JP2019093952A - Airbag and airbag device - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an airbag and an airbag device which have a main bag and a sub bag and make exhaust characteristics of a vent hole variable.SOLUTION: An airbag 1 is an airbag for a front passenger seat which expands and deploys between a front passenger seat and an instrument panel. The airbag 1 includes: a main bag 2; and a left sub bag 3 and a right sub bag 4 coupled to left and right side parts of the main bag 2. Vent holes 8 are provided at front parts of side surfaces of the main bag 2. Valve members 10, each of which has valve cloths 11 and is used to make an opening area of the vent hole 8 variable, are provided along an inner surface of the main bag 2.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to an airbag and an airbag apparatus for restraining an occupant of a car or the like in a collision or the like. In the present invention, the front, rear, upper and lower, left and right directions correspond to the front, rear, upper and lower, left and right directions of the vehicle unless otherwise specified.

  There is known an airbag apparatus that restrains the occupant's body by inflating an airbag with an inflator at each part around the occupant at the time of a collision of a vehicle such as an automobile or a vehicle rollover. For example, a passenger seat air bag device is housed in an instrument panel, and inflates and deploys the air bag in an emergency to restrain a passenger seat occupant.

  There is known an airbag provided with a cloth for changing the opening degree of a vent hole provided in the airbag in accordance with the inflation state of the airbag.

  At the time of an oblique collision of the vehicle or a minute lap collision, the passenger on the passenger seat inertially moves forward at an angle. Therefore, there is a need for a passenger seat air bag device that restrains a passenger seat passenger moving obliquely forward. For this purpose, there is known an air bag having a main bag and a sub bag provided on the side of the main bag and inflated by gas flowing from the main bag.

International Publication No. 2016/002384 JP-A-3-32956 US Patent Publication No. 2017/136981 JP, 2016-132385, A JP, 2017-61230, A Unexamined-Japanese-Patent No. 2017-65395 British Patent No. 2425991 U.S. Patent Publication 2004/012179 JP, 2016-022749, A JP, 2016-020175, A JP, 2009-227180, A JP, 2009-143483, A Korean Patent No. 200404 JP, 2007-084063, A

  The present invention relates to an airbag and an airbag apparatus having a main bag and a sub-bag capable of restraining a front passenger seat moving diagonally forward, wherein the exhaust characteristic of the vent hole can be varied. Intended to be provided.

  The airbag according to the present invention is an airbag for a passenger seat that is inflated and deployed between a passenger seat and an instrument panel, and is connected to a main bag and at least one of the left and right sides of the main bag. In an air bag having a sub bag configured to allow gas to flow from the bag and inflating, a vent hole is provided in a portion of the side surface of the main bag other than the sub bag.

  In the airbag according to one aspect of the present invention, a vent hole is provided at a location forward of the sub bag.

  The air bag according to one aspect of the present invention includes a valve member for changing the opening degree of the vent hole in accordance with the expansion state of the air bag.

  In the air bag according to one aspect of the present invention, the valve member makes the opening degree at the initial stage of the air bag inflation larger than the opening degree at the completion of the inflation.

  In the airbag according to one aspect of the present invention, the valve member makes the opening smaller than the opening at the completion of the expansion or closes the vent hole at the initial stage of the airbag expansion.

  In the airbag according to one aspect of the present invention, one end of the valve member is connected to the inner surface of the main bag on the vehicle front side than the vent hole, and the other end is connected to the inner surface of the main bag on the vehicle rear side than the vent hole. The valve cross is disposed so as to overlap with the vent hole, and the valve cross is provided with a first vent port at a position overlapping the vent hole when the air bag inflation is completed.

  In the airbag according to the aspect of the present invention, a second vent port larger than the first vent port is provided in a portion of the valve cross that overlaps the vent hole at the initial stage of the airbag inflation.

  In the airbag according to the aspect of the present invention, the vent opening is not provided in a portion of the valve cross that overlaps the vent hole at the initial stage of the airbag expansion.

  In the airbag according to the aspect of the present invention, a third vent port smaller than the first vent port is provided in a portion of the valve cross that overlaps the vent hole at the initial stage of the airbag inflation.

  In the air bag according to one aspect of the present invention, in a state before the air bag is expanded, the one end side of the valve cross is folded and temporarily fixed to the main bag by a temporary fixing member. The temporary fixing member may be a tear seam that anchors the upper and lower portions of the valve cloth to the main bag.

  In the air bag according to the aspect of the present invention, the other end of the valve cross is connected to a lower portion of the occupant-facing surface of the main bag below the occupant's chest-facing surface.

  In the airbag according to the aspect of the present invention, the other end of the valve cross is connected to the vicinity of the center in the left-right direction of the occupant facing surface.

  In the airbag according to one aspect of the present invention, the other end of the valve cross is positioned lower than the vent hole in the airbag in the fully inflated state.

  In the air bag according to one aspect of the present invention, the main bag and the sub bag communicate with each other by the communication port, and the valve cross is separated from the communication port when the expansion of the air bag is completed.

  In the air bag according to one aspect of the present invention, when the expansion of the air bag is completed, the upper side of the valve cross is located on the central side in the lateral direction of the main bag than the lower side, or the lower side of the valve cross is larger than the upper side. Located at the center of the main bag in the left-right direction.

  In the air bag according to one aspect of the present invention, the center of the communication port is offset from the center line of the valve cross.

  In the airbag according to the aspect of the present invention, the vent holes are respectively provided on left and right side surfaces of the main bag, and the valve members are respectively provided in the vent holes.

  An airbag apparatus according to the present invention comprises the airbag according to the present invention and an inflator for supplying gas to the main bag.

  In the present invention, the vent holes are provided on the side of the main bag on the front side of the sub bag, so that the sub bag and the vent hole do not overlap, and the exhaust characteristics from the vent hole are affected by the sub bag. Can be prevented.

  In the air bag according to one aspect of the present invention, the exhaust characteristic from the vent hole can be adjusted according to the expansion stage of the air bag.

It is a front view (I arrow line view of FIG. 2 a) of the airbag apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a side view of the airbag concerning an embodiment. It is an III-III line cutting part end view of FIG. It is a block diagram of a valve member. It is a block diagram of a valve member. It is a block diagram of a valve member. It is a block diagram of a valve member. It is a block diagram of a valve member.

  The air bag according to the first embodiment will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4.

  The airbag apparatus according to this embodiment includes an airbag 1 that is normally folded and inflated and deployed in an emergency, and an inflator (not shown) that supplies gas to the airbag 1. The airbag apparatus is an airbag apparatus for a passenger seat, and is accommodated in an instrument panel disposed in front of the passenger seat. The airbag 1 is inflated and deployed in a space surrounded by an occupant, an instrument panel and a windshield.

  The airbag 1 includes a main bag 2, a sub bag 3 connected to the left side surface of the main bag 2, and a sub bag 4 connected to the right side surface. In this embodiment, the car is a left-hand drive and the passenger seat is the right seat. The left side surface of the airbag 1 is a side surface on the vehicle body center side of the airbag 1. When mounted on a right-hand drive vehicle, the airbag 1 is configured to be symmetrical with respect to the illustration.

  The main bag 2 is inflated and deployed substantially in front of the occupant. The rear surface portion of the main bag 2 faces the upper body including the head of the occupant when inflation and deployment of the airbag 1 is completed.

  An opening for an inflator is provided on the lower surface of the front portion of the main bag 2 so that gas is supplied from the inflator into the main bag 2.

  The interiors of the sub bags 3 and 4 and the interior of the main bag 2 communicate with each other through communication openings 3g and 4g. The main bag 2 and the sub bags 3 and 4 are connected by connecting the peripheries of the communication openings 3g and 4g with a suture thread.

  In this embodiment, the tether 5 as a connecting member is disposed from the upper portion of the left sub bag 3 through the upper portion of the main bag 2 to the upper portion of the right sub bag 4. The tether 5 is sewn to the upper surface of the left subbag 3 and the right subbag 4 by a suture. The first tether 5 is not coupled to the top of the main bag 2.

  Although not shown, the upper portion of the main bag 2 is provided with a second tether extending along the front-rear direction. The rear end of the second tether is connected to the center of the first tether 5 in the left-right direction, and the front end of the second tether is connected to the top of the main bag 2.

  In this embodiment, the rear portion of the left sub bag 3 is positioned about 10 to 30 cm rearward of the rear portion of the main bag 2 when the airbag 1 is fully inflated. The rear portion of the right sub bag 4 is flush with the rear portion of the main bag 2 or slightly behind (for example, about 10 cm or less) the rear portion of the main bag 2 when the air bag 1 is fully inflated.

  When the inflator 10 is actuated, gas is supplied from the inflator 10 into the main bag 2. The gas supplied into the main bag 2 is supplied into the sub bags 3 and 4 through the communication ports 3g and 4g. Thereby, the main bag 2 and the sub bags 3 and 4 are inflated and deployed.

  At the time of a frontal collision, the occupant is restrained by the main bag 2 and the sub bags 3 and 4.

  In the case of an oblique collision to the left of the vehicle or a minute lap collision, the occupant moves obliquely forward to the left, and is restrained by the sub bag 3 and the main bag 2.

  In the case of an oblique collision to the right of the vehicle or a minute lap collision, the occupant is restrained by the main bag 2 and the sub bag 4.

  Among the left and right side surfaces of the front portion of the main bag 2, vent holes 8 are provided in portions other than the sub bags 4 and 5. In this embodiment, the vent holes 8 are provided at the front of the sub bags 3 and 4 respectively. Further, in this embodiment, the left and right vent holes 8 are provided with valve members 10 for making the opening degree of the vent holes 8 variable.

  4 to 6 show an example of the valve member. The valve member 10 includes a valve cross 11 along the inner surface of the main bag 2, a guide cross 20 (FIG. 6c) for guiding when the valve cross 11 slides along the inner surface of the main bag 2, and the like.

  The valve cross 11 is a strip extending in the front-rear direction. In this embodiment, the valve cross 11 extends in the oblique direction so as to be lower toward the rear in the inflation completed state of the airbag 1. The front end 11 a of the valve cross 11 is sewn to the front side surface of the main bag 2 by a suture thread 14. The rear end 11b of the valve cross 11 is a rear portion (facing surface of the occupant) of the main bag 2 and is at least a chest-facing surface in a region other than the head and waist, specifically, near the center in the left-right direction Suture 15 is sutured below, preferably below a surface facing the occupant's waist.

  FIG. 6a shows a state in which the valve cross 11 is spread in the front-rear direction. As illustrated, the first vent port 13 is provided on the front side of the valve cross 11, and the second vent port 12 is provided on the rear side thereof. The second vent port 12 is rectangular in this embodiment, and bridges (bridge sections) 16 and 17 extend between the upper and lower sides of the valve cross 11 and the vent port 12 in the front-rear direction. It has become. The first vent port 13 is circular in this embodiment, and its diameter is smaller than the vertical width of the second vent port 12.

  As shown in FIGS. 4b and 6b, the valve cross 11 is bellows-folded in the vicinity of the front end 11a. The first vent port 13 is present in this bellows-folded portion. The bellows-folded portion 11T is sewn to the main bag 2 by a tear seam (not shown) as a temporary fixing member. The tear seam is made of a low strength yarn which tears when the main bag 2 expands. Although the tear seam in this embodiment is such that only the upper part and the lower part of the bellows-folded part 11T are sewn to the main bag 2, it is not limited to this.

  FIG. 6 c shows a state in which the valve cross 11 is fastened to the main bag 2 in the form of FIG. 6 b. In the state of FIGS. 6 b and 6 c, the second vent port 12 is disposed at a position overlapping the vent hole 8 of the main bag 2. As shown in FIG. 6 c, a guide cloth 20 is disposed along the inner surface of the main bag 2 so as to cover the bellows-folded portion 11 T and the subsequent portions of the bridge portions 16 and 17. The guide cloth 20 is provided with an opening 25 at a position overlapping the vent hole 8. The opening 25 and the vent hole 8 have substantially the same size.

  The upper side, the front side, and the lower side of the guide cloth 20 are sewn to the main bag 2 by sutures 21, 22, 23. The rear side of the guide cloth 20 is sewn to the main bag 2 by the suture thread 24 only in the middle in the vertical direction. The rear side of the guide cloth 20 is disposed along the rear edge of the vent hole 8 so as to cross the second vent port 12. The upper bridge 16 of the valve cross 11 is drawn between the sutures 21, 24 and the lower bridge 17 is pulled between the sutures 23, 24.

  4a, 4b and 6c show the overlap between the valve cross 11 and the main bag 2 at the initial stage of expansion, and FIGS. 5a and 5b show the overlap between the valve cross 11 and the main bag 2 after the expansion is completed. 4a and 5a are side views in the vicinity of the vent hole 8 of the main bag 2, and FIGS. 4b and 5b respectively show cross sections taken along line IVb-IVb and Vb-Vb in FIGS. 4a and 5a. 4a-5b, illustration of the guide cloth 20 is omitted.

  As shown in FIGS. 4a, 4b and 6c, in the initial stage of expansion, the bellows-folded portion 11T of the valve cross 11 maintains the folded state, and the second vent port 12 with the large opening area is the vent hole 8. And the vent hole 8 has a large opening area. Therefore, the amount of exhaust from the vent hole 8 (the amount of exhaust per unit time) when the airbag 1 comes in contact with the occupant out of position at the initial stage of expansion is large.

  As the expansion of the air bag 1 progresses, the main bag 2 expands rearward, that is, in a direction toward the occupant, and the rear end 11b of the valve cross 11 is pulled rearward and obliquely downward. As a result, the tear seam temporarily fixing the bellows-folded portion 11T is broken, and the bellows-folded portion 11T is pulled back. Then, in the expansion completed state, the first vent port 13 with a small opening area overlaps the vent hole 8 as shown in FIGS. 5a and 5b. Therefore, in this state, the vent hole 8 has a small opening area. As described above, when the airbag 1 in the expansion completed state restrains the occupant, the gas in the airbag 1 flows out from the opening 25 and the first vent port 13 through the vent hole 8.

  In this embodiment, one vent hole 8 is provided on the left and right of the main bag 2, and a total of two vent holes are sufficient. In addition, the degree of freedom of the installation position of the vent hole 8 is high.

  In the airbag 1 according to this embodiment, the valve member 10 is provided in each of the vent holes 8 on the left and right side surfaces of the main bag 2, so that the main bag 2 inflates with good balance between the left and right. Further, in the airbag 1, since the rear end 11 b of the valve cross 11 is connected to the vicinity of the center in the left-right direction of the lower portion of the occupant facing surface of the main bag 2, the valve cross 11 is separated from the communication port 3 g. Therefore, the gas passage of the communication port 3 g is not influenced by the valve cross 11. In addition, in the side view of the airbag 1 in the inflation completed state, it is preferable that at least a part of the communication hole 3g and the valve cross 11 be in a non-overlapping positional relationship.

  In this embodiment, since the rear end 11b of the valve cross 11 is connected to the lower side of the occupant facing surface of the main bag 2 than the waist facing surface, the airbag 1 is inflated regardless of the seating position of the occupant. When it does, the valve cross 11 becomes tense.

  In this embodiment, since the front end side of the valve cross 11 is crimped a plurality of times, the storage area of the valve cross 11 may be small.

  In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, the valve cross 11 is separated from the communication ports 3g and 4g when the air bag 1 is completely inflated.

  In the above embodiment, the vent hole opening area is configured so as to be large at the initial stage of inflation of the airbag 1 and smaller at the latter stage of inflation (the state of completion of inflation), but conversely the vent hole opening area at the initial stage of inflation May be reduced or zero (closed state). Figures 7a-7c and Figures 8a-8c show such an arrangement, respectively.

  7a to 7c show the configuration of the valve cross 11A in which the vent holes are closed at the initial stage of expansion.

  In the valve cross 11A of FIGS. 7a to 7c, the first vent port 13 is omitted. At the same time, the suture thread 24 is not provided, and the rear side of the guide cloth 20 is not sewn to the main bag 2. The other configurations of FIGS. 7a, 7b and 7c are the same as those of FIGS. 6a, 6b and 6c, and the same reference numerals indicate the same parts. In this embodiment, at the initial stage of expansion, the vent holes 8 are closed by the valve cross 11A. In the expansion completed state, the first vent port 13 overlaps the vent hole 8. When the occupant is restrained in the inflation completed state, the gas in the airbag 1 flows out from the opening 25 and the first vent port 13 through the vent hole 8.

  In FIGS. 8a-8c, the valve cross 11B is provided with a third vent port 18 with a small opening area. The third vent port 18 is located at the center of the vent hole 8 and the opening 25 in the initial state of expansion shown in FIG. 8 b. The other configurations of FIGS. 8a, 8b and 8c are the same as those of FIGS. 7a, 7b and 7c, and the same reference numerals indicate the same parts.

  In FIGS. 8a to 8c, the gas in the airbag 1 flows out through the third vent port 18 at the initial stage of expansion. In the expansion completed state, the first vent port 13 overlaps the vent hole 8. When the occupant is restrained in the inflation completed state, the gas in the airbag 1 flows out from the opening 25 and the first vent port 13 through the vent hole 8.

  In the above embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, the valve cross 13 is in the vertical vertical direction in the expansion completed state, but the upper side of the valve cross 13 may be positioned on the center side of the main bag 2 in the lateral direction than the lower side Alternatively, it may be inclined so as to be located outward in the left-right direction.

  In the above embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the center of the communication port 3 g is positioned at the center in the vertical width direction of the valve cross 11. That is, although it is located on the center line of the valve cross 11, the center of the communication port 3g may be shifted above or below this center line.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and it goes without saying that various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

Reference Signs List 1 air bag 2 main bag 3, 4 sub bag 3 g, 4 g communication port 5 tether 8 vent hole 10 valve member 11, 11A, 11B valve cross 12 second vent port 13 first vent port 14 suture thread 18 third vent port 20 Guide cloth 25 opening

Claims (19)

An air bag for a passenger seat that is inflated and deployed between a passenger seat and an instrument panel,
With the main bag,
An air bag comprising sub bags connected to at least one of left and right sides of the main bag and configured to receive gas from the main bag to inflate.
An air bag characterized in that a vent hole is provided in a portion other than the sub bag among the side surfaces of the main bag.   The air bag according to claim 1, wherein a vent hole is provided at a location forward of the sub bag.   3. The air bag according to claim 1, further comprising a valve member for changing an opening degree of the vent hole in accordance with an expansion state of the air bag.   4. The air bag according to claim 3, wherein the valve member makes the opening degree at the initial stage of the air bag inflation larger than the opening degree at the time of the completion of the inflation.   The air bag according to claim 3, wherein the valve member makes the opening degree smaller than the opening degree at the completion of the expansion at the initial stage of the air bag expansion or closes the vent hole. bag. The air bag according to claim 4 or 5, wherein one end of the valve member is connected to the inner surface of the main bag on the vehicle front side than the vent hole, and the other end is connected to the inner surface of the main bag on the vehicle rear side than the vent hole. And have a valve cross disposed overlapping the vent holes,
An air bag characterized in that the valve cross is provided with a first vent port at a position overlapping with the vent hole when the air bag expansion is completed. The airbag according to claim 6, wherein the airbag is the airbag according to claim 4.
An air bag characterized in that a second vent port larger than the first vent port is provided in a portion of the valve cross that overlaps the vent hole at the initial stage of air bag inflation. The airbag according to claim 6, wherein the airbag is the airbag according to claim 5.
An air bag characterized in that a vent port is not provided in a portion of the valve cross that overlaps the vent hole at the initial stage of air bag inflation. The airbag according to claim 6, wherein the airbag is the airbag according to claim 5.
A third vent port smaller than the first vent port is provided in a portion of the valve cross that overlaps the vent hole at the initial stage of airbag inflation.   The airbag according to any one of claims 6 to 9, wherein, in a state before the airbag is inflated, the one end side of the valve cross is folded and temporarily fastened to the main bag by a temporary fastening member. An airbag characterized by   11. The air bag according to claim 10, wherein the temporary fixing member is a tear seam that anchors the upper and lower portions of the valve cross to the main bag.   The airbag according to any one of claims 6 to 11, wherein the other end of the valve cross is a lower portion of the occupant facing surface of the main bag and is connected below the occupant's chest facing surface. An airbag characterized by   The airbag according to claim 12, wherein the other end of the valve cross is connected to the vicinity of the center in the left-right direction of the occupant facing surface.   The airbag according to claim 12 or 13, wherein the other end of the valve cross is positioned lower than the vent hole in the airbag in a fully inflated state.   The air bag according to any one of claims 6 to 14, wherein the main bag and the sub bag communicate with each other by a communication port, and the valve cross is separated from the communication port when the expansion of the air bag is completed. An air bag characterized by   The airbag according to any one of claims 6 to 15, wherein the upper side of the valve cross is positioned on the central side in the left-right direction of the main bag than the lower side when the expansion of the air bag is completed. The airbag is characterized in that a lower side is positioned on the center side in the left-right direction of the main bag than an upper side.   The airbag according to any one of claims 6 to 16, wherein the center of the communication port is offset from the center line of the valve cross.   The air according to any one of claims 3 to 17, wherein the vent holes are respectively provided on left and right side surfaces of the main bag, and the valve members are respectively provided to the vent holes. bag. An air bag according to any one of claims 1 to 18,
An inflator for supplying gas to the main bag;
An airbag apparatus comprising:

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