KR101616575B1 - Airbag Module and Airbag Comprising the Same - Google Patents

Abstract

In order to mitigate the impact such that the occupant is not injured by the bracket even if the occupant hits the bracket in the state that the airbag cushion is not deployed, the present invention is characterized in that (i) a high pressure gas is generated in the collision, (Ii) a cushion configured to be inflated by being filled with the injected gas; and (iii) at least one folded portion or a folded portion guiding the direction of deployment of the cushion by adjusting the traveling direction of the jetted gas, An airbag module including a bracket formed with a groove in an adjacent area, and an airbag having the same.

Airbag, head impact, bracket, groove, deformation

Description

[0001] Airbag Module and Airbag Comprising the Same [0002]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention [0001] The present invention relates to an airbag module and an airbag having the same, and more particularly, to an airbag module having a built-in bracket for deploying a cushion in a predetermined direction and an airbag having the same.

Background Art [0002] An airbag for a vehicle alleviates an impact when an occupant of a vehicle collides with the inside of the vehicle when an impact due to an accident occurs. BACKGROUND ART [0002] Automobile airbags can be broadly divided into front airbags and side airbags. The frontal airbag is intended to mitigate the impact of a frontal impact, including driver airbags, passenger airbags, knee airbags, and inflatable tublar torso restraints. The side airbag is intended to mitigate the impact of a side impact, and includes a thorax airbag, a head-thorax airbag, an inflatable tubular structure (ITS), an inflatable curtain, and a rollover airbag airbag).

In particular, the curtain airbag is becoming more and more common around SUVs and luxury passenger cars because of the broader protection area than ITS in the case of side collision and rollover. The side airbags may not be deployed in the event of minor accidents or technical failures. However, in the case of the side airbag provided on the periphery of the occupant for guiding the deployment direction of the cushion among the side airbags, the occupant, particularly the head of the occupant, can hit the bracket of the airbag even when the cushion is not deployed. There is a risk of injury.

In addition, recently, in evaluating the safety performance of the side impact in the automobile safety performance test, it is necessary to adjust so that the impact when the object collides with the area of the pillar B without excessively deploying the airbag is not too large.

Accordingly, the present invention has an advantage in that, even if the occupant bumps against the bracket in a state in which the airbag is not deployed, while the airbag has a strength that allows the cushion to be deployed in a desired direction by changing the traveling direction of the gas jetted at high pressure, And a bracket which can easily deform the shape of the bracket so as not to wear the bracket.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an exhaust gas purifying apparatus including (i) gas generating means for generating a high-pressure gas upon collision and ejecting the gas through an exhaust port, (ii) (Iii) a bracket for guiding the deployment direction of the cushion by deviating a traveling direction of the jetted gas, wherein a groove is formed in a fold line or an adjacent region of at least one folded portion, An airbag module is disclosed.

In order to relatively increase the amount of deformation of the bracket due to an impact generated inside the vehicle in a direction substantially orthogonal to the surface on which the bracket is mounted, the groove has a thin cross section of the bracket in the orthogonal direction As shown in FIG.

The bracket includes a contact surface which is engaged with the surface on which the bracket is mounted, and a guide surface which is folded from the contact surface and extended so as to protrude toward the occupant. The side surface of the guide surface may be curved outwardly convex.

The contact surface and the folded portion defined by the guide surface are formed with a continuous or discontinuous groove along a folding line or an adjacent portion of the folding line.

Wherein the contact surface includes a first contact surface spaced apart from the first contact surface and a second contact surface, the guide surface including a first guide surface and a second guide surface folded together, the first guide surface being folded from the first contact surface, And the second guide surface may be extended from the second contact surface so as to protrude toward the occupant.

A first folding portion defined by the first contact surface and the first guide surface, a second folded portion defined by the second contact surface and the second guide surface, and a third folding portion defined by the first guide surface and the second guide surface, At least one of the portions is formed with a continuous or discontinuous groove along a fold line or an adjacent portion of the fold line.

The side surface of the groove may be in a notch shape. The pointed portion of the notch is formed so as to face the direction intersecting the first and second contact surfaces.

The bracket may be made of a material including steel.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a gas sensor comprising: (i) a sensor for detecting an impact; (ii) gas generating means for generating a high pressure gas in the event of a collision in response to an impact detection signal from the sensor, (iii) a cushion configured such that the injected gas is filled and developed, (iv) a direction of deployment of the cushion is guided by deviating a traveling direction of the jetted gas, and a folding line of at least one folded portion or A bracket having grooves formed in adjacent areas, and (v) a control unit configured to process the signal from the sensor and generate a signal to drive the gas generating means.

According to the present invention, in a state in which the airbag cushion is not deployed, it is possible to alleviate an impact such that the occupant is not injured by the bracket even if the passenger hits the bracket.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a side view showing a schematic structure of a vehicle in which an airbag module and an airbag having the airbag module according to embodiments of the present invention are mounted. Referring to Fig. 1, a front seat 6, a rear seat 8 and a steering wheel 14 are mounted on the vehicle 1. When the structure constituting the vehicle 1 is divided into the roof 10, the roof rail 12, the pillar A (2), the pillar B (3), and the pillar C (4) (6) is positioned so that the pillar B (3) corresponds to its side surface. An airbag may be installed at various positions of the vehicle. Hereinafter, a side airbag will be described by taking an inflatable curtain installed in the pillar B (3) as an example.

2 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing an installation of an airbag module according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to Fig. 2, the airbag has a sensor (not shown), an airbag module, and a control unit (not shown). The sensor senses the impact and is configured to inflate the cushion 150 in the airbag module when an impact and / or roll-over above a predetermined magnitude is sensed by the sensor. The sensor may be a sensor for sensing impact and / or a sensor for detecting rollover. The mounting position of the sensor may be different for each vehicle.

The control unit receives a trigger signal generated from the sensor and drives the inflator (not shown) so that the airbag cushion 150 is deployed.

The airbag module according to one embodiment includes gas generating means (not shown), a cushion 150, and a bracket 100.

The gas generating means has an inflator. When the trigger signal is received from the control unit, the gas generating means instantaneously ejects high-pressure gas through the discharge port. The high-pressure gas from the gas generating means flows into the cushion 150. The gas generating means may be provided in the area of the pillars B (3) of the main body or in the region of the loop (10) of the main body. The gas from the gas generating means may directly enter the interior of the cushion 150 or alternatively may enter the interior of the cushion 150 through a separate tube (not shown).

The cushion 150 is installed so as to be deployed on the side surface of the occupant 5 by filling the high-pressure gas ejected from the gas generating means in collision or rollover. Particularly, in the unfolded state, the cushion 150 can cover the area between the pillars A and B of the body of the vehicle 1. [ Alternatively, in the unfolded state, the cushion 150 may cover an area between pillars C (4) and B of the body. Alternatively, in the unfolded state, the cushion 150 may cover the area of the pillar A (2), the pillar B (3), and the pillar C (4) of the main body.

The cushion 150 can be made of a fabric. The cushion 150 is accommodated in a predetermined shape inside the cover, and when the collision or rollover occurs, the cover is removed due to the high-pressure gas ejected, and the cushion 150 is rapidly deployed to protect one side of the occupant 5 do. The cushion 150 is housed in the folded state inside the cover, and the folded shape can be variously modified. Here, the trim 13 itself for the pillar B (3) can be used as a cover. Alternatively, a separate cover may be provided in the trim for the pillar B (3).

The bracket 100 serves to guide the unfolding direction of the cushion 150. The bracket 100 may also serve to support the airbag module. In the case of an airbag deploying from the upper area of the pillars B 3 of the main body to the side of the occupant 5 the cushion 150 is positioned between the trim 13 for the pillar B 3 and the trim 20 for the roof 10 The bracket 100 is configured such that the deployment direction of the cushion 150 is the same as the direction of the pillar B trim 13 and the loop trim 20, The direction of deployment of the cushion 150 is guided. In other words, the guide surface 111 of the bracket 100 guides the deployment direction of the cushion 150 by changing the high-pressure gas from the gas generating means, for example, in the direction D from the vertical direction.

The airbag module is not exposed to the passenger 5 until it is installed inside the trim 13 for the pillars B and the trim 20 for the pillars.

In one embodiment, the bracket 100 may be mounted to the upper region of the pillar B 3, as shown in Fig. The bracket 100 may be attached to the pillar B 3 by various methods and may be fastened, for example, by a screw 9. As described above, the airbag is designed to operate only when impacted or rolled over a certain size. Therefore, in some cases, for example, in the case where the left-hand side rocking of the vehicle on the unpaved road is large or there is a slight side collision, the head of the occupant 5, It may collide with the internal components of the airbag installed in the airbag. Thereby, the presence of the airbag causes the occupant 5 to be injured in the head.

In order to prevent this, the bracket 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention includes grooves 131, 132, and 133 for easily changing the shape of the bracket 100 upon collision with the passenger 5, , 122, and 123, respectively. Hereinafter, the shape of the bracket 100 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.

Figs. 3 and 4 show front and rear perspective views of the bracket of the airbag module shown in Fig. 2. Fig. 3 and 4, the bracket 100 includes a first contact surface 101, a second contact surface 102, a first guide surface 111, and a second guide surface 112. In the embodiment shown in FIGS. The first contact surface 101 and the second contact surface 102 are spaced from each other and fixed to the upper region of the pillar B 3 of the main body. The first guide surface 111 extends from the first contact surface 101 toward the passenger 5 and extends from the second contact surface 102 toward the passenger 5 in the same manner. The first guide surface 111 and the second guide surface 112 are integrally formed and the folded portion 123 is folded toward the passenger 5.

The first contact surface 101 and the first guide surface 111 form a first folded portion 121 and the second contact surface 102 and the second guide surface 112 form a second folded portion 122, The first guide surface 111 and the second guide surface 112 form a third folded portion 123. Grooves 131, 132, and 133 are formed in the first folded portion 121, the second folded portion 122, and the third folded portion 123, respectively. The first groove 131 is formed in the first folded portion 121 and is formed at three places discontinuously along the folding line or its adjacent portion. Similarly, the second grooves 132 are formed in the second fold 122 and are formed discontinuously at three places along the fold line. The third groove 133 is formed continuously along the folding line or a region adjacent to the folding line. Here, the folded portion includes not only a portion having a folding in a strict sense but also a portion very close to the folded portion.

However, it should be understood that the number of grooves 131, 132, 133 is not limited to this and can be easily modified by those skilled in the art. Further, the grooves 131, 132, and 133 need not be formed at all the folded portions. That is, the groove may be formed only on the first folded portion 121, only on the second folded portion 122, or only on the third folded portion 123. Alternatively, the groove may be formed only in the first folded portion 121 and the second folded portion 122, only the first folded portion 121 and the third folded portion 123, or the second folded portion 122, And the third folded portion 123, respectively. This may vary depending on the form of the vehicle 1, for example, whether it is a sedan or an SUV type, and may vary depending on the specific shape of the main body frame of the vehicle 1. [ It should also be understood that whether or not the grooves 131, 132, 133 are formed continuously or discontinuously may be modified in some cases.

The grooves 131, 132, and 133 may have a notch-shaped cross-section. That is, the side sectional shapes of the grooves 131, 132, and 133 are V-shaped. The pointed portions 131a, 132a, and 133a of the notch are formed so as to face in a direction substantially orthogonal to the first contact surface 101 or the second contact surface 102. Here, a direction generally orthogonal to the first contact surface 101 or the second contact surface 102 is a direction substantially perpendicular to the plane on which the bracket 100 is mounted, and the occupant 5, particularly, (Direction F in Fig.

Referring to FIGS. 6 and 7, which schematically show the deformation at the third fold and the first fold at the time when the impact in the horizontal direction is applied to the bracket 100, the grooves 131, 132, When the impact is applied to the bracket 100 of the module in the horizontal direction, the deformation amount in the horizontal direction of the bracket 100 is made larger than the deformation amount in the vertical direction due to the impact in the vertical direction. Thereby, it is possible to mitigate the collision part of the occupant 5, particularly the impact of the head.

The third groove 133 is formed on the inner surface of the third folded portion 123 and the surface facing the pillar B 3 and the sharp portion 133 a of the notch is formed in the direction opposite to the pillar B 3 As shown in FIG. Cross-sectional thickness (t ₂₎ in the horizontal direction of the portion in which the groove 133 of the folded portion 123 is thinner than the cross-sectional thickness (t ₁₎ in the other direction of it is not part. Therefore, the thickness of the cross section of the bracket 100 in the horizontal direction becomes relatively thin. This means that the bracket 100 can be easily deformed by the impact applied in the horizontal direction of the bracket 100. If the horizontal impact is applied to the third folded portion 123 from the inside of the vehicle, the first guide surface 111 and the second guide surface 112 are formed so that the acute angle between the first guide surface 111 and the second guide surface 112 becomes larger. Counterclockwise in the section viewed in the direction of extension, the second guide surface 112 will be deformed in a clockwise direction.

On the other hand, the deformation amount against the impact applied in the vertical direction does not show a significant difference. Therefore, when the high-pressure gas is ejected in the vertical direction, the impact due to the vertical expansion of the cushion 150 is still well tolerated, and therefore, the cushion 150 can be guided in the direction of deployment of the cushion 150. Since the second guide surface 112 supports the first guide surface 111 and the second guide surface 112 is fixed to the pillar B 3 by the second contact surface 102, It will be big.

Further, guide surfaces such as the first guide surface 111 and the second guide surface 112 are curved. That is, the side surfaces of the guide surfaces 111 and 112 may be curved. The curved shape of the guide surfaces 111 and 112 provides a restoring force to the bracket 100 so that it can return to its original shape after deformation due to the impact in the horizontal direction. Therefore, after the cushion 150 is not deployed and the passenger 5 is collided, the airbag can be operated normally.

8 is a cross-sectional side view of the bracket according to another embodiment of the present invention taken along the line V-V in FIG. 8, the third groove 233 is formed on the outer surface of the third folded portion 223 - the surface facing the vehicle interior, and the pointed portion 233a of the notch is directed toward the pillar B (3) And may be formed approximately horizontally.

The notch of the first groove 131 is formed on the inner surface of the first folded portion 121 or the portion adjacent to the first folded portion 121 on the surface where the first contact surface 101 and the first guide surface 111 are close to each other And is formed in a substantially horizontal direction. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 8, the notch of the first groove 231 may extend in a generally horizontal direction to the outer surface of the first folded portion 221 or its adjacent portion - the surface facing the pillar B (3) . When the brackets 100 and 200 are subjected to impact in the horizontal direction, the brackets 100 and 200 will be deformed so that the third folded portions 123 and 223 move toward the pillar B3. Thereby, it is possible to mitigate the collision part of the occupant 5, particularly the impact of the head.

Similarly, the notch of the second groove 132 is formed by the inner surface of the portion adjacent to the second folded portion 122 or the second folded portion 122, the second contacted surface 102 and the second guide surface 112, - < / RTI > Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 8, the notch of the second groove 232 may extend in a generally horizontal direction to the outer surface of the second folded portion 222 or a portion adjacent thereto - the surface facing the pillar B (3) . When the brackets 100 and 200 are impacted in the horizontal direction, the widths of the grooves 131 and 231 are increased in the first folded portions 121 and 221 and the widths of the first guide surfaces 111 and 211 are reduced to half Will deform in a clockwise direction.

  Thereby, it is possible to mitigate the collision part of the occupant 5, particularly the impact of the head.

The third folded portion 123 needs to be more deformed than the first folded portion 121 and the second folded portion 122 when the passenger 5 is impacted. Therefore, in the third folded portion 123, the third grooves 133 are continuously formed to form the grooves in the more regions. On the other hand, the first and second grooves 131 and 132 may be formed in a relatively small area in the first folded portion 121 and the second folded portion 122, so that the first groove 131 and the second groove 132 are discontinuously formed. The length and the number of the grooves 131, 132 and 133 are not limited to the material and strength of the bracket 100, the kind of the vehicle 1, It should be understood that the present invention can be modified by various factors such as inclination and shape.

The bracket 100 may be made of steel including steel. In general, steel has higher strength and lower cost than plastics. Therefore, it is possible to withstand the shock caused by the cushion 150 which is deployed under high pressure. On the other hand, the rigidity of the bracket 100 against the impact of the passenger 5 in the horizontal direction by the grooves 131, 132, and 133 described above is reduced, thereby minimizing the injury of the passenger 5.

In particular, recently, in evaluating the safety performance of a side impact in an automobile safety performance test, a collision of an object with an area of the pillar B (3) without deploying the airbag, and then measuring the magnitude of the impact applied to the object do. The airbag module according to the embodiment of the present invention can exhibit high safety in safety performance by side impact.

Referring to FIG. 9, the bracket 300 according to another embodiment of the present invention includes only the first contact surface 301 and the first guide surface 311. The first contact surface 301 is fixed to the upper region of the pillar B (3 in Fig. 2) of the main body. The first guide surface 311 is folded and extended from the first contact surface 301 toward the passenger 5. The first contact surface 301 and the first guide surface 311 form a first folded portion 321. A first groove 331 is formed in the first folded portion 321. The first groove 331 is formed in the first folded portion 321 at three places discontinuously along the folding line.

While the present invention has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments, but, on the contrary, is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. The airbag module according to the embodiment of the present invention can be applied to the roof 10 and the pillar B 3 while the curtain airbag is mounted on the side airbag, As shown in FIG. It is to be understood that other types of airbags are also within the scope of the present invention if they can be easily modified by those skilled in the art within the scope of the appended claims. Accordingly, the true scope of the present invention should be determined by the technical idea of the appended claims.

The present invention can be used in industries that manufacture and use airbag modules.

1 is a side view showing a schematic structure of a vehicle in which an airbag module and an airbag having the airbag module according to embodiments of the present invention are mounted.

2 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing an installation of an airbag module according to an embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a front perspective view of the bracket of the airbag module shown in Fig.

4 is a rear perspective view of the bracket of the airbag module shown in Fig.

5 is a cross-sectional side view taken along the line V-V in Fig.

6 is a cross-sectional view showing a deformed state of the third folded portion when the bracket is subjected to an impact in the horizontal direction.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing a deformed state of the first folded portion when a horizontal impact is applied to the bracket. FIG.

8 is a cross-sectional side view of the bracket according to another embodiment of the present invention taken along the line V-V in FIG.

9 is a cross-sectional side view of the bracket according to another embodiment of the present invention taken along the line V-V in FIG.

Claims (11)

Gas generating means for generating a high-pressure gas at the time of collision and ejecting the gas through a discharge port; A cushion configured such that the ejected gas is filled and developed; And And a bracket for guiding the deployment direction of the cushion by deviating a traveling direction of the jetted gas and forming a groove in a fold line of the at least one folded portion or an adjacent region thereof, Wherein the bracket includes a contact surface which is engaged with the surface on which the bracket is mounted and a guide surface which is folded from the contact surface and extends toward the occupant, Wherein a groove is formed continuously or discontinuously along a folding line or an adjacent portion of the folding line on the folded portion defined by the contact surface and the guide surface. The method according to claim 1, In order to relatively increase the amount of deformation of the bracket due to an impact generated inside the vehicle in a direction substantially orthogonal to the surface on which the bracket is mounted, the groove has a thin cross section of the bracket in the orthogonal direction The airbag module comprising: delete The method according to claim 1, Wherein the guide surface is in the shape of a curve. delete The method according to claim 1, Wherein the contact surface includes a first contact surface and a second contact surface spaced apart from each other, the guide surface including a first guide surface and a second guide surface folded together, the first guide surface being folded from the first contact surface to extend toward the occupant, Wherein the second guide surface is folded from the second contact surface and extends toward the occupant. The method according to claim 6, A first folding portion defined by the first contact surface and the first guide surface, a second folded portion defined by the second contact surface and the second guide surface, and a third folding portion defined by the first guide surface and the second guide surface, Wherein at least one of the portions is formed with a continuous or discontinuous groove along a fold line or an adjacent portion of the fold line. 8. The method of claim 1 or 7, Wherein a cross section of the groove is in a notch shape. 9. The method of claim 8, And the pointed portion of the notch is directed in a direction crossing the first and second contact surfaces. The method according to claim 1, Wherein the bracket is made of a material including steel. A sensor for sensing impact; Gas generating means for generating a high-pressure gas in the event of a collision in response to an impact detection signal from the sensor and ejecting the gas through an exhaust port; A cushion configured such that the ejected gas is filled and developed; A bracket for guiding the deployment direction of the cushion by deviating a traveling direction of the jetted gas and forming a groove in a fold line of the at least one folded portion or an adjacent region thereof; And And a control unit configured to process the signal from the sensor and generate a signal to drive the gas generating means, Wherein the bracket includes a contact surface which is engaged with the surface on which the bracket is mounted and a guide surface which is folded from the contact surface and extends toward the occupant, Wherein a groove is formed continuously or discontinuously along a folding line or an adjacent portion of the folding line on the folded portion defined by the contact surface and the guide surface.

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