JP2000247199A - Airbag device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] (Modifications) [Problem] To reduce the deployment speed in the direction of linear deployment toward an occupant, and restrict the direction in which the airbag pops out, thereby reducing the impact on the occupant. At the beginning of deployment, deployment is regulated by a seam portion (15b) of a sheet member (15), and the deployment is temporarily accelerated in the left-right direction. The deployment speed in the direct linear direction decreases. Due to the deployment pressure of the bag body 12, the sheet member 15 is torn from the cut 15c, and the deployment of the bag body further proceeds from the break point. Therefore, by forming the cut formed in the sheet member at a desired position, the direction in which the bag projects can be restricted.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] The present invention relates to an airbag device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an airbag device has a retainer,
The airbag includes an inflator and an airbag housed in the retainer, and a lid as a lid for closing an opening of the retainer. For example, in the case of an airbag for a passenger seat, the retainer is buried and installed in an instrument panel or the like in the front part of a vehicle interior, and in the case of an airbag for a driver's seat, the retainer is attached to a handle center. It is installed buried in the department. The inflator is a gas generator for filling the airbag with gas and inflating the airbag, and is formed in a cylindrical shape, and a gas ejection port is formed on an outer periphery thereof. The airbag has a bag-shaped bag main body that expands in response to the supply of gas from the inflator, and the bag main body communicates with a gas inlet that communicates with the inflator.

[0003] Such an airbag device mitigates an impact generated when an occupant collides with an indoor component in front of the occupant in the event of a vehicle collision or the like. That is, the bag body accommodated in the folded state in the retainer opens the lid by the gas generated by the inflator and expands and deploys rearward to form a gas-filled airbag between the occupant and the interior parts. Thus, it is configured to receive the occupant's body.

In the case of an airbag device for a passenger seat, the distance between an occupant and a part such as an instrument panel on which the airbag device can be installed is farther than the driver's seat side, so that the airbag is deployed. It has been practiced to increase the speed and linearly inflate and deploy the airbag toward the occupant to protect the occupant.

[0005]

In the above-described airbag apparatus, the airbag has a folded shape and gas from the inflator between the time when the lid is opened and the airbag starts to be deployed and the time when the deployment is completed. It is not easy to control the deployment behavior because the deployment is performed while showing the behavior affected by the flow and the like. In addition, the passenger in the passenger seat often sits in various postures compared to the driver. For this reason, when the occupant is not seated in the normal position during the operation of the airbag during a vehicle collision or the like, the airbag inflated and deployed linearly toward the occupant directly hits the occupant's face, or the occupant's chest. May be squeezed rapidly. In addition, the airbag may inflate and deploy in an unexpected direction, directly hitting and damaging the windshield.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been proposed in order to cope with the above-described situation. The present invention reduces the deployment speed in the direction of linear deployment toward an occupant and regulates the direction in which the airbag pops out. The purpose is to reduce the impact on the occupants. Another object of the present invention is to improve the workability of assembling the airbag device and to protect the bag body.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a retainer mounted on a vehicle body, an inflator which is a gas generator housed in the retainer, and a gas generator housed in the retainer. In an airbag apparatus comprising a bag-shaped bag body that expands upon receiving a supply of gas from the inflator, a seat member that covers the outside of the stored bag body is mounted in the retainer, In the intermediate portion, a stitched portion or a cut is formed for regulating a deployment speed or a deployment direction when the bag body is inflated and deployed.

According to the present invention, in the initial stage of the deployment of the bag body, the linear deployment toward the occupant is reduced by the presence of the seat member, and the lateral deployment is promoted. As a result, it is possible to reduce the impact on the face and chest of the occupant due to the linear deployment of the bag, and to quickly deploy the bag enough to receive the occupant.

A second invention which further specifies the above invention is:
A retainer attached to the vehicle body side, an inflator serving as a gas generator housed in the retainer, and a bag-shaped bag body housed in the retainer and inflated by receiving gas supplied from the inflator. In the airbag device, in the retainer, a sheet member that covers the outside of the stored bag body by mounting one side upward with respect to the bag body and the opposite side downward with respect to the bag body is provided. A stitched portion is formed at an intermediate portion of the sheet member in parallel with each of the sides so as to be broken by inflation and deployment of the bag body, and a cut is formed to set a bulging direction of the bag body.

According to the above invention, when the airbag is activated,
When the bag body jumps out of the retainer, first, by the stitching part formed in the middle part of the above sheet member,
Linear inflation and deployment toward the occupant of the bag body is restricted. In other words, the energy absorption required to break the stitched portion of the sheet member slows down the straight bag deployment and promotes lateral deployment. Further, as the bag is unfolded, the above-mentioned sheet member is stretched in an arm shape, the sheet member is broken along the cut formed in the sheet member, and the bag body bulges out from the place where the cut is formed. I do.

According to this, it is possible to adjust the initial speed of bag development by adjusting the strength of the stitched portion or the cut, and it is possible to regulate the direction in which the bag body protrudes depending on the position where the cut is formed. Therefore, in the initial stage of bag deployment, linear deployment toward the occupant is prevented, deployment to the left and right sides is promoted, impact to the occupant is reduced, and quick bag deployment to protect the occupant is enabled. I do. Furthermore, since the deployment direction of the bag main body can be regulated, damage to the windshield due to direct hit of the bag can be avoided.

The sheet member broken by the bag deployment covers the open end of the instrument panel or the like formed by the bag expanding.
This prevents the opened bag body from being damaged due to, for example, catching the open end on the fractured surface.

Further, when the bag body is housed in the retainer, the seat member covers the periphery of the bag body and holds the housed state of the bag. As a result, the bag body can be protected at this time.

[0014]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a place where an airbag device of the present invention is installed in a vehicle interior.
For example, if it is provided on the passenger seat side, it is installed in the instrument panel in the front part of the passenger compartment, if it is installed on the driver's seat side, it is installed in the steering wheel, and furthermore, it is installed on both the passenger seat and the driver's seat May be.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an appearance of an airbag device according to one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG.
It is -A sectional drawing. 2 and 3, 11 denotes a lid, 12 denotes a bag body, 13 denotes an inflator, 14 denotes a retainer, and 15 denotes a seat member as components of the airbag device 1. The lid 11 forms a lid for closing the opening of the retainer 14, and a lip line 11 a formed in a thin-walled shape is formed at the center thereof. The retainer 14 accommodates the folded bag body 12 and the cylindrical inflator 13 and forms a housing of an airbag device to be embedded in an instrument panel or the like. The inflator 13 is a gas generator using both a compressed gas containing argon as a main component and an explosive, and has a compressed gas ejection port communicating with a gas inlet of the bag body 12.

Then, in the inside 14a of the retainer,
A rectangular sheet member 15 having a stitched portion or a cut is attached with one side above the bag body 12 and the opposite side below the bag body 12, and
It is arranged so that it covers. Here, the sheet member 15
As the material, a cloth or a flexible synthetic resin sheet can be used. FIG. 4 shows an embodiment of the sheet member 15. The sheet member 15 has a rectangular shape, and mounting holes 15a are formed on both sides thereof. One side of the sheet member 15 is mounted above the bag body 12, and the other side is mounted below the bag body 12. And this sheet member 1
A stitching portion 15b is formed in the middle portion so that a part of the sheet member 15 is overlapped in parallel with the end side of the fifth member.
A cut 15c is formed at a desired set position on the center side of the seam 15b in parallel with the end side.

The operation of the above-described embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.
This will be described in (d). FIG. 1A shows a state in which the deployment of the airbag is started. The basic operation of the airbag device 1 is the same as the conventional one. That is, at the time of collision of the vehicle, the sensor detects rapid deceleration of the vehicle, and the compressed gas is ejected from the gas ejection port of the inflator 13. The gas that has flowed into the bag body 12 starts the inflation and deployment of the bag body 12, and the pressure causes the lid 11 to break open from the thin lip line 11a.

FIG. 5B shows a state in which the expansion of the bag main body 12 is slightly advanced. When the bag body 12 is initially deployed, first, the deployment is regulated by the seam 15b of the sheet member 15, and the deployment is temporarily promoted in the left-right direction. The deployment energy absorbed by breaking the seam 15b reduces the deployment speed in the linear direction directly toward the occupant. When the seam 15b is broken, the bag body 12 is further expanded, and the sheet member 15 is brought into a tension state. At this time, the lid 11 is broken and completely opened up and down.

Then, as shown in FIG. 5 (c), the sheet member 15 is torn from the cut 15c by the developing pressure of the bag main body 12, and the deployment of the bag main body 12 further proceeds from the broken portion of the cut. Therefore, by forming the cut 15c formed in the sheet member 15 at a desired position, the direction in which the bag projects can be restricted.

FIG. 5D shows a state in which the bag body 12 is completely unfolded. At this time, the broken sheet member 15
However, the lid 11 covers the open end of the lid 11 that is opened up and down, so that the bag body 12 is prevented from being caught and damaged by the open end of the lid 11.

FIGS. 6 and 7 show another embodiment of the sheet member 15 (the same parts as those in the above embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof is omitted). In the example of FIG. 6, two sheets 150 are used, and one end of each of the
And further connect the intermediate portions thereof to the stitching portion 15.
b. In this example, the stitched portion 15d in which the two sheets are joined performs the same operation as the above-described cut 15c. In the example of FIG. 7, a plurality of (two) stitched portions 15b in the example of FIG. 4 are formed, whereby the deployment speed of the bag body 12 in the linear deployment direction can be further reduced.

According to each of the above-described embodiments, when the bag body 12 jumps out of the retainer 14 during the operation of the airbag,
First, the linear inflation and deployment toward the occupant of the bag body 12 is regulated by the stitching portion 15b formed in the middle portion of the sheet member 15, and the linear bag development is decelerated and laterally deployed. Promotes. Further, as the bag development progresses, the cuts 15 formed in the sheet member 15 are formed.
c or the sheet member 15 along the stitched portion 15d.
Is broken, and the bag body 12 bulges out therefrom.

According to this, the above-mentioned stitching portion 15b
By adjusting the strength, the initial speed of the bag deployment can be adjusted, and the direction in which the bag body 12 projects can be regulated by the formation position of the cut 15c or the stitched portion 15d. Therefore, in the initial stage of bag deployment, linear deployment toward the occupant is prevented, deployment to the left and right sides is promoted, impact to the occupant is reduced, and quick bag deployment to protect the occupant is enabled. I do. Furthermore, since the deployment direction of the bag main body 12 can be regulated, damage to the windshield due to direct hit of the bag can be avoided.

Since the sheet member 15 broken by the bag expansion covers the opening end formed by the bag expanding, the bag body 12 expanded by the hooking of the opening end to the broken surface or the like. To prevent damage.

In the state where the bag body 12 is housed in the retainer 14, the sheet member 15 covers the periphery of the bag body 12 and maintains the housed state of the bag.
The workability when assembling the airbag device 1 to a predetermined location in the vehicle is improved, and at this time, the bag body 12 can be protected.

[0026]

Since the present invention is configured as described above,
The deployment speed in the direction of linear deployment toward the occupant can be reduced, and the direction in which the airbag pops out can be restricted to reduce the impact on the occupant. In addition, the workability of assembling the airbag device can be improved, and the bag body can be protected.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an installation location of an airbag device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an appearance of an airbag device according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of an airbag device according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory view showing an example of a sheet member according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of the embodiment.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory view showing an example of a sheet member according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a sheet member according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Airbag apparatus 11 Lid 12 Bag main body 13 Inflator 14 Retainer 15 Seat member 15a Mounting hole 15b, 15d Stitched part 15c Cut

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A retainer attached to a vehicle body side, an inflator serving as a gas generator housed in the retainer, and a bag-shaped bag housed in the retainer and inflated by being supplied with gas from the inflator. An airbag device comprising a main body, a seat member for covering the outside of the stored bag main body is mounted in the retainer, and a deployment speed or a deployment speed of the bag main body at the time of inflation deployment is provided in an intermediate portion of the seat member. An airbag device, wherein a seam or a cut for regulating the direction is formed. 2. A retainer attached to a vehicle body, an inflator serving as a gas generator housed in the retainer, and a bag-shaped bag housed in the retainer and inflated by being supplied with gas from the inflator. An airbag device including a main body, wherein a sheet member is provided in the retainer, the upper side being attached to the bag main body, the opposite side being attached to the lower side, and covering the outside of the stored bag main body. In the sheet member, a seam portion that is broken by the inflation and deployment of the bag body is formed in the middle portion of the sheet in parallel with the side, and a cut that sets the bulging direction of the bag body is formed. Characteristic airbag device. 3. The airbag device according to claim 1, wherein the stitching portion is formed at a plurality of positions.