JPH08310334A - Vehicle safety device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Abstract] [Purpose] A vehicle safety device having an airbag that protects passengers accommodated in the rear seats in the event of a side collision, and has a protective effect beyond the range of the head and shoulders. Providing expanded safety equipment. [Composition] In order to effectively protect the passengers' waist and chest as well as the head and shoulder area, the backrest is provided with side parts.
Divide into (2) and central part (1). The side part (2) comprises the airbag (5) of the airbag device which is fixed to the vehicle body of the vehicle and is inflatable by the gas generator (6).

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a vehicle safety device according to the preamble of claim 1.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, great attention has been paid to accidents of side collisions, especially in the active movement of increased safety requirements. In the event of a vehicle-related accident, the spatial distance between the collision point and the passenger to be protected is so small that a high demand must be placed on the operation of the passenger protection device. In that case, in particular, in the region of the side surface of the vehicle, the airbag device fixed to the vehicle body itself or to the seat for receiving the passenger comes out on the front side. In this regard, for example DE-42 04 280-A1 (B60R 21/16) and DE-42
See 10 562-A1 (B60R 21/20) as well as the publicly known art respectively cited therein. The use of the airbag device described there is not restricted to a fixed seat type,
So the same applies to the front and rear seats. However, it does not include any indications that specifically use the principles for the backseat set published therein.

Problems with passenger protection in the back seats of vehicles have been identified in DE-U 91 11 206 and DE-U 92 02 725 (both B
60R 21/16). These publications, which are to be understood as forming the type mentioned at the outset, show airbags for airbag systems arranged in the area of the shoulder and head of the backrest for the rear seat set. Nevertheless, its action is limited to only part of the head.
No possibility of protection is provided for the chest or waist area of passengers seated in the back seat.

[0004]

The invention is based on the object of extending the protective action of a safety device of the type mentioned at the beginning beyond the range of the head and shoulders.

[0005]

In order to solve this problem, according to the invention, the backrest has at least one lateral part fixed to the side wall of the vehicle, which lateral part is separated from it. The airbag may be arranged inside the side portion so that the airbag can be connected to the central portion.

The dependent claims contain particularly purposeful formations of the invention. Therefore, according to the invention, the rear seat or seat bench is divided such that the side parts provided for receiving the airbag are fixed to the side walls of the vehicle and can be combined with the central part mainly supporting the back part. .
In particular, the central portion is designed as a foldable backrest device that can be locked to the vehicle body by a commonly known backrest locking mechanism. The two-part backrest allows the airbag to be inflated from the lateral extent, without the need for a separate tear line or preset break point in the seat cover itself. Furthermore, the two-part construction allows the airbag to be placed stationary, for example when the backrest has to be folded in order to increase the loading space.
Thereby, damage to the airbag and damage and malfunction of the signal line connected to it can be avoided.

The side portion of the backrest can be separately pre-attached with the module formed by the airbag and the gas generator, thus considerably facilitating the assembly of the safety device according to the invention.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to embodiments shown in the drawings. In the figures, the same reference numerals indicate the same components.

The essential components of the safety device shown in FIG. 1 are the central part 1 of the rear seat, here indicated generally by 3.
And the side part 2. The side part 2 arranged in the area of the so-called C-support 4 is here a cushion part, in which the airbag 5 indicated by the dotted line is arranged. The airbag can optionally be designed in multiple parts and can be operated by one gas generator 6 (see FIG. 2) or by multiple gas generators arranged side by side. In a preferred use, the inflation of the airbag 5 is forward in the range of the passenger's field of view, even in the range of the armrest 7, and C
-Also to cover the belt turning fasteners 8 arranged on the columns 4. By means of a locking device 9 whose central part 1 is pivotable with respect to the side part 2 and which is shown only schematically here, via a hinge point not further shown here, a further reference is made here. It is fixed to the vehicle body that is not attached.

According to a particularly advantageous embodiment, the airbag 5
The gas generator 6 is integrated into one module and is fixed to the tire house 10 together with the side part 2. The tire house 10 which receives the locking device 9 also supports the airbag module formed by the airbag 5 and the gas generator 6 during the expansion process, and thus the support force generated in the event of a vehicle accident is particularly effectively introduced into the entire vehicle structure. can do. Fixing in the range of the tire house is advantageous because when the vehicle side wall deforms, the tire house 10 itself deforms relatively slowly compared to the outer wall of the vehicle. In this way, the airbag module is installed in the seat 3
It stays in the same position for as long as possible for the passengers accommodated in it and can therefore exert its full protective effect.

It must also be emphasized that since the airbag 5 is stored in the side part 2, it is never necessary to suffer a loss of comfort. In the starting state, the folded airbag 5 and the gas generator 6 are so small that they can immediately be stored in the seat cushion to form the side part 2. Therefore, the comfortable volume between the side walls of the vehicle is not reduced by the storage of the airbag module. In addition, the transition range from the central part 1 of the rear seat 3 to the vehicle side wall via the side part 2 can be designed ergonomically, in particular taking into account the armrest troughs provided there. In order to protect the side part 2 and thus the airbag module, the separating line indicated by 11 between the side part 2 and the central part 1 is directed toward the vehicle side wall relative to the maximum extension of the tire house 10. The purpose is to choose to be able to lower it backwards. Nevertheless, its mobility is limited in such a way that the action of the side part 2 cannot take place when storing bulky objects in the cargo space arranged behind the rear seat 3.

The use of the safety device according to the invention is not limited to the rear seat set of vehicles having two rows of seats. It is also possible to use the arrangement according to the invention for vehicles with a large number of seat rows arranged one behind the other, such as buses and the like.

[0013]

As described above, according to the present invention,
The two-part backrest allows the airbag to be inflated from the lateral extent, without the need for a separate tear line or preset break point in the seat cover itself. Furthermore, the two-part construction allows the airbag to be placed stationary, for example when the backrest has to be folded in order to increase the loading space. Thereby, damage to the airbag and damage and malfunction of the signal line connected to it can be avoided.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 shows, in a partial view, a safety device according to the invention in the rear seat set area of a vehicle.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a transition range from a backrest toward a vehicle side wall.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Central part 2 Side part 3 Rear seat 4 Post 5 Airbag 6 Gas generator 10 Tire house 11 Separation line

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. To protect passengers in the back seat,
In a vehicle safety device having at least one airbag (5) inflatable by a gas generator (6), which is stored in a seat with a backrest (rear seat 3), the backrest is It has at least one side part (2) fixed to the side wall of the vehicle, this side part being connectable to a central part (1) separated from it, the airbag (5) being a side part (2). ) Is arranged inside the safety device. 2. The airbag (5) and the gas generator (6) are combined in one airbag module, which is completely housed in the side part (2). The safety device according to claim 1. 3. Safety device according to claim 1, characterized in that the cushion surface of the side part (2) is an integral component of the inflatable airbag (5). 4. Safety device according to claim 1, characterized in that the central part (1) together with the side part (2) and the side wall form a linear dimension which meets ergonomic requirements. 5. The airbag module is an airbag.
3. Safety device according to claim 2, characterized in that, when actuated (5), it rests on the tire house (10) arranged behind the side part (2). 6. Safety device according to claim 1, characterized in that the airbag (5) is inflatable forward from the side part (2) in the direction of view of the passenger. 7. Safety device according to claim 1 or 6, characterized in that the airbag (5) is inflatable upwards from the side part (2) in the passenger's head direction. 8. Safety according to claim 7, characterized in that the airbag (5) is displaceable from the side part (2) in order to cover the struts (4) extending in the head range of the passenger. apparatus. 9. Safety device according to claim 2, characterized in that the side part (2) and the airbag module are combined in one pre-installable tooling set. 10. A separating line (11) extending between the central part (1) and the side part (2) is rearwardly directed toward the vehicle side wall with respect to the periphery of the tire house (10) facing the inside of the vehicle. The safety device according to claim 1, wherein the safety device is lowered.