WO2006095803A1

WO2006095803A1 - Air bag device

Info

Publication number: WO2006095803A1
Application number: PCT/JP2006/304567
Authority: WO
Inventors: Hiroyoshi Shimono; Masaki Ohshino
Original assignee: Autoliv Development Ab
Priority date: 2005-03-10
Filing date: 2006-03-09
Publication date: 2006-09-14
Also published as: JPWO2006095803A1

Abstract

An air bag device capable of preventing a bag from being cracked, broken, or damaged when the bag is deformed. The air bag device constraining an occupant in a vehicle in an emergency comprises the air bag stored therein in a compressed state. A hole is formed in the air bag near a stress concentrating portion. By forming the hole, a stress can be relieved since the hole itself is deformed when the bag is deformed.

Description

Specification

Airbag device

Technical field

The present invention relates to a structure of an inflator bag (airbag) of an airbag device. For example, the present invention relates to a structure of an inflator bag that can be applied to an occupant waist restraint device that is installed in a seat cushion and restrains an occupant's waist during a vehicle collision.

Background art

[0002] Various airbag devices have been developed and put to practical use in order to protect passengers in the vehicle in the event of an emergency such as a vehicle collision.

[0003] When a vehicle collides forward, an occupant tries to move forward due to inertia. When the occupant wears a seat belt, the forward movement of the occupant can be suppressed to some extent by the restraining action of the shoulder belt and waist belt of the seat belt device. In order to make this even more reliable, a waist restraint system that applies technology to limit the forward movement of the occupant by instantly raising the front end of the seat cushion when the vehicle suddenly decelerates due to a forward collision is proposed. (For example, Patent Document 1, Patent Document 2, Patent Document 3, and Patent Document 4).

[0004] Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-229378

Patent Document 2: JP-A-10-217818

Patent Document 3: British Patent GB2357466

Patent Document 4: International Patent Application WO 01 / 45978A1

[0005] The waist restraint device includes an airbag accommodated in a compressed state under the seat cushion, and the airbag is inflated and deployed in an emergency. Airbags are often molded from materials that easily deform plastically, such as metal and grease.

[0006] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-291084 proposes a structure in which an airbag is disposed inside a door or the like.

Patent Document 5: JP-A-7-291084

Disclosure of the invention

Problems to be solved by the invention [0007] However, if an air bag formed of metal resin or the like is used, the air bag is greatly deformed when the device is operated and when the occupant is restrained, stress concentration occurs in a part of the nog, and a crack occurs in this part. Could enter (destroy, damage). For example, in the case of a waist restraint device, an occupant rides on the airbag when the airbag is deployed, and the internal pressure of the airbag suddenly rises, and a large pressure may be temporarily applied to the edge or the like. Such a problem hardly occurs in the case of a type of airbag that quickly contracts after inflating and deploying, such as a fabric driver's airbag. That is, the problem due to stress concentration becomes prominent when an airbag having a material strength with relatively high hardness that maintains the shape of deployment for a certain period of time after inflation and deployment is used.

[0008] The present invention has been made in view of the above situation, and an object of the present invention is to provide an airbag device capable of preventing cracking 'breaking' damage at the time of bag deformation.

Means for solving the problem

In order to achieve the above object, an airbag device according to the present invention is accommodated in a compressed state in an airbag device that restrains an occupant in a vehicle by inflating and deploying the airbag in an emergency. And a through hole is formed in the vicinity of a portion where the stress of the airbag is concentrated when the apparatus is operated. By forming the hole, it is possible to relieve the stress concentration by deforming the hole itself when the bag is deformed.

[0010] The present invention is particularly effective for a relatively hard airbag formed of metal, resin, plastic, or the like, and is relatively ineffective for a flexible fabric airbag. It is also effective for airbags that need to maintain their deployed shape to some extent even after inflation. Further, it is effective for an airbag having a corner (edge) at a right angle or less in an inflated and deployed state. This is because in such an airbag, the stress is likely to concentrate on a part due to the external pressure after the inflation and deployment, and it is difficult to absorb the stress.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

1 to 3 show the structure of an occupant waist restraint device according to the present invention. Fig. 1 shows the state before inflating the airbag (in standby mode), Fig. 2 shows the airbag inflated and deployed, and Fig. 3 shows the state in which the occupant rides on (restrains) the inflated airbag. . In the figure, 12 is a seat frame, and the front portion of the seat frame 12 has a recessed portion 1 that is recessed as viewed from above. 4 is provided, and the airbag 16 is accommodated in a compressed state. The internal space of the airbag 16 is filled with gas generated by an inflator (not shown). In a vehicle equipped with this occupant waist restraint device, when the vehicle suddenly decelerates due to a frontal collision or the like, the inflator operates to send high-pressure gas into the airbag 16 to inflate and deploy the airbag 16. By inflating and deploying the airbag 16, the front seat surface of the seat cushion 10 rises and the forward movement of the occupant M seated on the seat is prevented.

FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view showing the structure of the airbag 16 according to the embodiment. In the figure, the solid line indicates a state where the airbag 16 is inflated and deployed, and the broken line 16a indicates a state where the occupant M rides on the airbag 16 and is crushed (deformed). As a material of the airbag 16, a metal sheet having a thickness of about 0.4 mm or a molded body made of a thick resin sheet can be used. The airbag 16 includes a rectangular tube-shaped main body region 17 and side surface regions 19R and 19L that close both left and right side surfaces of the main body region 17.

[0013] When the airbag 16 is formed of a metal sheet, for example, a plate-shaped metal sheet is rolled and the end is welded to form a cylindrical main body region 17 having an open end, and then Close the open side with a rectangular metal sheet and fix it by welding.

[0014] In the left and right side regions 19R and 19L of the airbag 16, through holes 18 are respectively formed. The position of the hole 18 in this embodiment is near the corner on the upper front side of the vehicle. In FIG. 4, the hole formed in the side surface region 19L is a hidden force. In fact, it is similarly formed at a position corresponding to the hole 18 of the 19R. In FIG. 4, reference numeral 20 surrounded by a circle indicates a position where stress is likely to concentrate. When the airbag 16 is formed of metal, the stress tends to concentrate at a position slightly apart from the welding point force. The hole 18 can also function as a vent hole.

[0015] The through hole 18 of the airbag 16 having the above-described configuration can be formed by, for example, pressing or laser processing when the side regions 19R and 19L are formed.

In the airbag apparatus according to the present embodiment, when the inflator is activated at the time of sudden deceleration due to a frontal collision of the vehicle, high-pressure gas is ejected from the inflator into the airbag 16. The airbag 16 is inflated and deployed as shown in FIG. 2 when the jetted high-pressure gas fills the inside, and pushes the seat cushion 10 upward. Then shown in Figure 3. Restrain the waist of the occupant M trying to move forward. At this time, the stress is concentrated in front of the airbag 16 (particularly, near the corner), but as shown by the broken line in FIG. 4, the hole 18 itself is deformed into an elliptical shape, for example, so that the stress is absorbed. The

5 and 6 are schematic perspective views showing the structures of airbags 116 and 216 according to another embodiment of the present invention. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, the through holes 118 are formed at the corners of the cylindrical main body region. On the other hand, in the implementation shown in FIG. 6, the through holes 118A and 118B are formed in both the corners and side regions of the cylindrical main body region. That is, it can be said that the embodiment shown in FIG. 6 is a combination of the embodiments shown in FIGS.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory view (side view) showing another example of the shape of the hole formed in the airbag according to the present invention. As shown in (A) to (C), a circular hole 302, an L-shaped hole 304 along the corner, an elliptical hole 306 extending in the diagonal direction of the side region, and the like can be adopted as the shape of the through hole. The circular hole 302 shown in (A) has an advantage that it is easier to process than others. In the case of the L-shaped hole 304 shown in (B), the opening area that does not impair the crack prevention effect can be reduced. Further, taking a large amount of deformation of the hole has an advantage that the stress absorption effect is enhanced. In the case of the elliptical hole 306 shown in (C), by forming the hole only in the part that triggers the crack, the deformation of the hole is intentionally reduced, and the metal bag (the rigidity reduction as the airbag 9 is minimized). By maintaining high rigidity of the air nog, the ratio depending on the internal pressure of the airbag can be reduced with respect to the inflation and shape maintenance of the airbag, and as a result, the output of the inflator can be reduced. It becomes.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory view showing another example of the positions of holes formed in the airbag according to the present invention. As shown in (A) to (D), the positions of the through-holes are two diagonal positions 402, 404 in the side region (19L, 19R), all corners 406, all corners and the center. 408. In any example, the hole is formed on the diagonal line of the side surface region. By forming holes at diagonal positions, it is possible to prevent the diagonal (side diagonal) of the airbag from being pulled and cracking at the corners during actual use. In the example shown in (D), the central hole is a position where the diagonal lines intersect, and contributes to alleviating the pulling of the airbag in the diagonal direction of the side surface region.

FIGS. 9 and 10 show an airbag apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention (door internal accommodation type). FIG. 9 is an explanatory view showing a state in which the airbag is compressed and accommodated (FIG. 9), and a state where the airbag is inflated and deployed (FIG. 10). In the figure, reference numeral 502 is a door lining (door trim), 504 is an airbag, 506 is a seat back, and 508 is a headrest. A plurality of air knobs 504 are accommodated inside the door at regular intervals, and expand and deploy in response to an impact from the side of the vehicle.

Also in the present embodiment, the airbag (16, 116, 216) having the same structure as that of the above-described embodiment can be used as the air nog 504. In this embodiment, a structure in which the air bag 504 is accommodated inside the door pillar 502 may be accommodated inside the force pillar garsh.

In the present embodiment, for example, when a side collision occurs, the airbag 504 accommodated inside the door inflates and absorbs an external impact to protect the passenger in the vehicle. It ’s like that. At this time, when the inflated airbag 504 is subjected to external pressure, the stress that tends to concentrate locally can be absorbed by the holes (18 etc.), and local cracking and destruction of the airbag 504 should be prevented. Can do.

FIGS. 11 and 12 are explanatory views showing a use state of an airbag device (seat lower storage type) according to still another embodiment of the present invention, in a state where the airbag is compressed and accommodated (FIG. 11). 11) The airbag is inflated and deployed (Fig. 12). Components that are the same as or correspond to those in the above-described embodiments are assigned the same reference numerals, and duplicate descriptions are omitted. In the figure, reference numeral 604 denotes an airbag disposed on the inner side surface of the seat cushion 10. The airbag 604 is inflated and deployed in response to an impact from the side surface with respect to the vehicle.

Also in the present embodiment, the airbag (16, 116, 216) having the same structure as the above-described embodiment can be used as the air nog 604.

[0025] In the present embodiment, for example, in the event of a side collision, the air knob 604 expands from the seat cushion 10 (from below the thigh of the occupant) toward the outside of the side surface. · Deploy and absorb external shocks to protect passengers in the vehicle (especially the occupant's waist, thighs, and pelvis). At this time, when the inflated airbag 604 is subjected to external pressure, the stress that tends to concentrate locally can be absorbed by the holes (18 etc.). Cracks and destruction can be prevented.

The embodiments of the present invention have been described above, but the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and can be modified within the scope of the technical idea shown in the claims. It is a thing. The size, number, and shape of the holes 18 formed in the airbag are preferably set based on the material (strength), size, and shape of the airbag 1 6, 116, 216, 504, 604.

Brief Description of Drawings

FIG. 1 is an explanatory view showing a use state of a waist restraining airbag device according to the present invention, showing a state where an airbag is compressed and accommodated.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory view showing a usage state of the waist restraining airbag device according to the present invention, showing a state where the airbag is inflated and deployed.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory view showing a usage state of the waist restraint airbag device according to the present invention, showing a state in which an occupant rides on (restrains) an inflated airbag.

FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view showing the structure of the airbag according to the example.

FIG. 5 is a schematic perspective view showing the structure of an airbag according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a schematic perspective view showing the structure of an airbag according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory view (side view) showing another shape example of the hole formed in the airbag according to the present invention.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory view (side view) showing another example of positions of holes formed in the airbag according to the present invention.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory view showing a use state of the airbag device (door internal accommodation type) according to the present invention, showing a state in which the airbag is compressed and accommodated.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory view showing a use state of the airbag device shown in FIG. 9, showing a state where the airbag is inflated and deployed.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory view showing a use state of the airbag apparatus (seat lower storage type) according to the present invention, and shows a state in which the airbag is compressed and stored.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory view showing a use state of the airbag device shown in FIG. 11, showing a state where the airbag is inflated and deployed. Explanation of symbols

10 Seat cushion

16, 116, 216, 504, 604 Airbag 15a Knock body

18, 118, 218 holes

Claims

The scope of the claims

[1] In an air bag device that restrains passengers in a vehicle by inflating and deploying an airbag in an emergency,

Comprising an airbag housed in a compressed state;

A through-hole is formed in the vicinity of a portion where the stress of the airbag is concentrated when the device is operated.

[2] A waist restraint airbag device that is placed under the seat cushion of a vehicle and seats on the seat cushion in an emergency to restrain the occupant's waist and restrict forward movement! ,,,

An airbag device comprising an airbag housed in a compressed state at a lower portion of the seat cushion, wherein a through hole is formed near a portion where stress of the airbag is concentrated when the device is operated.

[3] The air nogg device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the airbag is formed of a material that is easily plastically deformed.

[4] The airbag has a cylindrical main body region and left and right side regions covering the side surfaces of the cylindrical main body region,

The airbag device according to claim 1, 2, or 3, wherein the hole is formed in the vicinity of a corner portion of a boundary portion between the main body region and the side surface region.

5. The airbag device according to claim 4, wherein the hole is formed in the left and right side regions.

[6] The main body region has a generally rectangular tube shape when deployed,

6. The airbag device according to claim 4, wherein the hole is formed in the vicinity of an upper corner portion of the front side of the main body region.