WO2023008303A1

WO2023008303A1 - Occupant restraint device

Info

Publication number: WO2023008303A1
Application number: PCT/JP2022/028330
Authority: WO
Inventors: 優土生; 豊中島
Original assignee: オートリブディベロップメントエービー; 優土生; 豊中島
Priority date: 2021-07-27
Filing date: 2022-07-21
Publication date: 2023-02-02
Also published as: JPWO2023008303A1; JP7620710B2

Abstract

[Problem] To provide an occupant restraint device which enables further improvement in occupant restraint performance of an airbag cushion. [Solution] An occupant restraint device 100 comprises: a side protecting chamber 122 that is expanded and deployed beside an occupant 120; a front protecting chamber 124 that is expanded and deployed in front of the side protecting chamber 122; a connecting duct 138 that sends a gas from the side protecting chamber 122 to the front protecting chamber 124; an inner vent 140 having one end 142 contacting the connecting duct 138; a tether 146 that pulls the inner vent 140 toward the side protecting chamber 122; a tether cutter 148 to which a trailing end of the tether 146 is connected and which, upon receiving a predetermined signal, cuts the tether 146; a determination unit 158 that determines whether or not a vehicle collision is a frontal collision; and a transmission unit B 160b that transmits the predetermined signal to the tether cutter 148 when the determination unit 158 has determined that the collision is a frontal collision.

Description

passenger restraint system

The present invention relates to an occupant restraint device that restrains an occupant seated on a vehicle seat.

Most recent vehicles are equipped with an airbag system as standard equipment. An airbag device is a safety device that is activated in an emergency such as a vehicle collision, and uses an airbag cushion that is inflated and deployed by gas pressure to receive and protect the occupant. There are various types of airbag devices depending on the installation location and application. For example, in the occupant restraint system of Patent Document 1 by the present applicant, a side airbag system is implemented in which an airbag cushion inflates and deploys from the side of the seat to both sides of the occupant.

The occupant restraint device of Patent Document 1 is provided with a belt 140 that expands as the airbag cushion inflates and deploys. The belt 140 utilizes tension to restrict the movement of the airbag cushion, making it possible to enhance the occupant restraint performance of the airbag cushion.

International Publication No. 2016/039160 pamphlet

In the occupant restraint system of Patent Document 1, the movement of the airbag cushion in the direction away from the occupant, particularly in the lateral direction, can be appropriately restricted by the belt, and the occupant restraint performance of the airbag cushion can be dramatically improved. rice field. However, such occupant restraint systems are always required to have improved occupant restraint performance. In particular, the present inventors paid attention to the fact that the required area of the airbag cushion differs depending on the mode of vehicle collision, and studied further improvements to the technique of Patent Document 1.

In view of such problems, an object of the present invention is to provide an occupant restraint device capable of further improving the occupant restraint performance of the airbag cushion.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a representative configuration of the occupant restraint system according to the present invention is an occupant restraint system for restraining an occupant seated on a seat of a vehicle, the occupant restraint system having a bag-like shape. The airbag cushion is provided with an airbag cushion that is rolled or folded and stored in at least one end in the width direction of the seat back of the seat, and an inflator that supplies gas to the airbag cushion. has a side protection chamber that receives gas from an inflator and inflates and deploys to the side of the occupant, a front protection chamber that receives gas from the side protection chamber and inflates and deploys forward of the side protection chamber, and a side protection chamber. and an inner vent having one end in contact with the at least one connecting duct, the occupant restraint device further having a front end facing the other end of the inner vent. A tether that is connected and pulls the inner vent toward the side protection chamber, a tether cutter that is connected to the rear end of the tether and receives a predetermined signal to cut the tether, and when a vehicle collision is detected or predicted. It is characterized by comprising a determination unit that determines whether the collision is a frontal collision or not, and a transmission unit that sends a predetermined signal to the tether cutter when the determination unit determines that the collision is a frontal collision.

With the above configuration, it is possible to operate the opening and closing of the inner vent by the tether connected to the inner vent, and control whether or not the front protection chamber is actively inflated. For example, in a frontal collision, the airbag cushion is actively inflated and deployed to the front protection chamber to fully restrain the occupant. can be preferentially inflated and deployed to quickly restrain the occupant. Therefore, according to the above configuration, it is possible to improve the occupant restraint performance of the airbag cushion according to the type of collision.

The determination unit can further determine whether the collision is a side impact or not, and the transmission unit should not send a signal to the tether cutter when the determination unit determines that the collision is a side impact.

According to the above configuration, in a side collision, the tether is not detached from the tether cutter and the inner vent is closed, so that only the side protection chamber is rapidly inflated and deployed to restrain the occupant from the side. be possible.

The inner vent has one or more loops formed in the edges of the other end opening to pass the tether through, the other end opening of the inner vent being throttled by the tether when the tether is connected to the tether cutter. The inner vent may be closed.

According to the above configuration, when the tether is connected to the tether cutter, the amount of gas flowing from the inner vent to the front protection chamber can be suppressed appropriately.

A plurality of the one or more connection ducts may be provided, and the plurality of connection ducts may be provided at two locations, upper and lower, on the front side of the side protection chamber.

According to the above configuration, it is possible to secure the supply of gas from the side protection chambers to the front protection chambers by means of the plurality of connecting ducts.

The occupant restraint system further includes a first outer vent provided in the main panel forming the side protection chamber, and a guide panel provided in a range covering the first outer vent of the main panel and having upper and lower edges joined to the main panel. and a second outer vent provided at a position overlapping the first outer panel of the guide panel, and the tether passes between the main panel and the guide panel and is passed between the inner vent and the tether cutter, and the occupant The restraint device may further comprise a shutter panel that is attached to the tether and slides along the guide panel to a position that closes between the first outer vent and the second outer vent when the tether is disengaged from the tether cutter.

In the above configuration, the opening and closing of each outer vent can be controlled by the shutter panel attached to the tether. As a result, in the event of a frontal collision, the shutter panel closes the first and second outer vents, thereby reducing gas emissions from the side protection chambers and giving priority to gas supply to the front protection chambers. can be done. In addition, in the event of a side collision, opening the first and second outer vents allows the gas to be discharged from the side protection chamber to the outside, thereby preventing the internal pressure of the side protection chamber from becoming too high. . Therefore, even with the above configuration, the occupant restraint performance of the airbag cushion can be improved according to the type of collision.

The occupant restraint system further includes a third outer vent provided in the shutter panel, the third outer vent being positioned to overlap the first outer vent and the second outer vent when the tether is connected to the tether cutter. good.

In the above configuration, by providing the shutter panel with the third outer vent, gas is discharged from the side protection chamber to the outside when the tether is connected to the tether cutter, and the internal pressure of the side protection chamber is adjusted so that it does not become too high. be able to. Therefore, even with the above configuration, it is possible to improve the occupant restraint performance of the airbag cushion according to the type of collision.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an occupant restraint device capable of further improving the occupant restraint performance of the airbag cushion.

It is the figure which illustrated the state before movement of the passenger|crew restraint apparatus concerning this embodiment. FIG. 2 is a top view illustrating a state after the occupant restraint system of FIG. 1 has been moved; FIG. 2 is a side view illustrating a state after the occupant restraint system of FIG. 1 has been moved; It is the figure which illustrated the state which set|placed the airbag cushion of Fig.3 (a) on the plane. 5 is a diagram illustrating an internal configuration of the airbag cushion of FIG. 4; FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an overview of the overall configuration of the occupant restraint system of FIG. 1; FIG. It is the flowchart which illustrated the process which the control part of FIG.6(b) performs. It is the figure which illustrated the modification of the inner vent of FIG.5(b). FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a modification of the airbag cushion of FIG. 4; It is the figure which illustrated the state before movement of the slide vent structure of Fig.9 (a). It is the figure which illustrated the state after the movement of the slide vent structure of Fig.9 (a).

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The dimensions, materials, and other specific numerical values shown in these embodiments are merely examples for facilitating understanding of the invention, and do not limit the invention unless otherwise specified. In the present specification and drawings, elements having substantially the same functions and configurations are denoted by the same reference numerals to omit redundant description, and elements that are not directly related to the present invention are omitted from the drawings. do.

FIG. 1 is a diagram exemplifying the state of the occupant restraint system 100 according to the present embodiment before being moved. In FIG. 1, the members housed inside the seat 102, such as the

airbag units

108 and 110, are shown in phantom lines.

In this embodiment, when the occupant 120 (see FIG. 2 etc.) is seated on the seat 102 in a normal posture, the direction in which the occupant 120 is facing is forward, the opposite direction is backward, and the right side of the occupant 120 is referred to as the right direction, and the left side of the occupant 120 is referred to as the left direction. Further, when the occupant 120 is seated in a normal posture, the direction of the head of the occupant 120 is called upward, and the direction of the waist of the occupant 120 is called downward. In the drawings used in the following description, the front, rear, left, right, up and down directions with respect to the occupant 120 are indicated by arrows F (Forward), B (Back), L (Left), R (Right), Indicated by U(up) and D(down).

In addition, in the following description, directions referred to as inner and outer directions are referred to as inner sides in terms of the relative positional relationship of a plurality of objects viewed from the occupant 120 seated in the normal posture. The side far from 120 is called the outside.

The occupant restraint system 100 includes a pair of left and

right airbag units

108 and 110 mainly inside the seat back 104 of the seat 102 . The

airbag units

108, 110 are configured including

airbag cushions

112, 114 and

belt members

116, 118, respectively.

The occupant restraint system 100 restrains the occupant 120 (see FIG. 2, etc.) seated on the seat 102 mainly using the airbag cushions 112 and 114 in an emergency such as when the vehicle is hit. The airbag cushions 112 and 114 are bag-shaped members that can be inflated with gas. stored inside.

The

belt members

116, 118 are provided for the airbag cushions 112, 114, respectively. The

belt members

116 and 118 are members that support the inflated and deployed airbag cushion (see FIG. 2), and are stored from the inside of the seat back 104 of the seat 102 to the inside of the seat cushion 106 .

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the state after the occupant restraint system 100 of FIG. 1 has been moved from above. The occupant 120 in FIG. 2(a) exemplifies a test dummy AM50 that mimics the build of 50% of the average adult American male (height 175 cm, weight 78 kg).

In the occupant restraint system 100 of this embodiment, the pair of left and right airbag cushions 112 and 114 inflate and deploy from the sides of the upper body of the occupant 120 seated on the seat 102 toward the front in the event of a vehicle collision or the like.

The airbag cushions 112, 114 are supported from the side opposite to the occupant 120 by

belt members

116, 118, respectively. The

belt members

116, 118 bias the airbag cushions 112, 114 toward the occupant 120 and absorb the load from the occupant 120 applied to the airbag cushions 112, 114, thereby occupant restraint force.

FIG. 3 is a side view illustrating the state after the occupant restraint system 100 of FIG. 1 has been moved. FIG. 3(a) is a diagram illustrating the occupant restraint system 100 of FIG. 2 as viewed from the right side of the seat 102. FIG. Hereinafter, the airbag cushion 112 on the left side of the seat 102 will be described as a representative of the airbag cushions 112 and 114 .

The airbag cushion 112 is roughly divided into a side protection chamber 122 on the rear side and a front protection chamber 124 on the front side. The side protection chamber 122 receives gas from an inflator 128 (see FIG. 5( a )) and inflates and deploys to a position on the side of the occupant 120 . The front protection chamber 124 receives gas from the side protection chamber 122 and inflates and deploys in front of the side protection chamber 122 and the occupant 120 .

FIG. 3(b) is a diagram illustrating a state in which the side protection chamber 122 of FIG. 3(a) is preferentially inflated and deployed. The airbag cushion 112 of this embodiment does not actively inflate the front protective chamber 124 in the event of a side collision, for example, using a sensor (such as the front sensor 154 in FIG. 6A) and the control unit 150, which will be described later. can take form. That is, the airbag cushion 112 positively inflates up to the front protection chamber 124 in the event of a frontal collision to restrain the occupant 120 from the front as well, and preferentially inflates and deploys the side protection chambers 122 in the event of a side impact. It is possible to quickly restrain the occupant 120 from the side.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a state in which the airbag cushion 112 of FIG. 3(a) is placed on a plane. In FIG. 3, the airbag cushion 112 is exemplified with the panel opposite to the occupant 120 (see FIG. 3(a)) facing forward.

The airbag cushion 112 is formed by stacking and sewing or adhering a plurality of base fabrics constituting the surface, or by spinning or weaving using OPW (One-Piece Woven).

The airbag cushion 112 is provided with an upper protection chamber 126 in addition to the side protection chambers 122 and the front protection chamber 124 . The upper protection chamber 126 is a portion that expands laterally of the head of the occupant 120, and is provided so as to curve and extend forward of the vehicle from the upper side of the side protection chamber 122. As shown in FIG.

The belt member 116 is connected to the panel on the front side of the front protection chamber 124 and on the side opposite to the occupant 120 . The belt member 116 is stretched from the seat back 104 to the seat cushion 106 when the airbag cushion 112 is inflated and deployed (see FIG. 3A).

FIG. 5 is a diagram exemplifying the internal configuration of the airbag cushion 112 of FIG. An inner deflector 130 and an outer inner tube 132 are provided inside the side protection chamber 122 as members for rectifying the gas from the inflator 128 .

The inflator 128 is installed inside the deflector 130, and the deflector 130 rectifies the gas from the inflator 128 in the vertical direction. An inner tube 132 encloses a deflector 130 and directs gas toward an upper protective chamber 126 and a front protective chamber 124 through three vent holes 134a-134c.

A cylinder type (cylindrical) inflator 128 is adopted, and is built in the rear side of the interior of the side protection chamber with its longitudinal direction directed vertically. A plurality of stud bolts (not shown) protrude from the body of the inflator 128, and the stud bolts are fastened to the frame of the seat to fix the inflator 128 and the airbag cushion 112 to the seat 102 (see FIG. 1).

The inflators that are currently in widespread use include a type that is filled with a gas generating agent and burns it to generate gas, a type that is filled with compressed gas and supplies gas without generating heat, or a type that is filled with a combustible type. There are hybrid types that use both gas and compressed gas. Any type of inflator 128 can be used.

The side protection chamber 122 and the front protection chamber 124 are connected by connecting ducts 136,138. Connecting

ducts

136 , 138 are provided at two locations above and below the front side of the side protection chambers 122 to deliver gas from the side protection chambers 122 to the front protection chamber 124 . The connection duct 136 is provided in the front upper portion of the side protection chamber 122 , and the connection duct 136 is provided in the vertical central portion of the front side of the side protection chamber 122 . These connecting

ducts

136 , 138 make it possible to ensure smooth gas supply from the side protection chamber 122 to the front protection chamber 124 .

In this embodiment, an inner vent 140 is provided in the lower connecting duct 138 . The inner vent 140 is a cylindrical member having one end 142 in contact with the connecting duct 138 and the other end 144 connected to a tether cutter 148 through a tether 146 . When the inner vent 140 is pulled by the tether 146, it is difficult for gas to flow, but when the tether 146 falls off from the tether cutter 148, the other end 144 becomes a free end, allowing gas to flow smoothly.

The tether cutter 148 is a device that fastens the tether 146, and upon receiving a signal from the control unit 150 (see FIG. 6(b)), the internal blade moves to cut the tether 146 and drop it. The tether cutter 148 is installed inside the seat 102 (see FIG. 3(a)) on the side protection chamber 122 side when viewed from the connecting duct 138 to which the inner vent 140 is connected.

The tether 146 is a strip-shaped member, the front end of which is connected to the other end 144 side of the inner vent 140 , and the rear end of which is connected to the tether cutter 148 . At this time, the tether 146 is installed while pulling the other end 144 of the inner vent 140 toward the side protection chamber 122 . As a result, the opening of the other end 144 of the inner vent 140 is pulled by the tether 146 and closed.

FIG. 5(b) is a diagram illustrating a state in which the tether 146 has fallen off the tether cutter 148. FIG. When the tether cutter 148 is moved, the tether 146 is cut and falls off the tether cutter 148 . When the inner vent 140 is released from the mooring by the tether 146, the other end 144 side is pushed to the front protection chamber 124 side by the gas pressure. As a result, the inner vent 140 and the connecting duct 138 are opened, the flow rate of gas from the connecting duct 138 to the front protection chamber 124 increases, and the front protection chamber 124 is rapidly inflated and deployed.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an overview of the overall configuration of the occupant restraint system 100 of FIG. FIG. 6A is a block diagram illustrating the overall configuration of the occupant restraint system 100. FIG. The control unit 150 included in the occupant restraint system 100 is a device implemented as a so-called ECU (Electronic Control Unit).

The control unit 150 is connected to a power source 152 and sensors (a front sensor 154 and a side sensor 156). send a motion signal to

FIG. 6(b) is a block diagram illustrating the functions of the control unit 150 in FIG. 6(a). The control unit 150 includes a determination unit 158 and transmission units (transmission unit A 160a, transmission unit B 160b).

The determination unit 158 determines through the front sensor 154 and the side sensor 156 whether or not the vehicle has collided, and the type of collision. For example, the determination unit 158 determines a front collision when detecting a collision through the front sensor 154 , and determines a side collision when detecting a collision through only the side sensor 156 .

The transmission unit A 160 a and the transmission unit B 160 b each transmit a movement signal to the inflator 128 and the tether cutter 148 based on the determination result of the determination unit 158 . For example, the transmitter A 160a sends a movement signal to the inflator 128 when the determination unit 158 receives a signal indicating collision detection or the like from each sensor, regardless of whether it is the front sensor 154 or the side sensor 156 .

When the determination unit 158 receives a signal indicating that a collision has been detected from the front sensor 154, the transmission unit B 160b sends a movement signal to the tether cutter 148 on the assumption that a frontal collision has occurred in the vehicle. As a result, in the case of a frontal collision, the front protection chamber 124 is actively inflated and deployed as shown in FIG. 3(a), and only the side protection chamber 122 is actively expanded as shown in FIG. Inflate and expand.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating the processing performed by the control unit 150 in FIG. 6(b). First, at step 170, the determination unit 158 (see FIG. 6B) determines whether or not a collision signal has been input from each sensor, regardless of whether it is the front sensor 154 or the side sensor 156. FIG. If a collision signal has been input (Yes in step 170), then in step 172 it is determined whether the signal is from the front sensor 154 or not. If there is no collision signal input at step 170 (No at step 170), the system enters a standby state.

If the signal is from the front sensor 154 (see FIG. 6B) (Yes in step 172), the signal A is output from the transmitter A 160a in step 174, and in parallel with the transmitter B 160b in step 180 Signal B is output.

The signal A output at step 174 is sent to the inflator 128, the inflator 128 is moved at step 176, and the side protection chamber 122 (see FIG. 5(b)) is deployed at step 178.

The signal B output at step 180 is sent to the tether cutter 148, the tether cutter 148 is moved at step 182, and the inner vent 140 is deployed at step 184.

By these

steps

178 and 184, the front protection chamber 124 is deployed in the following step 186, and the occupant 120 (see FIG. 3(a)) is also restrained from the front, and the series of processing ends.

On the other hand, if the signal is not from the front sensor 154 (see FIG. 6B) at step 172 (No at step 172), the signal A is output from the transmitter A 160a at step 188, and at step 190 the inflator 128 is movable. Then, in step 192, the side protection chamber (see FIG. 5(a)) is deployed to restrain the occupant 120 (see FIG. 3(b)) from the side, and the process ends.

As described above, the determination unit 158 (see FIG. 6B) determines whether the vehicle collision is a frontal collision or a side collision, depending on whether or not the signal from the front sensor 154 has arrived. do. Transmitter B 160b signals tether cutter 148 when determiner 158 determines that the collision is a frontal collision. On the other hand, transmitter B 160 b does not send a signal to tether cutter 148 when decision unit 158 determines that the crash is a side impact. By this process, the tether 146 is not detached from the tether cutter 148 in the event of a side collision, the inner vent 140 is closed, and the flow rate of gas to the front protection chamber 124 is suppressed, thereby preferentially opening the side protection chamber 122. It is possible to quickly restrain the occupant from the side by inflating and deploying.

In this embodiment, a tether 146 connected to the inner vent 140 is used to open and close the inner vent 140 to control whether or not the front protection chamber 124 is positively inflated. For example, in the event of a frontal collision, the airbag cushion 112 (see FIG. 3A) is actively inflated and deployed to the front protection chamber 124 to fully restrain the occupant 120 . Also, in cases other than a frontal collision, such as a side collision, the side protection chamber 122 of the airbag cushion 112 (see FIG. 3B) is preferentially inflated and deployed to quickly restrain the occupant 120 . In particular, in the case of a side collision, the front protection chamber 124 is softened or its deployment is delayed so as not to push the occupant 120 excessively from the front and reduce the load on the occupant's 120 body such as arms and chest. ing.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the occupant restraint performance of the airbag cushion 112 is improved by selectively inflating and deploying a required area of the airbag cushion 112 according to the type of collision. is possible.

In the explanation of the control unit 150 with reference to FIG. 6(b), it was stated that the transmission unit B 160b does not send a signal to the tether cutter 148 when the signal from the front sensor 154 is not received. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the control unit 150 can also perform processing for delaying the signal sent from the transmission unit B 160b to the tether cutter 148 when the signal from the front sensor 154 is not received. This process also makes it possible to inflate and deploy the side protection chamber 122 (see FIG. 3(b)) preferentially to quickly restrain the occupant 120 in a side collision.

In addition, in FIG. 5(a) and the like, a configuration in which the upper connecting duct 136 is omitted, a configuration in which the upper connecting duct 136 is also provided with an inner vent 140, and the like can be implemented. In a configuration in which the upper connecting duct 136 is omitted, it is possible to efficiently control the flow rate of gas to the front protection chamber 124 by providing only the connecting duct 138 with the inner vent 140 . Similarly, the configuration in which the upper connecting duct 136 is also provided with the inner vent 140 also makes it possible to efficiently control the flow rate of the gas to the front protection chamber 124 .

(Modification)
FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a modification (inner vent 200) of the inner vent 140 of FIG. 5(b). In each figure after FIG. 8, the same reference numerals are given to the same components as those already explained, and thus the explanation of the already mentioned components will be omitted. Also, in the following description, even if the same names as the components already described are given different reference numerals, they have the same functions unless otherwise specified.

FIG. 8(a) is a diagram illustrating a state before the inflator 128 (see FIG. 5(a)) of the inner vent 200 is moved. The inner vent 200 is formed with a loop 204 through which the tether 146 is passed at the edge of the opening 202 on the other end 144 side. FIG. 8(b) is a diagram illustrating a state when the inflator 128 of the inner vent 200 is movable. When the inflator 128 moves to inflate and deploy the airbag cushion 112, the tether passing through the loop 204 is pulled between the inner vent 200 and the tether cutter 148, and the opening 202 on the other end 144 side of the inner vent 200 is squeezed by the tether 146. closed.

The inner vent 200 is closed by squeezing the opening 202 when the tether 146 is connected to the tether cutter 148 (see FIG. 5(a)), that is, at the time of a side collision, and the inner vent 200 is closed, and the front protection chamber is closed. The amount of gas flowing into 124 can be suitably suppressed. Therefore, by providing the inner vent 200, it becomes possible to inflate and deploy the side protection chamber 122 with higher priority.

As another configuration of the loop 204, it is possible to provide a plurality of small strip-shaped loops, or to provide a plurality of slits at the edge of the opening 202 and pass the tether 146 through the slits.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a modification (airbag cushion 210) of the airbag cushion 112 of FIG. FIG. 9(a) illustrates the airbag cushion 210 from the same direction as in FIG. The airbag cushion 210 differs in configuration from the airbag cushion 112 in FIG. 4 in that it has a slide vent structure 212 . In the slide vent structure 212, the tether 146 is exposed from the airbag cushion 210 to the outside, and the tether 146 can be used to adjust the amount of gas discharged from the airbag cushion 210 to the outside.

FIG. 9(b) is an exploded view of the slide vent structure 212 of FIG. 9(a). The sliding vent structure 212 includes a first outer vent 216 in the main panel 214 forming the side protective chamber 122 . A total of two first outer vents 216 are provided, and the tether 146 is exposed to the outside of the airbag cushion 210 from the first outer vent 216 on one side.

A guide panel 218 is provided in a range covering the first outer vent 216 of the main panel 214 . The guide panel 218 has upper and

lower edges

220 a and 220 b joined to the main panel 214 and front and

rear edges

220 c and 220 e are kept apart from the main panel 214 . A second outer vent 222 is provided at a position overlapping the first outer vent 216 of the guide panel 218 .

The tether 146 enters the airbag cushion 210 from the first outer vent 216 while passing between the main panel 214 and the guide panel 218, and is passed between the inner vent 140 (see FIG. 5B) and the tether cutter 148. there is

A shutter panel 224 is attached to a portion of the tether 146 exposed from the first outer vent 216 . The shutter panel 224 is provided with a third outer vent 226 . A third outer vent 226 connects the first outer vent 216 of the main panel 214 and the second outer vent 222 of the guide panel 218 to allow the evacuation of gas from the interior of the airbag cushion 210 .

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating the state before the movement of the slide vent structure 212 of FIG. 9(a). FIG. 10(a) is an enlarged view of the slide vent structure 212 of FIG. 9(a). A third outer vent 226 of the shutter panel 224 overlaps the first outer vent 216 (see FIG. 9(a)) and the second outer vent 222 when the tether 146 is connected to the tether cutter 148 (see FIG. 5(a)). placed in position.

FIG. 10(b) is an AA cross-sectional view of the slide vent structure 212 of FIG. 10(a). By providing the shutter panel 224 with the third outer vent 226, when the tether 146 is connected to the tether cutter 148 (see FIG. 5(a)), that is, in the event of a side collision, gas is discharged from the side protection chamber 122 to the outside. It is possible to adjust the internal pressure of the side protection chamber 122 so that it does not become too high.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating the state after the slide vent structure 212 of FIG. 9(a) has been moved. FIG. 11(a) illustrates a state in which the shutter panel 224 of FIG. 10(a) has moved forward. When the tether 146 is detached from the tether cutter 148, i.e., in a frontal collision, the shutter panel 224 moves along with the movement of the other end 144 of the inner vent 140 into the front protection chamber 124 (see FIG. 5(b)). , slides forward along the guide panel 218 while being pulled by the tether 146 .

FIG. 11(b) is a BB cross-sectional view of the slide vent structure 212 of FIG. 11(a). As the third outer vent 226 moves forward, the shutter panel 224 closes the space between the first outer vent 216 and the second outer vent 222 . Accordingly, in the event of a frontal collision, the shutter panel 224 can suppress gas from being discharged from the airbag cushion 210 (see FIG. 9A) to the outside, and can give priority to the supply of gas to the front protection chamber 124 .

As described above, in the airbag cushion 210, the shutter panel 224 attached to the tether 146 opens each outer vent (the first outer vent 216, etc.) in the event of a side collision, while opening each outer vent in the event of a frontal collision. It is possible to adjust the amount of gas discharged from the airbag cushion 210 to the outside according to the type of collision, such as closing the airbag cushion 210 . As described above, even with the airbag cushion 210, it is possible to improve the occupant restraint performance of the airbag cushion 210 according to the type of collision.

The occupant restraint performance of the airbag cushion 210 can be set by, for example, changing the diameter of each outer vent such as the first outer vent 216, changing the shape of the front protection chamber 124, and the like. By increasing the diameter of each outer vent to increase the amount of gas discharged, and by changing the shape of the front protection chamber 124 to a shape that can avoid the pressure of the arm of the occupant 120 (see FIG. 3B, etc.), It is possible to reduce the injury value for the occupant 120 in a side collision. In addition to changing the shape of the front protection chamber 124, by changing the diameter of the inner vent 140 (see FIG. 5(b), etc.), the pressure and timing when the front protection chamber 124 is deployed can be adjusted, It is possible to reduce the injury value to the occupants in the event of a collision.

Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above with reference to the accompanying drawings, the above-described embodiments are preferred examples of the present invention, and other embodiments can be implemented or implemented in various ways. I can carry it out. The present invention is not limited to the shapes, sizes, configurations, and the like of the detailed parts shown in the accompanying drawings, unless specifically stated otherwise in the specification. Also, the phraseology and terminology used herein are for the purpose of description and should not be construed as limiting unless specifically stated otherwise.

Therefore, it is obvious that a person skilled in the art can conceive various modifications or modifications within the scope described in the claims, and these naturally belong to the technical scope of the present invention. understood as a thing.

The present invention can be used for an occupant restraint device that restrains an occupant seated on a vehicle seat.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100... Occupant restraint apparatus, 102... Seat, 104... Seat back, 106... Seat cushion, 108, 110... Airbag unit, 112, 114... Airbag cushion, 116, 118... Belt member, 120... Occupant, 122... Side Protection chamber 124 Front protection chamber 126 Upper protection chamber 128 Inflator 130 Deflector 132 Inner tube 134a to 134c Vent hole 136 Connecting duct 138 Connecting duct 140 Inner vent 142 144: Other end 146: Tether 148: Tether cutter 150: Control unit 152: Power source 154: Front sensor 156: Side sensor 158: Determination unit 160a: Transmitter A 160b: Transmitter B, 200... Inner vent 202... Opening 204... Loop 210... Airbag cushion 212... Slide vent structure 214... Main panel 216... First outer vent 218... Guide panel 220a... Upper edge 220b... Lower edge 220c Front edge 220d Rear edge 222 Second outer vent 224 Shutter panel 226 Third outer vent

Claims

An occupant restraint device for restraining an occupant seated on a seat of a vehicle,
The occupant restraint system,
an airbag cushion that has a bag-like shape and is stored in a predetermined storage form of being rolled or folded and stored on at least one end side in the width direction of the seat back of the seat;
an inflator that supplies gas to the airbag cushion;
with
The airbag cushion is
a side protection chamber that receives gas from the inflator and inflates and deploys to a position on the side of the occupant;
a front protection chamber that receives gas from the side protection chamber and inflates and deploys forward of the side protection chamber;
one or more connecting ducts for conveying gas from the side protective chambers to the front protective chamber;
an inner vent having one end in contact with at least one connecting duct;
has
The occupant restraint system further includes:
a tether having a front end connected to the other end of the inner vent and pulling the inner vent toward the side protection chamber;
a tether cutter that is connected to the rear end of the tether and receives a predetermined signal to cut the tether;
a determination unit that determines whether or not the collision is a frontal collision when detecting or predicting a vehicle collision;
a transmission unit that transmits the predetermined signal to the tether cutter when the determination unit determines that the collision is the frontal collision;
An occupant restraint device comprising:
The determination unit can further determine whether the collision is a side collision,
2. The occupant restraint system according to claim 1, wherein the transmitting section does not send a signal to the tether cutter when the judging section judges that the collision is a side collision.
The inner vent has one or more loops formed on the edge of the opening on the other end side and through which the tether passes,
3. The inner vent according to claim 1, wherein the opening on the other end side of the inner vent is squeezed by the tether when the tether is connected to the tether cutter so that the inner vent is closed. occupant restraint system.
The one or more connecting ducts are provided in plurality,
The occupant restraint system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the plurality of connecting ducts are provided at two upper and lower locations on the front side of the side protection chamber.
The occupant restraint system further includes:
a first outer vent provided in the main panel forming the side protection chamber;
a guide panel provided in a range covering the first outer vent of the main panel and having upper and lower edges joined to the main panel;
a second outer vent provided at a position of the guide panel overlapping the first outer panel;
with
The tether passes between the main panel and the guide panel and is passed between the inner vent and the tether cutter,
The occupant restraint system further includes:
A shutter panel is attached to the tether and slides along the guide panel to a position where the gap between the first outer vent and the second outer vent is closed when the tether is detached from the tether cutter. The occupant restraint system according to any one of claims 1 to 4.
The occupant restraint system further comprises a third outer vent provided in the shutter panel,
The occupant restraint system according to claim 5, wherein the third outer vent is provided at a position overlapping the first outer vent and the second outer vent when the tether is connected to the tether cutter. .