 54 of the elevating plate 50 and the through hole 40 of the elevating table 38, so that the concave spherical end is brought into contact with the convex spherical end of both lower pins 28.

The two pins 34 are connected to the lifting table 3
8 passes through the through-holes 40, the respective ends thereof contact the bag base fabric 12 in the opening 14 of the airbag body 10 to push down two places of the bag base fabric 12, and the pins 34.
The base cloth 12 is clamped between the concave spherical end of the pin and the convex spherical end of the pin 28. As described above, the clamping air cylinders 24 and 30 and the pins 28 and 34 are mainly used to clamp the bag base fabric 12 of the airbag bag body 10 from both front and back sides, and to be able to move up and down. Is configured.

Since the upper pins 34 move down on both sides of the rod 48 of the air cylinder 46,
As shown in FIG. 6, the bag base fabric 12 of the airbag bag body 10 is supported at its center by the rod 48, and both sides thereof are clamped by pins 28 and 34. The rod 48 of the air cylinder 46 is attached to the pin 28,
A "support mechanism" for supporting a central portion of the portion to be clamped by 34 is constituted.

Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 7A, the lifting table 38 is lowered to the original position by controlling the driving of the air cylinder 44, and the rod 48 of the air cylinder 46 is retracted. In this state, FIG.
As shown by, both lower pins 28 are raised by the drive control of the clamping air cylinder 24. At this time, the upper pins 34 are urged downward by the pressure of the clamping air cylinder 30, and the airbag body 10 rises while the bag base cloth 12 is clamped by the pins 28 and 34. .

Next, the lifting plate 50 is connected to the air cylinder 56.
The reversing ring 54 passes through the outer peripheral portion of the airbag body 10 during the lowering by the drive control of the airbag 10. As a result, the clamped portion of the bag base fabric 12 and the opening 14 of the bag base fabric 13 pass relatively, and the front and back of the airbag bag body 10 are inverted as shown in FIG. Is done.

Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 7 (D), the lower pin 28 is lowered to the original position, and at the same time, air is blown out from the air nozzle 58 of the elevating plate 50. The part left inside the reversing ring 54 is discharged to the upper surface side of the receiving plate 60.
The airbag bag 10 after being inverted from the upper surface of the receiving plate 60
Is taken out, and the lifting plate 50 is raised to the original position, thereby completing one cycle of the reversing operation.

FIG. 8 is a plan view for explaining a clamped portion of the airbag bag 10. The airbag bag 10 shown in FIG.
3 is up. The planar shape of the airbag body 10 is, as described above, the tether belt 1.
6 from the center of the opening 14 to the airbag 1
The distance to the outer periphery of 0 is not uniform. The longer straight line is defined as the X axis, the shorter straight line is defined as the Y axis, and the distance from the center of the opening 14 to the outer peripheral edge of the airbag body 10 on the X axis is A. Let B be the distance from the center of the opening 14 to the outer peripheral edge of the airbag body 10.

Assuming that the clamping points by the pins 28 and 34 constituting the "clamp mechanism" are a and b, these clamping points a and b are (AB) on the X axis.
Is the point. In other words, the two clamp points a and b when viewed from the outer peripheral edge of the airbag bag body 10 correspond to the center point of the opening 14 on the Y axis. Therefore, when the airbag bag 10 is turned upside down, the bag base fabric 1
2 is clamped at two points a and b, thereby opening 1
The distance from the center of No. 4 to the outer peripheral edge (the portion along the X-axis) is also substantially equal to the distance of the portion where the apparent distance is short (the portion along the Y-axis).

Now, as described above, in order to clamp the bag base fabric 12 of the airbag bag body 10 at two places a and b, FIG.
(C) and as shown in FIG. 6, the center portion of the bag base fabric 12 is supported by the rod 48 of the air cylinder 46, and the rod 48 is lowered on both sides of the rod 48 through the opening 14 of the bag base fabric 13. It is necessary to move the bag base fabric 12 downward by the upper pins 34. And this result is
As described above, since the apparent distance from the center of the opening 14 to the outer peripheral edge of the airbag body 10 is substantially uniform, the inversion proceeds almost uniformly over the entire airbag body 10 and the X-axis This eliminates a situation in which a portion that is not inverted remains along the portion. Note that the calculated value of (AB) for setting the above-mentioned clamp portions a and b in the airbag body 10 of the present embodiment is such that the airbag body 10 can be smoothly moved up to about ± 30 mm. It is possible to reverse it.

In the present embodiment, since the rod 48 constituting the "support mechanism" is provided below the elevating table 38, the pins 28 and 34 after the bag base cloth 12 is clamped are used. Although it is pushed down, it is also possible to replace the rod 48 above the elevating table 38 and move the pins 28 and 34 after clamping the bag base cloth 12 upward. Alternatively, the air cylinder 46 and the rod 48 may be arranged vertically, and the rod 48 may be vertically expanded and contracted to support the central portion of the bag base fabric 12. Further, the movement of each clamp point and the central portion of the bag base cloth 12 as described above is relative, and the rod 48 of the “support mechanism” is moved with respect to the pins 28 and 34 of the “clamp mechanism”. The same is true for a configuration that moves up and down.

The airbag bag 10 targeted by the reversing device according to the present embodiment is not limited to the type having the tether belt 16, but the bag base fabrics 12 and 13 have non-circular plane shapes such as ellipses. Even if the plane shape of the bag base cloths 12 and 13 is circular, the opening 14 may be shifted from the center of the bag base cloth 13. In addition, the number of places where the distance from the center of the opening 14 to the outer peripheral edge of the airbag body 10 is long is not limited to two, and two or more places may be clamped according to the length and shape of the distance. In such a case, the number of pins 28 and 34 of the "clamp mechanism" is increased in accordance with the clamp location.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing an outline of an airbag bag reversing device.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view of a part of FIG. 1 viewed from the left side.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory view showing an airbag bag before inversion.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory view showing the airbag bag after inversion.

FIG. 5 is a process chart showing an inversion operation of the airbag bag.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of FIG. 5C as viewed from the left side.

FIG. 7 is a process chart showing the reversing operation of the airbag body.

FIG. 8 is a plan view for explaining a clamp portion of the airbag body.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 10 airbag bag 14 opening 12 bag base fabric 38 elevating table 40 through hole 54 inversion ring

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A method for reversing an airbag bag having an opening, wherein a plurality of portions of the bag base fabric on a side not having the opening are clamped from both front and back sides using the opening. An airbag reversing method for reversing the front and back of the airbag by moving these clamped portions relatively so as to pass through the opening. 2. The method for inverting an airbag bag according to claim 1, wherein when a distance from a center of the opening to an outer peripheral edge of the airbag bag is not uniform, a side having no opening is provided. By relatively moving the center portion of the bag base cloth and the above-described respective clamp points, the airbag bag body is made substantially uniform in the apparent distance from the center of the opening to the outer peripheral edge of the airbag bag body. The method of reversing the airbag bag body, which reverses the front and back. 3. A reversing device for an airbag bag having an opening, wherein the table has a through hole having a diameter substantially corresponding to the opening, the table being capable of setting the airbag bag.
A clamp mechanism capable of clamping a plurality of locations of the bag base cloth on the side of the through hole that does not have the opening from the front and back sides using the opening, and a side that does not have the opening. A supporting mechanism capable of supporting a central portion of a portion to be clamped, which is a bag base cloth, and an inversion ring disposed on an outer peripheral portion of the clamp mechanism and capable of vertically moving relative to the clamp mechanism, A reversing device for an airbag bag, wherein a clamp mechanism and a support mechanism can be relatively moved up and down. 4. The reversing device for an airbag bag according to claim 3, wherein the relative movement amount of the clamp mechanism and the support mechanism can be adjusted appropriately. apparatus. 5. The reversing device for an airbag body according to claim 3, wherein an air nozzle for blowing air in a direction for detaching the airbag body after the reversal from the reversal ring is disposed at an outer peripheral position of the reversal ring. Air bag bag reversing device.