JPH08290750A - Module cover for airbag - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Purpose] The seam between the module cover and the lower handle cover located below it is not exposed in the area exposed to the driver's line of sight, and the design of the module cover is designed to be the handle and its surroundings. Make it easy to harmonize with the design. An upper wall 2 that covers the upper side of an airbag that is mounted on a base plate 10 in a folded state, a front wall 22 that extends from a front end of the upper wall 2 to a handle lower cover 21 side, and the front wall 22. A front end fixing piece 11 that extends from the middle of the part wall 22 and is fixed to the base plate 10;
In the event of an emergency such as a vehicle collision, in the airbag module cover 20 in which the upper wall 2 around the front end fixing piece 11 is pivoted to the front end side, the front wall 2 is provided.
2 is formed in an elongated shape so as to cover the front part of the handle lower cover 21.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an airbag module cover fixed to the base plate so as to cover the airbag mounted in a folded state on the base plate, and more specifically, in an emergency such as a vehicle collision. A single-opening type airbag in which a rear end fixing piece fixed to a rear side wall of the base plate fixed to a central position of a handle breaks, and an upper wall covering the airbag expands to a front end side. The present invention relates to an improvement of a module cover for vehicle.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIGS. 7 and 8 show a conventional example of a single-sided air bag module cover for covering an air bag mounted at a central position of a steering wheel of a vehicle. Airbag module cover 8 shown in FIGS. 7 and 8.
Is disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 6-8117, in which an upper wall 2 which is fixed to a central position of a handle 9 and which covers an upper part of a base plate 1 and a front end side of the upper wall 2 which is located below the base plate 1 A front wall 3 that extends to the side of the handle lower cover 10 and covers the front side of the base plate 1, and a front end side wall 4 of the base plate 1 that extends from the lower end of the front wall 3 toward the base plate 1 side. A front end fixing piece 5 fixed to the rear side wall 6 and a rear end fixing piece 7 extending from the rear end side of the upper wall 2 to overlap the rear side wall 6 of the base plate 1 and fixed to the rear side wall 6. Make up the composition.

The module cover 8 having the above-mentioned structure covers the airbag mounted on the base plate 1 in a folded state, and when the vehicle suddenly decelerates, the rear end fixing piece 7 is accompanied by the bulging of the airbag. And the expansion behavior toward the front end side of the upper wall 2 around the front end fixing piece 5 as a rotation center enables the airbag to smoothly inflate toward the driver side.

By the way, the periphery of the steering wheel 9 of the vehicle is a portion where the refinement of the design is required together with the arrangement of the meter devices on the dashboard in front of the steering wheel 9, and the module cover mounted at the central position of the steering wheel 9 is provided. 8. By adjusting the texture, color tone, form, etc. so as to harmonize with the design of the steering wheel 9 and its surroundings, the design around the steering wheel 9 is enhanced, and the quality and atmosphere of the driver's seat is enhanced to improve the commercial value. This is an important point.

[0005]

However, in the above-mentioned prior art, the size of the front wall 3 is short, and as a result, as shown in FIG. 8, the front wall 8 and the handle lower located below the front wall 8 are not shown. -The seam 11 with the cover 10 is exposed in the area exposed to the line of sight 12 of the driver. The exposure of the seam 13 makes the equipment of the module cover 8 visible, prevents the module cover 8 from being matched with the surrounding design with high quality, and becomes a factor of lowering the design.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to solve the above problems, and a seam between the airbag module cover and the handle lower cover located below the airbag module cover is exposed in a region exposed to the driver's line of sight. Therefore, the driver can
It is relatively easy to match the design of the module cover with the design of the steering wheel and its surroundings so that the presence of the cover does not need to be particularly conscious, and it is possible to enhance the product value by improving the design around the steering wheel. It is to provide a module cover for an airbag that can be used.

[0007]

The above object of the present invention is to provide an upper wall which is fixed to a central position of a handle and which covers an upper portion of a base plate, and a handle which is located below the base plate from a front end side of the upper wall. Front wall extending to the lower cover side and covering the front side of the base plate, a front end fixing piece extending from the middle of the front wall to the base plate side and fixed to the base plate, and a rear end of the upper wall. A rear end fixing piece that extends from the side so as to overlap the rear side wall of the base plate and is fixed to the rear side wall is integrally formed, and covers the airbag mounted in a folded state on the base plate, In an emergency such as a vehicle collision, the rear end fixing piece is broken along with the swelling of the airbag, and the upper wall is expanded toward the front end side around the front end fixing piece as a rotation center. A single-opening type air bag module cover that enables smooth inflation of the air bag toward the driver side according to the behavior, wherein the front wall covers the front part of the handle lower cover. This is achieved by an airbag module cover characterized by being formed in a long shape as described above.

Further, in the above-mentioned airbag module cover, the front wall is bent and deformed at the time of deployment behavior of the upper wall around the front end fixing piece as a rotation center toward the front end side, and the upper portion is bent. The above object can be achieved even if the wall portion is provided with a thin portion that facilitates the expansion behavior.

[0009]

According to the above-mentioned structure of the present invention, the front wall extending from the front end of the upper wall of the airbag module cover has the front portion of the handle lower cover located below the module cover. Since it is formed long so as to cover,
The seam between the module cover and the handle lower cover is not exposed in the area exposed to the driver's line of sight.

Further, the front wall has a thin-walled portion which is bent and deformed when the upper wall is expanded toward the front end side around the front end fixing piece as a rotation center to facilitate the expansion behavior of the upper wall. When the configuration is provided, the deployment behavior of the airbag module cover in the initial stage of the deployment of the airbag can be completed more easily and quickly.

[0011]

1 is a side sectional view of a first embodiment of an air bag module cover according to the present invention. The airbag module cover 20 of the first embodiment is shown in FIG.
It is an improved version of the conventional one shown in FIG. 1 and is located below the base plate 10 from the front end side of the upper wall 2 which covers the upper side of the base plate 10 fixed to the central position of the handle 9 and from the front end side of the upper wall 2. Handle lower cover 21
A front wall 22 extending to the side and covering the front side of the base plate 10, and a front end fixing piece 11 extending from the middle of the front wall 22 to the base plate 10 side and fixed to the front end of the base plate 10 by a blind rivet. And a rear end fixing piece extending from the rear end side of the upper wall 2 so as to overlap the rear side wall 6 of the base plate 10 and fixed to the rear side wall 6 by a blind rivet or a screw. There is.

In the module cover 20 of the first embodiment, the front wall 22 has the handle lower portion
It is formed in an elongated shape so as to cover the front part of the cover 21.
As shown in FIG. 1, in the present invention, the front wall 2
In order to form 2 in a long shape, the length L from the lower surface of the front end fixing piece 11 to the tip of the front wall 22 is at least 5 m.
It is set to m or more.

The module cover 20 of the first embodiment described above.
Is configured as described above, covers the airbag 100 mounted in a folded state on the base plate 10, and in an emergency such as a vehicle collision, as shown in FIG. 2), the rear end fixing piece 7 is broken along with the swelling, and the upper wall 2 starts the expansion behavior toward the front end side with the vicinity of the front end fixing piece 11 as the rotation center.
After the state of (b), as in the state shown in (c) of FIG. 2, the curved state of being concave toward the front end side is warped to complete the expansion behavior. By the completion of the deployment behavior shown in FIG. 2C, the deployment direction of the airbag is largely opened, and the airbag can be smoothly inflated to the driver side.

In the module cover 20 of the first embodiment described above, the front wall 22 extending from the front end of the upper wall 2 covers the front portion of the handle lower cover 21 located below the module cover 20. Since it is formed to be long so as to cover it, as shown in FIG. 1, the module cover 20 and the steering wheel lower portion are exposed in the area exposed to the driver's line of sight 14.
The joint with the cover 21 is not exposed. Therefore, the driver can
It is relatively easy to match the design of the module cover 20 with the design of the handle 9 and its surroundings so that the presence of the cover 21 is not particularly taken into consideration, and the product value is improved by improving the design around the handle. Can be increased.

FIG. 3 shows a second embodiment of the airbag module cover according to the present invention.
(C) shows the expansion behavior of the module cover 24 of the second embodiment. The module cover 24 of the second embodiment is
Front wall 22 of module cover 20 of the first embodiment
Above the front end fixing piece 11, the front end fixing piece 11
A thin-walled portion 25 is provided to facilitate bending of the upper wall 2 when the upper wall 2 is deployed toward the front end of the upper wall 2 with the vicinity thereof as a rotation center. Except for this, the configuration is the same as that of the first embodiment. The thin portion 25 is obtained by forming a recess on the inner surface side or the outer surface side of the front wall 22.

With the configuration of the upper second embodiment, the same effect as that of the first embodiment can be obtained. Then, this module cover 24, (a), (b), (c) of FIG.
Although the expansion behavior of the module cover 24 progresses in the order shown in FIG. 5, the thin portion 25 has lower strength than the surroundings as shown in these figures, and the thin wall portion 25 quickly bends and deforms during the expansion behavior toward the front end side of the upper wall 2. Therefore, the deployment behavior of the module cover 24 at the beginning of the deployment of the airbag can be completed more easily and quickly.
It is possible to ensure a faster and more reliable deployment of the airbag.

FIG. 5 is a side sectional view of an airbag module cover 27 which is a third embodiment of the present invention.
The module cover 27 of this embodiment includes the thin portion 25.
The equipment position is shifted to a position closer to the handle lower cover 21, and the configuration other than that is the same as that of the second embodiment shown in FIG. FIG. 6 shows a state where the deployment behavior of the module cover 27 having the configuration shown in FIG. 5 is completed. Thus, even if the equipment position of the thin portion 25 is shifted toward the handle lower cover 21, the module cover at the initial stage of the airbag deployment due to the bending deformation of the thin portion 25 as in the case shown in FIG. The deployment behavior of 27 can be completed more easily and quickly, and it is possible to ensure a more rapid and reliable deployment of the airbag.

[0018]

According to the air bag module cover of the present invention, the front wall extending from the front end of the upper wall of the air bag module cover has the handle lower portion located below the module cover. Since it is formed to be long so as to cover the front part of the cover, the seam between the module cover and the lower handle cover is not exposed in the area exposed to the line of sight of the driver. Therefore, it is relatively easy to match the design of the module cover with the design of the steering wheel and its surroundings so that the driver does not have to be particularly aware of the existence of the module cover or the lower steering wheel cover. The product value can be increased by improving the design of the. Further, the front wall is provided with a thin-walled portion that bends and deforms when the upper wall is deployed to the front end side around the front end fixing piece as a center of rotation to facilitate the deployment behavior of the upper wall. When configured, the deployment behavior of the airbag module cover in the initial stage of the deployment of the airbag can be completed more easily and quickly, and the airbag can be deployed more quickly and reliably. It becomes possible to guarantee.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side sectional view of a first embodiment of an airbag module cover according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the deployment behavior of the airbag module cover according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a side sectional view of a second embodiment of the airbag module cover according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory view of the deployment behavior of the airbag module cover according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a side sectional view of a third embodiment of the airbag module cover according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of the deployment behavior of the airbag module cover according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view showing a configuration of a conventional airbag module cover.

FIG. 8 is an assembled sectional view showing a configuration of a conventional airbag module cover.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 Upper wall 6 Rear side wall 7 Rear end fixing piece 9 Handle 10 Base plate 20, 24, 27 Airbag module cover 21 Handle lower cover 22 Front wall 25 Thin wall portion

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. An upper wall covering an upper part of a base plate fixed to a central position of a handle, and a base plate extending from a front end side of the upper wall to a handle lower cover side located below the base plate. A front wall that covers the front side, a front end fixing piece that extends from the middle of the front wall to the base plate side and is fixed to the base plate, and a rear end side of the upper wall that extends to overlap the rear side wall of the base plate. A rear end fixing piece that is ejected and fixed to the rear side wall is integrally formed to cover the airbag mounted in a folded state on the base plate, and the rear portion is provided as the airbag expands. The end fixing piece is broken to allow the airbag to smoothly inflate toward the driver side due to the expansion behavior of the upper wall toward the front end side around the front end fixing piece as a rotation center. A single-opening type air bag module cover to be smoothed, wherein the front wall is formed in an elongated shape so as to cover a front portion of the handle lower cover. cover. 2. The thin wall of the front wall, which is bent and deformed when the upper wall is deployed toward the front end side around the front end fixing piece as a center of rotation so as to facilitate the deployment behavior of the upper wall. The airbag module cover according to claim 1, wherein the module cover is provided with a portion.