JP4363179B2 - Air bag and air bag device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an airbag that is provided in a high-speed moving body such as a vehicle and that inflates to protect a human body in an emergency such as a collision, and an airbag device including the airbag.

  In order to protect an occupant in an emergency such as a car collision, various airbag devices such as a driver's seat airbag device are used. The airbag device for a driver's seat has an airbag formed by sewing the peripheral portions of the front panel on the passenger side and the rear panel on the opposite side. In the center of the rear panel, an inflator engagement opening for receiving the tip end side of the inflator is provided. The periphery of this opening is attached to the retainer by bolts, pins, rivets and the like. The rear panel is provided with a vent hole for releasing the gas in the bag and absorbing the shock when the driver's seat occupies the airbag.

In JP-A-1-247242, an inner panel is provided so as to be spanned between an inflator opening of a rear panel and a front panel, and the interior of the airbag is divided into a central first chamber and a peripheral second chamber. An air bag is described. The inner panel has a substantially circular shape, and an outer peripheral edge portion thereof is connected to an intermediate portion between the center and the peripheral edge of the front panel. An opening for an inflator is provided at the center of the inner panel, and an edge portion of the opening is attached to the retainer together with the rear panel. The inner panel is provided with a communication port for communicating the first chamber and the second chamber. When the inflator is activated, the first chamber first expands, and then the second chamber expands. Since the gas flows into the second chamber from the first chamber via the communication port, the completion of the expansion of the second chamber is slower than the completion of the expansion of the first chamber.
JP-A-1-247242

  An object of the present invention is to accelerate the expansion of the second chamber in the airbag in which the interior is divided into the first chamber and the second chamber in this way.

The airbag of the present invention (Claim 1) is an airbag that is inflated by gas from a gas generator, and has a front panel disposed on the occupant side and a rear panel disposed on the opposite side of the occupant, The front panel and the rear panel are joined to each other at their peripheral portions, and an opening for a gas generator is provided at the center of the rear panel. The air bag has a central first chamber and a first chamber. An inner panel that is partitioned into a surrounding second chamber is disposed, and an opening that is disposed substantially concentrically with the opening of the rear panel is provided at the center of the inner panel. In the airbag that is coupled to an intermediate portion between the center portion and the peripheral portion of the front panel, a communication port that connects the first chamber and the second chamber is provided on the rear end side of the inner panel. Provided And, continuous opening, in a state where the airbag is inflated, which is disposed on the extension of the gas blowing direction of the gas generator, the first chamber, the gas from the gas generator Guide means for guiding to the communication port is provided, and the guide unit has a vent hole facing the communication port .
The airbag of the present invention (Claim 2) is the air bag according to Claim 1, wherein the guide means is a rectifying cloth provided with the vent hole, and a part of the gas generator is placed in a space surrounded by the rectifying cloth. It is characterized by being arranged.

The airbag of the present invention (Claim 3 ) is the airbag according to Claim 1 or 2 , wherein the rear panel is provided with a vent hole, and the inner panel has an inner vent hole communicating the first chamber and the second chamber. It is characterized by being provided.

  The airbag device of the present invention (Claim 4) is an airbag device including an airbag and a gas generator having a gas jet port, and at least the tip side of the gas generator is in the airbag. In the airbag apparatus in which the gas ejection port is disposed in the airbag, the airbag is the airbag according to the present invention, and in the state where the airbag is inflated, the gas generator The communication port is arranged opposite to the gas jet port.

  The airbag apparatus of the present invention (Claim 5) is the airbag apparatus according to Claim 4, wherein a plurality of the gas outlets are provided, and a part of the gas outlets in the direction of gas ejection is in a state where the airbag is inflated. The communication port is disposed on an extension line, and the panel portion of the inner panel exists on the extension line in the gas ejection direction of the remaining gas ejection port.

  The airbag device of the present invention (Claim 6) is characterized in that in Claim 4 or 5, the first chamber and the second chamber are inflated substantially simultaneously when the gas generator is operated. is there.

An airbag apparatus according to the present invention (invention 7) is an airbag apparatus including an airbag and a gas generator having a gas ejection port, and at least the tip side of the gas generator is in the airbag. It is arranged, in the airbag device and the gas ejection port is disposed within the airbag, in the airbag, and a second chamber surrounding the first chamber and said first chamber at a center portion by the inner panel The inner panel is provided with a communication port that communicates the first chamber and the second chamber, and gas from the gas generator is guided to the communication port in the first chamber. Guide means is provided, and at least the tip side of the gas generator is disposed in a space surrounded by the guide means, and the guide means has a vent hole facing the communication port. And the airbag is In Zhang state, continuous opening on the extension line of the gas blowing direction of the gas jet port of the gas generator and the vent port and is arranged, the first chamber and the second when the gas generator is actuated The chamber expands substantially simultaneously.

  In the airbag and the airbag apparatus of the present invention (Claims 1 and 4), the communication port that communicates the first chamber and the second chamber in the airbag has openings for the gas generators in the rear panel and the inner panel. It is arrange | positioned so that it may oppose on the extended line of the gas ejection direction of the gas generator arrange | positioned in this 1st chamber, ie, the gas outlet of this gas generator. Therefore, when the gas generator is activated, gas is ejected from the gas ejection port toward the communication port. For this reason, the gas from the gas generator is also directly supplied to the second chamber through the communication port. Thereby, a 2nd chamber expand | swells at an early stage.

In the air bag of the present invention, the rear panel has vent holes are provided, optionally inner vent hole is provided for communicating the first chamber and the second chamber in the inner panel (claim 3). With this configuration, when a human body hits the inflated airbag, it is possible to escape the gas in the first chamber and the second chamber through the inner vent hole and the vent hole and absorb the impact. Become.

In the air bag of the present invention, the first chamber is provided with a guide means for guiding the gas from the gas generator to the first chamber and the communication port of the second chamber. By providing such guide means, the gas from the gas generator can be more efficiently flowed into the second chamber, so that the second chamber expands more rapidly.

  In the airbag device of the present invention, a plurality of gas outlets are provided, and the communication port is disposed on an extension line in the gas ejection direction of a part of the gas outlets when the airbag is inflated. And the panel part of the said inner panel may exist on the extension line of the gas ejection direction of the remaining gas ejection port (Claim 5). In this case, the gas ejected from the partial gas ejection port (hereinafter sometimes referred to as a second chamber gas ejection port) is directly supplied to the second chamber through the communication port, and the second chamber is brought into an early stage. Inflate to. The remaining gas outlet (hereinafter sometimes referred to as the first chamber gas outlet) hits the panel portion of the inner panel, so that it mainly stays in the first chamber and quickly expands the first chamber. Let

  In this case, the first chamber and the second chamber may be configured to expand substantially simultaneously (Claim 6). For example, the first chamber and the second chamber can be expanded substantially simultaneously by adjusting the number of the first chamber gas jet ports and the second chamber gas jet ports or the size of the communication port.

  Even if the communication port is provided on the extended line in the gas ejection direction of all the gas ejection ports, the amount of gas flowing directly into the second chamber is limited with the size of the communication port being small. By doing so, the first chamber and the second chamber can be expanded substantially simultaneously.

  In the airbag device of the present invention (invention 7), when the gas generator is activated, the first chamber and the second chamber in the airbag are inflated substantially simultaneously.

In this specification, “substantially simultaneously” means time t ₁ from the start of operation of the gas generator until completion of expansion of the first chamber and time t ₂ until completion of expansion of the second chamber. The ratio t ₁ / t ₂ is 0.9 to 1.1.

  Thus, when the first chamber and the second chamber are inflated substantially simultaneously, the occupant is received by the occupant facing surface of the airbag that has been largely deployed.

Embodiments and reference examples of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

1 and 2 are cross-sectional views of a driver's seat airbag and airbag device according to a reference example , and FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the airbag and airbag device. 1 shows the time when the inflation of the airbag is completed, and FIG. 2 shows the middle of the inflation of the airbag.

  The airbag 10 includes a front panel 12, a rear panel 14, and an inner panel 22 each made of a circular woven fabric. The front panel 12 and the rear panel 14 have the same diameter, and their outer peripheral edge portions are stitched together by a seam 15 made of a thread or the like to form a bag shape. The stitched portion has an annular shape that circulates along the outer peripheries of the front panel 12 and the rear panel 14.

  The rear panel 14 is provided with an inflator (gas generator) opening 16 and a vent hole 18. The inflator opening 16 is disposed at the center of the rear panel 14. A bolt insertion hole 20 is provided around the inflator opening 16.

  The inner panel 22 is provided inside the airbag 10. The inner panel 22 is disposed substantially concentrically with the front panel 12 and the rear panel 14, and the outer peripheral edge thereof (the peripheral edge on the front end side of the inner panel 22 when the airbag 10 is inflated) is the front panel. An intermediate portion between the center portion and the peripheral portion of 12 is stitched by a seam 23 made of a thread or the like. The stitched portion has an annular shape that circulates along the outer periphery of the inner panel 22.

  The central portion of the inner panel 22 (the portion on the rear end side of the inner panel 22 when the airbag 10 is inflated) is disposed substantially concentrically with the inflator opening 16 of the rear panel 14. An inflator opening 24 is provided. These openings 16 and 24 have substantially the same diameter. In addition, a bolt insertion hole 26 that overlaps the bolt insertion hole 20 of the rear panel 14 is provided around the opening 24 of the inner panel 22.

  The inner panel 22 is provided with an inner vent hole 28 relatively close to the outer peripheral edge thereof, and is provided with a communication port 27 on the inner peripheral side thereof.

  The peripheral portion of the inflator opening 24 of the inner panel 22 is overlapped with the peripheral portion of the inflator opening 16 of the rear panel 14, and is overlapped with the peripheral portion of the inflator attachment port 32 of the retainer 30. The peripheral portions of the inflator openings 24 and 16 are fixed to the retainer 30 through the bolt insertion holes 26 and 20. As a result, the peripheral edge of the inflator opening 24 of the inner panel 22 is connected to the peripheral edge of the inflator opening 16 of the rear panel 14, and the outer peripheral edge of the inner panel 22 is connected to the front panel 12 by a stitched portion (seam) 23. It becomes.

  The inner panel 22 divides the interior of the airbag 10 into a central first chamber 1 and a second chamber 2 surrounding the first chamber 1. The first chamber 1 is inside the inner panel 22.

  The communication port 27 is disposed on the rear end side (rear panel 14 side) of the first chamber 1, and the inner vent hole 28 is disposed on the front end side (front panel 12 side) of the first chamber 1. The communication port 27 is on an extension line in the gas ejection direction of an inflator 36 (described later) disposed in the first chamber 1 through the inflator openings 16 and 24, that is, opposed to a gas ejection port 36a of the inflator 36. It is formed in the position to do.

  In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, four communication ports 27 and inner vent holes 28 are provided at equal intervals in the circumferential direction of the airbag. Further, the communication port 27 and the inner vent hole 28 are out of phase in the circumferential direction with respect to the center of the airbag.

  A reinforcing patch or the like may be attached to the peripheral portions of the openings 16 and 24, the communication port 27, and the vent holes 18 and 28.

  The retainer 30 for attaching the airbag 10 is provided with an inflator attachment port 32 at the center and a bolt insertion hole 34 around the inflator attachment port 32.

  The inflator 36 has a substantially cylindrical shape, and a gas outlet 36a is provided on the side peripheral surface on the distal end side in the cylinder axis direction. In this embodiment, four gas outlets 36 a are provided at equal intervals in the circumferential direction of the inflator 36. The inflator 36 is configured to eject gas in a radial direction from these gas ejection ports 36a. A flange 38 for fixing an inflator projects from a side peripheral surface of the midway portion of the inflator 36 in the cylinder axis direction (the rear end side of the gas jet port 36a). The flange 38 is provided with a bolt insertion hole 40. The tip side of the inflator 36 is fitted into the inflator attachment port 32 of the retainer 30.

  In attaching the airbag 10 to the retainer 30, the peripheral portions of the inflator openings 16 and 24 of the rear panel 14 and the inner panel 22 are pressed against the peripheral portion of the inflator mounting port 32 of the retainer 30 by the press ring 42. The front end side of the inflator 36 fitted in the inflator attachment port 32 is inserted into the first chamber 1 through the inflator openings 16 and 24. The gas outlets 36 a provided on the front end side of the inflator 36 face the communication ports 27 of the inner panel 22, respectively.

  At this time, the stud bolt 44 of the presser ring 42 is passed through the bolt insertion holes 26, 20, 34, and 40, and the nut 46 is tightened at the tip thereof, whereby the inner panel 22, the airbag 10 (rear panel 14), and the inflator 36 are moved. Secure to the retainer 30. And the airbag apparatus is comprised by folding the airbag 10 and attaching the module cover 48 to the retainer 30 so that the folding body of this airbag 10 may be covered. This airbag device is installed on a steering wheel of an automobile (only the rim portion 50 is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2).

  In the event of a vehicle collision or the like, the inflator 36 is activated and gas is ejected into the airbag 10. The airbag 10 is inflated by this gas, pushes and opens the module cover 48, and deploys in the vehicle compartment to protect the driver's seat occupant.

  In the airbag 10, the communication port 27 that communicates the first chamber 1 and the second chamber 2 is an extension line in the gas ejection direction of the inflator 36 disposed in the first chamber 1, that is, the inflator. The gas jets 36a are arranged so as to face the gas jets 36a, so that when the inflator 36 is operated, gas is jetted from the gas jets 36a toward the communication port 27. Therefore, the gas from the inflator 36 is also directly supplied to the second chamber 2 through the communication port 27 as shown in FIG. Thereby, the 2nd chamber 2 comes to expand early.

  When an occupant hits the inflated airbag 10, the gas inside the first chamber 1 and the second chamber 2 flows out through the inner vent hole 28 or the vent hole 18 and the impact is absorbed.

In this reference example , for example , the size of the communication port 27 is small, and a part of the gas ejected from the gas ejection port 36 a toward the communication port 27 hits the edge of the communication port 27 and flows into the first chamber 1. By configuring, the first chamber 1 and the second chamber 2 may be configured to expand substantially simultaneously. In this case, when the communication port 27 is circular, the diameter of the communication port 27 may be reduced. The communication port 27 may be oval or rectangular. The communication port 27 may have various shapes other than these.

In the above SL reference example, but the gas discharge ports 36a and the communication ports 27 are provided four by four, it is not limited to four. In the above reference example , the communication ports 27 are arranged on the extension lines in the gas ejection direction of all the gas ejection ports 36a of the inflator 36. The opening 27 may be disposed, and the panel portion of the inner panel 22 may be present on the extension line in the gas ejection direction of the remaining gas ejection port 36a.

  In the present invention, there may be a communication port that is disposed at a position deviated from the extended line in the gas ejection direction of the gas ejection port 36a and does not face the gas ejection port 36a.

A second chamber for gas ports which faces only gas ports 36a of the part to the communication port 27, a configuration in which the panel portion of the inner panel 22 is present on the extension of the direction of the gas jet another gas ports 36a The other gas jet port 36a may be the first chamber gas jet port 36a. In this case, the first chamber 1 is expanded mainly by the gas from the first chamber gas outlet, and the second chamber 2 is expanded mainly by the gas from the second chamber gas outlet. The first chamber 1 and the second chamber 2 can be expanded substantially simultaneously by selecting the number of gas outlets and the number of gas outlets for the second chamber and the diameter of the second chamber.

In the present invention, there is provided a guide means for guiding the gas from the inflator into the communication port of the first chamber and the second chamber in the airbag in the first chamber. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of an airbag 10A in which a rectifying cloth is provided in the first chamber as such guiding means, and an airbag apparatus provided with the airbag 10A, and FIG. FIG. 6 (a) is a perspective view of the rectifying cloth being attached to the presser ring, and FIG. 6 (b) is a plan view of the rectifying cloth to the presser ring. It is a perspective view at the time of completion of attachment.

  The airbag 10A and the airbag apparatus equipped with the airbag 10A are used to guide the gas from the inflator 36 into the communication port 27 between the first chamber 1 and the second chamber 2 in the first chamber 1. Except for providing the rectifying cloth 60 as the guiding means, the air bag 10 shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 and the air bag apparatus including the air bag 10 have substantially the same configuration. 4 to 6, the same reference numerals as those in FIGS. 1 to 3 denote the same parts.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the rectifying cloth 60 is disposed at the center portion 62 so as to cover the front end portion of the inflator 36 inserted into the first chamber of the airbag 10 </ b> A from the front (occupant side). And four extending pieces 64 extending in four directions from the central portion 62. Adjacent extending pieces 64 extend in directions orthogonal to each other.

  Each extending piece 64 is routed to the lower side of the presser ring 42 (between the presser ring 42 and the peripheral portion of the inflator opening 24 (not shown in FIG. 4; refer to FIG. 3)) of the inner panel 22. Has been. An inflator opening 66 that overlaps the central opening 42a (FIG. 6) of the presser ring 42 is provided at the distal end portion 64a of each extension piece 64, and the presser ring is provided around the inflator opening 66. A bolt insertion hole 68 through which the stud bolt 44 protruding from the lower surface of 42 is inserted is provided. Each extension piece 64 has its tip 64a disposed below the presser ring 42 so that the inflator opening 66 overlaps the central opening 42a of the presser ring 42, and the stud bolt 44 of the presser ring 42 By being inserted into the bolt insertion hole 68, it is hooked on the presser ring 42.

  In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6A, prior to attaching the rectifying cloth 60 to the presser ring 42, the three extending pieces 64 of the four extending pieces 64 are provided. The posture is drawn to the lower side of the presser ring 42, and the tip portions 64a of these three extending pieces 64 are sewn so that the inflator openings 66 and the bolt insertion holes 68 overlap each other.

  When attaching the flow regulating cloth 60 to the presser ring 42, the presser ring 42 is inserted into the space surrounded by the three extended pieces 64 from the remaining one extended piece 64 side, and is sewn in advance. While the stud bolt 44 of the presser ring 42 is inserted into the bolt insertion hole 68 of the three stacked end portions 64a, the presser ring 42 is overlapped with the peripheral portion of the inflator opening 66 of the innermost end portion 64a. Thereafter, the remaining one extended piece 64 is drawn to the lower side of the presser ring 42, and the stud bolt 44 of the presser ring 42 is inserted into the bolt insertion hole 68 of the front end part 64a, and the three-ply end part 64a is stacked. Overlay on the underside.

  By attaching the rectifying cloth 60 to the presser ring 42 in such a procedure, the rectifying cloth 60 can be attached to the presser ring 42 relatively easily.

  When the distal end portion 64a of each extension piece 64 is hooked on the presser ring 42, the vent hole 70 is formed between the adjacent extension pieces 64 and 64. As shown in FIG. 4, each vent 70 is provided on the rear end side (the rear end side of the first chamber 1) of the inner panel 22 that divides the interior of the airbag 10A into the first chamber 1 and the second chamber 2. The first chamber 1 and the second chamber 2 are arranged so as to face the communication ports 27 that communicate with each other.

  In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, the side of each extending piece 64 is an arcuate side extending so as to bend toward the substantially central side of the central portion 62. For this reason, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 6, each vent 70 surrounded by the sides of the adjacent extending pieces 64 and 64 has a substantially circular opening shape.

The configuration procedure of the airbag apparatus provided with the airbag 10A is the same as that of the reference example in FIGS. 1 to 3 described above except that the rectifying cloth 60 is attached to the presser ring 42 in advance.

  In the airbag 10 </ b> A configured as described above, when the inflator 36 performs the gas ejection operation in the space surrounded by the rectifying cloth 60, the gas from the inflator 36 flows between the first chamber 1 and the second chamber 2. Is introduced into the first chamber 1 through a vent 70 facing the communication port 27. That is, the gas from the inflator 36 is guided toward the communication port 27 through the vent hole 70. For this reason, the gas from the inflator 36 can flow into the second chamber 2 from the communication port 27 very efficiently. Thereby, it becomes possible to expand the 2nd chamber 2 still more rapidly.

  In this embodiment, all the vents 70 are arranged so as to face the communication port 27 between the first chamber 1 and the second chamber 2, but there are vents that do not face the communication port 27. May be. In this case, the expansion speed of the first chamber 1 and the second chamber 2 can be easily controlled by appropriately adjusting the opening area of each vent.

In the present invention, the guide means for guiding the gas from the inflator to the communication port between the first chamber 1 and the second chamber 2 is not limited to the illustrated one, and may have a configuration other than the rectifying cloth .

  The above embodiment is an application example of the present invention to the driver's seat airbag and the driver's seat airbag apparatus, but the present invention can also be applied to airbags and airbag apparatuses for various other purposes. .

It is sectional drawing of the airbag and airbag apparatus which concern on a reference example . FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the airbag of FIG. 1 during inflation. It is a disassembled perspective view of the airbag and airbag apparatus of FIG. It is a cross-sectional view of an airbag and an airbag apparatus according to an embodiment of the implementation. FIG. 5 is a development view of the airbag and the rectifying cloth of the airbag device in FIG. 4. It is a perspective view which shows the structure of the baffle cloth of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 1st chamber 2 2nd chamber 10,10A Driver's seat airbag 12 Front panel 14 Rear panel 16, 24 Inflator opening 18 Vent hole 22 Inner panel 27 Communication port 28 Inner vent hole 30 Retainer 32 Inflator mounting port 36 Inflator 36a Gas Jet port 42 Presser ring 60 Current flow cloth 62 Center part 64 Extension piece 64a (Extension piece) Tip part 66 Inflator opening 68 Bolt insertion hole 70 Ventilation hole

Claims (7)

An airbag inflated by gas from a gas generator,
It has a front panel arranged on the occupant side and a rear panel arranged on the side opposite to the occupant, and the front panel and the rear panel have their peripheral parts joined together,
An opening for the gas generator is provided in the center of the rear panel,
An inner panel that divides the airbag into a central first chamber and a second chamber surrounding the first chamber is disposed,
In the center of the inner panel, there is provided an opening arranged substantially concentrically with the opening of the rear panel,
In the airbag connected to the intermediate portion between the center portion and the peripheral portion of the front panel, the front end side peripheral portion of the inner panel is
On the rear end side of the inner panel, a communication port for communicating the first chamber and the second chamber is provided,
The communication port is arranged on an extended line in the gas ejection direction of the gas generator in a state where the airbag is inflated ,
Guiding means for guiding the gas from the gas generator to the communication port is provided in the first chamber,
The air bag according to claim 1, wherein the guide means has a vent hole facing the communication port . 2. The airbag according to claim 1, wherein the guide means is a rectifying cloth provided with the vent hole, and a part of the gas generator is disposed in a space surrounded by the rectifying cloth. 3. The airbag according to claim 1, wherein a vent hole is provided in the rear panel, and an inner vent hole that communicates the first chamber and the second chamber is provided in the inner panel. An airbag device comprising an airbag and a gas generator having a gas ejection port,
In the airbag apparatus in which the gas generator has at least a distal end side thereof disposed in an airbag and the gas ejection port is disposed in the airbag.
The airbag is the airbag according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The airbag device, wherein the communication port is disposed on an extended line in a gas ejection direction of a gas ejection port of the gas generator in a state where the airbag is inflated. In claim 4, a plurality of the gas outlets are provided,
The communication port is disposed on an extended line in the gas ejection direction of a part of the gas ejection port in a state where the airbag is inflated,
The airbag device according to claim 1, wherein a panel portion of the inner panel is present on an extension line in the gas ejection direction of the remaining gas ejection port.   6. The airbag apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the first chamber and the second chamber are inflated substantially simultaneously when the gas generator is operated. An airbag device comprising an airbag and a gas generator having a gas ejection port,
In the airbag apparatus in which the gas generator has at least a distal end side thereof disposed in an airbag and the gas ejection port is disposed in the airbag.
In the airbag is partitioned into a second chamber surrounding the first chamber and said first chamber at a center portion by the inner panel, on the inner panel communicates with the first chamber and the second chamber There is a communication port,
Guide means for guiding the gas from the gas generator to the communication port is provided in the first chamber, and at least the tip side of the gas generator is disposed in a space surrounded by the guide means. And the guide means has a vent hole facing the communication port,
In the state where the airbag is inflated, the communication port and the vent port are disposed on an extension line in the gas ejection direction of the gas ejection port of the gas generator,
The airbag device according to claim 1, wherein the first chamber and the second chamber are inflated substantially simultaneously when the gas generator is activated.

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