JP3952849B2 - Pedestrian airbag device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a pedestrian airbag apparatus equipped with an airbag that is mounted on the front side of a vehicle and inflates on the front side of the vehicle to protect the pedestrian.
[0002]
[Prior art and its problems]
Conventionally, as described in JP-A-6-239198, as a pedestrian airbag device, a folded airbag is stored on the front side of a vehicle, and when a collision with a pedestrian of a vehicle is predicted. In some cases, an inflating gas is introduced to inflate the airbag, and the airbag prevents the pedestrian from coming into direct contact with the vehicle to protect the pedestrian.
[0003]
However, in the airbag apparatus disclosed in the above publication, when the inflated airbag comes into contact with the pedestrian, the lower and upper pedestrians of the pedestrian may be greatly bent to cause damage to the pedestrian. .
[0004]
In particular, the vehicle mounting the air bag device, as in an SUV (Sport Utility Vehicle), the position of the front bumper is high, when a large space, as becomes available between the ground surface of the lower front bumper, In a state where the pedestrian's waist is located near the bumper when in contact with the airbag, the pedestrian is pushed by the vehicle and the lower limbs are retracted below the bumper , which encourages the pedestrian to bend. It was.
[0005]
This invention solves the above-mentioned subject, and it aims at providing the airbag apparatus for pedestrians which can prevent a pedestrian's bending at the time of a contact with an airbag as much as possible.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
A pedestrian airbag apparatus according to the present invention is a pedestrian airbag apparatus provided with an airbag that is mounted on the front side of a vehicle and inflates so as to cover the front of the vehicle,
Airbag
As the shape at the time of completion of expansion, it is arranged on the upper side and is arranged on the front side of the vehicle so as to cover the upper edge of the front end side of the hood panel, and on the front side of the vehicle. Left and right corner parts of the front bumper, comprising a lower inflating part arranged so as to fill a space between the lower grounding surface of the front bumper on the side and an intermediate inflating part between the upper and lower inflating parts It is configured to cover a part near the front part of the side of the vehicle beyond
At the time of contact with a pedestrian, the vehicle-side surface of the vehicle-side wall of the upper and lower inflating parts and the intermediate inflating part between them substantially coincides with the front surface of the vehicle, and the upper and lower inflating parts and them and substantially along a vertical plane of the external surface surface of the front side of the wall portion of the pedestrian side of the intermediate expansion part between, characterized in that it is configured to be disposed.
[0007]
In the pedestrian airbag device according to the present invention, the airbag at the time of contact with the pedestrian has a cross-sectional shape in the vertical direction so that the vehicle side surface substantially coincides with the front surface of the vehicle, and the pedestrian side surface. Are arranged along a substantially vertical plane. That is, since the surface of the airbag on the pedestrian side is arranged along a substantially vertical plane, even if the pedestrian makes contact with the airbag, the pedestrian has a wide plane along the substantially vertical plane of the airbag. The pedestrian's lower limbs are prevented from entering the lower part of the bumper , and the pedestrian is not subjected to an impact that causes the upper body and the lower body to bend greatly, and the airbag has a wide vertical surface. Since it is pressed, damage is reduced.
[0008]
Of course, since the vehicle side surface of the airbag is substantially coincident with the front surface of the vehicle, when contacting with a pedestrian, the vehicle side surface of the airbag is stably supported on the front surface of the vehicle, The surface on the pedestrian side can secure a wide flat substantially vertical surface without moving to the vehicle side. As a result, the pedestrian can be accurately supported without bending the pedestrian.
[0009]
Therefore, in the pedestrian airbag device according to the present invention, bending of the pedestrian at the time of contact with the airbag can be prevented as much as possible, and damage to the pedestrian at the time of contact with the airbag is reduced. can do.
[0010]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In this specification, the front-rear direction is based on the direction along the front-rear direction of the vehicle, and the left-right direction is based on the direction along the left-right direction when the front side is viewed from the rear side of the vehicle. .
[0011]
As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the pedestrian airbag apparatus M according to the embodiment stores an airbag 10, an inflator 20 that supplies inflation gas to the airbag 10, a folded airbag 10 and the inflator 20. And a airbag cover 32 that covers the folded airbag 10 and is housed on the front surface VF side of the vehicle V. In the case of the embodiment, the airbag device M is housed inside the front bumper 3 near the center in the left-right direction.
[0012]
The vehicle V is an SUV vehicle in which the underbody is raised and the front bumper 3 is arranged at a high position.
[0013]
Further, the vehicle V is provided with a plurality of sensors 8 (see FIG. 2) using ultrasonic waves or the like that can detect or predict a collision with the pedestrian W on the front bumper 3, and an airbag operation circuit (not shown) However, when the signal which estimated the collision with the pedestrian W of the vehicle V is input from the sensor 8, the inflator 20 is operated and the airbag 10 is expand | deployed and inflated. Further, the front bumper 3 is made of synthetic resin, and in the case of the embodiment, a part of the front bumper 3 is configured as an airbag cover 32 (see FIGS. 3 and 4).
[0014]
The airbag cover 32 includes two door portions 33 and 34 that are both opened in the vertical direction. The door portion 33 opens upward when opened, and the door portion 34 opens downward when opened. It is configured as such. Around the door portions 33 and 34, a thin-walled planned break portion 35 that is broken when the door portions 33 and 34 are opened is formed. The door portions 33 and 34 are arranged so as to close the front side of the rectangular opening 27a of the airbag storage portion 27 described later of the case 26.
[0015]
Further, a connecting wall portion 36 that protrudes from the rear surface in a substantially rectangular tube shape is provided on the periphery of the door portions 33 and 34 of the airbag cover 32. As shown in FIG. 3, a plurality of locking holes 36 a are formed in the connecting wall portion 36. A predetermined number of hooks 27b provided in the airbag storage portion 27 of the case 26 are inserted into the respective locking holes 36a, and the peripheral edges are locked to the hooks 27b. And the connection wall part 36 is connected with the airbag storage part 27 of the case 26 using the hook 27b which latches the periphery of each locking hole 36a, and when the airbag 10 is inflated, the door parts 33 and 34 are connected. Is disposed in order to smoothly break the planned breakage portion 35 around the.
[0016]
The front bumper 3 provided with the airbag cover 32 is connected and fixed to the body 1 side of the vehicle V at a portion not shown.
[0017]
The case 26 is made of sheet metal, and as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, an airbag storage portion 27 that stores the folded airbag 10, and an inflator storage portion 28 that is connected to the rear end side of the airbag storage portion 27. It is equipped with. The airbag storage portion 27 is formed in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape having a rectangular opening 27 a elongated in the left-right direction on the front end side, and stores the folded airbag 10. On the outer surface side of the storage portion 27, the above-described hook 27b formed so as to reverse the front end side to the rear side is disposed at a predetermined position. The inflator storage portion 28 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape and is disposed on the rear end side of the airbag storage portion 27 so that the front end side is in communication. The storage portion 28 is disposed so as to extend rearward from the vicinity of the center of the storage portion 27 with a width dimension in the left-right direction smaller than that of the airbag storage portion 27. An insertion hole 28b through which a bolt 23 of a bracket 21 (to be described later) holding the inflator 20 is inserted is formed in the rear wall 28a of the storage portion 28, and an insertion hole 28d through which the inflator 20 is inserted in one side wall 28c in the left-right direction. Is formed.
[0018]
The inflator 20 is configured as a cylinder-type columnar shape in which the axial direction is arranged along the left-right direction of the vehicle V, and a plurality of gas discharge ports 20a (see FIG. 4) are arranged on the peripheral surface. This inflator 20 is held by a bracket 21. A lead wire (not shown) is connected to the inflator 20, and this lead wire is connected to an airbag operation circuit (not shown). The inflator 20 is activated when a predetermined electrical signal is input from an airbag operating circuit that has input a signal predicting a collision with the pedestrian W of the vehicle V from the sensor 8.
[0019]
The bracket 21 includes a substantially cylindrical sheet metal holding portion 22 that holds the inflator 20, and a plurality (two in the embodiment) of bolts 23 that protrude rearward from the holding portion 22. The holding portion 22 is formed with a plurality of holding piece portions 22a that are recessed toward the inner peripheral side to hold the inflator 20 therebetween. Each bolt 23 is inserted through the insertion hole 18b in the mounting portion 18 of the airbag 10 and the insertion hole 28b of the case 26, and is further inserted into the insertion hole 30a of the bracket 30 to fasten the nut 24. It becomes. By fixing the nut 24, the inflator 20 and the case 26 are fixed to the bracket 30. The bracket 30 is fixed to the body 1 side of the vehicle V.
[0020]
In the embodiment, the airbag 10 is folded with the inflator 20 and the bracket 21 stored therein, and most of the airbag 10 is stored in the airbag storage portion 27 of the case 26. The portion that houses the inflator 20 and the bracket 21 is configured as an attachment portion 18 for attaching the airbag 20 to the case 26, and includes two bolts 23 that are inserted through the bolts 23 of the bracket 21 and project outside the airbag 20. The mounting hole 18a and one insertion hole 18b for projecting the lead wire side end of the inflator 20 to the outside of the airbag 10 are configured. The mounting portion 18 is stored in the inflator storage portion 28 of the case 26 together with the inflator 20 and the bracket 21 when the airbag 10 is stored in the case 26, and the mounting holes 18 a are fastened by fastening the nuts 24 to the respective bolts 23. The peripheral edge is sandwiched between the holding portion 22 of the bracket 21 and the bottom wall 28 a of the inflator storage portion 28 of the case 26 and attached to the case 26.
[0021]
The airbag 10 is formed by joining a woven fabric obtained by plain weaving synthetic fiber yarn such as polyester yarn into a bag shape by sewing or bonding. The airbag 10 may be formed in a predetermined bag shape by bag weaving.
[0022]
The airbag 10 according to the embodiment includes a vehicle body side wall portion 11 located on the front surface VF side of the vehicle V when the inflation is completed, and a pedestrian wall portion 12 located on the pedestrian W side when the inflation is completed. Has been. In the case of the embodiment, an attachment portion 18 is formed in the approximate center of the vehicle body side wall portion 11.
[0023]
When the airbag 10 is in contact with the pedestrian W after being inflated by inflating the inflation gas, as shown in FIG. However, the expansion shape is set and disposed so as to be substantially coincident with the front surface VF of the vehicle V and the pedestrian side surface 12a of the pedestrian side wall 12 is disposed along the substantially vertical surface. Has been.
[0024]
In the case of the embodiment, the airbag 10 has an upper inflation portion 14 on the upper side, a lower inflation portion 16 on the lower side, and an intermediate inflation portion 15 between the upper and lower inflation portions 14 and 16 as a shape when inflation is completed. And is configured. The upper inflating portion 14 is disposed so as to cover the upper edge of the front end side of the hood panel 5 on the front surface VF side of the vehicle V, and is disposed at least above the waist portion WW of the pedestrian W. The portion 16 is arranged so as to fill a space S between the vehicle V and the grounding surface GL below the front bumper 3 on the front surface VF side of the vehicle V. In addition, in the case of embodiment, the upper expansion part 14 is comprised so that covering to the chest part WB vicinity of the pedestrian W is possible. And the wall part 12 by the side of the pedestrian W of the upper and lower inflating parts 14 and 16 and the intermediate inflating part 15 between them is arranged so that the outer surface 12a on the front side is arranged along a substantially vertical direction. ,It is configured. Further, the surface 11a on the vehicle V side of the wall portion 11 on the vehicle V side of the upper / lower inflating portions 14 and 16 and the intermediate inflating portion 15 therebetween substantially coincides with the front surface VF of the vehicle V.
[0025]
The configuration in which the front surface 12a side of the airbag 10 is disposed along the substantially vertical direction may be set at the time of contact with the pedestrian W, and the front surface 12a is substantially immediately after the airbag 10 is completely inflated. Even if it is not arranged along the vertical direction, the front surface 12a of the airbag 10 is substantially along the vertical direction due to the pressing force at the initial contact with the pedestrian W, the inertial force accompanying the forward movement of the vehicle V, etc. What is necessary is just to arrange | position.
[0026]
Further, the airbag 10 is located not only on the front surface VF of the vehicle V but also in the vicinity of the front portion on the side surface VS side of the vehicle V beyond the left and right corner portions 3a of the front bumper 3 as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. It is comprised so that a part may also be covered.
[0027]
The mounting of the pedestrian airbag device M of the embodiment on the vehicle V will be described. First, the inflator 20 held by the bracket 21 is inserted into the airbag 10, and the bolt 23 is inserted into each mounting hole 18a. And the end of the inflator 20 is protruded from the insertion hole 18b.
[0028]
Next, the airbag 10 is folded. For example, the folding may be performed by overlapping the pedestrian side wall portion 12 on the vehicle body side wall portion 11 so that the left and right width dimensions can be stored in the airbag storage portion 27 of the case 26. 2 (see FIG. 2) is folded to the center on the side of the vehicle body side wall 11. Next, as shown in FIG. 3, the wall portion 11 is formed so that the folding can be smoothly performed so as to be unwound even if it contacts the pedestrian W during the inflation of the airbag 10.・ 12 The upper end 10a side of each other is folded by roll folding so as to approach the attachment portion 18 on the side of the pedestrian side wall portion 12, and the lower end 10b side of the wall portions 11 and 12 is folded on the side wall of the pedestrian On the part 12 side, folding is performed by rolling so as to approach the attachment part 18 and the folding of the airbag 10 is completed. After the folding, the airbag 10 is appropriately wrapped with a breakable wrapping material for preventing the folding. Instead of roll folding, the airbag 10 may be folded by accordion folding, or by cactus folding that folds the ends 10a and 10b into the airbag 10.
[0029]
The folded airbag 10 is stored in the airbag storage portion 27 of the case 26, and the inflator 20 and the bracket 21 are stored in the inflator storage portion 28 of the case 26 together with the attachment portion 18 of the airbag 10. At this time, the end of the inflator 20 is projected from the insertion hole 18d, and each bolt 23 is projected from the insertion hole 28b. A spring nut 25 (see FIG. 3) is fitted to each bolt 23 protruding from the case 26 in order to prevent the bolt 23 from coming off from the insertion hole 28b.
[0030]
Then, the airbag device M is fixedly assembled to the front bumper 3 by being connected to the connecting wall portion 36 of the airbag cover 32 using the hooks 27b. Thereafter, a predetermined portion of the bumper 3 is attached and fixed to the body 1, and each bolt 23 is fixed with a nut, and the airbag device M is attached and fixed to the bracket 30, and the lead wire extending from the airbag operation circuit is connected to the inflator 20. If connected, the airbag apparatus M can be mounted on the vehicle V.
[0031]
After the pedestrian airbag device M is mounted on the vehicle V, when the sensor 8 outputs a detection signal predicting a collision with the pedestrian W to the airbag operation circuit, the inflator 20 is operated by the airbag operation circuit. The inflation gas is discharged from each gas discharge port 20a of the inflator 20, the airbag 10 is inflated, pushes the door portions 33 and 34 open, and covers the front surface VF of the vehicle V.
[0032]
The airbag 10 at the time of contact with the pedestrian W has a vertical cross-sectional shape such that the vehicle-side surface 11a substantially coincides with the front surface VF of the vehicle V, and the pedestrian-side surface 12a is substantially vertical. It is arranged along with. That is, since the surface 12a on the pedestrian side of the airbag 10 is arranged along a substantially vertical plane, the pedestrian W follows the substantially vertical plane in the airbag 10 even if it contacts the airbag 10. Supported by the wide plane pedestrian side surface 12a, the lower limb WL of the pedestrian W is prevented from entering the lower part of the pampa 3, and the pedestrian W does not receive an impact that greatly bends the upper body and the lower body, And since it presses with the substantially vertical surface 12a with the wide airbag 20, damage is reduced.
[0033]
Of course, since the vehicle-side surface 11a of the airbag 10 is substantially coincident with the front surface VF of the vehicle V, the vehicle-side surface 11a of the airbag 10 is the front surface of the vehicle V when in contact with the pedestrian W. The surface 12a on the pedestrian side, which is stably supported by the VF, can secure a wide flat substantially vertical surface without moving to the vehicle V side, and as a result, the pedestrian W can be accurately bent without greatly bending. Furthermore, the pedestrian W can be supported.
[0034]
Therefore, in the airbag apparatus M for pedestrians of embodiment, the bending of the pedestrian W at the time of contact with the airbag 10 can be prevented as much as possible, and to the pedestrian W at the time of contact with the airbag 10. Damage can be reduced.
[0035]
In particular, in the airbag 10 according to the embodiment, the lower inflating portion 16 is disposed so as to be buried in the space S between the lower surface of the front bumper 3 and the ground contact surface GL when in contact with the pedestrian W. Even if the vehicle V is an SUV vehicle in which the position of the front bumper 3 is raised, it is possible to prevent the lower limb WL of the pedestrian W from entering the lower part of the bumper 3 accurately. Don't give.
[0036]
Furthermore, in the airbag 10 of the embodiment, the upper inflating portion 14 is configured to extend at least above the waist portion WW of the pedestrian W and further protect the vicinity of the chest portion WB. That is, when the pedestrian side surface 12a of the airbag 10 is in contact with the pedestrian W, it is flat from the lower limb WL to the waist WW in the pedestrian W, in the embodiment, further from the lower limb WL to the vicinity of the chest WB. Since a large substantially vertical plane can be secured, the pedestrian W can be protected by the wide surface 12a without bending the pedestrian W from the vicinity of the waist WW, and damage to the pedestrian W can be further reduced.
[0037]
In addition, when making the outer surface 11a of the vehicle side wall part 11 in the airbag 10 at the time of inflation correspond to the front surface VF of the vehicle V, the airbag 10 is three-dimensionally cut and manufactured by sewing three-dimensionally. Alternatively, a plurality of tethers that limit the outer surface 11a of the vehicle side wall portion 11 to a predetermined dimension between the vehicle side wall portion 11 and the pedestrian side wall portion 12 so as to correspond to the front surface VF of the vehicle V. Etc. may be provided.
[0038]
Moreover, in embodiment, the case where the door part 33 * 34 of both upper and lower sides is arrange | positioned as the door part pushed by the airbag 10 at the time of expansion | swelling is shown in the airbag cover 32 which covers the folded airbag 10 is shown. It was. However, the door portion disposed on the airbag cover 32 may be a single door portion that opens upward or downward.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway side view of a vehicle showing an airbag inflated in a pedestrian airbag apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a plan view of a vehicle on which the airbag device of the embodiment is mounted.
3 is a schematic longitudinal sectional view of the airbag apparatus according to the embodiment, taken along the vehicle front-rear direction, corresponding to the III-III portion of FIG. 2;
4 is a schematic cross-sectional view along the horizontal direction of the vehicle of the airbag device of the embodiment, corresponding to the IV-IV portion of FIG. 1;
[Explanation of symbols]
10 ... Airbag,
11 ... Vehicle side wall,
11a ... vehicle side surface,
12 ... pedestrian side wall,
12a ... Pedestrian side surface,
V ... Vehicle,
VF ... front of the vehicle
W ... Pedestrian,
M: Air bag device for pedestrians.

Claims (1)

A pedestrian airbag apparatus equipped with an airbag mounted on the front side of a vehicle and inflating to cover the front of the vehicle,
The airbag is
As the shape at the time of completion of expansion, the vehicle is disposed on the upper side and is disposed on the front side of the vehicle so as to cover the upper edge of the front end side of the hood panel. A lower inflating portion arranged to fill a space between the front bumper and a grounding surface below the front bumper, and an intermediate inflating portion between the upper and lower inflating portions. It is configured to cover a part near the front part on the side surface side of the vehicle beyond the left and right corner parts,
Upon contact with a pedestrian, substantially aligned with the front of the vehicle to the surface of the vehicle side in the vehicle-side wall portion of said intermediate inflatable section therebetween and the upper and lower expansion portion, and the upper and and substantially along a vertical plane of the external surface surface of the front side the pedestrian side of the intermediate expansion wall portion of between and their lower inflatable portion, characterized in that it is configured to be disposed walking Airbag device for the elderly.

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