JP4475902B2 - Airbag device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an airbag device mounted on a vehicle, and relates to an airbag device provided with a wrapping sheet for maintaining the airbag folded configuration of an airbag device that is folded and accommodated in a compact manner. It is.

2. Description of the Related Art An airbag device used in an instrument panel of a vehicle or a steering cover in order to protect an occupant in the event of a vehicle collision accident is well known. This airbag device is expanded by the pressure of gas injected from the inflator in the event of an automobile collision, etc., and the airbag is deployed on the front surface of the occupant. Therefore, the airbag is folded into a desired shape and stored in a container. However, there was a problem such as when the air bag protruded from the container due to the restoring force of the air bag and was installed in the vehicle. Therefore, the wrapping sheet for maintaining the folded state of the airbag, and the wrapping sheet is not broken during the wrapping operation, and the airbag can be deployed accurately by reliably breaking the wrapping sheet when the airbag is deployed. There is an airbag device (see, for example, Patent Document 1) provided with a break line.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-180240 (paragraphs {0005}, {0006}, {0007}, {0008} in claims and detailed description of the invention, FIG. 2, FIG. 3, FIG. 4, FIG. 5)

However, the airbag apparatus as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-180240, which is the prior art, cannot check the folded quality of the airbag, and in particular, the passenger seat airbag has a special folding method. For this reason, the airbag that has been wrapped has a problem that it cannot be confirmed whether or not the airbag folded under the wrapping is stored in a predetermined folding manner.
Therefore, the present invention is provided with a tension indicator that is deformed by the tension applied by the self-restoring force of the airbag to the seat body that wraps the airbag, so that it can be visually confirmed whether or not the airbag is folded in a predetermined manner. An air bag device is provided.

A first invention of the present invention for solving the above-mentioned problems is an airbag device as described in claim 1, and is as follows.
An airbag device mounted on a vehicle includes a seat body that holds an outer surface of a folded airbag and holds it in a predetermined shape when not deployed, and the seat body is applied by the self-restoring force of the airbag. provided at the corner portion of the upper surface of the folded air bag tension instruction portion to deform in tension, the tension indicator unit, in a predetermined position from the gas inlet in the longitudinal direction of the sheet member, provided between the slits and the slit This is a configuration provided at the longitudinal position of the sheet body where the continuous portion exists .

Since the airbag apparatus according to the present invention has the configuration as described above, the following effects are achieved.
(1) Since the slit and the tension indicator are arranged at the corners of the folded airbag, when the wrapped airbag is wrapped by pulling the wrapping sheet body, tension is applied to the corners along the width direction of the upper surface of the airbag. Is most likely to be applied, and there is little fluctuation in tension during lapping and it is stable.
(2) Since the difference in the bulk dimensions when the folded airbag is folded instead of the predetermined folding procedure and shape can be confirmed as a difference in tension, an airbag module having a certain airbag deployment characteristic can be mass-produced. .
(3) Since the difference in elongation of the wrapping sheet can be visually observed as tension, no special inspection means is required, and there is no increase in equipment cost or a significant increase in inspection process, and no cost increase.
(4) It is only necessary to print simple punching holes and figures, and does not increase the size of the airbag module.

Providing slits in wrapping sheet wrapping piece as a sheet constituting the airbag. Then, two elliptical tension indicator portions (openings) that are long in the width direction are provided. The position where the tension indicator is provided is a position where the slit is provided in the longitudinal direction of the wrapping piece . This is where the length of the wrapping piece is most stable when the wrapping piece is pulled to wrap the airbag. For example, if a tension indicator is provided in the longitudinal direction of the wrapping sheet at the position of the slit, a large opening is opened in the slit when the wrapping piece is pulled. Further, even if the position is slightly moved in the width direction at the slit position, the amount of deformation of the tension indicator greatly varies. Therefore, the elliptical shape of the tension indicator does not function properly as the original tension confirmation means.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
1 is an exploded perspective view of an airbag device for a passenger seat according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a state in which the back side of the airbag faces upward, and FIG. 3 is an airbag, a flap cloth, FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an airbag device for a passenger seat according to the present invention.

First, an example of an airbag used in the present invention will be described in detail.
The airbag 1 is formed in a bag shape having a gas inlet as shown in FIG. A mid retainer (not shown) that reinforces the periphery of the gas inlet is fixed to the gas inlet from the inside, and a flap cloth 9, a wrapping sheet 6, and a reinforcing cloth 10 are sewn to the outside of the gas inlet. Has been.
The flap cloth 9 is provided to reduce the harm to the occupant when the airbag 1 stored in the airbag storage portion 2a of the retainer 2 is inflated and deployed when the occupant is in a state of being close to the airbag device. And disposed outside the airbag 1. The flap cloth 9 is a so-called non-coated sheet-like material which is made of, for example, nylon 66 and is not coated with silicone rubber or the like. In the present embodiment, the flap cloth 9 is used for explanation, but the flap cloth 9 may not be used if necessary.
The wrapping sheet 6 as a sheet body reduces the rubbing resistance with the inner surface of the airbag storage portion 2a of the retainer 2 when the airbag 1 stored in the airbag storage portion 2a of the retainer 2 is inflated and deployed. The airbag 1 is protected at the same time that the air bag 1 is smoothly inflated and deployed. The wrapping sheet 6 is made of a woven fabric of nylon 66, for example, and is a so-called non-coated sheet-like material that is not coated with silicone rubber or the like, and includes a wide pair of wrapping pieces 6a and 6b and these wrapping pieces 6a and 6b. The pair of narrow wrapping pieces 6d and 6e provided in series are formed in a substantially cross shape.
The wrapping piece 6a holds the airbag 1 in a folded state and has a rectangular shape. Four mid-retainer mounting bolt insertion holes (not shown) are provided at positions adjacent to the gas inlet. Further, three mounting bolt insertion holes (not shown) for the mid retainer are provided at a position adjacent to the terminal on the opposite side to the gas inlet of the wrapping piece 6a. Three slits 6f arranged in a straight line in the width direction are provided at predetermined positions from the gas inlet. The number of slits 6f is not limited to three, and may be two, four, or more as necessary. In this embodiment, the slit 6f is formed at one corner of the upper surface of the folded airbag. The plurality of slits 6f may be provided in steps without being arranged in a straight line. A continuous portion 6c is provided between the slits. Although the slit 6f is provided at a predetermined distance from both ends of the wrapping piece 6a in the width direction, the slit may be provided immediately from both ends. The tension indicator (opening) 6g is provided at a predetermined position from the gas inlet. The tension instruction section is provided with two elliptical tension instruction sections (openings) 6g that are long in the width direction of the wrapping piece 6a. However, the tension instruction section 6g may be provided according to the number of slits 6f.

  In addition, it is preferable that the slit 6f and the tension instruction portion 6g are arranged at two corners on the upper surface of the folded airbag 1, respectively. This is because when wrapping an airbag folded by pulling the wrapping sheet 6, tension is most easily applied to the two corners along the width direction of the upper surface of the airbag 1, and there is little fluctuation in tension during wrapping and it is stable. is there.

  The tension indicator 6g which is the gist of the present invention is formed into a predetermined shape when the airbag 1 folded by the wrapping sheet 6 is wrapped by making the tension indicator 6g an ellipse having a long diameter in the width direction (8 × 10 mm). If the airbag 1 is folded, the tension instruction part 6g exhibits an ellipse or a circle within a set range (standard). When the airbag 1 is not folded in a predetermined manner, the wrapping sheet 6 is too tensioned and the tension indicator 6g (opening) extends in the longitudinal direction or the wrapping sheet 6 does not extend so much. The tension instruction part 6g exhibits an elliptical shape outside the set range (standard). Further, as a confirmation means for the tension instruction section 6g, a dedicated jig obtained by cutting out the shape (appropriate maximum shape and minimum shape) set in the tension instruction section 6g at the time of completion of lapping may be used. By using a dedicated jig in this way, it is possible to easily and accurately determine suitability.

Next, the shape and position of the tension indicator 6g, which is the gist of the present invention, will be described.
The shape of the tension indicator 6g is not limited to the ellipse having a long diameter in the width direction of the wrapping sheet 6, but an ellipse having a short diameter in the width direction, a circle, a rectangle or polygon having a large dimension in the width direction, and a rectangle having a small dimension in the width direction. Or a polygon.
Since the slit 6f and the tension instruction portion 6g of the elliptical opening simultaneously form the slit 6f and the opening 6g when the wrapping sheet 6 is cut, no special post-processing is required. Alternatively, the tension instruction unit 6g may be formed by marking the tension instruction unit 6g on the wrapping sheet 6 with a stamp by printing or paint.
As can be understood from FIG. 3, the position where the tension instruction portion 6g is provided is provided in the longitudinal direction of the wrapping sheet 6 at a position where the continuous portion 6c of the slit 6f and the slit 6f exists. When the wrapping piece 6a is pulled to wrap the airbag 1, the length of the wrapping piece 6a is the most stable. For example, if a tension indicator 6g is provided in the longitudinal direction of the wrapping sheet 6 at the position of the slit 6f, a large opening is opened in the slit 6f when the wrapping piece 6a is pulled. Further, even if the position is slightly moved in the width direction at the slit position, the deformation amount of the tension instruction portion 6g is greatly different. Therefore, the elliptical shape of the tension indicator 6g does not function properly as the original tension confirmation means.
The wrapping piece 6b may be of a size that can prevent rubbing with the inner surface of the airbag storage portion 2a of the retainer 2 when the airbag 1 stored in the airbag storage portion 2a of the retainer 2 is inflated and deployed. Three mid-retainer mounting bolt insertion holes (not shown) are provided at positions adjacent to the gas inlet. The wrapping pieces 6d and 6e may be of a size that can prevent rubbing with the inner surface of the airbag storage portion 2a of the retainer 2 when the airbag 1 stored in the airbag storage portion 2a of the retainer 2 is inflated and deployed.

The retainer 2 includes a box-shaped airbag storage portion 2a whose upper surface is open, and a cylindrical inflator storage portion 2c that is connected to the lower portion of the airbag storage portion 2a. The whole is formed of a highly rigid material such as metal. The lower portion of the airbag housing portion 2a is formed flat, and a mid retainer (not shown) is brought into contact with the flat portion via the airbag 1, the flap cloth 9, and the wrapping sheet 6 from the inside. . By inserting the tip of the fixture 7 protruding from the bottom surface of the mid-retainer into the mounting hole (not shown) drilled in the flat part from the inside and tightening with a nut (not shown), the mid-retainer and the flat part The airbag 1, the flap cloth 9, and the wrapping sheet 6 are sandwiched between them.
The inflator storage portion 2 has an inflator insertion port (not shown) opened at one end surface, and a flanged nut 8 is screwed into the distal end portion of the inflator 3 inserted from the inflator insertion port from the outside of the inflator storage portion 2c. Thus, the inflator 3 is fixed to the retainer 2.
A plurality of locking hooks 2g protrude from the periphery of the opening 2b of the airbag storage portion 2a. A locking hole 4b opened in the leg 4a of the instrument panel 4 covering from above the opening 2b is locked to the locking hook 2g. The instrument panel 4 is formed of a synthetic resin, and a tear line that is broken when the airbag 1 is inflated and deployed is provided on the upper surface. In addition, what covers from the upper part of the opening part 2b of the airbag accommodating part 2a is not limited to the instrument panel 4 of the present embodiment, but may be a so-called lid-type cover body that forms a part of the instrument panel. Good.

Here, the assembly of the airbag apparatus of the present invention will be described.
In assembling the airbag device, the airbag 1 is first manually folded or folded into a predetermined shape such as a bellows by an automatic folding device (not shown) (A), and then the wrapping pieces 6d and 6e of the wrapping sheet 6 are manually removed. Fold it over the airbag 1 (b). Next, the flap cloth 9 is folded into a predetermined shape such as a roll, and placed on the airbag 1 and the wrapping pieces 6d and 6e (C). Finally, the airbag 1 and the flap cloth 9 are wrapped while pulling the wrapping piece 6a, and the three fasteners 7 projecting from the bottom surface of the mid retainer are provided with the three locking holes 11 provided at the end of the wrapping piece 6a. (D).
Here, by folding the flap cloth 9 in the state of (c), even if the occupant is getting in close proximity to the airbag device, before the airbag 1 comes into contact with the occupant when the airbag 1 is inflated and deployed. Since the flap cloth 9 comes into contact with the occupant, the harm to the occupant accompanying the airbag deployment can be greatly reduced. The method of folding the flap cloth 9 is not limited to a roll shape, and can be folded into a desired shape.

  In addition, you may use the base fabric which coated silicone rubber etc. for the airbag, flap cloth, and wrapping sheet which are used in the Example demonstrated above.

  Whether or not the airbag is folded when the passenger seat airbag device or the driver seat airbag device installed in the vehicle is installed can be confirmed very easily without using a special inspection means.

1 is an exploded perspective view of an airbag device for a passenger seat according to the present invention. It is a disassembled perspective view of the state which turned up the back side of the airbag of the passenger-side airbag device concerning the present invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the folding procedure of the airbag of the passenger seat airbag apparatus which concerns on this invention, a flap cloth, and a wrapping sheet. 1 is a perspective view of an airbag device for a passenger seat according to the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Airbag 2 ... Retainer 2a ... Airbag storage part 2b ... Opening part 2c ... Inflator storage part 2g ... Locking hook 3 ... Inflator 4 ... Instrument panel 4a ... Leg 4b ... Locking hole 6 ... Wrapping sheet 6a ... Wrapping piece 6b ... Wrapping piece 6c ... 6d ··· Wrapping piece 6e ··· Wrapping piece 6f ··· Slit 6g ··· Tension indicator 7 ··· Fixing device 8 · · · Nut with flange 9 ···・ Flap cloth 10 ・ ・ ・ ・ Reinforcement cloth 11 ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ Locking hole

Claims (1)

An airbag device mounted on a vehicle includes a seat body that holds an outer surface of a folded airbag and holds it in a predetermined shape when not deployed, and the seat body is applied by the self-restoring force of the airbag. provided at the corner portion of the upper surface of the folded air bag tension instruction portion to deform in tension, the tension indicator unit, in a predetermined position from the gas inlet in the longitudinal direction of the sheet member, provided between the slits and the slit An airbag device comprising a longitudinal position of the sheet body where the continuous portion is provided.

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