JPH11189117A - Occupant restraining device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an occupant restraining device expanded with high pressure gas generated by a common inflator capable of effectively protecting the chest and head of an occupant. SOLUTION: A belt expanding bag 12 is enclosed in a shoulder belt 6 for restraining the chest of an occupant seated on a seat. The belt expanding bag 12 is expanded with high pressure gas generated by an inflator 11 so as to gently restrain the occupant to the seat and to protect the chest side face of the occupant. An auxiliary bag 18 connected to the upper part of the belt expanding bag 12 is expanded with high pressure gas supplied from the belt expanding bag 12 through a communicating port 29 and spread between the head of the occupant and the inner surface of a vehicle body. Since the belt expanding bag 12 and the auxiliary bag 28 are constituted as separate bodies, the shape of the auxiliary bag 28 can be set without being restricted by the shape of the belt expanding bag 12, and thereby effectively protecting the head of the occupant by the auxiliary bag 28.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an occupant restraint system capable of protecting an occupant's chest and head by inflating with high-pressure gas generated by an inflator in a side collision of a vehicle.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A side collision airbag device which is deployed between a door or a center pillar and an occupant in the event of a side collision of a vehicle and protects the occupant's chest and head is disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. Hei 9-1997.
It is already known from US220993. In addition, we store bag in the shoulder belt of seat belt,
An air belt device for protecting the occupant's chest and head by inflating the bag during a side collision of a vehicle is disclosed in
It is already known from US Pat.

[0003]

In the above-mentioned conventional air bag apparatus for side collision, a head bag portion for protecting the occupant's head is integrally connected above a chest bag portion for protecting the occupant's chest. Therefore, if a seat belt is used in combination with the airbag device, the head bag portion may interfere with the shoulder belt of the seat belt, preventing smooth deployment. In addition, since the conventional air belt device for side collision needs to protect both the occupant's chest and head by inflating one shoulder belt, the shoulder belt is effectively protected by the occupant's head. There is a problem that it is difficult to expand to a shape that can be performed.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide an occupant restraint device capable of inflating with a high-pressure gas generated by a common inflator to effectively protect the occupant's chest and head. Aim.

[0005]

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided an inflator for generating high-pressure gas, a shoulder belt for restraining a chest of an occupant sitting on a seat, and a shoulder belt. A belt inflation bag stored inside the belt, and supplies high-pressure gas generated by an inflator to the belt inflation bag when an impact of a side collision of the vehicle is detected to inflate the shoulder belt. In an occupant restraint system that protects the occupant's chest, a part of the high-pressure gas supplied from the inflator to the belt inflation bag is supplied to an auxiliary bag attached to the upper part of the shoulder belt, so that the auxiliary bag is moved to the occupant's head. And the inner surface of the vehicle body.

According to the above structure, when the impact of the side collision of the vehicle is detected, the high-pressure gas generated by the inflator is supplied to the belt inflation bag, the shoulder belt is inflated, and the occupant's chest is restrained by the seat. Thus, the occupant's chest can be protected from the impact of a side collision. When a part of the high-pressure gas inflating the shoulder belt is supplied to the auxiliary bag, the auxiliary bag expands and expands between the occupant's head and the inner surface of the vehicle body. Parts can be protected. By configuring the belt inflation bag and the auxiliary bag separately, the shape of the auxiliary bag can be set without being restricted by the shape of the belt inflation bag, so that the auxiliary bag protects the occupant's head. Can be performed effectively. Moreover, since the bag for inflating the belt and the auxiliary bag are inflated by the common inflator, the structure can be simplified and the cost can be reduced.

[0007]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described based on embodiments of the present invention shown in the accompanying drawings.

FIGS. 1 to 6 show an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a side view of a front seat portion of a vehicle, FIG. 2 is a view in the direction of arrow 2 in FIG. 1, and FIG. FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 3, FIG. 5 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line 5-5 of FIG. 3, and FIG.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, an air belt device for restraining an occupant (driver in the embodiment) to a front right seat 1 includes a shoulder belt retractor 3 provided below a center pillar 2 and a retractor 3 for the shoulder belt. A lap belt retractor 4 provided below the shoulder belt retractor 3, a shoulder belt 6 pulled out from the shoulder belt retractor 3 and extending via a slip guide 5 provided above the center pillar 2, A lap belt 7 pulled out from the belt retractor 4,
A tongue device 8 fixed to the ends of the shoulder belt 6 and the lap belt 7, a buckle device 9 fixed to a seat base 10 made of a seat frame or a slide rail, and a buckle device 9 to which the tongue device 8 is connected. And an inflator 11 provided integrally.

The known shoulder belt retractor 3 and lap belt retractor 4 wind the shoulder belt 6 and the lap belt 7, respectively, so that they can be pulled out. An acceleration sensor (not shown) detects an acceleration equal to or higher than a predetermined value. At normal times, the belts 6 and 7 can be pulled out to allow the movement of the occupant's body. When the acceleration sensor detects an acceleration equal to or more than a predetermined value during a vehicle collision, the belts 6 and 7 cannot be pulled out. It locks and restrains the occupants. Known inflator 1
1 ignites when the acceleration sensor detects acceleration equal to or higher than a predetermined value, and generates high-pressure gas due to combustion of the propellant.

Referring also to FIG. 4, the buckle device 9
The inflator 11 is fixed to a lower portion of the buckle housing 14 constituting the main body, and a buckle 15 is fixed to an upper portion thereof. The lower end of the anchor member 17 whose upper end is fixed to the buckle housing 14 with the bolt 16 is
It is supported by the seat base 10 via the fulcrum pin 18 so as to be able to swing back and forth. The connection port 19 opened on the upper wall of the buckle housing 14 and the inflator 11 communicate with each other through a gas passage 20 formed inside the buckle housing 14.

The belt inflating bag 12 and the cover 13 of the shoulder belt 6 fitted on the upper outer peripheral surface of the tongue housing 21 of the tongue device 8 and the lap belt 7 superposed on the outside thereof are fastened by the annular holder 22. Is fixed. A tongue 23 having an upper half embedded in a tongue housing 21 includes a holder 22, a lap belt 7, a cover 13, and a bag 1 for inflating a belt.
2 is fixed to the tongue housing 21 by bolts 24 passing therethrough. A connection pipe 25 that can be inserted into the connection port 19 of the buckle housing 14 protrudes from the lower surface of the tongue housing 21. A gas passage 26 is formed in the tongue housing 21 and the connection pipe 25 to connect the connection port 19 to the inside of the belt inflation bag 12. Buckle 15
A release button 27 for separating the tongue 23 coupled to the buckle housing 14 is provided.

As apparent from FIGS. 3 and 5, the lap belt 7 is formed of a plain synthetic fiber plain woven belt. On the other hand, a portion of the shoulder belt 6 that comes into contact with the occupant's chest is composed of a rubber-made belt inflatable bag 12 formed in a cylindrical shape, and a cover 13 that covers the outside thereof. Normally, the belt inflating bag 12 and the cover 13 have a flat band shape. However, when high-pressure gas is supplied from the inflator 11 to the belt inflating bag 12,
It expands to the state shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 and softly restrains the occupant. When the cover 13 made of a warp knit expands in the radial direction as the bag 12 expands, the cover 13 contracts in the longitudinal direction by that amount and generates initial tension on the shoulder belt 6.

An auxiliary bag 28 is attached to the upper part of the belt inflation bag 12 by sewing.
8 and the belt inflation bag 12 communicate with each other through a communication hole 29 formed in the sewing portion. The auxiliary bag 28 which is folded and superimposed on the belt inflation bag 12 faces an opening 30 formed in the cover 13, and this opening 30 is closed by an easily breakable patch 31.

Next, the operation of the embodiment of the present invention having the above configuration will be described.

As shown in FIG. 4, when the tongue 23 of the tongue device 8 is connected to the buckle 15 of the buckle device 9 for mounting the air belt device, the connection pipe 25 of the tongue device 8 is inserted into the connection port 19 of the buckle device 9. Is done.

When an acceleration exceeding a predetermined value is detected due to a side collision of the vehicle, the inflator 11 is ignited to generate high-pressure gas.
Belt inflation bag 1 of shoulder belt 6 through gas passage 20 of gasket 20 and gas passage 26 of tongue housing 21.
2 to inflate the belt inflating bag 12. When the shoulder belt 6 expands in this way, the contact area with the occupant's chest increases compared to the shoulder belt 6 before expansion, so that the occupant can be restrained more softly.

As shown in FIG. 6, a bag 1 for inflating a belt is provided.
The high-pressure gas having expanded 2 passes through the communication hole 29 to expand the auxiliary bag 28. When the auxiliary bag 28 expands, the patch 31 of the cover 13 of the shoulder belt 6 breaks,
The auxiliary bag 28 is deployed from the opening 30. The deployed auxiliary bag 28 is interposed between the center pillar 2 or the front door and the head of the occupant as shown in FIGS. Can be protected.

Since the belt inflation bag 12 and the auxiliary bag 28 are inflated by the common inflator 11, the cost can be reduced as compared with the case where each is provided with an inflator. In addition, since the auxiliary bag 28 is manufactured separately from the belt inflation bag 12 and then integrated, the shape of the auxiliary bag 28 can be set without being constrained by the shape of the belt inflation bag 12. The protection of the occupant's head by the bag 28 can be effectively performed.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above, various design changes can be made in the present invention without departing from the gist thereof.

[0021]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, when the impact of the side collision of the vehicle is detected, the high-pressure gas generated by the inflator is supplied to the bag for inflating the belt and the shoulder. The belt expands, and the occupant's chest can be restrained by the seat to protect the occupant's chest from the impact of a side collision. When a part of the high-pressure gas inflating the shoulder belt is supplied to the auxiliary bag, the auxiliary bag expands and expands between the occupant's head and the inner surface of the vehicle body. Parts can be protected. By configuring the belt inflation bag and the auxiliary bag separately, the shape of the auxiliary bag can be set without being restricted by the shape of the belt inflation bag, so that the auxiliary bag protects the occupant's head. Can be performed effectively. Moreover, since the bag for inflating the belt and the auxiliary bag are inflated by the common inflator, the structure can be simplified and the cost can be reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view of a front seat portion of a vehicle.

FIG. 2 is a view in the direction of arrows in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an air belt device.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line 4-4 in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line 5-5 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of an operation.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 seat 6 shoulder belt 11 inflator 12 bag for belt inflation 28 auxiliary bag

Claims (1)

[Claims] An inflator (1) for generating a high-pressure gas.
1), a shoulder belt (6) for restraining a chest of an occupant sitting on a seat (1), and a belt inflation bag (12) housed inside the shoulder belt (6), the vehicle comprising: An occupant restraint system for supplying high-pressure gas generated by an inflator (11) when a shock of a side collision is detected to a belt inflation bag (12) and inflating a shoulder belt (6) to protect an occupant's chest. In the inflator (11), the belt inflation bag (12)
Part of the high pressure gas supplied to the shoulder belt (6)
An occupant restraint system characterized in that the auxiliary bag (28) is deployed between the head of the occupant and the inner surface of the vehicle body by supplying the auxiliary bag (28) attached to the upper part of the occupant.