KR102154195B1 - Airbag apparatus of vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

A first airbag module installed on each seat of a vehicle and sequentially inflating and deploying the far side airbag cushion toward the far side and the front of the occupant during a collision of the vehicle, and the side airbag cushion toward the passenger's near side. And a second airbag module that sequentially expands and deploys toward the front, and a gas venting means for adjusting the pressure of the airbag cushion by venting some of the gas supplied to the far side airbag cushion or the side airbag cushion when the vehicle collides. By providing a configuration, when the internal pressure of the airbag cushion increases during a side collision of the vehicle, some gas is vented to adjust the internal pressure of the cushion, thereby preventing injury to the occupant due to an excessive increase in the internal pressure of the cushion.

Description

Airbag device of automobile {AIRBAG APPARATUS OF VEHICLE}

The present invention relates to an airbag device of a vehicle, and more particularly, to an airbag device of a vehicle that expands and expands when a vehicle crashes to restrain and protect an occupant.

In general, a vehicle airbag device is a safety device that protects an occupant by rapidly inflating the airbag by injecting gas into the airbag according to a signal from an impact sensor when a vehicle crashes.

Such an airbag device is installed on a steering wheel, dashboard, seat, side wall, etc. provided in a vehicle, and is inflated toward the front or side of the occupant when a vehicle crashes to protect the occupant.

That is, a front airbag deployed in front of a driver's seat and a passenger seat, a curtain airbag and a side airbag deployed from the side of the passenger to protect the passenger, and a knee airbag to protect the passenger's knee may be provided in the automobile.

On the other hand, recently, self-driving cars have been developed that move by themselves even if the driver does not drive the vehicle.

The autonomous vehicle detects each device provided in the vehicle and the situation around the vehicle using a high-tech sensor capable of recognizing surrounding objects and a high-performance graphic processing device, and controls the driving of each device provided in the vehicle according to the detection result. To drive.

The state-of-the-art sensor measures the distance between an object and an object like a person, detects danger, and helps to see all areas without blind spots. In addition, the graphic processing device identifies the surrounding environment of the vehicle through several cameras, analyzes the image, and helps the vehicle to drive safely.

For example, an autonomous vehicle may be equipped with LiDAR equipment, sound wave equipment, 3D cameras, radar equipment, and the like.

In the autonomous vehicle configured as described above, as the driver does not need to drive, the entire seat including the driver's seat rotates freely, and the angle of the backrest is adjusted to a horizontal state by a tilting operation.

The occupant can adjust the angle of the backrest in various ways, and the seat can be rotated to face the occupant in the rear seat for a meeting.

Therefore, it is impossible to apply a general airbag device designed based on a seated posture in which the occupant is seated on the seat forward in the autonomous vehicle.

In the following Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2, the configuration of a vehicle passenger protection system is disclosed.

Korean Patent Registration No. 10-1655569 (announced on September 8, 2016) Korean Patent Registration No. 10-1611087 (announced on April 11, 2016)

On the other hand, as passengers in an autonomous vehicle do not drive directly, they can have a meeting by rotating the seat left and right while moving to the destination, or take a break by rotating the backrest to the rear. have.

As described above, in an autonomous vehicle, the seat and the backrest can be freely rotated in the front and rear directions, and thus the direction and posture of the occupant may be variously changed.

Therefore, technology to prepare for an abnormal seating (OUT of Position, hereinafter referred to as'OPP') condition due to a change in the direction and posture of the occupant is being developed.

For example, if the occupant pulls the seat to sit or sits in front of the seat and the distance between the airbag cushion and the occupant is too close, the occupant may be injured by the excessive initial deployment pressure of the airbag cushion.

Therefore, it is necessary to maintain the pressure inside the airbag to protect the occupant's head and adjust the vent gas to protect the occupant's ribs and pelvis.

As described above, there is a need for an airbag technology capable of safely protecting an occupant regardless of the direction and posture of the occupant during a collision of a vehicle.

An object of the present invention is to solve the above-described problems, and to provide an airbag device for a vehicle capable of protecting the occupant safely by inflating and deploying the airbag on the front and both sides of the occupant when a vehicle crashes.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an airbag device for a vehicle that can safely protect an occupant regardless of the direction and posture of the occupant in an autonomous vehicle.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an airbag device for a vehicle capable of preventing injury to an occupant due to a collision with an airbag cushion by controlling the pressure of an airbag respectively inflated and deployed on both sides of an occupant.

In order to achieve the above object, the airbag device of the vehicle according to the present invention is installed in each seat of the vehicle, and the first airbag cushion is sequentially inflated and deployed toward the far side and the front of the occupant when the vehicle crashes. The airbag module, the second airbag module that sequentially expands and deploys the side airbag cushion toward the passenger's near side and the front, and the airbag cushion by venting some of the gas supplied to the far side airbag cushion or side airbag cushion in case of a car collision It characterized in that it comprises a gas venting means for controlling the pressure of.

As described above, according to the airbag device of the vehicle according to the present invention, the internal pressure of the side airbag cushion increases due to deformation of the vehicle body during a side collision in a vehicle to which the far side airbag cushion and the side airbag cushion deployed from both sides of the occupant are applied. If so, the effect of controlling the pressure inside the cushion is obtained by venting some gas.

Accordingly, according to the present invention, it is possible to prevent injuries of the occupant due to collision with the airbag cushion in a state in which the internal pressure of the side airbag is excessively increased.

Further, according to the present invention, it is possible to safely protect the occupant regardless of the direction and posture of the occupant by adjusting the pressure balance between the airbag cushions on both sides of the occupant even in an abnormal seating state.

1 is a perspective view of an airbag device of a vehicle according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention,
2 and 3 are perspective views and plan views of the airbag device of the vehicle shown in FIG. 1 from different angles;
4 is a diagram illustrating an operating state of an airbag device during a side collision of a vehicle,
5 is a block diagram of an airbag device for a vehicle according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, an airbag device for a vehicle according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In the present embodiment, the operation when the autonomous driving mode is set is described using the configuration of the airbag device applied to the autonomous vehicle, but the present invention is not necessarily limited thereto, and the general driving mode in which the driver drives the vehicle and the general vehicle It should be noted that it can be applied with existing airbag cushions.

In the present embodiment, a configuration installed on the backrest of a driver's seat of a general vehicle is described, but it should be noted that the present invention can be applied not only to the driver's seat, but also to the passenger seat and rear row seat.

Hereinafter, the direction from the driver's seat toward the front of the car is referred to as'front', and the direction toward the rear of the car is referred to as'rear'. In addition, terms indicating directions such as “left”, “right”, “upward” and “downward” are defined as indicating respective directions based on the front and rear sides.

1 is a perspective view of an airbag device of a vehicle according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 2 and 3 are perspective views and plan views of the airbag device of the vehicle shown in FIG. 1 from different angles.

The airbag device of a vehicle according to the present invention inflates and deploys a far side airbag cushion toward the front from the side of the occupant (hereinafter referred to as'far side') in contact with other occupants, and the side of the passenger adjacent to the vehicle body ( Hereinafter, the side airbag cushion is expanded and deployed from the'near side' toward the front.

In addition, the airbag device of the vehicle according to the present invention moves a part of the gas to the other airbag when the pressure inside the airbag on one side of the vehicle is excessively increased due to a side collision of the vehicle in an abnormal seating state of the occupant.

Accordingly, the present invention provides a far side airbag, a side airbag, and a front airbag that simultaneously protects both sides and the front of the occupant, and at the same time, the occupant is Prevent injury.

In detail, the airbag device 10 of a vehicle according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention is installed on each seat 11 of a vehicle, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, and is a far side airbag cushion when a vehicle crashes. A first airbag module 20 that sequentially inflates and deploys 21 toward the passenger's far side and the front, and a second airbag module that sequentially expands and deploys the side airbag cushion 31 toward the passenger's near side and front ( 30) and a gas venting means 40 for venting gas between the far side airbag cushion 21 or the side airbag cushion 31 so that the pressure balance between the far side airbag cushion 21 and the side airbag cushion 31 is achieved. Include.

In addition, the airbag device 10 of a vehicle according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention may further include a tether unit 50 that defines the deployment shape of the far side airbag cushion 21 and the side airbag cushion 31.

The first airbag module 20 receives a first inflator (not shown) that is ignited by a detection signal from a collision detection sensor (not shown) to generate gas and gas generated from the first inflator when a vehicle crashes. It includes a far side airbag cushion 21 that is inflated and deployed in front of the passenger's far side.

The far side airbag cushion 21 includes a far side airbag 22 corresponding to the far side of the occupant and a first front airbag 23 corresponding to the front of the occupant, and from the top to correspond to the far side and the front of the occupant. When viewed, it can be bent into an'L' shape.

The far side airbag 22 supports and restrains the side of the occupant, especially the arms and shoulders, and the first front airbag 23 functions to protect the abdomen and the head around the front of the occupant, especially the chest.

To this end, the first front airbag 23 may be inflated and deployed at a height corresponding to the head portion of the occupant's abdomen.

Here, the far side airbag 22 may be tapered to increase in height while going to the front of the vehicle.

The far side airbag 22 and the first front airbag 23 may each include at least one or more chambers inflated and deployed by gas supply.

The chamber may be divided by a sewing line in which both sides of the airbags 22 and 23 are sewn.

For example, each of the chambers may be arranged side by side in the left-right direction or the vertical direction by at least one sewing line sewn in the vertical direction or the left-right direction.

The far side airbag cushion 21 includes an inner panel that is in contact with the occupant during inflation and deployment and an outer panel that faces the opposite side of the inner panel, and is a bag by bonding the edges of the inner panel and the outer panel by a sewing method or the like. It can be formed into a shape.

The outer panel may be provided longer than the width of the inner panel so that the far side airbag cushion 21 is expanded and deployed toward the front of the occupant by changing the deployment direction at the far side of the occupant.

Alternatively, a tether (not shown) may be installed on the far side airbag cushion 21 to limit the distance between the front end of the far side airbag 22 and the front end of the first front airbag 23.

The second airbag module 30 receives gas generated from the second inflator (not shown) and the second inflator (not shown), which is ignited by a detection signal from a collision detection sensor (not shown) when a vehicle collides. It includes a side airbag cushion 31 that is inflated and deployed toward the passenger's near side and the front side.

The side airbag cushion 31 includes a side airbag 32 corresponding to the passenger's near side and a second front airbag 33 corresponding to the front of the occupant, when viewed from the top so as to correspond to the near side and the front of the occupant. It can be bent into a'┛' shape.

The side airbag 32 supports and restrains the side of the occupant, particularly the arms and shoulders, and the second front airbag 33 functions to protect the abdomen and the head around the front of the occupant, particularly the chest.

To this end, the second front airbag 33 may be inflated and deployed at a height corresponding to the head portion of the occupant's abdomen.

Here, the side airbag 32 may be tapered to increase in height while going to the front of the vehicle.

The side airbag 32 and the second front airbag 33 may each include at least one or more chambers inflated and deployed by gas supply.

The chamber may be divided by a sewing line in which both sides of each of the airbags 32 and 33 are sewn.

For example, each of the chambers may be arranged side by side in the left-right direction or the vertical direction by at least one sewing line sewn in the vertical direction or the left-right direction.

The side airbag cushion 31 includes an inner panel that is in contact with the occupant during inflation and deployment and an outer panel that faces the opposite side of the inner panel, and is formed in a bag shape by bonding the edges of the inner panel and the outer panel by a sewing method. I can.

The outer panel may be provided longer than the width of the inner panel so that the side airbag cushion 31 is expanded and deployed toward the front of the occupant by changing the deployment direction at the near side of the occupant.

Alternatively, a tether (not shown) may be installed on the side airbag cushion 31 to limit the distance between the front end of the side airbag 32 and the front end of the second front airbag 33.

Meanwhile, in FIGS. 1 to 3, the far side airbag cushion 21 and the side airbag cushion 31 are shown to be in contact with each other at the front center of the occupant, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

For example, the present invention may be modified to adjust the widths of the far side airbag cushion and the side airbag cushion in a 5:5 ratio, as well as various ratios such as 2:8, 3:7, 7:3, 8:2, etc. .

The tether unit 50 functions to define the deployed shape of the far side airbag cushion 21 and the side airbag cushion 31.

In particular, the tether unit 50 may define a deployment shape such that the front ends of the cushions 21 and 31 contact each other when a vehicle crashes.

To this end, the tether unit 50 includes a first tether 51 that defines the deployment shape of the far side airbag cushion 21 and a second tether 52 that defines the deployment shape of the side airbag cushion 31. I can.

The first and second tethers 51 and 52 have both ends connected to the seat 11 and the backrest 12, respectively, and the central part is disposed on the outer surfaces of the far side airbag cushion 21 and the side airbag cushion 31. I can.

Of course, the present invention is not necessarily limited thereto, and the first and second tethers may be connected to each other to simultaneously define the deployment shape of the far side airbag cushion and the side airbag cushion with one tether.

In addition, according to the present invention, both ends of the first and second tethers may be connected to one of the backrest and the seat of the seat, or to the rear end of the far side airbag cushion and the side airbag cushion.

The gas venting means 40 connects the rear end of the far side airbag cushion 21 and the side airbag cushion 31, and vents a part of the gas supplied to each of the cushions 21 and 31 to provide other cushions 31 and 21 It may include a first venting member 41 to achieve pressure balance by moving to.

That is, the first venting member 41 has both ends connected to the far side airbag 22 and the side airbag 32, respectively, and the gas vented from the far side airbag 22 or the side airbag 32 is transferred to another airbag 32 It functions as a channel passing to ,22)

The first venting member 41 is accommodated in a rolling or folding state inside the backrest 12 of the seat 11, and the backrest 12 by gas vented between the airbags 22 and 32 on both sides when a vehicle crashes. It can be expanded and deployed to the rear of the back 12 through the cut line formed on the rear cover of the.

As described above, the present invention is different from the airbag module in which the pressure is increased due to the collision through the gas venting means when a side collision or an inclined collision occurs in a vehicle to which a pair of airbag modules inflated and deployed toward the front and both sides of the occupant is applied. The gas is moved to the airbag module.

Accordingly, according to the present invention, by balancing the pressure of a pair of airbags that are inflated and deployed on both sides of the occupant, it is possible to prevent injury to the occupant due to collision with the airbag cushion inflated and deployed under excessive pressure.

Next, a method of operating an airbag device of a vehicle according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4.

4 is a diagram illustrating an operating state of an airbag device during a side collision of a vehicle.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, when a side collision (or inclined collision) of a vehicle occurs, the first and second inflators provided in the first and second airbag modules 20 and 30 are respectively installed in the vehicle body. It is ignited by the detection signal of the detection sensor to generate gas.

Then, the far side airbag cushion 21 and the side airbag cushion 31 are respectively supplied with gas and inflated forward from both sides of the occupant, and the tether installed in the cushions 21 and 31 and the first of the tether unit 50 And the second tether (51, 52) is deployed by switching the deployment direction toward the front of the passenger again.

The front ends of the far side airbag cushion 21 and the side airbag cushion 31 are in contact with each other at the front of the occupant.

On the other hand, when the vehicle body is deformed toward the inside due to a side collision and pressurizes the side airbag 32 to increase the pressure inside the side airbag 32, a part of the gas supplied to the side airbag 32 is gas venting means ( It moves toward the far side airbag 22 through the first venting member 41 of 40).

As described above, according to the present invention, when the internal pressure of the side airbag cushion increases due to deformation of the vehicle body during a side collision of a vehicle, some gas is vented toward the far side airbag cushion to achieve a pressure balance.

Accordingly, the present invention can prevent injury to the occupant due to a collision with the airbag cushion in which the internal pressure is excessively increased.

In addition, the present invention can safely protect the occupant regardless of the direction and posture of the occupant by adjusting the pressure balance between the airbag cushions on both sides even in the abnormal seating state of the occupant.

Meanwhile, in the present embodiment, it has been described that the gas venting means 40 is provided with a first venting member connecting the far side airbag 32 and the side airbag 32, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

For example, FIG. 5 is a block diagram of an airbag device for a vehicle according to another embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 5, the airbag device 10 of a vehicle according to another embodiment of the present invention is the same as the configuration of the airbag device 10 of a vehicle described with reference to FIG. 3, except that the gas venting means 40 A second venting member 42 for venting some of the gas supplied to the side airbag cushion 31 in the event of a collision of a vehicle and an expansion chamber 43 provided at an end of the second venting member 42 may be included.

That is, in the present embodiment, when the pressure of the side airbag cushion 31 increases excessively, the second venting member 42 vents some of the gas supplied to the side airbag cushion 31 and transfers it to the expansion chamber 43. And, the expansion chamber 43 is temporarily stored by expanding by the vented gas.

As described above, according to the present invention, when the internal pressure of the side airbag cushion is excessively increased during a collision of a vehicle, some gas is vented toward the expansion chamber to adjust the internal pressure of the side airbag cushion, so that the internal pressure is excessively increased. Injury to occupants due to collision can be prevented.

Of course, the present invention may be modified to simultaneously apply the first and second venting members and the expansion chamber to the gas venting means.

In addition, in the above embodiments, it has been described that some of the gas supplied to the side airbag is vented. However, in the present invention, when the pressure inside the far side airbag excessively increases due to the movement of other occupants, the supplied to the far side airbag It can also be modified to vent the gas to the side airbag side.

Although the invention made by the present inventor has been described in detail according to the above embodiment, the invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and it goes without saying that various changes can be made without departing from the gist of the invention.

That is, in the above embodiment, the operation when the autonomous driving mode is set is described using the configuration of the airbag device applied to the autonomous vehicle, but the present invention provides an existing airbag cushion in a general driving mode in which a driver drives a vehicle and in a general vehicle. It can be changed to be applicable together with.

In addition, in the above embodiment, a configuration installed on the backrest of a driver's seat of a general vehicle has been described, but the present invention may be modified to be applicable to not only the driver's seat, but also the passenger seat and rear row seat.

The present invention is applied to the technology of an airbag device of a vehicle that prevents injuries to the occupant due to excessive pressure increase by venting gas to balance the pressure between the far side airbag cushion and the side airbag cushion deployed on both sides of the occupant.

10: car airbag device
11: seat 12: backrest
20: first airbag module 21: far side airbag cushion
22: far side airbag 23: first front airbag
30: second airbag module 31: side airbag cushion
32: side airbag 33: second front airbag
40: gas venting means 41, 42: first, second venting members
43: expansion chamber
50: tether unit 51, 52: first, second tether

Claims (5)

A first airbag module installed on each seat of a vehicle and sequentially inflating and deploying the far side airbag cushion toward the far side and the front of the occupant in the event of a collision of the vehicle,
A second airbag module that sequentially inflates and deploys the side airbag cushion toward the passenger's near side and front, and
And a gas venting means for controlling a pressure of the airbag cushion by venting some of the gas supplied to the far side airbag cushion or the side airbag cushion when a vehicle crashes,
The gas venting means includes a second venting member for venting some of the gas supplied to the far side airbag cushion or the side airbag cushion when a vehicle crashes.
And an expansion chamber provided at an end of the second venting member and temporarily storing gas vented through the second venting member. delete delete A first airbag module installed on each seat of a vehicle and sequentially inflating and deploying the far side airbag cushion toward the far side and the front of the occupant in the event of a collision of the vehicle,
A second airbag module that sequentially inflates and deploys the side airbag cushion toward the passenger's near side and front, and
And a gas venting means for controlling a pressure of the airbag cushion by venting some of the gas supplied to the far side airbag cushion or the side airbag cushion when a vehicle crashes,
The gas venting means is a first venting member connecting the rear end of the far side airbag cushion and the side airbag cushion, venting a part of the gas supplied to each cushion and moving it to another cushion to achieve a pressure balance,
A second venting member for venting some of the gas supplied to the far side airbag cushion or the side airbag cushion when a vehicle crashes, and
And an expansion chamber provided at an end of the second venting member and temporarily storing gas vented through the second venting member. The method of claim 1 or 4,
And a tether unit for defining an unfolded shape of the far side airbag cushion and the side airbag cushion.

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