JPH0672269A - Air bag setting structure of automobile - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To protect an occupant in the central seat securely in a collision, in the same manner as the occupants in the driver' seat and in the assistant driver's seat, without providing a special air bag for the occupant in the central seat, when the front seats are for three persons. CONSTITUTION:When an automobile collides, a second part 4c of the air bag 4a of a first air bag unit 4 projects to a central seat 1C so as to protect an occupant B in the central seat 1C. And a first part 4b of the air bag 4a is expanded and developed to a driver's seat 1A side so as to protect an occupant A in the driver's seat 1A. A third part 4d of the air bag 4a fills a space between an instrument panel 3 and the occupants. Consequently, when the air bag 4a receives a reaction from the central seat occupant B, the third part 4d projects to regurate the forward movement of the second part 4c, and the central seat occupant B can be protected securely.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vehicle air bag arrangement structure.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, it is known to provide an air bag device for the safety protection of an occupant in the event of an automobile collision. An airbag device generally comprises an airbag unit including an airbag and a gas generator, etc., and when a vehicle collides, the gas generator is activated to inflate and deploy the airbag toward the interior of the vehicle. It is intended to restrain and protect the head and chest of an occupant who sometimes moves forward.

As such an air bag device, specifically, as described in, for example, Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 4-13451, an air bag device provided in a steering device for protecting an occupant in a driver's seat or an air bag device is used. As disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 3-129547, an airbag device is known which is provided on an instrument panel or the like on the front part of the passenger compartment of a passenger seat to protect the passenger seat passenger.

By the way, it is conceivable to provide a center seat between a driver's seat and a passenger seat in an automobile so that three persons can be seated in the front seats.

[0005]

In the case where three persons can be seated in such a manner, the central seat is arranged at a position corresponding to a so-called tunnel portion in which the floor panel is curved so as to project upward. Therefore, it is highly likely that a passenger sitting in the center seat will put his / her legs on the tunnel.
Therefore, if the airbag device is provided on the instrument panel of the front portion of the central seat occupant to be protected, similar to the technique described in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 3-129547, the central seat is inflated and deployed. The legs of the occupant get in the way and the inflated and inflated airbag does not sufficiently protect the occupant in the center seat.

According to the present invention, in the case where the front seat is a seat for three persons, an air bag unit is not specially provided for the center seat occupant, and at the time of a collision, like the driver seat passenger and the passenger seat passenger, It is an object of the present invention to provide an airbag disposing structure for an automobile that can surely protect the occupant in the center seat.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, a seat for three persons having a driver's seat, a front passenger's seat and a central seat located between the two seats is provided in a front portion of a passenger compartment, and a steering device is provided. Also, it is premised on an airbag installation structure of a vehicle in which first and second airbag units for protecting a driver seat passenger and a passenger seat passenger are arranged in an instrument panel in front of a passenger seat.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, the first airbag unit has an expansion portion formed in the airbag for overhanging to the center seat side to protect the center seat occupant in the event of a collision of the automobile. When a load is applied, a support means is provided for supporting the front side portion of the airbag of the first airbag unit and restricting the forward movement thereof.

In the invention of claim 2, the supporting means is
The support portion is formed in the airbag of the first airbag unit and expands and deploys toward the instrument panel to fill a space between the instrument panel and the instrument panel.

[0010]

According to the invention of claim 1, in the event of a collision of an automobile,
The airbag of the first airbag unit inflates and deploys toward the driver's seat occupant side to protect the driver's seat occupant, and its expanded portion projects to the central seat side to protect the central seat occupant. And when the airbag receives the load from the passenger in the center seat,
The front portion of the airbag is supported by the support means, and the forward movement of the airbag is restricted.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, at the time of collision of the automobile, the supporting portion of the airbag of the first airbag unit expands and deploys toward the instrument panel side to fill the space between the instrument panel and the instrument panel side.

[0012]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic structure of a front portion of a passenger compartment of an automobile.
In the above, 1 is a seat for three persons, and a driver's seat 1A,
It has a passenger seat 1B and a central seat 1C located between the two seats 1A and 1B, and is arranged in the front part of the passenger compartment.

Then, in the instrument panel 3 in front of the passenger seat 1B and substantially in the center of the steering wheel 2, the first and second driver seats 1A and 1B are opposed to each other.
Air bag units 4 and 5 are provided.

As shown in FIG. 2, the first airbag unit 4 is designed so that the airbag 4a is inflated and deployed not only toward the occupant A in the driver's seat but also toward the occupant C in the central seat as shown in FIG. It is configured. That is, the airbag 4a of the first airbag unit 4 has a first portion 4b for restraining the occupant A in the driver's seat and a second portion 4c for restraining the occupant C in the central seat by inflating and deploying laterally, that is, in the center of the vehicle body. (Expansion part)
And the airbag 4 of the first airbag unit 4 when it extends forward from the second portion 4c and receives a load from the occupant in the center seat.
The third part that supports the front part of a and restricts the forward movement.
And a portion 4d (support portion). And the third part 4d
By this, the movement of the airbag 4a of the first airbag unit 4 in the front direction at the time of collision of the automobile is surely restricted.

The second airbag unit 5 is constructed so that the airbag 5a inflates and deploys toward the passenger B in the passenger seat in the event of a vehicle collision.

Therefore, the occupant A in the driver's seat and the occupant C in the center seat are caused by the airbag 4a of the first airbag unit 4 to
The passengers B in the passenger seat are restrained and protected by the airbag 5a of the second airbag unit 5, respectively.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the first airbag unit 4 includes a folded airbag 4a and an inflator 4b (gas generator) for supplying gas into the airbag 4a to inflate it. An igniter 4c (ignition device) for reacting the gas generating agent in the inflator 4b,
The airbag 4a is provided with a bag cover 4f that covers the occupant side of the airbag 4a so that the airbag 4a can be deployed. Main components of the airbag device, such as the airbag 4a, the inflator 4b, and the igniter 4c, are fixed to the base plate 4e, and the occupant side thereof is covered with the back plate 4f to form one assembly unit. The airbag unit 4 is well known in the related art, and a detailed description of its internal structure and operation will be omitted. Further, as is well known, the inflation and deployment direction of the airbag 4a is determined by devising the shape of the airbag 4a itself, the blowing direction of gas from the inflator 4b, and the like.

The steering wheel 2 is of a three-spoke type in which the wheel ring 12 is supported by three steering spokes 11 arranged on the left and right sides and in the lower center in the steering neutral state. The wheel hub 12 includes a wheel ring 12 and a wheel hub 13 having a substantially flat plate shape. The wheel hub 13 is fastened and fixed to a head portion of a steering shaft 15 that extends through a lower cover 14 that covers the rear surface side.

When the air bag unit 4 is actuated and gas is supplied into the air bag 4a at the time of collision of the automobile, the air bag 4a is inflated and the bag cover 4f is expanded.
Is opened while breaking along the groove portion 4g provided on the back surface thereof, and the first portion 4b and the second portion 4c of the airbag 4a are located on the driver's seat 1A side on the front side and the central seat 1C side on the inside of the vehicle body. Toward the left and right of the vehicle body, it expands and deploys with a certain spread. Therefore, the first portion 4b of the airbag 4a restrains the driver's seat occupant A, and the second portion 4c restrains the driver's seat occupant C, thereby protecting the driver's seat occupant A and the driver's seat occupant C in the event of a vehicle collision. To be Further, at that time, the third portion 4d expands and deploys toward the instrument panel 3 side and abuts, filling the space between the instrument panel 3 and
As a result, the second portion 4c is supported so as not to move forward due to the reaction force from the central seat occupant C at the time of a collision.

As shown in FIG. 5, the second airbag unit 5 includes an airbag 5a, a housing 5b for accommodating the airbag 5a in a folded state, and a gas generated in the housing 5b at the time of collision of an automobile to generate air. The gas generator 5c for inflating and deploying the bag 5a and the airbag 5a deploying from the airbag deploying port 5d of the housing 5b come into contact with each other so that the lid 5 is divided into upper and lower portions at the fragile portion 5e.
f, and the housing 5b has a bracket 21
It is fixed to a pipe-shaped steering support member 22 that extends in the left-right direction of the vehicle body via.

Further, the airbag 5a is, as described above,
When the vehicle collides, that is, when the airbag 4a of the first airbag unit 4 is inflated and deployed, the vehicle wraps around to the front side of the airbag 4a and stretches between the airbag 4a and the instrument panel 3 so as to fill the space therebetween. Overhang 5
The bulge portion 5g restricts the second portion 4c from moving forward when the second portion 4c of the airbag 4a restrains the central seat occupant C, and the central seat occupant It is designed to ensure that C can be restrained.

Reference numeral 23 is a glove box, 24 is a shelf-like projecting portion, 25 is an air conditioning unit, and 26 is a front window.

When the airbag device is actuated and gas is supplied into the airbag 5a at the time of a vehicle collision,
Due to the inflation of the airbag 5a, the lid 5f becomes fragile.
In, the air bag 5a is inflated and deployed toward the passenger seat B side. Therefore, the front passenger occupant moving forward can be restrained and protected.

With the above construction, in the event of a vehicle collision, as shown in FIG. 2, the first portion 4b and the second portion 4c of the airbag 4a of the first airbag unit 4 become the driver's seat occupant A and the second portion 4c. The airbag 5a of the second airbag unit 5 is inflated and deployed toward the passenger C in the center seat and toward the passenger B in the passenger seat, respectively.
The passengers A, 5a restrain and protect the occupants A, C, B.

Especially, the occupant C in the center seat is not in the front,
The second portion 4 of the airbag 4a which is inflated and deployed from the side
Since it will be restrained by c, even if the leg part is placed on the upper side of the tunnel part, it will not be affected by it,
The occupant C in the center seat is restrained by the airbag 4a (second portion 4c) and reliably protected. Further, since the third portion 4d is in contact with the instrument panel 3 and fills the space between the airbag 4a and the instrument panel 3, the reaction force (load) from the occupant C of the central seat or the like is applied. Even if received, it is restricted so as not to move to the front of the second portion 4c, and the airbag 4a of the first airbag unit 4 (the second portion 4c
The occupant C in the central seat is reliably restrained by c).

As described above, the first airbag unit 4 for protecting the driver's seat occupant A is used to
Not only this, but also the passenger C in the center seat can be restrained and protected, so that in the case of a seat that can accommodate three people, it is not necessary to provide an airbag unit for the passenger C in the center seat. Similarly to the protection of A and the passenger B in the passenger seat, the protection of the passenger C in the center seat can be achieved.

[0028]

As described above, the invention of claim 1 has the first aspect.
Since the airbag unit has an expansion portion that is formed in the airbag and protrudes toward the center seat side in the event of a car collision and protects the center seat occupant, there is no need to provide an air bag unit for the center seat occupant. It becomes possible to protect the central passenger as well as the passenger and passenger. In that case, when the airbag receives a reaction force (load) from the occupant in the center seat, the front portion of the airbag is supported by the supporting means, so that the movement of the airbag in the forward direction is prevented. It is possible to regulate and reliably protect the occupants in the center seat.

According to the second aspect of the invention, since a part of the airbag of the first airbag unit is used as the supporting means, it is possible to ensure the protection of the occupant in the central seat with a simple structure. You can

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a front portion of a vehicle compartment of an automobile.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of a deployed state of each airbag.

FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram of a first airbag unit.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory view of a deployed state of the airbag of the first airbag unit.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of a second airbag unit.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 seat 1A driver's seat 1B passenger seat 1C center seat 2 steering wheel (steering device) 3 instrument panel 4 first airbag unit 4a airbag 4b first portion 4c second portion (extension portion) 4d third portion (support portion) ) 5 2nd airbag unit 5a airbag

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A seat for three persons having a driver's seat, a passenger seat, and a central seat located between the two seats is provided in a front portion of a passenger compartment, and a steering device and an instrument panel in front of the passenger seat. In an airbag arranging structure of a vehicle, in which first and second airbag units for protecting a driver's seat passenger and a passenger's seat occupant are provided, the first airbag unit is formed in an airbag, and when the vehicle collides. It has an expansion part that extends to the center seat side to protect the center seat occupant, and when the load from the center seat occupant is received, it supports the front part of the airbag of the first airbag unit and moves in the forward direction. A structure for arranging an air bag of an automobile, characterized in that support means for restricting is provided. 2. The support means is a support portion which is formed in the airbag of the first airbag unit and fills a space between the airbag panel and the instrument panel by expanding and deploying toward the instrument panel. Car airbag support structure.