KR20230009214A - Airbag housing for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an airbag housing for a vehicle. The airbag housing for a vehicle includes: a main body and a cover connected to each other so that a space accommodating an airbag cushion and an inflator is installed therein; and a hinge connection unit connecting one end of the cover and the main body and performing a function of a rotating shaft enabling the cover to rotate when the airbag cushion is expanded and unfolded. The hinge connection unit has a structure having a guide slit guiding a direction of a force caused by torsion stress and torque applied when the cover rotates. Therefore, the airbag housing for a vehicle can prevent the hinge connection unit from being torn or minimize tear of the hinge connection unit by dispersing a transmission direction of the force applied from an upper end of the hinge connection unit to a lower side while the cover rotates around the hinge connection unit when the airbag cushion is expanded and unfolded.

Description

Airbag housing of automobile {AIRBAG HOUSING FOR VEHICLE}

The present invention relates to an airbag housing of a vehicle, and more particularly, to an airbag housing of a vehicle in which an airbag cushion that inflates and deploys to protect occupants in a vehicle collision is accommodated therein.

In general, an automobile airbag device is a safety device that protects occupants by rapidly inflating the airbag by injecting gas into the airbag according to a signal from an impact sensor when a vehicle crashes.

Such an airbag device is installed in a steering wheel, dashboard, seat, sidewall, etc. provided in a vehicle, and inflates toward the front or side of the occupant when the vehicle collides to protect the occupant.

That is, in automobiles, front airbags deployed in front of the driver's seat and passenger's seat, curtain airbags and side airbags deployed in the direction in which a side collision occurred (hereinafter referred to as 'impact side') to protect passengers, and knee airbags to protect passengers' knees An airbag or the like may be provided.

Side airbags include a so-called near side airbag that inflates and deploys between a passenger and a vehicle body component such as a door and protects an occupant from a vehicle body component that protrudes inward due to the impact of a side collision, There is a far side airbag or a center side airbag that restricts the movement of passengers moving inside the vehicle.

The far side airbag is deployed between an occupant and a occupant seated next to the occupant in the event of a car crash, preventing mutual collision between the occupants, reducing the impact applied to the occupant, and the occupant being thrown out of the car by the impact function to prevent

For example, the present applicant has applied for a patent by disclosing the configuration of a far side airbag device in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 below.

On the other hand, the far side airbag device includes an inflator that generates gas by an impact detection signal in case of a side collision of a vehicle, an airbag cushion that receives gas generated from the inflator and expands and deploys to correspond to the side of the occupant, and the airbag cushion is installed in a folded state. and a housing that opens and operates to inflate and deploy the airbag cushion mounted therein when the airbag cushion is deployed.

The housing includes a main body having a space in which an airbag cushion is mounted, and a cover for shielding and breaking one open surface of the main body, and the cover can be opened and closed by rotating around a hinge axis on one open side of the main body.

However, in the far side airbag device according to the prior art, when the housing is manufactured using a synthetic resin material such as plastic, there is a problem in that the hinge axis periphery is torn due to the rotational force and torsional stress acting when the airbag cushion is inflated and deployed. .

In this way, when the hinge shaft periphery is torn, the cover of the housing is separated from the main body, causing injury to the occupant.

Korean Patent Registration No. 10-1916007 (Announced on November 8, 2018) Korean Patent Registration No. 10-1781387 (published on February 20, 2017)

An object of the present invention is to solve the above problems, and to provide an airbag housing for a vehicle in which an airbag cushion for protecting the occupant by mitigating the impact applied to the occupant by inflating and deploying during a collision of the car is accommodated therein. .

Another object of the present invention is to provide an airbag housing for a vehicle capable of preventing tearing or minimizing the size of tearing by guiding the tearing direction of an airbag cushion by force of inflation and deployment.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an airbag housing for vehicles capable of preventing safety accidents such as injury to occupants due to a cover separated from a housing body when an airbag cushion is inflated and deployed.

In order to achieve the above object, an airbag housing of a vehicle according to the present invention connects a main body and a cover coupled to each other and one end of the main body and the cover so that a space for accommodating an airbag cushion and an inflator is provided therein. and a hinge coupling part functioning as a rotational axis for rotating the cover when the airbag cushion is inflated and deployed, and a guide for guiding the direction of the rotational force acting during the rotational operation of the cover and the acting force due to torsional stress in the hinge coupling portion Characterized in that a slit is formed.

As described above, according to the airbag housing of a vehicle according to the present invention, as the guide slit is formed in the hinge coupling portion connecting the main body of the housing in which the airbag cushion is embedded and the cover, the cover is hinged when the airbag cushion is inflated and deployed. In the process of rotating around the part, the effect of dispersing the action force acting downward from the upper end of the hinge coupling part is obtained.

Accordingly, according to the present invention, by minimizing the tearing of the hinge coupling part by the action force acting when the airbag cushion is inflated and deployed, the cover is prevented from being separated from the main body, thereby preventing the occupant's injury due to the scattering of the cover in advance. effect is obtained.

1 is a perspective view of a far side airbag device for a vehicle according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;
Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA' shown in Figure 1;
3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB′ shown in FIG. 1;
Figure 4 is a partial enlarged view of the hinge coupling portion shown in Figure 3;
5 and 6 are operating state diagrams showing an opening operation state of the housing, respectively.

Hereinafter, an airbag housing of a vehicle according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a perspective view of a far side airbag device to which an airbag housing of a vehicle is applied according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line A-A′ shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line B-B shown in FIG. ' is a cross-sectional view of the line, and FIG. 4 is a partially enlarged view of the hinge coupling portion shown in FIG.

Hereinafter, terms indicating directions such as 'left', 'right', 'front', 'rear', 'upper' and 'downer' are defined as indicating each direction based on the state shown in each drawing. do.

In the present embodiment, a configuration of a far side airbag device mounted on one side of a backrest of a driver's seat and mitigating an impact in the event of a collision between occupants will be described.

However, it should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the far side airbag device, and can be applied to airbag devices of various configurations and purposes manufactured using a synthetic resin material such as plastic and having an airbag cushion accommodated therein. .

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 , the far side airbag device 10 to which the airbag housing of a vehicle is applied according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention has an inflator 20 that generates gas by an impact detection signal in case of a side collision of the vehicle. ), an airbag cushion 30 that receives gas generated from the inflator 20 and is inflated and deployed to correspond to the side of the occupant, and the airbag cushion 30 accommodated in a folded state and accommodated inside the airbag cushion 30 It includes an airbag housing (hereinafter, abbreviated as 'housing') 40 that operates to open during deployment.

The inflator 20 may be mounted inside the housing 40 to inject gas upward.

The airbag cushion 30 is accommodated inside the housing 40 in a folded state in various ways such as rolling or folding, and one side of the airbag cushion 40 is a delivery hole through which gas generated from the inflator 20 is transmitted (not shown). ) can be formed.

The housing 40 includes a main body 41 and a cover 42 coupled to each other so that a space in which the airbag cushion 30 and the inflator 20 are accommodated is provided, and a synthetic resin material such as plastic is used. It can be manufactured by injection molding method.

The main body 41 may be formed in a substantially hexahedron shape with an open front surface so that a portion of the airbag cushion 30 in a folded state, for example, a rear portion is provided therein.

The main body 41 is a part coupled to and fixed to one side of a backrest of a seat provided in a vehicle, and a rear surface of the main body 41 may be formed in a substantially flat shape to correspond to one side of the backrest.

The cover 42 may be formed in a substantially hexahedral shape with an open rear surface so as to provide an accommodation space in which the front portion of the airbag cushion 30 in a folded state is accommodated.

Here, the cover 42 may be formed in a convexly rounded shape toward the front so as to correspond to the front side of the airbag cushion 30 in a folded state.

This cover 42 can open or shield the front of the main body 41 by rotating around the hinge coupling part 43 provided at the left end when viewed from one side, FIG. 1 .

In addition, a plurality of coupling hooks 44 are formed along the edges of the upper wall, lower wall, and right wall of the cover 42, and each coupling hook 44 is formed along the edge of the upper wall, lower wall, and right wall of the main body 41, respectively. A hanging portion 45 to which the hook 44 is hung may be formed.

So, the cover 42 shields the open front surface of the main body in a state where the airbag cushion 30 folded inside the main body 41 and the cover 42 is accommodated, and the coupling hooks 44 and the locking protrusions 45 It can be firmly coupled with the main body 41 by coupling.

Of course, the present invention may be modified so that the coupling hook 44 is formed on the main body 41 and the hooking portion 45 is formed on the cover 42.

Each hinge coupling portion 43 is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape, and the front and rear ends of the hinge coupling portion 43 may be connected to left ends of the cover 42 and the body 41, respectively.

In this embodiment, the hinge coupling part 43 is divided into two at the left end of the housing 40.

Therefore, during the opening operation of the cover 42 when the airbag cushion 30 is inflated and deployed, the tearing force due to the rotational force and torsional moment acting on the hinge joint 43 (hereinafter referred to as 'acting force F') ) may block transmission from the hinge coupling portion 43 provided on the upper portion of the housing 40 to the hinge coupling portion 43 provided on the lower portion of the housing 40 .

That is, when the airbag cushion 30 is inflated and deployed, the acting force F acts downward from the top of the housing 40 in the direction of the arrow shown in FIG. 3 .

Therefore, the present invention can minimize damage to the hinge coupling portion by dividing the hinge coupling portion into two or three or more, thereby blocking the transmission of the acting force acting downward from the upper portion of the housing to the lower portion of the housing.

However, even if the hinge coupling portion 43 is divided into a plurality of parts as described above, it is difficult to completely prevent the cover 42 from being separated from the main body 41 while the hinge coupling portion 43 is torn.

Therefore, in this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the hinge coupling portion 50 guides to change the direction in which the acting force F acts, thereby distributing the operating force acting on the hinge coupling portion 50. A slit 50 may be formed.

The guide slit 50 may be formed at a portion where the cover 42 and the hinge coupling portion 43 are connected.

Of course, the guide slit 50 may be formed to extend along the hinge coupling portion 43 with a width corresponding to the width of the hinge coupling portion 43 or to have a width corresponding to a portion of the width of the hinge coupling portion 43. may be

The guide slit 50 may be convex in a direction opposite to the direction in which the acting force acts, that is, upward.

The first slit surface 51 forming the upper end of the guide slit 50 and the second slit surface 52 forming the lower end of the guide slit 52 may be formed in different shapes.

For example, the first slit surface 51 forming the upper end of the guide slit 50 may be formed in a polygonal shape such as an upwardly convex arc shape, a triangular shape, or a quadrangular shape.

The second slit surface 52 forming the lower end of the guide slit 50 may be formed in a flat or downward slightly convex arc shape.

That is, the cross section of the guide slit 50 may be formed in a polygonal shape such as an upwardly convex semicircular shape, a semielliptical shape, a triangular shape or a trapezoidal shape.

In this way, as the first slit surface 51 at the top of the guide slit 50 is formed convex upward, the acting force acting downward from the top of the hinge coupling part 43 is the first slit of the guide slit 50 It can be distributed on both sides along face 51 .

And as the second slit surface 52 at the bottom of the guide slit 50 is formed in a planar shape or an arc shape having a greater curvature than the curvature of the first slit surface 51, the lower end of the hinge coupling part 43 The acting force F acting as may be blocked or reduced so as not to be transmitted downward by the second slit surface 52 of the guide slit 50.

These guide slits 50 may be formed in plurality by being vertically spaced apart by a predetermined interval.

That is, although two guide slits 50 are shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the present invention is not necessarily limited thereto.

For example, only one guide slit 50 may be formed, or three or more guide slits 50 may be formed side by side spaced apart from each other by a predetermined interval along the vertical direction.

However, although only one guide slit 50 may be formed, it is preferable to form a plurality of guide slits 50 to increase the effect of dispersing the operating force using the guide slit 50 .

In addition, the guide slit 50 may be formed only on the hinge coupling portion 43 formed on the upper portion of the housing 40, or one or more guide slits 50 may also be formed on the hinge coupling portion 43 formed on the lower portion of the housing 40.

As described above, the present invention forms a guide slit in the hinge coupling part connecting the cover and the main body of the housing in which the airbag cushion is built, so that the cover is hinged in the process of rotating around the hinge coupling unit when the airbag cushion is inflated and deployed. It is possible to disperse the action force acting downward from the upper end of the part.

Accordingly, the present invention minimizes the tearing of the hinge coupling part by the operating force acting when the airbag cushion is inflated and deployed, thereby preventing the cover from being separated from the main body, thereby preventing the occupant's injury due to scattering of the cover in advance.

Next, the coupling relationship and operation method of the far side airbag device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail.

First, the operator folds or rolls the airbag cushion 30 multiple times and connects the inflator 20 to a transmission hole formed on one side of the airbag cushion 30 .

Subsequently, the operator couples the folded airbag cushion 30 and the inflator 20 to the main body 41 of the housing 40 and the receiving space inside the cover 42, and the coupling hook 44 formed in the cover 42 The cover 42 and the main body 41 are coupled by inserting them into each engaging portion 45 formed on the main body 41, respectively.

The far side airbag device 10 assembled through this process may be mounted so that the rear surface of the main body 41 of the housing 40 comes into contact with one side of the backrest of the seat.

On the other hand, in the present invention, the far side airbag device 10 is installed on one side, for example, the right side of the driver's seat, and may be additionally installed on the left side of the backrest of the passenger seat according to the specification or configuration of the far side airbag device 10 or if necessary. .

Meanwhile, when a side collision occurs while driving, the inflator 20 generates gas according to an impact detection signal, and the airbag cushion 30 is inflated and deployed by receiving the gas generated by the inflator 20 .

In this way, as the airbag cushion 30 accommodated inside the housing 40 expands and deploys, the cover 42 releases the coupling state between the coupling hook 44 and the locking portion 45, and the hinge coupling portion 43 is released. The opened front surface of the main body 41 is opened by a rotational operation to the center.

At this time, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 below, the action force (F) by the rotational force and torsional stress of the cover 42 is directed downward from the upper end of the hinge coupling portion 43 to the hinge coupling portion 43. It works.

5 and 6 are operating state diagrams showing the opening operation state of the housing.

5 and 6 illustrate a process in which the direction of the acting force F acting on the hinge coupling part 43 is controlled by the guide slit 50 and dispersed.

5 and 6, F is the acting force acting on the hinge coupling part 43, and T _i is the magnitude of the acting force (F).

The acting force F acting on the hinge coupling part 43 is distributed to both sides by the guide slit 50.

For example, the acting force F may be distributed to both sides by the first guide slit 50 formed on the upper portion of the hinge coupling part 43 .

Here, T ₁ and T ₂ may be operating forces distributed to both sides of the first guide slit 50 , respectively. And T ₃ may be an action force distributed by the second guide slit 50 formed in the hinge coupling part 43 .

For example, the force acting on one side in the first guide slit 50 may be expressed as T ₁ =T _i cosθ ₁ .

The total magnitude (Ti) of the acting force (F) is equal to the sum (ΣTn) of the acting forces (F) distributed by each guide slit 50 formed at the hinge coupling part 43 (Ti = ΣTn, n = 1, 2 , 3).

As the total magnitude (T _i ) of the working force (F) is distributed by each guide slit 50, it is greater than each working force (T _n ) distributed in each guide slit (T _i > T _n ).

According to the results of the experiment in the actual vehicle, when the operating force (T _n ) distributed in each part of the hinge coupling portion 43 is smaller than the limit stress (Y) of the hinge coupling portion 43 (T _n < Y), the corresponding The part is not torn.

On the other hand, only when the operating force (T _n ) distributed in each part of the hinge coupling part 43 is greater than the limit stress (Y) of the hinge coupling part 43 (Tn> Y), the corresponding part is torn.

However, even if tearing occurred in any part of the hinge coupling part 43, it could be confirmed that the size of the tearing area was reduced compared to the case where the guide slit 50 was not formed.

Through the process as described above, the present invention forms a guide slit in the hinge coupling part connecting the cover and the main body of the housing in which the airbag cushion is built, so that the cover rotates around the hinge coupling part when the airbag cushion is inflated and deployed. In the process of doing it, it is possible to disperse the action force acting downward from the upper end of the hinge joint.

Accordingly, the present invention minimizes the tearing of the hinge coupling part by the operating force acting when the airbag cushion is inflated and deployed, thereby preventing the cover from being separated from the main body, thereby preventing the occupant's injury due to scattering of the cover in advance.

Although the invention made by the present inventors has been specifically described according to the above embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various changes can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention.

That is, in the above embodiment, the configuration of the far side airbag device mounted on one side of the backrest of the driver's seat and mitigating the impact in the event of a collision between occupants has been described.

However, the present invention is not limited to the far side airbag device, and may be modified to be applicable to airbag devices of various configurations and purposes, which are manufactured using a synthetic resin material such as plastic and accommodate an airbag cushion therein.

In the present invention, a guide slit is formed in the hinge coupling part connecting the main body of the housing and the cover, so that when the airbag cushion is inflated and deployed, the action force acting downward from the upper end of the hinge coupling part is dispersed in the process of rotating the cover around the hinge coupling part. It is applied to the airbag housing technology of automobiles that prevents or minimizes the tearing of the hinge coupling part.

10: Far side airbags in cars
20: Inflator
30: airbag cushion
40: housing
41: body 42: cover
43: hinge coupling part 44: coupling hook
45: hanging part
50: tearing guide slit
51: first slit surface 52: second slit surface

Claims (9)

The main body and the cover coupled to each other so that a space for accommodating the airbag cushion and the inflator is provided therein, and
A hinge coupling portion connecting one end of the main body and the cover to each other and functioning as a rotational shaft for rotating the cover when the airbag cushion is inflated and deployed,
The airbag housing of a vehicle according to claim 1 , wherein a guide slit for guiding a direction of a rotational force acting during a rotational operation of the cover and a working force due to torsional stress is formed in the hinge coupling part. According to claim 1,
The guide slit is formed at a portion where the cover and the hinge joint are connected. According to claim 1 or 2
The airbag housing of a vehicle, characterized in that the guide slits are provided in plurality and spaced apart from each other. According to claim 3,
The first slit surface forming the upper end of the guide slit is formed to be convex in a direction opposite to the direction in which the acting force acts. According to claim 4,
The airbag housing of a vehicle, characterized in that the second slit surface forming the lower end of the guide slit is formed in a flat shape or convex downward. According to claim 4,
The second slit surface forming the lower end of the guide slit has an arc shape having a greater curvature than the curvature of the first slit surface so as to block transmission from the upper end of the hinge coupling part downward along the direction in which the acting force acts. An airbag housing for a vehicle, characterized in that formed. According to claim 3,
The airbag housing of a vehicle, characterized in that the hinge coupling part is divided into a plurality of parts on one side wall of the main body and the cover. According to claim 7,
The airbag housing of a vehicle according to claim 1 , wherein a plurality of guide slits are formed only in an upper hinge coupling portion where the acting force first acts among the divided hinge coupling portions. According to claim 7,
An airbag housing for a vehicle, characterized in that a plurality of guide slits are formed in each of the plurality of divided hinge coupling parts.

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