JP2008230520A - Air bag device for vehicle outside - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an air bag device for vehicle outside capable of enhancing storage property. <P>SOLUTION: The air bag device for the pedestrian is provided with an air bag 60 provided on a hood 14 of the vehicle or near it and deployed so as to cover at least a part of the hood 14 of the vehicle and a front pillar at collision with a collision body. The air bag 60 has a body part 60A positioned at an inflator side; and an extension part 60B positioned at an opposite side to the inflator than the body part 60A. Thickness of a skin material constituting the extension part 60B is made thinner than the thickness of a skin material constituting the body part 60A. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an on-vehicle air bag apparatus that inflates and deploys an air bag at the time of collision with a collision body.

  Conventionally, the hood is attached to the body of the vehicle body so that it can be opened and closed. When a collision with a pedestrian is detected, the airbag is deployed on the hood by the gas generated by the inflator (gas generator). An airbag device (air bag device for pedestrians) is known (for example, Patent Document 1).

In such an exterior airbag device, the airbag is attached to the hood, an inflator for inflating the airbag is attached to the body, and the airbag and the inflator are connected in communication by a gas introduction pipe.
JP 2000-264146 A

  Usually, an airbag is manufactured by sewing the cut cloth. In the airbag disclosed in Patent Document 1, an airbag and an inflator are installed in a storage recess provided in a vehicle body space below a rear portion of a vehicle hood that is mounted on an upper part of an engine room at the front of the vehicle body so as to be freely opened and closed. An airbag module as an integrated airbag device is stored.

  The airbag can lift the rear portion of the hood upward due to the initial inflating and deploying force, and the airbag is deployed along the front pillar and the windshield.

  The pillar airbag is formed in a substantially U shape so as to sufficiently cover the rear deck of the hood and the left and right front pillars when inflated and deployed.

  By the way, the airbag according to the above-described prior art is composed entirely of the outer skin material (base fabric) having the same thickness, and there is a problem in the storing property when folded and stored in the normal time.

  This invention is made | formed in view of the above, Comprising: It aims at obtaining the airbag apparatus for vehicle exterior which can improve a stowability.

  In order to achieve the above object, the invention described in claim 1 is characterized in that at least one gas generator that ejects gas upon collision with a collision body, and an airbag that is inflated and deployed by the gas supplied from the gas generator. An air bag device for an outside vehicle comprising: a first portion located upstream along a flow direction of a gas supplied from the gas generating device; and the gas flow from the first portion. A second portion positioned downstream of the first portion along the direction, and the thickness of the outer skin material constituting the second portion is the thickness of the outer skin material constituting the first portion It is characterized by being thinner.

  Usually, when gas is supplied to an airbag to inflate and deploy the airbag from the gas generator, the gas flow tends to decrease in pressure (internal pressure) as the distance from the gas generator increases. Therefore, for the portion of the airbag on the downstream side along the gas flow, the thickness of the airbag skin material necessary to withstand the internal pressure may be thinner than the portion on the upstream side. Accordingly, in response to this, in the present invention, the thickness of the outer skin material constituting the second portion is made thinner than the thickness of the outer skin material constituting the first portion. Thereby, since the 2nd part comprised thinly at the time of accommodation can be folded compactly, the accommodation property of the whole airbag can be improved that much.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the vehicle exterior airbag device according to the first aspect, the first portion is positioned on the gas generating device side when the airbag is inflated and deployed, and the second portion is When the airbag is inflated and deployed, the airbag is located on the opposite side of the gas generator from the first portion.

  By configuring the thickness of the outer skin material constituting the second portion relatively far from the gas generator to be thinner than the thickness of the outer skin material constituting the first portion relatively closer, The second part can be folded in a compact manner, and the storage performance of the entire airbag can be improved.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the vehicle exterior airbag device according to the second aspect, the gas generating device is provided at or near the hood of the vehicle, and the airbag includes the hood of the vehicle and the vehicle hood. It develops so that at least one part of a pillar may be covered.

  Thereby, in the so-called pedestrian airbag apparatus that inflates and deploys in the vicinity of the hood of the vehicle, the storage capacity of the airbag can be improved.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the vehicle airbag apparatus according to the third aspect, the first portion is disposed so as to cover at least a part of the hood, and the second portion is formed on the pillar. It is arrange | positioned so that at least one part may be covered.

  Thereby, at the time of a collision, the impact force that a part of the hood acts on the collision object can be absorbed by the first part, and the impact force that the part of the pillar acts on the collision object can be absorbed by the second part. Can be absorbed in the part.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the vehicle airbag apparatus according to the third or fourth aspect, the first portion and the second portion are connected by at least one of sewing, adhesion, and welding. It has the connection part to do.

  As a result, the first part and the second part can be manufactured by separate skin materials and can be connected by sewing, bonding, welding, or any combination thereof. Cost can be reduced.

  According to the present invention, the storage property can be improved by configuring the thickness of the outer skin material constituting the second portion to be thinner than the thickness of the outer skin material constituting the first portion.

  Below, with reference to FIGS. 1-6, one Embodiment of the airbag apparatus for vehicle exterior which concerns on this invention is described. This embodiment is an embodiment when the present invention is applied to a pedestrian airbag apparatus provided in a hood of a vehicle or in the vicinity thereof as an example of an airbag apparatus for a vehicle exterior. 1 and 3 appropriately indicate an arrow FR indicating the front side of the vehicle, and an arrow UP indicates an upward direction of the vehicle.

  FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of a vehicle equipped with the pedestrian airbag device of the present embodiment, and FIG. 2 is an external perspective view of the vehicle in a state where the pedestrian airbag device of the present embodiment is activated. 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line III-III in FIG. 1, and FIG. 4 is a control block diagram of the airbag module of the present embodiment.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the pedestrian airbag device 10 is installed on the rear end side of the hood 14 that opens and closes the engine room over substantially the entire width in the vehicle width direction. Further, a curved bag bulging opening 18 having a long side in the hood width direction (vehicle width direction) is formed on the rear end side of the hood 14. The airbag module 22 is installed in a cowl 62 positioned below the bag inflation opening 18.

  The airbag module 22 includes, for example, a substantially box-shaped metal airbag case 46 whose upper side is opened, an inflator 58 as a gas generator installed in the airbag case 46, and an airbag case 46. The main part is an airbag 60 that is folded and accommodated.

  The inflator 58 is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape, and is housed in the airbag case 46 in a state of being housed in the airbag 60 with the longitudinal direction being the hood width direction. As the inflator 58, either a mechanical ignition type or an electric ignition type may be used, and any of a gas generating agent injection type and a high pressure gas injection type may be used.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the airbag 60 is housed in a folded state in the airbag case 46. When the airbag 60 is inflated and deployed by the gas supplied from the inflator 58, the shape (appearance is substantially the same as that shown in FIG. 2). (Character shape). That is, the airbag is located on the upstream side along the gas flow direction and on the upstream side of the main body portion 60A (first portion) and on both sides of the main body portion 60A, and downstream of the main body portion 60A along the gas flow direction. And a pair of left and right extensions 60B and 60B (second portion).

  The main body 60A is flattened along the vehicle width direction during expansion and deployment as described above. In this example, at least a part of the hood 14 (rear end portion in this example) and the windshield glass 64 are finally obtained. Cover the bottom of the. At this time, the extension 60B covers at least a part of the front pillar 66 (up to the upper part in this example).

  As shown in FIG. 3, the opening side end of the airbag case 46 is closed by an airbag door 47 so as to be opened. When the vehicle 12 collides with a colliding body such as a pedestrian or the like, the inflator 58 is activated and gas is ejected from the plurality of gas ejection holes. Due to the jet gas, the airbag 60 folded and stored in the airbag case 46 is inflated to press the airbag door 47 upward. When the bag inflation pressure acting on the airbag door 47 reaches a predetermined value, the airbag 60 breaks (or rotates) the airbag door 47 and moves from the opening 18 to the hood outward side (windshield glass 64 side). Be expanded.

  As a result, as shown in FIG. 2, the airbag 60 is inflated and deployed in a substantially U shape in a vehicle plan view. A collision body such as a pedestrian is received by the main body portion 60A or the extension portion 60B of the inflated airbag 60, and the impact energy received from the body is reduced by absorbing the collision energy at the time of a frontal collision.

  Next, the inflator 58 and the control device 180 of the airbag module 22 (see FIG. 3) according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 4, the airbag module 22 of the present embodiment includes at least one inflator 58 (in this example, the case where one inflator is used is shown, but a plurality of inflators may be used). The gas from the inflator 58 is introduced into the center of the airbag 60, and further, the gas is introduced from the center to each part communicating with the airbag 60 so as to expand and deploy. The inflator 58 is operated by a signal from the control device 180, and the control device 180 operates the inflator 58 based on signals from the pedestrian collision detection device 181 and the vehicle speed detection device 182.

  A method for controlling the inflator 58 by the control device 180 will be described as follows. When the vehicle 12 is traveling, the pedestrian collision detection device 181 installed in a bumper or the like of the vehicle 12 detects a pedestrian collision, and when the vehicle speed detected by the vehicle speed detection device 182 is equal to or higher than a predetermined speed, the control device 180 activates the inflator 58 based on signals based on the detected values.

  Next, the configuration of the airbag, which is the most characteristic part of the present invention, will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 5 is an overall perspective view of the pedestrian airbag of the present embodiment, and FIG. 6 is a plan sectional view of FIG.

  As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the airbag 60 of the present embodiment includes the main body portion 60A and a pair of left and right extension portions 60B connected to both sides of the main body portion 60A as described above.

  At least one (three in this example; the same applies hereinafter) parallel strip-like tethers 5 extending in the left-right direction are provided inside the main body 60A, and the expansion of the bulging shape is restricted when the gas is supplied. Further, in the extension portion 60B, a belt-like tether 4 is provided at a substantially central portion along the extending direction, and the expansion of the bulging shape is restricted when the gas is supplied. And the gas from the inflator 58 provided in the center part of the said main-body part 60A can distribute | circulate inside the main-body part 60A and the extension part 60B. A vent hole (not shown) is provided on the distal end side (vehicle rear side) of the extension 60B.

  The pair of left and right extension portions 60B is made of, for example, a 235 dtex skin material (= in this example, a base fabric, the same applies hereinafter. The skin material may be made of resin or the like instead of cloth). The thickness is 25 mm, preferably about 0.2 mm. The main body 60A has a thickness of 0.25 mm to 0.35 mm, preferably about 0.3 mm, using a 470 dtex skin material, for example, so as to be thicker than the skin material of the extension 60B. It is comprised so that it may become. The pair of extension portions 60B are respectively sewn by the connecting portions 6 provided on both sides of the main body portion 60A (or may be bonded or welded, or may be a combination of these three such as adhesive stitching). It is connected. Thereby, since the extension part 60B and the main-body part 60A can be manufactured by separate skin materials and can be connected later, manufacturing can be facilitated and manufacturing cost can be reduced. In addition, it does not necessarily restrict to manufacturing with a separate outer skin material in this way, You may make it change wall thickness with another method. That is, for example, the same outer skin material is manufactured, and the coating thickness is changed between the extension portion 60B and the main body portion 60A (the coating thickness of the extension portion 60B is made thinner than the coating thickness of the main body portion 60A. Alternatively, the extension portion 60B). May be uncoated). Alternatively, the weave density of the outer skin material may be changed between the extension portion 60B and the main body portion 60A (for example, the weave density of the extension portion 60B is made sparser than the weave density of the main body portion 60A). In these cases, the connecting portion 6 may or may not be provided.

  In the above, when gas is supplied to inflate and deploy the airbag 60 from the inflator 58, the pressure tends to decrease as the distance from the inflator 58 (in other words, the downstream side along the gas flow) increases. Therefore, in the portion of the airbag 60 that is far from the inflator 58, the thickness of the outer skin material that is required to withstand the internal pressure may be thinner than the portion that is close to the inflator 58. Accordingly, in accordance with this, according to the airbag device for a pedestrian of the present embodiment, as described above, the thickness of the outer skin material constituting the pair of left and right extension portions 60B is set as the outer skin material constituting the main body portion 60A. It is made thinner than the wall thickness. Thereby, since a pair of extension part 60B comprised by the thin outer skin material in the airbag case 46 can be folded compactly, the stowability as the airbag 60 whole can be improved that much. Moreover, the weight of the entire airbag 60 can be reduced.

  In the above embodiment, one inflator 58 is provided at the center of the airbag. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and two or more inflators may be provided. FIG. 7 shows such a modified example, and two inflators 158 and 158 are provided on both sides of the center line C of the airbag 60. In this case, the same effect as the above embodiment can be obtained.

  Further, in the above, when the airbag 60 is inflated and deployed, it is configured to cover not only the hood 14 (the rear end portion of the hood 14 and the lower end portion of the windshield glass 64) but also the upper portion of the pillar 66. The structure which covers not only the pillar 66 but only a part of the pillar 66 is not limited. Further, in the case of a structure that covers the hood 14, it is not always necessary to cover the lower end portion of the windshield glass 64, and any structure that covers at least the rear end portion of the hood 14 may be used.

  Further, the above-described method may be further applied, and the thickness of the outer skin material of the airbag 60 may be varied in the vicinity of the inflator 58. FIG. 8 is an enlarged view of a main part in such a modification, and is a view showing a state in which the airbag 60 is inflated and deployed in the structure corresponding to FIG.

  In FIG. 8, in this example, the main body portion 60A of the airbag 60 is positioned in the immediate vicinity of the inflator 58, and the closest region 60a formed of a relatively thick outer skin material (the ejected gas collides with the airbag 60). ) Located immediately above the inflator 58, and formed with a directly above region 60c made of a skin material that is thinner (may be equal) than the nearest region 60a, and made of a skin material that is thinner than the directly above region 60c. And other regions 60b. In this example, the end portion of the nearest region 60a and the end portion of the other region 60b are stitched together with an appropriate sealing material 51 made of, for example, silicon resin.

  That is, in the immediate vicinity region 60a, the immediately above region 60c, and the other region 60b, when viewed in the relationship between the immediately close region 60a and the directly above region 60c, the nearest region positioned upstream in the gas flow direction (see the white arrow in the figure). The thickness of the outer skin material in the region 60a (first portion) is thicker than the thickness of the outer skin material in the region 60c (second portion) located immediately above the region 60a (first portion). Further, when viewed from the relationship between the region 60c directly above and the other region 60b, the thickness of the skin material of the region 60c (first part) directly above the gas flow direction (see the white arrow in the figure) is located upstream. However, it is thicker than the thickness of the outer covering material of the other region 60b (second portion) located on the downstream side. Furthermore, when viewed in relation to the nearest region 60a and the other region 60b, the thickness of the outer skin material of the nearest region 60a (first portion) located upstream along the gas flow direction (see white arrow in the figure). However, it is thicker than the thickness of the outer covering material of the other region 60b (second portion) located on the downstream side.

  Also according to this modified example, the thickness distribution of the airbag 60 is not uniform and includes a thin portion as in the above-described embodiment, so that the storage performance of the airbag 60 as a whole can be improved accordingly.

  In the above, the case where the present invention is applied to a pedestrian airbag apparatus has been described as an example, but the present invention is not limited thereto. That is, an airbag device provided on the vehicle body side of a two-wheeled vehicle for absorbing shocks to passengers, an airbag device for inflating to the lower part of a vehicle such as an automobile, and preventing an object or person from getting under the floor The present invention may be applied to other types of external airbags. In these cases, the same effect is obtained.

1 is a perspective view of a vehicle on which an airbag device for a pedestrian according to an embodiment is mounted. 1 is a perspective view of a vehicle in a state where a pedestrian airbag device according to an embodiment is activated. It is an expanded sectional view which follows the III-III line of FIG. It is a control block diagram of the airbag module of one embodiment. 1 is an overall perspective view of a pedestrian airbag according to an embodiment. FIG. 6 is a plan sectional view of FIG. 5. It is a figure which shows the modification of the airbag for pedestrians of FIG. It is a figure which shows the modification which makes outer skin material thickness differ in the inflator vicinity.

Explanation of symbols

6 Connecting part 10 Air bag device for pedestrian (air bag device for vehicle outside)
12 Vehicle 14 Hood 58 Inflator (Gas Generator)
60 Airbag 60a Nearest area (first part)
60b Directly above region (second part; first part)
60c Other area (second part)
60A body (first part)
60B extension (second part)
66 Front pillar 158 Inflator (gas generator)

Claims (5)

At least one gas generator that ejects gas upon collision with a collision body;
In the vehicle airbag apparatus comprising an airbag that is inflated and deployed by the gas supplied from the gas generator,
The airbag is
A first portion located upstream along the flow direction of the gas supplied from the gas generator; and a first portion located downstream from the first portion along the gas flow direction from the first portion. 2 parts,
The thickness of the outer skin material constituting the second part,
An air bag device for a vehicle exterior, wherein the air bag device is thinner than a thickness of an outer skin material constituting the first portion. The external airbag device according to claim 1,
The first part is
Located on the gas generator side when the airbag is inflated and deployed,
The second part is
An on-vehicle air bag device, wherein the air bag device is located on the opposite side of the gas generating device from the first portion when the air bag is inflated and deployed. In the vehicle airbag apparatus according to claim 2,
The gas generator comprises:
Provided in or near the hood of the vehicle,
The airbag is
An air bag device for an outside vehicle that is deployed so as to cover at least a part of the hood and pillar of the vehicle. In the vehicle airbag apparatus according to claim 3,
The first portion is arranged to cover at least a portion of the hood;
The second airbag portion is arranged so as to cover at least a part of the pillar. In the air bag device for vehicles outside of Claim 3 or Claim 4,
An exterior airbag device having a connection portion for connecting the first portion and the second portion by at least one of sewing, bonding, and welding.

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