WO2004108477A2

WO2004108477A2 - Structure of shock- absorbing air bag for automobile

Info

Publication number: WO2004108477A2
Application number: PCT/KR2004/001322
Authority: WO
Inventors: Kyung Hwan Kim
Original assignee: Kyung Hwan Kim
Priority date: 2003-06-05
Filing date: 2004-06-03
Publication date: 2004-12-16
Also published as: WO2004108477A3; KR20040105334A

Abstract

There is provided a pedestrian-friendly shock-absorbing air bag which is mounted on a bumper of an automobile to provide pedestrian or passenger with a shock-absorbing, which includes protecting means 10 configured such that textile bodies 11 and textile nodes 12 are composed of woven textile to maintain a curved shape corresponding to a radius of curvature of an automobile body, and openings 14 are disposed at both ends Qf a body of the protecting means 10 and connect receiving spaces 13 of the protecting means 10; expansion means 20 configured such that air tubes 21 and nodes 22 are molded with sealed and bent with curved corresponding to a curved shape of the receiving spaces 13, and openings 26 are formed at both ends of a body of the expansion means in communication with receiving spaces 27; and buffering means 40 inserted into both ends of the protecting means 10 and fixed via a ring 30 and a nut 35, and controlling opening and closing of an air discharge hole 41 c through a sealing rod 43 embedded inside the body by an elastic spring 42, and injecting air into the expansion means 20 through an air injection hole 43b formed in the sealing rod 43. Therefore, the number of manufacturing steps involved in the assembling and disassembling of the shock-absorbing air bag can be reduced, and the damage to the shock-absorbing air bag or tearing thereof due to the external impact can be minimized, thereby extending a life time of the shock-absorbing air bag and saving the production costs.

Description

STRUCTURE OF SHOCK-ABSORBING AIR BAG FOR AUTOMOBILE

Technical Field The present invention relates to a pedestrian-friendly shock-absorbing air bag which is mounted in a bumper of an automobile and absorbs a shock applied to a pedestrian and a passenger, and more particularly, to a structure of a shock-absorbing air bag for an automobile, where an operational structure of a shock-absorbing air bag is altered so that a repulsive force induced by an external impact can be minimized and the number of manufacturing steps can be reduced.

Background Art

Generally, an automobile has bumpers at the front and rear of an automobile body, which is made of urethane to protect passengers as well as the automobile body by absorbing various shocks from external objects. Specifically, a safety device has been recently developed, which protects pedestrians and passengers by providing a pedestrian-friendly shock-absorbing air bag between the automobile body and the bumper.

For example, referring to Fig. 1, a shock-absorbing air bag 100 includes air tubes

110 and a plurality of nodes 120 disposed between every two air tubes 110 and connecting them, and in more specific, the air tubes 110 are formed to be bent along a radius of the curvature of the automobile body and they are communicated with each other through the plurality of nodes 120. An air injection hole 130 is provided to one of the air tubes 110 so that air is supplied to the shock-absorbing air bag through the air injection hole 130.

However, the shock-absorbing air bag 100 has a problem that the air bags 100 are vulnerable to strong exterior shocks due to their repulsive force and they may be released from the states, which are bent by the plurality of nodes 120 in accordance with a radius of the curvature of the automobile body. Furthermore, since the shock-absorbing air bag 100 is composed of plural cloth pieces, which are cut and attached to each other with overlapped, manufacturing processes are complicated and thus, production costs are increased.

Meanwhile, according to a shock-absorbing air bag (Korean Registration No.10-303060), applied by the applicant of the present invention, as shown in Fig. 2, air tubes 210 and connectors 220 are connected with a radius of curvature of an automobile body and then are seamed together using nuts 240 and rings 250. Further, the shock-absorbing air bag 200 has exhaust valves 260 mounted on both ends thereof, and an air injection hole 270 in the connector 220. However, since the shock-absorbing air bag 200 needs sealing members 280 inserted on both ends of the connector 220 in order to prevent the air of the air tube 210 from being leaked during the process of connecting the air tubes 210 to each other using the connector 220, it is troublesome to assemble or disassemble the air bag 200.

Since the air tubes 210 of the shock-absorbing air bag 200 are unit members forming cavities in their bodies and connected with one another using the connectors 220, there is a worry that the air in the air tubes 210 is leaked and its function is lost in the case that the air tubes 210 are damaged or torn by an external impact force. Since the shock-absorbing air bag 200 has an air injection hole 270 on an arbitrary connector 220 and the air injection hole 270 is placed to face the automobile, there is a problem that it is difficult to inject air into the air tube 210 so that the number of manufacturing steps and manufacturing load are increased.

Since the shock-absorbing air bag 200 is structured by connecting the air tubes 210 and the connectors 220 with one another while the connectors 220 are bent with an angle corresponding to a radius of curvature of the automobile body, there is a problem that the number of manufacturing steps and manufacturing load are increased so that entire attendant costs is increased.

Disclosure of the Invention

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to solve the problems involved in the prior art, and to provide a structure of an shock-absorbing air bag for an automobile, where an operational structure of the shock-absorbing air bag is altered so that a repulsive force induced by an external impact can be minimized and the number of manufacturing steps can be reduced.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a structure of a shock-absorbing air bag for an automobile, including protecting means configured such that textile bodies and textile nodes are composed of woven textile to maintain a curved shape corresponding to a radius of curvature of an automobile body, and openings are disposed at both ends of a body of the protecting means and connect receiving spaces of the protecting means; expansion means configured such that air tubes and nodes are molded with sealed and bent with curved corresponding to a curved shape of the receiving spaces, and openings are formed at both ends of a body of the expansion means in communication with receiving spaces; and buffering means inserted into both ends of the protecting means and fixed via a ring and a nut, and controlling opening and closing of an air discharge hole through a sealing rod embedded inside the body by an elastic spring, and injecting air into the expansion means through an air injection hole formed in the sealing rod.

Brief Description of the Drawings

The above objects, other features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent by describing the preferred embodiment thereof with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a sectional view illustrating a shock-absorbing air bag with a related art. Fig. 2 is a sectional view illustrating a shock-absorbing air bag with a related art. Fig. 3 is an exploded sectional view of a shock-absorbing air bag according to the present invention.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view illustrating an assembled state of a shock-absorbing air bag according to the present invention.

Fig. 5 is a partial enlarged view illustrating a shock-absorbing air bag according to the present invention. Figs. 6a and 6b are views illustrating operational states of air injection valves of a shock-absorbing air bag according to the present invention. Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

Reference will now be made in detail to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

Fig. 3 is an exploded sectional view illustrating an state of a shock-absorbing air bag according to the present invention, Fig. 4 is a sectional view illustrating an assembled state of a shock-absorbing air bag according to the present invention, Fig. 5 is a partial enlarged view illustrating a shock-absorbing air bag according to the present invention, and Figs. 6a and 6b are views illustrating operational states of air injection valves of a shock-absorbing air bag according to the present invention. The shock-absorbing air bag of the present invention includes protecting means 10 having textile bodies 11 and textile nodes 12, which are composed of woven textile to maintain a curved shape corresponding to a radius of curvature of an automobile body, and openings 14 which are disposed at both ends of a body of the protecting means 10 and connect receiving spaces 13 of the protecting means 10; expansion means 20 having air tubes 21 and nodes 22 which are sealed and bent with curved corresponding to a curved angle of the receiving spaces 13, and has openings 26 formed at both ends of a body of the expansion means in communication with receiving spaces 27; and buffering means 40 which is fixed via a ring 30 and a nut 35 to the openings 14 of the protecting means, and adhered with a sealing part 23 of the expansion means 20, thereby controlling an air amount of the air tube 21 in accordance with the external force applied to the expansion means 20.

In the protecting means 10, the textile bodies 11 and the textile nodes 12 are connected to provide a curved shape corresponding to a radius of curvature of the automobile body and to provide receiving spaces 13 corresponding thereto. Rolling parts 15 are provided at both ends of the body respectively to form opening parts 14 at the respective ends. The textile threads are repeatedly woven according to longitudinal and horizontal directions to form a lattice format.

Since the protecting means 10 is composed of woven textile fibers, air inside the protecting means 10 may be out of the protecting means 10 through narrow pores of the textile fibers. However, the protecting means 10 can sufficiently play its protecting role with the expansion means 20 thereinside. The expansion means 20_..is _.composed of rubber, and mounted inside the protecting means 10 with closely adhered to the receiving spaces 13. The air tubes 21 are molded with sealed, while connected to each other through the node parts 22. It has the openings 26 at its both ends of the body, thereby to provide the receiving spaces 27 in communication with the openings 26. The expansion means 20 is expanded with the air supplied through the buffering means 40 to be explained later, and absorbs external forces applied thereto.

Further, sealing parts 23 are integrally formed with the expansion means 20 at both ends respectively, and are folded or unfolded about a folding line 24.

In the case that the sealing part 23 is folded about the folding line 24, an external wall of the sealing part 23 is closely adhered to the buffering means 40 along the peripheral surface. An internal wall of the sealing part 23 is provided with a compressing wall 25 as shown in Fig. 5, thereby providing compressing force between the peripheral surface of the buffering means 40 and the sealing part 23.

The buffering means 40 is inserted into the opening 14 of the protecting means 10, and supported by a ring 30 mounted on the rolling part 15. The buffering means 40 is fixed into the expansion means 20 via a nut 35 to contact with the sealing part 23, and controls the air amount inside the air tubes 21 according to the external force applied to the protecting means 10 and the expansion means 20.

The buffering means 40 includes a housing 41 having a screw thread 41a on the circumferential surface of the housing and coupled with the nut 31, and a receiving space 41b thereinside, and an air exhaust hole 41c at the front; a sealing rod 43 having a head 43a disposed at the front thereof and inserted into the receiving space 41b and sealing the air exhaust hole 41c, and an air injection hole 43b at the center thereof; an elastic spring 42 surrounding the sealing rod 43 and tightly adhering the head 43 a toward the air exhaust hole 41c; and a sealing plate 44 mounted at the rear thereof, and preventing the sealing rod 43 from leaving the housing. Preferably, the head 43a has a sloping pattern on the entire surface and the air exhaust hole 41c has an inclined pattern on the inner wall corresponding to the sloping pattern of the head 43 a, thereby maximizing the adhesiveness of the head 43 a and the air exhaust hole 41c.

Hereinafter, an operation of the shock-absorbing air bag according to the present invention will be. described in detail.

First, in the manufacture of the shock-absorbing air bag 1, the protecting means 10 is made using texture fibers, and the expansion means 20 is molded using rubber, and then, the expansion means 20 is longitudinally inserted into the receiving space 13 of the protecting means 10 to make an exterior appearance of the shock-absorbing air bag 1.

Then, installing the ring 30 around the rolling part 15 of the protecting means 10, and inserting the buffering means 40 into the opening 14 to be coupled with the nut 35, the buffering means 40 can be fixed at both ends thereof with the expansion means 20 embedded in the protecting means 10.

During the process of fixing the buffering means 40, for example, if the buffering means 40 is mounted in the state that the sealing part 23 of the expansion means is rolled along the folding line 24, the sealing part 23 of the expansion means 20 can be closely adhered with the circumferential surface of the buffering means 40.

Then, if an air injector 50 is installed in the buffering means 40 as shown in Fig. 6a and air is injected thereby, the air tube 21 is expanded since the air supplied by the air injector 50 is injected into the air injection hole 43b of the sealing rod. -

Therefore, the expansion means 20 is gradually expanded in accordance with the air amount supplied by the air injector 50, and thus, the protecting means 10 is enlarged so that the shock-absorbing air bag 1 can maintain its curved shape with an angle corresponding to the radius of curvature of the automobile body as shown in Fig. 4.

Further, if drawing out the air injector 50 inserted into the buffering means 40, since the sealing member 46 which is inserted into the receiving groove of the sealing plate 44 is closed as it was, an upstream current of air due to an opening of the air injector hole 43b is prevented.

By doing so, the air pressure of the expansion means 20 completely seals a gap between the buffering means 40 and the sealing part 23 with the compressing wall 25 between them in the state that the sealing part 23 of the expansion means 20 is closely adhered to the buffering means 40 as shown in a portion "A" of Fig. 5.

Further, in the case that an external force is applied to the shock-absorbing air bag 1 and the air pressure of the expansion means 20 exceeds the elastic force of the elastic spring 42 as shown in Fig. 6a, the head 43a opens the air exhaust hole 41c since the sealing rod 43 is drawn out by the air pressure.

Therefore, since the air is exhausted from the air exhaust hole 41c as much as the strength of the external force applied to the shock-absorbing air bag 1, and is discharged through the discharge tube 45 of the housing 41, the repulsive force of the shock-absorbing air bag 1 can be minimized.

On the contrary, in the case that the repulsive force of the shock-absorbing air bag 1 is released and the elastic force of the spring 42 exceeds the air pressure of the expansion means 20, since the head 43a of the sealing rod 43 is returned and seals the air exhaust hole 41 c, the air inside the expansion means 20 can maintain its constant amount.

Industrial Applicability

As described above, the structure of the shock-absorbing air bag for an automobile according to the present invention provides advantages of reducing the number of manufacturing steps involved in the assembling or disassembling of the shock-absorbing air bag since the shock-absorbing air bag is manufactured with the protecting means composed of textile fibers and the rubber expansion means installed inside the protecting means, and the buffering means mounted therein, to control the amount of injected or discharged air, and of minimizing the damage to the shock-absorbing air bag or tearing thereof due to the external impact, thereby extending a life time of the shock-absorbing air bag and saving the production costs. Further, in the case that an external impact force is applied to the shock-absorbing air bag, since an amount of air is discharged through the buffering means corresponding to the impact force applied to the shock-absorbing air bag, a repulsive force of the shock-absorbing air bag is minimized, thereby improving an operational performance of the shock-absorbing air bag. Furthermore, since the air can be injected using the buffering means mounted on both ends of the shock-absorbing air bag, the number of manufacturing steps and manufacturing load involved in the air injection can be reduced.

While the present invention has been described and illustrated herein with reference to the preferred embodiment thereof, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Thus, it is intended that the present invention covers the modifications and variations of this invention that come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A structure of a shock-absorbing air bag for an automobile, comprising: protecting means 10 configured such that textile bodies 11 and textile nodes 12 are composed of woven textile to maintain a curved shape corresponding to a radius of curvature of an automobile body, and openings 14 are disposed at both ends of a body of the protecting means 10 and connect receiving spaces 13 of the protecting means 10; expansion means 20 configured such that air tubes 21 and nodes 22 are molded with sealed and bent with curved corresponding to a curved shape of the receiving spaces 13, and openings 26 are formed at both ends of a body of the expansion means in communication with receiving spaces 27; and buffering means 40 inserted into both ends of the protecting means 10 and fixed via a ring 30 and a nut 35, and controlling opening and closing of an air discharge hole 41c through a sealing rod 43 embedded inside the body by an elastic spring 42, and injecting air into the expansion means 20 through an air injection hole 43b formed in the sealing rod 43.

2. The structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein the protecting means 10 is integrally formed with rolling parts 15 at both ends of the protecting means 10, which are closely adhered to and encompass a circumferential surface of the buffering means 40 in the state that rings 30 wind around the ends of the protecting means 10 respectively.

3. The structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein the expansion means 20 is integrally formed with sealing parts 23 at both ends of the expansion means 20, which are folded using folding lines 24 and closely adhered to the buffering means 40 by an internal pressure of the air tube 21, thereby preventing the leakage of air.