JPH072041A - Installation structure for air bag device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve the operation performance of a steering wheel and spread the viewfield for meters, etc., even in the case where an air bag device is installed in a tilt state with respect to the shaft direction of the steering wheel. CONSTITUTION:The underside of a hub 20 forming the center part of a steering wheel 18 is cut, and this part forms a cut part 20A. A bracket 44 is planted on the hub 20 so as to project toward a driver's side. In order to allow a part on the lower side of a base plate 22 to be introduced into a space formed by the cut part 20A, the device body 10 is fixed on the bracket 44, in the tilted state to the cut part 20A side with respect to the shaft direction A of the steering wheel 18. Accordingly, the whole device 10 is installed so as to sink to the hub 20 side.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a mounting structure of an airbag device for fixing an airbag device for protecting an occupant to a steering wheel by expanding the airbag body in front of the occupant during sudden deceleration of a vehicle.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, an airbag device has been proposed which protects an occupant by inflating an airbag bag at the time of sudden deceleration of a vehicle (Japanese Patent Laid-Open Nos. 60-248454 and 6-1988).
0-248455, JP-A-60-248456, JP-A-60-248457).

As a structure for mounting an airbag device of this type on a steering wheel, a structure is known in which an airbag device in which an airbag bag is housed is screwed to a bracket projecting from a hub of the steering wheel for mounting. ing.

On the other hand, by mounting the airbag device while inclining it with respect to the axial direction of the steering wheel, the field of view of the meters arranged in front of the steering wheel can be widened.

FIG. 5 shows the structure when the airbag device is inclined and attached to the steering wheel.

That is, as shown in FIG. 5, a bracket 50 protruding from the hub 20 of the steering wheel 18
Then, the airbag device 60 in a tilted state is screwed and attached. At this time, if the airbag device 60 is simply inclined, the inclined bottom portion of the airbag device 60 may come into contact with the surface of the hub 20. Therefore, the bottom hub 2
In order to prevent contact with 0, it is necessary to project the airbag cover 14 accommodating the airbag body 16 from the steering wheel 18 toward the occupant side as shown in FIG. Not only decreases the operability of the steering wheel, but also the visibility of the meters is narrowed by the airbag cover 14.

When a stationary mechanism, which has been used in recent years, is attached to a steering wheel, this tendency becomes remarkable.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In consideration of the above facts, the present invention improves the operability of the steering wheel and improves the operability of the steering wheel even when the airbag device is installed so as to be inclined with respect to the axial direction of the steering wheel. An object of the present invention is to obtain an attachment structure of an airbag device that can expand the field of view for a class.

[0009]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An air bag device mounting structure according to the present invention comprises a hub forming a central portion of a steering wheel for steering a vehicle and a notch portion, and an axial direction of the steering wheel. An airbag device main body that is inclined toward the cutout portion side and is attached to the hub so as to at least partially overlap the space created by the cutout portion and inflates the stored airbag bag body when the vehicle suddenly decelerates. It is characterized by having.

[0010]

The hub formed with the notch forms the center of the steering wheel for steering the vehicle. Further, the airbag device main body is attached to the hub while being inclined toward the cutout portion side with respect to the axial direction of the steering wheel, so that at least a part of the airbag device main body overlaps the space created by the cutout portion of the hub. positioned.

Therefore, the airbag device body is attached to the hub so as to sink into the hub side of the steering wheel, and the amount of protrusion of the airbag device body toward the occupant is reduced.

On the other hand, at the time of sudden deceleration of the vehicle, the airbag bag housed in the airbag device body is inflated to protect the occupant.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A mounting structure for an airbag apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, and this embodiment will be described based on these drawings.

FIG. 2 (arrow FR indicates the front of the vehicle) shows an airbag device. The airbag device includes an inflator 12, an airbag cover 14, and an airbag bag body 16 (hereinafter, simply referred to as a bag body 16), and is attached to a base plate 22 supported by a hub 20 of a steering wheel 18. Then, the inflator 12, the airbag cover 14, the airbag bag 16, the base plate 22 and the like constitute the device body 10 of the airbag device.

The inflator 12 has a cylindrical shape coaxial with the rotation axis of the steering wheel 18 for steering the vehicle, and one side along the rotation axis is the base plate 22.
With the base plate 2 penetrating through and protruding toward the occupant side,
It is being fixed to 2 via the mounting flange 24.

The bag body 16 is arranged in a folded state on the occupant side of the base plate 22, and the periphery of the opening 26 is fixed to the base plate 22 by a mounting ring 28. The one side of the inflator 12 is inserted into the bag body 16, and a gas hole 40 of the inflator 12 is opened facing the inside of the bag body 16.

The airbag cover 14 is formed in a bowl shape, and an opening edge thereof is fixed to the base plate 22 so as to store the bag body 16 between the airbag cover 14 and the base plate 22.
A thin portion 29 is formed on the bottom wall of the airbag cover 14 facing the occupant. When the bag body 16 is inflated, the thin portion 29 is broken and the airbag cover 14 is formed into a pair of doors from the central portion. The bag body 16 can be opened by unfolding.

Further, the hub 20 forming the central portion of the steering wheel 18 is shown in FIG.
As compared with the hub 20 shown in FIG. 1, the lower side in FIG. 1 has a cutout shape, and this portion forms a cutout portion 20A. Further, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a pair of metal brackets 44 sandwiching the base plate 22 are planted in the hub 20 so as to project from the hub 20 toward the passenger side. Through holes (not shown) are formed in the pair of brackets 44, respectively, and the bolts 46 are inserted therein.

Then, as shown in FIG. 1, the apparatus main body 10 of the steering wheel 18 is arranged so that a part of the lower side of the base plate 22 enters into the space formed by the cutout portion 20A (shown by a chain double-dashed line in FIG. 1). Both sides of the base plate 22 are fixed to the bracket 44 by screwing with the bolts 46 in a state of being inclined toward the cutout portion 20A side with respect to the axial direction A, and the base plate 22 is positioned closer to the occupant side of the hub 20. .

As a result, a part of the base plate 22 constituting the main body 10 of the apparatus interferes with the radially extended portion of the hub 20.

Further, the inflator 12 includes an enhancer 30, a detonator 32, a gas generating substance 34, and an acceleration sensor 3.
6 is accommodated, the ignition pin 38 on the side of the acceleration sensor 36 collides with the detonator 32 to ignite the detonator 32 at the time of sudden deceleration of the vehicle, and the gas generating substance 34 is burned based on the ignition to generate gas. Are supplied into the bag body 16 through the gas holes 40.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. In normal vehicle operation, as shown in FIG. 1, the bag body 16 is covered with the airbag cover 14. Then, at the time of sudden deceleration of the vehicle in which the occupant should be protected, the acceleration sensor 36 detects the acceleration acting during the rapid deceleration, and the gas is generated from the gas generating substance 34 as described above.
Is supplied to the inside of the bag body 16 through the, and the bag body 16 breaks the airbag cover 14 and expands.

On the other hand, the main body 10 of the apparatus is attached to the hub 20 while being inclined toward the cutout portion 20A with respect to the axial direction A of the steering wheel 18, and a part of the base plate 22 constituting the main body 10 of the apparatus is cut out of the hub 20. It is located in the space created by 20A.

Therefore, the device body 10 is attached to the hub 20 so as to sink into the hub 20 side of the steering wheel 18, and the protrusion amount H1 of the airbag cover 14 from the hub 20 to the passenger side is shown in FIG. It is smaller than the protruding amount H3 of the airbag cover 14 toward the occupant shown.

As a result, the living space inside the vehicle is increased, the operability of the steering wheel is improved, and
The field of view for meters will be expanded.

In the above embodiment, one pair of through holes is provided in each of the pair of brackets 44, and the through holes are used for screwing. However, a plurality of through holes may be provided. Is the device body 10
The attachment will be strong.

FIG. 4 shows the mounting structure of the airbag apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention, and the present embodiment will be described based on this drawing. The same members as those described in the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals, and the duplicate description will be omitted.

As shown in FIG. 4, in the hub 20 of this embodiment, a pair of metal brackets 48 (only the front side is shown in FIG. 4) sandwiching the base plate 22 are provided from the hub 20 toward the passenger side. The bracket 48 has a tip end side bent downward in the drawing.

Therefore, when the device body 10 is attached to the steering wheel 18, not only the device body 10 sinks into the hub 20 side of the steering wheel 18, but also the device body 10 moves upward and downward in FIG. It will be attached to the hub 20. Therefore, the amount H2 of protrusion of the airbag cover 14 from the hub 20 to the occupant side is further reduced.

[0030]

Since the air bag device mounting structure according to the present invention is constructed as described above, the operability of the steering wheel can be improved even when the air bag device is installed inclined with respect to the axial direction of the steering wheel. It has an excellent effect that the field of view can be expanded with respect to the meters and the like.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view showing a mounting structure of an airbag device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the attachment structure of the airbag apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention, and is a view taken along the line 2-2 in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a front view showing the attachment structure of the airbag apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a side view showing the attachment structure of the airbag device according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a side view showing a mounting structure of another airbag device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 Device Main Body (Airbag Device Main Body) 12 Inflator 14 Airbag Cover 16 Airbag Bag Body 18 Steering Wheel 20 Hub 20A Cutout 22 Baze Plate 44 Bracket 48 Bracket

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A hub that forms a central portion of a steering wheel for steering a vehicle and has a cutout portion; and a hub that is inclined toward the cutout portion with respect to an axial direction of the steering wheel and at least a portion of the cutout portion. An airbag device body for inflating an airbag bag body, which is attached to the hub and is housed in the hub so as to overlap with the space created by the above, when the vehicle suddenly decelerates, and a mounting structure of the airbag device.