JPH0624283A - Air bag device for automobile - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To ensure synchronization of air bag lids at the time of actuating two air bag modules arranged in an instrument panel. CONSTITUTION:In an air bag device for an automobile formed by providing front seats 2, 3, capable of seating three persons of a driver, central seat occupant and an assistant driver's seat occupant, behind an instrument panel 1 to equip a central seat air bag module 6 and an assistant driver's seat air bag module 7 in the inner of an opening part 8 formed in a position opposed to the central seat and assistant driver's seat occupants in the instrument panel 1, an integral type air bag lid 10, opened at the time of actuating both the air bag modules 6, 7, is provided in the opening part 8.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an air bag system for an automobile, which has a front seat, which can be seated by a driver, a passenger in the center seat, and an occupant in the front passenger seat, behind the instrument panel.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As an automobile airbag device, a device which is integrally provided with a steering wheel and expands when the vehicle decelerates rapidly to protect a driver has been well known. Further, in recent years, in order to improve the safety of the passenger seat occupant during sudden deceleration of the vehicle, it has been attempted to provide an airbag device also on the passenger seat side (see, for example, Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 3-108566). ).

By the way, in the case of a relatively large-sized automobile, a front seat that can be seated by three drivers, a passenger in the center seat and a passenger in the front passenger seat may be provided behind the instrument panel.

[0004]

In an automobile of the type described above, an airbag module for a driver's seat and an instrument panel mounted on a steering wheel in order to protect a driver, a passenger in the center seat and a passenger in the passenger seat. It is desirable to provide an airbag module for the central seat and an airbag module for the passenger seat that are installed inside.

In this case, the instrument panel is
Two openings for the central airbag module and the passenger airbag module are formed, and two airbag lids that are opened when the airbag modules are activated are provided in the openings.

Then, since it is necessary to form a gap between the two air bag grids, the size of the airbag device in the vehicle radiation direction must be increased. Further, the instrument panel is structurally complicated because it is necessary to dispose individual air bag grids in the two openings. Furthermore, when the airbag module is activated, the airbag lids are individually opened, which may cause a time error in the opening of both airbag lids, and the occupant protection due to the deployment of the airbags is unsuccessful. May be sufficient.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and it is an object of the present invention to ensure the synchronism of the air bag grid when the two airbag modules arranged in the instrument panel are in operation. is there.

[0008]

According to the present invention, as means for solving the above-mentioned problems, a front seat which can be seated by a driver, a center passenger and a passenger in the rear of an instrument panel is seatable for three persons. And an airbag device for a vehicle equipped with a central seat airbag module and a passenger seat airbag module inside an opening formed at a position facing the central seat passenger and the passenger seat passenger in the instrument panel. In the above, an integral air bag grid is provided in the opening, the lid being opened when the airbag modules are actuated.

[0009]

In the present invention, the following actions can be obtained by the above means.

That is, in the event of a vehicle collision or the like, the airbag module for the central seat and the airbag module for the passenger seat operate simultaneously and two airbags are deployed at the same time. Since the air bag grid is opened, the synchronism of airbag deployment is secured.

[0011]

According to the present invention, a front seat that can be seated by a driver, a center occupant, and a front passenger is provided behind the instrument panel. In an airbag device of a vehicle equipped with an airbag module for a central seat and an airbag module for a passenger seat inside an opening formed at a position facing a passenger occupant, the both airbags are provided in the opening. By providing an integrated air bag grid that opens when the module operates, the airbag module for the central seat and the airbag module for the passenger seat operate at the same time and two airbags are deployed at the same time in the event of a car collision. The air bag grid that is common to both airbag modules is opened at the time of It becomes the tunability is ensured,
There is an excellent effect that the safety of the passenger in the center seat and the passenger in the passenger seat can be reliably achieved.

There is also an effect that the appearance and appearance of the instrument panel is improved by integrally integrating the air bag grid.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Some preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Embodiment 1 FIGS. 1 to 4 show an automobile airbag apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

The vehicle of this embodiment has a driver and two front passengers (ie
It has front seats 2 and 3 which can be seated by three people (center passenger and passenger passenger) (see FIG. 1).

An air bag module 5 for the driver's seat is integrally built in the steering wheel 4 so as to be oriented toward the driver and deployed.

The driver airbag module 5 includes:
As shown in FIG. 2, a folded airbag 5a fixed to a base plate 20 of the steering wheel 4, an inflator 5b for supplying gas into the airbag 5a, and an igniter (not shown) that is a firing device.
It is composed of and. Also, the airbag 5a
An airbag cover 21 is provided on the occupant side of the vehicle so that it can be deployed. Reference numeral 22 is a fragile portion formed so as to be easily broken when the airbag cover 21 is deployed.

Further, in the instrument panel 1, an air bag module 6 for the central seat and an air bag module 7 for the passenger seat are arranged by means which will be described later.

The central seat airbag module 6 and the passenger seat airbag module 7 have a storage space 9 formed inside a common opening 8 formed in the instrument panel 1 (see FIGS. 3 and 4). 4)), and the opening 8 is provided with an integrated air bag grid 10 that is opened when the airbag module is activated. These airbag modules 6 and 7 are
Although not shown, an airbag, an inflator for generating gas, an igniter for operating the inflator, etc. are built in. Reference numeral 11 is a hinge that is the center of deployment of the airbag bag 10, and 6a and 7a are airbags of the airbag modules 6 and 7 for the central seat and the passenger seat.

The airbag modules 6 and 7 are shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 5, each of the pipe-shaped steering support members 12 extending in the vehicle width direction in the storage space 12 and having both ends thereof coupled to the vehicle body side is individually mounted via brackets 13 and 14. It is supported independently.

A bridge portion 8a having substantially the same width as the gap between the airbag modules 6 and 7 is integrally formed at the central portion of the opening portion 8 in the vehicle radiation direction. Since it is shared by the bag modules 6 and 7, the strength of the opening 8 having a large opening width can be improved.

Further, in the automobile of this embodiment, as shown in FIG.
Further, as shown in FIG. 8, on the lower surface of the central portion of the front header 15, at the front end of the mounting seat 17 which is fixed to the front header 15 for mounting the rearview mirror 16, the lower portion of the front windshield 18 extends downward. The extension 17a is integrally formed.

When the central airbag module 6 is provided in addition to the driver airbag module 5 and the passenger airbag module 7 as in this embodiment, the front windshield 18 is provided when the airbag is deployed.
(In particular, the airbag deployment force acting on the front windshield 18 joining portion) may be greater than that of the conventional two airbag modules, and the front windshield 18 may come off, but as described above, By forming the extension portion 17a integrally with the rear-view mirror mounting seat 17, the extension portion 1 in which the deployment force of the airbag 6a in the airbag module 6 for the central seat is coupled to the vehicle body side
It acts on 7a, and windshield 1
8 can be prevented from coming off.

As shown in FIG. 9, if the tip end portion of the attachment seat extension portion 17a is deformed and adhered to the windshield glass 18 side, the strength against the detachment of the windshield glass 18 increases.

Further, the center portion of the front header may be projected toward the front to hold the front windshield and also serve as a rear mirror mounting seat.

With the above-mentioned structure, the following effects can be obtained in the automobile airbag system of this embodiment.

In the event of a vehicle collision, the three airbag modules 5, 6 and 7 are activated simultaneously, and the airbags are deployed toward the driver, the passenger in the center seat and the passenger in the passenger seat, respectively. The airbag bag 10, which is common to the airbag modules 6 and 7 for the passenger seat and the passenger seat, is opened to ensure the synchronism of the airbag deployment. Therefore, the safety of the occupant in the center seat and the occupant in the passenger seat can be reliably achieved. In addition, the appearance of the instrument panel 1 is improved by commonly integrating the air bag grid 10.

Embodiment 2 FIG. 10 shows an automobile airbag apparatus according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention.

In the case of this embodiment, the airbag module 6 for the central seat and the airbag module 7 for the passenger seat are integrally combined and attached to the steering support member 12 via a bracket 19 of a common type. In the case of this embodiment, the bridge portion 8a of the opening 8 is omitted. In this way, the airbag device can be made compact. Other configurations and effects are the same as those of the first embodiment.
Is the same as.

The invention of the present application is not limited to the configurations of the above-described embodiments, and it goes without saying that the design can be changed as appropriate without departing from the scope of the invention.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic front perspective view of an automobile including an airbag device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing a mounted state of a driver-side airbag module in an automobile airbag apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged vertical cross-sectional view showing a mounted state of the central seat airbag module in the automobile airbag apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing a mounted state of the passenger seat airbag module in the automobile airbag apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view showing a mounting state of an airbag module and a steering support member in an automobile airbag apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a front view of an instrument panel opening portion of the automobile airbag apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a schematic perspective view showing a front header portion of an automobile including the airbag device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

8 is a sectional view taken along line VIII-VIII in FIG.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view showing a modified example of the front header portion of an automobile including the airbag device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
(Corresponding to FIG. 8).

FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing a main part of an automobile airbag apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 is an instrument panel, 2 and 3 are front seats, 4
Is a steering wheel, 5 is an air bag module for the driver's seat, 6 is an air bag module for the central seat, 7 is an air bag module for the passenger seat, 8 is an opening, and 10 is an air bag grid.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A front seat that can be seated by a driver, a center passenger and a passenger in the rear of the instrument panel, and can be seated by three people, and faces the central passenger and the passenger in the instrument panel. An airbag device for a vehicle, comprising an airbag module for a central seat and an airbag module for a passenger seat inside an opening formed at a position, wherein the opening of both airbag modules is performed in the opening. An automobile air bag device, characterized in that an integrated air bag grid that is sometimes opened is provided.