JP2005225273A - Side airbag device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a side airbag device capable of reducing an impact applied to an end of a partition cloth for partitioning an airbag when the airbag is deployed and inflated. <P>SOLUTION: In the side airbag device 22 having the airbag 26 that is deployed and inflated between a body side section of a vehicle and an occupant P by gas from an inflater, a longitudinally extending band-like tether 28 is disposed in the center section of the air bag 26. The tether 28 is constituted so as to partition the airbag 26 to an upper partition chamber 29 and a lower partition chamber 30, and the partition chambers 29 and 30 are mutually communicated in a front communication passage 31 and a rear communication passage 32 located on the front side and rear side of the tether 28. The front communication passage 31 and the rear communication passage 32 have a front joint 33 and a rear joint 34 which join between right and left base cloths constituting the airbag 26. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a side airbag device in which an airbag is deployed and inflated on the side of a passenger when an impact of a predetermined value or more is applied to a body side portion of the vehicle due to a side collision with the vehicle. Is.

In general, this type of side airbag device ejects and supplies gas generated by an inflator provided inside an airbag when an impact of a predetermined value or more is applied to the body side portion of the vehicle. The airbag is deployed and inflated. In the conventional side airbag device, the space in the airbag is divided into two upper and lower compartments, and the upper compartment is deployed and inflated later than the lower compartment. Is known (for example, see Patent Document 1). The side airbag device is preferentially deployed and inflated from the lower compartment corresponding to the occupant's waist to effectively protect the occupant. The two compartments of the upper side and the lower side are partitioned by a tether as a partition cloth that connects the left and right base fabrics that constitute the airbag. The tether is made of the same material as the base fabric constituting the airbag, and both end portions in the width direction of the tether are sewn to the base fabric of the airbag.
International Publication No. 02/100690 Pamphlet

  By the way, in the side airbag apparatus of patent document 1, the communicating path which connects the said two compartments is provided in the front and back of a tether. For this reason, when the airbag is deployed and inflated, the impact of the gas flow ejected from the inflator is concentrated on both the front and rear ends of the tether, and the sewn portion between the tether and the airbag base fabric is There was a risk of breaking. In particular, the end portion of the tether on the side close to the inflator was easily broken.

  The present invention has been made paying attention to such problems existing in the prior art. An object of the present invention is to provide a side airbag device that can reduce an impact applied to an end portion of a partition cloth that partitions an airbag when the airbag is deployed and inflated.

  In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 is a side airbag device including an airbag that is deployed and inflated between a body side portion of a vehicle and a passenger by gas from a gas generation source. A partition cloth having a belt shape extending in the front-rear direction is provided at a central portion of the airbag, and the partition cloth is configured to partition the airbag into an upper partition chamber and a lower partition chamber. Is configured to communicate with each other in a front communication path and a rear communication path positioned in front of and behind the partition cloth, and at least one of the front communication path and the rear communication path includes left and right bases constituting an airbag. The gist is that a joint for joining the cloths is provided.

  According to the above configuration, at the time of deployment and inflation of the airbag, even if an impact due to the gas flow is concentrated on the end portion of the partition fabric that partitions the airbag, at least the front communication path and the rear communication path One side is provided with a joint portion for joining the left and right base fabrics constituting the airbag, so that the impact applied to the end portion of the partition fabric is reduced. For this reason, the possibility that the joint portion between the partition cloth and the base fabric of the airbag may break from the end portion of the partition cloth can be eliminated. As a result, since the inside of the airbag is appropriately partitioned so as to have a predetermined pressure distribution state, the passenger is effectively protected.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a side airbag device including an airbag that is deployed and inflated between a body side portion of a vehicle and a passenger by a gas from a gas generation source. Is provided with a partition cloth having a strip shape extending in the front-rear direction, and the partition cloth is configured to partition the airbag into an upper compartment and a lower compartment, and the both compartments are provided at the front and rear of the compartment cloth. It is comprised so that it may mutually communicate in the front part communication path and rear part communication path which are located, and the junction part which joins the right-and-left base fabric which comprises an airbag is provided on the extension line of the one end part or both ends part of the said division cloth It is the gist.

  According to the above configuration, even when the impact due to the gas flow is concentrated on the end portion of the partition cloth that partitions the airbag when the airbag is deployed and inflated, one end portion or both end portions of the partition cloth are extended. Since the joint is provided on the line to join the left and right base fabrics that constitute the airbag, the impact applied to the end of the partition fabric is reduced even if the partition fabric is bent or curved. The For this reason, the possibility that the joint portion between the partition cloth and the base fabric of the airbag may break from the end portion of the partition cloth can be eliminated. As a result, since the inside of the airbag is appropriately partitioned so as to have a predetermined pressure distribution state, the passenger is effectively protected.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect of the present invention, the gas generation source is provided at a rear end portion of an airbag, and the joint portion is provided at a rear communication passage. Is the gist.

  According to the above configuration, since the joint portion is provided at a location near the gas generation source where the impact caused by the gas flow greatly acts when the airbag is deployed and inflated, the impact applied to the end portion of the partition cloth is more effective. Reduced.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to any one of the first to third aspects, the joint portion includes a seam that is sewn between the left and right base fabrics constituting the airbag without any gap. It is a summary.

  According to the above configuration, since the joint portion is formed by a seam that sews between the left and right base fabrics constituting the airbag without any gap, the impact applied to the end portion of the partition fabric is reduced with a simple configuration. The

  The invention according to claim 5 is the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the joining portion joins the left and right base fabrics constituting the airbag so as to extend in the vertical direction. The gist is that it is configured.

  According to the said structure, since the junction part is extended in the up-down direction with respect to the division cloth extended in the front-back direction, the impact given to the edge part of a division cloth is reduced much more effectively.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the side airbag apparatus which can reduce the impact given to the edge part of the division cloth which divides an airbag in the case of the expansion | deployment expansion | deployment of an airbag can be provided.

Hereinafter, an embodiment embodying the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.
FIG. 1 shows a left front seat 21 disposed in the vehicle interior. The front seat 21 includes a stool portion 21a and a backrest portion 21b. On the left side of the backrest portion 21b of the front seat 21, a side airbag device 22 is embedded in a state accommodated in a case 23 so as to correspond to a door (not shown) constituting a part of the body side portion of the vehicle. In the drawing, only the left front seat 21 is shown, but a similar side airbag device 22 is also provided on the right side of the right front seat.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the side airbag device 22 includes a cylindrical retainer 24, a cylindrical inflator 25 as a gas generation source caulked in the retainer 24, the retainer 24, A bag-like airbag 26 that covers the inflator 25 is provided. The retainer 24 and the inflator 25 are disposed at the center of the rear end portion of the airbag 26. The airbag 26 is fixed to the case 23 while being sandwiched between the retainer 24 and the case 23. A gas generating agent (not shown) for deploying and inflating the airbag 26 is accommodated in the inflator 25. At the lower end portion of the inflator 25, a gas ejection port 25a for ejecting gas generated from the gas generating agent is formed.

  An upper end portion of a cylindrical inner tube 27 that covers the gas outlet 25 a of the inflator 25 is attached to the lower end portion of the retainer 24. The woven fabric constituting the inner tube 27 is provided with a silicone coating so that gas does not leak through the gaps of the weave. The inner tube 27 extends along the peripheral edge of the airbag 26 from the gas outlet 25 a toward the lower end of the airbag 26. A strip-shaped attachment piece 27 a extending upward is formed at the upper end of the inner tube 27. The attachment piece 27 a is fixed to the case 23 together with the airbag 26 while being sandwiched between the retainer 24 and the case 23. Therefore, the portion of the inflator 25 that is above the gas outlet 25 a is not completely covered by the inner tube 27. The inflator 25 is electrically connected to a sensor (not shown) for detecting an impact on the vehicle body side.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 (a) and 2 (b), the airbag 26 has a pair of left and right base fabrics 26a and 26b made of a woven fabric having a substantially elliptical shape, and is sewed along the peripheral edges thereof. Therefore, it is formed so as to form a bag shape as a whole. The airbag 26 is accommodated in the case 23 in a folded state.

  A tether 28, which is a strip-like partition fabric that is sewn so as to bridge between the base fabrics 26a and 26b, is provided at substantially the center in the up-down direction and the front-rear direction of the airbag 26 in the deployed state. At this time, the tether 28 is positioned in front of the gas outlet 25a. The tether 28 is made of the same material as the base fabrics 26a and 26b constituting the airbag 26, and is provided so as to extend in the front-rear direction of the vehicle. At this time, the width before and after the tether 28 occupies more than half of the width before and after the airbag 26. The tether 28 is constituted by a pair of base fabrics 28a and 28b having a belt shape. The pair of base fabrics 28 a and 28 b are sewn to each other at one side edge in the longitudinal direction, and the other side edges are sewn to both base fabrics 26 a and 26 b of the airbag 26.

  The tether 28 divides the interior of the airbag 26 into two compartments, an upper compartment 29 and a lower compartment 30. The upper compartment 29 and the lower compartment 30 are configured to communicate with each other in a front communication passage 31 and a rear communication passage 32 that are located in front of and behind the tether 28.

  In the front communication passage 31 and the rear communication passage 32, a front joint portion 33 and a rear joint portion 34, which are seam joints sewn between the base fabrics 26a and 26b without any gap, extend in the vertical direction. It is provided as follows. At this time, the rear joint 34 is located on a straight line connecting the tether 28 and the gas outlet 25a. Further, at this time, the upper end portions of the joint portions 33 and 34 are located above the tether 28, and the lower end portions are located below the tether 28.

  The joint portions 33 and 34 are for reducing the impact applied to the front and rear end portions of the tether 28 by the gas flow when the airbag 26 is inflated and deployed. Therefore, in order to enhance the impact reduction effect, the distance between the front joint portion 33 and the front end portion of the tether 28 may be shorter than the distance between the front joint portion 33 and the front end portion of the airbag 26. preferable. Similarly, the distance between the rear joint 34 and the rear end of the tether 28 is preferably shorter than the distance between the rear joint 34 and the rear end of the airbag 26.

  When the airbag 26 is deployed and expanded most, the upper compartment 29 and the lower compartment 30 correspond to the shoulder, chest, and waist of the adult passenger P sitting on the front seat 21, respectively. Is arranged. That is, the tether 28 is at the lower end of the chest.

Next, the operation of the side airbag device 22 will be described with reference to FIGS.
Generally, it is known that the waist is superior to the shoulder and chest (abdomen) in terms of impact resistance of the human body side. For this reason, in the case of an airbag that protects the occupant from the shoulder to the waist, it is desirable that the impact on the occupant due to its deployment and inflation is smaller in the shoulder and chest than in the waist.

  Now, when an impact of a predetermined value or more is applied to the body side portion due to a collision with the vehicle body side portion, the inflator 25 is driven via a control circuit (not shown) based on a detection signal from the sensor. Current is output. Then, by heating based on this driving current, gas is generated from the gas generating agent in the inflator 25, and this gas is sent from the gas outlet 25a of the inflator 25 to the inner tube 27 as shown by the arrows in FIGS. A gas flow is ejected and supplied to the lower compartment 30 in the airbag 26 through the inside.

  Then, after the interior of the lower compartment 30 is sufficiently filled with gas, the gas flow is passed through the front communication passage 31 and the rear communication passage 32 so that the gas is pushed to the increased internal pressure of the lower compartment 30. It flows into the compartment 29. At this time, a large impact is intensively applied to the front and rear end portions of the tether 28 by the gas flow. However, the impact acting on both front and rear end portions of the tether 28 is reduced by partially absorbing the impact by the joint portions 33 and 34. Therefore, at the front and rear end portions of the tether 28, the sewn portion between the base fabrics 28a and 28b and the sewn portions between the base fabrics 28a and 28b and the base fabrics 26a and 26b are affected by the impact. There is no risk of breakage. Thereafter, when the upper compartment 29 is filled with gas and the entire airbag 26 is deployed and inflated, the lower compartment 30 is relatively hard and the upper compartment 29 is relatively soft and inflated properly. P is effectively protected.

According to the embodiment detailed above, the following effects are exhibited.
-The side airbag apparatus 22 of embodiment is the structure by which the said both junction parts 33 and 34 were each provided in the said front part communication path 31 and the rear part communication path 32. As shown in FIG. Therefore, when the airbag 26 is deployed and inflated, even if an impact due to the gas flow is concentrated on the front and rear end portions of the tether 28 that partitions the airbag 26, both the joints 33 and 34 cause the impact to occur. The impact of acting on the front and rear end portions of the tether 28 by absorbing the portion is reduced. For this reason, the possibility that the sewn portions of the tether 28 and the base fabrics 26a and 26b of the airbag 26 may break from the front and rear end portions of the tether 28 can be eliminated. As a result, since the inside of the airbag 26 is appropriately partitioned so as to be in a predetermined pressure distribution state, the passenger P is effectively protected.

  The side airbag device 22 according to the embodiment is configured by a seam in which the joint portions 33 and 34 are sewn between the left and right base fabrics 26a and 26b of the airbag 26 without a gap. For this reason, when the airbag 26 is deployed and inflated, the impact of the gas flow acting on the front and rear ends of the tether 28 can be reduced with a simple configuration.

(Example of change)
In addition, the said embodiment can also be changed and actualized as follows.
The joints 33 and 34 and the front and rear ends of the tether 28 may be in contact with each other.

The front joint 33 may be omitted and only the rear joint 34 may be used. In this case, it is desirable to omit the inner tube 27.
-Both the joint portions 33 and 34 may be formed by seams, and the left and right base fabrics 26a and 26b of the airbag 26 may be joined by an adhesive or may be joined by welding. Alternatively, it may be configured to be joined by sewing through a tether narrower than the tether 28 or a bag made of the tether 28.

  As shown in FIG. 3A, the front and rear end portions of the tether 28 may be bent toward the lower side of the airbag 26 so that the shape of the tether 28 is a U-shaped side. At this time, instead of the joint portions 33 and 34, a pair of extension joint portions 40 as joint portions may be provided on the extension lines of one end portion or both end portions of the tether 28, respectively. Further, the laterally U-shaped tether 28 may have a shape obtained by inverting the tether 28 up and down.

  -As shown in Drawing 3 (b), it is good also considering the shape of the above-mentioned tether 28 as side V shape. At this time, instead of the joint portions 33 and 34, a pair of extension joint portions 40 as joint portions may be provided on the extension lines of one end portion or both end portions of the tether 28, respectively. Further, the side surface V-shaped tether 28 may have a shape obtained by inverting the tether 28 up and down.

  As shown in FIG. 4A, the shape of the tether 28 may be a U-shaped side surface. At this time, instead of the joint portions 33 and 34, a pair of extension joint portions 40 as joint portions may be provided on the extension lines of one end portion or both end portions of the tether 28, respectively. Further, the side U-shaped tether 28 may have a shape obtained by inverting the tether 28 up and down.

  -As shown in FIG.4 (b), you may comprise the said tether 28 inclining so that the front-end part of this tether 28 may rise. At this time, the joint portions 33 and 34 may be configured to extend in a direction different from the extending direction of the tether 28. Further, at this time, the joint portions 33 and 34 may not extend in the vertical direction of the airbag 26. Further, the tether 28 may be configured to be inclined so that the front end portion of the tether 28 is lowered.

Further, the technical idea that can be grasped from the embodiment will be described below.
-The said joining part is comprised so that it may join between the right-and-left base fabrics of an airbag so that it may extend in the direction different from the extending direction of the said division cloth. The side airbag device according to one item.

  Therefore, since the joint portion is extended in a direction different from the extending direction of the partition cloth with respect to the partition cloth extending in the front-rear direction, the impact applied to the end of the partition cloth is effectively reduced. Can be made.

The side airbag device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein a distance between the joint portion and the partition fabric is shorter than a distance between the joint portion and an end portion of the airbag.
Therefore, when the airbag is inflated and deployed, the effect of reducing the impact applied to the end portion of the partition cloth by the gas flow can be enhanced.

The side view of the vehicle interior of an embodiment. (A) is sectional drawing of the airbag of embodiment, (b) is the 2b-2b sectional view taken on the line of (a). (A), (b) is sectional drawing of the airbag of a modification. (A), (b) is sectional drawing of the airbag of a modification.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 22 ... Side airbag apparatus, 25 ... Inflator as a gas generation source, 26 ... Air bag, 26a, 26b ... Base fabric which comprises an airbag, 28 ... Tether as division cloth, 28a, 28b ... Tether as division cloth 29 ... upper compartment, 30 ... lower compartment, 31 ... front communication passage, 32 ... rear communication passage, 33 ... front joint as a joint, 34 ... rear joint as a joint 40, an extended joint as a joint, P, a passenger.

Claims (5)

In a side airbag device including an airbag that is deployed and inflated between a vehicle body side portion and a passenger by gas from a gas generation source,
A partition cloth having a strip shape extending in the front-rear direction is provided at the center of the airbag, and the partition cloth is configured to partition the airbag into an upper compartment and a lower compartment, It is configured to communicate with each other in the front communication path and the rear communication path located in front and rear of the partition cloth,
A side airbag device characterized in that at least one of the front communication passage and the rear communication passage is provided with a joint portion for joining the left and right base fabrics constituting the airbag. In a side airbag device including an airbag that is deployed and inflated between a vehicle body side portion and a passenger by gas from a gas generation source,
A partition cloth having a strip shape extending in the front-rear direction is provided at the center of the airbag, and the partition cloth is configured to partition the airbag into an upper compartment and a lower compartment, It is configured to communicate with each other in the front communication path and the rear communication path located in front and rear of the partition cloth,
A side airbag device characterized in that a joining portion for joining between the left and right base fabrics constituting the airbag is provided on one end portion or both ends of the partition fabric. The side airbag device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the gas generation source is provided at a rear end portion of an airbag, and the joint portion is provided in a rear communication path. The side airbag device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the joint portion is formed by a seam that is sewn between the left and right base fabrics constituting the airbag without any gap. . The side according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the joining portion is constituted by joining the left and right base fabrics constituting the airbag so as to extend in the vertical direction. Airbag device.

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