JPWO2019039333A1 - Side airbag device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a side airbag device which makes it difficult for a cushion after inflating and deploying to fall down and protects an occupant's head more thoroughly. A side airbag device (100) is provided on a side portion of a seat back (106) of a vehicle seat (104) and uses a gas supplied from an inflator (122) to inflate and deploy to the side of an occupant of the vehicle seat. In the side airbag device including the cushion 120, the cushion includes a patch 128 as a contact portion that comes into contact with the ceiling 130 of the vehicle 102 when inflated and deployed, and the coefficient of friction of the patch is a portion of the surface of the cushion excluding the patch. Is higher than the friction coefficient of. [Selection diagram] Figure 2

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a side airbag device including a bag-shaped cushion that inflates and deploys to the side of an occupant of a vehicle seat in the event of a side collision of the vehicle.

In recent years, vehicles are equipped with airbag devices as standard equipment. The airbag device is a safety device that operates in an emergency such as a vehicle collision, and inflates and deploys a cushion by gas pressure to receive and protect an occupant. As an example, the side airbag device includes a bag-shaped cushion that inflates and deploys to the side of the occupant of the vehicle seat in the event of a side collision of the vehicle.

Generally, when a lateral impact is applied to the vehicle, the occupant moves in the vehicle width direction. For example, when a side collision occurs in which an object (collision object) such as another vehicle or an electric pole collides with the side door on the passenger side, side airbags for protecting an occupant are roughly classified into two types. The first is a so-called near-side airbag, which is inflated and deployed between the passenger seat and the side door so that the occupant on the collision object contact side (in this case, the occupant on the passenger seat side) sees the near-side airbag. To avoid hitting the side door at. The second is a so-called far side airbag (Patent Document 1), which is inflated and deployed between the driver's seat and the passenger's seat, and due to an impact from the lateral direction, an occupant on the side opposite to the collision object contact side. It protects (in this case, the driver-side occupant) from moving to the center of the vehicle on the far side as seen by the occupant.

The far side airbag described in Patent Document 1 is an airbag that inflates and deploys in a space between occupants seated on a pair of left and right seats of a vehicle, and includes a first inflating portion. The first inflatable section inflates and deploys above the console box arranged between the seat sections of both seats and above the upper end of the headrest section provided in the seat. The upper end portion of the first inflatable portion is formed so as to contact the lower surface of the ceiling portion of the vehicle in the inflated and deployed state.

In Patent Document 1, in the state where the airbag is inflated and deployed, since the upper end surface of the first inflating portion is in pressure contact with the lower surface of the ceiling portion of the vehicle, the upper end portion of the airbag frictionally contacts the lower surface of the ceiling portion, As a result, the function of holding the airbag at a predetermined position is improved, and the occupant protection performance can be further improved as compared with the case of non-contact.

JP, 2010-52619, A

However, the airbag described in Patent Document 1 merely has a shape in which the upper end portion is in pressure contact with the ceiling of the vehicle, and may collapse if a large lateral impact is applied to the vehicle. Therefore, it becomes difficult to reliably receive the head of the occupant.

In view of such a problem, the present invention has an object to provide a side airbag device in which a cushion after inflation and deployment is less likely to fall down and the head of an occupant can be protected more thoroughly.

In order to solve the above problems, a typical configuration of a side airbag device according to the present invention is provided on a side portion of a seat back of a vehicle seat, and uses a gas supplied from an inflator for the vehicle seat. In a side airbag device including a bag-shaped cushion that inflates and deploys to the side of an occupant, the cushion includes a contact portion that contacts the ceiling of the vehicle when inflating and deploying, and the friction coefficient of the contact portion is the contact surface of the cushion. It is characterized in that it has a higher coefficient of friction than that of other parts.

According to the above configuration, the contact portion of the cushion after the expansion and deployment comes into contact with the ceiling of the vehicle. Since the contact portion of the cushion has a higher friction coefficient than the portion other than the contact portion, a sufficient frictional force is generated when the cushion comes into contact with the ceiling. Therefore, the cushion of the present invention is less likely to collapse when the contact portion comes into contact with the ceiling of the vehicle, as compared with a cushion that does not include the contact portion, so that it is easier to absorb impact energy and protect the occupant's head.

The cushion may be located between a vehicle seat and an adjacent seat adjacent to the vehicle seat in the vehicle width direction. This allows the cushion to function as a far side airbag.

The cushion may be located between the vehicle seat and the side door. This allows the cushion to function as a near side airbag.

A silicon coat may be applied to the contact portion. In this way, the contact portion of the cushion can be formed by applying the silicon coat.

The contact portion may be a separate patch that covers the surface of the cushion. Thus, by covering the surface of the cushion with a separate patch, it is possible to enhance the durability of the contact portion of the cushion.

The surface of the patch may be coated with silicon. By applying the silicone coating to the surface of the patch, which is the contact portion of the cushion, the friction coefficient of the contact portion of the cushion can be made higher than the friction coefficient of the portion of the surface of the cushion excluding the contact portion.

The upper surface of the inflated and expanded cushion is inclined toward either the vehicle front-rear direction, and the contact portion is located on the vehicle rear side or the vehicle front side having the highest height among the inclined upper surfaces. Good. As a result, of the upper surface of the cushion, the contact portion located on the vehicle rear side or the vehicle front side first comes into contact with the vehicle ceiling. For this reason, the contact portion easily comes into stable contact with a predetermined position on the ceiling of the vehicle, and the expansion behavior of the cushion can be stabilized.

The above-mentioned side airbag device further includes at least one internal tether that connects the side surfaces of the cushion, and the internal tether prevents tension from being applied by expansion and deployment of the cushion to prevent the distance between the side surfaces of the cushion from expanding. However, it may be broken when it receives a tension exceeding a predetermined value. Here, when the vehicle seat is, for example, the driver's seat and the cushion is located between the adjacent passenger seats, the cushion after expansion and deployment simultaneously receives two occupants on both sides and the cushion is sandwiched by the two occupants. May be Alternatively, when the vehicle seat is, for example, a driver's seat or a passenger seat, and the cushion is between the vehicle seat and the side door, the expanded and expanded cushion may be sandwiched between the occupant and the side door. .. Compared with the case where the cushion is sandwiched from both sides as compared with the case where the cushion between the driver's seat and the passenger seat receives only one passenger, the internal pressure of the cushion rises excessively, which is from the viewpoint of protecting the passenger. Not preferable.

Therefore, in the above structure, the internal tether is provided with a portion where the distance between the side surfaces of the cushion does not widen even when the cushion is supplied with gas from the inflator and inflated and deployed. Then, when the internal pressure of the cushion is excessively increased due to, for example, the cushion being sandwiched by two occupants, if the tension applied to the cushion is increased accordingly, the tension applied to the internal tether is also increased. When the tension applied to the internal tether exceeds a predetermined value, the internal tether breaks and the distance between the side surfaces of the cushion increases. That is, the width dimension (volume) of the cushion when expanded and expanded is increased, and the internal pressure of the cushion can be reduced. By lowering the internal pressure of the cushion, it is possible to sufficiently absorb the impact energy received from, for example, the heads of two occupants, and prevent deterioration of the head injury value.

The tension of the above predetermined value may be applied to the internal tether by sandwiching both sides of the cushion after the expansion and deployment by two occupants. As a result, even when the cushion is located between the vehicle seat and the adjacent seat adjacent to the vehicle seat in the vehicle width direction, and both sides of the cushion after the expansion and deployment are sandwiched by two occupants. When the tension applied to the contact portion exceeds a predetermined value, the internal tether breaks, so that the internal pressure of the cushion can be reduced and the heads of two occupants can be protected.

The tension of the above-mentioned predetermined value may be applied to the internal tether by sandwiching both sides of the cushion after expansion and deployment by the occupant and the side door. As a result, even when the cushion is located between the vehicle seat and the side door and both sides of the cushion after the expansion and deployment are sandwiched between the occupant and the side door, the tension applied to the contact portion has a predetermined value. When it exceeds, the internal tether is broken, so that the internal pressure of the cushion can be lowered and the head of the occupant can be protected.

The internal tether includes a plurality of first internal tethers arranged in the vehicle vertical direction inside the expanded and expanded cushion, and a plurality of second internal tethers arranged apart from the first internal tether in the vehicle vertical direction. Should be included. In this way, since the side surfaces of the cushion are brought close to each other by the first internal tether and the second internal tether that are spaced apart from each other and are arranged in the vehicle vertical direction, the distance between the side surfaces of the cushion can be stabilized.

The above side airbag device has a seat frame built into the seat back along a side portion of the seat back of the vehicle seat, one end of which is coupled to the occupant side of the seat frame, and the other end of which is a front end portion of the cushion. An inflator is mounted on the side of the seat frame opposite the occupant side, and a cushion is housed on the side of the seat frame opposite the occupant side and supplied from the inflator. When inflating and deploying using the gas, the external tether may restrict the movement of the front end portion of the seat frame to the side opposite to the occupant side. Thus, the cushion is accommodated on the side of the seat frame opposite to the occupant side, one end of the external tether is joined to the occupant side of the seat frame, and the other end is joined to the front end portion of the cushion. For this reason, the front end portion of the cushion is restricted from moving toward the side opposite to the occupant side of the seat frame by the rotating external tether when inflated and deployed. Therefore, the cushion after the inflation and deployment is located near the occupant, and the occupant restraining force can be improved.

The outer tether may contact the front edge of the seat frame when the cushion is inflated and deployed. As a result, the outer tether of the cushion comes into contact with the front edge of the seat frame when inflated and deployed, so that the outer tether further restricts the movement of the front end portion of the cushion starting from the front edge of the seat frame. Therefore, the occupant restraint force can be further improved.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a side airbag device that makes it difficult for the cushion after inflating and deploying to fall down and protects the head of the occupant more thoroughly.

It is a figure which illustrates a part of vehicle to which the side airbag device in the embodiment of the present invention is applied. It is a figure which illustrates the side airbag apparatus of FIG. It is a figure which illustrates the cushion of Fig.2 (a). It is a figure which illustrates the cushion of Drawing 3 (b) in the state where it piled up with a passenger. It is a figure which illustrates the side airbag apparatus at the time of expansion deployment when one or two passengers are seated in the vehicle of FIG. It is a figure which illustrates the cushion of the accommodation state of FIG. It is a figure which illustrates the side airbag apparatus in other embodiment of this invention.

100, 100A, 100B, 100C... Side airbag device, 102... Vehicle, 104, 110... Vehicle seat, 106, 112... Seat back, 108, 114... Seat cushion, 116... Side door, 118... Seat frame, 120 , 120A, 120B, 120C... Cushion, 122... Inflator, 124, 142... Occupant, 126, 126A, 126B, 126C... Cushion upper surface, 128, 128A... Patch, 130... Ceiling, 132, 144... Occupant's head, Reference numeral 134... First internal tether, 136... First internal tether, 138, 140... Side surface of cushion, 150... External tether, 152... One end of external tether, 154... Other end of external tether, 156... Front end portion of cushion, 158 … Stud bolts, 160… Front edge of seat frame

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The dimensions, materials, and other specific numerical values shown in the embodiments are merely examples for facilitating understanding of the invention, and do not limit the invention unless otherwise specified. In this specification and the drawings, elements having substantially the same function and configuration are assigned the same reference numerals to omit redundant description, and elements not directly related to the present invention are omitted. To do.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a part of a vehicle 102 to which a side airbag device 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied. The side airbag device 100 is embedded in a side portion of the vehicle seat 104 on the vehicle center side, as indicated by a dotted line in the drawing. The vehicle seat 104 is a right front seat (for example, a driver's seat) in the vehicle 102, and has a seat cushion 108 on which a passenger is seated, in addition to a seat back 106.

A vehicle seat 110 adjacent to the vehicle seat 104 is arranged in the vehicle 102. The vehicle seat 110 is a left front seat (for example, a passenger seat), and has a seat back 112 and a seat cushion 114. A side door 116 is located outside the vehicle seat 110. The side airbag device 100 may be embedded in the side surface of the seat back 112 of the vehicle seat 110 on the vehicle center side.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the side airbag device 100 of FIG. 1. In the figure, of the seat back 106 of the vehicle seat 104, only the seat frame 118 is illustrated by omitting the skin and the seat pad (for example, urethane material). The seat frame 118 is a member that serves as a skeleton of the seat back 106, and is built in the seat back 106 along the side surface and the upper edge of the seat back 106.

The side airbag device 100 includes a bag-shaped cushion 120, as shown in FIG. The cushion 120 is inflated to the side of the occupant 124 (see FIG. 4) of the vehicle seat 104 by using the gas supplied from the inflator 122 that is a gas generator in an emergency such as when an impact occurs on the vehicle 102. expand. The cushion 120 is formed in a bag shape by spinning and weaving using, for example, OPW (One-Piece Woven).

FIG. 2B is a diagram exemplifying a state when the cushion 120 of FIG. 2A is stored. Although details will be described later, the side airbag device 100 has a cushion 120 and an inflator 122 installed outside the seat frame 118 in the vehicle width direction, that is, on the side opposite to the occupant side (see FIG. 6 ).

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the cushion 120 of FIG. The arrow X in the figure indicates the front side of the vehicle. FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B are views of the cushion 120 of FIG. 2A viewed from arrows A and B, respectively. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating the state where the cushion 120 of FIG. 3B is overlapped with the occupant 124. The occupant 124 (driver) is seated on the vehicle seat 104.

As illustrated, the inflated and expanded upper surface 126 of the cushion 120 is inclined such that the height becomes lower toward the vehicle front side, and the height at the vehicle rear side is the highest. A separate patch 128 is sewn on the rear side of the vehicle having the highest height on the inclined upper surface 126.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4, of the upper surface 126 of the expanded and expanded cushion 120, the patch 128 surely contacts the ceiling 130 of the vehicle 102. Therefore, the patch 128 functions as a contact portion that contacts the ceiling 130 of the vehicle 102.

Further, the surface of the patch 128 is coated with silicon. For this reason, the patch 128, which is the contact portion of the cushion 120, has a higher coefficient of friction than the portion excluding the patch 128, and when it contacts the ceiling 130, a sufficient frictional force is generated. The friction coefficient of the patch 128 is a static friction coefficient or a dynamic friction coefficient obtained by the contact between the patch 128 and the ceiling 130, and is more than a static friction coefficient or a dynamic friction coefficient obtained by the contact between the portion excluding the patch 128 and the ceiling 130. It should be large, and is not limited to a specific numerical value.

Therefore, the cushion 120 is less likely to collapse due to a sufficient frictional force generated when the patch 128 comes into contact with the ceiling 130 of the vehicle 102, and thus it is easy to absorb impact energy, and the head 132 of the occupant 124 overlapping the cushion 120 is prevented. Can be protected. The patch 128 also covers the upper surface 126 of the cushion 120 and covers the rear side of the vehicle to improve durability. Further, since the patch 128 is located at the highest position on the upper surface 126 of the cushion 120, the patch 128 first comes into contact with the ceiling 130 of the vehicle 102, which makes it easier to stably come into contact with the predetermined position of the ceiling 130, and thus the cushion 120. The deployment behavior of can be stabilized.

The cushion 120 further has a plurality of first internal tethers 134 and a plurality of second internal tethers 136, as shown by the dotted lines in the figure. As illustrated, the plurality of first internal tethers 134 are arranged in the vehicle vertical direction inside the expanded and expanded cushion 120. Further, the plurality of second internal tethers 136 are arranged in the vehicle vertical direction with being separated from the first internal tether 134 toward the vehicle rear side.

The plurality of first internal tethers 134 and second internal tethers 136 are formed during the weaving using OPW. Specifically, the plurality of first internal tethers 134 and second internal tethers 136 are formed on the side surface 138 near the occupant 124 and on the side far from the occupant 124. It is, so to speak, a bundle of sewing threads obtained by alternately knitting a large number (for example, hundreds to thousands) of sewing threads that connect the side surface 140. Then, the plurality of first internal tethers 134 and second internal tethers 136 are prevented from being stretched by the expansion and expansion of the cushion 120 so that tension is applied to the spaces between the side surfaces 138 and 140, that is, the width dimension of the cushion 120 is expanded. The width dimension of the cushion 120 is adjusted.

As described above, in the cushion 120, the side surfaces 138 and 140 are connected by the first internal tether 134 and the second internal tether 136 which are spaced apart from each other and arranged in parallel in the vehicle vertical direction. Can be stabilized. Note that the plurality of first internal tethers 134 and second internal tethers 136 do not necessarily have to be arranged in the vehicle up-down direction as long as the width dimension of the cushion 120 can be adjusted. Only one of the two internal tethers 136 need be present.

Further, the first internal tether 134 and the second internal tether 136 will be broken when subjected to a tension exceeding a predetermined value after the cushion 120 is inflated and expanded, as described later in detail (see FIG. 5B).

The “predetermined value” of the tension, which is the threshold value at which breakage occurs, is a value that is determined according to the strength and number of sewing threads forming the plurality of first internal tethers 134 and second internal tethers 136, although not specifically stated. is there. Since the tension increases as the internal pressure of the cushion 120 increases, using the tension as the threshold value is equivalent to using the internal pressure of the cushion 120 as the threshold value.

FIG. 5: is a figure which illustrates the side airbag apparatus 100 at the time of expansion deployment when one or two passengers are seated in the vehicle 102 of FIG. FIG. 5A and FIG. 5B respectively show the side airbag device 100 viewed from the front side of the vehicle when one passenger 124 and two passengers 124 and 142 are seated. ..

Further, in FIG. 5A, the vehicle 102 receives a lateral impact (see arrow D) due to a side collision, and the occupant 124 receives a lateral impact toward the vehicle center side due to inertia (see arrow E). The state of moving to the center side is shown. That is, the flow line axis of the occupant 124 associated with the side collision is in the lateral direction (that is, the vehicle width direction) indicated by the arrows D and E.

As shown in FIG. 5A, the side airbag device 100 receives the head 132 of the occupant 124, which has moved in the direction indicated by the arrow E, by the inflated and expanded cushion 120. At this time, in the cushion 120, as shown in FIG. 5A, the plurality of first internal tethers 134 and second internal tethers 136 are not broken.

Therefore, in the cushion 120, the spacing between the side surfaces 138, 140 is adjusted by the plurality of first internal tethers 134 and the second internal tether 136, and the dimension in the vehicle width direction is Wa. Here, the dimension Wa of the cushion 120 in the vehicle width direction is set in advance so that the cushion 120 maintains an appropriate internal pressure when the cushion 120 receives the head 132 of one occupant 124.

Therefore, when the cushion 120 receives the head 132 of one occupant 124 when inflated and deployed, as shown in FIG. 5A, the cushion 120 maintains a proper internal pressure by obtaining the dimension Wa in the vehicle width direction, and the occupant 124 The head 132 can be protected.

Furthermore, the patch 128 of the cushion 120 is in contact with the ceiling 130 of the vehicle 102 when inflated and deployed. Therefore, in the cushion 120, a sufficient frictional force is generated between the patch 128 and the ceiling 130. Therefore, the cushion 120 is less likely to fall when receiving the head 132 of the one occupant 124, is more likely to absorb impact energy, and can more fully protect the head 132 of the occupant 124.

Here, as shown in FIG. 5B, the cushion 120 after the expansion and deployment may receive not only the occupant 124 seated on the vehicle seat 104 but also the occupant 142 seated on the vehicle seat 110. Hereinafter, the behavior of the cushion 120 in such a situation will be described.

As shown in FIG. 5B, when the cushion 120 after being inflated and deployed receives the two occupants 124 and 142 at the same time and is sandwiched by the two occupants 124 and 142, the internal pressure of the cushion 120 excessively rises. When the internal pressure of the cushion 120 rises excessively, the tension applied to the side surfaces 138 and 140 of the cushion 120 increases.

As the tension applied to the side surfaces 138, 140 of the cushion 120 increases, the tension applied to the plurality of first internal tethers 134 and second internal tethers 136 shown in FIG. 5A also increases. When the tension applied to the plurality of first internal tethers 134 and the second internal tether 136 exceeds a predetermined value, the plurality of first internal tethers 134 and the second internal tether 136 are broken, and the side surfaces 138, 140 of the cushion 120 are separated from each other. The distance will increase.

As a result, the cushion 120 has a dimension in the vehicle width direction that is larger than the dimension Wa shown in FIG. 5A, that is, the dimension Wb, so that the volume is increased and the internal pressure can be reduced. It should be noted that the breakage of the plurality of first internal tethers 134 and the second internal tether 136 is not limited to the case where all of the large number of sewing threads forming these tethers are broken, and the dimension of the cushion 120 in the vehicle width direction becomes large. It suffices that some of the many sewing threads break, and there may be sewing threads that do not break.

Therefore, in the side airbag device 100, the size in the vehicle width direction can be increased and the internal pressure of the cushion 120 can be reduced when the cushion 120 is sandwiched by the two occupants 124 and 142. Therefore, the cushion 120 can maintain an appropriate internal pressure, and can sufficiently absorb the impact energy received from the two occupants 124 and 142, especially the heads 132 and 144, so that the deterioration of the head injury value can be prevented.

Further, in the side airbag device 100, as shown in FIG. 5B, even when the cushion 120 is sandwiched by two occupants 124 and 142, the patch 128 of the cushion 120 contacts the ceiling 130 of the vehicle 102. doing. Therefore, the cushion 120 is less likely to collapse due to a sufficient frictional force generated between the patch 128 and the ceiling 130, and thus it is easy to absorb impact energy, and the heads 132, 144 of the occupants 124, 142 are more fully absorbed. Can be fully protected.

Here, the side airbag device 100 is located between the adjacent vehicle seats 104 and 110, and the cushion 120 after the inflation and deployment simultaneously receives the two occupants 124 and 142 on both sides, and the two occupants 124 and 142. Although the situation in which the cushion 120 is sandwiched by 142 is illustrated, the present invention is not limited to this. That is, the side airbag device 100 may be embedded in the side surfaces of the vehicle seats 104 and 110 on the vehicle width direction outer sides of the seat backs 106 and 112. In this case, there may be a situation in which the cushion 120 after expansion and deployment is sandwiched between the occupant 124 and a side door (not shown) or the occupant 142 and the side door 116 (see FIG. 1).

Furthermore, the case where the side airbag device 100 is applied to the vehicle 102 including the two vehicle seats 104 and 110 has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this. As an example, the side airbag device 100 may be applied to a one-seater electric vehicle, a so-called ultra-compact EV. A micro EV is a vehicle with one vehicle seat. In such a vehicle, the side airbag device 100 may be located between the vehicle seat and the side door, and the cushion 120 after the inflation and deployment may be sandwiched between the occupant and the side door.

In any of the situations, in the side airbag device 100, when the tension applied to the plurality of first internal tethers 134 and the second internal tethers 136 with the increase of the internal pressure of the cushion 120 exceeds a predetermined value, the side airbag device 100 is broken and the internal pressure is increased. Can be lowered. Therefore, according to the side airbag device 100, since an appropriate internal pressure of the cushion 120 can be maintained, impact energy can be sufficiently absorbed by the cushion 120 receiving the occupant's head, and deterioration of the head injury value can be prevented. it can.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a cushion 120 in the housed state of FIG. 2B and a process in which the cushion 120 is inflated and deployed. FIG. 6A is a view on arrow C of FIG. 2B. FIG. 6B is a sectional view taken along line FF of FIG. FIG. 6C illustrates a state where the cushion 120 in the housed state of FIG. 6B is inflated and deployed. The arrow X in FIGS. 6B and 6C indicates the front side of the vehicle. The arrow Y indicates the center side of the seat frame 118 in the vehicle width direction, that is, the occupant side.

As shown in FIG. 6A, the side airbag device 100 is installed on the side of the seat frame 118 opposite to the occupant side. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 6B, the cushion 120 is installed on the seat frame 118 via the inflator 122, and in the wound or folded state, the cushion 120 is on the side opposite to the occupant side. It is housed in. The inflator 122 is also attached to the side of the seat frame 118 opposite to the occupant side.

The side airbag device 100 further includes an external tether 150 as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 6C, the outer tether 150 has one end 152 connected to the occupant side of the seat frame 118 and the other end 154 connected to the front end 156 of the cushion 120. One end 152 of the outer tether 150 is coupled to the seat frame 118 using a stud bolt 158 that projects from the inflator 122 and penetrates the seat frame 118.

In such a side airbag device 100, when the cushion 120 inflates and deploys using the gas supplied from the inflator 122, the external tether 150 causes the front end portion 156 of the seat frame 118 to face the side opposite to the occupant. Movement is restricted. More specifically, since the outer tether 150 contacts the front edge 160 of the seat frame 118, the outer tether 150 restricts the movement of the front end portion 156 of the cushion 120 with the front edge 160 of the seat frame 118 as a starting point.

Therefore, in the side airbag device 100, when the front end portion 156 of the cushion 120 is inflated and deployed, the rotating outer tether 150 restricts the movement of the seat frame 118 to the side opposite to the occupant side. As a result, the cushion 120 after the inflation and deployment is located near the occupant, and the occupant restraining force can be improved.

FIG. 7: is a figure which illustrates the side airbag apparatus 100A, 100B, 100C in other embodiment of this invention.

In the side airbag device 100A shown in FIG. 7A, the upper surface 126A of the inflated and expanded cushion 120A is inclined so that the height becomes lower toward the vehicle rear side, and the height at the vehicle front side becomes the highest. There is. A separate patch 128A is sewn on the front side of the vehicle having the highest height on the inclined upper surface 126A.

Even in such a side back device 100A, the patch 128A is located at the highest position on the upper surface 126A of the cushion 120A. Therefore, the patch 128A first comes into contact with the ceiling 130 of the vehicle 102, and it becomes easy to stably come into contact with the predetermined position of the ceiling 130, and the deployment behavior of the cushion 120A can be stabilized. Further, the cushion 120A is less likely to collapse due to a sufficient frictional force generated between the patch 128A and the ceiling 130, so that it is easy to absorb impact energy, and the occupant's head can be fully protected.

In the cushions 120 and 120A, the separate patches 128 and 128A coated with silicon are used as the contact portions, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the front side or the rear side of the vehicle having the highest height among the upper surfaces 126 and 126A. A silicon coat may be directly applied to. With this configuration, the separate patches 128 and 128A are not required, and the contact portion can be easily formed.

The side airbag device 100B illustrated in FIG. 7B is different from the side airbag device 100 described above in that the upper surface 126B of the cushion 126B does not contact the ceiling 130 of the vehicle 102 and the patch 128 does not exist.

Even in such a side airbag device 100B, since the cushion 120B can maintain an appropriate internal pressure by the plurality of first internal tethers 134 and second internal tethers 136, it is possible for one or two occupants, especially the head. The impact energy received from the part can be sufficiently absorbed, and the deterioration of the head injury value can be prevented.

The side airbag device 100C shown in FIG. 7C is different from the above side airbag device 100 in that the upper surface 126C of the cushion 120C does not contact the ceiling 130 of the vehicle 102 and the patch 128 does not exist. The first internal tether 134 and the second internal tether 136 of FIG.

Even with such a side airbag device 100C, when the cushion 120 is accommodated on the side opposite to the occupant side of the seat frame 118 as in the side airbag device 100, and the external tether 150 is further provided. Has the following effects. That is, as shown in FIG. 6C, when the cushion 120 expands and deploys by using the gas supplied from the inflator 122, the rotating external tether 150 moves the seat frame 118 to the side opposite to the occupant side. By restricting the movement of the front end portion 156, the cushion 120 after expansion and deployment is located near the occupant, and the occupant restraining force can be improved.

The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above with reference to the accompanying drawings, but it goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to such examples. It is obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes or modifications can be conceived within the scope of the claims, and it should be understood that these also belong to the technical scope of the present invention. To be done.

Further, in the above embodiment, an example in which the side airbag device 100 according to the present invention is applied to an automobile has been described. be able to.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention can be used for a side airbag device including a bag-shaped cushion that inflates and deploys to the side of an occupant of a vehicle seat in the event of a side collision of the vehicle.

Claims (13)

A side airbag device provided on a side portion of a seat back of a vehicle seat, comprising a bag-shaped cushion that inflates and deploys laterally to an occupant of the vehicle seat by using gas supplied from an inflator,
The cushion includes a contact portion that comes into contact with a vehicle ceiling when inflated and deployed,
The side airbag device, wherein a friction coefficient of the contact portion is higher than a friction coefficient of a portion of the surface of the cushion excluding the contact portion. The side airbag device according to claim 1, wherein the cushion is located between the vehicle seat and an adjacent seat adjacent to the vehicle seat in a vehicle width direction. The side airbag device according to claim 1, wherein the cushion is located between the vehicle seat and the side door. The side airbag device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the contact portion is provided with a silicon coat. The side airbag device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the contact portion is a separate patch that covers the surface of the cushion. The side airbag device according to claim 5, wherein a silicon coat is applied to a surface of the patch. The upper surface of the inflated and expanded cushion is inclined toward either the vehicle front-rear direction,
The side air according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the contact portion is located on the vehicle rear side or the vehicle front side having the highest height on the inclined upper surface. Bag device. The side airbag device further includes at least one internal tether that connects side surfaces of the cushion,
2. The internal tether prevents tension from being applied by expansion and expansion of the cushion to increase the distance between the side surfaces of the cushion, and breaks when tension exceeds a predetermined value. 7. The side airbag device according to any one of 1 to 7. 9. The side airbag device according to claim 8, wherein the tension of the predetermined value is applied to the internal tether by sandwiching both sides of the cushion after the inflation and deployment by two occupants. 9. The side airbag device according to claim 8, wherein the tension of the predetermined value is applied to the internal tether by sandwiching both sides of the cushion after inflation and deployment by an occupant and the side door. The inner tether includes a plurality of first inner tethers arranged in the vehicle vertical direction inside the expanded and expanded cushion, and a plurality of second inner tethers arranged in the vehicle vertical direction apart from the first inner tether. The side airbag device according to any one of claims 8 to 10, further comprising: The side airbag device is
A seat frame built in the seat back along a side portion of the seat back of the vehicle seat;
An outer tether having one end coupled to the occupant side of the seat frame and the other end coupled to a front end portion of the cushion,
The inflator is attached to the side opposite to the occupant side of the seat frame,
The cushion is
The seat frame is housed on the side opposite to the occupant side, and when inflated and deployed by using the gas supplied from the inflator, the external tether causes the seat frame to move to the side opposite to the occupant side. 12. The side airbag device according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein movement of the front end portion of the vehicle is restricted. The side airbag device according to claim 12, wherein the external tether contacts a front edge of the seat frame when the cushion is inflated and deployed.

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