JPH11170954A - Airbag system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an airbag device capable of effectively improving the safety and simplifying the structure. SOLUTION: An airbag is inflated forward of a side part of a seat back 1. A case 11 embedded in an appropriate part of the side part of the seal back 1, an airbag module 12 stored in the case 11, and a door 13 to be attached to the case in a developing manner, are provided. A claw piece 17 to be engaged with the case is formed in the vicinity of a forward part of the door 13, and the claw piece 17 is disengaged through inflation of an airbag 12a. The door 13 is flexible, and can be developed and deformed around a supporting point at an appropriate part on a rear part side. A thin-walled part is formed on an outer peripheral part of the door 13, and the door is broken along the thin- walled part when the door 13 is developed. As lit is formed on an inner surface of the case 11 so as to longitudinally split the case 11, and the case is partly broken along the slit.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an airbag device mounted on a vehicle such as a passenger car, and more particularly to a side airbag mounted on a seat.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, a side airbag of this type is, for example, a seat back 1 of a seat.
It is attached to the side. In the so-called built-in type as shown in FIG. 10, the airbag module 2 is embedded at an appropriate position on the side of the seatback 1, and when the airbag device is operated, the airbag 3 is drawn by a dotted line from the side of the seatback 1. As shown by the arrow, it bulges forward (arrow F). When the airbag 3 is inflated, the sewing thread 4 is cut by the inflation force of the air, that is, the output of the inflator.

FIG. 11 shows an example of a so-called external type. In this example, a door 5 made of resin is attached around the airbag module 2, and a notch 5a is formed inside the front part of the door 5, so that the airbag device is broken along the notch 5a when the airbag device is operated. It has become.

[0004]

In the above-described conventional airbag apparatus, for example, in the case of the built-in type, when the airbag 3 is inflated as described above, the sewing thread 4 is cut by the output of the inflator. Therefore, the output of the inflator must be set to a considerably large value, for example, about 50 kPa. It is not preferable for safety to make the inflator output too large.

On the other hand, in the case of the external type, since the notch 5a of the door 5 is broken, the output of the inflator can be set low (about 40 kPa).
However, it was necessary to separately attach the bezel 7 or the base 8 for the terminal treatment of the skin 6 of the seat back 1, and the cost had to be increased.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the foregoing, it is an object of the present invention to provide an airbag device capable of effectively improving safety and simplifying the structure.

[0007]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an airbag apparatus configured so that an airbag inflates forward from a side portion of a seat back. It is characterized by comprising a buried case, an airbag module housed in the case, and a door that is expandably attached to the case.

[0008] In the airbag device according to the second aspect, a claw that engages with the case is provided near the front portion of the door, and the claw is disengaged by the inflation of the airbag. It is characterized by the following.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the door is flexible, and the door is configured to be able to expand and deform around a fulcrum at an appropriate position on the rear side of the door. I do. In the airbag device according to claim 4,
A thin portion is formed on an outer peripheral portion of the door, and the door is broken along the thin portion when the door is deployed. Further, in the airbag device according to claim 5, a slit is formed on the inner surface of the case so as to divide the case back and forth, and the case is partially broken along the slit. Features.

According to the present invention, the engagement of the claw pieces is released by the inflation of the airbag during the operation of the airbag device, so that the output of the inflator can be set low. In addition, since a bezel, a base, and the like are not required in the structure of the device, the structure can be simplified and the cost can be easily made.

Further, according to the present invention, when the airbag is inflated, the flexible door expands and deforms, but by forming a thin portion on the outer peripheral portion of the door and breaking along the thin portion, The door can be deployed smoothly and properly. Furthermore, even when the center pillar enters the airbag device, the case itself partially breaks along the slit, so that the airbag can be appropriately inflated even when the center pillar enters.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of the airbag apparatus of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. I do. In this embodiment, the airbag device 10 is mounted on the side of the seat back 1 as shown in FIG. 1 or FIG. The surface of the seat back 1 is covered by a cover 1a. Although not shown, it is assumed that a center pillar is arranged at a position close to the outside of the airbag device 10.

The specific structure of the airbag device 10 will be further described with reference to FIG.
Comprises a sheet metal case 11 buried in an appropriate position on the side of the seat back 1, an airbag module 12 housed in the case 11, and a resin door 13 that is expandably attached to the case 11. Have. The airbag module 12 includes an inflator 15. The case 11 is secured to the seat back frame 1b by bolts / nuts 14.
Is fixed. The door 13 of the case 11 is fastened and fixed to the case 11 by bolts / nuts 16.

The door 13 has flexibility, and is configured to be able to expand and deform around a fulcrum P (FIG. 4B) at an appropriate position on the rear side of the door. The door 13 can be deformed as shown by a dotted line in FIG. Near the front portion of the door 13, three claw pieces 17 are formed integrally with the case 11 in this example, and when the airbag 12 a is inflated, the claw pieces 17 are engaged with the case 11. Has come off.

A slit 18 is formed on the inner surface of the case 11 so as to divide the case 11 back and forth.
As shown in FIG. 5, the slit 18 is formed up to a part of the upper and lower peripheral surfaces and a part of the bottom surface, and is partially broken along the slit 18 as described later.

A thin portion 19 is formed on the inner surface of the outer peripheral portion 13a (see FIG. 3) of the door 13 as shown in FIG. The thin portion 19 is formed with a plurality of V-shaped cuts, for example, as shown in the drawing, and is easily broken by breaking along the thin portion 19 when the door 13 is deployed. The cover 1a is sandwiched between the case 11 and the outer peripheral portion of the door 13 so as to overlap with the cover 1a.

The airbag device 10 of the present invention is configured as described above, and its operation will be described below. When a constant input load acts on the periphery of the airbag device 10, the airbag device 10 operates. First, in the normal operation mode, as shown in FIG. 7, the engagement of the claw pieces 17 is released by the expansion of the airbag 12a, and the door 13 is deployed and deformed around the fulcrum P as indicated by a dotted line. Thereby, the airbag 12a inflates forward, and the safety of the occupant is ensured.

In this case, since the thin portion 19 is formed on the outer peripheral portion 13a of the door 13, the outer peripheral portion 13a is broken along the thin portion 19, and the door 13 can be smoothly and appropriately deployed. .

As shown in FIG. 8, when the center pillar 100 enters the airbag device 10, the case 11 itself is partially broken along the slit 18. In this case, even if the center pillar 100 intrudes and the opening of the door 13 is restricted, the front part 11a of the case 11 is opened as shown by a dotted line in the figure. Thus, even when the center pillar 100 enters, the airbag 12a
Can be appropriately bulged forward.

As described above, in either the normal operation mode of the airbag device 10 or the center pillar intrusion mode, the airbag 12a can be appropriately inflated forward. In this case, by using the engagement structure of the claw pieces 17, the output of the inflator can be set low, and high safety can be secured. In addition, because it does not require a special bezel or base like the conventional,
The structure can be simplified and the cost can be substantially reduced.

[0021]

As described above, according to the present invention, in this type of airbag device, safety can be effectively improved and the structure can be simplified. Further, by reducing the output of the inflator, the harmfulness to the occupant can be greatly reduced. For example, a human body resistance value of 900 N or less can be obtained with a neck tensile load. Further, there is an advantage that the cost can be significantly reduced and the mass can be reduced by reducing the number of components due to the simplification of the structure.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view showing a seat back mounting relationship in an embodiment of an airbag device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional plan view showing a mounting relationship of a seat back in the embodiment of the airbag device of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing a configuration example of an airbag device of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a structural example in an embodiment of the airbag device of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a case according to the airbag device of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a partial perspective view of a door according to the airbag device of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a partial plan sectional view showing the operation of the airbag device of the present invention in a normal operation mode.

FIG. 8 is a partial plan sectional view showing the operation of the airbag device of the present invention in the center pillar intrusion mode.

FIG. 9 is a side view of a seat according to a conventional airbag device.

FIG. 10A shows the operation of the conventional airbag device.
It is sectional drawing which follows the -A line.

FIG. 11 is a partial plan sectional view showing a configuration example of another conventional airbag device.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of a door according to another conventional airbag device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Seat back 1a Cover 1b Seat back frame 11 Case 12 Airbag module 12a Airbag 13 Door 14, 16 Bolt / nut 15 Inflator 17 Nail piece 18 Slit 19 Thin part 100 Center pillar

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. An airbag device configured so that an airbag inflates forward from a seatback side, comprising: a case embedded in the seatback side; and an airbag housed in the case. An airbag device, comprising: a module; and a door which is attached to the case so as to be deployable. 2. A claw piece for engaging with the case is formed near the front portion of the door, and the claw piece is disengaged by the inflation of the airbag. An airbag device according to claim 1. 3. The airbag device according to claim 1, wherein the door is flexible and is configured to be able to be expanded and deformed around a fulcrum at a proper position on the rear side of the door. 4. The airbag device according to claim 2, wherein a thin portion is formed on an outer peripheral portion of the door, and the thin portion is broken along the thin portion when the door is unfolded. 5. A slit is formed in the inner surface of the case so as to divide the case back and forth, and the case is partially broken along the slit.
An airbag device according to any one of claims 1 to 4.