JP6871786B2 - Vehicle occupant protection device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an occupant protection device for a vehicle such as an automobile.

In automobiles, airbags such as front airbags are deployed around the occupants, and the occupants fall down on the airbags to absorb the impact acting on the occupants in the event of a collision (Patent Document 1).

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2016-037134

However, for example, a front airbag deployed in front of the seat needs to be largely deployed from front to rear from the interior members arranged around the seat toward the occupant seated on the seat. It is necessary to absorb the load of the occupant in the greatly expanded state.
For this reason, inflators used in front airbags and the like need to instantly generate a large amount of high-pressure gas. In addition, it takes time, if at all, from the start of deployment of the front airbag to the deployment of the front airbag in a state where it can absorb the load.
In an airbag that is deployed from an interior member arranged around the seat toward an occupant seated on the seat, the balance between the deployment capacity and the effect is basically poor.
Moreover, if the size such as the width of the airbag is increased to cope with the collapse of the occupant due to various collisions, or if the deployment speed is increased to improve the immediacy, the balance will be further deteriorated. It will be.

Therefore, for example, it is conceivable to deploy the airbag from the armrest on the side of the seat and use it as an auxiliary to the main airbag such as the front airbag.
For example, when assisting the front airbag, the airbag to hold the occupant so that the seating position of the occupant does not shift forward, and the upper body to prevent the upper body from falling before the front airbag is properly deployed. Multiple airbags such as supporting airbags can be assumed.
However, when deploying auxiliary airbags from near the seat, it is difficult in terms of space to provide a plurality of airbags for each individual purpose as described above and deploy the plurality of airbags at the same time. is there. Since the plurality of airbags are deployed close to each other, there is a high possibility that they will interfere with each other during or in the deployed state. If it interferes with other airbags, the individual airbags may not be able to perform as intended. For example, there is a concern that performance may deteriorate, such as not being able to exert a sufficient reaction force.

As described above, the occupant protection device is required to improve the protection performance of the occupant.

The vehicle occupant protection device according to the present invention is provided on the side of the vehicle seat and has an armrest on which the arm of the occupant seated on the seat can be placed, and an armrest provided on the armrest and the armrest airbag is provided from the armrest. The armrest airbag device to be deployed and the control unit to deploy the armrest airbag when a collision of the vehicle is detected or predicted, and the armrest airbag deployed from the armrest expands separately from each other. have a controllable multiple air chambers, the armrest airbag from the armrest, after deploying downward toward an occupant seated on the seat, and convert the expansion direction, on the front of the occupant's upper body It expands upward along the curve to form a curved shape .

Preferably, in the plurality of air chambers, the armrest airbag is seated on the seat, the first air chamber inflated to press the occupant seated on the seat from the front side, and the armrest airbag are seated on the seat. see containing and a second air chamber to be inflated for supporting the body to expand in front of the upper body of the passenger, the first air chamber is located on the proximal side of the armrest airbag, wherein The second air chamber is preferably located on the distal end side of the armrest airbag .

Preferably, the second air chamber is provided with a pressure valve between the second air chamber and the first air chamber, and is adjacent to the first air chamber in the deployment direction via the pressure valve. It is good to open the first air chamber when the pressure reaches a certain level.

Further, the vehicle occupant protection device according to the present invention is provided on the side of the vehicle seat and has an armrest on which the arm of the occupant seated on the seat can be placed, and an armrest provided on the armrest and from the armrest to the armrest airbag. It has an armrest airbag device that deploys a bag and a control unit that deploys the armrest airbag when a collision of the vehicle is detected or predicted, and the armrest airbag is directed toward an occupant seated on the seat. The first air chamber that expands downward to hold at least the waist or the lateral end of the waist and the first air chamber are connected to the first air chamber and upward along the front surface of the upper body of the occupant. It may have a second air chamber that expands to support the upper body of the occupant and exhibits a curved shape in a lateral view .

In the present invention, the armrest airbags deployed from the armrests have a plurality of air chambers that can control expansion separately from each other.
Therefore, for example, when this armrest airbag is used as an auxiliary airbag, each of the plurality of air chambers can be controlled according to the purpose.
As a result, it is possible to deploy an airbag corresponding to a plurality of purposes by simply deploying one armrest airbag from the armrest. Interference between airbags does not matter, as in the case of deploying airbags from armrests for multiple purposes.
Moreover, since the armrest airbag is deployed from a position close to the occupant seated on the seat, by expanding each air chamber, the armrest airbag can be accurately deployed in a state corresponding to the purpose of each air chamber.

FIG. 1 is an explanatory view of an automobile to which the occupant protection device according to the embodiment of the present invention can be applied. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of occupant protection performance by the front airbag. FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the occupant protection device according to the present invention. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a schematic configuration of the armrest airbag device of FIG. FIG. 5 is a front view of the armrest airbag device according to the first embodiment. FIG. 6 is a plan view of the armrest airbag device of FIG. FIG. 7 is a side view of the armrest airbag device of FIG. FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of an armrest airbag deployment procedure.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[First Embodiment]
FIG. 1 is an explanatory view of an automobile 1 to which the occupant protection device 10 of the automobile 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention can be applied.
FIG. 1 shows an automobile 1 as viewed from above. The automobile 1 is an example of a vehicle.
The automobile 1 of FIG. 1 has a vehicle body 2. A plurality of seats 4 on which the occupants are seated are arranged in the occupant room 3 of the vehicle body 2. A steering wheel, an accelerator pedal, and a brake pedal (not shown) are arranged in front of the front right seat 4. When the occupant seated on the seat 4 operates the steering wheel or the like, the automobile 1 makes a forward, stop, reverse, right turn, or left turn.

By the way, the automobile 1 may collide with another automobile 1 or the like while traveling. The collision input may be on the front side of the vehicle body 2 or on the side surface. Further, also on the front surface, there are a full-wrap collision input in the center, an offset collision shifted to the side, and a collision input diagonally.
In order to cope with these various collision forms, in the automobile 1, various airbag devices are used together with the seatbelt device 14.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of occupant protection performance by the front airbag 18.
In FIG. 2A, the seat belt 15 is hung in front of the occupant seated on the seat 4. Further, in front of the seat 4, the front airbag 18 is deployed.
In this case, the occupant seated on the seat 4 is restrained by the seat belt 15, and the upper body falls forward while sitting on the seat 4. The upper body that has fallen forward falls into the deployed front airbag 18.
As a result, the impact acting on the occupant in the event of a collision can be absorbed.

However, for example, the front airbag 18 deployed in front of the seat 4 needs to be largely deployed from the front to the rear from the interior member arranged around the seat 4 toward the occupant seated on the seat 4. Moreover, it is necessary to absorb the load of the occupant in the greatly expanded state.
Therefore, in the inflator used in the front airbag 18 and the like, it is necessary to instantly generate a large amount of high-pressure gas. Further, it takes time, albeit instantaneously, from the start of deployment of the front airbag 18 to the deployment of the front airbag 18 in a state where it can absorb the load.
In an airbag that is deployed from an interior member arranged around the seat 4 toward an occupant seated on the seat 4, the balance between the deployment capacity and the effect is basically poor.
Moreover, if the size such as the width of the airbag is increased to cope with the collapse of the occupant due to various collisions, or if the deployment speed is increased to improve the immediacy, the balance will be further deteriorated. It will be.

Therefore, for example, it is conceivable to deploy the airbag from the armrest 5 or the like on the side of the seat 4 and use it as an auxiliary to the main airbag such as the front airbag 18.
For example, in the front airbag 18, as shown in FIG. 2B, when the automobile 1 collides, the lower body and the waist of the occupant may shift forward. In this case, the upper body of the occupant will fall forward from the state of approaching the front airbag 18.
Further, as shown in FIG. 2C, the upper body of the occupant may tilt forward when the automobile 1 collides. In this case, the occupant's upper body will fall toward the front airbag 18 from the state where it has already fallen forward.
In these cases, the front airbag 18 has its upper body collapsed before it is properly deployed, and it may be difficult to properly support the collapsed upper body.
For this reason, to assist the front airbag 18, the airbag for holding the occupant so that the seating position of the occupant does not shift forward, and the upper body fall down before the front airbag 18 is properly deployed. It is conceivable to deploy a plurality of airbags, such as airbags that support them so as not to be folded, from the armrests 5 and the like on the side of the seat 4.
However, when deploying auxiliary airbags from near the seat 4, if a plurality of airbags are provided for each individual purpose as described above and the plurality of airbags are deployed at the same time, space is not possible. There is. Since the plurality of airbags are deployed close to each other, there is a high possibility that they will interfere with each other during or in the deployed state. If it interferes with other airbags, the individual airbags may not be able to perform as intended. For example, there is a concern that performance may deteriorate, such as not being able to exert a sufficient reaction force.

As described above, the occupant protection device is required to improve the protection performance of the occupant.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the occupant protection device 10 according to the present invention.
In FIG. 3, the occupant protection device 10 includes an image pickup sensor 11, a collision sensor 12, a timer 13, a seatbelt device 14, an armrest airbag device 20, and a control unit 19 to which these are connected.

The image sensor 11 is arranged forward, for example, inside the windshield of the vehicle body 2, and captures an image of the outside of the vehicle in front of the vehicle 1.
The collision sensor 12 is, for example, an acceleration sensor attached to the vehicle body 2 and detects the impact of a collision acting on the vehicle body 2.
The timer 13 measures the time.
The seatbelt device 14 includes a seatbelt 15, a retractor (not shown), and the like. The seat belt 15 is hung in front of the occupant seated on the seat 4. The retractor is provided on the vehicle body 2, for example, the B pillar, and winds up the seat belt 15.
The armrest airbag device 20 is built in each of the pair of left and right armrests 5.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a schematic configuration of the armrest airbag device 20.
The armrest airbag device 20 of FIG. 4 has an airbag body 21 incorporating an inflator and an armrest airbag 22 deployed from the airbag body 21.
The inflator generates high pressure gas when ignited.
The armrest airbag 22 has a first bag portion 24 having a neck portion 23, a second bag portion 25, and a pressure valve 26.
The neck portion 23 is a portion connected to the airbag main body 21 of the armrest airbag 22. The high pressure gas of the inflator enters the armrest airbag 22 from the neck 23.
The first bag portion 24 and the second bag portion 25 are formed in separate air chambers in the armrest airbag 22. The first bag portion 24 is located on the base end side of the armrest airbag 22, and the second bag portion 25 is located on the tip end side of the armrest airbag 22.
The first bag portion 24 and the second bag portion 25 are formed in capacities according to their respective purposes and are different from each other.
The pressure valve 26 connects the first bag portion 24 and the second bag portion 25. The pressure valve 26 opens when the first bag portion 24 exceeds a predetermined pressure. As a result, the high pressure gas is distributed from the first bag portion 24 to the second bag portion 25.
Then, the armrest airbag device 20 is built in the armrest 5 in a state where the armrest airbag 22 is housed in the airbag main body 21.

5 to 7 are explanatory views of the armrest airbag device 20 according to the first embodiment.
5 is a front view of the vehicle body 2 as viewed from the front side, FIG. 6 is a plan view of the vehicle body 2 as viewed from above, and FIG. 7 is a side view of the vehicle body 2 as viewed from the left side.
As shown in FIGS. 5 to 7, a pair of left and right armrests 5 are attached to the left and right sides of the back of the seat 4. The armrests 5 may be provided on both the left and right sides of the seat 4, and may be formed on a door panel or a center console which are interior members located on the left and right sides of the seat 4.
Each armrest 5 extends along the front-rear direction of the automobile 1 above the seat surface of the seat 4.
As a result, the occupant can sit on the seat 4 with both the left and right arms resting on the pair of left and right armrests 5.
Not only the passenger seat occupant and the rear seat occupant, but also the driver seat occupant can be seated in the seat 4 in the postures shown in FIGS. 5 to 7 during automatic driving, for example.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory view of the deployment procedure of the armrest airbag 22.
In the armrest airbag device 20, first, in the state before deployment shown in FIG. 8A, the armrest airbag 22 starts deployment from the inner surface in the left-right direction of the armrest 5.
Then, in the armrest airbag 22 that has started to be deployed, the first bag portion 24 is first deployed. By deploying the first bag portion 24, the armrest airbag 22 deploys toward the lumbar region of the occupant seated on the seat 4. As shown in FIG. 8B, the deployed tip of the armrest airbag 22 abuts from the front side with respect to both ends of the occupant's lumbar region in the left-right direction. As a result, the lumbar region of the occupant can be pressed so as not to shift forward.
Further, when the internal pressure of the first bag portion 24 becomes equal to or higher than a predetermined pressure, the pressure valve 26 of the armrest airbag 22 opens, and the high pressure gas in the first bag portion 24 starts to flow into the second bag portion 25.
As a result, the second bag portion 25 starts to deploy, and the armrest airbag 22 deploys upward from the position of the occupant's lumbar region along the front surface of the upper body as shown in FIG. 8C.
Then, the armrest airbag 22 is deployed in the state shown in FIGS. 5 to 7.
Further, in this deployed state, the high-pressure first bag portion 24 keeps pressing the waist portion of the occupant from the front.
As a result, even when a strong impact acts on the occupant, the lumbar portion of the occupant can be maintained in the seating position of the seat 4 due to the high drag force.

The control unit 19 activates the seatbelt device 14 and the armrest airbag device 20 when the collision of the automobile 1 is detected or predicted.

For example, the control unit 19 predicts the collision of the automobile 1 based on the image captured by the image sensor 11.
Then, when the collision of the automobile 1 is predicted, the control unit 19 operates the seatbelt device 14 at the timing measured by the timer 13. The seatbelt device 14 performs a pretension operation to wind up the seatbelt 15 before the collision under the control of the control unit 19. As a result, the occupant seated on the seat 4 is less likely to deviate significantly from the seating position of the seat 4.

After that, the control unit 19 determines the collision of the automobile 1 based on the collision detection of the collision sensor 12.
Then, when the collision of the automobile 1 is detected, the control unit 19 operates the pair of armrest airbag devices 20 at the timing measured by the timer 13.
In the armrest airbag device 20, the armrest airbag 22 is deployed from the state before deployment shown in FIG. 8 (A) to the state shown in FIG. 8 (C).
As a result, as shown in FIGS. 5 to 8, the armrest airbag 22 presses the lumbar portion of the occupant seated on the seat 4 from the front, and even when a strong impact acts on the occupant, the lumbar portion of the occupant is seated on the seat 4. Can be maintained in position.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the armrest airbag 22 deployed from the armrest 5 has a first bag portion 24 and a second bag portion 25 that can control expansion separately from each other.
The first bag portion 24 can be used to press both ends of the waist portion of the occupant seated on the seat 4 in the left-right direction from the front side. As a result, the occupant can be pressed so that the seating position of the occupant does not shift forward on the seat 4 without pressing the abdomen of the occupant.
Further, the second bag portion 25 can be deployed in front of the upper body of the occupant seated on the seat 4 to support the upper body. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the upper body from falling forward at an early stage. It is possible to prevent the upper body from falling before the front airbag 18 is properly deployed.
As described above, the first bag portion 24 and the second bag portion 25 of the armrest airbag 22 can be used as auxiliary airbags corresponding to different purposes of the front airbag 18.
As a result, it is possible to deploy an airbag corresponding to a plurality of purposes only by deploying one armrest airbag 22 from the armrest 5. Interference between airbags does not become a problem as in the case where airbags are deployed from the armrest 5 for each of a plurality of purposes.
Moreover, since the armrest airbag 22 is deployed from a position close to the occupant seated on the seat 4, each bag body can be accurately expanded to a state corresponding to the purpose of each bag body.

In the present embodiment, the armrest airbag 22 is first expanded downward from the armrest 5 toward the left-right end of the waist of the occupant seated on the seat 4 by inflating the first bag portion 24, and then the first bag portion 24 is expanded. By inflating the two-bag portion 25, it expands upward along the front surface of the occupant's upper body.
Therefore, both the purpose of pressing the waist of the occupant and the purpose of supporting the forward tilt of the upper body can be achieved by integrating with one armrest airbag 22.
Moreover, by deploying the armrest 5 downward and then upward along the upper body in this way, the armrest airbag 22 is deployed in a curved shape so as to be greatly twisted.
As a result, when the upper body falls on the armrest airbag 22, the armrest airbag 22 can give a large reaction force to the state. When the armrest airbag 22 is pushed forward by the falling upper body, the armrest airbag 22 can tenaciously support the armrest airbag 22 so that the upper body does not fall forward significantly.

In the present embodiment, the armrest airbag 22 is deployed from the inner surface of the armrest 5 in the left-right direction.
Therefore, the armrest airbag 22 projects forward from the upper body of the occupant seated on the seat 4 at a position separated from the upper body to form the neck portion 23, and is further twisted from the neck portion 23 toward the upper body. It bends and unfolds so that it can be
As a result, even if the heavily twisted portion of the armrest airbag 22 falls forward due to the load on the front of the occupant's upper body, it can be supported by the neck 23 to make it more difficult to fall forward.

The above embodiments are examples of preferred embodiments of the present invention, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and various modifications or modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the invention.

In the above embodiment, the armrest airbag 22 has two air chambers, a first bag portion 24 and a second bag portion 25.
In addition to this, for example, the armrest airbag 22 may have three or more bag portions.
Further, the plurality of bag portions may communicate with other bag portions by a pressure valve 26, or may directly communicate with the inflator of the armrest airbag device. These may be determined according to the purpose to be realized by the armrest airbag 22.

In the above embodiment, the armrest airbag 22 presses the front of the upper body to prevent the upper body from falling to the front side.
In addition to this, for example, the front airbag 18 may be deployed together with the armrest airbag 22.

1 ... Automobile (vehicle), 2 ... Body, 3 ... Passenger room, 4 ... Seat, 5 ... Armrest, 10 ... Crew protection device, 11 ... Imaging sensor, 12 ... Collision sensor, 13 ... Timer, 14 ... Seatbelt device, 15 ... Seat belt, 16 ... Front airbag device, 17 ... Airbag body, 18 ... Front airbag, 19 ... Control unit, 20 ... Armrest airbag device, 21 ... Airbag body, 22 ... Armrest airbag, 23 ... Neck, 24 ... 1st bag (air chamber), 25 ... 2nd bag (air chamber), 26 ... Pressure valve.

Claims (4)

An armrest provided on the side of the vehicle seat on which the arm of the occupant seated on the seat can be placed, and
An armrest airbag device provided on the armrest and deploying an armrest airbag from the armrest,
A control unit that deploys the armrest airbag when a collision of the vehicle is detected or predicted.
Have,
The armrest airbags extending from the armrest, have a plurality of air chambers capable of controlling the swelling separately from one another,
The armrest airbag deploys downward from the armrest toward the occupant seated on the seat, then changes the deployment direction, and deploys upward along the front surface of the occupant's upper body to form a curved shape. ,
Vehicle occupant protection device. In the plurality of the air chambers,
The armrest airbag is inflated to hold the occupant seated on the seat from the front side, and the first air chamber.
Said armrest airbag, looking contains and a second air chamber to be inflated for supporting the body to expand in front of the upper body of the passenger seated in the seat,
The first air chamber is located on the proximal end side of the armrest airbag.
The second air chamber is located on the distal end side of the armrest airbag.
The vehicle occupant protection device according to claim 1. A pressure valve is provided between the second air chamber and the first air chamber, and the second air chamber is adjacent to the first air chamber in the deployment direction via the pressure valve.
The pressure valve opens when the first air chamber reaches a predetermined pressure.
The vehicle occupant protection device according to claim 2. An armrest provided on the side of the vehicle seat on which the arm of the occupant seated on the seat can be placed, and
An armrest airbag device provided on the armrest and deploying an armrest airbag from the armrest,
A control unit that deploys the armrest airbag when a collision of the vehicle is detected or predicted.
Have,
The armrest airbag is connected to a first air chamber that deploys downward toward an occupant seated in the seat and presses at least the lumbar region or a left-right end of the lumbar region of the occupant, and the first air chamber. At the same time, it has a second air chamber that expands upward along the front surface of the occupant's upper body to support the occupant's upper body, and exhibits a curved shape in a lateral view.
Vehicle occupant protection device.

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