JPS5827133B2 - If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us. - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] The present invention relates to a gas bag device for protecting occupants of vehicles and the like.

2. Description of the Related Art Various gas bag devices have been developed that are installed inside a vehicle to protect occupants when a vehicle, such as an automobile, collides.

Moreover, most of them are of a type in which the gas bag device is fully deployed in one stage.

However, with such a single-layer opening force type, it is difficult to completely protect children standing in the vehicle interior, occupants who are not in a normal posture, etc.

In other words, if the gas bag deploys all at once when a child is standing inside the vehicle, the child will be thrown away by the force of the gas bag, and the original purpose of protection will not be achieved.

Furthermore, the gas bag cannot provide proper protection for the occupant who is seated in an incorrect posture.

In order to solve this problem, a device was devised in which the gas bag is deployed in two or more stages.

In other words, the gas bag can be deployed in multiple stages by using a combination of two or more types of gas generating agents with different combustion rates (gas generation rates), or by using two or more of the same gas generating agents and shifting the ignition timing. A device has already been developed that allows this to be done separately.

However, these conventional one-multistage deployment force type gas bag devices have very complicated structures, making it difficult to improve reliability and downsizing, and resulting in high costs.

The present invention provides a novel gas bag device for protecting occupants of vehicles, etc., which solves the problems of the prior art as described above.

That is, the present invention provides a gas bag device for protecting occupants of a vehicle or the like in which a gas bag is inflated using a gas generating agent. A gas generating agent coated with a combustible substance and/or a gas generating agent coated with a continuous combustion substance are mixed in a gas generator, and the ignition timing of each gas generating agent is made different to generate gas. This method is characterized in that it is performed in multiple stages.

To explain in more detail, in a gas bag device for protecting occupants of vehicles etc. that is inflated using a gas generating agent, explosives,
A normal gas generating agent A made of a combustible composition, a thermally decomposable substance, etc. shaped into particles, pellets, tablets, cylinders, or single tubes, and the surface of a gas generating agent having the same composition as this gas generating agent. A slow-burning gas generating agent B coated with a slow-burning substance and/or a continuous combustion gas generating agent C having the same composition as the gas generating agent A and coated with a continuous burning substance on the surface of the gas generating agent. , are mixed in the gas generator, and the ignition timings of gas generating agents A and B, A and C1, or A, B, and C are made different.

As a result, the present invention allows gas generation to be performed in multiple stages, thereby making it possible to deploy and inflate the gas bag in multiple stages.

The slow-burning substance mentioned above has a combustion rate lower than the combustion rate of the gas generating agent A, and the gas generating agent A to be coated is
A material with good adhesion to the surface is used.

For example, general-purpose synthetic resins such as unsaturated polyester, polycarbonate, and polyvinyl chloride, mixtures of these and inorganic oxidizing agents, graphite, and other gas generating agents having a slower burning rate than gas generating agent A are used.

Further, as the above-mentioned continuous combustion substance, combustion of the gas generating agent A coated with a substance having a combustion speed higher than the combustion speed of the gas generating agent A and capable of supplying heat to the coated gas generating agent A is used. Substances that can increase the speed are used.

For example, gas-free thermite agents having a constant burn rate, such as magnesium-nickel oxide, aluminum-ferric oxide, aluminum-nickel oxide, etc., can be used.

Typical examples of gas generating agents used in the gas bag device for protecting occupants of vehicles, etc. of the present invention are as follows.

As gas generating agent A, a composition consisting of 75% sodium azide and 25% potassium perchlorate is formed into a tablet, and as gas generating agent B, this tablet is coated with unsaturated polyester.

Further, as gas generating agent A, a composition consisting of 90% sodium azide and 10% potassium perchlorate was molded into a tablet, and this tablet was coated with a 7-danesium oxide nickel-thermite agent. C
used as

The method of the present invention as described above has the following advantages.

(2) By appropriately selecting the type of gas generating agent and the thickness of the coating layer, any multi-stage development force formula can be obtained.

2) Conventional multi-stage deployment type gas bag devices require multiple gas generating agent containers and igniters, so the structure is complicated; however, the present invention's gas bag device for protecting occupants of vehicles, etc. , because only one set of gas generating agent container and igniter is required.
The overall structure of the device is simple, highly reliable, compact, and economical.

3) By coating the gas generating agent, the strength and environmental resistance of the gas generating agent are improved.

4) Gas generation time can be extended to a desired time.

Next, the gas bag device for protecting occupants of vehicles etc. according to the present invention will be explained in more detail with reference to the drawings.

That is, FIG. 1 shows the relationship between the pressure of gas generated from the gas generator of the gas bag device and time. Curve A is for the conventional one-stage deployment method, and curve opening is for the vehicle, etc. of the present invention. This shows the case of a two-stage deployment method using a gas bag device for passenger protection.

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a gas bag device showing an example of the implementation of the present invention, in which 1 is a gas generator, 2 is an uncoated ordinary gas generating agent A, and 3 is coated with a slow-flaming substance. 4 is an electric igniter, 5 is a partition wire mesh, 6 is a coolant, 7 is a filter, and 8 is a differential user.

9 is a folded gas bag. When a vehicle collision is detected by a sensor, the electric igniter 4 of the gas generator 1 is energized, and the gas generating agent A of 2 is ignited to generate gas, which passes through the coolant 6 and filter 7 to the differential. The gas bag 9 is discharged from the user 8 into the gas bag 9, and the gas bag 9 performs the first stage deployment to the position 10, for example, corrects the posture of the occupant who is not seated in the passenger compartment in a normal position, and then slows down. The gas bag 9 is expanded and inflated to the position 11 by the gas generated from the slow combustion gas generating agent B (3) whose ignition is delayed by the coating of combustible material, thereby protecting the occupant from impact.

In such a gas bag deployment state, as shown by the curved opening in Figure 1, gas generating agent A2 first ignites and generates gas, creating pressure for the first stage gas bag deployment, and this gas This is obtained by igniting the continuous combustion gas generating agent B3 before the pressure decreases due to contraction, increasing the pressure, and performing the second stage of gas bag deployment.

As explained above, according to the present invention, a highly reliable gas bag can be deployed in multiple stages using a gas bag device with a simple structure. This can also be sustained for an extended period of time, which has the effect of protecting occupants in the event of a secondary collision such as a rear-end collision following a frontal collision.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the deployment force equation of the gas bag device using a gas pressure generated by a gas generator and a time curve. FIG. 2 shows a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a gas bag device for protecting occupants of vehicles, etc., according to one embodiment of the present invention. 1: Gas generator, 2: Gas generating agent A, 3: Slow combustion gas generating agent B, 4: Electric igniter, 5: Partition wire mesh, 6: Coolant, 7
: Filter 8 = Default user 9: Folded gas bag, 10: First stage expanded gas bag position, 11
: Position of the second stage gas bag deployed.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. In a gas bag device for protecting occupants of vehicles, etc., which includes a gas generator and a gas bag, (a)
A gas generating agent A such as gunpowder, a combustible composition, or a thermally decomposable substance; and (b) a slow-burning gas obtained by coating the surface of a gas generating agent with the same composition as the gas generating agent A in (a) above with a slow-flaming substance. Generator B
and/or by mixing the gas generating agent A in (a) with a continuous firing gas generating agent C, which is a gas generating agent having the same composition and coating the surface with a continuous firing substance, and setting the ignition timing of each gas generating agent to be different. A gas bag device for protecting occupants of vehicles, etc., which generates gas in multiple stages.