JPH10278721A - Structure of air bag door for instrument panel - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a structure of an economical air bag door for an instrument panel which eliminates any possibility of deforming the air bag door and the circumferential edge of an opening part for the air bag of the instrument panel in opening the air bag door and facilitates the repair and the reuse of the instrument panel. SOLUTION: An air bag door 10 is so formed as to be detachably arranged in an air bag opening part 21 and fixed to the surface of an air bag 31 in the rear side of the air bag door, and the air bag door 10 is raised and removed from the air bag opening part 21 with the air bag door 10 fixed to the air bag surface by a pressurizing force from the rear side of the air bag door by swelling of the air bag 31 so that the air bag opening part 21 is opened.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a structure of an airbag door of an instrument panel.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, as shown in FIG. 4, an instrument panel 40 of an automobile often has an airbag device 45 provided on a passenger seat side. The airbag device 45 has a folded airbag 46 housed in an airbag housing 47 together with an operating device 48, and is provided on the back side of the instrument panel 40. An airbag opening 41 is provided at a predetermined position of the instrument panel 40, and an airbag door 42 is provided.
Are integrally covered by

As an instrument panel 40 provided with the airbag device 45, there is an instrument panel 40 in which an airbag door portion 42 is formed integrally with the panel 40. For example, as shown in the drawing, the skin 51 is integrally formed on the surface of the synthetic resin foam layer 50, and an airbag door 42 is defined at a predetermined position of the skin 51 corresponding to the airbag opening 41. A portion 55 is formed. In the present example, the breakable portion 55 is formed of a thin portion formed on the back surface of the skin 51 by an appropriate method. Reference numeral 52 denotes a core material for an instrument panel, and 53 denotes a core material for an airbag door portion.

[0004] In the airbag device 45, once the automobile receives a large impact due to a collision or the like, the operating device 48 is activated, and the airbag 46 is inflated. Then, the breakable portion 55 is broken, and the airbag door portion 42 is pushed open from the rear side, so that the airbag 46 is deployed into the vehicle cabin through the airbag opening 41. Therefore, the instrument panel 40 after the airbag device 45 is activated due to an accident or the like, causes the pressure of the inflated airbag 46 and the impact of the airbag door 42 to be released to cause the airbag door 42 and the opening for the airbag. The periphery of 41 may be deformed. It is difficult to reuse the deformed airbag door portion 42, and the instrument panel 40 must be used again to use the vehicle.
The whole had to be replaced, which was extremely uneconomical.

[0005] Therefore, the airbag door is formed of a separate member, and the airbag door is connected to the airbag opening by a connector such as a belt or a hinge to close the airbag opening. At the time of inflation, the airbag door is lifted from the instrument panel to open the airbag opening, thereby preventing deformation of the airbag door and the vicinity of the opening. An airbag door technology is disclosed that allows the airbag door to be mounted in the opening prior to actuation.

In such a structure, the behavior of the airbag door at the time of inflation of the airbag is a linear motion in a direction of rising from the instrument panel at the beginning of the inflation of the airbag, and is thereafter restricted by the length of the connected object. It changes to the performed rotary motion. Since the strong load when changing from the linear motion to the rotational motion is transmitted to the instrument panel via the connector, the deformation of the airbag opening cannot be completely suppressed.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been proposed in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, and it is proposed that the opening of the airbag door and the instrument panel be opened when the airbag door is opened. An object of the present invention is to provide an instrument panel airbag door structure that is easy to repair and reuse and that is economical, without fear of deforming the peripheral edge.

[0008]

That is, the present invention provides:
An airbag door closing the opening is arranged in an airbag opening formed on the surface of the instrument panel,
Due to the inflation of the airbag disposed on the instrument panel rear side of the airbag opening, the airbag door is pushed from the rear side to open the airbag opening and deploy the airbag door into the vehicle interior. The airbag door structure, wherein the airbag door is removably disposed in an airbag opening, and is fixed to a surface of the airbag on a back side of the airbag door. The airbag door is lifted off from the airbag opening while being fixed to the airbag surface by a pressing force from the back side of the airbag door due to inflation, and the airbag opening is opened.

[0009]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of an instrument panel provided with the structure of an airbag door according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a state where an airbag is inflated in the instrument panel, and FIG. 3 is an airbag door and an airbag. It is a perspective view which shows the example of connection of.

As shown in FIG. 1, an airbag door 10 of the present invention is disposed in an airbag opening 21 formed on the surface of an instrument panel 20 so as to cover the opening 21. The instrument panel 2
An airbag device 30 is provided on the back surface side of the “0”.
The airbag device 30 has the same structure as that described in the section of the related art described above.
Is mounted so as to be located on the back side of the airbag opening 21, and when the airbag 31 is inflated, the pressure of the airbag door 10 is pushed from the back side to open the airbag opening 21. The bag 31 is deployed in the vehicle interior. Reference numeral 32 in the drawing denotes an airbag container, 3
Reference numeral 3 denotes a device for operating the airbag 31.

The airbag door 10 is made of the same material as the instrument panel 20 in order to give a sense of unity with the instrument panel 20 and improve the appearance.
The airbag opening 21 is detachably disposed. In the present embodiment, a resin molded product made of a polyolefin-based elastomer or the like is shown. However, depending on the design of an instrument panel in a vehicle interior, a foam with a skin or a metal plate as described above may be used.

The airbag door 10 is fixed at a predetermined position on the front surface of the airbag 31 on the back side thereof.
During operation of the airbag device, the airbag 31 is quickly lifted off the airbag opening 21 by the inflation pressure of the airbag 31, and the airbag opening 21 is reliably opened. Airbag opening 21 of the airbag door 10
There is no particular limitation on the method of attachment to the device, and an appropriate clip or fit is selected. In particular, if it is attached via a known grommet or the like, generation of abnormal noise due to vibration or the like can be prevented. The airbag door 10 includes:
In normal times, the instrument panel 20 is attached with good appearance without detaching from the airbag opening 21 and when the airbag device 30 is activated in an accident or the like, the airbag is inflated by inflation of the airbag. It is important that the door 10 be mounted so that it opens quickly and reliably. In this embodiment, a flange portion 23 on which the outer periphery of the airbag door 10 rides is formed around the periphery of the airbag opening portion 21, and a hole 24 is provided at an appropriate position of the flange portion 23. On the other hand, an engaging pin 11 removably fitted in the hole 24 is provided on the outer peripheral back surface of the airbag door 10.
The airbag door 10 is attached to the airbag opening 21 by engaging the hole 24 with the engagement pin 11.

The airbag 3 of the airbag door 10
There is no particular limitation on the method of fixing to the one surface, but it is preferable that the airbag 31 is firmly fixed so as not to come off from the surface of the airbag 31 due to the inflation pressure of the airbag and the impact at that time. In this embodiment, an appropriate number of pins 12 are erected on the back surface of the airbag door 10 as is well understood from FIG. And in the airbag 31,
A small hole 34 corresponding to the pin is provided in the airbag sheet before sewing into a bag shape, and the pin 12 of the airbag door 10 is passed through the small hole 34 of the sheet, and the tip is thermally caulked. Thereby, the airbag door 10 is completely fixed to the airbag 31. The airbag sheet to which the airbag door 10 is fixed in this manner is sewn into a bag shape and used as an airbag. As another method of fixing the airbag door 10 to the surface of the airbag 31, for example, the pins are bolts, the airbag door is arranged at a predetermined position on the surface of the airbag seat, and the rear surface is fixed with a nut. And a method using an adhesive. The bolt can be easily formed by disposing the bolt as an insert in the mold at the time of molding the airbag door.

The airbag 31 of the airbag door 10
The mounting position on the surface is such that the inflated airbag 31 does not hinder the smooth and reliable deployment from the airbag opening 21 into the vehicle interior, and the occupant lifts the airbag door 10 raised from the airbag opening 21. It is preferable to set the position so as not to hit the position. In this embodiment,
As shown in FIG. 2, when the airbag 31 is inflated, the upper surface of the airbag 31 on the front side of the vehicle, specifically, when the outer periphery of the airbag 31 is measured in the vertical direction, the airbag opening Distance A from the edge of 21 to the airbag door
Are fixed so as to be within the range of １ ／ of the outer peripheral length L of the airbag 31.

The airbag door 10 having such a structure is as follows.
When the airbag 31 is inflated by the operation of the airbag device 30, the pressure of the airbag 31 causes the instrument panel 2 to inflate.
0 is pressed from the back side. As described above, since the airbag door 10 is detachably attached to the airbag opening 21 of the instrument panel 20, the airbag door 10 is easily and promptly detached by the inflation of the airbag 31 to remove the instrument. The panel is lifted from the surface of the panel 20 to open the airbag opening 21. At this time, since the airbag door 10 is fixed at a predetermined position on the surface of the airbag 31, it moves according to a shape change such as inflation of the airbag 31 and deployment from the airbag opening 21 into the vehicle interior. I do.

Therefore, the pressure and impact when the airbag door 10 is opened are not applied to the peripheral edge of the airbag opening 21, and the peripheral edge of the opening 21 is not deformed. The risk of being pushed away by the inflation of the airbag 31 and colliding with the windshield and breaking the glass can be extremely reduced. Further, even after the airbag device 30 is activated, the instrument panel 2 can be replaced simply by replacing the airbag device.
0 can be reused, which is economical.

Next, an example of manufacturing an instrument panel having an airbag door having the above structure will be described. As described above, the airbag door formed in advance by injection molding or the like is connected to a predetermined position of the airbag sheet, and the sheet is sewn into a bag-shaped airbag. The airbag is attached to the airbag device, and is attached and fixed together with the airbag device to the back side of the airbag opening of the instrument panel. In this state, the airbag door is pulled out to the instrument panel surface side together with the airbag through the airbag opening. At this time, the airbag door is appropriately tilted so that it can pass through the airbag opening. The drawn-out airbag door folds the airbag and stores the airbag in the airbag storage container, and is detachably engaged with the periphery of the airbag opening to close the airbag opening. Also,
Depending on the shape of the airbag opening, the airbag device may be attached to the rear surface of the instrument panel from the front side of the instrument panel via the airbag opening. Thereafter, the instrument panel to which the airbag device is attached is fixed to the vehicle body.

[0018]

As shown and described above, according to the structure of the airbag door of the present invention, the airbag door is attached to and detached from the airbag opening of the instrument panel while being fixed to the surface of the airbag. It is mounted so that it can be lifted and moved following the change in the shape of the airbag when the airbag is inflated. The periphery of the airbag opening of the panel is not deformed. Therefore, even if the instrument panel is inflated due to the operation of the airbag device due to an accident or the like, the instrument panel can be reused simply by replacing the airbag device, so that repair is also easy. It is economical. In addition, the risk that the airbag door hits the window glass when the airbag door is opened and breaks the glass can be minimized, and the safety is high.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of an instrument panel provided with an airbag door structure of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing a state where an airbag is inflated in the instrument panel.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a combined example of an airbag door and an airbag.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of an instrument panel having a general airbag door.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Airbag door 11 Engagement pin 20 Instrument panel 21 Airbag opening 24 Hole 30 Airbag device 31 Airbag

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. An airbag, wherein an airbag door for closing the opening is arranged in an airbag opening formed on the surface of the instrument panel, and the airbag is arranged on the back side of the instrument panel in the airbag opening. The airbag door is pushed from the back side by the inflation of the airbag door, the opening for the airbag is opened, and the airbag door can be deployed in the passenger compartment. The airbag door is detachably disposed in the opening and is fixed to the surface of the airbag at the back side of the airbag door. The air bag opening is opened by lifting up from the air bag opening while being fixed to the bag surface, and opening the air bag opening. The structure of the air bag door of torque instrument panel. 2. The structure of an airbag door of an instrument panel according to claim 1, wherein the airbag door is fixed to an upper surface of the airbag when the airbag is inflated.