KR100803624B1 - Side airbag - Google Patents

Abstract

A side-impact airbag is provided to control the inflation of airbag by inflating the upper portion of the airbag partially when a passenger to be protected is short and by inflating the upper portion of the airbag fully when a passenger to be protected is tall. A side-impact airbag comprises multiple compartments divided by panels which are attached to the upper portion and the lower portion of the airbag and covered by a front cushion(101) and a back cushion(102), a middle panel(120) which is placed at the upper portion of the panel between the front cushion and the back cushion, a vent hole(121) on the middle panel to vent inflated gas, and a diaphragm(130) larger than the vent hole to open and to close the vent hole. The vent hole is provided at the upper portion of the middle panel. At the lower portion of the side-impact airbag, pleats(140) are provided to expand the side-impact airbag downwards to protect pelvic area of a passenger in an event of collision.

Description

Side Airbag {Side Airbag}

Figure 1a is a side view showing a state in which the conventional side airbag inflated.

1B is an outer plan view of FIG. 1A;

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the side airbag of the present invention.

Figure 3 is a side view showing a side airbag of the present invention.

4 is a sectional view of a side airbag of the present invention.

5 is a cross-sectional view showing an open state of the variable hole formed in the side airbag of the present invention.

Figure 6 is a partially cutaway perspective view of the variable hole formed in the side airbag of the present invention in an open state.

Figure 7 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the variable hole formed in the side airbag of the present invention is sealed.

<Explanation of symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

100: side airbag 101: front cushion

102: back cushion 103: upper diaphragm

104: lower diaphragm 105: gas outlet

106: inflator 107: fabric pipe

108: upper chamber 109: intermediate chamber

110: lower chamber 120: interlayer film

121: variable hole 130: variable valve

140: wrinkle extension

The present invention relates to a side airbag, and more particularly to a side airbag installed on the seat back of the vehicle and inflated to protect the body side of the occupant in the event of a side collision of the vehicle.

Vehicles are equipped with airbags to mitigate the impact on the occupants with seat belts to protect the occupants in the event of a car crash.

These airbags are installed in the driver's seat and the passenger seat to protect the driver and passenger seat, and the shock absorber does not directly hit the steering wheel or instrument panel due to the driver's body is leaned forward by a car crash or sudden stop. do.

Such an airbag is operated by a collision detection sensor and an electronic control unit (ECU) in case of a vehicle crash, which detects an impact and sends it to the electronic control unit when the vehicle crashes. The airbag is inflated by operating the inflator if it is a condition that the airbag should be operated according to the strength.

At this time, the inflator is connected to the airbag which is installed in a folded state, and when operated by the electronic control unit, the inflator burns a large amount of expanded gas generated by instantaneously by burning the gas generator while the internal heater generates heat to ignite the gunpowder. To inflate the airbag.

In recent years, in order to protect the occupants in the event of a side collision, side airbags installed on the roof rails are used to protect the occupants' sides.

These side airbags are installed on the roof rails of the upper and rear seats, and when an impact is applied from the side, the airbag is deployed by the inflator to protect the occupants.

This side airbag has the advantage of protecting the head by being deployed to the head of the occupant in the event of a rollover of the car, but it can protect the part of the upper part of the arm rest of the door, that is, the chest side of the occupant There was no problem.

In order to solve this problem, Korean Patent Application No. 2006-7020252 discloses a 'side collision suppression module', which is illustrated in FIGS. 1A and 1B.

As shown in Figures 1A and 1B, the side collision suppression module 20 is intended to protect the side of the occupant from the vehicle seat, such that the inflated airbag 22 is located between the vehicle occupant and the side portion of the vehicle. And an airbag 22 having a sufficient height extending to a position generally adjacent to the shoulder of the vehicle occupant having a height of 50 quartiles.

These airbags 22 are first and second fabric panels 24a and 24b coupled to provide a pair of inflatable chambers 36 and 38, and predetermined of the first and second fabric panels 24a and 24b. At least one internal tether 30 is formed which forms a bridge between the zones.

In addition, when the airbag 22 is inflated, these zones are spaced apart from each other by at least one inner tether 30, and the at least one inner tether 30 crosses the first and second fabric panels 24a and 24b. It is coupled to be an acute surface for the part.

In addition, the side collision suppression module 20 is formed to be deployed to both sides around the center line, the inner tether 30 for regulating the flow of the expansion gas is fixed inside the airbag 22, the expansion tether 30 to the inner tether 30 One or more vents are formed to allow communication.

Such a side collision suppression module has an advantage of protecting the side of the occupant because it is expanded to the shoulder portion of the occupant, but because of the same inflation without distinguishing a small occupant or a large occupant, a feeling of pressure during the airbag inflation In addition to the line, there was a problem that the face of the passengers with a small height is in contact with the wound.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a side airbag in which the upper portion of the airbag is inflated loosely in the case of a small height occupant, the upper portion of the airbag inflated in the case of a large height occupant There is.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a side airbag to protect the thorax side and the shoulder portion of the occupant by the expansion gas filled in the upper portion of the airbag is discharged through the variable hole in the case of a small height occupant.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a side airbag in which the lower side of the side airbag is inflated to protrude more than the top thereof.

In order to achieve the above object, the side airbag of the present invention is a side airbag comprising a diaphragm fixed to the upper and lower portions to be partitioned into a plurality of chambers, and a front cushion and a rear cushion surrounding the upper and lower diaphragms,

An intermediate film provided on the upper diaphragm between the front cushion and the rear cushion,

A variable hole formed in the interlayer so that the expansion gas is discharged,

It is made larger than the variable hole is characterized in that the variable valve for opening and closing the variable hole is provided.

In addition, the lower portion of the side air bag of the present invention is further provided with a pleated expansion portion is expanded to protrude more than the upper diaphragm portion, characterized in that the variable hole is formed on the upper portion of the intermediate film.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

2 is a perspective view showing a side airbag of the present invention, FIG. 3 is a side view showing a side airbag of the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing a side airbag of the present invention.

2 to 4, an interlayer film 120 is fixed between the front cushion 101 and the rear cushion 102 in the side airbag 100 of the present invention. That is, in the present invention, the intermediate film 120 is fixed between the front cushion 101 and the rear cushion 102 constituting the side airbag 100.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the upper and lower diaphragms 103 and the lower diaphragm 104 are fixed between the front cushion 101 and the rear cushion 102 to be divided into a plurality of chambers. 120 is fixed to the upper side of the side airbag 100 from the upper diaphragm 103 to the top of the side airbag 100.

Such an interlayer 120 has a somewhat shorter length than the front cushion 101 and the back cushion 102.

In addition, the intermediate layer 120 is formed with a variable hole 121 having a predetermined size, the variable hole 121 is formed on the upper portion of the intermediate layer 110, it is preferably formed in a position in contact with the shoulder of the occupant. .

In addition, the front cushion 101 refers to the surface that is in contact with the occupant when the side airbag 100 is inflated, and the rear cushion 102 refers to the surface that is in contact with the vehicle body when the side airbag 100 is inflated. Shall be.

The front cushion 101 is provided with a variable valve 130 at a position corresponding to the variable hole 121. The variable valve 130 is made larger in size than the variable hole 121, and is sealed or bonded and fixed to a smaller size than the variable hole 121 of the intermediate film 120 at a central position thereof.

The variable valve 130 is inserted into the variable hole 121 and positioned between the intermediate layer 120 and the rear cushion 102.

In addition, the lower portion of the front cushion 101 is formed with a pleat extension 140 folded to overlap a portion of the lower side of the front cushion 101. The pleated expansion portion 140 protrudes lower than the upper portion when the side airbag 100 is inflated.

In addition, the front cushion 101 and the rear cushion 102 of the side airbag 100 have a length from the thigh of the occupant to the shoulder position as shown in Figs. 2 to 4, these front cushions 101 ) And the back cushion 102 are sealed or bonded along the edges of the front cushion 101 and the back cushion 102 so that an inner space is formed.

The upper diaphragm 103 and the lower diaphragm 104 are fixed to the upper and lower portions of the side airbag 100 so as not to inflate more than a predetermined width when the front cushion 101 and the rear cushion 102 are inflated. .

An upper chamber 108 having a predetermined space is formed on an upper surface of the upper diaphragm 103, and an intermediate chamber 109 having a predetermined space is formed between the upper diaphragm 103 and the lower diaphragm 104. A lower chamber 110 having a predetermined space is formed on the bottom of the diaphragm 104.

In addition, one or more holes (not shown in the drawing) are formed in each of the upper diaphragm 103 and the lower diaphragm 104, and the diaphragm 103 and 104 may be made of tethers through which the expansion gas passes.

In addition, an inflator 106 that generates an inflation gas is installed at one side of the side airbag 100, and the inflator 106 has a fabric pipe 107 such that the inflation gas generated in the inflator 106 is moved to the lower chamber 110. Is fixed.

In addition, the side airbag 100, the upper chamber 108, the intermediate chamber 109 and the lower chamber 110 has a gas outlet 105 for discharging the inflated gas after a predetermined time after the side airbag 100 is inflated Is formed.

According to the present invention having such a configuration, when the vehicle has a side collision, overturning, or sudden braking, a collision is detected by the collision detection sensor, and the collision detection sensor sends a signal according to the collision to the electronic control unit.

Accordingly, the electronic control unit determines whether the side airbag 100 is inflated according to the degree of impact input from the collision detection sensor, and in the electronic control unit, if the impact applied to the vehicle is strong, the signal for inflating the side airbag 100 is expanded. Is sent to the inflator 106.

At this time, in the inflator 106 by the control signal of the electronic control unit the operation of the ignition circuit built in the inflator 106, the electric ignition is made, the gas generator is burned by the heat generated by detonating the gunpowder embedded by the electric ignition do.

The expansion gas generated in the inflator 106 is ejected through the fabric pipe 107, and the entirety of the expansion gas flows into the lower chamber 110 formed on the bottom of the lower diaphragm 104. On the other hand, the inflation gas flowing into the lower chamber 110 flows into the lower chamber 110 as much of the inflation gas as necessary, and the remaining inflation gas is dispersed into the intermediate chamber 109 to expand the side airbag 100. You can also speed it up.

The inflation gas ejected from the inflator 107 is moved to the intermediate chamber 109 and the upper chamber 108 through the lower chamber 110 to inflate the side airbag 100.

That is, the inflation gas expands the lower chamber 110 and the inflation gas moves to the upper intermediate chamber 109 through the hole of the lower diaphragm 110 to expand the intermediate chamber 109, and the intermediate chamber 109. ), The inflation gas is filled into the upper chamber 108 through the opening of the upper diaphragm 103 to expand the upper chamber 108.

The inflated side airbag 100 is in contact with the chest side of the occupant's chest side, that is, the thigh of the occupant, seated in the seat, the side airbag 100 is the side airbag 100 according to the height of the occupant in Figures 5 and 7 As shown, each expands in a different form.

5 and 6 show a case in which a small elongated passenger is in contact with the side airbag 100. As the side airbag 100 is inflated, the occupant moves the upper body in a direction collided by inertial force, and thus the upper part of the upper body of the occupant Is hit by the side airbag 100.

When the upper body of the occupant and the side airbag 100 collide with each other, the shoulder of the occupant whose height is small is contacted at a lower position than the variable hole 121 and the variable valve 130.

Accordingly, the front cushion 101 and the rear cushion 102 constituting the side airbag 100 are opened as much as the width of the upper and lower diaphragms 103 and 104 by the expansion gas.

At this time, the interlayer 120 is moved in the expansion direction together with the front cushion 101, the interlayer 120 is made of a somewhat shorter length than the front cushion 101, so that the interlayer 120 is kept in a taut state at an inclined angle. do.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 5, the lower side of the side airbag 100 in contact with the thigh of the occupant is expanded so that the pleat extension 140 protrudes more than the upper portion of the side airbag 100 to mitigate the impact on the thigh of the occupant. do.

In addition, the upper side of the side airbag 100, the front cushion 101 and the rear cushion 120 is inflated to the outermost by the inflation gas, the intermediate film 120 between the upper diaphragm 103 from the top of the side airbag 100 It is pulled in an inclined state at a predetermined angle so as to be in a position far from the front cushion 101.

Accordingly, the variable valve 130 fixed between the front cushion 101 and the rear cushion 102 is partially removed from the variable hole 121 of the interlayer 120, and has a larger size than the variable hole 121. The variable valve 120 is partially folded as shown in FIG. 6.

In addition, the inflation gas is discharged between the front cushion 101 and the interlayer 120 through a gap formed between the folded variable valve 130 and the variable hole 121, and between the front cushion 101 and the interlayer 120. The moved expansion gas is discharged through the gas ejection port 105 formed in the side airbag 100.

As the expansion gas filled in the upper chamber 108 is discharged, the upper portion of the side airbag 100 is expanded in a somewhat loose state, and even if the head of the occupant contacts the upper portion of the side airbag 100, injuries such as abrasions due to friction are caused. This will alleviate the impact on the occupant's head without wearing it.

On the other hand, as shown in Figure 7, when the height of the occupant in contact with the side airbag 100 is large, the variable hole 121 and the variable valve 130 in contact with the shoulder portion of the occupant, the variable valve 130 is The fixed front cushion 101 is expanded in the same state as the interlayer 120.

That is, even if the front cushion 101 is expanded by the inflation gas, the variable valve 130 is pushed out of the variable hole 121 by pressing the front cushion 101 on which the variable valve 130 is fixed by the shoulder portion of the occupant. You will not come out.

Accordingly, the side airbag 100 gradually discharges the inflation gas through the gas ejection port 105 like the normal airbag, thereby protecting the shoulder portion of the occupant having a large height.

In the present invention, the upper portion of the airbag is loosely inflated according to the body size of the occupant in the vehicle to secure the occupant with small height as well as the variable valve is sealed by the shoulder of the large occupant to protect the occupant. In addition, the pleated extension formed on the bottom of the airbag has a useful effect of protecting the thighs of the occupant more securely by expanding the lower portion more protruding than the top of the airbag.

Claims (7)

A side airbag comprising a diaphragm fixed to the upper and lower portions to be divided into a plurality of chambers, respectively, and a front cushion and a rear cushion surrounding the upper and lower diaphragms, An intermediate film provided on the upper diaphragm between the front cushion and the rear cushion, A variable hole formed in the interlayer so that the expansion gas is discharged, The side airbag is larger than the variable hole is provided with a variable valve for opening and closing the variable hole. The method of claim 1, And a pleat expansion portion formed below the side airbag to protrude further than the upper diaphragm portion. The method according to claim 1 or 2, The variable hole is a side airbag, characterized in that formed on top of the interlayer. The method of claim 3, The side airbag is an inflator for generating an inflation gas, And a fabric pipe installed in the inflator such that an inflation gas is injected into the lower chamber among the chamber divided into the lower chamber, the middle chamber and the upper chamber by the upper diaphragm and the lower diaphragm. The method of claim 4, wherein The variable valve is a side airbag that is folded in a pleated form as part of the variable valve exits from the variable hole together with the front cushion which is inflated outward in the direction of the expansion of the side airbag inside the variable hole. The method of claim 5, The variable valve closes the variable hole by occupant shoulders and the inflation pressure of the airbag. The method of claim 6, Side airbag is characterized in that the upper chamber is formed with a gas outlet for discharging the expansion gas.

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