JPH11321530A - Pillar garnish storing bag unit for head part protecting air bag - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To suppress damage and dislocation of a pillar garnish when a bag unit of an air bag is inflated, and smoothly inflate the bag unit of the air bag. SOLUTION: A tightening boss part 26C having a mounting hole 31 is formed in a reverse side of a front pillar garnish 26. The front pillar garnish 26 is fixed to a pillar inner panel 34 through the tightening boss part 26C by a bolt 72 and weld nut 74 as a tightening means. The tightening boss part 26C is formed in truncated cone shape, and an upper part is covered with a metal-made reinforcing ring 90. The reinforcing ring 90 is formed in cap shape comprising a side wall part 90A covering an outer peripheral part of the tightening boss part 26C and an upper wall part 90B covering a top part of the tightening boss part 26C, and a through hole 92 inserting the bolt 72 is drilled in the upper wall part 90B.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a curtain-shaped head protection airbag which inflates and deploys gas from an inflator along a pillar and a roof side rail when a predetermined high load acts on a vehicle body side. It relates to a pillar garnish for storing bags.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In order to improve the protection performance of an occupant's head when a predetermined high load is applied to a side portion of a vehicle body, an airbag bag stored in a folded state over a front pillar and a roof side rail is used. An occupant protection device that expands in a curtain shape along a window glass has already been proposed. Hereinafter, WO 96 which discloses this type of occupant protection device is disclosed.
No./26087 will be described.

As shown in FIG. 12, an occupant protection device 100 is a long duct 1 disposed from a front pillar 102 to a roof side rail 104.
06, an airbag bag body 112 stored in a folded state along the roof side rail section 104 from the front pillar section 102 and fixed to the vehicle body at a front end fixing point 108 and a rear end fixing point 110, and a hose 114 The inflator 11 is connected to the rear end of the duct 106 through the inflator 11 and ejects gas when a predetermined high load acts on the side of the vehicle body.
6 and a belt-shaped strap 118 having one end fixed to the vehicle body and the other end fixed to the rear end of the airbag body 112 as main components. Furthermore, the above-described airbag bag body 112 is formed by connecting a plurality of cells 120 each formed in a substantially cylindrical shape and arranged with the longitudinal direction substantially in the vehicle vertical direction.

According to the above configuration, when a predetermined high load is applied to the side of the vehicle body, gas is ejected from the inflator 116. Therefore, the ejected gas is supplied to the hose 114.
Then, the air flows into each cell 120 of the folded airbag bag 112 via the duct 106. As a result, each cell 120 expands in a substantially cylindrical shape with the longitudinal direction substantially in the vehicle vertical direction, whereby the airbag bag body 112 expands in a curtain shape along the window glass 122. Further, the rear end of the airbag bag body 112 has a strap 118.
Connected to the vehicle body through the front end fixed point 10
A predetermined tension is applied to a line connecting the rear end fixing point of the strap 118 and the rear end fixing point of the strap 118, and the airbag bag 11
The rear end side of the center pillar 2 is surely arranged inside the upper part of the center pillar portion 124.

[0005]

However, in such an occupant protection system for an automobile, a predetermined portion of a pillar garnish in which the airbag bag is accommodated by the inflation pressure of the airbag when the airbag is deployed. By deploying the airbag, the airbag bag can be deployed in the vehicle interior. For this reason, it is conceivable to increase the gas pressure of the inflator 116 in order to rapidly deploy the airbag bag body 112. However, if the gas pressure of the inflator 116 is too high, the airbag bag body 112 may be unfolded and inflated. , The pillar garnish may be damaged or come off.

In particular, as shown in FIG. 13, a fastening boss 1 integrally formed on the back surface of a pillar garnish 130.
The front garnish 13 is attached to the front pillar inner panel 138 by bolts 136 passed through the mounting holes 134 of the thirty-two.
In a configuration in which 0 is fixed (Japanese Patent Application No. 9-129617: not disclosed at the time of filing of the present application), as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. It is conceivable that the boss 132 breaks and opens, and the pillar garnish 130 slips through the bolt 136.

[0007] In consideration of the above fact, the present invention accommodates a head protection airbag bag which can suppress breakage and detachment of a pillar garnish when the airbag bag is deployed, and can smoothly deploy the airbag bag. The purpose is to obtain a pillar garnish.

[0008]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a head which is integrally formed with a fastening boss on the back surface of the main body and is fixed to the body by fastening means inserted through a mounting hole of the fastening boss. In the pillar garnish for storing the airbag body, a reinforcing ring is fitted on the outer peripheral surface of the fastening boss.

Therefore, when the airbag bag is deployed, the pillar garnish is deformed by the inflation pressure of the airbag bag, so that the pillar garnish tends to tear on the fastening boss portion on both sides around the fastening means. Force acts in the direction. On the other hand, since the reinforcing ring is fitted to the outer peripheral surface of the fastening boss, the breaking and opening of the fastening boss caused by the tearing force can be effectively suppressed by the reinforcing ring. As a result, the front pillar garnish can be prevented from falling off the vehicle body.

[0010]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of a pillar garnish for storing a head protection airbag bag according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

In the drawings, an arrow FR indicates a vehicle forward direction, an arrow UP indicates a vehicle upward direction, and an arrow IN indicates a vehicle width inside direction.

As shown in FIG. 9, a head protection airbag apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment includes a sensor 12 for detecting a side collision state, a cylindrical inflator 14 for ejecting gas when activated, And an airbag body 16 as main components. The sensor 12 is disposed near the lower end of the center pillar (B pillar) 18 and detects a side collision state when a side collision load of a predetermined value or more acts on the vehicle body side.

The inflator 14 is provided near a connection between a front pillar (A-pillar) 20 and an instrument panel 22 and is connected to the sensor 12 described above. Therefore, when the sensor 12 detects the side collision state, the inflator 14 is operated.

At the middle of the airbag 16 in the vertical direction when viewed from the side, a tension line T connecting the front end fixed point and the rear end fixed point of the airbag 16 is traversed, and the vertical direction of the airbag is set in the longitudinal direction. Are formed at predetermined intervals, and these non-inflated portions 24 form a plurality of substantially parallel cylindrical inflatable portions that cross the tension line T when the airbag body is deployed. It has become.

Further, a front end portion 16A of the airbag bag body 16 is provided.
Are arranged at the inflator arrangement position so that gas ejected from the inflator 14 flows in. The upper end edge of the intermediate portion 16B is arranged along the front pillar 20 and the roof side rail 28, and the rear end The upper edge of 16C is arranged near quarter pillar (C pillar) 30.

[0016] As shown in FIG.
Numeral 6 is folded in a bellows shape in a substantially vertical direction to be elongated, and is housed so as to straddle a front pillar garnish 26 (hereinafter, simply referred to as a pillar garnish 26) and a roof head lining 27.

As shown in FIG. 8, the air bag 16
Is formed by folding a single base cloth 17 at the lower end, and sewing the upper end edge 17A and the rear part 17B, which are overlapped, with a suture thread 19. Airbag bag 16
Is formed in a substantially parallelogram shape, and the upper edge portion 17A
Is formed with a rectangular tongue-shaped mounting portion 35. At the substantially central portion of these mounting portions 35, mounting holes 36 are formed. The pitch of these mounting holes 36 is longer than the pitch of the mounting holes on the body side, and when the airbag bag is deployed. The length is set to a length that can cover the front pillar 20 and the roof side rail 28 without any gap.
The non-inflated portion 24 of the airbag bag 16 is
5 and formed by applying a sealant.

As shown in FIG. 1, the front pillar 20
A pillar outer panel 32 having a hat-shaped cross section disposed outside the vehicle compartment, a substantially flat pillar inner panel 34 disposed inside the vehicle compartment, and front and rear end portions between the pillar outer panel 32 and the pillar inner panel 34. A pillar reinforcement 33 having a substantially hat-shaped cross section,
And has a closed cross-sectional structure. An opening weather strip 38 is elastically fitted to the rear end flange of the front pillar 20.

A garnish 26 made of resin is disposed on the interior side of the pillar inner panel 34 of the front pillar 20 described above. The garnish 26 is made of a base material 44 made of a resin material that is easily elastically deformed and hardly damaged.
And a skin 4 covering the surface of the base material 44 (the surface on the vehicle interior side).
And 8. Garnish 2
The terminal portion 6 is elastically locked to the opening weather strip 38 described above.

The rear portion 26A of the garnish 26, which is deployed toward the vehicle interior when the airbag bag is deployed, is disposed at a predetermined distance from the pillar inner panel 34 on the vehicle interior side. A predetermined rear space portion 50 is formed between the inner space 34 and the pillar inner panel 34. In the rear space portion 50, a front portion 16A of the airbag bag body 16 folded into a rectangular cross section in a predetermined folding manner is stored together with a case 23 which is deployed at a predetermined inflation pressure. A fin-shaped bag fixing portion and a case fixing portion are integrally formed at appropriate portions of the front portion 16A of the airbag bag body 16 and the case 23, and these bag fixing portion and the case fixing portion are pillar inner. It is adapted to be fixed to the panel 34. The airbag bag 16 may be taped or wrapped so that the case 23 is omitted.

The front portion 26B of the garnish 26 is disposed at a predetermined distance from the pillar inner panel 34 on the vehicle interior side.
A predetermined front space portion 56 is formed between 6B and the pillar inner panel 34. The front space portion 56 is used as a space for arranging a drain hose and a wire harness. The thickness of the rear part 26A of the garnish 26 may be smaller than the thickness of the front part 26B, so that the rear part 26A of the garnish 26 can be further developed. Further, it is preferable to form a concave groove forming a hinge portion on the inner wall surface of the garnish 26.

As shown in FIG. 6, a rectangular recess 58 is formed in the design surface near the upper end of the garnish 26, and a cap 76 is fitted in the recess 58.

As shown in FIG. 1, a fastening boss 26C having a mounting hole 31 at the center is formed on the back side of the recess 58 of the garnish 26. A metal sleeve 29 is fitted into the inner peripheral surface of the mounting hole 31 so as to secure the tightening force of the bolt 72 when the garnish 26 is fastened and fixed to the pillar inner panel 34. The garnish 26 is fixed to the pillar inner panel 34 via the fastening boss 26C by a bolt 72 and a weld nut 74 as fastening means.

As shown in FIG. 3, the fastening boss 26C
Has a truncated cone shape, and a metal reinforcing ring 90 is placed on the upper part. The reinforcing ring 90 has a cap shape composed of a side wall portion 90A covering the outer peripheral portion of the fastening boss portion 26C and an upper wall portion 90B covering the top portion of the fastening boss portion 26C. A through hole 92 through which the bolt 72 is inserted is formed.

As shown in FIG. 1, the head 7 of the bolt 72
A flange portion 72B is formed on 2A, and the cap 76 is fixed by engaging an engaging claw 76A of the cap 76 with the flange portion 72B. On the back side of the cap 76, the cap 76 and the garnish 26
A connecting portion 78 for connecting the base material 44 with the base member 44 is integrally formed. The connecting portion 78 is formed in a string shape, and the tip portion is a T-shaped (see FIG. 2) engaging portion 78A.

The connecting portion 78 is provided in the concave portion 5 of the garnish 26.
8 is inserted through the notch 80 formed in the engaging portion 78A.
Is set to a size that engages with the outer peripheral portion of the notch 80. That is, when passing the engaging portion 78A through the notch 80, it is necessary to elastically deform the connecting portion 78 so that the engaging portion 78A at the tip thereof faces the notch 80.
When the cap 76 is removed from the garnish 26, the engaging portion 78A engages with the outer peripheral portion of the notch 80, so that the cap 76 can be prevented from falling off the garnish 26.

As shown in FIG. 4, an engagement pin 82 is provided on the back surface near the lower end of the garnish 26, and a large-diameter portion 82 formed at one end of the engagement pin 82.
A is fixed to the base material 44 by insert molding. A small-diameter portion 82C is formed near the other end 82B of the engagement pin 82, and the end 82B is engaged with a peripheral edge of a mounting hole 84 formed in the pillar inner panel 34.

As shown in FIG. 5, the mounting hole 84 has a large-diameter portion 84A through which the end portion 82B of the engaging pin 82 penetrates. And a small-diameter portion 84B extending in the direction of arrow A). For this reason, when deploying the airbag bag,
When the garnish 26 is bent at the central portion in the longitudinal direction and becomes a U-shape, the engagement pin 82 is formed together with the garnish 26.
Move with respect to the pillar inner panel 34 in the direction of arrow A in FIG. That is, the lower end of the garnish 26 can slide with respect to the front pillar 20 within a predetermined sliding range L determined by the length of the small diameter portion 84B.

As shown in FIG. 6, the lower end 26D of the garnish 26 is inserted into a recess 22A formed at the end of the instrument panel 22 in the vehicle width direction.

As shown in FIG. 7, the lower end 26D of the garnish 26 is inserted by the insertion amount S from the design surface 22B of the instrument panel 22. This insertion amount S
Is set shorter than the slide range L (S <
L), the lower end 26A of the garnish 26 is detached from the recess 22A of the instrument panel 22 when it moves beyond the length S in the direction of arrow A in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 6, an insertion portion 26E is formed at the lower end of the garnish 26.
By inserting the insertion portion 26E into an opening (not shown) formed in the insert of the instrument panel 22, the garnish 26 is moved from the regular installation position to the inclined position at a predetermined angle substantially rearward of the vehicle at the time of assembly. Temporary storage is possible.

The garnish 26 is fixed to the pillar inner panel 34 by fixing the large-diameter portion 8 in the mounting hole 84.
After the locking end 82B of the engaging pin 82 is inserted into the 4A (inserted into the position indicated by the dashed line in FIG. 5), the locking end 82B is slid toward the small diameter portion 84B (upper side) (see FIG. 5). Slide to the position indicated by the solid line). Further, the bolt 7 is inserted into the inner peripheral surface of the mounting hole 31 of the fastening boss 26C via the insertion sleeve 29.
2 is screwed into the weld nut 74. Next, the cap 76 previously connected to the garnish 26 is engaged with the flange portion 72B of the bolt 72, whereby the assembling operation can be completed.

Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described.

When a predetermined high load acts on the side of the vehicle body,
This state is detected by the sensor 12 and output to the center control unit. For this reason, an operating current is supplied from the center control unit to the squib of the inflator 14 to operate the inflator 14. As a result, a predetermined amount of gas is ejected from the inflator 14 and flows into the airbag bag 16 from the front end.
As a result, the airbag bag body 16 starts to inflate, and the inflation pressure at that time causes the case 23 to break at its corner and expand as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. Thereafter, the airbag bag body 16 is inflated in a curtain shape while pushing and opening the rear part 26A of the garnish 26 and the lower part of the roof head lining 27 located on the roof side rail 28.

At this time, the garnish 26 is deformed by the inflation pressure of the airbag bag body 16 and the garnish 26 is deformed.
A force is applied to the fastening boss 26C in the direction of the tear (the direction of arrow B in FIG. 1) that pulls the bolt 72 to both sides around the bolt 72. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, since the reinforcing ring 90 is fitted on the outer peripheral surface of the fastening boss portion 26C, the reinforcing ring 90 is effective in breaking and opening the fastening boss portion 26C generated by the tearing force. Can be suppressed. As a result, the garnish 26 can be prevented from falling off the vehicle body.

In the present embodiment, as described above, a plurality of non-inflating portions 24
Is formed, the gas ejected from the inflator 14 flows in from the front end of the airbag bag body 16,
The flow is divided vertically by the non-expandable portion 24 located at the forefront end. For this reason, the outer periphery of the airbag bag body 16 is inflated so as to form a frame-shaped frame, and subsequently gas flows into the non-inflated portion 24 to inflate the portion in the bag thickness direction. As a result, a predetermined tension acts between the non-inflating portions 24, and finally, the airbag 16 is substantially parallel with a large tension acting along a tension line T connecting the front end fixed point and the rear end fixed point. Expands into a quadrilateral shape.

In the present embodiment, the airbag 1
When the garnish 26 is pressed in the vehicle compartment direction by the expansion force of 6, the garnish 26 bends so as to protrude in the vehicle compartment direction in the vertical direction, and is deformed into a V shape.
At this time, the lower end of the garnish 26 is positioned within a predetermined range L with respect to the front pillar 20 as shown in FIG.
, It is possible to suppress a large load from acting on a specific portion of the garnish 26.

Further, the lower end of the garnish 26 slides in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 5 with respect to the front pillar 20, and the garnish 26 can be largely bent, so that the opening area between the garnish 26 and the front pillar inner panel 34 increases. I do. As a result, the airbag bag 16 can be deployed smoothly.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7, the lower end 26D of the garnish 26 has moved beyond the length S in the direction of arrow A with respect to the front pillar 20 when the airbag bag is deployed. In this case, the lower end portion 26D of the garnish 26 is
Leave A. For this reason, even with this detachment, it is possible to suppress a large load from acting on a specific portion of the garnish 26, and it is possible to further effectively prevent the garnish 26 from being damaged or detached. Also, the lower end 2 of the garnish 26
Since 6D is detached from recess 22A of instrument panel 22, the opening area between garnish 26 and front pillar inner panel 32 further increases. As a result,
The airbag 16 can be deployed more smoothly. In the above, the present invention has been described in detail with respect to a specific embodiment, but the present invention is not limited to such an embodiment, and various other embodiments are possible within the scope of the present invention. Some will be apparent to those skilled in the art. For example, the reinforcing ring 90 is not limited to being made of metal, but may be the fastening boss 2.
Other materials such as hard resin and ceramic may be used as long as the breakage and opening of 6C can be effectively suppressed. Further, the shape of the reinforcing ring 90 is not limited to the cap shape shown in FIG. 3, and as shown in FIG. It may be configured to fit in a ring groove 92 formed on the surface. Also, one fastening boss 2
A configuration in which a plurality of reinforcing rings 90 are provided in 6C may be adopted. The present invention is also applicable to interior materials such as a center pillar garnish, a quarter pillar garnish, and a roof head lining, in addition to the front pillar garnish.

[0040]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a head protection airbag bag in which a fastening boss is integrally formed on the back surface of the main body and is fixed to the body by fastening means inserted through a mounting hole of the fastening boss. In the pillar garnish that stores the body, a reinforcing ring is fitted on the outer peripheral surface of the fastening boss, so that the pillar garnish can be prevented from being damaged or detached when the airbag bag is deployed, and the airbag bag can be deployed smoothly. It has an excellent effect of being able to.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line 1-1 of FIG.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing a pillar garnish for storing a head protection airbag bag body according to an embodiment of the present invention, as viewed obliquely from the front inside the vehicle.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing a fastening boss of a pillar garnish for storing a head protection airbag bag according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line 4-4 in FIG. 6;

FIG. 5 is a side view showing an engagement portion in a pillar garnish for storing a head protection airbag bag according to an embodiment of the present invention, as viewed from the vehicle interior side.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing a pillar garnish for storing a head protection airbag bag according to an embodiment of the present invention, as viewed from the inside of a vehicle interior.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line 7-7 of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a schematic side view showing a deployed state of the airbag bag in a pillar garnish storing the head protection airbag bag according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a schematic side view showing an inflated and deployed state of an airbag body in a pillar garnish storing a head protection airbag body according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a schematic side view showing a state in which the airbag bag is stored in a pillar garnish for storing the head protection airbag bag according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is an exploded perspective view showing a fastening boss of a pillar garnish for storing a head protection airbag bag according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a schematic side view showing a completed state of deployment of a head protection airbag bag according to a conventional embodiment.

FIG. 13 is an enlarged sectional view of a pillar garnish storing a head protection airbag bag according to a conventional embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Head protection airbag apparatus 14 Inflator 16 Airbag bag body 20 Front pillar (A pillar) 22 Instrument panel 26 Front pillar garnish 26C Fastening boss part of front pillar garnish 31 Mounting hole of fastening boss part 34 Pillar inner panel 72 bolt (fastening means) 74 weld nut (fastening means) 90 reinforcing ring 92 through hole of reinforcing ring

Claims (1)

[Claims] A pillar garnish in which a fastening boss is integrally formed on a back surface of a main body, and a head protection airbag bag body fixed to the body by fastening means inserted through a mounting hole of the fastening boss is stored. A pillar garnish for storing a head protection airbag bag, wherein a reinforcing ring is fitted to an outer peripheral surface of the fastening boss portion.