JP2008143473A - Rear structure of airbag cover - Google Patents

Abstract

When a light emitting means is provided on the back surface of an air bag cover, it is possible to reasonably route a conductive wire in a narrow space on the back surface of the air bag cover without hindering the deployment of the air bag.
An airbag cover 20 that covers an airbag 100 is provided at a central portion of a steering wheel 10, and a light emission that illuminates a decorative portion 25 such as an emblem or its surroundings from behind on the back surface of the airbag cover. In the back structure of the air bag cover provided with the means, the LED 35 as the light emitting means is mounted on the flexible wiring board 30, and the flexible wiring board is placed at a position avoiding the planned cleavage line 21 formed on the air bag cover. Arranged.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a back surface structure of an air bag cover in which a wiring member is routed when a light emitting means is disposed on the back surface of an air bag cover of an automobile.

  For example, an airbag device for a driver's seat of an automobile is installed at a center pad position in the center of a steering wheel.

  This type of airbag apparatus includes an airbag that is folded and stored, an inflator that supplies inflation gas to the airbag in response to a detection signal such as a vehicle collision, a retainer that stores and holds the airbag, An airbag cover that covers the driver's surface of the bag is provided as a main component, and in the event of an emergency such as a vehicle collision, the airbag is inflated by the gas injected from the inflator, and is provided as a center pad by the inflating force. The airbag cover is split open to inflate and deploy the airbag in front of the driver.

  In this case, the air bag cover is integrally formed of resin, and has an inner groove on the inner surface of the air bag cover to be opened when the air bag is inflated to allow the air bag to expand (expected opening line). ing.

  Further, since the airbag cover is provided as the most conspicuous presence in the approximate center of the steering wheel, an emblem representing the company emblem and the vehicle name of the automobile manufacturer is generally provided in the center.

In addition, a technique has also been proposed in which light emitting means is disposed on the back of this type of emblem to perform backlight illumination (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
JP 2000-118320 A

  By the way, since the parts of the airbag device (mainly airbags) occupy the place on the back side of the airbag cover, there is almost no extra space, and the light emitting means is provided on the back side of the airbag cover as described above. In such a case, since it is essential not to prevent the airbag from being hindered, it is practically difficult to route with a normal covered electric wire. In particular, when a covered electric wire is used, there is a problem that it is difficult to realize because an extra change is required in setting the fixed point.

  In consideration of the above circumstances, the present invention can reasonably route the conductive wire in a narrow space on the back surface of the airbag cover without hindering the deployment of the airbag, and also has a fixing method. It is an object to provide a back structure of an airbag cover that can be freely selected.

  The invention of claim 1 allows the airbag to be deployed and inflated by covering the folded airbag at a portion facing the passenger in the automobile and opening along the planned tear line when the airbag is deployed and inflated. An airbag cover is provided, and the back of the airbag cover emits light when energized and emits light through the airbag cover, so that the decorative portion such as an emblem provided on the airbag cover or its surroundings can be seen. In a back structure of an air bag cover provided with light emitting means for illuminating from behind, the light emitting means is mounted on a flexible wiring board, and the flexible wiring board is cleaved along the planned cleavage line formed on the air bag cover. It is characterized by not disturbing.

  A second aspect of the invention is the back structure of the airbag cover according to the first aspect, wherein the light emitting means is an LED.

  Invention of Claim 3 is the back structure of the airbag cover of Claim 1 or 2, Comprising: The said airbag cover is provided as a center pad in the center part of the steering wheel of a motor vehicle. It is a feature.

  Invention of Claim 4 is the back structure of the airbag cover in any one of Claims 1-3, Comprising: The said flexible wiring board has mounted from the wide plane part which mounted the said light emission means, and this wide plane part. The narrow flat portion is a strip-shaped narrow portion that is extended and narrower than the wide flat surface portion, the wide flat surface portion is disposed in front of the decorative portion such as the emblem, and the narrow width portion is the airbag. The cable is routed along the space on the back surface of the cover, and is wired up to the connector arranged at the end of the airbag cover.

  The invention according to claim 5 is the back structure of the airbag cover according to claim 4, wherein the flexible wiring board is formed of a flexible printed circuit body.

  Invention of Claim 6 is the back structure of the airbag cover of Claim 4 or 5, Comprising: By making the said narrow part entangle with the some rib which exists in the peripheral part of the said airbag cover, the said The flexible wiring board is fixed to the airbag cover.

  Invention of Claim 7 is a back structure of the airbag cover in any one of Claims 1-6, Comprising: A part of insulating film of the flexible wiring board adheres to the airbag cover, The above-mentioned The flexible wiring board is fixed to the airbag cover.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the flexible wiring board on which the light emitting means is mounted is used as a wiring member instead of a normal covered electric wire, so that the light emitting means and the flexible wiring board can be used in a narrow space on the back surface of the airbag cover. Can be easily arranged without difficulty. In addition, the flexible wiring board that is thin and flexible is arranged at a position that avoids the planned tear line formed on the airbag cover, or the flexible wiring board breaks at the time of tearing. The flexible wiring board is not obstructed, and the flexible wiring board is routed along the airbag cover. When the airbag is deployed, it follows the airbag cover and does not hinder the deployment of the airbag. In addition, the use of flexible wiring boards gives you more flexibility in how to fix them, so there is no need to take measures to prevent damage to the airbag, such as fixing unnecessary wiring protrusions and fixing the wiring boards. The deployment of the airbag can be guaranteed.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, the LED, which is a small light emitting element, is mounted on the flexible wiring board as the light emitting means, so that the flexibility of the flexible wiring board is not hindered and a narrow space behind the airbag cover is provided. Flexible wiring boards with LEDs can be routed without difficulty. Then, from a narrow space on the back surface of the airbag cover, the decoration portion such as an emblem provided on the airbag cover or the periphery thereof can emit light.

  According to the invention of claim 3, since the flexible wiring board on which the light emitting means is mounted is disposed on the back surface of the airbag cover disposed in the center portion of the steering wheel, the airbag that operates to protect the driver. Without obstructing the deployment of the embroidery, it is possible to illuminate a decorative object such as an emblem on the airbag cover even at night by the light emitted by the light emitting means.

  According to the invention of claim 4, since the flexible wiring board is routed to the connector along the space on the back surface of the airbag cover using the narrow width portion extended from the wide flat surface portion, it is flexible in a reasonable form. The wiring board can be routed behind the airbag cover.

  According to the invention of claim 5, since the flexible wiring board is formed of the flexible printed circuit body, the wide flat surface portion and the narrow width portion can be freely formed so as to be actually easy to route.

  According to the invention of claim 6, since the flexible wiring board is fixed to the airbag cover by entwining the narrow portion with the rib necessary for securing the strength of the airbag cover, the special fixing means is the airbag. There is no need to provide it on the back side of the cover, and cost increases can be avoided.

  According to the invention of claim 7, since the flexible wiring board is fixed to the airbag cover by fixing a part of the insulating film to the airbag cover, no special fixing means is provided, and cost increase is avoided. The flexible wiring board can be stably routed on the back surface of the airbag cover.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  1A is a front view of a steering wheel to which the structure of the embodiment is applied, FIG. 1B is a sectional view taken along the arrow Ia-Ia in FIG. 1A, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view seen from the front side of the airbag cover. 3 is a perspective view of a portion taken along the arrow III in FIG. 2, and FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a flexible wiring board fixing structure employed at an appropriate position in FIG.

  In general, an automobile is equipped with an airbag device at a position facing a passenger, for example, in the case of a driver's seat, at a center pad position at the center of the steering wheel 10 as shown in FIG. In FIG. 1B, only the airbag 100 is illustrated. The airbag 100 is accommodated in a folded state, and an airbag cover 20 that covers the airbag 100 is provided as a center pad on the surface on the passenger side.

  The airbag cover 20 is allowed to deploy and inflate the airbag 100 by being cleaved along a scheduled tear line (the tear line) 21 when the airbag 100 is deployed and inflated, and is fixed to the steering wheel 10. ing.

The steering wheel 10 has a structure in which a ring-shaped rim 11 and a central hub 13 are connected by a plurality of spokes 12, and a steering shaft (not shown) is fixed to the central portion of the hub 13. The wheel 10 and the steering shaft are connected. The airbag device is mounted on the hub 13, and an airbag cover 20 is disposed on the upper side of the hub 13.
Further, the back surface side of the airbag cover 20 emits light when energized and emits light through the airbag cover 20, so that the decorative portion 25 such as an emblem provided on the airbag cover 20 or the periphery thereof is provided. An LED (light emitting means) 35 that illuminates from behind is disposed. In this case, the decorative portion 25 such as an emblem or the periphery thereof is made of a material that transmits light from behind.

  The LED 35 is mounted on the flexible wiring board 30, and the flexible wiring board 30 is arranged at a position avoiding the planned cleavage line 21 formed on the airbag cover 20 or has a structure in which the flexible wiring board is broken at the time of tearing. To do. As the flexible wiring board 30, a flexible printed circuit body (FPC), a flexible flat cable (FFC), or the like can be used, but the former having a high degree of freedom in shape is used here.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the flexible wiring board 30 includes a wide flat surface portion 30A on which the LEDs 35 are mounted, and a strip-shaped narrow width portion 31 extending from the wide flat surface portion 30A and narrower than the wide flat surface portion 30A. After the wide flat surface portion 30A is arranged in front of the decorative portion 25 such as an emblem and the narrow width portion 31 is routed along the space on the back surface of the airbag cover 20, the airbag cover The connector 38 is arranged at the end of 20.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 4, the flexible wiring board 30 is fixed by entwining the narrow width portions 31 with a plurality of ribs 23 existing on the peripheral edge portion of the airbag cover 20. Further, as shown in FIG. 3, a fixing piece 32 is provided on a part of the insulating film of the flexible wiring board 30, and the fixing piece 32 is fixed to the airbag cover 20 by welding or bonding. ing.

  Thus, by using the flexible wiring board 30 on which the LED 35 is mounted as a wiring member instead of a normal covered electric wire, the LED 35 and the flexible wiring board 30 can be installed in a narrow space on the back surface of the airbag cover 20. It can be easily arranged without difficulty.

  Further, since the flexible wiring board 30 having a thin shape and flexibility is disposed at a position avoiding the planned cleavage line 21 formed on the airbag cover 20 or has a structure in which the flexible wiring board is broken at the time of tearing. At the time of deployment, the flexible wiring board is also broken following the airbag cover, so that there is no possibility that the flexible wiring board 30 will be in the way, and the airbag 100 will not be disturbed.

  Further, since the flexible wiring board 30 can be used in a manner of fixing, there is no need to take measures to lead to breakage of the airbag 100 such as providing unnecessary projections to fix the wiring board. The safe deployment of the airbag 100 can be ensured.

  Further, since the LED 35, which is a small light emitting element, is mounted on the flexible wiring board 30 as the light emitting means, the LED 35 is attached to the narrow space behind the airbag cover 20 without hindering the flexibility of the flexible wiring board 30. The flexible wiring board 30 can be wired without difficulty. And the decoration part 25, such as an emblem provided on the airbag cover 20, or the periphery thereof can emit light from a narrow space on the back surface of the airbag cover 20.

  Moreover, in this embodiment, since the flexible wiring board 30 which mounted LED35 is arrange | positioned in the back surface of the airbag cover 20 distribute | arranged to the center part of the steering wheel 10, the airbag which operate | moves in order to protect a driver | operator. The decorative object 25 such as an emblem on the airbag cover 20 can be lit even at night by the light emitted from the LED 35 without hindering the deployment of 100.

  In this embodiment, the flexible wiring board 30 is routed to the connector 38 along the space on the back surface of the airbag cover 20 by using the narrow width portion 31 extended from the wide flat surface portion 30A. The flexible wiring board 30 can be routed on the back surface of the airbag cover 20 with no form.

  In particular, in this embodiment, since the flexible wiring board 30 is composed of a flexible printed circuit body, the wide flat surface portion 30A and the narrow width portion 31 can be freely formed into shapes that are actually easy to route. it can.

  Further, the narrow width portion 31 of the flexible wiring board 30 is entangled with the ribs 23 necessary for ensuring the strength of the airbag cover 20, or a part of the insulating film of the flexible wiring board 30 is fixed to the airbag cover 20. Thus, since the flexible wiring board 30 is fixed to the airbag cover 20, the flexible wiring board 30 is attached to the airbag cover 20 while avoiding an increase in cost without providing a special fixing means on the back surface of the airbag cover 20. Can be routed stably on the back of the car.

  In the above-described embodiment, the rear structure of the airbag cover 20 for the steering wheel 10 has been described. However, the present invention relates to an airbag of an airbag device mounted on a front part of a passenger seat, a door, a seat, a vehicle interior wall, and the like. You may apply to the back surface structure of a cover.

It is explanatory drawing of embodiment of this invention, (a) is a front view of the steering wheel which applied the structure of embodiment, (b) is Ia-Ia arrow sectional drawing of (a). It is the perspective view seen from the front side of the airbag cover provided in the center of the steering wheel. It is a perspective view of the III arrow part of FIG. It is a perspective view of the fixing structure of the flexible wiring board employ | adopted at the appropriate location of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Steering wheel 20 Airbag cover 21 Scheduled tear line 23 Rib 25 Decoration parts, such as emblem 30 Flexible wiring board 30A Wide plane part 31 Narrow part 32 Fixed piece (a part of insulating film)
35 LED (light emitting means)
38 Connector 100 Airbag

Claims (7)

An airbag cover that covers a folded airbag and allows the airbag to be deployed and inflated by covering the folded airbag along the planned tearing line when the airbag is deployed and inflated is provided at a portion facing the passenger in the automobile. And a light emitting means for illuminating a decorative portion such as an emblem provided on the airbag cover or its surroundings from behind by emitting light through the airbag cover and emitting light through the airbag cover on the back surface of the airbag cover. In the back structure of the provided airbag cover,
A rear structure of an airbag cover, wherein the light emitting means is mounted on a flexible wiring board, and the flexible wiring board does not hinder the tearing of the planned tearing line formed on the airbag cover. The back structure of the airbag cover according to claim 1,
A back structure of an air bag cover, wherein the light emitting means is an LED. The back structure of the airbag cover according to claim 1 or 2,
A back structure of an air bag cover, wherein the air bag cover is provided as a center pad at a central portion of a steering wheel of an automobile. The back structure of the airbag cover according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The flexible wiring board includes a wide flat surface portion on which the light emitting means is mounted, and a strip-shaped narrow portion that extends from the wide flat surface portion and is narrower than the wide flat surface portion, and the wide flat surface portion is the emblem. The narrow portion is arranged along the space on the back surface of the airbag cover, and is arranged up to the connector disposed at the end portion of the airbag cover. The back structure of the airbag cover characterized by being searched. The back structure of the airbag cover according to claim 4,
The back structure of an airbag cover, wherein the flexible wiring board is formed of a flexible printed circuit body. The back structure of the airbag cover according to claim 4 or 5,
A back structure of an air bag cover, wherein the flexible wiring board is fixed to the air bag cover by entwining the narrow width portion with a plurality of ribs present on a peripheral edge portion of the air bag cover. The back structure of the airbag cover according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
A back structure of an airbag cover, wherein the flexible wiring board is fixed to the airbag cover by fixing a part of the insulating film of the flexible wiring board to the airbag cover.

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