JP2000071927A - Side airbag device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [PROBLEMS] To increase the restraint performance of an occupant's shoulder and maintain reliable restraint performance without enlarging an airbag bag. SOLUTION: The airbag bag body 16 has a triangular shape in which a vehicle rear side is widened in a deployed state side view,
It deploys to the part facing the shoulder of the occupant sitting on the front seat. A rail 34 is attached to a rear portion of the door frame 32, and a hook 48 is slidably attached to a slit 46 of the rail 34.
The connecting cloth 50 of the airbag bag 16 is engaged with the hook 48, and the airbag bag 16 is expanded and inflated by the inflation of the airbag bag 16.
The hook 48 moves upward along the rail 34, and a tension line is formed at the upper edge of the airbag body 16 in the deployed state.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a side airbag device, and more particularly to a side airbag device which is disposed on a side door of a vehicle such as an automobile and restrains an occupant's shoulder from moving outside a passenger compartment.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as an example of a side airbag device for a vehicle such as an automobile, a structure disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 7-164996 is known.

As shown in FIG. 7, in this side airbag device, an airbag bag 1 as occupant restraining means is provided.
00 is attached to the side door 102, and the airbag body 100 can be inflated from a state stored in the side door 102 to a deployed state interposed between the side door 102 and an occupant seated on the seat 104. Has become. In addition, when an impact is applied to the vehicle from the side, the occupant's shoulder first comes into contact with the airbag body 100 that has been deployed and inflated,
By restraining the occupant's shoulders, the potential for rib damage is minimized.

[0004]

However, in this side airbag apparatus, considering the case where the side door glass 110 is open or damaged, the upper part of the airbag body 100 in the opened state is taken into consideration. Is extended to the rear of the vehicle, and the extended portion 100A overlaps with the rear portion 106A of the door frame 106 and the center pillar 108. In order to enhance the restraining performance of the upper portion of the airbag body 100 on the occupant shoulder. It is necessary to enlarge the extension portion 100A and enlarge the overlap area. For this reason, the size of the airbag body 100 becomes large, storage becomes difficult, and the deployment completion time becomes long. Also, at a later stage of the collision phenomenon, when the internal pressure of the airbag body decreases, the extension
00A slips through the rear portion 106A of the door frame 106 and the center pillar 108, and it is considered that the restraint performance of the occupant shoulder is significantly reduced.

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-described circumstances, and provides a side airbag device capable of improving the restraining performance of an occupant's shoulder and maintaining a reliable restraining performance without increasing the size of the airbag bag. Is the purpose.

[0006]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a side airbag device which is stored along a belt line of a side door in a state where the side airbag device is folded in a bellows shape in a substantially vertical direction, and an occupant in a deployed state. An airbag bag for restraining movement of the shoulder to the outside of the cabin, gas supply means for supplying a gas for deployment to the airbag bag, and a gas supply means disposed substantially vertically in a rear portion of the door frame; The upper part of the airbag body is movably held upward, and a tension line is formed between the front end part and the upper part of the rear end of the airbag body in the deployed state. Airbag bag holding means for restraining movement of the outside of the vehicle compartment,
It is characterized by having.

[0007] Therefore, when a deployment gas is supplied from the gas supply means at the time of a side collision, the airbag bag stored along the belt line of the side door in a state of being folded in a bellows shape substantially vertically. Start deployment. At this time, the upper end of the rear end of the airbag body is moved upward along the rear part of the door frame by the airbag body holding means. By this movement, the distance between the front end and the upper rear end of the airbag body gradually increases, and a tension line is formed between the front end and the upper rear end of the airbag body. As a result, even when the door glass is in an open state or is broken, the restraint performance of the occupant shoulder can be improved without increasing the size of the airbag bag so as to overlap the rear portion of the door frame and the center pillar. As well as being able to increase, it is possible to maintain a certain restraining performance.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the side airbag device according to the first aspect, a holding portion for holding an upper rear end of the airbag body is formed at an upper end of the airbag body holding means. It is characterized by having done.

Therefore, in addition to the contents of the first aspect, at the same time as the deployment of the airbag body is completed, the rear end of the airbag body is held by the holding portion formed at the upper end of the airbag body holding means. Since the upper portion is held, even when the internal pressure of the airbag bag in the deployed state decreases, the airbag bag can be reliably held at an effective position for restraining the occupant's shoulder.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the side airbag device of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.

In the drawings, an arrow FR indicates a forward direction of the vehicle, an arrow IN indicates an inward direction of the vehicle width, and an arrow UP indicates an upward direction of the vehicle.

As shown in FIG. 4, the side airbag device 10 according to the present embodiment is disposed above a door inner panel 13 of a front side door 12. The side airbag device 10 includes a sensor 1 for detecting a side collision state.
1 and a columnar inflator 14 as a gas supply means for ejecting gas when activated, and an airbag bag 16 as main components. The sensor 11 is disposed near the lower end of the center pillar (B pillar) 17 and detects a side collision state when a side collision load of a predetermined value or more acts on the vehicle body side.

The inflator 14 includes the door inner panel 1.
The upper portion 3 is disposed substantially at the center in the front-rear direction and is directed obliquely rearward and upward, and is connected to the sensor 11 described above. Therefore, when the sensor 11 detects the side collision state, the inflator 14 is operated.

The front end portion 16A of the airbag bag 16 is disposed at an inflator arrangement position so that gas ejected from the inflator 14 flows in. The intermediate portion 16B of the airbag bag 16 is provided with a door inner. The panel 13 is provided along the belt line 13A. The rear end portion 16C of the airbag bag body 16 is
Near the rear end.

[0015] As shown in FIG.
Has a triangular shape in which the rear side of the vehicle is widened in a side view of the deployed state, and is deployed at a portion facing the shoulder of the occupant seated on the front seat.

As shown in FIG. 1, the air bag 16
Are folded in a bellows shape in a substantially vertical direction, are elongated along the vehicle front-rear direction, and are accommodated between the door inner panel 13 and the door trim 18. The airbag body 16 is partially temporarily fixed using a tape-shaped hook-and-loop fastener 17, and is held in a folded state. A mounting portion 22 protrudes from an upper portion of the airbag body 16 near the front end 16A, and a plurality of mounting portions 24 are provided at a lower portion 16D of the airbag bag 16 at predetermined intervals in the front-rear direction. It is formed in places. Mounting holes (not shown) are formed in the mounting portions 22 and 24. The mounting portions 22 and 24 are fastened and fixed to the door inner panel 13 by screws 26 that are fastened and fixed through the mounting holes. Have been.

When the airbag bag 16 is deployed, the upper wall portion 18A of the door trim 18 is formed into a U-shape formed on the inner surface of the upper wall portion 18A by the deployment inflation force of the airbag bag member 16. The lid portion 18B is torn from the V-shaped notch 30 of the shape as a starting point so that the lid portion 18B is opened upward as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 5, a step portion 40 is formed at the rear of the door frame 32 of the front side door 12 and extends vertically from the front side of the vehicle. A rail 34 constituting a part of the bag bag holding means is attached. In addition, rail 3
Reference numeral 4 is disposed at a position on the side of the closed door glass 35 in the vehicle cabin.

The lower end 34A of the rail 34 has a step portion 40.
The upper end 3 is fixed to a step 40A formed at the lower portion of the upper end 3 by bolts 38 and nuts 39 as fixing means.
4B is a notch 42 formed on the upper surface 40B of the step portion 40.
Is inserted inside.

As shown in FIG. 3, a slit 46 is formed at the center of the rail 34.
A hook 48 constituting a part of the airbag holding means is slidably attached to the hook 6. A coupling cloth 50 attached to the rear end portion of the airbag body 16 by sewing or the like is engaged with the engagement portion 48A of the hook 48. The hook 48 becomes It moves upward along the rail 34.

As shown in FIG. 2, the hook 48 is
The upper hook 48 is engaged with the connecting cloth 50 attached to the upper rear end 16E of the airbag bag body 16, and the lower hook 48 is connected to the rear end of the airbag bag body 16. The connecting cloth 50 attached to the central portion 16F is engaged. Therefore, when the airbag body is deployed, the hooks 48 connected to the connecting cloth 50 attached to the rear end upper part 16E and the rear end center part 16F of the airbag body 16 are connected to the rails as shown by solid lines in FIG. 34, the distance between the front end 16A of the airbag body 16 and the upper rear end 16E gradually increases, and the front end 16A and the rear end of the airbag body 16 move upward. Between the upper 16E
A tension line T on which the tension A acts is formed. The front end portion 16 of the airbag bag 16
The distance between A and the rear end central portion 16F also gradually increases,
The front end portion 16A and the rear end center portion 16F of the airbag bag body 16
Between them, a tension line is formed.

In the vicinity of the upper end 34B of the rail 34, an engaging portion 34C as a holding portion curved forward is formed, and an upper hook 48 reaching the vicinity of the upper end 34B of the rail 34 is provided. The airbag bag 16 is held in the deployed state shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG.

Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described.

In this embodiment, when a side impact load of a predetermined value or more is applied to the side of the vehicle body, the sensor 1 detects that a side collision has occurred.
1 is detected. For this reason, the inflator 14 operates and a predetermined amount of gas is ejected. As a result, the airbag bag 16 starts to inflate, and the upper wall portion 18A of the door trim 18 is moved by the deployment and inflation force of the airbag bag 16.
The lid 18B is opened starting from the U-shaped cross section V notch 30 formed on the inner side surface of the upper wall 18A as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG.

As a result, as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 1, the air bag body 16 is moved from the opened lid portion 18B.
It expands and expands upward. At this time, the connecting cloth 5 attached to the rear end upper part 16E of the airbag bag body 16 and the rear end central part 16F is attached.
The hook 48 connected to the zero moves upward along the rail 34 as shown by a solid line in FIG. By this movement, as shown in FIG. 2, the distance between the front end portion 16A and the rear end upper portion 16E of the airbag body 16 gradually increases, and the front end portion 16A and the rear end upper portion 16E of the airbag bag body 16 become longer.
A tension line T on which the tension A acts between E and E is formed. Similarly, the front end 1 of the airbag bag body 16 is also provided.
A tension line is also formed between 6A and the rear end central portion 16F.

Therefore, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, the front side door 12 is deformed by the impact of the side collision, and the door glass 35 is damaged by this deformation,
The state in which the restraining force of the door glass 35 for moving the airbag bag body 16 out of the cabin is lost, or the door glass 35
When the shoulder 60A of the occupant 60 abuts on the airbag body 16 in a state where the airbag is opened, the tension of the airbag is established by the tension line T formed on the airbag body 16 as shown in FIG. The bag body 16 can be prevented from moving outside the vehicle compartment. As a result, the restraint performance of the shoulder 60A of the occupant 60 can be improved without increasing the size of the airbag bag body 16, so that the chest side surface 60B of the occupant 60 contacts the door trim 18, as shown in FIG. Relative displacement L between rib 60C and spine 60D of occupant 60 when touching
Can be suppressed.

In the present embodiment, the airbag 1
When the hook 48 connected to the connecting cloth 50 attached to the upper rear end 16E of the sixth rail 6 reaches the vicinity of the upper end 34B of the rail 34, the hook 48 is locked to the engaging portion 34C as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. And it is difficult to move downward. As a result, even when the internal pressure of the airbag body 16 in the deployed state decreases,
The airbag body 16 can be reliably held at an effective position for restraining the occupant's shoulder, and the reliable restraint performance can be maintained.

Further, in the present embodiment, since the airbag body does not need to be enlarged rearward as in the prior art, the airbag body 16 can be made smaller, so that it can be easily stored in the front side door 12. Further, in the present embodiment, the rear end upper portion 16E and the rear end central portion 16F of the airbag body 16 are formed.
The hook 48 connected to the connecting cloth 50 attached to the airbag 1 moves upward along the rail 34, and thereby the airbag 1
Since the tension line T is formed on the airbag 6, the structure for forming the tension line T on the airbag body 16, for example, a sewn portion for forming a plurality of inflatable portions extending in the vertical direction is provided. There is no need, and the airbag bag body 16 can have a simple structure.

In the above, the present invention has been described in detail with respect to a specific embodiment. However, the present invention is not limited to such an embodiment, and various other embodiments are included in the scope of the present invention. It is clear to a person skilled in the art that is possible. For example, the side airbag device of the present invention is also applicable to a rear seat such as a second seat. Also,
In the present embodiment, the hook 48 of the airbag holding means is used.
To the rear end upper part 16E of the airbag bag body 16 and the rear end center part 1
6F, but instead of the hook 48
May be provided only on the rear end upper portion 16E of the airbag bag body 16. Further, in the present embodiment, the airbag body holding means is constituted by the rails 34 and the hooks 48.
Instead, a wire disposed in the vertical direction and another airbag holding means such as a hook movably attached to the wire may be used. In the present embodiment, the engagement portion 34C as a holding portion is formed by bending the vicinity of the upper end 34B of the rail 34 forward, but instead of this, the hook 48 is provided near the upper end 34B of the rail 34. A holding portion provided with a stopper or the like for preventing downward movement of the member may be formed. In the present embodiment, the door trim 18
Although the U-shaped notch 30 is formed on the inner side surface of the upper wall portion 18A, an H-shaped notch may be formed instead, and the lid portion 18B may open at both sides. Further, the gas supply means is not limited to the inflator 14.

[0030]

As described above, the side airbag device according to the first aspect of the present invention can improve the restraint performance of the occupant's shoulder without increasing the size of the airbag bag, and can surely improve the performance. It has an excellent effect that the restraint performance can be maintained.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effect of the first aspect, even when the internal pressure of the airbag body in the deployed state decreases, the airbag body can be moved to the occupant's shoulder. This has an excellent effect that the portion can be reliably held at an effective position for restraining the portion.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a side airbag device according to an embodiment of the present invention, which is partially obliquely viewed from a diagonally inside front of a vehicle in a cross section.

FIG. 2 is a side view showing a main part of the side airbag device according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line 3-3 in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a schematic side view showing a stored state of an airbag body on a vehicle body side portion to which the side airbag device according to one embodiment of the present invention is applied.

FIG. 5 is a schematic side view showing a completed deployment state of the airbag body on the side of the vehicle body to which the side airbag device according to one embodiment of the present invention is applied.

FIG. 6 is an operation explanatory view showing the side airbag device according to the embodiment of the present invention, as viewed from the front of the vehicle.

FIG. 7 is a schematic side view showing a side airbag device according to a conventional embodiment, viewed from the inside of a vehicle.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Side airbag apparatus 12 Front side door 13 Door inner panel 14 Inflator 16 Airbag bag body 18 Door trim 18A Door trim lid part 32 Door frame 34 Rail (airbag body holding means) 34C Engaging part (holding part) 48 Hook (Airbag bag holding means) 50 Connecting cloth

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. An airbag bag which is stored along a belt line of a side door in a state of being folded in a bellows shape in a substantially vertical direction, and restrains movement of an occupant's shoulder to the outside of a passenger compartment in a deployed state. Gas supply means for supplying a deployment gas to the airbag body; and a gas supply means disposed substantially vertically in a rear portion of the door frame, for holding an upper rear end of the airbag body movably upward. Airbag holding means for forming a tension line between a front end portion and a rear end upper portion of the deployed airbag body, and for restraining the airbag body from moving outside the cabin. And a side airbag device comprising: 2. A side airbag device according to claim 1, wherein a holding portion for holding an upper rear end of said airbag body is formed at an upper end of said airbag body holding means.