JP5028305B2 - Side airbag device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a side airbag device disposed on a vehicle seat.

  The side airbag device is for protecting the vehicle occupant by operating the inflator and supplying the gas to the airbag to inflate and deploy at the time of a side collision or rollover of the vehicle. Has been proposed.

  For example, a side airbag device devised by the present applicant includes a housing constituted by a module cover and an outer retainer attached to an opening of the module cover, and an inner retainer that is housed in the housing and holds an inflator. Have

  In this case, since the housing is composed of two pieces including the module cover and the outer retainer, a process of assembling the module cover and the outer retainer is required at the time of assembly, and the connection structure can withstand when the airbag is inflated and deployed. Possible structural strength was required. In order to achieve a desired structural strength, a space for the connection structure is required in both the module cover and the sheet.

Therefore, in order to make the two-piece structure of the housing as described above into a one-piece structure, Patent Document 1 discloses a bottomed rectangular tube-shaped module housing having a rectangular opening and a rectangular shape that closes the opening. It is disclosed that a one-piece structure is formed by hinge-connecting the module housing and the lid at a hinge portion.
US Pat. No. 5,899,485

  However, in the hinge connection structure disclosed in Patent Document 1, since the resin is molded in a state where the lid is opened with respect to the module housing, the hinge is mounted when the lid is attached to the module housing and assembled to the seat frame. There is a problem that the portion is exposed to the outside of the sheet and is visible from the outside of the sheet, which affects the appearance merchantability.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and even if it is a one-piece structure, it has a good appearance merchantability and a side where the bonding strength between the cover body and the support plate is ensured. An object is to provide an airbag device.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a side airbag device that is attached to a vehicle seat, and supports a folded airbag and an inflator by a support plate in which means for attaching to a vehicle body are integrally arranged. An airbag main body, and a cover body that covers the compartment side of the airbag main body, the cover body having a substantially U-shaped side wall that opens in one direction, the support plate, and the seat frame And a front wall length in the vehicle front-rear direction of the upper end portion of the side wall portion of the cover body in the installed state is the upper end portion. compared to longitudinal length of other portions except for the shortest set characterized Rukoto.

  According to the present invention, even when the airbag is inflated and deployed and a predetermined load is applied to the bottom wall portion of the cover body that is a mounting surface of the side airbag device, the bottom wall portion is connected to the seat frame. Since it is firmly sandwiched between the support plate, there is no variation in the bond strength between the cover body and the support plate, and a desired bond strength can be ensured.

  Further, in the present invention, for example, in a trapezoidal shape, in the installed state, the front-rear length along the vehicle front-rear direction of the upper end portion of the side wall portion of the cover body is the front-rear length of other portions excluding the upper end portion. By setting it to be the shortest in comparison, it is possible to make the shape corresponding to the side shape of the sheet, and to reduce the influence on the sheet and appearance merchantability, and to the outer shape of the sheet Can be easily followed.

  Furthermore, the present invention is characterized in that the support plate includes sub-attaching means that is arranged to protrude from the cover body outside the bottom wall on the side facing the opening, while the attaching means is arranged near the opening. And

  According to the present invention, even when the insertion portion is set to be small, the load applied in the vertical direction can be appropriately supported.

  Even when the cover body that functions as the module housing has a one-piece structure, a side airbag device that has good appearance merchandise and that secures the coupling strength between the cover body and the support plate can be obtained.

  Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings as appropriate. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a state in which a side airbag device according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied to a side portion of a seat back of a driver seat and a passenger seat, and FIG. 2 is an attachment of the side airbag device to the seat back. FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing an assembly process of the side airbag device.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the side airbag device 10 according to the present embodiment is disposed on a side portion 14 of a seat back 12 that supports the back of an occupant in a driver seat and a passenger seat disposed in a vehicle interior of a vehicle. Established. The side portion 14 of the seat back 12 is provided with a substantially rectangular recess 16, and the side airbag device 10 is mounted in the recess 16. In this case, a cover plate 18 (see FIG. 2) which constitutes the side airbag device 10 and will be described later is provided so as to be exposed to the outside and to be substantially flush with the seat surface of the seat back 12 adjacent to the window side. . The surface of the cover plate 18 is colored in the same color as the sheet surface to improve the appearance merchandise.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the side airbag device 10 is inserted through a cover body 20 that functions as a module housing having a one-piece structure and an opening (opening) 22 formed in the cover body 20. And a metal support plate 24 housed in the cover body 20.

  Further, the side airbag device 10 supplies (discharges) a gas (for example, nitrogen gas) into the airbag 26 held by the support plate 24 in a state in which a cloth bag body is folded, for example. A cylindrical inflator 28, a mounting member 30 made of a metal material, functioning as an attaching means for attaching the inflator 28 to the support plate 24, and screw members 32, 33, and one end of the inflator 28. And a metal retainer 34 curved in a substantially U shape.

  The airbag 26 is connected to the inflator 28 via a gas inflow port (not shown). The support plate 24 and the airbag 26, the inflator 28, the mounting bracket 30 and the retainer 34 supported by the support plate 24 function as an airbag body as a whole.

  The cover body 20 is integrally formed of a resin material by, for example, resin injection molding or the like, and a bending process step after the molding can be omitted by the integral molding. The cover body 20 is exposed to the outside from the seat back 12 and has a substantially rectangular cover plate 18 formed so that the upper side is slightly narrower corresponding to the shape of the side portion 14 of the seat back 12; It is composed of a side wall portion 36 formed of a belt-like frame body integrally coupled to the cover plate 18 and having a substantially U-shaped longitudinal section, and a bottom wall portion 38 integrally coupled to the side wall portion 36. The cover plate 18, the side wall 36 and the bottom wall 38 are integrally formed.

  A rectangular opening 22 is formed on the lower side of the cover body 20, and a support plate 24 is inserted through the opening 22 along the inside of the cover body 20. Further, a key portion 40 bent in a substantially L shape provided at one end portion of the support plate 24 is inserted into an upper side corner portion of the side wall portion 36 of the cover body 20 so that the key portion 40 extends from the cover body 20. A narrow linear slit 42 is formed to protrude outward.

  The side wall portion 36 of the cover body 20 has a substantially trapezoidal shape when viewed from the side of the cover body 20 and is formed in a substantially trapezoidal shape including an inclined surface 44 whose upper side corner portion of the side wall portion 36 is chamfered. Good. In this case, as shown in FIG. 1, in the state where the cover body 20 is installed on the seat, the longitudinal length along the vehicle longitudinal direction of the upper wall portion (upper end portion) 45 constituting the side wall portion 36 is The side portion 14 of the seat back 12 is set so as to be the shortest in comparison with the front and rear length of other portions excluding the upper wall portion 45 (front and rear length on the opening 22 side excluding the upper wall portion 45). A shape corresponding to the shape can be obtained, and the influence on the seat and appearance merchandise (interior design) can be reduced, and the outer shape of the seat can be easily followed.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the bottom wall 38 of the cover body 20 has an insertion portion 48 formed of a set of substantially circular holes communicating with a long groove 46 extending from the opening 22 in series. The screw member 32 penetrating the mounting bracket 30 can be fastened to the screw hole 52 of the seat frame 50 (see FIG. 2) through the insertion portion 48.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a positioning recess 56 that engages with the positioning protrusion 54 of the support plate 24 is provided on the lower end side of the side wall of the cover body 20. Further, a weakened portion 58 (see FIG. 4B) formed in a thin wall is formed at a joint portion between the side wall portion 36 and the cover plate 18 constituting the cover body 20, and an air bag will be described later. When the gas is introduced into the air bag 26 and the airbag 26 is inflated and deployed, the cover plate 18 is configured to break from the weakened portion 58 as a starting point.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the support plate 24 is composed of a plate body made of a metal material by, for example, casting, forging, or press molding. On the upper side of the support plate 24, a key portion 40 that is bent in a substantially L shape is provided, and a screw member 32 that is fastened to the seat frame 50 is screwed into a bent tip portion of the key portion 40. Screw holes 60 are provided. The key portion 40 and the screw member 32 function as auxiliary attachment means. Instead of the screw member 32, the front end portion of the key portion 40 may be bent and directly engaged with and disengaged from the seat frame 50.

  In addition, a pair of positioning protrusions 54 that protrude outward by a predetermined length are provided on the lower wide portion 24 a of the support plate 24, and the support plate 24 is moved along the opening 22 of the cover body 20. When inserted, the positioning projection 54 engages with the positioning recess 56 of the side wall 38, whereby the support plate 24 is positioned at a predetermined position inside the cover body 20. Further, a rectangular bent portion 62 that closes the opening portion 22 when provided by being bent toward the cover plate 18 is provided on the lower side of the support plate 24.

  The wide portion 24 a of the support plate 24 is provided with a hook portion 64 (see FIG. 3) for abutting against the cover plate 18 and suppressing deformation of the cover plate 18. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, screw members 32 and 33 attached to the mounting bracket 30 are screwed at a portion close to the lower side (opening 22) from the center portion along the longitudinal direction of the support plate 24. A set of screw holes 60, 60 to be inserted is drilled in parallel in a straight line. Furthermore, the wide portion 24a of the support plate 24 includes a bottom wall portion at a peripheral portion of the screw hole 60 on the upper side, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4A, particularly FIG. 4B. A protruding portion 65 is provided which protrudes along the insertion portion 48 by the substantially wall thickness of 38 and protrudes so as to be substantially flush with the outer wall surface of the bottom wall portion 38.

  An intermediate portion 24b formed between the key portion 40 and the wide portion 24a of the support plate 24 and having a substantially constant narrow band shape is provided along the inside of the cover body 20 through the opening portion 22. When 24 is inserted, a stopper 66 is provided for restricting the protruding dimension of the key portion 40 protruding from the slit 42 of the cover body 20.

  In this case, the separation dimension connecting the top and the top of the stopper 66 is formed larger than the slit length along the longitudinal direction of the slit 42 of the cover body 20, and the stopper 66 is brought into contact with and locked by the slit 42. Thus, the protrusion of the key portion 40 from the cover body 20 to the outside is restricted.

  The side airbag device 10 according to the present embodiment is basically configured as described above. Next, the function and effect will be described.

  A control device (not shown) (not shown) detects when the sensor (not shown) detects a side collision of the vehicle and when the vehicle rolls over, specifically, that the vehicle is tilted by a predetermined angle or more. At this time, a control signal is derived to the inflator 28 and gas is supplied from the inflator 28 to inflate and deploy the folded airbag 26. The occupant is protected by the airbag 26 inflated and deployed in this manner.

  Next, assembly of the side airbag device 10 according to the present embodiment will be described below.

  First, screw members 32 and 33 are screwed into the mounting bracket 30 to fix the inflator 28, the retainer 34, and one end of the airbag 26 to the support plate 24. The sub-assembly including the support plate 24, the inflator 28, the retainer 34, and the like assembled in this manner is integrally formed in a one-piece structure by resin molding or the like in advance as shown in FIG. And is slid along the inside of the cover body 20 through the opening 22.

  The sub-assembly is slid along the inside from the opening 22 of the cover body 20, and the key portion 40 provided at one end portion of the support plate 24 is moved from the slit 42 formed at the upper portion of the side wall portion 36 of the cover body 20 to the outside. Project by a predetermined length (see FIG. 4).

  In this case, when the stopper 66 formed in the intermediate portion 24b of the support plate 24 is locked to the slit 42, the size of the projecting portion including the key portion 40 of the support plate 24 is restricted, or substantially the same. At the same time, the positioning projection 54 formed in the wide portion 24a on the lower side of the support plate 24 is mounted on the positioning recess 56 formed in the side wall portion 36 of the cover body 20, whereby the support plate 24 is covered with the cover body. It is held in a state where it is positioned at a predetermined position inside 20.

  In this way, after the side airbag device 10 is constructed by assembling the sub-assembly including the support plate 24 and the cover body 20 having a one-piece structure, the side airbag device 10 is made of a metal that constitutes the seat back 12. The seat frame 50 is fixed.

  In this case, the screw member 32 that penetrates the support plate 24 and protrudes from the insertion portion 48 formed in the bottom wall portion 38 of the cover body 20 is inserted into the screw hole 52 on the lower side of the seat frame 50, and a nut member (not shown). The screw member 32 is screwed into the screw hole 60 of the key portion 40 of the support plate 24 exposed to the outside from the cover body 20, and the screw member 32 is screwed into the screw hole on the upper side of the seat frame 50. The nut member (not shown) is fastened and fixed. When the support plate 24 is fixed to the seat frame 50 via the screw member 32, the protruding portion 65 (see FIG. 4B) formed on the support plate 24 directly contacts the seat frame 50. By contacting, the screw fastening portion between the metal seat frame 50 and the metal support plate 24 is firmly coupled.

  When the side airbag device 10 is fixed to the seal frame 50, a resin bottom wall 38 constituting the cover body 20 is formed between the mounting surface of the metal seat frame 50 and the metal support plate 24. A sandwiched structure is provided, and a predetermined coupling strength between the cover body 20 and the support plate 24 can be ensured reliably.

  In other words, in the present embodiment, even when the airbag 26 is inflated and deployed and a predetermined load is applied to the bottom wall portion 38 of the cover body 20 that is the mounting surface of the side airbag device 10, the bottom Since the wall 38 is firmly sandwiched between the metal seat frame 50 and the metal support plate 24, the cover body 20 and the support plate 24 integrally formed including the bottom wall 38 are formed. There is no variation in the bond strength between them, and the desired bond strength can be reliably ensured. As a result, in the present embodiment, the cover plate 18 is not scattered when the airbag 26 is inflated and deployed, and it is possible to suitably prevent the inflation and deployment direction from becoming unstable.

  Further, in the present embodiment, even when the cover body 20 that is a housing module has a one-piece structure, the hinge part is not exposed to the outside as in the conventional case, and thus has a good appearance merchandise. The design surface can be prevented from being affected.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the key portion 40 of the support plate 24 projecting outward from the cover body 20 and the portion on the lower side (near the opening portion 22) from the center portion of the support plate 24 are separated by a pair of screw members 32. Since the point support structure is adopted, even when the insertion portion 48 is set to be small, it is possible to appropriately support the load applied at two points along the vertical direction.

  Furthermore, in this embodiment, the cover body 20 has a one-piece structure, so that the shape of the support plate 24 and the retainer 34 can be set to an optimum shape from the viewpoint of occupant protection, and the degree of freedom in setting the shape can be increased. Can be improved.

  Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the opening 22 of the cover body 20 into which the sub-assembly including the support plate 24 and the like is inserted is provided on the lower side, and the opening 22 is a recess of the seat back 12. 16 and the bent portion 62 of the support plate 24 can prevent, for example, other members from being inserted through the opening 22 and malfunctioning.

Next, the modification of the cover body 20 is shown in FIGS.
FIG. 5 shows the structure of the cover body 20a according to the first modification, and the sub-assembly is slid along the lateral direction and assembled from the opening 70 formed in the lateral direction of the cover body 20a. This is different from the embodiment described above. In this case, a long groove 72 for sliding the key portion 40 of the support plate 24 is formed in the side wall portion 36 of the cover body 20a.

  In the first modification, by providing the opening 70 on the side portion along the lateral direction of the cover body 20a, the opening 70 can be set relatively large, and the subassembly can be easily assembled. is there.

  FIG. 6 shows the structure of the cover body 20b according to the second modification, in which the subassembly is slid along the downward direction from the opening 74 formed above the cover body 20b and assembled. This is different from the above embodiment. In the second modification, there is an advantage that the opening 74 can be set in consideration of the balance between the assembly property of the sub-assembly and the appearance influence.

  FIG. 7 shows the structure of a cover body according to a third modification, which is the same as that of the above embodiment in that a notch 76 is formed by partially cutting the lower side of the side wall of the cover 20c. It is different.

It is a perspective view which shows the state which applied the side airbag apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention to the side part of the seat back of a driver's seat and a passenger seat. It is a disassembled perspective view which shows the attachment state of the said side airbag apparatus with respect to a seat back. It is a disassembled perspective view which shows the assembly | attachment process of a side airbag apparatus. (A) is a perspective view of the side airbag apparatus of the assembled state, (b) is a cross-sectional view along the BB line of (a). It is a perspective view which shows the cover body which concerns on a 1st modification, and its assembly direction. It is a perspective view which shows the cover body which concerns on a 2nd modification, and its assembly direction. It is a perspective view which shows the cover body which concerns on a 3rd modification, and its assembly direction.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Side airbag apparatus 12 Seat back 14 Side part 18 Cover plate 20 Cover body 26 Air bag 24 Support plate 28 Inflator 30 Mounting bracket 32, 33 Screw member (attachment means)
36 Side wall part 38 Bottom wall part 48 Insertion part 50 Seat frame

Claims (2)

A side airbag device attached to a vehicle seat,
An airbag body in which the airbag and the inflator in a folded state are supported by a support plate in which attachment means to the vehicle body is integrally disposed;
A cover body covering the compartment side of the airbag body,
The cover body includes a substantially U-shaped side wall portion opened in one direction, a bottom wall portion sandwiched between the support plate and a seat frame, and an insertion portion for inserting the attachment means .
In the installed state, longitudinal length along the vehicle longitudinal direction of the upper end portion of the side wall portion of the cover body, as compared to the longitudinal length of the other portions except for the upper portion is shortest set and said Rukoto Side airbag device. It said support plate, while placing the attachment means on the opening nearer to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises a sub-mounting means are protruding disposed from the cover on the bottom wall outside of the opening opposite to the side The side airbag device as described.

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