JP4061759B2 - Airbag device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an airbag device that is an occupant protection device for a vehicle or the like, and more particularly to a door mounting structure thereof.
[0002]
[Prior art]
2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an airbag device is sometimes provided on an instrument panel, a center portion of a steering wheel, or the like in order to protect passengers in a vehicle compartment at the time of a vehicle collision. Such an airbag apparatus generally stores an airbag and an inflator in a case, and covers the opening of the case with a door. When the vehicle collides, the airbag is deployed by gas supplied by the inflator, The door is opened by this deployment pressure, and the airbag is inflated into the vehicle compartment, thereby receiving the occupant's body.
[0003]
Fig.6 (a) shows an example of the conventional airbag apparatus. In the airbag device 100, the door 102 mounting structure that covers the opening of the case 101 that opens upward is provided with a plurality of rectangular through holes 104 in a door mounting wall 103 that protrudes from the back surface of the door 102, A retainer 106 having a plurality of engaging projections 105 penetrating through the plurality of through holes 104 is arranged inside the case 101, and the retainer 106 is engaged from a through hole (not shown) provided on the side surface of the case 101. The projections 105 are projected outward, and then the door 102 is covered so as to close the opening of the case 101, and the plurality of engagement projections 105 are passed through the plurality of through holes 104 of the door mounting wall 103, respectively. Finally, the rod-shaped kanuki 107 is inserted inside the plurality of engaging projections 105 and the retainer 106 is fixed, so that the door 102 is fixed to the case 1. It is attached to the 1.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
By the way, the door mounting wall 103 is pulled upward when the door 102 is pushed open by the inflation of the airbag, and may be damaged by the engaging convex portion 105 of the retainer 106. Conventionally, in order to reduce such damage, many engaging projections 105 are provided to disperse the force, thereby reducing the force acting on each through hole 104. Therefore, conventionally, the door mounting wall 103 is usually attached to each side surface of the case 101 by four or more engaging convex portions 105, and the structure of the retainer 106 is complicated as shown in FIG. 6B. It is. There is also a problem that the number of parts is large and expensive.
[0005]
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide an airbag device having a simple structure, high reliability, and an inexpensive door mounting structure.
[0008]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
An airbag apparatus according to the present invention is an airbag apparatus including a case that houses an airbag and includes an opening that inflates the airbag, and a door that covers the opening of the case. A door mounting wall that protrudes toward the case side and is attached to the outer side surface of the case; and a door retainer that is arranged outside the door mounting wall and fixes the door mounting wall to the side surface of the case. This is a member that extends over substantially the entire length of the opening side in the longitudinal direction, and is provided with engaging projections that project from the outside of the door mounting wall toward the case side at both ends in the longitudinal direction. A through hole through which a convex portion passes is provided at both ends of the door mounting wall, and the engaging convex portion penetrates the through hole of the door mounting wall and is fixed to the side surface of the case. Both ends At least one opening is provided between the through hole, the claw portion for engaging said door mounting wall is inserted into this opening is provided between the engaging convex portion of the both end portions of the Doaritena, the Doaritena In the central portion in the longitudinal direction, both the bulging side and the anti-bulging side edges of the airbag are bent toward the case side .
[0009]
In this case, the door mounting wall is fixed to the side surface of the case by passing through the engaging protrusions provided at both ends of the door retainer through the through holes provided at both ends of the door mounting wall. Therefore, the door mounting wall and the door retainer can be easily positioned. Further, when the door mounting wall is pulled along with the inflation of the airbag, the door mounting wall is held by fixing the both end portions and engaging the claw portion and the opening therebetween. In this way, the door retainer wall is simplified by reducing the number of door attachment walls to two, and the cost of the door retainer is simplified. It can be reduced to increase reliability. In addition, at the center portion of the door retainer in the longitudinal direction, both the bulging edge and the anti-bulging edge of the airbag are bent toward the case side, so that the door retainer is fixed to the door mounting wall only at both ends. The strength of the door retainer can be increased.
[0010]
In the airbag device , the opening edge on the anti-inflation side of the airbag in the through hole provided in the door mounting wall has a curved shape, and the engagement convex portion of the door retainer is provided by drawing, The anti-inflation side of the airbag in the engagement convex portion may be formed in a curved surface shape . Here, the anti-inflated side of the airbag refers to a side of the airbag that bulges from the opening of the case in a direction opposite to the bulging direction.
[0011]
As a result, when the door mounting wall is pulled in the direction of inflation of the airbag as the airbag is inflated, the engagement convex portion and the through hole can be brought into contact with each other between the curved portions. It is possible to prevent the wall from being damaged by the locking projection. Therefore, it is not necessary to disperse the force by providing a large number of engaging projections as in the prior art, so the structure can be simplified by reducing the number of engaging projections in the door retainer while improving reliability. Cost can be reduced.
[0014]
In the airbag apparatus , the bag retainer that is arranged inside the case and fixes the opening edge of the airbag to the inner side surface of the case is a fixing means for fixing the engagement convex portion of the door retainer to the case side surface. It may be fixed to.
[0015]
As described above, the fixing means for fixing the door retainer to the case side face simultaneously fixes the bag retainer for fixing the airbag to the case, thereby simplifying the structure and reducing the number of manufacturing steps.
[0016]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
[0017]
FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of an airbag apparatus 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the airbag apparatus 10, and FIGS. 3 to 5 are AA lines and B-lines in FIG. It is each sectional drawing of a B line and a CC line.
[0018]
The airbag device 10 is disposed on an instrument panel in front of a passenger seat of an automobile. An airbag 14 and an inflator 16 are housed in a case 12 that opens upward, and the opening of the case 12 is a door. 18 is covered.
[0019]
The case 12 is a metal box-shaped container having a rectangular horizontal section, and has a rectangular opening 13 for inflating the airbag 14 on the upper surface. An inflator 16 is housed in the bottom of the case 12, and an inlet 20 is provided on one side wall of the case 12 in order to attach the inflator 16.
[0020]
The airbag 14 opens in a rectangular shape corresponding to the opening 13 of the case 12, and the opening peripheral edge 15 is attached to the inside of the opening peripheral edge of the case 12 and is stored in the case 12 in a folded state. The
[0021]
The door 18 is a synthetic resin cover material that covers the opening 13 of the case 12, and has a substantially rectangular shape corresponding to the opening 13. The door 18 is configured such that when the airbag 14 is inflated by gas, a predetermined part of the upper surface thereof is opened, for example, so that the airbag 14 can be inflated out of the case 12.
[0022]
Below, the attachment structure of the door 18 to the case 12 is demonstrated.
[0023]
Reference numeral 22 denotes a door mounting wall that is attached to the outer surface of the case 12 and projects downward from the back surface, that is, the lower surface of the door 18 toward the case 12 side, corresponding to the opening side of the case 12 facing the vehicle longitudinal direction. It is installed. Specifically, the door attachment wall 22 is attached to the opening edge of the long side of the case 12 and is formed in an elongated plate shape that extends over substantially the entire length of the opening side.
[0024]
Through holes 24 are provided at both ends of the door mounting wall 22 in the longitudinal direction. The through-hole 24 is formed as a substantially U-shaped opening in which the lower opening edge, that is, the opening edge on the anti-bulging side of the airbag 14 is curved in an arc shape. The through hole 24 may be circular.
[0025]
In this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the size of the through-hole 24 is a gap that allows a positional error during mounting between the inner wall surface and an engagement convex portion 30 described later. Is set larger than the cross-sectional shape of the engaging projection 30. In addition, a thin plate-like rib 25 is erected from the inner wall surface of the through hole 24, and the engaging convex portion 30 is configured to be centered in the through hole 24 by contacting the rib 25. ing.
[0026]
In the door mounting wall 22, three rectangular openings 26 are arranged in parallel at predetermined intervals between the through holes 24 at both ends.
[0027]
Reference numeral 28 denotes a metal door retainer disposed on the outside of the door mounting wall 22 to fix the door mounting wall 22 to the side surface of the case 12, and corresponds to the door mounting wall 22 on the long side of the case 12. It is an elongate plate-shaped member extended along an opening edge part. The length covers substantially the entire length of the opening side on the long side of the case 12.
[0028]
Engaging convex portions 30 projecting in a concave shape from the outside of the door mounting wall 22 toward the case 12 side are located at both longitudinal ends of the door retainer 28 at positions corresponding to the through holes 24 of the door mounting wall 22. It is provided by circular drawing. An insertion hole 34 through which a rivet 32 as a fixing means is inserted is provided at the center of the front end surface of the engagement protrusion 30 protruding in a circular shape.
[0029]
In the door retainer 28, a claw portion 36 that is inserted into the opening 26 of the door mounting wall 22 and hooks the door mounting wall 22 between the engaging projections 30 at both ends is provided at a predetermined interval 3. Individually projecting toward the case 12 side. The claw portion 36 is formed by bending a projecting piece portion projecting upward at the upper edge portion, which is the bulging side edge portion of the airbag 14 in the door retainer 28, toward the case 12.
[0030]
Further, the door retainer 28 is formed with a flange portion 38 formed by bending a lower edge portion, which is an edge portion on the anti-inflation side of the airbag 14, toward the case 12 at the center portion in the longitudinal direction. As shown in FIG. 5, the flange portion 38 is disposed so as to receive the lower end, which is the terminal of the door mounting wall 22, with a slight gap. Thus, the strength of the door retainer 28 is improved by providing the bent portions 36 and 38 at the upper and lower edges of the door retainer 28.
[0031]
Reference numeral 40 denotes a metal bag retainer that is disposed inside the opening edge of the case 12 and fixes the opening edge 15 of the airbag 14 to the opening edge of the case 12. It has an elongated plate shape corresponding to one side. Insertion holes 42 through which the rivets 32 are inserted are provided at both ends of the bag retainer 40 in the longitudinal direction, and the bag retainer 40 is attached to the case 12 between the insertion holes 42 at both ends. Three insertion holes 46 through which the rivets 44 for fixing are inserted are provided at predetermined intervals.
[0032]
A claw portion 48 that protrudes toward the outside of the case 12 is provided at a central portion in the longitudinal direction of the bag retainer 40. As shown in FIG. 5, the claw portions 48 are respectively inserted into the three openings 26 of the door mounting wall 22 and hook the door mounting wall 22 together with the claw portions 36 of the door retainer 28. It is formed by bending a projecting piece protruding upward from the upper edge of the retainer 40 toward the outside.
[0033]
The bag retainer 40 is inserted into the through holes 24 at both ends of the door mounting wall 22 at both ends in the longitudinal direction thereof, and positioning protrusions 49 for positioning the door mounting wall 22 on the side surface of the case 12. However, it is formed to protrude toward the outside of the case 12 by bending.
[0034]
At the opening edge of the long side of the case 12 to which the door mounting wall 22 is attached, insertion holes 50 through which the rivets 32 are inserted are provided at both ends in the vehicle width direction. Further, three insertion holes 52 through which rivets 44 for fixing the airbag 14 to the case 12 are inserted correspond to the insertion holes 46 of the bag retainer 40 between the insertion holes 50 at both ends. Is provided. Furthermore, a small hole 54 through which the positioning protrusion 49 of the bag retainer 40 is inserted is provided in the vicinity of the insertion holes 50 at both ends, and the bag retainer 40 is interposed between the small holes 54 at both ends. Three elongated holes 56 through which the claw portions 48 are inserted are provided.
[0035]
As shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of holes 58, 60, 62, 64 are provided in the opening peripheral edge 15 of the airbag 14 with the same arrangement and shape as the opening edge of the case 12.
[0036]
When assembling the airbag device 10 as described above, as shown in FIG. 1, first, the bag retainer 40 is attached to the opening peripheral portion 15 of the folded airbag 14. At that time, the positioning protrusion 49 of the bag retainer 40 is inserted into the small hole 62 of the airbag 14, and the claw portion 48 is inserted into the elongated hole 64 of the airbag 14. In this state, the bag retainer 40 is disposed inside the case 12, and the positioning projection 49 is inserted into the small hole 54 of the case 12 and the claw 48 is inserted into the elongated hole 56 of the case 12. Thereafter, the rivet 44 is inserted into the insertion hole 52 of the case 12, and the airbag 14 together with the bag retainer 40 is fixed to the opening edge of the case 12.
[0037]
Then, the door 18 is covered so as to cover the opening 13 of the case 12, and the front and rear door mounting walls 22 are arranged outside the opening edge on the long side of the case 12. At that time, the positioning projection 49 of the bag retainer 40 protruding outside the case 12 is inserted into the through hole 24 of the door mounting wall 22 to position the door mounting wall 22. At the same time, the claw portion 48 of the bag retainer 40 protruding outward is inserted into the opening 26 of the door mounting wall 22, thereby positioning the door mounting wall 22.
[0038]
Thereafter, the door retainer 28 is mounted from the outside of the door mounting wall 22. At that time, the engaging projections 30 at both ends of the door retainer 28 are passed through the through holes 24 at both ends of the door mounting wall 22, and the three claw portions 36 of the door retainer 28 are respectively connected to the three door mounting walls 22. Is inserted into the opening 26. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, the claw portion 36 of the door retainer 28 is positioned below the claw portion 48 of the bag retainer 40, but may be configured to be upside down.
[0039]
As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the rivet 32 is inserted into the insertion hole 34 in a state in which the front end surface of the engagement convex portion 30 is in contact with the side surface of the case 12. While fixing the convex part 30 to the case 12 side surface, the bag retainer 40 is fixed to the case 12 side surface.
[0040]
Thereby, as shown in FIG. 2, the door 18 is attached to the case 12, and then the inflator 16 is inserted from the charging port 20 on the side wall of the case 12 and fixed to the bottom of the case 12.
[0041]
According to the airbag device 10 of the present embodiment described above, the door mounting wall 22 is fixed to the case 12 only at two locations on both ends, so that the door mounting wall 22 and the door retainer 28 can be easily positioned. . Moreover, since it fixes in two places, the structure of the door retainer 28 can be simplified. Furthermore, since the kanuki which fixes a retainer becomes unnecessary compared with the conventional attachment structure, there are few components.
[0042]
Further, since the bag retainer 40 is also fixed at the same time by the rivet 32 that fixes the door retainer 28 to the case 12, the mounting structure is simplified and the number of manufacturing steps is reduced.
[0043]
In the assembled airbag device 10, when the inflator 16 is actuated, the airbag 14 pushes up the door 18 in an attempt to inflate from the opening 13 of the case 12. As shown in FIG. 5, the force F acts so as to be pulled upward, which is the bulging direction of the airbag 14. As a result, the lower opening edge of the through hole 24 of the door mounting wall 22 is pressed against the engagement convex portion 30 of the door retainer 28, and the opening edge of the through hole 24 and the engagement convex portion 30 at this press contact portion. Since both are formed in a circular arcuate shape, damage to the door mounting wall 22 due to such pressure contact can be reduced.
[0044]
Further, when the force F is applied as the airbag 14 is inflated, the door retainer 28 inserted into the opening 26 of the door mounting wall 22 and the claws 36 and 48 of the bag retainer 40 as shown in FIG. Thus, the upward movement of the door mounting wall 22 is suppressed. Therefore, the force which acts on the fixing part by the engagement convex part 30 of the both ends of the door retainer 28 is reduced, and damage to the door mounting wall 22 can be reduced.
[0045]
In the above embodiment, the door mounting wall 22 is attached to the side surface of the case 12 only on the long side of the opening of the case 12, but the same configuration may be adopted on the short side of the case 12. it can.
[0047]
【The invention's effect】
According to the airbag apparatus of the present invention , the door mounting wall and the door retainer are easily positioned because the door mounting wall is fixed to the side surface of the case at two locations on both ends of the opening edge of the case. Further, by reducing the number of fixing of the door mounting wall to two in this way, the structure of the door retainer can be simplified and the cost can be reduced. On the other hand, when the door mounting wall is pulled along with the inflation of the airbag, the door mounting wall is held by fixing the both ends and hooking the claw portion and the opening therebetween. The damage can be reduced and the reliability can be increased.
[0048]
Moreover , the strength of the door retainer that fixes the door mounting wall only at both ends can be increased by bending the edges of both the bulging side and the anti-bulging side of the airbag in the door retainer.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of an airbag device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the airbag device in an assembled state.
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG.
4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB in FIG.
5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line CC of FIG. 2. FIG. 6 (a) is a perspective view of a conventional airbag device, and FIG. 5 (b) is a perspective view of a retainer in the airbag device.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Airbag apparatus 12 ... Case 14 ... Airbag 18 ... Door 22 ... Door attachment wall 24 ... Through-hole 26 ... Opening 28 ... Door retainer 30 ... Engaging convex part 32 ... Rivet 36 …… Nail part 38 …… Flange part 40 …… Bag retainer

Claims (1)

In an airbag device including a case that houses an airbag and includes an opening that inflates the airbag, and a door that covers the opening of the case,
A door mounting wall that protrudes from the back surface of the door toward the case and is attached to the outer surface of the case;
A door retainer disposed on the outside of the door mounting wall for fixing the door mounting wall to the side of the case;
The door retainer is a member that extends over substantially the entire length of the opening side in the longitudinal direction of the case, and is provided with engaging projections that project from the outside of the door mounting wall toward the case side at both ends in the longitudinal direction. In addition, through holes through which the engaging projections are provided are provided at both ends of the door mounting wall, and the engaging projections are fixed to the side of the case through the through holes of the door mounting wall.
At least one opening is provided between the through holes at both ends of the door mounting wall, and a claw portion that is inserted into the opening and hooks the door mounting wall is between the engaging convex portions at both ends of the door retainer. Provided ,
An airbag device characterized in that, at the center portion in the longitudinal direction of the door retainer, both the bulging side and anti-bulging side edges of the airbag are bent toward the case side .

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